A/N so this is one I wrote a long time ago, I'm trying to fix it as I go so that it's not too stupid but I promise nothing. Also if you should notice similarities to my other story on here, I assure you I already know so there's no need to point them out, unless you really, really need to then I guess I understand. As usual I own nothing. Also the timeline is a bit wonky because the shows timeline was that way so I'm doing what I can, and unlike my other story I don't have a clear ending already so suggestions as I go are welcome and appreciated, thank you and let me know what you think unless it's mean then I don't really want to know.
June 1974,
'welcome to point place Wisconsin' the wooden sign read as a beat up Dodge dart sped past it, on the way to Marie place a residential street in a nice middle class part of town. That's where the driver's grandparents lived, and that's where the closest thing to a home in the whole country was, and it was time to say goodbye to it all.
Sindal Costello glanced around as she drove through the small town through the lenses of her dark glasses, it seemed nice and friendly and if she had a choice in the matter she might consider staying there for longer than the few months she had. But time wasn't a luxury available to her, she had only the summer to spend as a regular 19 year old before she had to say goodbye to her grandparents and her childhood before fulfilling a duty she only half understood.
Pushing the dark thought out of her mind Sindal turned onto her grandparents street and slowed down to read the house numbers, she hadn't been there in years and didn't trust herself to recognize the house. At a snail's crawl she passed a driveway where two teenage boys were playing basketball, Sindal smirked and paused to watch for a moment. One of the boys had shaggy brown hair and was rail thin, the other had blond curls and was stockier but still thin, and the blond one was clearly winning as well and jovially taunted his friend about it. Sindal laughed and drove on to the house next door which had the same address her Gran had given her. If she was going to be next door for the summer she knew she had plenty of time to meet the two kids, but just then she wanted to see her family and pretend there was no trouble lurking in her future. Sindal parked the car and grabbed her bag before walking to the front door, where she rang the bell and waited for her gran or Granddad to answer, not noticing that the two boys were watching her.
"Who is that?" Eric said openly staring at the stranger.
"Don't know Forman, but we should definitely find out" Hyde said watching Sindal walk inside with the old lady who'd answered the door.
Point place was not a happening town and any new arrival was more interesting than the day to day they generally had, especially if it was a pretty girl with her own car that had to be from a city – judging by her clothes which weren't the usual 70's bright colors and lurid prints, she wore tight dark clothes that were in sever need of mending and that wasn't something either of the two friends had really seen. They were curious enough to discuss ways to meet the new girl as they walked inside to get a drink and a snack from Eric's mom, but when they did they walked right into Kitty Forman in a flurry of activity.
"Boys, we're having a party tonight so dress snappy!" she told them and laughed happily while pulling a tray of pigs in a blanket out of the oven.
"Why are we having a party?" Eric asked grabbing a pop out of the fridge and only marginally interested in what she said – kitty loved throwing parties for the smallest of reasons.
"it's to welcome the Costello's next door's granddaughter, she's coming today to stay for the summer and we want to give her a friendly greeting" Kitty explained pointedly to them both who were still in some trouble over spraying another neighbors visiting nephew with a hose.
"Do you think that's the girl we saw?" Eric asked Hyde in a whisper.
"Of course it was foreman, what are the chances of two new chicks showing up there in one day?" Hyde asked dryly
"Oh yeah" Eric muttered having realized he should have already put it together.
Like they did every day, Eric and Hyde went down the stairs to hang out in the basement where they did pretty much nothing but watch TV and occasionally comment on what they saw. They'd been doing this for about an hour when a human whirlwind swept into their midst
"Where's Michael?!" the tiny brunette tempest demanded, glaring down at them impatiently.
Neither bothered to look away from the TV.
"Go away Jackie, were busy" Hyde grunted at her
"No you're not Hyde! You're just sitting there watching TV, now where's Michael?!" she demanded louder than before
"He's gone" Eric supplied to get her to leave and allow the silence to return
"Gone?! What do you mean he's gone, gone where?!" Jackie shrieked
"Good god woman you could shatter glass" Hyde barked irritably at her
"He's on vacation with his family Jackie, didn't he tell you?" Eric asked disinterestedly and turned his attention fully to the TV again.
"oh…yeah i-I must have….forgotten?" Jackie said much more quietly, her face looked suddenly sad but Hyde pretended not to notice, he worked very hard to make his empathy apathy, but seeing the young tiny girl so sad and hurt bothered him and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair hoping she would leave soon.
"I guess I'll just wait for Donna then" Jackie murmured absently and lowered herself into the lawn chair just as Eric spoke again.
"She's gone too, her parents took her to Florida yesterday" he informed her with a morose tone.
"what?!" Jackie cried trying hard to sound indignant instead of devastated – which she was, did she really mean so little to them both that they left town without telling her? And worse still they had both, more than once, made plans with her for the summer, apparently knowing full well that they wouldn't be around to do them. Knowing that she had been the butt of such a cruel joke made Jackie's eyes fill with tears, but she refused to let them fall. Why would they both go so far as to tell her they wanted to spend time with her and do stuff if they knew they'd be gone? Was it so funny to make her look foolish and pathetic? she knew that if you asked either Michael or donna this their answer would probably be 'yes' and that made her lip quiver – which made it that much harder for Hyde to ignore.
"What is it Jackie?" Hyde asked finally in a grudging tone, he did not want to feel bad for the poor little rich girl but she was clearly hurt by the news she'd heard?
"N-nothing really….just…just Donna asked me to do stuff with her this summer to…to become better friends…." She repeated Donna's words at the end of school with a hitch in her throat, Jackie knew she was hard to get along with but why couldn't Donna have just said that instead of seeking her out and asking her to hang out? It was just mean.
"Don't take it personally Jackie, not everything's about you, you know? She probably just forgot she had plans to go out of town" Eric defended his crush; he didn't like Jackie as it was and chose to forgive the rather obvious cruel joke Donna had made of her.
"That's a load of crap Forman!" Hyde spat angrily, it was mean and unfair and those were two things Hyde simply did not turn a blind eye to, Donna and Kelso's callous actions had made a 15 year old girl cry and there was nothing funny about that. "She fucking did it on purpose! You know it and I know it and Jackie knows it and it's messed up!" he shouted getting more pissed off by the second.
"Come on Hyde it was a joke! And its Jackie – we all make fun of Jackie!" Eric defended his friend's actions lamely; doing his best to ignore the feeling in his gut that told him what they'd done was going too far.
"Yeah Forman, we do – we aren't nice to her, and we make jokes at her expense, but we do it to her damn face! And we sure as hell don't pretend to be her friends and get her hopes up just to burn her behind her back! That's too damn far!" Hyde shouted at his friend, getting to his feet and breathing hard. Hyde had his flaws – many of them – but he didn't allow the strong to abuse the weak, and Jackie was not yet capable of defending herself.
Eric bowed his head in acceptance, he didn't want to admit what his childhood friends had done to Jackie was meaner than anything he would ever be capable of, but he had not choice – the truth was staring him in the face and Hyde had a valid point – they were up front with their dislike of Jackie's spoiled, bossy ways, they told her to her face and made no illusions otherwise. They didn't fake it and then trash talk her behind her back that was a disgusting way to act according to the way Eric was raised and he agreed.
"I should go, see ya" Jackie said softly, Hyde could see that she was still fighting tears as she got to her feet to leave.
He shot a look at Eric who frowned in surprise back for a second then turned to Jackie.
"no wait" he called to her, Jackie stopped and turned curiously to Eric and he saw just how hurt she really was which reinforced his resolve to what he was about to say "if you can swear to keep your voice at normal human levels, and keep firmly in mind that we do not work for you and you can't give us orders, and accept that you are not going to get your own way 95% of the time? If you can do all that, then you should hang out with us this summer" he told her seriously, it was a genuine offer that he hoped he wouldn't regret
Jackie was stunned and it showed in her voice "really?" she asked softly afraid to be made fun of again already, but what they'd said earlier she knew was true – Eric and Hyde didn't pretend to like her they told her up front when she bugged them.
"yes really, no spoiled brat bossy crap and you are welcome to hang around with us this summer, granted most of that will be exactly what we are doing right now but if we ever think of anything else to do you can come with too" Eric confirmed and held out his hand formally to her to seal the deal.
A beatific smile shone on Jackie's face as she shook Eric's hand "deal!" she promised happily, she knew Eric and Hyde the least of any of the basement group but they were promising to accept her if she curbed some of her more immature traits and she couldn't wait to finally have real friends to spend time with. They didn't want anything from her they just offered a place to hang and it was all she had ever really wanted. Then a thought occurred to her, and a wicked grin replaced the wide smile.
"Can I still point out that I'm rich?" she asked casually
"Oh here we go already!" Eric moaned, missing her intent – but Hyde didn't. A matching grin spread across his face as he and Jackie stared at each other thinking the same thing.
"No Forman, you're missing the point! Think about it – .rich!" he said slowly so Eric would follow along what they'd already arrived at.
Realization dawned slowly on Eric's face until his grin matched theirs (although not nearly as wicked), with Jackie along with them this summer the world could be their oyster, not only was she rich which would give them a lot more options for things to do, but she was clever and devious and gorgeous, a mellowed Jackie along meant the most epic summer they could have ever dreamed of! The fact that it took them both awhile to remember her money warmed Jackie to the core; she had had to TELL them she could bankroll activities! For once it hadn't been why she was invited and that meant the world to her. What Michael and Donna did still stung for the moment, but she was determined that when they got home they would find a Jackie that didn't want or need their approval.
"So what do we do now?" she asked excitedly, while being careful to keep her volume less piercing.
"First is the party in a bit for the neighbor's granddaughter" Hyde reminded Eric and in effect extended an invitation to Jackie as well.
"Ok" Jackie shrugged still smiling happily, anything seemed better than her usual evening of being alone.
"That's it? No arguing, no whining, no abrasive alternate plan?" Eric asked raising a skeptical eyebrow, unwilling to trust the change in her just yet.
Jackie nodded "we're friends now…right?" she asked holding her breath suddenly afraid.
"Yep" Hyde assured her easily, then gave her a disturbing grin "and as our newest friend, that makes it your turn to try and get booze from Red" he dared her
Eric gasped at his words "that's a suicide mission! The most skilled of us come back empty handed!" he declared dramatically
"Foreman, I AM the best of us" Hyde pointed out raising his eyebrow at his friends antics.
"I know" Eric agreed, if Hyde couldn't do it Jackie had no hope of victory.
But the sound of Jackie clapping her hands once and getting to her feet distracted them again and they looked to her curiously, her face was determined and her stance said she was ready for action. They were reminded that Jackie might be young with a tendency to act spoiled and bossy, but she was something their missing friends were not – brave. She had made up her mind to do what Hyde had dared her and she would do it come hell or high water!
"Ok Jackie, its time, are you ready?!" Hyde asked like a general sending troops into battle.
A sharp nod of her head answered him and she led them up the stairs to the obstacle course of drunk adults upstairs that stood between them and the objective – Red Forman's bar!
They slipped into the crowded living room, bobbing and weaving past the knots of adults chatting and laughing, they narrowly evaded capture by overly drunk adults who wanted to talk to the young folk, but they made it past! Creeping along to their destination, Eric hummed the mission impossible theme while all three were unaware that they had been spotted and were being watched closely, by a young woman in the corner with bright green eyes who stood apart from the other guests, a small smile quirked the corner of her lips at their antics.
She watched as the tiny dark haired girl batted her eyes at the grumpy Mr. Forman in an attempt to get beer, red smiled in spite of himself at her tactic - but sent them away beer less, but instead of looking defeated, the trio left the party laughing merrily at their failure, the blond one smiled proudly at the small girl and the skinny one clapped her on the shoulder in a gesture of comradery.
Sandal decided on a whim to follow them out of the awkward party she'd been dragged to, they struck her as better company than 20 people at least 20 years older than her she'd been forced to endure so far, besides, something about the vibe they gave off made her smile. It's a rare thing to witness the birth of friendship and Sindal knew it, she also sensed that their freshly formed bond was tenuous and could use something to cement it. So she followed them down to the stairs and wasn't exactly surprised to find it was a basement hang out, furnished in shabby patched furniture with a black and white TV set on a milk crate, there was the hint of a smell she recognized easily and Sindal raised a curious brow at their choice of pass time.
They had taken their usual seats around the TV and were laughing about their recently failed mission, and because of this hadn't noticed they had company standing at the bottom of the stairs watching them with eyes that appeared to see more than most. Finally Sindal cleared her throat to let them know she was there. All three turned towards the source of the noise looking startled and visibly relaxed somewhat when they saw it wasn't Eric's parents
"Uh, hi" Eric squeaked out through his shock at the girl he'd seen earlier now standing in his basement.
"Good evenin' to ya all" she greeted them warmly
"Uh….im – my names Eric Foreman and this is Hyde and Jackie" he introduced them nervously, but still practicing the manners his mother had instilled in him at a young age.
"I'm Sindal Costello, though I tend to just go by 'Sin'" she told them in a friendly tone with a slight grin
"Pleased to meet you Sindal" Jackie said brightly
"sin is fine darlin', no need to be formal on my account" she told Jackie with a kind smile.
"You're not from around here are you?" Hyde asked shrewdly having noticed the slight accent Sin still carried.
"That I am not lad" she confirmed with a grin at his perception.
"Where are you from?" Jackie asked boldly, always too curious to bother with formality.
"far from here darlin'" Sin told her vaguely
"Like how far, Chicago?" Jackie asked curiously, to a 15 year old from a small town that seemed very far.
"Bit farther than that" Sin laughed kindly.
"Where are you from?" Eric asked politely
"Belfast" Sin answered casually, but a shadow passed over her oddly bright green eyes, but the three friends didn't seem to notice.
"Is that in California?" Jackie asked brightly
Sin smiled indulgently at the young girl "no darlin', it's in Ireland" she explained, and then changed the subject. Perching on the back of the ratty couch sin addressed the three of them "so what are ya all doing down here?" she asked lightly.
"Just hanging out" Hyde shrugged honestly; weaseling beer had been the extent of their plans for the night. "What about you?" he returned to her.
"I'm after wanting a drink" Sin told him
"There's beer and probably margaritas upstairs" Eric supplied helpfully.
"No lad, a proper drink" she smirked "there be a liquor store round about here?" she asked them hopefully
"Well yeah, this is Wisconsin, but they're all closed because it's Sunday" Jackie explained
Sin sighed "do ya have any idea of how much beer id have to drink to forget the week I've had?" she asked no one in particular, but the look on her face told them that it was probably a lot.
"What did you want to drink?" Jackie asked innocently, but Hyde recognized her 'planning' tone and wondered what she was up to? The truth of it was that Jackie was impressed with the older girl and was hoping to add another friend to her name – which would bring the grand total up to three.
"My preference is whiskey, but most anything will do apart from vodka – won't drink that shite for the world" she told Jackie seriously, giving the impression that she felt very strongly about the lacking quality of vodka.
"I have that at my house!" Jackie said excitedly and jumped to her feet.
Sin swung her legs over the back of the couch and stood up "lead the way darlin'!" she stated grandly and gave Jackie a wide smile while she pulled her jacket on and pulled her loose long hair out of the collar.
Jackie went to the door with sin following behind her, and then stopped "aren't you guys coming?" she asked nervously, afraid that their time as friends had already ended.
Hyde watched Jackie's eyes betray her emotions and shrugged before getting to his feet to follow them, Eric also stood and grabbed his keys off the table before following them outside. They were almost to the vista cruiser when Sin stopped them.
"'tis a nice night out, if it's not too far lets walk" Sin told them casually
They looked at each other curiously, but when no one offered a problem with it they followed Sin down the street towards Jackie's house. The road was totally empty and there wasn't a sound to be heard, it was like they were the only four people on earth, and even a short few block walk was a grand adventure.