Hope you all had a happy 4th! Thanks for all of the reviews. I've never had so many this quickly for any of my stories and they are making my day.
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CHAPTER 7
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Donna steps through her front door, only to find Jackie sitting in fetal position shoving mince pies into her mouth.
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"What happened out there?" Donna asks her petite friend.
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Jackie shoves another mince pie into her mouth whole and mumbles "I don't wanna talk about it".
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"I do" Donna pipes in. "This is better than 'Days of Our Lives'!"
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"I just—I don't know what's come over me. I spent a whole year trying to purge myself of that prick and now I'm just falling for his whole act again - hook, line and sinker," she says angrily as she downs a glass of milk.
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"What do you mean" Donna hedges.
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Jackie rolls her eyes at her friend. "I think I know him well enough to tell when he's up to something. And I know you well enough to tell when you're covering for him".
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"Okay, so what if he were up to something?" she ventures.
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"I've worked too hard to go backwards. He's just bad news, Donna. He never cared about making me happy and he probably wouldn't know how, even if he did," she frowns then takes another bite of the pie.
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"Jackie, he's changed a lot over the past year," Donna defends him.
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"I'm not mad anymore really, well not at him at least. I get it now. When a guy tells you who they are—you should just listen and not try to change them or -God forbid- make them live up to their potential," she says drolly. "When Steven told me he wasn't the kind of guy who says the right things or buys presents or tells you he loves you, I should have run the other way. I don't know if it was arrogance or dumb optimism, but it was entirely my fault" she admits, shoving the remainder of the pie in her mouth. "I guess I just wanted it to work so badly I pretended he was capable of being more than he is."
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"He is capable. I honestly believe that. Maybe not before Chicago, but I think that whole experience made him grow up a lot," she says.
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"Well for his sake, I hope that's true and I'm sure it'll make his next girlfriend very happy, but it doesn't really have anything to do with me. I'm over it." she announces curtly.
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Donna gingerly perches herself on the edge of the couch cushion next to the brunette. "Jackie...put down the pies" she says slowly, the way a cop might talk down a hostage perp.
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"I don't wanna" she huffs.
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"Getting fat isn't going to make you more 'over it' you know" Donna warns.
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Horrified and offended, Jackie screams "Shut your mouth! Look, I said I'd stay here a few days and then I'm gone. I just have to resist his sickening charm until then and I'll be golden," she decides.
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"You're pretty bad at that. No offense" Donna responds.
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"It's a good thing I have you to help me then" she says.
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Donna finds she's unwittingly bumbled her way into the middle of this whole mess without even trying. Hyde thinks she's going to help him get Jackie back, and Jackie thinks she's going to help her push Hyde away. She can either piss off one of them or both of them, but either way, she's not getting out of this unscathed.
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"I'm not going to let Steven Hyde mind-fuck me ever again. I'm just going to crawl up into his brain, light up a doobie and then rewire the whole damn thing. He won't know down from up once I'm through with him," she threatens.
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"You're a truly frightening little girl, you know that?" Donna observes uneasily.
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"Damn straight I am" Jackie says menacingly.
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The doorbell rings and Jackie can feel her spine stiffen with fear and anticipation.
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"Who's there?" Donna screams through the door.
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"It's London Calling!" Eric answers cheekily from the other side, sending both he and Donna into hysterics.
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Donna lets him inside and greets him with a kiss. He's holding a box which he places on the side table.
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Eric looks at Jackie and calmly points a finger at her. "Burn".
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"He told you about that?" Mortified, Jackie whimpers and tries to hide behind her hands. "What did he say?"
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Eric lies, trying to extract some information. "He said you...I think he said that you...The Clash is...alright, I've got nothing," he admits with disappointment.
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"Ew, Eric. You're not even good at lying. How am I supposed to respect you now after this little...display?" she emerges from behind her hands then looks at him as if he smells.
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"I guess lying doesn't come as naturally to me as it does to others," he says in deadpan.
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"I'm sorry" she responds, genuinely feeling bad for his lack of skill. "I forgot".
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"Yeah well, I came by to let you all know that lunch is in an hour and if you're not both there, my mom will be so distraught she'll throw herself down the stairs," he says. "She actually did say that and I haven't decided yet if she's exaggerating".
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"We'll be there" Donna confirms.
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Eric nods. "Better safe than sorry".
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Jackie groans, not wanting to go.
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"Oh!" Eric puts an index finger in the air. "I almost forgot" he picks the box up from the table. "This is for you from Hyde," he sighs, looking a bit grossed out that the two are getting friendly again. He passes the gift to her through pinched fingers, as if passing something radioactive.
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Jackie takes the present, full of confusion until she reads the attached note.
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"Your guilty pleasure is our little secret.
Wouldn't want to deprive you of anything you secretly love.
Your pal,
SJH"
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She strips the paper off of the box, opens it clumsily and finds The Clash album and t-shirt, lovingly folded on top.
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Jackie doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Arrogant bastard" she sulks.
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"He wanted me to tell you that question #3 is taped to the front of the album," Eric explains as he walks towards the front door. "You two don't really waste time picking up your kinky shit right where you left off, huh?"
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Donna pushes Eric out of the door before Jackie has a chance to unload on him.
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Jackie grabs the album and looks at the post-it containing the next question.
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"#3- How do you get men to do whatever you want when you're so busy infuriating them?
Are you dabbling in the 'dark arts'? (last part added by Forman)"
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Jackie is irked by the smugness of the whole thing. The shirt, the album, the question—she is going to make him pay for all of it in spades. Inspiration strikes her like a thunderbolt. "Oh it is SO on," she glowers.
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The Formans are hosting an informal lunch in their rarely used dining room.
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Kelso, Brooke and Betsy are there, fresh from opening presents at Kelso's parent's house this morning. Donna and Bob sit near Eric, Pastor Dave and Fez, leaving just one seat open next to Hyde.
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"How much longer do we have to wait for her?" whines Eric. "I'm not even sure they celebrate Christmas in hell," he reasons.
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"Eric!" Donna harshly chastises him.
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"Donna is right Eric, it's Christmas, and even if certain people are rude by showing up very late and making other hungry guests wait for scraps of food like homeless dogs, we should turn the other cheek and hold off until they get here. Just turn the other cheek!" Kitty repeats again manically, trying to convince herself.
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Just then, Jackie bursts into the room in a tizzy. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Forman, everybody. I had a huge emergency and got a little held up," she explains breathlessly.
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"Oh dear, what happened Jackie?" Kitty asks with concern.
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"Donna's cheap curling iron broke" Jackie frowns. "probably because it was overtaxed from trying to get through all of her course hair."
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"BURN!" screams Kelso as he points to Donna. "A hair burn!"
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"Well, as long as it was something important" Hyde cracks.
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"I happen to agree with Jackie that a broken curling iron is indeed a great emergency" Fez pipes in to defend her.
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"Yeah, well you would" Hyde sneers.
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"Now now Steven. Turn the other cheek!" Kitty laughs nervously.
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"Yeah Steven" Jackie smirks then looks around and notices the only empty seat is next to Hyde and is instantly deflated. "You don't expect me to sit there do you?" she whines.
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"No, we were actually hoping you could rearrange all of our seating to your liking, just to waste some more time before we get to eat," Eric explains.
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"Oh would you, Eric? That would be amazing!" she squeals.
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"Yeah, that would be a no," he shuts her down with glee.
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"BURN!" Kelso screams, frightening Kitty with his suddenness.
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"Will you idiots settle down so we can eat?" Red screams.
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Jackie sighs and shuffles her way over to the empty chair. She makes eye contact with Hyde and then sighs again, disappointed. She unceremoniously unzips her short coat and tosses it over the back of her chair, revealing herself to be wearing extremely tight black jeans with her new Clash t-shirt that she's ripped the collar and sleeves out of to make it fall slightly off of one shoulder.
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Hyde chokes on his beer when he sees what she's wearing. "You're trying to kill me" he says under his breath.
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Hyde tries to avert his eyes to no avail. This is going to be a long meal.
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"You gave it to me. It would be rude of me not to wear it, no?" she whispers to him, with a coyly.
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"Jackie...your outfit...so festive" Kitty says laughing through a tight smile with obviously disapproval in her voice.
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"Yeah, well, I know it's probably not the best outfit to wear for our Christmas meal, being that these jeans are so tight I can't even wear underwear with them, but it's all I had with me," she explains faux-innocently.
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"OH YEAH!" Kelso screams out, turned on by the information, which earns him a slap to the back of the head by Brooke.
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"Ouch baby! It's just a reflex, okay?" Kelso apologizes.
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"Yeah, well so was that" Brooke miffs.
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"Can somebody please switch chairs with me? Mine is wobby." Jackie whines posting out her lip seductively.
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Fez, Bob and Kelso both get up to offer her theirs, earning Kelso another slap from Brooke.
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"Actually, Steven is sitting closest, so maybe he wouldn't mind" she bats her eyes in his direction.
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"Why should I sit on the wobby chair?" he asks.
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"Because you're a gentleman" she offers.
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"You know that's bull...sorry Pastor Dave" Hyde nods towards him.
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Pastor Dave holds his hand up and smiles. "Not a problem!"
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"Well you are today" Jackie insists.
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The two have a stare down for a minute while everybody watches them with baited breath.
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"Fine" Hyde grumbles as he stands up and switches the chairs.
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Jackie winks at Donna.
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Kitty starts laughing nervously at the topic of conversation. "Okay kids, now that we've got Jackie's chair and underwear situation out of the way, I think we're good to start the meal now."
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Everybody cheers.
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Jackie leans over and places her hand on Hyde's upper thigh for support. "Steeeven" she whispers seductively into his ear, her soft lips gently grazing his earlobe as her warm breath ignites his core, causing him to noticeably shudder.
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"Um..." he barely manages to get out before his throat dries up like the Salton Sea.
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"Thanks for giving me the comfy chair" she coos, blowing hot air into his ear.
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"No problem, I guess, though I can't even notice the difference" he admits.
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She giggles softy against his neck as she places her other hand on his thigh as well. "Do you still want to know my answer to question #3?" she pouts.
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He's suddenly snapped out of his reverie by the realization that he has just been played hard. His body stiffens as his head angles slightly in her direction. "You are such a bitch" he says under his breath, low enough to prevent others from hearing him.
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Jackie smiles broadly with pride. "That's right. And you'd be smart to remember it" she pinches his cheek lightly.
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"Okay Jackie, you want to be treated like a bitch, then you've got it!" he taunts.
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"Have at it," she snaps back.
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Hyde grabs Jackie by her upper arm and pulls her to her feet. "Will you all excuse us? Please go ahead and start eating without us, we might be a while," he announces as he drags her by the arm into the other room.
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Everybody at the table is in shock, except for Pastor Dave who is oblivious oftelex colorful exchange.
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"Can somebody pass the potatoes please?" Pastor Dave rings in merrily.
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"Ouch. Damn Steven, are you trying to add assault to your police record?" she moans as he drags her into the basement.
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"What was that bullshit in there?" he demands to know.
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"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. You asked me a question and I answered it. You should be thanking me for being so thorough" she smiles.
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"Are you trying to fuck with my head?" he asks.
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"Well, now it really doesn't matter what my answer to that is, because if YOU believe I'm fucking with you, you'll think I'm lying either way" she surmises.
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He paces back and forth a few times.
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"Part of me thinks your reappearance is part of some carefully plotted, elaborate burn" he thinks out loud.
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Jackie snorts. "Don't flatter yourself. You really think that I spent a year dreaming up ways to burn you? Get real!"
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"I think I liked it better when you were gone" he says, trying to hurt her.
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"Really? Because it didn't really seem like that yesterday when you had your tongue halfway down my throat" she challenges.
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"Why are you so annoying? Why can't you just be more like other girls?" he begs.
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"Do you really want me to be like other girls?" she asks, closing the space between them.
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Jackie feels like she's being pulled by a force outside of herself. Every bone in her body is telling her to run like hell out of that room and never look back, yet here she is verbally sparring with Hyde, their twisted version of foreplay.
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Hyde looks down and takes one of her hands in his, examining it as if it were a sculpture in a museum.
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"I don't know. Sometimes I think it would be easier." he admits, his face contorted with a tortured look.
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Jackie is mesmerized. His pained expression, the way he's admiring her wrist, his change in tone, she recognizes this affliction. She's only seen it a twice before, but both times were unmistakable.
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Hyde brings the inside of her wrist to his lips and kisses her pulse point, almost absentmindedly like one might do with a lover- certainly not something a guy would do with an ex. It's at that moment she realizes that she not just of a piece of ass to him or a mountain he's trying to conquer. This is really happening, or maybe it never stopped happening in the first place. Steven isn't trying to be friends with her and he doesn't want to punish her. Steven is in love with her.
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A/N- Did I mention how much I love reviews?