A/N: I have been MIA for a while and I'll admit, it's been a very, very long time since I've finished a story. To be honest, some of them probably will go unfinished. However, once in a while I get a little inspiration and this has actually been lasting me a while. I don't have this story carefully planned out; it's gonna go where it's gonna go, but I have been more of a Jackie/Eric fan lately. Overall, feedback is appreciated and I hope you like it.

…

April 1980

Jackie Burkhart drove off feeling slightly ashamed, slightly disappointed, and hugely depressed. She was headed back to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend of nearly six months and she hoped -more than anything- that he wasn't home yet.

Her car had been needing an oil change for a long time and, despite the few hours she spent with Red Forman working on his car, she had no idea how to do the task. She had been nagging Fez about it for nearly a week, even though she knew he had no idea either, but the least he could do was take it into the shop for her. Mechanics were notorious for taking advantage of clueless girls. However, Fez was very busy between his cosmetology classes and his job at the local salon. He wouldn't make the time for her car, which spawned an argument, and Jackie was forced to take the car to the shop all by herself.

The man who changed her oil was surprisingly helpful. His name was Nathaniel, and he didn't try to convince her that she needed new parts for her vehicle or anything. Even more, he had looked to be around Jackie's age and he was pretty cute, in a rugged kind of way. There had been some harmless flirting on both ends, and by the time her car was ready, he took her by surprise by asking her out. Feeling foolish and disgusted with herself, she admitted to him that she had a boyfriend. Nathaniel cracked a stupid joke about upping the price; she forced a smile, and handed him some cash.

"I don't need change," she had told him.

"I was kidding," Nathaniel pointed out, a tiny smirk on his face.

"I know," Jackie said. "It's okay. Thanks for your help."

She had driven off immediately after the exchange, her face aflame as the guilt began to hit her.

What the hell was she doing with her life? Even Fez was chasing his dreams, as silly as they may seem to her sometimes.

Jackie did have a job at the local news station, but she only worked weekends and it was a miniscule, behind-the-scenes type of deal. She had not-so-secretly hoped that getting her foot in at this studio would someday lead to her own dreams coming true, but that didn't seem to be happening, and if it was, it wasn't happening fast enough. She wasn't even sure if that was her real dream, anyway.

It was this heavy emphasis on love and romanticizing everything that constantly screwed her over. She was so hopeful and open with Michael, and that only harrowed her self-esteem in the long run. Then there was Steven, who taught her a lot of things, but he ultimately was too impulsive, while she liked planning things out, and that's where she decided the problem lied between the two of them eventually.

Finally, there was Fez. On paper, it had sounded so great. The third time had to be the charm, right? Here was this guy whom she had known for years; a guy that she knew was sweet and was never subtle about his feelings in any way. He had always worshipped her, caressing her ego, and had even provided relationship advice to her former beaus on how to treat her better. He had to be the one, even though she never saw it in the past. However, beginning to date someone you were already living with had proved to be tougher than she thought. In addition to this, Fez had grown a bit more withdrawn. She knew he wasn't always being his complete self around her anymore, and instead put on a silly persona not unlike the Fez he was when they had first met. Certain things bugged him more, and he seemed to ignore it and bury it until some days he would finally crack and explode on her, the catalyst being something small and insignificant, but the underlying issue being something that obviously weighed on him. The thing was, Fez was never mean and he certainly wasn't abusive. One may even have a hard time taking him seriously when he'd blow up like that. However, by now, Jackie knew Fez. Things weren't right, and she was pretty sure they never were and they never were going to be.

So, the more she thought about it, the more she wished she didn't feel the need for a relationship at all. Still, Jackie was needy and not so comfortable with her own company. Therefore the only dream of hers that she actively pursued was the one where she found her Prince Charming. Her standards weren't quite so high as they were when she was in high school, and she figured that would make her goal more attainable, but clearly, that wasn't the case. So, yeah, she had a boyfriend, but that wasn't working out very well, and yeah, a cute mechanic asked her out, but he probably wouldn't have been her Prince Charming either, had she been single.

Jackie sighed as she pulled into the lot where her apartment building was. There wasn't a close parking space (there never was), but she could see Fez's beat up car towards the end of the lot. She wasn't ready to face him today. The last time they had spoken was earlier that morning before he left for work, and the words they shared weren't too harsh, but they weren't exactly pleasant. If anything, they felt empty. That's how Jackie felt, too… empty.

Everybody seemed to have a plan or some sort of good thing going on in their lives lately besides her. Fez was following his dreams, Hyde was still managing his own record store, Kelso was working at the Playboy Club in Chicago and had a daughter, Eric had recently returned from Africa and was currently attending those prepaid courses at the local community college, and Donna had decided to leave town and go to college in Seattle, where she was also working at a major radio station.

Jackie felt the sting of tears in her eyes. All her life, she thought she'd be somebody by now. She was supposed to be adored. Yet, her mother abandoned her, her father was in prison, her best friend had moved states away, and her boyfriend hadn't been very romantic towards her since the first two weeks that they began dating.

She was alone like she never thought she could be.

Frustrated, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped out of her car, not stopping to look at the dismal, grey skies as she headed inside.

"Jackie?"

She heard Fez's voice as she entered the apartment.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I'm just getting back from the oil change."

"Oh."

Jackie peeled off her jacket and hung it up next to the door, seeing Fez standing in the kitchen with a melancholy look on his face as he gazed at a silver statue of a comb.

"What's that?" Jackie inquired.

"They gave us mock awards in class today after our exams," Fez said. "So it's official."

"What's official?" Jackie asked, opening the refrigerator for a Diet Coke.

"Jackie, seriously?" Fez set the statue down on the counter. "I am now licensed. It was the last day of classes. I've told you so many times." Frustration was evident in his voice despite the way he was trying to hide it.

"Oh, oh, Fez." Jackie stepped away from the refrigerator and set the soda on the counter. She gave him a congratulatory hug. "I'm so sorry; I do remember now."

He hugged her back, and suddenly the fact that someone had their arms around her made her even sadder. The tears welled in her eyes again and she felt shame. This was Fez's moment, and she was making it all about her. She stifled a sob and Fez pulled away.

"Jackie." He looked at her, perplexed.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she avoided his. "I'm just so awful for forgetting, I'm sorry."

Fez's eyes narrowed. "That's not it, though."

"No, no, it's not." She exited the kitchen and sat on the living room couch as Fez trailed behind her. "Fez… this is not going the way that I had hoped."

"Us?" he asked, not missing a beat.

"My whole life," Jackie admitted. "I don't know what I want, but I can't start working towards it if I don't know." She was trying her best to not ugly cry but as every word escaped her mouth, she felt the threat looming nearer. "And you, and me… I just… you agree with me, don't you?"

Fez looked down and sighed. "Jackie, all I've ever wanted was for you to be happy, and… I don't think I make you happy."

"Okay, Fez, but I don't think I make you happy either, and that matters, too," Jackie pointed out.

Fez mulled it over for a moment. "I am happy," he said, locking eyes with her before averting his gaze. "But it's not because of you."

Despite her premonitions and her own feelings, those words were still like a slap in the face. "I think we thought this was going to be perfect," she uttered. "I mean, I did, and… it's not. I think… I think I think too much."

"You do," Fez admitted. "But, I understand. I spent all those years wanting you to be mine, and now that you are, things just aren't the same."

"Maybe we've just grown up," Jackie softly uttered, staring at a vase perched on the coffee table that contained dead flowers from Valentine's Day. "I'm so sorry. I just… I don't even know what to do."

"Well, it might be weird," Fez stated, "But we can still live together. Neither of us has any place to go."

"Are you sure?" Jackie asked, concerned.

"It's fine with me." Fez's voice was solemn, which was a rare occurrence.

"I'm sorry," Jackie repeated.

"Don't be," Fez offered. "We're on the same page, Jackie."