the truck in the driveway than an elegant, older woman emerges from inside the house, a calm line etched into a mouth that holds a cool, detachment and anger underneath. The sight of it makes every one of the teenagers stop in their tracks.

"Evangeline Marie!" Her voice is cool and still, sending shivers down the blonde's alone as she hops out of the car, pulling her tote bag in front of her body as she approaches the woman. "Where have you been?"

"Hello, Grandma," Evie says under her breath.

The woman scans the group surrounding the car with disdain before crossing her arms over her chest. "Evangeline, I had to hear it from Mrs. Robinson that you were gone, snuck out your window this morning. I figured the only place you would be was here, but then you weren't here."

Evangeline shifts her weight and winces, looking down at her sand-coated shoes. "Grandma—"

"You missed your appointment today," she hisses under her breath, barely loud enough for Hyde to pick up and wraps her fingers around Evie's arm, dragging her granddaughter close to her body. "Just because you don't go, doesn't mean this isn't happening."

"I know," Evangeline mutters, pulling her arm back and grabbing the strap of her bag. "I just didn't want to go."

Hyde glances at Jackie curiously, the attempt by the familial pair to remain quiet not seeming to faze the busybody. She and Fez sit obliviously in the back of the pickup: drunk and tossing the volley ball Fez had some how ended up with against the back window, catching it, then doing it again.

The pair of blondes huddle closer together as they whisper to themselves about something that this time none of them can hear. Jackie and Fez shrink off towards their respective homes, leaving Hyde to stand awkwardly by himself in the drive. He watches his feet work at a pile of sand on the driveway, spreading it out evenly. He isn't sure whether to leave them alone to give them the privacy they seem to want or to stay and be a witness to a potential murder. The expression on Evie's grandmother's face alone is enough to kill a man.

Hyde doesn't need to think it over long as when he looks up from the concrete a moment later, they're both gone.

After staring dumbly out into the street for a few minutes, Hyde slowly shuffles into the house. Kitty, from her position at the kitchen counter, greets him with a jovial hello, Steven and a grin. He returns the smile half-heartedly and makes for the basement, before Kitty stops him with the announcement that she's just finished dinner.

Hyde backtracks and sits at his new usual spot at their table as Mrs. Forman calls for Eric and her husband. Although Eric's been out of his room less than ten times since Donna left and out of the house less than half those times, she invites him every night with the hope that this would be the one he would come down and eat with them.

"Hey, Mrs. Forman," Hyde starts, leaning backwards slightly as she sets a plate full of steaming food in front of him, "so, Evie's grandmother was here today."

Kitty wipes her hands on her apron before she reaches for a fancy serving bowl for the salad. "Oh, yes," she says, nodding enthusiastically as she mixes the veggies together. "Maggie was looking for Evangeline, but I didn't know where you lot hopped off to, so she spent a little time here."

"Did she say anything? About Evangeline?" Hyde sets down his girl and leans his elbows on the table. "Is she okay?"

Mrs. Forman stops tossing and furrows her brow. "No, she didn't say much. We mostly sat in silence and drank tea. She's not much of a talker." Kitty laughs and gives the salad one last mix before lugging it over to the center of the table. "What's wrong with Evangeline?"

Hyde shakes his head and shrugs lightly. The sound of the door opening blends into his words as he says, "They just mentioned something about Evie missing an appointment today, and I don't know if they meant doctor's appointment or whatever. It's not important."

"Who's got a doctor's appointment? Better not be one of you. I can't afford it." Red barges into the kitchen, as opinionated and vocal as ever.

"We're talking about Evangeline, honey." Kitty sets his own plate down in front of him with a smile as Red takes a seat to Steven's right.

Red picks up his fork, ready to take a bite when he glances back between the two. "Evangeline? Nice girl. What's she need a doctor for? Seems healthy enough to me."

"I dunno," Hyde says, stabbing the steak with his knife with admittedly more force than necessary. "I just heard her grandma say somethin' about missing an appointment." He stuffs a piece of the juicy meat into his mouth so his next words are muffled: "I just wanna make sure she's okay."

Red rolls his eyes and sets down the fork he had just picked up. "Well, then ask her and make sure she's okay. Don't be such a girl about it." Kitty scolds Red for making fun of Steven's concern for his little girlfriend, to which Hyde protests strongly that she is not his girlfriend. Not that he would have a problem with her being his girlfriend. None at all. It surprises him how okay he would be with having her as his girlfriend.

Mrs. Forman finally settles down next to Steven, settling the last dish down on top of the table and loading a plate up for herself. "If she needs a doctor for something, maybe it's none of your business. But I do hope she's okay."

The door dividing the living room and kitchen swings open for the second time that night and Eric appears, dressed in pajamas with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cloak. "Who needs a doctor?"

All three heads turn to him as he glides in, looking like death with sunken eyes and the blanket pulled over his head. Red drops his utensils and covers his face with his hands, a deep, disappointed groan resounding through his chest. "You, if you keep lazing around in bed all day! Nice of you to show up, dumbass."

Eric sniffs, lowering the blanket around his shoulders and collapses into the chair across from Hyde. "I decided I should start coming out of my room more." Kitty stares at him with a disbelieving look on her face. "Okay, so I smelled the steak and I had to come downstairs."

"Eric, you can't keep moving around. You were the one who let Donna go; this is your fault." Red shakes his head and resumes devouring his own steak.

Kitty places a hand gently on her son's and gives him a motherly smile. "Eric, I know how much Donna means to you, but you're wasting your summer! You should be swimming and playing outside and hanging out with your friends, not laying in your bed all day."

Hyde snorts as Eric grimaces, and pokes his knife in the boy's direction. "Yeah, you're gonna actually get fat from all the vegging you've been doing—actually, maybe laying around isn't such a bad idea for you. Maybe you'll actually get to be a normal size!"

Eric glares at Hyde and stutters our a terrible comeback as Red and Hyde dissolve into laughter. Kitty purses her lips as she tries not to join in with them. Instead, she forces herself to ruffle his unkempt hair and say, "Don't listen to them, Snicklefritz, I love you just the way you are!"

"Mo-om!" Eric groans, hiding his face in his hands. Kitty continues to make baby noises until he stands, grabbing his plate with one hand and holding the blanket closed with the other. "I'm gonna eat in my room."

He storms off and Red and Hyde fall into another fit of laughter as Kitty turns to softly glare at them. "Now look what you did. He was already to come out and you scared him back in."

"We scared him back?" Red gestures incredulously between him and Hyde. "You were the one treating him like a baby, calling him that awful nickname-" Kitty's glare hardens and Red stutters, immediately backtracking and saying that the nickname is wonderful and both he and Eric love it.

"As much as I love watching two people argue, you're kinda killing my vibe right now. I'd really like to just eat this steak in peace." Hyde glances between the couple, who sigh and sink into their respective chairs, agreeing and returning to their meal.

The three finish eating in almost absolute silence, only broken by requests to pass something and Hyde complimenting Kitty on the meal and Red not-so-subtly suggesting that steak was too expensive to waste on their kids. Eric reappears for a brief moment, sans blanket this time, to discard his dirty dishes and give the small group what Hyde supposes is meant to be an angry look, but to him looks like Eric is constipated. Hyde offers to help Mrs. Forman clean up the kitchen, but she brushes him off with an order to enjoy his summer, that he's earned it.

With one last urging, and another brush from Kitty saying she doesn't need the help because Red will help her, the man looking extremely surprised at those words, Hyde descends into the cool basement, a welcome relief from the stagnant heat outside and throughout the rest of the house. The one benefit of sleeping downstairs was, since Red was too cheap to turn the air-conditioning on unless someone was dying from the heat, Hyde didn't have to worry about not being able to fall asleep in the summer. The winter, however, was a different story.

Having nothing else to do, Hyde switches on the TV, which is playing yet another rerun of a sitcom he's seen a million times already. Hours blur into each other as one show turns into another, turns into SNL. Hyde, beginning to doze off, shuts off the TV and retreats to his room just as the door leading outside shakes and creaks open. Moments later, a familiar blonde wearing a tired smile appears in his doorway. "You know, the Formans should really think about locking their doors more often."

Hyde sits up, wide awake as she strolls over to him, his eyes following her movements carefully. She falls down next to him, lying on her side so her back is towards him. Hyde follows suit, lying back down and wrapping his arm around her waist. "After all that with your grandma you snuck out again?"

Evangeline snorts, waving her hand dismissively as Hyde's hands wander to her sweatpants-clad hips. "Nah, she let me go." Steven makes a sound that says he doesn't believe her and she sighs, turning her head slightly towards his. "Okay, I snuck out. She makes it too easy!" Evangeline groans and turns her face towards Hyde's "She wants me to be there all the time, twenty-four seven, all nice and hidden away in our house."

"Why would she want you hidden?" Hyde asks, shoving his hand cheekily into her pocket. "Does it have something to do with what happened on the driveway earlier?"

Evie laughs awkwardly, hiding her face in his blanket. "No, I'm just being dramatic. She just thinks it's better I stay home where it's safe."

Hyde furrows his brow, her words unsettling him. "Evie, is everything okay at home?"

The corners of her lips quirk as she wiggles his foot with hers gently. "I'm fine, Steven. You don't have to worry about me."

"Your grandma said something about an appointment—you're not sick are you?"

Evie spins around and stares straight into his eyes, grabbing his hand and holding it in what she hopes is a comforting way. Their breaths mingle in the space between them, heavy and warm as she trails her fingertips down his arm slowly. "Steven, I'm fine. I'm not sick, my grandma is just worried about me, and I'm fine. Okay?" Her tone is final, and Hyde senses she wants to be done with this conversation.

"Okay," Hyde agrees reluctantly, breathing out a quiet sigh and brushing her hair back. After a moment of hesitation, he places a kiss on her forehead and draws her body as close to his as possible.

"Just hold me," Evie says, snuggling into his chest, her hands splayed across the soft tee stretched across his taut muscles. "And don't let go."

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

Just thought I'd say that I picture her grandma as Michelle Pfeiffer :)