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

Author's Note: This story was written for the 2022 Zenmasters Anthology on tumblr.

CHAPTER TWELVE
LEFT TURN

Hyde paced the Formans' den, from the fireplace to the bookcases, and circled Jackie in the process. She was leaning forward on the ottoman, clutching its sides. He'd managed to help Kelso this summer without becoming Jackie's boyfriend, but she'd just asked him to pull the trigger. "You're the actor, man. Not me."

"You don't have to do much," she said. "And it won't mean anything to anyone but my parents. They're the only ones who need to see the act. Hold my hand in front of them. Maybe a quick peck or a hug."

He quit pacing and pinched the bridge of his nose above his shades. Pretending to be her boyfriend—doing what was required to make that happen—would mean too much to him. This summer solidified how far he'd fallen for her. Suppression and denial were no longer friends, and he'd lied a moment ago: he was an actor. Every second he spent with her was a mix of authenticity and deception.

"Steven, please? I can't come here while Michael's here unless my parents think I'm dating you. I'll never see him otherwise, or I'll be sent to boarding school." She rubbed her shell pendant between her thumb and forefinger. The shell's iridescent surface caught the den's light, creating a rainbow of color. "Michael needs time to win my parents' trust. This is the only way."

"It's freakin' insane." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "I'm freakin' insane."

Jackie sprang off the ottoman and looped her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" She kissed his cheek. "Thank you, thank you!"

"All right, all right." He patted her back awkwardly. Incompatible feelings clashed inside his chest, delight in causing her joy and misery that her affection for him was about Kelso.

The door to the living room slammed open. "You two—" Red stomped into the den with Mrs. Forman behind him—"quit fooling around. I want answers!"

Hyde and Jackie withdrew from each other.

"Where's our son?" Mrs. Forman said.

Jackie nodded at Hyde. "Here."

"Not that one," Red said. "The dumbass."

"Kelso just got home from Europe," Hyde said, "parked his van on the driveway. Maybe Forman's out there."

Mrs. Forman shook her head, hair slightly frazzled. "He's not. We checked."

"He's been missing three days." Red pointed at Hyde. "You know where he is. I can see it in your eyes."

"So can I," Mrs. Forman said. "Well, not your eyes exactly because you're wearing your sunglasses, but I see it anyway." She clasped her hands together in supplication. "Please, honey, where is Eric?"

Guilt roiled in Hyde's stomach. No one could torture truth out of him like Mrs. Forman, but betraying Forman on this one would be bad. Especially because Hyde was an accessory.

Blood rushed into Red's neck and cheeks. "Protect him on pain of me shoving my foot up your—"

"California!" Jackie blurted. "I bought him a plane ticket because he wouldn't shut up about Donna, and Donna wouldn't shut up about him, and it got really annoying."

"You did what?" Red and Mrs. Forman said together.

"Not with my own money. I used his Candy Land stash."

Hyde stared at Jackie. She was covering for him. Buying Forman that ticket was his idea.

"How is he going to get back home?" Mrs. Forman gestured wildly in the air and narrowly missed a bookshelf. "He didn't have enough in there for a round trip. If he hitchhikes, we'll never see him again! You know how some of those truckers are."

"Yup." Hyde exhaled through his nose. "My ma went off with one of 'em, and I never saw her again."

Blood had reached Red's forehead, and his left temple pulsed. "We told him no California! Damn it, now I've got to call Midge long-distance on my dime."

He strode out of the den. Mrs. Forman hurried to catch up with him, and Hyde returned his gaze to Jackie. Trying to conceal his awe was pointless. "Burning Forman—" for Hyde's sake—"that was so badass."

"You risked everything for me once … your whole future." She returned his look of awe, sparking itchy heat in his skin. "You're turning your life upside-down now for my future. This was nothing."

The Formans had left the den door open. She began to leave, but he said, "It's not nothin'."

She gripped the door frame and glanced at him over her shoulder. "I risked nothing, so it is nothing."

He slumped onto the armchair once she was gone. He hooked his shades onto his shirt collar and cupped his left fist with his right hand. She hadn't sounded dismissive but ashamed. This situation was screwed up, but his body shivered with how much he loved her.

"Hyde, Hyde—" Kelso shouted, hurling himself into the den, "what did Jackie tell you?"

Hyde jerked his face toward Kelso. "Huh?"

"She said to talk to you about us—about me and Jackie, not me and you." He plunked onto the ottoman across from him. "Did you two 'date' this summer? Do her parents like you? Is our plan working?"

Hyde cleared his throat. "Didn't date, but her folks invited me to have dinner at their place every Friday. They think I'm smart or somethin'."

"That's great! Did you talk me up?"

"Tried."

"And?"

"I'm gonna pretend to be Jackie's boyfriend so she can come over here and see you."

Kelso slapped Hyde's knee. "Man, you're the best! What kind of friend does that? I'll tell you who: Steven Hyde." He laughed in triumph. "So I'll get to date Jackie in secret while her parents think she's dating you. And I'll use this year to show them how worthy of her I am."

He counted off on his fingers. "I've booked modeling gigs in Milwaukee and Chicago for September and October. They'll see me in fashion ad campaigns, and who wouldn't want their daughter dating a famous model?"

"Right," Hyde said. "How are you planning on graduating high school?"

"Oh, I'm quitting high school." Kelso grew quiet, as if he were reconsidering the decision. Hyde sure as hell hoped so, but then Kelso said, "I'm nineteen, and I'll get my G.E.D. My agency's setting all that up."

"You're dropping out?"

Kelso shrugged. "I suck at school, and I'm great at modeling. I made thousands of bucks this summer, and all high school's gonna do is hold me back."

"Moron, you could see Jackie all you want in freakin' school. Hang out, make out, whatever."

"I know, but you're always telling me to think." Kelso tapped his skull. "And I've thought. My future isn't in college. It's on the runway and in photo shoots."

Hyde scooted forward on the armchair. "Is it with Jackie, too?"

"Duh!"

"How?"

"We've got that part figured out. God, follow the conversation. You pretend to be her boyfriend until I get famous enough for her parents to want her to be with me."

Kelso stood and punched Hyde's upper arm gently. "Again, you're the best! When this is over, I'll introduce you to some models at my agency 'cause they are hot! I mean, these are the kinds of chicks you can't meet in Point Place."

He chuckled nervously. "It's a good thing I'm in love with Jackie or else ..." He looked at the ceiling, probably lost in his Playboy Mansion fantasy. "Well, anyway, it'll be good to do it with her again. My hand hurts from all jerking off I did in Europe." He flexed his fingers. "I might've developed tendinitis. Those girls, man … but they're not worth losing Jackie over. So I didn't."

He bounded out of the den like puppy chasing a ball. Despite temptation, Kelso had stayed loyal.

And so would Hyde, his own feelings be damned.