[Hyde POV]
"What—no. Kelso. We're only here to block him. Not to fight." Eric gulped and raised both of his
hands in defeat. "Please don't punch me."
"Steven." Red and Kitty suddenly came down the stairs.
"Oh god, what is happening now?" I threw my head back in frustration.
Kitty said nervously, "Steven, we heard about your little outrage this morning. We'd like to talk
to you about it."
Red said, "No, Kitty. He doesn't need to talk about it. But he does need to apologize to his
friends. You don't burden your friends with your outbursts just because you can't control
yourself."
I sighed and said, "Alright. I'm sorry, Kelso."
Kelso smiled and said, "No, you don't need to apologize to me. I'm fine. I'm tough as a nail."
"You cried!" Eric snapped at him.
"That's not true at all! I got dust in my eye!" Kelso stomped his feet in frustration.
"And to Jackie too," Kitty said slowly.
"No." I shook my head, which confused everyone.
"He's right. I'm the one who should apologize. I took the necklace without asking, and I crossed a
line there," Jackie interjected. She turned to me and said, "So, Steven. Will you forgive me?"
I paused and looked at her. Mrs. Forman smiled in anticipation.
"No," I said flatly, which startled everyone.
"Steven. She's really sorry for what she did," Mrs. Forman tried to persuade me.
"No," I said again, crossing my arms. Donna and Fez entered through the inner basement stairs.
Donna asked, "Did we miss anything?"
Eric replied, his eyes still glued to me, "Yeah. You're missing out on the spectacle of your life."
"Steven, I'm really sorry—" Jackie started, but I interrupted her.
"Zip it. Alright, let me make things clear. I don't like you. I only tolerated you because you're
dating my best friend," I said venomously.
"But right now, I don't think I can tolerate you anymore. So if you see me, turn away. Don't talk
to me, don't bother me, don't even get near me. You understand?"
Jackie's mouth dropped slightly as tears pooled in her eyes. Then she ran away.
"Oh, that's it. I'm going to kick your ass now," Kelso tried to hit me, but Fez and Eric held him
back.
I entered my room while everyone stared at me. [Favorability meter – (-30)]
"Oh, fuck off." I chased the system notification away.
…
Half an hour later, I heard a soft knock on the door.
Mrs. Forman said sweetly, "Steven, I brought you some cookies and hot cocoa."
I opened the door and said, "Mrs. Forman, I don't feel like cookies."
"Oh, but Steven, you love cookies." She made her way into the room, even taking off her shoes.
She put the tray on my table and said, "You're really angry. I think you have low blood sugar.
You're tired from your trip, right?"
I sighed, feeling like a dirtbag for making her worry like this. She was the closest thing I had to
a mother, so I sat down and drank the cocoa.
"Okay. Now that we've taken some time to calm down, why don't you tell me about the necklace? Why is it so important to you?"
She tapped the desk, acting casual, like it wasn't a big matter.
I paused for a few seconds, deeply contemplating whether I should tell her.
"I was going to give it to Victoria," I confessed.
Mrs. Forman gasped, her smiling face turning into horrified understanding. "Oh… is that why you were going to her house?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to ask her to be my girlfriend. But…" I sighed. "…well, you know."
Mrs. Forman nodded slightly. "Oh, you poor boy." She hugged me and kissed the top of my head.
"I know it's hard, but you really shouldn't explode on Jackie like that. Isn't she your friend?"
I furrowed my brows. "Mrs. Forman, it's because she's a friend that I'm asking her to stay away."
"Huh? Honey, just spill it out. I promise I won't tell," she urged casually again.
I smirked. "You won't tell, but you can write it down."
She was taken aback. "Alright. I won't write it down, I won't tell—"
"No charades, no Speak & Spell, no cutting out newspaper articles, or any written words to show it
to anyone else—"
"ALRIGHT!" She raised her voice. "The secret will die with me."
She gestured for me to spill, a grin on her face. My eyes shifted around until I finally decided to
say it.
"Kelso's cheating on Jackie with Laurie."
"…What?" Mrs. Forman was taken aback again. Her expression collapsed. "Laur—Laurie? My daughter, Laurie?"
"Yeah," I said flatly.
"So—so you want to protect your friend Michael?" Kitty asked, slightly angry and baffled.
"No. I don't care what happens to Kelso." I said flatly. "I'd look forward to seeing it blow up in
his face. But I know what it's like to see betrayal firsthand. It will… break her. She loves Kelso
more than I loved Victoria."
"You love—"
Mrs. Forman gasped and threw her hands up in frustration. "Now I know this big secret and I can't
even talk to anyone about it?"
"Absolutely. If you talk, you'll anger Jesus. The entire family will be cursed," I said seriously.
Mrs. Forman was shocked. Then she laughed nervously.
I smiled at her and ate the cookies. "I think I really do have low blood sugar. The cookies are
making me feel better now."
"Aww. That's because I made them with love," she said sweetly. Then she teased, "Just like how you
love Victoria."
I dropped my head. "I'm going to regret that, am I?"
She walked out with a cackle. "Since you won't let me talk about it with anyone, I can only talk to
you. So yeah—you're going to regret that."
[Favorability – (+30)]
I was back at the top of the favorability meter. But that was it.
150/150 was the maximum I could reach as a side character. "Are there any other levels?" I asked.
The system chimed.
[To break through to sub-lead level, the side character must end an episode with 150/150 points for a total of 10 episodes. If it drops, the counter resets.
Current episode counter: 1]
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to go out and head to the apartment.
I knocked on Victoria's door. She opened it with a confused expression, her eyes widening when she saw me.
"Steven?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the door. "Why are you here?"
"I came to give this to you." I placed the necklace in her hand.
"What's… this?" She stared at the pendant, stunned.
"I wanted to give it to you the night I saw you with Randy."
"Steven." Her voice choked as she held my hand softly. "I'm… I'm really sorry for what I did to
you. Do you want to come in? I owe you an explanation."
"And I think I'm ready to hear it."
She told me about Randy. They'd been best friends since she started working at the bank.
He made advances toward her, but she didn't reciprocate because she was married.
When I came along and shook everything up in her life, she finally opened up to him.
But at the same time, she felt guilty because I had done so much for her.
"I told you, you don't need to pay me back," I said, feeling dirty inside as she spoke.
"Oh no. I didn't sleep with you because I was paying you back. I really do like you. I think you're
really sweet. And honestly, Steven, I was torn."
I sighed. "So you and Randy are together now?"
She shook her head, shocking me. "I was actually writing you a letter." She showed me the paper.
"You're going to California?" I was taken aback.
She nodded. "Yes. I don't think I want to stay in this town anymore. I'm already divorced—there's
nothing else for me here. My ex-husband offered me a high-paying job, so I'm going to take it and
leave Point Place."
She held my shoulder. "You've really done so much for me, Steven. You got me an apartment. You
brought me to concerts and basketball games. You made your friends hang out with me so I wouldn't be lonely–"
"Victoria—" I said softly, not wanting her to list everything.
She shook her head in understanding. "Sorry. I know you hate that."
"So… you're leaving tonight? What about your stuff?" I asked.
"I'm throwing it all away," she joked. "My husband gave me a lot of money after the divorce. Enough to buy a new house in California."
She held my cheek softly. "So you don't have to worry about me anymore."
She kissed me and left, carrying only a suitcase with her. In the end, it wasn't about me or Randy.
It was about Victoria.
"Well," I looked around the apartment and said, "I got a house now."
The rental agreement was in my name, so I got a fully furnished house for nothing.
…
The next few days went like a blur. I was so busy that I didn't shave, so I have a beard growing
out now.
It was already Friday, and I was done with supercharging the TransAm.
However, I didn't feel like talking with the camera, so I let another person be the narrator now.
Bruce, since he loved the show, and it was his car.
The TransAm and the Celica race were extremely close. The Celica dashed first, but the TransAm
quickly gained momentum with the supercharger.
The car horsepower went from 200 to 700. Everyone reacted madly when they saw it on the
dynamometer.
The show was a hit again when it was posted on Friday night. Twenty thousand people were watching it since it was a highly controversial episode.
The TransAm beat the Celica two out of three times, becoming the winner of the race.
I was done with the public access video for now. Bruce did plug in the carsales for the week. Let's
hope I can sell everything tomorrow.
From the 10 cars, I only managed to fix 4 of them. Two imports, two muscle cars. The wrecked cars
needed a lot more time to finish.
A 1973 Datsun 240Z, 1971 BMW 2002, 1968 Chevy Nova, and a
1973 Plymouth Duster.
They had problems when the engine was turned on. But I managed to fix all of them easily. I swapped
out parts to make them more reliable, even opting for modern batteries and wires.
All the rust was removed. The shocks were changed for the Datsun and the Nova, and all of them had
their bushings changed into polyurethane.
I painted all of them back to their original factory paint using single-stage paint. Fixed up the
interior, and test drove them for one or two days to make sure nothing was wrong with them.
Then, I put the price tag on the windshield. Datsun 240Z – $3500
BMW 2002 – $1900
Chevy Nova – $1900 Plymouth Duster – $2000.
The Datsun was a muscle car import, so the price was higher. Compared to the prices out there in
dealerships, mine was pretty cheap.
A Datsun in my condition could go for $4000. Even the appraisal said it was worth that much.
But it was an import car, and this was a small town. If I wanted to move inventory, I needed to
lower the prices a bit.
Since I paid only $400 for all four cars at the auction, and spent $1000 fixing everything, the cost
was only $1400 on my part.
On paper, it was said to be $5000, since paint was expensive in this era.
The phone suddenly rang.
"Hyde." Bruce called me suddenly after the episode aired. He was back at home in Kenosha, since he actually has a job as a local councilman.
"I talked to Milwaukee Channel 7, Chicago Channel 2, and Green Bay Channel 5," Bruce said
excitedly. "They'll clear a full sponsored show. A 45-minute segment tomorrow afternoon. Maybe a
million people all over Wisconsin can see it."
"Do I have to?" I asked with exasperation.
"YES! Definitely," he said excitedly. "Do this once, and you don't have to market your shop for more
than a year. People from all around the state will come to you."
"Hm, alright. But I'll edit it myself, and give it to them in a few days."
"That's fine," Bruce replied easily. "I'll give you five thousand upfront for the lab cost."
There was a service for turning VHS tapes into film for TV, but I bought the Digital-to-Film device
instead with the money. It cost $20,000 in 2025, but I got it for $4000 because of the multiplier.
I even bought $500 worth of 16mm film stock. It was better than the current film stock, so I chose
that.
"Bruce. I'm going to reshoot a few things. You're going to be the host for the entire thing."
I removed myself completely from the TV show, since it would air to millions of people.
I shot it like an episode of Top Gear. Bruce and a Wisconsin celebrity. I didn't know who that guy
was, but the TV people knew him. Bruce was friends with him.
I gave them jokes, let them play off each other, and they even rode the Celica and the Trans Am
side by side on a long road for cinematic effect.
Bruce even got a helicopter to record the video from the air with my camera.
"Boss, are you sure you don't want to get in the show? You could be really famous?" Megan asked
warily.
I shook my head and said, "No. It'll be a hassle."
I stayed in the shop for eight days straight. I didn't go to school and only stayed in. Red was
helpless, but he understood the pressure I was feeling.
Everyone was talking about the Trans Am race. Red gave me some leeway since he knew I wasn't
drinking my feelings away and had people around me at the workshop.
The principal gave me special permission to work on the Trans Am since it was a matter of national
pride. I abused that to get two weeks out of school instead.
I set up the café too when I had some free time. It is almost done now. I only needed workers and
the coffee beans. The flyers were ready for the launch this weekend.
It wasn't until Eric called me on Wednesday that I came back home.
…
Inside the basement, everyone was there to see the show on Channel 5. The show aired at four
o'clock.
The preview showed the start of the race and a voice-over saying, "Next up, a local teen reignited
American pride with his car build. A 45-minute special on the Point Place legendary race that shook
the entire town, just after the commercial."
Jackie crossed her legs, sitting on the opposite side of my spot.
Sometimes I caught her glancing at me, and when I did, she pulled her head away with a 'Hmph'.
Everyone's eyes shifted between us. Eric broke the tension and said, "So. Are we going to ignore
the beard? And the 800 pound gorilla in the room?"
"The 800 pound gorilla can be found in Hyde's beard." Donna teased and laughed.
I smiled and rubbed my beard slightly. Jackie suddenly said,
"You know what Hyde? I'm not leaving. You can ignore me all you want. But I'm going to stick around here."
"Jackie. Noo." Eric exclaimed, disappointed by her decision to stay.
I ignored her, which made her angry and snapped, "Don't IGNORE ME!"
"Jackie. Shh! The show's about to start." Kelso shushed her. "You should be mad too Micheal!"
Jackie snapped at him.
Kelso laughed and said, "Hyde brought me on a drive inside the TransAm. I'm cool with him now. He can do whatever he wants."
"Ugh!" Jackie scowled.
The system suddenly chimed in. It said the recording was finally finished. It started with the
explosive scene in the basement, now it finally ended with all of us hanging around again.
While everyone was watching the show, I watched the tv recording.
When I left after hurting Kelso and getting the necklace back, the girls were pretty mad at me. But
the guys were on my side.
Kelso kept saying I have a reason for that, even though he was hurting. So they tattled on me to the parents. That's how Red and Kitty got involved.
I was painted as the troublemaker for the first part of the show. Then, Jackie almost caught Kelso
with Laurie, but Kelso shoved Laurie into the shower and pretended not to know anything when Jackie asked her.
When I came back and was confronted by everyone, it was at the middle part of the episode.
Then, came the part where I talked to Kitty about what happened. Jackie was pretty pissed off once
she was done crying. She wanted to yell at me, but I wasn't here for about a few days.
Which in turn, made the anger slowly fade away.
The episode also aired the conclusion with Victoria. How I gave her the necklace and the kiss
goodbye.
The episode ended with me in the basement again, finally hanging out with everyone once more.
Rating: 7.8
Fan Letter: 2.
Favorability: 150/150. (2)
"Hyde, did they cut you out of the show?" Eric asked in confusion when he didn't see me in the
footage.
Jackie laughed mockingly, "That must be right. You don't deserve to be on TV. Since you're a bad
person."
I replied to Eric, "I cut myself out. I didn't want to get mainstream."
"You– You idiot." Donna was taken aback when she heard it. "You could've been on real TV!"
"Hey, there's Hyde!" Fez pointed at the TV. Everyone stopped and looked, but I was already gone.
"He's there for 1 second." Fez said disappointedly. "Every other shot of him is his hand, the back
of his head, or his sunglasses."
I nodded in satisfaction. Jackie scoffed again and said, "Ugh. I'm jealous of the back of his head
now."
"Hyde, you let Kelso ride the TransAm?" Eric asked in shock. "Why didn't you ask me?"
"I did call you. I told Kelso to bring everyone. But he's the only one who came." I said
defensively.
Everyone turned to Kelso who was laughing. "They were all in the basement. I said my dad called me back home and left them." he shouted mockingly, "BURN!"
He kept laughing by himself, which made me chuckle too.
"Get him!" Eric, Fez and Donna jumped Kelso and started beating on him. They gave him a wet willy, a purple nurple, and lightly punched him.