A/N: Hi! So, this chapter takes place a month after the last one, so it's Donna's birthday on Friday and Valentine's day on Saturday. And you know me, I can't resist it, I love the fluff. This chapter and the next one are very cute and decisive for this story.
This chapter is again, all narrated by Hyde, and it's huge. I guess I'm still trying to compensate for chapter 11. Next chapter will be completely narrated by Jackie.
I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Chapter fourteen:
HYDE
Things have been good in those last few weeks. Forman and I went to Chicago every weekend, and my relationship with Jackie is getting stronger each day.
We talk on the phone almost everyday (except on Thursdays, because that's the day her father is allowed to call her from prison, and she never knows what time he'll be able to do that, so she doesn't like to keep the line busy on Thursdays). We spend all weekend together, and Forman and I are no longer staying at Kelso's, because he's back together with Donna, and Jackie and I are sleeping on the same bed.
But that's it, we cuddle, nothing more, not even a peck on the lips. I don't want to pressure her into anything, and the fact that she lets me sleep in the same bed as her after everything I've done is a privilege.
Consequently, I always sleep better on the weekends.
I always sleep better with her by my side, the combination of the smell of her hair and the soothing sound of her breathing relax me in a way no drug can. And she's so tiny, her body fits perfectly against my own, it's the weirdest (yet the most amazing) thing, I swear that we fit just like two puzzle pieces.
Jackie's been pretty tense since her father was moved from protective custody, she makes sure to take his calls every week, and she writes to him weekly as well, she says that she's thinking about writing a journal and sending it to him every month, so he can know everything that's happening in her life. It's been a month and so far nothing happened, so Jackie's finally starting to loosen up a bit.
Tomorrow's Donna's birthday, and Saturday it's Valentine's day, so Forman is dragging me to a jewelry store with him. According to him, he needs to buy Donna the best presents (one for her birthday, the other one for Valentine's day) ever because their relationship is still a bit fragile. He wants to buy jewelry, and I just hope he learned his lesson and stays far away from any type of rings.
"Hello how may I help you?" Fez's landlord is behind the counter, I forgot he worked here.
"Fenton" Eric says "I need to buy a present for my girlfriend"
"What about that fiance of yours? The pretty brunette with the big eyes?" He asks and I glare at Eric, who freezes on the spot
"Jackie's not… she's not anything!" He panics, and I keep glaring at him
I know Fenton thinks Jackie's his fiance because of the day she helped Forman with the wedding stuff, and I'm not mad about it, I just like seeing Forman squirm.
"Look, Jackie dates this scary guy next to me" He points at me and I smirk, Jackie and I aren't technically dating, but close enough "My girlfriend is Donna, the redhead, remember?"
"Oh, yes" Fenton says, he's staring at me with a devious expression and I cross my arms and glare at him as well. He turns his attention back to Forman "Do you need another ring?"
"Oh God no!" Eric promptly says, startling Fenton a bit "I'm looking more for a pair of earrings, a necklace or even a bracelet, not a ring, of any type"
"You want to take a look around?" He asks, and Eric just nods, he pulls me to a display on the other side of the store
"So, what do you think? An earring, a bracelet or a necklace?" He asks me
"Forman, do I look like I care?" I ask, and he looks at me, shrugs, and went back to stare at the displays
The only reason I agreed to come here is because I want to get Jackie something as well. I was already planning on buying her jewelry, and I have a date planned for Saturday night, so when Forman begged me to come with him, it didn't take a lot of persuasion to convince me.
I know Jackie and I aren't technically dating, but she loves Valentine's day, and I really want to get her something she'll like. I never bought her jewelry before, so I'm guessing she's going to be pretty surprised.
I take a brief look at the engagement rings, I never thought I would say this, but man, I wish I could buy her a ring right now. As much as I want to, I recognize it's not the time, we haven't even kissed yet.
Forman decided to get Donna a bracelet, a plain bracelet, the ones where you personalize it with charms, he's trying to choose a few special charms with 'meaning'. And I'm looking through the whole freaking store, trying to find something that's Jackie's style, but I'm having no luck with that.
I was about to give up when I finally spotted it, one of the most beautiful necklaces I've ever seen. I can almost see Jackie's face when I finally give it to her. It's a white gold necklace, with a beautiful delicate pendant, a blue rock surrounded by tiny diamonds. This screams Jackie, it's tiny, delicate and extremely beautiful, just like her.
I gesture the necklace to that Fenton guy and he grabs it to me, he doesn't ask any questions, he just takes one of those long velvety boxes and gently places the necklace inside. Then he puts a tiny little blue bow around it and gestures to the cashier. I paid for the present and went to the other side of the store, waiting for Forman to finish whatever he's doing.
He finally decides what he's taking and we head out.
"Now, help me choose another present," He says, and I groan. I've spent the whole day at the store working, I'm tired as hell, and I still need to check in on my dinner reservations for Saturday when I arrive home
A couple weeks ago I asked WB for suggestions of romantic restaurants I could take Jackie on Valentine's day, and made a reservation in what seemed to be the best one. Jackie doesn't know a thing, I plan on surprising her.
I don't want to spend the rest of the day at the mall, especially with Forman, so I decided if I tell him what to buy, he'll leave me alone.
"Get her a scented candle" I say, and he furrows a brow in confusion
"But there's a bunch of scented candles at her place, Jackie puts them everywhere" He retorts, confused
"She doesn't need the candle you moron, it's a gift with meaning and crap. Didn't she give you one for your birthday, years ago?" I'm starting to get annoyed, man, Forman's slow
"Yeah, but why would I give her one if she already gave me one that day?" He asks and I roll my eyes
"Jackie told me she told Donna to get you a scented candle because she thought it was romantic" I say with the same tone you use when explaining something to a child "So you give her a scented candle and make a reference about that one she gave you years ago, got it?"
Forman nods and grins slyly "When have you become such a romantic, Hyde?"
I frog his arm, I don't have the patience to deal with lame burns today "Jackie made me watch a romantic movie with her last weekend, because you and Donna were making too much noise"
"Oh, that was a good night"
I roll my eyes and take the keys to my car out of my pocket, after Forman gets the stupid candle I'm not spending another second in this place.
"So, where are you taking Jackie tomorrow?" Forman asks from the passenger seat of the camino
We've been on the road for almost an hour, we're arriving at the girls place soon, and Forman won't shut up about Donna's birthday and Valentine's day. It wasn't enough that I had to listen to him at the mall yesterday, no no, he just keeps on asking the same questions and annoying the crap out of me.
Don't get me wrong, Forman is basically my brother, but I do not enjoy discussing my feelings with him. Actually, I don't enjoy discussing my feelings with anyone but Jackie. I tell Jackie everything now.
Literally everything. And it's not hard, in fact, it's pretty damn good. I'll never get tired from the smile on her face whenever I tell her I love her, it's one of the most beautiful things in the world.
Things between Jackie and I are good lately. We behave like boyfriend and girlfriend, we just don't kiss or have sex. But we hold hands and we cuddle and it's fucking amazing because I thought I would never be able to do that again.
Today is Donna's birthday, and we're all going to reunite at their place tonight. Well, all except Fez. Fez took off with Rhonda earlier today for a romantic weekend in Green Bay. Jackie insisted on making a dinner party, she even called Mrs. Forman and asked for a few recipes. I just hope she makes something edible, she had a cooking lesson with Mrs. Forman but I don't know if that's enough.
Cuz I've spent the last few weeks planning a big Valentine's day date for Jackie, and I don't wanna ruin it by spending the day at the hospital because of food poisoning.
I still hate Valentine's day, I think that it's a holiday created by the big corporations, corporations who spend millions of dollars every year on massive propaganda to convince the world population that love can only be proved by the consumption of material goods, more especially chocolates, flowers and jewelry. I fucking hate Valentine's day, and Jackie knows it, that's why she doesn't suspect a thing.
I plan on blowing her fucking mind tomorrow. We will wake up, and I'll make her breakfast and bring it to bed, then, we will spend the afternoon together like it's a regular day. At some point, someone will knock at the door with a delivery of the biggest bouquet of flowers available, I dropped by the flower shop last week and I wrote her a card, it'll be delivered with the flowers and the best part is that I'll be by her side when she gets it, watching her reaction. After that, I'll tell her to get all dolled up because I'm taking her out. I made reservations at one of the best restaurants in Chicago, it's one of those fancy restaurants that has candles on the tables, she's going to freak. After dinner I'll give her the necklace. I can't wait to see her face man, I hope she gives me one of those smiles.
Am I being a hypocrite by organizing all of this even though I hate Valentine's day? Yes.
Do I care? No
Why? Because Jackie will love it.
If I learned one thing during all this time Jackie and I've spent apart, is that I don't care about what I'm doing or where I'm going as long as she's by my side and happy. And I swear to God, all this time I've been spending with Jackie lately is changing me, because I'm starting to like doing all of these romantic things. I don't even think I'm doing only for her anymore, I'm actually starting to enjoy it myself.
So yeah, pretty big day tomorrow. Nobody knows about my plans, and nobody will know. Not because I'm embarrassed, I honestly don't give a shit if people tease me for publicly loving Jackie, I grew out of that (thank God). I'm just not telling anyone because I really want to surprise her and God knows Forman and Kelso can't keep a secret.
So that brings me back to Forman's question "What makes you think I'm taking her somewhere?"
Forman furrows his brow in confusion "Well, you bought her a present, so I thought…"
"Man, I gave in and gave money to the jewelry industry, I'm not giving money to the restaurant industry or the candy industry. Valentine's day is a scam" I lie
"Yeah I'm pretty sure Jackie's not going to buy that excuse, pal" He says and I roll my eyes
Jackie knows I don't believe in Valentine's day. In the beginning of our relationship she used to nag me to celebrate it with her, but I was a stubborn asshole and in the end she just gave up, she doesn't expect anything from me tomorrow, she's completely oblivious to the whole thing.
"Forman, Jackie knows I'm not a Valentine's day type of guy, it took her a while to accept it but she's okay with it" I shrug, trying to look indifferent
"But you got her a present"
"And it's a surprise, if you say something I'll kill you" I glare at him for a second before redirecting my attention to the road
"How cute, the little orphan boy loves his spoiled princess" He says with a baby voice and I frog his arm
"Yep" I admit nonchalantly and he looks surprised at me
"Holy crap you're serious" He says "I mean, I know you love her and everything, but you never openly admitted to someone, look at you" He points his finger at my face "You're not even scowling, man!"
"Yeah, pretending I'm an insensitive jerk about Jackie never worked out in my favor before, did it?" I say
"Oh my God the world is ending" He says dramatically
"Big deal Forman, I love Jackie, what the hell is wrong with that?" I spat, almost losing my patience
"Nothing man, it's just weird to see you saying it out loud, that's it"
"Well you better get used to it" I answer "We're almost there"
"Man, why Jackie, of all people, is the one cooking today?" Forman whines "I hope they still have the number of that pizza place from last week"
"Hey, you're not ordering pizza!" I threaten him "You're eating Jackie's food and you're going to like it! And if you don't like it, you are going to pretend you did, got it?"
"Dear God, you're getting more and more like Red everyday" Forman comments with a frown on his face
"Except I like my foot way too much to be sticking it on people's asses, I'm more of a fist in the face guy" I smirk
"You don't have to tell me that" Forman mumbles
We arrive at the girls place sooner than expected, I park the car in front of their apartment complex and when we open the door to the apartment (Forman and I each have our own pair of keys) we find a very upset Donna at the couch.
"Hey babe, you alright?" Eric asks, sitting next to her
Donna looks at Forman with a very disturbed expression "My father just called to congratulate me and to tell me that he has a new girlfriend!" She complains, Jackie heard her and came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and covered in flour. I couldn't hold back a smile, she's just too damn cute.
"It's not my mother again, is it?" She asks in a hush
"What? No, thank God!" Donna answers
Jackie breathes, relieved "So, do we know her?"
"Unfortunately, yes" Donna answers looking at the floor
"I don't see what the big deal is, Bob was kind of lonely, he probably won't annoy Red so much now that he has a new girlfriend" I give Donna my honest opinion, Bob is a nice guy, but Red was bound to kill him sometime soon
"Well I thought the same thing until I heard who my father is dating" Donna says, still looking disturbed "I'll kill him for ruining my birthday"
"Who is he dating sweetie?" Eric asks, while running a hand through Donna's hair
Donna mumbles something but I wasn't able to hear it, the only one who heard her is Forman, his eyes are completely bugged out, he looked shocked. Jackie and I kept staring at the couple sitting on the couch, when Donna remembered we're still here.
"When my father said he was dating Pam, I thought he was dating your whore of a mother again" She gestures to Jackie, who just nods, Jackie didn't protest over the insult Donna just made about her mother "I was ready to yell when he said he was dating a Pam, it just wasn't Jackie's Pam…"
Jackie gasps in horror, placing her hands in her mouth and I'm confused as fuck "Oh my God please tell me it's not who I think it is!"
Donna confirms Jackie's suspicions "It is"
"YOUR FATHER IS DATING PAM MACY?!" Jackie yells and what the fuck
I look at Donna and she just nods, defeated "Happy birthday to me!"
That's… horrifying, to say the least. And highly disturbing. Forman breaks out of his daze and says "But she's like… our age"
"Pam is two years older than you" Jackie comments and we all look at her, how the hell does she know that stuff? "She repeated second grade and she was a senior when you guys were juniors" She shrugs
"Great, now she's not only a gold digging tramp, she's a dumb gold digging tramp" Donna says exasperated, throwing her arms in the air "Why do you know that?" She asks Jackie
"Hey, Michael cheated on me with her like, a hundred times! I had to find some dirt on her just in case!" She defended herself
"Pam Macy and Bob?" I say "That's just wrong man, Bob is what, 30 years older than her?"
"17" Donna says and we all looked at her in shock "C'mon, I was conceived in the back of a van when my parents were in high school, my father was 18 when I was born"
"So you're telling me that Bob's not even 40 yet?!" Jackie asks in disbelief "I guess that's what too much polyester does to you"
"That's it, Eric, you are taking me to the liquor store!" Donna demands and Eric just shrugs
"Okay" He promptly agrees "Hyde, can I have the keys to your car?" He asks me and I scoff
"Hell no" I answer
"The liquor store is 3 blocks away, Eric" Jackie says, and before Eric could answer, Donna grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door
"Michael is arriving with Brooke in an hour so you two better not take too long!" Jackie says before Donna and Forman left through the door
I look at her and smile, we haven't had the chance to properly interact because of the recent news. I wrap her in my arms and I place a kiss on her flour covered cheek
"Look at you all covered in flour" I tease her
"It's not funny Steven! I had to make like, a million batches of pie dough because I kept screwing it up, I must've wasted a 100 dollars worth of flour and butter today" She looks genuinely upset, she crosses her arms and pouts
"Hey, if you cry the mix of tears and flour will create a very weird paste in your face, I don't think that'll be good for your skin" I say playfully, and I start to wipe my thumb across her cheeks, trying to clean some of the flour
Jackie laughs and lightly slaps my chest "Shut it, Steven! Do you know you have to make pie dough with your hands? I completely ruined my manicure and my arms are killing me"
I smile at her "You're cute" I say, and she gives me one of those smiles, the type that brightens a whole room and melts my insides, so I kiss her forehead "Go take a shower, I'll watch your pie, then we can finish making dinner together"
"Thank you, just take it out of the oven when you hear the timer" She kisses my cheek and goes to the bathroom
Man, seeing Jackie like this… she's fucking adorable. She looks so happy, happier than she was back in Point Place, that's for sure.
Jackie was always too good to live in a small town like Point Place, that's why I was fucking terrified when she told me about her job offer here in Chicago. I wanted her to stay with me, more than anything, but I also wanted her to get the hell out of Point Place because she deserves way better than whatever that small town has to offer.
I wish I wasn't so fucking stupid back then. The answer was pretty simple, get the hell out of Point Place and I'll go with you. We should've moved to Chicago, the two of us. WB has his connections, I wouldn't be out of job and Jackie wouldn't have to sacrifice anything.
As I said, I was stupid.
I haven't told Jackie yet, but I plan on moving to Chicago. In fact, I have a meeting with WB on Monday and we are going to discuss the possibilities. I'm not moving to Chicago right away, it's probably going to take a while since I want to give Jackie the space she needs, and there's the whole job thing I still have to figure out with WB.
Jackie won't be making any sacrifices for the sake of our relationship this time, it's my turn. Jackie loves her job and she deserves it, I will not take this away from her.
And I can tell that she loves it, being her own woman, making her own money, being independent. I'm so proud, when she was dating Kelso she thought that the only plausible future for her was to find a rich man, marry him, and have his children. I don't blame her for thinking like this, after all, that's what her mother told her to do since she was born. Things started to change after her father went to prison and her mother abandoned her.
It sucks, being forced to mature because of the awful circumstances, I've been there, but in the end, we turned out fine.
My thoughts are interrupted by the annoying noise of the timer, time to get the pie out of the oven. Man, I hope this is a good pie, Jackie must've spent a lot of time on it.
I take the oven mints she left on the counter and remove the pie out of the oven. It looks good, not as good as Mrs. Forman pies, but still. I hope it tastes good too, this is probably the first time Jackie actually baked something and didn't burn anything.
I place the pie on the counter and I look at the mess Jackie made in the kitchen, there's flour everywhere and I'm seeing at least 10 empty butter wrappers in the trash. So I guess Jackie wasn't exaggerating after all.
Jackie's in the shower and God knows how long she'll be there, so I'll clean her kitchen, or try to, it's really messy in here.
After 10 or 15 minutes I managed to clean the surfaces that were covered in flour and I washed the dishes, now I'm currently searching for a pan so we can get started on dinner, and I realise I have no idea on what the hell are we going to make.
I feel her arms wrapping around my waist from behind and I smile. Man I would do anything to kiss her senseless right now.
Instead, I turn around and kiss the top of her head, I look at her eyes and say "Hey"
"Hey" she kissed my cheek and stared at the clean kitchen with a smile "Thank you"
I smiled "Had to keep myself busy while I was waiting for you"
"Well, aren't you the sweetest?" She smiled back
"What are we having for dinner today, doll?" I ask
"I thought we could make some pasta." She answered while she filled a large pan with water
"Jackie, do you remember what happened when you tried to make pasta the last time?" I try to make her remember, I still have no idea how she managed to set pasta on fire
"God, it was a one time thing, Steven!" She whined and placed the pan on the stove
"You almost burned down your house, Jackie"
She rolled her eyes "Oh, would you stop exaggerating? We didn't even need to use the fire extinguisher"
I repress a laugh "Whatever you say, doll" I grinned slightly at her "Need my help?" I ask and she gave me one of her devilish smiles, she handed me her apron and a wooden spoon, and sat down on the bench near the counter
"What? I'm tired." She pouted and I chuckled, I should've known better.
Donna and Forman arrived with two bags of booze while I was frying the meatballs, Jackie and I were talking when we were interrupted by the sudden arrival of the couple.
Forman started to place the few bottles of booze in the fridge, along with a few beers. Besides the beer, Forman and Donna brought home a couple bottles of wine and… is that vodka?
Man, Donna wasn't joking when she said she wanted to get wasted. I grimaced at the sight of the vodka, it was Edna's favorite, she often slept on the couch with one of these bottles in her arms. I hate vodka.
"When is Kelso arriving?" Donna asked while she sat next to Jackie
"Any minute now" Jackie answered and looked concerned with her friend "Donna, are you sure you should be drinking that much tonight?"
"Jackie, it's my birthday and my father is sleeping with Pam Macy" She says and Jackie nods in understanding
Man, Bob and Pam Macy, now that's something I ought to get used to
"Are you two drinking with us?" Forman asked Jackie and I
Jackie grimaced "I might have a glass of wine, but I have no plans to get wasted tonight"
"Nah man, I'll have maybe a couple beers and that's it" I say and Forman just shrugs, I've been controlling my drinking since New year's day, getting drunk definitely won't help me with the Jackie situation
Besides, if I get drunk tonight I might lose control and kiss her, and she needs to make the first move. I need to be 100% sure that she's comfortable with me before we kiss again.
I put the meatballs on the sauce pan, and we hear the doorbell, Kelso and Brooke must've arrived. Right in time, because I literally just finished here.
Forman and Donna went to the door and Jackie wrapped her arms around me again "Are you done here, pudding pop?"
My heart skips a beat. Pudding pop. It's been a while, and fuck, it feels so good to hear it. I missed it so much.
She called me pudding pop again.
"All done, dollface" I smile and glance briefly at her lips, I would give anything to be able to kiss her right now
And suddenly, as she can hear my thoughts, she places her hands on my cheeks and look deeply into my eyes, her face is inching closer to mine and holy fuck I think she's going to kiss me.
I wonder if her lips still taste like cherries.
I close my eyes in anticipation, she places her hands on the back of my neck and buries her fingers in my hair, our noses are touching and I can feel her breath fanning across my face…
"WHAT?!" We hear Kelso's piercing shout from the living room and we jump apart
I'll kill him.
Jackie took my hand in hers and dragged me to the living room to see what the hell is going on. We see Kelso and Brooke standing near Eric and Donna, Kelso looks flabbergasted and Brooke's scowling at him.
"So you told him about Pam Macy and Bob?" Jackie asked Donna, still holding my hand, Donna nodded
"BOB?" Kelso yells, deepening Brooke's scowl even more "What's with this guy and hot chicks? Midge, Jackie's mom, Pam Macy…"
"Hey, maybe Bob has a really huge…" Eric says and Donna looked startled at him
"Grab me a beer Eric, NOW!" Donna quickly interrupted him and Forman ran to the kitchen
Forman is almost taking Kelso's title as the king.
"If it's any consolation, my mom is a gold digging tramp, she was with Bob because of the money" Jackie says to Kelso "Pam Macy is probably after the same thing, and Midge… no offense Donna but your Mom's kind of dumb" Jackie deadpanned
Donna looked at Jackie with wide eyes "My mom's not dumb!" She tried to defend her mother, but Jackie and I raised our eyebrows at her "Fine, she's dumb" She admitted reluctantly
"Pam Macy and Bob!" Kelso yells indignantly "How could she do this?"
"Why do you care, Michael?" Brooke asked, glaring at Kelso
Obviously, Kelso is completely oblivious to Brooke's anger "She had this" He pointed to himself "And now she's with Bob?!"
Brooke rubbed her temples and, noticing how angry the librarian was, Jackie intervened "Don't worry Brooke, Michael hasn't seen Pam Macy in a while"
Kelso looked at his new girlfriend, and he finally noticed the severity of the situation "I haven't seen Pam since I cheated on Jackie with her, I promise!"
Yeah, about that observation I made earlier, I take it back, Kelso will always be the king.
"Then why do you care so much, Michael?" Brooke asked again
"I mean, she really traded down, I feel bad for her!" Kelso justified himself
"You should feel bad about my dad, you dillhole!" Donna intervened
"Why should I feel bad about Bob? Pam is good in the sack, right Hyde?"
Now Kelso managed to make every single person in this room uncomfortable. As I said before, I'll kill him.
The last thing I need is Jackie remembering that I had sex with Pam on the backseat of her Lincoln. Fuck man, Kelso's dead.
I glare at him and he flinches, trying to hide behind Brooke, who's not pleased with him, so she just shoves him to the side. Before I can go to him and pound him, I feel Jackie squeezing my hand. I look at her and she's smiling softly, it's one of those 'relax, I'm not mad' smiles, and I can feel the tension leaving my body.
"You should feel bad about my dad because he's with another gold digging tramp!" Donna yelled, startling Kelso
Before she could yell some more, Forman arrived from the kitchen with her beer, which she promptly snatched from his hand.
"So, why don't everybody sit down? Steven and I will set the table" Jackie said, pulling me to the kitchen with her
She started to take the silverware while I took the plates "You're not mad at me, are you?" I ask apprehensively
She smiled softly at me "Why would I be, Steven?"
"Pam Macy… and stuff" I scratch the back of my neck uncomfortably
"Steven, that was years ago" She took my hand in hers again "We weren't even together back then"
"Well, still" I pull her closer and wrap my arms around her waist "Y'know, you looked really beautiful that night, I really regret getting you and Kelso back together"
"I think I started to fall for you there, in prom" she grinned "You hated me, but you still went as my date because you saw how sad I was, it was really nice of you"
"I never hated you" I look down at her "I thought you were annoying, but I secretly enjoyed having you around" I kiss the top of her head and I decide to confess something to her "I was afraid you were going to stop hanging in the basement, after you and Kelso broke up, and you looked real sad so… that's why I encouraged you and Kelso back then"
She beamed at me "You wanted me around?"
"Yup, after that pregnancy scare you didn't stopped by for like, a week, surprisingly I really missed you" I run my hands down her silky, raven hair "But I was too immature and proud to admit it out loud"
"I wish you did" She ran her tiny hands across my chest "I always had a crush on you, even when you acted like I repulsed you"
"I was repulsed with myself because all I wanted to do was kiss your pretty little face" I admit it and look deeply into her eyes "Deep down, I think I always loved you, even when you were signing us up for roller disco tournaments without my consent" I joke
Jackie giggled, she raised her head and kissed the corner of my mouth. It takes all of my inner strength to not to capture her lips with my own, she needs to make the first move, I won't pressure her.
"Let's go, if we let Donna drink with an empty stomach she will be truly unbearable" She said
And in less than 10 minutes, everyone was at the table enjoying a nice dinner, Brooke seemed to have talked to Kelso because she wasn't scowling at him anymore, in fact, she was smiling when he told her the story of how he glued himself to the Forman's fridge. Kelso just found his soulmate, because she's probably the smartest person I know and she's actually smiling while he tells the many tales of his stupidity during the years, she probably thinks it's cute. Yeah, she must really love him.
Donna chugged at least 5 more cans of beer, and drank most of the bottle of wine with Forman and Brooke, Jackie didn't even have the chance to take a sip of the wine.
It was a pleasant dinner, Jackie sat next to me and we held hands whenever we could. And her pie wasn't bad, even Forman complimented it in his own way, Jackie looked so proud of herself, so fucking cute, man.
And I have this feeling, it's not a bad feeling, I just feel like an adult right now, because I enjoyed dinner with my chick and two other couples, without being drunk or high.
We are all in the living room, we gave Donna her presents a few minutes ago, and now Jackie's at my lap, where she belongs. It feels so good man, I don't know how I ever thought I could live without her, without this feeling. We're all talking, well, all except Donna, she and Forman are completely wasted, they decided to open the vodka a while ago.
"Hey, Jackie, do you mind if I use your phone to check on Betsy? She's at my mom's" Brooke kindly asked, and Jackie smiled and nodded
"You can use the one in my room if you want some privacy" Jackie says, Brooke smiled and headed to Jackie's room, and I directed my attention to the pretty girl on my lap
"How ya feeling, babydoll?" I ask
She smiled at me "I'm feeling pretty happy, pudding pop, and you?"
"I have my chick in my lap again, I feel pretty fucking good" I answer her, nudging her neck with my nose, inhaling her intoxicating scent
"Eric, look!" Donna says, pointing at us with a big goofy smile on her face "They're so cute!"
Eric just smiles, he doesn't say anything, he probably thinks it'll make me uncomfortable, it won't, Jackie's at my lap right now and I'm pretty sure nothing can ruin my good mood, but he still didn't say anything.
"I missed this! Man, I wish Fez was here" Kelso pouted from his seat on the couch
"I'm sure he's having a lovely time, Kelso" Forman says rolling his eyes
"Jackie's so tiny!" Donna giggled and headed to the chair where Jackie and I are sitting, she snatched Jackie off my lap, hugging her tight "I could fit her in my pocket! She's my tiny little midget" She laughed
I smile at the two girls, Jackie's struggling to hold her laughter and Donna's still rambling. It's good, seeing them like this, they're so much closer than they were back in Point Place, they need each other.
"Good, now Donna, take her top off" Kelso said
Donna scowled at him, letting go of Jackie to hit Kelso in the back of his head "Pig"
Jackie took advantage of the opportunity and sat back down onto my lap again, so I pulled her closer to me, wrapping my hands around her and holding her tightly against my chest. I can't wait to see her reaction to all the stuff I've prepared for tomorrow, she literally has no idea, I just hope I don't give her a heart attack or something, because I meant it when I said she'll be surprised, I know my chick very well.
Brooke sat back down at the couch looking really upset "What's wrong baby?" Kelso asked, wrapping his arms around her shoulders
"Well, Patrick is back in town and my mother just told me she can't babysit Betsy tomorrow" She scoffed "We will have to cancel our plans Michael, I'm sorry" She looked apologetically at Kelso
"Ah man, I was really looking forward to tomorrow" He pouted
"What did you two have planned for tomorrow?" I ask, Forman and Donna started to furiously make out on the couch, earning glares from all of us.
I was about to throw an empty beer can at them, Forman noticed and cleaned his throat uncomfortably, he looked at Donna, who was basically straddling him at this point. "So, whaddya say about lighting up that new candle in your room?" He asked her, and they ran into Donna's room, shutting the door behind them.
"Man, we had the whole day planned out, Brooke and I were going to watch one of her weird movies with subtitles" Kelso grimaced, then he smiled "But that's okay because we were going to makeout during the whole thing, then I was going to take her to one of the best restaurants in Chicago, I've made the reservations back in december, man"
December? But they weren't even together in december, they started to date again about 3 weeks ago.
"But you and Brooke weren't together in december" Jackie observed, and Kelso looked at Brooke, smiling coyly at her
"I guess I had some hope I was going to win her back" He said, and Brooke gave him one of those big smiles, placing her hand in her heart
"Oh, Michael, that is so sweet!" She gave him a quick peck on the lips
"Steven and I are free tomorrow night, we can babysit Betsy for you" Jackie says nonchalantly and fuck fuck fuck
"Really?" Brooke smiled
"Yeah, I mean, what are godparents for?" Jackie answered and shit I can't tell her we can't do it because not only will I have ruined the surprise, I would also ruin Valentine's day for Kelso and Brooke.
"Jackie, you have no idea how much this means to us" Brooke says, giving Jackie a quick hug
"Oh, it'll be so much fun!" Jackie giggled and clapped excitedly
"We'll drop her off at 6, is that okay?" Kelso asks, looking apprehensively at me
"6 it's cool, man" I answer, trying my hardest to hide my disappointment. Betsy's a cool kid, and Jackie's really attached to her, but I was really looking forward for tomorrow
"Thank you man, I guess we gotta get going, see you tomorrow at 6?" Kelso asked, grabbing his coat
"Yeah, see you then" I say and we said goodbye to the couple, now it's just Jackie and me
Jackie looked at me with a big smile on her face, and I couldn't help but smile back, it's involuntary at this point "Betsy's the sweetest kid in the world, Steven! I can't wait!" She giggled and placed a very quick peck on my lips before she went to the kitchen to do the dishes
My lips are burning, and I feel like dancing in celebration right now, she kissed me!
So yeah, maybe my dinner plans are ruined, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate on our own.
I smile and touch my lips with the tip of my fingers before heading to the kitchen to help Jackie, she'll still have a very memorable Valentine's day.
A/N: Wow, I did not expect that chapter to turn out so big! I think I managed to put everything I wanted in here, but I still feel like this isn't my best work, I hope you enjoyed it, though.
And I'm so sorry for the lack of Fez in this chapter, I love Fez, I really do, but I don't know how to properly write him without making him sound disgusting. I promise I'll try harder in the future.
The idea of Bob dating Pam Macy came from a fanfiction I've read a really long time ago (I really can't remember the name, and I promise that as soon as I remember I'll tell, because that was one of the best fics I've ever read) and as disturbing as it may be, I thought it was pretty funny (and plausible).
When Kelso got his first van, Bob mentioned he had a van in high school, and it's real fun until someone gets pregnant. So, in my head, Bob and Midge had Donna when they were still teenagers, which explains why the age difference between Bob and Pam Macy is not that huge.
I wanted to give Bob a female companion that would disturb Donna a bit, and Pam Macy is the only person I could think other than Jackie's mom. I have different plans for Jackie's mom in this fic, cuz I really hate her. Pam Burkhart will make an appearance in this story soon, but I feel like I should warn you that she's an emotional abuser, and some of her comments may be a trigger for some people (don't worry, whenever Pam appears I'll definitely place a trigger warning).
Anyways, I will definitely not explore Bob and Pam Macy's relationship, they'll just be mentioned a few times because they are not the focus of this story.
Next chapter is a big game changer, I can't wait to post it and read your reactions to it!