9.17am
Hyde's Apartment
Milwaukee
Jackie couldn't open her eyes. Her head hurt way too much to even consider allowing a flicker of daylight to further contribute to her pain. She pulled the cosy blanket up over her face and tried going back to sleep.
Sleep was good.
Sleep was her friend.
As she went to roll over her leg hit something. Something soft. Something that felt like the back of a couch.
Where the hell am I? she thought.
The last thing Jackie remembered was being in Hyde's bar singing along to a cover version of the Bee Gees 'Tragedy' with one of the barman. She was pretty sure it wasn't Hyde, if she remembers rightly he'd told her to "get bent" when she had asked him to come and dance to the band. It must've been the other guy, the cute one with brown eyes.
Oh my god did I go home with him?
Surely she hadn't? Surely she wouldn't? She didn't even know the guy's name and Jackie Burkhart may have been a lot of things but she definitely wasn't a slut. But to be sure, she knew she had to open her eyes and work out where she was – no matter how much it hurt her head to do so.
She pulled the blanket down and tentatively opened her eyes, just a little at first.
Yes, she was on a couch.
Phew, she was alone.
Looking around the living room Jackie could tell it was a man's home; car magazines on the coffee table; no photos or trinkets; minimalistic. It was nice though, and clean. At least she had slept somewhere clean.
Suddenly feeling very queasy she held her stomach as she stood up, praying she wouldn't throw up all over the clean living room. She was pretty sure whatever had happened after 'Tragedy' was embarrassing enough, she certainly didn't need to include 'vomiting all over a stranger's house' to her list of embarrassing moments of the night.
With a mouth that felt like sandpaper, and a head that was pounding like a thousand drums, Jackie found her way to the kitchen and poured herself a water. As she sculled back glass after glass in the hopes of quick rehydration she snooped around a little. Unfortunately for her there really wasn't much to snoop through. No photos on the fridge; no food in the fridge. The person whose house this was obviously used the place as a base, not a home and for some reason Jackie found that quite sad. If she had a place of her own she would surround herself in comfort, things that made her feel happy, like she'd tried to do in her cement brick dungeon back on campus.
The dungeon back on campus – how on earth was she going to get back there? Calling a friend wasn't an option, she didn't have any of those, and calling a cab would be difficult too if she didn't even know where to be picked up from. Making her way towards what she assumed were the bedrooms she decided she had to know who had brought her home in the hope that they may be willing to take her back to campus.
The first door she came to was slightly ajar so she poked her head in. A soft snore was coming from the occupant of the bed but due to the lack of light in the small room she couldn't make out just who the occupant was. More car magazines, clothes, and records littered the path to the bed so Jackie carefully avoiding them as she tiptoed closer. Once at the side of the bed she could see it was a guy. A shirtless guy. A shirtless guy with a hot body but a pillow over his head. He was covered from the naval down by a white sheet, a sheet Jackie was tempted to push down further. Holding her hair back with one hand so that it wouldn't tickle hot body guy, she carefully lent over and pulled the pillow off and to her horror she was met with a scruffy beard and a head full of tight curls.
Oh my god! I just called Hyde hot! She screamed internally as she hurriedly put the pillow back over his face and made a hasty exit out of his room.
As she picked up her shoes and purse from Hyde's living room floor she silently cursed herself. Whatever had happened last night she knew she was sure to have provided him with enough burns to last a lifetime, and that thought hurt worse than her head and her stomach combined. He was sure to tell everyone in Point Place all about her drunken antics and they would have a field day laughing at her expense.
This was bad.
This was really bad.
And she still didn't know how she was getting home.
Clutching her shoes and purse in one hand, and biting the nails on her other, she walked over to the kitchen window and peered out. She rolled her eyes at her own stupidity when she realised where she was; she was above Hyde's bar! Of course that lazy boy couldn't organise himself a job and an apartment – he had to have both handed to him in a combo. Smiling to herself at the thought of freedom Jackie picked up the phone, called herself a cab, and tiptoed out the back door, hoping to never see Steven Hyde again.
...
10.03 am
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Halls of Residence
Jackie stood at her door and knocked again, praying that Sarah would get her ass out of bed and let her in. Somehow, during the night, Jackie had lost her freaking room key and so she was now standing in a black strapless dress and heels at 10 o'clock in the morning. She avoided looking at the people walking by, many of whom were clearly going to the gym or for a run, but she could feel their judgemental glares burning a hole through her already aching body.
'Sarah," she whispered, knocking again, "please Sarah, its Jackie, let me in."
She knew it was useless. Even if Sarah was in there she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Taking her heels off Jackie slid down the wall and sat on the floor, wondering just what had become of her life.
...
4.35pm
Masterson's Irish Bar
Hyde was cutting up lemons when Kerin walked in to start his shift.
"How's it boss?" the brown eyed boy asked as he threw his bag under the counter.
"How's it man," Hyde replied before pushing the chopping board full of lemons toward Kerin. Kerin looked at the yellow fruit before raising an eyebrow. "C'mon Kerin, you know how I feel about yellow things," smirked Hyde. What was the point of being manager if you couldn't manage your staff and get them to do all the shitty jobs that you don't want to do? That was Hyde's mantra anyway.
Kerin began chopping. "So, what happened with the little drunk thing last night anyway?" he asked.
Hyde shook his head as he rolled out the bar mats. "Dude, do you know how big that university is?" Kerin nodded. Hyde continued, "there was no way I was gonna find her room. She was drunk n passed out and being a fuckin' pain in my ass so I had to take her home with me, god dammit!"
Kerin stopped with the lemons and smirked at Hyde. "Home with you huh?"
"Not like that!" Hyde quickly scowled. "I put her on the couch, and I slept in my bed…"
"How gentlemanly of you" Kerin said sarcastically.
"Hey at least I didn't leave her on the side of the road, she's lucky she even got to sleep on my couch. Anyway, she was gone when I got up this morning," Hyde smiled, "she'll be feeling so embarrassed man, I wish we were back in Point Place so that I could share all these great burns I've got with the guys."
Hyde couldn't wipe the grin off of his face. Jackie had been crazy last night. At one point she'd climbed onto the bar and started dancing and he, fearing her falling and the potential lawsuit that would come with it, had to lift her off and return her to her seat. It was all brilliant, brilliant stuff that Forman would love. But those lazy days sitting around the basement burning Jackie were over; now Hyde had lemons to chop and old men hiding from their wives to pour pints for.
"Another pint mate," one of Hyde's regulars called from the end of the bar.
"Coming right up Harry," Hyde said as he pulled out a fresh glass and placed it under the tap of Guinness. He pulled the lever down and the dark brown liquid came rushing into the glass. Making sure to avoid too much froth he titled the glass until it was full then carried it down to Harry. "There you go," he announced to the old man with a smile.
"You're a good kid y'know that?" Harry said, taking the glass and handing Hyde a handful of coins.
"Well I don't know about that," came a voice, a huffy voice. Jackie's voice. She plonked herself down next to Harry who gave Hyde a wink and quickly left with his beer.
Hyde opened the cash register and put the coins inside before slamming it shut. "No need to scare off my regulars Jackie," he growled. Fuck, after all he had done for her last night she has the cheek to come in here and be snarky with him. Who the hell does she think she is?
"Where's my key Hyde? Did you keep it so you can stalk me or something?"
Hyde reached into his pocket and pulled out the key, handing it to Jackie. "No, I had your key to try and get you home last night, but you were too wasted to even tell me where you lived. Oh, and believe me, if I was gonna stalk someone it definitely would not be you," he snarled as he turned and walked to the other end of the bar.
Apparently Jackie didn't get the hint that he wasn't into talking to her because before he knew it she too was at the other end of the bar.
With her hands on her hips Hyde could tell Jackie was ready for a fight. "That's right Hyde, I was wasted, and who was it pouring my drinks huh? Hmmm, that's right, it was the same guy who took me back to his house and tried to have his wicked way with me."
"Are you for real Jackie?" Hyde asked angrily. He slammed a paper coaster down in front of her but its light weight didn't have the dramatic effect he had been hoping for. "I poured you five drinks, not my fault you can't handle your liquor, and you should be thanking me for taking you back to mine, I could've, n probably should've, left your ass on the side of the road. Now get outta here would ya? I got a bar to run."
Hyde didn't bother waiting for Jackie to respond. He grabbed his cigarettes from under the counter and walked to the back room. There were only five customers, including the fucking annoying brunette practically accusing him of rape, so Kerin was fine on his own for a while. He pushed open the window next to his recliner and lit his smoke.
Fucking bitch he thought. Why the hell did she have to pop back up in his life? Where oh where was the little pill Kelso had once wished for that made you forget Jackie Burkhart? He could do with taking it right now.
He heard a sniffle coming from the doorway and rolled his eyes.
"You have your key Jackie, just leave," he ordered, not bothering to look at her.
"Hyde, I'm really sorry. I know I should be thanking you but…."
"Whatever, just go man." He heard the clip clop of her heels coming further into the room. His room. His private room.
"Look Hyde I'm just really embarrassed. I was an idiot last night from what I remember and I just feel really stupid that you had to see me like that…."
"As opposed to how I saw you just now?" Hyde grunted, still staring out the window.
Jackie walked to the window and stood right in front of it, blocking his view. What once was the back parking lot was now replaced with Jackie's firm, slender, thighs, only a couple inches of them covered with denim hot pants. Dammit, the last thing Hyde wanted to be thinking about was Jackie's thighs.
She bent down in front of him and for a moment he was relieved that he no longer had to look at her legs. However that relief was shortly lived as his view now consisted of her chest, practically fully exposed and in his face. He stared at the buttons she hadn't done up and was tempted to do them up himself.
"Hyde, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," she said, a few tears visible in the corners of her eyes.
Hyde turned away and flicked his smoke in the ashtray. He didn't want to see her cry, for some reason it didn't make him feel good.
Jackie stood up and sighed. "So you're just going to ignore me then?" she asked. He shrugged. "Well, can I at least get a glass of water before I leave? It was a long walk here and I'm thirsty," she said, fanning herself with one hand, the other wiping away those dreaded tears.
Hyde looked up at her. "You walked all the way here?"
"Yeah? Of course I did. I used most of my money getting a cab home this morning, and I needed to get that key back," Jackie shrugged.
"I'm surprised you made it all the way here dressed like that without someone pulling over and offering you a ride," Hyde grinned before adding, "and some money for sex."
Jackie's face grew red, an angry shade of red unlike anything Hyde had ever seen before. He saw her reach for the newspaper on the table so he quickly shielded his head and face with his arms before the blows could hit. In a fit of fury Jackie pounded on him with all the strength her 95 pound body could muster; one knee jabbed into his side while the other dug into his thigh; one arm hit him with the paper as the other one slapped his bicep. Throughout the whole onslaught Jackie screamed "I hate you", or, "you're an asshole", as well as Hyde's favourite, "I never want to see you again!"
Eventually Hyde realised that she wasn't gonna give up, which surprised him because surely she had a killer hangover, so he wrapped his arms around hers preventing her from hitting him anymore. Trying to break free she tried to pry Hyde's arms off of hers.
"Jackie calm down," Hyde ordered, astonished at the strength of this tiny woman.
"No," Jackie yelled into his ear. "I hate you Hyde! How dare you call me a prostitute!"
Hyde slapped her bare thigh, hard enough so that she stopped thrashing about.
"To be fair Jackie," he started as she checked out the red mark forming on her thigh, "I never actually called you a prostitute, I merely implied that you may be dressed like one…"
She started struggling again so he tightened his grip before continuing. "….and I only implied that because you implied that I was stalking you and had tried to take advantage of you."
Jackie stopped struggling and turned to look at Hyde. She bit her lip and for the first time ever Hyde imagined kissing that lip. It was then that he realised Jackie was sitting on his lap wearing next to nothing and his arms were around her.
Holy crap! he thought, what the fuck is going on here?
He released his grip and hoped that Jackie would get the hell off him. She didn't.
"Hyde, I'm really sorry, I really am. I shouldn't have said what I said, so I guess I deserved being told I look like a prostitute," Jackie said sadly.
"Look, let's say we're even okay? Now, you wanna get off me before I lose all feeling in my legs?" Hyde tapped Jackie's leg until she finally stood up, and then he quickly stood up after her.
Jackie turned around to face him, her eyes shining. "So we're good then?" she asked hopefully. "Friends?"
Hyde wasn't sure how he felt about them being friends but he did know he didn't feel like getting into round two with her so he nodded his head. "Ah..friends," he agreed.
Jackie beamed before poking her head around the room. "I still need that water Hyde, I've walked a long way remember? Dressed like a prostitute."
Hyde chuckled, rather impressed that Jackie was already able to laugh at herself. He figured it couldn't hurt to give her a glass of water.
"Come on then," he said as he walked out to the bar, "I'll even put some ice and a slice of lemon in it for you."
...
6pm
Masterson's Irish Bar
Jackie had been sitting at the end of the bar for over an hour, her water long gone, the ice long ago melted. She gently swirled the squishy lemon around in the bottom of the glass and contemplated the walk back to her dorm. She didn't want to go, she had nothing to go home to after all, but she knew she couldn't stay here drinking water all night.
"Are you just gonna keep playing with that or can I get you another one?" the brown eyed barman, who she now knew as Kerin, asked.
Jackie sighed and pushed her glass toward him. "I may as well have one for the road," she said, her head in her hand.
Kerin took her glass and put it with the rest of the dirty glasses. "I'll even give you a fresh glass," he grinned.
Jackie smiled at him but her eyes soon wandered over his shoulder to where she could see Hyde yelling into the phone. "What's wrong with Hyde?" she asked. "He looks more mad than usual."
Kerin put her glass of water down and turned around to see Hyde. "Yeah he's pretty pissed. The guys he hired last night have already called in sick. Typical college students, as soon as Saturdays roll around they don't wanna work," he explained.
Jackie's eyes lit up. This was just the opportunity she needed. She wouldn't have to go home, and she would be earning money at the same time. Perfect!
"So you guys need someone to work tonight?" she asked Kerin with a smile.
"Yeah we do," he answered just as a customer called out for a drink. "Back later," he said quickly before going to serve the lady.
Jackie went to the bathroom to fix herself up a little. She wanted to look her best before she approached Hyde for a job. He had to hire her…..he just had to. Sure they'd only been on speaking terms for a few hours but already their friendship was showing signs of progress; he hadn't burned her in an hour; he hadn't called her spoiled in 40 minutes; and he hadn't rolled his eyes at her in half an hour. Granted, most of that time he had been busy working, but progress was progress and in Jackie's eyes that progress was going to lead to a job.
She brushed her hair and tied it up in a neat ponytail, and dabbed on some more lip gloss. It was a shame Hyde wasn't a typical guy, he wasn't going to give her a job on her looks alone, but surely it'd help.
Jackie retied her white shirt just above her naval before pulling the bathroom door open and striding over to Hyde. He still looked super mad, lucky for him Jackie was about to make him a super offer.
"I hear you need a worker?" Jackie enquired as she lent down on her elbow next to where Hyde was busy going through a phonebook.
He didn't take his eyes off of the page. "Still here Jackie? Don't you have water at your dorm?"
Jackie chose to ignore his comments, he was stressed, and she needed a job. "You know, I'm looking for a job, the street ain't easy for us hookers here in Milwaukee."
That got a smile out of him.
"That's sad to hear, but I don't have a job for you here sorry. I need a worker, not a princess," he said, looking at her for a moment. She put her hand over the phonebook, demanding his attention.
"Hyde come on, give me a chance. You need a worker, I need a job…."
"No Jackie."
"But if you give me a chance…"
"No."
"you'll see…"
"No."
"that I can work hard…"
"No."
"and I am great at customer service…"
"No."
"and people love me…."
"No."
"so I'll bring in customers…"
"No."
Finally Jackie sighed and looked Hyde square in his shade covered eyes. "Hyde I'm broke and desperate," she pleaded.
Hyde stood, arms folded. He looked at the floor then back up at Jackie. "Okay," he said reluctantly.
Jackie squealed before impulsively wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh my god thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret this, I promise."
Hyde pulled her arms away before warning her that this was just a trial and if she couldn't do the work she wouldn't get the job. He also rambled something about bartending being completely different to standing around a mall holding cheese but it was all in one ear and out the other for Jackie. She had a job and somewhere to spend her nights.
She also had a sneaky suspicion that she had a new friend.