Chapter 5

What's it all about
This crazy love
How did, our two worlds entwine
How do I fit in
to your life
How did you get into mine

It had been an interesting summer to say the least. Practically the first day of summer the gang received a new addition to their crew. Hyde had expected the worst after Donna's kind words regarding her cousin. Spoiled, snobby rich girl who was used to getting her way and having guys fall down over her, yeah that was just what Hyde dreamed of.

Needless to say he expected this girl and their long established day to day life to clash in the worst way. That attitude was probably the reason not only himself but every single one of his friends were dumbfounded at how the way the summer turned out.

Although he never admitted there was anything for them to be so shocked about, he knew the rarity of the situation. He wasn't the guy who had girl friends who were actually friends. With the exception of Donna all his friends were the same guys he grew up with.

Not that he had a problem with girls; he just never happened to meet one he actually became friends with. But, it wasn't the friends with a girl part that was the oddest part. It was the girl in particular.

Jackie Burkhart wore pretty sun dresses and was a cheerleader back at her old school. She was homecoming queen every year she attended school there and never went stag anywhere. She was rich, she was beautiful, and not his type. So with all of these points very well known, why did he continue to ponder the possibility of anything more.

Still he was confident this was just a phase and he would be back to normal soon enough. The beginning of school was less than a week away and things would change that's was a definite. Steven Hyde was not a school enthusiastic in any way but he knew that once the school year parties kicked up and the fresh crops of high school chicks was ripe for picking, he would snap back into his old self. Jackie was sure to pick up a guy of her own eventually, if not several, and the confusion would be over.

Oh shit why did the thought of Jackie and some other idiot give me a strange ache
Hyde thought quickly before denying the idea to himself completely.

He prayed for a distraction and luckily was saved by the sound of Fez and Kelso coming down from the driveway.

"Hey man what's going on?" Kelso asked taking a sea on the back of the couch.

"Nothing just got up" Hyde replied casually.

"So this party tonight it's the last bash before school on Monday" Kelso reminded unnecessarily. "We going or what?"

"I'm in what about Erica and his little girlfriends" Hyde teased.

"Well we just saw Donna and Eric making out in the vista cruiser. They said they're going cause Jackie needs some cheering up I guess" Kelso announced simply.

"What do you mean?" Hyde asked maintaining his cool persona while his concern grew.

"Oh Donna mentioned something about Jackie getting a letter from her mom or dad I'm not sure" Fez continued for Kelso whose attention had been lost somewhere during the conversation. 'Apparently she just wants to be alone or something but she still wants to go to the party"

Hyde wasted no time before he got up to see how she was doing, but not without tossing out a lame excuse as to why he was leaving.

"Well I'm gonna go take care of some stuff before tonight catch you guys later"

Eric and Donna didn't notice him as he passed them on his way to Donna's. Without knocking Hyde slipped into the Pinciotti home to find Jackie.

After knocking lightly on her door he heard her respond "Come in"

"Hey' he poked his head first then walked in as normal as ever. "What's going on?" Hyde took a seat across from her onDonna's bed.

"Uh nothing much just hanging out you know thinking" she was a little shocked at his presence. "What brings you by?"

"Just wondering if you were going to the party tonight"

"Oh yeah I'm in I need of one last night of drinking and smoking before school starts"

"Isn't everyone?" He asked rhetorically.

"That's why you came over just to ask me about the party?" She wasn't fooled by his pathetic attempt at an ice breaker.

"I heard something upset you" he admitted feeling a tad embarrassed. "And well that's usually my job, so I want to know what is" he grinned the way he did when he was trying to remain cool.

"It's stupid. You'll think I'm stupid"

"So, I already think that" he pressed. "Come Jackie you can tell me. You know that"

After a few moments of silence had passed between them Jackie let out a frustrated sigh and let Hyde in on the reason for her recent breakdown.

"It's stupid. I just got all emotional cause of the dumb postcard I got from my mom"

"Why what'd it say?"

"Nothing new, only that she talked to my Uncle Bob and heard I'm having fun and that she doesn't want to mess that up by disrupting things here. It's the same shit I don't know why I'm so upset" Jackie voice began to break as she ended her sentence.

Hyde got up from the edge of Donna's bed to sit next to Jackie.
"Hey look its not stupid Jackie. It's not an easy thing to get over. Parents aren't supposed to flake out on you. So it's completely normal for you to be upset"

"Steven" she asked still staring down hiding her tears "How do you do it?"

He wanted to share with her. He knew what she was going through. But, he didn't share and now she was asking him to and for the first time it didn't scare him.

"Look Jackie I know you think I have figured out a way to deal with this shitty situation. I know I play the part well, that I don't need anyone or anything. That's just how I get by. You want the truth" he asked her and she looked up to nod her head yes. "I wouldn't have been able to get by on my own. If the Forman's hadn't taken me in I don't know where I'd be. Not just the place to stay but the people around me. Eric is like my brother and Donna and Fez and Kelso they keep me sane. Basically the whole abandonment deal sucks" Jackie nodded in agreement. "But that's not our fault and I can accept that now. That's what you need to do. Realize that it's nothing you did or I did. We just got dealt some lousy parents. But fortunately we get an even better trade in"

Jackie smiled thinking of Bob and Donna and the Forman's.

"Does it stop hurting?"

"Well, I can tell you it hurts a little less as time goes by. Whether it goes away completely? God I hope so, but at least we're not alone" he smiled at her.

She smiled at him briefly before her expression grew serious.

"Thank you Steven" she spoke softly just before she slowly inched closer to him placing a soft but lingering kiss on his lips. He kissed her back briefly before she pulled back.

"I'm going to start getting ready" she announced nervously before leaving the room. Hyde walked out of the Pinciotti home stunned at the simple gesture from Jackie. More than shock was confusion, great confusion.

Jackie had foolishly thought that her spontaneous advance on Hyde would have at least initiated some type of response. Despite the fact that she was embarrassed beyond reason after he left she could forget the feeling she had when their lips touched. He kissed her back that had to have meant something right. Later that night at the party Hyde was acting as if nothing had happened.

Jackie tried to mirror that same cool attitude but found she was incapable of looking his way.
As Jackie focused hard to be subtle Donna and Eric noticed some tension between the twosomes.
"Hey Jackie" Donna voice pulled Jackie from her thoughts before her hand pulled her away "Can I talk to you?"

"What's up Donna?" Jackie asked once they were out of earshot from Eric and Hyde.

"Is everything cool with you?"

"Oh yeah, I just needed some time to shake it off. It's not uncommon for my mother to be an asshole" Jackie laughed off her earlier state.

"Okay then what about you and Hyde?"
Jackie face fell at Donna's question. She honestly thought she was hiding her nervousness, but apparently she had been dead wrong.

"What do you mean?" she continued her attempt at covering up.

"Jackie, you know you suck at hiding crap from me especially after that look on your face"

"God Donna you are so nosy" Jackie groaned in defeat.

"So," Donna asked with a goofy smile. "What happened?"
Jackie sighed before recapping the afternoon up to the kiss.

"Okay, so what's the big deal? So Hyde opened up a little, I mean it's nothing to be uncomfortable about."

"Then I kissed him" Jackie admitted.

"What?" Donna exclaimed loudly

"Shh Donna keep your voice down" Jackie slapped her arm while looking around to make sure her outburst hadn't brought attention to them. "You can not repeat any of this to anyone, even Eric. He'll go straight to Hyde"

"Don't tell me Hyde didn't notice" Donna teased her cousin.

Jackie shot her a look proudly, "Donna please I'm Jackie Burkhardt okay. Notice? Like he'd ever be able to forget" she added as she whipped her hair over her shoulder.

Donna didn't respond, only smiled amused as always. Jackie was staring out toward the party scene before her and following where Jackie focused her attention, Donna found Hyde.

He just stood there, casually talking with random people who felt the need to walk up to him. A few "well known" females visited him as well and failed in catching his interest.

Donna looked back at Jackie's whose expression changed to a more frustrated one.

As Jackie finally broke through the hold he had on her, Donna took one final glance at Hyde, who was now staring at Jackie. It was very quick but it was obvious and once he realized Donna caught him he turned and walked away.

"So, what's wrong Jackie?" Donna asked more comforting than before.

"I'm so stupid. Why did I do that? Now he's going to be all weird around me" She groaned out loud before continuing. "And I knew it was stupid too. I know he doesn't go for girls like me. I mean everyone knows that."

"Jackie c'mon you don't know what he's thinking. You don't know that he didn't like it or that he doesn't like you"

"Donna I realize that you've been betrothed to the neighbor boy since like birth but when a guy likes you he usually doesn't avoid you"

"Um Jackie I know you've never been friends with a guy you didn't make out with before" Donna mimicked her tone. "But when one likes you, he's more nervous than a total stranger would be making a move"

Jackie was silent at Donna's sensible explanation not to mention annoyed that she actually made sense. Despite the logic, Jackie just couldn't imagine Hyde being interested in her.

'Whatever Donna look I'm just gonna forget I ever did what I did and hopefully me and Steven can go back to normal"

"But Jackie if you have feelings for him you should tell him"

"Why? I like being friends with him, I don't wanna mess that up"

"C'mon you don't think he'll stop being your friend for something like that"

"I'm not trying to find out"

Donna examined her face carefully.

"What are you looking at?" Jackie snapped.

"You're making up excuses"

"No, I'm going to enjoy the party" Jackie ended the conversation by walking away. Donna would let it go for now but not for good.

Jackie was walking around out in the backyard stopping to talk with a few people, when she was bumped by a passing drunk jock and almost knocked down. Before she could completely lose her balance, two hands reached out and caught her.

"Oh shit" Jackie exclaimed before turning to thank the person who helped her out. "Thank yo…." She stopped once she saw who she was faced with.

"Drunk already?" Hyde teased her with a smirk.

"Not me, some huge jock guy almost fell on me. I mean God if he wants me that bad maybe he should just introduce himself" Jackie praised herself which annoyed Hyde which she enjoyed.

"I wonder if you'll ever go 5 whole minutes before complimenting yourself.

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing" she smiled.
The silence between them was slowly becoming a bit uncomfortable and Jackie decided to lay it all out to avoid any future situations like this.

"Hey Steven" she playfully hit his arm. "Thanks for like you know worrying about me and talking to me and stuff. I mean I know what a big leap that is for you, talking and all"

"Yeah well, I figured I could try it at least once" he grinned at her.
Jackie felt a tingle begin to spread through out. The things she felt when he was around were indescribable.

"And" she continued embarrassed but smiled when she saw the same expression on his face. "I was really upset and I didn't mean to be all weird. So I say we just forget that last part happened"

"That's cool" he replied as Jackie rolled her eyes at his Zen. "And hey don't beat yourself up, I'm completely irresistible"

"Oh my God' she laughed. 'I think I'm rubbing off on you"

"God help me you are" he shook his head in distress and Jackie just laughed.

Relief filled the both of them that the weirdness was over and they could resume their normal day to day activities of pretending to be just friends.