A/N: Thank you for the reviews! It's so motivating seeing that people are happy with how this is going. It moves slowly, but a huge flaw of mine is trying to be as realistic as possible when it comes to stories as I've begun to write more. Please by patient with me!

…

"Dinner was great, Mrs. Forman," Jackie said gratefully as Kitty cleared the plates from the table. "I probably should get back to unpacking."

She headed up to Laurie's old room where there were numerous bags filled with clothes, shoes, and cosmetics. Feeling overwhelmed, she ignored the mounds and sat on the flowery duvet that covered the bed.

Things were looking up, it seemed. Moving was always stressful but at least this brought another change into her life, and she welcomed that immensely. She thought about Hyde and how he was settling in. It was odd to think about, her ex-boyfriend living in her old room, sharing an apartment with her other ex-boyfriend. She wondered if they'd ever trash talk her, and then ignored the unwelcome thought. She didn't need to dwell on bad things if they weren't presenting themselves in front of her.

A knock was heard on the door.

"Yeah?"

Eric slowly opened the door, a begrudging look on his face. "Mom wants me to help you."

"Oh, how thoughtful, Eric," Jackie sarcastically replied.

He entered the room. "Well, you sure are working hard on getting your stuff unpacked."

"It's a little overwhelming, okay?" Jackie spat, sick of his annoying behavior already.

"Alright, well, most of these are clothes, right?" Jackie nodded. "I guess I can just start… folding." He headed over to an open bag with clothes spilling out of it.

Jackie watched him, as the concept of him doing things for her was slightly entertaining due to his chagrin. That all stopped when he pulled out one of her nicest dresses.

"No, no, no; Eric, what are you doing?" Jackie quickly got up and went over to where he stood. "You can't fold that; it has to be hung! It's delicate!"

Eric raised his eyebrows at her and tossed the dress into her arms. "Fine, give me an easier job."

Jackie scoffed at his ignorance and then tried to think of something for him to do. "Okay, shoes." She found the bag containing most of them and gestured. "Just… neatly line them up in the closet, okay?"

"Whatever." Eric dumped the bag of shoes out and started making pairs. "You know, this really sucks, alright? I mean, Hyde always had a big baggie on him and he always shared. Now I'm just stuck… being your errand boy."

Jackie smirked at him. "You know, I do have some."

Eric stopped what he was doing and looked at her in surprise. "Wait, really?"

"Sure," Jackie said. "I mean, I needed to find some way to pass the time living practically by myself in that apartment."

"Alright," Eric commented giddily. "Wanna go to the basement?"

"Eric." Jackie's voice was sharp. "We need to get this done, okay? Then we can reward ourselves by going in the basement."

Eric just shrugged and continued lining Jackie's closet with shoes as she vigorously hung up her dresses and tops.

They didn't speak for a good ten minutes, except for when Jackie snapped at Eric for placing a pair of boots in between two pairs of kitten heels.

When he was done, he stood up.

"Okay, what's next?" Eric grabbed another bag and reached in it, pulling out a silk pair of panties. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope." He set that bag down and grabbed another one, pulling out a lacy black bra. He dropped it like it was on fire. "God, Jackie, do you have any other bags that aren't filled with your… under-things?" His cheeks were slightly aflame as he looked over at the brunette.

"Yes." Jackie stood up. "And be careful with that," she snapped, picking up the bra he had dropped and finding a vacant drawer to place it in. "How about I shift focus on my 'under-things', as you so eloquently say, and you start separating my skirts and my pants."

"Separate?" Eric asked, wrinkling his nose and trying to repress the urge to wash his hands after his encounter with Jackie's delicates.

"Yes, Eric," Jackie replied impatiently. "Skirts get hung; pants get folded. Here, you can put the pants in this bottom drawer."

"Fine." Eric went to the bag that she pointed to and began doing as she said. "You know, I'm sure Fez was just thrilled to help you do all of this when you moved in there."

"Yeah, Fez likes to organize," Jackie agreed. "Although he ruined a really nice white blouse that day because he had chocolate on his hands." She grimaced at the memory.

Eric snorted. "I was just saying that he probably enjoyed the potential of seeing all of your panties in one place."

Jackie chortled. "Do you know Fez at all? He had been in my underwear drawer numerous times way before we lived together. Hell, he had a field day when Donna and I shared a room."

"You know, that is very true and I even knew that," Eric admitted. "I guess I just forgot because I was gone so long."

Jackie nodded and continued folding her delicates. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"Did you like it there?"

Eric was stunned. "Are you actually asking me a question about myself?"

"Are you going to ruin it by asking questions back?" Jackie shot back.

The corners of Eric's lips turned up in amusement, and he thought about her inquiry. "I guess it wasn't horrible. I think I needed, more than anything, to just get away from this place for a little bit."

"So, why Africa, of all places?" Jackie asked, a look of disgust present on her face.

"Well, they aren't exactly looking for inexperienced teachers in Paris, Jackie," Eric said with a chuckle.

Jackie shrugged. "I guess it agreed with you, though. I mean, you did finally fill out after the countless years of puberty you went through."

"Did you just compliment me or burn me?" Eric asked with a laugh.

"I was being nice, Eric," Jackie stated, her tone a little defensive. "Anyways, why did you even need to go?"

"I hadn't seen anything beyond this town besides, like, Canada," Eric replied. "At the very least, I had to get out of Red's hair, or lack thereof, before he actually stuck his foot in my ass."

"Yeah, well, you broke Donna's heart," Jackie said abruptly.

Eric froze for a moment upon hearing the name of his ex-girlfriend. "Yeah, well… I don't know."

"No, you do know," Jackie insisted.

Eric sighed. "I… I think she needed me to go, too, you know? That way she'd realize that she doesn't belong here, 'cause she never belonged here. She never wanted to, anyways."

"Yeah, well, way to go, Eric," Jackie stated with a slight eye roll. "You got my only friend to move away."

Eric didn't say anything, remaining focused on the skirt/pants situation that lie before him. He thought about Donna and how the whole promise ring fiasco played out… how she had told him she didn't think her future may include him. "Yeah, well, she always said she wanted things that weren't just limited to falling in love, getting married, having babies…"

Jackie snorted. She always knew she and Donna were different, but she never realized the huge difference that Eric had just pointed out. "I guess… but she was my only friend," she lamented sadly.

"Maybe start being nicer, and you'll make more," Eric kidded.

Jackie was silent.

He lightly elbowed her. "Hey, I was joking, you know? We always have that… stupid banter."

"I know," Jackie admitted. "I'm not offended, I just… I just wish I wasn't so alone."

"You have your boyfriend, right?" Eric pointed out.

"Well, yeah, if I can even call him that," Jackie answered. "I don't know, though. I'm glad I have somebody, but it'd be better if I had a friend."

"Alright, Jackie, I'll tell you what," Eric began. "As long as we're being forced to live under the same roof and hang out and whatnot, we can technically say we're friends… but only to each other." He paused for dramatic effect. "No one can know."

A small smile formed on Jackie's face and she poked him in the ribs with a spare hanger. "Fine."