Chapter 5:

At around two o'clock Jackie was starting to get bored.

She had watched Grease like she wanted and done her nails and gone through the new issue of Vogue.

This was quite unusual for her, it took a lot to bore her, she usually had so much to accomplish on the weekend but right now she had nothing.

Her stylist had called to cancel her hair appointment due to a family emergency so she had no reason to go out.

Maybe I'll go see if Eric is up yet, she thought to herself. Then she thought that maybe she should go pick up some lunch and bring it over.

Slipping on her shoes, Jackie grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

Twenty minutes later she used her key to let herself into the Kelso's house.

"Eric?" she called out, as she pulled the door closed behind her, "Hey, Eric? Are you up?"

She set the bags of Chinese take out on the kitchen table and headed towards the den. The door was cracked and Jackie poked her head in.

"Eric?"

His response came in the form of a grumble and Jackie saw him stretching in bed. Eric was still quite thin but he looked much more toned and his skin was a golden brown after so much time spent in the hot African sun. The blankets slid down his chest and to his waist.

Jackie blushed at the sight of his upper body exposed to her.

Boldly stepping into the room she tried again to get his attention, "Hey! Star Wars boy!"

Eric sat bolt upright in alarm. Seeing Jackie standing there he made a yelp of protest and pulled the blankets over his bare chest.

"Jackie! What the hell are you doing?!"

She widened her eyes and feigned innocence; "I was bored and lonely… I brought lunch.

You hungry?"

Eric rubbed his eyes still coming out of his drowse, "Yeah, actually I am. But can you give me some privacy for a second?"

Jackie's face broke out into a grin, "Are you naked under there?"

Eric turned slightly red, "Jackie, go away."

"You are, aren't you?"

"Leave."

Jackie shrugged, "Alright, alright Mr. Nude," she jabbed as she pulled the door shut behind her.

"That is still NOT funny!" he yelled through the door.

Five minutes later Jackie and a fully clothed Eric were sitting down at the kitchen table, digging into fried rice, lo mein, and kung pao shrimp.

"Thanks again, Devil. This is really good, I haven't had Chinese food in years."

"I thought you might not have, Chicago has the best Chinese restaurants, she said, "So how long do you plan on staying? Michael mentioned that I should show you around a little this weekend."

Eric chewed thoughtfully, "You know, I don't really know… I mean I came here because I didn't really have anywhere else to go."

"What about Florida?"

Eric raised his eyebrows and grimaced, "Jackie, please, you've met my parents."

Jackie giggled, "You got me there."

"And Point Place… well, that's just not home anymore, you know what I mean?"

Jackie nodded agreeably, "Boy, do I. I mean the only ones left there are Steven and his whore, and Donna and her fi- I mean, uh…" She turned red, realizing she might be letting something slip that Eric didn't know about yet.

"It's okay, my mom already told me," he smiled in a way that seemed a little painful, "Donna's fiancée is what you were going to say, right?"

"Yeah," Jackie was quiet for a moment, "I'm sorry, Eric, I know how you feel."

"Yeah, I imagine you do."

She picked at her food, "Do you ever think about her?"

Eric chose his words carefully, "Yes and no. I think of her the way she was before I left, I don't even know who she is anymore. She was so hell bent on getting out of Point Place. I expected maybe she'd go to college while I was gone but… Do you ever talk to her? Or Hyde?"

"Steven? God, no. And Donna, well, she called me on my birthday in February, but I haven't heard from her since. And to be honest I'm not really inclined to call," she admitted, sipping her soda.

"Why?"

"If you only saw her after you left, Eric. You would have seen how right you are about her not being the same person. I mean after all that stuff happened with Steven and me, she wasn't…" Jackie's eyes clouded a bit as she spoke. "She wasn't there for me, you know? I know I can be annoying and dramatic, Eric, I really do. I know I am selfish but I was there for her when you left. And after what Steven did to me, and how I felt after that I really could have used a shoulder to cry on. That's why I left, I knew the moment Sam walked through the door and Donna right away wanted to be her friend and telling me how much better off Steven would be. I knew. I knew that I didn't have those people anymore, not the way I used to anyway."

Eric nodded as she spoke. He could tell that she could be brave about it now, but he still saw the lingering effects of what Hyde and Donna's betrayal had done to her and it made him even angrier with them for not just his sake, but for hers, too.

He couldn't imagine how things had been for her; she lived through seeing their friends morph into these unrecognizable people. He had been a million miles away and while he still felt the impact of the change he did not feel it as acutely as Jackie had.

"Sometimes, I wished that I hadn't left. After I heard about all that had happened, I started thinking that maybe if I hadn't of left then none of this would have happened."

Jackie shook her head; "You can't take responsibility for that, Eric. It would have happened eventually. People grow up and apart from each other," she shook her head sadly, "Steven and I wouldn't have worked out."

Eric's brow furrowed as he regarded her, "Why do you think that? I thought you guys really had a chance."

Jackie gave him a half smile, "That's sweet, but it wouldn't have. Eventually, I would have seen what I was doing."

"And what was that?"

"Trying to change him. Trying to mold him into my ideal. I didn't realize I was doing it until I came out here and had to start working on myself. I don't know, I was silly for thinking marriage would solve the deeper issues. People get married all the time and it doesn't work out and people who really love each other don't have to get married. Besides, I was only 18 for goodness sakes!"

"Well, don't feel so bad, you weren't the only one doing that," he said, referring to his almost marriage to Donna.

Jackie nodded, "I loved Steven very much, but for all the wrong reasons. And in the end it made him bitter and resentful towards me."

Eric couldn't stop himself from nodding, he felt what she was feeling because their situations were interchangeable. All you had to do was change out Hyde's name with Donna's and vice versa and you had the exact same story.

And realizing that made him ask her his next question.

"Jackie, why are you sharing all this stuff with me?"

She stopped and thought for a minute, comprehension lighting her face, "Because you know exactly how I feel, because you've felt the same way," she suddenly looked suspicious, "Why are you?"

He shrugged, "Same reason, I guess."

"Want to know something weird?" Jackie asked.

Eric groaned, "If this is about your hair or Donny Osmond, I swear-"

Jackie swatted him playful, "No! It's the weirdest thing but I- I really have no regrets… about Point Place, you know? I mean it seems like such a long time ago, but I finally feel like I am doing something to make myself happy. I don't miss it… Is that bad?"

"No, it's not bad. You've grown up. We've all grown up. That's the way life works out. I don't miss it either. Well, that's a lie; I actually did miss Kelso. I mean who doesn't miss a friend who glues himself to stuff and sets things on fire every other day?"

Jackie burst out laughing, "Okay, yeah, that has not changed!"

Eric smiled, "Fez said that you guys still keep in touch."

"Well, yeah, I mean, Fez is… Fez. He's my shoulder angel. Even though he is living with your slutty sister…" Jackie made a face.

"Hey, she's not slutty anymore, from what I heard she's totally faithful to Fez," Eric defended.

"At least Fezzie got someone who will be more than happy to take care of his 'needs'!"

Eric nodded, "True enough."

Jackie looked at her watch, "Well, it's 3:30. Did you want to get out of here and take a look around the city? It's actually not windy out today so we can walk around downtown. It's really pretty once it starts to get dark too, they have Christmas lights up already."

"That sounds like a plan, let me grab my jacket," Eric said, getting up from the table.

While she waited for him, Jackie silently mused that she was actually really enjoying the company of Eric Forman.

I'm not sure this was the best chapter, but I really felt like I had to have Jackie and Eric put out their feelings on the past to each other so that in future chapters it will be easier for them to understand what they are beginning to feel and not make it seem like they were driven into each other's arms because they were scorned by previous lovers.

I am really trying to aim for a story that is realistic but not super complicated by the past, though there will be some appearances of Donna and Hyde in future chapters so don't worry, you will see all the characters at some point!