Prince In Thick Shades (Steven Hyde) Chapter One: Chance Encounter
(Author's Note: This story is currently looking for a beta-reader. If you're interested please PM me.)
Steven Hyde sat at a low scale bar in Kenosha. The bar was covered in a thin layer of grease and his glass was cloudy. And it wasn't because of his drink because his glass had been empty for at least ten minutes. Swiveling the patched bar stool around he rested his elbows on the bar, looking on at the rest of the room. A smoke cloud hung in the air like a blanket and he was sure not all of it was cigarette smoke. Couples shamelessly made-out in corner booths. Bikers exchanged tattoos and war stories. A table of ladies laughed way to loud and a slutty waitress was serving them way too many drinks.
It was then that he spotted her. A lone blonde sitting at a small couples table nearest the front door. She was leaning over a thick book and she had a pen in her hand. Her hair was shiny and sleek like Jackies but long and straight like Donnas. Her eyes were darkened by the fact she was wearing dark makeup and because her head was turned down. Her shoulders were bare and peach. They would look good with a few scratch marks. A beautiful rack was covered by a black Pink Floyd tube top. Her arms were covered by frayed fishnet and studded bracelets. Steven stared at her for a little while longer. His internal cockiness and the level of alcohol in his blood made him decide to go for it. If he played his cards right he wouldn't be alone tonight. He stood up, removing his shades and swaggered over to the table. He pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Hello Miss... what's your name?" Steven asked smoothly. The girl looked up and his breath stuck in his throat like peanut butter. Those eyes, they were beautiful and haunting, A black lace necklace with diamond initials S.H hung around her slender neck.
"Emma Vane...?" Steven jumped up and ran out the door. Leaving a shaking blonde in his wake.
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"What was that all about?" Kelso asked as he laid on the Formans couch the next morning. "I mean... one minute you're moving on this hot chick." Jackie hit him on the arm. "And the next you're bolting out of there."
"She looked like a freak..." Fez commented from the corner.
"Nah... it's nothing like that man. It's just... I know her man." Steven suddenly found his hands very interesting. "We used to be like... best friends. But the summer I moved closer to Point Place we cut contact."
"Why?" Donna asked from Eric's side.
"Cause I never told her..."
"You what!?" Donna yelled. "You just went and left your best friend?"
"You know how I am. Never been good at saying goodbyes. I never would have left if she had started crying." Hyde didn't want to explain herself any farther so he stood to get a popsicle There were things about his past that he kept from everyone. Even his friends.
"Well maybe you guys can make up. 'Cause when we were walking out she was filling out some Point Place High School application forms. She's going to be our newest student."
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Steven sat on Eric's downstairs couch. He had attempted to sleep but his heart wouldn't let him. He would lay there and think. His heart would start racing and he would start shivering, but the room wasn't cold at all. The his stomach would start feeling sick. So he gave up on sleeping and decided to just watch reruns of Chips.
His thoughts kept going back to a cute blonde. She had grown up a lot in four years. He couldn't deny she was still as beautiful as she used to be. He didn't know why he didn't want her back in his life. She was always such a good influence on him. And she was still wearing the necklace he had given her. Maybe she wasn't mad at him. He remember how cool she was. Always sharing her sandwiches with him at lunch and playing tackle football after school. She was awesome. Steven put his hands behind his head. He would just play it like he saw it.
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Steven sat in the whittled desk of Homeroom IV. He was attempting to keep calm but his leg was moving quickly. "Hey, Hyde. You're lucky." Eric walked in, wearing his Student Council sash. "I just found out that a Ms. Emma Vane is in this homeroom and in all of a Mr. Steven Hyde's classes on request of me!"
"Forman!" Steven jumped to his feet. "Are you mental man!?" He looked around. "I have to get out of here!" He sprinted towards the door and slammed into someone. Books dropped to the ground and so did a girl. Steven stumbled but kept his balance. He stared down at a familiar cute blonde.
"I am so sorry." She whimpered like a kicked dog. Steven raised an eyebrow. The Emma he used to know would have never sounded like that. He kneeled down and grabbed several of her books. She stared into his eyes and he couldn't look away.
"Hi, Emma." He would have kicked himself if she wasn't in the room.
"Hi, Steven." His breath hitched in his throat.
"You remember me?" She smiled.
"Of course I do. You still look the same. Same rock t-shirts, same shades. Except I think the fro has doubled in size. Like the rest of you." They had both stood up. They had been the same height when he had left. But now she barely reached his shoulders.
"Wow..." Eric sat on a nearby desk. "She's taking the fact that you went and ditched her real well." Steven's insides burned.
"No. It wasn't Steven's fault. His mom made the decision to leave." He desperately wanted to change the conversation.
"So... why are you here in Point Place?"
"Dad."
"He's still alive? Would have figured he would have drank himself to death." Emma smiled.
"Speaking of death. How's your mother?"
"Oh. As lovely as she was the day we met." Unconsciously they began to migrate towards two desks in the back.
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"It's so awesome, man. She's talking to me as though nothing even happened." He sat down heavily. "She's completely forgiven me for everything."
"Maybe not. Maybe she's just getting you up so she can shove you on your butt. Needless to say that women in your life have a knack for screwing you over." Eric tapped him on the shoulder and walked up the stairs. Steven sighed and stretched out on the couch. Forman was wrong. At least he hoped.