A/N 1: First of all, thank you so much for all of you who reviewed, followed and favorited this story so far. It means so much you guys are enjoying it and were eager to know more about HJ saga. I'm really sorry I haven't posted earlier, but real life got in the way in lots of ways. I wish I had thanked everyone who followed/favorited individually, but I just couldn't manage, but please feel hugged by me! haha Hope you enjoy this chapter!

A/N 2: As you might've noticed, I changed the story cover for the official one made by my ZMA artist, the wonderful MistyMountainHop. All credits to her! Thank you so much, sweetie! I love it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no money is being made through this story.

Chapter TWO

She had figured it out. At least, almost figured it out. It was the only explanation for that random question about his Spanish test yesterday.

He had to be more careful from now on. Pestering her and pretending he didn't care at all would stop being effective if she kept gathering clues about her soulmate. Yesterday he had almost been caught, but thankfully, his bad boy reputation had saved him from saying the wrong thing and being dragged into the doom that was Jackie Burkhart. That chick was nuts and he was sure she would start following him like a lost puppy if she'd actually found out.

Not that he really believed in this whole soulmate thing anyway. Some people seemed to live for that crap, but he was still a little skeptic that the system really worked. After all, there were only so many couples he knew that were unhappily married, starting with his own parents. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that the daily premonitions on his arms meant something, and the worst part was that he was positive they were about his best friend's girlfriend.

He used to not give a damn about those premonitions back in the day. Sometimes, he wouldn't even bother to check out his arm after waking up, and just go out and live his life. The whole idea seemed stupid anyway. But gradually, some facts in real life started to match the bluish drawings on his skin, mostly because Kelso would never keep his mouth shut every time he did it with Loud Mouth. If he woke up with a tiny sample of porno in his arm, he could bet the tall moron would come by later bragging about the dirty stuff he had done – or tried to do – with his hell of a girlfriend.

He didn't care though about the fact that the most annoying girl in the universe was his alleged soulmate. It wasn't like he would ever want to make out with her anyway, or touch her olive skin, or kiss her plump lips… No, no. He wouldn't wish that kind of trouble for anyone, not even for his worst enemy.

Then why was he so eager for Jackie to find out about Kelso and Laurie's affair? Why was he trying to set Kelso up endlessly lately and enjoying every time Jackie spat at him? It could only be about the pleasure of burning his moron friend, right?

With these unusual thoughts in mind, Hyde wiped the shaving cream out of his face with an old towel and looked at his reflection on the tiny mirror of the basement bathroom. "You gotta be careful, man", he reminded himself again and walked back to his dark bedroom. When taking the deodorant from the top of the dresser, he noticed yesterday's Spanish test resting beside it. He kneaded the piece of paper, opened his underwear drawer and shoved it inside, right in the back behind the winter socks.

That girl was really messing up with his head, man. Unlike other days, Hyde slid his left sleeve up for the second time before breakfast. The purple drawing was already blurred by then, but he couldn't deny it would be a tough Friday for the basement gang. According to the premonition, tears would be shed, and judging by the latest events, he was positive why they would.

Having lunch under the bleachers with other burnouts was Hyde's plan since the minute he stepped inside the school. He wanted to keep his distance as much as he could, but was intercepted by Fez and Eric at his locker, being practically forced to eat with them at the cafeteria like all the other normal students. He only agreed on going with them because Kelso was nowhere in sight, so it was less likely to have Jackie with them at the table.

Luck wasn't at his side though, because soon after he sat at the table with his metal tray and dubious food, the brunette pranced inside the noisy room followed by Donna. Forman sat by Hyde's side and was paying attention to Fez across the table. The foreign kid was talking non-stop about some event that happened to him during first period, but his voice was only a distant sound for Hyde. His shaded eyes followed the girls towards the cafeteria counter, then to their table. They seemed to be engaged in their own enthusiastic conversation, because even after they grabbed their food, they didn't bother to say much to the guys when they took their own seats next to Forman and Fez.

From his spot, Jackie was on his field of vision. She talked in a low voice to Donna and he couldn't make out her words – not that he really wanted to. She didn't seem that upset as he found her yesterday, but she wasn't happy either. In fact, she looked a bit worried, her face shifting constantly between wide eyed and a frown, but he avoided peeking at her for any longer. The less he worried about her the better.

Eventually the last member of the gang showed up carrying his backpack and a few literature books. Fez quickly slid to the seat across from Hyde to give space between him and the brunette for his handsome friend, who sunk into it with a huff.

"Michael, where were you? Lunch time is almost over," Jackie spat at him, her shrill tone of voice back on.

"I was stuck at Mr. Johnson's class," Kelso said. "I failed literature again. Damn, my parents are not gonna be thrilled about it."

"Again? Ugh, Michael, you're such a moron!" She grabbed one of his books from the table and angrily smashed it against Kelso's arm. It was not the first time he failed a subject, and the fact that her boyfriend was as dumb as a door always set her nerves on fire. "I need pudding," she said, then took off to the dessert counter.

"Man, don't worry. I'm sure your parents won't even notice it regarding the hundreds of children they got," Forman said, biting on the remains of his turkey sandwich.

"What was the test about anyway?" Donna asked.

"A freaking boring old book called The Scarlet Letter," Kelso said annoyed, taking a small object wrapped up in tin foil out of his backpack. It turned out to be a homemade ham sandwich, and he attacked it, taking a big chunk inside his mouth.

"Kelso, that's not a boring book," Donna, as a good book lover, scolded him, clearly offended by his statement. "It's one of the classics of our literature."

"It's boring the same way, Donna," Hyde finally said, having to agree with his moron friend.

"Thank you!" Kelso exclaimed, swallowing his sandwich. "Anyway, I still don't get it why that chick had to keep that big A on her clothes all the time."

"It's a metaphor, you moron. The scarlet letter is a physical manifestation of her sin and reminder of her painful solitude," Donna explained with all her knowledge as she was the one who'd written the novel, but Kelso didn't seem fazed.

"Boring," he replied and a moment later, Jackie was back at the table.

"What are you guys talking about?" Her humor was still dulled by Kelso's news, but she seemed a little bit more relaxed now that she had a good piece of pudding in hands.

"The test Kelso failed was about The Scarlet Letter," Fez explained and Jackie's eyes quickly shot to her boyfriend. She grabbed his shoulder, coaxing him to look at her, and rested her spoon on the pudding plate.

"You're reading The Scarlet Letter?"

"Thank God not anymore." Kelso rolled his eyes and refocused on his half-eaten sandwich. "Yesterday I spent the night studying for this stupid test, but... Damn."

"Oh, Michael!" Jackie hugged Kelso with all her might and a big smile on the face, but all the others sitting at the table seemed confused by her attitude, including Kelso. Jackie was a smart girl and cared a lot about her – and Michael's – grades, so congratulating him for an F was odd, to say the least. Hyde, on the other hand, had a good guess about her shift of behavior, which was confirmed when the brunette released her boyfriend and absentmindedly caressed her own left wrist, releasing a satisfied sigh.

Not too long passed and the girls left for their classes, leaving the guys alone with their not appetizing desserts. Hyde was glad Jackie was gone now. Every minute next to her was an opportunity for someone spilling Kelso's secret and he was just not in the mood to watch their down fall today.

"Man, you guys, I gotta break up with Laurie," Kelso said out of the blue and everyone looked up at him with unsurprised faces. He'd said it a million times before, but never got the balls to actually do it. Hyde was starting to get tired of this. "Okay, I know I tried before, right? But this time, Laurie'll see how much I love Jackie, and that my motives are good and pure. And then she'll just let me go."

Yeah right.

"Then you and all the leprechauns can ride unicorns to a wonderful celebration in fairy land!" Hyde said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Hyde. I mean, Jackie has to be my soulmate. Did you see how good she was to me when I told her about the test? I still don't get it, but she hugged me, man. That's what soulmates do to each other, right? They forgive you even if you screw things up."

"And you've been screwing things a lot lately, my friend," Fez pointed out, grinning at his second meaning.

Hyde was a bit disgusted about Kelso's words though. Jackie wasn't dumb, man. Sooner or later – and it was probably sooner – she would find out about his shenanigans with Forman's sister, and thinking that she would forgive him again made his stomach sick. True love shouldn't hurt – not that he actually believed in it – but at least that was what Mrs. Forman said once.

"Man, you should get over with it and break up with Jackie already," Forman said exasperated. It was clear he didn't enjoy the loud girl's presence around his basement. "Your premonitions don't even match Jackie's life. We've been over this over and over. I mean, what was drawn in your arm this morning?"

"For your information, Eric," Kelso looked the skinny boy in the eye, defiant, "my premonition had a book on it, and did you see how she smacked me with this book?" He held a copy of The Scarlet Letter for everyone to see and Hyde rolled his eyes.

"I honestly can't believe Jackie's most important event of the day was giving you a bruiser with a book, but if you want to keep believing that, go ahead." Hyde heard Forman say, and for some reason he smirked.

"We'll see who's right, Forman. I'm breaking up with Laurie tonight and Jackie and I would be finally happy."

Kelso gathered his things and took off after his tantrum, leaving Hyde with a reinforced thought in his mind: keep his distance for the rest of the day.

The night was silent at the Forman's neighborhood as Hyde walked from the bus stop to the house he now called home. He'd spent the afternoon working at the Fotohut and chose to go straight home after his shift, unlike other Friday nights when the gang would meet at The Hub for fries and pop. Only a few houses had her lights on, and lots of garages were empty. He hoped to find the basement just like that: quiet and devoid of people. Not that he didn't like having a family and his friends around, but some of the times he just wanted to be alone and brood about life, which was almost impossible since the gang was always around. Maybe that was how Red felt about his household, and possibly the cause of his constant rage.

He didn't even manage to get to the Pinciotti's house though, being intercepted on his way by the last person he wanted to find that day. Her face was blotched with crying, so he figured something had gone wrong with the whole Kelso breaking up with Laurie, and Jackie had probably found out about her boyfriend's cheating. Great, he had almost, almost managed to stay away from this, but karma was a bitch, right?

He stopped on his tracks, trying to figure a way of hiding from her, but it was too late. When her swollen eyes spotted him, she ran even faster and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing painfully against his shoulder. Why did she always had to come for him, man? They didn't like each other at all. They had even gone through this the previous day, but apparently she'd totally forgotten about it. Every time things went bad, he was the one she would turn to. Either this soulmate crap really meant something or she was only a crazy chick. He preferred to believe the second option.

Jackie didn't let go for a couple of minutes and Hyde noticed that his neck was on fire. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so they were dead on his sides. He just stood there in the middle of the desert sidewalk with a crying cheerleader ruining his denim jacket with her tears.

"Jackie, what happened?" He managed to say at some point when her crying subsided a tad. He gently pushed her back by the hips, steading her petite body a few inches from his. Her hands slipped down from his neck, but remained on his chest, as if she needed a support for a terrible dizziness, and oddly, the burning on his skin followed her finger's path.

"Mi-michael… kissing… Michael and Laurie…" her voice failed again, but Hyde caught the message. Damn, he lived to see Kelso's stupid plans blow up in his face, but he had totally disregarded Jackie's feelings on this particular burn. She looked a mess, and he had to silently admit to himself that he cared. She was just so tiny, and the misery only made her tinier.

"You caught Kelso kissing Laurie, huh?"

She didn't answer and wrapped herself on him again. She was so close and held him with such force that he also slid his arms around her waist in response this time. It was a horrible thing to think of in times like these, but he couldn't ignore how good it felt to have Jackie in his arms. He remembered that prom when they danced together. Maybe that was as close as they'd ever been, but right now it was a whole new level of Jackie. He felt his heart beating fast on his chest, but hoped she would think it was only hers.

"Hey, uh, did you came driving?" He whispered, and she shook her head no.

"I came in Michael's van." Her voice was still week and quavering.

"Then I'll drive you home. C'mon."

Hyde took her hand and started to drag her back to the Forman's house where he planned on taking the Vista Cruiser with his secret spare keys. Jackie, realizing where they were heading to, freed herself from his grasp and stopped abruptly.

"I'm not coming back there, Hyde."

"But I have to take the car, man."

"I'm not coming back," she repeated firmly despite her voice, looking into his shaded eyes.

"Alright," he sighed. "So hold on for a second while I get the Cruiser."

"How do I know you're not messing with me?"

She couldn't know. Judging by all the times he'd burned her, this situation looked just like a good opportunity to do so. He was aware of that. However, he decided to resort to their alleged soulmate bond. Maybe it could work, so he took his shades off, took her hand in his again and looked straight into her brown eyes.

"Think about it for a moment. Do you really think I would mess with you right now?"

Jackie became silent for a few moments as if her vocal chords had been ripped off her. She narrowed her eyes as if trying to figure something beyond his words, and Hyde's breath caught in anticipation.

"I'll wait for you here," she finally said, and the left corner of his mouth lifted up. Jackie still looked awfully sad, but mirrored his gesture for a brief second before looking away. Then he was off to the Forman's garage.

#