A/N : I really appreciate the reviews I'm getting on this fic, it means so much to me since I'm very new at this fandom and unsure as to whether the characters 'sound' right, etc. Hopefully this new chapter is up to the required standard!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 3
"Man, it's just frickin' weird" Kelso exclaimed as the gang sat in the basement after school, still with one member of the group missing - Hyde.
"You are right, Kelso" Fez agreed, staring at the TV, "It is very weird. How do Scooby and the gang always manage to solve the mystery every time, when it seems so impossible?" he echoed what he believed to be his friends sentiments, completely oblivious to Kelso's real meaning.
"I think he was talking about Hyde, Fez!" Donna pointed out from her position on the couch, sandwiched between Eric and Kelso.
"It isn't weird, it's horrible!" Jackie complained, as she paced the room behind the couch, "Steven is gone, and something terrible might be happening to him, and it's all my fault!"
"Jackie, you can't blame yourself" Eric told her, looking back at her, "It's not... well, yeah actually it is your fault" he considered, changing his mind, "Yeah, okay, you go ahead and blame yourself"
"Well, I think maybe Hyde left because of me" Kelso said suddenly, making everybody turn and stare at him.
"Michael, what are you talking about?" Jackie asked, arms folded over her chest as she waited for a reply.
"Well, see, you guys went on a date, and now he's scared I'll beat on him or something for daring to touch my girl!" he explained, as if it were obvious.
"You're girl!" his ex exploded, "Michael, I am NOT your girl! I haven't been your girl since you started messing around with that whore Laurie! Sorry, Eric" she added as an after-thought.
"No, it's cool" he waved away her words, "My sister is a whore"
"That is so not the point!" Kelso complained as he hopped off the couch and faced Jackie, "Hyde is supposed to be my friend and he dogged me, man! He knows he made me mad by taking you out on a date and now he's run away all scared"
"I am not convinced that Hyde is afraid of you, Kelso" Fez shook his head as he joined the others on their feet, leaving just Eric and Donna watching the display from their seated positions, "After all you are such a girly man compared to him"
"Uh!" Kelso made a high-pitched noise of indignation as their audience tried to stifle giggles.
"Y'know, you're pathetic, Michael!" Jackie told him crossly, looking almost as if she might cry, "You act like we should all feel bad for you just cos me and Steven went on a date. He could be lost, or hurt, or... anything could've happened to him" she said, a few nasty scenarios passing through her mind as her hand covered her mouth and tears filled her eyes.
"Oh Jackie" Fez sighed in sympathy as he went over to her, "Sweet, sweet Jackie" he said as he put his arms around her and hugged her close, "Fez is here to help you through your pain. You may use me any way you wish" he smiled over her head at the rest if the gang, none of which looked particularly amused by his attitude, least of all Donna who knew that despite her apparent love for Hyde, Jackie would likely accept the offer to use Fez somehow given half the chance.
"Jackie, y'know Hyde's probably fine" her red-head friend assured her, "It's not like he can't take care of himself"
"Donna's right" Eric agreed, "Although, I gotta admit, I kinda don't like him being out there all by himself" he sighed, "And it's really freaking out my Mom. She worries about Hyde even more than she worries about me sometimes"
"Mom worries about everybody more than she worries about you" Laurie laughed as she came down the steps top the basement, having caught the end of the conversation, "Hey, Kelso" she greeted her boyfriend, leaning in and kissing him with a passion, which Jackie was fairly certain was supposed to annoy her. It had little or no effect in reality.
"Laurie, why are you even down here?" Eric snapped at his sister, "Shouldn't you be, I dunno, down at the docks waiting for the fleet to come in" he snickered, and even Kelso had to hold in a laugh.
"I'm too tired to walk that far" Laurie said reasonably, "And Kelso is right here" she grinned as she took hold of the boy's hand and headed for the stairs, "See you kids later" she said as they disappeared, with Kelso putting his thumbs up and whooping at the prospect of more sex with Eric's sister.
"Kelso is such a whore" Fez declared, "Jackie, you were so sensible to dump him"
"Yeah, I'm so sensible" she echoed, sarcasm evident, "If I was so sensible I never would have let Steven get away from me. God, I hate not knowing where he is!"
"Look, if we wanna find Hyde all we have to do is think like Hyde" Donna reasoned and Eric grinned. There was a simple way to do that.
"Now this is the stuff" Eric grinned widely as he looked around the Circle at his friend, "Now I feel totally attuned with my good buddy Hyde"
"Yeah" Donna agreed beside him, "I feel so... Hyde" she giggled, "And also, a little like I'm floating" she said more seriously, just for a few seconds before she collapsed back into a fit of giggles.
"I don't think we should worry too much about Hyde" Fez shook his head, "After all, he is stronger than us, smarter than us, and better with the ladies" he counted off on his fingers, before a look of realisation dawned over his face, "Oh, I think I hate him!" he declared, looking annoyed.
"I could never hate Steven" Jackie sighed, "You know why? Because I love him. I love Steven Hyde" she declared, "I love him so much, and I drove him away" she said, before bursting out laughing, despite the fact the words she was saying were sad, "Hang on a second, why am I laughing?" she checked a moment later, looking around as if she was lost.
"Man, I still can't believe Hyde left because of Jackie" Eric sighed as he looked at his girlfriend, "I mean, he's always been the tough guy out of all of us"
"Definitely tougher than you, Eric" Donna agreed.
"Oh Donna" Fez smiled at the red-head beside him, "Everybody is tougher than Eric, even Kelso. Even me" he scoffed.
"Guys, you're all losing sight of the point here!" Jackie complained, "We need to find Steven, and fast!" she said firmly.
"Jackie's right, we should... oh my God!" Eric gasped suddenly, "Did I just say Jackie's right?" he checked, "Damn, maybe we shouldn't do this stuff anymore, I think it's affecting my brain"
"What brain, idiot!" Jackie snapped, "You said this would help us find Steven, and so far all it's done is... is... ooh, I want that!" she yelled, suddenly diving at Fez and ripping the half eaten popsicle from his hand.
"Hey, do you think Hyde went to New York or something?" Donna asked suddenly, "I mean, he talked about it that one time, and if he can make it there, he could make it anywhere..." she began to sing the song that went with the words she was saying and the whole circle joined in for a moment til they got past the chorus and realised they didn't know anymore words.
"So anyway" Eric said soon after, "I don't think Hyde could get as far as New York, not without a lot of cash that he really doesn't have"
"So where do people go when they have no cash?" Fez said thoughtfully, "Oh, I know, perhaps they yell at the person who stole their popsicle!" he said, looking pointedly at Jackie who swallowed down the last of the strawberry ice and looked innocently at him.
"You talk funny" she said suddenly, bursting into giggles and leaning over til her forehead was leaning on Fez's arm, "I miss Steven" she said sadly, her laughter subsiding just as fast as it had begun.
"Come on guys, we've known Hyde forever, we should be able to figure out where he's gone" Eric urged them.
"Okay, I'm thinking like Hyde" Donna said, closing her eyes and putting her hands towards her head as if she were channelling a spirit or something, "The government's out to get me, man" she said in her best impression of her friend, "I like beer, and dirty magazines, and Jackie makes me mad, so I... I ran away to the circus!" she said suddenly with a snap of her fingers as her eyes shot open.
"Hyde in the circus?" Eric echoed, "Okay so Donna's gone crazy"
"I like the circus" said Fez as he patted Jackie's shoulder, her head still leant on his other arm, "They have animals, candied treats, and attractive ladies in brightly coloured underwear" he grinned, "If I was Hyde, I would run away to the circus"
"What do you think Steven is doing right now?" Jackie sighed, sitting herself up straight in her seat once again and staring at her popsicle stick like it held the answers to the universe and everything.
"I dunno" Donna shrugged, "Probably something way more exciting than what we're doing"
"This is the life" Hyde grinned, cough slightly as a little too much smoke got into his system, "There's no better way to kill some time, that with a bottle of beer and a friend"
"I hear you, man" Leo agreed, "'Cept for the beer part, cos y'know that stuff'll mess with your head, man"
Hyde stifled a laugh at that comment and just swallowed down some more alcohol.
"So anyway" he said, continuing the story he'd previously been relating to his friend and boss, "when I got to the bus station, I realised I'd missed the last bus out of town. The back door to the hut was unlocked so I figured I'd crash here til the morning and then head back to the station, but... I dunno why I didn't make it yet" he frowned slightly.
"Maybe you're moving, man, but like so slowly you can't even tell" Leo suggested.
"I mean, I wanna leave, I have to" Hyde continued, as if he hadn't really heard his friend, "I can't be around Jackie, man, she's making me lose my mind"
"Of all the things I lost, I miss my mind the most" the older man nodded, before laughing, "Hey, man, that's cool. I should get that put on a T-shirt"
"Yeah, that's cool" Hyde said absently, swigging his beer, "See, what I can't figure is how she changed her mind so fast" he shook his head, thinking once again of Jackie, "I keep going over it, man, and it doesn't make sense. One second she's talking about love and happy ever afters, the next we kiss and she says she doesn't feel anything. That's impossible, man, no girl ever said that to me before!"
"I can relate, man" Leo nodded, "Women are complicated. One minute they want you, the next they don't"
"But it never bothered me before" Hyde considered, "I could deal, I could be Zen about everything, but when it comes to Jackie, man, it's like crazy poetic justice or something. Like I taught her to be Zen and I totally lost it"
"Did you look behind the refrigerator?" Leo asked as he flipped through a pile of photographs on the counter, "Cos when I lose stuff it's almost always there, or under the sofa cushions"
Hyde frowned a little as he considered what Leo was saying and then bust up laughing at how stupid it was. Between the beer, his friend's ridiculous and random thoughts, and the smoky haze that filled the Fotohut, he was feeling a little better about the whole Jackie situation. Unfortunately, even in this state, he knew the peace and tranquillity would not last, and then he'd have to deal with his little, annoying, abrasive, rich girl of a problem, one way or another.
To Be Continued...