Author's Note: For those of you who have made it this far, thank you for being open-minded and taking a chance with this fic. I really don't know what I think about it…I'm not sure if it's even good, I just decided to post it. I wrote this all tonight and I am tired as hell so I'll probably wake up tomorrow and be like, what the hell did I write? Actually, I won't because I don't' think about this stuff as soon as I wake up in the morning. With that said, enjoy the story.

No Strings Attached

~a short piece~

No strings attached. That's what he thought every time he kissed her like he was doing right then. He knew that he wouldn't have to look at her like they were friends, or even like he tolerated her, for that matter. Ever. Just as long as she was there whenever he needed her, everything was grand.

It was better than turning to beer. Or was it? She was like beer, wasn't she? He only turned to her when he needed to be comforted or when he was feeling sorry for himself or whenever else he felt emotionally torn. She drowned his thoughts so that all that was left was how good her lips felt meshed with his. And like beer, she had him addicted. He couldn't stop.

And it was bad. But they needed each other. Hyde had broken up with her and he knew that Donna was cheating on him. He knew that they were falling out of love. It was still there, but at the same time it wasn't. They still talked, and kissed, and hell, there was even a fuck here or there.

But it wasn't the same; not by far. Eric strained to remember when everything had begun to crumble between them. Had it been college? New people, new experiences? Or maybe it was his jealousy of every guy that talked to Donna. That caused them to fight. And then there was the tension when they talked. Then they talked less and less until....

Eric chuckled a bit, breaking off the kiss in the process.

"What?" asked Jackie. "What're you laughing at?"

"Nothing," he mumbled and resumed kissing her.

He had just remembered a random conversation between he and Donna.

"Hey. Wanna have sex?" "Sure."

And that was it. No more. How sad. So why didn't he just break up with her? He asked himself that question everyday. He would stand in front of the mirror everyday, just before he spat out his mouthwash, and would mentally ask himself why he stayed with her.

Somewhere in the black pits of his mind, he knew the answer. It was because she had been apart of him for so long, that he couldn't see anything else. Without Donna…it would just be…empty. And he knew that's how she felt as well.

But did that make sense? That was the question. He really didn't know. It was rather strange. How could you be with someone that you weren't in love with? At least they weren't engaged anymore. They both had agreed that they needed to wait. That was the first step. So, why couldn't he just go the extra mile and end it for good?

She was a part of him.

"Is there something wrong?" This time it was Jackie to break off the kiss by asking her question.

Eric looked at her for a moment. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know." Jackie was silent, looking down at her hands. And then she said, "I guess I can just tell."

"What the hell would you know anything about it?" Eric asked, harshly. He rearranged himself on the couch.

"I would know a lot about it!" Jackie exclaimed. "You're…well, I just always thought that we were friends."

"Friends?" asked Eric, heavily.

"I've known you almost my whole life, Eric. By now, you'd think we would be friends."

Eric was hesitant. She was right. He had thought of Jackie as a friend a few times in the past, so why not all the time? "I guess you're right."

"So then what's wrong?"

"Jackie," he sighed. "Can't you just…be quiet? I don't want to talk about Donna."

"So it's about Donna."

Eric stood up. He needed to separate himself from her. He was becoming frustrated. Why couldn't she just she the hell up so they could make out? That was the only reason he was there in his dingy old basement when he could be off doing…other things. "Of course it's about Donna. It's always about Donna. She's the only reason I'm here, Jackie. You know that."

Jackie too stood. "Well, I thought that maybe, for once, you could just think of me while we, you know, make out."

"Why? It's not like you're thinking of me. I know you're thinking about Hyde."

Jackie flinched, causing Eric to wish that he hadn't said that. "Look, Jackie…I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you are sorry," she said, bitterly. "You've changed, Eric."

"Look, it's the summer. I'm going to be a junior in college soon; I'm just trying to have as much fun as possible."

Jackie picked up her purse from the couch. "Then why don't mess around with one of those college whores?" She started for the side door.

"Hey, hey, wait, Jackie," Eric called after her. He ran to catch up with her, grabbing her arm and swing her to face him in the process. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?"

"Yeah, your problem. You're just ruining a good thing here. We need each other and you know that." He paused for a moment, trying to find his words. "Why do you care all of a sudden? When we started this, we agreed, Jackie, agreed together that it was only physical and there was to be no talking and—"

"Why don't you break it off with her already?" she interrupted.

He was completely thrown off by her question. It was the same thing he asked himself everyday. It should have been easier to answer, but every time he did answer, it was in his head to himself. He never had to worry about what anybody else would think. Until then.

 Jackie tore her arm away, which Eric had still been gripping until that point. "Did you hear me?"

"Because she's apart of me," he said simply.

"You're apart of me too," whispered Jackie. "All those times I've been mean to you and you've been mean to me, that's all apart of everything. That's the reason we're both here right now. You wouldn't have been using me and I wouldn't have been using you if we'd always had a great friendship. We would've felt bad about it. You do realize that, right?"

"I…" Was she right? Did she actually make sense? She did. "Oh my God, you're using me? You just wanted my body?"

"Shut up, Forman," ordered Jackie, rolling her eyes.

Eric could see the traces of a smile on her lips. He had just felt like his old self for a moment. It was nice. "You know what, Jackie? You've never called any of us by our last names," he noted, sitting down on the couch.

"So? She sat beside him.

"That's just what we went by. You always had to try and be so sophisticated."

"Oh no, that's where you're wrong. I am sophisticated. I don't have to try."

Thinking back to how Jackie had called him "Forman," Eric said, "You've changed too. You're not so much of a bitch anymore."

Jackie smiled and looked away. "Yeah, I guess I was a bitch. I mean I still could be one if I really wanted to."

"Nah. I think you've gone soft."

"I have not."

"You've gone soft," taunted Eric. "There was a fat girl on TV earlier today, and you didn't even make fun of her once."

"Oh, so what?" pouted Jackie.

Eric laughed a bit, seeing her pout. They sat there in silence for a while. Finally, Eric broke the silence. "So I've changed, huh." He turned to look at Jackie. "I want you to tell me everything. I want to know how you see me now and how it's different from then."

"Hmm…" said Jackie, surveying him. "Well, for one thing, you've gained some weight—hey!" she laughed when she was promptly swatted with a pillow. "Okay, okay. Really? You used to be so…happy. Sure, you were made of, but that didn't matter. And now, you're just…here. There's no emotion ever showing in your face. It's like an Eric shell filled with nothing. You know your parents talk about you when you're not around? Even Red's worried about you. You used to smile and you were sarcastic, Eric. Sometimes, like every two years, you even said something halfway funny. Where'd all that go? And since you've been home, you've barely talked to anyone. You're always in your room."

"Oh, I'm still sarcastic. Just not…around you guys…okay, I've lost it."

"No, I don't think that's it," said Jackie. "It's still there. You've just got some issues to worry about."

Eric thought for a moment. Was he really having this conversation with Jackie? She might have been out of high school, but she was still Jackie. "Wait a minute, Jackie…all that stuff you said before about me smiling and the sarcasm and stuff, how would you know? You never paid any attention to me. You were too much into…well, you."

"You guys all really thought I was some spoiled, selfish, rich girl, didn't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay, I admit, I was. I might even still be. But I did pay attention to you. All of you. I even know Fez's real name. It's—"

"You know what, Jackie?" said Eric, interrupting her. "It's really hard to believe that you paid attention to all of us. I mean you were so self absorbed that one of us would be talking and you somehow could always direct the conversation back to you."

"Okay, Eric. I know I was self absorbed," she snapped. "Shut up, already."

But Eric wasn't finished yet. "Not without asking you this: Why are you questioning everything? And that thing you said about you wanting me to think about you and—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"No, that's not fair. You said it so I want to know."

Jackie sighed. "Fine. Ever since Steven broke up with me, I've been a wreck. I still don't feel like eating or sleeping sometimes. It's been months since he broke up with me and I'm still feeling it. But at the same time, I'm trying to forget him and sometimes when I'm with you, I do forget. So…I just wish that maybe, once in a while, you could forget Donna and it just be me. I know we talked about everything…how no feelings will be involved or anything, but I want it to be just me. Just once."

Eric watched her. He understood her. They were the same. They both just wanted to be loved. Or were they the same? Love was a strong word; Eric knew from experience. He loved the feel of it, but he had loved Donna and it made it harder on him now, knowing that they had once been in love.

But in talking to Jackie, he'd felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. He felt like his old self and he was in love with that feeling. He decided to smile.

"What's that smile for?"

"It's one of those "just because" smiles," he said. "Actually, it's because you said the old me used to smile."

 "I feel different," she said, slowly.

Eric cocked to his head to the side. He felt a bit different too. He was agreeing with Jackie a lot. "Me too."

"Probably because of our talk."

"Probably." No. Eric didn't feel different. He felt the same. He hadn't felt this way in so long, that he had thought it was different. He felt like how he used to feel when it was just he, Fez, Kelso, Hyde, Jackie, and Donna in the basement. That seemed so far away… "Jackie," he said, quietly. "Do you want to try again? This time, it'll be just you. Only you." 

And with that, he kissed her. And she didn't stop him.

To hell with holding back feelings. Jackie made him feel like his old self again. Was that something he wanted to throw away? Definitely not. And even if they stayed just friends for the rest of their days, she was still his comfort, or to say it crudely, his beer.

He decided that tomorrow, he and Donna would have a long talk.

End Note: Please, I'd love to hear what you have to say about this story. It's important to me. Thanks for reading.

February 28, 2003

Copyright, theMuse