"Did you get my note?"
Hyde didn't want to wake up. Jackie had stayed over that night and, after a few round of….well, you know, they had both drifted off to sleep. As Hyde slowly started to stir, he was surprised at what was missing from his bed. Namely, Jackie. Where would she have gone? Also, when has she ever woken up before me? He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
She wouldn't just leave without saying anything, would she? We had a nice time last night, right? he mused to himself. They had gone to the movies, then grabbed a pizza and come back to the basement. They watched a The Andy Griffith Show marathon ("It's wholesome, Steven!") and ate pizza until Hyde couldn't keep his hands off of her for any longer.
This wasn't how he would usually spend time with a date. Yeah, they would go to the movies, but they would just make out the whole time. He and Jackie actually watched the movie, both whispering to each other and making fun of how terrible the main actor was. And, when they had come back to the basement, they had actually done something. Hyde usually just led whatever girl he had picked up straight back to his room. And they never stayed the night. But Jackie was different. Maybe it was because he'd known her as a friend before anything else. Even though she annoyed the hell out of him sometimes, she was his friend and he liked spending time with her, even when they weren't making out. Weird, huh?
As Hyde stood up and stretched, something caught his eye. Propped up on his dresser was a folded piece of paper, "Steven" written on the front in curly, girly handwriting. Jackie. He grabbed it, unfolding the paper.
I woke up and heard Mrs. Forman in the basement. Thought she might come in, so when she went upstairs, I split. I'm over at Donna's; I'll come over later. I had a really good time last night :) Hope we can do it again soon. See ya later
- Jackie
Hyde chuckled. Jackie lived in fear of one of the Formans catching her sleeping in Hyde's bed. They had been so nice to her; she didn't want them to think she was a tramp, or disrespectful of their house. He put the note down, stretched again, and started to get dressed.
Later that day, as he and Eric were playing checkers, Jackie and Donna came over.
"Hey," Hyde smiled at Jackie. She grinned back, settling on the couch next to Eric. Donna and Eric quickly got entrenched in some argument about how his Star Wars dolls "weren't toys, they were memorabilia," so Hyde got up and walked over, leaning on the back of the couch.
"Did you get my note?" Jackie asked slyly.
"Sure did," Hyde's mouth twisted into that little half-smile he did. "They're playing Close Encounters of the Third Kind tonight. Wanna go and make fun of Richard Dreyfuss?
"Only if we can get burgers afterwards." Jackie winked at him.
Hyde didn't believe in love at first sight. But as he looked at Jackie's smiling face, it felt like he was seeing her for the first time. And he might just be falling in love.