ＴＩＮＹ ＤＡＮＣＥＲ

𝔢𝔩𝔱𝔬𝔫 𝔧𝔬𝔥𝔫

♜

I steal a sip of Hyde's soda, sticking my tongue out at the scowl that forms on his face.

"Man, get your own drink!" he complains.

I beam at him. "Today's a bustling and busy day at The Hub, Steven. I wouldn't want to burden the employees with more orders."

He wrinkles his nose. "Your voice is making me want to throw up right now."

"I'll be drinking your soda while you're at it."

He rolls his eyes and I chuckle quietly, satisfied with my win.

"Eric, I see that you are not at church today," Fez points out.

"Yeah, since I'm not a virgin anymore, there's nothing left to pray for," Eric shrugs.

"Man, my life sucks," Michael sighs as the boys join Hyde and me. "Ever since Jackie left, I'm no good at pinball."

I suck in a breath. "I hate to break it to you, Mike, but you weren't ever really that good at pinball."

"Let's look at the bright side of not having Jackie," Steven says, draping an arm around my shoulders. "First, no Jackie. And second, now you can do all of the things you couldn't do when you were with her. Everything."

"Oh man, you're right!" Kelso gasps. "You know, Jackie never wanted me to... cheat on her with another woman, or... grow a beard, and I always wanted to! Now I can let it grow out!"

"May I grow one, too?" Fez asks politely.

"I don't know, Fez. The two of us growing beards together. Isn't that kind of girly?"

I drink a bit more of the soda. "Oh, yeah. There is nothing girls love more than growing beards."

"Together."

"Yep. Girls grow beards together all the time."

"Well, I just figure..." Fez grins. "The more the hairier!"

I laugh quietly with him while the other boys stay silent. Hyde snatches the cup away from me. "If you thought that was funny, you don't deserve my soda."

"Come on, that was a good pun!" I pout.

"No, it really wasn't," Eric says stoically.

"Why do you not like my jokes?" Fez fumes.

"I think your jokes are really funny, Fez," I assure him.

"You just confirmed that you are not, in fact, getting another sip, Princess," Hyde informs me.

"Can I have a sip?"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"Please?"

"Fine."

♜

I gently tug on Steven's curls, his lips setting my skin on fire as they slowly move along my shoulders.

His hands hitch my skirt up to reveal my thighs, and I'm about to take his shirt off when a loud voice rings through the basement.

I suppose it's our fault for deciding to make out in Hyde's room in the middle of the day when everyone is in the main area, but that doesn't make them any less annoying.

I sit back on my heels. "Man, they're killing the mood," I grumble.

"Think about how I felt every time I brought a girl back here," he sighs.

I smile in a sickeningly sweet fashion. "You know what else kills the mood? You mentioning bringing other girls back here while we're making out."

"Hold on, I'll try to get them to be quiet."

I climb off of his lap and wait patiently as he exits the room.

"What about Hyde? I mean, he doesn't have to go," I hear Laurie complain.

I listen to his boots scrape against the bottom of the floor. I assume that he sees Kitty or Red and has decided to change his course of action.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the eastern philosophies, and the teachings of Muhammad, I find that organized religions have corrupted those beliefs to justify countless atrocities throughout history." He appears in the doorway, holding a pop. "Were I to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

As he closes the door behind him, I smirk from his cot. "And Lord knows you hate a hypocrite?"

"And Lord knows I hate a hypocrite."

I laugh quietly, pulling him closer by his belt loops and kissing him softly. "Nice cover, by the way."

"I try," he grins. "Want a pop?"

"Thanks."

He guides me so we lean against the wall. We sit in silence for a moment, staring at the table that was once decorated by me but has gone back to its initial rugged state.

I rest my head on his shoulder and he puts his arm around me, but I realize that we haven't sat alone like this for a while. The last time it happened was maybe before I started dating James.

I expect to feel uncomfortable, but that never comes. It's almost natural, how we can stay still, not say anything, and still be relaxed. I sigh deeply and contentedly.

"What, do I smell good, Princess?" he teases.

I rest my free hand on his knee. "You know you do, asshole."

"I don't seem like an asshole now."

"You always seem like an asshole."

He chuckles, his chest shaking as he laughs. "I can't say you're wrong there."

After a moment, I examine the pop. "Why'd you have to get lemon?"

"That's the best flavor!"

"Liar. Your favorite flavor is cherry."

"No, it's not."

I grin and turn to face him. "It is! Your favorite flavor is cherry but you say it's lemon because you don't want to seem like you're basic!"

"You know me too well."

"I know."

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Do you know why my favorite flavor is cherry?"

I bite my lip with a smile, setting the stick to the side. "Why?"

He kisses me momentarily, his touch sweet and slow. Just how I like it.

"Because it tastes like you."

I feel my face heat up and I manage to mumble, "Flirt," before connecting our lips, my hand snaking up to his neck.

The door swings open and Hyde starts to pull away, but I bring him back, not caring about whoever's at the entryway to the room.

"Gross," Eric says, causing me to reluctantly face him.

"Cock-blocker," I scowl.

"Ew!"

"Oh, grow up."

"Why is she so salty?"

Steven smirks. "I think she was turned on."

"Okay, ew again."

"You decided to come in here," he shrugs.

Eric shakes it off. "Whatever. We're starting a Circle if you guys want to join."

I glance at Hyde, seriously contemplating skipping it before standing up. We enter the main area of the basement, which is already filled with smoke.

I light the incense and reach for the joint to take a puff.

I don't notice that Leo is there until Steven greets him. 

"Hey, Hyde! Hey, Spacious!" he beams.

"Hey, Leo," I smile, kissing his forehead and lodging myself in between him and Hyde.

"You should really go to church, Eric," Kelso advises, scratching at the stubble on his neck and chin. "Because God, he sees everything. That's why I live my life good and pure."

"Kelso, you were dating two girls at the same time," the scrawnier boy says.

"Yeah, but God didn't see that. I was in my van, and he can't see through lead."

Fez runs his fingers over his newly-grown mustache. "I don't want to get into a religious argument, but my God could kick your God's ass."

"God is dead, man," Hyde nods, obviously feeling the effects of the weed. "It said so in Time magazine."

"No, man. I sat next to God once on the bus," Leo objects. "He told me the meaning of life and then he gave me a pretzel."

"So what's the meaning of life?" I ask.

"Uh... I don't know, man. I guess I should have written it down. But it was a good pretzel, man!"

I giggle as quietly as possible, which still isn't very quiet.

"Maybe this life doesn't matter, you know?" says Eric. "Maybe we're not even here. No. Maybe I'm here but you're not!" His breath becomes ragged and he whimpers, "Hello?"

"You know what the best thing God ever did was?" Kelso grins. "Boobs!"

"Yes," Fez agrees. "And God said, 'Let there be boobs!' And then there were boobs."

"Man, boobs are overrated," Hyde drawls.

"That's because you haven't touched any in a while!" says Kelso.

Eric is still questioning his existence, but musters up the courage to add, "Hyde and Ana were just making out!"

"Yes, but that doesn't help his argument very much," Fez sighs.

My jaw drops. "You did not just say that."

"I apologize, Anastasia. I believe I did."

"Oh, you're asking for it!" I struggle against Leo's grip.

"Man, stop it, I'm trying to hug you!" he frowns.

"Leave her alone, man," Hyde spits at Fez. "I think she's gorgeous."

I stop fighting and let Leo squish his cheek onto mine. "Thanks, Steven."

"Yeah, whatever."

♜

Kelso stares back at me as he stands in the doorway. "What?" he groans.

"Why did you shave?"

"What do you mean?"

I gently touch the skin on his jaw. "You shaved your stubble off."

"Yeah." He closes the door behind him and picks up a cookie. I've been baking more often, as I leave cookies out for him when he comes over.

His favorite is, of course, gingerbread, but every once in a while, I switch it up.

I swat his hand away from his mouth to examine the clean shave. "You looked good with the stubble!"

He raises his eyebrows and slowly takes a bite of the treat. "Really?"

"Yeah! It was a sort of rugged vibe."

"Well, Jackie didn't like it."

I sit him down on my couch. "Are you kidding? She couldn't take her eyes off of you."

He rolls his eyes. "I know! She hated it that much."

"No, she thought it was hot."

He perks up. "She did?"

"Yep. But you ruined it."

"Oh, crap."

"Look, you don't need to please Jackie, anyway. If you want to grow it back, go ahead."

He hesitates for a moment. "Hey, Ana."

"Yeah?"

"Did you think it was hot?"

I shrug. "It was pretty hot," I chuckle.

"That's sad. I don't think I'll grow it back, just 'cause Fez's grows more quickly and it makes me insecure."

I smile softly, letting him lay his head in my lap so I can play with his hair. "You look amazing either way, Mike. Don't let the speed of your facial hair growth put you down."

"Yeah, I do look pretty cool," he giggles as he plays with the tops of my striped socks. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, you're also hot," he grins innocently, rolling over to look up at me.

"Thanks."

"No, I mean really. Even though you're short and your boobs aren't huge. Sometimes less is more, you know?"

I laugh openly. "Thank you, Michael."

"Anytime."

♜

Whoo okay yeah this chapter was REAL short but I loved this episode and didn't want to exclude it

Also we love the Hyde and Ana moments lol

I know I said there'd be more drama with Hyde and Jackie and all that but that's coming up soon bc that's around the end of season 2/start of season 3 which is right about where we are rn muahaha

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

Love you guys,

Lissy