It had been exactly a week since Sam left, and it had been best week since she had showed up. When she was here, he didn't exactly realize that he didn't even like her, much less love her. He knew staying married to her was a bad idea from the start, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that he and Jackie were not getting back together for a long time, so why not? It's not like he hated her or anything but, to her he was Hyde. He secretly missed being Steven.
But at least Jackie wasn't his problem anymore. Oh who was he kidding she was never a problem. But he didn't have to deal with all the annoying things he hated anymore, and that's good right? He'll admit, she did some annoying things but he could never actually hate anything about her. She's his doll. Well…was his doll. He knew the way he treated her was hurting her, but he just couldn't seem to stop. It was like every time she walked into a room, his better judgment walk right out. But every time he looked at her, he saw Kelso wearing nothing but a towel right next to her, and it just made him angry. So, even though in the back of his mind he knew nothing happened, he was mean to her. To make things even worse, he wasn't even burning her; he was just straight up insulting her.
He heard the door of the basement open. It was Donna. "Hey" she said casually. He just nodded at her, in acknowledgment. "You will never guess what I heard from Jackie last night."
Suddenly he felt sick. Had she told Donna about what happened last night?
"Oh please, what exciting new story does the midget have for us today?" He responded coldly, that way Donna wouldn't think he knew anything at all.
"She thinks she's in love with Fez!" She shouted excitedly, "I mean, it's Jackie and Fez!" Donna said laughing. He looked at her with a disgusted look on his face. Where the hell was this coming from? When did this happen?
"Jackie and Fez?" He asked.
"Yeah isn't it funny?" She joked, he still just stared at her. Then a look of realization replaced one of humor. "Oh my God! You are so jealous!" She accused.
I just scoffed at her, "Come on Donna. Me? Jealous of Fez? I don't think so."
"No, no you are so totally jealous!" She retorted, now for some reason angry. "And it's not your place to be!"
"Well how was I supposed to know she didn't want me to stay with Sam when I knew she had her precious Kelso to run to?" I yelled. She just rolled her eyes angrily.
"Oh that is bull and you know it! You know nothing happened. Why are you trying to make her miserable for something she didn't do?" She fired.
"I'm not! I just don't like her." I lied
"Oh you know that couldn't be farther from the truth. You know, when you called me from Vegas that night and told me Jackie cheated with Kelso, I think you knew you were leaving out the most important part." Donna said furiously.
I just hung my head and stared at my feet at the realization she was absolutely right. The guilt was heaving on my heart like clothes after getting out of the water.
"So what do you suggest I do?" He asked her quietly. She looked taken aback by the sincerity. She considered this.
"Look, normally I wouldn't help you because no one would wish the douche bag you've been lately on anyone, but I can tell you really love her and I know that Jackie loves you. So you've got to be a man and tell her how you feel. Go out of your way to be with her." Donna advised. I made a disgusted face and Donna moved to sit next to me on the couch. "Look, do you want to be with her or not?"
"Yes." I answered honestly. Donna nodded slowly.
"I know this might be above your manly capacity but you have to. If you don't, you might end up best man and Fez and Jackie's wedding." The thought was so revolting that he agreed. "Remind her of why she was with you in the first place." She patted him on the hand and then turned to leave the basement.
"Donna?"
"Yes?" Donna asked smugly
"Thank you." Donna smiled happily. "Hyde?"
"Yes?" I answered hesitantly.
"Don't mess this up." She said, shutting the basement door behind her. This got him thinking. Why had Jackie liked him in the first place? He traced his thoughts and he was drawn to one memory in particular.
"I can't believe you dragged me here." Hyde complained, shaking his head slowly.
"Well, Steven! It's the prom and you can't go to prom in Led Zeppelin t-shirt no matter how much you wish you could." She yapped. "Besides I'm sure you look lovely in a tuxedo."
"Yeah well I better, because you're paying for it." He shot back. She sighed and they entered the store. After hours and hours of discussion (him holding one up and her rejecting it) they found one.
"Oh! Steven, it's perfect!" She beamed. "We'll take it." She told the sale's lady. She pranced up to the counter and pulled out her wallet. As she was pulling out her money, without thinking he pulled out his own wallet, softly pushed Jackie aside, and handed the money to the woman. Jackie looked over at him, shocked. He just shrugged and grabbed the tux of the counter.
"You know, you didn't have to do that Steven." She said honestly.
"I know" He replied simply. A smile covered Jackie's face.
"I can't believe you. You're taking me to prom and you bought a tux. The least I can do is, treat you to dinner?" She asked hopefully. He nodded.
"Sure. Why not?" He never turned down anything free. He was confused by his own actions. Why did he buy the tux when she was more than willing to buy it for him? And why was he being so agreeable? And why did his heart start beating faster whenever she smiled? He couldn't possibly like her. She was Jackie! She was bossy, controlling, and…sugary. That's exactly how he would describe her, and he didn't like anyone sugary. But maybe she was less sugary than she acted, and maybe in the back of his mind he knew that.
They sat at the restaurant table and she tapped her nails to the beat of the disco music. The tapping seemed to be making the music even more obnoxious so he reached over, grabbed her hand, and lifted his eyebrow to tell her to stop. While he expected her to get angry she just slightly smiled and stared at him, as if she were seeing him for the first time.
He snatched his hand away when he realized he'd left it there for longer than necessary. She pulled her hands into her lap and brushed her hair behind her ears, something she seemed to do when she got nervous. This is the type of thing that confused him, because this is something he never would have noticed before.
"You know, you're not as mean people think you are." She said, finally breaking the silence.
"I'm not am I?" He challenged. She just shook her head confidently.
"Not even close." She finished. They ate their food and actually had their first real conversation. Hyde would never say this but he was having a pretty good time. They got in her dad's Lincoln and drove to his house.
"Well, here why are. Thank you for everything Steven." She said graciously. He just nodded and smiled. He walked up to the porch and fiddled with the door. It was locked. Edna must have locked it, thinking that Hyde was still in his room. Panicked, he looked at the Lincoln and he could see Jackie's puzzled expression. He searched his pockets, realizing he had his key in his jacket, which he hadn't taken with him. Edna would probably wouldn't be home until morning, so he had no way to get into his house. He waited for a minute or so, to see if Jackie would drive away, but it looked like she wasn't leaving until he was in the house.
Embarrassed, he walked over to the window and she slowly rolled it down.
"What's wrong?" She asked, with genuine concern.
"I can't get into my house. Do you think you could drop me off at the Forman's?" He asked, as if it were no big deal.
She looked at her watch. "It's already nine o'clock."
"Okay…well then you can drop me off at Kelso's? His parents won't care." Hyde suggested. She shook her head.
"Michael's family at a wedding in Kenosha and won't be back until tomorrow morning."
"How do you know that?" He inquired?
"I was supposed to be his date." She fired. "But that's not the issue here." She thought for a bit. "Okay look, I can sneak you into my house. My dad's usually just in his office until eleven and my mom…well my mom's usually somewhere that's not there."
He sighed, he didn't really want to spend his night at Jackie's house, but what other choice did he have.
"Okay." He said, shaking his head slightly. When they pulled up to her house, it would be a lie to say it wasn't intimidating to him, it was just another reminder of what he didn't have. She unlocked the door, and tip toed into the house. She motioned for him to just follow her, and it getting in wasn't hard. It was a straight shot to the stairs. She shut the door softly behind her and smirked.
"Mission accomplished." She stated. He gave her a small grin. She started rummaging through her drawers and pulled out a pink tank-top and polka dotted pajama pants. She walked over to her bathroom and shut the door. He just sat on the bed, not fitting with his surroundings. Everything in this room was pink, and it sickened him.
Now, it's Jackie, so of course it was a matter of twenty or thirty minutes before she came out. He had been laying down on the bed and shot up when she came out, not wanting her to think he had made himself comfortable in the house of girl he wasn't even really friends with. She just stood there awkwardly. She then headed for the closet and came out with three pillows and two pink blankets. She placed the pillows in a row next to her bed, making some kind of make-shift bed. She started to lie down but Hyde stopped her.
"No, Jackie. I'll sleep on the floor." He insisted.
"No that's okay…" She started to argue.
"No, I'll sleep on the floor you take your bed."
"Um, okay?" She said hesitantly as she stood up. They just stood there in front of each other.
"Thank you, Jackie." He said sincerely. She shook her head and smiled.
"No, Steven. Thank you." She reached up on her tip toes and softly kissed his temple. She climbed into bed and turned off the lamp. "Goodnight Steven." She whispered.
For the first time in weeks, he went to bed smiling.
He never thought he would look back on that night and smile. It had been the first time he had felt any feelings other than annoyance for her. He so badly wanted her back in his life.
"Oh hell" He thought to himself, and he got off the couch to go find Jackie.