When Hyde came to, the first thing he noticed was the aching in the base of his skull, which managed to find its way into every other crevice of his head. Then he recognized the sound of rain; not a downpour, but enough rain to make a constant drizzling noise. As he opened his eyes, sending another shock of pain through his skull, he recognized what was once the windshield of the El Camino, but was now just fragments of glass glittering everywhere.
Then it all came back to him. He'd been driving through the rain, Rayna sitting in the passenger seat. They'd been arguing fiercely when suddenly the beautiful brunette next to him had screamed. He'd looked back at the road just in time to avoid the semi that had died in the street, but not in time to miss the trees that came careening toward the car as Hyde lost control.
Hyde quickly looked to the passenger seat of the car, ignoring the pain the movement caused, and felt his stomach drop when he found the seat empty. Now he registered the sound of people yelling to one another.
"Someone call 911!" One woman was shouting.
"Is she breathing?" Another man's voice called.
Then the mantra, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god," Which Hyde soon recognized as his own voice. Without thinking, he tried to open the car door, but it was smashed shut. So he started to climb through the shattered windshield. No one seemed to notice him, and soon his feet found the ground. He looked around frantically, his eyes not registering the tree that his car was now wrapped around, nor the glass that made a sparkling halo around the totaled vehicle. Instead, his eyes glued to the circle of people twenty feet away from him. The people shouting to one another. The people trying to help, instead of standing around looking horrified. Rayna was there.
The sound of boots on pavement startled him, because he hadn't realized he was running; it startled the mortified onlookers, because they had nearly forgotten that he'd been in the car. He was about to shout his girlfriend's name, but as he came upon the circle of people, his breath was knocked from him.
There she was, somehow tragically beautiful to him. Her long hair lay out around her head, her full lips parted, and thin cuts all across her pale face. She was gasping for air in a silent way; a terrifying way. The sea of people parted before him, letting him move to her, letting him kneel and rest her head in his lap.
"Steven?" She rasped, and the sound gave him chills. She could see him, or at least recognized his touch; she was alive enough for that.
"Shh. I'm here." He told her, "I'm here now..." People started to crowd around again, and Hyde's anger started to build. "Did someone call an ambulance!?" He shouted. One man from the sea of faces told him that emergency medical teams were on their way. Hyde could only nod.
He kept brushing the hair away from Rayna's face and soon found himself lost in thought as her breathing became regular.
Hyde remembered the first time he had ever seen Rayna. She'd been at the Hub reading a book and drinking a coke. Just minding her own business. But, Fez was never one to let any woman mind her own business. He always had to butt in.
"Hello, beautiful lady." Fez said thickly, inviting himself to sit down across from the brunette, "I am wondering why such a lovely woman is sitting all by herself, do you not have a boyfriend?" Hyde couldn't help but chuckle at the unveiled hope in the foreign kid's voice. The girl looked up from her book once, and then went back to it- obviously non-plussed by Fez's advances.
"Ahem." Fez started again, "I asked, do you not have a boyfriend?" The girl didn't even look up as she said, "Why? Don't you?" Hyde chuckled a bit more, and Kelso shouted across the Hub, "BURN!" Fez just huffed and came back to the table Hyde was sitting at.
"I do not get it Hyde! How come none of the ladies want a piece of Fez?" The whining quality of the foreign kid's voice made Hyde want to cringe.
"It's because they can't take their eyes offa me!" Kelso interjected as he sat down at the table, "I'm sorry, but I can't help that I'm so good looking." And then he took a long pull on the straw of his drink.
"Well then, Mister Good Looking, why don't you try to get Miss Bookworm to go out with you?" Fez's accent made the sentence almost unintelligible, but somehow the gang understood, and Kelso easily recognized the challenge.
"I will!" The tall boy said, standing up, "She won't be able to resist me! Watch and learn fellas!" And with a cocky bravado that spelled trouble, Michael Kelso walked toward the brunette's table.
"Excuse me, Miss?" Kelso started, "I couldn't help but notice that you're all alone, and I wondered if you could use some company?' Kelso was about to sit down across from the girl when she replied.
"Actually, the book is all the company I need right now." She said beaming up at Kelso, "Thanks anyway." The sarcastic tone wasn't lost on Hyde; although he was pretty positive Kelso was completely lost. The tall brown haired boy made his way back to his friends.
"Did I just get rejected for a book?" He asked after several minutes of silence.
"Looks like it." Hyde added, hoping to rub in the wicked burn.
"What kind of girl would rather read a book than make out with me!?" Kelso asked exasperatedly.
"Perhaps she is a lesbian!" Fez whispered, his eyes going wide. Kelso's expression soon matched his.
"She's not a lesbian..." Hyde sneered, "She's just too smart for either one of you."
"Well then, why don't you go ask her out?" Fez demanded, and Kelso seconded.
"I'm not gonna go ask her out. After two idiots in a row, she'll probably think I'm the third stooge. No thanks." Hyde leaned his chair back and crossed his arms.
Soon Eric, Donna, and Jackie came into the Hub, and the brunette, alone with her book, was overlooked as she exited the building.
A few days later Hyde saw the bookworm brunette again, this time at school. Classes had just ended, and he was congratulating himself on making it through the whole school day by watching the cheerleaders rehearse; hoping one of them would fall. And there she was, walking to an old military jeep wearing all black pants and a tank top. At least that's what it looked like. Hyde took one look at the solid practice the Point Place High cheer squad was having and decided that following the brunette would be more entertaining.
Soon he'd caught up to her, and saw that her clothing was some weird tank and a pair of stretchy pants that she now had pulled up to her mid-thighs. He couldn't help but notice that she was pretty fit, and that the odd clothing fit her quite nicely.
"Can I help you?" She asked suddenly, catching Hyde off guard.
"Um... uh, yeah!" He stumbled, "I know that you're new here- I'm Hyde- if you need any help with anything, I'd be glad to, you know, help." He could tell by her expression that she didn't believe him, and she shouldn't considering he'd just made that up, but she was intrigued.
"Hyde?" She asked, and he secretly thrilled at the fact that she'd said his name, "Is that a first or last name?" She asked dubiously.
"Oh! Last." He laughed slightly, "My first name's Steven, but my friends call me Hyde." The girl only nodded, and then started to get into the Jeep. He backed up as she started to pull away- her stereo system blaring Led Zeppelin.
"HEY!!" He shouted after her, "Aren't you gonna tell me your name?!" He stood in the student parking lot and watched as she flipped a u-turn, ignoring the directional arrows, and driving through several empty parking spaces. She stopped right in front of him and turned down her stereo just a hair.
"Rayna Carn." She said clearly and simply, and then pulled away again.
A week later Hyde was sitting in the Formans' basement listening to Zeppelin records as Donna and Eric walked in, followed by Fez, Kelso and Jackie.
"I still can't believe any girl would rather read a book than make out with you, Michael!" Jackie Burkhart's squeaky voice declared, "She must be a lesbian!"
"That is what I said!" Fez said enthusiastically, "but Hyde said I was wrong..." The dark skinned boy frowned as he sat in the lawn chair next to the couch.
"What would Steven know? He's poor!" Jackie asked, while waving her hand as if Hyde's opinion didn't matter, "Who was this girl anyway?" She demanded.
"Rayna Carn." Hyde answered before he could stop himself.
"Really?!" Donna asked, suddenly interested, "She just transferred here from Washington! Everyone keeps talking about her- apparently she's pretty interesting."
"Well, apparently Washington is full of lesbians." Kelso said matter-of-factly, "Because this Rayna chick wanted nothin' to do with me!"
"Ew." Jackie blurted, "She's really weird, Michael. Be glad she wants nothing to do with you!" Then the small sophomore cheerleader sat in Kelso's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"What's so weird about her?" Eric Forman asked, "She's in my English class- she seems really smart."
"Well, you see, we were in open gym and the Squad and I noticed that she seemed pretty fit, " Hyde groaned internally because Jackie's stories always took forever, "so we asked her if she'd like to try out for the Squad." The short, bouncy brunette paused for breath, "Get this! She said, 'no thank you, I prefer dance as an art form than cheer as a social ranking.' Who says things like that!?" The mouse-like girl demanded.
"Someone with a little more than sugar, spice and everything not so nice goin' on in her head..." Hyde mumbled, and Jackie threw him a dirty glare.
"Wow... she sounds pretty cool!" Donna said excitedly, "She must dance at Wyzmore's Dance Studio; it's the only place in town."
"Who cares? She's a lesbian!" Fez said angrily, "Lesbians are of no use to me!" He shot Jackie and Donna thoughtful glances, "Unless... you two are willing to try it out..." Donna paused for thought before punching the small boy in the shoulder, "Aye! All right, no lesbians kissing for Fez!"
But Hyde wasn't paying attention, because he was thinking about paying a visit to Wyzmore's Dance Studio tomorrow afternoon.
Hyde could no longer feel the rain hitting the back of his neck. All he could feel was the weight of her head on his lap, the movement of her body as she breathed; in and out, in and out.
"I'm sorry Rayna, I'm so sorry." He whispered as he brushed his fingertips across her face, feeling the cuts and slices. He could hear the sirens in the distance- he just prayed they weren't too late.