Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or That 70's Show. Oh, the fun I would have if I did. :)

A/N: This is after the eighth season, because Sam isn't there, but it's after she left. There's no Jackie/Fez by the way, either. Because I really believe it should be Jackie/Hyde. Enjoy! :)

"Hey, Jackie, we're gonna go," said Donna. She and Eric left. Things had changed a lot lately, and they needed more time to themselves. She understood that.

"I probably should go too," said Fez. "Kelso's been gone for a few hours, and he will probably have gotten himself in some kind of trouble somewhere." No one could argue with that.

Jackie waited for Steven to go, to give her some excuse that didn't sound quite right to either of them, or just to blow her off again.

He didn't.

They sat for a few minutes with the TV softly playing. The Price Is Right came on. Jackie smiled vaguely. She glanced over at Steven. The corners of his mouth were going up. He was smiling too.

She kept picturing it over and over again. She must've imagined it a hundred different ways, how he would come back, and she would laugh and smile, and then everything would be okay.

After months of waiting, she thought it would happen. It never would.

Who was she kidding? He was fine without her. Better even. Better without her drama, her commitments, her whining, her bossiness. What did he need her for?

But she still thought, with every little smile he gave her, that maybe- just maybe. But no. It never would.

He thought that maybe she could take a hint. But she clearly couldn't. He'd given her smiles, the ones that only the two of them had ever shared, and he knew the others were trying to give her hints too.

But maybe she didn't want to take the hint. He didn't blame her. Everything that he put her through, and she'd want him back? She'd be crazy.

And yet he'd dared to hope. He'd smile at her, and he knew that she saw it, but she never said anything. He wished more than anything for it, but it'd never happen.

He couldn't imagine taking him back after it all. The nurse? Sam? His nagging about Kelso? His avoiding marriage? And then to take him back? She'd be crazy.

They were planning another outing. They had been doing that more and more often now. It was usually something semi-romantic, something that would allow them to try and get him and Jackie back together.

Kelso and Brooke, they went. Eric and Donna. Fez and Laurie. They all went, and they thought they were being sneaky, but Hyde and Jackie both knew. It was obvious. They wanted them back together.

Well, he wanted them back together too. But he knew what Jackie wanted, and it wasn't him. He would never be the guy that she wanted.

Today was a carnival. Oh joy.

Jackie saw through their charades every time. She was sure Steven did too.

It was too obvious when the six of them wanted to go out- a picnic in the park, movies, a carnival. Couples things.

Tonight was a carnival. It made her think of the time she and Michael had gone, and he'd won her something. It made her smile. Those were nice times. Not great times, like with Steven, but they were fond memories.

She wondered what it would be like tonight. They would go off, and Steven and her would sit around awkwardly. Again.

She sighed. Her friends and their stupid games.