The Next day

Hyde stood outside the diner pacing nervously. She would be arriving at any minute and he still hadn't figured out what he was going to say. How did people greet their ex-lovers? A hug, a handshake, a kiss on the cheek? Hyde never pictured himself being this nervous, especially about seeing Jackie. She had once represented everything that gave him tranquility, but lately she makes him anxious, and he hadn't even seen her yet. He couldn't deny how much control the woman had on him. Even when they were dating, she called the shots, though he would be damned if he admitted that to anyone.

He kept glancing down at his watch. They had agreed to meet at twleve and it was now 11:56. Four minutes he said out loud. He had four minutes to figure out what he was going to do when he saw her.

All of a sudden, a car drove into the parking lot and he saw the driver through the window. It didn't take very long for the driver to find a spot to park and when the car finally came to a stop, Jackie Burkhart emerged. She hadn't spotted him yet, but he had definitely spotted her. The girl he had once loved looked so different now. She had on a simple pair of jeans, a white dress shirt and heels. Her hair was longer than he remembered but still had the bouncy curls he loved.

He examined her through his glasses and this unexpected sensation filled him inside. It was as if he was eighteen all over again and she was his. All the feelings and moments they shared all came rushing back and at this moment, he was happier than he had been in a really long time. He had to force himself to remain cool, so he leaned against a wall and propped his right leg up against it.

It didn't take long for her to notice him, and she strutted towards him with a smile on her face. So far so good he thought. She seemed happy to see him which was a really good sign. He returned the smile and decided to drop the cool act and meet her halfway. When they were finally close enough to each other, she reached over and gave him a hug. He was relieved she was taking the lead in this encounter and just hugged her back. The scent of her perfume filled his nostrils and it was comforting.

"Hi Steven" she said breaking their embrace.

"Hi Jackie" he replied. For a few seconds they just stood there, smiling at each other until she finally burst out laughing.

"How about we smile at each other inside, I'm starving."

Now it was his turn to laugh and he led her inside. It was good to see she still had a sense of humor and wasn't letting this be as awkward as it should actually be.

Once they were inside the diner, they grabbed a table and decided to order before catching up.

"I think I'm going to go for some toast, eggs and sausage" said Jackie.

"You do know it's not morning anymore right?" Hyde joked.

"I know, I'm just in a breakfast kind of mood" she answered shooting him a playful look.

"Okay, I guess I'll join you and have the same" he said handing the waitress their menus.

"Alright, be right back" the waitress said before walking away.

"So how are you Mister Hyde?" Jackie started.

"Mr. Hyde huh? I like it. I'm good Ms. Burkhart, a little tired from the road but can't complain."

"Of course you can't, you're in the presence of Jackie Burkhart" she said jokingly.

"That's true."

She nodded.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah" he replied.

"I'm kind of nervous. I would never have thought to be here with you. It's a bit strange."

"I wouldn't say strange. Maybe different."

Jackie arched her eyebrows. This person sitting across the table from her was so different from the one she had expected. He seemed nice and honest and caring. She couldn't help but have her guard up around him. Yet she had just been so honest with him. Tread lightly, she reminded herself, you don't know which Steven you're dealing with.

"Right."

The awkward silence that followed was a little disheartening for him. She thought it was strange to be here with him, so it was up to him to make her comfortable with him.

"I was looking over the menu and they sell peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and it reminded me of the time you made me some and we ended up throwing them at Kelso."

Jackie laughed. She remembered that day so vividly. Steven was feeling down and she wanted to cheer him up. Of course she was such an awful cook that the cookies were hard as rocks.

"God those cookies were so bad" she said laughing.

"Yeah, but they came in handy."

"I know right? I think I hit Fez with one of them."

"I hit Kelso in the eye."

"You always hit Michael in the eyes."

"It's a gift doll."

She tensed up. He saw her tense up. He should have known better than to say that word, but it was almost second nature to call her that.

"Sorry" he said.
"Yeah..it's okay."

'Change the subject' he thought to himself.

"So you don't work today?"

"I do. I have to be at the office at 2:30."

"Oh, alright." Hyde had expected to have more time with her and he couldn't help but realize how much progress he would have to make in less that two hours.

"Yeah. We're finishing up this episode that's being filmed next week so we have to make sure it's perfect."

"Do you like your job?"

"It's good. Pays the bills."

"You always wanted to be in front of the camera and now you're behind the scenes."

"I know. I couldn't afford to go on auditions and wait to see if they would pay off. I needed a way to pay my expenses and a friend helped me get this job."

"If you needed help financially you could've called you know."

Jackie looked at him as though he had two heads. He couldn't really think that was an option, could he?

"Call who?" she asked sarcastically.

"Me" he answered. He knew how farfetched this sounded, but he wanted her to know that had she called he would have been there for her.

"Oh you can't be serious."

"I know we didn't end in the best terms, but you are my friend, I would have helped you."

"Steven, you and I are not friends...Calling you was out of the question."

"Jackie I would have helped."

"I'm fine Steven. I've learned to stand on my own and I don't need help."

"Everyone needs help."

"Look, let's drop this okay? It won't end well."

"Fine, whatever."

The waitress came with their food at this point, which Hyde was beyond thankful for. As soon as she set the plates down, he started eating. Jackie did the same and for a few minutes, there was silence.

"Why did you come here?" Jackie asked.

"What do you mean?" said Hyde looking at her.

"Why California? Why not New York or Chicago? Why here?"

"It just seemed like a good place to open a music store. It's where all the music is happening. It's a good opportunity."

"Did you know I was here?" she asked, determined to get the answer she wanted.

"I did, but that's not why I'm here" he lied. He couldn't tell her she was part of the reason he came. That would just scare her off. He knew he had to work slowly to rebuild anything they had before.

"Steven, don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying to you Jackie. I came to California to open a store. I called you because you're here and I have no one else. That's all. I want us to be friends, but if that's too much for you, I understand."

"I didn't say that. It just seems coincidental that out of all the places in the country, you ended up in California like me."

"I know, but I don't want you to think I chased you across the country."

"Oh don't worry, I wouldn't have expected that" she said with a bitter tone.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing Hyde."

"Stop calling me that. Jackie I didn't come here to argue okay? I'm tired of arguing with you all the damn time. If we can't get along, then we should probably just not meet up again."

"Fine."

"Fine no more arguing, or fine we won't meet up again?"

"Fine no more arguing...and meeting up again depends on how this goes."

"Thank you."

"Whatever" she replied jokingly.

He laughed and was thankful that she agreed to stop arguing, this was not how he wanted their first meeting to go. He wanted to make sure that everything went well today, so he stopped bringing up past memories and made sure not to say whatever or doll anymore. As much as he hated it, he knew he was starting from square one with her and that meant he couldn't scare her off with talks of feelings or what could have been or what could be. 'Just keep it simple' he thought to himself.

The two ex-lovers spent the next hour talking about California, their careers, music. Both were careful not to bring up any painful topics, and that was best for now.