Chapter two:

Jackie tugged on the sleeves of her sweater as she walked to the Forman's basement, making sure to hide the nasty bruise on her wrist left by Jake Bradley.

Donna called her this morning to check up on her, and when she asked if she'd told Hyde, Jackie panicked and lied. She doesn't know why, she could've told Donna the truth (that she did not tell Steven and she doesn't know when she's going to tell him), she knows her friend would be understanding, but for some reason, she didn't.

She grabbed the pink compact mirror she kept in her purse and checked her makeup. She woke up with a small yellow/purple-ish bruise on a small area underneath her blue eye, and she had to use her most expensive makeup to cover it up so Steven wouldn't notice.

She wasn't sure it would work. Sure, the makeup covered the bruise, but it couldn't hide the fact that she looked weak and drained, it couldn't mask the fact that she was almost dead inside. She thought about staying home and avoiding everyone, but she really, really didn't want to be alone now.

God, this sucks, she hates hiding things from him, she hates it very much. But what the hell is she supposed to do? Jackie knew her boyfriend better than anyone else, and she knew he was going to lose it when she tells him that Jake Bradley almost raped her.

She took a deep breath, putting the mirror back in her purse as she walked down the concrete stairs that led to the Forman's basement. At this point, everyone was there already, and Steven was probably waiting for her.

The door creaked loudly when she finally opened it, and everyone stopped whatever activity they were doing to stare at her. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet and walked over to Steven, who instantly greeted her with a small smile.

"Hey," He said, pulling her to sit on his lap and pecking her lips softly

"Hey" She smiled back, letting him wrap his arms around her and relaxing in his embrace. And for the first time since what happened with Jake Bradley, Jackie felt safe.

"I missed you last night" He whispered in her ear, and she had to take a very deep breath to prevent tears from forming in her eyes.

She had missed him too, more than he could ever know. She spent the whole night tossing and turning in her bed, trying to erase the memory of Jake's unwanted touches, of his cold voice when he told her what he would do to her, of his breath in her face, and...

No.

She has to find a way to keep herself together, or else, Steven would find out what happened, and she would have to visit both her father and her boyfriend in prison. She plastered a small, fake smile on her face.

"I missed you too"

He raised an eyebrow at her and made a mental note to ask her what happened later. He knew his chick, and she was being weird. Something definitely happened to her. Her eyes, which are normally so bright and full of life, are dull and vacant, and her smile, that's always so bright and contagious, seems forced.

Maybe her mom left again?

Just that thought alone sent a steam of rage through Hyde's blood, if Pam abandoned Jackie again, then he's going to have to take some serious action. There's no way in hell he's letting his chick alone in that huge mansion.

"Steven?" Her concerned voice brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine" He said, kissing her temple in assurance "So, Jackie, we were just talking about how a cow broke Forman's foot yesterday"

Jackie furrowed her brows in confusion and turned her head to look at Eric for the first time today, who was resting his plaster-encased left foot on the center table.

"A cow broke your foot?" Jackie asked him incredulously "How did that happen?"

"Eric's stupid," Fez said as he unwrapped a piece of candy "He was trying to run to the car, and a cow stepped on his foot"

Hyde chuckled at the memory "And he was all like 'I'm going to die! I'm going to die!' It was hysterical, man."

"I thought cows were the only animals I could run faster than…" Eric sighed "I was wrong"

"I had to drive him to the hospital" Hyde added, with an evil smirk "He cried the whole way there"

"Hey! Cows are heavy, okay?" Eric whined, pointing at his foot "You guys can laugh all you want now, but a few days later, that cow is going to be nothing but a piece of meat on someone's plate. So, yeah, who'll have the last laugh now, huh? And, besides, look at my foot! I drink my milk every day, I have strong bones!"

"You drink their milk, honey," Donna corrected him, eliciting a chuckle from Hyde and Fez

"To be fair, you don't have a lot of meat to protect your bones, Eric," Fez said "So no matter how strong your bones are, there's still a layer of protection missing. You know, in my country…"

Eric frowned and interrupted him before the talk got too weird.

"So, how was your date, Fez?" Eric asked, trying to change the subject, and Fez frowned.

"Oh yeah, you had a date with Pam Macy last night!" Donna said, grabbing two popsicles from the freezer and handing one to her boyfriend "How did that go?"

"It didn't" Fez pouted "She never agreed to go out with me. Apparently, Kelso told her she was going out with him and told me that she knew I was going out with her."

"Didn't he do the same thing with you and the Charlie's Angels hater a few months ago?" Jackie asked, "And didn't that date go horribly wrong?"

"Yes" Fez replied, crossing his arms and glaring at no one in particular "That son of a bitch"

"Kelso never learns, does he?" Hyde asked rhetorically in disapproval, moving his hand to Jackie's hips to adjust her better on his lap. She flinched in pain when he ended up touching a particularly nasty bruise Jake left near her thighs.

Donna caught on Jackie's flinch and sent her an odd look, and Hyde glanced down at his chick, a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" He gently asked her, and Jackie froze for a few seconds, staring at his eyes without saying anything. "Jackie?"

"I'll…" She started, pondering if she should tell him or not "Nothing's wrong"

"Cut the crap, Jackie. Something happened," He said, very gently rubbing the sore spot on her hip with his thumb "Are you hurt?"

Jackie took a deep breath, trying to control herself, or she would end up bursting into tears right in front of everyone.

"Jackie, can I talk to you?" Donna asked, saving Jackie from her dilemma, and gesturing for her to follow her as she walked to the back of the basement.

Jackie silently thanked God and followed Donna to Hyde's room, not closing the door completely behind her, and Hyde was left alone on his chair, looking more confused and worried than ever.

"What the hell?" He muttered mostly to himself, but Eric and Fez heard him

"She's been weird today," Eric noticed, looking at Hyde "You think something happened?"

"Maybe she's just on her period," Fez said, "Kelso said that girls get weird when they're bleeding from their lady parts"

"No, that ain't it, man," Hyde disagreed, glancing at his bedroom door. He knows his chick, and when she's on her period, she gets extra clingy and talkative, not at all how she is today. "Something happened, I'm gonna go check on her"

Meanwhile, Jackie and Donna were standing near Hyde's bed. Donna was staring at her friend, looking half-concerned, and half-angry about being lied to.

"You didn't tell Hyde, did you?" Donna whispered

"I couldn't!" Jackie replied, "I don't want him to be mad!"

"Jackie, he's your boyfriend! You shouldn't hide these things from him!" Donna said angrily at first, but then she took a deep breath and put her hand on Jackie's shoulder sympathetically "I'm sorry, I… I couldn't imagine going through what you went through, I don't want to push you or anything, I just think that the longer you keep this from Hyde, the angrier he'll get once he finally finds out"

"I know," Jackie breathed, her voice breaking slightly "I don't know what to do, I wish this never happened"

Donna gave her friend a sad smile "I wish that too,"

Jackie sniffled and looked at the ceiling in an attempt to keep her tears in, but it wasn't working. All the hours she spent carefully applying her makeup this morning were probably going to waste right now.

"How's the bruises going?" Donna asked gently, and Jackie looked down at her arm, closing her eyes and trying to erase the memories of Jake's tight grip as he dragged to the unknown.

"They're worse today" She answered, lifting the sleeve of her sweater. Donna gasped when she saw the ugly bruise on her friend's wrist.

Before Donna could say anything though, Hyde showed up at the door, his eyes glued to Jackie's arm.

"Jackie, what the fuck is that in your arm?" He asked, and Jackie jumped slightly.

"Nothing!" Jackie responded, pulling her sleeve down again "I fell during the game yesterday. It's no big deal, Donna was just checking up on me,"

Hyde ignored her and gently grabbed her wrist in his hand, carefully analyzing it, his jaw tightening in anger.

"Jackie, those are fingers marks," Hyde observed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Who did this to you?"

"No one," She said unconvincingly as more tears started to leave her eyes "I…"

"Don't lie to me," He interrupted her "Just tell me what happened, please"

"I'll… I'll go wait with the guys," Donna awkwardly excused herself, leaving the room and closing the door behind her

"Jackie, was it your mom?" Hyde asked, wiping her tears away with his thumb "C'mon doll, just tell me. Who did this to you?"

"I'll tell you over one condition"

"Jackie..." Hyde said sternly, but Jackie ignored him

"I'll tell you if you promise me you won't lose your mind and do something stupid"

He was about to protest, but the look in her eyes told him to shut up.

"Fine," He said, knowing damn well that this was probably not a promise he was going to be able to keep.

"Can you… Sit here with me?" Jackie asked, pointing at his cot. He stared at her for a few seconds, silently asking her if she's serious, and she raised her eyebrow at him. He sighed and sat down, and she quickly placed herself on his lap, taking off his sunglasses, wrapping her arms around him, and playing with the short curls on the nape of his neck. Just like she always does whenever she wants to calm him down.

He dry-swallowed, judging by Jackie's behavior, he already knows he's kicking some serious ass today.

"Yesterday, after the game, I went to the locker room to grab my things, and… Some guy grabbed me and started to drag me away" She started, and Hyde closed his eyes, trying to swallow the bile that was rising through his throat and praying to a God he's not even sure he believes in for Jackie not to give him the news he thinks she's going to "I tried to get away, but he just kept on dragging me, and I was so scared"

He buried his head on her shoulder, trying to take deep breaths as she continued her story "He threw me against the wall, and he restrained me. I couldn't get out, and…" She started to sob "And… He started to touch me. I didn't want him to do that, and I told him to stop, but he… He wouldn't listen to me, Steven! And, and…"

He felt the back of his eyes burning, this couldn't… Not Jackie, man. Not his chick.

"I fought with him, I really did," She whispered in between her sobs, and he started to gently stroke her back with his hand, trying to get a grip on himself. Whoever did this to her is going to die. "I yelled at him, I told him I had a boyfriend, I begged him to stop Steven, but he wouldn't…"

"Jackie…" Hyde said, his voice hoarse and thick. She had only heard him sounding this defeated once "Did he…?"

"No," She answered, and she felt him relaxing a little in her arms "I've heard someone walking by, I started to scream, and he let my hands go to try and shut me up… I kicked him and I started running… That's when I bumped into Donna and she drove me home"

She felt him nodding against her shoulder, and for a few seconds, she thought that maybe she underestimated Steven, that he wasn't going to do anything…

Then he removed his arm from her waist and gripped the cold metal rod from his cot. Jackie saw the veins in his arm popping out, and the way his knuckles were losing their colors, and she knew she would have to say something, say anything, or Steven was going to go on a killing spree.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, still running her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him, but his head snapped up, and he looked her in the eye for the first time since she'd told him what happened.

His eyes were red, and all the warmth that was usually there, was replaced by a cold, murderous look. It made Jackie dry swallow.

He took a deep breath and looked at her again. The anger wasn't gone, but she could see now some softness in his eyes.

"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong," He said gently "You are a victim, and this…" He interrupted himself, taking another deep breath to control his rage "Jackie, who's the motherfucker that did that to you?"

"Steven…" She tried to say, but he cradled her face in his hand, looking her deep in the eye.

"You have a bruise in your eye" He interrupted her "Who hurt you?"

"I don't want to tell you" Jackie replied firmly, averting her gaze from his

"Jackie…" Hyde said, trying to keep his cool "If you don't tell me, I'm going to leave this room, take my brass knuckles, and I'm going to kick ass until someone tells me who was the son of a bitch that tried to rape my chick!"

"Steven, but he didn't actually rape me, and..." Jackie tried to justify, but she knew it wasn't going to work. He was too far gone in his rage.

He gently patted her thigh and she removed herself from his lap, sitting on the cot and watching as he stood up and started to pace around his room.

"He was going to!" Hyde replied angrily "You said no, and this guy still put his hands in you! He fucking hurt you! He's not getting away with that shit, Jackie!"

"He is, because if you go after him, you're going to jail! And I won't let you do that, Steven, I won't!" Jackie cried, but for the first time in forever, her cries did not make him control himself.

In fact, her cries only made him angrier. Not at her, but at the bastard who dared to touch her.

His stomach churned at the thought of Jackie all alone in the middle of the night, crying and begging the bastard to stop touching her, squirming under his grip, trying her hardest to escape. The son of a bitch probably enjoyed seeing her desperate, he probably smiled and laughed as she yelled for help, like a fucking sociopath.

Because that's what he is. A fucking sociopath. And a person like that deserves no remorse.

He looked at Jackie again. Her face was red and tears wouldn't stop rolling down her cheeks. Her posture changed, she was hugging herself and sending him pleading looks. His bubbly and cheerful girlfriend was now scared and broken, all because of what happened last night. Her sleeve was still pulled up, and he could clearly see the purple marks on her arm. He wondered how many other marks like that the bastard left in her body.

She's so fucking tiny and beautiful, and she did not deserve this. No one does.

His blood was boiling. He needed to know who did this to her, because that person is going to pay.

"Jackie," He said with all the calm he could muster at the moment. No matter how pissed he was at the situation, he refused to take his anger out on her. "Tell me who did this to you"

"Steven…" She sobbed, but he sent her a pleading look.

"Jackie, please…" He begged her, and after a few minutes of thinking, Jackie relented.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid," She whispered painfully, and Hyde grabbed her hand in his, slowly stroking the back of her hand with his thumb in an attempt to show her that he's not completely lost in his rage, that he would never, ever hurt her, that she's the most precious thing in the entire world to him.

"I promise," He said, looking her in the eye.

He didn't lie. He wasn't going to do anything stupid. In fact, getting rid of the scum who did that to Jackie - and possibly many other girls - might be the smartest thing he'd ever do in his life.

"Jake Bradley," Jackie confessed, looking down at the ground "He's the one that did this. But Steven, you can't…"

Hyde let go of her hand and started to pace around the room nervously again.

Of course the son of the most powerful man in the town did it. He probably thought he would get away with it.

But he messed with the wrong chick.

"He's dead" Hyde muttered "I'm fucking killing him"

Before Jackie could say anything else, Hyde stormed out of the room like a madman, fully intending on finding Jake Bradley and eating him alive.

"STEVEN, NO!" Jackie screamed as she ran after him, startling the other occupants from the basement, but Hyde didn't listen to her. He couldn't listen to anything other than the blood pounding through his ears.

She stood in front of the basement door, blocking him from leaving the room.

He turned around, intending to get out through the back stairs, but Donna quickly placed herself in front of him as well, blocking his other exit.

"Fucking hell…" Hyde muttered under his breath, running his hands through his face

"You're not leaving this room until you start thinking straight, Hyde," Donna said, and Hyde laughed dryly

"Oh, I'm thinking straight," Hyde replied "In fact, my mind has never been so fucking clear! Let me out!"

"I am not going to let you ruin your life because of this! It's not worth it!" Jackie exclaimed with determination, and Hyde turned around and looked at her in bewilderment.

"Not worth it?! He tried to rape you, Jackie!" Hyde yelled in response, making Eric and Fez gasp at the same time.

"What?!" Eric and Fez yelled at once, and they both turned to look at the couple.

Eric's eyes widened when he saw Jackie's pained face and Hyde's murderous look. He's been friends with Hyde for years, and he has never, ever seen his friend looking so pissed.

His face was red, both of his fists were clenched, and he looked like he was seconds away from breaking down.

"Someone tried to rape you?!" Eric turned to look at the smaller girl, who was still standing in front of the door, crying her eyes out. She nodded in response, and Eric had a weird feeling on his guts. A feeling he never actually experienced before.

His heart started beating frantically inside his chest, and he felt like the room was closing up on him. His nostrils flared, and he took a deep breath, trying to get himself under control.

He glanced at Hyde again, and he could finally understand what his best friend was feeling right now. Because he was experiencing the same emotion as him.

Rage. Eric was enraged.

"Who did that?!" Eric demanded to know, trying to get his crutches so he could get out of the couch and help Hyde in any way he could "What the hell? Hyde, go after him!"

"I'm fucking trying, Forman!" Hyde responded, growing more frustrated by the second "Jackie, will you please, get the hell out of my way?!"

Jackie shook her head "No, Steven! You are going to ruin your life! Just, please, calm down!"

"I'm not going to calm down until this motherfucker is under the ground, Jackie!"

"Ai, Hyde... let's just take a deep breath, okay?" Fez finally spoke, placing his hands on Hyde's shoulders. Hyde quickly shrugged them off and restarted his pacing.

"I should've gone to watch the fucking game!" He mumbled "You were…. This fucking idiot was mauling you, and what the fuck was I doing? I was watching a cow run over Forman's foot!"

"Steven, it's not your fault," Jackie said, not moving away from the door "Just… Let's go back to your room, let's talk some more, okay? I can… I can roll you a joint, we can have a private circle. How does that sound?"

Eric was still trying to control his breathing as he tried to grab his crutches, not understanding why the hell Jackie was trying to protect the son of a bitch who did that to her.

Donna glanced at her boyfriend and sighed. As enraged as she was by the whole situation, she knew Jackie had a point. Hyde would ruin his life if he messed with the Bradley's only son. The influence that family had in the town was surreal and disgusting. They had everything in the palm of their hands. If they wanted Hyde arrested, then he would be arrested.

If Eric managed to get up from the couch to do something, Donna was sure he would find a way to help Hyde out, and that couldn't happen. It wouldn't be good for anyone.

So she kicked Eric's crutches to the ground.

"Donna, what the hell?!"

"Eric, do you want to visit your best friend in prison?!" Donna hissed at him "Because that's what will happen if you help Hyde right now!"

"Jackie, for fucks sake!" Hyde yelled, throwing his hands in the air "If you don't get away from this fucking door, I'm going to end up having to fucking push you out of my way!"

She raised an eyebrow at him, silently daring to do so, and Hyde kicked his chair to the ground in a fit of rage. She knew he would never, ever lay a finger on her, and she was using that to her advantage.

"God fucking dammit!" Hyde screamed as he started to nervously pace around the basement again, trying to get a grip on himself

"Who did this?" Eric repeated his previous question, hoping someone would actually answer him this time

"What the hell, it's not like the entire town isn't going to find out anyway," Jackie muttered, nodding at Donna, who sighed before turning to look at Eric.

"Jake Bradley did it," Donna revealed

"Jake Bradley?!" Eric gasped in both shock and disgust "But he's… He got into an Ivy League school! And he's so popular, and…"

"Who the hell gives a shit, Forman?!" Hyde exploded "You want to know what he is? He's a fucking rapist! He's scum, a fucking pile of human trash, and he should pay for what he did to my chick!"

"Steven, calm down!" Jackie pleaded with her boyfriend, but her pleas were once again ignored.

"Jackie, man, you should go to the cops" Eric suggested, trying to be helpful in any way he could, and Hyde let out a dry laugh.

"Yeah, like the cops are going to do something against that piece of shit," Hyde spat angrily, then he turned to look at Donna, sending her a pleading look for her to let him out "Donna, man…"

"Why wouldn't the cops do something?" Eric asked "He assaulted Jackie! He was going to rape her! That's a crime! He could go to prison for that!"

"His dad owns the entire town, Eric. The cops will do anything he asks them to, including letting him get away with attempted rape," Donna explained, then she turned to look at Hyde "And Jackie's right, Hyde. You need to calm down"

"I'll calm down when that piece of shit is dead," Hyde said with an honesty that brought chills to Jackie's spine. She knew that he meant every word of what he just said.

"Steven, please…" Jackie begged him, taking a step forward and grabbing his hands in hers. The tear stains on her face made him sick to his stomach "Just… Let's go to your room, just the two of us, okay? You can tell me about that book you've been reading, and I'm sure Donna can ask Mrs. Forman to bake your favorite cookies, right Donna?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely," The newly blonde nodded, and Hyde took a deep breath, gently caressing the back of Jackie's hand with his thumb.

Jackie let out a breath in relief, and Hyde took advantage of that, breaking their contact and running to the now unprotected basement door.

"STEVEN, NO!" Jackie yelled, trying to pull on his arm in an attempt to keep him there, but he easily shrugged her hands off.

"Forman, keep an eye on Jackie, I'm going to find that son of a bitch" Hyde spat as he turned the doorknob.

"Steven, please…" Jackie cried, hoping he'd listen to her. He didn't.

Hyde was already gripping the brass knuckles he shoved in the pockets of his jacket when he opened the door, anxiously looking forwards to stain them with Jake Bradley's filthy blood.

But then he saw Kelso sitting in the concrete staircase, his head buried in his hands as his body shook with sobs.

Too startled to do anything, Hyde let Jackie drag him back to the basement, shoving him into sitting on the couch next to Eric and quickly placing herself on his lap to prevent him from trying to escape again.

"Kelso?" Fez asked worriedly as he walked over to his handsome friend "Kelso, are you okay?"

Kelso slowly stood up, wiping his face from all the wetness caused by his uncontrollable crying, and entered the basement with Fez by his side.

"Sorry you guys had to see that," Kelso said with a hoarse voice "I've been here for a few minutes, but I couldn't… I had to take a break, man"

"Michael, did something happen to Brooke or Betsy?" Jackie asked, keeping herself firm on Steven's lap as he started to squirm under her.

"No, they're doing great, I…" Kelso trailed off, "I just came back from the precinct, everything's a mess, I'm surprised you guys haven't heard of what happened yet…"

"What happened, Kelso?" Donna asked apprehensively

"Pam Macy's dead," He cried, and everyone turned to look at him, temporarily forgetting the argument from a few seconds ago

"What?" Eric asked incredulously

"Her mom called the station about a few hours ago, she found Pam dead on the living room's couch. Someone sliced her throat, they say it was… pretty ugly" Kelso explained "She was murdered"

"MURDERED?!" Eric yelled in shock. What the hell is happening in this town?

"Yeah… They don't know who did it," Kelso said, sitting on top of the deep freeze "All I know is that there was blood everywhere, and that the killer left through the front door and didn't take anything, so it definitely wasn't a burglar"

"How…? I mean, this is Point Place! The last time someone was killed here was… Well, never!" Eric said

"I know man, everyone's going nuts about it" Kelso stated "There are cops all over town, Pam's parents are crushed, and they said they won't rest until they found out who did this"

"God, I'm… I'm so sorry, Michael" Jackie said sympathetically "Pam and I never got along, but I know she meant something to you"

"Yeah Kelso, we're so sorry," Donna said "This is really messed up"

"Thanks, guys," Kelso appreciated, giving them a sad smile "Hey, Fez man, I'm sorry too, I know you and Pam went out last night, and you've been pretty quiet… It must be hitting you hard too"

Fez's head snapped up, and he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Kelso sent him a strange look.

"You okay, man?"

"I-I…" Fez stuttered "I have to go"

With that, he was out of the basement, leaving five confused teens behind.

Jackie let out a breath in relief when she got out of her bathroom and Steven was still sitting on her bed, sunglasses off, staring impassively at the wall.

After the news about Pam, she convinced him not to go searching for Jake, claiming that there are cops everywhere and that he would most definitely get caught. She also cried, she cried so hard that her throat hurt, and she ended up convincing him in the end.

They spent the entire day at the Forman's, watching the news and answering all the questions Mrs. Forman had about Pam. She baked Steven's favorite cookies - after Jackie kindly requested -, she made lunch for everyone, and even though she didn't technically know why, she knew Steven was stressed, so she ended up spending a lot of time with the gang, subsequently preventing Steven from making any impulsive decisions.

It worked. Sure, he was quiet during the entire day, and Jackie noticed how he would often he would clench and unclench his fists, how he would often take a deep breath to find his zen, and how he did not let go of her hand for even a second.

She was sure this was temporary, she knew Steven well enough to know he was not going to let this go so easily, but for now, it's a fix. And she's going to take it.

She fiddled with the hem of her nightgown and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and pressing a gentle kiss to his neck.

"Thank you," She said, intertwining their arms together and holding his hand in hers "I… I know it was really hard for you to control yourself after… After I told you. And I just wanted to let you know that I'm really, really grateful that you chose to stay with me instead of killing Jake"

"I'm still gonna kill him," Hyde said "I'm not going to let this go, Jackie. He's not getting away with what he did to you"

"Steven, I know you're still mad," She replied "I'm not saying you shouldn't be mad, because you're right, he is a horrible person, and he shouldn't get away with what he did, but please, just listen to me. My dad and Jake's dad worked together for a really long time, I know what he's capable of. I know it sucks, but the rich can and will get away with anything. I'm not saying that because I'm shallow, I know how the system works, I grew up in it, and if you had done something to Jake, I… I would have to visit both my dad and my boyfriend in prison"

"I'm not the system, I'm actually quite the opposite," Hyde stated "I don't give a shit about what the system thinks, that whole shit is corrupted. Bradley did a horrible thing, and he's going to pay for it. His dad can't buy me off"

"Well, I do care about the system, okay?!" Jackie argued, "I love you way too much, and I won't let you throw your life away because of this!"

"He was going to rape you," Hyde said, looking down at the purple marks in her wrists and feeling sick again "He hurt you, Jackie"

"I know," She said, her eyes filling with tears "And it was horrible, but right now I… I need you. Here. With me. Not in jail."

"Jackie…"

"Will you spend the night here with me?" Jackie interrupted, looking at him with her big, beautiful mismatched eyes of hers he loves so much. He pressed a gentle kiss to the small bruise underneath her right eye and managed to give her a sad, but soft smile.

"Sure, doll," He complied, and she smiled at him before pulling him to lay down next to her in bed.

"Hold me?" She asked innocently, and he nodded, pulling her to lay on the crook between his shoulder and neck, gently stroking her hair as she started to trace heart shapes on his chest with her fingers.

"You'll stay here the whole night, right?" Jackie asked, "And you'll be here in the morning when I wake up?"

"I won't leave your side, dollface" He replied honestly

"Promise me?"

"I promise"

"I love you" She whispered against his neck, and he took a deep breath.

Hyde glanced at the bruises in her arm, and he once again dry-swallowed.

"I love you too," He said honestly. Because he does love her, more than anything in this world. And he failed at keeping her safe.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her tight as the sound of his heartbeats lured her into a deep sleep.

Once he was sure she was sleeping, he stared at the ceiling and allowed himself to get lost in his own thoughts.

Steven Hyde was a 'live in the moment' kind of guy. He wasn't sure of a lot of things in life, he didn't know where he's going to be in five years, what's his job going to be, where he's going to live, if he's still going to keep in touch with all of his friends…

But he was sure of one thing: he loves Jackie Burkhart, and wherever he goes, he hopes she'll be with him. And he will never fail her again.

And he won't rest until Jake Bradley gets what's coming for him.

A/N: So... This was an intense chapter. It was really tricky to write, and I really, really want to read your opinions about it! Constructive criticism is always welcome! It's the first time I've ever written anything like this so it would be nice to read some feedback!

Thank you so much for reading!