A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for all of the support! I know that I have been really mean to you guys by ending with cliffhangers, but I can't help it. It's just too much fun for me. I told you I'm evil. Lol anyway, I, as always, have to send out love to my friend Minacakes (BloodyLyra). Go and read/review her story, The Black Queen!! Also my friend Allie (sometimestheycallmejackie), deserves some love with her stories too! Okay so here is chapter 7, full of drama. Just remember, I am a Zennie above all else!
Also check out my new JH video to "Black" by Pearl Jam
Chapter 7: When the Levee Breaks
Jackie Burkhart stood in a department store, dressed all in white. She looked stunning.
"You're beautiful." Hyde spoke in awe as he approached her.
She turned to face him and smiled "Thank you, Steven."
"So, why are you trying on wedding dresses?" He asked confusedly, still marveling her beauty.
She giggled "Steven, don't be silly. You know why."
Hyde racked his brain, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what she was talking about.
"Jackie, I have no freakin' clue what you're talking about." He spoke with frustration.
She sighed "Don't do this Steven."
Now he was even more confused than before "Do what, Jackie?"
She shook her head sadly "Make this hard for me."
He huffed with irritation "Jackie…"
"I have to go now." She turned her back to him.
"Wait. Jackie." He pleaded.
She looked back at him over her shoulder "No Steven. No more waiting." And with that, she was gone.
Hyde jolted awake. His strange Jackie dreams had become quite frequent, and they never failed to unnerve him. As he gathered his wits, it occurred to him that he was alone on the couch. He had expected to wake up tangled in the body of the woman he loved, but as he looked around, there was no Jackie. Hyde was left to ponder her motives for disappearing.
Meanwhile, the object of his desire, found herself caught in a devastating situation. We all have dreams when we are children. Aspirations we hope to fulfill when we're grown. For Jackie Burkhart that dream was presenting itself before her. So why did it feel like a nightmare? She had always wanted to have a wonderful man that she loved propose marriage to her, and kneeling before her was a man she loved very much, doing just that. Yet now, she would have to say something to him that would break his tender heart, and she hated herself for that.
"Eric, stand up." She pulled him up to face her.
A look of confusion grazed his face "What is it? Is it too soon?"
Tears began to flow from Jackie's gorgeously unique eyes. Eric began to panic.
"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. Please don't cry." He said regretfully, pulling her into his arms.
"I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me. I guess I messed up."
Jackie shook her head "Stop apologizing. You haven't done anything wrong. I'm the one…" She began to sob more profusely.
He kissed her forehead and lifted her chin to lock eyes with her "Jackie, what's going on?" He asked with deep concern.
She took a deep breath before speaking "I slept with Steven."
Jackie watched as Eric's face slowly dropped in shock and pain. She absolutely loathed herself for causing that look on his face, this sweet and gentle boy who had treated her so well.
"W-What?" He stuttered.
"Last night after we left the hospital. He was just so sad and scared and we have this huge history. I mean, imagine if it were Donna." She wasn't trying to justify her actions, but to explain them.
Eric began to get slightly angry "I don't have to imagine anything. Last night Donna kissed me, but I pulled away. I couldn't do that to you."
That hit Jackie like a ton of bricks. She had been cheated on by both of her previous boyfriends, yet here stood Eric, this amazing guy who had actual remained faithful. What had she done?
"Oh Eric. I am so, so sorry." She touched his face softly.
At first his eyes drifted shut as he leaned into her touch, then a thought occurred to him.
"I'll be back later." He turned and walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" She cried out.
He turned to face her "I'm going to see a friend." He said simply as he turned the knob and left the apartment.
Jackie fell to her knees in a fit of tears. No matter what happened, she was determined to fix things with Eric.
Back at Hyde's he had just gotten out of the shower when he heard a pounding at his door.
"Open up, Hyde!" The man shouted.
"Forman, what the hell?" He mouthed to himself as he drew near to the door.
The banging continued "Open the damn door, Hyde! I saw the Camino. I know you're home!"
Hyde opened the door "Alright, alright. Where's the fire, Forman?"
He barely got the words out before he felt a fist collide with his chin. He fell to the floor.
"Your face. That burns doesn't it?!" Eric shouted fists clenched.
Hyde reached his hand to his mouth to wipe the blood that escaped it.
"Forman, what the fuck?!" He spoke, irate.
Eric kept his fists clenched "Where do you get off sleeping with my girlfriend?"
Suddenly Hyde understood. He slowly rose from the ground to face his oldest friend.
"Look Forman, I'm sorry okay. I really am, but with Jackie…I…lo"
"Don't you dare say you love her! You treated her like shit. You even married someone else!" Eric cut him off angrily.
Hyde nodded sadly "I know, man. That was fucked up, but I want to be with her. I always have." He said sincerely.
The skinny man laughed dryly "Ha, you could've fooled me."
Hyde sighed "Come on Forman…"
Eric shook his head "No."
"No what?" The curly haired man asked the man he considered a brother.
"No, I can't do this. I don't think I can be around you anymore." He began to walk away.
"Man, don't be like that." Hyde pleaded.
"It's just the way it is." Eric spoke sadly, as he left Hyde's place, head hung low.
Hyde watched as the closest person to family he had ever had walked away from him, perhaps for forever. It shattered his soul into a million pieces. He had never really loved many people in his life, but Hyde knew for certain that Eric was one of them. He was probably the single most important person in his life aside from a bossy little brunette. Hyde fought back the tears he knew were looming in the back of his eyes.
After a few hours of walking to clear his head, Eric arrived back home. He found a frazzled Jackie wearing a hole in their floor, pacing nervously. As he walked in and closed the door behind him, he remembered the night before, how every instinct in his body had told him to continue down that traitorous path with Donna. He had spent so much of his life loving her, that with the simplest look or touch it felt natural to fall back into old patterns. Especially, given heightened emotions. Maybe that is what happened to Jackie. He knew how much of herself she had given Hyde. It was just like him and Donna. Perhaps her mistake was not unforgivable.
He smiled slightly "Hey."
She looked at him apprehensively "Hey."
He simply made his way to her and pulled her into his arms. She began to weep as he held onto her tighter.
"God Eric, I am so sorry. I hate myself for what I did to you." She cried out desperately.
"Shh, it's okay." He soothed.
She shook her head as she buried it in his chest "No it's not okay. I did a horrible thing."
He pulled away to look her in the eyes "Jackie, I forgive you." He assured.
She looked confused "You do?" He nodded "But why?" She asked in shock.
"Because I understand what you were feeling. I felt it with Donna too. We gave a lot of ourselves to them, by letting go of them, it's like giving up a piece of ourselves, and that's hard. But more than anything, I forgive you because I love you." He kissed her lips gently as she continued to cry.
"I love you too, Eric, so much. But I mean….you still want to be with me?" She asked anxiously.
His smile grew "I can top that. I still want to marry you."
She gasped in shock "Really? Even after what I did?"
He took her face in his hands as he nodded "Yes."
"Oh Eric." She kissed him hard on the lips.
As they pulled away, he kneeled down before her.
"Okay, let's try this again. Jackie, I love you, and I know you made a mistake, but it doesn't change that. What do you say? Will you marry me?"
Jackie looked down at this incredible man. She had never been so surprised by someone in her life. Eric was the single kindest heart she had ever encountered. At that moment, she smiled through her tears and spoke with glee.
"Yes."
He smiled widely "Yes?"
She nodded adamantly "Yes!"
He placed the ring on her finger and pulled her into a warm embrace. The couple laughed and cried and kissed for what seemed like hours.
That night the couple walked hand in hand to their cars.
"Are you sure you're okay with me going to see him alone?" She asked nervously.
"Yes, it's fine. I trust you." He spoke honestly
Jackie smiled up at him "How did you get to be so perfect?"
He smiled "Many years of being threatened with a foot in the ass."
She giggled before leaning up to kiss him and getting in her car. Eric watched Jackie walk away before getting in the Vista Cruiser and making the very familiar drive to the Pinciotti home. When he arrived he knocked at the door to be greeted by a very redheaded Donna.
"Wow Donna, your hair." He said through his surprise.
She gestured for him to enter "Yeah, I thought I'd go back to red. I've sort of felt like I lost myself when I went blonde or something…it's silly I guess."
"No it's not silly." He reassured.
She smiled "Well thanks…Uh so what are you doing here?"
He looked to the ground. He knew this would be hard, but he hadn't imagined this level of difficulty.
"So I have some news…"
"Oh about Red? Your mom called my dad and told him the news. Thank God he's doing better." She said with relief.
"No. I mean, yes, it's great that he's better, but that's not what I'm here to tell you." Eric continued to look anywhere but her eyes.
Donna looked confused "Uh…okay. So what's up? You're being weird."
"The thing is…Jackie and I are engaged." At that moment he finally looked up into her eyes. There he found a mixture of emotions.
As the words sunk into her brain, Donna felt like she was going to collapse, as though her legs could no longer hold the weight of her body. The breath was stolen from her chest as all motor capabilities were disbanded from her body. Everything was a blur of random shapes and colors. Nothing made sense. Jackie and Eric were getting married? She took a seat at the kitchen table, eyes wide in shock.
"You're…You're getting…married?!" She managed to squeeze out.
Eric took a seat at the table next to her "Yeah. Donna, I'm sorry."
She shook her head as if to clear it "Eric, why are you apologizing to me?"
He shrugged slightly "I don't know. I know this must all be weird for you."
She laughed dryly and spoke with sarcasm "Yeah a bit." She paused "Is this really what you want?"
Though perhaps he should have pondered the question, Eric did not "Yes." He answered with false conviction.
Donna fought with all her might to suppress her tears "Well then…congratulations." She spoke with sorrow.
Eric saw the pain written on her beautifully sad face "You really mean that?"
She rubbed her face stressfully "Yeah. Eric, I want you to be happy, and if Jackie makes you happy then…" She paused due to the extreme pain these words caused her "Then you should marry her."
Donna had never experienced a more excruciating feeling in her life. The only man she had ever loved was going to marry another woman, the closest thing to a best friend she had ever had. Donna supposed this was her punishment for how she had wronged Jackie. This was Jackie's much deserved retribution.
Meanwhile, Jackie returned to the scene of her indiscretion. She knocked on Hyde's door and within moments was greeting with his swollen face.
"Oh god, Steven what happened?" She asked with concern as he made room for her to enter.
"For a skinny guy, Forman throws a mean punch." He responded.
"Oh I'm sorry about that." She said with sincerity.
He shrugged "Whatever."
They stood awkwardly for a few moments before he spoke "So why'd you run off this morning?"
She looked down "I didn't know what to say to you."
He looked at her with puzzlement "Uh…okay…"
"Steven, last night was a mistake." She spoke quickly.
He drew closer "What do you mean?"
She inhaled deeply, grasping for courage "I mean it can't happen again. Eric and I worked things out and…"
He cut her off "Come on Jackie, we both know you don't love Forman."
"Yes I do." She insisted. It was true. She did love him.
Hyde huffed "Yeah right. Then why did you sleep with me? You're not a cheater Jackie."
Her temper flared "Oh really?! Then why whenever you saw me with Michael, you assumed I was cheating on you? Were you just looking for an excuse to run off and fuck some whore?!"
At first he was drawn back by her outburst "Is that really what you think of me?" He asked heatedly.
She sighed, calming down "No it's just.."
As she touched her face, Hyde noticed something on her finger that threw him.
"Jackie, what's that on your finger?" He asked tensely.
Like a scared little girl, she pulled her hand away and tucked it behind her back.
"That's actually what I came here to tell you. Eric and I are engaged."
Hyde felt his heart beating frantically, This couldn't be happening.
"What the fuck, Jackie? You're going to marry him now? Someone you don't love…" He spoke with all the hurt and anger in his heart rising to the surface.
"I do love him! Stop saying that!" She shouted.
He placed his hands on her arms and pulled her closer "Answer me this, Jackie. Do you love him like you love me?"
His question struck her with an arrow through her heart "What? Steven."
She tried to pull away, but he held her tight.
"Answer the question Jackie. Do you love him like you love me?" He asserted.
Jackie looked straight into his eyes before answering "No. And I hope I never do. Because loving you the way that I do hurts. I don't want to hurt anymore."
With these words, Hyde let go of his grip on her. She looked up at him and saw the confused look of perplexity in his face. She walked to the door and whispered.
"Goodbye Steven"
As Jackie left, Hyde replayed her words over and over in his mind. Loving him had hurt her. He knew it all along. To love him was to hurt. It was better for her and Eric to be rid of the love they felt for him. His parents made it quite clear from the time he was born. He was shit. That's all there was to it.
Jackie approached a beautiful house with green shutters and a white picket fence. It was the most beautiful house she had ever seen in her life. Oddly enough, it felt like home to her. In the front yard she spotted someone. A little boy she had seen in her dreams before. He was the most beautiful child she had ever seen, with his curls and his crystal blue eyes sparkling. He smiled at her and giggled. She walked up to him, but just as she was about to reach out to him he vanished.
She could hear his cries "Mommy! Mommy!"
She searched everywhere, but it was no use. He was gone.
Jackie awoke in her bed to find Eric standing by his nightstand, putting on his watch. He looked down and smiled at her.
"Hey, I have to go in to the store today. The construction guys need me. I'll see you later though." He leaned down and kissed her before walking away.
"Bye." She replied, still reeling over her dream. Who was that little boy, and why did she keep seeing him in her dreams?
Just as Jackie was about to drift back to sleep, she heard a knock at the door. She got up and pulled on her robe. When Jackie opened the door, she was shocked to see who was on the other side.
"Can we talk?" Donna asked with determination.
"Uh yeah, come in."
To be continued….
A/N: Wow, I'm actually exhausted from writing that. I don't know if it's just longer or emotional or what. Anyway, I know you're probably freaking out, which I love, I'll admit it, but don't worry, this ends well. Now pretty please with naked Hyde on top, review!!
