Author's Note (1): This story was written for the 2018 Zenmasters Anthology on tumblr.
Author's Note (2): This story takes place during season 5, during the month of January. Two-shot.
Jackie did what she could to conceal her smile when Steven silently made his way over to the passenger side door to open it for her. But when he awkwardly handed her his jacket to protect her from the light, delicately falling snow, she couldn't help but reach her hand behind his head and place a soft kiss on his cheek.
"You ready?" Jackie gave him the courtesy to work up the courage. She knew that the Snow Prom wasn't exactly his scene, and the fact that they were there together, officially a couple, surely only made him more nervous.
Of course, this wasn't their first dance – literally. But when he'd taken her to his Junior Prom, it had been different. They hadn't been a couple and the student body hadn't been gawking at them all year long. But despite all that, Steven still took her by the hand and escorted her toward the gym.
As they were crossing the threshold into the school gym, Jackie turned and looked behind her once more. The only thing more exciting about her first official school event with Steven as her boyfriend was the fact that it was actually snowing at the Snow Prom, especially after last year's tornado scare. She religiously wore white dresses to this event every year to match the season, so she was thrilled to see the white flakes. She'd been nervous for a while; there was the possibility that the Snow Prom was going to be cancelled, as the weather man promised blistery blizzard conditions by morning, but as for right now, the flakes drifted slow and lazy towards the ground.
Jackie was displeased to encounter a far less serene environment on the inside of the gym. As she and Steven made their way across the floor, everyone in their nearby vicinity shot them the most obvious and rude stares. Jackie could feel Steven's hand instinctively clutch hers tighter. She glanced at him in her periphery. She knew this made him uncomfortable, but he'd agreed to come with her anyway.
As for Jackie, she was annoyed more than anything. She had spent all week campaigning tirelessly for her and Steven to win Snow Prom Queen and King, so there was no reason for their peers to look so shocked to see them walking arm in arm together just because they usually kept the PDA to a minimum while at school.
Steven lifted his hand and pointed across the gym. "There's Forman and Donna," he said.
"Let's go," she replied, and started leading the way over to their friends who were over by the punch bowl.
When Donna sees them, she puts down her cup of punch and smirks in their direction. "Look, Eric. It's our friends."
Eric glanced up and flashed one of his shit-eating grins. "Ah, yes. Please tell me, should we stare at you in awe too?"
"Yeah," Donna laughed. "You two are the biggest thing this school has seen since they started serving mozzarella sticks in the cafeteria."
Steven ignored them and moved over to the punch bowl. Jackie just rolled her eyes. "That's the most – "
She had been about to comment about how ridiculous that was, but something in Donna's words made her think.
"Oh my God, Steven." She clutched his arm. "Did you hear that? We're big news! That means we'll totally win Snow Prom King and Queen!" Jackie released his arm and jumped up and down in place.
"Jackie c'mon." Steven winced.
"What?" Jackie stopped and looked over to her boyfriend. "You don't want to win Snow Prom King and Queen?"
Steven slammed the cup of punch he was holding back on the table. Some of it jumped out of the cup and landed on the floor. Jackie couldm't seem to tear her eyes away from the drop.
"Would you quit it with the King and Queen shit?" Steven raised his voice. Jackie couldn't help but notice a few wandering eyes that turn their way. "All week long! It's stupid and it's not like we're going to win anyway."
Jackie's mouth fell open, but no words found their way to her throat. Finally, Steven's eyes met hers and there was something in them she could not read. Guilt? Annoyance? Frustration?
Either way, there was no finding out. Because the next thing she knew, Steven was walking away.
o-o-o
The guilt grew stronger with each step he took away from Jackie, but despite the nauseating knot growing in his stomach, his feet would not stop carrying him away.
Guilt. He felt guilty for yelling at her. He felt guilty for abandoning her and walking away. But mostly he felt guilty because by choosing him, Jackie would never be able to win anything like Snow Prom Queen. It wasn't Jackie's fault he wasn't popular or in the "it" crowd. He didn't care if he was, but he knew she did. And so fancy titles like this weren't something he could ever give to her, even if he wanted to.
Hyde's feet hadn't stopped moving, and before he realized it, he had made his way to Coach Ferguson's office. He rested his hand on the handle. He had wanted to take up residence here like he had done last year – after all, Coach probably didn't think he'd be stupid enough to do it twice, meaning he likely wouldn't get caught. But, when he glanced down both ends of the hallway to make sure no one saw him, something else grabbed his attention.
The ballot box for Snow Prom King and Queen.
Hyde knew he couldn't help Jackie win with his own charming wit and personality; just the thought made him laugh. But now his feet were carrying him to the box, and he knew that alone in this hallway he could help Jackie win some other way.
o-o-o
Angry didn't even begin to describe how Jackie felt. When Steven first walked away from her, she felt a deep ache blossom into her chest. But now that she'd had a few minutes to think, that ache had turned into a ball of fire.
Donna tapped her on the arm tentatively. "Jackie, are you okay?"
Jackie placed her hands on her hips. "How dare he do that to me? If Steven didn't want to come, he should have just said so instead of coming here just to abandon me."
"I'm sorry, Jackie," Donna said.
Great. Now Donna was pitying her. Nobody pitied Jackie Burkhart. But before Jackie could say anything, Eric was inexplicably tugging on Donna's arm and forcing her to stand behind him.
"What's going on?" Jackie asked, alarmed.
"Nothing, nothing, it's just…" Eric kept his eyes focused on something behind Jackie. He lowered his voice. "It's just that Donna is technically not allowed to be here since she doesn't go to this school anymore. And one of the chaperones just walked by."
"Oh, oh, here," Jackie said. She moved and stood next to Eric. She may not be very tall, but it allowed Donna to hunch over and be blocked better from the crowd.
"Look, Jackie," Eric said. "I think Hyde's just a little uncomfortable about this whole thing. He told me earlier that he didn't think you could win Snow Prom Queen because you were campaigning with him, and I think he feels kind of guilty about that."
Jackie looked up at Eric, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. He continued. "Hyde probably just went to blow off some steam in Coach Ferguson's office. He'll be back." Then he turned around. "Okay, Donna. The coast is clear."
Donna stepped out from behind them, and Jackie took a step back. "Thanks Eric. I'm going to go find him and talk to him."
Eric nodded. "Thanks for helping me hide m'lady." To that response Donna just smiled and shook her head.
Jackie wedged her way through dancing couples over toward the school entrance from the gym. But just as she made it to the clearing in front of the doors, they close and a couple of teachers block her exit.
A crackling noise draws everyone's attention to the stage. Quickly, Jackie joined Eric and Donna so she could better see what was going on. Suddenly, the band is cut off and the principal's voice booms through the microphone.
"Good evening students." His voice is nasally and harsh. "I have an announcement. It seems as though the blizzard has arrived sooner than anticipated and currently, it is a total white-out outside."
The principal paused and Jackie and the other students took this as a cue to glance up at the small and high-set windows near the gym's ceiling. Jackie could feel her eyes widen in surprise. The once delicate snow from earlier this evening now fell in heavy chunks towards the Earth.
The principal continued. "The gym is the only part of the school that has a reinforced roof strong enough to withstand the heavy build-up of snow, so we are on lockdown in this gym until further notice. We will notify all your parents to let them know that you are safe here."
A resounding groan echoed through the room. Sure, it was fun to be here to party for a few hours, but nobody wanted to be here overnight. And if this storm was anything like the other blizzards that hit Wisconsin this time of year, Jackie realized that they may very well be trapped in this gym all night.
"Come on, let's grab a bunch of snacks before everyone else hoards everything," Eric said and grabbed Donna by the hand.
Donna turned to Jackie. "C'mon."
Jackie joined them, not very hungry, but realizing that they may be right. If they were stuck there for a while, then maybe she should stock up now.
Fez and Michael must've had the same idea because they found them over at the snack table, shoving cupcakes and brownies in their mouths.
Donna crossed her arms. "You know guys, you should probably save some of that for later. We could be here a while."
Michael swallowed and turned to Donna. "No way, man. Fez and I are bulking up. We're gonna bust out of this place."
Then, at the exact moment that Michael stopped talking, a loud thud echoed in the distance.
"You hear that Kelso?" Eric said, vaguely gesturing in a random direction. "That was probably a huge tree that just fell somewhere out there. You guys won't make it out there. Even if you could get out."
Michael scoffed and Fez joined him. "Oh, we can so break out of here. And we are, right buddy?" said Michael.
A bickering brawl broke out between the three boys so Jackie turned to Donna. "Hey, I'm going to go see if I can find Steven, okay? I'll be back."
Donna nodded. "Okay, I'll save you guys some food."
Jackie turned, but before she could take a step, the principal barreled past her, making a beeline for the doors that she had tried to escape from earlier. He passed close enough that she could hear his walkie-talkie as someone's voice came through.
"Roof collapse in the West Wing," the voice said. "I think…I think someone is hurt."
That's what that sound had been. Not a tree. The West Wing roof.
The West Wing roof.
Jackie immediately spun on her heel to ask Donna if she'd heard that. But when she turned around, both Eric and Donna were standing right next to her. And the blanched expressions on their faces told her that they just heard that too. The expression on their faces told her that they were thinking the same exact thing she was thinking.
Eric's words from earlier echoed through her skull. Hyde probably just went to blow off some steam in Coach Ferguson's office.
Coach Ferguson's office was in the West Wing.