by Jaded (opheliadrowning@hotmail.com)
Disclaimer: Not mine. Please don't sue.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The gang is heading up to the UW for a college visit, except this time Jackie's coming with the boys while Donna is heading to Marquette by herself. Takes place when "Over the Hills and Far Away" should be in the real season 5.
Chapter Five: Have Car, Will TravelTwo months. Two months and he still couldn't burn the memory out of his mind. Jackie and Kelso, redux.
He'd been watching "Fantasy Island" with Eric and Donna in the basement as per usual when Kelso had burst into the room grinning like an even bigger moron than usual. Hyde had gotten a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Kelso looked happy—too happy—and Hyde, being Hyde, was suspicious. There had to be something more than Kelso finding free beer or getting a sighting of boob, and Hyde felt sick because he had an idea what it probably was.
"Guess what, you guys?" Kelso bounced on his heels.
"You finally got some medicine to clear up that V.D.?" Eric asked. Donna giggled.
"No, ERIC. It's even better than that. Me and Jackie are back together!"
"What?" Donna got to her feet. "Kelso!"
"What, Big D!?"
"What?" she said. "WHAT? Kelso! You totally abandoned her, broke her heart! How could you even think about asking her to take you back, especially only after a day!"
"Hey!" Kelso said, his voice surprisingly sharp, "look who's talking. You totally abandoned Eric and broke his heart, and look, he took you back!" It was an unusually astute observation on Kelso's part.
"That is a good point," Eric said.
Donna glared at him. "Well, that's . . . that's different! I didn't ask Eric to marry me and then run off to California."
"An even better point."
Throughout the exchange Hyde found himself at a loss for words. His brain felt overloaded with thoughts to the point where he just stopped thinking about anything at all. He felt his eyes glaze over, and then catching himself, shook himself out of it.
One day. She hadn't even been able to last one day. Hyde felt ill.
Donna was still shouting at Kelso and calling him an undeserving dumbass, and Kelso was still shrieking in his own self-defense. Eric looked on, obviously amused.
Hyde suddenly got up from his chair, pushing it backwards. The legs scraping across the floor made a tinny, piercing sound that made the room go quiet. Donna and Kelso stopped yelling and looked at him. Hyde opened his mouth to speak, but he had nothing to say. He realized that he had no where to go.
"I, uh . . ." Eric was frowning at him, confused as to what was going on. "I gotta . . . I gotta go somewhere. Catch you guys later." He found that he couldn't make eye contact with any of his friends.
He left through the back door before anyone could ask him questions. He quickly found his car and whipped out his keys. He fumbled with them for a minute before he managed to get a grip on himself. What was wrong with him, he thought, starting the car with a roar of the engine.
Hyde opened a window to get some fresh air to clear his head. He drove down the quiet streets of Point Place—it was always quiet on nights like these—not knowing where he wanted to go. Maybe a bar, he thought, get a drink to chill out and maybe, knock some sense into his head. Maybe he'd head over the Hub, pick up some random girl like he had planned earlier that day, but instead he found himself in the last place he should have been, parked in front of Jackie's house, staring up at her dark mansion and feeling out of his mind.
He gingerly placed his head on the steering wheel, and then lifting it up slightly, slammed his head back down, hard. Hyde winced. He did not get hung up on girls, so why was he parked in front of the Burkhart house like some pervert or love-sick idiot? It was so incredibly stupid, but something in him wouldn't let him just drive away.
The Burkhart mansion was huge, especially for a little town like Point Place. Jackie had grown up in exactly the opposite conditions he had. She had both her parents, was rich, spoiled, and given everything she had ever wanted. He'd just had Edna, and only sometimes even if you counted the times she was passed-out drunk in the bathroom, head in a toilet. He had learned to make-do with what little he had had. Jackie had learned to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. So why was he here? Why was he even thinking about her.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hyde caught a flicker of light. Looked up towards the house he saw a light go on. Jackie's bedroom. A smile tried to push through, but Hyde forced it back. He was, however, unable to stop his thoughts from drifting to the times he had been in that room amongst the pink and purple flowers and unicorns, oblivious to the décor and only tuned into Jackie, her arms, legs, her sweet mouth, her hair.
Her parents must have been gone still, he thought, realizing that her room light was the only one on. They hadn't talked a whole lot this summer, not him at least, but she had managed to slip in bits of chatter between kisses. She had told him that her mother was off on a bunch of vacations, and that her dad had seemed much more distracted than usual, and that he was hardly home anymore. She had spent a lot of time with him this summer, but he had thought it was because she was enjoying fooling around just as much as he was. Hyde never really considered until now that maybe, she didn't have anywhere else to go or anyone to be with except for him.
He looked at her window again and thought he saw the curtains open slightly, then drop back. But maybe his eyes were deceiving him. After a minute, the lights went out, and Hyde, sighing to himself, confused, angry, unsure of what was going on, started the el Camino and drove off.
***
"Are you sure you don't want to go visit Marquette with me, Jackie?"
Donna stuffed another one of her lumberjack flannel shirts into an overnight bag she was packing for her college visit. Jackie thought that Donna was packing way more of those ugly shirts than absolutely necessary, but she guessed that with Donna having to wear a Catholic School Girl uniform every day of the week, she was allowed.
Jackie sat on Donna's bed, running her hand over soft fabric of Donna's colorful comforter. She looked up at her friend. "I want to, Donna, but I gotta keep an eye on Michael. He's going to be surrounded by easy college sluts—like that skank, Laurie—and I have to be there to keep him from cheating."
Donna put down the shirt she had been folding. She went and sat down next to Jackie.
"Jackie--" She hesitated for a second, then continued. "Why are you even with Kelso then if you obviously don't trust him."
"Donna, I've never trusted him."
Donna made a strangled noise in her throat. "Jackie!"
"What!?"
"Why did you take him back then? I mean, Jackie, despite all the stuffed animals and unicorns, I think you've grown up a lot since you first stated dated him. He's hurt you so many times. Why would you want to put yourself through all of that?"
"For love?" Jackie said meekly, not really believing her own argument.
Donna put an arm around Jackie's shoulder. "Why are you putting yourself through this? You know, Jackie, you don't have to always be with somebody. You can be alone too, and it can be okay. This isn't just my 'stupid feminist crap' either." Donna gave her a dopey smile.
"Yeah, I know." Jackie lay her head on Donna's shoulder. She was glad she had a friend like Donna. She had in fact wanted to go to Marquette, but Michael, for whatever promises he made, couldn't be relied on unsupervised for the weekend. And Steven would be on the trip too . . .
" . . . I mean, it would make more sense for you to be with Fez, or even Hyde, and you two hate each other!"
Jackie's head snapped up. "What?"
Donna gave her an odd look. "I said that it would make more sense for you to be with Fez of Hyde instead of Kelso yet again." A smile of amusement suddenly appeared on Donna's face to replace her look of confusion. "Jackie, do you remember that insane crush you used to have on Hyde?" Donna gave a bark of a laugh. "And you used to write Mrs. Steven Hyde like, a gagillion times in your notebook. Didn't you wear a hole through one of them?"
Jackie forced a smile. "Yeah," she said through gritted teeth. "I remember that."
Donna continued to laugh. "Man, that was so crazy. I mean, you and Hyde? What were you thinking, Jackie?"
"What's so funny about that?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Her hands flew up to her face.
Donna made a mock-stern face. "Oh c'mon, Jackie. Hyde's a good guy, but you and him? You're like oil and water. It would never work."
"Why not?"
Donna opened her mouth and then shut it. She raised an eyebrow. "What is this about, Jackie?"
"About? Nothing. I'm just . . . it's nothing."
"This doesn't sound like nothing."
Jackie threw her hands up in the air. "No, really, it's nothing. Well, I mean, sure, we fight a lot and . . ." she was going to say that they didn't like one another, but the summer had definitely proved otherwise. He'd always been extra sweet with her too, at least when she needed it, like when Michael cheated on her or when he took the blame for her pot. Maybe she saw a side of him that no one else knew. "Maybe you're wrong about him and me, Donna. Did you ever think about that? Maybe we would make a good couple. I'm very cute, Donna. Don't underestimate the power of my cuteness."
"Yeah, sure, Jackie." Donna got up and went to her dresser to pack up the very few toiletries that she owned. "That's a lot of maybes."
***
"What do you mean, the loud one is coming?"
"Red--"
"Kitty, we already have to put up with that fruity foreign kid and Kelso, now we got another tag-along?"
Hyde stood in the driveway of the Forman's house, a bag slug over his shoulder, watching them argue. He adjusted his sunglasses and leaned against the front of the Vista Cruiser.
"Red Forman, do you mean to tell me that you are willing to deny this young woman the opportunity to visit a University and, God Forbid, improve herself?"
"Yes, Kitty. Yes I am."
"Well too bad. Jackie's already coming over with her stuff. She's coming with us."
"Crap."
Hyde looked up. He and the rest of the guys were heading to the University of Wisconsin in Madison for a college visit. Although he was against the whole idea of going to school, no less paying to go to school, there were hot college chicks all over the place, and anyway, what else was there to do around Point Place? He hadn't figured on Jackie coming though.
"Why is she coming?" he asked innocently.
Mrs. Forman smiled at him. It made him uncomfortable.
"You know, I'm just wondering since she's just a junior in high school and doesn't have to worry about this crap yet." Hyde coughed into his hand and looked away.
"Yes, Kitty? What he said. Why is she coming again?"
Mrs. Forman ignored her husband. "You sure know a lot about Jackie, Steven."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just making an observation."
Red grumbled incoherently and examined the car. He suddenly whipped around, smiling sardonically. "Kitty—look. There's not enough room in the Cruiser for another person. It only seats five, so unless you want to leave Eric at home, the loud one stays here."
Mrs. Forman laughed her high-pitched laugh. "Well, that's easy to fix! Steven, why don't you drive your car up to Madison too?"
"Kitty," Mr. Forman said, "don't force him to do that. There's a gas crisis going on."
"Oh stop your moaning, Red. Jackie's coming."
Just then Jackie appeared in the driveway with Kelso in tow. Kelso was dragging his own bag as well as Jackie's suitcase full of whatever. "Hey Mr. and Mrs. Forman." She deliberately seemed to ignore Hyde. He silently scoffed at her. Whatever, he thought.
Fez and Eric came out of the house. "Are we going yet?" Eric asked dully, glancing over at Donna's house, still depressed that Bob was making Donna visit Marquette instead of the UW.
"Yes. Now get in the car, dumbass." Red made his way to the driver's side. "Also, Steven is driving too. One of you other dumbasses get in his car."
"Fez," Hyde said quickly, "you can come with me."
"Oh goody!"
"Now wait a second," Eric said, snapping out of his daze, "I don't want to be trapped in a car with Dad and then Kelso and Jackie. That's just more than a man can take. I really am not in the mood to see you two make out" He shook his head.
"Fine," Red snapped. "Jackie, you go with Steven since you're the extra."
Hyde, Jackie, and Kelso all said, "No!" at the same time. Red gave them all a hard stare. "Can it! Just get in the car before I send you all to military school. I don't want to hear any more arguing."
Eric pointed at Hyde and laughed silently. I'm going to kill Forman, Hyde thought angrily, heading out towards his car. I'm going to snap him like a string bean.
Half way to the el Camino, Hyde realized that Jackie wasn't behind him. He turned and saw her still standing in the driveway, her suitcase at her feet. She glanced around uncertainly, a lost look on her face. Hyde paused and just watched her, pushing back his thoughts and feelings and just letting himself look at her. He took a step forward but then stopped. He cupped his hands over his mouth and finally yelled, "Come on, Jackie! Let's go."
She didn't move right away but finally began a slow walk towards him and the el Camino. Hyde shook his head and then headed to the car himself. He went to the driver's side to wait for her, but she was taking an extra long time. The Formans had already pulled into the street and were waiting for him. Jackie seemed to be struggling with her bag.
Seriously, Hyde thought, what the hell did women pack with them in those suitcases? They were going to be there for just the weekend. Hyde cracked his knuckles and shook his head again. Taking a deep breath, he left the side of the car and went towards Jackie.
"Here," he said gruffly when he got to her, taking the suitcase out of her hand and carrying it himself to the trunk of the car. Jackie didn't say thank you, didn't say a word. She just looked at him, a strange expression on her face.
Hyde tried not to look at her, but it was hard. He bit his lip and tried to focus. "C'mon," he said, clearing his throat, his voice gentler than
before. "Let's get going."
Jackie nodded, seemingly in a daze, and got into the passenger side of the car.
Hyde gripped the wheel with both hands, his knuckles turning pink. He started the car, looked straight ahead, and then they were off.
[end chapter five]