Author's note: So, this is my first That 70's show fic. I just couldn't help it. I love them so much, and this song makes me think of them. And yeah, so sorry if the characters are a bit off. I could never write them as awesomely as the show did…. Up until season 8 anyways. Sigh.
Disclaimer: I do not own That 70's Show, or its characters. Nor do I own the song Last Kiss, the lovely Taylor Swift wrote it. So yeah, I own nothing but the idea to put the two together.
I still remember the look on your face, lit through the darkness at 1:58.
Steven was alone is his room in the basement. The whole new year, new decade thing hadn't really turned out to be as great as he thought it was. Of course, he probably couldn't blame that on the holiday. Everything had been messed up since the day he walked out of that hotel room. Okay, maybe that was a lie. He had thought it was a fight, a fight they could work through after he had cooled down. And for a while, it had seemed to him like they would. And then Sam had walked through the door. Damn it. He had done a really good job of screwing up his life. But he had put up his Zen mask, and thrown on his shades. No one needed to know how hurt he was, especially now that she was with Fez. But lying here on his small, lumpy bed, he couldn't help but remember the only time it had ever seemed comfortable to him. Those couple of weeks when Jackie had stayed with him so she wouldn't be alone in her house. He remembered his arms wrapped around her, her back against his chest, and every curve of their bodies fitting perfectly together.
The words that you whispered for just us to know, you told me you loved me so why did you go away?
Jackie had tears running down her face. How did this happen? How did they end up like this? They were supposed to be together forever. Even Michael had thought they would always be together. He had picked them to be the god parents of his daughter. Her and Steven, they were supposed to be together forever. Jackie wasn't at her apartment. She couldn't handle being there, not tonight, not with Fez. She knew why it had been a surprise for everyone when she had said she liked Fez. Because it wasn't true. It would never be true. All that was true was that she was broken, and alone, and Fez would never make her feel like she wasn't good enough. He would never cheat on her. And she needed that. She was in Donna's room, leaning against the door just looking at the place that held so many memories of her and Steven. It was empty, Donna had been staying with Eric ever since he came back. Scrawny little Eric came crawling back after breaking her heart and leaving for Africa, and she still took him back. Maybe Michael had been wrong. Maybe they were the two meant to be together forever. Not that Eric deserved Donna at all, lumberjack or not, she deserved better. She stared at the empty bed and remembered a time that her and Steven had been entwined together on that bed, happily wrapped around one another and he opened up, in a way he only used to with her. No glasses hiding those beautiful eyes he whispered he loved her in her ear. He would never do that in front of the guys, but when it was just the two of them, then he was the Steven she loved.
You pull me in, I'm not much for dancing, but for you I did.
Steven remembered their first date. See, they used to argue about what their first date was. In his mind, it had always been the time he took her out after punching Chip. But Jackie, being the romantic she was, still thought of their first date as the time he took her to prom, even if it was just to make Kelso jealous. And here he was now without her, thinking back to that prom. She had been so young, so small, and so unhappy. But even then, back before he would admit it to himself, and she was even thinking about it, he had loved the way that she fit into his arms. He would never admit why he went to a school prom, especially with the loud mouthed cheerleader, but he just wanted to see her happy. Maybe there had always been something there between the two of them, and that was why when they finally got together, it was so right. He would give anything to go back and relive all those times, all the way back to their very first date. That night at the prom, when she looked so beautiful, and he had held her in his arms, dancing at the prom despite the fact that he hated dancing… and prom.
So I'll go, sit on the floor wearing your clothes.
Jackie had begun to regret every little moment of bitchiness she had had towards Steven while they were together. So what if he never really knew the right thing to say? So what if he wasn't rich or motivated? He was the guy she loved. She was collapsed on the floor in Donna's empty room, right where her cot used to be. She was sobbing, arms wrapped around her torso, trying to hold the ratty old t-shirt as close to herself as she possibly could. She remembered the day that Steven had given it to her. She hadn't even wanted to wear it. How could she be so stupid? She had had the perfect boyfriend, who gave her his favorite t-shirt because "she was with him now". She would wear it every day for the rest of her life if it meant she could still be with him. And yet, one of the most caring gestures he had ever shown her, she had brushed it off. She wished she could go back in time and tell him she would wear it every night and think of him, instead of being her normal bitchy self and asking if she had to. God, how did she mess everything up?
Because I love your handshake meeting my father. I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets.
Steven rolled over in his bed, refusing to let the tears fall that were threatening. He wished he could wear his shades, even here alone in this room in the back of the basement in the middle of the night. Maybe then, he wouldn't have to know his own emotions either. Maybe if he kept wearing them, emotions would just go away entirely. But they wouldn't. He would always have emotions. And the only one who ever saw through his Zen mask and knew that they were there was gone. He would never have her back. No one else thought he needed protecting from the world that he sometimes did. Except Mrs. Foreman sometimes, but that was different. She wanted to shove people into his life so he wouldn't be so alone. Jackie had always tried to keep anyone with a chance of hurting him away. He remembered her meeting his father. Even though she had been excited that he was rich, and that meant Steven wouldn't be a burnout his whole life, she had still wanted to keep him safe. Meet the guy, sure, but Jackie would have torn him a new one if the guy had tried to hurt him. And she never made him feel weak when she did things like that. He kept his dignity, just seemed to have a loud, bitchy girlfriend. They both secretly knew without it being said what was really going on though.
How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something. There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions.
"You know what your problem is? You're cute so no one ever told you to shut your pie hole." The words echoed through Jackie's mind. Steven was the only one who had ever reined her behavior in, the only one who would tell her to shut up when she was being rude or insensitive. But her favorite times had been when they were sitting alone, and she would try and talk to him about something she found important. He would just kiss her. And it pissed her off to no end. Weird that those were the times she missed the most. "This usually works a lot better when you don't talk." If only he would kiss her now when she talked instead of just burning her, or worse, ignoring her. There was nothing Jackie hated more than being interrupted, but she would be interrupted in everything she said for the rest of her life if it would be by Steven kissing her again.
So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep.
Ever since Jackie had gotten a job as the weather girl at the news station, and a damn fine weather girl too, Steven had taken to actually watching the weather, but he would do it when no one was watching. Donna caught him before he could change the channel one time. The lame excuse he had come up with probably didn't convince her, but she dropped it. Donna knew better than to push things like that. No wonder she was such a good friend of his.
And I'll feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe.
Jackie had a hard time being in the basement with her friends anymore, with Steven there, completely ignoring her, acting like nothing had ever happened. But she was always tough about it. She would not stop going there and give him the satisfaction of knowing she was the weak one still in love with him, still heartbroken. If he even would get any satisfaction, maybe he wouldn't even notice.
And I keep up with our old friends, just to ask them how you are. Hope it's nice where you are.
"So, have you talked to Jackie lately? How is she? Still with Fez?" Hyde asked, sitting in the circle with Donna, Foreman, and Kelso.
"Why man? She's the devil. Let's just be glad she's not here." Foreman and Jackie would probably never get along perfectly.
"She's good. Asks about you sometimes…" Donna answered, thinking about all the times Jackie tried to subtlety ask about him, acting like she didn't care.
"Awww. Little Hyde is still in love. It's too bad my good looks got in the way of you guys."
Hyde punched Kelso in the arm. "Shut up man. I am not in love with her. I was just… making conversation."
The conversation quickly changed back to the nonsense that normally filled the circle, but Donna still gave Hyde a knowing look. He looked away from her.
I hope the sun shines and it's a beautiful day, and something reminds you, you wish you had stayed.
Damn it. If only she had waited for his answer before she had taken off to Chicago with Kelso. He was going to propose to her. He was going to marry her and they could be together for the rest of their lives, maybe not perfectly, but in love and happy, and that was what mattered. But she had left, thinking she was sparing him a choice. But it was a choice that had been easy enough for him to make. She was the only girl who had ever wormed her way into his heart, and she was the only one who ever would. But she had left a day early, before he could tell her his decision. And he had married a stripped instead. Why had everything gotten so messed up?
You can plan for a change in the weather and time, but I never planned on you changing your mind.
He had said he loved her. He had said he never felt this way about a girl before. She had thought he meant it. God, she was so stupid. Jackie was just a foolish romantic who thought she had made the closed off man fall in love, but she hadn't. He changed his mind because he didn't trust her. He had changed his mind and married Sam the slutty stripper. She was blonde with big boobs, and never had much opinion of her own. She was perfect for Steven, no wonder he had loved her instead. No wonder he had married her instead. Jackie had been out done by a stripper. God, she was worthless. Not good enough for any man, always out done by the blondes with the boobs.
Your name, forever the name on my lips.
A hand was on Hyde's shoulder, shaking him, thinking he was asleep. He rolled over and saw the outline of a girl in the dark. He couldn't help it, his hopes soared and in a groggy voice he muttered, "Jackie?"
The outline shook their head, and he realized that it was Donna, much too tall to be his small ex-girlfriend. "My dad called. She's over at my house. Snuck in the window. So now you two need to stop being so stupid and proud and apologize." Hyde started to protest, but she just punched him in the arm. "You love her you idiot. And you can't just keep ignoring that. You both made a mistake, now get over there dumbass." She yelled, sounding remarkably like Red.
Never imagined we'd end like this.
Jackie jumped up from where she was huddled on the floor when she heard the door open. And turned to face away from whoever was walking in, quickly wiping her eyes. Not wanting to admit that she had been crying. "Mr. Pinciotti, I'm sorry. I was just hoping Donna would be here," she said, trying to sound happy, but there was a bit of sniffling still. Damn tears.
"It's not Bob," came a voice that she would recognize anywhere. Damn him for showing up here. She turned around, forgetting the fact that her face was tear stained.
"What the hell are you doing here Steven?"
Forever the name on my lips, just like our last kiss.
He was taken aback when Jackie turned around, not by the fact that she was yelling at him, or even that she had been crying. But he saw the shirt she was wearing. His shirt.
"Jackie, why are you wearing that?" he tried to sound Zen, uninterested. But his voice shook a little. The last time he had sounded like this had been when he had to tell her about the nurse, and he hated it. He hated sounding weak.
And then suddenly, she had her arms wrapped around him and was sobbing into his shoulder. It took her a few moments, and then she pulled herself together and stepped back. "I'm sorry Steven," she said, pulling herself up straight and wiping the tears from her face. It amazed him how quickly she composed herself from the emotional girl she normally was, to the Zen he had taught her years ago. "I just, I was thinking about us. How we used to be. Funny how everyone thought we would last forever. You know, I never thought we'd have a last kiss. And I didn't even know it was going to be at the time, so it never got to be anything special."
That is what she had been here doing? Thinking about him? About their last kiss? And Steven realized she was right, there had never been any sort of goodbye kiss. He couldn't even remember for sure when their last kiss was. All he remembered was how much he loved the feeling of her lips against his. And in that moment, he couldn't help himself, he pulled her into a soft kiss.
As they pulled apart, and Jackie's eyes fluttered back open, she asked, "What- what was that for?"
And the Zen mask fell from his face. "I'm sorry, for everything. I love you Jackie," he whispered, just like old times.
A wide smile covered the small girl's face, and she pulled him into another kiss. "I love you too puddin' pop."
Steven chuckled. He still couldn't believe it was possible for him to miss that.