Chapter 8: The Betrayal
"So, last night," Fez began, retelling his story in the circle formed between the four boys, "I got laid!"
"What else is new?" Kelso muttered enviously in Fez's direction as Fez made his way towards the freezer.
"Yeah, well so did I!" Eric said happily. "Donna finally gave up the goods!"
"That's great, Eric!" Fez high-fived his friend as he sat back down and ripped off the wrapper to a Popsicle with his teeth. "We both got laid!" He spat the wrapper out of his mouth as Eric nodded proudly.
"So did I." Steven said quietly as he sat down in Jackie's usual chair.
Kelso practically snorted when Hyde walked over, hobbling slightly, as if he had been thrown off a horse.
He was sore and Kelso knew why.
"Again, I say, what else is new?" Kelso smirked, grabbing Fez's half eaten Popsicle and sticking into his own mouth.
"Who was the lucky girl?" Fez asked, angrily grabbing his Popsicle back.
Steven looked up uncomfortably, mumbling under his breath, "Just some girl."
Kelso let it slide, since he knew Steven was doing it for Jackie's benefit. If Eric found out...Kelso didn't even want to think about what Eric's reaction would be.
It was almost as if Steven realized that Kelso knew, which wasn't much of a surprise, since everybody knows the only person Jackie really trusted was Kelso, and suddenly spoke up, looking at Kelso with perseverance, "A really great girl."
"Really?" Eric said mockingly. "Does this really great girl have a name?"
"He doesn't have to say her name, Eric." Kelso said matter of factly, nodding towards Steven defensively.
Steven threw him an appreciative look as he slipped his jacket off.
"Yeah, names don't matter, Eric." Fez nodded, turning towards his friend. "So, how was it with Donna?"
"It was..." Eric paused, searching for the right words. "Nice. She was a virgin."
"You popped her cherry!" Fez laughed, once again high-fiving a reluctant Eric.
Kelso and Steven both rolled their eyes skeptically as Eric began describing Donna's first time, in detail. Steven smirked, remembering the night before. From what he was hearing, it was a lot better than Eric's escapade.
"So, what about you, Steven?" Fez turned towards Steven, snapping him out of his dreamlike state.
"Yeah, Steven, give us some details." Eric said bossily, inching forward with an intrigued gleam in his eye.
"Well," Steven cleared his throat, "I'd rather not talk about it."
"That bad, huh?" Eric laughed arrogantly. "That's ok. I heard that happens a lot. Not to me..."
Steven rolled his eyes, clearing his throat once more, with a newly developed determination in his tone, "It was the best sex I've ever had."
"Really?" Kelso and Fez asked simultaneously, each smirking for different reasons.
"Yeah." Steven nodded, gazing out the window. It had begun to rain, similar to last night, violent drops of water streaming down the basement window. Hyde gulped loudly before continuing; slightly frustrated that rain was now turning him on.
"The sex was amazing. But the best part," Steven inhaled sharply, "The best part was waking up next to her."
Eric snorted profusely, "You woke up next to her? I got out of Donna's room as soon as I was done."
"Same." Fez nodded.
"I would stay." Kelso said in Steven's defense, "Obviously, this girl means something to Steven."
"Yeah, she really does." Steven nodded his head happily, which was followed by an awkward silence before Kelso interrupted, rambling on about his elaborate plan to get Laurie to date him.
Jackie tapped her foot impatiently along with her nails against the counter as Laurie placed an order and flipped her bouncy blonde hair with a flick of her wrist. Jackie caught a whiff of Laurie's perfume, which was more tolerable than some of the other shit these girls put on.
"Jackie, are you ok?" Laurie asked quietly as they found an empty booth in the pizza parlor.
Jackie didn't say anything as she sat down; she shed her denim jacket and scratched at her hair, which was wound up in two tight braids.
Jackie's lips twisted into a reminiscing smile as she thought about how absurd it was that her hair was braided, but Laurie had insisted that Jackie do something different with her hair, and that she should be the one to change it. Sure, Jackie looked sort of cute in braids. In fact, when Laurie finished up and left the room to grab hairspray, Jackie had walked over to the full-length mirror, pulling down on her shorts and flipping her braids around. She looked like she was five. It made her smile. Her mind had begun to wander as Laurie came back in, ranting that Jackie shouldn't pull on her hair. She wondered what Steven would think of her hair in braids. She couldn't stop thinking about him since last night, that warm, intense security she had felt when she woke up with him. It was....nice.
No one would have guessed that Laurie and Jackie were close, but they were like sisters. Ever since they were little, Laurie would dedicate one day a month to Jackie. She would braid her hair, do her nails, and try to make her wear dresses, all girly stuff that usually Jackie would never ordinarily take part in. But Laurie, even though she was a goody two shoes and way too naive for Jackie's liking, was a really good friend. She listened, she understood. When it came to boys or hair or everyday dilemmas of the teenage girl's mind, Jackie went to Laurie. Laurie was the only girl Jackie really trusted.
"I had sex last night." Jackie blurt out, blushing greatly as Laurie's jaw dropped.
"Not with Eric?" Laurie winced as she mentioned her brother's name.
"God, no." Jackie laughed. "I told you, Eric and I..." Jackie let her voice trail off and Laurie nodded, remembering when Jackie came to Laurie a few weeks back, pouring her heart out, well in a very Jackie way – denying that she cared and blasting aloof remarks after a while.
Laurie was relieved when Jackie and Eric broke up. She loved both of them with all her heart, but she knew that together, they'd break each other's hearts. Eric wanted Jackie to love him, the way their father loved their mother, and Jackie wanted Eric's body, because it gave her a temporary feeling of happiness. Eric was like a drug to Jackie.
"So, with who?" Laurie shouted happily, lowering her voice as a few customers stared at her.
"Guess." Jackie smirked as she looked past Laurie and out the parlor's glass doors, where some departing customers were trying to avoid the big, fat raindrops that were beginning to fall from the sky. Jackie felt a shiver run up her spine at the sight of rain. It only made her smirk wider.
"Kelso?" Laurie asked unsurely, laughing as Jackie practically choked on these words.
"What? He's like my brother! And besides, he's totally obsessed with you!" Jackie almost giggled, like a real girl, and slapped her leg to control herself, slipping on her sunglasses quickly before she completely lost herself. That always happened when she hung out with Laurie. It was like there was a completely different Jackie, dying to come out. A unicorn loving, girly, giggling Jackie.
"He just has a crush on me." Laurie said bashfully.
"Are you kidding me?" Jackie laughed, realizing that the guy behind the counter was trying to grab her attention. She motioned for Laurie that their pizzas were done and they grabbed the boxes, paid, and left as Jackie spoke again, "He once told me that he would give up all his Star Wars collectibles just to spend an hour with you."
Laurie shrugged, not realizing how extreme that was for Kelso.
"Ok," Jackie started, as they settled into Laurie's car. "That's like...if I were to give up pot."
Laurie turned to Jackie, rolling her eyes with disappointment.
"Whatever, this isn't about my drug habits, it's about Kelso." Jackie laughed it off. "You should really give him a chance, Laurie. He's..." Jackie smiled at the thought of her best friend. "He's a really great guy."
Laurie nodded her head in consideration. She started the car and Jackie leaned back in her seat as she steadied the hot boxes of pizza on her lap. Laurie's head popped up suddenly, scaring Jackie.
"Who did you have sex with?" Laurie asked excitedly.
"Steven Hyde." Jackie said complacently, straining her ears to listen to the beating of the rain, rather then Laurie's ABBA 8-track.
Laurie chuckled gently to herself, "I knew you liked him."
"Hey guys!" Laurie chirped as she and Jackie came down the stairs, each carrying a box of pizza. "Food's here!"
"Awesome, I'm starved!" Kelso nearly toppled Laurie over as he grabbed the box from her. "I'll get that for you, Laurie."
"Why, thank you, Michael." Laurie smiled earnestly, smoothing her skirt before she sat down on the couch beside him. Kelso handed her a slice, then grabbed one for himself as he went over his plan in his head. He looked towards Jackie, who of course had approved the plan beforehand. She had sworn that Laurie would say yes. Maybe Jackie paid Laurie off or something...
Jackie nearly fell over as Fez grabbed the other box from her, selfishly hovering over it as he sat back down.
"Hey," Steven said quietly, glancing up at Jackie, his eyes full of residual lust.
Jackie looked down at Steven's form, sitting in her usual spot. She leaned against the arm of the couch, smiling down on him with a happy glow in her cheeks.
"Hey," She whispered back, biting her lip, resisting the urge to kiss him.
Eric glanced suspiciously between the two as he took a bite of his pizza.
"So, Laurie, I know you have like, zero interest in me..." Kelso swallowed a greasy bite of pizza. "But they're playing Grease at the drive- in, and I know how much you love Olivia Newton John..."
"They are?" Laurie asked, actually considering the offer. If Jackie thought she should give Kelso a chance....
"Yeah..." Kelso paused, "Wait, are you..." He stood up, shoving his slice of pizza down into the opened box. "Will you go with me, tonight?"
"Um..." Laurie looked at Jackie, who nodded her head affirmatively. "Sure, why not?"
"Awesome!" Kelso screamed, pumping a fist in the air. "I mean," He looked back at Jackie, who again, nodded her head. "That's cool."
Jackie and Steven both laughed as Laurie finished off her pizza, pecked Kelso on the cheek, promising to be ready at eight, and ran upstairs.
"Eric, if this date goes well, I might be your future brother-in- law." Kelso sighed dreamily, sitting down next to Jackie.
Eric rolled his eyes, staring at Jackie as she took a careful bite out of her pizza. Seeing her, looking absolutely gorgeous in a white tank top and jeans, her hair braided, thanks to Laurie, he wasn't sure if he wanted to kill her or kiss her. But she made him feel intensely angry. He knew he'd regret what he'd do next, but he had no self-control, not when she was around, anyway.
"Is something wrong with the pizza, Jackie?" Eric asked, taking another bite as he watched for her reaction.
"No." Jackie said plainly, "I just don't like pizza, in general." Jackie offered her slice to Kelso, who gladly obliged.
"You don't like pizza in general, or you don't like food in general?" Eric wiped at his lips as Jackie gave him a threatening glare.
"Knock if off, Eric." Kelso said protectively.
"What are you, her bodyguard?" Eric laughed. "Jackie, you should really get help."
"You should really back off, Forman." Jackie stood up, rubbing her greasy hands against the back of her jeans and stuck her hands in her back pockets, to prevent them from punching Eric's lights out.
"Oh, please, Jackie." Eric feigned anger, though Jackie could tell that his eyes were apologetic. "You weigh, like, eighty pounds. Maybe if you ate something, you'd actually be able to beat me up."
"Eric, come on..." Fez pulled on his friend's shoulder, pissed when Eric slapped his hand away.
"What's your problem, Eric?" Steven stood up, knocking over one of the boxes.
"My problem?" Eric laughed in Steven's face. "My problem, Hyde," He smirked at Steven's annoyed face, "Is that my girlfriend has been sleeping around with a rich, pansy ass, homecoming king!"
Eric's face was red and puffy, on the verge of tears as he reeled back from screaming in Steven's face. Steven blinked widely in an angered shock as he rolled his sleeves up, his fists throbbing with contempt.
"I'm not your girlfriend, Eric." Jackie said quietly, sitting back down with a dazed look spread across her face. "In fact, I'm not sure if I ever was."
Kelso gave Eric a disappointed look as he sat down, wrapping his right arm around Jackie tightly, shuddering as he felt her stomach grumble and saw her eyes, trembling with tears. She pushed his arm away and stood up, wiping angrily at her eyes. She never cried in public. A few times with Kelso, a few times with Laurie – but never in front of Eric. She knew he'd just hold it against her.
"Jackie..." Eric's breath started to slow down as he realized the damage he had just done. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I don't have a problem with food, Eric." Jackie said defiantly, picking up a slice of pizza. "I love pizza." She shoved it down her throat, clutching her stomach angrily, as it grumbled loudly. Drips of oil made her chin shine as she laughed bitterly, chunks of cheese sloshing around in her throat. She went for another slice as Fez, Eric, Kelso, and Steven watched in dismay. "See, this is why I'm so fat, because I just can't stop eating." She took a big bite, more tears rolling down her eyes as she shut them tightly. She dropped the rest of the slice to the floor, her fists curling into tiny balls as her head flung downwards in defeat.
"Jackie, you're not fat." Eric muttered, weary of the emotional baggage left from Jackie's mother. "Your mom was wrong, ok?"
Kelso knew that Jackie wasn't going to like that comment. No one ever brought up Jackie's parents, at all. Jackie got tense when someone even muttered a 'your mom' joke towards her. Jackie's whole body seemed to jerk upright as she wiped her chin and looked up at Eric, a new sense of extreme distaste settling in her eyes.
"You're an asshole." Jackie whispered, raising her pulsating fists. "I know you're angry with me, but there is no reason for you to go off on me like that."
Her voice grew unsteady, the tears kept coming, and her fists rose as Eric smirked.
"Am I supposed to sympathize with you, Jackie?" Eric rolled his eyes. "You cheated on me, remember?"
"I did it for a reason!" Jackie screamed in his face. Kelso knew she was ready to throw punches, and stood on guard as Fez and Steven looked at each other, worriedly.
"Because you wanted to fuck Steven?" Eric screamed back. "Oh, wait, I forgot. It doesn't really matter who's on the other end, does it, Jackie? As long as you're having a good time." His eyes bulged in surprise at his own words as Jackie froze in shock. "Isn't that, right?" He stumbled over these last words, his face growing guiltier by the second.
Jackie took a deep breath, looking up at him one last time before she started punching his stomach, screaming loudly, "It's because I didn't love you. I didn't, I don't, and I never will." Jackie's fists gave up as Eric took a step back, rubbing his stomach softly.
"You stupid bitch," Eric muttered; his face saddened and dumbstruck. Kelso took an angry step forward, ready to intervene. Eric shook his head angrily and stormed upstairs, cursing under his breath.
Jackie felt like she was going to collapse as Kelso and Steven both caught her. Kelso, always ready to protect, grabbed for her first, but Steven had already captured her wrists and pulled her towards him, hugging her tightly, swaying her back and forth.
Kelso watched, surprised and slightly envious that someone else was consoling Jackie. His Jackie.
"Come on, Fez." Kelso tapped Fez's shoulder. "We should go talk to Eric."
Fez nodded in understanding and grabbed his coat, giving one last look at Jackie and Steven, who had sat down on the couch together, still swaying as Jackie tried to push away from him.
Steven lifted his head away from Jackie, making sure Fez and Kelso were out of earshot as he let go of Jackie's wrists. She stood up, her eyes puffy and red. Small, dampened spots formed on her white tank top where tears had fallen. One of her knuckles on her right hand was beginning to bleed. Jackie squeezed her fists tight, breathing heavily as she kicked the couch with her right foot. She looked down at Steven, mixed emotions lying heavily in her stare.
Steven wasn't sure what he was supposed to say when Jackie hovered over him, distraught. She kicked the couch again, shoving her fists into one of the cushions as she let out an elongated breath.
"I...hate...him." Jackie muttered in between punches.
"No, you don't." Steven said quietly, relieved when Jackie simply pushed the stray hairs that had come loose from her braids behind her ears, rather than beating the shit out of him for his comment.
"Is that it?" Jackie looked at him strangely. "Is that all you have to say?"
"What do you want me to say, Jackie?" He muttered, rubbing the temples of his forehead sorely.
Jackie's eyes bulged as she shook her head sadly, "Whatever."
Steven stood up quickly, slightly angered at Jackie's 'zen' act when Laurie came running down the stairs, frantically stepping in between them.
"My brother is...." Laurie took a deep breath. "A jerk!"
Neither of them had heard Laurie say anything bad about anyone.
Jackie laughed as Laurie hugged her tightly.
"Yeah, he is." Jackie mumbled in Laurie's shoulder. "He really is." Jackie stared at Steven, who stared back at her, both of them unsure of what to say to one another.
"Did something happen with Donna?" Red asked tenderly.
"Did you say something stupid?" Kitty chuckled, her face contradicting her statement with concern.
"Yes." Eric nodded his head, smirking sarcastically.
Fez and Kelso were about to grab Eric's attention as Laurie came in through the kitchen, searching the fridge for something to drink, then threw a concerned look at Eric, who placed his palms on the table, looking squarely at his parents.
"I think you should kick Jackie out of the house."
"What?" Laurie, Kitty, Red, Kelso, and Fez all screeched simultaneously.
"Eric, what are you doing?" Kelso said angrily, stepping in front of Laurie, who was slightly turned on by how concerned he was.
"Why do you want us to kick Jackie out?" Kitty asked quietly.
"She..." Eric took a deep breath, full of regret, "She smokes pot."
"What?" Kitty and Red leaned back in surprise.
"Eric!" Kelso and Fez both screamed in shock.
Laurie's jaw dropped as she slammed her drink on the table. When Laurie had first found out that Jackie, as well as the boys, smoked up, she had threatened to tell their parents. But Eric had sat down with her and made her realize how terrible it would be if Red and Kitty found out about Jackie's habits, even if they were bad.
Now, he was the one telling them. Why would he do that? She couldn't believe her baby brother just ratted out on one of their best friends.
"Eric, you're just kidding around with us, right?" Red laughed worriedly, glancing back at Kitty who had begun to pace around the room.
"Mom, you told me that if I ever felt like Jackie was pressuring me to do...bad stuff...that you would kick her out." Eric sighed, closing his eyes. "Well?"
"I..." Kitty took a deep breath as well, not prepared to kick out their houseguest. Even though she rarely showed it, she cared about the orphaned girl. But she would not tolerate illegal drugs in her house. "I need to discuss this with your father, alone." Red nodded his head, walking after Kitty towards the living room.
"Eric, why on earth would you do that?" Laurie stammered, pushing past Kelso, who quickly followed.
"I can't live with her anymore, Laurie." Eric glanced at Kelso and Fez, who were waiting for his reasoning. "It hurts too much."
"You know what, Eric?" Kelso laughed, his face directly in front of Eric's, "I actually felt bad for you, cause I know what it's like to love someone who doesn't love you back." Kelso glanced sideways at Laurie, her eyes glazing with anger and surprise, "But now, now I just think you're pathetic." Kelso stomped past Eric angrily, slamming the slider behind him.
"I second that." Fez shook his head, disappointed as he started after Kelso. "And Jackie is not a bitch! You're the bitch!"
Eric dropped his head against the table once more as Laurie smacked the top of his head lightly and stormed out, down towards the basement.
Before Eric had any time to react, Kitty came barging in, Red right behind her.
"Eric, get Jackie and bring her up here." Kitty said with stern regret.
"Kitty, maybe we should think about this some more..." Red said quietly, pleading with Kitty's eyes.
"Red, I don't want in my house and I don't want it around our kids." Kitty sighed unhappily. Red nodded, in understanding.
"You're going to kick Jackie out?" Eric asked, slightly surprised.
"That's what you want, isn't it?" Red glanced down at his son, sadly.
"Yeah..." Eric nodded hesitantly. "Yeah...why don't you guys just get her yourselves?" He stood up quickly, heading out towards Donna's, before his parents questioned him furthur. He needed to forget all about Jackie and how much he still loves her. That's why he started dating Donna in the first place, wasn't it? To get over Jackie.
Though that was starting to become more and more difficult with each passing day."Jackie, you are not a...B-I-T-C-H!" Laurie paced the basement, finally falling down on the couch with a sigh. "Eric is just a big, fat jerk!"
Steven adjusted himself as Jackie sat silently in her chair. He had been sitting on top of the freezer, watching the two girls hash things out. He knew Laurie was trying to help, but bashing Eric didn't seem to be working. With every comment about Eric, Jackie simply sighed, staring straight ahead at the blank TV screen and Laurie seemed to grow frustrated with Jackie's lack of reaction.
"Jackie, you should really just let it all out." Laurie insisted, patting Jackie's leg.
"Laurie, seriously, I'm fine." Jackie snapped, scratching at her hair, where one braid was starting to unravel. "Eric's the one who probably needs consoling. I really crushed him."
Laurie sighed in defeat as Jackie continued to blink widely at the blank TV screen. "Fine, maybe Eric will actually open up to me."
"Probably." Jackie snorted. "He's such a girl."
"Jackie..." Laurie began, looking towards Steven who shook his head with a mocking smile. "You're a girl...." Laurie muttered in defeat and ran up stairs, wishing Steven the best of luck with Jackie.
"Ok, now that she's gone..." Steven jumped off the freezer and stood in front of Jackie, blocking her view of the blank screen. She blinked her eyes in annoyance and looked up at him. "You want to get out of here?"
"And do what?" Jackie muttered. She really didn't want to be around anyone right now, let alone Steven. He was like, the root of all these problems with Eric. Jackie sighed, knowing that putting the blame on him was easier then facing facts. The only person to blame was herself.
"I'm sure we can find something to do." Steven smirked, holding out his hand for her.
Jackie looked up at him skeptically.
"Come on, Jackie." He sighed, letting his hand fall to his side. "You need to clear your head and I know the perfect place to do that."
She rolled her eyes mechanically; "I don't feel like starting a circle right now."
"No, not that." He laughed gently, leaning down to face her. He held her chin up slightly, forcing her to look in his overwhelmingly blue eyes. "It'll be fun," He kissed her lips softly, her eyes fluttering at his touch, remembering all of last night and forgetting all about today, "Trust me." He pulled back and held his hand out once more.
"I don't trust..." Jackie took his hand, stumbling over him as he pulled her in tightly, interrupting her sentence with another kiss, this one passionate and long. Jackie lost her senses until he pulled back, motioning for her to follow him. "Ok." Jackie said in a dreamlike tone, taking his hand again.
He squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"I'll drive." He wrapped his other arm around her shoulder and reached into her pants pocket, sending shivers down her spine as he grabbed her keys.
She was about to protest that too. No one drives her baby.
But as he ran across the car, opening the door for her, she damned all her insecurities to hell, pecking his cheek softly as she settled into the car, smiling as he started the engine. She closed her eyes, letting the wind from the opened window thrash her wrecked braids around as she heard the radio switch on.
"And to celebrate an end to that awful weather we've been having, here's today's number one requested song!" The DJ spoke loudly as familiar guitar strums began to hum through Jackie's ears.
"Hey, it's our song." Steven realized, patting Jackie's leg.
Jackie opened her eyes softly, nodding as "When I Need You" played on.
"We have a song." Jackie laughed at how corny it was. "I've never had a song with anyone before."
"Well, I guess I'm not just anyone, then." Steven laughed back.
"I guess you're not." Jackie confirmed, letting her eyes close again as she turned her head before he could catch her bashful grin.
He looked towards her, nodding happily as he raised the volume and drove on, pleased that he made Jackie forget about what just happened with Eric.
Hopefully, with time, Eric would come to his senses and apologize.
And then maybe their friendship wouldn't be completely severed.
Jackie pretty much thought Eric would come around as well.
If only she knew just how badly he had betrayed her...