Chapter 4.

The morning after.

Jackie's official first day back in Point Place had started off on a rather dull note. Breakfast with the Forman's had been pleasant enough, Red hadn't quite warmed up to her yet, but she was sure that she could win him over and he seemed pleased when she had suggested they look at the Toyota later on in the day.

Eric hadn't said much to her, although she preferred the silent treatment over their conversation the night before. She wasn't surprised by Eric's treatment of her, to be honest she expected as much. She remembered to back when they were younger, when their parents used to force them to play together, Jackie would tease him relentlessly during their tea party dates and apparently Eric held grudges.

She had hoped to spend the day at the mall or in town, figuring that maybe she'd run into some of the girls that she remembered from grade school. But she had no car to drive herself there and when she asked Steven if he could drop her off, he'd told her he'd be at work all day and that she should walk.

Walk! It was like a 20-minute drive to the Point Place mall from the Forman's, there was no way she'd make it in her heels and Jackie Burkhart didn't substitute style for practicality. Which was exactly what she had told Steven, who proceeded to tell her to suck it up and called her a princess, before leaving for work.

Normally Jackie would have loved the pet name, but she had a suspicion that he had used it to make fun of her, not to flatter her…

Now it was only 11.00am, and Jackie was already bored. Something that never happened to her in New-York. She always had things to do and people to see there, sure her friends weren't really her friends and didn't care about her so much as their social climbing agenda's but at least they always wanted to spend the day with her.

And here she couldn't feel lonelier as she sat out on one of the chairs on the patio by the kitchen doors. Mrs. Forman had gone to work much earlier that morning, taking the Toyota with her but Eric was still home somewhere. Jackie noticed the Vista Cruiser parked in front of her in the drive way.

But was she bored enough to hang out with Eric Forman? The answer was no…

She was examining the cuticles on her left hand as a tall, red headed girl entered the Forman's driveway through a little gate situated between the hedges, which ran down the full length of the driveway, separating the Forman's property from the next-door neighbors.

The tall girl spotted Jackie straight away. "Oh hey, Jackie… I don't know if you remember me. I'm Donna Pinciotti. I live next door," she pointed over to where she had appeared from.

Jackie paused for a moment, trying to place Donna in any memory she had from back when she lived here. She furrowed her brows, feeling awkward that she didn't remember the girl when clearly, she had remembered her.

Donna waited for her to respond. "Really? We went to school together… You used to call me a lumberjack?"

Lumberjack… Jackie thought for another moment, it was starting to ring a bell now.

"There was that one time I got really mad at you, so I hit you with that basketball during gym?"

Jackie gasped, the memory suddenly vivid in her mind. It was hard to forget being hit in the face with a basketball.

Donna was the giant girl in the grade above her that she used to get jealous of because she was always hanging around Kelso and the other guys. Jackie had thought back then, that Kelso harbored a secret crush towards Donna, so she remembered being slightly meaner to the red head then she would normally be.

"Oh my God… That was you?! I thought I was going to have to get a nose job at 10 thanks to you." Jackie stood up and took a few steps closer to the taller girl.

Donna shrugged and stuffed her hands in her pocket. "Well, your nose still looks fine to me," she commented with a small smile. "It's good to see you… You look great!"

The compliment sounded incredibly fake, but Jackie was raised to take what you could get when it came to backhanded compliments.

She smiled back at the girl. It was nice to know that there was another girl her age living so close by. It had been lonely here surrounded by so many men but hopefully her and the lumberjack could become friends.

"Thanks, Donna. And you know, normally I think red hair is gross, but you are totally pulling it off…"

Donna laughed. "I see you're still unapologetically blunt… But I do appreciate you calling me Donna and not lumberjack or giant."

"Oh, well you still are a giant and," Jackie paused to reach out and grab onto Donna's hand, lifting it to examine her nails. "Would it kill you to paint your nails- oh my God, what is this?!" She spotted a small engagement ring adorning Donna's ring finger.

Donna pulled her hand back and twisted the ring around her finger as Jackie waited for a response. "It's an engagement ring. I'm engaged," she stated the obvious.

What was it with people getting engaged so young in this town? Jackie wondered, first Fez, then Eric and now the neighbor girl?

Wait… She suddenly remembered Eric making a comment about Donna during breakfast this morning.

"Oh my God… You're marrying Eric!" Jackie put two and two together and gasped.

"Uh yeah… How did you know?" Donna questioned. "Did he tell you?"

Jackie shook her head. "No but he did mention having a fiancée… I can't believe your marrying that weirdo. Is he blackmailing you or something? Oh, well I guess you wouldn't be able to say even if he was. You can blink twice if he's holding you against your will and I swear I won't tell anyone."

Jackie grabbed hold of Donna's arms and stared deep into her eyes waiting for the other girl to signal back to her.

Donna just laughed and shook her head. "Jackie he's not blackmailing me. Eric and I have been dating since we were 16 and we're in love. And he's not a weirdo… Well, he's not a huge weirdo, he's really sweet, you just have to get to know him."

Jackie flashed her a look of disbelief but nodded her head anyway. "I'll take your word for it."

Donna smiled. "So, is it weird being back here?"

"Totally… Point Place couldn't be anymore opposite to Manhattan, but the Formans have been really nice, and I suppose living here beats the other option."

Jackie eyed Donna to see her reaction, she figured if she was marrying Eric then he probably would have told her all about Jackie's family situation.

Donna nodded her head. "Yeah, I heard about your parents," she admitted, proving Jackie's theory right. "My mom ran out on my dad and I a few years ago so I get what you're going through."

This was news to Jackie. Back in New-York, she felt like such an outcast when her parents had abandoned her. No-one else could relate to her. But here she had already met two people, the same age as her, who had both been through something so similar.

The only difference was Donna still had a parent who loved her enough to stick around. Jackie and Steven were practically orphans.

Still it was nice knowing that she could talk to Donna about this stuff without judgement… Steven didn't really seem like the kind of guy who would sit and listen to her problems just because he could relate.

"Wow Donna, That's terrible." Jackie flashed Donna a sympathetic look, referring to the red heads good for nothing mother.

Donna nodded back. "Yeah, I was pretty bummed about it for a while. But I got over it and you will too."

She wasn't sure if she agreed with her. She couldn't imagine herself ever getting over her mother's abandonment.

"I guess so," she mumbled before suddenly getting an idea. "Hey… So, I know you probably weren't coming over here to hang out with me but, did you want to go to the mall or something?"

Donna flashed her a look that told Jackie she wasn't exactly interested in spending the day shopping with her. "Or I could paint your nails?" She offered instead, not really caring what they did. Anything would be better than her current situation and she was dying to give the girl in front of her a decent manicure.

Donna let out a small laugh. "How about we take a rain-check? Eric and I kind of have plans."

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps echoed from inside the garage and both girls turned their heads to see Fez hurrying over towards them with a stack of fliers in his hand.

"Fez what are those?" Donna asked as her friend reached the two of them.

"Well, I'm glad you asked." Fez smiled before handing Donna and Jackie a flier each.

It was a missing persons flier for Laurie Forman. There was a black and white picture of the blonde girl in a bikini which looked like it had been taken without her knowledge and under the offered reward, he had put down 'candy and porno magazines'.

Jackie had learned all about Fez's marriage to Laurie Forman, last night. How they'd married to keep Fez from getting deported and how it was their marriage that had caused Mr. Forman's heart attack.

"Candy and Porn, Fez?" Jackie questioned the listed reward as she handed the flier back to him.

"Well I have no money, but lots of candy and porn which everyone knows, is just as good," Fez informed her with a grin and Jackie laughed. This guy had some twisted priorities.

"I thought Mrs. Forman said Laurie went to live with her friend in Chicago?"

"A lie! My beautiful wife would never leave me without saying goodbye."

Jackie had a feeling from what she heard about Laurie Forman, that that wasn't true.

Donna handed her flier back to Fez. "Well… Good luck finding her, Fez," she said as she turned to Jackie. "I'll see you later Jackie," she added before walking off into the Forman's house.

"So, it is just you and I left," Fez flashed her a big smile.

Jackie sighed, preparing herself for what she was about to do. "Need help passing those out?" She asked and watched as Fez rapidly nodded his head in response.

"Ai, this will be so much fun." Fez told her as he handed her half of the fliers he was carrying.

She supposed that there were worse ways to spend her day.

1 week later.
The Basement.
12.16am.

Hyde entered the basement through the external doorway after a long night working at the Holiday Hotel with Roy. Eric and Donna were on the couch making out, the sound of Hyde coming through the door causing them to spring apart in embarrassment.

"Why do you two gotta do that down here?" He asked as he looked over at his two friends with a grossed-out expression. This wasn't the first time he had caught them making out in the room that had become his living space.

"Hate to break it to you Hyde. But you don't own the basement," Eric pointed out, slinging his arm around his girl as Hyde stepped over their feet and sat down on his chair across from them.

Hyde sneered over at his pseudo brother. "Yeah well I'm sick of walking in on you two sucking face."

"Savor it while it lasts. Soon Donna and I won't be around, and you'll miss walking in on us making out."

He seriously doubted that.

"Yeah whatever man… Where's everyone else at anyway?" He changed the subject, it was a Friday night and normally the whole gang would be hanging out in here until Hyde kicked them out to get some shut eye.

"Kelso and Fez went to some singles party with Kelso's brother Casey… Kelso tried to rope Jackie into going by telling her that John Travolta was going to be there," Donna filled Hyde in with a laugh. "She saw right through him."

"Guess she's not as dumb as I thought," Eric stated to Hyde and Donna's surprise.

Since Jackie had arrived in their lives, she had been putting up a tough front, spending a lot of time with Fez, Kelso and even Donna. Eric still wasn't very fond of her, but she avoided him most of the time anyway. From the outside looking in, it seemed like she was completely fine.

But Hyde saw through her facade, he had gone through the exact thing that Jackie was currently going through, and she couldn't fool him as easily as the others. She was acting tough, but he knew sooner or later she'd crack, and the water works would start.

He just hoped he wasn't around when it happened.

Sure, he had spent some time with her since she arrived in town. It was hard to avoid a person who you shared a home with. Not that he was trying to avoid her like Forman was. She just wasn't as annoying as he imagined she'd be.

Yes. She was loud, she talked too much, and she cared too much about superficial things like makeup and clothes. But, she was also pretty cool when she wanted to be. Not that he'd ever tell her that.

Still, that didn't mean he wanted to deal with a crying Jackie.

"I think Eric is starting to warm up to her… She was hanging out with us for a while and he only called her the devil twice," Donna pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything. I still can't stand her… And I don't like what's going on here," Eric pointed a finger back and forth from Donna and Hyde. "She's slowly winning everyone over and I can't wait to say I told you so why she shows her true colors… Which will be red."

Hyde looked at Eric with a confused expression.

"Because she's from hell."

"She's not as bad as you're making her out to be… You should cut her some slack, she's lost her family and she's just trying to fit in here. I think she's lonely." Donna stuck up for the petite brunette, it was a friendship that Hyde hadn't seen coming but he was glad Jackie had someone besides him to hang out with now.

Eric rolled his eyes. "That's what she wants you to think."

"Forman, you look like you could use a circle man," Hyde suggested, he was craving some circle time himself, but he mostly wanted to change the subject off of Jackie. And circle time seemed to be the perfect distraction, it was almost becoming a nightly ritual now for the group, at least since Red's heart attack. Hyde would get home from work and they would smoke up.

It was also great timing, because he had just restocked his stash and according to Leo's cousin (his new supplier since Leo skipped town), California pot was way stronger then the shit he'd been using, and he was excited to test it out.

"I really could," Eric agreed with a nod. "It's been a stressful day."

"Eric, you slept till noon. Then napped from 3 until I woke you up at 6," Donna reminded her fiancé.

"Yeah, sounds real tough," Hyde responded sarcastically as he stood up from his chair. "Hang on, left my stash in the Camino," he added before walking out of the basement, through the external door and up the stairs.

His car was parked on the street at the front of the Forman's, where it normally was. As he crossed the backyard towards the driveway, he heard a sniffling sound coming from the park bench which was situated in the middle of the backyard.

Looking over, he had to squint to see through the darkness, but he spotted a small figure sitting at the bench. Walking closer, he took off his shades and his eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Jackie was sitting at the bench crying.

"Ah crap."

Back in the basement, Eric and Donna had turned the tv on and were waiting for Hyde to return when Kitty came running down the inside stairs.

She was wearing her nursing uniform and her hands were full of dirty laundry.

"Sorry kids, I just have to put this laundry on. Don't mind me," she began to apologize as she frantically loaded the washing machine up.

"Mom, it's 12.30 at night… Why don't you just do that tomorrow?" Eric asked, looking over at his mother with concern laced through his expression. Kitty's hair was in disarray and she had dark bags under her eyes, she looked exhausted.

"Because Eric, I took a night shift at work and I'm running late already. If I don't get this done now, it won't get done until tomorrow and Red has no clean underwear left."

"Mrs. Forman," Donna stood up and walked over to older woman. "Let Eric and I do the laundry, we're going to be in here for a while longer anyway," she reached out and grabbed the remainder of the laundry from Kitty's hands.

"Oh… That would be really helpful. Thank you, Donna."

Eric hated seeing his mother like this, he knew she had been working hard lately but he had hoped now that Red was home, she'd relax a bit. But she was continuing to work herself to the bone and he was getting worried.

"Mom… You look tired. Are you sure you should be going into work?" He questioned.

"I have to… Night shifts are hard, but they're worth it for the money. And with your father not working right now, we need all the money we can get," Kitty informed her son, she reached out to cup his face in his hands. "Don't you worry about me. I'm fine."

Eric frowned, he knew she was lying to him, she wasn't fine, and she hadn't been fine for a while now. But he also knew when he was fighting a losing battle.

"Okay."

Kitty smiled at her son before turning back to Donna. "Make sure to separate the whites, sweetie. Well, I'm off. Don't stay up too late Eric!" She called back to her son as she left the basement and moved back up the stairs, into the house.

"Your mom is really struggling, huh?" Donna stated the obvious as she began loading the washing machine.

Eric sighed, leaning back into the couch and running a hand down his face. "Donna… I'm worried about her."

"I know… Me too."

"She's working 60 hours a week, looking after Red and on top of that, she does all the cleaning and cooking… Even with all the extra shifts she's taking, they're broke. Hyde told me the other day that mom asked to borrow money off him for the groceries."

"Eric…Your parents have been through tough times before. It'll work out, like it always does." Donna tried to be positive as she poured some laundry detergent into the washing machine.

"Donna… I don't think I can go to Madison."

Meanwhile, outside Hyde was dealing with a dilemma of his own.

Jackie hadn't spotted him yet as she was facing away from him. Which meant that he could still walk away and pretend he didn't see a thing, avoiding the unpleasant conversation all together.

But the idea of leaving her in the dark, crying alone was already filling him with guilt and he didn't think he could live with himself if he did that.

Gonna regret this… Hyde thought as he made his decision and slowly walked towards her. He cursed the gene inside of him that caused him to be such a sucker around crying chicks.

"Jackie…" He cleared his throat as he got closer to her and watched as Jackie's head whipped around to look at him.

She quickly wiped at her cheeks and looked away as Hyde came to sit down next to her. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, her voice was still shaky and up-close Hyde could see her eyes were puffy and her cheeks wet.

He wondered how long she had been out here crying for.

Choosing to ignore her question about him, he got straight to the point. "Jackie man… Why are you crying?"

It was lame, he knew that much. It was obvious why she was crying, but he wasn't exactly accustomed to consoling people. Especially crying chicks, who'd just been abandoned by their family and forced to live with people they barely knew.

A small sob escaped from Jackie's mouth and Hyde winced, feeling like he was doing more bad than good. "Hey, come on… It's gonna be alright."

Jackie hung her head so that her hair fell like a curtain around her face, successfully hiding herself from him.

"I'm sorry," she breathed out so quietly that he almost hadn't heard her.

What was she apologizing for? That she was crying? Or that he had been the one to find her like that? He had no idea, all he knew was that she had nothing to be sorry for.

"Don't have anything to be sorry for," he told her, dipping his head down low to try and catch her eyes. He had the feeling that he was royally screwing this up.

Jackie lifted her head slowly and made eye contact with him, his heart ached a little as he watched silent tears stream down her face. But at least she was making eye contact with him now.

"Why did she leave me, Steven? Why doesn't she love me?" Her voiced cracked as more tears fell from her eyes and Hyde wished he knew how to make her feel better.

Wished he had the answers for her.

Some people got lucky; people like Forman, who were given parents like Red and Mrs. Forman. Hell, even Donna – Bob was always there for her. Then there were people like Hyde and Jackie, who must have been dealt the shit deck of cards when they were born, because they were stuck with people like Bud and Edna for parents.

The type of parents who just left.

"Your parents don't deserve you, man," he told her, because it was true.

It was also the same thing he used to tell himself when he'd get bummed out like she was right now, but he'd never really believed it back then.

He believed it now.

"You deserve better than the crap they pulled on you."

"Maybe I don't… Maybe this is karma for being such a terrible person," Jackie said as she wrapped her arms around herself. All she had on was a sundress and it might have been summer, but the nights got cold in Point Place no matter what season. She was probably freezing in that get up.

"You aren't a terrible person, Jackie."

He'd met terrible people before and Jackie didn't come close. Sure, she was selfish at times, a little obnoxious, rude and pretty damn spoiled. But that didn't make her a bad person.

"You don't have to lie… You hate me," she said, and another sob escaped her mouth, she turned back away from him as if she were embarrassed.

Hyde stared at her, watching her cry for a moment and feeling awkward. He never had to deal with a girl crying like this before and he had no idea what to say to get her to stop. Should he hug her or something? He wasn't really a hugging kind of guy… but he'd do just about anything to get this chick to stop with the tears.

And where had she gotten the idea that he hated her? He'd thought he'd been acting pretty good towards her, considering the way he normally treated people who weren't in his small circle of friends.

"I don't hate you Jackie," Hyde told her as he slid across the bench seat to get a little closer to her. "You're… you're alright, man."

It was the highest form of compliment for Hyde.

And he meant it… She was alright. Aside from her flaws, he'd seen some good qualities in her over the past week that he'd been living with her.

Jackie seemed to appreciate his attempt at cheering her up, she turned back to face him, and Hyde spotted a small smile cross her face. "Thanks," she mumbled, sniffling before wiping at her damp cheeks again.

"I'm a disaster," she laughed as she continued to dry her face. "This is embarrassing."

"Don't worry… I won't tell no-one," he promised as he nudged her with his shoulder, trying to get her to smile again.

"Cool."

She was using Zen on him and she didn't even know it. He was impressed.

"It gets better you know…"

"It doesn't feel that way, right now," she sighed with sad eyes. "I feel so out of place here."

"Give it time, man… Look, you've only been here a week and you've already made some pretty cool friends."

"Are you my friend?" Jackie asked him, blinking up at him with those big eyes of hers.

He thought it was pretty obvious that he was talking about himself as well as the gang, but she apparently needed to hear him say the words. It was a trend he was noticing about her, she was always trying to get him talking.

Hyde sighed. "Yeah, Jackie. We're friends, okay."

She smiled at him and suddenly, it had all been worth the hassle.

"Okay," she nodded and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down on it. "Thank you, Steven."

There she went again, using his first name. Why the hell did he keep letting her call him by his first name?

Before he had a chance to respond, she scooted towards him, closing the small gap of distance they had between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Ah geez," Hyde muttered before awkwardly placing his arms around her and patting her on the back. He didn't do hugs. In fact, he hated hugs and avoided them at all costs.

Jackie had buried her face in his neck, he could feel her damp cheeks pressed against the crook where his shoulder met his neck and the scent of coconut shampoo wafted into his nose.

Normally he never allowed this kind of long embrace, but he figured he'd tolerate it just this once. He relaxed into the hug and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her pressed against him.

And they remained like that, clung to one another, for a moment in time and it was… not horrible. In-fact it was kinda nice.

"You're being uncharacteristically nice to me," Jackie pointed out with a smile on her face as she pulled away. She kept her hands on his shoulders and her body close to his as she looked him in the eye.

"Guess you caught me in a good mood," Hyde shrugged, slightly uncomfortable that she'd called him out like that. He scooted a little further away from her on the bench seat so that her hands slid off his shoulders and they were no longer touching.

He found it was hard to think straight with her touching him like that.

"Well, I like you a lot better when you're like this," she admitted.

"Don't get used to it, kid," he told her as he stood up from the seat, suddenly remembering that Donna and Eric were waiting for him to get back.

Hyde still needed to get his stash out of the Camino, but he didn't want to leave Jackie alone. Not cause he wanted to spend more time with her or anything… But because he didn't want her to start blubbering again as soon as he left her.

"Come with me."

He made the quick decision to invite her into the circle, they were cool now and he was 90% sure that she wouldn't rat him out to the Formans.

Hyde began to walk off and could hear Jackie following him. "Are we going somewhere?" She asked from next to him a few moments later, eyeing the El Camino as they got closer to it.

"Just getting something out," Hyde informed her, reaching into his pocket to grab the car keys. On the days where he parked it out in the street, he always kept it locked up, not wanting to risk it getting pinched.

He unlocked the car and reached into the console where he grabbed out a brown paper bag. Closing the door shut and re-locking the car, he turned to face Jackie and shoved the bag into his pocket with his keys.

"What is that?" Jackie wondered, crossing her arms over her chest as the cool night air blew around them.

"It's pot… Or green paprika as Kelso likes to call it." Hyde grinned as he turned to head towards the basement, he turned back to look at her, still standing by the Camino. "Come on. Don't be such a square, man."

"I'm not a square!" Jackie whisper yelled, she obviously didn't want to wake anyone in the street up and be caught with him and a bag full of pot, which only further proved his point that she was in fact, acting like a square.

"Let's go Jackie!" Hyde raised his voice just to tick her off.

Jackie shushed him as she ran to catch up to him. "That's illegal, you know," she pointed to his pocket where his stash remained hidden.

"No way..." Hyde faked a gasp. "Look, you don't gotta do it if you don't want to. I'm just saying I think you'll like it," he told her as they crossed the backyard towards the basement stairwell.

"Is it dangerous?" She asked him in a quiet voice as they headed down the stairs.

Hyde turned to look at her, stopping both of them in their tracks. "Wouldn't be offering it to you, if it were dangerous, doll."

He wasn't sure where the nicknames we're coming from, but they felt right to him.

"Oh," Jackie blinked over at Hyde and he knew he had her.

"You in or you out?" He asked anyway, and a rush of excitement surged through his body. He decided then and there that he kind of liked being her bad influence.

Jackie paused and looked him right in the eye. She was on the stair above from the one he was on, which made her almost eye level to him and he found himself staring at her lips. For the first time since she arrived in Point Place, he thought about what it would be like to lean forward and press his lips to hers.

Cause man… She had perfect lips.

As if she'd ever be into a burnout like you man. He thought bitterly, lifting his gaze to her mismatched eyes.

And even if she was… Jackie wasn't the kind of girl you screwed around with a couple times. Jackie was the chick you dated, the chick you probably ended up marrying. And Hyde wasn't that kind of guy.

"For some stupid reason… I trust you," Jackie told him a moment later.

"Stupid decision really," he responded with a cheeky grin.

Jackie laughed and hit him lightly over the arm. "Let's just go," she smiled at him.

"Alright man."

Thanks for reading! Sorry about the super long chapter, I get a little carried away writing this story so you should probably expect most of the chapters to be pretty long... (But maybe you guys like that and I'm fussing for no reason?)

Anyway, I'm hoping you guys are liking the way Hyde and Jackie's relationship is progressing, It's going to be a bit of a slow burn for them but don't worry there will be plenty of cute/fun moments between the two coming up.

Please fav/follow if you like the story and don't forget to leave a review! Let me know what part of this chapter was your favorite.