[Hyde POV]
Dinner started two hours later. Mrs. Forman made some meatloafs and mashed potatoes.
All of us were in the dining room, eating together. Red sat directly opposite Mrs. Forman. Eric and Laurie sat together on one side, I sat on the other side alone, next to Mrs. Forman.
Laurie sat directly in front of me. Eric was the only one who was close to Red.
Since this was a family issue, I planned on keeping quiet through all of this.
All of us were eating in silence. Laurie kept glancing at Red, checking his reaction, but he lowered his eyes and stewed quietly as he ate.
"Well, I'm glad we're all eating dinner together as a family," Mrs. Forman spoke, trying to ease the tension.
Eric added sarcastically, "Yeah, it's nice. Especially since Laurie could make it from all the way across town. Where she lives. With some guy. In sin."
Laurie turned to him and mocked, "Will you ever hit puberty?"
He gestured that her words stabbed him in the heart, "Oh, ow." Then, he added, "But you know, what's really sad is that you've got no respect for yourself. And for this family."
Laurie turned to Red for help, "Daddy!"
He usually stopped Eric or scolded him, but this time, Red took Eric's side. "Well, he's not wrong!"
Laurie was caught off guard and whined, "But Daddy!"
Eric's eyes were glued on Red, looking at him warily and with disbelief, like he was thinking his father was replaced with someone who likes him.
"Red!" Mrs. Forman intervened, but it made things worse.
"Well, Kitty, who's gonna buy the cow when they get the milk for free?" Red said with a venomous edge.
Laurie sunk into her chair, her chin quivering slightly.
Eric sighed as he looked at his sister and decided to back her up. They hated each other, but they were still brother and sister.
"You know, Dad, it's not like she's hooking–"
Red glared at Eric.
Eric quickly deflated. "Or some other less… bad examples," he added again. "She's just living with a guy and… it is the seventies now, right?"
Red scolded him, "What are you babbling about?"
Eric rolled his eyes, hating himself for even saying this. "Well, maybe, maybe I just think you're being a little hard on her."
He wanted so badly for her to get in trouble, but he was on her side now. Siblings are really complicated.
"Well, that's nice, Eric," Red smiled, but it quickly disappeared. "But right now I'm too angry to pretend to give a crap about what you think!" He threw his napkin on the plate and left.
I turned to Mrs. Forman and said, "I'd buy some cows."
"What?" Eric and Mrs. Forman looked at me with shock and disbelief.
"Some goats. Chicken. Then, I'll grow my own food too. Keeping the government out of it. By the way, these are great potatoes, Mrs. Forman."
Mrs. Forman froze slightly.
Laurie whispered to her brother, "Thanks, Eric."
"Yeah, sure." He almost scoffed but held himself back.
"Okay, why don't you boys take your plates in and watch some McMillan & Wife?" Mrs. Forman tried to get us out of the room.
Eric laughed, "You know, just once today I'd like to finish a meal without being chased out of the room."
We took our plates and went to the living room while Mrs. Forman had a talk with Laurie.
-TV-
Kitty said sternly, "Well, Laurie, you better stop your lying and face up to this one. Just look at what you're doing to your father."
Laurie replied rebelliously, "Mom, I'm an adult, okay?"
"No, no, no, an adult would have told the truth and not lied about moving with a girlfriend–" Kitty added with a whisper, "which I knew wasn't true."
Laurie snapped, "WELL, MOM, if you already knew then why didn't you tell Dad?! Then we wouldn't be in this mess!!"
Kitty was horrified, "Oh my God, Rosemary had a better baby than me…" She stood up and left Laurie alone.
The episode moved to the basement.
Jackie and Kelso sat on the couch facing each other.
"Okay, you've been acting kinda weird ever since Laurie gave you that t-shirt, Michael," Jackie confronted him.
Hyde's head appeared next to Kelso's in an illusionary way.
Hyde's head: "First off, act innocent!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jackie." Kelso followed the direction closely.
Hyde's head: "Of course, she'll explain herself."
Jackie squinted and said, "It's like you're hiding something."
Hyde's head: "But you just stick to your original story."
Kelso pointed his finger at Jackie and shouted, "I'm sticking to my original story!"
Jackie squinted her eyes in confusion.
Hyde's head: Now, she'll be skeptical.
"Uh-huh…" Jackie looked at him like he was an idiot.
Hyde's head: "So go on the offensive!"
Kelso took the advice and said, "You know, Jackie, you're just being paranoid! And that hurts… because you don't trust me and other stuff…"
Hyde's head: "And then, she'll be so embarrassed, she'll cave and apologize to you."
Jackie looked at him angrily and said, "FINE! I believe you, Michael, but know this. If you're NOT telling the truth, I will find out, cause I'm smart, and you… aren't!"
Hyde's head smiled slightly: "And all you have to do is forgive her."
Kelso turned to the head slightly and stammered in confusion, "O..kay… Jackie… I forgive you."
Jackie squinted her eyes in confusion again.
Red had a heart-to-heart talk with Kitty in Laurie's room.
Then, finally, the ending scene in the living room.
Laurie and Eric sat on the couch and watched The Bradys together.
Eric teased, "The Bradys are such a nice family. I bet Mr. Brady never grew to hate Marcia. But then again, Marcia wasn't so whory."
Laurie almost cried. "No, she really wasn't!" she said tearfully.
Eric was taken aback. "What? No! Come on, this is our thing! You love this, I'm mean to you, you're mean to me, so come on, hit me!" he patted his bicep.
"Sorry, I can't. Not today." Laurie was still teary.
Red came down the stairs and said, "Eric, you were just leaving."
Eric turned to him and defended his sister again, "Dad, I think maybe you should take it a little easy on her…"
Red called softly, "Eric…"
Eric sighed and said to Laurie, "You're on your own…" He left quickly.
Laurie stood in front of Red as he talked.
"Laurie, I've been thinking. About the uh… the thing that happened. At the place you live. And uh, I want you to know that I understand that you're not my little girl anymore."
"But I like being your little girl!" Laurie whined with a girly voice.
"But you're not. You're my daughter. And you're a grown-up. Who is going to do awful and stupid things. And I'll still love you."
"I love you too. And I'm sorry. So Daddy, can I move back in?" Laurie moved closer to Red.
Red smiled in excitement and patted her shoulder, "Oh yeah, okay! Good!" He hugged her quickly. "Yeah! Great to have you back!" Red left quickly.
Kitty comes down the stairs after listening to Red and Laurie.
Kitty said, "So, your man-friend kicked you out, didn't he?"
Laurie argued with her mockingly. "NO!" She added carefully. "He moved back in with his wife."
Mrs. Forman gasped and froze in shock. "I– I'm going to need my little pill." She left hurriedly to go and calm down.
…
[Hyde POV]
"Damn, Laurie's moving back in." I scoffed slightly.
Eric came down to the basement and heard me. "How did you know that?" he asked, frozen at the stairs and looked at me suspiciously.
I turned to him with a slight surprise and said, "Instinct."
Eric walked and sat next to me, sighing sadly. "Now, I'm back to being the least favorite."
"Did you think you had moved up in the ranks?" I teased.
He laughed and said, "Well, I couldn't be number 1, but I sure could be number 2." He turned to me and began wrestling me, "or I can just kill the ones who took my place."
"Get off me!" I fought him off as he tried to wrestle me. We laughed and fought as usual.
Suddenly, the basement door opened.
Kat walked into the room. We froze, and Eric muttered a word first. "Kat Peterson?"
"Eric. Can you get off Steven so I could talk to him?" she said with an awkward and disgusted face.
Eric was embarrassed and immediately jumped up. "I'll be upstairs."
"Hey, get me a soda," I told him.
"Will do!" he replied quickly.
Kat sat next to me. She touched my lap slightly and said, "Steven. I came here to apologize. You're right. I was being insecure."
She turned to me, smiling bitterly and said, "So. Can we start over?"
"Sure." I replied easily. She giggled and hugged me sideways.
"Great. You can send me home. I walked over here." Kat said abruptly.
I sighed and said, "Fine."
The episode hasn't ended yet. So I decided to create the epilogue.
I called a Pastor and brought him to Laurie's room the next day, while she was moving back in.
"Hyde!" Laurie grimaced with annoyance. "What are you doing?"
"Cleansing." I said casually.
"Why don't you confess your sins to the pastor while he cleanses your room?" I told her. The pastor read some scriptures and walked around the room.
"Fine." Laurie agreed with exasperation.
She placed her hands behind her back and twirled slightly. Then she leaned forward and said in a syrupy voice, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I've been a naughty girl."
I said with deadpan, "The line is, 'Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.'"
The pastor went completely rigid.
"I… sense a powerful disturbance," he muttered quickly. "The evil in this room is too strong. I must bring reinforcement."
And he left quickly. Laurie smiled in satisfaction as she looked at me.
I stared at the empty doorway, then back at her.
"Even God can't help us now." I said and walked out.
[Episode 16: Laurie Moved out.
Old Rating: 7.4
New Rating: 7.8
Rating points: +0.4]
…
The next day, at school. I was picking up some books from my locker as we were in between classes when one of Kat's friends approached me.
It was Tara, the old-school beauty girl.
She has big eyes, a sharp nose, and brown bob cut hair. She wore a sweater, a blue and white striped, tight fitting sweater with no bra on.
"Hey. Steven. Can I talk to you?" She asked, a bit nervous.
"Sure. What's up?" I replied easily.
"Um." She fidgeted slightly and said, "I know you and Kat are over now. So… what do you think about me?"
"Huh?" I was confused. "I've never talked to you before."
"No. Like, am I pretty enough to catch your attention?" She asked.
"You're quite beautiful." I replied with a slight confusion.
She smiled and said, "So. Do you want to go out with me? Unlike Kat, I'd put out on the first date if I was taken somewhere special like the Riviera–"
Kat suddenly approached us with a huge smile on her face. "Tara. Steven. Hey."
Tara shrunk back quickly and stammered, "Hey–Hey Kat. I'm… I'm just talking to Steven about your breakup."
"Aww. Thanks. But we're fine. We got back together last night." Kat grabbed my arm and hugged it tightly. She whispered to me, "Steven. The Biolab is empty. Do you want to go make-out right now?"
"Um, sure." I replied and looked at Tara as Kat dragged me away. Tara was biting her lower lips, her gaze was full of hatred as she looked at Kat.
I asked ChatGPT to explain to me the situation as I went to the next class.
{'So, I got back together with Kat. Her best friend didn't know, and asked me out in school today. She even said she's going to put out if I take her out. She looked at Kat with hatred as she realized we were back together. What is happening here?'
GPT: "Steven, here's what's really happening: Tara isn't actually being a loyal friend to Kat. Even though she calls herself her best friend, she's acting opportunistically — the second Kat and you get back together, Tara immediately tries to insert herself, flirt with you, and even dangling a sexual promise to tempt you. That's a classic backstab move.
A true friend wouldn't try to steal someone else's boyfriend or 'situationship,' especially right after a breakup. Tara's behavior is competitive and self-serving: she wants attention and maybe validation, and she doesn't care about Kat's feelings. }
"So I can tap both?" I smiled in amusement.
After school ended, Kat went back home with me. We drove to an empty convention hall where people used to hold formal balls.
The auto plant workers used to have a few formal gatherings here. Now, it's completely abandoned.
The space was huge. It could fit 500 people inside, and it has a stage too.
I rented the place for the screening since the cafe was too small for this. My workers wanted to bring their families too, so I decided to get us a bigger place.
"Are there caterings too?" Kat asked.
"Hmm. I'm having it tomorrow night. I don't know if I could make it in time." I said with an exasperated sigh. "You know any catering business?" I asked Kat.
"Jody's dad." Kat replied easily. "She can help you get a discount too."
"Great. Can I get her number?"
I used the phone at the place to call Jody.
She answered it cheerfully and asked, "Who's this?"
"It's Hyde." I replied. "Are your parents around?"
Jody went silent for a bit. Then, she replied meekly, "No. They are gone. Do you want to come by and make out?"
A second girl from Kat's group wanted to get with me. I turned to Kat who was gleefully smiling at the side of the hall, watching me from afar.
"Uh. No. I actually want to get your dad to cater for my event tomorrow."
"Don't be shy. Just come on over. I'll wait for you, handsome."
Jody cuts the call instantly.
"Um." I turned to Kat and said, "Jody just asked me to come over."
"Sure. We can go to her house." Kat replied easily. "She has a hot tub, maybe we can borrow it."
"Right…" I replied skeptically. I wasn't sure if Kat knew about this, or if this was a loyalty test.
Just like with Tara, Jody was taken aback when she saw Kat with me.
Her dad gave me a good deal on the catering though.
Kat came by to my house that night, and we were making out in the bedroom.
Suddenly, I heard all of my friends watching the reruns of 'What's Happening', a 70s sitcom show.
They were laughing out there loudly, which killed the mood.
I didn't realize then, that the TV recording started again when I came out of the room with a dishevelled shirt.
"Can you guys keep it down a bit?" I scolded them.
Donna laughed and said, Hyde there's lipstick on your chin,"
I touched the lipstick quickly. Kat has been kissing me all over my face.
Fez teased innocently, "Hyde, why are you putting lipstick on your chin? It's for your lips."
Eric laughed and said, "Hey, maybe he's got a girl back there. So Hyde, who's the lucky lady?"
I looked at him with disbelief and said, "You already knew."
"Kat? Are you back together?" Eric asked.
"Yup." I replied.
Donna sighed and said, "The most popular girl in school fell for the orphan boy. This isn't going to end well."
Kelso laughed and said, "Hey. but at least, he's going to get lucky. Kat's pretty skanky."
"Look, just keep it down alright? You're killing the mood." I said angrily and went back to my room.
However, Kat already fixed her makeup and hair as I went back. "Sorry, the mood's gone." She said with a playful grin.
"Damn it." I cursed slightly.
"By the way, what do you think about us getting a hotel room this weekend?" She asked.
"I'd say I'm on it." I replied with enthusiasm.
Kat laughed and said, "Great. Make sure it has a pool too. I want to wear my bikini."
I walked her to the door. Fez and Kelso were gone by the time I got out.
"That was fun." She said slyly.
"No, Disneyland's fun. That was nasty." I said and gave her a kiss. "Sure you don't want a ride?"
"Yeah sure." Kat replied.
As she turned around, I slapped her butt lightly. She turned, holding back a smile and inhaled deeply.
I walked to the couch and sat next to Eric and Donna.
Donna laughed and said, "Oh my god Hyde, Kat Peterson. Nice."
"Yup, she's slumin' it, I'm lovin' it." I smiled slightly. Suddenly I realized something. "Wait, she came here with me."
Kat opened the door again and said, "Steven. I forgot. I didn't bring my car."
"Come on, let's continue making out in your car as you drive me home." She said gleefully.
I turned to Eric with a smile and said, "Got to go."
The tv recording paused. Eric just laughed and turned to Donna, asking, "So. How do you feel when you realise you're not the only pretty red head around?"
"Shut up." Donna scolded him and rolled her eyes.
…
I sent Kat home and drove back to my place.
"Wait. The Laurie thing just ended this morning. Now, there's another new episode tonight?" I was surprised.
I checked the synopsis again. After reading it, I understood that the entire plot would be structured around Jackie's dinner party tomorrow night.
"Wait, I have that screening… Damn it. If I don't come to Jackie's, I'll be punished. I'll have to postpone the screening."
After sighing a lot that night, I contacted the catering company again and changed the date to Thursday.
"I guess this is why the system didn't allow me to interfere with Jackie and Kelso's relationships."
One of the lines in the synopsis read, 'Jackie is really angry with Kelso and says she has a lot of thinking to do.'
'So they are breaking up even without my interference.'
The synopsis also told me that Kat would ignore me at the party as she didn't want to be seen in public with me.
However, in the last few days, that's all she wanted– to be seen in public with me. In fact, she was even touchier when we were in front of people compared to when we were alone.
"I wonder what the plot would become like now."
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