"Alright everyone!" Izzy announced, practically skipping into the kitchen one morning. "I have officially quit my job at the Hub!"

Eric looked up. "What? I thought you liked working there."

"Forman, man, you never listen, do you?" Hyde asked. "She hated being called Little Forman by her boss, right Izzy Bee?"

"Right-o, Steven." Izzy kissed her boyfriend on the cheek and sat down next to him. "I mean, really? Little Forman? Like, hello-"

"If that sentence ends with anything along the lines of 'I am not little,' Iz, I'm gonna deck you."

Red glanced up from his paper. "Eric, don't threaten your sister."

"Yeah, Eric! Don't threaten me!"

"Okay, but was I wrong?"

Izzy paused. "I just don't like being reminded of it, is that a crime?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, Mrs. Forman?" Donna said, coming in through the sliding glass door. "My dad's making a cheese sandwich, but he's missing some stuff, so... can I borrow bread and cheese?"

Ever since Midge had moved out, it was obvious Bob and Donna were struggling, mostly Bob. Izzy and Hyde spotted him unloading box after box of frozen dinners for one the previous day, and Hyde didn't even make fun of him about it.

"Aw, your dad's having a hard time without your mom, isn't he?" Kitty asked.

"Midge was the brains of that outfit?" Red scoffed. He stopped laughing, though, when he saw the look on Donna's face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Donna."

"Sorry about what?" Eric asked, finally tuning into the conversation.

"Go get Donna bread and cheese, Eric." Izzy said, buttering her toast.

"Okay?"

Donna walked over to Kitty's ironing board, which was set up in the middle of the kitchen. "Wow, Mrs. Forman. This is a really nice dress."

"I know! Isn't it fancy?!" Kitty laughed loudly. "It's for the PriceMart Ball tomorrow night!"

"Oh, right." Eric said enthusiastically. "The PriceMart Ball."

Izzy chuckled. "Yeah, Eric. Who're you takin'?"

"Oh, well, I decided not to go. Personal choice."

"You don't have a date, do you?!"

"It's not! No! I- I can! I can- It's not- It's not about that! It's about this great book that I'm, like, halfway through. Plus, y'know, I could get a date."

Hyde laughed. "Okay, Forman."

"I've got numbers, buddy!"

Kitty patted Eric on the shoulder. "Oh, sure you do, Honey. You're number one with me!"

"You're going tomorrow night. And you better not go stag, Eric. There's nothing worse than an eighty-pound boy dancing with his mommy all night."

"You know what?" Donna asked. "I'll go. I told you I would, like, months ago."

"But that was before the... ugliness." Eric said.

"Eric, I'm over it." Donna paused. "Hey, I'm over it! Plus, I mean, last year they had all you can eat shrimp."

Kitty laughed. "Oh, Donna, now you and Isabelle can get all dolled up together!"

Izzy's head snapped up. "Huh?!"

"You're going too, Isabelle." Red said, as though it were obvious. "We talked about this last Friday."

"Last Friday... Steven, what was last Friday?"

"Uh... circle."

"Oh. Oh. Damn it!"

"Isabelle, language!" Kitty scolded. "Whose dress do you think I'm ironing, anyway?"

"Yours?"

Red sighed. "Look, Isabelle, the whole family's supposed to be going-"

"Then why isn't Laurie going?!"

"If we knew where Laurie was, she would be!"

Donna, Eric, and Hyde all shared an awkward look. "Okay, uh..." Donna took the bread and cheese from Eric and started backing out of the kitchen, followed by the two boys. "See you guys later, bye!"

Izzy looked at her mother. "Do I really have to go to this thing?"

"Yes! You skipped your prom because you didn't want to get dressed up, now let me treat you like a Barbie doll!"

"Let your mother treat you like a Barbie doll, Isabelle!" When Izzy didn't respond and just raised her eyebrows at her father, Red huffed. "Alright, you can bring Steven along so you won't be complaining all night."

Izzy sighed "Fine, I'll go."

-

"No way, Izzy Bee."

"Please, Steven?! It's just one night!"

"No, I'm not wearing some stuffy suit just to make small talk with cashiers all night." Izzy crossed her arms and sat on Hyde's bed, pouting silently.

She stayed there for a moment, gauging his reaction, then threw her arms up in annoyance. "Steven! Please!"

He sighed and leaned against the opposite wall. "No."

"But..." She gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "You love me, right?"

He chuckled and walked over to her, using his hand to lift her chin up. "Of course I love you." He pressed his lips to hers softly, then, when their lips parted, whispered a short, "But I'm not going."

"Steven!"

-

"So, Forman, you break up with Donna, but you still get to have sex and go out on dates with her?" Kelso asked, once they were all in the basement, playing cards.

Hyde snickered. "Ride the big red wave, dude."

"I should break up with Donna." Fez said. "'Donna, we are through. Let the sex and dating begin.'"

Izzy sighed, sitting on the armrest of the couch. "Men are disgusting. My boyfriend won't even go with me to the PriceMart ball, can you believe that?!"

"Yes, Izzy Bee. I can believe that."

"Well, Donna and I aren't going on a date." Eric said. "We're just friends now, because she's over it. Well. Guess who else is over it?"

"I am."

"Me too."

"Yeah, same."

"So over it."

"Look, man," Kelso said. "Breaking up sucks, okay? When Jackie dumped me, you know what she said? 'Something, something, never wanna see you again. Blah, blah, blah...' and you think that didn't hurt?"

"Okay, you know what?" Eric stacked his cards and set them down. "I'm done talking about this."

"Good." Izzy said.

"But I will say this! If she doesn't want it to be a date, then it won't be a date. I am so cool with that, because as we all know, I am very mature. Now, if you would all please excuse me, my mommy has to iron my corduroys."

When Eric was all the way upstairs, Izzy fell off the armrest into his seat and picked up his cards. "Ugh, women." She mumbled.

"I thought you said men are disgusting." Kelso said.

"I did. I just don't really like people sometimes. Men are the constant, women are the right now. So... ugh, women."

Fez sighed. "Yes, women indeed. What must Fez do to get a woman?"

"Well, for one thing, he's gotta cut out that third-person crap. It's weird. You are Fez." Hyde said. "You know something else? Shoes say a lot about a man. In your case, your chukka boots are screaming virgin."

"Fez, don't listen to him, he doesn't know how to get a woman either." Izzy glared at her boyfriend. "He won't even come with me to the stipid ball tonight!"

"Izzy Bee, you don't want to go either!"

"Yeah, well now I have to, so you should just go and keep me company, and make me not want to kill myself!"

"If I have to hang around middle-aged shelf stockers all night, then I'm gonna kill myself!"

"Mom, Dad, please do not fight!" Fez whined.

Izzy paused, then huffed and stood up, mumbling, "I'm gonna go get ready for tonight."

Once she was upstairs, Kelso turned to Hyde. "Man, why don't you just go with her? She's starting to sound like Jackie and, trust me, it's better to just go and get it over with."

"I got work, man." He paused, drawing a card from the pile. "Plus, y'know... yesterday Eric said I'm whipped-"

"Well, because you are."

"Shut up, Fez! I am not!"

Kelso snickered. "Yeah, you are."

"I just gotta prove to myself that I haven't lost all control."

"Too late."

"Fez!"

-

Izzy leaned against the Cruiser, excitedly talking to Donna about the shrimp that was in their near future, while Eric stood off to the side awkwardly. Kitty and Red came out of the kitchen, and Kitty was clearly giddy with excitement for the evening. "Oh, Red, don't the kids look nice for their dates?"

"Yeah. Nice as hell."

Donna smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Forman-"

"Actually, Mom," Eric interrupted. "As Donna so thoughtfully pointed out earlier, this isn't a date."

"Oh, well I just like seeing you two together, you just look so natural."

"But... We're not together."

"Oh, sure you are! I'm lookin' right at you!" Kitty laughed loudly, then turned to Izzy. "And where's your date, Isabelle? I steamed his suit and laid it out for him hours ago!"

"Oh, Mama, he-"

"Steven!" Kitty yelled into the house. "Steven! Come on!"

Soon enough, he came jogging out. "Yeah, Mrs. Forman? Everything okay?"

"Oh, Steven, what are you wearing?! Didn't you see the suit I left out for you?"

Izzy rolled her eyes. "He's not coming, Mama."

Kitty looked taken aback. She turned to Hyde expectantly. "And why not?"

He ignored her question, though. His eyes were trained on Izzy, and the way her light blue dress made her eyes look almost luminescent. The way her blonde hair looked like gold in the streetlights. The way the fabric of her dress moved like it was made of the ocean.

He walked up to her slowly, lifting her chin and kissing her lightly. Kitty let out a little squeal of excitement, then ran to sit next to Red in the car.

Izzy pulled away from the kiss. "It's not too late, you know. You can run downstairs and get your suit-"

"I'll see you when you get home."

Izzy paused, expecting the response but not prepared for it. She slowly nodded, trying not to let the disappointment eat her up inside. She opened her car door and sat down next to Donna, feeling the disappointment rise and lodge in her throat, tears threatening to fall. Donna placed her hand on Izzy's knee comfortingly, but could tell she wasn't much help.

-

"Oh, this is us." Eric said, pointing to their table.

"See? Eric, this is great. Being out together, not as a date, just friends, getting to hang out with our friend Izzy, who is also not here with a- you know what? Let's just sit down."

"Yeah, here-" Eric pulled out a chair, seemingly for Donna, who then went to sit down. At the last second, he pulled it out and said, "Oops, not a date!" sending her falling to the floor.

"Eric!" Izzy said harshly, helping Donna to her feet.

"I'm sorry. Minor glitch in the system. Let's let the good times roll!" He pulled out his own seat, as did the girls, and they all sat down.

After a few minutes of awkward small talk between the three of them, Kitty came up, admiring the decor. "Isn't this nice?" She said, touching the centerpieces.

"Okay, Kitty. Enough jawing. Look, the drinks are only free for the first two hours."

"Ooh, do you think they have peach schnapps?" Kitty turned to the kids. "Peach is my favorite schnapp!"

After a moment of silence, a middle-aged man walked up, offering his hand to Eric. "Hi. I'm Lyle, housewares manager in Oshkosh."

Eric stood up and shook his hand. "Hi. Eric, stock boy, Point Place. This is my sister, Izzy, and this is my friend-" he clapped Donna on the shoulder. "Friend Donna. We're not on a date, even though, I mean... well, I did pay for her... Tell me, Lyle, are you here on a real date?"

Lyle looked uncomfortable, then his eyes darted past Eric's shoulder. "Hey, there's Stewie. Stewie!"

Eric sat back down, and Izzy laughed. "Nice going. Scared off poor Lyle."

Donna chuckled. "Right? Now we'll never meet Stewie." She paused. "Eric, what's wrong with you?"

"Hey guy, put your arm around your date!" A photographer came up, gesturing for Eric to put his arm around Donna.

"Oh, no, she's not my date-"

"Eric, just shut up and take the picture." Donna went to put her arm around Eric, who then clapped her hand into his and put his other arm around her shoulders, like he would with Hyde or Kelso. The picture snapped as Eric grinned, Donna scowled, and Izzy was tearing up off to the side.

-

"A- And then he said he would kill himself if he were to spend the evening with me!" Izzy said, hastily wiping her tears with a napkin. The end of the night was upon them, and Donna was sitting next to Izzy as she nursed her Long Island iced tea.

Donna laughed. "Did he really say that, or are you exaggerating?"

"I'm only somewhat exaggerating. I'm really upset he didn't come, though! Am I being too sensitive?"

"No way! He's your boyfriend, he should be here to distract you from the creepy old men, so I don't have to."

Izzy felt more tears well up. "You... You don't want to either?"

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that! Ah, jeez, Izzy, you're totally drunk. Come on, it's time to get going, anyway." Donna stood up. "I'm gonna get you some water..." Her speech trailed off when she spotted Eric talking to the same blonde he had been dancing with earlier. "You know what? Just act sober, I'll be right back." She stormed up to Eric, leaving Izzy alone at the table.

"Well, I will say this about PriceMart!" Kitty said, stumbling up to Izzy. It appeared that she was drunk as well, and Red was trailing behind her, trying to keep his wife steady. "They have wonderful balls! Isabelle, grab this centerpiece!"

Red sighed. "Isabelle, no need to grab the centerpiece. Come on girls, we're going home."

-

"The Fotohut's cool!" Kelso laughed, sitting in the circle with Hyde and Leo. For the day, Fez had been working at the Fotohut, and had totally tried to take control of the business and turn it into, well, into a business. The others, meanwhile, decided to relax the best way they knew how.

"Hyde, your job kicks ass!" Kelso said excitedly.

"Yeah. I never thought I'd be a workingman, man. But man, here I am, working for the man. And you know what, man? I like the man."

"Hey, thanks, man." Leo said, grinning. "Hey, where's the little chirpy one? She's like a bird, always perched on your shoulder, man."

"Oh. Izzy. Yeah, y'know-"

"No, not the blonde one, man!"

"Uh... Donna?"

"No!"

"Jackie?"

"No!"

Hyde paused. "Izzy?"

Leo snickered. "Yeah, her! Where's she at, man?"

"Ah, she's at some corporate party thing with her family. Wanted me to come, but..."

Kelso giggled. "Hyde's trying to prove that he's not totally whipped."

"Why're you tryin' to do that, man?"

Hyde shrugged. "I don't wanna lose myself in the relationship. Seen it happen too many times. Like with Kelso and Jackie. Or Kelso and Jackie the second time. Or Kelso and Jackie the third time."

Kelso shook his head. "As long as you keep sight of what's true to you, Hyde, you'll be fine. But don't be a jerk about it. Go out with her if it's important, but stay home if it's not. Trust her on these things, and you two'll be happy."

Hyde paused. "That's... actually good relationship advice, Kelso. Thanks, man."

"Huh? Oh no, I was talkin' about when a dog has to go out and pee. Jackie won't let me get a dog."

-

Izzy closed her bedroom door behind her, before turning around and seeing Hyde sitting on her bed, reading something in a Cosmo magazine. She stood there, crossed her arms, and waited for him to look up.

"Y'know, this magazine is actually kinda helpful." He mumbled, flipping the page. "'Why Sean Connery is Irresistable' Hm, I wonder why?" He looked up, giving Izzy a crooked smile. "C'mere."

Izzy stayed where she was.

"Fine. I'll go over there, then." He stood up and walked over to her, about to pull her in for a kiss, but she put her hand on his chest, stopping him.

"My night was awful." She huffed, pushing past him to sit on her bed. She pulled her heels off and threw them into her closet, then threw her head into her hands. "Eric and Donna kept bickering, I was all alone with a bunch of creepy old men, and then Eric kissed some other girl and Donna got all upset and then my mom-"

"Are you drunk?"

Izzy looked up, her eyes glossy. "N- No."

Hyde sighed and sat next to her. "Izzy Bee..."

"No! Stop! You don't get to be the good guy right now, okay?" She started to tug the ribbons out of the bottoms of her braids, but Hyde stopped her, wrapping his hands around hers.

"I'm not trying to be the good guy. I'm sorry about earlier, I should have come with you. I just... I'm new to this relationship stuff, and I didn't want to seem whipped-"

"But you are whipped."

Hyde stopped, taken aback by her response.

"But so am I." She slurred. Her eyes were half closed, and she took both of Hyde's hands from around her own, intertwining their fingers. "Steven, we're both totally whipped, and I love it. I love you, and it hurt when you didn't want to save me from this horrible night."

He nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. Now... go ahead and rant about the night, I'll take care of your hair."

Izzy paused, and thought for a moment. She knew he wasn't good with words, or emotions, or relationships, or girls in general. And she knew that him saying the words "I'm sorry" was a rare occurrence. And she knew that he said it twice in the past two minutes.

She also knew that she was very drunk and probably would not be able to get ready for bed all by herself.

So, she nodded. She turned her back to him and let him carefully take the ribbons out of her hair, unravelling the braids by gently raking through them with his fingers.

"Eric has it stuck in his head that Donna doesn't care about the breakup, but we all know she does. And so does he. And that's okay! But he kept repeating it all night, and..." Izzy retold the entire horrific night to Steven, who just quietly listened, and even when her braids were all undone, leaving loose blonde curls falling over her shoulders, he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

They fell asleep that way, his legs dangling off the foot of her bed due to his placement where he had been sitting, and her head was on his chest, her legs curled up. She was still wearing her fancy dress, and in his sleep, Hyde had one arm around her head, holding her close, while the other hand was holding the fabric of her skirt.

It was as though he needed to hold onto her in order to believe something so beautiful could really exist.