Author's Note: Inspired by the episode "Reefer Madness" (3.1).
"We're trying to raise money for a field trip to Amsterdam," Leo was explaining.
Jackie was confused. Why did Leo want to go to Amsterdam, and why did he want to take Steven with him? Jackie squeezed Steven's hand tighter which caused him to pull away again.
"Thanks, Leo man, but no thanks. I've got to go figure something out with the Forman's so…" he let the sentence drop off, as though he were unsure of how it was supposed to finish.
He pulled his hand entirely away from Jackie's, leaving her hand cold, and headed across the Hub to the door. Quickly, Jackie jumped up and ran over to him. "Steven, wait."
She prepared herself for the blow. He knew he was getting annoyed with her, but she just wanted to understand. "Leave me alone, Jackie," he said, his voice riddled with exhaustion. Jackie felt a pang of guilt; she knew that exhaustion was because of her.
"Please, Steven," she said softly. "I just…I just want to understand why you did it."
Steven grabbed the handle to the door and swung it open. He turned back to look at Jackie on his way out. "I don't know," he said, his voice frustrated. His gaze was hard as he slammed the door closed behind him.
Jackie watched through the filthy window, just able to make out Steven's hunched figure in the dark. Steven simply couldn't not know why he'd taken the fall for Jackie; he had done it. Jackie was the one who was confused. What Steven had done…that was something only her soulmate should have done for her. But yet she knew in her heart that that was something Michael was incapable of. And it made Jackie unbearably sad, not that Michael was incapable, but that he was her soulmate and not Steven. It was never supposed to happen this way.
Jackie shuffled back to the table and sat across from Leo who was busy picking at the split ends of his hair. Jackie had an idea. She leaned forward. "Leo, do you know why Steven took the blame for me?"
He glanced up as though he just realized she was there. "Like you said, he loves you."
Jackie shook her head. "No. I only said that. Steven already knows who his soulmate is."
"So?"
"So…" Jackie was unsure of what Leo was implying. "So, he can't love me. I'm not his soulmate, duh."
"Hyde doesn't believe in soulmates though. Neither do I."
Jackie was shocked. Not believing in soulmates was sacrilege. Soulmates were just a universal given, made proof by the clocks borne through everyone's wrists. She knew it would do no good to explain this to the hippie though, so she took another approach. "Why?"
Leo seemed to think about this. Jackie had never seen him think so hard in his life. "Because man," Leo shrugged, "what's the fun in that?"