ＤＡＮＣＩＮＧ ＱＵＥＥＮ

𝔞𝔟𝔟𝔞

♜

"Yeah, even the radio works!" Kelso gushes as he shows us his new van. "And all the doors? They open! And it's got brakes, too! I mean, can you believe this? My uncle, he just gave it to me! For free!"

"That is insane," Fez concurs. "I would pay tens of dollars for this." He catches a whiff of the inside. "Or not."

Hyde pushes Fez to the side and sniffs it. "Did he own a cat?"

"Yeah, I'm getting an air freshener," Kelso shrugs.

I examine the spray paint job on the side. "Get a big one."

"Guys, this thing is like, a bedroom on wheels! No more, 'Michael the backseat is too small! Michael, you're on my hair! Michael, you're choking me!' That's over!"

I walk around to the back of it and climb in, attempting to ignore the pungent cat vomit smell. As I lay down, Fez joins me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. Pleased that he isn't trying to grope me, I go with it and rest my head on his shoulder.

"Hey, come here, Forman," Hyde calls as he watches us. "I want you to feast your eyes on this very large and flat cargo area."

Fez showcases it by gesturing with his arm.

"Wow, you could haul plywood in this," Eric says innocently.

"Right," I giggle. "Or Donna."

"Why would I want to haul- oh! Okay. No. She wouldn't do it in a van. She wants it to be special."

"What are you guys talking about?" his girlfriend asks as she appears behind them. 

"Oh! Uh, plywood."

"Good, good. 'Cause I'm not doing it in a van. Oh, and you know what would make it really special? Not talking to your friends about us doing it." She wrinkles her nose at Fez and me. "What are you two doing?"

"Not 'it'," the boy beside me sighs solemnly. There it is.

I scoff. "The van is cozy and smells like cat barf, but he's cozy and smells like cherries."

"I see. I'm going to go make sure my parents don't kill each other," the girl nods.

"Do you like the smell of cherries, Anastasia?" Fez murmurs.

"Yes, I do."

"Good. Let's make out."

I smack his chest, laughing, and accept Hyde's hand to help me out of the van.

"I'm going home to call Nikolai. I'll be back," I announce.

As soon as I step foot inside my house, I pick the phone up and dial him. "Nik?"

"Hey, little sister! Are you ready for your trip?"

"Oh my god, I'm so excited," I gush. Nikolai and I have been planning to see each other for quite a while, and we've decided that I'm going to visit him for the night.

"By the way, I wanted to ask you something. Are your friends doing anything while you're gone?"

"No, why?"

"I was thinking... there's this new club that's supposed to be, like, the Chicago version of Studio 54. I know I'm not really supposed to encourage you to go clubbing, but-"

"That sounds great! I'll let them know."

♜

My eyes are trained on the incense as we sit in the Circle. "Can I light it?" I chime excitedly. I don't often join the Circle, but when I do, I like to play with the lighters. It sounds shady, but it's fun! I promise.

Hyde rolls his eyes and hands it to me. "Don't burn the basement down."

I beam as I flick his lighter on and set the incense stick aflame.

"So, what's new? Kelso," Hyde asks, pointedly looking at his mentioned friend.

"Oh, man!" the boy guffaws. "I mean, nothing. So, Eric, isn't your sister hot?"

Eric looks at him weirdly. "No. In fact, Kelso, I think you're the only loser here who thinks she's hot."

"Not true," Fez shrugs. "I have pictured her naked hundreds of times."

"You picture every girl you meet naked," I scoff. "And Kelso, what did you do? It better not be what I think it is."

"Come on, Fez!" Hyde scolds with a grin. "It is absolutely inappropriate and disrespectful to talk about how hot somebody else's sister is, no matter how bad you want to give it to her! Right, Kelso? Oh, and Princess? Your brother's sister is hot."

I punch his arm lightly. "Shut it."

"Oh, man!" Kelso chuckles. "Oh, man!"

"What is it? Is it trouble?" Hyde eggs. "Is there something you want to tell us about Eric's sister?"

"I totally did it with her! Sorry, man."

Although I expect his words, my mouth drops open. "What the hell, Mike?"

"I mean, she took advantage of me! I'm violated."

"You idiot, your thumbs are still up," Hyde giggles.

"Acting's hard."

"Hey, shut up, perv!" Eric wails. "That's my sister! Come on!"

"I know," Fez grins. "It is forbidden, taboo, titillating."

"Isn't it ironic that 'titillating' has the word 'tit' in it?" Hyde laughs.

"Oh, yeah," Kelso simpers, "that reminds me-"

"No, shut up!" Eric yells. "Look, I swear to god, if you say one more word about my sister, I'm going to tell Jackie."

"I'm going to tell Jackie either way!" I yelp.

"No!" Hyde hisses. "Princess, man, we can blackmail him."

I hesitate. "And make him suffer for his actions? Sounds good."

"Man, I forgot about Jackie," Kelso whispers.

"Right, you forgot you had this huge, bitchy anchor tied around your neck," Hyde snorts.

"Hey!"

Once we've all ridden our highs, we gather in the basement. Some of us play Monopoly, some blankly stare at the TV screen, some (Fez) strip down to their underwear. I glance at the door when Donna barges in and begins to rant about her "freaks" of parents. I truly pity her situation, as her parents are bound to get a divorce and make her feel uncomfortable each day. At least my parents leave me alone.

"Okay, Donna," Eric nods. "I think we need to take you out for some dirty, bad fun."

"Thank you, Eric."

"You want dirty bad fun?" Fez chuckles. "Listen to this. I came here fully clothed."

I light up. How could I have forgotten? "I'm visiting my brother tonight, and he said there's this new club opening. If you guys want to come, he's fine with it."

"That's perfect!" Donna sighs in relief.

"No, Michael, we can't go," Jackie snips. "My parents will be out of town tonight so we're going to go to my house and study."

Not catching on, Kelso groans. "Damn, Jackie! I don't want to study! I'm going."

"No, we're going to my house tonight and we're going to," she makes air quotes, "'study'."

"Fine!" he yells, still oblivious. "I never get to do anything fun."

"God, you're dumb," Hyde says.

"I guess that's why I have to go study."

"Well, I'm going to go pack. I'll see you guys later," I shrug, pushing on Eric's knee to lift myself up.

♜

I pull up to Nikolai's apartment building and park, ushering my friends out of my car. It's the first time most of them have been in it, and they spend way too much time swooning over the vehicle.

We take the elevator up to the penthouse and I ring the doorbell, rushing into his arms as soon as he lets us in. I take in the subtle smell of cinnamon, savoring it to store it in my mind for the next time I miss him. 

I step back. "Guys, you remember Nikolai. Nik, that's Eric, Donna, Fez, and Hyde."

"We know, you already introduced us, like, months ago," Hyde drawls. 

"Don't be rude," I warn.

"Oh, it's fine, Ana. And he's right. We've already met. Now, are we ready to go?"

Enthusiastic cheers arise from my friends and I smile softly as Nik starts walking us to the club.

As Donna, Eric, and Fez chat behind us, he glances down at what I'm wearing. It's not anything terrible, just a loose red dress with a neckline that dips down slightly. "I hope you know you're not picking anyone up while you're here," he mutters stiffly.

My brother is typically lax about who I fool around with since he knows I'm smart and can weasel my way out of any situation, but I suppose Chicago is a different story. "Why? The guys here are dicks?"

"No. There's a lot of crime in this city and I don't want you getting caught up in anything."

An arm drapes around my shoulder and I look up to see Hyde walking beside me.

"I'll watch her," he assures him.

Nikolai sends him a death glare when he notes how close he is to me but only answers with, "Thank you."

He doesn't like seeing me with the boys I hook up with either.

"Can you guys not talk over my head?" I huff, attempting to lighten the mood. "It makes me feel short."

"That's 'cause you are short," Hyde teases.

"Oh, sure, bond over my pain, I don't mind," I grumble while they chuckle.

"You know that he can beat you up, right?" I add as I address the curly-headed boy.

"I can beat him up, too."

Although I know it's a joke, my sibling instincts kick in. "I can beat you up, string bean!" I spit.

Nikolai keels over in laughter.

"String bean?"

"I'm not wrong!"

"Hypocrite!"

"String bean!"

"Fez!" the foreign boy chimes from behind us. 

"Whatever," I huff. We approach a back alley and stroll up to the bouncer. "Excuse me, how long is the wait-"

"You're in," he immediately says as he admits us.

"Oh, thanks," I smile.

I stop short when I hear him tell Eric, "Not you." I turn and see that he has let Nikolai, Donna, and I in, but not the guys.

"Well, why can't they come?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

"It's fine, we're next," Eric brushes it off. "We'll find you. Go have fun."

"Alright. We'll see you in a bit."

"Man, this place is amazing!" Donna gasps as she enters the dance floor.

Nik and I make eye contact and our faces light up as we recognize the ABBA song. We don't typically dabble in the disco genre, but ABBA is and always will be an exception.

"Living room routine?"

"Living room routine."

♜

I pant as the song finishes and switches to a slower tune. Hyde bounds over to us. "Hey."

"Aw, you missed Dancing Queen!" I breathe.

He wrinkles his nose and takes my hand as Nik walks away. "You like that stuff? Really?"

"Who doesn't like ABBA?" I pout.

"Me."

"Don't be so quick to judge. I have a few records of theirs if you'd like to take a chance on them. Either way, Nik and I did our routine and you missed it."

"You have a routine to that shit?"

I roll my eyes. "Shut up and dance with me."

He complies, leading me across the dance floor expertly.

"I didn't know you danced," I chuckle.

"I learned a few months before you came here."

"Who taught you?"

He looks away, a light crimson color dusting his cheeks. "No one."

"Tell me, who?" I giggle.

"Mrs. Forman."

"Oh, that's so cute," I coo, pinching his cheek mockingly.

"Shut it."

I laugh quietly and rest my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. As much as I hate to admit it, especially with the way I've been brought up, I feel at ease when I'm around him. At least, when he isn't being a complete asshole. I begin to think that I might consider him as more than just the stoner kid who deliberately annoys everyone.

I might consider him my friend.

A friend with benefits, of course. I suppose I'm lucky that he's hot and we're friends, as I typically never see the guys I hook up with again. It enables us to be around each other constantly without having to label ourselves as anything since the others exist in blissful ignorance. I don't mean that in a rude way, though. It's more like they'd be confused and grossed out if they found out about our... thing.

As I did with Nikolai, I inhale the soothing scent of cigarettes and pine as I snuggle deeper into Steven's chest. God, I love that smell. It reminds me of when we're alone together. We don't just fuck and leave each other. Sometimes, we sit and talk about various government conspiracies and shit like that while we eat my freshly-made cookies.

But when we aren't talking... I think of his soft lips on mine, his hands roaming my thighs...

I snap myself out of the thoughts as the song ends once again, pulling away from him.

He raises an eyebrow. "You okay?"

I nod, the traces of a smile still left on my face. "Yeah. I'm great."

♜

I'M CACKLING I PUT SO MANY REFERENCES IN THIS

Anyways, feedback, comments, and votes are always appreciated!

Love you guys,

Lissy

Edit: I am aware of the recent charges against Danny Masterson but I will not change the casting. I still picture Hyde as he appears in the show. Hate the actor, not the character.