Chapter 7
Jackie grunted trying to untangle her hair from the bottom of the Kelso's back seat. It just figures that would be where Kelso stuck his used chewing gum and now her hair would be ruined! Not to mention that her butt was stuck in the air and there was nothing she could do about it. Brooke was going to wonder what was taking Jackie so long when she had just asked her to go get her dress out of the car. Jackie really didn't want to have anyone come out and find her like this. After she heard a familiar chuckle she groaned realizing that it was too late. " Nice," Hyde said sauntering up to the car. "So Jacks, what's going on?" he asked walking around to the other side of the car.
"Micheal is a gross moron. My hair is caught on his nasty gum stash," Jackie grunted with irritation. " Steven, would you mind giving that dress to Brooke?" Jackie said pointing to the dry-cleaning bag on the seat next to her before resuming the task at hand. "Please," Jackie added pleadingly.
" Stephanie, why don't you and Betsy help by giving this to Brooke. I gotta help your mom," Hyde said handing the bag to the little girl as she bounded over with a grin.
"OK, daddy," Stephanie said giving him a kiss before doing as she was asked. Hyde opened up the door of the car and climbed inside to get a better look.
"Hold still, Jackie," Hyde commanded leaning over her. "If you keep wiggling I might rip out your hair," he added knowing that would gain Jackie's cooperation at once. He was right. He was grateful for the fact that his sunglasses hide his eyes. He was free to observe Jackie's slender form. She was a little bit curvier than the last time he'd really looked at her but then again she'd also had a kid since then. He freely admired her backside as his fingers gently worked her hair free. "There, you go. Good as new," Hyde said letting her get up.
"Thank you, Steven" Jackie said gently massaging her scalp. "Micheal is a moron!" she seethed carefully examining her hair.
"No problem. So you're friend's with Brooke?" Hyde said casually. Jackie looked at him in annoyed confusion for a moment before understanding dawned on her face. She'd clearly been more worried about possible damage to her hair and it took a moment for her to process what he was saying.
"Oh, yeah. We've been friend's for a few years now. Why do you ask?" Jackie said with a shrug.
"You kept in contact with Brooke and not the rest of us. Why?" Hyde asked cocking his head to the side. Jackie gave him a look filled with both exasperation and criticism. In short a very a-typical Jackie look.
"Well, for starters she wasn't among those people who yelled at me and told me to get permanently lost," Jackie said with a big fake cheerleader smile. "What does it matter anyway? So what she and I are friends big whoop," Jackie added with a dismissive gesture.
"Jackie, everyone was mad. We didn't mean all that stuff we said," Hyde said leaning across her to close the car door so that they could talk in private.
"I beg your pardon! Oh yes you did too mean it, Steven; and might I point out that while everyone was blaming me you walked away Scot free. I mean we have sex and I'm the bad guy. Since I didn't rape you it hardly seems fair. Why are we talking about this anyway? That was years ago. It doesn't matter anymore," Jackie said shaking her head.
"They gave me hell after you left if its any consolation,"Hyde said quietly. "Really," he insisted when he saw her roll her eyes sarcastically. "After everyone calmed down, we kept expecting you to come back like you always did but you didn't," Hyde said quietly leaning his head back against the seat at looking at her. "I missed you," he admitted quietly. Admitting emotions had always been hard for him and he knew that she knew this. Jackie choked back a sob and grabbed the door handle, she so did not want to have this conversation. "Please, just stay and talk to me," Hyde said softly, covering her small hand with his.
"We don't have anything to talk about, Steven. Except for Stephanie we don't have anything in common anymore," Jackie said through clenched teeth. She was trying to get a hold of herself and being this close to him was making it an almost impossible task. "The past is the past. We should just leave everything else there," she said avoiding eye contact with him.
"You missed me too," Hyde said with certainty. The way she wouldn't look at him and she kept trying to leave only confirmed it to him. She wouldn't be this tense if there wasn't still something between them.
"It doesn't matter. It never did," Jackie said in a monotone and left a stunned Steven Hyde in the car by himself.
"There you go, you are officially stunning! Almost as stunning as me, which is only fair since this is your big day," Jackie said handing Brooke a mirror to inspect her work. Brooke merely smiled indulgently at her friend. She knew Jackie well enough by now to realize that Jackie didn't mean any harm by her remarks. It was a nervous reaction, similar to how some people played with either their jewelry or their hair and without any true malice. "I'm so happy for you!" Jackie couldn't resist squealing and gave Brooke a quick hug.
"Thanks, Jackie. I'm glad you came to help me out. It really means a lot to me and to Micheal," Brooke said honestly. Jackie gave her a slight shrug and immediately began to start on Brooke's make-up and despite any reservations she may have had at first, Brooke had to admit Jackie had done an amazing job.
"Don't mention it. I'm happy to do what I can to make anyone more beautiful," Jackie told her reassuringly. To Brooke's surprise, Jackie leaned down and whispered," In your case its a lost cause. You don't really need any help." Brooke beamed up at Jackie knowing that this was just Jackie's way of trying to make her feel special. It worked.
"Well, at least one of those damn kids is grown up," Red Foreman said after Kelso and Brooke had finished exchanging vows. Kitty patted her husband's arm affectionately.
"All of them are grown up now. I miss my babies," Kitty said giving her husband a teary smile.
"Not all of them," Red disagreed with a grunt. "Kelso is a dumbass who will never grow up. Eric is a dumbass and a wimp, and Steven will always be living in the basement. If we sell the house, he'd have to come with it," Red declared eying the group. "The Loud one seems to be doing well for herself now that she's not dating that damn creepy foreigner," he amended as his eyes momentarily met Jackie's. "She's not happy though," Red said mostly to himself. In truth, Red had always liked Jackie. She was one of the few of Eric's friends he could tolerate. She could be obnoxious sometimes but Red noticed that it seemed more like a reaction to loneliness than a hardcore personality trait. She wasn't useless like the rest of those kids who hung around his house. At least she could hold a flashlight.
" We could try to fix that can't we Red?" Kitty said excitedly. "One of the kids needs me!" Kitty cried practically bouncing up and down in place. Red was about to object and tell his wife that they just needed to mind their own business when she gave him such a determined look that he didn't dare argue. "We need to help out Red Foreman," Kitty scolded him.
"You want to help, fine. Lets help them," Red said patting Kitty's hand and giving her a smile. Without another word he marched up to Steven Hyde who was congratulating Kelso and tapped him on the shoulder. "Stop being a dumbass," Red commanded when Hyde turned around and gave him a confused look. "Swallow your dumbass pride and fix this or I'll never hear the end of it," Red commanded pointing first at Jackie and then at Kitty.
