Chapter 8.

10 minutes earlier.
Somewhere in Vanstock.

Hyde hadn't realized how late it had gotten until he looked up and noticed the sky had grown dark. He'd found his old friends easily after he'd left the rest of the group and had spent the remainder of the day in a blissful drug induced haze.

He didn't know exactly what he had taken, but he knew that whatever it was, was fucking good. He briefly recalled watching some band or other play earlier on in the day, then after that everything had gone black.

He'd broken out of the haze only 30 or so minutes ago after waking up from a nap. When he awoke he found himself perched in a camp chair, inside some other group's campsite (he didn't know any of them, but they seemed to know him,) and he couldn't recall how he'd gotten there but he did know that it was time he got back to his real friends.

He hadn't expected to be gone for so long, they must be wondering where the hell he was.

Forman better not have smoked all his stash, and he better not have gotten Jackie too high. There was no way Hyde was going to cop shit from Red and Mrs. Forman if something happened to her cause their son couldn't follow simple instructions.

As he was began heading back to where he remembered the groups campsite being, he heard someone calling out his name. Turning in the direction the voice had come from, he spotted a familiar chick in a biker jacket and leather pants coming towards him.

"Chrissy?" Hyde squinted his eyes, trying to see through the extra darkness his shades produced and work out if what he thought he was seeing was actually real and not just some strange hallucination.

It wasn't until the figure approached him that he believed his eyes. She was real. The girl he'd lost his virginity too and almost ran off to New-York with, was actually here and standing right in front of him.

"Hyde, how you doing?" Chrissy wondered, in her usual 'couldn't care less' tone.

Hyde took a moment to take her in and realized that she looked different from how he remembered her.

Sure, she was still good looking in a traditional sense and had a great rack. But this time around he found her to be kind of, unremarkable.

Still, she had been an alright lay… And he'd been gone from the group this long, what was another 20 minutes?

"I'm good, man," Hyde responded with a grin, not bothering to ask how she was.

"That's a great beard," Chrissy pointed out the obvious and Hyde nodded his thanks, it was his experience this last summer that chicks loved the beard. It wasn't the reason he had grown it out, but the perk was a welcome one.

"I've never made out with a guy with a beard," she reached out to scratch her nails through the facial hair on his jaw line.

Hyde grinned. "Looks like today's your lucky day," he told her and watched as she moved her hand down to grab ahold of his own.

"No… It's your lucky day. Or did you forget how good I am?" Chrissy asked and pulled on his hand, leading him towards where he assumed her set up was.

She was alright. To be honest he'd had much better since her. But she didn't need to know that.

"Whatever. Just gotta make this quick. Got people waiting for me," he muttered.

"That's cool," she responded, giving him the same zen tone that he always used.

Jackie had been the only other chick to use zen on him and he remembered thinking at the time that it had been kind of sexy, but with Chrissy he just thought it was annoying.

He wondered what the hell that was about but tried not to investigate into it any further. Those thoughts only lead to thoughts that were just… Creepy and unnatural.

Plus, he was about to get laid, he should be focusing on the chick in front of him not the chick-

"Steven!"

The chick who was calling out his first name?

Hyde stopped walking, causing Chrissy's hand to drop from his. He turned his head to look in the direction he thought he had heard Jackie's voice coming from and began searching through the dark to spot the petite brunette.

"What are you doing?" Chrissy asked, grabbing hold of his hand again and pulling. "My tent's this way."

Hyde shushed her harshly, shaking her hand off from his as he spotted Jackie running towards him with a relieved look on her face.

They weren't anywhere near the others. What the hell was she doing out here alone?

"Steven, thank God," Jackie reached him and instantly threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Hyde responded by loosely wrapping an arm around her back while she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"Jackie, what the hell are you doing out here alone?" he asked her quietly, Chrissy was still standing next to him and for some reason he didn't want her listening into their conversation. He also didn't want Jackie noticing her, the thought of the two girls meeting made him uneasy.

"I got lost," Jackie cried as she pulled away from him. "I'm so happy you're here! I just wanted to go dancing and I went on my own which I know I shouldn't have but Eric and Donna were fighting, and Fez was passed out and Michael left to go find some girl named Brooke and you hadn't come back yet."

She was rambling on breathlessly and he worried for her health.

"Jackie, your gums are doing that thing again where they don't stop flapping. Just slow down man." Hyde reminded her, but instead of the usual annoyed tone he used with her, his tone was full of concern.

She'd been out here for who knows how long, alone in the dark, looking the way she looked, most likely drunk off her ass. Anything could have happened to her.

Hyde was going to kill Forman.

"Sorry," Jackie apologized and took a deep breath in, her hands still placed on his shoulders. "I'm just so glad I found you," she blinked up at him and Hyde could only guess how scared she must have been before she'd ran into him.

He opened his mouth to respond when Chrissy cleared her throat loudly from next to them.

He turned to look at her. "Are we still having sex or what?" She asked him bluntly and Hyde cringed, he didn't want Jackie knowing that he was on his way to get laid.

Jackie's hands slipped off his shoulders and she took a step away from him.

Hyde looked back and forth from the two girls in front of him. He could abandon Jackie and have sex or he could take Jackie back to camp, make sure she was safe and spend the rest of his night alone in his sleeping bag.

Surprisingly to Hyde, the choice wasn't a hard one to make.

"I'll catch you around man," he nodded his head to Chrissy, not ever expecting to see the girl again.

"Your loss Hyde," Chrissy shrugged, not seeming too fussed either as she walked away from the two.

He wasn't disappointed. There would always be other chicks but if he left Jackie now and something happened to her, Red would shove his foot so hard up his ass that Hyde would be tasting leather for a week. He also wasn't sure if he'd be able to forgive himself for something like that.

"Steven… I'm sorry I ruined it," Jackie began, crossing her arms over her body like she did when she was feeling insecure.

Damn, he was spending too much time with this chick.

"Whatever Jackie don't worry about it," Hyde brushed it off with a shrug. "I was heading back to camp anyway."

"Did you just meet her?" Jackie questioned, biting her plump bottom lip. Hyde's lips tingled in response as he watched her.

He shrugged, not wanting to talk about Chrissy anymore. "Doesn't matter," he told her. "Come on… You were heading in the wrong direction, doll. Camps this way," he nodded his head in the opposite direction she had come from and began to lead them towards their campsite.

"So, Forman and Donna were fighting?" Hyde asked her after a moment of silence, he wanted to change the subject off Chrissy and it was the first thing that had come to mind.

"For so long… Eric got really drunk and started talking about how it wasn't fair that Donna gets to go to college without him and she just blew up," Jackie explained, and Hyde could imagine how that whole scene would have played out. It couldn't have been pretty.

No wonder she had left the camp on her own.

"Doesn't surprise me… Forman's great at digging himself into a hole."

"Yeah, he dug to China and Donna's burying him there," Jackie joked, and Hyde laughed, impressed by her wit. "So… What were you doing all day?" She asked him a moment later.

Hyde ran a hand through his hair, trying to decide whether to tell her the truth or to make something up.

"Met up with some old friends," he told her simply, for some reason he didn't want her knowing that he spent most of the day in a drugged-out haze and that he couldn't remember anything he'd actually done.

Luckily, she seemed to accept his response. "Well… You left me in the middle of World War three," she joked. "I was actually looking forward to hanging out with you today."

He turned to look at her with a curious expression and watched as she blushed under his gaze.

He couldn't work this chick out, just when he thought he had her pin-pointed as a giant pain in his ass, she pulled out this side of her. He was beginning to think she had split personalities.

But whatever was wrong with her, he decidedly liked this side of her.

"We could hang out now," he shrugged, turning his attention back in front of him as they continued to weave in and out of tents and vans.

"It's like 2 in the morning," she pointed out.

Hyde laughed at her. "What, you got somewhere to be?"

He imagined that she must have lived a pretty boring life back in New-York, never breaking curfew and always doing the right thing according to society. He liked the idea of showing her a different way of living. His way of living, wild and free would probably look really good on her.

She looked back at him with an odd expression, as if she were also trying to work him out. "No, I guess not… I just can't believe you turned down a sure thing, just to hang out with me."

Hyde frowned. He had just turned down a sure thing for her. What did that mean? He'd never done that for anyone else before.

"Yeah well… I've been there already. Sex wasn't that great," he told her uncomfortably, hoping she would just drop the subject. He didn't want to talk about Chrissy anymore and even more, he really didn't want to talk about sex right now.

"Oh. I thought you only slept with the same girl, once. Love em' and Leave em' right?"

Hyde had no idea where she was getting these ideas from. Sure, he'd said the last part to her, but she was filling in blanks about him that weren't right at all. Yes, a lot of the chicks he'd been with had been strictly one-time things, but he didn't limit himself to those kinds of rules and labels.

"Depends on the girl, man."

"Right. If they were good or not."

Hyde sighed, stopping the two of them. He didn't want to talk about this, but he also didn't want her getting the wrong idea about him.

"No man… Look, if I'm into the girl and she's into me, and we're having fun. I wouldn't be against messing around for longer. But-" man this was fucking awkward. "Why are you asking me about this crap?"

"I'm just interested," she shrugged, making eye contact with him.

"In my sex life?"

"No," she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, he raised his eyebrows up at her, not buying it. "Okay well yes. But not for the reason you think."

What was the reason he thought? Cause she was jealous of his sex life? Or because she was interested in sleeping with him, herself? The thought sent a surge of excitement through his body that he had to try hard to ignore.

This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to talk about sex with her, now his thoughts were heading down that creepy and unnatural path.

"So, why are you interested then?"

She paused, and Hyde felt his throat close up in anticipation.

"Because… I've- I've never-" she was stuttering, pausing between words as if she was embarrassed.

Hyde bent his head down so that he could look directly into her eyes. "Never, what?"

"Ugh, never mind," Jackie huffed before walking off on him.

Hyde watched after her for a moment and tried to put two and two together. Could it be that she was so interested in his sex life because she'd never had sex before? Her possible virgin status was something he definitely shouldn't want to know about, but he couldn't help himself from chasing after her.

"Wait Jackie… We're you just telling me that you're a virgin?" He asked her in a quiet voice as he moved in front of her so that she couldn't run off on him again.

She looked embarrassed and was avoiding his gaze. "I shouldn't have said anything…"

He wasn't sure whether he agreed with her or not.

The idea that she'd be a virgin, had never even crossed his mind. Considering how freaking hot she was, on-top of the fact that she'd had at least two serious boyfriends back in New-York (she'd told him so much). How the hell had she never had sex before?

And why was it so fucking hot to him?

"It's not like I've never done anything," she suddenly informed him as if she needed him to know that she wasn't completely innocent. "I mean, I've just never done that before…"

The thought of her hooking up with some rich preppy boy sent a strange feeling through his body. Was he jealous that she had gotten to third base with those guys? No, no way. It wasn't possible, Hyde didn't get jealous over chicks.

They just needed to stop talking about this before he did or said something he'd regret later.

But he couldn't stop himself. It was like word vomit, spilling out his mouth before he had the chance to stop it.

"Why not?"

She bit her lip again and Hyde's jaw tensed, the action was a small one but every-time she did it, he itched to lean down and kiss her and tonight was no different.

"I guess I've just been waiting for the right guy…" She was looking at him as if he were that guy, or some kind of knight in shining armor.

Fuck. They had to stop talking about this. Cause' he was no knight and he definitely wasn't right for her. If she was waiting for the love of her life, she'd have to keep looking because he'd only disappoint.

"Yeah well… Good luck with that man," he muttered before forcibly removing himself from the dangerous conversation. He walked off and left her standing, dumbfounded, behind him. He knew that she would follow him, but he needed a minute to cool off before he could be around her again.

The whole conversation about her virginity had turned him on and briefly he thought about going to find Chrissy again. He could look for her after he took Jackie back to the camp, fuck her and get all thoughts of Jackie and sex out of his head.

But was it right to screw someone else while thinking about another chick? He'd never sunk that low before and he didn't think he wanted to become one of those guys now. Besides, he knew it wasn't really Chrissy he wanted.

The rest of the walk back to camp was shrouded in silence as Jackie trailed slowly behind him. When they arrived back at the site, he spotted Kelso carrying a limp Eric. He headed towards the two, glad to have something else to focus on, instead of the dirty thoughts that were currently filling his head.

"Kelso, what the fuck happened to Forman?" Hyde asked as he walked over to them, he reached down to wrap Eric's other arm around his shoulders so that the two boys were both holding him up.

Kelso laughed, and Eric groaned loudly. "He's been chugging beers all day. I came back here, and he was passed out face first in the dirt."

"Where's Donna?" Hyde asked, looking around the camp site. Jackie was now walking around, probably looking for her sleeping bag and Fez was asleep in his own by the fire, but Donna was no-where to be seen.

"She crashed in the Van," Kelso informed him.

"I ruined it, Hyde," Eric finally said, keeping his eyes closed.

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, I heard buddy… Let's get him to the Camino," he told Kelso and the two began leading their friend towards his car.

He could crash in the bed of the Camino for tonight and sleep off all the booze.

"Hey Hyde… Are you thinking what I'm thinking man?" Kelso questioned a moment later as they reached the Camino and placed Eric down into the bed. Kelso was eyeing the bag full of Jackie's crap with a big smile on his face.

Hyde knew what he was thinking, it wouldn't be the first time they'd put Eric in a dress after a long night of binge drinking. It had been funny every other time and Jackie had enough clothes packed to last her a full week, she wouldn't miss one dress.

Hyde pulled Eric up into a sitting position as Kelso began to rummage through Jackie's bag. "Here we go little guy," he tried not to laugh as they began to dress his oblivious friend in one of Jackie's stretchy peasant dresses.

Jackie couldn't believe the night she was having. On top of completely embarrassing herself in front of Hyde by putting her foot in her mouth and telling him she was a virgin (seriously, why did she do that?), she now couldn't seem to locate her sleeping bag.

She was convinced the reason she had brought up her sex life (or non-existent sex life) had nothing to do with the dirty urges she may or may not feel towards Steven but more to do with the inordinate amount of alcohol she'd consumed that day. So, all she needed to do now was sleep it off and pretend her last conversation with Hyde had never happened.

Which would be a lot easier to do, if she could find her stupid sleeping bag! She knew she'd brought it with her, had seen Eric load it into the back of Kelso's van with his own but it was now no-where to be seen.

And suddenly it was all so obvious to her.

"Michael!" Jackie stormed over to Kelso and Hyde who were coming back from the Camino with amused expressions on their faces.

"Busted," she heard Hyde mutter.

"What did you do with my sleeping bag?" She placed her hands on her hips and stared the tall boy down.

"Good luck man," Hyde slapped Kelso over the back and left the two alone.

Kelso flashed Jackie a look like he had no clue what she was talking about, but Jackie knew better. "I don't know what you're talking about Jackie… Why, is it missing or something?"

Jackie rolled her eyes, he was quiet possibly the worst liar she had ever met. "I'm not doing this Michael. Just give me my sleeping bag back."

Kelso attempted to hide the laughter bubbling up his throat but was failing miserably. "Jackie, I really have no idea where your sleeping bag could be."

"Oh my God, Michael! I just want to go to sleep, give me it back!"

She had had enough of the Kelso brothers that night, why had they chosen to bother her when there were literally thousands of other girls around this festival?

"Sorry Jackie, I can't help you," he shrugged and continued to play dumb. "But hey, if you want… I brought a double sleeping bag, I'd be happy to share."

This was his plan all along, he'd hidden her sleeping bag figuring she'd just give in and end up sleeping with him!

Jackie groaned loudly, cutting Kelso off. "I'd rather sleep in the dirt!" She shouted in his face. "Michael, you're on a time out for the next 24 hours. I mean it, do not come near me at all otherwise I won't be responsible for what happens!"

She stormed off before Kelso even had the opportunity to react. She sat down on one of the logs by the fire and glared over at Michael, watching as he retreated into the back of his Van.

"Great," Jackie muttered sarcastically a moment later, it looked like it was going to be a sleepless night for her.

Steven was rolling out his own sleeping bag on the opposite side of the fire, a few feet away from where Fez laid asleep in his. She watched him carefully and wondered if it was worth asking…

"What Jackie?" Hyde's voice rang through the campsite, he must have noticed her staring at him.

"Stupid Michael hid my sleeping bag," she told him from the other side of the fire.

Hyde let out a small chuckle, to Jackie's annoyance. "Yeah, I know."

Jackie huffed. "You knew?... Do you also know where he put it?"

"Sorry, doll. Can't help you there," he apologized as he circled around the fire and sat down on the log next to her.

Jackie let out a frustrated groan. "How do you hang out with him? He's so annoying."

Hyde laughed at her frustration. "Don't let him get to you… Kelso's persistent, but he's also got a short attention span. Wait it out and he'll move on to some other girl."

"That's easier said then done… In-case you haven't noticed, I've got no where to sleep now because of that doofus!" She exclaimed, getting upset.

Hyde simply shrugged back, keeping his eyes on the dissipating fire in front of them. "Could be worse," he stated.

Jackie doubted it. "How?"

"I don't know man," he turned to face her. "Aren't you supposed to be the optimist here?"

She rolled her eyes and tucked her knees up to her chest. "Whatever, Steven. I'm mad at you anyway," she told him in a childish tone that she normally reserved for her daddy only, but she couldn't help herself. She'd been having such a bad day and all she wanted to do was go to sleep and now she couldn't even do that.

Hyde laughed at her. "You're mad at me?" He repeated, and Jackie glared at him coldly. "Not my fault you got no-where to sleep princess. Think dingus over there is the one you should be blaming."

"You knew he hid it, which means you probably saw him taking it and you didn't stop him. So, no I think it's justifiable for me to be mad at the both of you."

"Whatever, Jackie. Have fun sleeping in the dirt," he muttered as he stood up from the log they were sharing.

Jackie panicked and quickly shot up. "Wait," she reached her hand out to grab onto Hyde's wrist. "I really don't want to sleep on the ground and I'm so tired."

"What do you want me to do about it."

Jackie inhaled deeply, her gaze moving from Steven's sleeping bag to the man himself. This could be a terrible idea, especially after the weird conversation they had had earlier but she couldn't sleep on the ground with all those bugs, she just couldn't.

"Share your sleeping bag with me."

"Hell no," he turned her down straight away.

Jackie frowned. "But Steven, you owe me!"

"I don't owe you anything."

He wasn't budging, she had to pull out the big guns.

"Please?" She flashed him her famous pout while running her hand up and down his arm lightly.

Hyde paused and stared at her, his eyes darting from hers to where her fingers were trailing up the sleeve of his jacket. She had no idea if this was going to work on him, but the pout had worked on her father every-time, not to mention her old boyfriends back in New-York so it was worth a shot.

"Fine!" He groaned after a long pause and Jackie smiled triumphantly. "You're a pain in the fuckin' ass, I hope you know that."

She honestly didn't care, just happy she had somewhere warm to sleep now.

"You're going to get like, so much good karma for this Steven, thank you." She leaned up to kiss him softly on his cheek, his beard tickled her slightly, but it was a feeling she could definitely get used to.

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, wiping at the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. "Just get in the freaking sleeping bag and go to sleep," he added as he began to remove his denim jacket.

"Okay."

Jackie contemplated going to get dressed into something more comfortable, but all she had brought was a short night gown and although she looked great in it, it would probably just make things more uncomfortable between the two and she didn't want that. So, she decided to stay in her jeans and frilly white peasant blouse.

Steven seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as he was getting into the sleeping bag in his own jeans and concert tee. Jackie slipped her shoes off and climbed in after him, laying down next to him.

It wasn't as roomy as the double sleeping bag with Michael probably would have been, but Jackie didn't really mind so much being pressed against Steven, even if it was a tad awkward. She'd never been this close to him before for such a long amount of time. But at least this way she wouldn't have to worry about waking up to Michael's morning wood pressed against her back.

Jackie turned onto her side, trying to get comfortable as Hyde remained on his back behind her. They were sharing the single pillow he had brought for himself, which meant all she had to do was turn her head and she'd be face to face with him. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to do so, but Steven hadn't given her any sign, that he was interested in her and Jackie Burkhart never made the first move.

So, she remained facing away from him and tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering around her stomach as she focused on falling asleep.

"Goodnight, Steven," she whispered into the dark a moment later.

"Night Jackie," his rough voice answered back, and soon later Jackie drifted off to sleep. Dreaming of what it would be like to press her lips against his and feel his strong hands roam over her body.

Thank you for reading!

Vanstock is sadly almost over but this story has only just begun! We've still got a long way to go so i'm very glad ya'll are loving it so far.

This chapter is an important moment for our favorite couple, they're both starting to realize that what they're feeling for each-other is more than just friendship, which means we can start getting into the good stuff... Next weeks chapter includes one of my favorite scenes that I've written so far and you definitely wont want to miss it!

As always please don't forget to leave a review (tell me all about your favorite moment or what you'd like to see in the next chapter) and fav/follow this story for update notifications.