*This is basically a conversation between Jackie and kelso which takes place after kelso found out about Jackie and Hyde (also after the conversation they did have on the show) This is my first Jackie/kelso piece (even though Jackie's with Hyde). I wanted to try something a little different since all my other stories are focused around JH. So needless to say, I'm a bit out of my element here but please let me know what you think about it.
Michael Kelso is sitting on the lawn chain in the Forman's basement. Unlike most days, there was no one else there which suited him just fine as this was what he wanted: solitude. He needed time to think of everything that had just happened. He caught Jackie and Hyde kissing and now had to deal with the fact that his best friend and his ex-girlfriend (the love of his life) were together. How was he supposed to be okay with that?
'I leave for one summer and they dog me man. What kind of best friend does that?'
Sure he had run out on Jackie to avoid marrying her and so he had cheated on her like a bazillion times, she was supposed to wait until he came back. That's what he wanted. He expected to come back and have her run into his arms, still in love with him but having recognized that they weren't ready for marriage yet. That's what was SUPPOSED to happen. Instead Jackie threw herself into the arms of his scruffy, burnout friend.
"What the hell man," he says out loud "that's just not cool."
He gets up from the chair and heads outside only to come face to face with the two people he least wanted to see at the moment: Jackie and Hyde. Both we descending the stairs that lead to the basement, hand in hand and laughing. Their laughter abruptly stopped when they saw kelso by the door.
The next few seconds seemed like an eternity as each of them tried to find ways to alleviate the tension. Finally, Jackie spoke:
"That's a really nice shirt Michael"
Kelso looked down at the shirt which just so happened to be one that Jackie gave him a couple of months prior. Rather than acknowledge the compliment, he rolled his eyes and figured it was best to just get out without engaging in conversation.
"Excuse me" he said as he tried to squeeze in the narrow space between Hyde and the concrete wall.
Hyde, not wanting the awkward situation to continue any longer moved aside and allowed Kelso to pass.
"Michael" Jackie called out.
She already felt bad that Kelso had learned about her and Hyde in the way he did, and now seeing how he was taking it made her feel even worse.
"Jackie just give him time, he'll be fine" said Hyde.
"Steven, I'm going to go talk to him."
"Jackie just leave it alone."
"No Steven, Michael is our friend and I don't want this to tear the group apart..I don't want to be Yoko."
Understanding that the others would blame Jackie if the gang broke up, Hyde let her go after Kelso. Jackie placed a quick kiss on his lips before running off to catch up with her ex-boyfriend.
Fortunately, she didn't need to run very far. She found Kelso shooting the basketball in the Forman's garage. He quickly looked up but continued shooting the ball without acknowledging her.
'This is going to be hard' she thought.
She walks up to him but he moves away to the side of the hoop and shoots the ball.
"Michael can we talk?"
"I don't want to talk."
"Please?"
Kelso finally looks up at her and sees her pleading eyes, and as he had often done in the past, he gave her what she wanted. Putting the basketball down, he walks over to the vista cruiser and takes a seat on its hood. Jackie follows suit taking a seat next to him.
For about a minute, neither said anything. Finally, Kelso broke the silence...
"I just can't believe you and Hyde would dog me like that. He's supposed to be my best friend and I thought you loved me."
"Michael I did love you. I still do, just not in the way you want me to. And Steven is still your best friend, we're just in a really complicated situation right now."
"Jackie, you're screwing Hyde, it's not complicated."
"Michael! I'm not 'screwing' Steven."
"Then why are you with him? You two hate each other."
"We don't hate each other. We got to know each other over the summer and we have a lot more in common than we though."
"Like what? What can you and Hyde possibly have in common?"
"Well, both our parents left us and we've been hurt a lot by the people we thought loved us. And we care about each other."
Kelso finally built up the courage to turn his body towards her and look her in the eyes.
"Bu..but why Hyde Jackie? Why out of all the guys in Point Place you had to hook up with Hyde?"
Seeing the sadness in his eyes broke her heart. She knew he felt betrayed and that no matter how much she explained it to him, he wouldn't completely understand why she had built this bond with Steven. She knew that no one would ever fully understand how Point Place's rich, snobby cheerleader got together with the dirty, poor burnout. But she was glad that she took the time to get to know Hyde because she felt more complete, more real when she was with him.
"Look, Michael. I know you don't get it but after you took off to California I was hurt. I loved you so much and I thought you loved me. I thought the only way we could be together forever was by getting married so I asked you and instead of telling me you weren't ready, you left."
"Jackie, I'm sorry but I didn't know how to tell you I didn't want to marry you. I mean, damn I'm sorry but you were really bossy."
This made her laugh. She had spent a lot of time after his departure thinking about their relationship. She had realized that they were so imperfect and wrong for each other. She had demanded so much from him that she pushed him away to other girls, to extra time in the circle...to California. She couldn't really blame him; had she been in his shoes, she would have ran away a lot sooner than he did.
"I know Michael and I'm sorry. I was so angry when you left that I blamed you for everything and a lot of what happened was my fault. But then one day came where I stopped blaming either one of us and I accepted that we are better off apart."
"Was that when you realized you liked Hyde?"
Jackie smiled and nodded her head.
"He was really there for me. He helped me a lot Michael."
"Why would Hyde help you, he didn't even like you?"
"It's like I told you. We have a lot in common and the more we talked and got to know each other the more he started caring. He's really great" she said with a huge smile on her face.
Kelso hated this. He hated that she was happy with someone else. He especially hated that that someone was one of his older friends. What he hated most though, was that he was angry at her happiness. He was mad that Jackie was happy without him and that made him feel like a horrible person; like a horrible friend.
"Do you like Hyde?"
She nodded.
"I really care about him Michael. He understands everything I've been through and makes me feel better when I feel bad. He's a really good guy even though he acts like he doesn't care"
"Do you like him more than me?" He asks nervous of what her answer might be.
She turned to look him squarely in the face and said:
"You will always have a special place in my heart Michael Kelso. You were my first love and no one can ever take that away from you. Ever." She reached over to gently touch the side of his face.
He smiles at her response. It was exactly what he wanted to hear. He nods his head in approval and hops off the hood of the car then helps her down. He leans over to hug her and she happily returns the gesture.
"It's going to take a while to get used to you being with Hyde" he said after they broke apart.
She nods in understanding.
"I know it will, but I'm glad you don't hate me for it."
cupping her face, Kelso makes her look at him.
"No matter where we end up or with who, I will never hate you."
She smiles, tip toes and kisses his cheek.
"Thank you Michael. You don't know how much that means to me."
He backs away a bit and then picks up the basketball.
"Go find Hyde" he says before turning towards the basket and shooting the ball.
Without a word, Jackie goes through the Forman's kitchen and heads to find the new man in her life.
When she makes it down to the basement she doesn't find Hyde but finds the record player playing Zeppelin's "all of my love" (of course, not yet being a Zeppelin fan she doesn't know the song).
She goes to Steven's room and there she finds him, laying in bed with his boots off and even though his glasses are on she can tell that his eyes are closed. She smiles slightly and walks over to take a seat on the bed. She places her hand on his chest and without so much as lifting a lid he pulls her down to lay beside him.
Now laying side by side they let the moment succumb them. For them, this was absolute peace.
"How was it?" He asks.
"Fine. He's okay."
Hyde nods his head and once again it's silent except for the music playing in the next room.
After about 10 minutes, Hyde says:
"It's okay to still love him you know."
She turns her body to face him before replying:
"I do love Michael, but I'm not in love with him."
Taking a moment to think about this, Hyde decides that he really has no other choice but to be okay with it.
"That's cool" he says.
She murmurs an incomprehensible answer before dozing off and while she thinks it's cool, the words "I'll always love Michael" would forever be embedded into Steven Hyde's head.