1982.
Honestly, the back and forth between the two of them tired Jackie out.
Three years had gone by since the fiasco of Donna and Eric's last attempt at marriage, three years of the group watching with bated breath as they danced around the subject of marriage or proposals. Nothing ever seemed fully set in stone, and it drove Jackie up the wall. Her dream wedding was a constant work in progress, just waiting for the right person to swoop in to take the role as groom. Donna didn't seem to have the same fervor, and Eric's flakiness and disinterest in planning only furthered her frustration. The dance was a tired one, and she was ready to be a goddamn maid of honor.
So when that cardstock made it into her hands, Jackie was understandably hesitant at first.
She got over it. She wasn't about to let Donna pick someone less giving and good-looking to be her maid of honor. No, this position had Jackie Burkhart's name BRANDED in it. It was going to be a good time and a memorable wedding. Even if it was in dumpy Point Place.
People who have never lived in the Midwest assume physically and culturally, it's all the same. There's trees, corn, and a lot of bars, but the subtly of moving past the state line from Illinois to Wisconsin is not lost on someone who lived their entire life in Wisconsin up till a few years ago. The energy seemed to shift, warmth and hospitality oozing from every pore. People still waved at you as you drove past, even in bigger cities. The sense of urgency is nonexistent, but tradition and pride are as integrated in its land as the pines in deep soil and the Kettle Moraine in the southeast farmland.
Chicago may have become her living space, but her soul felt at home in the Dairy State. She was grown, she had matured. This was a good chance to reflect but not fall back. Nostalgia was a beast she fought against lately, but Jackie was determined to not let it win.
Especially since it had been a while since she heard from Hyde.
There's beauty in the way you can learn details of a person. They way they push back their hair from their face, or the squinting they do before they begin to talk. Everything gets cataloged, even the small details you would never assume to be worthy of note.
Hyde catalogs everything. He always has, and he knows her face by heart now. It eats at him that he can tell what she's about to do next. Her eyebrows raise, and the arms cross. Christ, he's going to get chewed out.
"You moved the store around again."
"If you keep it the same too long, people stop looking at new stuff, Ang. Basic retail knowledge."
"Don't you have something better to do, like paperwork or helping Forman with the wedding?" Her dark eyes seemed to stare past his aviators. It creeped him the hell out, how she managed to do it consistently. He mumbled out a response, choosing instead to focus on the last milk crate. "This isn't about Jackie, is it? I thought that was done with."
"It is, so drop it. The whole wedding things just has me stressed. I can't have a conversation with anyone that doesn't involve flowers or color schemes."
Even if Jackie was the source of stress, owning up to it would be worse. Life hadn't stood still for Hyde, and Angie had first handedly seen the changes through most of the past two years. Recently, she had been watching some girls come and go, nothing ever serious but enough to get her hopes up.
"What about Lulu?" He tensed at the mention of their part-timer. "She's got it bad for you, why not make her your plus one?"
"Because," he managed through gritted teeth, "I'm not gonna have some girl the gang doesn't know in every picture for Donna's wedding. She'd kill me. I'd kill me."
"Fair."
"No shit." There was a pause.
"You're hoping Jackie comes alone, though, right?" As soon as his ex's name left his sister's mouth again, there was a small yell as he headed to the back room.
Everything was chaos. A chaotic good, but chaos nonetheless. The family had ceased their teary congratulations, Kelso had knocked something over, and the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Forman-Pinciotti had begun their first dance. It was chaotic, and in the process of keeping everything together (as much as they could allow), Jackie had not spoken to Hyde besides a 'hello' at rehearsal yesterday.
Hyde had been trying for a good hour to make his way over to her, to say something, anything, to save the awkward silence between them that would come. Anything to get his married friends off his back on the status of his relationship with her. Best man duties kept getting in his way, and maid of honor duties (bestowed upon Jackie of her own accord) kept her at bay as well.
Two hours in, he stepped over to her. The moment felt like it would hang in the air forever.
"Hey."
"Hyde, hey!" Fake surprise enveloped her voice. "Great job on your speech. It was really nice, even with you calling Eric a bunch of names."
"Yeah, thanks. Red seemed like he enjoyed it, so that's always good." His throat cleared, hands shoved in his pockets. Jackie noted his curls had seen a haircut recently, at least on the sides and back, giving him a sleeker look for his tux. Oh, god, that tuxedo. She'd seen him in a suit before, but true formalwear always defined a man. He wore it like it was meant to be apart of him.
Her own ensemble had not escaped him. Donna had opted for a non-puffy sleeved look (much to Jackie's fad-chasing chagrin), saving the petite girl from drowning in fabric. When didn't Jackie look ethereal in formalwear? It was her natural state of being; class and elegance.
"So, you… wanna grab a drink? Open bar closes at five."
"...Sure."
Hyde was sure the bride and groom had figured out where they disappeared, but after emerging from the closet, hair disheveled and buttons hastily done up, he knew it would make its rounds what had happened. Their group of friends was notorious for gossiping among themselves.
It was the last thing he wanted. This wasn't supposed to happen today! It was not his time to be selfish and needy, it was Donna and Eric's time to be adored and showered with attention, for him to crack stupid jokes at his guy friends' expense. Jackie should be in there, trash talking the other guests. It was the natural order of things.
Instead, he was now fixing his hair and his tie in the bathroom, Jackie surely doing her best to repair whatever damage he did to her makeup and hair. This shouldn't have happened, echoed in his head. His glimmer of hope he had snuffed out years ago had come back, and it pissed him off.
The tail end of the reception was filled with drunken dancing, so no one really seemed to have missed the two. There was more beer, more dancing, laughter and reminiscing between Jackie and Hyde before the end of the night came.
"I'll call you, okay?" she said softly. Hands clutched the small of her back tighter, pulling her into a hug. "I promise. We can talk this out."
His words felt like they clung to the back of his throat, afraid of this vulnerability he was allowing her once more. A quick kiss to the top of her head, and he nodded.
"I'd like that."