（Ｉ ＣＡＮ＇Ｔ ＧＥＴ ＮＯ） ＳＡＴＩＳＦＡＣＴＩＯＮ

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰

♟

I lounge on my couch with reruns of The Brady Bunch playing in front of me. I munch on some cornflakes and only slightly pay attention to the program.

During the past few days, this has become my nightly routine, for the winter break is coming to an end and I have nothing better to do. I've managed to avoid the Formans, Pinciottis, and the little group of weirdos that hangs out in a certain basement since my altercation with Hyde.

And none of them have tried to call me, visit me, or reach out to me in any other way. It further proves his point. I've decided to give up on waiting for them to ask me back because they don't have reason to do so.

Before my cornflake phase, I would have gone out every night. I would have gotten drunk, maybe gotten picked up, stayed the night, and gone home. It isn't a grief thing, I'm just bored out of my mind. But even that has gotten old.

The phone on my counter rings. Who the hell is calling me, of all people?

I hold it to my ear. "Volkov."

"Anastasia!" Jackie's voice screeches.

"What do you want?" I growl.

"I need your help. Michael went for a drive today in his cousin's car and he got pulled over and he and I are going to make beautiful love once he gets out of jail and-"

"What?"

"Oh, the guys got arrested. But anyways, we-"

"Jackie, let's have this conversation later." I throw the device back onto its stand and toss my jacket on, not even worrying about putting some pants on along with my oversized t-shirt. 

On a normal occasion, I would change out of my pajamas and into something more presentable, but I don't have time. Arrested?

I scramble into my car and drive to the county jail as soon as I can. I bust in through the doors. The man at the desk looks up. 

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

I run a hand through my hair and lean against the counter, the long fabric of my unzipped jacket swishing against my legs.

"Do you have four boys in here? Eric Forman, Michael Kelso, Steven Hyde, and... a foreign kid?"

"...Yes."

"Okay, I need you to let them out."

He sets the stack of papers in his hand aside and scans me over, intrigued by my forwardness. "And why would I do that?"

I tap my foot on the floor. "What are they in for?"

"Stealing a car."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Stealing a- they went for a drive in Kelso's cousin's car. He borrowed it."

"Sorry. If you don't have any evidence I can't do anything about it. Although, if you'd like you can come in and talk to them."

I nod. "Thanks."

He asks another policeman to take over for him and leads me to a holding cell in the back. He opens the door. "You get fifteen minutes."

I mutter another short "thank you" and step in, closing the door behind me.

When I look at their faces, I'm shocked. Forman, Kelso, and Fez hold expressions of astonishment and relief, not sour ones that say "her again". But what really amazes me is that Hyde shares the same one.

No scowl. No hint of anger or bitterness in those bright blue eyes. Just surprise.

I come to my senses and stand behind them, slapping each one upside the head on each of my words.

"What... were... you... thinking?" I snap.

A chorus of quiet "ow"s erupts from the teenagers sitting across from me. I circle them so I'm looking straight at them. 

"Well? Can someone please enlighten me? Why the fuck are you all in jail?"

"They said I stole my cousin Sully's car, but I didn't!" Kelso yells defensively.

"If you didn't steal it, you wouldn't be here!"

They stay silent and I take a deep breath. I stare up at the ceiling. Don't kill them. Do not kill them.

"I leave you alone for no longer than a week and you're in jail." I glance back down at them. "Okay. Have you come up with some sort of plan if you end up staying here?"

"Well, I called Jackie," Kelso pipes up.

"Yeah, and she couldn't give less of a shit as long as she gets to do it with you."

I curse softly under my breath and pace, racking my brain for things to do that don't involve using my dad's money to bail them out. If he knew about this, he'd make me move. Probably farther away from Nikolai.

I can feel their eyes trained on me. Eric sighs. "I'll just try to convince the officer to let us out."

"Already tried it. Shit, what are we going to-"

The door swings open. "You guys are free to go," the man from earlier informs us.

I cross my arms. "What?"

"You were right. Turns out Sully borrowed it from his grandmother. She forgot and called in saying it was stolen."

"Of course I was," I grumble.

He hands me the files and I hold the door open for the boys, who are staring at me in awe.

"Are you coming?"

The scramble to get out of their seats and out of the cell. Kelso picks me up, enveloping me in a huge hug. I hate to admit it, but I almost feel like I've missed their idiocy. Except for Hyde's of course. He's still an ass. I smile softly, nuzzling my face into his neck. 

He smells like Jackie. He puts me down and we step outside. The guys get their car back and I start heading towards mine.

"Volkov!"

I stop. Not Anastasia. But not Princess. I don't know how to feel about that. "What is it, Hyde?"

He approaches me, slowing down to match my new pace. "Uh, can you give me a ride home?"

"Why?"

"I want to talk to you."

I chuckle dryly. "Steven Hyde wants to pour out his feelings to the girl he hates? Donna really did a number on you, didn't she?"

I watch his jaw clench and unclench from the corner of my eye.

"I said 'talk'. And that's all I want to do."

I purse my lips and unlock the vehicle. "Get in."

It takes him far too long to start speaking. We're almost to his house when he finally gets the balls to say something.

"Sorry."

My hand grips the steering wheel. "What are you apologizing for?"

In my peripheral vision, I see him sizing me up as if my question is a trap.

"For what I said."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you mean, Steven."

"I'm not kidding, Anastasia."

My eyes stay stuck on the winding road. "You weren't wrong either."

"Yes, I was."

"Then why haven't I heard from you guys since?"

"Because we all figured you wanted nothing to do with us! Nobody thought you genuinely liked us. We thought-"

"That I was stuck up and prissy and that I thought I was too good for you?"

"Well, yeah."

I hesitate. "That's fair." I pull into his driveway. "Okay. Bye."

He doesn't get out, instead, he turns in his seat to look at me. "Princess, I wasn't myself that night. Or, I was, until I kissed Donna."

I gasp sarcastically, wheeling on him with an incredulous look on my face. "Really?"

"I was angry at everything and I didn't mean what I said."

"I'm sure."

He runs a hand through his hair. "Jesus, Anastasia! I'm apologizing to you and actually talking to you and you don't even have the decency to take me seriously!"

I bite the inside of my cheek. I'm being a bitch. 

"Just... come back," he pleads discreetly. "Nobody wants to talk about you and it's awkward whenever you come up. I just want things to go back to normal."

I'm considered part of normal? I tell my consciousness to shut the fuck up.

I inspect his sunglass-less face. The tiny lines above his eyebrows where they crease ever so slightly. The pout of his parted lips as he stares at me expectantly. The determination in his eyes. He's serious. He's actually serious.

"Okay."

"Really?" His face lights up by the tiniest bit.

"Yeah. Just promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't hit on Donna anymore."

A sly grin spreads across his mouth. "Why? You jealous?"

I lightly hit his arm, laughing. "Get out, you big goof!"

"I knew you'd miss me."

♟

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

Love you guys,

Lissy