And her heart is breaking in front of me. And I have no choice,
'cause I won't say goodbye anymore ♫♪"
Not quite disco. Not quite rock. Something in-between. And the crowd
loved it.
"♫♪ I'll fix these broken things, repair your broken wings! And make sure
everything's alright (it's alright, it's alright), oh, oh♫♪"
The instrumental already included the background vocals for me.
"♫♪ My pressure on your hips, sinking my fingertips! Into every inch of
you because I know that's what you want me to do ♫♪"
Talia watched the performance and was a bit confused by the lyrics. "Is it
a massage?"
I walked to the left side of the stage and then to the right. The crowd
sang the chorus together with me now.
"♫♪ This love has taken its toll on me! She said goodbye too many times
before ♫♪"
"♫♪ Her heart is breaking in front of me! And I have no choice 'cause I
won't say goodbye anymore~~ ♫♪"
As I brought the song to a close, the crowd erupted thunderously.
People screamed. Whistled. Stomped their feet against the ground hard
enough that I could feel the vibrations through the stage.
I quickly turned around and paused the instrumental with my watch
before another song accidentally autoplayed.
When I faced the crowd again, thousands of voices were already
chanting."ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!"
I coughed lightly as the singing put pressure on my bruised ribs.
"Sorry, but that's it from me tonight. I hope that—"
"NOOOOOOO!!"
The collective despair genuinely startled me.
"Please sing one more!"
"HYDE!"
"COME ON!"
"PLEASE!"
"ONE MORE SONG!"
Some girls near the barricade were literally jumping up and down while
waving their hands desperately toward the stage.
I blinked beneath my sunglasses and looked toward Leslie helplessly.
She laughed and cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Do a cover song!"
The crowd exploded in approval immediately.
"YEAH!"
"COVER SONG!"
"ANYTHING!""WE DON'T CARE!"
I scratched my cheek awkwardly and asked, "What if it's both?"
The audience quieted slightly.
"A cover song. But rearranged enough that it sounds new."
"YESSSSS!!"
"PLAY IT!"
I nodded slowly.
"Alright then." I adjusted the microphone stand slightly. "The original
song is called 'Beggin'' by The Four Seasons. I changed it around a little
bit."
A little bit was a massive understatement.
I turned around and searched for Måneskin's version on my smartwatch.
Then I took a deep breath.
And started crooning soulfully.
"♫♪ Putttt your loooooviiiiing haaaaand ooooout, baby~ ;Cause I'mmm
Beeegggin'! ♫♪"
The crowd exploded almost instantly as the beats came.
Compared to "This Love," this song was dirtier. Rougher.
The rhythm had a swagger to it that fit the festival atmosphere perfectly.
…I lifted the microphone one last time while the crowd continued roaring
uncontrollably.
"With this song…" I coughed lightly and pressed a hand against my ribs.
"The festival's oficially over."
The audience immediately booed.
I laughed despite myself.
"I might organize another concert next month, so keep checking your
newspapers for updates."
The cheering immediately started up again.
I flashed a peace sign toward the crowd.
"Goodnight, everybody."
And before they could force me into another encore, I immediately
escaped backstage while thousands of people continued screaming my
name behind me.
"Ah. That was tiring." I sighed as I slumped down near the wall, clutching
my ribs.
Leslie looked taken aback. Tyrell rushed toward me and helped me stay
upright.
"Hyde. You okay?"
"Yeah. It really hurts when I sing." I replied, my face burning slightly with
fever. "Leslie, can you call my friends over here? I came with them."
"I can send you home," Leslie replied, her tone slightly irritated. "Or to
the hospital.""Nah, I just need painkillers. For a rib fracture, there's not much doctors
can do besides throwing pain meds at you anyway." I took out a pill
bottle and swallowed a painkiller.
"Are you sure?" Tyrell asked, concern flickering across his face.
"Yeah." I shrugged. "If you want to help me, you can deal with those
guys." I pointed behind him.
The managers from Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult, and Journey were all
standing there, trying to approach me.
"Mr. Hyde. Are you serious about music? Because we can help you
release your debut album—"
Tyrell immediately stepped in and escorted everyone away.
"Can't you people see he's injured? If you want to talk to him, come back
tomorrow. Not today." He spread his arms wide to block the managers
and forced them back.
Eric came over and helped me up, his face full of concern.
"Hyde. Leslie told me what happened. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Let's just go home."
The painkillers were already kicking in. I walked side by side with him
toward the car. Along the way, a lot of girls squealed and called out my
name.
Some even came up to ask me questions.
"Are you releasing an album soon?"
"Are you looking for a girlfriend?""Who's the girl you mentioned in the song?"
The five-hundred-meter walk felt like forever.
By the time I reached Eric's station wagon, Jackie and Fez approached
me excitedly.
"Hyde! That was amazing!" Fez nearly hugged me, but Jackie shoved
him aside and grabbed my arm first.
"Steven! You're like a rock star! You were seriously amazing! Oh my god,
I could literally sleep with you tonight."
I grimaced and pushed her forehead away with my free hand, shooing
her back.
"No. Where's Donna and Kelso?"
"They left first," Eric replied warily. "You're not really gonna do that, are
you?"
"Do what?" I asked, confused.
"You know… the bet?" he replied, swallowing nervously.
I looked at him blankly.
"I made a bet? With who?"
"You don't remember?" Jackie asked in confusion.
I took out my pain pills again and shook the bottle slightly.
"I barely even remember getting here. I've been popping these pills all
day long… Why were those people acting like I sang on stage or
something?""You don't—" A smile slowly spread across Eric's face. "You don't
remember. That's great."
"What's great?"
"Nothing."
Fez immediately tried to explain.
"You made a bet with Donna—"
"AH! Fez! No!" Eric interrupted quickly and shoved me gently toward the
car. "He's injured. It's better to tell him later."
…
In the Forman's basement. Suddenly I realized that my ribs weren't
hurting anymore. The cold patch on my face suddenly disappeared. The
bandages on my arm and chest also disappeared.
"Wait–"
I checked the system and it said, "Recording In Progress". Maybe it was
recording Eric or Red's plotline upstairs.
"Fez. Was I wearing a bandage before?" I asked Fez curiously.
He looked at me with confusion and replied, "You're wearing what now?
Are you high? You don't even ask me to join you in your circle?"
"No. Forget it, Fez." I replied.
Fez took out a Playboy magazine and suddenly said, "You should be
thankful to this magazine. I'm only letting this go because I want to test
out a few things on Jackie."
"Fez. We just came back from a concert, right?" I asked him."You really are high! You betrayer! Of course we've just come back from
a concert!" He yelled and walked away angrily.
I nodded in satisfaction as I realized it only changed our physical
condition, not our memories.
"Ah. I forgot to ask him if he remembers the fight. Did it change the
fighting event or just heal my wounds?"
While I was having some questions, Donna stomped to the basement
angrily and sat on the couch.
"What happened? No hanky-panky?" I asked teasingly.
"Do you know that Eric kept a stack of dirty magazines under his bed?"
Donna asked me angrily.
"Oh yeah." I grinned and said, "His treasure chest is exposed huh."
Mrs Forman suddenly walked down the stairs halfway and called me
sweetly, "Steven. Come upstairs! Leo is here!"
"Oh. Okay Mrs Forman." I agreed and stood up from my seat. Then, I
teased Donna, "Ha-ha! Your boyfriend's a huge pervert."
"Shut up Hyde! You don't even have a girlfriend!" Donna threw a throw
pillow at me.
"At least I don't have a stack of dirty magazines under my bed."
"You have a stack of dirty movies under your bed!" She snapped.
"Hey! That's art! There are no pornos in my collection!" I pointed my
finger at her and argued.I went upstairs and saw Leo in the living room. He wasn't wearing any
shoes, only black socks with a hole in it and he was eating a nut mix.
Grabbing some nuts, I asked them, "Hey. What's going on?"
Mrs Forman glanced at Red before taking a deep breath and said
excitedly, "Oh, good news, Steven. Your dad's coming over tonight."
My smile vanished instantly. "Screw that!"
I stormed of.
"No, Steven, it's a good thing, I think." Mrs Forman followed me from
behind.
"I have nothing to say to him!" I yelled.
"Well, we have fancy nut mix." She tried to convince me to stay, even
following me to the kitchen.
The doorbell rang, and Red opened the door. My dad– Bud, entered and
asked, "Hey, Red! Remember me?"
Red replied sarcastically, "Of course. I wasn't the one passed out in the
gutter."
Bud gufawed fakely and said, "Yeah, I had this weird condition where I'd
drink a case of beer and fall down."
He held Red's shoulder and asked, "Hey, Red. Man, you're looking good.
Have you lost…hair?"
He laughed again. Red looked at him flatly and said, "Steven will be right
out."
In the kitchen, Mrs Forman held my hand to stop me from leaving and
begged, "Steven. Just do me a favor, just this once.""Mrs Forman. You know that's unfair to me. I can't say no if you ask me
like that." I sighed, slightly irked.
"I know that you don't want to see him. But you never know. Maybe he
had changed. You can't know unless you met with him."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes slightly and entered the living room again.
"Hello, Bud." I greeted my dad.
He replied, standing by the piano, "Hi."
"I told you we don't need to pretend to be a family anymore. So why are
you here?" I asked rudely.
Mrs Forman gasped and said, "Steven. You don't talk that way to your
father. Sit down first."
I sighed and sat down reluctantly.
Red asked Bud playfully, "So, Bud, can I get you a drink?"
Mrs Forman laughed awkwardly.
"A drink! A drink of soda." Mrs Forman faked giddiness. " A nice drink of
soda, Bud. Plus, we have cheese."
Bud walked past Leo and sat next to me.
"Soda sounds great, Kitty. Yeah, I'm off the hooch." He said casually.
"Oh, really? So, no more boozing." Mrs Forman whispered the sentence
to my face as she handed him a cup of soda.
"I heard him." I said to her with annoyance."Yeah. I can finally see clearly." Bud said while Leo held onto his
shoulder.
"Isn't it great, man?" Leo asked, already sounding completely fried.
"It is." Bud turned toward me again. "I got a job now. An apartment too.
Color TV."
"Ooh, a color TV. That's nice." Mrs. Forman tried to encourage him
gently.
"Wow, Bud. Really moving up in the world, huh?" I said, my temper
already nearing its limit. "Color TV? Man… I remember when I was a kid,
I didn't even have a father."
"Steven…" he called softly, his voice defeated.
"I told you to stay away from me." I stood up sharply, and he immediately
stood up too.
"You want another kid? Go make another one."
The words came out colder than I expected.
"I already learned how to live without you." I pointed at him angrily. "And
I'm not gonna stand here pretending you had anything to do with the
person I became."
Nobody said a word.
"So I'll say it again." I glared at him directly. "Stay away from me."
Silence filled the room after my outburst.
Even Leo looked sobered up for a second.Red finally broke the tension with a dry snort. "Well, well. Who could
have foreseen this terrible…"
"Can it!" Mrs Forman snapped at him.
…
In the basement, I taunted Donna and said, "Did I make a bet with
someone at the festival?"
Donna grinned slightly as she said, "You made a bet with Jackie. If you
sing on the stage, you can touch her boobs."
"Oh god." I shuddered, face full of horror. "Then I went up there to sing?"
Eric nodded and said, "Yeah. I tried to stop you, but you slipped away."
"Damn." I cursed slowly. "I don't want that boob."
The two of them snickered.
I smirked and said, "You guys really thought you could get away with it."
Both of their faces froze.
"Now, give me my reward Donna. Let me honk that thonk."
Donna gasped. "You son of a bitch! You remember!"
"You were faking it?" Eric asked in shock. "Why?" He exclaimed
desperately.
I smirked and said, "Because you're driving me home. I don't want you
to go crazy and drive us off a cliff or something."
He immediately covered Donna's body with his back. "Donna run!""How can I run with you on top of me, you dillhole!" Donna shoved him to
the side and almost ran away when Fez blocked her way.
"Fez. It's fine." I told him.
"Wait, it's fine?" Donna was taken aback.
"Yeah, I'm not going to force her if she's uncomfortable." I stood up and
approached them. "But, they'll have to make it worth my while, going up
there and singing while being injured… You know, taking a huge risk up
there."
Donna gritted her teeth in frustration. Eric immediately stepped in and
said, "I'll give you all of the money I have saved."
"How much?" Fez asked.
"One thousand three hundred dollars." Eric replied with a whimper.
Donna was shocked. "You had that much money?!"
"I was saving up for a car!" Eric turned to her and whined. "Now I'll have
to use to– to prevent my friend from having his way with your breast."
Donna gasped, fully ofended. "Maybe I should just let him touch me!"
She said tauntingly. Then she yelled, "Like you touched yourself to all of
the women in those magazines!"
Eric stammered and said, "F-Fine."
"So? Am I honking it or not?" I asked, confused.
Eric turned to Donna and gestured for her to move forward.
"Fine!" Donna yelped, grabbed my hand roughly and pushed it inside her
shirt. She honked herself with my hand and blushed."That's it!" She slapped my hand away.
I grinned and said, "That's great. But wasn't I supposed to see it too?
Like bare–"
"You've already seen it before!" She blushed and snapped at me.
I nodded and said, "Yeah. I did."
When we went skinny dipping in the lake, when I accidentally walked
into her room when she was changing, and plenty more times as we
grew up together.
Fez approached me and asked, "How did it feel?"
"Very soft." I replied.
"Damn. I want to honk it too!" He whined. "Donna–"
"NO!" Donna shot him down immediately.