Innocent Games Series: Game four
Summary: Through a series of games, Jackie and Hyde discover how they feel about one another. And eventually the others discover it as well.
A/N: Hello everybody! Here is a new chap and game for your perusal. Sorry to everyone who noticed my tweaking of the game Marco polo, I was hoping no one would mind. I have a friend who always played like that –and it fit better with the story. This game is not exactly a game game. But it counts I think and I hope you like. Please tell me if you do. And I am loving your suggestions. Some of them will definitely pop up. If you have any more feel free…
Credit: Thanks to everyone with kind words. You guys keep me motivated. I'm really having fun with this story. Keep the suggestions rolling in.
Study hall was so boring. School was so boring. Life was boring period now that the carefree days of summer were over. And the simple fact was she missed Steven. They had been back in school for one week. One week. And they had found time to be alone once. It was impossible when eight hours of the day she was in mind numbing public education and then every waking moment of their down time was spent in the company of all their friends in the Forman basement. Between the two of them they had only come up with one good excuse to leave together (or separate at the same time) in the last seven days. Now it was Monday and the beginning of week two and Jackie had little hope that it would be any different. She tried to hold on to the hope that Steven was just as frustrated as her so that must mean something –but if he was unwilling to tell their secret then there was the chance that they just weren't meant to be.
Jackie's thoughts were interrupted by a hand tapping her shoulder. She turned around to see Donna casually stretching and dropping a note on the floor beside her purse. Jackie quickly checked to see what Mr. Morris was doing. The man was totally annoying and hated students who had lives and passed notes in class. He wasn't looking so she leaned and picked up the note.
Hey Jackie,
I'm totally bored. Did you hear that Pam Macy is coming over to
the basement this afternoon? She just passed me a note
telling me that Kelso invited her. And that "we better be nice
to her". What is that girl's problem? Do you want to go to the
mall or something so we don't have to see her?
Write back,
Donna
Well that was a long grieving process, Jackie thought. Two weeks going on three and Kelso was already bringing trash over to the basement. She hoped he didn't think she cared. Because she didn't. And she wasn't going to run away and let him think she did. Or Steven for that matter.
Hey!
I so don't care if he brings her by. I'm not changing my plans
for that skank!
Jackie
The day progressed and soon enough Jackie found herself in the basement, with the usual crew plus Pam Macy. Steven sat on in his chair casting her sideways glances. Donna was sitting beside her on the couch. Eric and Fez were on the deep freeze and Pam was on Kelso's lap in the other chair.
Hyde couldn't believe Kelso's nerve. It was bad enough that he left Jackie to do god knows how many girls in California. But then he had to come back and bring his sluts here. He told himself it was merely his common decency and nothing more that was causing these feelings of Kelso anger.
Just then Kitty came down the stairs. Looking around the room she leveled her gaze on Kelso. "Michael honey –could you come up here for a minute and help me carry something out to the car for the church bake sale".
"Sure Mrs. Forman." Kelso responded picking Pam up and moving towards the stairs. "You girls don't fight over me while I'm gone." He said winking.
Jackie rolled her eyes and turned to Donna who was writing on a piece of paper frowning. "What are you doing Donna?"
Donna looked up from the paper. She looked over at Eric and then back to Jackie. "Well Kimberly Clifford told me in Calculus about this test you could do– well it is like a game really – that tells you if you are soul-mates with somebody using your names – and it is just stupid really. I was just…"
Eric jumped in "Cool –so how did we do Honeybunch?"
Donna frowned. "Well it is stupid; we shouldn't even go by a stupid game…"
Eric grabbed the paper. "53%, what is that? Like what is this based on?"
Jackie grabbed the paper from him. "True Love? Oh my god, I haven't played this game since Elementary school."
"Well that settles it –if the devil has heard of it –it is obviously completely unreliable as a gage." Eric scoffed but his brow was still furrowed.
"Of course it is unreliable." Jackie agreed not wanting to encourage problems with Donna and Eric. "It is just based on 7 letters. If your name has them then you are set and if you don't …"
"How do you play this game?" Fez asked, jumping down from the freezer and coming over.
Jackie explained. "Well you see Fez. You write out your name and someone else's on a piece of paper. Then you write the letters T-R-U-E and L-O-V-E down the page. Then you simply count how many letters of each word you and the other person have in your names. Then each column adds up and you see what percent chance you and that person are true loves."
"Ha! And you and Donna are only 53% percent soul-mates Forman? Better change your name to Theodore Ruerterman or something man." Hyde burned.
Eric mock laughed. "Man that is the stupidest thing ever. Like your name can determine who you belong with."
"Yeah" Donna defended. Furiously writing, "see look –if you do Jackie and Eric –you get 83%" She laughed at Eric's look of disgust "Like that would ever happen."
Fez "Do me – Do me and Jackie"
Hyde jumped in. "Fez –with your name? That is so cheating."
Jackie smiled. "Yeah Fez, True love has a syllable minimum. No more than 20." She reached over and grabbed the pencil from Donna "Let's do Michael and Donna." She added up quickly"47%, well at least you are more compatible with Eric than that jerk."
"Hey" Pam spoke up for the first time since Kelso left.
"Shut-up no one is talking to you." Jackie spat back.
Eric grabbed the pencil "What about Donna and Hyde?" He began writing, not noticing either of his friends look away. "66%, Baby…" he said taking Donna's hand and making a sympathetic face "baby it looks like this is your fault. You may need to change your last name or die and old maid"
"Shut up" she laughed swatting him playfully.
Hyde smiled. Game or no game those two were perfect for each other. He found himself looking at Jackie who seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Hey do Kelso and Jackie" he heard himself demand. He couldn't remember giving his mouth permission to say it though.
Jackie shot him a look and Donna scribbled on the paper. "76%"
Hyde felt unexpectedly relieved. 76 was a good score if you never went to class, or if you were playing basketball and it was halftime. But it wouldn't get you into Harvard or the NBA.
"Well that is still better than us" Donna began looking worried again.
"Donna it is just a stupid game. Right Eric?" Jackie insisted.
Eric was still writing though and ignored her. After a few minutes he looked up triumphant. "Well here you go – 100 percent proof positive that no confidence can be put into this game."
"What?" Donna asked looking at the paper her boyfriend was holding up for all to see.
On the paper it read:
Steven Hyde
Jackie Burkhart
T-2 L-0
R-2 O-0
U-1 V-1
E-4 E-4
"95% Baby –Read 'em and weep" Eric crowed.
Fez and Donna and Pam joined in laughing their heads off. Fez actually began rolling on the floor. Jackie and Hyde merely sat there giving what passed as pissed looks.
Jackie couldn't believe it. She had spent all day at school trying to convince herself they weren't meant to be. And then another stupid game makes her try to change her mind. She felt like she was on a rollercoaster. First a dumb game of I never makes Steven admit he wants her, and then Twister convinces her she is over Michael for good. Then the pool, oh god the pool, just made her realize she wanted Steven. Now this simple name game… And did it really matter what she thought or what the games revealed if Steven wouldn't talk about it? She glanced over at him and his unreadable expression.
It was just a game, but Hyde couldn't help but want to smile. Eric and Donna thought they knew everything. Their own epic love, Jackie, him? They thought they knew everything there was to know. But they didn't know how he has spent his summer. They didn't know what he was doing 3 days ago when he had said he had to work and Jackie was supposed to be a Cheerleading practice. They didn't know what he was thinking right now. He was thinking that it might be good for them to get a little shock, learn that they didn't know everything. Looking across the way at Pam Macy and then up to see Kelso return down the stairs he decided shaking things up might just be fun. He looked at Jackie who was looking at him. They weren't going to be able to hide whatever the hell it was they felt for that much longer anyway. Not with the way things were going.
So there was a 5 percent chance that things might blow up in his face? At the moment he couldn't think of a game with better odds.
