I was standing in the middle of the Forman's living room with a cup of beer (Mrs. Forman thought it was punch), surrounded by the Formans and the gang, with a huge-ass banner that Jackie made that said: JANIS, WE'LL MISS YOU! I could tell it was Jackie that made it because it was printed on a pink banner with extremely girly handwriting.
Hyde and I waited to tell everyone about our break-up until after I had left, so it wouldn't ruin the party. It would be easier that way. The party was coming to an end and it was about time for me to be heading home. Fez approached me first.
"Goodbye, Janis! I will miss you and your sweet..." His eyes dipped to look at my entire body. "personality." I giggled.
"Bye, Fez. I'll miss you, too."
"Hey, Janis. We're really gonna miss you. You know that, right?" Eric asked as he and Kelso walked up to me next. I smiled as they each pulled me into a bear hug and whispered, "I'll miss you" in my ear. I blinked away tears, refusing to cry here.
"Oh My Gosh, Janis! I'm gonna miss you so, so much!" Jackie gushed, throwing her arms around me and crushing the life out of me in an iron grip. Who knew the little shrimp could be so strong? I couldn't tell if she was lying about missing me or not. I convinced myself she wasn't.
"Thanks, Jackie. I'll miss you too," I murmured as I pryed her off of me. And I actually wasn't lying. I never thought any part of me could actually miss Jackie Burkhart. She was stuck up and shallow and she annoyed the crap outta me sometimes, but I didn't hate her. I could never hate her, or anyone here.
"Janis..." Donna said, brushing away tears. My bottom lip trembled and I choked out words,
"Donna, please don't cry." She burst into tears right there, ignoring what I had just said. She pulled me into a tight hug and before I knew it, I was crying, too. Fuck, I thought, angrily. I told myself I wasn't gonna cry tonight! I shook my head, knowing that this wasn't why I was angry. I can't leave all this behind...
Mrs. Forman got Donna to let go of me, so she could get a hold of me herself.
Finally, it was Hyde's turn to say goodbye. I was already crying, so I didn't bother to hide it from him. "Hey," I whispered.
"I'm gonna miss you," he admitted. "A lot. You don't have to believe me-"
"I do," I said, cutting him off. "And I'm gonna miss you too." Hyde pulled me into a hug and I let my tears stain his t-shirt. It was the Rolling Stones t-shirt he had worn after the first time we had sex. Which made me remember...
"I still have your Led Zeppelin t-shirt," I said, pulling back.
"Keep it," he replied. I nodded and smiled. I hugged him one last time and said a quick goodbye to everyone before leaving and shutting the door behind me.