Author's Note: Hi everyone! It's been such a long time since I have been on here let alone written anything. As this year is nearing its end (thankfully too because what a tough year it's been all around), I wanted to take some time to write something to end the year with. I have admittedly been working on this piece for a month and was supposed to post it for my 8th year anniversary but didn't get around to finishing it on time. I have some time off work during the holidays and will probably update stories I have on hold so if you're interested, check those out too. Hope everyone has been having a great holiday season!
Hyde grunts as his eyes open and he instantly feels sweat dripping from his face. The unbearable summer heat refuses to let up, even in the middle of the night. His eyes adjust slowly to the darkness filling his bedroom and as he goes to sit up, he feels a weight pinning his left arm to the cot. He can slightly make out the figure beside him and slowly pulls his arm out from under so as to not disturb her. Just as slowly, he gets off the cot and assembles his scattered articles of clothing from the floor and puts them on. He walks out of the room and into the basement.
He immediately walks over to the shower and pulls the curtains aside, grabbing a can of beer to try to cool himself down. Until recently, the summer had been pretty disappointing. The number of girls he managed to bed was much lower than he initially anticipated as was his consumption of alcohol and intake of film. There was also the fact that Kelso and Donna decided to skip town leaving behind a depressed Eric and a very pissed off Jackie for everyone else to deal with. His amusement of the drama that filled their group was short-lived as he had to sit and listen to Eric cry about Donna and Jackie bitch about Kelso for hours on a daily basis. His best bet had been hanging out with Fez, but even that got old pretty quickly as his friend wanted to spend his time at the pool trying to score with some girls and frankly, Steven Hyde did not do the pool.
For a short time, the chaos seemed to subside and he began spending a lot of alone time in the basement. The few times his friends bothered to tear themselves away from their own issues or lady hunting in Fez's case, they just sat around smoking but not saying much, which was just fine with Hyde. Luckily, it was usually Fez and Eric coming around with Jackie stopping by maybe once throughout the week.
On one particular day, things seemed to be going back to normal and he found himself in the basement with Eric and Jackie, watching Bewitched, when Fez stormed into the basement beaming happily.
"Friends of Fez" he says loudly.
Much to his dismay, the other three do not so much as turn to look at him. He clears his throat in an exaggerated fashion and repeats "I said, friends of Fez" and adds accompanying applause.
Jackie and Eric give in and turn to face him but Hyde continues to focus on the t.v. screen.
"What is it Fez?" Jackie asks.
"I have news" Fez said, his smile widening even more.
Again, no one responded which seemed to annoy him.
"Well, I guess no one wants to hear what Fez has to say" he says as he plops down on the beach chair.
"Not if you're going to keep referring to yourself in the first person" Hyde chimes in.
"Well, well. Look who finally notices Fez" the foreigner says which causes Hyde to roll his eyes.
"Fez, what is it man?" Eric says exasperated that his viewing of Samantha is being disturbed.
"Oh no, you do not deserve to hear Fez's news" Fez says and crosses his arms across his chest. Rather than indulge in the back and forth that was inevitable, Eric shrugs his shoulder and turns back to the television. Jackie snickers and shakes her head which just increases Fez's vexation towards his friends. "Fine! You sons of bitches" Fez exclaims before quickly standing up and bolting towards the door and back out of the basement.
Eric lets out an exasperated sigh. "You guys know that if we don't listen to him he's just going to be extra annoying right?" he asks the other two.
"Well, then go find out what he wanted to say" Hyde says to Eric without looking at him.
"Why should I be the one to go after him?" Eric asked.
"Because you're the only one who seems to care" Jackie chimed in.
"I do not care" Eric says trying to be convincing.
"Okay then" Hyde responds, knowing very well that his friend does probably care and will eventually get up and chase after Fez. As if on cue, Eric exclaims "fine!" and storms out of the basement behind the foreigner.
The next few minutes are filled with silence as Hyde and Jackie are the only two left in the basement. Again, Hyde did not mind one bit because there was no desire on his part to have any conversation with Jackie. He had grown tired over the last couple of weeks hearing her bad mouth Kelso and he was sure that is all she would continue to talk about until Kelso and Donna returned.
"Want a beer?" Jackie asked from her side of the room.
"Huh?"
"Do you want another beer?" she repeats while standing up and walking over to the tub.
"Sure" Hyde replies. She throws open the curtain and pulls two cans of beer. Jackie tosses one can to Hyde and reclaims her seat.
"Thanks" he says popping open the can top.
"You're welcome" she responds before taking a sip of her beer.
"You know, I don't think I've seen you drink before" he says before realizing that he's initiating a conversation with her.
"I'm sure you have, probably just don't remember" she responds.
"Probably" he says, trying to minimize any conversation that may come from his initial comment. Surprisingly, she doesn't say anything else and the two go back to watching Bewitched. Even more surprisingly, he catches himself sneaking glances at her. As she sits there, quietly, he has to admit that she is actually pretty hot. He likes that there is a little bounce in her hair every time she shifts her body a bit and the glow in her skin from the heat. Then he catches himself stealing glimpses of her cleavage and toned legs. Yeah, definitely hot he thinks before forcing himself to look away.
"I'm going to go" she says.
"Uh huh" is all he says and gets a chance to see her butt as she walks out of the basement.
Shit he thinks and takes a large gulp of his beer.
The next morning, Hyde woke up much too early for his taste and he groggily made his way to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Once there, he was surprised to see Jackie sitting with Mrs. Forman by the round table drinking what he suspects to be coffee. The two women do not immediately notice his presence and continue chatting.
"I'm sure he'll be surprised whenever he returns and finds that I'm no longer interested in him" Jackie says.
"Oh sweetie how can you be so sure? Sure what Michael did was stupid but, well, he is a man and they're not known for making the smartest choices are they?" she says with her signature laugh.
"Well no, but I really think this time is it. I don't see how I can forgive him. Besides, there's someone I'm kind of interested in and want to see if there is anything there."
"Ooh, is this someone I know?" Kitty asks excitedly at this new piece of gossip.
"Mrs. Forman, this is Point Place. You know everyone" Jackie responds.
"Don't get too excited Mrs. Forman, it's probably Fez" Hyde says finally making his presence known.
Jackie quickly turns to look at him "Ew, it is not Fez, don't even kid about that."
"It's okay Jackie, we won't judge you for wanting to do it with a foreigner" Hyde says pulling out a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator.
"Steven!" Kitty shrieks at her pseudo-son's sexual reference.
Hyde shrugs and smirks when he sees Jackie instantly standing up. He knows he's gotten the best of her which has made his morning successful.
"I'm going to get going now Mrs. Forman" Jackie says and she turns once more to look at Hyde. "Pig" she says.
"You know it babe" he replies.
Once Jackie storms out of the kitchen, Kitty stands up and gathers the two coffee mugs on the table. She walks over to the sink shaking her head. "Steven, is that really necessary?" she asks.
"Oh come on Mrs. Forman, I was just kidding. She gets riled up too easily is all" he replies closing the fridge and taking the mugs from Kitty's hands.
"You seem to have a little too much fun riling her up if you ask me" Kitty says.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hyde asks as he starts washing the mugs in the sink.
"Oh nothing" she says with a sly smile. She pats him on the back and walks through the swinging doors towards the living room. Hyde grunts, he should have just stayed in bed.
Later that afternoon, Hyde is finishing up running errands for the Formans when he decides to go into The Hub to grab some food. It doesn't take long before he spots Jackie with a guy he's seen around the high school. His arms are around her and they're sitting pretty close together. He lets out an exasperated breath. Why can't he seem to shake this chick off today? He walks straight towards the counter to place his order, making sure not to make any sort of eye contact with her.
"A burger, no onions, with fries" he tells Max at the counter.
He hears a high pitched giggle which he immediately recognizes as Jackie's. Hyde rolls his eyes and tries to imagine the idiotic and shallow conversation taking place between the peppy cheerleader and the jock guy. How two self-centered people can stand to be in that close proximity of each other is beyond him. What the hell do they do, wait their turn to talk about themselves some more? A girl like Jackie needs a guy who wouldn't put up with all her crap and can tell her to shut up when her head is getting too big. She needs a guy who isn't afraid to call her out when she's being a brat or a pain in the ass. She needs a guy who...who the hell cares what kind of guy Jackie Burkhart needs anyway? Not like he's thinking about that crap.
Several minutes pass by and as Hyde is waiting for his order to be ready, he hears more annoying laughter and the few times he reluctantly turns around and sees Jackie, he sees her even closer to the guy once even kissing him.
"Burger no onions and fries" Max finally calls out.
"Took you long enough" Hyde exclaims. He slaps down a five dollar bill on the counter and grabs the paper bag with his food. Quickly, he heads towards the exit without so much as looking back in Jackie's direction.
During the short drive between The Hub and the Forman's house, Hyde finds himself becoming aggravated at the thought of Jackie making a fool of herself by making out with that jock in front of all those people. She should know better, hell should have taken it to an alley or a car, somewhere more secluded. What the hell was she thinking? She's suddenly over Kelso and hooking up with some new guy in public?
Why the hell do you even care? Hyde asks himself repeatedly.
However, the more he thinks about it, the more annoyed he gets. She was just with his best friend. That's it, that is what was bothering. She's Kelso's chick, everyone knows that. Even if Kelso ran away to California, he would come back and she would still be his chick. Hell, Jackie probably knows that too so what the hell was she doing? And who was this tool who didn't?
Hyde finally arrives to the Forman's and as soon as he enters the empty basement, he pulls open the curtain to the tub and grabs a can of beer to drink with his burger. He turns on the television and settles in his usual seat with his food and his drink. Finally, he can stop thinking about the stupid cheerleader and let his mind focus on mindless images on the screen.
Slowly, as the night dwindles on, one beer turns into two and so on. Soon, Hyde finds himself stacking his sixth can of beer on top of the ones he's already had. He looks down at his watch and sees that it's after 12. Ready to get this day over with, he decides to retire to his bedroom and see how long it will take for him to fall asleep. Thankfully the beers have helped him stop thinking weird thoughts about Jackie, thoughts which don't even really matter to him. He was just looking out for his best friend who isn't around to do anything about what's going on. That's all it is.
After some time, Hyde begins to doze off and feels his body relaxing for the first time all day. Suddenly, he hears footsteps coming from outside his bedroom. He groans loudly wondering who the hell could possibly be down here at this time. He pulls his covers from his body abruptly and opens the door to his bedroom. In the darkness, he sees a figure clumsily moving about the basement.
"What the hell" he says, more a comment than a question and walks over to where the light switch is. The sudden brightness disturbs his eyes and he has to squint for a bit while they adjust.
"Hi Steven" Jackie says loudly and then starts to laugh.
"Jackie, what the hell are you doing man? It's one in the morning" he replies.
"It's still early Steven" she says and laughs again.
"Are you drunk?" he asks seeing that she's more loopy than usual.
"Maybe" she says and smiles widely.
"How much did you drink Jackie? And how the hell did you get here?"
"I have no idea" she answers and plops down on the sofa.
"You have no idea how much you've had to drink or how you got here?" he questions her, annoyed already.
"Yes" she says and again, laughs.
Hyde groans and decides not to bother asking her any questions she clearly won't be able to answer. "Jackie, just go to sleep man. You're too drunk to go home now. I'll drive you there in the morning."
"You're not going to keep me company?" she says pouting her bottom lip.
"No, and stop that. Your tricks don't work on me. Go to sleep" he tells her firmly and walks back over to the light switch and turns it off.
"But Steven-" she calls out in a drawn out voice.
"Go to sleep" he tells her again making his way back to his bedroom.
Some time passes in which Hyde lays awake trying to listen to any sounds. After a couple of minutes of silence, he assumes she has fallen asleep and tries to start dazing off again. This is short-lived however when he hears the creaking of his bedroom door and then a small amount of light entering from outside.
"Steven," he hears Jackie whisper, "are you still awake?"
Hyde groans, "what is it Jackie?"
"I'm not tired" she says.
"Well I am so you need to go back out there and fall asleep. I'll take you home in the morning."
"But you never go to bed this early" she tells him as though he isn't aware of that already.
"It's been a long day so I'm tired tonight."
"Oh" is all she says. He waits a moment to see if she would leave and let him sleep but has no such luck.
"What is it Jackie?"
"Can I ask you a question?" she murmurs.
"If I say yes, will you go to sleep?" he asks her.
"Maybe."
"What's your question?"
She stays silent for a moment and then the room is filled with light. Hyde shields his eyes for a few seconds. "Jesus Jackie, can you warn me if you're going to turn the light on first?" he says annoyed.
"Do you want me Steven?" Jackie asks.
"What?" he says bringing his hands away from his eyes and looking at her. She's standing still by the door and her eyes are locked on his.
"Do you want me?" she repeats herself.
"Want you to do what?" he asks sure that she means something completely different than what he's imagining.
"Ugh, do you find me attractive?" she says in a manner that he might understand better.
"Jackie, come on man, you're Kelso's chick" Hyde says while watching her slowly lift her shirt above her head.
"That wasn't my question" she says seductively. Jackie throws her shirt towards him and he catches it. Holding her top in his hands makes him feel uneasy.
"What are you doing Jackie?" Hyde asks, his voice now in a deep and raspy tone. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath. Is he drunk and imagining this or is she really standing there half-naked? He looks down at his hand holding her shirt and clenches his fist to make sure it's really there. Yup, definitely not imagining it.
"I like you Steven" she tells him.
"You don't know me Jackie."
"I know that I like you" she responds and takes a step closer.
"How do you know that exactly?" he asks, genuinely curious as to how someone so different from him, someone who's barely had a full conversation with him can come to the conclusion that she likes him.
"Do you question everything?" she says and takes another step towards him.
"See, that's what the government has done to you. You're programmed not to question things."
"Steven, do you want me?" she asks once more, not wanting to let his anti-government rant go on any further.
"Jackie, you're my best friend's chick and you're drunk so whatever this is, we're going to put a stop to it and you're going to put this back on and go out there and sleep okay?"
"Huh," she starts, tilting her head to the side and licking her lips, "you're sure that's what you want?"
He stares at her, watches as her small, firm breasts lift slowly and the curve of her waist meet perfectly at the side of her body. He images himself nibbling each part of her skin, each curve and as the thoughts get more elaborate in his mind, he feels a stiffness in his pants. He tries to straighten up a bit to hide the bulge but the smile that spreads across her lips tells him it's too late to hide it.
"If that's what you want," she says coyly walking the rest of the way to him and reaching for her top still in his hand, "then I'll just take this and go back outside."
As she grabs hold of her shirt, he strengthens his hold on it and pulls her arm down a bit so they are now face to face with each other.
"This," he says motioning between them, "does not leave this room okay?" he says firmly.
Jackie nods her head, "my lips are sealed" she says and smiles.
Hyde shakes her head, knowing that he's making a mistake, but he can't deny the attraction he feels at this moment and despite his best logic, he pulls her towards him.