Hyde stormed up the stairs and into his apartment. As he entered his kitchen he went to slam the door hard only for it to rebound off Jackie's hand and back onto him.

"Fuck!" he yelled as the solid timber whacked him on the arm.

"Sorry!" Jackie cried, trying to reach out to him.

He wanted to push her out the door and out of his life. The 95 pound brunette with pink toenails was messing with his head and complicating the simple life he'd created for himself here in Milwaukee.

"Jackie just get out," he ordered, swatting her hands off of him.

"Not until you listen to me Steven," she pleaded. "You have to hear me out!"

He opened the door for her and waited for her to walk out of it. "No I don't," he said flatly.

Her bottom lip was quivering but he could tell she was trying hard not to cry. She looked so childlike, so needy. He didn't need or want needy in his life.

Instead of stepping out the door Jackie stepped closer to him. "Please let me explain," she begged just as Eric strolled into the kitchen.

"Explain what?" he asked.

Hyde watched as Jackie's eyes flicked from him to Eric.

"Um, explain why he hasn't changed the beer kegs," she stuttered.

Hyde folded his arms as he leaned back on the stove. "Yes I have," he smirked.

"No you haven't Steven," Jackie said, her eyes pleading with him to play along, "Can you please come with me and change them now?"

"Like I said Jackie, they don't need changing so you need to run along and start your fucking shift," Hyde growled. He noticed Eric's puzzled expression and wondered if his foster brother was buying this crap.

"I can't start until the kegs have been changed, please come and change them," Jackie begged again.

"I'm not changing them," Hyde stated.

Eric moved further into the kitchen and into the tension. "Hey guys, can't Kerin change them?" he asked looking between his two friends.

Hyde grinned. "Yeah Forman, you're right, Kerin can deal with the kegs now. They're his problem."

He was staring straight at Jackie, watching as her lip still quivered and her cheeks flushed red.

"I don't want them to be Kerin's problem, I want them to be your problem," she argued, folding her arms around herself as if she were cold.

"Well they're not," Hyde snarled.

The small kitchen went quiet until Eric broke the silence. "Um, okay, I think I'll go down and change the kegs then...can't be that hard," he said as he nervously stepped between Hyde and Jackie and slipped out the door.

"Now look what you've done...Forman's gonna ruin the kegs," Hyde growled throwing an arm into the air but not taking his eyes off of Jackie.

"I don't care..."

"Of course you don't, it's not your job on the line...although it should be."

"Look Steven, just hear me out okay?" She moved closer to him and tried to grab at the hem of his t-shirt. God why did she always wanna touch him?

He said nothing.

She sighed.

"Kerin asked me out before anything happened between me and you," she explained, her face so close to his that he could smell damn strawberries. "I don't want him, I want you."

Hyde looked away from her. If he couldn't see her he could easily resist her. Well that was his plan anyway.

"Why did you say yes to him then?" he asked.

"I was lonely I guess," she shrugged, her words confirming Hyde's suspicions.

"And Fez, why did ya go out with him?"

"I was lonely..." whispered Jackie.

Hyde walked over to the kitchen table and lit a cigarette, his mind racing with dumb Jackie crap that he really didn't wanna be thinking about. He had been a fool the other night and had let his guard down with her. He should never have told her how he felt. God didn't he learn anything from his childhood?

He sat down on a chair and took a drag of his smoke. "See Jackie, you just hook up with guys when you're lonely. We had some fun the other night but that was it. Go out with Kerin and have some fun with him, just leave me out of your shit."

Jackie rushed over to him and crouched down between his legs, placing her hands on his knees. "Steven I didn't make out with you because I was lonely...I made out with you because I like you. I said yes to Kerin when I didn't think I had a chance with you. You can't give up on us," she said, trying to catch his gaze.

"There is no us," Hyde said, avoiding the sight of her tear filled eyes.

"Please don't do this," she wept, "give me another chance."

He exhaled before standing up, Jackie caught his leg to stop herself tumbling over. "You need to go to work Jackie."

He walked to the door ignoring the sound of Jackie's sobs right behind him. He held the door open for her and the beautiful girl he for one night thought he had a chance with finally stepped out of it. Her little hands covered her tear stained face and for a moment Hyde wanted to grab her and wipe those tears away. But he couldn't. She had been slumming it out of loneliness with him and now she had a chance with Kerin, a guy who actually had a decent future ahead of him.

Once she was gone Hyde went to the living room and pulled out his tin. If there was ever a time for a circle it was now, he just hoped Forman hurried up with those kegs so that it wasn't a lone one.

Just as he finished licking the thin white paper he heard the door open. "You're right on time man," he called out as Eric walked in.

"Awesome!" the skinny boy exclaimed as he sat down on an armchair across from Hyde. "Man circle time just isn't the same when it's only me and Donna."

Hyde laughed at Eric's excitement. He'd missed this guy...hell he'd missed all of the old gang. But times change and people move on, you can't cling to the past forever. Which is precisely why he enjoyed the couple of times a year he got to hang with any of them.

"So," Eric began, shifting forward in his seat, "what's up with you and Jackie?"

"Forman, have you already forgotten the rules? No girl talk in the circle," Hyde reminded him. He really didn't want to talk about Jackie, in the circle or out of it.

Eric flicked the lighter in Hyde's face. "We haven't started yet my friend so girl talk is still allowed," he grinned.

Hyde scowled. "Dammit just light the thing," he ordered.

"Not until you tell me what's up with you n Jackie. I saw you two earlier, all over each other," Eric smiled, waggling his eyebrows.

"Hey, I wasn't all over her man, she was all over me," Hyde corrected him.

Eric shook his head and waved his skinny arms around. Why did Hyde miss him again?

"You weren't exactly pushing her off and running for the hills Hyde," Eric stated.

Hyde sighed and rubbed his brow. Between Jackie's drama and Eric's inquisition he could feel a headache coming on. "Look Forman, we may have hooked up a couple times but it was no big deal okay? There's nothing going on with us...it was just a momentary lapse of judgement."

"Donna said Jackie's been staying here all week, sounds kinda like something's going on to me..."

"She fucked her ankle man, I couldn't just leave her at her dorm," Hyde said exasperated.

"Sounds to me like someone's been to Oz and gotten himself a he-art," Eric teased as he tapped his chest with his finger.

"Get bent."

This was the crap Hyde had successfully avoided his whole life. When all his friends had stupid girl crap to deal with he was the one sitting back with a beer laughing at them. Now at the ripe old age of 20 he was getting shit from Forman about fuckin' Jackie Burkhart of all people.

"Aren't you sick of it Hyde? Aren't you sick of the endless chicks on the weekends? Don't you wanna settle down?" Eric asked, still flicking the lighter on and off. If he didn't light the damn thing soon Hyde was going to permanently ban the idiot from the circle.

"Aren't you sick of it Eric? Aren't you sick of the same chick every single night? And the endless fucking arguments about stupid shit?" he counter argued.

Eric smiled and raised his eyebrows. "No I'm not actually. I have my best friend with me every day. We hang, we talk, sure we argue sometimes but the good times make up for the bad."

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Good for you Forman...it all sounds peachy...and fucking boring. Anyway, you do remember that we're talking about Jackie right? You can't be encouraging me to have a relationship with a girl you refer to as the devil. The same girl we've both hated forever."

Eric shrugged. "Jackie's grown up, I don't hate her anymore. And I don't believe that you ever really hated her."

What the hell was this guy on. Everyone knew how much Hyde hated Jackie. It was common knowledge.

"Ah, excuse me? I drew a mono-brow on her," Hyde argued, trying to jog Eric's obviously failing memory.

"You also continuously tried to get Kelso caught when he was cheating on her, and you also helped compose a list of all the lies he'd told her, and you took Jackie's side when Kelso thought she owed him money. Therefore, me believes thou doth protest too much," Eric smirked.

"Whatever Forman, just light the fuckin' joint man," Hyde sighed.

As Eric finally gave up and brought the perfectly rolled doobie to his mouth Hyde thought about what he'd said. Thinking back over the years maybe he had held a soft spot for Jackie, a soft spot that even he didn't notice. But even if he had...or still did...none of it mattered now. He wasn't good enough for her back then and he wasn't good enough for her now.

He was just a piece of rough until something smoother and shinier came along.

...

Friday, October 31st, 1980

9.45pm

Masterson's Irish Bar

The shift had been brutal. So brutal.

Knowing Hyde was upstairs ignoring her and Kerin was down here hating her was making Jackie crazy. She had told Kerin earlier on that she couldn't go out with him. Of course she'd left the Hyde part out - none of them needed this 'love triangle' getting anymore out of hand than it already was - but Kerin was still pissed off. She had found it amusing at first the way a guy can so quickly change from adoring nice guy to bad tempered asshole, but now she was just pissed off.

At least the bar was quiet. When it was quiet she didn't have to be something she wasn't; she didn't have to be happy and accommodating, she could just stand around biting her nails wishing she was anywhere but here.

"God it's boring," the new girl Gemma said as she stood next to Jackie applying lip gloss.

"Tell me about it," Jackie agreed.

Tonight had been her first night working with Gemma and despite the small blonde's short skirt, Jackie quite liked her. She was also at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee but unfortunately their paths had never crossed, until tonight obviously.

"At least you get to finish soon," Gemma moaned, "I have another two hours. What a waste of time, no one's drinkin' in bars tonight, they're all at home having house parties."

Jackie looked around the empty bar. The scene was a far cry from the usual Friday at Masterson's. "Yeah but I have nothing to do when I finish," Jackie sighed.

The two girls didn't notice their boss and his friend stroll into the bar so both jumped when he spoke. "Standing around lettin' the guys do all the hard work I see ladies?" Hyde sniped as he pulled out two glasses and poured him and Eric a beer.

Jackie felt her face go red. "Oh we, just..." she started.

"Look Hyde," Gemma interjected, "the place is empty. There's a party Jackie and I wanna go to tonight, you think you could be a cool guy and let me finish at 10 with her?"

Jackie's heart sped up. Her and Gemma had spoken earlier about the big party tonight but they'd never discussed going...hell, she didn't even have a costume to wear.

Hyde looked over at her and smirked. "College party huh? Yeah you girls should go," he said as he handed Eric his beer.

"Thank you Hyde, you're the best!" Gemma exclaimed as she whipped off her apron and threw it behind the bar.

"Yeah I know," Hyde winked at Jackie.

What did he mean by the wink? Was it a friendly wink or a nasty one? She never could tell with him.

"C'mon Jackie let's go get ready out here," Gemma called from the back room.

"I'll be there soon," Jackie called back as she smiled at Eric who was walking over to a table. Just as Hyde finished pouring his beer she touched his forearm discreetly. "Hey, I told Kerin I didn't want to go out with him...ever," she quietly said.

Hyde sipped his beer and stepped around her. "Whatever," he shrugged.

It was pointless trying to get through to him so Jackie didn't even bother watching him walk away. Instead she joined Gemma in the back room.

"Here y'go, get one of these down ya," Gemma said handing Jackie a shot of tequila.

"Oh I don't know about that," Jackie said as she nervously eyed the clear liquid. "I'm not too good on spirits."

Gemma, who had been frantically scrounging through a large plastic bag of what looked liked costumes, stared up her. "Jackie, it's one shot. It'll loosen you up a bit. And here," she smiled, tossing Jackie a thin bit of fabric, "I totally think you should wear this."

Jackie downed her shot and opened up the fabric, her brow furrowing when she saw that it was a strapless bodysuit.

"What is this supposed to be?" she asked.

Gemma dug around the bag. "You can go as a playboy bunny. Look, here's the ears, tie, and stockings," she excitedly said.

Jackie knew she was hot, she'd been told so too many times to recall, even scruffy Hyde had told her so the other night. But the thought of parading around in next to nothing when it was just about winter wasn't very appealing.

"What else have you got in there?" she asked trying to peer in the bag. "Why don't you go in this and I'll take whatever else you have."

Gemma pulled out an exact replica of what Jackie was already holding. "We're both going as bunnies," she grinned. "I got the costumes for me and a friend but she's already at the party so you may as well wear it."

Jackie held the costume back out to Gemma. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she sighed.

Gemma ignored her and instead handed her another shot. "C'mon Jackie, let's just have some fun. I have a pile of make-up, two costumes, and half of bottle of tequila. Let's do this," she said convincingly.

Holding the little glass Jackie peeked out the door and saw Hyde and Eric sitting at a table by the bar. They were laughing at whatever silly story Eric was telling. She knew the story was coming from Eric because the scrawny guy couldn't stop with the hand gestures. They were having fun...Hyde was having fun. he wasn't sitting around lamenting the loss of Jackie.

Jackie took her second shot, deciding she wasn't about to sit around lamenting the loss of a dirty burnout like Hyde.

...

25 minutes later...

Hyde couldn't help but look over when the door to the back room burst open revealing two scantily clad Playboy bunnies. They both looked good, but the brunette looked particularly hot. His heart rate sped up when he saw her and he was pretty sure his heart dropped into his stomach.

"Holy crap, little Jackie Burkhart certainly is all grown up," Eric declared as he eyed Jackie up and down.

Hyde said nothing. He gripped his glass tightly as the two bunnies strolled over to their table.

"Thanks again Hyde for letting me go early," Gemma smiled once they'd reached the table.

Hyde didn't look at her, his eyes fixed on Jackie in those fishnet stockings and tiny black bodysuit. "Yeah no worries," he mumbled.

Jackie whispered something in Gemma's ear before both girls started laughing. She then put her arms around Eric's shoulders and tumbled into his lap.

"Oh Eric it's soooooooo good to see you!" she cried. "I wish Donna were here though." Eric looked slightly puzzled as Jackie picked up his beer and started sculling it.

"Uh, Jackie, I thought you hated beer?" he asked.

Jackie sat the empty glass down, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed. "Noooooooo, I just hate Steven. Right Steven?" she said as she finally turned to face Hyde.

From the moment he saw her heavily made up eyes he could tell she was smashed. "Jackie how much have you had to drink?" he asked, watching her breasts very nearly tumble out of the tiny bit of fabric she was wearing.

"Oh she hasn't had that much," Gemma chimed in as she tried to pull Jackie up. "Only a few shots of tequila."

"Yeah well look at her, she's wasted, she can't go out like that," Hyde growled.

Jackie now had one arm flung around Gemma's neck and was swaying to the music coming from the speakers. "You can't tell me what to do Hyde, coz you're just an asshole," she grinned. "Isn't that right Gemma? Our boss is an asshole."

"Uh, um..." Gemma stuttered nervously.

"Whatever Jackie," Hyde said dismissively, trying to conceal the concern he had about Jackie going out that drunk wearing those clothes. As she nearly fell forward the hickey he'd put on her right breast was revealed earning him two raised eyebrows from Eric. That was it, he was done with this crap. "Look why don't you two run along to your party?" He waved his hand as if flicking them away and picked up his glass, the girls giggling as they stumbled out of the bar.

God Jackie was a pain in his ass.

"I'm surprised you let your little girlfriend go out like that," Eric said as he inspected his now empty glass.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Forman she's not my girlfriend. She can do whatever the hell she wants."

Damn, if she was his girlfriend Hyde would've had her upstairs with a hot chocolate the minute she'd stepped into the bar looking like that.

"Well I think you like her," Eric sing-songed much to Hyde's annoyance.

"I don't like her...I can't like her...Forman, if I like her, shoot me," Hyde growled, his heart still racing from the little brunettes mere presence.

"POW!" Eric cried right before Hyde frogged him in the arm.

...

Two hours later...

The beer had done little to stop the girly crap Jackie thoughts that were invading Hyde's mind so it was now time for his faithful friend Jack Daniels. He walked up to the bar and motioned his order to Kerin. Ugh, Kerin, god that guy was getting on his wick tonight for some reason.

As he waited, a group of girls approached the bar very nearly tumbling into him. He turned around, ready to kick the drunkens out, and saw a blonde Playboy bunny...Gemma. He scanned the group for her partner in crime but couldn't find the unicorn lovin' object of his desire.

"Hey Gemma," he called over to her, "where's Jackie?"

Gemma bowled over to him, her make-up smeared all over her face, and the smell of tequila lingering around her. "Oh my god, Jackie is so drunk!" she laughed.

"I didn't ask how drunk she was I asked where she is man."

"She's still at the party, she didn't wanna leave even though it was lame, just a bunch a jocks gettin' all handsy," Gemma slurred.

Hyde clenched his fists into tight balls. "So you just left her there? On her own?"

"She wasn't on her own, some big guy was holding her up," Gemma said as though everything was fine.

"What's the address man? Where's this party?" Hyde demanded.

Gemma rattled off the address and Hyde handed her his two shots of JDs...not that she flipping needed or deserved them. In a flurry of rage, or concern, or desperation (he wasn't sure which) he raced to the table and pulled Eric up by the arm.

"Woah there buddy..." Eric said, nearly stumbling over.

Hyde pushed his keys into Eric's hand and led him out of the bar. "You're driving man, you've had way less than me," he ordered.

"Wait, where are we going?" asked Eric as the cold November air hit them both like a tonne of bricks.

"To deal with this pain in my goddamn ass."