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A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys have no idea how happy it made me! Here's the next chapter…enjoy!

"I was so close, Donna!" Jackie cried, flinging her arms up in the air dramatically. "I could feel him wanting to tell me…"

"So then what happened?" Donna asked as she and the little brunette sat on the Forman's front step.

Jackie shrugged. "I don't know. That Zen thing he's got going on is really tough to break through. But, I am determined. I know he feels something for me. I just have to figure out how to trick him into telling me!"

Donna shook her head and chuckled at her friend's antics. "How do you know for sure he really likes you? Hyde has kissed a lot of girls."

"Oh, he likes me all right," Jackie said determinedly. "I'll make him like me if I have to!"

"And how do you propose to do that?"

Jackie sighed in exasperation. "That's where you come in, Donna! You're supposed to be helping me figure out how to crack Steven and get him to confess his undying love for me!"

Donna thought for a moment. "Well, you said he's got that Zen thing going on, right? So maybe all you have to do is beat him at his own game."

Jackie frowned. "You want me to go Zen on him? How is that going to help, Donna? Both of us will be ignoring each other!"

Donna smiled triumphantly. "Exactly! If Hyde really does like you, then he's expecting you to be the Jackie he knows: the annoying Jackie who constantly talks to him and has recently been digging around for him to confess feelings for her. But, if you completely ignore him, it'll throw him off. He'll be prepared to ignore your incessant chattering, but when you don't say a word, he'll get all nervous and wonder what's going on. You'll catch him off his guard and break down that weird Zen wall thing he's put up!"

"You know, Donna, you just might be on to something here," Jackie mused happily. "I'm going to become the Zen Master, and by the time I'm through with him, Steven will be eating out of the palm of my hand! Oh, thank you, Donna!"

She threw her arms around her friend and Donna, smiling as she hugged Jackie back, thought: man, I hope this works, but hey, even if it doesn't, it's bound to be entertaining!

The next day, Jackie returned to the Forman's basement. She was determined to keep her cool and act as if she didn't care about anything Steven related. She had used this technique when she'd been bothered about Michael cheating on her with Laurie. Steven had taught her then, and now she was determined to trade in her novice badge. That is, if Steven hadn't already committed himself fully to forgetting what had happened. He did have that annoying habit of not letting anyone in and keeping his feelings all locked inside a padlocked chest of cool indifference. It wasn't going to be easy to break him, but it was pretty much what Jackie lived for…

"Hi, Steven," she greeted cordially as she entered, taking a seat next to Donna and Eric on the couch. She could tell he was surprised to see her, and the thought gave her a little thrill of excitement. This was going to be fun…

Hyde was thrown off guard when Jackie walked in, but he quickly regained himself and grunted a response noncommittally. He was really hoping Jackie would've taken the hint and simply left him alone for a while, but he couldn't say he was completely surprised. When had Jackie ever gotten a hint? Now he was just praying she didn't say anything to Eric and Donna. They still had no idea what had happened on his and Jackie's little date, and Hyde wanted to keep it that way; the fewer people who suspected him of having feelings for Jackie, the better.

Little did Hyde know, Donna and Eric knew exactly what had happened, and Donna had been sure to fill her boyfriend in on her little conversation with Jackie, so he even knew of the plan that was currently being put into action. Both of them were watching the scene with barely concealed amusement, each looking from the stoic Hyde, who carefully kept his eyes riveted to the TV screen, to the slightly nervous Jackie, who tried appearing casual but kept stealing covert glances at the object of her affection. The tension in the room had grown almost palpable, and the couple were quite enjoying themselves.

"So…this is…cozy," Eric drawled, draping his arm around Donna's shoulders. "Just the four of us, sitting around the TV…" he smiled around at them and then turned to Donna with a chuckle, "It's almost like a double date!"

Hyde nearly fell off his chair he reacted so fast. "It wasn't a date!" he cried.

Donna barely managed to stop from bursting out into a fit of giggles at his response. "What was that, Hyde?" she asked, grinning at him knowingly.

Eric too was smiling slyly at him. "Yeah, man, what wasn't a date?"

"I mean, uh…" Hyde tried to recover, looking to Jackie for some help, but she was busy studying her nails. It appeared she hadn't even heard his outburst. "I said it's not like a date…a double date. It's not like a double date."

Eric shrugged. "I don't know, man, it sure feels like one to me. You know, with me and Donna here, and you and Jackie…"

"There is no me and Jackie!"

"Hyde, what are you getting so upset about," Donna laughed. "Eric was simply saying that there's four of us…two girls and two guys. And when two girls and two guys hang out all together, it's kind of like a double date."

Hyde nodded, stretching his legs back onto the coffee table and leaning back in his chair. "Yeah, well, that's what I meant too. I was just pointing out the fact that it wasn't a double date since Jackie and I are not dating. Right, Jackie?"

Jackie shrugged, not even glancing up from inspecting her cuticles. "Whatever."

Hyde stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was up to, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Kelso and Fez, who had just come from the Hub. Kelso was bouncing a little yellow bouncy ball on the floor as he walked, and Fez was busily twirling a Blow-Pop in his mouth.

"This Blow-Pop is one of the greatest inventions…next to cheese of course," he said as he pulled the sucker out and examined it with a grin. He looked around at them all excitedly. "You get candy and gum all in one!" Then he popped the sucker back in his mouth, still grinning with childish glee around it.

For a while, none of them spoke. The only sound in the room was the quiet droning of Gilligan's Island and the soft thud of Kelso's bouncy ball. At length, Eric asked, "So Kelso, did you know that Jackie and Hyde went on a date at Red's barbeque?" He grinned as Hyde started and Kelso dropped the bouncy ball.

Kelso looked disbelievingly from Hyde to Jackie and back again. He pointed to each in turn, his mouth working but no sound coming out, before finally settling his attack on Hyde. "You took Jackie on a date?" he said quietly, his voice shaking with unsuppressed anger.

Hyde held his hands up as if to ward Kelso away. "It wasn't really like a date, man, it was more like…" again, he looked to Jackie for help, but she was staring at him too, her eyebrow cocked in an interested fashion.

"More like a what?" Kelso said, louder this time.

Hyde fumbled for the right words, but couldn't find them. He looked about the room for help, but Donna and Eric were busy snickering to themselves, Fez was looking amusedly from Hyde to Kelso, and Kelso was waiting as patiently as he could, his lips pursed tightly together. He chanced another helpless look at Jackie, who apparently took pity on him and sighed.

"It wasn't anything, Michael. It was a mistake."

Though the words turned Kelso's attention from Hyde to Jackie, they also stung Hyde a bit. A mistake? Sure, they had both agreed that nothing had been sparked between them, albeit falsely on Hyde's end, but he never would've called the date a mistake. A failure, yes, a disappointment, definitely, an embarrassment, without a doubt, but he didn't regret it. The only thing he regretted was the way things had turned out.

"Mistake, huh?" Kelso was saying to Jackie. "And what exactly did the two of you do on this little 'mistake'?"

"It's none of your business!" Jackie snapped, rising from the couch. "You and I are not a couple anymore, Michael, and what I do with other guys is between me and them, got it?"

Kelso made a very offended noise. "Well…damn, Jackie, Hyde's like my best friend! You can't just go on a date with my best friend!"

Jackie narrowed her eyes at him. "I can go on a date with whomever I want, Michael!"

"Aha!" Kelso cried triumphantly, pointing an accusing finger at Jackie. "So you admit it was a date!"

"Oh, good burn!" Fez cried, clapping his hands.

Kelso beamed at him. "Thanks, Fez."

"This is ridiculous, Michael!" Jackie cried in exasperation. "Look, Steven and I have both decided that there's nothing going on between us, isn't that right Steven?"

Everyone's attention swung back to Hyde, who sat up nervously and said, "Uh…yeah…"

Jackie nodded. "There, you see. So what if we kissed and nothing happened?"

"You kissed!" Kelso screeched. "Well, I…I don't have to sit here and take this!" he yelled and marched out.

Fez stood too, glaring accusingly at Hyde and Jackie in turn. "I feel betrayed!" he shouted and followed Kelso's exit.

Eric couldn't help the smile that had spread across his face. "Well that went just…swimmingly, wouldn't you say, Donna?"

"Indeed, Eric. I think our work here is done." The two ascended the basement steps, leaving in their wake the pair of star-crossed lovers.

Hyde looked over at Jackie. She had plopped back onto the couch after Kelso's departure and was now slumped forward with her head in her hands. He hoped she wasn't crying; he didn't know how to handle girls when they cried; he wasn't really the comforting type of guy. Still, he felt obliged to say something to her as the silence settled heavily around them.

"Uh…thanks for…what you said to Kelso, Jackie," he mumbled.

Jackie's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. She had forgotten that he was still there. His words brought her crashing back to reality. Her voice a little unsteady, she replied, "Sure. I mean, I just told him how it is, right?"

"I guess so."

Nodding, Jackie quickly hid her face in her hands again, hoping he hadn't noticed the tears begin forming at the corners of her eyes. Her plan didn't seem to be working. Now Michael was mad at her and Steven seemed grateful that she'd explained the whole thing away so he didn't have to own up and embarrass himself by admitting he'd gone on a date with her. Taking a deep breath, Jackie blinked away the tears and stood up. She had one hand on the doorknob when his voice stopped her.

"Look, Jackie, I'm sorry about this whole thing."

She faced him. "What whole thing?"

Hyde gestured around the basement. "This whole…confrontation thing we just had with Kelso and everyone. I didn't want him to find out like this."

Jackie chuckled humorlessly. "I see, and how did you want him to find out, Steven?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Hyde tried to explain, but she cut him off.

"You know what, Steven, just save it. I get it."

"Jackie…" he called, but she was already out the door.