Behind Steven Hyde's Blue Eyes

By: Tokoyami

Author's Note: I am so sorry that I have not updated in such a long time. Unexpectedly, my mom told me we were going on vacation the next day for about two weeks. So I had no time to update. The title of this chapter is based on a song by Led Zeppelin called 'Dazed and Confused.' I made this chapter extra long because I haven't updated in two weeks. So enjoy and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own That 70's Show or any of its characters. I do not own any of the songs that I am using for my chapter titles.

Chapter Six

Dazed and Confused

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Hyde groaned and rolled over in his cot. He opened his tired eyes slowly. They began to focus on the basement wall. He was exhausted. Hyde had stayed up late last night. He had been thinking and trying to sort things out in his mind. So many events had happened yesterday. Hyde hadn't had that much drama in his life since, I guess since his parents left. Usually he was laid back and didn't mess with all that emotional crap.

But yesterday he had made a mistake and helped someone whose life revolved around drama. Bad move on his part…or maybe not. If he hadn't been there she would have had to face all those events by herself. In fact, she probably would have still been standing in the door way with those sad eyes…Tap. Tap. Tap. Arghh, more tapping. Who would be down here in the morning bothering him while he was trying to sleep? It was probably…

"Not now Jackie," Hyde muttered groggily while placing his head in his pillow, "I am trying to get some very much needed sleep."

"Hyde, man, it's me," Eric made his way over to a chair and sat down, "Why would it be Jackie?"

"Uhh…" Hyde stalled looking for an answer. He didn't really know the answer himself. It was probably because he had just been thinking about Jackie, but he couldn't tell Eric that.

"Hyde?" Eric's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I said, Speaking of Jackie, did she ever find Kelso?" Eric repeated, "She was looking for him yesterday, and she found me and Donna making out in her car. Then she made a whole big deal out of, just as Jackie usually does." As soon as Eric had spoken these words, flashbacks of yesterday zoomed through Hyde's mind.

"Oh yeah," Hyde slightly growled at the mention of Kelso's name, "She found him all right." The scene of Kelso sucking off some girl's face while Jackie stood in the doorway found its way to the front of his mind.

"Hyde, what is wrong with you man?" Eric questioned suspicious of Hyde's new behavior, "And where were you yesterday? Usually I would find you down here complaining about how the government is trying to trick us by endorsing stupid commercials so that we spend more money on watermelon or something."

"Hey man, they are trying to fool us into spending more money on watermelon," Hyde protested, "Just watch the retarded grill commercial. You can't miss it, they play it about every ten minutes-"

"Okay Hyde. I believe you," Eric interrupted while putting his hands up in exasperation, "Now back to the question: Where were you yesterday?"

Hyde pushed his shades up so that they were completely covering his eyes. They were the only part of him that ever gave away his emotions. He debated on whether he should tell the truth or if he should lie. Eric was his best friend and he was too tired to think of a good excuse to fool Eric. He wasn't talking to Fez or Kelso, who were easy to lie to. So Hyde eventually decided to give in and tell the truth.

"I was with Jackie yesterday," Hyde sighed expecting what Eric would say next.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Eric eyes bugged out and his mouth and his mouth dropped, "You and Jackie…together? Those three words would never be in the same sentence unless the sentence was: Because of their hatred for each other, Jackie and Hyde would never be together."

Eric cracked up at his own joke while Hyde just continued to stare at him.

"Forman"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up"

"Okay, so Hyde why were you with Jackie," Eric interrogated, "Did she use her evil mind powers to control you?"

"God Forman, you have been watching way too much Star wars," Hyde said, "Anyway I volunteered to help Jackie find Kelso."

"But why-"

'Because, she would have made me anyway," Hyde knew this was a lie, but he wanted Eric to stop questioning him. It was beginning to annoy him.

"Hyde-" Eric began, but was quickly cut off by Hyde, who had grown tired with this conversation.

"Hey Forman," Hyde stood up, "Doesn't the new Luke Skywalker doll come out in stores today?"

"It is an action figure not a…" Eric jumped up as the rest of Hyde's words sunk in, "You're right. It does come out today. I remember now, the reason I came down here in the first place was to ask you if you knew where my five bucks on my dresser went. I bet Laurie took it…"

Hyde fingered the five dollars in his pocket that he had "found" in Eric's room yesterday while he had been looking for a pair of socks to borrow.

"No, I haven't seen it," Hyde saw Eric's eyes look downward, "But I will lend you some money if you promise to pay me back with interest."

"Oh thank you so much Hyde," Eric face lit up with excitement, "I promise that I will pay you back with interest."

Hyde reluctantly placed the five dollars from his pocket in Eric's awaiting hands. With the interest he would be receiving he wasn't too sad to see it go. Hey it wasn't even his money to begin with. And he could wait. His saying was, "The more money for pot, the better the high."

"Do you want to come Hyde?" Eric asked while stuffing the five in his pocket, "I heard that there is a guy who works there who sells beer without even checking for an I.D."

"I guess I'll come," Hyde said, "I'm already awake anyway. And I don't really have anything planned for the day, so I might as well come with you. Wouldn't want little Eric to get lost."

----

Jackie sighed as she brushed her long, wavy brunette hair. She was sitting at her vanity and was attempting to get ready for the day. But her heart just wasn't in it. Michael had almost always been her motivation for trying to look her best. And if it wasn't him, it was to impress another person. But after what happened yesterday, Jackie had lost complete motivation. If her looks hadn't kept Michael from cheating on her, what would? She would admit that she wasn't the nicest person. Lately, she had even been trying to be nicer. It appeared that Michael hadn't even noticed anything, except her lack of trying to control him. Steven had seemed to notice, but what good would that do. He hated her.

She put her brush down and sighed while looking in her drawers. She wasn't even in the mood to add make-up on her face. It had been a long time since she had gone a day without make-up. Jackie was not used to the feeling of not having anything on her face. She felt a little…free. But she probably looked horrible. Jackie looked into the mirror. She blinked twice in surprise. She didn't look ugly, just different. Everyone else would most likely think that she looked ugly. She felt that way on the inside. Michael had cheated on her, and it was probably because he was tired of her being a mean snob. But she had tried to be nicer…guess it didn't work.

A few tears began to roll down her cheeks. She continued to gaze at her reflection. She was actually glad that she had not put on make-up because if she had her mascara would have been smeared. She wiped away the tears away. She had promised herself that she would stop crying…it was a useless thing. Jackie stood up and walked over to her closet. Her eyes warily flicked over all the usual bright and colorful outfits. She really was not in the mood today to wear one of them. She rummaged through them looking for an outfit less vivid. She found a pair of blue jeans, a black tank top, and a red plaid flannel jacket. Donna must have left the jacket here when she had last slept over.

She changed into the clothes and stared at her full-length mirror. Again she looked different, but not as bad as she had expected. She put on a simple hemp necklace for an accessory. She actually felt a bit good in the looser clothing. Jackie usually wore such tighter clothes that sometimes she felt like they were suffocating her skin. She placed some black shoes that she didn't even knew she owned on her feet. She glanced over at her nightstand and saw a piece of paper.

She walked over to it and picked the paper up. She read over it twice. She had forgotten to go to the drugstore to talk to the pharmacist about this. She quickly found a black knit bag and put her wallet and the doctor's note in it. She decided to skip breakfast and headed straight to the driveway. She hopped in her bug and drove off towards the drugstore.

----

Hyde painfully sat through another of Eric's explanations on Star Wars. Today's topic was why Eric thought Luke would defeat Darth Vader in the end. He sighed and looked out the window while pretending to listen. He nodded his head at random times and went 'hmm' every few minutes. Why had he agreed to go with Eric? Oh yeah, free beer. Hyde smirked at the answer. Eric just rambled on and on. God does he ever shut up? I guess this show means a lot to him.

"And that is why Luke will beat Darth Vader!" Eric ended his explanation, "Just try to prove me wrong. I dare you!" Hyde looked over at him. He was staring at him with a gleam in his eye.

"Forman, man, there is no way in hell that I would even try to prove you wrong," Hyde said, "I mean you seem to know what you're talking about." Maybe if he just agreed with him, then Eric would just shut his mouth.

"Yeah that's right," Eric cocked a smile, "Don't even try to mess with The Master. You would never win."

Hyde just rolled his eyes. Like he would want to even talk about Star Wars. Oh well, he wasn't saying anything because he was getting money out of this. Man, he wasn't even sure if listening to this was worth.

"We're here," Eric exclaimed in a singsong voice. He pulled the Vista Cruiser into the parking lot in front of the drugstore. Eric quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the car.

"Come on Hyde," Eric whined, "Hurry out or they will be all sold out."

"Forman, you don't have to worry," Hyde said as exited the car, "There only a couple of other cars here. I think they'll have enough. And you forgot to lock the car." Eric locked the car and walked with a hop in his step towards the store. Hyde sighed and followed. It was like a little kid waiting to open Christmas presents.

----

Jackie walked down the aisles towards the back of the store. Jackie went past the hygiene section and the greeting card aisle. She walked past a row of dolls from Star Wars. She stopped at the counter and rung the bell. A middle-aged women came about five seconds later. She smiled and spoke.

"How may I help you?"

"Well," Jackie began while pulling her doctor's note out of her bag, "I just remembered that I was supposed to see a pharmacist about this." She handed the paper over the women and continued while the women began to read, "I think there has been a mistake because I got that at my check-up last month. But I forgot to come here, but I have been feeling fine."

"Oh my dear," the pharmacist said, "If you received this last month and you haven't acted on it, then you have to start immediately."

----

Hyde followed Eric towards the Star Wars section. He stood to the side, as Eric looked at all the Star Wars merchandise excitedly. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and waited for Eric to hurry up.

"Oh my dear, if you received this last month and you haven't acted on it, then you have to start immediately."

He turned to the side and looked for the source of the voice. He saw a girl standing at the pharmacist counter and the pharmacist giving instructions. He knew he shouldn't listen, but he was bored.

"It says here," the pharmacist explained to the girl, "that you are not eating enough. Therefore, you have not been receiving enough vitamins and minerals. It says you especially lack iron. If this continues, you may develop anemia. Anemia is an iron deficiency condition that causes a decrease of red blood cells in the blood." Hyde titled his head and tried to listen harder.

"It is caused by a lack of iron in the diet, poor iron absorption in the body, or from blood loss. In young patients it is more likely to be caused by poor intake in the diet. Anemia develops slowly over time after iron stores have been depleted in the body. Early and mild iron deficiency and anemia may cause no noticeable symptoms in many people."

If there is not enough iron in the blood you may feel tired and cold, have problems concentrating, are more prone to infection, and find it difficult to learn. Naturally many other things could cause similar symptoms. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia and shortness or breath and dizziness. Usually a significant degree of anemia is needed to cause symptoms like these. Iron deficiency is more common among children, women, and pregnant women."

The girl gasped as she took in all this information. She mumbled something that Hyde couldn't here. But the pharmacist answered.

"Red meat and vegetables will help you receive more iron. But remember, you haven't developed anemia yet, but you could be very close to. However, iron deficiency can be present before actual anemia develops. Actual anemia only develops once iron deficiency becomes more severe."

"So I suggest you buy many vegetables and plenty of meat. I strongly suggest broccoli, celery, and any other greens. And just start eating more."

The girl nodded and sighed in relief. She placed her hands on the counter and said something a low whisper. Hyde strained to hear it, but he couldn't.

"You don't have enough money to buy a lot of food? My dear, here take these five dollars," the women tried to give the girl money, but the girl refused to take it, "I insist. This should be enough for a few days, but maybe you can find some person who may help."

"Thank you"

That was the first time Hyde had heard the girl's voice. It sounded awfully familiar, but whom did he know that couldn't afford to buy enough food for themselves. Just then the girl turned. No, it couldn't be….

----

Great, she had just been told she could develop anemia with her poor eating habits. And she didn't have enough money to avoid it. Well she did have money for a few days, but what happens after that. God, first Michael and now she doesn't eat enough. What could possibly be next? Just then Jackie turned.

Oh god… why was he here. No one was supposed to now. She had deliberately come early to avoid running into someone. Why was he here? Jackie looked to the side and saw Eric holding a Star Wars box. Oh that was why Hyde was here. Jackie panicked. Maybe he doesn't recognize me, I mean look at the way I am dressed. Oh great, now I probably look ugly to him. Wait why does that matter?

"Jackie?" Hyde's voice broke her from all of her thoughts.

"Um," Jackie replied quietly, "Didn't expect to see you here." She gazed down at her feet to ashamed to look into his blue eyes.

"Why didn't you tell anyone," Hyde questioned, "You could get…Jackie I didn't know you…"

"Oh Hyde," Jackie interrupted, "There is nothing to worry about. I'm fine. Look," Jackie held up the money, "I have enough money."

"Yeah," Hyde snapped, "For a few days. Jackie we have to do something about it." Why did he care? The same question was going through Hyde's mind.

"I don't know what to do," Jackie sniffled, "Ever since my dad went to prison, I've barely had enough money for anything. My mom's always in Mexico and my dad's in jail."

"Jackie," Hyde moved towards her, "You didn't tell anyone you were having these problems?"

"I didn't want to be a burden," Jackie whispered. Hyde shook his head in disbelief.

"Jackie, I do not think your health would be burden," Hyde stated, "You need to start eating more, or you could develop anemia."

"I know, I know," Jackie agreed, "But I don't know where to get the food."

Hyde stood there facing her. He was thinking about the situation.

"Jackie, come with Eric and me," Hyde took her arm again and led her over to Eric who was staring at his newly purchased Star Wars doll.

"Forman, do you think your parents would mind if Jackie had dinner with us tonight?" Hyde questioned, giving him a look that told Eric he better answer correctly.

"Umm…sure," Eric answered slowly, wondering why Hyde was asking.

The three made their way to the parking lot. They went by Jackie's car.

"Wait, what about your car?" Hyde stopped.

"Oh, I'll get it later," Jackie said quietly. She walked a little further and turned around, "I just want to thank both of you for caring. Eric, in case you didn't here the pharmacist, I haven't been eating enough food. I especially haven't been eating enough iron, so I might develop anemia. I do not have enough money to buy food because my father is in prison and my mother is always in Mexico. That is the reason why I wish to come for dinner just for tonight."

"Oh no problem Jackie," Eric replied while letting all this information sink in, "You can come any time, I am sure my parents won't mind."

Jackie eyes welled up. She was grateful to have such thoughtful friends.

"Oh thank you."

She strode forward and hugged Eric in a hug of gratitude. She let the tears run freely down her cheeks as Eric hugged back. They broke away and Jackie weakly smiled. She turned to Hyde who had been standing to the side. She embraced him as well. He hugged her tightly. It just seemed so right at the moment, and Jackie just knew that…

"Everything is going to be al; right," Hyde whispered into her ear.

"Thank you."

The two broke apart and went into the Vista Cruiser and began their journey back home with Eric. Everyone was a bit dazed and confused, especially Jackie. But those words, those simple six words had helped a part of her to lighten up. She smiled and leaned her head down to rest on the seat. Her bumped something soft. She looked up and saw that she was leaning against Hyde's shoulder. Embarrassed, she was about to sit up, but Hyde wrapped his arm around her and smirked a tiny smile. Jackie relaxed and leaned into the warmth of Hyde's shoulder.

Everything is going to be all right

Author's Note: Again sorry for such the long wait. School is starting for me on Tuesday, so the updates might be a little longer. But again thank you for being such great readers. I hope in the next chapter to have a confrontation with Kelso. I am also going to start to write another story. I love it, and I will begin to post it after this story is completed. Please review.