Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THAT '70S SHOW.

Chapter 37: Sleeping with the Enemy

Avoiding Jackie and her boyfriend was proving to be an impossible task.

Hyde had spent the whole day dodging the Forman's house. He knew that purposely not coming around on the day he knew Chris was going to be there wasn't going to help his already rocky relationship with Jackie any. But he couldn't handle the thought of seeing Jackie show off her new attractive, rich boyfriend to everyone while he stood idly by.

Hyde actually considered taking the high road at first, and showing up at the small dinner gathering Mrs. Forman had planned just for a few moments. He had even prepared a minor apology speech to give Jackie later in private for the way he'd been treating her recently. But had changed his mind about it at least fourteen times. He would go over the dialog in his head, and then feel foolishly about repeating it aloud to her. So he would disregard words and pace around the room for several moments before reciting them again.

After what felt like hours of fighting with himself, Hyde finally decided it would be best if he just stayed away from her. And he'd been doing a good job at it until he soon felt that familiar sensation in his stomach.

Realizing he hadn't eaten since earlier that morning, Hyde thought to stop by the Forman's for the plate of leftovers he knew Kitty had set aside for him just in case he decided to show. And although he figured Jackie had probably left already, a small part of him desperately hoped that she would still be there.

Knowing it was getting late; he cruised by the front of the Forman's house to check for lights before parking his car. While trying to calm his nerves before he entered the house, Hyde noticed the front door open.

He smiled to himself when he saw Jackie step out onto the front porch, talking to herself and stepped out the El Camino to walk up to her. But his steps slowed and smile faded when he realized she wasn't talking to herself, but to Christopher, who walked out after her.

Hyde stopped where he was and watched as Chris pulled Jackie close, leaning forward to brush his lips gently over hers. Feeling his stomach clench, Hyde's eyes lowered to Chris's hands, which had dipped down to rest comfortably over her hips.

Something inside of him snapped into place when he noticed her leaning into him. The position was relaxed and intimate.

Then he realized. They'd had sex.

With his throat closing up, Hyde felt pinned to the ground. His fists tensed when Chris leaned over to whisper something in her ear before kissing her swiftly on the cheek. When Chris began walking in the other direction towards his own car, Hyde finally felt his feet move again.

Shivering from the cold, Jackie turned around to re-enter the house when her skin seemed to prickle in anticipation. Curious, she elevated her gaze and saw Hyde walking towards her.

She couldn't help but think how handsome he looked. His hair was disheveled as usual, his blue eyes intense. But when he approached her, she noticed his face was pale and his mouth was set in a firm line.

"Steven, you came." She said with a wide smile. "We were all beginning to think you weren't going to show. Christopher and I were about to leave, but I guess we could stay if—" She barely finished her sentence when Hyde grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side of the house. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

He let his arm fall to his side and stared at her, as if comprehending the question he was about to ask.

"You…d-did you sleep with him?"

"What?" The easiness in her eyes faded away, and though she was trying to maintain the edge in her voice, her cheeks flushed, giving away her embarrassment.

Hyde felt the pain building in his chest and shoved his hands into his pockets before he did something he would regret.

"You slept with him," he alleged.

She bit back the guilt that began to whirl inside of her and held her head up as proudly as she could. "Yes, I did."

Hyde could only stare at her, the words he wanted to say lodged in his throat.

"Look, Steven. You and I…we aren't dating." She said firmly. "And we haven't been for a long time. You can't really expect me to—"

"Still care about me?" he said, shaking his head. "You're right, my fault."

"Steven," Jackie sighed. "You know that I've been seeing Christopher for a few months now, and you know that I really like him. So I don't understand you're so shocked that we…or why you even care."

She sighed once more when he only glared at her.

"What do you want from me Steven?" she asked, her tone bordering on anger. "I'm done playing these games. One minute you want me, the next you push me away like I never even mattered. Christopher…he wants me."

"Does he love you?"

Jackie gaze never wavered from his. "Yes."

She saw his eyes flash darkly and she tried to prepare herself for whatever he would ask her next. A part of her wanted to cry and rage at him for not wanting to be with her. Another part of her wanted to walk past him and tell him to go to hell, she was moving on with her life and didn't need him. The two fought an intense war inside of her heart, causing her to stay glued to the spot, pierced by the look in his eyes.

"Steven, let's not talk about this right now. Please?" she begged. Seeing the anger in his eyes along with a small glint of what she could swear was hurt and disappointment, Jackie knew that the conversation could only end badly.

"So he slept with you because he loved you," Hyde said, ignoring her plea, his eyes piercing hers. "Why'd you do it? You were lonely? Or horny? You didn't do it because of love, that's for sure."

"You know, I really don't think it's any of your business," Chris said, appearing behind Hyde and walking around to her side before she had a chance to reply. "Jackie, maybe we should leave now."

Hyde laughed bitterly. "Look at that, right on time to come rescue you. Just like in the movies."

Jackie turned back to face Hyde, her voice low. "Steven—"

"No it's cool, really...you look so perfect together," Hyde said, his smile grim. "I'll bet he asks if it was good for you each time you two do it, doesn't he?"

When Chris took a threatening step forward, Jackie gripped the sleeve of his arm in a panic.

"Christopher, please go back inside, just let me talk to him—"

"No!" Chris replied, his tone full of surprise. "Jackie, our relationship and what we do is none of his business."

"Maybe not," Hyde said, stepping forward slowly. "But what she does with me may be your business..."

"Steven, don't—" she warned firmly.

"Unless…she's already told you she's been letting me fuck her while she's been with you..."

Jackie closed her eyes, whispering his name in disbelief. She heard Chris' sharp intake of breath as he looked down to her.

"Jackie, go inside and get your things so we can leave," Chris said. He tugged his arm away from her grip before storming back in the direction of his car.

She watched him walk away in shock before snapping her head around to glare at Hyde.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she cried, not caring to lower her voice. "Do you even know what you just did? You had no right to tell him that!"

The Forman's front door opened slowly, everyone inside trying to sneak a quick look around to see what the commotion was about.

"Save it, Jackie." Hyde snapped back. "Just do us both a favor and stay away from me."

"Steven…" Red Forman began as he stepped onto the cold porch. Confusion was evident in his voice.

"Stay away from me," Hyde told her again, ignoring Red as he turned and began walking hastily towards his El Camino.

Everyone began to disappear back into the house, most moaning because they'd missed the show. Jackie watched Hyde ignoring the splitting pain inside her chest. She saw Donna lurking behind her, soon taking a step towards her but Jackie stopped her with a quick shake of her head.

"Could someone just go and talk to him later? Please?"

Donna was silent for a moment, before nodding and turning around back into the house, shutting the door quietly after her.

Jackie's hands were shaking terribly as she turned and hurried towards Chris. He leaned against his car watching her walk towards him. His usual loving face turned cold.

"Christopher," she said quietly. "I am so sorry…"

"I need to get home. I have a lot to do tomorrow." He said, ignoring her apology.

She nodded, swallowing tightly. Expecting him to turn around and leave, she was surprised when he held out his hand to her.

"Are you coming with me?"

"I, y-yes. I just need to say goodbye first." She said breathlessly, pointing to the Forman's house.

Chris nodded and she turned. Walking on wobbly legs back to the Forman's, Jackie wondered why she didn't feel relieved at his casual tone. Humiliation took over her as she strode through the house to retrieve her things.

After an awkward goodbye, Jackie rode back to Chicago with Chris in silence which was considerably irritating to Jackie because it only caused her to dwell on what had just happened.

She kept picturing Hyde's face when he realized she had been with Chris. She shouldn't feel so guilty. It's not like she betrayed him...or cheated on him. So why did it feel like she had?

Jackie sighed quietly to herself and tried to focus on Chris when he pulled out his keys and opened the door to his house. He let go of her hand and headed into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a beer. She pulled of her coat, watching him carefully as she entered the kitchen.

He pointed with his eyes to the cold beer he clutched in his hand. "Do you want one?" he offered.

She shook her head quickly and stood back he brushed by her and headed upstairs. She sighed before following him into his bedroom. He had pulled off his shirt and was pulling another, dressier one from his closet.

"I'm so sorry about what happened," she began.

"It's not a big deal, Jackie" he said shortly, buttoning his shirt. "You told me you had been with someone else before. And so have I. None of that matters now."

Jackie frowned as she watched him change. "Are you going out?"

He nodded. "I'm going to go by the hotel for an hour or two, just to check up on things."

She was silent for a moment, shifting from one foot to the other. "Can't it wait until the morning? Don't you think that we should talk about what happened? Some of the things that Steven said…you have to know that—"

"Are you still sleeping with him?"

"What?"

"Are you still having sex with him?" Chris asked, giving her a curious look.

She paused for a moment, wondering why she was reluctant to answer. "No, of course I'm not."

"Then there's really nothing for us to talk about is there?"

"I guess not," she said quietly. "I just wanted to apologize for Steven."

"Things happen," Chris said, crossing the room to where she stood. "It's pretty sad that he's like that."

"Steven's been through a lot in his life, but he's a great guy. You just don't know him."

"I know that whatever you two had before is over now." Chris shrugged. "You're with me now and he just should just learn to accept that instead of trying to hurt you. Most people don't do that to the people they really care about."

"That's not really fair." Jackie said, feeling her temper rise as she followed him back down the stairs. "Steven doesn't mean to be that way. He's having a really hard time right now. His mom is really sick and she's not getting any better." She watched as Christopher's face softened slightly.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's not easy." He muttered. "I'm lucky that my mom is still alive and well, but I remember when Susan was in the hospital. I couldn't imagine going through that with my mom."

"Who is Susan?" Jackie asked with slight irritation that he'd changed the subject so casually from Hyde to some women she'd never heard of.

"Lillian's mom," Chris replied coolly.

Jackie stared at him with confusion as she spoke slowly. "Oh. I had no idea. She never said anything."

"Yeah, she doesn't like to talk about it. It was a rough time for her and she was upset, but she never took her anger out on everyone else like your friend does."

"People handle situations like that differently." She said, feeling her annoyance escalating.

"Whatever," Chris replied casually, his fingers sliding through her hair. "All I'm saying is that he should try to treat people better. Anyway, why are we still talking about him? I have to go. Do you want to come with me?"

She shook her head quickly. "No,"

"Alright, I'll be back in a couple of hours then. Will you still be here?"

Jackie nodded, forcing a small smile as he kissed her quickly on the cheek. She watched him turn and leave the house, shutting the door quietly behind him, leaving her staring after him in disbelief.