Point Place High School was buzzing with gossip the next day. Everyone was talking about the return of Lucy Ring, the female version of Hyde. "I heard she was in jail," Jake told his girlfriend Lacey. She snorted.
"Please, Lucy could get out of jail by looks alone," Lacey replied with a jealous sigh. It was probably true. Next to Jackie Burkhart, Lucy was the hottest girl to ever attend their dinky little high school.
"Wherever she's been, I bet Jackie knows," Pam Macy suggested. It was common knowledge to everyone except the basement gang that Lucy and Jackie were best friends. No one ever talked about Lucy though. Jackie made sure of that. And if you even said Jason's name, you could guarantee that your car would be totally trashed the next day. If there was one thing the spoiled girl knew how to do, it was hide her secrets.
Everyone was surprised that when some of the cheerleaders asked Jackie where Lucy had been, Jackie replied, "None of your business," and gave them a cool glare. The fake Jackie would've been dishing out details faster than you can say ABBA, but the real Jackie stayed quiet.
No one had the balls to approach Lucy. In her black hoodie, AC DC t-shirt, ripped skinny jeans, and scuffed up combat boots, the girl looked intimating. They couldn't see the broken heart she carried around or the cuts on her wrist. Only Jackie noticed those.
Eventually, as all gossip does, it traveled down to the gang. Of course, whoever told them left out the part of about Lucy being Jackie's best friend. Eric laughed when he heard the part about the girl being a female version of Hyde. "Hey, man, I think your soul mate has arrived," Eric told him jokingly. Hyde only rolled his eyes. He didn't believe in soul mates; that was a Jackie thing. This girl did sound like she'd be a good time, though. Hyde didn't ever think a female version of himself existed.
"Wait, how do we not know this girl?" Donna asked suspiciously. It just seemed odd to her. Their high school was small; everyone knew everyone. Donna had a feeling there was more to the story than what they were being given.
"Who cares. All I know is that she's supposed to be smoking hot. Like, Jackie level hot." Kelso interrupted cheerfully. This made all the boys sit up a little straighter. Even Eric looked excited.
What seemed to be an eternity passed, and it was time for lunch. The gang sat at their usual table in the back, the perfect place to observe everything. Kelso and Fez were rating the boobs of all the girls passing by while Eric and Donna were making out. Hyde only sat there and watched, his sunglasses hiding the direction he was really looking. Jackie was sitting with the cheerleaders as per usual. Truthfully, she would've much rather sat with the gang, but Jackie had a reputation to maintain. She had to make it look like she only hung out with them because of Michael. Everyone knew they had broken up but thought it was only matter of time before they got back together. Jackie swore to never go there again. Michael was a great friend but a terrible boyfriend. She wasn't good at relationships anyways.
All heads turned around when Lucy walked into the cafeteria. The girl walked gracefully towards her destination, giving every guy in the room an opportunity to stare at her ass. There were several cat-calls sounded her way, but Lucy ignored them. She had better things to do. Hyde didn't find himself as attracted to the girl as he thought he would be, but he still thought she was hot. Everyone watched Lucy as she made her way over to the cheerleader table, where Jackie was sitting right in the middle.
An outsider would think that Jackie fit perfectly in the center, but she knew better. If you looked hard enough, you could see the things that Lucy saw. The pained fake smile, the way Jackie would pick up food as if she was going to eat it and then put it back down, and the way her eyes were focused on the clock. Of course, no one could see these things. They saw the bitchy, loud cheerleader Jackie.
Jackie looked up to see her best friend looming over her with a smirk. "Get up, Blue. Follow me." Lucy raised her eyebrow at her friend. "Unless you want to stay here with the Malibu Barbies." Everyone in the cafeteria was watching this exchange.
Kelso decided to shout, "Burn!" Hyde smacked him hard. He was trying to hear what this girl was saying to Jackie.
"Hey! I'm not a Barbie!" one of the stupider cheerleaders, Stacy, responded angrily. Jackie gave the girl an innocent smile.
"You're right. You're not a Barbie." Jackie said sweetly. Stacy beamed at Jackie. "You're just an airhead." And with that, Jackie picked up her tray and followed Lucy to a table not too far away from the gang's. No one could believe what had just happened. Jackie Burkhart had not only dissed a fellow cheerleader, but she also left the cheerleader table. The gang was especially in shock.
"Oh my God. The dark side is turning good. That means that Darth Vader is the hero while Luke Skywalker is the villain! The world is rotating in the opposite direction." Eric said in mock-panic. Donna rolled her eyes at the Star Wars reference.
"Hey, Forman, why can't you go a day without referencing Star Wars?" Hyde asked, sarcasm dripping out of his voice.
"Same reason Fez needs to eat candy. I don't know how to live without out it." Eric replied. Everyone looked over at Fez, who was currently devouring a box of Milk Duds. He looked up at his friends, then back down at the box of candy.
"Don't touch my candy!" the foreigner shouted childishly. Everyone just laughed at their friend while Eric smirked.
"See? The force has been proven!" he responded with delight. Hyde just smacked him for the Star Wars language.
Suddenly, the cafeteria became quiet again as Lucy yelled, "Dex and Trey! Over here!" The seniors turned to look at the two scruffy looking guitarists entering the cafeteria. Most of the student body knew who the two were due to the numerous bands they'd played with. Dexter was tall and lean, with a five o'clock aftershave and shaggy black hair that looked like he never brushed it. Most people forgot he was British due to his lack of an accent. Trey looked like your all-American boy, blonde haired and blued eyes, with well-kept muscles and an enchanting smile. They both played a wicked guitar, Trent mainly on bass. Even being that hot, most decent girls would never even talk to them. They were rockers after all.
The guys slowly walked over to Jackie's table, Hyde watching them carefully. They sat down. Only Hyde and Donna could hear the conversation since the noise level of the room had increased. Everyone was speculating on why the guitarist were sitting with the bad-ass and the cheerleader. "So, Blue, you've returned from hell?" Trent asked, a joking smile on his face.
Jackie smirked and responded, "Yeah, I met your ex-girlfriend down there." Lucy cracked up hysterically while he shrugged, admitting defeat. Hyde looked at the spoiled girl, impressed. He didn't know Jackie had it in her.
Dexter easily changed the subject. "So, tonight at five?" he asked, knowing it wasn't really that much of a question. He had known Jackie and Lucy since they were ten and could read the girls easily. He noticed how Jackie wasn't touching her tray and how she kept looking over at that Hyde guy. Dexter also noticed how Lucy kept pulling her sleeves down. He knew both girls missed what they had before.
"What makes you think I'll show up?" Jackie challenged. Truthfully, she was dying to play her drums; she hadn't touched them in over a year. Jackie wasn't able to keep them at her house since her parents would have a fit if they found out, so Dexter hid them at his house. Jason had bought them for her when she turned thirteen.
"Now you can join an evil rock band and be disowned," he'd joked when he'd given them to her. Ironically, Jason was the one who taught her how to play them when she was ten and told her she had real talent. He was the founder, male leader singer, and sometimes guitarist of their band, The Heartbreakers. Jackie pushed the memory into the back of her mind. All of these things she'd tried to forget were coming back to her. And honestly, Jackie missed them. Sure, she did like her new friendships and her popularity was at the very least comforting, but she missed being herself. She missed being Blue instead of Jackie.
Dexter only laughed. "I know you, Blue. You'll show up." Jackie could only nod because she knew he was right. Like it or not, Jackie would show up to Dexter's house for band practice. She also knew she would love every minute of it.
The newly reunited friends chatted the rest of lunch. Jackie and Lucy left before they could be bombarded with questions while Trent and Dexter casually strolled out the building to smoke. The cheerleaders looked angry but were easily calmed down by the talk of a clearance sale at the mall. Hyde and Donna were really confused at this point. Donna was all unsure of who her supposed best friend really was. Watching her leave with Lucy and those guys especially confused Hyde, who knew Jackie would never even talk to those type of people. The two were now extremely curious. What was going on with Jackie?