Chapter 2 – Scores
Hyde stalked back up to his room. Once inside, he stood in the middle of it for a moment, then picked up the nearest object to him, the phone book, and threw it with all her had in him against the wall. He then sat on the king bed in the room, and put his head in his hands.
He had sat through dinner for as long as he could without regurgitating. Sam and James sat at the head of the table, and answered all the questions that were thrown in their direction. Hyde sat at the opposite end, quietly, trying hard not to be noticed. It wasn't that easy considering everyone knew he was there. He had to listen to their whole story of how they met, up until now.
A few hours earlier…Everyone sat around the table in silence when they were first seated. Sam and James sat at the head of the table, and Hyde sat as far as possible, Whenever he looked up, he could catch Sam looking at him, and each time she caught him, she made sure she put a huge smile on her face, as to say "Ha ha, look what he has and you don't!" Hyde was miserable.
Hyde picked James apart in his head. He was everything he wasn't. He was tall, probably about 6'3". He had dark brown hair, almost black, and dark eyes that he didn't hide behind sunglasses the way Hyde did. He smiled often, unlike Hyde who always wore a scowl on his face. He was a skinny bastard too. Maybe not as skinny and scrawny as Eric, but skinny nonetheless. He was Hyde's complete opposite.
"So. James, how did you and Sam meet?" Donna asked.
Hyde looked on as Sam and James smiled sickly sweet at each other.
"Well, I work at her aunt's modeling agency. I'm constantly looking for new talent. I fell for her the moment she walked through the doors. I mean, how can you not? Just look at her, she's beautiful. I can't believe that she wasn't taken."
Sam rolled her eyes and pushed James playfully. "He hit on me the first day, which of course made me think he was a pig. But for a month straight, he kept asking me out, and sending me flowers and candy, and just showering me with gifts and compliments! It was hard to ignore after awhile!"
Hyde scowled. She had reverted back to her old ways. Something that he had helped break her out of. He was disappointed to see her like that. Maybe it would make things easier for him. Maybe it would be like the old days when he couldn't stand her…
No such luck. She was still beautiful. It didn't make it any easier to see her. Now he knew how Kelso felt when he found out about Sam and Hyde. He heard a light knock on his door a few moments later.
"Come in," he said.
He looked up to see Donna walk in.
"Hey, how are you?" She asked.
"I won't lie, I've been better," Hyde answered.
"I came here to apologize."
"For what Donna?"
Donna was quiet before she answered him. When she responded, she was looking at the ground, and she spoke so softly it was hard for him to hear her.
"I knew about James," she confessed.
Hyde was silent for a few minutes, and Donna was scared to look up. When she did, she noticed his shades were off and she saw hurt in his eyes. It made her feel good that he showed his emotions in front of her, and didn't hide behind his Zen. But she knew she was the cause of the hurt in his eyes, and she felt awful.
"I'm so sorry Hyde."
Anger then flashed on his face.
"No big deal Donna. It's not like I could have used a warning, been prepared for the shock I saw there in the lobby. It's fine though, no big deal. It's been over for 6 months. I don't care about her anymore."
Donna looked at Hyde skeptically. "Ok, well, we're gonna check out the casino, maybe check out a few others as well. Are you going to join us?"
"I'll try to find you in a bit."
"Hyde, come with us."
"Donna, not now."
Donna knew better than to argue with him, and she left his room. She joined the others, who were standing in the lobby chatting, waiting for the two missing group members.
"Where's Hyde?" Eric asked.
"He said he'll try to find us later," Donna informed the group.
Eric's face clouded over, and he shot a look over at Sam and James.
"What's that look for Eric?" Sam asked.
"If this trip gets ruined because you brought your new boyfriend here, I may never forgive you. This was supposed to be a fun, happy trip with the whole gang before the wedding. And you very well may have ruined that," Eric said.
"No Eric, Hyde ruined that himself. He ruined that the day he chose not to mar….the day he let me leave. We could all be here as happy couples, but we're not because it is his fault," Sam said, firmly standing her ground.
"No, Sam, this is your fault because you had to bring James here, an outsider, someone who doesn't belong to this group!" Eric threw back at her.
"That's funny, why is Brooke here then?" Sam spat back.
A slight gasp went around the group.
"Ok, Sam, not cool. Brooke and I have been together for three years, and she is very much a part of this group," Kelso said.
"Only by default! You impregnated her while engaged to me!" Sam yelled, starting to cause a scene.
"Well then, you're a part of this group by default too," Eric said. "You only became a part when you started to date Kelso!" Eric yelled.
"You know what, I don't need this crap. I came here for you all to meet my new boyfriend and have a good time. Obviously, that's not going to happen tonight. Come on baby, let's get out of here."
The gang watched as Sam and James walked away.
"Hopefully that scared him off," Eric said. "I'm sure he didn't know about her fucked up past with this group, and sleeping with half of the guys in it. I can't believe she brought him with her! This was supposed to be a time to celebrate our wedding, and bring Hyde and Sam together." Eric said, waving his arms around.
"Eric, calm down. This will all get resolved and blow over," Donna tried to reason.
"If this trip sucks, I'm blaming it on you," Eric said to Donna.
Donna rolled her eyes and grabbed Eric's hand. "Let's go get you a beer and a poker table and try to win some money."
2 Hours LaterAfter trying to nap, and being constantly bothered by dreams of Sam, Hyde decided not to let it bother him. He was in Las Vegas. There was booze everywhere, money to be won, and girls to meet.
He took a quick shower, shaved, and got dressed to go out. It was going to be a challenge to find the rest of the gang, so he decided not to set his hopes on finding them. They knew what room number he was in, they would come to find him soon enough. He was determined to get drunk, and win some money. If he got laid in the process, great.
Hyde walked to the elevator and took it down. He walked off, and got confused. Creaser's Palace was huge, and wasn't sure where he was supposed to be going. He took a left turn, hoping he would find the casino. He walked for a bit, and found himself in the world of shopping.
"Crap," he muttered to himself. This wasn't the place he wanted to be at all. He started to walk away, and looked down at his watch at the same time. It was 11:00 P.M. He could hope that Donna and Eric and the rest were in the hotel still, in the casino. It had only been two hours since Donna had left him.
Hyde was too busy looking down, that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Before he knew it, he had walked right into someone.
"Watch where you're going!" A shrill voice screamed in his ear.
Hyde looked down to see a bunch of shopping bags and their contents spilled out on the floor.
"I am so sorry, I didn't see you, I was looking at my watch…let me help you," Hyde said, bending down to help the girl he had crashed into. He could tell she was furious, and was almost scared to look and see who he had crashed into. When he finally brought his eyes up, he was astounded by the beauty in front of him.
She was a small girl, no taller than five feet. She had a beautiful face, with mismatched eyes, one green, and one blue. Her face was framed by dark, curly locks. His eyes moved from her face and down the rest of her body. Perky breasts, and what he assumed would be a nice ass. Her shirt was tied at a knot and showed off her toned stomach.
She was beautiful.
She stood, smirking as Hyde checked her out. It didn't seem to bother her that he was standing there, staring at her, taking her all in.
"Yea, well thanks for walking into me, and then checking me out. I'm late for work and I need to get out of here."
She started to walk away, and Hyde stood planted where he was standing. He was able to turn around and yell after her.
"Wait!" He yelled.
She turned around and smirked at him.
"What?" She asked.
"My name is…"
"I don't really have time for small talk," she said impatiently.
"Ok…where do you work?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, then smiled.
"You can find me at Scores."
He watched as she quickly turned and walked away from him.
"Scores." He muttered to himself. He had no idea what that was. A restaurant, a bar, a casino. It didn't matter to him.
He had to see her again.