Chapter 4

Point Place, WI. Monday 8:05 AM

High School Parking Lot.

Jackie Burkhart was sitting outside the High School in her father's lincoln. He'd been letting her drive it so she could practice driving now that she had gotten her license last week. It was the Monday after Christmas break, and Jackie was excited to go to school. She was hoping to run into Steven. Jackie headed into school and began her search. She checked the lunch room, the gym, his locker, she thought maybe she'd get lucky and try the auto repair class rooms. It was the one class he consistently came to half of. But she struck out again. She left shop class out the back door so no one would see her. She leaned across the back door and sighed. Where was he? It was then that she heard the annoying sound of two people kissing followed by the giggle of a cheerleader. Ugh Jackie did not want to see which member of her squad had disgraced them by making out in public and with a shop kid no less, so she turned around to head back inside when she heard a voice say, "You think that's cool man you should see what I can do with a bag of pop rocks!"

"OhMiGod..." the girl started to say but Jackie quickly ended that. "Steven! what are you doing here?" Jackie demanded as she turned the corner a gasped, "Pam-Macy eww!"

"Excuse me?" Pam started but Steven cut her off, "Jackie what the hell are you doing here?" "If you must know," Jackie began in a huff " I was here looking for you! and here you are making out with Michael's old tramp slut."

"Hey!"

"Oh you better shut it Blondie! I was friends with Crazy Caroline and she taught me a thing or two so if you wanna keep those pretty, sorry pretty ugly eyes, you should probably leave right now."

"Oh Hmm well I guess that's my cue," she said looking fearfully at the 5'2 90lb brunette who meant business, "I'll just be on my Steven, call me...on second thought maybe don't" she finished, eyeballing Jackie the whole way out.

Jackie laughed "ha tramp." But Steven was not happy at all about what had just gone down. "Jackie What the hell?" He demanded.

"What? Pam-Macy is awful. Why would you be hooking up with her."

"Uh...She' hot and easy. Steven said making a "duh" face at her.

"Well What about me?" Jackie asked becoming sadder by the moment.

"What about you?" Steven answered but then paused when he saw a tear welling up in her eye. "Look Jackie I'm sorry but it's just I'm not your boyfriend ok? I'm not anybody's boyfriend."

"You could have fooled me with how much you've been kissing me lately and even sharing you personal circle time."

Hyde scratched the back of his neck he didn't know what to say. Had he been leading her on? He felt an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized the answer to his internal question. He kicked a rock on the ground and said "Damnit Jackie you're right,"

"Of course I am I always am." He arched his eyebrow at her. "ok most of the time." Higher arch. "Fine! sometimes. Happy?"

"No. Look Jackie I'm sorry if I made it seem like we were anything more than ah...kissing partners."

"Ok...even if that's true Steven you and me are way more than "Kissing partners" definitely more than stupid Pam-Macy." Jackie said mumbling that last part. "We're friends Steven and probably even a little more we have history together."

"Oh yeah great history three years of watching you suck face with Kelso. And then you trying to bribe me into being your friend, whoo-hoo."

"Steven that's terrible and not true! You taught me zen, you helped me kick Laurie's ass, you took me to prom, you went shopping with me when Michael was being a skeezy dillhole, you punched Chip when he called me a bitch, you were there for me when no one else was. Steven you're like my best friend." She had wanted to say right then that she loved him but she knew it would make him as far away from her as possible.

Unfortunately she was right because he countered her with. "I think you're forgetting all the bad things; I hated you when I first met you, I thought you were super annoying and any "nice" things you think I did I would've done for anyone else. You were just there."

"JUST THERE I was JUST THERE that's all I mean to you? I'm not even better that Pam-Macy. Jackie turned to walk away and Hyde grabbed her arm.

"Jackie wait that's not what I meant."

"Let go of me Hyde we're clearly not friends so I have nothing to say to you." And with impossibly powerful strength she pulled her arm away and was halfway across the parking lot before he could say anything. He watched her go mentally kicking himself for saying all of that. It wasn't that he didn't want her as a friend or otherwise it had just seemed to all be going so fast and he wasn't sure how he felt. He didn't know if it was worth the risk of heartache to be with Jackie one of the craziest, funniest, smartest, gorgeous girls he had met. And then not even taking into consideration how either of them felt about one and other, if anything did happen what would they tell Kelso?

Point Place WI Wednesday 4:13 pm

Eric Forman's

Steven Hyde had just parked his El Camino in the driveway and was headed for the basement thinking about Jackie. He had been thinking about Jackie a lot lately first how good she looked sitting on his lap in the El Camino kissing him all over, but now mostly how she looked after seeing him with Pam Macy. He really felt bad about that one. Not that he'd done it, Pam was a great kisser, probably all that practice, but that he'd hurt Jackie because of it. That crestfallen look on her face still haunting him as he opened the door to the basement. Kelso was there on top of some poor chick.

"Kelso man, we've told you before no making out down here. This is a Forman, and mostly Hyde make-out area." Hyde rolled his eyes feeling sypathy for the girl, until Kelso sat up that is. "Jackie!" Hyde said utterly speechless.

"Yep!" the tiny brunette said bouncing up from the couch. "We're back together! Isn't that great! I called Michael last night and asked him if he'd ever cheat on me again and he said no so here we are!"

"It was the best call of my life!" Kelso exclaimed, "It was like a miracle man!"

"What? No Kelso a miracle is when you see Jesus in a tortilla, not Jackie lowering her standards and taking you back for the hundreth time." Hyde said exasperatedly.

"Whatever man we're back together and everything is great!" Kelso replied grabbing Jackie's arm and dragging her giggling out the door. What in the hell? Hyde thought to himself. Was this because of him and Pam Macy? Jackie had seemed pretty hurt by that, but enough to running into the arms of the guy who had screwed her over time and again? Hyde thought about it Jackie looked pretty happy today, but she was a cheerleader so he knew she could fake that. It just didn't make sense, they had been having so much fun and now this!? Hyde was still contemplating this when Eric came downstairs.

"Hey good there you are, listen my mom wants us to help her with the church raffle so we need a good excuse, get up here and help me out!" Eric said looking panicked. Hyde sighed and followed Eric up the stairs.

"Oh Steven! good you're here I was just telling Eric about the church raffle and event this Saturday, I was hoping you could come along to help too!"

"Uh sorry Mrs. Forman I don't think we'll be able to make it I have detention on Saturday and Eric is going to a doll expo."

"A doll expo! Well honey why didn't you say anything?" Kitty exclaimed turning to Eric with a big smile on her face while he shot Hyde a murderous look." Are you selling some of you little dolls? Because I think Laurie has a box in the attic from when she was really little you could take along with you."

"Mom for the millionth time they are action figures not dolls and about the doll expo..." He began but seemed to be lost for words while looking like a scared mouse trapped between two cats. "...it would be a great place to take Laurie's dolls you're right thanks mom."

"Oh good." Kitty said, "Well your father should be home for supper pretty soon you can tell him all about it then, and you Steven can tell him...well we'll just tell him on Saturday that your sick or something."

Eric looked furious and Hyde just leaned back smiling and said "If you think that what's best Mrs. Foman." The two boys left Kitty to finish cooking and headed back to the basement.

"Oh beware of the couch," Hyde warned Eric, "Kelso and Jackie we're just making out on there."

"Ok, thanks man" Eric said sitting on the lawn chair "That's gross and disturbing but what the hell man!"

"What?" Hyde asked looking innocent. "A doll expo?! I mean yeah that would be cool to go to but I don't want my mom or worse my dad to know about that?! And of course you give yourself an excuse that my mom would never tell my dad because she wants you to be like their golden boy or something."

"Hey man, if you would have thought of your own excuse, you could've preventing me from burning you, instead you gave me ample opportunity." Hyde smirked.

"Yeah I guess your right," Eric answered slumping down in his chair, "its just Dad calls me a girl enough as it is, and now this? Man, my life sucks..."