Izzy woke up on the basement couch, her head pounding. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the bright light. She grumbled and turned onto her stomach, burying her face into the couch cushion.

"Izzy Bee? It's time to wake up."

Hyde's hand was around her shoulder, gently shaking her awake. She looked up at him, squinting through the light. "What?"

"Where'd you go last night?"

She blinked. "Good question."

Since that party on Veteran's Day, Izzy had gone out nearly every night. She tracked down whatever party was in the area and went, usually with Laurie, to, for lack of a better phrase, get shitfaced. Really, she felt as though that was the only way to get her mind off of Hyde. Red and Kitty never questioned it, because where oh where could sweet, innocent Isabelle Marie be going that could possibly be unorthodox?

The answer? Everywhere.

The gang watched from afar, none of them sure where she snuck off to once Red and Kitty were asleep, or why she wouldn't come home until the next morning. Honestly, the only thing putting Eric's mind at ease was how he knew she wasn't sleeping with anyone.

Which, coincidentally, was what the topic of conversation was focused on while the gang was getting Bud's apartment ready for their Christmas kegger.

-

"Man, where is Izzy?" Kelso asked, rummaging through Bud's cupboards. "She was supposed to bring the cups."

"I dunno, man." Hyde said. "She's been so MIA lately. Eric, d'you know what's up with her?"

Eric's face went bright red. "Wh- Me? No! I don't know! I'm sure she'll be here."

Donna sighed. "I saw her leave your house at, like, midnight last night with Laurie. I don't think she's showing up."

"You know," Jackie said, "I bet she's seeing someone."

Hyde scoffed. "Yeah. Probably Nick again."

"Hyde, I told you, they broke up." Eric said quietly.

Hyde was used to making jokes about Izzy and Nick. Hell, it became a regular thing ever since the two made up over cookies and new jobs all that time ago. In reality, though, the thought of his Izzy Bee being back around Nick made Hyde feel what he could only describe as a beautiful cocktail of desolation and disgust. Double Ds, if you will.

"Well, she's going off with Laurie," Jackie said, "so who knows what, or who, she's doing."

"Okay, I can promise you right now, she's not doing anyone." Donna laughed. "Trust me."

"Can we please change the subject from my baby sister's sex life?" Eric asked, his ears red with embarrassment. "Let's talk about, uh... this apartment! I mean, damn, Hyde, your dad's apartment is the perfect place for a party!"

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, it's already trashed."

"Hey, even if half the people we invited show up, this party's gonna rock!" Kelso cheered.

Jackie turned to him, watching as he kept rummaging through the cabinets. "Did you find cups?"

"Nope. Even better. A plastic tube and a funnel!"

"Holidays and a dirty funnel?" Fez asked dreamily. "Merry Christmas to me."

"Yeah, and we don't even have to worry about germs!" Kelso said. "Cause, even though our spit backs up in the tube, the alcohol kills 'em!"

Donna made a disgusted face. "We're leaving."

"So leaving!" Jackie agreed.

Eric stopped his girlfriend before she could make it to the door. "Wait, you're leaving?"

"Yeah. See, when I was a little girl, I made a promise to myself. 'Self,' I said, 'If you're ever about to suck beer out of a funnel that might give you mono, don't.' So buh-bye."

Once the two girls were gone, Eric took the funnel from Kelso. "Alright Kelso, I'm gonna nix the funnel on account of I think it repels women."

"Hey!" Kelso yelled. "Any woman who doesn't appreciate a nice funnel isn't much of a woman!"

"Hey doofuses, I brought cups!" The boys all looked up to see Izzy walking through the door. There wasn't a hair out of place—in fact, any sign that she was out last night had been expertly hidden. Eric knew that she had gone out, though. He could see traces of dark circles under her carefully-applied concealer.

She looked over at Eric and her eyes widened. "Oh shit, you guys got a funnel?" She grinned. "Sick!"

Eric and Hyde shared a nervous look, but were saved from any conversation regarding her night by Bud, who came into the living room with a smile. "Hey, guys. What's with the keg?"

"Throwin' a little party." Hyde explained. "Y'know, 'tis the season to get sloppy."

"Well, uh..."

"You're cool with this, right?" Hyde looked at his father expectantly.

Bud paused for a moment, then nodded. "Sure, yeah. Cool dad, that's me. Totally cool dad." He grabbed his coat and headed for the door, pausing before he left. "Hey listen, have a merry, uh, keg party!"

The guys all laughed, and Kelso stood up. "Mr. Hyde, you're the best!" He laughed, giving Bud a high five.

"Yeah, you're the best!" Eric said brightly, shaking Bud's hand. "Will you be my daddy?"

The two laughed it off quickly, but Izzy walked up between the two of them. "He's not kidding."

"I'm not kidding."

-

"Oops. Hey, Fez, could you grab those for me?" Kelso asked, filling a bucket with ice for the keg.

"Sure." Fez bent down and Kelso quickly put ice cubes down Fez's pants, making everyone burst into laughter.

Fez stood up uncomfortably. "You know, Kelso, four times is not funny!"

"Um, yes it is." Izzy giggled, sitting on the kitchen counter next to Hyde.

Everyone froze when they heard a knock at the door and a loud, "Guess who?!"

"Eric, it's your mom!" Kelso yelled.

"Really? I couldn't tell!"

"Shut up! Act natural!"

"Get the keg! Get the keg!"

Everyone scrambled around, hiding any signs of a party just in time for Kitty to let herself in. Eric, Kelso, and Hyde all stood in a line, singing "Deck the Halls" incredibly off-tune.

"Geez, this is what those goons call 'acting natural'?" Izzy mumbled, going into Hyde's room with Fez.

"What can I say? White men are idiots."

"Cheers to that." Izzy laughed, grabbing a water bottle off Hyde's nightstand and taking a drink.

"Izzy, where do you go every night while the rest of us are stuck at home with our bible-thumping host parents?"

Izzy sighed, slowly recapping the water bottle. "Uh... Wherever I can, Fez." She rubbed her eye with the back of her hand, and Fez took note of this.

"Are you hungover right now?"

"Yeah." She laughed. "Yeah, Fez, I am. I've just gotten really... really good at, um, at hiding it."

"Is that because you are in looove with Hyde?" He asked in a singsong voice.

Izzy's head whipped around to look at Fez. "How did you know?"

"Oh, please! We all see the little looks you give him, especially when there is a steamy kiss on the television. Because you are in looove-"

"Fez! Stop!"

Kelso ran into Hyde's room wordlessly, slamming the door open. He chucked the funnel onto the bed, then ran back out into the living room. Izzy and Fez shared a look, then burst into giggles at the tall, handsome spaz.

"We should probably go join them." Izzy said through laughs.

"Probably, yes."

"Oh, and, Fez?" Izzy asked, stopping before he could leave the room.

"Yes?"

"Please don't tell anyone."

He mimed locking his lips. "My lips are sealed, pretty lady."

The two of them walked into the living room, just in time to see Kitty examining the blanket that was hiding the keg. "This blanket looks like it needs a nice Christmas washing!" She said cheerfully.

"No!" Everyone yelled.

"No no no!" Hyde said quickly, guarding the blanket. "That's... Bud's Christmas stool." He gave an awkward laugh. "Very sentimental. If anyone touches it, he just goes nuts, so..."

"Huh. Well, I don't quite believe you, but okay!"

Hyde sat down on the couch and Izzy flopped down next to him. He softly put his hand against the side of her head, pulling her head down gently to rest on his shoulder. Izzy couldn't ignore the feeling of just butterflies, but neither could Hyde.

"So," Kitty said, snapping the two out of their daze. "Bud left you kids here unsupervised?" She looked down at the couch. "Oh. Salami in the cushions. Now that's... sanitary!" She picked it up and went to put it in the fridge, but cringed when all she saw in the refrigerator were olives.

"Um, why don't you boys hang up those angels?" Kitty continued. She patted Izzy on the shoulder. "And Isabelle, you come back here and help me with the traditional holiday floor wax."

Izzy looked up and smiled. "Mama, we're fine. Really. You can go, I'm used to taking care of these boys." She said, patting Hyde's cheek.

Kitty looked around at the apartment nervously, and a silence fell over the room. The silence was quickly broken, when the ice cubes finally fell out of Fez's pants. Fez gave Kitty an uncomfortable smile, while Kelso, Hyde, and Izzy couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh, good." Eric said awkwardly. "Fez is making ice."

-

"I miss my funnel." Kelso mumbled. The party was in full-force around the group, but instead of participating, the five of them decided to sit in a circle on the ground and play quarters. Kelso threw his, then snickered. "Eric, drink."

"Okay," Hyde giggled. "If I was Tattoo, and I lived on Fantasy Island, my fantasy would be to not be a midget. Am I right?" He played his turn, then thought intently. "Eenie, meenie, miney, Forman!"

"You know, Hyde, at first I thought your dad was a real dirtbag." Eric said. "But I've come to realize that there's a fine line between dirtbag and Father of the Year!" Eric threw his quarter, and his smile fell. "Damn it!"

"Fellows, I have to be honest." Fez said, wearing two Christmas ornaments as earrings. "I have never played quarters before, so I probably stink." He kissed his quarter, then threw it. "Oh, happy day! Eric."

Izzy, who had put ornaments in her hair, along her top, and in her ears, gasped. "Let's go to the mall and meet Santa!" She took her turn, then threw her hands up in victory. "'Izzy, drink!' Ooh, Izzy, are you sure? 'Yes, dumbass!' Well, if you insist!"

"Man, this is the worst game in the world." Kelso said, smacking his lips together. "I'm so thirsty." He threw his quarter and made it. "Damn it! Eric, drink!"

"I mean, he lives on Fantasy Island, man, and he's a midget! It's so obvious." Hyde took a breath and threw his quarter. "Ooh. Hm, hm, hm... Forman!"

"Does... does anyone else feel kinda woozy?" Eric asked, taking his turn. "Oh, what the hell, man?"

"If I make this shot, I promise I will not pick you, Eric." Fez said. "Oops! I pick you, Eric! It's fun to lie."

"Okay, Izzy, this is for all the marbles." The blonde mumbled. She kissed the quarter, then threw it. "Score! Drink up, bitch. And by 'bitch,' I mean me. It's me. I'm the bitch."

-

Kelso took Izzy and Eric home that night, both of them far too drunk to drive anywhere. Izzy was holding her own, though, used to trying to act sober around her home. Eric, not so much. He was stumbling and falling and had to be held upright by Kelso most of the way.

"Kelso, it's fine, I'm not that drunk!" Eric said, throwing Kelso's arms off him. He didn't even take two steps before falling back into Kelso's arms. Izzy pointed and laughed, and Kelso had to stifle a laugh of his own. "I just... I just can't walk. Or see."

"Man, that was... that was a great party!" Izzy said brightly.

"You know... You know who doesn't like parties?" Eric asked. The sliding glass door opened, and out walked Red, right as Eric said, "Red." Red watched with a scowl as Eric crossed his arms and said in a deep voice, "I'm Red! I don't like parties... cause I'm a big, bald, party pooper!"

Eric finally noticed the horrified looks on Kelso's and Izzy's faces. He turned around, meeting eyes with his father. "Uh oh!" Eric laughed, then his face fell. "Uh oh." He bent down suddenly, throwing up all over Red's shoes.

"Son of a bitch!" Red said.

Izzy and Kelso's eyes widened, and they both leaned in, looking at Eric's vomit. "Eric, you're disgusting." Izzy said in awe, with a large smile.

Kelso sighed. "Man, when did you eat spaghetti?"

-

Later that night, once Eric was done unloading the contents of his stomach into the toilet, he was laying on the living room couch. Izzy was sitting in Red's chair, still trying to keep her composure.

"I knew something was going on at Bud's." Kitty said. "When I went there, the only thing in the fridge, olives! And poor Fez had ice in his pants."

"My head hurts." Eric said, his eyes closed.

"That's your brain trying to comprehend its own stupidity." Red said.

Izzy giggled. "Eric's stupid."

Kitty put her hands on her hips. "And Isabelle, didn't you tell me you were watching the boys tonight?"

"Well Mama, I'm not their babysitter-"

"She's right, Kitty." Red said. "They should have been watching her, not the other way around."

"I don't need them to watch me, Daddy, I can-"

"Regardless!" Kitty said. "What kind of parent leaves a bunch of teenagers alone with a keg?"

"A fun one." Eric said.

"Hey! Jim Beam. Can it."

Kitty sighed. "Red, you need to have a talk with Bud."

"No. The twins are home now. And what goes on between Bud and Steven is between Bud and Steven! He's just... not a good dad."

"Well, you know what? I agree! So, I think, we should get in the car, pick up Steven and move him back in with us and feed him. And love him!"

Izzy yawned. "I'd like that."

"I'm sure you would." Eric snickered. Izzy picked up a magazine off the coffee table and threw it at him, who yelped and covered his face with his arms.

Red shook his head. "I'm not loving anybody that I'm not legally required to." Kitty crossed her arms and pouted. After a moment, Red groaned. "Fine! I'll call Bud. And Eric, I'll deal with you later."

"Thank you." Eric opened his eyes once Red was gone. "Mommy, I don't feel so good."

"Well, if you're gonna get sick again, why don't you throw up under the tree because Christmas is ruined!" Kitty stormed into the kitchen, leaving Eric and Izzy.

"How does it feel having ruined Christmas, doofus?" Izzy snickered.

"Shut up!"

"You can't make me!"

"You love Hyde!"

Izzy's voice dropped to a whisper. "Okay, I think we've said a lot of hurtful things tonight. Let's just go to bed."

-

"Now Bud's all strict." Hyde said, pacing around the basement the next day. "I gotta do my homework, and he keeps talking about nutrition." He huffed and sat in his chair.

"So," Eric said, sitting on the couch's armrest, his elbow on Izzy's head. "I guess, what I'm hearing from all of this is," he made his voice high and pitchy, a dopey smile on his face as he said, "Hyde loves his daddy!"

"Shut up, Forman, I do not." Hyde swatted away Eric's hand when he tried to poke him.

"Yes you do! Yes you do! And daddy loves his little Hyde!" Eric leaned over and ruffled Hyde's curls as Izzy was in stitches, laughing on the couch. "And that's why he yells at him, and tucks him into bed, and puts on his little footsie pajamas, and reads him bedtime stories!"

Hyde cut Eric off by tackling him to the ground, trying to get him to shut up. When he managed to sit on top of Eric's chest, Red came down the basement stairs.

"Hey, thanks Steven. I'll take it over from here."

Hyde jumped off Eric, and Red tapped Izzy on the shoulder, silently asking her to leave the room. She followed Hyde out the basement door, and the two of them sat on the steps right outside.

There was an awkward silence, before Hyde finally said, "So."

"So." She picked at her nail polish. "Pretty great party last night, huh?"

"Are you doin' alright, Izzy Bee?"

Izzy stopped, then looked up at Hyde. "What are you talking about?"

She knew what he was talking about.

"You know what I'm talkin' about. Why'd you go to that party on Veteran's Day?"

"I-"

"I mean, damn, Izzy Bee, when Eric and I went to pick you up... a- and I was getting into the Cruiser, and I looked over the door and saw you struggle to walk to the car... shit, man, it sucked seeing you like that. You've never been that drunk before, what happened?"

Izzy thought for a moment. What could she do? What were her options right now? Make up something about losing a bet? No, that's lame. Lie and say someone put something in her drink? Hell no.

"I just wanted to see what it's like to be a normal teenager for once." She said, leaning against the cement behind her.

Hyde scoffed. "That's not-"

"I wanted one night to go a lil crazy, Hyde. There's no deeper meaning here."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Then why do you keep going out?" She didn't answer, she just looked down at her feet. "Well shit, Izzy Bee, you coulda just gotten drunk with me, safely, and then-"

"Can we just forget it happened?" She asked, standing up quickly.

He followed and stood, and, with her one step above him, they were face-to-face.

"Only if you promise to stop going out every night. A- And to be safe." He swallowed. Showing someone he cares had never been his strong suit. "And to come to me if you need it. Can you promise that?"

Izzy nodded. "Okay."

"Say it."

"I... I promise, Steven."

He smiled and put his hand against her cheek, which she leaned into slightly. "Good. Now, uh... your mom's makin' cookies, you wanna go steal some?"

Her eyes widened. "Last one there's a dumbass!" She yelled, running up the stairs. He laughed and followed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up. He set her down behind him, and she yelled out, "Steven! Not fair!" as she ran after him.

When she finally caught up to him, he was calmly leaning against the kitchen counter. He smiled at her, two cookies in his hands.

"That's not fair, Steven!" She whined.

"All's fair in love and war."

She crossed her arms, sitting at one of the barstools. "Fine. Guess I'm the dumbass."

He rolled his eyes and handed her a cookie, which she gladly took. "Yeah, but you're my dumbass."