for strangers I met on twitter a year ago who are my best friends today and my biggest fans always
Point Place Precinct
Interrogation Room 1
January 27, 1981
2:47am
"Can you state your name for the record?"
Silence.
"Ma'am? Your name."
Silence for a moment more. And then, "Jackie Burkhart."
A pair of unshaped eyebrows rose. "Burkhart?"
"Yes."
There was a sigh, some shuffling of papers. "This oughta be interesting," the second officer muttered under his breath.
The first one—visibly older, holding an air of authority—ignored him. "And you've declined to have a lawyer present, correct?"
A shaky breath. "Yes."
"Well, alright then. We're gonna need to hear your side of the story, Miss Burkhart. I'll need you to start from the beginning."
9 months earlier
Forman Residence
April 07, 1980
11:01am
Jackie thought she had probably walked up and down the staircase to the Formans' basement more times than she'd wandered the hallways of school. Or her own house for that matter.
"One for me too!" Fez's voice yelled after her from the kitchen as she walked, "One for me too! Cho-co-late flavor!"
Jackie rolled her eyes and let the door at the top of the staircase swing shut. She trekked down the stairs easily, arms swinging at her side, and was more than halfway to the deep freeze when she heard the giggle.
In that instant it was like her blood turned to ice and her limbs grew heavier. She felt sick all of a sudden, and she couldn't move even though she desperately wanted to. Another laugh came from the room at the back of the basement. A deeper voice. He was laughing.
Then there was a loud exclamation of, "Oh!" and more giggles and then a very long, drawn out "Hyyyyde."
Seconds later Zeppelin exploded through the cracks of the locked door. Jackie knew all too well what that meant. The music shocked her back to life and she dashed back up the stairs without any of the popsicles she had gone to fetch.
At the top of the stairs her heart pounded as if she'd just run a marathon. She closed her eyes and forced herself to get it together.
When Sam had showed up all those months ago, Jackie hadn't expected that she'd be there longer than a day - two at most. Then once she'd learned that he planned to stay married to her, she'd thought surely it wouldn't last more than a month. But that was in September and now it was April and there they still were - locked in his room sounding...well, happy.
And how pathetic was she? So many months later and she still couldn't stomach the thought of them together. Of them married. Of them happy. How much longer until she was over him enough to not care about any of that?
Her only consolation was that the thought of being with him now, after everything he'd put her through, made her just as nauseous as the thought of him being with someone else. Still, the alternative was much better - to not feel anything at all when she thought of him.
"Hey, Jackie, what's...taking you so long." Donna had swung round the corner calling her loudly, but her voice trailed off when she caught sight of Jackie. "Woah, are you alright? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing happened," Jackie grumbled, pushing her hair behind her ears. "I just...ugh, nevermind."
"Oh," Donna caught on. She gave her a weak smile. "I'm sorry."
"Not as sorry as I am," Jackie assured. "Look, I'm just gonna get out of here for a little while, okay?"
"You sure? You want some company?"
"Nah. I'll probably just head down to the station, see if I'm needed down there."
"Well...okay," Donna said reluctantly. "I'll see you later?"
"Sure. Oh, quit looking at me like that, Donna, I'm not heartbroken, just majorly disgusted. I don't need your pity."
"I'm not pitying you!" Donna insisted, raising her hands up in defense.
"Good. God knows even after a hundred breakups, your life would still be more pitying than mine."
"Hey!"
"Oh, look at your life, Donna. You're dating Eric."
"And you'd think that after four years it would stop surprising you."
Jackie patted her arm. "Keep dreaming. And get your own popsicles. I'm leaving."
"Later," Donna rolled her eyes, heading down into the staircase as Jackie walked in the opposite direction, out the front door, and into her car.
She turned the key and sank back in her seat, closing her eyes and focusing on the familiar rumble of the engine.
Minutes later she opened them and switched the car into gear. She hated this. Hated how she'd reacted. Embarrassingly and pitifully. She was usually far better at keeping herself composed. But then again she usually only had to face them when they were all hanging out as a group and she had no other choice. Jackie avoided them at all costs under any other circumstance.
Maybe she had convinced herself that they only made themselves look content when they were around everyone else. Maybe she had subconsciously hoped that in private they were miserable and unhappy. But now she knew the truth: she was the only one still shrouded in her own misery. Everyone else had moved on and gotten past all the drama that had turned her life upside down.
She was tired of it, too, she thought as she turned the wheel and headed across town. She felt like all the pretending was actively draining her energy. By the time she parked in her usual space, she felt like ten hours had passed. She could crawl into bed and pass out for the weekend. But solitude was not what she needed.
She dragged herself out the car and up the short flight of stairs that led to the entrance of the station. It was the same one she'd gotten her first show at, but after the fiasco that it had led to and everything that came after, Jackie decided being on screen wasn't all she dreamed it would be. Instead she had convinced them to rehire her to work behind the scenes (which wasn't easy, considering she'd left them high and dry for a job in Chicago that had lasted less than a week).
The pay was crappy and the hours were weird, but that was likely because Jackie didn't so much work for the station as she worked for the producer of Point Place's most popular morning show. Luckily, he was older and seemed to value her opinion, so Jackie often felt more important than she actually was.
She opened the door and the bustle of the workplace injected her with life. She glanced around the room, hoping to see-
"Well, well, well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
Jackie's face split into a grin. "Obviously," she countered. "Look at my outfit. It could cure anybody's mood."
Jackie's closest work friend smiled back at her. "Ain't that the truth. Now, really," she linked her arm with Jackie's. "What are you doing here?"
"Needed a distraction," Jackie answered truthfully, grateful she had worn wedges with high heels today. Nadia was gorgeous and she had an amazing fashion sense, but she was tall - taller than Donna, and Jackie often felt a little ridiculous standing next to her.
"That's perfect," said Nadia, "Because I need a break from all the testosterone in that room."
Jackie laughed and rubbed her friend's arm consolingly. "I thought you said they were starting to come around."
"Yeah, well that was yesterday. I'm telling you, Jackie, Callahan is a total, total asshole. I mean, I've never met a person more full of himself. And I know us."
The spark of gossip was exactly what Jackie needed. "What did he do now?"
"It's like I'm invisible in there. I suggest something, no one pays me any attention, and then five minutes later, some old balding white guy says the exact same thing, and there's this huge round of applause."
"Look on the brightside," Jackie suggested. "At least you're in there, you know? Doing real work. Eventually they're gonna notice how much effort you've been putting in. Meanwhile I…"
"Are stuck making copies," Nadia finished for her. "I know, it sucks. But, hey, I started as an assistant too. You'll get promoted soon. People like us are too pretty to be assistants all our life, Jackie, believe me."
Jackie's spirits were lifted already. "You do have a point."
"Of course I do," Nadia grinned. "Besides, at least your boss is nice. And likes you. Me, I'm stuck with Callahan." She shuddered as she said his name. "Gross. I can't even think about it right now."
"What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be in a room with him and a bunch of other less attractive people who steal all your ideas?"
Nadia stuck her tongue out. "I'm on a creative break."
"Good morning, ladies," a new voice bellowed before Jackie could answer.
She and Nadia looked up as a familiar face smiled at them and hauled out the seat next to Nadia, plopping himself down ungracefully.
"Hey, Jimmy," Jackie said. "I see you finally cut your hair and ended that terrible dream of sporting a man-bun."
"Yeah," he said sadly. "My girlfriend made me do it. She was getting so sick of it I think she was about to leave me. So I had to consider it," he leaned forward, looking directly at Jackie, gesturing with his hands, face serious. "The girlfriend or the rockin' hair. And it was tough. But at the end of the day, only one of 'em sleeps with me."
"Sounds like your girlfriend has terrible taste in men," said Jackie.
"She does," claimed Nadia.
"I mean, I guess the hair could've helped reel in other girls," Jimmy continued, leaning back against his seat and putting one arm up behind Nadia's chair. "But I'm far too old to get back in the game."
"Aren't you 24?" Jackie asked.
"Practically middle-aged," he nodded.
"Would you shut up?" Nadia asked with disgust before giving Jackie back her full attention. "So anyway, Jackie, what was so bad that you had to come to work for a distraction?"
Unease and discomfort made Jackie's stomach twist, the way it always did when she had to think about her failure of a love life. "I heard Hyde and his wife doing it this afternoon."
"Oh, honey," Nadia placated.
"Did it sound, you know, good?"
"Shut up, Jimmy," Jackie and Nadia said in unison.
"I know they say time heals all wounds," Jackie said, swirling a strand of hair around her finger. "But how much time exactly?"
"You know what your problem is," Nadia informed, "Is that you keep torturing yourself. You know what works even better than time, Jackie? Distance. You've gotta get yourself out of that environment. I mean, I know they're your friends, but some time away from all of that would do wonders for you."
"I guess you're right," Jackie said weakly. But that was easier said than done. It was sad but they were more than just her friends from high school. They were the only people in the world who actually cared about her.
"Besides," added Nadia brightly. "That way you'll have more time for me!"
"You know what works better than all this time, distance crap?" Jimmy butted in with his two cents. "A rebound."
"With who?" Nadia asked for her. "Have you seen her? She's above random hookups."
"Not random, necessarily." He coughed a word into his hand. "Matthew."
"Matthew?"
"Yes, Matthew." He was referring to another person they worked with, and Jackie's only other friend here. "He's so into you, man, I don't know how you haven't seen it."
"You know, he's right," Nadia nodded. "He's always asking about you. I'm surprised at you, Jackie, you should have been able to spot it from a mile away."
Jackie frowned and tried to think about it. "I never even thought about it. He just seems...so normal."
Nadia laughed loudly. "I forgot about the guys you're used to dating. Honey, for someone who has such high standards, you're far too used to settling."
Jackie glared, but the rolling in her gut began again.
"But what do I know?" Nadia shrugged, noticing the way Jackie was beginning to subdue. "I fell in love with a guy named Jimmy."
"I'm right here!" Jimmy exclaimed, looking at Nadia with fake hurt.
"And never forget just how lucky you are."
Jimmy grinned quickly, easily, the kind of smile only a man who was totally in love and not afraid to show it could give. He lifted Nadia's left hand and kissed the ring on her finger. "Insanely lucky," he said. "I gotta go. I'll see you after we film." Nadia leaned up and let him kiss her before he walked away with a final, "Later, Jackie," and a halfhearted wave.
Jackie tried not to let herself feel sad, but it was hard when she, still, was a hopeless romantic, and her closest friend at work was so in love. She missed being in love. Missed having someone giving her small glances and comforting touches, someone who made her forget all the bad things in the world. Like Nadia had. Nadia, who was everything Jackie had ever wanted to be: gorgeous, popular, kind, confident. And engaged.
"You know," Jackie said thoughtfully. "Maybe I will stop hanging around there so much. I mean, I think Mr. and Mrs. Forman would miss me, but they'd understand right?"
Nadia, who had never met any of the other people in Jackie's life before, smiled. "Totally. And...listen, Jackie, Jimmy means well, but I don't think rebounding with Matt's such a good idea. I mean, a rebound could be good for you, but Matt's our friend, and we work with him, and he really is into you, so…"
"Yeah, no, I get it," Jackie cut her off, but her mind had already begun to wander.
"But if you do think there's...you know...potential, then just say the word and Jimmy can convince him to take the first shot. He is great, and it would be nice. To see you happy. I gotta get back to work too, before Callahan starts bringing down the roof, but think about it, okay?"
Jackie smiled and leaned back against her chair. "I will."
Point Place Precinct
Interrogation Room 1
January 27, 1981
2:54am
"What?" Jackie snapped, finally finding the impatient looks plastered on the faces of the officers unbearable.
"Ma'am-"
"Why the hell does any of this matter?" the impolite youngerone demanded. "You think we care about your love life?"
"You said to start from the beginning."
"Yeah, of what happened tonight. None of this crap matters."
Jackie turned her gaze to the older officer. "It matters," she said to him. "It does."
The man's gaze was unflinching, but his mustache twitched, and Jackie knew he was just as impatient as the officer by his side. But he sighed and let his shoulders drop slightly. "Let's hear the girl out, Hutton."
Hutton shook his head. "Guess I'm not goin' home tonight."
Point Place Precinct
Just Outside Interrogation Room 2
January 27, 1981
2:50am
"Still nothin?'"
"Not a word."
"You offer him-"
"Coffee, water, soda. Hell, I even offered him beer. But he refuses to talk till he sees her." The female officer ran a frustrated hand through her hair.
The man who'd just approached her scoffed. "Well that ain't happening."
The hallway fell to an uneasy silence as both police officers stared through the one-way mirror racking their brains.
"What's his name?"
"Steven Hyde - not that he told me that himself. They got an ID off him when he came in. He tried to tell me his name was Michael Kelso."
"As in Officer Kelso?"
"The one and only," she sighed, then shook her head. "How about the girl? Is she talking?"
"She's talkin.' Maybe a little too much. Can't tell if she's beating around the bush or if there's way more to this story than we expected."
Officer Dakota turned back to the glass and studied the man in the room. His expression was blank. Stoic. Arms folded, back slouched in the hard metal chair, and he wore a scowl that looked like it was permanently etched onto his face. But there were dark circles under his eyes and, she noticed as she squinted, his fingers tapped against his skin almost nervously. "I'm gonna go with the latter, sir."
"Yeah, I thought so too," her commanding officer, Rick Caldwell, agreed. "Want me to go in there and give it a go?"
Dakota shook her head. "No, let me try one more time."
Caldwell's eyebrows rose. "Got a new idea?"
She nodded slowly. "I'm gonna try scaring him."
"You're gonna try scaring him?"
Biting her lip, she nodded again, and placed her hand on the door handle. "Yeah."
"Good luck." Rick Caldwell watched as she walked into the room, impressed by how much more confident she made herself seem. The boy inside raised his eyebrows - and he was just a boy. Dakota had called him a man when he came in, but he couldn't be past his early twenties. And having passed 50 some time ago, Caldwell knew making it past your teen years didn't make you a man.
Dakota sat down across from him and laced her fingers together on top of the table. "She's asking for you too," she lied easily.
That unsettled him. The boy unfolded his arms, sat straighter. "You gonna let me see her now?" His voice was rough, and a little hoarse, and deeper than Caldwell would have imagined.
"Not until you start talking," Dakota replied. "And the longer you wait, the worse it's gonna be. She's scared shitless in there. Looks like a lost puppy. Something tells me she's not used to an environment quite like this one. And if she can't handle this…" she trailed off and chuckled softly. "Well, imagine what she'd be like in a prison cell."
The effects were immediate. All his muscles seemed to tighten, and Caldwell realized impressively that Dakota had succeeded in scaring him. He smiled. She was one of his best officers for a reason.
"Please," Hyde said begrudgingly - a word Caldwell figured he didn't say often. "Just lemme see her."
"Not until you start talking."
And so he did.
9 months earlier
Grooves Record Store
April 10, 1980
12:41pm
Either Grooves was louder than usual today or Hyde had officially turned into a man as grumpy and miserable as Red Forman at the ripe age of 21. Whichever one it was, his head was banging and the thing he wanted most in the world was some peace and quiet.
"Hey, man." Hyde looked down to see a teenager, no more than 16, with floppy hair and beady eyes staring up at him. "You got the new Pink Floyd album?"
Hyde blinked in annoyance and was about to point in the direction of the sign on the wall that clearly advertised the new Pink Floyd album in big bold letters; then he remembered that Floyd was popular and sold out quick, and he hadn't snagged one for himself yet. And if his memory was worth anything, this morning before he opened up there had only been four left on the shelf and he'd sold three already.
"We're all out," he said to the boy.
"But-"
"We're out," repeated Hyde flatly, then he raised his voice to yell at two other dudes who were messing around with each other and nearly toppled over the record player.
"Do you know when you'll get more?" the kid asked with all the attitude of an annoying 16-year-old.
"Next month," Hyde deadpanned, not bothering to check if that was true or not.
"Next month? Man, this record store sucks."
He walked towards the door, away from Hyde, who decided to ignore W.B.'s be-nice-to-customers rule and call out, "Your haircut sucks!" before the kid could walk out.
He flippantly ignored the finger that was sent his way and walked across the room, grabbed the last Pink Floyd album, and tucked it under his arm.
The interaction did nothing to ease his headache, and for the first time in his life, Hyde considered switching out Black Sabbath for something a little less mind-numbing. Course, he wouldn't have had time to change the record anyway, cause as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the two guys who were playing around earlier seemed to have gotten into a real fight, and were swinging at each other like chicks.
"Hey, you two!" he bellowed, walking towards them right as Leo stepped into view.
"Hyde! Hey, man, how's it goin?'"
Before Hyde could answer, the phone started to ring.
"Leo," he said, his voice brimming with pent up frustration. "Look, I need you to do me a favor, man."
"Sure thing," Leo answered brightly. "Oh, but you should know, man, I'm not really good with favors. People don't usually ask me to do things for 'em, man. Why don't you ask that hot chick that's always around? The really loud one who's always bossin' me around."
Hyde bit down on his tongue. As much as he loved having Leo around, the hippie only seemed to remember Hyde with Jackie and brought her up constantly. And seeing as Hyde was married to another chick, it was getting increasingly harder to deal with Leo's rambling.
"She's gone," Hyde said simply. The phone started ringing again, accompanied by a loud crash as a crate of records went toppling to the floor. "Look, Leo, would you just go answer the phone?"
"You got it, man. And, hey, if I were you, I'd kick out those two dudes over there, man. That's not good for business."
Hyde nodded. "Thanks, Leo." Then switching to his harsher, less tolerant voice, bellowed, "Hey! What the hell do you two think you're doing? You plannin' on paying for those?"
The two started to speak at the same time, voices raised, neither of them making a damn bit of sense. At the back of his mind, he heard the phone ring again. Hyde thought his vision was going red. And either it was so damn loud in the record store that these two assholes weren't speaking proper English, or his headache had reached an all time high.
"Look!" he yelled. "I don't care. Just get the hell outta my store." The boys stared at him. "Now!"
They did as they were ordered and a small ounce of his irritation eased. He needed to turn down the music, maybe sit down for a little while. He glanced at his watch. Still four hours left to closing and that was without factoring in W.B's recommendation to stay open later.
It had sounded like an okay idea at the time. But right now Hyde was at a total of 3 people he'd kicked out and was seriously considering getting rid of everyone else in the store too and calling it a day.
"Hyde!" Hyde looked up wearily at Leo, trotting over to him good-naturedly. "Some lady's on the phone. She wants to talk to you, man."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know. But it sounds important, man. She was being real bossy."
With a crashing realization, Hyde remembered the report he was supposed to give to the main office about his sales and something or the other. A report he didn't have cause he hadn't done inventory in...a while.
"Tell her I'm not here." Hyde said.
"Oh, I already hung up, man."
"You - you know what, that's fine, Leo. Thanks, man."
Leo rounded out his shoulders proudly. "No problem." The phone rang again and his features darkened. "This is the thing I don't like about telephones, man," he shook his head. "It's like no matter how many times you hang up, they can just keep callin.'
Hyde sighed. "Yeah. Look, it's probably her again. Just answer the phone and tell her I'm not here okay? You got that?"
Leo smiled again and gave him a thumbs up before disappearing back into Hyde's office.
Hyde, meanwhile, bent down to collect the records and crate that had fallen over, but only got halfway through by the time Leo's feet popped back into view.
"Hyde, man," he said disbelievingly. "That lady keeps yellin' at me. She's real scary. I think you oughta go talk to her."
Hyde hung his head low and counted to five. Then he finished putting the records back into the crate, popped it back into place, and walked towards his office.
Maybe after he answered the phone he could lock himself in there for a while and wait for the headache to subside.
He shut the door behind him into his office - small, enclosed and dark - and it was instantly quieter, all the sounds from what was going on in the store muffled.
The phone was on its side in the middle of the desk. Hyde half-hoped he had taken so long that whoever it was that had been sent to collect the report from him had hung up.
But he knew he wouldn't be that lucky. Bracing himself for whatever reprimands were about to be handed down to him, he picked up the phone and answered.
Scotty's Bar
Somewhere in Point Place
April 10, 1980
11:51pm
Hyde loved this bar. The lights were dim, the music was good, and the only people who populated it seemed to be as miserable as he was. He also loved the corner he was in. The wall to his immediate right held up his slouched body much better than he could in his intoxicated state.
"I'm gonna need your keys, man."
Hyde scowled. "Not happenin.'" His voice was slurred even to his own ears.
"Can't let you drive. Bar rules."
"I don't like rules."
"And I don't care."
"You can have my keys," he said, "For a free beer."
"Keys first."
Hyde's head was spinning, and the only thing he could think to cure it was another beer. He reached into his pocket and handed over his keys. The bartender looked sober and judgmental, but he slid over another bottle. Hyde caught it clumsily, splashing some over his wrist and the countertop before he lifted it in salute to the bartender.
"Bar's closing soon," he warned. "Might wanna call someone to come get ya."
Hyde snorted. "Yeah right." Hyde only knew two numbers by heart: Grooves (which was empty) and the Formans' (and Red would kill him for waking them up because he got too wasted to find his way back home).
The bartender paused from wiping the counters and sighed. "Look, man, I don't usually do this, but I haven't seen you here before, and I get the feeling getting plastered at bars on weekdays isn't your normal scene. So if you live in town and you need a ride - just this once - I got ya covered."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Cool. Whatever, man."
The bartender rolled his eyes. "Twenty minutes."
Hyde couldn't tell you how much longer it actually was. He did manage to down another beer in the timeframe. Maybe two. He couldn't be sure. Time passed in a sludge of movements and conversations, and the next thing he was conscious of was being in the car next to a complete stranger, needing to focus enough to give directions.
"So," the bartender asked. He was too young and too friendly and looked like he should be getting eaten alive working at a place like the one he did. "What happened?"
"What?" Hyde asked. "Left."
The guy turned his wheel to the left. "What drove you to get wasted at a bar on the edge of town?"
"Mind your own business, Scotty."
"I'm not Scotty, man. I just work for him. I'm Roy."
"I don't care, Roy."
He nodded. "Gotcha."
They drove in silence except for Hyde's one word directions until the bartender spoke up again. "Got anyone waitin' for ya at home?"
"Wife."
"Wife," the guy whistled. "You're pretty young. How long you been married?"
Hyde shrugged. "Couple months I guess."
"Well…what's she like?"
Another shrug. "Blonde."
"She sounds great."
"Whatever."
Roy abandoned any attempt at conversation after that. When they finally pulled up outside the Formans' house, Hyde muttered a lousy "thanks" and stumbled out the car.
It took him what felt like forever, but he finally made it down the outdoor staircase and jimmied his key into the lock.
"Where were you?" Sam's voice came the second he walked into the basement. She was sprawled on the couch, eyebrows raised. Her hair fell easily down her shoulders, and she wore nothing but tight shorts and a close-fitting t-shirt. He wanted her immediately.
"Bar," he answered, pulling off his boots.
"You're drunk."
"Yup."
"You could have called, you know?"
"Next time," he dismissed, knowing she didn't really care and she wasn't really mad, and held out his hand. "C'mon."
She took it easily, letting him help her up. As soon as she was on her feet he pulled her closer, letting his hands slide down to grip her ass.
"I missed you," she whispered, placing her hands on his belt.
Then he kissed her, deep enough for him to forget everything else and to elicit a moan from the back of her throat.
"Did you have a bad day?" she whispered seductively, sticking a hand down his pants. "Want me to help you forget all about it?"
It was exactly what he wanted. He moaned his answer as she stroked him then fell to her knees a moment later.
His eyes closed as she closed her mouth over him, and he let himself succumb to her, knowing that, even just for a couple minutes, she'd be able to give him what he wanted. To forget.
Forman Residence
The Basement
April 12, 1980
5:55pm
Hyde sat in his chair, his head piercing with yet another hangover. Kelso's peeling laughter was doing little to help the situation.
Just when he was considering locking himself in his room, the door flew open and Donna rushed inside. "Guess what?" she said excitedly, a huge grin pasted on your face. "Oh, nevermind, you losers are never gonna guess." She hopped over Kelso's feet and sat on the couch.
"Remember that time WFPP was giving away tickets to the Packers game and I may have possibly cheated so that we could be the ones to win them?"
Fez's features darkened. "That was a terrible, confusing day."
Hyde agreed silently. For completely different reasons.
"Speak for yourself, man," Forman said. "That day...that was the day I became a man."
"Forman, the only person who actually saw you fight was your dad."
"It happened!"
"Shut up!" Donna yelled. "This year, they decided to give away tickets to something else. And I may have cheated again. And got us tickets to go on a beer tour. In Canada!"
Immediately Fez, Kelso, and Forman started buzzing with excitement.
"Canadian beer is awesome!" Kelso yelled.
Fez nodded enthusiastically. "And now that I am married to Laurie, I do not even have to sneak back into the country!"
"Donna, this is awesome," Forman agreed.
Hyde's head was still killing him, but a weekend of drinking for free sounded way too good to pass up. "When's the trip?"
"There's a shuttle bus that'll pick us up from here next weekend. So are you all in?"
There was a chorus of agreements before she added, "Oh, but, Hyde, there's only six tickets and, uh, Jackie already said she's in. So…"
It took Hyde three full seconds to realize why Donna was telling him this. "Oh. Right. Whatever, man, I'm sure she won't care."
"Woah, woah, woah," Forman interrupted, holding his hands up. "You're planning to leave the stripper alone in the house with my parents? Oh, this is gonna be good."
"She's not a stripper anymore," Hyde said flatly.
"Well…still. Red's gonna love that."
"I'll figure it out." It took too much effort not to wince. Being awake right now was too much. His head was about to explode.
"Perfect!" Donna clapped her hands together.
Hyde stood up unceremoniously. "I'm going to lie down. Keep it down will ya?"
"Hyde, it's still, like, bright outside," Kelso said unhelpfully.
"What's your point?" Hyde called, but he got to his room before anyone could answer and turned the lock. The good part about living in the back room of the basement was that, no matter the time of day, it was dark. And on days like this one, it was easy for Hyde to collapse and sleep himself out of reality.
Forman Residence
The Driveway
April 19, 1980
8:07am
Jackie slammed the trunk of her car down and lugged one of her bags over her shoulder. Please still be here, please still be here, she pleaded silently as she rushed up the street and into the Formans' driveway. Please don't let me be the one who gets left behind.
But the driveway was empty save for the Camino and the Vista Cruiser. She let her bags fall from her shoulder, and the large suitcase she was dragging behind her clattered to the floor. So much for a fun weekend with her friends—that didn't involve Sam.
She knew she'd woken up way too late, and knew it was a stretch that they would have waited so long. But still. Jackie kicked a bag. Was a twenty minute wait really too much to ask?
"Jackie? There you are." It was Mrs. Forman. "Oh, honey the bus just left a little while ago. They waited for you for fifteen minutes, but by 8:00 the driver said they had to skedaddle." She laughed nervously.
Jackie closed her eyes and let the tension drain from her body. So much for that.
"Sorry, honey," Mrs. Forman said again. "Would you like some tea?"
"Sure," Jackie accepted gracefully, following Mrs. Forman into the house. That would at least help her feel marginally better.
Mrs. Forman began rambling about how Eric had almost woken up late too, and that even though he lived here he was the last to climb onto the bus, but Jackie felt too down to pay much attention to what she was saying until she heard her exclaim, "Steven!"
Jackie's head jerked up.
"Oh, I forgot! Oh, you can go with Steven!"
Steven, who had just popped up in the kitchen's entrance, looked just as confused as she did. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
It was a little unnerving. Since everything had happened, they'd gone from sniping at each other to civil, but civil meant rarely talking to each other directly.
"I was late," she answered.
He rolled his eyes. "Typical."
"Well what are you still doing here?"
"W.B. said I had to open the shop half day so I'm drivin' up after I close."
"Oh."
Mrs. Forman's eyes darted between them nervously. "So…" she prompted, "Jackie, you ask…"
"Are you going alone?"
Hyde smirked and grabbed a muffin from the counter. "Yup."
Jackie stared at her hands.
Mrs. Forman tried again. "And, Steven, you offer…"
He sighed and hung his head low. She was sure she heard him mutter damn it.
"Just get your crap, try not to talk too much, and get in the car."
Point Place Precinct
Interrogation Room 1
January 27, 1981
3:22am
Hutton's head was now in his hands. "Man, Johnson, I told you this was a waste of time."
Jackie tried to protest, "I'm-"
"Wasting our time!"
The older officer looked pained and impatient but Jackie couldn't tell with whom.
"Miss Burkhart," he said finally. "We really only need to know crucial parts of the story."
"This is crucial."
Losing his patience again, Hutton blurted, "We don't care about the start of some great love story I'm sure you think you have!"
"Hutton," Officer Johnson said in a warning tone.
Jackie felt like screaming. Every time she blinked she heard herself scream, along with other memories that haunted her. Shouting and arguing, inescapable darkness, the loud ringing that blazed in her ears after the distinct sound of a gunshot going off.
"Believe me," Jackie said, glaring at the younger officer. "This isn't a love story."
HELLO! Not sure if there's anybody still out there, but if you're here and you read this long ass first chapter then hello and thank you for reading, and if you've BEEN here, then thank you for still being here after lots of months of me being lazy and uninspired. I've been writing a lot over the last couple months, and I have about 13 different first drafts for different fics written (truly, I counted), but nothing excited or pleased me enough to ever want to finish, plan out, or post. Then, a couple weeks ago, I was stuck on a plane for about six hours and with nothing to do up there but think I managed to find a way to take my favorite aspects from my many different drafts and incorporate them with an idea that really excited me. And I hope it's going to really excite you too.
This is going to be...very different from what I'm used to. Both in the content I'm writing and the way the story is getting told. So bare with me. It's taken me a lot of time to piece together a timeline and include intricate details to help me tell this story. And I think I've finally pulled together just enough to be able to confidently put out this first chapter without screwing myself in a later chapter. It's been read and approved by some of my best friends and biggest jackiehyde fans, and so with that, I give you this first chapter and one of my favorite things I've ever written.
I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.