Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.
Author's Note: This is slightly UC. It takes place after the breakup. The restaurant idea was inspired from the movie 'Pulp Fiction.'
Also, I would like to thank annie for inspiring me to write this.
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Eric took his fingers and lightly ran them through his hair, trying to fix it. He turned on the faucet, got his hands wet, and patted his hair down. "Damn this stupid cowlick," he grunted as he repeatedly tried to tame his hair.
He turned the faucet off and gave up. It wasn't worth it. It's just Jackie. He was about to leave the bathroom, but Donna came in.
"That's what you're wearing?" she questioned him, her arms folded over her chest. Eric looked himself over. Red and blue striped shirt, jeans, and slightly combed hair… perfect.
"Donna, there's no need to dress up," he told her. But, he knew he would have to change anyway. She always did this to him.
"C'mon Eric. It's the grand opening of 'Jack Rabbit Slims.' It should be fun," she tried to sound convincing. "Jackie's been looking forward to this for months."
The skinny boy sighed. "Why do I have to take her?"
Donna walked over to him and put her arms around his neck. "Look, Jackie needs some cheering up. She's still pretty upset by the whole breakup. She needs a friend."
"Again, why do I have to take her?"
The red head narrowed her eyes. "Eric, stop being such an ass," she smacked his chest. "Could you, just once, pretend to like her?"
After a moment of silence, he agreed. "Fine, I'll take her."
Donna smiled. "Good." She gave him a quick kiss. She turned to leave. When she reached the doorway, she snapped around and said, "Remember to change." She gave him a wink and left the bathroom.
Eric took once last look at his reflection. "Great, you're having dinner with Satan herself."
* ~ * ~ *
After changing into his best suit, Eric made his way outside. His hair was gelled, and he used some of his special cologne. He was rather pleased with himself, especially after he tamed that damn cowlick.
Hyde and Fez were busy shooting some hoops. They stopped when they spotted Eric. "Where are you going all dressed up?" Hyde asked him.
Eric didn't think he'd be here. He thought he worked tonight. He really wished he did so he could ignore this awkward situation. "Uh… well…I'm taking Jackie out."
Hyde just stood there. Eric tried to read him, but Hyde was good with hiding his feelings. Finally, he spoke. "Well, have fun then," He tossed the ball to Fez. "Here, I don't feel like playing anymore." With that, he walked away.
"Oh Eric," Fez shook his head. "I can't believe you would steal Jackie away from Hyde."
"What?" his eyes widened. "I'm not stealing her away. I'm just taking her out to make her feel better."
"Oh, I believe you," Fez replied in his most sarcastic voice. "I mean, getting all dressed up and taking a girl out to dinner is so not a date." He paused. "By the way, I'm using sarcasm if you didn't get what I was doing."
"Fez, it's not a date, okay? I don't like her in that way," he explained. Before he could say more, he spotted Jackie walking towards them.
She was wearing a scarlet silk dress, with spaghetti straps that criss-crossed in the back. The dressed reached just above her knees. Her black locks were curled and seemed to bounce against her shoulders as she walked. Her make-up was in perfect order, to no surprise. Overall, she looked absolutely… perfect.
'God she's beautiful' Eric thought. He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about her like that. But, she gave him no choice with the way she was looking that night.
"Hey Eric," she greeted him coolly. "You didn't have to dress up. I just felt like looking nice tonight."
"No, it's all right," he told her. He couldn't stop smiling. She looked better up close.
"We should get going," she said. Eric nodded and led her to the Vista cruiser. They pulled out and drove away, leaving Fez in the driveway.
Fez chuckled. "Oh. It's definitely a date."
* ~ * ~ *
Jack Rabbit Slims was a restaurant with a 50s theme to it. Marilyn Monroe and Elvis impersonators served as waiters and waitresses. Small tables were arranged against the wall, all around the room. There were special booths in the shape of cars that surrounded a large dance floor, which lay in the middle of the restaurant. Specialty seating of course.
Eric took it all in. This place was on the verge between being creative and just plain tacky. He didn't think too much of it, but Jackie seemed to adore it. Her eyes glistened as she observed the large, colorful room as music blared from the jukebox.
After he checked to make sure they were on the list, the host led them to their car. He held open the Buick's door, to allow them to climb right in. "Enjoy your stay," he said politely before he walked away.
The couple sat across from each other, a little awkwardly. Even though they've known each other for years, they were never alone together. The change of pace was uncomfortable. They sat there in silence for a few minutes.
"So," Jackie broke the ice. "What are we going to talk about?"
Eric gave out a nervous laugh. "Well, we can… uh… well…"
"C'mon Eric. You're never shy around me," she laughed. "Ask me something. Anything you want."
"Anything?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. She nodded. "Well, during the beginning of your unnatural relationship with Hyde, was one of the reasons to stay with him is to get back at Kelso?"
That wiped the smile right off her face. Eric tensed up, waiting for her to slap him or something. Before she could answer, the waiter came by.
"Hey, I'm Buddy. What can I get you?" he asked, rather rudely.
Jackie opened the menu up and glanced at it for a second. "Give me a turkey and bacon club sandwich, with fries and…" she trailed off, "a vanilla shake." She handed the menu over to Buddy.
Eric took a look at the menu. His eyes widened at the sight of the prices. "Jackie, I didn't bring this much money."
"Don't worry about it. The owner is paying," she replied. "A friend of the family."
"Oh, then I'll have the New York Strip steak, medium, and…" he paused, "a cheery coke." Buddy snatched the menu from his hands and walked away without saying a word. 'Not much of a waiter.' he thought.
"I guess I should answer your question," Jackie said dully.
"You don't have to." he told her.
"No, I want to," she began. She cleared her throat. "Fooling around with Steven was just for fun. The fact that he was my ex-boyfriend's best friend… didn't hurt."
"I knew it!" he pointed his finger at her. "I knew you did it to make Kelso jealous."
"It wasn't just that," she sneered. "I liked Steven too. Then we started getting serious, I fell in love with him, he cheated, and I dumped his sorry ass. End of story." Her voice cracked.
"You'll find somebody else," he tried to comfort her. He felt horrible for bringing this up.
"I know I will," she broke into a smile. "But, I shouldn't set my hopes too high, because someone always lets me down."
"Hey, Hyde was confused," he defended his friend. "He thought you were…"
"I don't care anymore," she interrupted him. "I just don't care. I mean, I thought I'd be rich forever, but that didn't work out. I thought Michael and I would stay together, that seriously didn't work out. And finally, I thought Steven and I would be together too," she paused to wipe away a tear off her cheek, "but that didn't work out either."
"C'mon Jackie," he whispered sweetly, taking a hold of her hand.
"Okay." She wiped her eyes and regained control of herself. She couldn't believe she was acting like this in front of him. She was even more surprised about how gentle he was acting towards her. "So, can I ask you a question?"
Eric shifted in his seat. He was a little worried about her question. "Sure."
"Why do you need to marry Donna now?"
"Because I love her," he stated. What kind of question was that?
"I know you love her but don't you think you should listen to your dad and wait a while?"
"You thought it was romantic!" he reminded her.
"Yeah, the engagement. But actually going through with it, that's another story."
"I know that. It's just I want to do this because…" He couldn't finish. He had no idea. He didn't want to think about this. Not now. "Let's just drop it."
"Fine," she backed off. She decided not too say anything more because she knew she'd tick him off. That was the last thing she needed was another moody person. She had enough problems of her own.
Eric needed some distraction. Get his mind off of things that have been stressing him out for the few weeks. He eyed the dance floor. "You want to dance?" he asked suddenly, catching her off guard.
"What?"
"This night should be fun. We drove all the way over here, we should enjoy ourselves." He got out of the car and helped her out too. He took her small hand into his, and led her to the dance floor.
Eric put his arm around her and placed his hand on the small of her back, holding her close. 'God, she smells incredible' he thought as he caught the scent of her perfume. Jackie placed her hand on his arm and took a hold of his other hand. They swayed their bodies slowly to the rhythm of the music.
"I'm sorry, Eric," she whispered into his ear. "Sorry for dragging you into this with you hating me and all."
"I don't hate you," he admitted. "I just don't understand you."
"You understand me now?"
"I'm getting there," he replied softly. He let go of her hand and moved it up to her face. Jackie let her eyes close as his warm hand caressed her cheek. Eric leaned in and kissed her lips tenderly. It took Jackie a second to realize what he was doing, but she immediately responded. She slightly opened her mouth, deepening the kiss. Eric pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her securely. He moved his hands up and down her back, feeling the silky fabric and her soft skin.
Jackie wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up. She knew this was wrong, but at that moment, it felt so right. Eric would agree. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but it felt good. It felt so good to finally kiss another woman, to taste a different flavor of lip-gloss, to hold someone else in his arms for a change.
They broke away, leaving them both of them breathless. Jackie looked into his eyes, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she spoke up. "I think we should go back to the booth."
"Yeah," he agreed, still out of breath. "I think we should."
* ~ * ~ *
The rest of the evening was spent in an uncomfortable silence. They didn't dare to speak about it. They did the unthinkable. They kissed. What made them feel even worse is that they wanted to do it again.
Eric pulled up into the driveway and turned off the ignition. He looked over at Jackie. "We should keep this between us."
"I can keep a secret if you can," she told him. "I'd lose her too, you know."
Eric smiled. "Thanks." Before he knew it, Jackie was leaning towards him again. Eric closed his eyes, awaiting another kiss. He was disappointed when she kissed his cheek instead.
"Thanks for doing this, Eric." With that, she got out of the car, and made her way next door.
Eric got out of the car. "What a tease," he said to himself. Yet, he was confused. He loved Donna. He's been with her for years. One night with Jackie isn't going to change anything. Then why is he still undecided? Well, this night really did a number on him. But, he did figure out something he always wondered about.
He finally figured out why Kelso, Hyde, and Fez all fell for Jackie.
* ~ * ~ *
Next door, Jackie was replaying the events in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about that kiss, and how good it felt. She wanted to kiss him in the car, but she knew if she started that again, it will only hurt her more. He was with Donna. They were going to get married, buy a house, have some kids, and live happily ever after. They'll have the perfect life. Just like they planned.
She chuckled. Jackie knew all too well that life didn't always go as planned. Things change. People change. Eric and Donna think their little fairy tale will come true. That nothing will get in their way. Jackie used to think that way, but she knew better now. Maybe Eric and Donna were an exception. Maybe they will make it.
Jackie secretly hoped they wouldn't.
The End
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Please R & R and tell me what you thought of it. Be kind, it's my first UC fic.