by Jaded
Disclaimers: Same as the prologue. Not mine, wish it were mine, still not mine, oh well. Don't sue.
A/N: This chapter's in omniscient point-of-view, so I'm going to be jumping into everybody's head. Hope you can keep up!
Chapter One: Graduation Day
They seemed to be two people destined for bad luck in love. There was Jackie, who would have difficulty finding a man who could love her and trust her at the same time, and who wouldn't cheat; wouldn't break her heart. Then there Hyde, who rarely opened himself up to even the tiniest sliver of vulnerability or to the slightest possibility of love, but who, when he did, often came out of it badly burned, only then to shut down even further, slip deeper into Zen.
Everything about them could have spelled fairy tale—the princess and the orphan boy—but even Jackie had given up on that idea eventually. Here, in their reality, their story, the end was not the last bit of the story, and here, forever did not mean for always.
*~*~*~*~*
Kitty bustled around the kitchen, humming to herself, moving pots and pans from cupboard to counter to sink, and filling up plates with pounds of good food for growing boys and girls. She hadn't cooked like this since Red's mother had kicked the bucket, (may she rest in peace), and anyway, today's preparation was meant for a happy occasion. Today, her boys were finally going to graduate from high school.
Kitty stirred a bowl of macaroni salad, lost in thought. She was so proud of them. Her baby boy was all grown-up now, and Steven, despite his broken home, had made it through and done good. It made her, well, right now the thought made her want to drink heavily and go to bed, but that was probably just the menopause talking.
At quarter to eight, another tray of brownies baking away in the oven, Eric Forman emerged, walked into the kitchen, and yawned good morning to his mother. His hair was an unruly mess—Kitty wanted very badly to sit him down and comb his hair—and his eyes were still half-closed with sleep, but he looked bright and happy, a dreamy grin playing on his face.
"Oh, is that fluffy fruit salad?" he asked, dipping his finger into a bowl orange dreamsicle delite fruit salad, licking the marshmallow fluff from his fingers. Kitty slapped his hand away, and Eric darted around her, giving her a kiss on a cheek.
"Hands off!" she laughed. "That's for the party later, silly!"
"Mom, today I am finally free from the shackles of the public education system. Today, I am finally a man."
Kitty laughed again and forced him into his seat at the breakfast table. She served him a plateful of eggs, bacon, waffles with fresh Wisconsin maple syrup, and a giant glass of orange juice. "Oh, honey, you're not a man yet!"
"Mom!"
"You're my big boy and I am so very proud of you!" She kissed him on top of the head. He squirmed, but not really trying to get away.
Eric was thrilled. Today, finally, he was going to graduate from Point Place High School. High school had felt like forever to him. Four years had felt more like five or six, his sophomore and junior years dragging on for some strange reason. . . Today was the day though. He would be walking across that stage with Hyde, Kelso, and Fez, with Donna and Jackie and his family watching from the seats.
Next year he would truly be moving on with his life. He and Donna were going to head to the University of Wisconsin, still engaged, still in love, and away from Red's disapproving eye. It was totally going to be awesome. He knew it. Madison was at least three times bigger than Point Place, and during the college visit he had scoped out some pretty awesome music venues and bars. Eric couldn't wait.
"Hey, where's Dad this morning?"
Kitty handed Eric a plate of buttered toast, which he took and placed next to a tall glass of milk which had materialized from seemingly, nowhere.
"Oh, your father went to the bank early this morning, he should be back soon." Kitty bustled a little more, then finally sat down across from her son. "Where's Steven this morning?"
"Hyde?" Eric said, "probably still sleeping. You know how he doesn't like waking up before Saturday morning cartoons are over, unless they're showing new ones. He should be up before noon."
"Well, I just hope he gets up soon. He needs his breakfast. A strapping young man like him needs to be properly nourished!"
"Mom! Why do I have to be your little boy still, but Hyde get to be a man?"
Kitty laughed. "Oh, Eric, honey. Here, have some strawberry jam."
Eric took the jar from her and sulked quietly to himself over his eggs.
*~*~*~*~*
"I cannot believe I am finally going to be an American graduate." Fez beamed proudly, gazing up at the perfect Saturday afternoon sun that beamed down on the Point Place High Vikings football field. Green and white flags on the bleachers waved in the brisk June wind. "God bless America!"
Kelso finished off his popsicle and threw the stick on the grass. "You know what that means, Fez."
"What does it mean, Kelso?"
"It means that now all the high school chicks are totally going to want you—well, after I'm done with them, of course—because they dig a man with a degree. That, and now you can vote!"
"I can?" Fez's eyes glazed over with the glorious light of suffrage. He raised his fist high in the air. "I can now strike back at the white man's imperialistic foreign policy against my country! My vote will make a difference! This will teach those dirty politicians never to mess with my people. The people of . . ."
"Fez, graduating high school doesn't mean you get to vote." Hyde came up from behind them, fussing with the polyester green graduation robes that had been handed out to them during the last week of school by the preppy overachievers in student council. "Why are you listening to Kelso? He can hardly tie his shoes, I mean, look at them, they're already untied."
Kelso looked down at his lace-less black loafers. "What?" Hyde smacked him on the head and laughed. Fez joined in.
"Good one, my curly-headed friend."
"Thanks, man."
Kelso glared at both of them, but for once held his tongue. Things between Kelso and Hyde hadn't been smooth sailing for the last few months of high school, although they tried to at least put up a show that things weren't as bad as they really were. Even after all this time, it still came down to Jackie, and neither wanted to lose to the other, and more importantly, to both she still meant so much, practically everything, although she was with neither of them now.
There was a pregnant pause where no one said anything and Fez looked from Kelso to Hyde, to Kelso to Hyde. Finally, Hyde coughed. He motioned his head towards the stage. "I think we're supposed to start lining up for the ceremony."
The three of them headed off, where half-way across the field they were intercepted by Eric and Donna. Donna ran up to all of them first, smiling brightly. Her graduation at Her Lady of Perpetual Sorrow had been held the day before, and today she was there for support.
"This is so exciting, you guys! I can't believe we've all finally graduated!"
"All of us except Jackie," Kelso interjected.
Donna's eyes immediately went to Hyde's face, her face a mix of concern and pity with the unmistakable tinge of judgment, which despite all her good intentions, Donna could not hide, not even today. He looked away and said nothing.
"Where is Jackie, anyway?" Eric said, readjusting his one honor club pin on his lapel. He looked up. "Not that I care or anything, but," Donna glared at him, "she's a part of the gang now? And things wouldn't be the same without her?"
Donna looked past his shoulder, ignoring him. "She said she was going to be here. I'm sure she'll be here in a few minutes though, you know Jackie—"
"She likes to arrive fashionably late," Hyde muttered without thinking.
They all turned to look at him. He shrugged, although in his mind he was mentally kicking himself. They had broken up six weeks ago, but there she was still, always in his head, doing a rambling running commentary in the way only she could do, and God help him, he had absorbed enough of it that sometimes it just came leaking out.
Another awkward silence passed until Kitty came running up to them all, snapping photos with every other step.
"Aren't you kids just so adorable! C'mon, all of you, together for a group picture."
Red appeared behind her. "Kitty, leave them alone. The principal is calling them to line up."
"Red, just a minute! If I don't capture this moment then it will be lost to time forever, and then what? They'll grow old and one day will realize that they never had a group picture at their graduation with their best friends and what will happen then? They'll start drinking and crying, all alone, with no pictures to remind them of the good times!"
"Oh fine! Just take the picture and hurry it up. They just might not let the dumbasses graduate if you keep them too long."
"Thanks for the encouraging words, Dad," Eric said, pretending to wipe away a tear. "I'll never forget your words of wisdom on this most special of special days."
"What did I tell you about being a smart ass?"
"That smart asses go to Hell when they die?"
"You got that right, mister. Now get up on stage. All of you. March!"
Kitty snapped a picture quickly and then shooed the kids off. Red put his arms around her shoulders. Kitty sniffled, a little overwhelmed.
"They're all leaving us," she said sadly, her chest heaving with a sigh.
"Finally. I thought those damned kids were going to live in our basement forever." Kitty looked up, appalled, but Red smiled, and they went to take their seats.
*~*~*~*~*
The ceremony went by smoothly for the most part. The speeches by the principal, the class president, and the valedictorian were sufficiently inspirational although boring, and the band was mostly in tune when they played "Pomp and Circumstance" for the procession. The only "infraction" was when Timmy tried to strip off his robes and streak across the stage. He was stopped by Vice Principal Sinclair, who for a former Miss Wisconsin Dairy Princess, had a tackle that the Green Bay Packers would have killed for.
Most of the students milled around after the ceremony was over, many of them reluctant to leave the place that had been home to so many of their memories, good and bad, although even more reluctant to admit that they'd miss Point Place High. The gang hung around for a few extra minutes, talking to one another, making plans for the rest of the day, the rest of the summer.
Jackie had eventually shown up, fashionably late, of course. She had sat with the Formans and Fez's host parents (but putting a coat on the seat between her and Fez's host mom who kept whispering something about 'the dark lord,' and 'sinful clothing' as she feverishly ran her hands over a rosary, occasionally glancing at Jackie's white sun dress, the one dotted with little pink rosebuds).
"Fez, Eric," she beamed, "congratulations!"
"Why thank you, Jackie," Fez said. "Does Fez get a kiss for all his good work?" He bent his knees and offered up the side of his face.
Jackie gave him a severe look, but then broke out into a smile. "Why not?" Even with her high heeled black boots, she had to get up on her toes to kiss his cheek. She laughed.
"Um, I think I'll pass on that," Eric said, pulling Donna to his hip, "but thanks for coming, Jackie."
"Hey!" Kelso said, "don't I get a kiss too, Jackie?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I don't think so, Michael."
"Aww, man!"
"Can it, Kelso!" Fez said. "Can't you see the lady does not want your loving now that she has had a taste of Fez?"
"All of you," Red barked, "can it."
Kelso pouted some more, but said nothing.
All this time, Hyde hung around in the background, not saying anything, but thinking to himself. Jackie kept shooting him looks, but every time it looked like she was going to say something to him, she only bit her lip and turned to make a comment to Donna.
She still hung out with the gang in Forman's basement, although now she made more time with her cheerleader friends than previously. But it was occasionally awkward, usually uncomfortable, and often tense. The way things had ended between her and Hyde had not been pretty because unlike traditional break-ups it hadn't ended with them yelling, "I hate you!" at one another. It had ended with him saying that he loved her, and with both of them nursing broken hearts.
Jackie tried to stand by her decision. She had been the one to break it off. "It was the right and mature thing to do," she had explained to Donna, who had listened quietly and patiently. He hadn't trusted her. He had told her that he didn't trust anybody, not the government, not friends, not family. "What about me though?" she had asked, and he had replied, flip and Zen, "It's nothing personal, Jackie."
But it was personal, and after Kelso's last attempt to break them up, which had led to their fight about trust, things between them had been so fragile and tenuous that Jackie had decided to stop it before they went any further in the relationship, before they had a chance to reach some point of no return.
It was hard though. Every day it was hard, and seeing him still made her all sorts of achy. Seeing him and not touching him, not kissing him, made her want to run outside and scream in frustration. It made her want to tear her own hair out, and when she felt like that, it meant things were seriously bad in Jackie-Land.
They had to say something to each other though. To ignore one another was stupid, and it was best, both reasoned privately to themselves, to get it done and over with.
"Steven—"
"Jackie—"
"You first."
"No. You first. Ladies first."
Jackie braced herself and balled up all her courage.
"I just wanted to tell you," her voice hitched a little bit, "that I'm very proud of you, and that I know you'll do great things from now on. I always knew you could, you always had the potential and. . . "
He cleared his throat, interrupted her rambling, his voice thick with emotion that he fought to push back. "Thanks, Jackie." Then, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, like second nature, his hands went up to touch her face like they always did when he was about to kiss her, pull her close to him where she could feel his warmth, hear his heart.
She pulled away, blushing.
"Well—"
"Well."
"I'll . . . I'll see you later?"
Hyde had taken his glasses off after the ceremony. The sun had drifted into a patch of cottony clouds , and now it was too dark for him to see with them on. He blinked, looking at her, something in his face shadowing over, his blue eyes overcast like the sky.
"Whatever," he shrugged. "Maybe I'll see you around."
Jackie nodded mutely. Turning away from him, she left quickly, not wanting him to see her cry.
*~*~*~*~*
"Steven."
Hyde looked away from Jackie's retreating form and saw Red coming towards him. Red's tie hung loosely around his neck, and he had his gray jacket thrown over his left shoulder.
"Hey, Red. What's up?"
Discarded graduation programs littered the ground, leaving the field a disaster zone of festivities. A few conscientious students tried to pick up some of the junk, but eventually gave up. The crowds of students and parents were finally letting out, people climbing into their gas guzzling cars to head home and get punch-drunk and silly on beer and wine coolers. The gang was still around though, hanging out by their cards.
Red shuffled his feet, then looked Hyde square in the eye. "I just wanted to say, son, that, well, I'm proud of you. You've really made something of yourself, and that with all the crap that you've had to go through, well, I just wanted to say that you've grown up into a fine young man, and I'm glad that I've been able to be part of your life."
Taken aback—Red was hardly one to show any emotion beyond "yelling,"—Hyde just stood silently and motionless for a moment. Finally, he found his voice. "Thanks, Red. It really means a lot to me. You and Mrs. Forman have been both really great. I'd probably be in jail right now if you guys hadn't been so nice to me."
"Yeah, that's probably true." Red cracked a smile and they both laughed.
"So yeah, again, thanks." Then, awkwardly at first, Hyde reached out his arms to give Red a hug. Red patted him on the back initially, but then they both relaxed and it became like a real hug. A manly hug, naturally, but a real, natural hug. Like how a father should be hugging a son on his graduation day.
"Anyway," Red said when the hug was done, pulling something out of the pocket of his jacket. "I got something for you." He handed Hyde a white envelope.
Hyde turned it over in his hands and looked up at Red, unsure what to think.
"You're not serving me a subpoena, are you?"
"Don't be a smart ass. Just open it."
On orders, Hyde tore it open and pulled out a check. He held it up, squinted, then looked at Red, incredulity spread over his face.
"Red," he sputtered. "Mr. Forman, I can't—"
Red held up a hand to make him shut up. "I told you once that I had been saving up the money you've been giving us for rent for bail or college. Well, now that you've made it successfully through high school without having to get bailed out, I thought it was about time I gave it back to you."
"I can't take this."
"It's rightfully yours, Steven. Now don't be a dumbass and try to act noble. You're a smart kid, and I expect you to be smart about this money. I'd prefer you use this to pay for college, but that's just my suggestion. Of course, whether not I'm going to stick my foot up your ass if you do something idiotic with it, that's another story."
Hyde laughed, then slowly folded the check and put it in his pocket. "Thank you, Red. Again, thank you. For everything."
"Eh, It's nothing. Now get in your car and head back to the house before Mrs. Forman goes crazy waiting for this party to start, and before I go crazy having to listen to her."
Red headed off, and Hyde stood for a moment, watching. What a day today had been, he thought. And here, he had never even thought about graduating.
He began to make his way to his el Camino, glancing back occasionally at the Formans, his friends, and at Jackie. His heart full, but heavy, he climbed in behind the wheel and headed back to the house.
*~*~*~*~*
"Eric!" Kitty trilled, shuffling by Bob and Joanne with a tray of pizza rolls, "where's Steven? Get him upstairs. He's going to miss the whole party!"
"Great party, Kitty," Bob said, swirling in his meaty hand a brandy old-fashioned with a cherry.
Kitty laughed. "Thank you, Bob. I'm glad somebody appreciates all the hard work and love I put into this." Turning, she spotted Eric. "Eric, did you hear me? Can you pleas go find Steven?"
"Sure," Eric shot back. He turned to Donna who gave him a quick kiss.
"Basement?"
"Where else?"
They climbed down the stairs. "Oh Steven," Eric said in a falsetto. "Oh, Steven!"
Donna looked at her fiancee. "I don't know whether or not to be bothered by how well you can do that."
Not seeing Hyde in front of the TV in his chair, Eric made a beeline for Hyde's room. Donna, sidetracked, went to get a popsicle out of the freezer. She peeled it open—cherry flavored—and went to sit down to wait for Eric and Hyde to come out.
Then, from the other room she heard Eric exclaim, "Oh shit!"
Worried, she ran into the room, popsicle still in hand. His back was to her when she entered, his head down, his focus somewhere else. "What's wrong, Eric? Are you okay?"
He turned around after fifteen seconds, a shocked expression on his face. In one hand he clutched a white sheet of paper. Wordlessly, he handed it to her. She scanned it quickly, her face taking on a similar expression to his as she reached the end of the note.
"He's . . . gone?" she said, her voice small and disbelieving.
Then they both looked around. The room was empty of anything that would have signaled his existence. Even his High Street sign was gone. There was no sign of Hyde, and simply, no Hyde.
A high, familiar voice shook Eric and Donna out of their shock.
"Hey," Jackie said, entering the room, "what's going on? Eric, your mom . . ." but her voice faltered when she saw them, saw their expressions and the empty room. Seeing the letter in Donna's hand, she tore at it, grabbing it up in her small hands to read. When she finished, she felt her stomach bottom out and her heart sink into her chest. She had to sit down on the cot where Hyde no longer slept, she felt so dizzy. It was only a matter of seconds before she was joined by Eric and Donna.
TO BE CONTINUED….
In later installments: more details on how and why Jackie and Hyde broke up, and well, whatever other questions you might have. Please r/r! I'll love you for it!
