Chapter thirteen: Fun Around Every Corner!
"So, which one?" Donna asked, showing two different dresses to Jackie
"The green one. It matches your skin tone and it goes well with your hair" Jackie answered and crossed her arms. She was more than annoyed at the moment. "Is that why you interrupted my chess match with Steven?"
"Yeah, sorry" Donna sighed "I know, it's silly and I'm probably acting like a twelve year old girl, but I'm just so nervous around him, and I want him to like me"
Jackie smiled softly after hearing Donna's words. She was happy for her friend, her parents were fighting more and more each day, and Eric will help her to forget her problems for a while.
"Donna, stop trying to impress him, he likes you already" She said, placing her hand on top of hers "Don't try to change yourself because of a guy, I'm pretty sure this goes against your feminist ideals"
"You're right" Donna said "I just… I really like him, Jackie. He makes me smile even when my life is a mess, it's the weirdest thing, I want to be near him all the time, and when I'm not I miss him like crazy. He makes me feel different"
Jackie could relate to that. She felt the exact same way about Steven. The only difference between hers and Donna's situation is that Eric actually wants Donna.
"How did you two happen, by the way? You never really told me about it." She asked curiously "I mean, I saw you two making out in the party, and I knew he was going to make a move, if he didn't I would have killed him, but what exactly did he do?"
"Oh, it was completely random" Donna said, blushing furiously "We were talking and he just kissed me"
"Have you two done more than making out?" Jackie asked suspiciously "Because you two were basically dry humping when you barged into the room and interrupted my moment with Steven"
"Your moment with Steven, huh?" Donna said with a mischievous grin "Y'know, you two have been very close this last week, did something finally happen with you two?"
"No, nothing happened" Jackie lied. Sure, nothing big like a kiss, for example, happened, but they had their moments. He has been extra sweet with her since the day of the party, and they are spending a lot of time together. Sometimes, she wondered if there really is a possibility that he likes her back, she wanted that more than anything in the world, because she's pretty sure she's falling in love with him. She'll never forget how good it felt, to lay on his chest while he stroked her hair. If anyone from outside caught them, they would think they're a couple. And they are not, unfortunately. "Don't change the subject, lumberjack! Did you do something dirty with the twizzler boy?"
"First things first, he's not a twizzler" Donna defended her almost boyfriend "And no, we just made out, we're not even officially together yet"
"You two went out every single day in the last seven days, Donna" Jackie deadpanned "You two are boyfriend and girlfriend"
"I'm not assuming anything, Jackie" Donna said "He should be the one making things official. I don't want to jump into conclusions and make a fool of myself"
"You're right" Jackie said after a few seconds "Where are you two going tonight?"
"Oh, we're not going out tonight" Donna said sheepishly "This outfit is for tomorrow"
Jackie sent a death glare to her friend "And you couldn't have asked for my opinion tomorrow?!"
"Sorry, I was nervous!" Donna defended herself
Jackie took a deep breath in order to calm herself. She has no right in being mad at Donna. If she was going on a date with Steven, she would be freaking out too.
"You're forgiven" Jackie said "Can I go back to the basement now?"
She hoped Steven would still be alone in there, so they could continue their chess match. She was finally winning and she wanted to see his face once she finally said "checkmate".
"Sure, I'll go with you. Eric must be up by now" Donna said, taking her hand and dragging her out of her house.
Jackie was kind of disappointed by that. She wanted to be alone with Steven, but it's just Donna and Eric, they don't usually interrupt her moments with him. The problem was…
"AY!" She heard through the basement door and sighed.
When she entered the basement she saw Steven tackling Fez onto the floor, while Eric and Kelso giggled from the couch. Great.
"What's going on?" Donna asked
"Fez nagged Hyde until he let him play chess with him" Eric explained, still laughing "But he flipped the board when he realized he was losing"
"He forgot this is not candyland or monopoly" Kelso said "He actually broke the board, and Hyde is pissed. Like, really pissed"
Jackie glared at the foreign little freak currently being held by Steven onto the floor, and she silently prayed for Steven to use more strength. She liked playing chess with Steven! It was their thing! What was she supposed to do now?
She approached the duo and she placed a nice kick on Fez's shin. He whimpered in pain and Steven let him go.
"Hey" He said "So I assume you're pissed"
"Yes I am" She said, still glaring at Fez's limp figure "Foreigners" She mumbled under her breath
"What are we supposed to do now?" Jackie complained as she sat on the basement couch "Summer has barely started and our chess matches were the only thing keeping me from dying of boredom"
"Same, doll" Hyde muttered
Eric and Donna exchanged a knowing smirk. Donna was considering inviting Jackie and Hyde to join her date with Eric tomorrow, if she's lucky, they'd realize that that would be a double date and maybe something would finally happen between the two.
Except she knew Jackie. Jackie would never go out with her and Eric, Hyde being there or not. She claimed that seeing them making out that time traumatized her for life. She's such a drama queen sometimes.
"I know what we can do!" Kelso said, putting his hand up
"Last time you said that, Donna ended up throwing a party on her house" Eric said
"Yeah, and you got to makeout with her on that same party" Kelso argumented, making Donna blush furiously
"Donna and I also made over 200 bucks because of the party" Jackie said, and Donna glared at her "What? You know we did!"
"Hello! Does anyone care about my idea?" Kelso said, and everyone's attention was back on him
"What's your idea, Michael?" Jackie asked, rolling her eyes. She's still pissed that Fez broke the chess board.
"We should go to six flags!" Kelso suggested, with a big, excited grin on his face
"That's not a shitty idea…" Hyde said, imagining how Jackie's white shirt would look after one of the water rides. He smirked to himself, now that would be a great excuse to lend her his jacket, if he remembers correctly, she looks very good in it.
"Oh! I bet I can get us in for free!" Jackie said, smiling
"You can't get us in for free" Hyde said "This is corporate America, Jackie. People are all money hungry bastards"
"And I'm a pretty girl with a shrill and demanding voice and a dazzling smile" Jackie contradicted him
"You're not wrong, but that ain't enough to get us in for free, doll" He said, and she didn't know if she's supposed to be flattered or offended.
"I don't usually like feeding Jackie's enormous ego" Donna said "But it's true, she can get us in for free. I've seen it happening before"
"I would totally let you in for free, Jackie" Kelso said in a seductive tone, and Hyde wanted to punch him. Jackie just rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, Kelso" Hyde growled, then he turned to look at Jackie "And I stand by my statement"
"Uh! How dare you doubt my persuasion skills!" Jackie indignantly protested "I managed to get Donna to wear lipstick on special occasions! And she carries a chapstick with her because of me!"
Donna rolled her eyes and hid a smile, snuggling closer to Eric, who seemed just as amused as her.
"Pick me up in my house in 30 minutes." Jackie said, taking her purse and Donna's hand, dragging her out of the couch and out of Eric's bony arms "I need to change my shirt, white shirts in amusement parks scream 'pervy boys trying to check you out on the water rides', and I'm not having that!"
Hyde looked at the girl and smirked "Damn it, I was hoping you wouldn't remember that"
"I'm always one step ahead, Steven." She smiled and skipped her way through the door with Donna reluctantly following her "See you in 30 minutes" She said before leaving the basement.
"So I guess we're going to Six Flags" Eric said "I hope I can convince Donna to go to the tunnel of love with me"
"I wonder if Laurie would do it in the tunnel of love with me" Kelso said, and Fez frowned. Hyde just rolled his eyes.
"Kelso, Laurie has been avoiding you for over two weeks. I don't think you two are together anymore" Hyde said
"She said she's getting her phone cleaned, Hyde!" Kelso said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Hyde laughed.
"Do you see anyone cleaning phones right now, Kelso?" Eric asked, incredulous at how dumb Kelso can be "I'm sorry pal, but I think my slutty sister just dumped you"
"She did not!" Kelso protested
"Yes she did" Hyde said with a mischievous smirk "Now you have no girlfriends left, Kelso"
"Uh!" His indignant shriek almost bursted Hyde's eardrums, he'll never understand how Kelso managed to achieve higher octaves than Jackie sometimes.
And when Jackie does that, he thinks it's cute. When Kelso does it, he just wants to throw a rock at his face.
"You're acting like being free of my sister's devilish claws is a bad thing" Eric said "Now your chances of getting an STD are slightly lower"
"You're only bringing my mood down, Eric!" Kelso protested, and Hyde rolled his eyes and scratched his cheek. No one has ever told him that growing a beard would be so itchy.
"Who cares? Laurie is single!" Fez smiled and Hyde felt bad for the guy, having a crush in whorey Laurie must suck.
"That never stopped her from hooking up with random guys before" Eric said, and Kelso glared at him "What? You can't expect fidelity if you're not faithful! Hell, you dated two girls at once!"
"But girls aren't allowed to cheat, Eric! They don't even like sex!" Kelso answered
"God, you're a moron" Hyde said "A chauvinist moron. You should pay more attention to Donna's speeches Kelso, or you're never getting another girlfriend again"
"Who cares about her speeches? Have you seen her jugs?" Kelso dismissed Hyde's comment, and he rolled his eyes
"Quit talking about her that way, Kelso!" Eric said, frogging the boy in the arm. Hyde smiled proudly at him "You're lucky she and Jackie are not here, they would've made you wear your ass as a hat by now"
"I'm still here" Hyde said with a mischievous smirk, and Keldo gulped
"Are we going to six flags or what?" The pretty boy moron asked, and Hyde snickered
"Yeah, sure" Eric said "I'll need to fill up the gas tank before we have to pick up Jackie and Donna though, so let's go"
"Hyde seemed pretty excited about the prospect of you wearing a white shirt to the water rides" Donna said with a smirk
"Please, he was just kidding," Jackie said, grabbing a cute blue blouse. Perfect for her to tie a knot later.
"He was flirting with you, Jackie" Donna pointed out, and Jackie blushed "And you flirted back"
"Of course I did… I..." She mumbled, finishing up her makeup "Look, it doesn't matter. It's playful flirting, it doesn't mean anything to him, he just does it to tease me because we're friends"
"I'm friends with him, and he never did it to me" Donna argued, and Jackie sighed
"It's not the same, Steven and I have this connection and…" She started, trying to find the right words to explain "Ugh, you just don't get it!"
"I'm pretty sure you're the one that doesn't get it, Jackie" Donna said, giving her friend a sad smile. She knows better than to argue with Jackie, but she just wants to see her happy.
Before Jackie could answer, they could hear a honk, and when Donna looked at the window she saw Eric's Vista Cruiser parked in front of the house.
"Saved by the bell" Donna said, looking at Jackie "We will continue this conversation later"
Jackie sighed, she knows there's no getting out of that one, and that she was about to hear an earful later.
Whatever, she can deal with that lumberjack later, right now she needs to look foxy to impress St… the ticket guy. Yeah. Him.
She applied one last layer of her cherry lipgloss and followed Donna out of the room, praying for Kelso to ride shotgun with Donna and Eric again. For no reason at all.
They were all standing near the park's entrance, and Jackie reapplied her lipgloss while Donna held the compact mirror for her. She tied her shirt into one of those sexy knots, exposing a big part of her stomach. "So, how do I look?" She asked
"Like you're about to get us in for free" Kelso smiled "No one can say no to that!" He said, pointing at her, and she grinned.
Hyde didn't answer her question. He was too busy picturing dead puppies and playing an annoying ass ABBA song on his head in order to stay sane. Jackie was going to end up killing him.
"I'm going" She said, straightening herself up "You guys stay here until I give you the sign"
"What sign?" Eric asked
"When she starts to twirl her hair around her finger" Donna answered, and everyone looked questionably at her "What? I like six flags and I don't like spending money!"
Jackie smiled and went to talk with the security guards standing near the entrance. Apparently they're the ones who check out people's tickets and allow them in.
Hyde observed how she added a little jaunt to her step, she looked like a freaking model on a catwalk, and she was already attracting some eyes on her. Male eyes. And Hyde wanted to rip them all out.
He can't deny how hot she looks, with her pretty pouty lips and her stomach exposed… he wanted to grab her in his arms and make her his.
Oh no. He closed his eyes and forced himself to think about the dead puppies again. He's been doing that a lot whenever he's near her.
"Look at her…" Eric muttered, looking at how Jackie was giggling and how the security guy seemed completely hypnotized by her. He can't deny how attractive she is, but she's nothing like his Donna "She really is the devil, it's like she's hypnotizing him"
"Hot girls tend to do that, man" Kelso said, and Fez nodded in agreement
"I told you guys it would work… look!" Donna said, pointing at her "She's twirling her hair on her finger, let's go!"
She grabbed Eric's hand and dragged him with her. The three other boys followed them, and they all snuck inside the park while Jackie distracted the guy. Hyde saw her placing her hand on top of the guy's hand and noticed how he instantly smiled and let her inside the park with a big dumb grin on his face.
He was divided between kicking the guy's ass and congratulating Jackie.
And just like that, Jackie showed up near them with a smug smile on her face.
"Apologize, Steven" She said, crossing her arms, and giving him a cocky look.
"Uh… no" He answered, and she glared at him
"Apologize now!" She stomped her foot and he had to bite back a smile. He needs to stop finding her small tantrums cute, man.
"If I admit I was wrong will you stop nagging me?" He asked, looking annoyed, but she knew him better
"Yes" She answered with a smile "Now apologize for doubting my manipulation skills!"
"Fine. I'm sorry I doubted your manipulation skills, Jackie" He said robotically, but she still smiled
"Thank you! Now, you're going to make up for it by going to the tea cups with me!" She said, grabbing his arm
"You just had to choose the lamest ride of the whole park, didn't you?" He asked, and she smiled and nodded like a kid.
"Yes and you're going with me" She said
"We should go to this new rollercoaster!" Kelso suggested, and pointed at the ride. It had a 90 degree angle drop and Jackie went pale. She never went on a rollercoaster before, and she's pretty sure that rollercoaster is going to end up killing her.
"Now, that's a nice ride!" Hyde said
"Yeah, but the line is huge!" Donna said, and Jackie let out a breath, relieved
"Here's what we're going to do: we're going to go on the other rides for now, and when the rollercoaster line clears up we'll go there" Eric said, and everyone nodded in agreement
"Now, if you all excuse us, Donna and I are going to the tunnel of love" Eric said, smiling and wrapping his arm around Donna's shoulders "Should we meet down here at five? Then we'll grab some food and after that we can check the rollercoaster line again"
Everyone nodded in agreement again, and Donna smiled "Then it's settled, see everyone at five!"
And the gang of six became a gang of four.
"Let's go Fez, there's this candy stand in here and the girl that works there is absolutely hot!" Kelso said, dragging a ecstatic Fez to the other side of the park.
And then there were two.
"Sounds like you're stuck with me, princess" Hyde said, smiling at Jackie, who was trying really hard to contain her excitement.
"So that's a yes to the tea cups?" She asked with a big smile.
He felt like someone cut off his balls, but he couldn't say no to that face. "Only if you let me choose the next ride"
"Okay!" She said, grabbing his hand as they started to walk through the park
"And I promise it's not going to be any rollercoaster for now" He said "You were scared shitless when Kelso mentioned that we should go to that ride"
"You noticed that?" She asked sheepishly "Well, can you blame me? That thing has a 90 degree angle drop, Steven! It's like, physically impossible for a human being to survive that!"
He chuckled "It wouldn't be so popular if it wasn't a safe ride, Jackie. Let's go with the whole gang later, it'll be fun"
"Well… I'll think about it, okay?" She said and he nodded. Her face brightened when she saw the tea cups and he frowned. The damn tea cups are pink with flowers in them!
"You're going to be the death of me, doll" He said as she dragged him to the ride.
She looks so cute with her little tiara, he couldn't stop looking at her.
She claimed that the water ride messed up her hair, so she bought the tiara at the gift shop, and he's been trying to avoid drooling all over her since.
They've been holding hands all day, and neither of them wanted to let go. They sat together at all the rides, and she hid her face on his chest during the ones she considered scary. He didn't even pretend it annoyed him, he just hugged her back and enjoyed the feeling of being this close to her.
They shared a pretzel. That's right. Steven Hyde bought a pretzel, shared it with a chick, and enjoyed it. This is beyond a crush, he's pretty sure she just crawled her way into his brain or something.
"It's almost five" She said, almost gloomily
"We should go meet the other dumbasses to eat" He said, and they made their way to the place they agreed to meet earlier. Everyone was already there waiting for them.
Jackie noticed the small hickey on Eric's neck and laughed "Did you have fun?" She asked, and Donna blushed while Eric smiled
"Oh yeah" He answered, while Fez and Kelso went to take a closer look to the hickey.
"Damn Donna, this is a nice hickey!" Kelso said, making Donna blush even more and making Jackie and Hyde laugh.
"Excuse me" Fez said, approaching Donna "May I have a hickey, please?"
Donna gave him a stupid look "No"
"Please?" He pouted
"No!"
"Jackie?" The weird kid turned to look at Jackie, who grimaced and hid her head on Hyde's chest. Fez did not noticed how Hyde was shooting daggers with his eyes at him.
"Ew, no!" She said
"Please?"
"Dude, I would shut up if I were you" Eric said, pointing at Hyde, who was currently thinking on how to commit murder without getting caught.
Fez gulped and smiled "So, shall we eat?"
Fez went to grab a table, while everyone went to one of the food stands to grab something. Jackie and Donna ordered corndogs, while the guys opted for burgers and fries.
Jackie was going to order herself a drink when Hyde passed his to her without a word. She sent him a confused look and he shrugged.
"I've ordered a large one, we can share" He said, and she smiled, taking a sip of his pop.
"So, what did everyone do today?" Eric asked
"Apparently you and Vampira had plenty of fun" Hyde said, and Jackie covered her mouth with her hand in a failed attempt to repress a giggle.
"Yeah, but…" Eric stuttered, but Fez interrupted him.
"Kelso and I spent the whole day at the candy stand" He said with a big smile "My wallet is almost empty, but Kelso made out with the hot girl who works there and I've got to eat candy and watch a show" He said with a perverted smile
"Yeah, it was a win-win for both of us" Kelso said with a big grin
"So you haven't actually been to any rides?" Jackie asked
"Hey, that chick was a pretty good ride" He answered
"So, let me get this straight. I got us all in for free for Michael to spend the whole day making out with a girl while Fez watched, and Donna and Eric to spend the whole day on only one ride making out and giving each other hickeys?" She asked incredulously
"Yeah, pretty much" Kelso answered "Why, you jealous?"
Jackie grimaced "Ew, no! It was just a tremendous waste of my beauty!" She said "I had to flirt with an old guy for nothing!"
"Hey, not for nothing" Hyde said "We had fun"
She smiled "Yes we did. You know why, Steven? Because we are smart. We got in for free and we mocked the system by going on almost all the rides without paying a thing. Next time, you're all paying. Except Steven"
"You're no fun!" Kelso protested, while Hyde smiled proudly at his doll
"I taught you well, grasshopper"
"Here" He said, begrudgingly handing her a big pink stuffed elephant.
Jackie placed her hand in her heart, and smiled at him "Did you win this for me? You said, and I quote, that you were going to 'take a leak'".
"What? I didn't win this for you..." He said, trying to scowl, but that's almost impossible when he's near her "I stole it after I went to the bathroom"
"Thank you" She said, standing on her tiptoes and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I loved it"
There it was again, the tingly feeling. He wondered if his mouth would tingle too if he kissed her, and he almost turned his face to the side to find out, but he didn't.
"Well…" He said uncomfortably, she was staring at him with those big, beautiful mismatched eyes of hers and smiling at him, and he wanted to kiss her more than anything "It was nothing" He said after a few seconds
"Hyde, Jackie! The rollercoaster line is almost empty, let's go!" Kelso called them, running to the rollercoaster with Fez by his side, and Jackie froze. She was hoping they'd forget about that damn rollercoaster by now.
"Finally, I've been waiting all day" Hyde said with a small smile. He noticed how Jackie didn't look excited at all "Still scared, doll?" He asked softly
"Kind of…" She answered honestly
"We can skip that ride if you want to" He offered, but she shook her head
"No, we're going. You've all been waiting all day for that line to clear up and I don't want to ruin it for you" She said, and he grabbed her hand in his
"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Jackie"
"I'm going" She said, looking determined "I never really went to a rollercoaster before, maybe it's not as bad as I think"
"It's awesome" He said, smiling encouragingly at her "And I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. You're going to dig it"
"Okay then" She smiled, he intertwined their fingers together and they made their way to the line. The whole gang was already waiting for them.
Donna smiled at her friend, of course Hyde would convince her to ride the rollercoaster with them.
"We're almost next" Fez said excitedly "Ah, my first rollercoaster ride! I'm so excited that my stomach hurts!"
"How much candy have you eaten today, Fezzie?" Jackie asked curiously
"Lots of it" He answered with a big smile "This is the candy heaven!"
"Yeah, you're riding with Kelso" Hyde said, pulling Jackie closer to him. She snuggled closer to his side and he gave her a soft smile.
"You think he'll kiss her today?" Donna whispered in Eric's ear, and he laughed
"I sure hope so, this is starting to get frustrating" He whispered back "I've never seen Hyde like this before"
"And I've never seen Jackie like this" Donna answered "It's nice"
"Yeah it is" He said, wrapping his arm around her waist and smiling.
"Still scared?" Hyde asked, and Jackie smiled
"Not as much now that you promised you wouldn't let anything happen to me" She answered "My hero" She joked, and he rolled his eyes, trying to hide an amused grin
"Don't call me that" He said
"But you are!" She teased him, knowing how he gets uncomfortable in these situations "My scruffy, brave hero…"
Before Hyde could continue with their playful banter, some guy bumped into Jackie, making her drop her new stuffed animal to the ground.
"Hey, watch it!" Hyde said, wrapping his arm around Jackie's waist protectively
"Sorry, princess" The guy said, leering at Jackie. He looked like he was about their age, but Hyde had never seen him before "Didn't know they let angels inside amusement parks" He said, not noticing how Hyde was fuming. The rest of the gang did, and they all came closer in case they needed to separate a fight.
"Huh… Thanks?" Jackie said, noticing how Steven was tensing up and how he tightened his grip on her. If this guy doesn't take a hint soon, things can get very bad very quickly "Steven, I don't think I want to go on this ride after all, let's go"
"Why not, angel? I was hoping you'd sit with me, or on me" He laughed, and one of his friends tried to say something to him, obviously trying to avoid a fight. Eric noticed how Hyde's face was getting red with repressed rage and placed his arms on his shoulders, trying to avoid the same thing.
"Chip, leave it man" The other guy said, but Chip gave him a smug smile
"C'mon, this is the hottest chick I've ever seen! And look at how she's dressed like a whore, man! She's basically asking for it!" He said, still laughing, and Hyde's fists tightened. Then the guy decided to slap Jackie's ass, making her jump in surprise.
"Alright, that's it!" Hyde said before shrugging Eric's hands off him and lunging forwards, giving the guy a swift punch in the face. He could feel his nose breaking under his fist.
"Steven!" He heard Jackie's voice when Chip managed to throw a punch back, but he couldn't stop thinking about the smug look on this asshole's face when he slapped Jackie's ass and called her a whore because of the clothes she was wearing. So they just kept punching each other - Hyde was clearly having the upper hand - until he felt someone restraining him.
"Kelso, let me go!" He growled "I'm not finished with this jackass yet"
"Man, just calm down" He heard Kelso saying, but all he could think about was more ways to hurt this Chip guy who was currently laying on the ground "If you keep going like this you're gonna end up killing the dude"
"So?" Hyde said, trying to escape Kelso's arms. Chip's friend grabbed him from the floor and dragged him out of there before security arrived, knowing better than to leave him near Hyde by now.
That's when Hyde heard Jackie's muffled sobs, and he noticed that his doll was currently crying on Donna's arms. His posture instantly softened, but before he could go to her two security guards approached the group. One of them was the one Jackie flirted with in order to get them in without paying. Great.
"What the hell is going on in here?" One of them asked, and Eric explained to him how this Chip guy sexually harassed Jackie in front of them and how Hyde lost his temper because of it.
"Is this true?" The guard asked, and Hyde nodded. That's when he noticed that he had a small scratch on his cheekbone, and that some blood was dripping from it. He also noticed that his hand was also pretty banged up.
Whatever. The other guy looked much worse.
"Where's the other guy?" The guard asked
"His friend dragged him out of here before you arrived" Eric answered "He's pretty banged up, I'm sure you'd find him if you look hard enough"
"Was it really necessary to get into a fight right in the middle of a family friendly park?" The guard asked, looking frazzled
"He groped my chick right in front of me, man! What the hell did you expect me to do?!" Hyde argued, and the guard sighed
"Look, I get it, but there's children in here. This is not the place to get into a bloody fight." The guard said calmly "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave"
Hyde took a deep breath, he hadn't done anything wrong, and he was more than pissed that the guard didn't see that.
"Steven, let it go" He heard Jackie's worried voice, she left Donna's arms and stood next to him.
"Let's just go, Hyde" Forman said "We already went on every fun ride anyways"
"Fine" He relented, letting Jackie drag him away from the small crowd that formed around them.
He told the security guard that Jackie is his chick. Jackie is not his chick, as much as he wants her to be, she's not. Because he doesn't have the balls to actually ask her out.
She was still sniffling as the gang made their way to the parking lot, and he wanted to comfort her, he just didn't know how.
"Wait here, I'll go grab you an ice pack" She said as they were almost at the parking lot
"Jackie, there's no need…" He started, but she interrupted him
"Yes there is" She said, wiping her face "It'll only take a minute, I'll go to that small food stand over there, they probably have ice"
"Jackie…"
"I'll go with you" Forman offered, for everyone's surprise. Donna couldn't repress a smile, Eric and Jackie argued a lot, but deep down she knew they liked each other. They're kind of like siblings who are on each other's throats all the time, but would kill anyone who dared to mess with them other than themselves, if that makes any sense. "You can start up the car, it'll only take a minute" He said, handing the keys to Hyde and going with Jackie, placing a hand on the small of her back.
"Can I take this thing off now?" Hyde asked, lifting the ice pack out of his bruised hand as Eric parked the car on the driveway. He already dropped Fez and Kelso at home.
"Mrs. Forman is the nurse, she's deciding that" Jackie answered
"C'mon Jackie, she doesn't need to know" Hyde said, but she silenced him with a glare
"It's either my mom or a hospital, man" Eric said apologetically
"I'm fine!" He protested, as Jackie dragged him into the Forman's kitchen, followed by Donna and Forman.
Mrs. Forman promptly stopped drying the dishes and ran to Hyde's direction.
"Oh my God Steven, what happened?" Mrs. Forman asked, grabbing his face on her hands to check the damage.
"Did your dumbass get into a fight?" Red asked, annoyed
"Huh… I think I'll head to the Hub, Donna?" Eric said awkwardly, and without saying a word, Donna followed him out of the house.
"Yeah" Hyde said, grimacing when Mrs. Forman forced him to sit on one of the kitchen chairs "But I'm fine"
"No, you're not!" Mrs. Forman said, showing up with a first aid kit and removing the ice pack off his hand "What happened?"
Before Hyde could think of an excuse, Jackie decided to speak up for him.
"Some guy called me names and… well… groped me on the line for the rollercoaster" She said, lowering her gaze to the floor, looking embarrassed "And Steven here couldn't wait for security to arrive, he just had to punch the guy!"
"Oh, my poor, romantic, Steven!" Mrs. Forman said, hugging him. "Your hand should be fine, by the way. Just need to clean a couple of scratches in it and that's it"
Red smirked at the boy he considers to be his son, he raised him well "Atta boy"
"What?!" Jackie protested "He's hurt! He shouldn't have done that!"
"And that's my cue to leave" Red said, going to the living room
"You're right, honey" Mrs. Forman said, clutching the first aid kit "But he only did it because he cares about you"
Jackie's eyes softened, and she sighed before nodding.
"Can I?" Jackie asked, pointing at the small kit on her hands, and Mrs. Forman just smiled and nodded, handing the smaller girl the first aid kit and leaving the kitchen.
Hyde looked into Jackie's beautiful mismatched eyes and noticed how red they were. They were red because of him, because he made her cry. He instantly felt like shit.
Before he could apologize for making her cry, Jackie started to talk, while grabbing what he assumed to be medicine from the first aid kit.
"You've got some serious anger issues, Steven" Jackie said sternly "Give me your hand"
"I've punched many people before Jackie, my hand will be fine" He said, but she was not having it.
"I don't care, give me your hand"
"Fine" He mumbled, as she analyzed his bruised hand with her dainty fingers. She sighed before grabbing a piece of cotton with some antiseptic on it.
"You could've got seriously hurt, Steven" She said, while tending his hand gently "Next time, let security deal with it"
"What was I supposed to do, Jackie? Let the guy maul you until those lazy ass security guards arrived?" He asked indignantly
"I'm not a sweet little innocent girl, Steven!" She said, delicately rubbing a weird kind of ointment on his bruised cheekbone "I can defend myself! Do you even know how dangerous it is to punch random people? What if he'd hurt you?"
"I would've dealt with it" He answered
"No Steven. You don't know this guy. What if he had a knife, or a gun?" She asked, and grabbed his unbruised hand, softly running her thumb against his wrist. "You could've got hurt" She repeated in a small voice.
"But I didn't," He said softly, engulfing her tiny hand with his larger one. She gave him a pointed look and he sighed "The other guy was much worse"
"Look, Steven, I don't care, okay?" She sounded genuinely upset, and he felt like shit again "Just promise me you'll try to control yourself if that ever happens again. I don't want you to get hurt, I care about you."
Her words melted the heart he claims he doesn't have, the heart that's been more alive than ever since Jackie showed up in his life.
"I'm sorry for making you cry, doll" He said honestly "But I meant what I said earlier, alright? I will never let anything happen to you, I care about you too"
She sighed. She knew he wasn't sorry about the fight, but hearing him saying he cares about her… that made her want to wrap him in her arms and never let go. But that doesn't make it what he did right.
She delicately ran the pad of her thumb over the small scratch on his cheekbone, and he closed his eyes at her touch.
"Steven, I get why you did what you did" She said "But please, just promise me that you'll try to control your temper if something like that ever happens again, please"
"Alright" He said after a few seconds, opening his eyes to look at her "I promise"
"Thank you" She said, closing the first aid kit and getting her purse from the top of the kitchen counter "I should leave now"
"Do you need a ride?" He offered, wanting some more alone time with her. She still looked upset, and he doesn't want her to be upset with him.
"No, it's okay, I'm sleeping at Donna's tonight" She said, giving him a sad smile "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Go get some rest"
Before he could think of something else to say, she kissed his forehead and left through the sliding door.
He couldn't sleep. It's still early, and he couldn't stop thinking about Jackie, so he stayed on his chair in the basement, reflecting on the day's events.
What if she's really upset with him?
He's sorry he didn't try harder to control his temper, and he's sorry Jackie had to see the whole thing, but he's not sorry for punching that guy, he got what he deserved. He doesn't regret teaching him a lesson, no one insults Jackie in front of him and gets away with it. No one.
He knows that he's getting territorial and that his thoughts sometimes don't even make sense, Jackie is not even his girl.
"How's the hand?" Donna asked as she entered the basement with Eric by her side
"Better" He answered, hoping they would let the subject go "Jackie just went to your house, is she all alone there?"
"No, my parents are home. And I've just stopped by to see her, she went to take a bath, she's really bummed" She answered, and Hyde groaned internally.
"Crap" He mumbled "She's still upset?"
"She'll be fine, she's just worn out, it's been a long day" She answered "Don't worry, she's not upset with you"
Hyde let out a breath, relieved.
Donna noticed that, and she sighed. If Jackie knew what she was about to do, she would kill her. She gave Eric a look, and he understood she wanted to talk with Hyde alone. He left the basement, mumbling something about seeing if his mother made cookies.
"Alright, I'm only going to say this once" Donna said "I'm breaking the girl code here, Hyde! Jackie is going to kill me! But I can't take it anymore so…"
"Wait, hold on" He interrupted her "Girls have a code too?"
"Oh dear lord…" She muttered, boys are so dumb "Focus Hyde! Jackie likes you!"
He stared at Donna for a few seconds, completely dumbfounded by her statement.
"She… what?"
"She likes you! She's been liking you for a while now and the fact that you haven't noticed it yet makes me seriously question your intelligence!" She yelled, exasperated.
"Huh…" He mumbled, trying to assimilate the new information.
First he and Jackie behaved like a couple on Six Flags, and neither of them was drunk or high, so they couldn't hide behind that excuse anymore. Then, some sleazy asshole groped her on the line of the rollercoaster, even though she was holding his hand, it's like the guy wanted to get beat up. And to finalize the day, they got kicked out of the park and now Jackie's upset because she was afraid of him getting hurt.
Holy crap. She likes him!
"Hyde?" He heard Donna's voice and focused his attention back on her "Are you high?"
"No, I'm not high" He defended himself "I was just trying to process the new information"
"You haven't said a thing for like, 5 minutes" She said
"Sorry" He mumbled, he was still dumbfounded.
"So, what are you going to do about it?" She asked
"I haven't really thought about that part" He confessed
"Well, you better think of something quick" She said "Because Jackie thinks you would never like her that way"
Wait, what?
Jackie Burkhart, the most confident and badass chick he knows, thinks he wouldn't like her? How on earth can she possibly think that?
She's beautiful, and cute, and adorable in general. But she's also feisty, and smart and kind of a rebel, if you disregard her love for capitalism. How can someone not like her?
"Why would she think that?" He asked, genuinely confused
"How the hell am I supposed to know? She's Jackie, she's crazy!" Donna said, raising her hands in frustration "She thinks you only want to be her friend and that she's not your type. She said, and I quote 'Steven's type are blondes, with big boobs and whorey, he would never like me!'" She said, trying to imitate Jackie's shrill voice and rolling her eyes "Honestly, you two are so dumb! I want to smack you both on the head!"
He stared at Donna, finding himself speechless for the first time in his life.
"You are supposed to say something right now!" Donna yelled, startling him
If she's so annoyed by this whole situation, then she's probably not lying. She's probably just as fed up as he was about her and Forman.
Which means that Jackie Burkhart actually likes him, and wants to be more than his friend.
He fantasized about having her for so long, but he never thought he would actually have a chance with her.
So he looked at Donna and smiled, a genuine smile. "Thank you, Donna"
She raised an eyebrow at him "That's it, you're not going to do something?"
"I am" He said, not fighting the dumb grin that's currently on his face "And you won't tell Jackie a thing,
"Okay… then I guess my work here is done" She said, losing the tension on her shoulders and smiling "Wow, I feel so much better now! I'm going to go see Eric!"
"Have fun" Hyde said, grinning at the red head
"Oh, I will" She replied, already halfway through the stairs "And you better really do something, or I'll kick your ass!"
He smiled and watched her figure leaving the basement.
Oh, he's gonna do something alright.
Because Jackie likes him. And she deserves to know that he likes her too.
A/N: I wrote this chapter from scratch in 5 days, and I'm really proud of myself! I hope everyone liked it, the next five or six chapters are literally almost done, since I've written them a while ago.
Also, about Kelso, I'm sorry if he sounds like an ass, but that's literally how the show displayed him. Don't worry, I plan on developing Kelso's character in this story, Brooke is going to show up eventually and he's going to learn how screwed up his ideals are at some point. I know probably not many people care about that, because the main focus of this story is Jackie and Hyde, but I felt bad writing some of Kelso's lines.
This chapter was so fun to write! I had doubts about how to pull Hyde's head out of his ass, Writerperson500 mentioned something about having Donna blowing up on him on a comment in AO3, and I LOVED the idea, so I wrote it! I hope you liked it.
I know I ramble a lot on the notes, and sorry about that, I just get too excited sometimes!
Oh, and remember what I said about creating a tumblr? I did it, and I'm really digging it so far! I would LOVE to interact more with you guys in it, so if you want to follow me, it's .com
(In case the link is not showing up, because I swear I cannot understand this site sometimes, try to check my bio. I've tried to insert my tumblr there. And in case that doesn't work out too, please visit my ao3 account, the user is the same as this one and I'm pretty sure the links work there. Basically, my tumblr user is the same as this one, just add a hyphen in between words)
Seriously, if you want to send me an ask asking me for updates or sneak peaks of my future stories, I would love that. I've created that blog because I really want to interact more with you guys!
I hope everybody liked this chapter, please leave a review telling me what your favorite part was! See you again soon!