ＰＡＩＮＴ ＩＴ， ＢＬＡＣＫ

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰

♟

I yawn as I come back to consciousness, noting the way Hyde nuzzles his face into my neck from behind me.

"Morning," he mumbles lazily.

"Hi." I gently pry his arms off of my waist and stand up to stretch.

"Stay right there, you're perfectly blocking my view of the sun."

I laugh quietly. "Get up. Donna told me we're painting the water tower tonight and we need to make a plan."

"Plans are overrated."

I tear the curtains away from the window so the light shines directly into his eyes and hurl a pillow at him. "Get up."

"Fine," he grumbles.

I feel his eyes on me as I slide my hoodie off over my head and sift through my drawers to search for a bra. A shiver passes through me when I feel his warm fingers clasp it closed. His hands trail down to my waist and I chuckle, choosing an outfit for the day while he grips my hips.

"What?"

"I was just thinkin'... what about some morning sex?"

I turn in his arms and raise my eyebrow. "Did you not hear me when I said we have to go to Forman's?"

"I mean, we don't have to-"

I kiss him quickly on the lips. "If you're patient, you might just get what you crave oh so much."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll buy you a hotdog any day."

I push past him and get dressed. "Meet me in the kitchen in ten."

After washing my face, brushing my teeth, and doing my makeup, I find him surrounded by food on the counter. Nikolai's Rolling Stones shirt is inside out, with the tag tucked in, to hide the logo.

"This is not a breakfast," I sneer.

"Make some breakfast, then," he shrugs.

I make sandwiches out of (store-bought) bagels. Lox, cream cheese, and dill. He wrinkles his nose. 

"Why are you putting grass in that?"

"It's an herb, dumbass." I slide one to him. "Try it. It'll never be good as it would be in New York, but it's close enough."

I join him on the smooth marble as he bites into it. 

"So?" I grin hopefully.

"It's alright."

"Yes!" I cheer. "You like it!"

"I do not like it," he scoffs, his mouth full of another bite.

"Lie all you want, but that's not true."

I tuck the tag of his top in once again after it flips back out. "You know you don't have to wear it inside out?"

"Yes, I do."

"But you like the Stones!"

"But I would never say they're better than Zeppelin."

I set my bagel down and hop off the counter to stand between his legs and face him. "Is that the only reason?"

"No, it's just," he looks away from me and sighs, "Princess, let's not tell the others that this happened."

"I'm cool with that. In fact, it's better. Kelso and Fez won't be all over me and the girls won't  ridicule me."

"So  does that mean we can do it again?"

I finish off my breakfast and beam at him. "We'll see."

Once we clean up the kitchen and I manage to trick him into wearing the band tee the right way, we start walking to Eric's. Although he is my next-door neighbor, my house is considerably bigger than his, so it takes some time to get to his basement at a leisurely pace.

Everyone is already there when we come in, so we take the last available seats, Hyde's chair and the top of the freezer.

"Hey, guys," Donna greets. 

"Hi," I smile.

"Where have you two been?"

"I slept in."

"Edna."

"I see," she nods. "Well, either way, we need to figure out what we're doing on the water tower."

"What about 'it'?" Kelso snickers.

Eric smacks him. "Hey, that's my girlfriend!"

I locate a notepad and a pencil near me. Instead of leaning on the cooler or the table like a normal, merciful person, I press my body to Hyde's back and rest the notepad on the top of his head, just to fuck with him. What can I say? He's hot and I love pissing him off. The perfect combination.

"What about boobs?" Fez chimes.

I jot it down and continue to take all of the other suggestions. Once we have a hefty list, I pace around the room and read it out.

"So far we have 'it', boobs, 'dillhole', 'dumbass', the finger, a dick, Kelso's face, and a naked chick."

"None of those are good enough," Hyde huffs. "We need something that really captures the vibe of our friend group."

I stop short, and Fez, who has decided to follow my walking pattern, barrels into me. My pencil sails into the air and to the ground.

"What about a pot leaf?" I suggest.

"Yes!"

"That's perfect!"

Before picking up the writing utensil, I recognize yet another way to mess with Hyde and, at the same time, capture the attention of the rest of the guys. Laurie chose to teach me this move the last time we spoke on the phone. 

I slowly bend down to pick it up and my skirt rides up. I smile devilishly as I hear hoots of applause from the boys. Donna luckily brushes it off as an accident that I have just shown off my thighs for her friends to see, so she just hits Eric. 

Steven, however, isn't as calm. He crosses his legs silently and his face heats. Mission accomplished. Completely unnecessary mission, but mission accomplished.

"So we'll meet up at the tower at nine tonight to paint a pot leaf? Hyde, you bring the spray paint. Anastasia, pick half of the guys up."

"Got it."

"Okay. I'm gonna go home and take a nap. I'm still tired from last night," I inform.

Hyde stands abruptly. "Edna's riding me about not being home enough, so I've got to go see if she wants anything."

He follows me outside. As soon as the door shuts, he pins me up against the wall and kisses me hungrily.

I rest my hands on his chest and push him away slightly. "You are very desperate," I smirk.

"God, Princess, you can't do that," he whispers.

"Why not? None of them figured out that we fucked."

He shushes me. "You can't do that because it's hot and I've seen you naked, man, and it-"

"It gives you needs?"

He gives me a look. 

"Fez's words, not mine."

"Just don't do that, okay? It's distracting."

I tilt my head teasingly. "Well, thanks for the compliment."

He trails kisses down my jawline and my neck, but I put my hands on his shoulders to stop him. 

"What?" he hisses.

"Let's not do this here." I take his hand and drag him up the stairs to run to my house. 

I laugh openly as he tosses me onto my couch and hovers over me. A few minutes later, our shirts are off and we're in the midst of a heated makeout session when the phone rings.

Steven tries to hold me down by my waist but fails as I reach over him to grab the device. "Hello?"

"Hey, little sis."

I climb off of the boy below me. "Hi, Nikolai!"

"Well, you sound awfully chipper."

"Oh, shut it. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know in advance that Mama and Papa are visiting me right now, so they'll probably be in Point Place soon."

My stomach churns at the thought of seeing them in person. I suppose I'm excited that my parents have finally decided to acknowledge me, but I know that I'll always like it better without them around. "Oh."

Hyde seems to notice my change in tone because his forehead creases minimally. I wave him off as Nikolai continues to talk.

"Yeah. Dad says he has to speak to you or whatever."

"Do you have any idea what it's about?"

"No. Sorry. I just wanted to let you know."

Shit. Did I do something wrong? I take my bottom lip in between my teeth as I realize that I'll have to go back to my cold self while he stays here. That I'll have to pretend to fake everything. That I'll have to be the same as I was when I first came to this town.

"Thank you, Nik." I force a smile onto my face, though I don't know who I'm smiling for.

"See you whenever."

"Love you."

"Bye."

I drop the phone onto its platform and exhale loudly, combing my hair to the side. Hyde watches me curiously. 

"What's going on?" he questions.

I shake my head and kiss his cheek. "Nothing." I pick my brother's tee up off of the floor and toss it to him.

He glances at me warily before deciding that it isn't his business and puts the shirt on. I get myself dressed. "I have to clean my house so it's best if you leave."

"Alright. Another time, then?" His eyes are hopeful as he stands.

"Sure," I reply, my mind somewhere else.

"See you tonight."

♟

That evening, the girls and I sit on the ledge of the water tower while the guys paint a misshapen cannabis leaf on it.

"Oh, my god," Jackie sighs, in awe. "From up here, Point Place looks just like Paris."

"You think that looks like Paris?" Donna sneers. "No wonder you think Kelso could be a model!"

"Woah, I could so be a model!" the mentioned boy assures us.

"He could," I shrug.

"Come on, man, shut up and keep painting!" Hyde orders bitterly.

"It's done!"

"Gentlemen, we've finally done it," Eric announces. "A pot leaf on the water tower!"

Hyde glares up at it. "It doesn't look like a pot leaf. It looks like a hand giving the finger."

"It doesn't have to look perfect, Hyde, it's art!" Michael scoffs.

"Get up and make it better!"

"Fine!" He climbs back onto the railing and keeps reaching further to the end of the leaf until, to Jackie's dismay, he falls backward and into the trees.

"Oh my god, Michael!" Jackie screams.

"Hey, Kelso!" Hyde yells.

"Yeah?"

"How's it look from down there?"

"It looks like it's giving me the finger!"

We scramble to get him to the Formans' house. 

"This is so stupid!" Jackie complains. "We should just take him to the hospital."

Kelso follows her, clutching his arm. "No, then my dad will find out-" He wails in pain.

"Okay, my mom's a nurse," Eric volunteers. "I'm going to go wake her up and we'll see if we can... fix him."

"Just don't wake up Red, though. He'll kill us all," Steven warns.

"Gee, you think?"

He retreats up the stairs and returns just as quickly as he came up. "Okay, let's go. Everybody, hop in the car and let's go now."

"Where's your mom?" Kelso ponders.

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk about my mother!"

While the gang takes him to the hospital, I reluctantly part ways with them to go to sleep early. I can't look like a mess when my parents visit.

♟

I wake up to my doorbell ringing. Shit!

I check the time. Nine o'clock in the fucking morning. I scramble to get dressed and make myself as presentable as possible. I skid down the stairs and, in record time, open the door. 

My mother towers over me and scans me over disdainfully while my father offers a small smile.

"Zdrastvuyte, Mama. Papa," I greet in Russian. "Please, come inside."

They follow me in silence as I cower behind the counter, swiftly transferring some store-bought cupcakes to a plate and setting it on the coffee table in front of them. They don't touch them, but they scold me for not being a good hostess if I don't offer food.

I'm about to say something like "Long time, no see!" when I remember who I'm supposed to be.

"What brings you here?" is what I go for instead.

"We just wanted to say hello to our favorite daughter," Dad nods.

"Alexei, don't lie. It's rude," my mother snaps. Ironic.

"Morana, we haven't seen her in months," he hisses.

"I don't care. Tell her."

My eyes flit between them, not unlike they did the day I left New York. "Tell me what?"

My father leans forward on his elbows. "You've been spending time with the children of the neighbors, yes?"

I nod warily.

"Eric Forman, Steven Hyde, Michael Kelso, Donna Pinciotti, the foreign one, and Jackie Burkhart?" 

"How did you know that they hang out together?" I inquire anxiously.

His lips curl into a coy grin. "Kukla, you should know by now that we have our ways. Regardless, the Jacqueline girl, you cannot be with her any longer. Her father has become an enemy of Volkov Enterprises and we can't have you near her. She may be a spy for him."

"Papa, I really doubt that. And there's no way I can avoid her. She's always with the others."

My mother speaks directly to me for the first time. "Then I forbid you from socializing with any of them."

♟

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

Love you guys,

Lissy