That 70's Show

The darkness of the impending night was just beginning to settle over the town, slowly but surely Eric’s shadow faded into the blanket of night air. It chilled him just standing there. Though Point Place was anything but a frightening area. The scariest thing that ever happened around the burn out town was that Jimmy kid trying to knock off the 7/11 a few months ago only armed with a water gun. 

But the distant sounds of buzzing bugs was enough to make his skin crawl with a ghost of an itch. He was standing there, looking put off, staring at the Vista Cruiser like he was scolding a child. His original plan was to fiddle with the car or something but he couldn’t even pretend to know anything about what the problem was.  ‘This definitely wouldn’t happen to Batman & his Batmobile-’

The loud thump of the passenger door closing sent Eric nearly a foot in the air. He slapped his hand to his chest, feeling a bit of relief as he realized no one was in fact coming to murder him. Instead it was his cheeky looking friend. Which might've actually been worse. 

Buddy moved with a bounce in his step to Eric’s side, looking over the car. “Jumpy tonight, huh Eric?” He laughed, putting one hand around to pat Eric’s back. 

Eric rolled his shoulders back, awkwardly coughing as he brushed his curled fist across his mouth. He stretched his arms behind himself like he was getting ready to yawn. “Nah, no. I was just....” Eric looked around at the dark trees around them and swallowed “So you think somethings wrong with the car?” He played it off with a little laugh and scratched under his chin. 

The two of them had come driving through the spookiest corners of Point Place with the intention to get burgers from the ‘haunted’ Fatso Burger where the furniture was mysteriously moved every night. But really, that place just had poor management and never locked their doors and Mr. Kebler wouldn’t offer the Supernatural Soda discount anymore (Which was just all the flavors mixed together) if he didn’t still believe the ghosts were there somewhere. Buddy seemed really set on getting one of those and Eric wanted to see his disgusted face again. It’d been a full week since the last time when Kelso laughed so hard that Piggly Wiggly cream soda shot outta his nose. That made Eric instantly regret inviting Buddy to the basement for the first time in a long time. 

His friend looked over the car and rolled his lips together, the glaze of intense observation went over his eyes. He turned to Eric with a simple smile that made Eric’s chest tighten. “The Cruiser...” Buddy trailed off as he leaned in the drivers side window. 

Eric let his eyes droop slowly from the mixture of sleepless nights and a comfortable laziness he always seemed to have around Buddy. 

“She’s just- um....old.” his voice was strained and he could tell he was wiggling around some stuff in there. “So she just needs a push sometimes.” Buddy attempted to start the car two more times before it finally caught and started smoothly. The man bounced back out with that grin again and laid his hand on the car’s roof. “Probably needs to be looked at further but that’s good enough for now.” 

Buddy had a thing for cars. That was something else new that Eric learned about him throughout this friendship. Not only did he appreciate them but he knew a heck of a lot of shit about them too. Which is another reason why Eric couldn’t believe how much the guy loved the Vista Cruiser. 

“Maybe we should head back to your house, y’know?” Buddy gestured to the car, think it’d be best to play it safe and get it home as quick as possible. 

Eric deflated a little. Partly because he was not in a good place at the moment to mix Buddy with his other friends again. But also because he really wanted to get Buddy that stupid Supernatural Soda thing. “Oh no, a good man keeps his word, Buddy.” He smirked and put on some kind of accent (maybe British? He wasn’t very good at them). “I intend to spoil you tonight.” He wagged his finger at him and Buddy chuckled. He grabbed Eric’s finger and pushed it down. 

“Please. I’m spoiled enough.” a shrug rolling off his shoulders. 

“Maybe in your sense of the word but you haven’t been spoiled by a Forman yet. This family spoils with things like a fun trip to a fast-food chain every once in a blue moon.” He threw his arm playfully around Buddy and walked him over to the passengers side door. “And if you’re lucky...” He leaned over and opened the door. “They might’ve actually refilled the ketchup dispenser.” 

Eric slowly shut Buddy’s door and came around and hopped into his own. Buddy watched him with amusement. “I don’t like ketchup.” His nose scrunched up and Eric let himself admire the face before he rolled his eyes. 

“You never cease to amaze me.” 

                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The flickering lights of the Fatso Burger were burning into Eric’s eyes and giving him the slightest headache. The orange and yellow wall details were no help and it seemed to make the glare worse. But it wasn’t bothering him that much. Friday was upon Point Place and the teenagers were out and about in the most ‘exciting’ areas without having to feel that deep sense of dread for school the next day. 

And sitting across from Buddy was always nice. Though, Eric still picked at the peeling paint on the side of their booth table and avoided his eyes anyway. That Tuesday seemed far away in his mind but it was just two weeks prior. 

He’d stayed kinda far off from Buddy recently and not for the first time. Maybe he was just too nervous about being around him these days but either way, he felt shitty about it. 

“So um...” He was going to ask. “I usually ruin things by opening my big mouth but...” Eric trailed off, wiggling his eyebrow a little and holding his hand out. Maybe he was hoping Buddy would just get what he was trying to say but if he didn’t even know...how on earth would Buddy? 

Buddy slipped his straw in and out of his drink slowly and created the most annoying sound on earth, at least to Eric. “But what?” 

Eric sighed and slapped his hand down onto the table. 

“Have you talked to Donna?” Buddy interrupted, sensing the coming conflict. “I haven’t really heard from you in a while and that’s fine, Eric. Things are awkward with you and I understand that.” Buddy shrugged and Eric felt his shoulders cave in from pure relief and admiration. “But if I know you well enough, and I think I do, I’m sure you haven’t made much progress on the whole...” It was his turn to trail off “Talking about this out-loud situation.” Was what he decided on. 

And that was exactly true. “I-uh...well. I’ve thought about it a whole lot.” He immediately tried to justify himself but Buddy just smiled. 

“Work it out with me, Eric.” He gestured to himself with a smirk and took a long drink of his soda even though it tasted like a disaster. His nose scrunched up again and Eric rolled his lips together to keep from smiling. 

“I just...I like you a lot, Buddy.” He fell backwards against the booth seat in exasperation. “But Donna...we’ve got a lot of history.” 

His friend nodded. 

“I mean, I-we...” he scratched behind his ear and tried to work it out before he spoke again. Donna was his first crush. The girl next door who could always hang out like she was one of the guys. He liked that about her. He always had. 

“And you know, Eric-” Buddy started and broke the man out of his thoughts. “This shouldn’t just be about picking me or Donna.” He rolled his eyes but in a friendly way. “It’s just about figuring out what makes you happy. Makes your...” He flung his wrist out in front of his lower stomach in an oddly suggestive way. 

Eric chuckled and raised his hands. “Wow, Buddy. That’s inappropriate dinner talk. I am shocked-” 

“Shut-up, you turkey. That’s not what I meant to do-” Buddy laughed but turned his face from Eric’s view as his cheeks turned pink. “I’m trying to say that you just need to figure out what you want from a relationship and the kind of person that would make you happy. Don’t just go back and forth between the two of us...if that’s even what you’ve been doing anyway. Ok?” He turned back and pinched the back of his hand. 

Eric nodded and sort of retracted within himself again. 

“How have you been thinking about it?” Buddy wondered if that phrasing was a little too weird but Eric seemed to perk up a little. 

“Donna, she’s-” He sipped his own drink, letting the straw float lazily away afterwards. “My best friend. The first girl who would give me the time of day. I use to walk her home from school everyday and she’d carry my books just to make fun of my skinny ass arms.” He wiggled his arm out for emphasis and laughed, eyes glazing over a little. 

“We just clicked.” He shrugged. “It only makes sense that we’d end up like this.” 

Buddy narrowed his eyes in thought and rubbed his hand gently down his thigh. “When you think about your future, is Donna the girl your with?” 

“Sometimes.” He answered with honesty. “She used to be.” His right eye twitched as he tilted his head. “I-uh-um....I do my best for Donna.” He looked surprised at his own words and it interested Buddy. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“I...don’t really know. I’m not sure. This is ridiculous. You wanna refill?” He stood up all jumpy-like and pointed to Buddy’s drink even though free refills were not allowed and he didn’t even have the money for that. 

“Nah. But maybe some napkins?” Buddy was hoping that’d buy his friend enough alone time to calm himself down. Eric nodded and took off. 

Buddy took the time to think about the last few months, eyes floating about the fast food joint like it held all the answers to his questions. He wanted to do right by Eric and help the poor guy out because it pained him so badly when he was in that same position. With any luck, he could help Eric find peace. 

-”Mr. Kebler said he’s out of napkins and I’m gay.” 

Buddy spit out his drink....splattering it all over the table. ‘A bad time to be out of napkins, huh?’ He thought. The white counter-top was streaked in soda and was already starting to drip over the side, Buddy cringed at the gross sight but didn’t have time to dwell on it. “What the hell, Eric?” He hoped that didn’t sound harsh but there was no way in hell Eric could just up and figure out his identity on the way to the Fatso Burger counter. 

Eric shuffled on his feet before lowering himself slowly back onto the booth chair, arms up and careful not to touch the sticky table. “That’s gotta be it, man.” Eric’s voice sounded rushed and nervous. “Don’t you think?” 

Buddy frowned. “I can’t tell you that, Eric. You have to figure that out for yourself, I told you.”

Eric looked put-out and tired. “The guys know your gay.” he blurted and Buddy’s eyes widened briefly and he crossed his arms. 

“You told them?” 

“No, no, no. I mean- well, maybe I confirmed Donna and Hyde’s suspicion-” 

Buddy frowned, leaning even further away from the table. 

“But Fez was the one who said it, not me.” Eric insisted, remembering how his friend had just known. “Kelso didn’t believe it. Said that if you were then you'd have been all over him.” He chuckled nervously under Buddy’s heated gaze. 

But Buddy’s heat didn’t last too long. After a second or two, he was back to that easy-going small smile. “He’s not my type.”

“And what is your type?” Eric asked with innocence as he munched on a fry. 

Buddy gave him a look as he rubbed his palm down from his chin to the base of his neck. “I don’t think that’s gonna help this conversation at all.” 

Eric knew what Buddy was getting at. He’d already asked Buddy a few times if he still has feelings for him. Though it was hard to tell when he was getting on the bright boys nerves, he was pretty sure he was edging it a little too close now. He was hoping that question was ambiguous enough but it obviously wasn’t. He frowned. “I always thought Donna and I had...like movie love.” 

“Do you still feel that way?” 

“In a way.” He shrugged, suddenly looking very pained. It was a look that Buddy knew had been on his face several times when he was knee-deep in the questioning phase. “Yeah, it’s movie love. I’ll admit it.” He waved his hand out and Buddy opened his mouth but never got a word out. “Just not the kind I thought. It all comes back to the fact that I feel like I’m playing a damn part, Buddy.” He scrunched up his eyes with anger. 

“I like Donna because I think I’m supposed to.” He half-whispered that to himself and Buddy nearly felt like he was intruding. 

“I think...” He spoke with an earnestly kind voice. “I think you should talk to Donna.” 

Eric glanced up at him again. His eyes were filled with anger and confusion. “Do I have to?” He rubbed his hand against his forehead. 

“If you really feel that way, then yes.” Buddy sighed and slid out of the booth to stand on Eric’s side. He softly shoved his shoulder and took the space next to Eric who was too busy to really care. 

“Damn.” Eric shook his head. 

“Yeah...” Buddy trailed off, trying not relive all those painful memories where he’d sat awake at night trying to figure out why he couldn’t force himself to like girls. 

“It was Luke.” Eric mumbled, miserably. 

“What?” 

“Luke. Star Wars.” Eric shrugged before thinking to explain. “I think maybe...that was my first real clue. Y’know after you....” He dipped his finger into a small Supernatural Soda puddle. The only thing supernatural about the night thus far were the ghosts of Buddy’s past. 

He smiled gently. “Why don’t you take me home now?” 

Eric looked up quickly, wondering if he’d done something wrong. 

“You’ve exhausted yourself. I’ve seen no ghosts...” Bucky teased, gesturing to the empty restaurant. “And you’ve got a lot of thinking to do, y’know?” he softly pinched his friends arm and Eric rolled his eyes. 

“Well, this was fun, huh?” He let Buddy slide out and he followed after him. His keys dancing around in the palm of his hand. 

“I gotta feeling the drive home is gonna make the night.” Buddy smiled and climbed into the passenger seat. 

The Cruiser started up on the first try and the radio kicked on. Almost magically, The Eagles ‘Ol’ 55′ dissolved into the air. Eric had to laugh. 

“I always liked Han.” Buddy chimed and Eric shook his head. 

“Han? Really. Luke’s the hero, man.” He felt a joy pass through him and tried to allow that to mask his absolutely horrendous dread of having to talk to Donna. 

The night air was calm, The Cruiser had started successfully, The Eagles were on, he was talking about Star Wars with someone who matched him, and he finally felt as if he’d made a dent in this odd journey. 

Plus, Buddy seemed happy enough.