JULY 1978

Just as Archie had done just two days before, Michael examined himself in the cafe window. He wondered why he was compelled to do so, especially since he was only hanging out with his Buggy. He couldn't be bothered to read too far into it.

Michael entered the cafe and spotted Juniper sitting at a table in the back. "Sorry I'm late," he flushed. "I thought you'd get here a bit later."

A small smirk rested on her lips. "I work here, Mike."

His face fell. "Oh."

Juniper laughed, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, though."

He smiled softly at her, just thinking for a moment. That was his Buggy. He still found it hard to believe that she was sitting in front of him again. His eyes followed her small hands as she nudged a tiny cake toward him.

"What's this?" he asked her curiously.

"Chocolate raspberry cheesecake," she shrugged. "From the bakery down the street. I want you to try it."

Michael suddenly noticed that she didn't have a treat of her own. "Well, that's not fair to you. I can't."

"Trust me, it's fine." He watched as Juniper picked up the fork before her and broke off a piece of the cake, holding it out to him.

Stubbornly, he shook his head. "No."

"Come on," June teased, gently prodding at his lips with the prongs on the fork.

"I-"

"Gotcha." As soon as Michael had opened his mouth, June had slipped the fork in and successfully shut him up with a mouthful of cheesecake.

Michael sneered at her, but he was unable to withhold his little giggles. "Y'know," he said, his words muffled by the pastry in his mouth, "if you're trying to cut down on sweets for your weight or something, you really don't have to, 'cause you're probably the hottest-"

Juniper was quick to cut him off with a light pink dusting her cheeks. "No, it's not for that. I just..." she trailed off before picking up again hesitantly, "...a few days ago, I ate way too many sweets with Archie and-"

Michael swallowed and frowned. "Archie?"

Juniper bit her lip. He was looking at her in that puppy-dog way. Like he was curious and confused, but also slightly hurt. She didn't want to hurt him. But she didn't know how to keep herself from doing so. "Yes."

"Who's that?"

"That's the guy you saw when you and Donna first got here. You know, dark hair, blue eyes...?"

"Oh, I got it." Michael's face was expressionless, which truthfully frightened June. It was a stark contrast from the consistently bubbly and animated boy she knew. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Oh, God. That was the one question she hoped he wouldn't ask. She couldn't lie to him, though, could she? No, it was too late for that. "Yeah, uh... he is."

Juniper could have sworn she heard him mutter "Damn!" under his breath, but she quickly brushed it off as something her mind fabricated.

Attempting to lighten the mood, she nudged the plate toward him once again. "Are you going to finish this or what?"

Michael sent her a playful glare before shoving the remainder of the cake into his mouth. "Delicious."

Juniper rolled her eyes and stood. "Come on, dillhole."

Michael scrambled out of his seat and followed her out of the cafe. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere special," she shrugged, immediately regretting her word choice after realizing what it implied.

"Somewhere special?" Michael repeated.

"Yeah," she hummed. "There's a nice little park that we can go to."

Michael smiled. "That sounds good."

Juniper pulled him by the hand into a bus they just barely reached at the end of the block.

Giggling, she nearly fell over as he pulled her into his chest and held onto the bars on the roof of the bus. Juniper felt a strange sense of nostalgia wash over her as if she had been in almost the exact situation before. It confused her; she didn't often go on the bus with Archie, and when she did, he didn't hold her in that way.

Juniper could smell something like ginger from his t-shirt, and it reminded her of her grandmother's gingerbread men back in Florida.

The two arrived at their stop and June ushered him over to the park, prodding at a swing seat that had water pooled on it. "Damn," she frowned.

Michael watched as she searched through her purse pocket for (presumably) a napkin. "Wait."

Juniper looked up from her bag. "Hm?"

He grabbed her wrist and swiftly pulled her into his lap after sitting down on the only other swing. "There," he grinned cheekily at her. "We can share."

"I'm ninety percent sure this isn't safe, Mike," she giggled.

Michael wrapped his arms around her middle and buried his nose into the crook of her neck. She smelled amazing, he thought. He found himself wanting to kiss her. If he just brushed her hair back, he would be able to see the little freckles that dotted the back of her neck. Maybe- no. She's sitting on your lap, you idiot. Stop thinking about her like that. Dead puppies. Broccoli. Big Rhonda. Okay, there we go.

"I'll just have to hold you tighter then, huh?"

Michael was sure she could hear his heart beating out of his chest, and she was certain that he could feel how hot her skin had just gotten.

To his surprise, she covered his own hand with her own. "I wouldn't mind."

"What's that supposed to mean, Buggy?" he teased, smirking triumphantly as she turned with a dramatic gasp.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, asshole!"

"Well, where else is it supposed to be?"

"Tell me about you and Donna! How has everything been?"

"Oh," he hummed. "Well, Midge moved to California, and Donna and Eric broke up, so-"

"Hold on, go back!" Juniper giggled. "Donna and Eric finally got together and I didn't get to see it?"

"Sucks, doesn't it?" he chortled. "It was a train wreck."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"And you said you came here because this Ana girl left? Was she, like, a girlfriend or something?"

Michael swallowed. "No, uh... we kissed once. That was it, though!"

June eyed him. "Well, surely you've had girlfriends. There's literally no way you've been single for four years."

"And why's that? D'you think I'm pretty?"

She shoved his shoulder. "Shut up."

Michael bit his tongue. "I've probably had fewer girlfriends than you've had boyfriends, anyway."

"Try me," she smirked.

"I've had three."

"I've had two. Who are yours?"

"Jackie Burkhart, Pam Macy, and Laurie."

Juniper wrinkled her nose. "Aren't they all whores, though?"

"Only Pam and Laurie are," Michael reasoned.

"Jackie Burkhart, though. Interesting."

"Yeah, I broke up with her really recently."

"Oh."

Juniper noticed a sort of wistfulness in his tone when he talked about her. He had obviously cared about that sparky little bitch. June wondered just how much he still loved her. She was so deep in her thoughts that she had barely noticed his question. "Who have you dated?"

"A guy in sophomore year, which didn't last long, and Archie."

Michael attempted to make his question subtle but subsequently failed. "And did you and Archie last long?"

"We're lasting," June said carefully. "I haven't been dating him for a long time."

"How long have you guys been together?"

"We started dating two days ago."

Michael did the math in his head. He was already in town at that time. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"He's lucky, then."

Juniper tucked a strand of hair behind her pierced ear. "You shouldn't be flirting with me, you know. Especially when I have a boyfriend."

"Don't flatter yourself, Bugs," he taunted, poking her stomach. "Who said I was flirting with you?"

She raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. "You're not the most subtle of people, Michael Kelso."

"Well, you know what they say," Michael huffed. "Subtlety is the worst policy."

Juniper rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Shut up and take me home."

≛

(not) brought to you by "buggy"

(not) brought to you by mini cheesecakes

(not) brought to you by i was made for lovin' you - kiss

brought to you by lissy <3