It was now the summer of our thirteenth year and things were pretty much the same as they are any other summer. Kelso and Jackie were still all over each other, to the disgust of the rest of us. Eric and I started becoming closer though, and he'd started to show a real interest in me. Whether or not I reciprocated the feelings was still up for grabs though. Hyde was pretty much spending his time like he did every summer, hanging with all of us, burning Kelso and Jackie. We were getting ready to start junior high in the fall though, with the exception of Jackie, who still had a year to go.
Anyway...Hyde, Eric, and I were planning to go to a summer camp together, as Edna was looking for another excuse to be rid of Hyde for a while. Eric and I agreed to go and keep him company, but Kelso had to stay behind as he had an appointment at the dentist to have braces put on. Apparently he had to go through the whole head gear thing, which is inevitably gonna result in many great burns. He didn't mind though, as he claimed it would ensure his future 'man beauty' or something. Jackie also bailed on the idea, saying she refused to do anything so demeaning as to be caught sleeping in a dirty, drafty, old tent, on the cold, hard ground. Man, she really got on our nerves at times...we all wished Kelso would just get off his ass and do what he said he was gonna every week, and break up with her already.
Unfortunately, only two days before we were scheduled to leave, Eric came down with a bad case of the flu, and had to bail on us. With Eric being sick, I'd considered staying behind as well. However, with Eric so ill, I couldn't really hang out at the Forman's. Besides, I didn't really want to catch the flu...not pleasant. The alternatives (staying home with my still fighting parents, while my dad sat around in his open bathrobe 'ventilating', as he liked to call it, or hanging with Jackie, hearing her ramble on about clothes, hair, makeup, or Kelso), were equally, if not more unappealing. Besides, I'd feel guilty bailing on Hyde, leaving him to go to the camp alone, despite the fact that from the first moment I met him, there was nothing he hated worse than pity.
Camp Atawalkins-Day Three
Finally, I'd managed to lose the boy crazy girls I'd been forced to stay in a tent with as they were in my 'age group'. They finally lost me rather, and good riddance in my opinion. All they'd done since we'd gotten here was yammer on about how cute this guy or that was, when they weren't trading beauty and fashion tips that is... I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I think they were worse than Jackie, if that's even possible; excepting the spoiled rich girl act. What I found strangest of all was the one guy most of their conversation revolved around...Hyde. They all seemed to think he was this mysterious, rebel, bad boy or something, I'd guess you could say. He really intrigued them, and they were always following him around...not hard to do really, considering their odds of being caught were so small, as he spent most of his time alone as usual. When I told them that I'd known him for years, they started pestering me with an endless line of questions, such as what he was really like, and whether or not he was a good kisser. I found this interesting as before they pretty much ignored me, not giving me the time of day as soon as they realized that I wasn't into their little games. My only response to all the questions was that we'd been friends for years, and though we HAD kissed before, it was really nothing special. And it wasn't (or so I thought at the time), especially with the interest Eric had been showing me the past couple months or so. Besides, the kisses were innocent, just a couple of kids fooling around...and the last one was never really talked about, just kinda shoved under the rug to the point where I'd nearly forgetten all about it. Once I said that though, they evidently decided I was crazy and completely ignored me. Which left me where I was then, sitting alone on the tire swing, overlooking the river.
Apparently I'd gotten lost in thought for a while, as the next thing I knew, I felt someone pushing me in the swing. I turned around to see who there, only to see the very person I'd just been thinking about...Hyde. A softly uttered, "Hi," was all that came out of my mouth before I'd turned back around in the swing. He responded with a quiet, "Hi," all his own, then continued pushing the swing in silence. A few minutes passed before either of us spoke again. Eventually I broke the silence, telling him everything that had happened in the last day or so. I hadn't seen him since dinner yesterday, so I'd decided to fill him in on my latest encounter with 'the snoots', as I'd taken to calling them. Mentioned how much they'd been annoying me with their endless questions about him and our friendship, and how they'd decided to ignore me when they couldn't get the answers they wanted out of me. Somewhere along the way, I started babbling and getting flustered with the whole conversation, and had turned myself around, looking straight at him. This didn't escape his notice, but he just looked at me silently and raised his eyebrow in that annoying way that says he knows there's more to the story than I'm letting on.
Suddenly I'd stopped talking as well, and just stared at him for a few seconds. Then, before I knew what was happening he'd brought his hands to my cheeks, closed his eyes and leaned in for a soft kiss. I responded slightly, telling myself that I was just solving my curiosity about what it had been like to kiss him all those years ago. At first, the kiss was like the past few; chaste, comforting, familiar, all the feelings I'd denied previously, but accepted and understood now. 'Maybe those girls weren't so far off in their assumptions about him after all...' I thought, then opened my eyes to look at him; see what he's thinking, just as an oddly mischievious look crossed his face. Not knowing exactly what placed it there, I braced myself for the unexpected...I mean with Hyde, you just never know... Anyway...seconds later, he tongue crept out and flashed across my lips, seeking to deepen the kiss. Despite my attempts to prepare myself, I was caught off guard and unprepared for this sort of thing...thus, I ended up pulling away in shock, and once again, slapping him across the face before I knew what hit me. The last time I saw him that day was with his hand cupping his cheek, and an unrepentant look on his face.
Camp Atawalkins-Day Four
One thing I hadn't counted on the previous day was company. Apparently a few of 'the snoots' from my cabin had taken it upon themselves to follow me, intending to creep out when I least expected it. What they didn't count on was a full on view of my kiss with Hyde. Rather than it prompting the endless questioning I expected, it made them start harassing me. Not to mention talking amongst themselves about how he would want to kiss someone like me when they were around. Seeing this, and wanting them to leave me alone, Hyde decide to open up a kissing contest booth for all the girls in the camp to participate in. They'd all get to kiss him, and at the end he'd declare a winner. I'd stood off to the side looking at the 'long' line of girls waiting for a kiss from Hyde, feeling an unfamiliar knot in my stomach, caused by an emotion I refused to name, let alone acknowledge. After all the girls had gotten their kiss, and everyone dispersed (No winner had been declared, he'd promised to pronounce a winner later...something he'd never openly done), he'd walked directly up to me as he couldn't have missed me eyeing him all day. Once he'd reached me, he leaned over and quietly whispered in my ear, "You were best...", which brought an uncommon blush to my cheeks, and a weak smile to my face. He smiled back, then turned and walked away.
Later
By the time we got back home, everything was back to normal with us, and this kiss, following the direction of the last few was never mentioned again until many years later; the pattern, however, was far from over.
Anyway...Hyde, Eric, and I were planning to go to a summer camp together, as Edna was looking for another excuse to be rid of Hyde for a while. Eric and I agreed to go and keep him company, but Kelso had to stay behind as he had an appointment at the dentist to have braces put on. Apparently he had to go through the whole head gear thing, which is inevitably gonna result in many great burns. He didn't mind though, as he claimed it would ensure his future 'man beauty' or something. Jackie also bailed on the idea, saying she refused to do anything so demeaning as to be caught sleeping in a dirty, drafty, old tent, on the cold, hard ground. Man, she really got on our nerves at times...we all wished Kelso would just get off his ass and do what he said he was gonna every week, and break up with her already.
Unfortunately, only two days before we were scheduled to leave, Eric came down with a bad case of the flu, and had to bail on us. With Eric being sick, I'd considered staying behind as well. However, with Eric so ill, I couldn't really hang out at the Forman's. Besides, I didn't really want to catch the flu...not pleasant. The alternatives (staying home with my still fighting parents, while my dad sat around in his open bathrobe 'ventilating', as he liked to call it, or hanging with Jackie, hearing her ramble on about clothes, hair, makeup, or Kelso), were equally, if not more unappealing. Besides, I'd feel guilty bailing on Hyde, leaving him to go to the camp alone, despite the fact that from the first moment I met him, there was nothing he hated worse than pity.
Camp Atawalkins-Day Three
Finally, I'd managed to lose the boy crazy girls I'd been forced to stay in a tent with as they were in my 'age group'. They finally lost me rather, and good riddance in my opinion. All they'd done since we'd gotten here was yammer on about how cute this guy or that was, when they weren't trading beauty and fashion tips that is... I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I think they were worse than Jackie, if that's even possible; excepting the spoiled rich girl act. What I found strangest of all was the one guy most of their conversation revolved around...Hyde. They all seemed to think he was this mysterious, rebel, bad boy or something, I'd guess you could say. He really intrigued them, and they were always following him around...not hard to do really, considering their odds of being caught were so small, as he spent most of his time alone as usual. When I told them that I'd known him for years, they started pestering me with an endless line of questions, such as what he was really like, and whether or not he was a good kisser. I found this interesting as before they pretty much ignored me, not giving me the time of day as soon as they realized that I wasn't into their little games. My only response to all the questions was that we'd been friends for years, and though we HAD kissed before, it was really nothing special. And it wasn't (or so I thought at the time), especially with the interest Eric had been showing me the past couple months or so. Besides, the kisses were innocent, just a couple of kids fooling around...and the last one was never really talked about, just kinda shoved under the rug to the point where I'd nearly forgetten all about it. Once I said that though, they evidently decided I was crazy and completely ignored me. Which left me where I was then, sitting alone on the tire swing, overlooking the river.
Apparently I'd gotten lost in thought for a while, as the next thing I knew, I felt someone pushing me in the swing. I turned around to see who there, only to see the very person I'd just been thinking about...Hyde. A softly uttered, "Hi," was all that came out of my mouth before I'd turned back around in the swing. He responded with a quiet, "Hi," all his own, then continued pushing the swing in silence. A few minutes passed before either of us spoke again. Eventually I broke the silence, telling him everything that had happened in the last day or so. I hadn't seen him since dinner yesterday, so I'd decided to fill him in on my latest encounter with 'the snoots', as I'd taken to calling them. Mentioned how much they'd been annoying me with their endless questions about him and our friendship, and how they'd decided to ignore me when they couldn't get the answers they wanted out of me. Somewhere along the way, I started babbling and getting flustered with the whole conversation, and had turned myself around, looking straight at him. This didn't escape his notice, but he just looked at me silently and raised his eyebrow in that annoying way that says he knows there's more to the story than I'm letting on.
Suddenly I'd stopped talking as well, and just stared at him for a few seconds. Then, before I knew what was happening he'd brought his hands to my cheeks, closed his eyes and leaned in for a soft kiss. I responded slightly, telling myself that I was just solving my curiosity about what it had been like to kiss him all those years ago. At first, the kiss was like the past few; chaste, comforting, familiar, all the feelings I'd denied previously, but accepted and understood now. 'Maybe those girls weren't so far off in their assumptions about him after all...' I thought, then opened my eyes to look at him; see what he's thinking, just as an oddly mischievious look crossed his face. Not knowing exactly what placed it there, I braced myself for the unexpected...I mean with Hyde, you just never know... Anyway...seconds later, he tongue crept out and flashed across my lips, seeking to deepen the kiss. Despite my attempts to prepare myself, I was caught off guard and unprepared for this sort of thing...thus, I ended up pulling away in shock, and once again, slapping him across the face before I knew what hit me. The last time I saw him that day was with his hand cupping his cheek, and an unrepentant look on his face.
Camp Atawalkins-Day Four
One thing I hadn't counted on the previous day was company. Apparently a few of 'the snoots' from my cabin had taken it upon themselves to follow me, intending to creep out when I least expected it. What they didn't count on was a full on view of my kiss with Hyde. Rather than it prompting the endless questioning I expected, it made them start harassing me. Not to mention talking amongst themselves about how he would want to kiss someone like me when they were around. Seeing this, and wanting them to leave me alone, Hyde decide to open up a kissing contest booth for all the girls in the camp to participate in. They'd all get to kiss him, and at the end he'd declare a winner. I'd stood off to the side looking at the 'long' line of girls waiting for a kiss from Hyde, feeling an unfamiliar knot in my stomach, caused by an emotion I refused to name, let alone acknowledge. After all the girls had gotten their kiss, and everyone dispersed (No winner had been declared, he'd promised to pronounce a winner later...something he'd never openly done), he'd walked directly up to me as he couldn't have missed me eyeing him all day. Once he'd reached me, he leaned over and quietly whispered in my ear, "You were best...", which brought an uncommon blush to my cheeks, and a weak smile to my face. He smiled back, then turned and walked away.
Later
By the time we got back home, everything was back to normal with us, and this kiss, following the direction of the last few was never mentioned again until many years later; the pattern, however, was far from over.