Chapter 16

The next day Steven was tossing baskets badly by himself as he could barely see out of his left eye. He had a black eye, a bruise on his right check and was generally sore especially where he landed on his ass when the bouncers threw him out. Why he was shooting baskets was beyond him, in the ten minutes he had been playing he had missed all but one or two.

"Oh my god, Steven, what happened!!" Jackie crossed the garden. "Why do you have a black eye?"

"Didn't Kelso call you?" Steven assumed the first thing Kelso would do is run to Jackie and put him in the worst light possible. "We had a disagreement and the bouncers asked us to leave."

"Are you okay?" She walked over and gently touched his eye, "Oh Steven." He didn't move his head even though her fingers pressing on his eye hurt like the devil. She was touching and he was willing to stand there all day while she did it regardless of pain.

"Yeah, I'll live," he said and she moved her hand. They stared at each other, neither sure where to go. Steven threw the basketball; they both watched it miss the net by a good two feet then rolled off the side of the driveway.

"So-" both said at the same time, he stopped motioning for her to continue.

"Steven, I've been thinking and I think that, well, maybe and I'm not sure, but maybe we could try-"

"There you are," Kelso came bounding from behind the garage onto the driveway. "Jackie I have been trying to call you last night and this morning. Look at my face. Do you know who did this? Do you? Your ex- boyfriend, Hyde, did this." Kelso's hand was circling in front of his face as Jackie stared at him. Michael had a black right eye, swollen lip and, the most obvious; his nose was swollen until it took up most of his face.

"Is your nose broken?" Jackie asked looking at him more closely.

"Yeah, I'm no longer man pretty-I'm, I'm tall and kosher which is just as bad as being short and kosher. Hyde destroyed my future career as the sexy cop who gets laid all the time."

She looked at both of them suspiciously. "How exactly did this start?"

"It was just a slight disagreement," Hyde said not wanting to get into the details with Jackie.

"I was telling him how we are going to get back together and have the most amazing sex, making you forget anything you had with him" Kelso said having no problems with telling Jackie.

"Michael do you ever think of anything else?"

"Well, I was watching this movie and I saw something I thought we could try- "

"Kelso" Steven warned

"Because we know that any lovin' you had with Hyde is no where near what you got from me." Kelso smile at her and she stared back. The thought of comparing what her and Steven have against what her and Michael had was mind boggling. She was going to explain that, in simple terms, but Steven started to speak before she could.

"Kelso, you are the dumbasses of all dumbasses. Why can't you ever leave anything alone?"

"Bug off Hyde, Jackie and I are talking" Kelso said, stepping over to push Steven. "If you don't get out of my way, I'm going to beat you up again. I can protect my eye now."

"You have a black eye." The two began to bicker between the two of them and Jackie turned away, just once she'd like to-to she didn't know what but somehow gluing their mouths shut sounded like a feasible answer.

"That's enough, shut up the both of you" Jackie stepped between the two waving her hands. "I have had enough. Michael do you even know what it is you want?"

"Jackie of course I know what I want, I want to show I'm better then Hyde." Micheal smiled at her, knowing his good looks would carry him through.

"Yeah, okay. So I choose you Michael." Jackie said.

"What-" Steven said stepping towards her

"All right I knew I'd win in the end!!!" Kelso punched his hand in the air and jumped up and down. Steven just stared at her in silence then turned to walk away. Jackie wanted to run after him but she needed to make Michael understand.

"So, Michael, let's talk about how we are going to spend our life. I want to get married right after graduation. It'll be so fun with just the two of us, never being with anyone else again." He stared at her.

"Well, I still want to sleep with some other girls-" he stopped speaking. "Jackie, I can't do that."

"Do what Michael?"

"I'm sorry Jackie but I can't not share myself with as many girls as possible. What if I miss that one girl who is willing to do all the positions ever thought of?" Michael stared at Jackie, she was smiling at him.

"Michael, I don't pick you. I know we aren't meant to be together. What we had was so special and a part of me will always love you, you were my first boyfriend but we've both moved on now." The two stared at each other.

"We aren't ever getting back together are we?"

"No, Michael we aren't. But that doesn't mean a part of me won't always love you but I'm not IN love with you. Do you get that?" Jackie looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, I love you Jackie but I can't give you what you want. Hyde can," he motioned at the direction Steven had walked off in.

"Well, we'll see what happens," Jackie said. Not wanting to talk to Michael about Steven. It seemed like a betrayal in some way but she knew it wasn't. "Your one of my best friends."

"Jackie, you understand me in ways only my dog friends do." She smiled it was probably the nicest thing he could say to her.

"I have to go find Steven." The two hugged then she moved away. "Goodbye Michael."

"Goodbye Jackie."