𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏' ≛ m. kelso ✔

≛ chapter three

FEBRUARY 1973

"Junie," Hyde snickered from the Formans' now-worn-out couch as Juniper entered the basement.

She rolled her eyes, waiting for the immature joke that was sure to come from the fourteen-year-old boy. "What?"

Juniper noted the way all four pairs of eyes were trained on her, and she knew everyone was in on Hyde's taunting.

"Kelso wants to ask you a question."

Wait, what? Juniper's gaze flickered to Michael, then to Hyde for confirmation. Steven nodded with a shit-eating grin. He knew what she was silently asking and gave her an answer without even needing to hear her say it out loud.

Juniper studied the expressions of Eric and Donna, who were watching Kelso intently with wide smiles. Rather, Donna watched him and Eric watched Donna.

Michael cleared his throat to catch Juniper's attention and she turned her piercing eyes onto him.

"Well," she laughed in an attempt to block out the seemingly deafening sound of her heart slamming itself against the walls of her chest, "what's the question, then?"

Her eyebrows slowly rose up to her forehead when he didn't answer, simply staring up at her with his mouth opening and closing as if he were a fish.

"Spit it out, Kelso!" Donna jeered teasingly.

"I love you!"

Juniper knew it was coming, but she hadn't expected it to come out like that. Her nose twitched and her face contorted into one of confusion. "That... That wasn't a question, Mike."

Michael shot up to his feet and grasped her hands. "Do you want to go out with me?"

She blinked at him. "Yeah."

His jaw dropped and he lowered his tone. "Wait, really?"

Juniper's perfectly-shaped lips broke into a charming grin. "Yeah."

"Alright!" he cheered. "What are we waiting for, then?"

The three others in the room clapped and hollered loudly, just on the edge of obnoxiously. June shrieked as Michael swept her up in his arms, not unlike the way he used to carry her around when he was pretending to save her from the evil cookie-crumb-covered clutches of Casey Kelso.

Thirty minutes later, the pair hopped off the bus and walked to the diner that the gang would frequently go to, The Hub.

Michael told Juniper to wait outside before rushing to get their food. June giggled as he nearly knocked someone over by the entrance.

He quickly returned with two milkshakes and an order of fries, sauntering over to her in an attempt to seem suaver. She raised her eyebrows as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her to a back alley.

"A shady place for a first date, don't you think?" Juniper teased.

He was visibly nervous, and she nudged him with her shoulder. "I'm kidding, Mike, relax."

Michael nodded vigorously. "I decorated it a bit."

"Oh?"

He pulled back a tattered curtain and turned on a worn-down floor lamp that illuminated just enough of the surrounding area in the dark night. A relatively new-looking leather couch sat against the brick wall of the building next to them and a can of air freshener rested on the concrete next to it.

"I'm only now realizing that it looks pretty bad," Michael chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand, not considering the fact that the milkshakes and fries looked just about ready to topple over. "It's just that me and Hyde and Forman were hanging around here and we saw the lamp and someone from the apartments just threw out the couch and Hyde said-"