In The Beginning
Chapter Six: Jackie's Birthday Party
The school had been buzzing the day after the invitations were sent out.
A party, in Jackie's honor, was being held at the famous Burkhart mansion.
No one was more excited then Jackie, of course, but by the middle of the day, she was tired and annoyed with all the random people coming up and asking questions about it. The whole school had been invited, which wasn't her plan at all. Jackie didn't even want a birthday party this year, but her mother insisted.
Jackie silently prayed for rain, since it was going to be a pool party.
The day of her party, she woke up to the sound of her mother screaming out orders.
Jackie saw that her mother had laid out her party dress on her armchair in her room, a long with her new pretty sandals. Jackie rolled out of bed, brushed her hair quickly, slipped on her pink fuzzy slippers and ran down the enormous spiral staircase, seeing a crowd of maids being lectured by her mother.
"This is a very important day for my baby," Pam Burkhart screeched. "So, don't mess it up." Pam took a sip of her wine, which Jackie always found kind of strange, because it was 10 in the morning. Jackie didn't quite understand that her mother was an alcoholic, not yet, anyway.
Jackie came to her mother's side, but her mother barely noticed her and marched off, screaming at one of the caterers.
Jackie sighed and trudged back upstairs. The guests would be arriving in an hour or so, and she felt a huge pit of anxiety forming in her stomach as she slipped on her dress, over her bathing suit. The dress was pink, of course, and Jackie almost felt sort of sick of this color, since her whole bedroom was bright pink. Jackie looked in the mirror, pleased with her reflection, and hopped down the stairs as the doorbell rang.
She opened the door, where a bunch of faceless girls walked in.
A maid gathered their gifts and showed them outside.
The next hour continued in this fashion.
Jackie opened the door, whoever was on the other side, screamed "happy birthday!", as the maids collected their gifts and led them to the pool. Jackie scratched her neck, where the fabric of her bathing suit was itching her, and opened the door for some late arrivals.
She grinned happily as her eyes landed on Michael, Hyde, Donna, and Eric.
"Hey guys!" Jackie screamed. Lucy, one of the maids, ran over and collected their gifts. But Jackie stopped her, and took Michael's poorly wrapped gift aside, since she was sure it would be special.
"Happy Birthday, Jackie." Donna said sweetly, giving the girl a hug.
"Thanks, Donna!" Jackie chirped as she closed the door behind them.
"Wow, your house is huge!" Eric laughed.
Jackie continued to grin, deciding that no other guests would be arriving, since the entire Point Place Junior High Population was outside. Even some high school kids showed up. Basically, Laurie Forman and her friends and Casey Kelso and his friends.
Eric and Donna walked outside, as Lucy instructed them to, while Hyde and Michael waited with Jackie.
"Happy Birthday, Jackie." Hyde said quietly to her, giving her an eerie grin before following Eric and Donna outside.
"Jackie, this party is going to kick some major ass!" Michael screeched into her ear as he leaned it for a kiss. She squinted her face up with annoyance as their lips briskly touched and muttered to herself as he ran off to catch up with his friends.
This party wasn't kicking ass.
It was a drag.
Jackie went to the bathroom, shedding her dress off, and went outside, squinting in the bright sunlight. Hundreds of kids were dancing, swimming, laying about, or getting their picture done by the cartoonist.
She was almost positive that no one would notice if she just disappeared.
She sighed, taking a seat in one of the poolside chairs.
No one even came up to her. It was her own birthday party, and she was alone.
Stacey and Lacey were hanging out with their new boyfriends, Eric and Donna were wading their feet in the pool, talking. Michael was getting himself drawn to look like Sonny Bono and Hyde was...
She looked around, scanning the perimeters for that familiar curly haze of hair. She couldn't spot him. She sighed, deciding that she needed some sort of pick me up, so she went to the kitchen, to look for some of her favorite comfort food, Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
"Why aren't you outside enjoying your party?" A voice asked as she settled down with a bowl of ice cream, digging into it.
She looked up and saw Hyde, leaning against the doorway, his sunglasses tucked in the collar of his shirt.
"Why aren't you outside?" Jackie asked, swallowing some ice cream down.
She was all of a sudden very aware that she was only in a tiny bikini, and it's not like she had a showy body, she was only in 6th grade... but a lot of skin was showing and her face became a deep shade of red.
Hyde shrugged, "Probably the same reason as you. Except, it's your party."
"So?" Jackie said, rolling her eyes. "I had a craving for ice cream, that's all."
"Right." He watched her finish up her food, and she pushed the bowl away and yawned loudly.
"Oh, and I wanted to open Michael's gift. I'm dying to see what he got me."
Hyde had a smirk on his face as he followed her to the table of presents, and she saw Michael's gift on the very corner, where she placed it.
She sat down on the bottom of the staircase and tore it open as Hyde sifted through the other gifts, lazily.
Jackie blinked widely at Michael's gift in her hand.
Was he kidding?
This had to be a joke.
"That...that..." She muttered, "Dumbass!"
"Something wrong, princess?" Kelso's voice called as he stumbled upon Jackie.
"Michael Kelso!" She screamed. "Is this your idea of a joke?"
"You don't like your gift?" Kelso asked innocently.
Hyde was watching this intensely, laughing to himself.
Jackie threw the tiny bottles of zit cream at her boyfriend's feet.
"Are you trying to tell me something, Michael?" She asked, throwing the bottles of deodorant at his feet as well. "Do I stink?" She threw the breath mints at his feet as well. "Do I have bad skin?"
"What, Jackie, no..." Kelso pleaded.
"Jackie," Hyde said, interrupting them. "Mrs. Forman just got back from a health fair and gave us all free samples of stuff."
Kelso grinned at his friend, but then frowned when Jackie stomped her foot with anger.
"You regifted me?" She screamed, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Thanks for the help, Hyde!" Kelso screamed sarcastically.
"I wasn't trying to help." Hyde said innocently, returning to the table of gifts.
Before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang and Jackie answered it primly.
She rolled her eyes and let Pam Macy in.
"Happy birthday, Jackie." Pam said snobbishly, handing her a gift. "Hi, Michael." She grinned at Kelso for a second and then walked off to the backyard.
"Jackie, I think I'm going to let you calm down, ok?" Kelso said, watching Pam sashay down the hallway, and quickly followed her.
Jackie blinked widely in disbelief that her boyfriend not only gave her a ridiculous gift but just went off after Pam Macy, at her own birthday party. Nothing was going Jackie's way, and that just made her hostile.
But then she realized she was once again alone with Hyde and how she had a mission to complete.
"You!" She screamed, but then calmed her voice down. "Come upstairs, I have something to show you."
Hyde looked slightly discouraged, but followed Jackie up the staircase to her bedroom. She shut the door behind him.
He watched her tediously as she started jumping up and down, grabbing at the top of her closet until a few things fell down. She quickly went to the floor, and grabbed a folded up piece of denim. She quickly snapped it so it came unloose, revealing Hyde's old denim jacket.
"Oh my god." Hyde said with a smile. "You still have that?"
"Well, I wasn't going throw it out or anything." Jackie said sheepishly, finding a tee shirt and shorts and throwing it over her bathing suit, feeling slightly more comfortable.
"Well, thanks." Hyde said, holding up the jacket his body. "But I don't think it fits anymore."
"Do you mind if I keep it then?" Jackie asked shyly.
Hyde held the jacket tightly, "Why?"
"Um..." Jackie paused, flicking her hair back. "Never mind."
Hyde stood silent for a minute, but then draped the jacket on Jackie's bed, next to her.
She smiled slowly and then walked over to her window, stepping out onto her balcony. Hyde followed carefully, not sure of what was going on.
"Jackie, darling, where are you?!" Her mother called and starting knocking on her bedroom door.
Jackie sighed deeply and Hyde gave her a sympathetic look.
"Let's get out of here." Hyde said, showing Jackie a vine that was next to balcony and helped her climb onto it. He made sure she got down safely and as he landed on his feet, they started walking off, avoiding the street, and running through backyards till they reached the center of town.
As soon as they were far away from the house, they slowed down their pace and Jackie laughed, "You're always helping me escape."
Hyde grinned, since this was very true, as they walked into the Hub.
He held the door open, but she looked at him blankly, then gave a sideways glance around her.
"Everyone's at your party." Hyde said quickly. "You think I would let myself be seen with you in public?"
Jackie let this sink in and followed Hyde into the very empty Hub.
Jackie sat down in one of the booths as Hyde ordered some fries.
They ate in silence, until Jackie said something very quietly.
"I wish I could break up with Michael."
Hyde sat back, leering at her for what seemed like forever.
"Why don't you?"
"Because it would ruin everything!" Jackie sighed, sitting back and crossing her arms defiantly. "Without Michael, what am I?"
Hyde snorted gently, but quickly ceased when he saw how serious she was.
"Come on," He nudged her gently. "You're Jackie freakin' Burkhart, remember?"
Jackie cracked a smile, remembering the way she had told off Hyde all those years ago.
"Deep down, Kelso means well." Hyde insisted. "You have to stop letting him do whatever he wants. You need to have some more control over him."
"But I don't know how to do that..."
"Just treat him like you treat Eric."
"Ohh..." Jackie nodded in understanding. "But what if he breaks up with me?"
"He won't." Hyde insisted. "He'll be too scared to break up with you."
Jackie stood up, giving him an unsure smile.
Hyde stood up, finishing the last fry, "Jackie,"
She looked up at him, a sudden glow of happiness falling over her.
"Trust me."
And just like that day in the courtyard, she trusted him.
From that day on, Jackie bossed Kelso around completely.
And as a result, she got everything she wanted from him; nice gifts, compliments, and Hyde was right, Kelso was freakin' terrified and never crossed Jackie.
But there was still one thing Jackie wanted, that she just couldn't find.
A real friend.
Not Stacey, or Lacey, or stupid Pam Macy.
A real friend, someone who she can talk to when she's in trouble; someone she can depend on.
She never thought she'd find that in the slightly taller then the rest, red head...
Chapter Six: Jackie's Birthday Party
The school had been buzzing the day after the invitations were sent out.
A party, in Jackie's honor, was being held at the famous Burkhart mansion.
No one was more excited then Jackie, of course, but by the middle of the day, she was tired and annoyed with all the random people coming up and asking questions about it. The whole school had been invited, which wasn't her plan at all. Jackie didn't even want a birthday party this year, but her mother insisted.
Jackie silently prayed for rain, since it was going to be a pool party.
The day of her party, she woke up to the sound of her mother screaming out orders.
Jackie saw that her mother had laid out her party dress on her armchair in her room, a long with her new pretty sandals. Jackie rolled out of bed, brushed her hair quickly, slipped on her pink fuzzy slippers and ran down the enormous spiral staircase, seeing a crowd of maids being lectured by her mother.
"This is a very important day for my baby," Pam Burkhart screeched. "So, don't mess it up." Pam took a sip of her wine, which Jackie always found kind of strange, because it was 10 in the morning. Jackie didn't quite understand that her mother was an alcoholic, not yet, anyway.
Jackie came to her mother's side, but her mother barely noticed her and marched off, screaming at one of the caterers.
Jackie sighed and trudged back upstairs. The guests would be arriving in an hour or so, and she felt a huge pit of anxiety forming in her stomach as she slipped on her dress, over her bathing suit. The dress was pink, of course, and Jackie almost felt sort of sick of this color, since her whole bedroom was bright pink. Jackie looked in the mirror, pleased with her reflection, and hopped down the stairs as the doorbell rang.
She opened the door, where a bunch of faceless girls walked in.
A maid gathered their gifts and showed them outside.
The next hour continued in this fashion.
Jackie opened the door, whoever was on the other side, screamed "happy birthday!", as the maids collected their gifts and led them to the pool. Jackie scratched her neck, where the fabric of her bathing suit was itching her, and opened the door for some late arrivals.
She grinned happily as her eyes landed on Michael, Hyde, Donna, and Eric.
"Hey guys!" Jackie screamed. Lucy, one of the maids, ran over and collected their gifts. But Jackie stopped her, and took Michael's poorly wrapped gift aside, since she was sure it would be special.
"Happy Birthday, Jackie." Donna said sweetly, giving the girl a hug.
"Thanks, Donna!" Jackie chirped as she closed the door behind them.
"Wow, your house is huge!" Eric laughed.
Jackie continued to grin, deciding that no other guests would be arriving, since the entire Point Place Junior High Population was outside. Even some high school kids showed up. Basically, Laurie Forman and her friends and Casey Kelso and his friends.
Eric and Donna walked outside, as Lucy instructed them to, while Hyde and Michael waited with Jackie.
"Happy Birthday, Jackie." Hyde said quietly to her, giving her an eerie grin before following Eric and Donna outside.
"Jackie, this party is going to kick some major ass!" Michael screeched into her ear as he leaned it for a kiss. She squinted her face up with annoyance as their lips briskly touched and muttered to herself as he ran off to catch up with his friends.
This party wasn't kicking ass.
It was a drag.
Jackie went to the bathroom, shedding her dress off, and went outside, squinting in the bright sunlight. Hundreds of kids were dancing, swimming, laying about, or getting their picture done by the cartoonist.
She was almost positive that no one would notice if she just disappeared.
She sighed, taking a seat in one of the poolside chairs.
No one even came up to her. It was her own birthday party, and she was alone.
Stacey and Lacey were hanging out with their new boyfriends, Eric and Donna were wading their feet in the pool, talking. Michael was getting himself drawn to look like Sonny Bono and Hyde was...
She looked around, scanning the perimeters for that familiar curly haze of hair. She couldn't spot him. She sighed, deciding that she needed some sort of pick me up, so she went to the kitchen, to look for some of her favorite comfort food, Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
"Why aren't you outside enjoying your party?" A voice asked as she settled down with a bowl of ice cream, digging into it.
She looked up and saw Hyde, leaning against the doorway, his sunglasses tucked in the collar of his shirt.
"Why aren't you outside?" Jackie asked, swallowing some ice cream down.
She was all of a sudden very aware that she was only in a tiny bikini, and it's not like she had a showy body, she was only in 6th grade... but a lot of skin was showing and her face became a deep shade of red.
Hyde shrugged, "Probably the same reason as you. Except, it's your party."
"So?" Jackie said, rolling her eyes. "I had a craving for ice cream, that's all."
"Right." He watched her finish up her food, and she pushed the bowl away and yawned loudly.
"Oh, and I wanted to open Michael's gift. I'm dying to see what he got me."
Hyde had a smirk on his face as he followed her to the table of presents, and she saw Michael's gift on the very corner, where she placed it.
She sat down on the bottom of the staircase and tore it open as Hyde sifted through the other gifts, lazily.
Jackie blinked widely at Michael's gift in her hand.
Was he kidding?
This had to be a joke.
"That...that..." She muttered, "Dumbass!"
"Something wrong, princess?" Kelso's voice called as he stumbled upon Jackie.
"Michael Kelso!" She screamed. "Is this your idea of a joke?"
"You don't like your gift?" Kelso asked innocently.
Hyde was watching this intensely, laughing to himself.
Jackie threw the tiny bottles of zit cream at her boyfriend's feet.
"Are you trying to tell me something, Michael?" She asked, throwing the bottles of deodorant at his feet as well. "Do I stink?" She threw the breath mints at his feet as well. "Do I have bad skin?"
"What, Jackie, no..." Kelso pleaded.
"Jackie," Hyde said, interrupting them. "Mrs. Forman just got back from a health fair and gave us all free samples of stuff."
Kelso grinned at his friend, but then frowned when Jackie stomped her foot with anger.
"You regifted me?" She screamed, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Thanks for the help, Hyde!" Kelso screamed sarcastically.
"I wasn't trying to help." Hyde said innocently, returning to the table of gifts.
Before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang and Jackie answered it primly.
She rolled her eyes and let Pam Macy in.
"Happy birthday, Jackie." Pam said snobbishly, handing her a gift. "Hi, Michael." She grinned at Kelso for a second and then walked off to the backyard.
"Jackie, I think I'm going to let you calm down, ok?" Kelso said, watching Pam sashay down the hallway, and quickly followed her.
Jackie blinked widely in disbelief that her boyfriend not only gave her a ridiculous gift but just went off after Pam Macy, at her own birthday party. Nothing was going Jackie's way, and that just made her hostile.
But then she realized she was once again alone with Hyde and how she had a mission to complete.
"You!" She screamed, but then calmed her voice down. "Come upstairs, I have something to show you."
Hyde looked slightly discouraged, but followed Jackie up the staircase to her bedroom. She shut the door behind him.
He watched her tediously as she started jumping up and down, grabbing at the top of her closet until a few things fell down. She quickly went to the floor, and grabbed a folded up piece of denim. She quickly snapped it so it came unloose, revealing Hyde's old denim jacket.
"Oh my god." Hyde said with a smile. "You still have that?"
"Well, I wasn't going throw it out or anything." Jackie said sheepishly, finding a tee shirt and shorts and throwing it over her bathing suit, feeling slightly more comfortable.
"Well, thanks." Hyde said, holding up the jacket his body. "But I don't think it fits anymore."
"Do you mind if I keep it then?" Jackie asked shyly.
Hyde held the jacket tightly, "Why?"
"Um..." Jackie paused, flicking her hair back. "Never mind."
Hyde stood silent for a minute, but then draped the jacket on Jackie's bed, next to her.
She smiled slowly and then walked over to her window, stepping out onto her balcony. Hyde followed carefully, not sure of what was going on.
"Jackie, darling, where are you?!" Her mother called and starting knocking on her bedroom door.
Jackie sighed deeply and Hyde gave her a sympathetic look.
"Let's get out of here." Hyde said, showing Jackie a vine that was next to balcony and helped her climb onto it. He made sure she got down safely and as he landed on his feet, they started walking off, avoiding the street, and running through backyards till they reached the center of town.
As soon as they were far away from the house, they slowed down their pace and Jackie laughed, "You're always helping me escape."
Hyde grinned, since this was very true, as they walked into the Hub.
He held the door open, but she looked at him blankly, then gave a sideways glance around her.
"Everyone's at your party." Hyde said quickly. "You think I would let myself be seen with you in public?"
Jackie let this sink in and followed Hyde into the very empty Hub.
Jackie sat down in one of the booths as Hyde ordered some fries.
They ate in silence, until Jackie said something very quietly.
"I wish I could break up with Michael."
Hyde sat back, leering at her for what seemed like forever.
"Why don't you?"
"Because it would ruin everything!" Jackie sighed, sitting back and crossing her arms defiantly. "Without Michael, what am I?"
Hyde snorted gently, but quickly ceased when he saw how serious she was.
"Come on," He nudged her gently. "You're Jackie freakin' Burkhart, remember?"
Jackie cracked a smile, remembering the way she had told off Hyde all those years ago.
"Deep down, Kelso means well." Hyde insisted. "You have to stop letting him do whatever he wants. You need to have some more control over him."
"But I don't know how to do that..."
"Just treat him like you treat Eric."
"Ohh..." Jackie nodded in understanding. "But what if he breaks up with me?"
"He won't." Hyde insisted. "He'll be too scared to break up with you."
Jackie stood up, giving him an unsure smile.
Hyde stood up, finishing the last fry, "Jackie,"
She looked up at him, a sudden glow of happiness falling over her.
"Trust me."
And just like that day in the courtyard, she trusted him.
From that day on, Jackie bossed Kelso around completely.
And as a result, she got everything she wanted from him; nice gifts, compliments, and Hyde was right, Kelso was freakin' terrified and never crossed Jackie.
But there was still one thing Jackie wanted, that she just couldn't find.
A real friend.
Not Stacey, or Lacey, or stupid Pam Macy.
A real friend, someone who she can talk to when she's in trouble; someone she can depend on.
She never thought she'd find that in the slightly taller then the rest, red head...