Love.
It was an annoying little word.
Pesky, some might even say.
It had the power to make you blissfully happy or infinitely miserable.
Steven Hyde hated that word.
He hated words in general, but he specifically hated that word.
He found words unnecessary, rhetorical. Why waste breath saying something you would regret saying later? Why complicate things by saying what you truly mean? He preferred actions.
With actions you can be ambiguous. You didn't have to clarify yourself. You didn't have to play a game. Actions kept people guessing. And guessing was good.
Sometimes, Jackie Burkhardt couldn't stand Steven Hyde's stupid action theory.
She, naturally, preferred words.
She liked to hear herself being praised, all the compliments thrown at her from various people: from
jealous ones from her fellow cheerleaders to affectionate ones from Steven.
Wait, scratch that.
Those ones were MIA.
Steven tended to burn her as a sign of affection instead.
He was capable of complimenting her, she was sure of it. It was not a question of subject matter – she was, of course, pretty enough. Nor was it a question of him disagreeing. She knew he had thought about it. But that stupid Zen caused every good thought that ran through his head to come out warped and sounding an awful lot more like a burn than a compliment.
Love really was a pesky little word, Hyde mused. And for some reason, it was the one flitting around his brain as he sat in his basement chair, acutely aware that only five feet away, Jackie was asleep on the couch.
love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love
Even the TV couldn't distract him.
The Price is Love
Gil-love-gan's Island
For the love of God.
This wasn't a Hyde emotion. This was a Forman emotion.
But as he thought about it, as he kept glancing out of the corner of his eye at the sleeping brunette on
the couch, he couldn't help but think that it was the perfect word in this case.
pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy pussy
He wondered if anybody else had to put up with this.
Falling for the one girl who was so wrong for him.
And yet, so right.
She made him happy. And precious little made Hyde truly happy.
But he would be damned if he would ever admit that to anybody. Even Jackie. Especially Jackie.
risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky risky
She knew he kept looking at her.
Truth be told, Jackie wasn't really asleep. Napping had a tendency to undo the masterpiece that was her hair. She had just closed her eyes for a few minutes while watching some random show, and while she was dozing, Steven had come down and settled into his chair, apparently engrossed in the TV.
She knew he kept looking at her.
She peeked at his profile from under her half-closed eyelids.
Every so often he would glance at her. And the corner of his mouth would quirk upwards.
And Jackie knew.
The only thing that could get past that stupid Zen was that little half-smile as he watched her sleeping.
It wasn't a proclamation of love. It wasn't dozens of red roses and a together forever promise. It wasn't even a ride into the sunset on a white horse.
But it was enough.