Authors Note: Hey guys I'm back. Well that didnt take as long as last time. Still took a little longer than I liked but what can you do. So I like this chapter for one reason and one reason only. The date. I wont say who it's with but you can guess it. As for Randy he wont play a part in anything till the next chapter. I'm not sure what i'm going to do with him yet. He's actually modeled after Big Cat from October Road. When he was making Eddie's life miserable because he use to be friends with Nick and Big Cat thought Hannah had left him for Nick. Yeah that's what i'm modeling him after. So stay tuned for that. Ne ways enjoy this. It goes deeper into why Hyde stayed away as long as he did a little more history about the group. As always please review and let me know what you think.

Chapter Nine: The world has its shine but I would drop it on a dime

I'm not one for love songs
the way I'm livin', makes you feel like giving up but you don't
and I want everything for you
the disappointed because you've been left behind and the word hasn't shine
I would drop it on a dime for you

hey, ho
And whatever it takes
hey, ho
I'm going to make my way home
hey, ho
We can turn our backs on the pasts and start over

Hyde pulled his car into the empty parking lot on the side of the building he currently owned. He stared at it and he tried to decide if he was going to keep it or not, as he heard a car pull up behind him. He turned around as Eric got out and walked over to him.

"Hey man what goes on?" Hyde asked as Eric looked at the building.

"Well I was thinking and if you still want to do this, then I'm in." He said as Hyde looked at him.

"Look man I want to say yeah lets do this, but before I do that I have to ask you something."

"Okay, what do you need to ask me?"

"Are you sure that in a week you're not just going to turn around and be pissed at me again? Because it's one thing if we're just hanging out and you get mad again, but if we do this and then you get pissed again, that not only hurts us as friends, it also hurts this business."

Eric looked at Hyde and put his hand on his shoulder, "Look man I'm honestly over it. I know it took a lot to get me over it, but I am. I mean, Hyde my dad is gone, but you're still here. You didn't leave. So yeah I'm ready to do this."

Hyde nodded at Eric, and then started walking towards the building.

"Hey Hyde, can I ask you something?"

"What's up?"

"Why didn't you press charges against me for pushing you out this window?" Eric asked as they stood in front of that very window.

"That day I knew that you'd pushed me with every intention of hurting me. I saw it in your eyes. At first I wanted to have you locked away, but then I saw mom and I just couldn't do that to her. I thought about Donna and the baby and…so I couldn't do it. I couldn't let another child grow up fatherless like I had."

"That's not true," Eric said as Hyde looked at him, "You weren't fatherless, you had my dad."

Hyde nodded to Eric, "Thanks."

"Thank you for every thing Hyde."

"Just don't try to kill me again." Hyde said as Eric laughed.

Jackie sat back down on the bed as she continued to stare at the door waiting for Hyde to come through it. "Come on Steven," Jackie said impatiently as she heard someone coming up the stairs. After a few moments Hyde walked through the door and was surprised to find Jackie sitting on his bed.

"Hey Jacks, what goes on?" He asked as he shut the door.

"Steven I'm ready to start something with you." She said as she looked at him.

Hyde smiled and walked over to her, "Oh baby somethings already started." Hyde said as he leaned down to kiss her but Jackie pushed him away.

"No Steven," Jackie said as she walked away from him.

"What so you want to start something but I cant kiss you?" Hyde said as he looked at her.

"You can't kiss me until you take me on a real date. That's the only way this can work, if we do things right."

"Alright, I'll take you on a date." Hyde said as he smiled at her.

"You will? You're not going to fight me on this?"

"Nope, you want to go on a date and I want to be with you. So we'll go on a date."

"Okay," Jackie said as she walked towards the door.

"I'll come for you around 8 tomorrow night." Hyde said as Jackie nodded to him then left.

Once the door was closed Hyde just smiled as he stared at the door.

Jackie sat in the living room waiting for Hyde. It was a quarter till eight so she didn't expect him to actually show up till then so she sat in the living room watching TV and waiting for him.

"Jackie," Mrs. Forman said as she walked in from the kitchen.

"Oh hi Mrs. Forman did you need something?"

"I was told to send you outside."

"Did Steven send you?"

"Yes, he's out there waiting for you."

"He couldn't come in and get me himself. Oh this is going to be some date." She said as she walked past Kitty and out into the driveway. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hyde standing out there with a bouquet of roses and a suit on.

"Steven," She said as he walked over to her.

"These are for you. I wasn't sure what you liked so I just got these."

Jackie took the flowers and smiled. "Thank you. They're beautiful." She said as Mrs. Forman walked out.

"You kids have fun. Oh Jackie I'll put these in a vase in your room."

"Thanks Mrs. Forman." Jackie said as Hyde walked her over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Once she was inside he shut the door for her then got in.

"So where are we going Steven?"

"You'll see." Hyde said as he started the car then headed towards their destination.

Hyde pulled the car to a stop in a clearing near the lake where the gang use to skinny dipping in the summer and turned the ignition off.

"What are we doing here?" Jackie asked as Hyde reached behind her and pulled out a basket.

"We're having a picnic." He said as he smiled at her before getting out of the car.

Jackie quickly got out and followed him till he stopped near the shore and watched him set down a blanket for them.

"Steven, what-"

"I know how much you loved this place when we were kids. I just thought this would be the best place to start our relationship at."

"Oh Steven," Jackie said as she sat down next to me.

"I'll be right back." Hyde said as he walked over to the car and a couple seconds later Jackie heard the radio. "I thought we could use some music."

Jackie nodded as Hyde sat back down and started emptying the basket he had prepared.

"So did you make all of this?"

"Some of it, remember that job I had back in high school?"

"Oh yeah that one at the hotel you were a chef right?"

"Well assistant to the chef but yea. Anyways he taught me a lot of stuff, stuff that really came in handy when I was living in New York and when I was making this."

"Did Mrs. Forman help you with the rest?"

"Yeah she said that I was doing something wrong and before I knew it she'd made everything else. You can't stop her once she starts."

"Don't I know it; she tried to teach me how to cook once. That was a disaster. We ended up not speaking for a week."

Hyde laughed as Jackie smiled at him. After the laughter stopped Hyde looked at her and decided to bite the bullet. "So we should probably talk."

"We should. But I don't know where to even begin."

"There's something I need you to know."

"What's that?" She asked as he stared at her.

"Even if it takes forever I'll prove to you that I legitimately love you. That I've always loved you and that I always will. I promise."

"Steven you have to understand how hard that is for me to believe. You spent all your teenage years ignoring me and making my life miserable. Now all of the sudden you're in love with me. It's hard to believe."

"I know that. And there are so many reasons why I acted the way I use to. So many of them that I wish I could take back."

"What reasons? Walk me through this…make me understand Steven."

"Alright, well it started when we first met…"

Point Place- 1990

Hyde was sitting in his usual seat with his feet propped up on the table in front of him. Donna was on the couch next to Eric, who was talking about the new star wars movie he heard they were going to be making in the future. Fez was sitting in the chair across from Hyde eating a Butterfinger and trying to see down Donna's shirt.

"Donna that is a glorious shirt you're wearing today." Fez said as he stared at Donna's chest.

"Thanks Fez." Donna said, genuinely happy about the compliment since they were so few and far between with this group.

"Fez I can see exactly why you like that shirt and for your sake I'd stop looking if I were you."

"Ai," Fez said as he quickly looked back at the television.

"What? Oh god Fez you're a pervert."

"You can't blame the guy Donna. That shirt is a little revealing." Eric said as he looked at Donna.

"Forman, that goes for you too." Hyde said as Eric looked back at the television as well.

"Hey guys," Kelso said as he walked in the room with a girl on his arm.

"Hey man, who's the chick?" Hyde asked as Kelso got this big goofy grin on his face.

"My friends this is my new girlfriend," Kelso said as the girl stood quietly beside him clinging to his arm, "She's the newest member of the cheerleading squad."

Hyde looked at the shy girl through his sunglasses. He could see what Kelso obviously saw in her. She was beautiful. She seemed almost too good to be true...well almost.

"My name is Jackie Burkhart. I'm the daughter of the major and one of the most popular girls in school." Jackie said as Hyde's perfect image of her shattered in a second.

"'Ello I am Fez and you are a goddess." Fez said as he stood up and smiled at Jackie.

"Thank you," She said as she looked down at Eric, "Aren't you that nerdy kid from my math class?" she asked as Eric nodded.

"The names Eric Forman and this is my house."

"Well it's nice to meet you I suppose." Jackie said as Hyde continued to stare at her. Jackie finally looked at him and smiled.

"What's your name?" She asked as Hyde smiled back at her slightly.

Hyde didn't answer her; he just continued to stare at her as she continued to stare back at him. The rest of the gang was waiting for one of them to say something as Donna noticed the looks they were throwing back and forth at each other. She quickly tried to get Jackie's attention.

"My name is Donna and this is my boyfriend Hyde."

"Hyde? What kind of name is that?"

Hyde glared at her as a smile came to Donna's face.

"Kelso you're actually dating her?" Hyde asked completely ignoring the question.

"Yeah man she's hot." Kelso said as Jackie smiled at him.

"Whatever man, it's your life." Hyde said as Kelso nodded then turned to Jackie.

"So babe you want to go get something to drink?" He asked as Jackie nodded and the two of them went upstairs.

"So Hyde what do you think of Jackie?" Donna asked as Hyde looked at her.

He could tell she was jealous for some reason so he decided to lie so that she wouldn't be hurt. "She seems like a stuck up bitch." Hyde said as Donna agreed.

Jackie stood at the top of the stairs listening to them all laugh about her as tears came to her eyes.

"Michael I'm not feeling well, I'm going to go home." Jackie said as she walked back over to Kelso.

"But you said you'd hang out with me and my friends."

"I know I just…I have to go. I'll call you later." She said as she ran out of the house before he could see her break down.

Point Place 2003

"So that's why I never treated you the way I should have. I didn't want to hurt Donna." Hyde said as he looked down.

"And I understand that Steven. But that day really hurt me. I hated you and Donna."

"Yeah I know that. Which is why I'm amazed you're even friends with her now."

"A lot happened after you left, and plus Donna is different now. She's a better person than she was back then."

"Yeah she is." Hyde said as he looked down.

"So what else, I mean you couldn't have just fell in love with me from that."

"No there was something else. The night you came to me when Kelso cheated on you for the first time. After you left I had this dream."

"What dream?"

"I had a dream that we were together. We were sitting on the couch in the basement watching the price is right and we kept looking at each other. I guess we were flirting with our eyes." Hyde said as Jackie laughed. "But the next thing I knew we were kissing. We quickly pulled away, both of us shocked that it even happened. But a few seconds later we were right back at it."

"Oh,"

"I guess that was the first time I really let me feelings for you hit me. I didn't bottle them up or ignore them. That night I realized I really did care about you. So I made it my mission to always be there when Kelso did something to you. Whenever he cheated on you or made you cry. I made sure I was there to wipe your tears away."

"Steven-"

"I know that probably doesn't explain how it happened. But every time you came to me. I felt myself falling for you. So whenever you went back to him I lashed out at you because I didn't know what else to do. After a while my feelings for you consumed me and the feelings for Donna began to fade."

"Why didn't you just leave Donna? I mean if you liked me why did you stay with her?"

"I did love Donna don't get me wrong I loved her very much. She was a big part of my life and being with her was easy. There wasn't a lot of work I had to put into it. She was just always there. And I used that to my advantage because I knew I wouldn't get hurt. I knew that no matter what she wouldn't leave me. And there was something else."

"What else?"

Hyde took a big breath before he continued, "I knew that the moment I let her go she'd go running to Eric and he'd be there, waiting for her. And as much as I loved Donna through the years, the rush I got from keeping something from Eric that he wanted more than anything was consuming. Eric had everything, he had parents that loved him, and doted upon him for everything. I had nothing. My own parents skipped out on me, and every one else I ever cared about either died or left. This was the one thing I had that Eric didn't. I know it was wrong but back then…it was the only thing that seemed right."

Jackie took Hyde's hand into hers and looked into his eyes," Steven I understand that. I was so jealous of Donna when my dad went to jail and my mom left and then when Michael left me. She had everything. She had Eric who was always there for her and a father who would have given her the moon if she asked. I had nothing…no money, no friends, no boyfriend and no parents. I would have given anything to have even an ounce of what she had." Jackie said as a tear fell from her eyes and Hyde wiped it away. "So I get it. I don't look down on your for it at all."

"Thanks." Hyde said as he smiled at Jackie.

"We're just a couple of orphans you and I." She said as Hyde nodded.

"That's what makes us special." He said as Jackie smiled.

"Steven, why did you stay away from us for so long?"

"When I left here it was because I was trying to find my way in life. But after a while staying away just became the way. I avoided everything having to do with home because I felt like I didn't need it. But the truth was I needed this place more than I even realized. I needed all of you. I needed to fix things and just be here. Because no matter what I couldn't escape this place. And trust me I tried." He said as Jackie leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. "What was that for?" He asked as she pulled away.

"It was for letting me in." She said as Hyde leaned over and captured her lips once more.

What did you think? As always please review and i'll update soon i promise!