Disclaimer: That '70s Show copyright The Carsey-Werner Company, LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
BALANCING ON A PEBBLE

Jackie fled Steven's hiking group on the rocky path. The trail sloped downward as it got closer to the Rainbow Cascades, and traveling it required a careful eye and good balance. Chunks of broken stones threatened to twist ankles, but the cheer squad was scattered through Mrs. Fletcher's group. Jackie's teammates were walking in gossip clusters, and she needed speed. If any of them caught her sneaking by, they'd prevent her passage to the front.

Valerie and Michael were to the left, arm-in-arm. Leslie and Patty Frumkin were to the right, chatting with Jake Bradley and others on the football team. Other students clumped together in the center, and Jackie broke through them. Her elbow landed in someone's gut, but she didn't apologize. Her voice would give her away.

Neil Rooney plodded ahead of her, but his lumbering pace belied his swiftness. On the football field, he tackled enemy players with ease, but his focus tended to be narrow. He was trying to shove his best friend, Paul Makowski, toward the Trumpeter River. His heels dug into the dirt as Paul pushed back, and Jackie skirted by on his right. He showed no reaction to her presence, not even a glance. That lack of peripheral awareness often got the Vikings into trouble, especially against the Snapping Turtles, but it had served her well today.

Only one last knot of students remained in the way. She was close to the front now, but the trail underfoot had gotten pebbly. Moving too quickly would be like running on marbles.

She surged forward. Her right foot slipped, but she regained her balance and dodged the flailing arm of a gossiping teammate. Jackie's left foot kicked a large pebble into the calf of the trail guide, but he seemed not to notice, and she sprinted past him and Mrs. Fletcher.

Her pulse pounded through her body as she kept running. Three yards of bumpy path lay before her, but she had to get to first hiking group.

She searched the ground and landed her steps in pebble-free areas. The falls' ceaseless rumble competed against her heartbeat. Her chest burned with the instinct to survive, but the first hiking group was in sight. A few feet more, and she'd be safe.

The students closest to her were gazing at the sky, as if birdwatching. Jackie widened her stride, but a pebble skidded beneath her boot. She crashed into the bird watchers, two boys. Her center of gravity had shifted too far over her feet, but hands grabbed her as she fell and yanked her upright.

"You okay?" one of the boys said, and she flinched. Buddy Morgan. He should've been in the group she'd left behind.

"Yeah," she said, and he released her arm. "I … needed a change of scenery."

"I get that."

"Does he ever." The boy to her left chuckled and let go of her waist. "Go up further," he said, moving to Buddy's side. "Enjoy the park without all the noise."

"Thanks," she said and went deeper into the group, but the noise was inside her head.

A few minutes ago, Steven had shown her an incredible amount of trust. Reassured her. Tried to empower her, and said, "I love you." It was the first time he'd spoken those words to her. He'd already admitted to falling in love, but saying, "I love you," was new level of intimacy.

His courage frothed in her stomach. He couldn't care less who saw them together or about the consequences that might follow. He just wanted to be with her, but shame had propelled her from him.

She was trembling at Valerie and Leslie's social power, cowed into subterfuge. Her parents had taught her better, to stand tall through any crisis, head held high. To put herself first. But they no longer considered her concerns and had, instead, become them.

"We'll be at the Rainbow Cascades in about fifteen minutes," the trail guide said from the front. "You can already hear them. They're the halfway mark on the trail, so—"

"Fifteen minutes!" Coach Ferguson shouted. "Lunch in fifteen!"

A raven cawed in the sky afterward. Students laughed, but Jackie's stomach continued churning. She should've stayed with Steven, told him she loved him. He'd waited during her confusion about Michael. He was still waiting, and she prayed he'd forgive her for leaving again—

"Jackie!" an unwelcome voice said, and Jackie's shoulders jumped. Julie walked up beside her, cheeks flushed. She wasn't supposed to be here. Jackie had escaped to this group for sanctuary. "I saw you running," Julie said, "but you were too quick. I'm so glad I found you!"

Jackie pulled her braid over her shoulder and tugged on it. "Oh, hell. Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so. I slipped away when Jake tossed Patty over her shoulder. She squealed, and everyone was gawking at her."

"But that's so exciting!" Jackie said with fake sincerity. "Jake and Patty are totally an item now, right? Why aren't you with the squad to celebrate?"

"Honestly?" Julie gestured to the river. "I'd rather be fishing than spend another second with those catty bitches."

"You fish?" The hobby didn't match Julie's personality. She screamed whenever the wind tousled her hair. No way would she put on a bucket hat and touch worms.

"My dad and I go on fishing trips all the time. According to one of the trail guides, the Trumpeter's got walleye and panfish. If I had my rod, I could catch my own lunch. Of course, I'd also need my fillet knife, scaler, and..."

She went on about gutting and dressing a fish, and Jackie stifled a laugh. This group of students had been designated the Nerd Squad by the jocks, and Julie fit right into it. She'd been hiding parts of herself from the cheer squad, just like Jackie, but Julie hadn't questioned Jackie's presence here. She was acting suspiciously casual.

"Why did you follow me?" Jackie said. It couldn't be to ramble on about fish.

Julie clutched the straps of her backpack. "Valerie interrogated me about Michael Kelso, as if I'd ever be attracted to that idiot … no offense. The only thing interesting about him is that by dating Valerie, he might actually wreck her reputation. Again, no offense."

Jackie's spine stiffened. The earthy scent of the river entered her nostrils, but she said nothing.

"He's a whore," Julie continued. "He's stupid. He's clumsy. He kind of resembles a horse when he laughs—"

"I got it." Jackie shut her eyes, and the rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker echoed through the trees. Its sharp beak might as well have been pecking at her skull. By insulting Michael, Julie had insulted Jackie's judgment. Naïveté, inexperience, and the illusion that she could control the uncontrollable. These made up her defense, but they were also conspiring to take her down.

Julie edged toward the river. "What I don't get, though, is why Valerie's dating him. Or fixed the homecoming election so he'd be king."

Jackie had the answer, but trusting Julie would be as stupid as trusting any of her teammates. Leslie turned out to be a power-hungry schemer, and other girls on the squad might have grudges they were hiding.

"Who knows why Valerie does anything she does?" Jackie said, and Julie grasped her arm. They were descending a rockier part of the trail, and Julie's balance was off. "Let go!" Jackie shouted. "You're gonna make both of us fall!"

"Sorry—these little stones are—I don't want to trip and break my neck."

"Then pay attention and don't walk on the little stones." It was Wilderness Wisdom 101, taught to Jackie when she was a Daisy in the Girl Scouts. "You're trained for this. Use your skills."

"Okay, okay." Julie freed Jackie's arm and wobbled. "I—jeez—all right." She continued to totter but became steadier the farther they traveled. "Think I've got the hang of it … wish I could say the same about Valerie. I mean, she accused me of wanting to suck Michael's balls. Me! After everything I've done for that whore."

Jackie kept her gaze on the ground. "If you're so bothered by Valerie's treatment of you, why not use your leverage? She obviously thinks Michael's cheating, or going to cheat, on her. Remind her that she cheated on Michael first, and she'll leave you alone."

"I can't do that. Steven probably hated every second she touched him."

"Excuse me?" Jackie's focus shot to Julie, but her boot skidded on a few pebbles, and she looked down again.

"Valerie's so not his type. I don't think he invited her to jerk him off." Julie lowered her voice, and Jackie strained to hear it over the roar of the Rainbow Cascades. "She's bragged about her … uninvited advances before. She likes how the guy struggles then gives in because she's all over his dick, 'so what's not to enjoy?'"

She'd imitated Valerie perfectly, and Jackie's next blink coated her lashes with tears. Her body tingled with adrenaline, but she couldn't break. Valerie deserved to have her skin burned off for what she'd done to Steven. He'd been hurt by so many people, and he gave his trust to few. It was a priceless jewel, as vulnerable as an exposed heart.

Jackie's attention remained on the rock-strewn ground. A tear fell onto a chipped stone, and she blotted her eyes with her jacket sleeve. She had to protect him. Valerie and the cheer squad were spiders, and their venom wouldn't liquefy any more of his innards.

"What did you and Steven talk about," Jackie said, "you know, at the Fatso Burger?"

"Oh, God, so much! He apologized to me for our disastrous afternoon together, and he gave me some great advice." Julie heaved out a breath. "He cares about people, Jackie. Like, a lot. Even if they've done him wrong. Dating's clearly out of the picture for us, but I'd be happy to be his friend."

She pointed at the ground. It was less pebbly now, but larger stones still posed a danger. "He's the kind of guy who'd pick you up if you fall … so you see why I can't blackmail Valerie? It could affect him, too."

Jackie's throat felt jagged, like she'd swallowed the broken rocks underfoot. Steven must've told Julie they would never happen as a couple—gently. He'd shown her respect, and she was returning it. "Wh-what advice did he give you?" Jackie said, pinching the skin of her neck.

"I'd like to keep that private," Julie said, "but it made me look at myself. I love being a cheerleader, but I hate being on the cheer squad … and so do you. That's why you're here, right? And not back there with them."

"Um..." Jackie glanced at the river. Jumping into it and ending up in Lake Superior seemed like a reasonable idea.

"Anyway," Julie said, "I'm seriously considering quitting."

The admission pushed down on Jackie's shoulders, and she straightened her posture in response. Whatever Steven told Julie, it had obviously been powerful, but it wasn't an, "I love you." Julie didn't have Steven's pendant against her heart. Or his trust.

"Do you hate the squad or being under Valerie's thumb?" Jackie said.

"Both. We're the ones who let Valerie push us around. If we could, like, start a cheer union to collectively bargain … but I can't fight her alone. It'd be like one soldier facing a whole army." Julie counted off on her fingers. "Our teammates, populars across all the grades, the Vikings. Quitting would be suicidal..."

Her eyes became glassy, but her lips continued to move, like she was continuing the conversation inside her brain. "And it's just one more year," she said eventually. "Then Valerie will be gone. I'll be captain, and I can change how the squad operates."

"If Valerie doesn't screw you over first."

"She won't if I act like I'm super loyal and do some dirty work for her. Her cockiness makes her careless, and that I can use. She'll believe I'm scared of her instead of furious."

Jackie pressed her hand against her chest, against the shooting star pendent beneath her clothes. "You can do everything right and still lose."

"Nuh-uh."

"Play chess some time. Then talk to me."

"You are such a nerd," Julie said but patted Jackie's back. "I like it."

Picnic blankets were spread on a rocky overlook by the Rainbow Cascades. The overlook stretched along the river and had room for a hundred people, but the fit was tight. Hyde and his friends sat next to Jimmy Headgear and his group, but their backs were to one another, creating a semblance of privacy.
The rush of the falls didn't hurt, either. It acted like a white-noise generator, concealing conversations. It meant Hyde had to sit uncomfortably close to his friends, but it was preferable to shouting. What he needed to say wasn't for the school to hear.

During the first half of the hike, he'd told Forman and Donna what he could. Explained his situation with Jackie and his apparent flirtation with Julie. Forman and Donna said they would help, and Forman even claimed he owed Hyde and Jackie a few, which was damn cool.

Right now, though, no one was talking. Teachers and trail guides had passed out sandwiches and bags of potato chips, but students were expected to bring water themselves. That was why thermos had been on the list of trip supplies. Students filled theirs up before the hike began, but Jackie had nothing with her. She should've brought a backpack, not a makeup case, to Quartz Falls. She should've cut off her conversation with Leslie this morning, too, and prepared for the hike.

Hyde pulled a plastic cup from his backpack, one of a few he'd swiped at breakfast. Jackie needed a refresher on basic survival. Or, more likely, she was so afraid for her emotional and social well-being that necessities like water had been forgotten.

"Fez, man," he said and held up his thermos, "bring this to Jackie, would ya?" He held up the plastic cup next. "And this."

Fez scowled, but he also wrapped his sandwich in the plastic it came in. "I will do this thing because Jackie is my friend," he said and stuffed the sandwich into his coat pocket, "but when will you start being a friend to Fez?"

Hyde glanced at the falls. Fez had a right to be annoyed. Hyde was treating him like a butler, but the potential price Fez would exact from him … "What do you want?"

"Quality time. I'm getting nothing from Kelso, nothing from girls. I need something!"

"Looks like someone's gonna have to put out," Forman sang, and Donna laughed.

"I'm not gonna cuddle with you, Fez," Hyde said. "But we can hang out, okay? Just bring her the water."

Fez grabbed the thermos and cup. "Oh, I'll bring it. Then you and I are singing campfire songs."

He left their blanket and headed in Jackie's direction. She was far enough downriver that Hyde couldn't see her, but he knew she was there. He'd watched the cheer squad set up its picnic area and made sure his friends saw it, too.

"You think having a name that ends in IE is a requirement to be a cheerleader?" Forman said.

Donna chuckled incredulously. "What?"

"Think about it. Jackie. Valerie. Julie. Leslie."

"Wow. That's … a weird coincidence. I'm surprised they didn't force Patty Frumkin to change the spelling of her name to P.A.T.T.I.E."

Forman bit into his sandwich but appeared to swallow without chewing. "Hey, if you changed your name to Donnie, you could join the cheer squad."

"I'll get right on it," Donna said and popped a potato chip into her mouth.

"What we gotta get on is who Kelso's nailin'," Hyde said. Forman and Donna's banter was nice for them, but Hyde had no time to joke around. "The chick's blond, but that's a third of the girls here."

"You and Jackie should ignore the cheer drama and be together," Donna said.

Forman pointed at her, as if he agreed. "So Kelso's cheating on Valerie? That's what he does."

"Wish I could freakin' ignore it." Hyde rubbed the nape of his neck. It was hot despite the chill in the air. "We need the dirt on Kelso so we can get leverage. Valerie's a psycho, man. She did somethin' pretty nasty to me, and if she goes nuclear with Jackie..."

He stared at the sandwich in his hands. It was mostly uneaten. He'd probably save it for the second half of the hike.

"Is that what you and Julie were talking about at Fatso Burger?" Forman said.

"Hyde, what did she do?" Donna's voice was soft, and she rubbed Hyde's arm. She'd asked him the same question, more than once, when they were younger. Back then, it was about his ma. About the bruises Edna had pounded into body and brain.

His stomach tensed, but he said, "Grabbed my dick without asking—and before you make this a fuckin' episode of Donahue, I stopped her. Eventually."

"Eventually?" Forman said. "Valerie cheated on Kelso with you?"

"That wasn't cheating." Donna rewrapped her sandwich and dropped it into her backpack. "It was assault. The key words here are without asking."

Forman cleared his throat. "But Kelso won't care about that. Maybe he found out, and that's why he's—whoa, Donna!"

She'd pushed herself to her feet, but Forman captured the leg cuff of her jeans. "Let go of me!" she shouted. "I'm sick of that bitch messing with my friends!"

Hyde stood up and cupped her shoulders. "So am I, but we gotta play this smart. Boxing ain't the sport here. It's chess."

"Fine." Donna sat down again. Hyde did the same, but Donna clearly wasn't happy. She'd grasped the corner of their picnic blanket and was twisting it.

"And no. Kelso doesn't know," he said to Forman. "He'd be all over me if he did."

"Kelso!" The name was a gasp, and Forman pressed his fist to his chin. "He's gonna be furious when he finds out about you and Jackie."

Donna wrenched the blanket hard enough to jostle her backpack. "Kelso has nothing to say about it."

"Okay," Forman said, still looking at Hyde, "but what happens to the basement when your relationship is out in the open?"

"Your choice." Hyde extended his legs into Fez's empty spot on the blanket, but his friendship with Kelso was done. "If someone had treated Donna how Kelso treated Jackie, would you wanna hang out with him? Hell, Kelso hasn't been all that swell to Donna."

"And you were?" Forman's voice cracked, and he drank some of his water. "I mean, if we're throwing stones, let's throw them."

Hyde picked at the Band-Aid on his wrist. He hadn't meant to yank Donna into the middle of this conflict, but they'd had some private conversations Forman wasn't involved in. "Donna," he said and flicked her eyes in her direction.

She nodded and plucked her sandwich from her backpack, a signal that she'd let him do the explaining.

"I was a selfish asshole, and Donna's gotten more than apology outta me. Took me months to earn back her trust and longer for me to earn back mine, all right? Where do you think I got my one-week only policy from, huh? Why I told girls from the get-go what I want from 'em and what I don't?"

Donna nodded again, but Forman tugged on the drawstrings of his hood, like he wasn't convinced.

Hyde ripped the Band-Aid off his wrist. "Look, what I did to Donna's with me every damn day. I read through the pile of feminist books she gave me, and—"

"She made you read her books?" Forman said, and Donna nudged his shoulder. "What? You never made me read them."

"The point is, man," Hyde said, "I'd never treat Donna, or any girl, how I used to."

Donna patted his knee. "It's called respect. You give it. Kelso doesn't."

"I can't kick Kelso out of the basement," Forman said. "He's been one of our best friends since first grade."

Hyde had wadded up the used Band-Aid. He was rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, but Forman had a bad habit of idolizing their childhoods. "If Kelso's your definition of friend, maybe Red's kicked your ass too many times."

Forman fell silent, but Donna had finished her sandwich and said, "So we discover who Kelso's fooling around with. Then what?"

"We gotta spread it," Hyde said. "Distract Valerie so she can't tell which way is up. 'Cause if we don't, if she learns me and Jackie are together, she'll go after us hard." He scratched at the scab on his wrist as his blood turned to fire. "Alls we need is for her to shove her mouth over my dick and have Jackie witness it. A two-for-one special."

"Come on," Forman said. "She wouldn't do that. What's the point?"

"To wreck Jackie from the inside-out. This isn't some minor league grudge, man. It goes back years, outside of school. Valerie's sick in the skull, and she's fixated on my chick."

"Valerie's gonna have to learn about you and Jackie sooner or later," Donna said. "Be a united front. Show her no one can touch you." She gestured to the falls. "Or drown her. I'm good for either option."

"I say go with the first," Forman said. "You and Jackie … love each other, right?" He shuddered, as if describing his parents having sex. "Hold onto that, and you'll be fine." His arm glided over Donna's shoulders. "Take me and Donna for example. No one could wreck us except us. I didn't trust her, and that's what ultimately broke us up."

Donna gazed at him with wide eyes. "Wow. Thank you for admitting that ... but I also started drifting away before we broke up. Because I felt trapped."

"Because I was so insecure that I didn't trust you. You have a right to your independence. Being in a relationship shouldn't cancel that out."

"God, I love you."

She cradled Forman's face, and bile rose in Hyde's throat as they began to make out. He turned toward the falls, but the constant pounding of water on rocks fused with his thoughts. He and Jackie could've been together, returning the nausea Forman and Donna had given him. But they were choosing to stay apart, using Valerie and the cheer squad as an excuse to do it.

Lunch had been an uncomfortable hour. Leslie sneaked conspiratorial glances at Jackie as Valerie and Michael kissed. Their display was a total act, but at every smack of Michael's lips, Jackie remembered his mouth between her legs and cringed. It was an experience she wished she could erase while keeping the wisdom it had given her.

At least Steven had sent Fez over with water for her. She wasn't taking care of herself properly, and his love put a bright, painful spotlight on it. Socially, though, she'd begun to make progress. Julie had shared her water earlier, before Fez showed up, but drinking more would force Jackie to pee in the woods. Other girls already had, returning with horror stories of rabid chipmunks and pervy boys trying to steal a look.

So Fez drank Steven's water instead while sighing morosely at Michael. Michael gestured in Fez's direction. It could've been a wave hello, but Fez must have interpreted it differently—as a get-out-of-here—because he left.

Jackie should have gone with him. Finished eating with Steven and their friends. Last year, she would have, but with Leslie and Valerie watching her, she chose to stay put. When lunch was over, however, she blended into the crowd of students. She joined Coach Ferguson's group again without interference, but Julie didn't come with her.

Julie was probably ingratiating herself to Valerie, to stabilize her position in their social circle. But Jackie needed more time to herself, as much as she could get with two-dozen schoolmates surrounding her.

No one engaged with her, though. Kids were more interested in what met them on the trail, like the deer that scampered from the river to the trees or the faint, mournful call of the loon.

The trail guide eventually led everyone across the Trumpeter, over a wooden footbridge. Quartz Falls had become visible. The hike continued southwest along the river, but Jackie was sweating. The path sloped upward, and she unzipped her jacket halfway.

Had Steven been beside her, she would've challenged him to a race over the rocky trail. Her speed, agility, and balance gave her an edge. Her prize for winning: him carrying her to the campground as they made-out, but her daydream burst in a rush of water.

Her group was close to Quartz Falls now, and kids were elbowing one another and laughing. She stepped on her tiptoes to see over their heads, but far-off voices traveled through the air. Lots of them. Another group had to be on the same hike, heading toward hers.

"The falls are haunted!" a girl near Jackie shouted.

"By teenagers?" another girl shouted. "Ft. Anderson might be full of goons, but they're not ghosts."

"Ft. Anderson?" the first girl said, and Jackie pushed to the front of the group. Spray from the falls landed on her cheek. The force of the water buffeted her, but she held her position as twenty or so kids approached from the south. Their uniforms marked them as Ft. Anderson students, and they were led by a trail guide and a woman with a whistle around her neck

"Coach Saunders!" Coach Ferguson said when the two groups met by the falls. "Fancy running into you here."

"Coach Ferguson," Coach Saunders said.

A smile rose on Coach Ferguson's lips. It could've been one of rivalry or satisfaction, but he gave instructions to the trail guide. The guide was to walkie-talkie the other Point Place High groups and tell them to delay.

The two coaches walked off together. While their tones were argumentative, their words were far less so. This meeting had been planned. The rumors about them were true, but Ft. Anderson's students puzzled Jackie more. Some were too tall, too mature in appearance to be freshmen.

One even resembled Mark from the back with his blond, shoulder-length hair. He was talking to a boy significantly shorter than him, definitely a freshman. But when the taller boy turned, Jackie's breath caught. He had Mark's face. Was Mark, and his expression shifted from shock to joy.

"Jackie?" he said but was already dashing toward her. His steps sent pebbles flying into the river, and his arms closed around her waist before she could react. He swept her into the air, spun her, and his kiss drop-kicked her heart into the falls.

Author's Note: Thanks to fellow T7S author 107derwent for pointing out that the names of the main cheerleaders of this story end in IE. Credit for Eric's observation about it goes to her.