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

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PROTEST

Jackie crept downstairs as Martina vacuumed the living room. For the first time since she'd been caught with Steven, the house was parentless. Her dad had gone to work, her mom to visit a friend, and Jackie had to escape. Only one day was left before her exile at the Madison Academy for Young Ladies would begin.

She'd prayed for an overcast sky, but mid-morning sun lit the house. Martina turned the vacuum toward the staircase, and Jackie flattened herself on the steps. She waited, breathing quietly through her nose, until Martina turned around. Then Jackie slithered down the stairs on her back. Each step tickled her butt and hurt her spine, but she rolled onto her stomach at the foot of the staircase.

Martina was nowhere in sight. The vacuum sounded distant, like it was closer to the French patio doors, and Jackie army-crawled to the front door. She rose to her feet and grasped the door knob. Her heart clenched as the door clicked open, but she slipped out of the house without being chased. The vacuum roar must've masked her getaway.

She fled across the gravel driveway, and her sneakers kicked up pebbles. They bombarded her denim-clad legs, but she kept on running until she reached the second closest bus stop, half a mile away.

Hyde fluffed the pillows on the Formans' couch. Red told him to leave them alone, but Hyde needed to take some part in Mrs. Forman's plan. He backed off, though, when Mrs. Forman returned from the kitchen. She was carrying a porcelain tea set and placed it on the coffee table.

"Would you look at that," she said. "The birthday gift Midge gave me wasn't useless, after all. When I opened the package of Teas of the World, I thought, 'Well, what am I going to do with all this tea? Oppose taxation without representation?"

She laughed at her own joke, and Red picked up two tea packets from the tray.

She slapped his hand. "I had those perfectly arranged!"

He dropped the packets but said, "Kitty, your tea party for two idea is a waste of time. If the Burkharts think sending their daughter to a fancy boarding school is best for her, who are we to get in the way?"

"Jackie is being sent away without a choice. Someone has to speak for the girl—since clearly neither of her parents are listening to her." She rearranged the tea packets on the tray. "Go out to the garage and tinker with the Toyota. I'm sure something under the hood needs fixing."

She left the tea set alone and grasped both of Hyde's hands. "You should go to the basement, sweetie. I'll do my best to convince Jackie's mother to let Jackie stay."

"Thanks, Mrs. Forman." He kissed her on the cheek, an act that had begun to feel natural. Since moving in with the Formans, his gratitude was too big to contain, and it occasionally spilled out of him.

Last night, after Donna drove them back here, he'd spoken with Mrs. Forman in private. He forced himself to say aloud what he never thought he would: his feelings for Jackie and about their messed-up situation. His face got hot while he talked, and his fucking eyes got wet, and Mrs. Forman hugged him and cried for him and Jackie and said she'd do whatever she could to help.

"Okay, this is a tea party for two," she said now and shooed him and Red away. "She'll be here any second."

Hyde followed a grumbling Red into the kitchen. Red continued to grumble as he left through the patio door, but Hyde stayed put. His pulse throbbed in his ears. Adrenaline made him sensitive to the sound of his own breathing, and he jumped when the doorbell rang. He was well-practiced in separating himself from his emotions. His physical survival had depended on it, but since he'd fallen for Jackie, staying alive wasn't enough.

He hooked his shades on his shirt collar and pressed his ear to the kitchen door. Mrs. Forman must've welcomed Mrs. Burkhart to the house because Mrs. Burkhart said, "Oh, your house is just lovely in a middle-class sort of way."

Like Jackie, she wasn't a quiet talker. And, luckily for Hyde, Mrs. Forman matched her volume: "I'm so glad you could come over for tea on such short notice!"

"I love tea," Mrs. Burkhart said. "My goodness, and you have so many varieties, too. Green tea, Earl Gray, Darjeeling—oh, that reminds me of my trip to England with Jack this summer..."

She launched into a meandering story with a lot of asides, and Hyde exhaled through his nose. Jackie used to ramble in her storytelling the same way, but she'd learned how to get to the point faster.

"Now, Kitty," Mrs. Burkhart eventually said, "I'm sure you didn't invite me over to hear about my vacation."

"You're right. I want to talk to you about your daughter."

"And her ex-boyfriend."

"Her current boyfriend, yes. He loves her, truly loves her—"

"Of course he does. Jackie is beautiful, generous, and has rich parents. For a boy from his background, she's the ideal girlfriend."

Hyde's jaw clenched, but Mrs. Burkhart's assessment of him had been less nasty than usual.

"Jackie is so much more than that," Mrs. Forman said, "and Steven's not some—some vapid, ungrateful gold digger. He's working full-time and giving his paycheck to Red and me, and that is the least of which he's doing for us and has done for Jackie."

"Excuse me, Kitty, but I know who my daughter is," Mrs. Burkhart said. "And all that boy has done for Jackie is turn her into someone who disobeys her parents."

"No, he protected her from months of Michael's unwanted advances. Used money he could've spent on food to give her the prom of her dreams. And when her classmates humiliated her on a daily basis because of Michael's cheating, Steven did all he could to get that to stop."

Blood heated Hyde's neck. Jackie had shared more with Mrs. Forman than he was comfortable with, but he understood why she did. Talking to people like Mrs. Forman—like Jackie—made getting through hell easier.

"Michael cheated on her?" Mrs. Burkhart said.

Hyde winced, not that she could see it, but his disbelief was so intense that maybe she felt it through the kitchen door.

"You can't possibly tell me you don't know that," Mrs. Forman said, like his thoughts had entered her skull. If he couldn't have this conversation himself, she was the next best person to do it.

"Jackie didn't say a word."

"What about the weeks of ridicule she experienced at school?"

"I had no idea," Mrs. Burkhart said, and Hyde resisted pounding on the door. She'd made decisions for Jackie based on what existed only in her own head. The law gave her that right, but the law was screwed up in this case.

"She would've fallen into a deep depression if not for Steven and Donna," Mrs. Forman said.

"Donna! She's the tall, plaid-loving redhead." Mrs. Burkhart sounded like she was smiling, and Mrs. Forman didn't speak again. "Donna isn't the redhead?" Mrs. Burkhart said, and Mrs. Forman began to respond, but the patio door slid open. Red had to be back, and Hyde bolted for the basement stairs. Being caught eavesdropping wouldn't be good, but a different voice called his name.

Tiny bombs detonated in his chest, and he quit running. He turned around, and Jackie raced toward him. "Holy hell," he whispered.

She flung her arms around his waist and hugged him. "I sneaked out!" she said against his shoulder. "I crawled and ran and rode the bus and—"

"Keep it down." He was so damn happy to see her, but it could be the last fucking time. "Your ma's here."

"She is?"

He embraced her tightly and pressed his cheek against her temple. Letting her go was going to kill him. "Mrs. Forman's trying to convince her to let you stay."

"Oh, my God."

She released him and put her ear against the kitchen door. He did the same, but he hadn't touched her in weeks. He closed his fingers around her hand, hoping the move didn't make her feel weird. She pulled his arm around her stomach and slipped her fingers between his. The position was awkward, but he held it.

"—punishing her for falling in love with someone you don't approve of!" Mrs. Forman shouted, and Jackie squeezed his palm. "Sending her away isn't the answer. She'll be in Madison the next two years. Then she's off to college for four more. You'll have no influence over her. No opportunity to learn why she approves of Steven."

"It's simple," Mrs. Burkhart said. "She's rebelling."

"That's it." Jackie pushed on the kitchen door, but Hyde yanked her back. "She's not listening, Steven! She never listens."

"You've gotta give Mrs. Forman a chance, man."

"She's had her chance. It didn't work."

Jackie shoved the door open and charged into the living room. He reached for her futilely as the door swung closed and open again like a pendulum. He might not do any good by joining her, but their time was up anyway, and he darted into the living room after her.

"Mom!" Jackie strode toward the Formans' couch, where her mom and Mrs. Forman sat. A tea set was on the coffee table. That must've been how Mrs. Forman had lured Mom here. She couldn't resist a tea party.

"Jackie?" Her mom stood. "What are you—" She inhaled and shook her head. "We're going home. We have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow."

"I'm not going anywhere. You'll have to call the police if you want me to leave."

"Be reasonable, sweetheart—"

Jackie laughed. "Reasonable? You haven't been reasonable with me in a month!"

"I don't have to be. I'm your mother. I know what's best. Now you'll do what I say or—"

Jackie sank to the floor and sat cross-legged. "I won't." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm protesting. And if you think I'll stop here, you're wrong."

"Do you see what that boy has done to my child?" Mom said to Mrs. Forman.

Mrs. Forman was standing, too, and she looked at Jackie. "Yes, and I'm proud of her."

Mom clutched the gold necklace at her chest. "What?"

"If you take me to Madison tomorrow," Jackie said, "I won't go to class. I won't do my homework. I'll stay in my room until I flunk every class and out of the school."

Mom's eyes fluttered as if Jackie were meowing like a cat, not speaking English, but Jackie continued. "I'll be forced to repeat my junior year somewhere else, but if it's anywhere but Point Place High, I'll flunk again until I'm eighteen and can legally go wherever I choose."

"This is ridiculous!" Her mom stood over her, a glittering, unmovable monolith. "You can't sabotage your life, your future, for him."

"She won't," Steven said and sat beside Jackie on the floor. "I'll drop out of school if it'll keep her here."

"You'll do no such thing!" Mrs. Forman said and jabbed her index finger at Jackie's mom. "Do you see what your classism and snobbery are doing? Threatening two lives!"

The kitchen door swung open, and Mr. Forman stepped into the room. "Steven and Jackie are good kids, despite their upbringing—"

Mom glared at him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"I'm not sabotaging my life for anyone," Jackie said. "I'm using what little power I have. Steven and I may break up someday..." She uncrossed her arms and rubbed Steven's knee. "Or maybe we'll get married. I could go to college and become a perfume magnate, or I could go to vocational school and become a car mechanic—"

Mom gasped and tapped her forehead with two fingers. "No, no, no. No daughter of mine will be covered head-to-toe in grease all day."

"I have before."

"She has a real knack for mechanics," Mr. Forman said. The corner of his lips ticked up, but they fell into a frown a second later. "Unlike my son."

"Mom, I worked on Eric's car with Mr. Forman a few months ago, and I really liked it. You have no idea..." Jackie closed her fist at the memory of holding cold, metal tools. "But that's the point, isn't it? You don't care about what I want, only in controlling me so I'll become what you want."

Her voice was trembling. She pinched the material of her jeans, and Steven's hand glided over her back, bolstering her. "But I'd rather struggle," she went on, "to make my life work on my own terms than be given everything only so I can live someone else's vision of what my life should be."

Mom crouched, as if to sit at Jackie's level, but she pushed herself back to her feet. "I can't sit on this rug. It's so..."

"So what?" Mr. and Mrs. Forman said together.

Mom shuddered but sat in front of Jackie. If the carpet hadn't been steam-cleaned recently, her white cotton pants would take on the color of her sparkly slate blouse, but she said, "If staying in Point Place is what you really want—"

"It is," Jackie said.

"And if loving Steven makes you happy—"

"It does."

"And if working with grease and ruining your nails might someday be fulfilling, then I truly don't know you."

Jackie's throat thickened with pain. "You don't."

"That needs to change," her mom said, sounding just as upset. "I'm so, so sorry, honey. If you can stand up—or sit down—to me like this, then you'll go far in any career your pursue. And you won't let any boy or man walk all over you Because you deserve the world..."

She cupped Jackie's chin softly, and Jackie didn't recoil. "That's all I want for you, sweetheart. I didn't think Steven could provide that, but he's part of the world you want for yourself. You wouldn't have fallen in love with him otherwise."

"I really wouldn't have," Jackie said, but her voice was a mess. Her vision was a blur. She'd tried not to cry, and she tried to stop crying as she continued to talk. "And when he acts like a jerk, I'm not quiet about it—but he stops and learns and does so much better."

"You act like a jerk to her?" Mr. Forman said.

Steven scraped his knuckles against his jaw. "Well.."

Jackie pulled his hand from his face. She'd spoken wrong and put him in a bad position. "I can be a jerk, too," she said. "We argue like any couple, but then we talk about it and make up."

"Oh, I understand." Mrs. Forman grasped Mr. Forman's hand by the coffee table. "That's how long-lasting loving relationships work. Fighting can be healthy as long as it doesn't become cruel."

"So will you come home with me now?" Mom said.

Jackie hooked her arm around Steven's and remained seated on the floor. Her mom's sweet words could be a trick.

"I haven't seen my boyfriend in weeks," Jackie said. "I want to spend the rest of the day with him ... and sleep over at Donna's? Because tomorrow morning, you could make me go to Madison anyway."

"I wouldn't do that to you."

"How do I know that? I never thought you'd send me away in the first place."

Mom exhaled a long breath. "All right. How about if I make the call to the Madison Academy for Young Ladies from here and cancel your enrollment? Then I'll call Point Place High to enroll you there. You can listen in while I do it."

Jackie jumped to her feet and clapped. "Yes! Let's do it now."

Her mom stood, too, and faced the Formans. "May I use the phone in your bedroom?"

"No," Mr. Forman said.

"Of course," Mrs. Forman said and seemed to win the argument. She led Mom upstairs as Mr. Forman said nothing.

Steven was standing now, and Jackie laced her fingers with his. She tugged him toward the kitchen but stopped at the door. She glanced back at Mr. Forman, who'd picked up a tea packet from the tea tray. "Could you teach me more about fixing cars before school starts?" she said.

Mr. Forman flicked the tea packet with his thumbnail. "The Toyota does need a new timing belt. I've got to go to Kenosha for one of those."

"That sounds great! It'll be like a field trip. Steven?"

"Sure," Steven said. "I've got to learn how to fix a car anyway. Leo's giving me his El Camino."

Her heart beat faster. "You're going to have a car?" That meant more freedom. Even if her dad never returned the Lincoln's keys to her, Steven could drive her places.

"Yup. Would've driven up to Madison every damn weekend if I had to."

Warmth spread from her pounding heart into the rest of her body. She gazed at him, overwhelmed by his statement. He wasn't going to abandon her, even when her mom almost forced her to abandon him.

"You love me so much," she said and placed her hand on his heart. It was beating slower than hers, but it had to be burning with his passion for her.

He flicked his eyes to Mr. Forman "What do I say?"

"You say yes," Mr. Forman said. "When your girl tells you how you feel, and you actually feel it, yes is the easiest answer."

Steven's gaze returned to her. "Yeah—yes."

She stood on her toes and pecked his lips. "I'm so glad I cheated on Michael with you last year."

He laughed, but Mr. Forman ran past them into the kitchen, like he was about to be sick. Nothing about her and Steven's love was sickening, though. It was glorious—and she had to listen to her mom's conversation.

She led Steven into the kitchen and hurried to the wall phone, but Mr. Forman said, "I came in here to get away from the two of you." He was by the fridge, holding a can of Schlitz, but he raised the can to his ear. "If you have to eavesdrop on your mother, do it in the basement."

"That's a good idea," Steven said to her. "Let's do it in the basement."

She giggled. He was so clever, and they dashed downstairs together.

Jackie sat on the basement couch with the phone to her ear. She'd invited Hyde to listen, too, but he gave her distance. His uncomfortable chair numbed his ass after twenty minutes. Maybe he'd spend some of his dough on a new one, but he probably wouldn't. With a car, he'd have gas to pay for.

When Jackie finally hung up, unshed tears rimmed her eyes. "She did it. I'm back at Point Place High!"

Relief engulfed his body, but he only nodded. "That's great, man, but you did it. Your protest was one of the baddest, hottest things I've ever seen. Could've fuckin' proposed to you if your mom wasn't in the way."

Her eyes widened, and a tear balanced on her lashes. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, but the moment's passed."

"Then I'll protest more often. My parents will give me plenty of opportunities." She brushed her hair off her shoulder and held her head high. "You'll propose to me by the end of the month."

She was joking, had to be, and he said, "Too bad Patty wasn't here to see it. She might've invited you into her and Fez's relationship."

"Ew! Did you have to?"

"Yup."

"Jerk."

He quirked up an eyebrow, but all he felt for her buzzed through him. She'd fought for him. Fought for herself, and he'd fight just as hard to keep them happy. Because living was more than just about survival. "That your pet name for me now?"

"No." She patted the cushion next to her. "You're too far away."

He moved to the couch and put his arm around her shoulders. "Better?"

It was for him.

She snuggled into his side. "So much better."

"Cool." He nuzzled her hair, and its floral scent tangled in his thoughts. She'd been through a lot today—hell, the last month—but she was freakin' staying. They probably had some intense conversations ahead of them, but … "What do you wanna do? Go to The Hub, catch a movie?"

"I wouldn't mind doing it."

"With your ma and the Formans upstairs?"

"Mr. Forman told us to. We can blame him if we're caught."

He grinned. "I like the way you think … but how's about we stick to first base 'til we can get somewhere more private?"

She swatted his stomach. "You are such a coward."

"I'm just rackin' up the pet names today, huh?"

"I had three weeks without you, and I'm being awful." She bunched the excess material of his T-shirt in her fist "You're not a jerk or a coward. I'm just—"

"Hard up."

She glared at him. "Yes."

"New pet name for you."

She let go of his shirt and cradled his cheek. "We're not doing that."

Her lips met his in their first real kiss since too damn long. They fell into their special rhythm, smooth and powerful, and his fingers burrowed in her hair. Her hands traveled up and down his sides, roads that missed her touch. But she was with him now, and he held her as if they'd been apart for years and never been apart at all.