Disclaimer: Don't own.

Warning: Mild language

AN: Okay, this chapter might be a little corny/cheesy. :giggle: I tried to keep that at bay, but you know how it is. :) Thanks SO much for the wonderful reviews! And for reading! My weekend is coming up, so hopefully I'll have a lot of writing time.

Convincing

Chapter 5 – Really In Love

Donna Pinciotti never imagined she'd be here on Friday night, standing against the wall that bordered the rink at Roller World. On skates. She'd been under the impression that these days were LOOOOONG past. But apparently, she'd been wrong. She glared sidelong at the so-called friend next to her. "I'm gonna kick your ass, Hyde," she hissed, but with a hint of a smile in her voice. "You heard how Eric squealed when Jackie told him where we were going. Now he's going to beg his mom to make him another 'Rainbow' outfit." She shook her head and glanced out at the floor, where Eric, Fez and Jackie were roller discoing to some lame Donna Summer song. "And this time he'll have no shame."

Hyde gave her a smug smile. "And that, Donna, is the only reason I let Jackie convince me to come here. Consider it…" He paused, then his grin widened. "Payback for you opening your big mouth." Okay, it wasn't the entire truth, but Donna didn't need to know otherwise. She already had enough on him.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Dillhole." She looked out at the floor again and couldn't help but smile. Jackie was skating alternately with Fez and Eric, and she was laughing like she hadn't in quite awhile. It was good to see. Very good. "At least Jackie's having a good time."

He found Jackie, and he gazed at her as she glided across the floor. Her face was flushed and lit up, and despite his utter disgust at being in this place, he grinned. She looked happy, like she wasn't at all worried about the CAT scan and what was going on in her head, or whether or not it would kill her. And he was glad about that. "Yeah, well, I guess it's worth it then," he said, not really thinking about how damaging just breathing this roller rink air was to his reputation.

Donna looked at him with raised eyebrows. He wasn't wearing his sunglasses for once, and his expression was almost…if she didn't know him better, she'd describe it as loving. "Hey, you're really…you're really in love with her, aren't you?" she asked teasingly. She chuckled. Why ELSE would Hyde set foot in Roller World? Sure, he wanted to see her suffer, but that didn't explain why he'd let Jackie rent skates for him. "You didn't let her convince you to come here because of Eric's…past. You let her convince you to come here because you've been worried about her and want to make her HAAAAPY."

Hyde flipped his head back to Donna. "What? No, no, no, no, no. I just wanted to see your face when you started having flashbacks of Forman…or should I say Rainbow, on wheels." It was true, but not completely, and he knew that Donna knew it too, so he looked away. His eyes quickly and almost involuntarily latched onto Jackie.

"Whatever. You let her put skates on you. You luuuuuuuuve her!"

He glared in response. "Shut up! No way am I roller discoing." He paused, then raised his shoulders in a sheepish shrug. "I just promised her I'd skate around the rink with her once. And that's ALL. Anyway, you're really one to talk. You've got skates on too."

Donna nodded in agreement, then decided to stop teasing him. "Look, its nothing to be embarrassed about. I mean…I think it's great." Hyde looked at her as if he wasn't quite sure if he believed her. "I mean it. You and Jackie…I mean, sure, at first we all were…well…disturbed and sickened, but now…" She smiled. "The two of you are…dare I say it…good together. "

"What, not perfect?" Hyde asked with a slight smirk.

"Please. Everyone knows that Eric and I are the perfect couple in this group." She grinned, but her smile faded into seriousness. "Seriously, she really loves you."

Hyde looked at her and answered quietly. "I know." The funny thing was, he did know. And it was the oddest feeling he'd ever experienced. He usually had no idea how to deal with it.

"So don't screw it up this time!"

He gave Donna an annoyed look at then looked back out at the rink. Why was it that every time he looked out there his eyes instantly found her? She saw him this time, too, and waved. He smiled back, but it didn't last. He couldn't help but think about what the doctor said. How if it was what he suspected, and they didn't treat it fast, it could end up killing her. The hollow feeling in the middle of his chest returned, and he barely saw her even as his eyes followed her around the rink, until the trio headed for the break in the wall he and Donna stood next to. He had to shake it off. This night was supposed to be fun. Well, fun for Jackie. And Eric. And Fez.

"Hey! Ready for our skate?"

He smiled at her chirping tone as she slid to a stop next to him. "I'm not skating," he said petulantly, knowing he'd get a rise out of her, knowing he'd love seeing that, and knowing he'd lose.

Jackie glared at him. "You promised, Steven!" She knew he was going to give in. He had to. And if he didn't, she'd hurt him. She'd kick him in the shin. And since she was wearing skates, it would hurt a hell of a lot more than it ever had when she'd been wearing boots.

Hyde shook his head. "If I promised, Jackie, then I wasn't listening. Haven't we talked about this before?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his left hand. She pulled him slightly away from the wall and giggled when he reached back for the wall to keep his balance. "Nope! Not this time! We're SKATING!" And with surprising force for someone so small, she tugged him away from the wall and towards the rink.

"Damn, Jackie! Not so fast!"

Donna and Eric laughed at Hyde. He could barely stay on his feet and was holding on to Jackie's hand for dear life as they started to skate.

"He looks like he's completely forgotten how his legs function," Donna commented, still laughing at her teetering friend.

Eric sighed and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend. "Well, being on wheels, pretty lady, is a bit different and requires practice. So…how about it?"

And before she could stop it from happening, she found herself being forced by a stunningly determined Eric out onto the floor.

Two hours later, The Hub

"Have I mentioned lately that you're my hero, Jackie?" Eric grinned and nodded at the group who had gathered around one table. "Yep. Now you've all discovered the joys of roller disco." He nodded at everyone. "We should do this every week."

Both Hyde and Donna responded with a very loud, very vehement word. "NO!"

Hyde glared at Eric. "Not a chance in hell. This was a one time thing." He paused, and turned to look at Jackie. She sat next to him, cuddled in not quite as close as he'd like. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder, and so he pulled her closer. "One time thing, Jackie." She responded with a sly smile and by rubbing her hand seductively up and down his thigh. He stared at her. "That's not going to work." Her hand moved higher, and he caught it with his free hand. "Hey!" She just giggled.

"Oh, Hyde, you enjoyed yourself. I saw you laughing," Fez accused, pouting. "And it was not because of my robot dancing on wheels, although I must say, that amused a great many people."

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, Steven, if you REALLY hate roller skating so much, why were you laughing?"

"Hey, I was only laughing because that kid cut Kelso off and made him fall on his ass."

Kelso chuckled goofily. "Yeah, that WAS funny. But I got that kid back. Next time he came around the rink, I dumped my pop down his pants." He and Fez laughed and high-fived one another.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Which is why you're now banned from Roller World for life." She thought about that, and her face twisted. "Damn, I should have done that!" Eric looked at her in shock, and she shrugged.

Jackie sighed. "Hey Eric, don't worry about it. Maybe you and I can come back next week, and these two…" She lightly elbowed Steven. "Can stay home and do something boring and dirty." After a moment of thought, she turned her face towards Steven and found him smirking at her. She glared. "Not dirty! Just boring!" And another elbow to his side, this time a bit harder.

An hour later, Jackie sat in the El Camino, waiting for Steven to stop fiddling with the radio so they could leave. She giggled. "You had fun, Puddin' Pop. Just like I knew you would."

Hyde finally got the radio turned into his regular station, annoyed that he'd let Jackie change it earlier, and he sat back. "I did not," he told her.

"You did too."

"I did not."

"Yes you did. You skated with me for an hour!"

He rolled his eyes. He was NEVER, EVER going to live this down. Ever. "Shut it, Jackie. I skated under duress. You wouldn't let go of my hand, and you have sharp nails." He raised his eyebrows. "It'll NEVER happen again!" She just smiled triumphantly at him, and he shook his head. God. Shaken down AGAIN. By a 95 pound brunette with pink…no, red right now…toenails. Red. He liked red better. Sexier. Mmmm….he'd like to see her toes bare right about now. He'd like to see all of her bare right about now. "But…I'm glad you had a good time."

She stared at him, a little surprised at how his voice had softened. She scooted across the seat to sit close to him, and smiled when he immediately leaned down to kiss her. After it ended, she slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at him.

"So…since we just did something you wanted to do, can we go do something I want to do?" Hyde asked with a sly smile and a single raised eyebrow.

Jackie had a good idea of just what it was he wanted to do and gave him her best come hither smile. She suddenly felt very flirtatious. He deserved a reward. After all, he'd gone skating with her, and she hadn't thought about the stupid test tomorrow much at all. "Sure." She turned sideways and pressed herself against Steven's shoulder. "As long as it's…" She kissed his earlobe. "Hot."

Hyde grinned. "Oh, it'll be hot," he replied. He put his hand on her thigh and slowly stroked it. "Trust me on that."

An hour later

Hyde parked the Camino in front of Jackie's apartment building and looked down at the head resting on his shoulder. He sighed in disappointment. He'd taken her to Lookout Point and they'd been happily and heatedly making out until she mentioned that she could be more…acrobatic in her bedroom since there was more space. So he'd driven her home, but on the way, she'd fallen asleep. He wasn't all that surprised, but damn, he'd wanted to sleep with her. It was all her fault, too, what with her sucking on his neck and rubbing his stomach and chest, teasing him and tempting him before basically demanding that they go back to her apartment. God, the car would have done just fine!

He frowned. He would never understand how girls could just shut it off like that. But hell. He couldn't be too mad. After all, she could…no. He didn't want to think about it.

He decided not to wake her up, and he carried her into her apartment. After he pulled the covers back, he laid her on her bed. She stirred, and he sat down next to her. Her eyes flickered open.

"Steven? Did I…" Jackie tried to sit up, but her body was too fatigued. She groaned softly and remained lying down. "Did I fall asleep?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah." He rubbed the hand that rested on her stomach. "So much for hot."

She blinked slowly. It was almost too difficult to keep her eyes open. "Oh, we were gonna do it," she murmured apologetically. "God, this keeps happening…Steven, I'm sorry."

Hyde shrugged. "It's okay."

"No, we still can," she said stubbornly, even though the only thing her body ached for was sleep. But she didn't want him to be mad or upset or disappointed. She took a deep breath and sat up. Her arms slowly lifted to wrap around his shoulders. "See?" She tried to look sexy, but then moaned and dropped her forehead to his shoulder. She was just too tired for anything.

He hugged her for a long moment, and then gently guided her back to the bed. "Just go to sleep, okay?"

"Will you stay with me?" she muttered sleepily.

"Yeah."

It seemed to take a little while, and she thought she heard him taking his shirt and his jeans off, but finally, he settled down in the bed next to her. They found their normal sleeping position; she was on her left side, and he curled himself behind her. She smiled slightly. This was how she was meant to sleep every night, with his strong arms around her and his breath caressing the back of her neck. "Steven?" she whispered.

"Yeah, dollface?" Hyde answered softly. He wasn't tired, and he knew he was going to be laying here awake for a long time. And eventually he'd have to get up to turn the light off. He couldn't sleep with the lights on. Jackie could, so he'd just wait till she was completely out.

"I'm really in love with you, Steven," Jackie whispered hoarsely. She felt this extreme sentimentality inside, a softness that brought tears that didn't hurt to her eyes. Thinking about all he'd done for her today; she just couldn't quite comprehend it all. And the only thing she could think of to say was that she loved him. Someday, she hoped, she'd give him this same feeling, somehow. "You don't have to say it back."

This was one of those moments Hyde was never sure how to handle. The honesty in her voice…damn it if it didn't still scare him half to death. He could lose this someday. He could lose her someday.

Maybe someday soon.

And so all he did was nuzzle the back of her neck a little bit and tighten his arm around her.