Chapter 12.

Sunday, September 3rd.
7:25pm.
The Forman's kitchen.

It was dinner time at the Formans. A time of the day that Jackie had begun to look forward to most. The Forman family, Steven and herself would all sit down (depending on who was home at the time), talk about their day and have a nice meal together.

It was a simplicity of suburban life that Jackie had been denied while growing up in New-York. Her dad had always been busy with work and chose to eat in his office when he was home, while Pam regularly went out to eat with her friends, leaving Jackie to eat alone in the kitchen with their chef Teddy.

Dinner time at the Forman's couldn't be more different, but she loved it for that very reason.

As she took her seat at the kitchen table, Kitty began serving the food.

"Hey mom," Eric, the one downside when it came to family dinners (if you asked Jackie), walked through the living room door. He was holding an envelope in one hand as he approached Kitty. "Here's my weeks wage from the Holiday Hotel, I want you and dad to have it."

Jackie watched as Kitty smiled brightly, taking the envelope from Eric's hand and wrapping her arms around him in a big hug. "Oh Eric, you are such a good boy. Thank you."

Eric looked genuinely happy as his mother released him and Jackie thought that this might have been one of his only redeeming qualities. He could be saving the money he was making at work for his and Donna's wedding or their future, but instead he chose to give it all up in order to help his parents in their time of need.

She actually respected him for it.

"That was really nice of you Eric," Jackie admitted the words before she even realized what she was saying.

Eric was pulling up the chair next to her and looking at her as if she'd spoken to him in a different language.

"Is this a trap?" He asked a second later and Jackie frowned.

"How would this be a trap? And what would I even be trapping you into?"

Eric shrugged, reaching out to the plate of fried chicken in the middle of the table and grabbing a drumstick for himself. "I don't know, but I wouldn't put anything past you."

"Eric don't be silly. Jackie was just being nice," Kitty interjected as she sat down at the table herself. "Would it kill the two of you to get along?"

Eric and Jackie took a moment to pause and look at the other.

"Yes," they both responded simultaneously before turning their attention back to the meal in front of them.

Red walked through the sliding doors a moment later. "Where's the other one?" He asked as he sat down.

"He's at work." Eric informed his father of Hyde's whereabouts.

Steven had been absent for a lot of dinners recently, working long hours at the Holiday Hotel tended to cut into their family time. He'd been working overtime all weekend and the two hadn't gotten a chance to hang out since Friday night, but at least things were better between them then they were earlier in the week. Steven was no longer avoiding her, and things were finally going back to normal for the pair.

In fact, things had been better than ever before.

Jackie could have sworn that Steven had been flirting with her at the party and if Fez hadn't gone and gotten himself stuck up in that tree (it took them over half and hour to get him down), she was pretty certain that something would have happened between them on the dock.

And the thought made her giddy with excitement.

But she'd learned from past experiences not to get her hopes up. She'd been wrong before about Hyde's feelings towards her and that had resulted in one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. Attempting to kiss him in the basement only to be rejected had left her scarred and her humiliation quota had reached its limits.

She could never really tell what Steven was thinking or feeling and for that reason, she'd leave it up to him to make the first move. Save herself the humiliation of being turned down by the same boy, twice.

"So, what are you still doing here? You should working too," Red stated, staring at Eric as he began to dish himself up some potatoes. Jackie had to hide her laughter behind her glass as she took a sip of water.

"I had the day off…"

Kitty cleared her throat, getting Red's attention. "Red, your son just gave us his weeks wages to pay for this month's electrical bills. You should be thanking Eric."

"Kitty, for the past 18 years my wages have gone towards clothing, feeding and educating that boy and not once did he ever thank me. So, if Eric keeps this up, I'll be happy to thank him in 17 years, 11 months and 3 weeks' time… That is if I'm still alive by then."

"Thanks dad… That was beautiful," Eric responded sarcastically.

Red ignored him and reached for the plate of fried chicken only to have Kitty slap his hand away.

"Red, you know you can't eat fried chicken, I made that for the kids," She explained, to Red's disdain. "I've got some boiled chicken for you," she added, getting up from the table to the stove where Red's dinner was boiling in a pot.

Red looked horrified as Kitty slapped down the white, skinless and season-less chicken onto his plate.

Jackie felt bad for him, she knew Mrs. Forman was only doing this because she cared about her husband and wanted him to be healthy after his recent health scare, but would a little fried chicken really hurt?

"Gee, thanks Kitty," Red grumbled as the phone began to ring.

While Kitty was preoccupied answering the kitchen phone, Jackie grabbed hold of the drumstick on her plate.

"Mr. Forman," she whispered, getting his attention. She held the drumstick out to Mr. Forman and he quickly chomped down on the chicken, getting as much into his mouth as possible before Mrs. Forman noticed.

"Great Jackie, way to give my dad another heart-attack," Eric commented from her other side as Red finished off the remainder of the drumstick in record time.

Jackie poked her tongue out at him before placing the clean bone back onto her plate.

"Jackie, honey," Kitty spoke up from the other side of the kitchen, she had the phone in her hand and a nervous look on her face. "It's your mother, she wants to talk to you."

Jackie froze from shock. She'd been in Point Place for almost a month now and had given up from hearing from her mother, days ago. Now all of a sudden Pam was calling, wanting to talk to her?

This couldn't be good.

"Jackie, go speak to your mother," Red instructed her, a stern but concerned quality to his words. Jackie rose from the table and walked slowly towards Kitty who passed her the phone and left her by the living room door.

She pressed the phone to her ear and kept her voice quiet, "mother?".

"Oh, sweetheart it's so good to hear your voice!" Pam's bright and bubbly voice sounded through the other end of the line. The woman was acting as if things between the two were as normal as ever, like she hadn't abandoned her and then waited a month to call.

"How are you, mother?" Jackie asked, reverting back to the perfect daughter card that she had grown up playing. Even though there were a million things she wanted to say to her mother, Jackie knew better than to let Pam get to her.

Besides, she knew the Forman's were all watching her from the table and she didn't want them to pity her. She didn't need anyone's pity.

So, she took the high road.

"I'm fabulous, thank you so much for asking darling. I've met a gorgeous French man named Henri Bouchard and Jackie he's gloriously rich! You should see the penthouse he owns in the Avenue Montaigne, it's gorgeous. You would love it."

Jackie inhaled deeply, trying to keep her anger under control. It shouldn't surprise her that her mother had already found a new boyfriend, but her daddy had only gone to prison 3 months ago, and Pam had moved on already, like their marriage was nothing more than a source of income for her.

"You're dating someone already? But you're still married to daddy? Does he know you aren't waiting for him?"

Jackie heard the sound of Pam sighing.

"Your father is going to be in prison for a long time Jackie. I can't be expected to wait around for him."

"But does he know you aren't waiting for him?" Jackie repeated her question again, this time in a sterner tone.

"Jackie, I didn't call to discuss your father," Pam pointed out, avoiding the question once again and telling Jackie all she needed to know in the process.

"No, you called to tell me all about how great your new life is in Paris with Henri… Well I'm glad you're having the time of your life mother," her voice was filled with dry sarcasm.

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart." Jackie could practically see the smile on her mother's face as the woman totally ignored the sarcasm in her words. Pam had always chosen to hear what she wanted to hear and only that.

"I'm hoping one day you and Henri can meet. Maybe he'll even agree to fly you out to Paris and we can spend the weekend together eating pastries and drinking wine by the Eiffel tower."

"I'm 17 mother, I'm not allowed to drink alcohol yet." Jackie reminded her mother, even though she had her first taste of alcohol when she was 13 at a friend's party and that ship had pretty much sailed. She still wanted Pam to at-least pretend to be a mature parental-figure.

It didn't matter anyway, Jackie knew there was no way she was actually serious about flying her out to Paris to spend the weekend with her.

Pam was full of broken promises. She'd learnt that at a young age.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone sweetie. It'll be our little secret," Pam laughed from the other end of the line before pausing.

Jackie could hear a man's voice suddenly, although it was muffled so she couldn't quite hear what was being said.

She could take a guess of who the voice belonged to.

"Jackie," her mother began a moment later. "I'm sorry but I must get going. Henri is taking me out on a river cruise for the day and we're already late. Now, be a good girl for the Forman's and don't forget to study hard this year! We still want you to get that scholarship thingy."

"Bye mother," Jackie sighed into the phone as Pam hung up abruptly.

She'd waited a month for that call and her mother hadn't even asked her one single question about herself, instead she'd spent the whole time bragging about how great her new life in Paris was.

She wasn't sure why that upset her so much, she knew who her mother was, she should have expected so much.

She hung the phone back up on the wall and turned to the Forman's, who were all staring over at her with looks of concern and pity on their faces. Even Eric was looking at her as if he felt bad for her.

"Honey are you alright?" Kitty asked her.

Jackie couldn't handle the sympathetic looks, if she stayed in that kitchen any longer she was bound to cry, and she didn't want to give her mother the satisfaction.

"I'm fine… Just not hungry anymore, excuse me." Jackie said quickly as she by-passed the Forman's at the kitchen table and ran out the sliding doors. She kept running to the end of the drive way where she stopped and bent her head down between her knees, her hair fell around her face like a curtain, keeping the world out.

She placed her hands on her knees and focused on her breathing.

Catching her breath, she tried to stop the tears from flowing.

Her mother's call had proved to Jackie that Pam never truly cared about her. The silent treatment she'd been receiving since she arrived in Point Place had been better than this.

She was inhaling and exhaling heavily, trying to trick her brain into thinking she was fine when the sound of approaching footsteps broke her out of her daze.

"Jackie, what are you doing?"

She lifted her head to see Hyde walking towards her from the Camino parked in the street. She stood up straight and smoothed out a crease in her pleated skirt.

"I was just… I was just coming back from a run," she made up quickly.

Hyde looked over at her disbelievingly. She was wearing high heeled boots, a knee length pleated skirt and a chiffon blouse, her hair was still perfectly curled and her makeup still flawless. There was no way he'd believe that she was just exercising.

"A run?" Hyde questioned, and Jackie nodded, going down with the lie. "Stop bullshitting me… Who do you think I am, Kelso?"

She sighed loudly, knowing when she was fighting a losing battle.

"Can't you just leave it alone?"

"Uh no," he responded quickly.

She looked over at him, expecting to see pity in his eyes. But Hyde wasn't looking at her the way the Formans had been, there was no pity in his eyes-only genuine concern. Cause he had been through the same crap as her, he knew what she needed now wasn't sympathy or pity, but someone who could listen to her vent for as long as necessary about her lousy mother without making up excuses for her.

And if she were to confide in anyone, she knew it was going to be him.

"My mother just called," Jackie informed him.

Hyde nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Guessing it didn't go well."

She shook her head. "No, it didn't."

"You want to talk about it?" He offered.

"I don't know yet," she admitted honestly, not sure if she was ready just yet to vent out her frustrations.

"That's cool."

"Can we just go somewhere?" She asked him suddenly. She needed to take her mind off her mother and her messed up family. Steven was the best option, he always knew how to cheer her up, even if he didn't realize it.

"Yeah… Let's go, doll."

He led her to the Camino and Jackie got into the car in silence. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she didn't care. She'd go anywhere with him.

Hyde had drove around town twice before finally coming up with the perfect place to take Jackie. She'd hardly spoken to him at all since they got into the Camino and he didn't want to push her into talking about her ma before she was ready.

Usually, trying to get Jackie to shut the hell up was like getting blood out of a stone. Which only made her silence now, even that more unnerving. When he'd turned the radio on, ACDC had been playing, he'd expected her to complain and change the station until she found one playing ABBA like she'd normally do but this time she hadn't said a word.

Bickering about the radio music was usually a given when she was in his car, so the fact that they were now listening to Zeppelin without one word of complaint from her, was more than unsettling.

Pam must have really screwed up. Now he was paying the consequence. Cept' this time it didn't bother him so much, he kind of liked that he'd been the one she'd came too for comfort. Even though he still had no fucking clue what he was doing, he knew he'd try his hardest to cheer her up.

Before they reached their destination, he'd made a quick detour to Fatso Burger. He remembered food helping to cheer her up the last time she'd been bummed out over her messed up family and figured it couldn't hurt. He was also pretty sure she hadn't eaten, considering he could hear her stomach rumbling every other minute.

She sat beside him in silence and picked at the food sheepishly during the rest of the car trip before they arrived at their end point.

Mount Hump.

Taking her here was a risk.

The mountain spot had a reputation that she was surely to have heard of by now. Teenagers would flock to this spot from all corners of Wisconsin, just to get it on in the backseat of their cars. Even Hyde had been here on multiple occasions with different girls, but tonight was different.

He wasn't bringing her here for that.

Despite the unfortunate reputation, he'd brought her here because Mount Hump was probably the most attractive spot in all of Point Place. The mountain stretched high up, overlooking the entire town and then some and the view was second to none. The trees were also not as thick here then they were in other areas of the woods, allowing plenty of room to park the Camino as well as overhead space to star gaze.

There was also no chance that they'd run into someone else. No one came to Mount Hump on Sunday nights, so they would have plenty of privacy incase she wanted to talk about her lousy mother.

"Mount Hump?" Jackie questioned as they pulled up. "If you brought me here to have sex with you in the woods… The answer is probably no."

Probably no… He tried his best to ignore the implications, but his heart pounded harder and faster, betraying him in the process.

"Not why I bought you here, but good to know," he cleared his throat and told her as they both exited the Camino. "Thought you'd like the view," he added and watched as Jackie stepped forward to the edge of the hilltop and took in the view.

It had gotten dark since they'd left the Forman's, but the street and house lights lit up the town below them, making it clear to spot even through the trees and the dark night sky.

"Wow, you can see everything from up here," Jackie breathed out, in awe while Hyde leaned back into the Camino, turning the radio up a little louder so that they would hear it from outside. He left the passenger side door open after collecting the rest of their food.

"You were right, this view is beautiful" she said to him as he walked back over to her.

"Best we got in Point Place… But hey, we can still do that other thing if you're up for it," he joked and watched as she let out the first laugh he'd heard from her all night.

"You're a pig," she told him but still kept that smile on her face.

"You've said that before," he reminded her as he walked towards the flatbed of the Camino.

He'd parked the car strategically so that the back was positioned directly in-front of the view. He lowered the tray down, and took a seat on the edge, placing the Fatso Burger take out bag next to him as Jackie jumped up on his other side.

He wordlessly handed her what was left of her burger before digging into his own food. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while as they finished off their meals.

Jackie was first to break the silence.

"So, this is where you take your dates," she stated quietly, eyeing the surrounding area carefully.

Hyde slowly swallowed the food in his mouth to buy him some extra time. Discussing his past with her always made him uncomfortable, but he knew it was a conversation they needed to have if anything was ever going to happen between the two of them.

"Wouldn't really call them dates," he said after clearing his throat.

Yes, he'd hung out with a lot of chicks before, and yes some of them he had brought here but he'd never thought of them as real dates. He'd never done the whole dinner and a movie thing, no one had ever been worth the effort. Till now, maybe.

"Did you sleep with them out here?"

Hyde eyed her curiously, wondering why she was asking so many questions all of a sudden. She was refusing to look at him now, instead choosing to focus on the distant lights of their home-town and he couldn't get a read on her.

"Some of em'… It never meant anything though, was just using them."

Jackie suddenly turned to him with a shocked look on her face and he instantly regretted his words.

"Did you tell them, that?"

Hyde tried to think back at all the others that had come before her but was finding it hard to remember.

"Didn't have too. The knew what they were getting into," he shrugged and caught the confused look on her face. Clearly, she wasn't getting it.

"And they didn't care?" She questioned.

"Why would they? They got what they wanted, I got what I wanted… Was a win-win man," he desperately wanted this conversation to be over with. "You getting it now?" He wondered as he readjusted in his spot so that his body was facing her.

She paused for a moment as the wind picked up around them, blowing a strand of hair into her face. His fingers itched to reach out and tuck it behind her ear, but instead he chose to redirect his urges somewhere else.

He needed something different (something other than her) to focus on, so he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack of cigarettes that he kept in there for emergencies only.

"All I know is… If I were one of those girls that you were dating… or hanging out with, whatever you want to call it. I'd want you to tell me exactly where we stood, regardless of your reputation."

As she spoke he pulled out his lighter, placing the cigarette between his lips and lighting up. He inhaled deeply in an attempt to distract himself from the fluttering feeling inside his stomach. But as the tabaco burned its way down to his lungs, the fluttering feeling still remained.

There were so many unspoken words between them and he wanted to tell her that things would be different between them because she was different to him. He actually had feelings for her, unlike those other girls. But admitting that shit to her was way too risky right now.

He exhaled the smoke from his lungs in the opposite direction of Jackie before responding.

"Guess I've never dated a girl like you before," he admitted, pointing out the obvious.

"Guess not." She agreed, eyeing him carefully as he pressed the cigarette to his lips once more. "You know, that stuff will kill you," she pointed out, scrunching her nose up as he blew the smoke from his mouth.

He'd heard it before and knew it was probably true, but he could quit whenever he wanted to. He only smoked tabaco when smoking pot wasn't an option. A habitat he probably picked up from his days living with Edna.

Still, it was kinda cute knowing she worried about his bad habits.

"I like to live my life on the edge, doll," he joked, but Jackie didn't laugh. "My ma used to smoke 2 packs a day and she's still alive… As far as I know, haven't heard from her in a while" he added even though he hated the comparison to his mother. Edna had been addicted to cigarettes, and was a raging alcoholic, he never wanted to get that bad.

"Maybe that's a good thing," Jackie mumbled.

Hyde eyed her curiously. "What are you trying to say Jackie?"

"I'm starting to think that I might be better off not speaking with my mother. Considering how tonight's conversation went." She whispered and if they weren't sitting so close together he probably wouldn't have heard her.

He'd been waiting all night for her to break down, but she sat tall beside him, not a tear in sight. Maybe she was finally starting to realize that she deserved better than the crap her mother was pulling on her.

"If that's what you want," he shrugged, in his personal opinion; not speaking to Edna had done a lot more for him then speaking with her ever had. But his situation was different to hers and he couldn't make decisions for anyone else's lives based of his own experiences.

"I don't know," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just wish she were a little less selfish… We spoke for like 3 minutes before she hung up on me and she spent the entire time talking about herself, she never even asked me how I was... It's like she doesn't care about me at all."

She looked sad, and his jaw tensed. He really fucking hated seeing her like this. He'd never met her mother before, but he knew if he ever did, he'd be giving her a piece of his mind.

"Fuck her."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Steven be serious for a second."

He stubbed his cigarette out and threw it down onto the ground before turning back to her. "I'm being serious man. Fuck her, cause' she must be insane to not want to know you…"

"Do you really think that?" Jackie blinked over at him.

"Yeah, I do."

He'd already said too much, shown too much vulnerability for his liking but the smile she was now flashing him, made everything worth it.

"Steven… I'm really glad that we re-met," she told him a moment later, biting down on her bottom lip. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. Last week when you weren't talking to me, it was really hard…"

He felt a surge of guilt run through him. He'd been selfish last week, avoiding her had been one of his worst ideas yet. All he'd managed to accomplish was hurting her and that had been the opposite of his intentions.

He owed her an explanation for that.

Jackie watched Hyde as she waited for his response. He looked uncomfortable, but she couldn't blame him, their conversation had somehow gone from shitty parents to their current non-existent but complicated relationship.

"I know… Jackie, I shouldn't have blown you off like that," he finally said, and she knew that it was the closest she'd get to an apology from him.

He looked sincere and she could tell he was remorseful for the way he'd treated her the previous week, but she hadn't brought it up to make him feel bad, so she quickly changed tactics.

"It's okay… I kind of get it, I made things weird when I tried to kiss you in the basement. I shouldn't have done that," the words slipped out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop herself.

Hyde shifted in his spot, moving slightly closer to her. "Jackie," he cleared his throat. "you trying to kiss me… that's, that's not the reason I was avoiding you."

She frowned, his words confusing her. "So why were you avoiding me?" she wondered in a quiet voice. Her heart pounding uncomfortably fast inside her chest while she waited for his reply.

But instead of responding, he slowly reached a hand up to remove his sunglasses, giving her a rare glimpse into his eyes. Time stood still, and she froze as he moved in closer to her, closing the remaining gap between them.

His head tilted towards her, and her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. The air stilled around them and everything else ceased to exist as she waited for his lips to meet hers.

She'd been wanting this for so long and now that it was actually happening she couldn't quite believe this was reality. But there was no time to pinch herself, as Hyde's lips met hers a moment later.

And just like that, everything changed.

It took a second for her to recover from the shock before her lips began to respond to his. Her heart was beating twice as fast as normal, as she tried to match his rhythm.

He kissed like a man who knew exactly what he was doing, it was clear that he'd had plenty of practice before her, but she couldn't even bring herself to care.

She'd waiting for so long, and he was proving to her that he'd been totally worth the wait.

Their kiss was painstakingly slow, and Jackie, as impatient as ever was desperate for more. Her hands rose to cup his face, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss to pick up the pace. His beard scratched at her skin, but his lips were soft and skilled and made up for it.

She'd been kissed by quite a few boys in her 17 years, but never had any of them made her feel like this before.

Like one kiss was all it took to light her body on fire.

She could feel him drawing away from her, she wasn't ready for it to be over yet but the need for air was impending and her lungs were beginning to tighten up. He left one last soul crushing kiss on her lips before pulling away.

She whimpered at the loss of contact and opened her eyes to see him staring back at her. The cold air swept between them and she watched as he took her hands in his, drawing them away from his face and down between them.

"You feel that?" He asked her quietly.

She felt the butterflies in her stomach, the goosebumps on her skin and the hot blood pounding loudly through her body. All tell-tale signs for something that neither had prepared for.

Jackie bit down on her swollen lips and nodded. He reached a hand out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before responding.

"That's why I was avoiding you man… I wanted it to go away."

Thanks for reading!

So, I spent hours editing this chapter and trying to get it perfect before posting (still not 100% happy with it but it's as good as it's going to get). I'm running on very little sleep, so apologies if there are more typos then usual!

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thank you once again for all you're support! You're reviews seriously keep me going so thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write one.

We're in the thick of the story now but there's still plenty more drama to come. Next chapter shows Jackie and Hyde dealing with the aftermath of their kiss...