Chapter 10: Never Judge a Boy by His Cover

Monday, November 5, 1984

1:59 PM

"Oh, my God! Steven," Jackie cried out, startled by the sting of bitter cold that pierced her chest. She immediately pulled away to look down at the two wet spots circling over her breasts. "What…Why are you all wet?"

"Oh… sorry," Hyde said, almost blushing as he frowned at her wet shirt and tugged on his. "I thought it would be dry by now."

Jackie reached out to touch him, first pinching at his cold, damp t-shirt and then casually slipping a warm hand underneath to his bare stomach, only to wince at what she found. "Steven, you're freezing."

"I'm fine," he insisted, too embarrassed to admit that he was, in fact, freezing. His coat, jeans, and apparently his shirt, too, were all still damp, although it was probably the 30-something degree temperature that had him shaking to his core, especially now that Jackie had taken her body heat away.

"No, you're not. Your clothes are almost frozen, and you're shivering. Were you standing out in the rain?" The expression that accompanied his nod made her melt with sympathy for him. "Come on. Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Back inside." With all of her usual tenacity, Jackie grabbed Hyde's hand and dragged him around the building, back toward the main entrance. When they reached the lobby, she turned to him with a bright smile. "Sit here and give me five minutes. I won't be long."

"Jackie, you don't need to leave work. I can hang around Milwaukee 'til you get off."

"In wet clothes?" Jackie grabbed the cuff of his jacket. "Steven, your sleeve has freakin' ice on it. Ice, Steven! Only dogs and little kids have crunchy wrists in the wintertime, not grown men. Now, sit."

Hyde stared at her briefly, then sat down on the vinyl bench seat behind him.

"Stay," she added.

"Jackie," he said. "I'm not a dog, remember? Just go. I'll wait here." Then there was the typical awkward pause that accompanied their post-break-up conversations in which Jackie fidgeted nervously while Hyde simply stared at her, wondering what the hell her crazy ass was doing. "You going or not?"

"I'm going," she snapped and walked away in a huff. But as Jackie distanced herself from his position in the lobby, she could feel his scrutinizing eyes burn through her, making her insides hot. Always the showman, the brunette gave her gait a little extra swing from the hips and made certain to address every employee who came within fifteen feet; she was going to make sure her ex knew that she was still the most popular girl.

From his bench, Hyde grinned knowingly, more than aware of what his ex-girlfriend was up to. The girl didn't walk like that every day, and she wasn't that damn friendly. Jackie could play her little games with anyone else, but not him; he knew better. Looking away, Hyde realized that he was in familiar territory, yet it was a place that he hadn't inhabited in years—seven to be exact. And the last time he was here, he was eighteen and a complete idiot whose brilliant plan of action was to act like the biggest disinterested asshole that ever existed. But now, at twenty-five, he really had to be disinterested. He was taken—happily taken, he told himself. He loved Jessica.

Maybe.

Hyde glanced backed up, just in time to catch Jackie's big eyes flip his way while she stood, waiting for the elevator. Then, realizing she was caught, she gave him that bright smile again, making him wonder what in the hell had possessed him to hold so much anger toward her for so long. Looking at her now, he couldn't remember how they had gotten that way. Of course, there was Sam, she didn't help, nor did his attitude, but he and Jackie had learned to co-exist for a little while afterward, and he couldn't figure out…and then it hit him. Hyde shut his eyes. Oh, yeah. Carrie Myers…

Thanksgiving Day, 1980

In a flurry of movement, Hyde backed his Thanksgiving date across the basement, sparing a moment to pull off her blouse and his own shirt before quickly shoving his tongue back into her mouth.

"Oh, Hyde..."

"Shh. I told you not to talk," he reminded the brunette, using his lips again to silence her. Lifting the girl's legs up around his hips, Hyde swiftly moved her petite frame into his bedroom, unsnapping her bra once there and earning himself one of the only noises he had pre-approved her to make: a gasp as he sucked brutally on her breast.

"Oh, God."

"Shut it," he repeated as he found her mouth again and backed them both against the wall with a slam.

"I can't help it," she whimpered, her speech slightly muffled by his active tongue. "You make me feel so good, baby…"

"God damn it, Carrie!" Hyde pulled away. "You know what, forget it." He was just about to leave her there when she desperately hooked her arms around his waist and stopped him.

"Okay! Okay, I'm sorry. Please," she begged him, her eyes pleading pathetically. "I'll shut up." Hyde ignored the shot of guilt that her expression incited; this chick was desperate to please him, willing to tolerate his strange behavior because it got her off. And while she was clueless to the real motives behind his demands, he doubted she cared, as long as he continued his cruelty. She was an admitted masochist, and so was he at the moment, though she's assumed otherwise, based on his behavior. "Fine, c'mere," he said, taking her lips softly this time and using his tongue more sensually. His hang-ups weren't her fault, he knew—as hers had not begun with him—and in fact, Hyde thought the chick would have probably made an okay girlfriend, if he had wanted one. Instead, Carrie Myers came at a time in his life when 'fuck buddy' was the highest honor he was willing to bestow—the title par excellence—only receiving a call when her specific attributes were being craved.

Hyde closed his eyes and slipped his fingers into her dark, silky hair, groaning lightly when she brushed her lips down his chest and slowly dropped to her knees in an undeniable and inexplicable desire to gratify him at any cost. Unzipping his jeans, Carrie worked quickly to slip the stiff material down his legs and appease his erection by taking his cock into her mouth, slowly sucking and twirling her tongue around its swollen tip. As she fulfilled his silent fantasy, as he fulfilled hers, Hyde smirked at the sight of her tight little body below him; the olive tone of her skin; her small, pert breasts; the long, dark hair and the pouty, crimson lips that so eagerly swallowed down his dick. From this angle, she was a spot-on match, and it just slipped out.

"God, you're beautiful," he said, tightening his grip on her hair, forcing her to take him deeper. The oblivious girl moaned in response and as he closed his eyes and began to thrust himself into her zealous mouth, Hyde thought he heard a noise come from just outside the door. Choosing to ignore it, he dropped his head back against the wall, unable to think about much more than the vigorous sucking.

When Hyde felt himself nearing orgasm, he pulled Carrie up and spun her around, offering no explanation as he bent her over the back of his recliner. Wasting no time, he pushed the brunette's mini-skirt above her hips and ripped off the skimpy little panties that were in his way, taking a moment to straighten the girl up by her jaw and slip his hand around to ensure she was nice and ready for him. "I'll let you scream," he growled in her ear, earning him a smile as he forced her back down and gripped her wriggling hips. He was about to drive himself into her wet, pink folds when she stopped him.

"WAIT! Shit. I forgot to take my pill this morning."

"What the hell, Carrie," Hyde groaned, wincing and out of breath from anticipation. "You tell me this now?"

"I'm sorry. Just… put on a condom. Please," she whined and bucked her hips back against his, letting him know that she wanted it more than even he did. "I need to be fucked, Hyde."

Moistening his lips, Hyde admired the way she worked her ass over him, persuading him to hurry, and leaned down to run his tongue over her back. "I'll be right back," he said with a kiss and quickly dressed.

Upstairs, Hyde peeked into the living room and tried to figure out who in the hell would have a condom because he sure as hell didn't, and it was Thanksgiving: all the stores were closed. "Damn it," he muttered to himself as his erection strained painfully in his jeans. He watched Kelso walk in and immediately disqualified him; that tied-down idiot had no clue what a condom was anymore and neither did Forman. There was no way in hell he was asking Bob or Red and that only left one man: Fez.

"Hey, Fez, man. You gotta help me out. I got a chick downstairs." Slightly bouncing on his feet, Hyde stared at his foreign friend as if he held the elixir of life in his back pocket. "Come on, man," he whispered hoarsely as he punched his friend's arm. "I know you have one! Hand it over!"

"Ow! Well, how do you know that I don't need it?! Huh? Is it so impossible to imagine that Fez might…Oh, fine! Here, you lucky son of a bitch," Fez grumbled, pulling a brand-new condom out of his wallet. "You get Thanksgiving sex, and I get nothing!"

"Mrs. Forman made pie," Hyde offered with a hopeful grin.

"Oh." Fez smiled and handed his horny friend the rubber. "Okay."

"Thanks, buddy."

Ready to fuck, Hyde made his way back toward the basement door but stopped when he heard two familiar female voices coming from inside the dining room.

"God, why do I let him do this to me, Brooke?" It was Jackie, and Hyde inched closer to get a better listen. "I just…I just didn't want to deal with this today, you know."

"Jackie, this is exactly what I'm talking about; you've gotta stop letting Hyde get to you. He's not worth it."

There was a long silence, and when Hyde was about to walk away, Jackie began to speak again. "You know what, you're absolutely right, Brooke. He's not worth it. He's not worth anything! You know, I used to think that even though Steven's parents were both gross and trashy, that he wasn't; that he was different. But you know what I'm starting to realize? He's not! He's trash, too, just like them. I mean, he is the dictionary definition of white trash, Brooke. He married a stripper from Vegas, grew that stupid mustache that made him look like a freakin' porn star, and now, he's always drunk. He reeks of cheap beer and cheap women. I mean, he's constantly sucking the nasty face off of some trashy whore he's picked up at a bar. He's the king of white trash, Brooke. It's no wonder his parents took off on him. He's hopeless. Ew. God, I have no idea what I ever saw in him. Pft! I was way too good for him."

Nearby, Hyde frowned and gritted his teeth.

Then Brooke sighed. "Jackie, I don't mean to judge, but you seem to be holding on to a lot of unhealthy anger. Continually getting upset over what your ex-boyfriend is doing is not going to make it go away either. In fact, I know of a great book that might help you get some real closure."

"Oh, no, no, no. Cosmo is my break-up manual, Brooke. And it's helped me get PLENTY of freakin' closure! I could care less what that pig does… I'm completely over him… I mean, according to Cosmo, Steven is just one of those losers who still lives in his parents' basement and… Yeah, I just hate him… I wouldn't touch that jerk with a ten-foot pole, even if someone bribed me with a thousand pairs of designer shoes. I'd be too afraid to catch some trailer trash disease or something." Jackie cackled at that, making Hyde's jaw clench as he made his way downstairs.

"Cunt," he mumbled to himself. Fuck her. She was just pissed that he dumped her for someone hotter and would rather fuck every single one of those trashy whores than her. Fucking bitch. As Hyde stepped into his room, his chest hurting, Carrie reached out to him, naked from his bed.

"What took you so long?"

"Get your clothes on. We're gettin' the hell out of here." Hyde grabbed his wallet and keys and put on his coat while his pseudo-girlfriend gave him a strange look.

"Hyde, are you alright?"

"Now, Carrie!" he shouted, feeling his throat go dry and his heart begin to pound painfully inside his chest. As Hyde looked around his small basement room, he started to feel like the loser trash that Jackie thought he was and wondered if she had ever really loved him or if the rich bitch had just been slumming it for kicks. Either way, he was over it, ready to get as far away from that conceited cunt as he could before he blew up and ruined Thanksgiving for Mrs. Forman.

Feeling strangely deflated, Hyde glanced over at the confused and naked girl modestly hiding behind a pillow on his bed. "Come on, let's go," he said more softly. "I'll go to your family's thing now, if you want."

"No, it's okay. We can go back to my dorm. Nobody's there." The brunette got off his bed and pressed her nude body flush against his clothed one, closing her eyes when he grabbed her ass and tugged her closer. "We can finish what we started."

Hyde simply stared straight ahead, deep in thought, as she kissed and sucked on his neck. "So, what, Carrie, are you too embarrassed to bring me to meet your family? I'm not good enough?"

"No. I just know that my dad isn't going to approve if he catches you fucking me under his roof." Grinning, she reached around to pat his butt. "And the way you make me scream, we'll get caught for sure."

Hyde felt his already stiff dick jump in his jeans. "So, that's it? That's what you want from me? Sex?"

The girl grimaced. "No. I thought we were going to…Hyde, what is up with you right now? One minute you're raring to go and the next you're acting like...this." She stopped and seemed to be waiting for some sort of response, but all he gave her was a scowl, prompting her frustrated sigh. "I'll go."

"No. Come on. You want to fuck? Let's fuck." Being anything but gentle, Hyde grabbed a chunk of his date's hair and yanked her head back to face him, intrigued by her reaction. "Is this how you like it, Carrie? Huh? You like it rough?" At that, she slowly nodded, her eyes glazed over with a fresh mix of embarrassment and lust as he spun her around and forced her down over his dresser, dropping his pants and driving into her without warning, setting a hard, rapid pace and grunting loudly as he ruthlessly, thoughtlessly fucked her. "You know what I think, Carrie?" he managed through heavy breath, taking another fistful of her hair, thoroughly enjoying the sharp whimper that left her lips as he jerked her head backwards. "I think you don't want your rich, important daddy seeing who you like to get fucked BY." With each violent thrust, Hyde's completion drew closer but it was when he heard the familiar looking brunette bite out a curse and scream his first name—as instructed—feeling her body throb around him in orgasm, that he came harder than he had in a while.

Afterward, Hyde drove Carrie home in silence and never called her again, never again craving the one thing she offered: another chance…

Hyde looked around the fancy lobby of the news station and cringed, mostly at himself. He hadn't thought about Carrie in years, but maturity suddenly brought a pang of guilt. There was no doubt that he had treated her like shit on that last day, but she reminded him too much of Jackie and unfortunately, for that, she also received the brunt of Jackie's anger. And although the girl seemed to really enjoy his particular brand of treatment, it was why he never called her again—that, and the fact that he had lost his craving for the past. It was all blondes and redheads from that day forward, no brunette, pretty or not, stood a chance.

Speaking of… "You ready?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Hyde stood up and shot Jackie a faint smile. She was all bundled up in her white coat, scarf, gloves, and even a little hat—as if it were mid-January. She looked beautiful. "Let's go."

The El Camino

While the heater slowly warmed them, Hyde sat and watched as Jackie's eyes flashed over every inch of his car. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just haven't been in here in… God, five years. I can't believe you still have this car."

Hyde shrugged. "It was a gift. From Leo. What can I say? I've got the Grooves van, too."

"Wait. Why does Grooves need a van?" Jackie asked as Hyde finally pulled away.

"Well, that's what WB was wondering. See, a couple of years ago, Kelso and I thought it would be funny if WB bought the store a van. I forget why that would be funny." Hyde's mischievous grin fell as he glanced over at Jackie. "But now I'm stuck doing chain runs since I'm the only one with a freakin' van. So, I guess it's not really that funny anymore." Giving him a poke, Jackie giggled and settled into her seat, content to watch him as he drove. "So where are we going?" he asked her. "Visiting hours don't start 'til six."

"Your place, I guess."

Hyde's Apartment

3:04 PM

The front door swung open, and Hyde tipped his head casually, directing his ex-girlfriend inside with a barely visible smirk. It brought a strange feeling to his gut to see her step into his domain, the place he practically shared with another chick. Pieces and parts of Jessica were peppered throughout the space and up until now, Hyde hadn't noticed just how much. There was evidence of her hidden in every corner and noticing before even him was Jackie. As he watched her pick up Vogue's October issue, Hyde realized that his girlfriend was a clever chick; she had marked him, staked her claim without him even knowing it—maybe for this very occasion.

The beautiful woman invading Jessica's territory arched her brow and set down the magazine. "It's nice, Steven. It's a little messy, though…" she commented with what Hyde interpreted as a flirtatious grin, with telling eyes that lingered on him until she coyly turned away and gave his heart an extra thump. "But I like it. It's bigger than I thought it would be. Made for two," she added as an afterthought as she lifted a pillow off the couch and took a seat. "Does Jessica live with you?"

Still standing by the door, Hyde cleared his throat. "No. But she's here a lot."

"Oh."

Something on the television hutch caught Jackie's eye and affected her in an unexpected way. It was a small framed picture of Hyde in a suit, sitting on the steps of a church with Jessica between his legs. To Jackie, they looked happy, and although she knew that his happiness should be hers, she felt a stab of resentment. The selfish voice in the back of her brain told her that Jessica was enjoying the fruits of her labor. She had invested everything in him, taken so much crap, shed so many tears, paid her dues in pain and heartbreak, and this blonde, who smiled sweetly back at her, got the prize, having no idea what it took to get him there, clueless to the torture she had endured that allowed this woman to be held so lovingly by him on those steps. Jackie closed her eyes and shook off the terrible thoughts. He wasn't hers, and she didn't want him to be; she had her own life now. These were just remnants of old feelings that plagued her on occasion, coming back to annoy her. They would disappear any day now; she was sure of it.

"You thirsty?" Hyde asked, finally stepping closer into the room, glancing briefly at the picture that Jackie held. "I think I might have soda."

"No." Forgetting all about the picture and resentful thoughts, Jackie stepped toward Hyde, pinching his shirt between her fingers when she reached him. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. You," she pointed, "are going to get out of these wet clothes, take a hot shower, and then put on something clean and dry while I go get you something to eat. Sound good?"

It didn't sound good, it sounded great. Hyde felt warmer already. He had forgotten how much Jackie felt like home when so chose, probably because she was the first to really define it for him. Although the Forman's gave him a room and a bed when he was young, Jackie was the first to make those things warm and comfortable. But there was one problem. "Actually, it's pretty bad out there and you don't know my car."

"I've driven it before, Steven. I'm a big girl."

Taking a moment, Hyde thought through it. The weather was terrible and the streets were flooded; he could tell her no, but there was one thing about the stubborn woman who stood with furrowed brows before him: she never listened to shit he said. "Just be careful, okay. Go to McDonalds. It's closest."

"I'll go to Fatso Burger. You hate McDonalds."

Grinning knowingly, Hyde shook his head and decided that Jackie hadn't changed at all; she was the same pain the ass that had been driving him nuts since elementary school.

"I've got this, Steven," she insisted, pushing his frozen body toward the hallway. "Go get warm."

"Okay. Oh," he said, stopping and turning around. "Go in my room. My wallet is on my dresser. I'm buying."

"Yeah, you are," she said, laughing. "Now, go get warm."

With a final shove from her, Hyde headed into his bathroom and began to peel off his iced over clothes. The day's events replayed in his mind as he turned on the water, twisting the knob until steam began to rise, and with a pull, the loud hiss of his shower sounded off. Still shivering, Hyde stepped inside and nearly screamed at the contrast of scalding hot water against his freezing skin.

"Crap," he grumbled, lowering the temperature until he felt relief.

She was right: a hot shower was what he needed. It practically made him want to come right there as he melted beneath it. No longer focused on the cold, Hyde realized how tired and hungry he was, and the knowledge that Jackie was out there getting him food made him breathe out and drop his head back in gratitude. She was his angel today; one he didn't deserve.

While he washed up and shifted his concerns over to Leo, Jackie was in his room, digging through his wallet.

"Steven, you moron, you have two dollars," she mumbled to herself. After searching a few more pockets, all she found was his driver's license, a couple of credit cards and the single square of a black and white photo strip—another picture of him and Jessica. He was frowning at the camera while the blond smiled exuberantly. Jackie let out a small chuckle. "Oh, Steven. You never change, do you?" Putting his wallet down, Jackie noticed the closet and decided that she would lay out some warm-weather clothes for him before she left, seeing that his Dickies jacket was soaked all the way through.

Jackie sifted through his clothes. "T-shirt, t-shirt, t-shirt. Oh, wow. You have suits. Nice ones." She came across a black hooded sweatshirt and pulled it out, tossing it to his bed. At her feet were stacks of boxes. Most were small, brown moving boxes but the one on the bottom was light orange and she recognized it. Looking around anxiously, Jackie dropped to her knees and quickly pulled it out. It used to hold his keepsakes, mostly his birth certificate, tons of packages of rolling papers and other circle paraphernalia along with a few pictures.

Jackie's heart pounded furiously. Hyde would kill her if he found out what she was doing, but she had to look—she was Jackie freakin' Burkhart, and it was in her nature. There had, at one time, been a couple of pictures of her in that box, pictures he never returned and God, she just had to know. Off came the lid as she began to sort through all the random items inside: a newspaper clipping about Grooves, several record covers (Jimi Hendrix, Judas Priest, Zeppelin IV), some bills, the title to the El Camino, a photo of Eric and Donna, a photo of Hyde, Kelso and Fez, a photo of Kitty, and a photo of Hyde with WB. None of her. Why that upset her, she wasn't sure, but all Jackie could imagine was that Hyde had thrown them away sometime in the two years after their break-up, during his peak hatred for her.

Jackie was just about to close up the box when something yellow caught her eye. Frantically pulling everything back out, she saw something she hadn't noticed before: a false bottom, a piece of cardboard that covered the base and when she pulled it up, her heart came alive—almost a dozen pictures of her littered its floor. Looking though the stack of photos, Jackie could only imagine that he was hiding them from Jessica. Because if she were Jessica, and found these pictures, they would be in the trash so fast he wouldn't even know what happened.

With a giddy smile, Jackie flipped through the photographs, some of her and Hyde together and some of her alone. She hadn't seen some of them in over five years and hadn't looked at her own stack of Steven photos in almost two. They were so young looking, so far away in time, so high, so happy. She flipped to the one of her lying atop Hyde on the basement couch, both red-eyed and watching TV. Fez had taken it. The next picture was the same shot except focused mostly on her ass. Freakin' Fez. And, of course, Hyde kept it.

"Oh, my God." Jackie looked at her watch. She still needed to get his food.

After putting everything back into place, she found her purse, grabbed his car keys, and left.

Forty-Seven Minutes Later.

Hyde sat alone on his couch watching videos on MTV. He couldn't help but cringe at Steve Perry's new video, "Oh, Sherrie." Why did the hell did he watch this crap? He hated half the music, but the crap was so damn addicting. He must have had like 30 stations at his disposal, yet he continued to watch this one as he sat and pondered over two things: how Steve Perry got hot chicks while being such a complete douche and where in the hell was Jackie? It had been over an hour since he got in the shower and he was beginning to worry.

He heard a click and looked over to find her open his front door with a smile. "Hey."

"Jackie, what the hell," Hyde said as he shot up from the couch to take the bags from her hands. "Where've you been? I was worried, man."

Jackie's face lit up. "Aw. You were worried about me?"

Re-thinking what he had just said, Hyde backtracked. "No. I was... worried about my car."

"Mm-hm." Jackie slipped around him. "Just for that, Steven Hyde, you don't get a cheeseburger." She took a seat on the couch. "They're both mine."

Hyde sat down next to her. "You can't do that. I paid for them."

"Wrong. I paid for them. You had two dollars." Jackie pulled food from the white, Fatso Burger bag, setting everything down on the coffee table before taking a sip of her Diet Tab. "Smells good, doesn't it?" Unwrapping the yellow paper from her burger, Jackie prepared to take a bite. "Admit you were worried about me and not just your car."

Hyde rolled his eyes. "What took you so long, anyway?"

"Sheridan Street's flooded," Jackie said, handing him a burger. "I had to go around. It's a big ol' mess out there."

"Damn."

Jackie handed him his fries, too. "I'm still waiting to hear how worried you were about me," she informed him with a smirk. "This isn't over."

"And it never will be, sweetheart," Hyde said with his own smirk before taking a taunting bite from his sandwich. "Oh, could you uh, pass me some of those little ketchup packets?"

Jackie smiled. "Sure," she said sweetly as she grabbed all three ketchup packets and, never taking her eyes off him, tossed them behind her back toward the kitchen. "There you go."

"Real cute, Jackie."

Jackie popped one his fries into her mouth and winked. "Thank you."

An Old-School Half-Circle

4:56 PM

The video for Faithfully by Journey plays on MTV on Hyde's television.

Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You're on my mind...

Jackie sat cross-legged on the floor between Hyde's spread legs, paying no mind to the TV. Already higher than she could ever remember being, she raised their second joint. "To Leo," she exclaimed as she took a drag, coughed, and passed the joint back to Hyde.

"To Leo," he said and in a moment of seriousness or maybe he was just seriously high—he couldn't tell—he held out the joint in front of Jackie and held it there. "Alright. I know your little re-virginized lungs have been overloaded a lot lately, but you've been hanging out with me and I'm not sorry about it. Smoke up." Hyde grinned as she took it from his hand. Watching a goody-two-shoes get baked was always the highlight of any circle. It was too bad he could never talk Jessica into it.

With a smile, Jackie reached out and once again pinched Hyde's sweatshirt between her fingers. "Mm. I like this song, Steven."

"I hate this song, and I hate this band." The two of them stared at each other briefly before breaking down into laughter.

"Well, not one of them is hot," Jackie reasoned, swallowing hard at the nervousness that was collecting in her throat. He was looking straight at her, blue eyes piercing through her indifferent facade.

"That has nothing to do with it, Jackie," he said softly. "Keith Richards and Mick Jagger are hideous but they make sweet music."

"I'm not sure if that's such a great trade-off, though—good looks for talent."

"Yeah, Mick and Keith must have great parents," Hyde mumbled to himself, finally looking away.

"What?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, after many hours of circle debate, Kelso and I came up with a theory. See, there are three things you can be born with: good looks, brains or great parents. Now, you can have two but never all three. It's cosmic law, kismet. Example – Forman is smart with great parents, Donna is smart with good looks, Kelso has great parents with good looks. My girlfriend, she's got brains and looks but an asshole dad. Oh, and a complete bitch for a sister," Hyde digressed.

Jackie thought about it and shrugged her shoulders happily. "Mm. Not true. Colin's got all three."

Hyde sneered. "Oh, well isn't that," and then shot her a raspberry.

"Steven," Jackie swatted at his chest, "cut it out. Okay, so what about Fez?" she asked, changing the apparently sore subject of her boyfriend.

Hyde took a hit and handed the joint back to Jackie. "Yeah, that rule doesn't apply to foreigners."

"What about you and me?"

"Come on, Jackie."

"Yeah... it was a dumb question."

A quick glance at his watch told Hyde that it was one minute to five, one hour until visiting hours at the hospital began. His thoughts returned to Leo but then her small, manicured hand lifted his chin and revealed to him a smile. "Here," she said, handing him the joint.

"Nah, I'm done. I don't want to be too messed up… You finished?"

Jackie nodded, and he stamped the cherry out in an ashtray. Returning his attention to the woman between his legs, something came over him and he reached his arms out to pull her closer. "Hey."

Jackie looked up, somewhat startled at the feeling of his hands pressing down on the small of her back, holding her in place. But what made her more nervous was the intensity in his stare. "What is it, Steven?" she asked quietly.

"Thanks."

"For…"

"For being here."

Swallowing hard, Jackie tried to calm her breathing. They were really close and the last time things got this close, she ended up sleeping with him.

"Of course. It's…" She watched him glance slightly downwards and knew immediately that it was her lips he was noticing, which were slightly open and suddenly feeling very dry. "It's what friends do for each other." Jackie licked her lips, then froze. Oh, crap. That was an invite, wasn't it? Breathe. Wait, don't breathe. She swallowed again and looked at his lips; they moved, but no sound came out. Was it her name he said? Or didn't say.

They both jumped when the phone rang, and Jackie backed up slightly, realizing that her lips had been a mere inch from his. Hyde's eyes shifted toward the phone, then back to her, but he didn't move. His hands continued to caress her back.

Briefly, Jackie glanced in the direction of the ringing phone.

He wasn't going to answer.

The answering machine picked up, and Jackie and Hyde reestablished eye contact upon the sound of her voice. "Hi, baby. It's me. I'm so sorry about this morning. My dad was bitching at me to go… Steven? Are you there? I called the store but no one answered… I've been thinking about you all day..."

Hyde looked down, the first to sever the connection, and closed his eyes.

"Call me as soon as you get this. I love you. Bye."

It was then that Jackie felt like… Sam: a homewrecking whore.

Taking the cue that rested on Hyde's pale face, Jackie backed up and got to her feet, awkwardly taking a seat on the couch.

Snapping from his daze, Hyde stood up and grinned in an attempt to ease the tension. "Why don't we just watch the news?" Desperate to get the sappy music away from their altered and obviously corrupted brains, he leaned down to change the channels on the TV. "There," he said, stopping. "The news." Taking a deep breath, Hyde sat down on the other couch, as far from his ex as possible. "That's … safe."

"Yeah… safe." And there they sat, in awkward silence, for over a half an hour until it was time to go.

Kenosha Medical Center – ICU

6:01 PM

Holding hands, Hyde and Jackie walked into Leo's room, lit by a solitary light fixed above the aging hippie's head. The ominous beep of a monitor and the loud hush of forced air as it was pumped into Leo's lungs brought it all crashing down for Hyde. His friend looked old and fragile, almost devoid of life. "What… What am I supposed to say to him?" he asked Jackie.

"I don't know." Stopping a few feet short of the bed, Hyde stared at the old man, asleep in what could potentially be his death bed. It was surreal to see him without that welcoming smile or his usual scowl of confusion. Anything would've been better than this. Anything.

"What if he…" Hyde watched intently as Jackie stepped forward and smoothed her hand over Leo's. Craning her neck back, she laid her most loving gaze on Hyde, whose mental strength used to terrify her; he seemed so vulnerable suddenly, not at all what she was expecting. He was typically the strong one, the bravest amongst them.

Jackie extended her hand. "Come on, Steven," she said softly. "It's okay."

Moving in behind her, he looked over her shoulder at his friend, when she suddenly slipped away.

"Where are you going?"

"To get you a chair," she whispered and grabbed the one closest to her, pulling it around to the other side of the bed. "Sit, Steven." As he did, Jackie grabbed one for herself and sat down next to him. Taking Hyde's hand, she interlaced her fingers with his. "Just talk to him, Steven. Talk about something that'll make him happy."

"Like what?" he asked her, his eyes searching hers for the answer. "I don't…"

"Yes, you do." Jackie grinned warmly before resting her head on his shoulder. "You can do this."

Squeezing her hand, Hyde proceeded to tell the slumbering Leo about the time Kelso organized a 'Dine and Dash.'

One Hour Later

Jackie lounged on her chair with her legs draped over Hyde's as he stood at the foot of Leo's bed, watching as a nurse changed out his IV bag.

"So, you don't know?" he asked the nurse.

"Not yet," the woman replied. "People can be in comas for days, weeks, months even, but it's usually only a couple of days. His body's been through a major trauma, and we're honestly just hoping he makes it through the night. And then we'll see about tomorrow." The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile and walked out, leaving Hyde feeling hopeless.

Jackie leapt off her chair and coiled her arms tightly around Hyde's neck. "Oh, Steven."

Closing his eyes, Hyde pulled her body nearer to his and burrowed his face deep into her hair. Not much could be heard from the outside world but hidden beneath the beeps and hushes of the room were the soothing whispers that Jackie breathed tenderly into his ear, making Hyde fall in love with her all over again. "Don't listen to her, Steven. Don't listen to any of them. He'll be fine. All of it will be fine. You'll see, baby. I promise. Please don't be sad. I'm here... I'm here..." Tearful kisses covered his ear and his cheek, finally finding his mouth, teaching both that a kiss really can make the world, and all its painful complications, disappear.

Hyde felt her soft lips meet his and caught a puff of her hot breath along with a small taste of the heat hidden beneath. Another kiss, and she parted her lips, giving him what he had been seeking all along: relief. No hot shower could compare to her warmth, no dry sweatshirt, no Fatso burger. She was it, and they both got lost in the feeling, their tongues brushing deeper and deeper with each kiss, until they suddenly remembered where they were and pulled away.

"Come here," Hyde muttered, taking her hand. He sat down in his chair and pulled her onto his lap, letting her curl into him as he placed her legs over the arms of the chair beside them. "What do you want to do?"

"Sit with you," she responded quietly, grazing her fingers over the scars on his right hand. It was apparent, what she was thinking about, and Hyde glanced over at the small scar on her temple, giving the evidence of their second biggest secret a feather-light kiss...

June 18, 1982

Point Place, Wisconsin

8:16 PM

A single shove sent Jackie flying backwards into the second-hand couch that furnished her small living room. As her back slammed into the hard wood that made up its arm, the lack of remorse in his eyes came into view. But it was when his body sunk down over hers that she panicked and burst into tears. "Get off me," she screamed, trying to keep his hands away from the zipper of her jeans.

"Come on, Jackie. I thought you like guys who treat you like shit. I'll bet you like it rough, too, don't you?"

"NO! GET OFF ME!" Jackie pushed and shoved, but his weight wouldn't budge. Thankfully, and just in time, something Donna taught her resurfaced to the front of her mind.

"I always knew you were a whore…AH!" The jerk grabbed at his crotch and winced painfully as he fell to the floor, allowing Jackie a chance to get up and run into her bedroom. Her heart pounded as she slammed the door shut, locked it, and rushed around her dresser. She pushed and pushed but it, too, wouldn't budge. She just wasn't strong enough and right then, she knew that a Jolly Green Giant body like Donna's had its uses. Swearing she would never put down her big-boned friend again, Jackie ran to her bed's side table in tears and picked up the phone, dialing Donna.

"Come on," she cried out, glancing quickly at the door. "Come on, come on, come on." But it kept ringing. She hung up and called Eric's house.

Nothing.

"Damn!" Next, she dialed Fez. "Fez! Oh my God, Fez, I need you to…No, wait, listen Fez…" The foreigner had hung up, swearing to call her back; he was with a girl. Jackie began to cry hysterically. Tucking herself against her bed, she considered who to call next. She knew who she really wanted to call, but wasn't sure he would even come. And then there was Kelso, but he was all the way in Chicago.

Suddenly, there was a pounding on her door. "What do you think, you cheating little slut? I can't knock down a door?"

"Go away, Chris! I didn't cheat on you, you idiot! You're drunk! Just leave me alone!"

Jackie reached up into her drawer to grab her phone book. After slithering underneath her bed like a snake, Jackie looked up Hyde's phone number and dialed.

...Four blocks away…

"Come on, Hyde. We're going to be late."

Hyde straightened up. "It's a bar. You can't be late for a bar, you… moron," he grumbled, crouching back down to look underneath his bed for his keys. "Where the hell did you put 'em?"

"You had them last," his current chick—a bar buddy named Gwen—said, rolling her eyes. "And if you weren't drunk all the time, you'd probably remember that."

"You know, you're really starting to—" The phone rang, and they both looked over. It rang again. "So, are you going to get that for me or are you just going to stand there?" The blond rolled her eyes and picked up the phone.

"Hello… Yeah… Yeah…" The girl sighed and made a face. "It's for you."

"Nooo, really?" Hyde stood up. "Who is it, Einstein?"

"How the hell should I know? Probably some skank you're sleeping with, who knows."

"Probably," he said with a smirk and snatched the phone from her hand. "Hello?"

"Steven? Steven, help! Please!"

"Jackie?"

"Steven," his ex-girlfriend sobbed out in short bursts. "Please. I n…need you. I'm re…really scared."

"Where are you?"

"Home," she whispered out just as Hyde heard a male voice shouting, followed by a violent crash in the background and Jackie screaming.

"I'll be right there," Hyde shouted and slammed down the phone, then turned to Gwen. "Where the fuck are my keys?!"

"I told you, I don't know!"

"God damn it!" After throwing a few things around in an attempt to locate them, Hyde gave up and ran out his front door toward Jackie's apartment, only a few blocks away. He reached the front door to her building two minutes later and swung it open, rushing inside to find Jackie running down the stairs. At the third step from the bottom, she hurled her body at him and sent them both flying back against the wall.

"Steven! Oh, God! Thank you, thank you," she said, securing her arms and legs tightly around his body as she cried into his neck. "I knew you'd come!"

"Jackie, what the hell's going on," he asked frantically, peeling her off and setting her down to inspect her, instantly finding a stream of blood running down the right side of her face. His jaw clenched. "Did that fucker hit you?"

"He threw the remote control at me and tried to…" She dragged two fingers over the warm liquid on her face and began to cry harder when she realized what was causing the wrathful expression on Hyde's face: her own blood. "Oh, God."

"He's fucking dead!"

"No, Steven! Don't leave me!" She grabbed his arm for dear life as he took off for her floor. "Please!"

Hyde stopped. "Jackie, c'mere." He pulled her beneath the stairs and up against the wall, lifting her shaking hands over her ears for her. "I want you to stay right here. Don't move until I come back for you, okay?"

Jackie nodded as she continued to sob. "Please be careful. He's really angry."

"I'm angrier," he assured her; cupping her tear-stained cheeks. "Stay right here. Don't move."

"Okay," Jackie said before she took a deep breath and shut her eyelids, letting the intensity in his blue eyes be the image that froze in her mind's eye as his lips gently brushed over hers and then… he was gone.