In The Beginning
Chapter Twenty Eight: The Summer Queen
Living with Donna, at first, had been a pain, but in the end, it had made their friendship stronger. Jackie made sure to stay out of Donna's way when she was Eric, slipping over to the Forman's basement to spend that precious time with her own boyfriend. Bob, who had recently been in a slump, since Donna's mom made her California vacationing permanent, was happy to have the bright and perky cheerleader in the house. Jackie was quick to help out with simple tasks, since the Pinciotti's didn't really trust her with anything big, like cooking. She would set the table before dinner, or help Donna put up posters, things like that. She figured that she owed Donna, for giving up half her room and all that. But they didn't make a big deal out of it, or talk about it. It was just understood that Jackie was grateful and Donna, who missed her mom, liked having Jackie as a distraction from all that. It was nice to have another girl in the house.
Jackie slowly forgot about the troubles with her mother, months passed by, and soon Jackie would no longer be a freshman, but a sophomore. Jackie could barely contain her excitement as summer approached, since Steven would be getting his license and be able to REALLY take her out, and now she could wear her cute short skirts and tight tee shirts in the bright sun.
That particular day in late May, Jackie took her time in the morning, applying lip gloss by Donna's poorly lit bathroom mirror. It was times like this that she missed her old vanity mirror, with the protruding shiny bulbs. Jackie flipped her hair back, taking one last look at her creation of perfection and stepped back into Donna's bedroom, eyeing the redhead as she buttoned up her shirt.
"Donna, I've been thinking."
"That's never good." Donna joked as she stuffed some papers into her bookbag.
Jackie rolled her eyes dismissively; crossing her legs neatly as she sat on her friend's bad, patting down the soft comforter underneath her.
"We should really work on your wardrobe." Jackie eyed Donna's shirt tackily, and Donna turned around, muttering to herself.
"We're going to be late for school." Donna turned back towards Jackie, who was staring at her blankly.
"You're wearing this," Jackie stood up, pulling at Donna's flannel shirt, "To school?"
"What's wrong with this shirt?" Donna asked defensively, pulling at the material.
"Nothing, nothing at all." Jackie laughed to herself. "If you're Eric."
Donna rolled her eyes playfully, "This shirt is Eric's."
"What?" Jackie gave Donna a once-over as she followed the red head down the stairs and towards the Forman's house. "You're wearing Eric's shirt?"
"It's comfortable." Donna shrugged. "And it smells like him."
"Ew, Donna." Jackie shuddered. "Why would you want to smell like Eric?"
"Good morning, beautiful." Eric chirped, wrapping his arm around Donna. "Nice shirt." He nuzzled his head into her collar as Jackie waved her hands in disgust.
"Hey." Steven came out of the slider, shoving his hands in his pockets as Jackie walked up to him, a slight, happy bounce in her walk.
Jackie glanced at Eric and Donna, who were being very publicly affectionate, and glanced back at her own boyfriend, who shoved his sunglasses on hastily, motioning for them to get a move on.
Jackie sighed, knowing that she could never expect Steven to call her beautiful or let her wear his clothes, though she would never get caught wearing one of his shirts to school, but when they're alone, maybe. She was lucky if Steven noticed her standing right in front of him.
She felt Hyde's hand slip into hers, squeezing her palm as he blew gently in her ear, making her burst into a fit of stifled giggles.
"Steven!" She whispered back in a sultry manner, squeezing his hand back.
Ok, she really couldn't complain.
Steven was slowly becoming a better boyfriend.
Almost perfect, but not quite. He still refused to shower her with gifts or compliments, but occasionally, he would slip.
Last week, Jackie had felt a little under the weather, and stayed home sick in the empty Pinciotti house. So Hyde cut his last three classes, and as soon as he came into the Forman's kitchen, Kitty sent him over there with a bowl of chicken soup. He watched her silently, as she sat up in her cot, sipping soup and feeling like complete crap. Her hair was greasy and sticking to her sweaty forehead, she was wearing one of Donna's overly large sweatshirts and her lips were chapped.
She looked up as she slurped her soup and Hyde was staring at her.
"When exactly did you get so damn gorgeous?"
Her jaw nearly dropped when he asked that, and then she practically screamed in delight when he added that he would have kissed her, if she weren't contagious. She prayed and prayed that she would instantly be cured of her cold, but suddenly sneezed, feeling like crap again as he took the bowl from her hands, tucking her in softly and promising to stop by later.
The walk to school was nice. Usually, the four would walk together, meeting up with Kelso and Fez by the front entrance. The boys would disappear together into the alleys behind the gym, but Donna and Jackie didn't really want to be part of what goes on back there, and would make a pit stop in the bathroom, to chat briefly while Jackie checked up on her hair and make up, before they parted ways.
This morning though, Donna needed to get to her first class early, and left Jackie in the bathroom, waving goodbye.
Jackie applied another layer of lip gloss onto her lips as a toilet flushed, and out waltzed Pam Macy, of all people.
"Hi." Pam said suddenly, forcing eye contact with Jackie as she washed her hands.
"Hi." Jackie stared blankly at her reflection, noticing how low cut Pam's shirt was.
"Are you going to practice today?" Pam asked with a sly smile.
"Of course." Jackie nodded. "Are you?"
"Of course." Pam nodded in return. "Well, bye."
Jackie didn't say anything, only scowling at the door when Pam finally disappeared.
Jackie took one last look at herself in the mirror and left the bathroom.
Everything had been normal until lunch.
Even though she protested, Hyde would cut gym to eat lunch with Jackie, outside on the picnic tables.
Jackie's math teacher had stopped her in the hallway, to congratulate her on how she picked up her grades, before she scurried off to meet Hyde at their little spot.
She reminded herself to thank Eric, once again, for his great tutoring skills.
"Hey." Hyde said smoothly, passing Jackie a bottle of coke as she sat down, opening up a bag of potato chips for them to share.
"Guess who I ran into today?"
Hyde shrugged, straddling the bench of the picnic table so that he was facing her, his hands down steadying his body as she popped a chip in her mouth.
"Pam Macy." Jackie said snobbishly, rolling her eyes. "She was actually being nice!"
"That bitch!" Hyde mocked, laughing sorely as Jackie smacked his shoulder.
He looked so adorable as his dimples rose, and his cheeks were flushed with laughter that Jackie was about cup his head in her hands, so she could kiss those adorable dimples, but before she could a loud, abrasive voice was shouting her name, and a bubbly girl was running over to them.
"Jackie, oh my god!" The girl panted, "I have been looking just about everywhere for you!"
"Hi, Dana." Jackie said timidly, inching away from Hyde.
Dana was the senior cheer captain and Jackie couldn't help but feel intimidated by her.
Dana didn't even glance in Hyde's direction.
Most of Jackie's old friends ignored this new development in her life.
A lot of people didn't even know the two were an item, until Stacey and Lacey informed everyone of the travesty. A lot of the boys were bummed; a lot of the girls were shocked. But mostly everyone took a renewed interest in Steven Hyde. He must have been some sort of special if Jackie Burkhart was giving him the time of day.
"I just met with the dance committee and we were discussing nominations for the upcoming Summer Queen and well," Dana hushed herself in excitement, before jumping up and down frantically, "You were nominated!"
"Oh my god!" Jackie stood up, jumping up and down with Dana as Hyde watched, slightly pleased to see the two girls jumping, and slightly disgusted. "I have always wanted to be Summer Queen!"
"What's Summer Queen?" Hyde snorted as Dana and Jackie glared at him obnoxiously.
"Only like, the most important title," Dana rolled her eyes with swelling pride, "For a freshman cheerleader. I was Summer Queen when I was freshman, and now Jackie will be our Summer Queen!"
"Well, Dana," Jackie blushed, "I didn't win yet."
"Well, the competition is pretty slim." Dana grinned. "You're a shoe- in."
"Oh my god, what will I wear?" Jackie jumped up in happiness again, as Dana laughed.
"Is there a Summer King?" Hyde asked cautiously as he stood up by Jackie's side.
"Of course!" Dana shrieked. "But because only one person has been nominated, he's already been chosen!"
"So who's the lucky guy?" Hyde asked dryly as Dana smiled wide.
"Michael Kelso!"
"What?" Jackie and Hyde both asked simultaneously, exchanging awkward glances.
"Yeah, well," Dana began, "He's technically a sophomore, but because he was left back a few years ago, he's a retained freshman!"
"Oh..." Jackie let her voice trail off before jumping excitedly again, "Oh my god, I'm going to be Summer Queen!"
Hyde rolled his eyes, sitting back down as he took a long sip of his drink, "You didn't win yet."
Jackie glanced back at him oddly, wondering why he was so somber all of a sudden, and turned back to Dana, who babbled on about the upcoming Summer Court festivities.
Dana then excused herself, so she could go meet up with Chip Thompson, her quarterback boyfriend for some pre-gym making out, and Jackie sharply turned, shrieking as she sat back down, picking up a chip and dissecting the greasy flake of a potato with her eyes. She dropped it back in the bag, pushing the bag away from her and towards Hyde.
"As of this moment, I am on a strict diet." Jackie said, crossing her arms fiercely over her stomach. "I can't believe I'm going to be Summer Queen!"
"You didn't win yet." Hyde mumbled as he took the bag of chips, tossing a few in his mouth.
The only sound between them was Jackie's stomach grumbles and the crunching of chips in Hyde's throat until she placed her hands on his knees, forcing him to look up at her.
"You know, just because Michael is Summer King..." She felt a slight blush come to her cheeks as Hyde looked squarely at her, "Well, it doesn't mean he has to be my date for the Summer Dance."
"Ok." Hyde said flatly.
Jackie ignored his attitude, trying to remember the fact that she was soon going to be worshipped by all her peers and fellow cheerleaders.
"The other day at the mall, I was totally eying this lavender dress, which would be absolutely perfect for the Summer Dance!"
Hyde quickly covered his eyes with his sunglasses, squinting behind them angrily as he faced forward, pretending to be suddenly interested in the scratches on the picnic table.
Jackie sprawled her hands out in front of her excitedly, blabbering on, "So, the shirt under your tux should be lavender as well."
Hyde looked up at her wearily, but she continued, off in her own world at this point.
"And I'll get a crown! And a cloak! And I'll be in the yearbook!"
"You're already going to be in the yearbook."
"But not under the School Royalty page!"
"Well, you didn't win yet." He muttered dryly.
"I know that." Jackie's tone lowered and she turned to face him. "Is something wrong?"
Hyde turned to her, deep in thought until he shrugged, touching her cheek tenderly.
"Jacks, I'm sorry." He muttered. "I'm just..."
He looked down at the table, his face twitching slightly.
Jackie smiled, awaiting his explanation.
"I think that I'll be working the night of the Summer Dance."
Jackie's jaw dropped and then she laughed nervously, taking it as a joke. An evil one.
"Sorry." He mumbled, "I got to go."
He quickly got up, nearly knocking over his coke, and ushered off to the alley behind the gym. Jackie watched his retreating form until he was out of earshot and sighed heavily. What was going on with him?
She turned back to the bag of chips, holding the shiny bag in front of her mouth and letting the greasy crumbs fall into her mouth. Screw her diet.
She took a long sip of her own coke, tossed everything in a nearby garbage can and sat back down at the picnic table, lying her head down. The grooves of the many scratches pinched her skin and she lifted her head, moving her fingertips over the scratches. Over the years, many messages were carved into the picnic tables. Jackie traced one that proclaimed that 'pam was a hussy'. She almost laughed out loud, in agreement. Another one had a phone number, and lastly, underneath Hyde's coke bottle, was a large heart, which in a panic, Jackie recognized. She moved the bottle quickly, sitting up to take a good look at the rather large formation.
Oh, god.
The large heart, which she remembered watching when it was carved originally, was deeply embedded, tiny shavings of wood outlining the initials carved inside.
M.K. + J.B. = Forever.
God, out of all the picnic tables, they had to sit at this one.
Jackie let her head fall back on the table, a loud 'thwack' echoing through her head. She didn't even wince at the pain.
Kelso was not supposed to be an issue between them anymore.
So what if he was the Summer King and Jackie, hopefully, would be Summer Queen. It meant nothing. Right?
Right.
Forever. What a joke.
Jackie clawed her nails over the engraving, only to break one of them.
"Dammit." She muttered under her breath.
The Summer Queen couldn't afford to have broken nails.
"Jackie?"
Jackie turned around quickly, her nervous smile fading into a look of boredom.
"Hi Stacey." Jackie said quietly. "Lacey." She nodded towards the other, as the two sat across from her.
How surreal.
If Pam were here, they would have been the giggling girls from way back when once more.
Stacey flipped her hair, nudging Lacey as she licked her lips.
"We heard about your nomination." Stacey said quietly, as Lacey giggled.
"Yeah, congrats!" Lacey smiled brightly, but it seemed very forced to Jackie.
Jackie mustered a fake smile of her own, "Thanks."
"So um, how have you been?" Stacey asked.
"Pretty good."
"Really? Even though your parents like, totally skipped out on you?"
Jackie stared blankly at Lacey, as Stacey slapped her underneath the table, scolding.
"What?" Lacey looked at Stacey, who just shrugged indifferently.
"So, um," Jackie looked around, wishing that Steven would magically appear, but of course, he didn't. "How about you two?"
"Well, Kelso's taking me to the Summer Dance!" Stacey shouted excitedly, as Lacey rolled her eyes out of jealousy.
"That's cool."
Oh, how being with Steven came in handy.
Stacey and Lacey eyed each other as Jackie flicked her nails out casually, looking up at them, inquiring with her eyes if they needed to tell her anymore useless information.
"Who are you going with?" Stacey asked suddenly.
"My boyfriend." Jackie replied calmly.
"You mean the scruffy kid who hangs out with Kelso?"
"Yeah." Jackie nodded blankly. "Steven."
"Who?" Stacey and Lacey muttered and Jackie simply shook her head out of pity.
"Well, whatever." Lacey rolled her eyes, moving the subject a long. "You must be so excited about the Summer Dance!"
Jackie sighed, realizing that this conversation with the bubbly blondes wouldn't end as soon as she hoped. She grinned happily, but she couldn't quite remember why she had been so excited about being Summer Queen in the first place.
"It's going to be so awkward on stage, though." Lacey said, breaking Jackie's thoughts.
Jackie raised her eyebrows in question.
"Well, you know, since Pam won last year, she'll be crowning you." Stacey smirked.
"If you win." Lacey smirked wider.
Jackie felt suddenly uncomfortable.
"And well, Pam's still kind of pissed about what you did to her nose at the Valentine's Dance." Lacey rambled, licking her lips in satisfaction.
"It really hasn't looked the same since." Stacey added.
"What are you getting at?" Jackie interjected.
"I'm just saying, Jackie," Stacey sneered, "If I knew that somebody who was out to get me was going to be up on stage with me, during one of the most critical moments of my high school career, in front of the whole school, well I wouldn't be so quick to get up on that stage."
"Yeah." Lacey added, enthusiastically.
Jackie felt a cloud of doubt circling over her head and pushed herself up and away from the girls.
"I promised Steven that I would meet him by my locker." Jackie said shakily. "I'll see you girls later." She prompted a friendly wave, but both girls just smirked at her strangely, making her feel less and less excited about the upcoming Summer Dance.
Jackie almost burst into a run as she left the two girls, barely noticing a grinning Pam Macy by the front door of the school. Obviously, this was all a scheme against Jackie, but she didn't even want to think about Pam ruining her shot at Summer Queen. She wanted to talk to Steven, but he was nowhere to be found. So she ran into the arms of the first familiar face she saw.
Those large, broad shoulders that she had run into many times before.
The one person she shouldn't have been running to.
And she checked down the hallways for any signs of Steven as he waved her over to an empty classroom, so they could talk in private, since obviously she was distraught over something.
Jackie didn't say much, shaking her head 'no' to any questions he had.
"Did you have a fight with Hyde?"
Shake.
"Did you fall or something?"
Shake.
"Well, what then?"
Jackie cleared her throat, sitting back in the chair as she looked straight into his brown eyes, "Michael," She closed her eyes, hoping it would be easier, "Have I changed since we broke up?"
She flashed her eyes open, relieved that he was smiling gingerly.
"Yeah, I guess you have."
"Then why do I still care about Pam Macy and stupid titles?"
"Because, Jackie," Kelso draped his arm around her, "You can take the Kelso out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of the girl."
"What?" Jackie blinked widely in confusion.
"I'm just saying..." He pursed his lips in thought. "Hyde's changed you, but you're still you." He smiled, "And that's ok."
Jackie nodded in understanding, "Thanks, Michael." She didn't want to hug him, in case anyone was watching, but she visually showed her gratitude and said goodbye as she wandered over to her locker, though she really didn't need anything from it.
"Hey."
"Hey." Jackie smiled wearily as she smelled that crisp, clean smell that radiated of his skin.
"Are you ok?"
"Are you?"
He didn't answer.
There was more silence until he held his hand out for her.
"Let's go somewhere."
"Now?" Jackie asked timidly. She had never cut class before.
"Now." He nodded, his eyes pleading with her.
And she let her fears fade away, her doubts, Pam Macy, Michael, because she trusted those eyes way too much.
"Ok." She said quietly, following him, and then breaking into a run before the hall monitor flagged them down. Somehow, they ended up at her old house.
She shuddered when she saw it, the for sale sign waving back and forth in the wind.
It leered over her, mocking her.
So much of the old Jackie was left in the walls of that house.
Hyde picked the lock quickly, even though Jackie had a key somewhere in her purse.
The house was empty; most of the furniture had been sold.
They walked up the eerie staircase and towards her bedroom, and she smiled happily, since everything she had left was still in its place. She immediately sat down at her vanity, which wasn't lit since the electricity was off, but she checked herself in the mirror, almost disgusted with herself as she saw how shiny the outer lining of her mouth was from those greasy chips. Back on the diet, she thought.
She sat down on her bed, quietly, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't.
He just sat down, looking very sad and confused.
"Steven, what's wrong?" She put her hand on his shoulder. "Tell me."
He looked back at her, kissing her lips softly as he laid her down next to him, letting her body click in place with his.
"Can we just..." He sighed. "Can we just not talk?"
"Yeah." She nodded, out of confusion. "We can do that."
Jackie wasn't sure what was going through her boyfriend's mind.
Had he seen her with Michael? Was he jealous, upset?
Jackie didn't know it was an anniversary, one that made Hyde extra vulnerable that day...
Chapter Twenty Eight: The Summer Queen
Living with Donna, at first, had been a pain, but in the end, it had made their friendship stronger. Jackie made sure to stay out of Donna's way when she was Eric, slipping over to the Forman's basement to spend that precious time with her own boyfriend. Bob, who had recently been in a slump, since Donna's mom made her California vacationing permanent, was happy to have the bright and perky cheerleader in the house. Jackie was quick to help out with simple tasks, since the Pinciotti's didn't really trust her with anything big, like cooking. She would set the table before dinner, or help Donna put up posters, things like that. She figured that she owed Donna, for giving up half her room and all that. But they didn't make a big deal out of it, or talk about it. It was just understood that Jackie was grateful and Donna, who missed her mom, liked having Jackie as a distraction from all that. It was nice to have another girl in the house.
Jackie slowly forgot about the troubles with her mother, months passed by, and soon Jackie would no longer be a freshman, but a sophomore. Jackie could barely contain her excitement as summer approached, since Steven would be getting his license and be able to REALLY take her out, and now she could wear her cute short skirts and tight tee shirts in the bright sun.
That particular day in late May, Jackie took her time in the morning, applying lip gloss by Donna's poorly lit bathroom mirror. It was times like this that she missed her old vanity mirror, with the protruding shiny bulbs. Jackie flipped her hair back, taking one last look at her creation of perfection and stepped back into Donna's bedroom, eyeing the redhead as she buttoned up her shirt.
"Donna, I've been thinking."
"That's never good." Donna joked as she stuffed some papers into her bookbag.
Jackie rolled her eyes dismissively; crossing her legs neatly as she sat on her friend's bad, patting down the soft comforter underneath her.
"We should really work on your wardrobe." Jackie eyed Donna's shirt tackily, and Donna turned around, muttering to herself.
"We're going to be late for school." Donna turned back towards Jackie, who was staring at her blankly.
"You're wearing this," Jackie stood up, pulling at Donna's flannel shirt, "To school?"
"What's wrong with this shirt?" Donna asked defensively, pulling at the material.
"Nothing, nothing at all." Jackie laughed to herself. "If you're Eric."
Donna rolled her eyes playfully, "This shirt is Eric's."
"What?" Jackie gave Donna a once-over as she followed the red head down the stairs and towards the Forman's house. "You're wearing Eric's shirt?"
"It's comfortable." Donna shrugged. "And it smells like him."
"Ew, Donna." Jackie shuddered. "Why would you want to smell like Eric?"
"Good morning, beautiful." Eric chirped, wrapping his arm around Donna. "Nice shirt." He nuzzled his head into her collar as Jackie waved her hands in disgust.
"Hey." Steven came out of the slider, shoving his hands in his pockets as Jackie walked up to him, a slight, happy bounce in her walk.
Jackie glanced at Eric and Donna, who were being very publicly affectionate, and glanced back at her own boyfriend, who shoved his sunglasses on hastily, motioning for them to get a move on.
Jackie sighed, knowing that she could never expect Steven to call her beautiful or let her wear his clothes, though she would never get caught wearing one of his shirts to school, but when they're alone, maybe. She was lucky if Steven noticed her standing right in front of him.
She felt Hyde's hand slip into hers, squeezing her palm as he blew gently in her ear, making her burst into a fit of stifled giggles.
"Steven!" She whispered back in a sultry manner, squeezing his hand back.
Ok, she really couldn't complain.
Steven was slowly becoming a better boyfriend.
Almost perfect, but not quite. He still refused to shower her with gifts or compliments, but occasionally, he would slip.
Last week, Jackie had felt a little under the weather, and stayed home sick in the empty Pinciotti house. So Hyde cut his last three classes, and as soon as he came into the Forman's kitchen, Kitty sent him over there with a bowl of chicken soup. He watched her silently, as she sat up in her cot, sipping soup and feeling like complete crap. Her hair was greasy and sticking to her sweaty forehead, she was wearing one of Donna's overly large sweatshirts and her lips were chapped.
She looked up as she slurped her soup and Hyde was staring at her.
"When exactly did you get so damn gorgeous?"
Her jaw nearly dropped when he asked that, and then she practically screamed in delight when he added that he would have kissed her, if she weren't contagious. She prayed and prayed that she would instantly be cured of her cold, but suddenly sneezed, feeling like crap again as he took the bowl from her hands, tucking her in softly and promising to stop by later.
The walk to school was nice. Usually, the four would walk together, meeting up with Kelso and Fez by the front entrance. The boys would disappear together into the alleys behind the gym, but Donna and Jackie didn't really want to be part of what goes on back there, and would make a pit stop in the bathroom, to chat briefly while Jackie checked up on her hair and make up, before they parted ways.
This morning though, Donna needed to get to her first class early, and left Jackie in the bathroom, waving goodbye.
Jackie applied another layer of lip gloss onto her lips as a toilet flushed, and out waltzed Pam Macy, of all people.
"Hi." Pam said suddenly, forcing eye contact with Jackie as she washed her hands.
"Hi." Jackie stared blankly at her reflection, noticing how low cut Pam's shirt was.
"Are you going to practice today?" Pam asked with a sly smile.
"Of course." Jackie nodded. "Are you?"
"Of course." Pam nodded in return. "Well, bye."
Jackie didn't say anything, only scowling at the door when Pam finally disappeared.
Jackie took one last look at herself in the mirror and left the bathroom.
Everything had been normal until lunch.
Even though she protested, Hyde would cut gym to eat lunch with Jackie, outside on the picnic tables.
Jackie's math teacher had stopped her in the hallway, to congratulate her on how she picked up her grades, before she scurried off to meet Hyde at their little spot.
She reminded herself to thank Eric, once again, for his great tutoring skills.
"Hey." Hyde said smoothly, passing Jackie a bottle of coke as she sat down, opening up a bag of potato chips for them to share.
"Guess who I ran into today?"
Hyde shrugged, straddling the bench of the picnic table so that he was facing her, his hands down steadying his body as she popped a chip in her mouth.
"Pam Macy." Jackie said snobbishly, rolling her eyes. "She was actually being nice!"
"That bitch!" Hyde mocked, laughing sorely as Jackie smacked his shoulder.
He looked so adorable as his dimples rose, and his cheeks were flushed with laughter that Jackie was about cup his head in her hands, so she could kiss those adorable dimples, but before she could a loud, abrasive voice was shouting her name, and a bubbly girl was running over to them.
"Jackie, oh my god!" The girl panted, "I have been looking just about everywhere for you!"
"Hi, Dana." Jackie said timidly, inching away from Hyde.
Dana was the senior cheer captain and Jackie couldn't help but feel intimidated by her.
Dana didn't even glance in Hyde's direction.
Most of Jackie's old friends ignored this new development in her life.
A lot of people didn't even know the two were an item, until Stacey and Lacey informed everyone of the travesty. A lot of the boys were bummed; a lot of the girls were shocked. But mostly everyone took a renewed interest in Steven Hyde. He must have been some sort of special if Jackie Burkhart was giving him the time of day.
"I just met with the dance committee and we were discussing nominations for the upcoming Summer Queen and well," Dana hushed herself in excitement, before jumping up and down frantically, "You were nominated!"
"Oh my god!" Jackie stood up, jumping up and down with Dana as Hyde watched, slightly pleased to see the two girls jumping, and slightly disgusted. "I have always wanted to be Summer Queen!"
"What's Summer Queen?" Hyde snorted as Dana and Jackie glared at him obnoxiously.
"Only like, the most important title," Dana rolled her eyes with swelling pride, "For a freshman cheerleader. I was Summer Queen when I was freshman, and now Jackie will be our Summer Queen!"
"Well, Dana," Jackie blushed, "I didn't win yet."
"Well, the competition is pretty slim." Dana grinned. "You're a shoe- in."
"Oh my god, what will I wear?" Jackie jumped up in happiness again, as Dana laughed.
"Is there a Summer King?" Hyde asked cautiously as he stood up by Jackie's side.
"Of course!" Dana shrieked. "But because only one person has been nominated, he's already been chosen!"
"So who's the lucky guy?" Hyde asked dryly as Dana smiled wide.
"Michael Kelso!"
"What?" Jackie and Hyde both asked simultaneously, exchanging awkward glances.
"Yeah, well," Dana began, "He's technically a sophomore, but because he was left back a few years ago, he's a retained freshman!"
"Oh..." Jackie let her voice trail off before jumping excitedly again, "Oh my god, I'm going to be Summer Queen!"
Hyde rolled his eyes, sitting back down as he took a long sip of his drink, "You didn't win yet."
Jackie glanced back at him oddly, wondering why he was so somber all of a sudden, and turned back to Dana, who babbled on about the upcoming Summer Court festivities.
Dana then excused herself, so she could go meet up with Chip Thompson, her quarterback boyfriend for some pre-gym making out, and Jackie sharply turned, shrieking as she sat back down, picking up a chip and dissecting the greasy flake of a potato with her eyes. She dropped it back in the bag, pushing the bag away from her and towards Hyde.
"As of this moment, I am on a strict diet." Jackie said, crossing her arms fiercely over her stomach. "I can't believe I'm going to be Summer Queen!"
"You didn't win yet." Hyde mumbled as he took the bag of chips, tossing a few in his mouth.
The only sound between them was Jackie's stomach grumbles and the crunching of chips in Hyde's throat until she placed her hands on his knees, forcing him to look up at her.
"You know, just because Michael is Summer King..." She felt a slight blush come to her cheeks as Hyde looked squarely at her, "Well, it doesn't mean he has to be my date for the Summer Dance."
"Ok." Hyde said flatly.
Jackie ignored his attitude, trying to remember the fact that she was soon going to be worshipped by all her peers and fellow cheerleaders.
"The other day at the mall, I was totally eying this lavender dress, which would be absolutely perfect for the Summer Dance!"
Hyde quickly covered his eyes with his sunglasses, squinting behind them angrily as he faced forward, pretending to be suddenly interested in the scratches on the picnic table.
Jackie sprawled her hands out in front of her excitedly, blabbering on, "So, the shirt under your tux should be lavender as well."
Hyde looked up at her wearily, but she continued, off in her own world at this point.
"And I'll get a crown! And a cloak! And I'll be in the yearbook!"
"You're already going to be in the yearbook."
"But not under the School Royalty page!"
"Well, you didn't win yet." He muttered dryly.
"I know that." Jackie's tone lowered and she turned to face him. "Is something wrong?"
Hyde turned to her, deep in thought until he shrugged, touching her cheek tenderly.
"Jacks, I'm sorry." He muttered. "I'm just..."
He looked down at the table, his face twitching slightly.
Jackie smiled, awaiting his explanation.
"I think that I'll be working the night of the Summer Dance."
Jackie's jaw dropped and then she laughed nervously, taking it as a joke. An evil one.
"Sorry." He mumbled, "I got to go."
He quickly got up, nearly knocking over his coke, and ushered off to the alley behind the gym. Jackie watched his retreating form until he was out of earshot and sighed heavily. What was going on with him?
She turned back to the bag of chips, holding the shiny bag in front of her mouth and letting the greasy crumbs fall into her mouth. Screw her diet.
She took a long sip of her own coke, tossed everything in a nearby garbage can and sat back down at the picnic table, lying her head down. The grooves of the many scratches pinched her skin and she lifted her head, moving her fingertips over the scratches. Over the years, many messages were carved into the picnic tables. Jackie traced one that proclaimed that 'pam was a hussy'. She almost laughed out loud, in agreement. Another one had a phone number, and lastly, underneath Hyde's coke bottle, was a large heart, which in a panic, Jackie recognized. She moved the bottle quickly, sitting up to take a good look at the rather large formation.
Oh, god.
The large heart, which she remembered watching when it was carved originally, was deeply embedded, tiny shavings of wood outlining the initials carved inside.
M.K. + J.B. = Forever.
God, out of all the picnic tables, they had to sit at this one.
Jackie let her head fall back on the table, a loud 'thwack' echoing through her head. She didn't even wince at the pain.
Kelso was not supposed to be an issue between them anymore.
So what if he was the Summer King and Jackie, hopefully, would be Summer Queen. It meant nothing. Right?
Right.
Forever. What a joke.
Jackie clawed her nails over the engraving, only to break one of them.
"Dammit." She muttered under her breath.
The Summer Queen couldn't afford to have broken nails.
"Jackie?"
Jackie turned around quickly, her nervous smile fading into a look of boredom.
"Hi Stacey." Jackie said quietly. "Lacey." She nodded towards the other, as the two sat across from her.
How surreal.
If Pam were here, they would have been the giggling girls from way back when once more.
Stacey flipped her hair, nudging Lacey as she licked her lips.
"We heard about your nomination." Stacey said quietly, as Lacey giggled.
"Yeah, congrats!" Lacey smiled brightly, but it seemed very forced to Jackie.
Jackie mustered a fake smile of her own, "Thanks."
"So um, how have you been?" Stacey asked.
"Pretty good."
"Really? Even though your parents like, totally skipped out on you?"
Jackie stared blankly at Lacey, as Stacey slapped her underneath the table, scolding.
"What?" Lacey looked at Stacey, who just shrugged indifferently.
"So, um," Jackie looked around, wishing that Steven would magically appear, but of course, he didn't. "How about you two?"
"Well, Kelso's taking me to the Summer Dance!" Stacey shouted excitedly, as Lacey rolled her eyes out of jealousy.
"That's cool."
Oh, how being with Steven came in handy.
Stacey and Lacey eyed each other as Jackie flicked her nails out casually, looking up at them, inquiring with her eyes if they needed to tell her anymore useless information.
"Who are you going with?" Stacey asked suddenly.
"My boyfriend." Jackie replied calmly.
"You mean the scruffy kid who hangs out with Kelso?"
"Yeah." Jackie nodded blankly. "Steven."
"Who?" Stacey and Lacey muttered and Jackie simply shook her head out of pity.
"Well, whatever." Lacey rolled her eyes, moving the subject a long. "You must be so excited about the Summer Dance!"
Jackie sighed, realizing that this conversation with the bubbly blondes wouldn't end as soon as she hoped. She grinned happily, but she couldn't quite remember why she had been so excited about being Summer Queen in the first place.
"It's going to be so awkward on stage, though." Lacey said, breaking Jackie's thoughts.
Jackie raised her eyebrows in question.
"Well, you know, since Pam won last year, she'll be crowning you." Stacey smirked.
"If you win." Lacey smirked wider.
Jackie felt suddenly uncomfortable.
"And well, Pam's still kind of pissed about what you did to her nose at the Valentine's Dance." Lacey rambled, licking her lips in satisfaction.
"It really hasn't looked the same since." Stacey added.
"What are you getting at?" Jackie interjected.
"I'm just saying, Jackie," Stacey sneered, "If I knew that somebody who was out to get me was going to be up on stage with me, during one of the most critical moments of my high school career, in front of the whole school, well I wouldn't be so quick to get up on that stage."
"Yeah." Lacey added, enthusiastically.
Jackie felt a cloud of doubt circling over her head and pushed herself up and away from the girls.
"I promised Steven that I would meet him by my locker." Jackie said shakily. "I'll see you girls later." She prompted a friendly wave, but both girls just smirked at her strangely, making her feel less and less excited about the upcoming Summer Dance.
Jackie almost burst into a run as she left the two girls, barely noticing a grinning Pam Macy by the front door of the school. Obviously, this was all a scheme against Jackie, but she didn't even want to think about Pam ruining her shot at Summer Queen. She wanted to talk to Steven, but he was nowhere to be found. So she ran into the arms of the first familiar face she saw.
Those large, broad shoulders that she had run into many times before.
The one person she shouldn't have been running to.
And she checked down the hallways for any signs of Steven as he waved her over to an empty classroom, so they could talk in private, since obviously she was distraught over something.
Jackie didn't say much, shaking her head 'no' to any questions he had.
"Did you have a fight with Hyde?"
Shake.
"Did you fall or something?"
Shake.
"Well, what then?"
Jackie cleared her throat, sitting back in the chair as she looked straight into his brown eyes, "Michael," She closed her eyes, hoping it would be easier, "Have I changed since we broke up?"
She flashed her eyes open, relieved that he was smiling gingerly.
"Yeah, I guess you have."
"Then why do I still care about Pam Macy and stupid titles?"
"Because, Jackie," Kelso draped his arm around her, "You can take the Kelso out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of the girl."
"What?" Jackie blinked widely in confusion.
"I'm just saying..." He pursed his lips in thought. "Hyde's changed you, but you're still you." He smiled, "And that's ok."
Jackie nodded in understanding, "Thanks, Michael." She didn't want to hug him, in case anyone was watching, but she visually showed her gratitude and said goodbye as she wandered over to her locker, though she really didn't need anything from it.
"Hey."
"Hey." Jackie smiled wearily as she smelled that crisp, clean smell that radiated of his skin.
"Are you ok?"
"Are you?"
He didn't answer.
There was more silence until he held his hand out for her.
"Let's go somewhere."
"Now?" Jackie asked timidly. She had never cut class before.
"Now." He nodded, his eyes pleading with her.
And she let her fears fade away, her doubts, Pam Macy, Michael, because she trusted those eyes way too much.
"Ok." She said quietly, following him, and then breaking into a run before the hall monitor flagged them down. Somehow, they ended up at her old house.
She shuddered when she saw it, the for sale sign waving back and forth in the wind.
It leered over her, mocking her.
So much of the old Jackie was left in the walls of that house.
Hyde picked the lock quickly, even though Jackie had a key somewhere in her purse.
The house was empty; most of the furniture had been sold.
They walked up the eerie staircase and towards her bedroom, and she smiled happily, since everything she had left was still in its place. She immediately sat down at her vanity, which wasn't lit since the electricity was off, but she checked herself in the mirror, almost disgusted with herself as she saw how shiny the outer lining of her mouth was from those greasy chips. Back on the diet, she thought.
She sat down on her bed, quietly, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't.
He just sat down, looking very sad and confused.
"Steven, what's wrong?" She put her hand on his shoulder. "Tell me."
He looked back at her, kissing her lips softly as he laid her down next to him, letting her body click in place with his.
"Can we just..." He sighed. "Can we just not talk?"
"Yeah." She nodded, out of confusion. "We can do that."
Jackie wasn't sure what was going through her boyfriend's mind.
Had he seen her with Michael? Was he jealous, upset?
Jackie didn't know it was an anniversary, one that made Hyde extra vulnerable that day...