Disclaimer: That '70s Show and the various characters aren't mine.
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A week's worth of the same night over and over again had caused Jackie and Eric to become almost nocturnal creatures. He would make sure she was okay in the morning, go home, sleep until dinner, then somehow find her again that night, in a terrible state. This proved Jackie's theory that, not only did guys not get subtlety, they seemed to have a problem with spotting patterns and foreseeing plot holes. If she could call them that.
Every day, she'd hope that if she screamed loud enough inside her head, Eric would hear her. All she wanted was someone to stay with her, someone to talk to. Someone to focus on. Because if she was alone again, with only her own thoughts for company, she'd end up back in that black hole, picking out, and even inventing, flaws and magnifying them. She looked for reasons why Hyde didn't want her anymore. She did this until she was so full of self loathing that she'd do anything to get out of herself. This is where the drinking came in. It seemed.. the least destructive of her options, because anything else she could think of would only hurt others in the long run.
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"Call if you need anything, okay?" He'd say, quietly closing the door of the apartment behind him. Well that was perfect. A good offer. A friendly one. Except, Jackie Burkhart never needs anything, or anyone. People need her, not the other way around. If she ever took up that offer, she'd be untrue to herself. Right? And that was the most important thing in life, being who you are. Yes?
After all, poor girls needed people. Ugly girls needed people. Not rich, gorgeous, popular Jackie. So why did she find herself, in tears, following Eric back to his house one morning? Why did she rush down the basement stairs, her light steps making little taps on the cement steps, her cheeks flushed from crying, her eyes hot and puffy.. Crying was never as glamorous in real life as it was in old movies.
Jackie pushed down the handle and pulled open the door. Eric turned his head from the TV to see who had come in, and watched as she shut the door behind her, and just stood there. He stood up and turned to face her. They looked at each other for a moment, until finally, with her eyes brimming with tears, Jackie whispered "You don't always have to go you know. You could.. stay. With me. Stop me from.. going insane. Being alone."
"Jackie.." Eric took a step towards her.
A tear trickled down her cheek, and she pointed her eyes up at the ceiling. "Right now, I've got no one. Not even family.. I mean, who're my parents? The much-loved Mr and Mrs Burkhart.. yeah, locked up and drunk. What kind of-"
"Wah wah wah," A voice cut in, making Jackie's heart leap for a moment, and Hyde came out from his bedroom door. "Oh, Jackie. I thought I recognised the whining. You seem.. steady on your feet today. Not drinking? 'Cause I've got some beer in the shower, if you want.." He gestured to the shower in the corner that was never used. Jackie caught sight of the look on his face, he was half smiling, in a jeering way. She took a step backwards, shaking her head.
"No Steven, not now. I'm don't wanna talk to you right now."
"Oh, really?" He smiled again. Jackie didn't like it. She looked to Eric. He seemed unsure of what to do, but moved towards Jackie a bit. "Because I don't wanna talk to you, oh, hmm.. ever, yet you just keep on showing up. And I've gotta say, Jackie, it's getting old. This whole, feeling sorry for yourself thing, it's really wearing thin." Hyde started inching closer to Jackie. "You really make me wonder where you're going to stop. And now I see you've got Forman listening to you. A new guy to do your bidding. You're really making your way around the group, huh?"
Eric found his tongue at last. He stood between Jackie and Hyde, and looked his friend right in the eye, determined to be as calm and quiet as possible. "Look, Hyde, just shut up, okay? Jackie's hurt right now, and she really doesn't need this,"
"You aren't denying it though, are you Forman?" Hyde shot back. "Does Donna know you're spending so much time with Jackie? Oh, you remember Donna, right? Hot blonde, formerly hot redhead, picked you instead of me, almost married you once.. She's called a couple of times. Wanted to talk to you. Lucky for you I covered your ass."
Eric laughed sarcastically. "Don't know what you're talking about, man. I'm just helping out Jackie. It's called being a friend."
"Man.. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into." Hyde took a beer from behind the shower curtain, and headed up the stairs to the den. Eric turned around, but Jackie was gone. He hadn't heard her slip out when he stood between her and Hyde. He flung open the door to the stairs and bounded up them. She was just at the end of the driveway, so he easily caught up to her.
He put his hand on her shoulder to make her stop walking away. "Jackie, just ignore him. He's just talking bullshit, and-"
Jackie spun around, tears streaming down her face. "Didn't you hear him?" She sniffed. "He practically called me a whore. "You're really making your way around the group.." But I'm not.. It was him, and Kelso, but that's it! It's not like I went after Fez, he always came after me. And you, you're with Donna.."
Eric signed. "I know. Just.. ignore him, if you can. Don't let him get to you. But do you get it now? Do you see that he's changed?" Jackie didn't say anything, she just stared straight in front of her, a pained expression on her face. "Uh.. Let's get out of here, okay?"
"Where?" she still stared ahead. There wasn't anywhere to go. She figured she couldn't show her face at The Hub, shopping was the last thing on her mind, so the mall was out.. "I can't face looking at those four stupid walls anymore.. Movies," she said suddenly.
"I don't think there's anything good showing right now," Eric said casually, like he'd forgotten the situation. Unbelievable, yet typical at the same time.
"I don't care what we see. It's called escapism, Eric!" Jackie snapped. She shut her eyes, and softened her tone. "Sorry. I'd just like to go be in someone else's shoes for a while. Anyone's. So can we go?"
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Jackie yawned as she unlocked her apartment door that afternoon. "I think you're the same as me," She tossed her keys onto the coffee table and fell backwards onto the couch.
Eric sat down beside her and rested his elbow on the arm of the sofa. "How's that?"
"Think about it. Remember those promise rings? I wanted to get one, and you wanted to give one. It was just that Michael and Donna weren't exactly up for the idea. And you, you almost got married. Lucky. Do you know how many times I tried to trick Steven and Michael into proposing? It must be hundreds." She sighed, inspecting her nails. "It's kind of like.. we're both just looking for something concrete. It kind of makes me wonder why we never really saw eye-to-eye on things."
"Because," Eric sat forward a bit, looking thoughtful. "you were a spoilt, superficial princess who kept inviting herself into my basement," He laughed, but straightened out his face when he saw the look on hers. "Oh, come on Jackie, I'm just kidding.." They sat in silence for a moment, then Eric added "Wait, no I'm not." He smiled to himself.
Jackie frowned, and retorted "If that's what you think of me, what're you even doing here?"
He looked confused. "But.. I was kidding, for the most part. Come on Jackie, don't be like that. Please..? Besides, I'm here because you could use a friend. And you're not like that now, not much anyway. You're different. You're quieter, kind of smaller too.."
Jackie burst out laughing, playfully hitting Eric on the side of the head. "I was kidding, moron. But you're right, I have changed. I don't know about quieter, but I have. Just.. not as much as I would have liked to. In an ideal world, I would have accomplished so much by now. But instead, I've got no job, no husband.. Yeah, that sounds like everything I was hoping for." She lay back against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling, and said with a sigh "I've gotta get out of this town.."