Author's Note: Inspired by the episode "Prom Night" (1.19).

Author's Note (2): Since this site does not make it possible to PM a guest reviewer, I wanted to take the time here to thank those reviewers, especially redrosalie, for sharing their thoughts on my story. It means so much to me that you would take the time to both read and review something that I wrote, so thank you!

Hyde knew that going to prom was a bad idea. But going to prom with Jackie? That was beyond a bad idea.

He'd go to his grave saying that the only reason he agreed to take her was to get her to stop pestering him about it. There was no other reason. No other reason at all.

Well, except for the fact that Hyde liked to think he could be a decent guy, at least when it came to comparisons with Kelso. He hadn't felt all that bad for Jackie not getting to go to prom until Kelso opened his big mouth and announced he was going with Pam Macy.

Of all people.

So maybe it was more than just the fact that Hyde wanted Jackie to stop pestering him. Maybe he felt a little bad for her. But it didn't get any deeper than that. No, really. It didn't.

And even though he didn't like her, he agreed to rent a tux to match her dress. He even bought her the corsage she didn't ask for.

Hyde was disrupted from his thoughts by the sound of knocks at the front door. Jackie.

Quickly he rushed for the door; he didn't want Edna beating him to it. Fortunately, she was just sitting on the couch, cigarette in one hand, beer in the other, still wearing her greasy lunch lady uniform. Even from across the small house Hyde could smell that day's pepperoni pizza radiating off of her.

"They're all going to laugh at you," Edna grunted with unnecessary force.

Hyde spared a glance at the door. Of course the screen door was the only thing separating Jackie from his mother.

"Shut up, ma. You're making the night too damn special." Hyde's response was filled with just as much animosity.

Hyde pushed open the door to find Jackie waiting patiently on his porch. "Hey," he said casually, letting the door fall shut behind him. He looked her up and down. She looked nervous, but yet she also seemed totally at ease. "Wow, you look beautiful." The words slipped out of his mouth without him realizing it. He found he did not regret it.

Jackie's lips turned up into an amused smile. "Oh my God, so do you," she admitted. There was a pause. "Um, do you want me to go inside and meet your…" Jackie pointed to the house.

This surprised Hyde even more than when he called her beautiful. Narcissistic, vapid and vain Jackie was willing to go inside Hyde's dingy house and introduce herself to his mother, who she called "Gross Edna" just because he was her date to prom?

That didn't exactly fit the personality type that Hyde had come to associate with Jackie.

"No, no, no." Hyde headed for the porch steps. "Trust me, she's lovely." And again without thinking, he weaved his arm through Jackie's to lead her away. "Let's just go, all right?"

Immediately Jackie pulled away and Hyde felt stupid for putting his arm around her to begin with. It wasn't like this was some real date, after all. Jackie just wanted to go to prom and Hyde didn't have a date. Voilà. Jackie was his non-date to the junior prom.

But it turned out Jackie wasn't pulling away from him because of that. Instead she pointed to the small gold box he held. "Is that for me?"' she said softly.

Hyde had forgotten. "Oh yeah, here. I got this for ya." He handed her the box that held the corsage.

Jackie stared down at the box in her hands for what seemed to Hyde like an eternity. "Oh God, Steven this is beautiful."

Steven?

Jackie looked like she was going to say more so he waited. Sure enough she eventually looked up and began to speak again. "You know, this whole experience has taught me that I don't need Michael to go to the prom. I can go with anyone. Even you. Thanks."

And then she took a step forward, wrapped her delicate fingers around the back of his neck and pressed a hesitant kiss to his cheek.

Hyde didn't care enough, not anymore, to be insulted by this. He'd pretty much shoved all those feelings of hurt aside that day he met Jackie in the gym when she had taken instantly to Kelso. And with it he had shoved aside anything that would ever let him feel anything but annoyance towards her.

But he was confused now. Did Jackie still believe Kelso was her soulmate? And if she did, why was she even here with him? If this were like the last time she broke up with Kelso before their ski trip, she would have been bottled up in her room crying and feeling sorry for herself.

So why was she with him?

Hyde cleared his throat. "Okay, let's not do that."

Because if they did, if Jackie was over being Kelso's soulmate, this could end up being a very dangerous night for Hyde.

"Sorry," Jackie said. "Um, I have my Dad's Lincoln." Jackie waved the keys in the air. "Will you drive?"

"Yeah." Hyde took the keys. "He's got insurance, right? Wait, I don't care. Let's go."

Hyde didn't think twice this time. He put his arm around Jackie's.

When they reached her car, Hyde uncomfortably walked around the passenger side to open the door for Jackie. She said nothing, but he noticed her eyes widen slightly in surprise. A moment later a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Belatedly, Hyde realized that this was likely because Kelso didn't do that kind of thing for Jackie.

Tool.

Hyde closed the door behind Jackie and walked around to the driver's side. Once he was in and about the put the car in reverse, Jackie turned to look at him. "Thank you," she said softly, biting her lip.

"Sure," he mumbled, unable to find some witty retort.

Jackie was silent most of the ride, but she didn't seem uncomfortable. At one point, however, she opened the glove box and pulled out the boutonniere she had bought for him. She also mentioned Eric and Donna once briefly, and she made some speculations on how they would decorate the gym, which was apparently the most "horrific place to hold an event so integral to a teenager's high school career".

At this point Hyde was getting lost, unable to follow Jackie's popular girl mumbo-jumbo, so he just nodded his head in agreement.

Jackie must've been able to tell, because she gave Hyde a kind smile. "Oh, relax, tough guy. It's just a dance."

"Jackie, I'm fine," Hyde said, but suddenly his palms were sweating.

"Uh-huh." Jackie nodded her head disbelievingly.

They were at the school now. The parking lot was packed with everyone's parents' cars. There were even a few limos. Hyde found a place to park near the front, then swiftly exited and headed toward Jackie's side. She had already opened her door, however, and was getting out of the car.

"Oh," Hyde said, stopping short.

Jackie snapped her head up. "Oh," she echoed. Then her surprised look quickly turned to horror. "I…I didn't realize," she said awkwardly.

"Uh, well at least let me take care of this." Hyde quickly recovered, taking a step forward and taking the corsage box out of her hand. He opened the box and placed it on the hood of the Lincoln. Then he reached down for Jackie's left wrist.

He paused.

Jackie's left wrist, where her soulmate clock had once measured the time until she was to meet Hyde.

Hyde glanced up at Jackie's unknowing face. Her eyes were focused on his hand over hers and he forced himself to forget about it. He still chose not to believe in soulmates, but it was times like this when he wondered how different his life might be if he actually did believe.

He took the corsage and slid it over Jackie's arm before releasing her.

She sighed, bringing her right hand to gently touch the flowers. There was a white and a pink carnation tied together with a bunch of pink ribbons. Hyde hadn't really known what he was looking for when he went to pick it up, so he went with the first pink corsage he could find since Jackie had told him that was the color of her dress.

"It really is beautiful." She looked up, her eyes searching his.

"Okay, well." Hyde shrugged. "Ready to go?"

Jackie nodded. He held his arm out to her and she weaved hers through his. He led her through the front entrance where they collected their tickets then made their way to the dance floor – aka, the gym.

There were all kinds of streamers and spinning lights, and the live band was playing cheesy disco music. But when Hyde glanced over at Jackie, she was entranced. Her doe eyes had gone even wider than before, and he could see the sparkling lights reflected in her eyes. She turned her focus to him, and he could see just how happy she was to be here. With him.

"Can we dance?" she asked hopefully.

"Jackie," he whined.

"Oh, come on. Please," she crossed her lacy-gloved hands and pressed them against his chest. "Unless you want me to start crying again."

Hyde was breathless. What the hell was going on with him tonight? "Okay."

"Yay!" Jackie bounced, then grabbed his hand and tore off to the middle of the dance floor.

They passed right by Kelso and Pam, but Jackie didn't hesitate in her determination, Hyde realized, to get right under the disco ball they had attached to one of the pipes in the ceiling of the gym. Either Jackie didn't notice them or she was ignoring them, Hyde assumed it was the former, but he was more concerned with whether or not Kelso saw them. When he glanced back at the two of them – it was hard to miss Pam in her pastel yellow dress – Kelso was sucking her face, so he thought it was safe to assume he'd missed them too.

Abruptly Jackie turned around, and Hyde collided into her. He quickly recovered, taking a step back and then holding out his hand for Jackie. She took it eagerly and he placed his other hand hesitantly on the small of her back.

Jackie was a very good dancer, Hyde realized. He hadn't paid much attention to her when the gang had gone to the disco in Kenosha, but he faintly remembered that she was fairly skilled. But mostly, he was surprised now by how easily he was able to dance with her. He had only the little skills Mrs. Forman had shared with him, but he had no trouble leading tonight, and Jackie followed effortlessly.

After a few more disco songs, a slower song began playing, and Jackie relaxed into Hyde's arms. Her cheeks were flushed and a few strands of hair were beginning to slip out of her neatly arranged bun, but Hyde begrudgingly realized it only made her more beautiful. He justified this to himself as purely an aesthetic and emotionless observation, nothing else.

Suddenly, Jackie's eyes shifted to something behind Hyde, and he could see her gaze harden. Her smile faltered. He knew she had spotted Kelso. Before Hyde could say anything though, she had shifted her eyes back to Hyde. He felt a bit smug when he saw them relax again.

"Steven, have you met your soulmate yet?" Jackie asked, her voice serious.

Hyde wasn't exactly sure where she was going with this, but he was interested in seeing where this conversation could get him.

"Yes." He made the conscious decision to tell the truth.

Jackie blinked in surprise. "Oh," she paused. "Why aren't you with her?"

Hyde chose his words carefully. "Because she's with someone else."

Jackie's face fell. Hyde's lips twitched at the irony. "I'm so sorry, Steven."

"Yeah, well."

Jackie fell silent. Hyde shifted his gaze so his eyes fell just over the top of Jackie's head. He focused his attention on the music. The lead singer had switched from guitar to piano for this song, and it honestly sounded like he kept hitting the same three keys all while wailing about some lost love found again. It was beginning to annoy the crap out of Hyde, but he kept dancing silently.

"Well, I just…" Jackie started. Hyde looked back down at her, waiting for her to finish. When she noticed though, she averted her eyes. "I just really hope that," Jackie shrugged noncommittally, "that she realizes she made a mistake. Because you're a good guy, Steven." She was using the same voice she had when back at his house.

"Me too."

Where the hell did that come from?

Hyde decided he was only behaving this way because the gym was packed, and combined with the blaring lights intricately placed all over, it was just overwhelmingly hot in there. He felt a compulsive need to tug at his collar.

Once the song was over Hyde took a step back. "Let's take a break," he said, leaving no room for suggestion.

"Okay." Jackie nodded. "Ooh, let's go get our picture taken. We haven't done that yet." She grabbed him by the elbow and begun weaving through the crowd to the photo booth on the other end of the gym.

Hyde didn't have time to protest because arriving at the line for the photo booth at the same time as him and Jackie was Fez.

"Hey, man." Hyde swallowed nervously. He hadn't told anyone that he was taking Jackie tonight, and up until this point he'd been lucky enough to avoid garnering too much attention, even from Kelso. How would Fez react now?

"Hyde, I am having lady troubles," Fez said glumly. "Ms. Kaminsky, I mean Diane, is avoiding me." Then he noticed Jackie. Hyde held his breath. "Jackie, tell me. Am I not a catch?"

"Not now, Fez." She began tugging Hyde's arm. "Come on, Hyde. Picture time."

She pretty much had to drag him under the canopy that had been decorated with fake flowers in front of the camera. Something told Hyde that this picture was not a good idea. Taking Jackie to prom was supposed to be this one-time thing that would be completely forgotten by tomorrow. This picture would make it permanent.

A photographer with wide-rimmed glasses and greasy hair gestured for them to scoot closer together. Jackie reached an arm behind Hyde, smoothed out the front of his tux with the other, then focused on the camera. Hyde belatedly shifted closer to Jackie, but at that point the photographer had already clicked the shutter.

Hyde noticed Fez watching them blankly, his thoughts so far gone that he hadn't even realized that Hyde's prom date was Jackie. "Hey, Jackie," he murmured. "Fez is looking pretty blue so I'm going to take a picture with him, okay?"

Jackie looked over at Fez curiously. "Yeah, sure. I'll just go wait for our pictures to finish developing." Then she was rushing over to the camera.

Hyde quickly grabbed Fez, and together they held the classic finger gun pose for their picture. Then he wandered back over to Jackie who was staring intently down at two photographs.

"Here's your copy!" She handed it to him when she noticed his arrival. She was still so goddamn cheery.

Hyde took the picture. "My copy…" he said distantly. He held it up. In it, Jackie was beaming, her arm glued tight to him. Hyde on the other hand was leaning awkwardly into her side. He'd hadn't even had time to look up at the camera and smile.

But by the way Jackie was still staring at it, it might as well have been her pot of gold. Hyde wondered what Jackie was going to do with that picture. He thought for a brief moment that she might frame it and hang it in her room, but then he remembered that she still thought Kelso was her soulmate. She'd hang the picture if she'd taken it with Kelso, but this photo would probably end up buried in a drawer, or even the trash once she got back together with Kelso.

Which she did that night.

But Hyde still kept his copy.