I walked down the stairs right as Fez was in the middle of some sort of fit over still being stuck in some sort of marshmallow pit, while Kelso was laughing and screaming his victory. Rolling my eyes at the stupidity of the scene, I looked over at Jackie with the tiniest of smiles as she stood from my chair, allowing me to sit down before plopping herself down on my lap. I watched Eric for a few silent moments (he was busy doing something involving Lego's and a picture of Darth Vader) before looking at Jackie.
"Did you tell them yet?" I asked her in a hushed voice so as no one could hear me—not like anyone would be able to hear over Fez's fit, anyway.
She looked at me silently, searching my face quietly before slowly shaking her head in a silent 'no'. Letting loose a heavy sigh, I frowned the trademark Hyde frown as I tightened my arm around her waist.
"Why not?" I watched her eyes drift to a childish looking Kelso and a near tears Fez, then to Eric—who was muttering to himself as he continued to sculpt a Darth Vader look-a-like from the Lego's... he'd probably end up taking it to his room and having some stupid mock Star Wars fight with the dumb statue-like thing.
"Because. Just because, Steven."
I looked at her in disbelief—why would she keep something this serious from her friends? Well, if they were stupid enough not to have figured it out yet (come on, you lack wits. Even I figured this out ahead of time), I wasn't going to tell them. "Have you at least told Donna?"
"Not yet," Jackie replied, looking over at Kelso and Fez, deliberately avoiding my eyes and clearly stating she had nothing more to say on the matter. Damn—she always won. That was how it worked. She always won our stupid little fights. Why? Because she was hot as hell and I couldn't find it in myself to deny her anything... well... except marriage. That was one thing I could easily deny Jackie.
Right as I was about to open my mouth to ask her what she was playing at, Jackie and I looked over at the door, where an out of breath and excited Donna stood, clutching some sort of paper in her hand.
"Guess… guess… guess what!" the red-head burst, looking wildly from one person to another, clearly not registering that Fez was still whining about losing Candy Land. Without waiting for anyone to answer in a sarcastic manner (smart little bitch, because I was just about to remark), she opened her mouth to speak. "I just scored tickets to Disney World!"
Oh, whoop-dee-doo. Disney World. Thrilling.
Jackie's eyes widened in an equally excited manner as she moved to get up from my lap and raced over to Donna's side. "Oh my god, Donna! How many tickets did you get?" she burst, frantically attempting to rip the plane tickets from her friend's hand.
"Enough for all of us. Dad paid for mine, but there was this contest at the radio station, and I won!"
Crap. Now I'd have to go to Disney World with Jackie. She'd probably make me wear those stupid little Mickey Mouse ears and force a stuffed Mickey into my unwilling arms. Crap.
Crossing my arms over my chest in a quite un-thrilled way, I watched Fez immediately perk up at the news.
"Oooh! Disney World! Is that the place with the princesses?" he asked quickly, straightening as he shifted his position on the couch.
Jackie nodded, and Fez clamped his hands over his mouth. "Oh my! Do you think any of them will be desperate enough to do it with me?"
Donna shook her head in amusement, staring at Fez strangely. "Fez, these girls are… never mind." She grinned and shook her head again as Fez clapped his hands with a goofy grin, clearly highly excited for the chance to seduce the pathetic high school drop-outs that played the Disney princesses.
"You know who I always thought I'd be gorgeous as…?" Jackie said dreamily, a hand reaching up to wind a stray hair around and around her finger.
"Oooh! Who?" Fez asked intently, looking at Jackie. Attempting to picture her as one of them, he tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.
"Snow White! I have dark hair, just like her. Sure, she's paler than me, but hey! I'm prettier than her, so it all works out!"
There is was. The Jackie I knew and the Jackie I had fallen in love with. As I watched her sit down next to Fez and begin to decide who looked like whom, I smiled slightly. The slightly weary Jackie I'd seen upstairs seemed to have vanished—much to my liking.
"So, Hyde," Eric said, finally looking up from his Darth Vader model as Donna sat down on the floor next to him. "You looking forward to this world of Disney?"
"Depends on sleeping arrangements," I confirmed with a shrug, looking over at Donna. "Who's rooming with who?"
"Well, I naturally assumed it was obvious. Me and Eric, Fez and Kelso, and you and Jackie."
Jackie looked up at me with a broad smile as Donna spoke before Kelso looked from Fez to Donna. "Hey Eric… wanna change roomies?" Kelso asked in a hopeful tone, grinning at Donna, who stood to swat him on the arm. She moved to sit on the dryer, swinging her legs to bang against the green hunk of metal.
Fez looked at Kelso with a large grin, clapping his hand. "Oh joy! I will get to room with you, Kelso!"
"Yeah… you get the floor," his roomy immediately ordered, nodding matter-of-factly. "Foreigners aren't allowed to sleep on the beds in the hotel, Fez."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Oh. Okay. I'll be sure and bring my sleeping bag," Fez decided with a nod. I couldn't help but smile in pure amusement at how gullible Fez was. Made my life quite amusing, and that's all that matters. Definitely.
Jackie stood and made her way from Fez to me, once again depositing her tiny body on my lap, my arm instinctively snaking around to encircle her waist. "When are we going, Donna?" she asked, arching a perfectly waxed eyebrow.
"A week."
"A week!" Jackie shrieked, her eyes widening in horror. "Donna, that's cutting it a bit close, don't you think? I mean, now I have to pick out my three most amazing bikinis, the cutest tank-tops and the most adorable skirts from my wonderfully diverse wardrobe in seven days!"
"Six," Donna corrected with a nod and a small chuckle.
"Six! Well, this certainly complicates things, you insensitive lumberjack," Jackie huffed, frowning in an almost cute-like pouty way. "At least this gives me an excuse to go to the mall."
I thought I might let out an incredibly relieved breath as Jackie spoke of going to the mall—after all, she'd turned down my offers to take her earlier that week—until I looked up at her and into her doe-brown eyes. They were strained and tired, and almost immediately, I could tell the whole thing was a charade. She had to keep up her impeccable reputation as being almost unbearably perky and bright so no one would suspect anything was wrong with her.
I frowned at her, my eyes narrowing behind my sunglasses. As she risked a glance at me, she smiled slightly to everyone in the room before shooting a significant look in my direction. I knew she didn't want anyone to know—probably for the reasons Mrs. Forman had told me earlier than evening. Because she was pride-ridden.
Well, at least I could look forward to evenings in a hotel room with just Jackie. God knows every time we were in a hotel it was like hurricane season—and a hotel room in the "happiest place on Earth" would be a wonderful place for the infamous circle.
If I was sneaky enough to get my stash onto the plane.
Author's Note: Disney World for the gang! Hehe, I am sooo putting Hyde in those amazingly cool Mickey Mouse ears.