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

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
LEAPING THE CHASM

Pots clanked together outside Steven's tent. The teachers' version of a wake-up call was relentless, and Jackie scrambled from Steven's sleeping bag. Leaving so quickly was an unhappy but necessary task. Without her, the morale of her teammates could be at risk, and she pulled on her boots.

"What's the rush?" Steven said, voice raspy from sleep. He sat up and cleared his throat. "We got a couple of minutes..."

She slid her coat on over her pajamas. "Are your muscles still sore?"

He stretched his arms above his head, and his knuckles grazed the top of the tent. "Not much, but it doesn't answer my question."

"I guess you were more emotionally exhausted last night than physically," she said and gathered her clothes from yesterday. "But speed is your friend. Don't be a slowpoke on the high ropes course, or you'll overtax your muscles."

"Emotions? What're those?" He was rubbing his eyes, and his chest rose heavily with his breath. The sunrise had tinged everything in his tent orange, including his frustration.

She knee-walked toward him. "It's not like I want to go. But when Valerie learns Ms. McGee is Michael's mistress, it'll create fresh drama. Half the squad's going to participate in the cheer-off, and—"

"You mean half of half," he said. "Lower classmen ain't here to participate."

"I can't change that."

"Lower classmen are gonna suffer for whatever happens on this trip."

She held her clothes with one arm and finger-combed curls off his forehead. He was talking on autopilot, not quite awake. "Julie and I are fighting to save the squad's spirit, not to mutilate it," she said. "Anyway, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yup. I'll be front and center at the 'showcase'."

She dug her fingers into yesterday's shirt. His thinking could be aggravatingly limited, but in this case it was understandable. She was leaving him again. "Prepare to be surprised, Firefly."

Outside, light from the rising was dazzlingly bright. It shone on Jackie through the trees as she crossed the campground, but the teachers continued their pot-bashing. The metallic clanks were akin to torture, and her teammates emerged from their tents like furious badgers.

Ellen covered her ears with her hands. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"We're awake already!" Carla shouted. She shuffled from her tent with her toiletries, presumably to the bathrooms, and kept shouting at the noise.

Patty, though, covered her cheek, the one scratched by the thicket. Her Band-Aids probably had to be replaced, and she scurried after Carla silently.

Jackie waited a moment for Julie, Valerie, or Leslie to show. None of them did. Either they were slow to wake, or they'd gotten a head start to the bathrooms, and Jackie headed for Leslie's tent. Her toiletries were inside, along with a fresh set of clothes, but Leslie crawled from the flaps.

"Jackie?" Leslie stood up straight and blocked Jackie's path. "Where were you last night?"

"Funny. I don't remember you asking me that Thursday morning. You know, after Valerie dragged me from your tent our first night here."

Leslie blew out a breath. "I assumed you slept in El Dorado's tent. She walked you back here, didn't she?"

"Her name is Donna." Jackie copied Leslie's breath-blowing, exaggerating it. Leslie hadn't earned the right to be exasperated, unlike Jackie. "So, have you told Valerie about Michael's—"

"Shh! The timing's not right." Leslie's basket of toiletries dangled from her arm, and she rearranged the items in it. "I'll tell her close to the cheer exhibition. It'll really psych her out."

"A sound plan."

"I thought so." Leslie left with a gamboling step, clearing the way to her tent. The subject of Jackie's whereabouts had been dropped—at least for now—but Leslie had to be careful. Valerie might accuse her of sabotage if she stuck with her scheme.

Ten minutes later Jackie was in the bathroom, rushing through her morning routine. Minimal makeup. Hair swept into a ponytail. Today would be a demanding day, and girls complained beside her at the sinks. They were cranky and exhausted from being in the woods, and the impending ropes courses had created anxiety among them.

Their grievances followed Jackie to the breakfast line, but Jackie bounced on her heels. Their school could change because of the cheer-off. No more ruling social class. Students would be valued for who they were, as equals.

Laughter tickled her throat. Her thoughts were idealistic and barely recognizable as her own, but they made her proud.

At the cheer squad's table, Julie patted an empty spot next to her. It was an invitation, and Jackie accepted. Both were moves Valerie should have questioned, but her garbage duty was over. Michael's embargo from the table had been lifted, and her attention was on him. He teased her with a piece of bacon, brushing it against her lips, and her shoulders hiked to her ears. His affection seemed to disgust her, but she ate the bacon and giggled.

It was an obvious performance, but it ended once she slapped away his bacon-wielding hand. "Girls..." she said and wiped grease from her mouth. "Girls!"

All conversation stopped. Patty's pancake-laden fork froze inches from her lips. Valerie's gaze was on her, and Julie pressed her knee into Jackie's beneath the table.

"I expect the best from you tonight," Valerie said, and her gaze shifted to Leslie, Julie, and Jackie in turn. "Every one of you is part of this exhibition, whether cheering or not. But those of you who are cheering, I hope you've choreographed a sensational routine for yourselves."

Jackie chewed on a piece of bacon, tuning out Valerie's blather. Jackie's routine was a modified version of what won her Best Individual Cheerleader at state last year. Valerie must have assumed she'd do that, but her insight was outdated. Predicting the nature of Jackie's alterations would take more awareness than Valerie had.

A loud "Yeah!" punched the air, and Jackie's arm twitched. Syrup splashed onto the table from her fork, but her teammates had collectively responded to Valerie, and Jackie tuned back in.

"I'm counting on my girls to make me look good," Valerie said. "The team's counting on you. Go, Vikings, go!"

"Go, Vikings, go!" everyone repeated. Michael, too, but Valerie had given the cheer-off competitors a veiled message: "Do a half-ass job on your routine and confirm my superiority."

Normal conversation resumed after the chant. Patty ate her bite of pancake, and Jackie chatted with Ellen, but Michael said, "Jackie—hey, Jackie."

Jackie continued her discussion with Ellen. Ellen's boyfriend, Keith, had apparently sneaked a radio on the trip.

"Jackie!" Michael shouted and seized Jackie's plate of food.

Julie pushed her own plate between herself and Jackie. She had a whole pancake left and cut it in half. "Go for it."

"Thank you," Jackie said and sliced a square of pancake. She needed fuel for the high ropes course, but Julie's friendship was an act of rebellion. On Valerie's cheer squad, teammates were supposed to be rivals, despite Valerie's exhortations for the opposite.

"Jackie, it's rude to ignore someone who's talking to you," Valerie said.

"It's ruder to steal someone else's breakfast," Jackie said. "And immature."

Valerie smacked Michael's arm. "Return her food."

"Fine." Michael shoved Jackie's plate at her. "I just wanted to wish you luck tonight, Jackie. God!"

"Isn't that sweet of him?" Valerie said. "He's trying to be friends. That means he's truly over you."

"That's cool," Jackie said and popped a bacon crumb into her mouth.

Michael jabbed his syrup-coated fork in her direction. "I hope you and Mark can be friends someday."

"We're already friends."

"That's great 'cause it sucks to be dumped." Sympathy was absent from his tone. He chuckled instead, a soft but smug sound. "Think about it: I dumped you in June. Mark dumped you on Thursday..." He slammed the table. "That's rough!"

Jackie's grip tightened on her knife. He was rewriting their history. "Let me set the record straight," she said, addressing her teammates. "I proposed to Michael before the summer, and rather than tell me yes or no,he drove to California. Technically, we were still in a committed relationship, but he cheated on me again, and I broke up with him in a letter."

Valerie snorted, like Jackie were lying, but Jackie said, "Do you remember how that letter began, Michael?"

"'Dear cowardly, won't-marry-me loser, run-away-to-California jackass.' It was a good burn—" He winced. "Damn! I mean, there wasn't any letter 'cause I dumped you!"

Valerie clutched his hand with both of hers. "That's in the past. Michael's the perfect boyfriend now."

A strange hiss scraped Jackie's ears. Most of the cheer squad was suppressing its laughter, but Ellen smirked at Michael. "Well, Valerie certainly talks about you all the time. Like, all the time. You're all she talks about to a lot of girls."

He cupped the back of Valerie's head, clearly oblivious to Ellen's true meaning. "Aw, baby..."

Valerie's eyes stayed open as he kissed her, and she bit his bottom lip. He withdrew, but her teeth retained their hold on him.

"Ow," he mumbled. "Alerie, Alerie … ow!"

She released his lip only when Susan Amborn walked by their table. Susan had her pen and notepad, and she greeted the cheer squad brightly, but Valerie said, "What do you want?"

"An interview," Susan said. "How do you feel that half the school demanded a cheer-off?"

Valerie smiled a gleaming cheerleader smile. "Exhibition. People can't get enough of me."

"I can't get enough of you," Michael said and kissed her neck.

"Stop! You'll stain my jacket!" She slapped Michael off her, whose lip was bleeding from their previous kiss.

Susan scribbled something on her notepad. Then she asked everyone at the table their thoughts on the cheer-off, but Leslie and Valerie spoke over most of the squad. Michael, meanwhile, tried to feed Valerie the last bits of food on her plate.

His efforts to sell himself to her were glaring. Maybe his fling with Ms. McGee had collapsed, making Valerie his sole sexual outlet in the park. Or Jackie's presence was the cause, but his motives were irrelevant. His choices hadn't changed since Jackie's relationship with him, and they probably wouldn't change for the rest of his life.

Students had been split into three groups after breakfast. They were divided by skill level, determined by their performance on the low ropes courses. Hyde had landed in the intermediate group with half the students. They were brought to a high ropes course that, according to park instructors, would be challenging and exhilarating.

Most of the morning, however, would be spent sitting. On benches. The grass. Rocky outcrops. The course consisted of five interconnected obstacles. For safety's sake, instructors allowed the next student to go only when the previous student was two obstacles ahead.

That meant Hyde had a long wait. The order was alphabetical by surname but backward, and he claimed a rocky outcrop. It had some height and offered a good view of the ropes course. Fez, Forman, and Kelso were with him, too, watching kids traverse the course. But the three Stooges should've been in the beginner group.

Fez still complained of body soreness, and unlike yesterday, no one would carry him through the obstacles. But Hyde felt surprisingly refreshed. His stiffness must have come from tension, like Jackie suggested, not physical effort.

"Would you look at that guy" Kelso said an hour in, pointing up at Mitch Miller. He was struggling on the course's third obstacle. "I could take those vines two-by-two."

"I don't envy your life," Forman said, "but I'll take your blind optimism."

Tiny sprouts between outcrop's cracks had grown brown. They were dying from the cold weather, and Hyde's fingertips skimmed a withered leaf. Kelso's optimism was pure stupidity. He had as much coordination sober as Hyde did plastered.

Ms. McGee was the reason he'd made the intermediate group, so Kelso's story went. Fortunately for him, she wasn't supervising the kids here. Mr. Wilcox and Mrs. Fletcher had that pleasure. The eventual entertainment of Kelso flopping on the obstacles would be hilarious.

"You had an easy out, Forman," Hyde said and gestured to the badge pinned on Forman's jacket. "Wilderness Ass gets his choice of the ropes courses."

"As usual, your wit is charming." Forman shined the badge with his sleeve. "I could've joined Donna in the advanced group, but I know my limits. Being taken away on a stretcher … no, thanks." He glanced at the first obstacle. Climbing a tree was the way to access it. Brackets had been screwed into the trunk, creating a ladder. "But people already think I'm not her athletic equal," he said. "Choosing the beginner courses would've been—"

"Smart?" Hyde said.

"I wish I were at the beginner courses." Fez rolled his shoulders. "Ai … if only I had a girlfriend to massage my aching muscles."

"I'll do it, buddy—" Kelso said, "if it involves tossing rocks at you."

Hyde slugged Kelso's arm, causing Kelso to jerk sideways. He'd lost his balance and kicked out a foot to regain it, sending dirt and leaves to the ground. "How's that for a massage?" Hyde said.

"I need this arm!" Kelso shouted. "How else am I gonna chuck rocks at Fez?"

Hyde raised his fist to frog him again, but Forman laid his hand on it. "Kelso," Forman said, "how's your brother Casey doing?"

"Casey?" Kelso's brow furrowed. "I have no idea where he is—oh! But I found a stash of bottle rockets in his closet. We should shoot them at the cows on Dutcher's Dairy Farm."

Fez rubbed his chin, as if deep in thought. "Dairy cows spray milk when they're frightened. We would have to wear raincoats and bring glasses full of Nesquik."

"Better pay more attention in biology, pal," Forman said and turned to Kelso. "What're you planning to do about your girlfriends once we're home?"

Kelso plucked a dying sprout from the outcrop. "Carol isn't my girlfriend. She's my lady-friend. And Valerie can't dump me 'cause we're both homecoming court royalty. So I'm living the high life." He sniffed the sprout then threw it over his shoulder. "But how about Jackie, huh? Poor kid's suffering without me."

"You mean she's happy?" Fez said.

"She was dumped by a turtle..." Kelso grinned. "How happy can she be?"

Hyde's biceps tensed. The pressure traveled to his knuckles, but punches had no effect on Kelso's mind. Words had no real influence, either. Only long-term consequences caused any change, but Kelso hadn't experienced any lately. His sex life wasn't suffering from his choices. He got to hang out with Hyde, Forman, and Fez instead of sitting alone. Hyde could rectify at least one of those situations, but Forman piped up first: "So Jackie can't be happy unless she's with you."

Kelso slapped Forman's knee, and his grin widened. "Man, you understand? Awesome."

Forman's face flushed. His anger on Jackie's behalf was a welcome shift, and although Hyde had plenty to say, he let Forman talk.

"Meaning, you won't let herbe happy unless it's with you."

"No … I just hate the idea of her being happy without me."

"Why?" Forman said.

"Yes," Fez said. "Why?"

Hyde cracked his knuckles but otherwise remained silent.

"I was her first, right? That means I've gotta be her best."

"But it doesn't work the other way around," Forman said.

"Exactly!" Kelso said as a raven cawed overhead. The sound was a guttural croak, and Fez edged closer to Hyde, but Kelso was grinning again. "Wow, I missed talking to you guys. The sex I've been having is great and all, but you really get me."

Forman's feet tapped a rhythm on the outcrop. "I'm sensing a pattern here. You cheat on Jackie. She dumps you. You feel humiliated and try to avenge yourself through Laurie. You flee to California, but Jackie doesn't take you back afterward. You feel humiliated and—"

"Actually, she ran back to ol' faithful on Tuesday." Kelso pulled on the lapel of his jacket. "Yanked me to an empty classroom, and I totally ate her pussy."

"What?" Forman and Fez said together. They were staring at him, but Hyde had to shut Kelso up. He jumped into a crouch, preparing to tackle him, but a park instructor shouted Kelso's name. Debbie Lawson had reached the third obstacle on the ropes course, and Kelso was next in line.

Forman and Fez went mute as Kelso scooted down the outcrop on his ass. He jogged to the starter tree and put on a climbing harness. A park instructor showed him how to connect the safety line, but neither Forman nor Fez spoke. Kelso's confession must've melted their brains, or they were waiting for Hyde's reaction.

Hyde, though, watched as Kelso stepped onto the tree's first bracket. His ascent began well, but his foot slipped off the fifth bracket, and he lost contact with the tree. His body swung through the air like a overwound pendulum, narrowly missing the trunk. But he would've plummeted to the ground if not for the safety line.

"Guess he fainted," Hyde said, but Kelso flailed on the line moments later and grabbed a tree bracket. "Asshole's got twenty lives and a big fuckin' mouth."

"Big enough to make Jackie faint from oral sex!" Fez said. "It should explain everything, but it explains nothing."

Forman's focus moved to Hyde. "You already knew."

Hyde nodded, and Fez's lips pressed together in a bloodless frown. "Kelso told you first?"

"Jackie," Hyde said.

"I see." Fez dug his palms into the rocky outcrop when another raven cawed. "You nursed her back to health that day, and she confessed why she fainted."

Hyde's throat thickened. Jackie's private business was an out-of-bounds subject, but Kelso had kicked it onto the playing field. "Lack of food made her faint," Hyde said roughly. "Alls I'll say about the rest is Kelso's version of events ain't accurate."

"It never is," Forman said.

Fez glared at Kelso, who was tottering on the rope course's first obstacle. "Kelso has three women while I have none!"

"Kelso doesn't have Jackie," Hyde said, but he wasn't the only one. Forman had also said it, and Hyde suppressed a smile. Forman was finally protective of Hyde's girl.

"But she cheated on her boyfriend with Kelso..." Fez said, and his eyes widened. "That is why she and Mark are over! Mystery solved."

Hyde pinched the bridge of his nose. His skull was pounding, but giving Fez the full truth couldn't happen until they were in Point Place. "Trust me on this, man. Jackie has no interest in Kelso."

Fez's shoulders jumped as a third raven cawed. "The crows … it's a warning! All week, my friends have ignored me. Ordered me around. Excluded me from their secrets." He tugged on the hem of Forman's jacket. "Are you throwing me out of the group? Tell me! I need to know."

Forman patted Fez's back. "I understand that this is a confusing time for you. But if you're patient, everything will become clear."

"That is the same advice you gave me about Rhonda!"

Fez raced awkwardly down the outcrop. His muscle tenderness was apparent, and he seemed to be crying, but he'd misplaced his fear. His spot in the basement was secure.

"Guess Fez has a few secrets of his own," Forman said.

Hyde scratched the nape of his neck. Fez's secrets weren't all that secret anymore, and neither were Jackie's.

Fifty feet below, students wandered the grass like colorful beetles. The rope course's first two obstacles had been easy, but the third was kicking Hyde's ass. He was halfway across it, a dozen U-shaped rope "vines". They created a bridge between two trees, but instead of being spaced apart evenly, the vines were at a variety of distances. The gap between the vine he stood on now and the next one required a jump he wasn't sure his legs had in them.

His safety line was clipped to a belay cable above him. If he leapt and missed the vine, he'd drop through the air like a yo-yo but without enough energy to haul himself back up.

His pride could take the hit, but his rep needed to remain intact. It had protected him and Jackie on Thursday's hike. That was his going theory, at least. Kids should've whispered about his and Jackie's hand-holding, but fear kept them quiet. The jocks' and cheerleaders' social power wasn't a monopoly. Being an anarchic asshole carried decent cachet, too.

But he had to get moving, or people would catch his hesitation. The vines were suspended from waist-height cables, and his arms pushed off them as he jumped. His right foot landed on the next vine, but his left foot didn't, and he wrenched his body forward using the cables. His center of gravity shifted. His left leg swung toward the vine, and after another pull on the cables, his left foot perched beside his right one.

He shook out his arms. Resting them on the cables hurt like hell, even through his denim jacket.

"Great jump, Steven!" someone shouted from below. "Keep going!"

He glanced down. Jackie was on the grass, near the ropes course, and she waved both hands at him. Her presence here was confusing, but it restored his fading strength.

He leapt forward, but his arms and legs were trembling by the final vine. Sweat soaked his clothes, and blood roared in his ears like Quartz Falls. He was full of adrenaline, but his heart pumped with more than his body's fight-or-flight response. His girl was cheering for him, and he hopped onto the wooden platform, completing the third obstacle.

Jackie applauded, but he fumbled with the carabiner attached to the fourth obstacle's safety line. "Take your time!" she shouted.

He sucked in a few breaths, and his fingers quit being clumsy. He connected the carabiner to his harness, removed the third obstacle's safety line, but nine wooden beams stood between him and the final obstacle. They created three Zs, which would force him to change directions. He'd have to use the cables they dangled from to support his balance.

The advanced course had to be a circus act, full of trapezes and flaming hoops, if this was only the intermediate course. But he raised his shaky arms to the cables above, and his equally shaky legs stepped onto the first beam.

"Kick the ropes high!" Jackie shouted. "Kick the ropes low! They can't beat you. Go, Steven, go!"

His fuel tank was nearly empty, but her cheering sustained him during the last two obstacles. She used different chants throughout, performed cheerleading jumps, and met him at the bottom of the course.

"I knew you could do it!" she said and embraced him before he could detach the safety line from his harness. A park instructor did it for him, and she asked Jackie to let him remove the harness. "Oh! Sorry." Jackie stepped back. "I'm just so proud of my Steven."

Hyde curled his arm around her shoulders once the harness was off. He tried not to put his weight on her as they walked, but physically he felt like he was ten-years-old—and riddled with his ma's knuckle marks.

"Your cheering saved my ass," he said, and his lips grazed the top of Jackie's head. He'd meant to kiss her, but his body had gone dull.

"I'm a highly-trained spirit booster, Steven. I do what I can, but you're the one who had to climb, leap, and balance."

They sat on a bench together, and she snuggled into the crook of his arm. Her fingers combed his hair from his damp forehead, but she frowned. "I must really love you. I don't even mind your sweat."

He chuckled, too giddy and exhausted to think of an equivalent retort. Or ask why she wasn't at the advanced ropes course. He just wanted to chill with his chick, but Forman darted toward them. He was as sweaty as Hyde but pale, and his expression resembled a frightened rabbit's.

"H-h-how bad was it?" Forman said.

"No worse than boxing a few rounds with George Foreman," Hyde said and chuckled again. "Hey … Foreman vs. Forman."

Forman rocked on his heels. "You're kidding, right? It's not that bad. I mean, Kelso made it. Mitch made it." He peered at the ropes course then snapped his fingers in front of Hyde's face. "Am I gonna die up there or not?"

"He's tired," Jackie, rubbing Hyde's chest. "Don't you hear him? He's laughing at dumb jokes."

"What are you doing here, Jackie?" Forman sounded annoyed, but he gestured across the grass, where Kelso and Fez fenced each other with twigs. "What are you doing here? Aren't you two supposed to lie low?"

"I was fourth to finish the advanced rope course," she said. "Instead of forcing me to watch everyone else do it, Coach Ferguson let me come here."

Forman pointed to the course's second obstacle. "Hackel's struggling. If he has to be rescued, I can sacrifice my turn. The day has only so many hours." He clasped his hands together under his chin. "Jackie, do you know any spirit-deflating cheers?"

"Tons." She waved her fists in the air and chanted, "Hey, hey! You better pray! Because you'll be on those ropes all day!" She clapped twice. "A.L.L. day!"

"I meant for Hackel, but … thanks. That's great."

He slouched and disappeared behind a rocky outcrop, but Forman was nimbler than Hyde. That would help him with the course.

"I told you you'd see more of me today," Jackie said and poked the tip of Hyde's nose.

"You sure you're cool with people seein' us?"

"You're my boyfriend." She sat straighter on the bench and caressed the side of his neck. "Who's in serious need of a haircut, but I'm proud to be seen with you. Anyone who has a problem with that can go fuck themselves."

He grinned at her crude language. He wasn't used to hearing it from her. "That's not ropes-course talk, young lady."

"You like how I talk. You always have."

"Uh..."

"Fine. It grew on you."

"I'll concede that," he said. "Begrudgingly."

Her palm glided over his sideburn, and her fingers rested on his ear. "I'm serious, though. If people 'report' on us to Valerie, I don't care. I won't live and die by what she thinks."

A spark ignited his blood, or maybe it was her growing self-respect, but he leaned his face closer to hers. She accepted his kiss with warm lips, and they made out like they were alone in the three-thousand acre park. Their hands slid along each other's spines, down to their butts, up to their hair. The wind started to gust, and his arms were obviously bruised, but his sense of freedom blunted the pain. Jackie had chosen herself. She was choosing to be happy and that included being with him in public.

His lips skimmed her ear. Feelings rose within him as words, and he began to whisper some, but an unexpected force wedged him and Jackie apart.

"Quit kissing my girlfriend!" Kelso shouted. His hand was on Hyde's chest, but Hyde bashed the underside of Kelso's forearm, causing him to cry out and withdraw. Like Hyde, he had to be bruised from the ropes course.

"I am not your girlfriend!" Jackie said and stood from the bench. Hyde stood with her, despite his weak legs, and she hugged his waist. "Steven is my boyfriend, Michael. We—"

"He's dead!" Kelso dived for Hyde, but Hyde split from Jackie, and Kelso crashed onto the bench. He pushed himself up but whimpered, and he clutched his left wrist. "The Turtle dumped you so you could be with Hyde?"

A crowd of students was gathering, but Jackie said, "We fell in love, and we're together." She slipped her arm around Hyde's back and hooked one of his belt loops with her finger. "That's all you need to know."

"But you were with me on Tuesday!" Kelso said.

"I kicked you in the balls on Tuesday!"

Laughter rippled through the crowd until Mrs. Fletcher and Mr. Wilcox worked on dispersing the students.

"Nuh-uh," Kelso said and stepped in front of Hyde. He was inches away and smelled like grass and bacon grease. "You can't have her!"

Hyde's eardrums stung, but he kept his own voice low. "Your girlfriend—actual girlfriend—gave me a handy on Monday. Have fun with that."

"No, she didn't," Kelso said. He was still clutching his wrist, and the color drained from him.

"She did," Jackie said. "You thought you cheated on her first, but she beat you to it."

Hyde reached behind her back cupped her hip. "Clever choice of words."

"Don't be gross." She tugged on his belt loop. "And thank you. It was probably my subconscious."

"S-subconscious?" Kelso said. "Y-you … and Hyde, but—but no. Val..." His eyelids fluttered, and he dropped to the grass.

Hyde nudged Kelso's leg with his boot, but Kelso showed no reaction. "Crap. He passed out."

"Mrs. Fletcher!" Jackie shouted, and Mrs. Fletcher emerged from the few students gawking at the scene.

"Oh, my—!" Mrs. Fletcher crouched in the grass. She checked Kelso's pulse, and he groaned faintly. She was holding his left wrist.

"Might wanna be careful," Hyde said. "Wrist could be broken."

Mrs. Fletcher called for Mr. Wilcox. The crowd of students was reforming, but it let Mr. Wilcox through and, eventually, the park paramedics.

Kelso regained consciousness, but paramedics insisted on putting him on a stretcher. Mr. Wilcox went with them as they carried Kelso from the field. Fez followed, and students dispersed without prompting, but Hyde stomach twinged.

"He'll be fine," Jackie said and squeezed his hand. "And it's okay to still care about the jerk."

Her ability to read him was unnerving, but care didn't mean loyalty. "Doesn't matter," he said, stroking her jaw. "I'm stickin' with you."

"Steven, I—"

"What happened to Kelso?" Forman shouted from the ropes course. He was at the start of the final obstacle. He'd crossed the first four during Kelso's outburst, faint, and subsequent removal.

"Short-circuited!" Hyde shouted to him.

"From what?"

"Us!" Jackie shouted

"Got it!" Forman flashed them an okay sign and hopped onto the first vine.

Jackie gripped Hyde's jacket sleeve. "How are we gonna stop Michael? He won't let this go. It's like he's obsessed with me."

"Sour the milk, man." He tapped her temple. "He's not gonna want a chick who talks about the subconscious."

"Or who knows what the Noah's Ark Trap is."

A thrill jolted his chest. "Who taught you that?"

"Next time we play chess, I'm going to make your queen-side bishop worthless." She cradled his cheeks. "I'm turning you on, aren't I?"

"You're hot as fuck right now." He kissed her, and students hooted at them. He'd barely parted her lips with his tongue, but he wasn't in the mood for an audience.

She sighed when he cut their kiss short. "Wanna cheer on Eric?" she said.

"Sure," he said, and they strolled, hand-in-hand, to the ropes course.