A/N: So, did you liked the last chapter? I sure enjoyed writing it.
I feel like I should place another trigger warning: There are mentions of child abuse in this chapter, this time, by Pam, not Edna. It's no big deal for now, but I will focus more on that later in the story. There's also a tiny part that references a past eating disorder. It's like, a sentence, but it can make some people uncomfortable. As mentioned in the last chapter, Edna abused Hyde mentally and physically, Pam was not a physical abuser, but the stuff she used to say and encourage Jackie to do had a really big impact on her life.
Enjoy your reading!
Chapter sixteen:
DONNA
"Hey Jackie, mind if I use the phone for a second?" I ask, she nods
Jackie's been on the phone with Hyde for almost 30 minutes, and he's been gone for less than 24 hours! Besides, it's still morning, Jackie and Hyde tend to have their daily phone conversations at night, so I can't help but be just a little annoyed by it.
They've got officially back together on Valentine's day, I don't know much about how the hell did that happened because I didn't talked to Jackie about it yet, she spent the whole day yesterday sucking Hyde's face off before he and Eric left to Point Place, but I did saw a giant bouquet of pink roses in the kitchen and Jackie's been wearing a new necklace. I assume that probably has something to do with it.
"See you this weekend baby" I hear Jackie saying "I love you too, Pudding pop"
I look at her and she has the biggest smile on her face, I really want to pretend I'm annoyed but I'm actually really happy for them, after everything they've been through, they definitely deserve it.
"Oh hey Donna" Jackie notices me and smiles "Steven asked me to tell you that he's not driving Eric here this weekend"
"Why?" I ask
"Because I'm going to spend the weekend in Point Place again, I was hoping you would come with me…?" She announces and looks expectantly at me
"Oh, I have to study, but I can bring my books with me" I say, smiling, our last visit to Point Place was really pleasant, I was actually hoping we could go again soon. But then I remember my dad and his very weird relationship with Pam Macy and I frown, as much as I want to go see The Formans and Fez again, I am not ready to see my father with that skank "Actually, thinking more about it… I don't think I'm ready to see the abomination that is my dad and Pam Macy together, so I think I'm going to skip it"
She smiles sadly at me "Oh, I almost forgot about that. That really sucks, y'know? That's why I'm taking you out for mani and pedis tomorrow! I'll even pick you up at college!" She says enthusiastically
I chuckle a little, it's really cool that Jackie wants to cheer me up, even if I'm not really in the mood of spending a couple hours at the salon, I nod at her and she hugs me excitedly "Deal. Do you think that Eric will be able to drive here this weekend? It's been over a month since the unicorn incident and he's not limping anymore, maybe he's allowed to drive again?" I say
"Maybe, why don't you call him and ask?" She suggests, reminding me of what I was supposed to do right now
"I'll just call the university first, one of my professors said he was probably not going to be able to show up today and I want to check if he's there, because I only have one class today and that's with him. I don't want to go there today if there's no classes, I'll study right here" I justify and Jackie smiled, nodding and heading to the bathroom to get ready for her day
After a very frustrating phone call (those secretaries are very rude!) I find out that my professor is sick and I actually don't have any classes today, so I technically have the day off.
Only technically though, because I am starting to work on a paper about the history of rock music and I'm actually pretty excited about it, if I don't get the best grade I'll be super pissed.
Maybe I can ask Hyde for some information, like the bestseller album of his store and the bestseller band.
Speaking of Hyde, I should probably call Eric, I got used to seeing him during the weekends and I'll genuinely miss him (a lot) if he doesn't show up here this week.
So I dial the number that I have memorized since I was 6 and wait for someone to pick up.
"Hello?" I hear a familiar voice and I smile
"Hey Mrs. Forman!" I say enthusiastically, I really miss her
"Donna! Oh my goodness it feels like I haven't seen you since forever!"
"Mrs. Forman, it's been a month"
"I know, but it feels like forever! I still got Eric, Steven and Fez but it's not the same without you and Jackie here, and now that the boys are going to Chicago all the time I get pretty lonely on the weekends, you know? I wish you two would come over more often" She rambled
"Well, apparently Jackie is coming over this weekend, I don't know the details but she already talked to Hyde so…"
"Oh this is wonderful news! Why hasn't Steven said anything?" She wondered
"They got off the phone like, 15 minutes ago, he'll probably tell you later today"
"Okay then. So, I assume you want to talk to Eric?" She asks
"Yeah, he's not asleep, is he?" I ask, remembering how Eric tends to sleep until noon if he's got nothing to do during the day
"No, no! He's in the basement with Fez, wait a second dear, I'll call him…" She says, then I hear a muffled scream "ERIC!"
In less than 30 seconds I hear Eric's voice and I smile "Hey there, my little muffin"
I laugh "Hey Eric"
"So, how's your day so far?" He asks
"Well, it barely started, although I do have the day off school today, my professor is sick" I answer him
"What do you mean it barely started? It's like, almost 11, Donna!"
"Don't tell me about it, Eric Forman is awake before noon, I'm surprised" I say playfully
"Actually… I decided I'm not going to be a lazy ass anymore, big surprise huh?" He laughs "I was actually looking through some college brochures when you called, I think if I try really hard, I can start in University of Chicago this fall"
My heart skips a beat and I grin from ear to ear "Really?"
"Yeah, apparently colleges really like people who spent 6 months on Africa teaching underprivileged kids" He says "Actually, now that I'm researching more about UC, I don't really get why I wanted to go to UW at first place, I mean, there's a class in UC called 'The Importance of Jedi Culture on our Society', Donna"
"I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of geeks in this class, so you'll be able to make friends quickly" I joke
"Ha ha, joke all you want missy, but those geeks are the future billionaires, of course I'll be making friends with them" He states and I roll my eyes
"Anyways, Jackie just told me that Hyde won't be able to drive you here this weekend" I say
"Yeah, I was hoping you would come with Jackie"
"About that… I don't think I'm ready to see my father with Pam Macy yet, Eric. Are you sure you cannot drive here for the weekend?" I ask in a pleading tone
"I'll have to ask my mother, but I think it's okay for me to drive now" He says "Holy shit, baby, I gotta go, I promised Hyde that I would supervise his store while he has lunch with WB" He says
"Okay, tell him I said hi"
"I will. See you this weekend, cherry muffin" He says and I smile
"See you this weekend, little snickerdoodle" I say and I hang up the phone
"Little snickerdoodle, Donna, seriously?" I hear a voice next to me and I see Jackie sitting next to me on the couch
"Oh, you're one to talk, Mrs. Pudding Pop!" I retort
Jackie rolls her eyes "Pudding pop is a very sweet nickname with a history behind it, and for your information, Steven loves it"
"One: how the hell does that nickname have a history? Two: there's no way Hyde actually likes you calling him Pudding pop" I argue
"I already told you Steven is a very different person when he's alone with me, and you told me you would stop mocking him for being affectionate in public!" She glares at me
"I'm mocking him behind his back, that doesn't count" I protest, then my gaze softened a bit "And I guess Hyde seems really different when he's alone with you... it's actually very cute"
"It is, isn't it?" She beams "But don't tell Steven that, he's getting way better at the public displays of affection part, but he's still hates when people call him cute" she warned me "And if I know you, you will not want to know the history behind the nickname Pudding Pop"
I grimace "It's dirty, isn't it?"
"Well it was a very hot summer day and there were no more pudding pops in the freezer, so Steven kindly..."
"EW!" I cover my ears with my hands in horror "You're right, I don't want to know" I cringe
"See? I warned you!"
"I still want to know what's his nickname for you, I've always wondered" I say
"Donna, you're supposed to be the smart one of the group" Jackie rolls her eyes
"What do you mean by that?" I frown, insulted by her last statement because dammit I am smart
"Steven uses my nickname in public all the time, especially now. There's no way you haven't figured it out yet"
"He calls you by your name, Jackie. Well, I've heard him calling you Jacks a few times... and he called you baby once, is it one of these?" I wonder
"Donna, I love you, but if you haven't noticed it so far, then you're as dumb as Michael, no offense"
"You take that back!" I yell
"I'll give you a hint, it starts with a 'D', ends with a 'oll'..." She says like she's talking to a child and I roll my eyes, until I got the nickname
"Doll?" I frown in confusion, then my eyes widened in realization "Oh my God, he calls you his doll all the time! How the hell didn't I notice it before?"
Jackie smiles widely "He just does it so naturally by now, it's so sweet"
"But doll is not a nickname to be embarrassed about, it's kind of cute, it's not cringy like Pudding Pop..." I state, and she rolls her eyes
"I already told you that the nickname Pudding Pop has a deeper meaning, and if you don't shut up about it I will tell you the whole story" Jackie threatened me "Steven calls me his doll, yes, but see, he uses a variation of nicknames related to dolls. Mostly babydoll and dollface"
"Y'know, Eric tried to call me pumpkin once, he freaked me out because my dad calls me pumpkin, I remember I cut him off for a week after that" I remember that day clearly, and to make everything worse he said while we were having sex
"Speaking of it, Steven also calls me his grasshopper sometimes, mostly when he's trying to play teacher when we're..." Jackie smiles and looks like she's lost in her own thoughts
"JACKIE!" I interrupted "In what circumstances are we allowed to talk about sex?"
"Only when we're drunk or Eric does something stupid" Jackie says robotically, rolling her eyes in the process
"By the way, how could you give me such a hard time about doing it on the couch with Eric when we caught you and Hyde about to do it on this couch this saturday?" I ask
"We didn't had sex" She says and I gotta confess I'm a little surprised by that "We both agreed that even though we love and cherish each other, we can't rush into things"
"That's really mature of you guys" I say, smiling at the midget "But this celibacy thing must be hard, especially now that you two are back together. You two are back together, right?" I ask
"Yeah" She smiles
"May I ask what made you decide you were ready?" I ask curiously
"Well, I've been thinking about taking him back since that day he went to see my father in prison with me" She explains "Actually, no, I've been thinking about it since the day he showed up here and owned up to his mistakes, I started to trust him again when he went to see my dad with me"
"I mean, my dad seemed to like him, and that's really important to me" She continues "I wanted to kiss him all the time, he was being so sweet, consoling me. But we still had a lot to talk about. In this last month we talked about everything, and he's really opening up to me Donna" She says
"I noticed that" I smile "I mean, he's actually telling you he loves you in front of everyone, and he looks really happy. You two look really happy together"
"I know! I couldn't resist it anymore and I kissed him on your birthday, after you and Eric went to… well" She shrugs and resumed talking "It was just a tiny peck, but I was already planning on taking him back, I was just waiting until the next day because I was tired and I knew that we would have to talk. So, on saturday, he woke me up with breakfast in bed and… wait, I already told you that part. After you and Eric left, we spent the whole day with Betsy, it was amazing, Donna! It made me think about the future and he's actually good with Betsy, he changed her diaper all by himself!" She squealed with joy
"Hyde changed a dirty diaper?" I ask incredulously. I know he's changed for Jackie, it's pretty obvious, but Hyde was never a softie, I never imagined him changing an actual diaper. Scratch that, I never imagined him being comfortable around a baby in first place
"He did, I didn't even ask him to, he offered! Then while he was changing her diaper the doorbell rang and I received the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen Donna! He ordered them and got them delivered, he even wrote a card!" Her eyes are filled with unshed tears and she's smiling "I already knew we were going to get back together before the flowers, I was just waiting for Michael and Brooke to pick up Betsy so we could talk in private, but then the flowers came… Donna, I deserve an award for not jumping into him at the time and traumatizing Betsy for life. I just kissed him and I hugged him when all I wanted to do was rip his clothes off his body"
I chuckle, celibacy is not going to be easy for those two.
"Then Betsy fell asleep and we talked. He actually wants a future with me, Donna, he even said he wants kids one day! So I just… I felt like we finally solved our problems, you know? Like the worst part is over. Then he gave me this necklace and said some beautiful things and I just kissed him the way I've been wanting to do for a while" She finished, a few tears of joy leaving her eyes
God, it's so good seeing Jackie like this. When we first moved to Chicago she moped around all day, and cried all night. With time she was starting to get better, but she wasn't happy, everyone could see that.
Jackie has been through some serious shit that I've never imagined before, she is such a good actress, no one has any idea about how much she suffered with her mother. When she told me the things her mother used to say to her, I felt like shit for letting her move back in with her again.
There was one specific day that Jackie was feeling extra down, and she opened up to me about her childhood. Her mother is a vain, shallow, heartless bitch who only cares about appearances and nothing else. Jackie told me all about how her mother used to weight her at least 3 times a week, how her mother forbided her to eat fattening foods, how her mother taught her how to starve herself when she was fucking 12 years old, and how her mother constantly put her down and crushed her selfsteem during her entire life.
Jackie actually told me that she actually ate bacon for the first time at the Formans.
After everything Jackie's been through with her mother, Kelso, her father's arrest, and Hyde, I thought she was going to hit rock bottom. She probably would have, if she stayed in Point Place. That's one of the many reasons why I do not regret moving here with her.
Jackie deserves happiness, and if Hyde ever hurt her again I swear to God that he won't live enough to apologize, because I'll kill him with my bare hands. But I have this feeling that this time, he won't bail.
"Jackie, I'm so happy for you" I say, smiling at my favorite midget
"Me too" She beams "You know, for the first time in a really long time, I feel like I'm finally actually happy"
"Good, you deserve it" I say and I hug her "By the way, why are you going back to Point Place this weekend?" I ask
"Oh, Steven and I are going to visit my dad in prison again" She answers
Jackie gets up from the couch and grabbed her coat and her purse, ready to leave for work
"You surprise me everyday, you know that, right?" I say
"I know, that's one of the many benefits of being best friends with Jackie Burkhart" Jackie smiled "By the way, I left a sandwich for you in the fridge, because I'm that amazing" She blew me a kiss and headed to work.
I've spent the last 3 hours researching for information for my paper, I've read through almost all the Rolling Stone magazines I own, writing down all the things I think I'll be able to incorporate in my paper.
It's so gratifying, doing this kind of stuff. I've always loved music and I've always loved writing, working for the Rolling Stone magazine would be a dream come true, can you imagine? I would work with two things that I love: writing and music.
The Rolling Stone magazine has offices in Chicago, maybe when I graduate from college…
No, now it's not the time to think about it, I need to focus on the present and finish my paper first, it's due in two weeks but as I said, I want it to be perfect.
But in order to continue working on it I need a fucking rest. My head hurts, I'm hungry, and Jackie mentioned that she left a sandwich for me in the fridge.
I open the fridge and I smile, yep, she made me a chicken salad sandwich, there's even a pink post-it glued to the container.
"To my favorite lumberjack, enjoy your lunch.
Love, Jackie "
Jackie can be so thoughtful when she wants to, she's not so good with words, but she compensates it with her actions. Leaving me a sandwich, giving me a mani, taking me out to see a movie… it's those small things that she does that make me really thankful to have her in my life. I wish it didn't took me so long to value her friendship like it did. She's my tiny little sister and I would kill for her.
And she makes great sandwiches.
I finish my sandwich and I grab a bottle of pop from the fridge, sitting on the couch and turning on the TV. I can continue to work on my paper later, I seriously need to rest right now.
I watch a couple episodes of Little House on the Prairie, and I'm finally able to properly rest my mind, my head has been a mess since my dad called me on my birthday.
But of course, my subconscious obviously doesn't enjoy the peace and quiet and I start to think about Eric. What happens if he gets into University of Chicago? Are we going to live together? What about Jackie? Is Eric moving in with me and Jackie? Will Jackie be okay with that? Will Eric be okay with that? Maybe we will have to search for our own apartment, but I don't want to leave Jackie alone, maybe Hyde can move in with her? And what the hell are we going to do if Eric doesn't get accepted here, in Chicago? I really want to think we will be able to work things out if he ends up moving to Madison but I'm not really sure, I mean, we're fine now, because he's not doing anything and we can see each other on the weekends but once he starts with college he will get busier and I don't know if we're going to be able to see each other so frequently anymore.
My thoughts are interrupted by the phone, and at this moment I thank the universe for making this phone ring right when I'm about to have a mental breakdown.
I pick up the phone and I hear a strange voice on the other side of the line "Is this the residence of Miss Jacqueline Burkhart?"
HYDE
Best fucking weekend ever.
Man, Jackie is my girlfriend again. Jackie is my girlfriend. I never thought such a simple phrase could cause so much joy to a human being.
She's so… she's perfect. I would rather die than screw this up again, I wasn't joking when I said I couldn't live without her, and now that I finally have her again… I can't lose her again, I just can't.
Getting her back wasn't easy, for the first time in my life I actually tore down all the walls that I've built since I was a child, I knew that was a necessary step if I really wanted to be with her again. So I did it, I was honest, I talked about my feelings and I don't regret it at all.
Because I've spent 6 months without her, and those were the worst 6 months of my entire life. I always thought that talking about my feelings would make me weak and vulnerable, but that's just a load of crap. I was weak when I made her think I didn't love her, when I took her for granted, and ended up losing her in the end. In the end it was actually pretty easy, talking to her about that stuff, at first I was a little uncomfortable, but I forgot everything about it whenever I saw her smiling.
So there's no more walls with Jackie, and now that we're back together I refuse to be the same guy I was before, I'm no longer the asshole who managed to lose the best thing that ever happened to him. I am in it for the long run now, I even asked her father for his blessing for Christ's sake. I'm doing things right this time.
I enjoy making Jackie happy, and as much as I claim to despise Valentine's day, Jackie always loved it, so I did everything I could to make her day perfect, little did I know that my day would be perfect too. I plan on giving her flowers more often, the way she smiled at me when she got that bouquet… I want to see her smiling like this for the rest of my life.
Speaking of happiness, who knew I would actually enjoy spending a whole afternoon with a baby? I actually kept wondering if that's what's going to be like when Jackie and I have our own children, because as simple and domestic as it was, Saturday was probably the best day of my life. I'm kind of looking forward to having more days like these with Jackie.
Whenever I saw her playing with Betsy, I could see her playing with our own kid. I could see her calling the kids and the dog in for dinner. I could see myself slapping her ass, making her laugh and making our kids roll their eyes in disgust. I could see myself lifting her onto the kitchen counter to kiss her as the food burn in the stove. I could see her pregnant, waking me up in the middle of the night to get her ice cream. I could see it all and I realized that I really want that. It made my heart ache in anticipation.
I want to marry her, I want to have children with her, I want a life with her.
She took me by surprise, kissing me on friday night, and she kissed me a few more times during the day on saturday, but at night, she really kissed me and that was probably the best kiss I've ever had in my life.
Later that night, after a few makeout sessions, she told me she's never taking that necklace off, because it feels like she's carrying a piece of me on her neck. I just wanted to hold her close and never let her go after that, that girl loves me way too much, sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it.
We spent the rest of the night alternating between talking and making out, in one of our talks, we agreed that we should wait before we have sex, we want to take things slow in the beginning, and I think she's afraid that sex is going to mess everything up.
I love having sex with Jackie, and I'm not gonna lie and say that I didn't wanted to have sex with her this weekend, but honestly, I get why she wants to wait and I'll wait as long as it takes, because I'm finally able to kiss her and call her my girlfriend again and that's good enough for me.
Saying goodbye yesterday was harder than I thought, it was hard already when we weren't officially together, but now… I just wanted to put her in my pocket and take her with me anywhere I go. I knew it was going to be like this, I've known that since I decided to go to Chicago in the New Years in the first place, that's why I asked WB to meet me today.
I want to move to Chicago, I've always wondered what would be like, living in a big city. And I want to be with Jackie, all I know is that she is not giving up her job for me again, I refuse to let that happen, I've said it many times and I'll say it again: Jackie is too good to stay in Point Place.
Jackie and I talked on the phone earlier this morning, I told her this weekend that I have to meet with WB (she doesn't know why) and she called to wish me good luck. She also reminded me that she's coming to Point Place this weekend because we are going to visit her dad in prison again.
WB always liked Jackie (despite her insulting Angie a few times), and he mentioned to me a couple times that I should get her back. I think he'll be glad to know that I finally did, I need to talk to him about moving to Chicago. I don't expect it to be quick, even though he has a corporate office there and a couple stores, he's not a miracle worker. Besides, there's the store in Point Place, I want to make sure I'll leave it in good hands when I move.
WB is going to meet me here, at the store, at any minute now, that's why I asked Forman to keep an eye on it, because WB and I are going for lunch.
Forman arrived like an hour ago, and he just had to bring his toys with him. He's currently building a lego set behind the counter, I should've just asked Dom to take care of things while I'm gone.
"Hey son" I snap out of my daze when I hear my dad
"WB" I shake his hand "Man, when did you get here?"
"About 5 minutes ago, you're looking really thoughtful today" He says and raises an eyebrow at me "You're not high right now, are you?"
"What? No" I answer him "I was just thinking about some stuff"
"Okay then, shall we go?" He asks and I nod, following him out of the store
WB drived us to the same restaurant we ate when he offered me a job at his corporate office. Jackie followed us here just so she could snap some candid photos of me and my dad, at the time it annoyed me a bit, but now I realize she was just really happy for me and wanted me to remember that moment.
"So, how're things going at the store?"
"They've been fine. This new guy I hired a couple months ago, Dom, he's pretty cool. He's been helping me a lot" I say
"And how are things going with Jackie?" He asks, taking me by surprise. I could swear I haven't told him I was planning on getting her back
"How do you know?" I ask
"You look happy, the last time I saw you like this you were with Jackie" He says with a small smile "And also, Kitty told me"
Ah, that makes more sense.
"Mrs. Forman told you? When?"
"A couple weeks ago I called, I was in town and wanted to see you, she told me you were in Chicago with Jackie" He grinned "So, tell me, when did you finally got your head out of your ass and decided to do the right thing?" He asks
"New years" I answer "But I was thinking about it for a while, I just didn't had the guts to do anything about it until Forman arrived"
"And how are things with her?" He asks curiously
"She took me back this weekend" I smile, thinking about how this was the best weekend of my life "But she and I have been talking since the first week of January, she needed time to forgive me and everything"
"I can see why" WB says sternly "Look, I didn't say anything much before because I didn't want to upset you, but you almost ruined your life, son. I mean, marrying a stripper? What were you thinking? You're really lucky you two weren't actually married, you have no idea how ex-wives like to take your money. Believe me, I've got four, I know what I'm talking about"
"You don't need to tell me that" I say, lucky for me, Sam was dumb as fuck, Fez was right when he said she was dumber than Kelso
"And Jackie… Jackie didn't deserve that, she's kind of eccentric but she really loved you, it was written all over her face. You should've seen her the day we first met at the Formans, she was almost jumping into my throat" He says, and I raise an eyebrow in confusion
"Why?" I ask "Because of the money thing?"
"Yeah, if you hadn't dramatically stomped out of the room you wouldn't have missed her lecture" He chuckled
My mouth twitched upwards "Yeah?"
"Oh, yes. She called me rude, wrong, and told me she couldn't be friends with me" He says with a small grin on his face "She also said I was wrong about you and that you were perfect"
I grinned, of course she said that, little does she know that she's the perfect one "She never told me any of that"
"Well, I don't think she said it to win brownie points, son. I think she was honestly defending you"
"I know" I sigh "WB, Jackie is kind of the reason I asked to meet you in the first place, you see, she's living in Chicago now…"
"And you want to be with her" He completed my sentence for me and I nodded "Don't worry about it, we can work this out. It will take a while though"
"I figured so, but that's okay, I'll just keep spending the weekends with her for now, but can you tell me how long do you think it will take?" I ask apprehensively
"I've been thinking about opening a new Grooves in Chicago for a while now, you've done such a good job with the store here, I want you to manage something in Chicago as well" He says "I've been thinking on expanding Grooves, I was actually looking forward to tell you about this idea I've had a few weeks ago"
"What idea?" I ask curiously
"Look, call me crazy, but I've been thinking… I was in Milwaukee one night, I had nothing to do, and I passed in front of the most interesting place. It was a bar, but not a regular bar. See, have you paid attention to history classes at school?" WB asked
I was about to answer 'hell no', you know, to maintain the badass reputation I've spent so many years building, but history was actually the only class I enjoyed watching. So I just nodded.
"Remember when they taught you about the Eighteenth Amendment?"
"That's the one that made booze illegal, right?" I ask
"Exactly, but that didn't stop us americans from drinking. That's when the Speakeasies surged. Those were hidden bars in the basement of other establishments" He explained and I think I know what he's thinking, and if he's thinking what I think he is, then that's like, really cool.
"This place, it was an actual bar, a regular one. But I kept seeing a lot of people going in and out of one specific door and I asked the bartender what that was about. He said that underneath the bar there was a punk club, see where I'm getting with this?" He says and I smile
"You want to build a club underneath a Grooves store?" I ask and he smiled and nodded "That's pretty badass"
"It will be a working record store during the day, and at night it will be a club, those kinds of clubs where garage bands go to play, and stuff like that. What do you think?" He asks
"I think it's awesome" I answer honestly "I would definitely be a regular in a place like this, everybody knows how much I love basements" I smirk
"I want to build one in Chicago and I want you to manage it" He deadpanned
I'm speechless. This is so cool, and unique. But I don't get how it will work exactly.
"Wait, but if it will work during the day as a record store and during the night as a club, I mean, how is that going to work exactly?"
"I will find two different managers, one for the record store, one for the club. The club will be underneath the record store. I want you to manage the managers. You'll be the boss" Holy shit.
I can't wait to tell Jackie. This is incredible.
"WB man… are you sure? I mean, this is big"
"Steven, you know music. And I trust you. You did a pretty good job here in Point Place and I think you'll do a pretty good job in Chicago too. So, are you in?" He asks
"Hell yeah I'm in! This is awesome!" I exclaim
"About your previous question: I'll build this place from scratch, I already bought the building, but there's a lot of things to do yet. So, it'll be ready in about 6 months, mid august. Is that alright?" He asks
"I'll talk to Jackie but I think it's fine. WB man…" I start, unsure of what to say
"I know Steven" He smiles "So, let's eat, I want to hear your ideas"
Lunch with WB was pleasant, to say the least. We spent over two hours discussing plans for the new store/club, and I really think it will be a big hit. Jackie will be so excited, I can't wait to tell her.
WB dropped me off at the store. It's almost closing time, so I asked Dom to close the store for me, because I'm exhausted and I also need to take Forman home.
Forman picked up his model and climbed on the Camino's passenger seat.
"How was lunch with WB?" He asks
"It was amazing man, he has this new idea and it's probably one of the most brilliant things I've ever heard" I say enthusiastically
"What is it?" He asks curiously
"I'll tell you about it later today, I want to talk to Jackie first" I answer and he shrugs, analyzing his recently built model, probably searching for any defects
As soon as I parked home, I headed into the kitchen. I was about to pick up the phone to call Jackie when I remembered that she's probably still at work and I'll have to wait a couple hours to talk to her. So Forman and I go straight to the living room, where Red and Kitty are watching the TV.
The minute I saw their faces I knew something was wrong. Mrs. Forman is crying and Red looks bothered by something.
"What happened?" Eric and I asked at the same time
"Eric, sweetie, Donna just called 15 minutes ago, why don't you go to the kitchen and call her back while we talk to Steven?" Mrs. Forman said, and my face went pale. Did something happen to Jackie?
Mrs. Forman didn't have to ask twice, Eric went to use the phone in the kitchen and I was left alone in the living room with Kitty and Red.
Mrs. Forman started to sob again and I looked at Red. I need to know what the hell is going on.
Red was about to open his mouth and explain to me when I heard something on the TV that caught my attention.
"Breaking News: Former city councilman Jack Burkhart, arrested for bribery and embezzlement two years ago in Point Place, was murdered today in Kenosha State Penitentiary by a fellow inmate…"
At the same time I heard Forman screaming from the kitchen.
"WHAT?!"
Oh fuck.
A/N: Shit is getting real, huh?
I would just like to say that from now on the story will take a turn in a different direction.
Someone once told me that the best couples are the ones that have seen each other in their best and worst moments in life, and still managed to stay together and love each other. I completely agree with that statement and I plan on exploring it in this story. In fact, it was one of the reasons I started writing it in first place.
About this chapter structure: at the same time that I love this chapter I kind of don't? I don't know how to explain exactly how I feel about the way I wrote this chapter mostly because I don't even know how I feel about this chapter. I feel like I could've done a better job writing it but at the same time I feel like I did my best. It's a weird feeling.
And I'm a little insecure about the new business Hyde and WB are going to start working on, at the same time that I love the idea I feel that some people might think it's forced.
After this chapter, things will get a little dark. Don't worry, I will place a trigger warning in the beginning of chapters that might be too much for some people.
Let me know if you are liking this fic so far, I have to admit that I'm very insecure, because now that the story is getting more serious I'm afraid that I won't be able to write it properly.
Next chapter will be up soon.