Chapter 3: The 4th of July

The movie wasn't all that great. It was amazingly long and boring. I would have fallen asleep if it weren't for Eric. He kept making smart-ass comments every once in a while, making me laugh. The old lady in front of us kept turning around to shush us. So, we began throwing popcorn at her head. Eric suggested that we leave before we get into trouble.

So, here I am now, driving Eric home. He was unusually quiet, staring out the window. His mind seemed to be somewhere else. "Eric, are you ok?"

I startled him with my question. "Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"About Donna?" I didn't even have to ask. I already knew the answer. Eric still loved Donna; I knew that. My feelings for Michael weren't completely gone either. He still lingered in my heart, like an annoying fly that won't leave your house.

"No, that's not it," he answered me. My eyes widened with surprise. "Come to think of it, I haven't thought about her all night."

I could feel my face growing hot. My lips began to curve into a smile, but I stopped them. I can't let him know that I'm happy because of this. "Really? Not at all? Wow Eric, I never thought I'd see the day," I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, me neither. I was actually thinking about Hyde."

Steven. I had completely forgotten about him. This was surprising to me since the times I've shared with him were literally unforgettable.

"Did he seem mad when we left?" Eric asked.

I pondered over the question. I hadn't noticed anything. I mean, why would he be angry? It's not like he cared about me in more than just a 'make out buddy'. I would never be anything more than that to him. "No, he seemed fine."

I pulled up into the driveway and let Eric out. He made a joke about how he felt like the girl in all of this. It was pretty true, if we were dating.

* * *

By the time I got home, it was well into the evening. Completely worn out, I wanted nothing more than to sleep. I had changed into my pajamas and had crawled into bed when the phone rang. I growled and answered it. "Hello?"

"Jackie?" said a very familiar voice.

"Donna?" I quickly sat up. I haven't talked to her all summer. She never called any of us, except her dad.

"Yeah, it's me. How's it going?" She sounded oddly calm. I knew it was an act.

"Everything's good here. Kind of boring without you. I bet you're having fun over there in California."

"Not really," I heard her sigh, "people are so fake here. I rather hang out with you, if you could believe that." I could hear her laughing on the other end.

"Shut up, Donna. You know you miss me," I told her, twirling the cord with my finger.

"Yeah, whatever." She paused for a moment. "How is… um… you know…"

"Eric?" I finished for her. "He's okay… now. He locked himself in his room because of you."

"Yeah, I heard about that." There was sadness in her voice.

For some reason, the feeling of guilt washed over me. Here I am, making subtle moves on him while my best friend, on the other side of the country, missed him terribly. For this reason, I decided not to mention our newfound friendship. Then, I thought of a question to ask her. "How's Michael?"

"He's good," she answered, a little too quickly.

"Donna?" I urged her to tell me the truth.

"Well, let's just say that he's getting to know some of the girls here." I rolled my eyes. This shouldn't have surprised me. "For a while, he tried to get me to join the fun and go to parties with him, but I wasn't up for it."

"So, Michael is having sex with random whores on the beach?" I asked sharply.

"Sorry, Jackie. Kelso will be Kelso. Hey, I got to go, all right?"

"Okay, bye Donna." I hung up the receiver and laid back down on the bed. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep off the knot in my stomach.

* * *

The next morning, I found myself at the Forman's basement, again. Steven was the only one there. He was seated on his usual chair, his legs crossed, staring at the TV.

I plopped down on the couch and stared at him. "Where is everybody?"

"Forman and Red are at work. Kitty's in her room," he answered tonelessly.

"Good," I replied, getting up. I walked over to him and swung one leg over his lap to straddle him. "Now that we're alone, we won't get caught."

"Actually, it wouldn't matter because they know," he said coolly, kissing my neck.

"Wait a minute," I pulled away. "How do they know?"

"Forman caught us making out in the driveway. He didn't mention this on your date?" he spat at me.

Why was he mad? I tried to read him. Even behind his shade-covered eyes, you could still read what type of mood he was in. During the summer, I have gotten better at it. Then I saw it. What was that? Was it… jealousy? Oh my God! He does care!

Steven must have noticed the huge grin appearing on my face because he looked extremely confused. "Why are you so happy?"

"You like me," I sing-songed, poking his chest.

"I do not. Now shut up before I kick you out," he said sharply. I kept quiet, knowing my limit with him. "Better." He raised himself up, still holding onto me, and laid us down against the couch.

Once again, we had our passionate make out sessions. I loved the times I shared with him. He was the first person to get my mind off of Michael. He gave me a distraction, an escape. As much as I didn't like to admit to it, I needed him. Part of me senses that Steven needs me too.

* * *

The 4th of July was finally here. Wearing my new pink tank top and blue jeans, I walked into the heavily decorated Forman backyard. I had pulled my hair in a tight bun, since it was no longer possible to let my hair loose in such hot weather without burning up.

I spotted the guys sitting at a table with a beer in each of their hands. "So, your dad let you drink, huh?" I asked Eric.

"Well, since it is an important holiday, we should celebrate it with a little buzz," he laughed, taking another sip.

"You want one?" Fez offered.

"No, I'm good," I answered. Beer was never very tasty to me.

"Oh, I see," Fez nodded, "you rather make out with Hyde." Eric and Fez began to crack up. Steven did the honors in punching Fez on the arm.

"Hey, let's keep this between us, okay?" I pleaded. I still was uneasy about letting everyone know. It was something special that I wished was still private.

The day went on like this. Steven and Eric barely spoke to one another. I don't know why Steven is so worried about Eric making a move. I knew for a fact that he would never get over Donna.

By nine o'clock, we snuck out and went to my friend Veronica's house. The girl was a huge bitch with no cheerleading talent, but I had to be nice to her. Her mother paid for everything.

"Oh, Jackie!" she exclaimed when she caught sight of me. She walked over and gave me a hug. "I'm so glad that you came." She saw that I brought the guys. "Oh, you brought your basement buddies," Veronica said this with disgust.

"Yes, I did," I replied confidently. She didn't respond.

"So, where are all the whores?" Fez asked, looking around. Fez should be happy. There were many cheerleaders here, very whorey indeed.

* * *

The party wasn't all that great. Fez seemed to be enjoying himself. He was dancing with a drunken blonde in a red dress. Eric was talking to some guy and Steven was… wait, where is Steven?

I looked around and spotted him talking to some fake blonde with a blue tube top. She was some nasty skank, who kept giggling at everything that Steven was saying. Eww, her nasty roots were showing. He caught me staring at him, but he quickly looked away.

I wanted to scream, walk over there, and bash their heads together. But, I had no reason to be mad. Time and time again, Steven made it very clear that we weren't a couple. So, he really didn't care.

"Hey," I heard Eric behind me. He handed me a coke. "Having fun?"

I smiled weakly. "I guess." I kept looking over at Steven and his skank.

Eric followed my gaze. "Oh," he said uncomfortably. "I bet those aren't even real."

I started to laugh. That was such an Eric thing to say. "Hey, I heard they're going to have a fireworks display at the park. You want to go?" he asked.

I tore my eyes away from Steven. "Yeah, sure." I wasn't going to let him have all the fun.

* * *

We parked the car a good distance away from everybody else. The park was filled with people seated on blankets, waiting for the show. We climbed onto the hood of the car and laid back against the windshield.

"Sorry about Hyde," he said all of a sudden.

I shook my head. "Don't be. It doesn't matter." Just then, the fireworks started. The sky glittered with the colorful lights. Some were only one color, red, blue, yellow, or violet. Others were a collection of them all. I always loved to watch them. It was peaceful and almost comforting.

Eric kept pointing at the ones that made the loudest noise. Those seemed to be his favorite. Since he was being so nice, I decided to be honest with him. "Donna called me."

He slowly turned his gaze away from the sky. "What did she say?"

"She said that she was okay and that she misses us." I paused. "She misses you."

Eric sighed. "Yeah, I miss her too." His eyes stared into mine. "I would have still been in my room if it wasn't for you."

"Eric, you sound corny," I laughed at him.

"No, I'm serious," he said while chuckling. "Nobody knew what I was going through. Everyone kept calling me a wuss. You know how it feels when someone crushes your heart into millions of pieces."

I smiled at him. Then, Eric began to lean in closer to me. I did the same. Our eyes closed as our lips brushed against each other. The kiss was tender and timid at first, but it turned deeper when our mouths opened slightly, allowing us to taste one another. I swept my tongue across his lower lip, something I knew guys loved. It caused Eric to moan.

His hand trailed up to the back of my neck and pulled me closer. He tasted like beer and peppermint, a strange mixture that provided a tasty flavor. Too soon did he pull away from me.

"Wow," he panted, wiping his lips.

"Yeah, that about covers it," I laughed nervously. God, how I wanted him to kiss me again!

"We should keep this between us," Eric stated, getting off the hood.

I couldn't agree more. Even though part of me wanted to rub this in Steven's face, I knew that this had to stay secret, for everyone's sake. Eric took a hold of my hand and helped me off the car. We decided to go back to the party.

The drive back had a very awkward silence in it. My mind was racing, though. How could I let this happen? A person I truly disliked since the day we met had kissed me… and I kissed him back. Don't forget the fact that he's my best friend's ex-boyfriend. Ugh, I had developed feelings for Eric Forman. There was more to it than that.

I still had feelings for Steven.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be up soon. I would love to read some feedback.