Chapter Ten
Where Will You Be When They Hit?

The days came and gone in the blink of an eye. Eric and Donna barely spoke and tried to work things out. It made the basement awkward. Nobody wanted to be there. It seemed as though the pair were drifting apart and doing absolutely nothing to stop it. Kelso had called Jackie the night after the party, hurling abuse down the phone to her and that it was over. Jackie wasn't listening, she was painting her toenails. The phone sat on her pillow as soon as she heard it was Michael. With everything that went on that night of the kegger, Donna and Jackie grew closer together and even went to the mall together some weekends. Jackie didn't talk to Hyde much and their deep sought fantasies seemed to permanently on the back burner. And that was fine for both of them. Normal. It's what they were good at. Not talking much and definitely not comforting each other. One night, the night before Valentine's day, Jackie and Donna were at a quilting class in the gym together as the guys were in the basement. Fez had managed to make it with Big Rhonda one night and he was finally a man. He would brag about his new girlfriend and what they were doing on Valentine's Day the whole night. Kelso sat on the phone to numerous girls, barely fighting for Jackie and that made both Fez and Hyde sick. It was interrupting Hollywood Squares on TV so Hyde went to the wall and yanked out the cable, throwing it over to Kelso.

"Hyde, man?! What the hell?!" Kelso asked but Hyde was calm, arms crossed and eyes almost closed trying to block his friend out.

"Stop it. They're worthless and you'll forget their names in a week. Also, it's the Forman's phone. Are you paying that bill?"

"So what about that girl from the Hub you were with last night? What's her name?" Kelso asked, trying to outsmart his friend. Hyde looked at him and leaned forward,

"Her name is Erin. She's nineteen. She's studying at Marquette doing Biology. Seriously, Kelso, try me. The girl from last week; Samantha. A senior. Works at the bowling alley. Don't play this game with me." Hyde said sourly, his eyes sharp into Kelso's.

"Wow, Hyde you're getting a lot of girls, y'know, compared to last month when you just couldn't get any. Are you okay?" Eric asked curiously. Hyde shrugged again.

"Yeah, fine. Just bein' a guy. Doin' what guys do best."

"Ain't that the truth?!" Kelso laughed, waiting for a high-five but Hyde never returned it. They focused back on the TV and watched the show come to an end. Mrs Forman brought down cookies and brownies she had made earlier, then questioning about the telephone. "Oh, Hyde ripped it out because I was running up the bill."

"Thank you, Steven." She smiled warmly at him, "How's Erin?"

"Oh, she's great, Mrs Forman, thanks. I'm seein' her later for a movie."

"Oh, you enjoy it. Cut loose a little!" Mrs Forman laughed and made her way back upstairs to watch a film with her husband.

The girls came into the basement and suddenly the air was thick as smoke. They all looked among themselves but it was Donna who spoke first, asking to talk to Eric upstairs. 'Oohs' and other whispers came from the crowd but Eric shoved them off with a simple flip of the bird as he followed Donna to the kitchen and then to his room.

"Steven, can I talk to you for a second, please? In private? You too, Fez." Jackie requested, pointing to Hyde's bedroom. Both guys looked confused, Hyde getting to her first, looking at her with a quizzical face. She reassured him with a twinkle of her eyes and they headed into Hyde's room. It had been tidied up and even had incense burning. "Is that-"

"Dragon's Blood. Yeah." Hyde finished, letting Jackie and Fez sit on his cot. "What's this about?" He asked, quite interested as to why both he and Fez were there. Was Jackie wanting something? Hyde held that thought and got up to lock his door, leaving the key in so that Kelso couldn't peek. They spoke quietly,

"Alright, so, as you know, Michael and I are over. And you know he has called me several times since then, sometimes in the morning before school, midnight, three in the morning- anyway, whatever. Now, I had this thought when I was quilting with Donna tonight. I am a new woman. I am reborn and I am strong. And I am going to make Michael pay."

"I already love where this is going." Hyde smiled giddily. Fez seemed intrigued and started to study Jackie's face intensely.

"Now, tomorrow, Michael has a date with this girl from school. They're going to come back here after the movies and have a pizza. It's routine for Michael. It's like a ritual. They're gonna order a pizza and then eventually make out on the couch."

"I don't like where this went. I'm out." Hyde got up to leave but Jackie grabbed his wrist with both of her hands, gesturing for him to sit again. He stood with his hands on his hips.

"I need to end this all with one big thing. And that's where you come into this, Steven-"

"I mean, Jackie, I'm flattered and all-"

"No. I need you to get in touch with Leo. I need some things. Now, you should only take one, I've been asking around."

"Oh, Jackie that is strong territory. You don't mess with fungi." Hyde warned but with a wicked smile he let her finish,

"His favourite pizza is mushroom!" Fez whispered and suddenly cottoned on to the conversation.

"And he doesn't share!" Hyde's eyes lit up and for a split flash of a second, he could've kissed Jackie. It was genius. He knew with Jackie's planning, there was no way the plan would go awry and he was willing to help her end this bitterness once and for all. "Where does Fez come into this?"

"He diverts the pizza guy, taking Michael's and sprinkling the special topping. The slut's goes untouched."

That night, he abandoned his date with Erin to talk with Leo in his apartment. He didn't care about leaving her in the lurch, he wanted to see the outcome.

The next day at lunch, Hyde met Jackie by her locker and slipped the little zip-loc into her purse.

"He's gonna be tripping for days." Hyde cackled, excited by the prospect of the evening's plans. Jackie smiled, taking her purse out of the locker and closing it tightly. She smiled at him and as she closed her locker, she pecked his cheek,

"Thank you, Steven. I'll go to the bank and write you a cheque for this."

"Hey, it's totally fine." He said, walking down with her to the lunch hall, his arm over her shoulder. It felt so natural for him to do this but he had to remember they were at school. Before they got to their friends, he let go of her and she went first to the table. He, Fez and Jackie kept exchanging glances between themselves, coying and excitedly. Hyde's stomach became alight every time she smiled at him. It was different than before. It stuck around longer and it didn't so much as get him hot, there was more to it now.