you could love me (if i knew how to lie) Chapter 6, a that '70s show fanfic

Hyde is… mesmerized by her. He can't think of any other way to describe it. This is her in her element- she's bossing around people, she's dancing and shouting and grinning and so strong and graceful- even though she's sweating bullets as she sits next to him, he thinks this is the most beautiful version of Jackie.

CHAPTER SIX

Hyde can't get that almost kiss out of his head.

He was so close to getting with Jackie, so close to finishing the deal- if only Forman and Fez hadn't shown up-

He shakes the thought off. Too late to think about that- he needs another opportunity.

"Steven!" Jackie sits down next to him- a tight squeeze between him and Donna, and she's wearing this short denim dress, her legs are pressed right against his, and all he can see is her big doll eyes staring into his sunglasses.

He clears his throat and scoots away, just slightly, just so he can get some air that's not stained by her perfume, mumbling a quick greeting back.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with me tonight?" Hyde pulls a face- he knows it'll be some chick flick that he'll hate, but Jackie gives him puppy eyes. "We can do dinner after or something, too. Please?"

He sighs. "Fine."

She grins, and Hyde softens a bit. "Great! I'll pick you up at seven."

She flounces back over to her cheerleader friends just before Kelso, sitting on Hyde's other side and eloquent as always, lets out an indignant squawk. "What the hell, Hyde?"

"Hey man, you said you would back off, remember?"

Kelso sputters. "Well- but- she's not supposed to want to hang out with you! She's not supposed to like you!"

Donna, who stood up a second before, flicks him in the head. "Shut up, Kelso. You don't own her." She grabs her bag and walks away, stopping by the cheerleaders to say something to Jackie before heading off to the bathroom.

Hyde turns his attention to Forman. "Pay up."

Forman looks around, feigning shock. "Who, me?"

"Yeah. I'm taking Jackie out. Pay up."

"It's not a date," Kelso says. "She asked you out. Doesn't count."

"Doesn't matter," Hyde says. "It's getting me closer to dating her, which means it's getting Forman closer to dating Donna. Do you want my help or not?"

Forman stares for a moment before sighing and fishing for his wallet. "Fine. But I only have a twenty."

Hyde grins. "Oh, that's fine. I'll get what you owe me out of the Candyland box later."

Jackie shows up at 6:45, which means she sits in the kitchen with Mrs. Forman until 7:10, when Hyde has finally mustered up enough patience to sit through whatever crap Jackie's dragging him off to, and then leaving at 7:20 after Mrs. Forman has told them to have fun and be home by midnight and quietly asked Hyde if they're dating yet, and then missing the first five minutes of the movie because Jackie insists on buying them popcorn because "Steven, I asked you to come, and you paid for the tickets. I can buy popcorn."

The movie sucks. He had expected it to suck, but this is worse than he could have imagined. It's definitely up Jackie's alley though- student council elections and proms and drama- but Hyde wants to gouge his eyes out by the end of it.

And then Jackie starts talking about it.

He wants to hate it. Wants to tell her to shut up about the dumbest movie he's ever seen and talk about something interesting. Wants to tell her that she's being annoying, or abrasive, or any of the other shitty things he's called her before.

But he's enjoying it. Must be a side effect of how much time he's spent with her.

She hands him the keys to her dad's car and finally slows down her discussion of the practicality of prom hookups long enough for Hyde to say, "Where are we going for dinner?"

She thinks for a second. "We could get takeout from the Hub again? And go sit and look at the stars like we did last time, if you want?"

"Sounds good."

Jackie's one-sided conversation starts up again, but he's content to listen to her thoughts. If he didn't know any better, he would say that her rapid-fire speech was cute.

She wraps up her review as they approach the Hub, and by the time Hyde parks, she's moving on to a new topic: who's the sluttiest cheerleader? Hyde grins, putting his arm around her shoulder as they walk in the door and up to order, but when he fishes out his wallet, Jackie shoos him away and gives the cashier a fifty.

Hyde groans. "Jackie. Let me pay."

She shakes her head stubbornly. "I asked you, you hated the movie- I can pay for dinner."

"Fine," he sighs, and she smiles at him as he puts his arm around her again before grabbing the greasy bag of food in front of them. "But I'm paying next time."

She leans her head into his shoulder. "We'll see."

It's chilly when they sit on the hood of the car and Jackie keeps involuntarily shivering and pressing closer to him as they eat quietly. It's comfortable, just enjoying each other's company and bumping shoulders as they reach for things and Jackie slowly burrowing under Hyde's arm as a shield from the cold night air. "You ready to head out? It's getting pretty late," he says, and Jackie nods, hops off the hood, and is in the car before he can blink. He gets in, starts the car, and she slips her hand in his, squeezes, and then- just holds it. Just lets it rest on the compartment between them like holding hands is a regular thing for them, something they've always done.

Something flutters in Hyde's stomach- must be gas. No other explanation.

"I had fun tonight," she says suddenly. "I know you didn't like the movie, and I know that me talking about it right afterward was probably annoying. But thank you for going with me and letting me talk."

"Wasn't annoying, doll. I like listening to you talk." It's the truth- he hates to say it, but he enjoys hearing her excitement about things. "I had a good time."

She smiles at him as he pulls into the Forman's driveway. "Goodnight, Steven."

"Goodnight, Jackie. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She smiles and nods as she opens her door to get in the driver's side, meeting Hyde in the middle to hug him, kissing him on the cheek as he pulls away.

The fluttery feeling is back, but he ignores it as Jackie backs out of the driveway.

Friday is another home game, which means Jackie has once again asked them to come watch her cheer. No one takes the bait this time- except Hyde, who's watching from the gates as Jackie leads another round of high kicks and pom pom waves.

She spots him and shrieks, rushing over to let him in the gate to the field and giving him a bear hug. "You're here!"

"Of course I'm here," he mumbles, letting his arm drape around her waist. "You asked me to come."

She pulls away and smiles. "Oh, Steven…" She slips her hand into his and pulls him over to a bench by the cheer squad. "Sit here and watch. I'll be taking a break soon." He nods and plops down as Jackie walks back to her girls, says something, and gets them all in line.

"What do you think?" she asks him, her voice loud over the music. "I mean, the pom pom waterfall needs work, obviously, but-"

"It's amazing. You came up with this yourself?" She flushes slightly as she nods. "You did amazing, Jackie. It looks great."

She wraps her arms around him, burying her head in the crook of his neck. "You know, Michael never came to see me cheer."

"Yeah, well. He's an ass." He pats her on the back as she moves away. "It was his loss."

She grins, the stadium lights reflecting the glitter on her cheeks and striping her hair. "I have to get back out there, but we can meet up after?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. The Hub?"

She nods. "Oh, my god. yes please. I've been on the vegetable diet again, and I'm starving." She blows him a kiss as she stands up. "I'll meet you there?"

He smiles and waves as she counts in another cheer, watching her jump up into the splits, and thinks that Forman really owes him.

Notes: have not written t70s in so long so if this sucks. my bad I'm just out of practice. u know when ur writing and u just want to write certain scenes so its hard to write the rest? it's kicking my ass. anyways have fun!