AN: Hey guys! Here's my new chapter story that I promised you during the Thanksgiving holidays. This isn't the one I originally planned on writing, but I've always toyed with this idea and decided to actually take a whack at making it into a story. Parts of this are going to be angsty, but it's also going to be a light hearted fic as well. I really hope that I can find a good balance between the two.

I would like to give a special thanks to everyone that reviewed the one shot that I wrote with luvcali76 The Boots of Christmas Past. If you haven't read it yet, you should really check it out. It's posted under luvcali76's penname.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic that appear on That 70's Show. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing story after story trying to fix what went horribly wrong.

Review and enjoy!

Hyde stared at the tanned, brick walls of the Main St. Motel which were illuminated by the neon glow of the arrow shaped sign that could be seen from the highway. Shadows of the old, beat up cars danced on the windows along to the synchronized blinking, making him wonder if the woman he loved more than he ever imagined his cold heart could manage was being kept awake by the low buzz and never ending flashing. Love… for so long he denied to himself that that single word could actually capture what it was he felt for Jackie. The first and only time he had ever accepted the definition; his feelings were banished into hiding just as fast as he let them out. She had told him later on that she didn't mean it when she said, "Yeah, well I don't love you," but those wounds only stabbed into previous scars, permanently tearing himself away from ever being that open again. However, Jackie had once again pushed him over the edge, and he was falling without her. It wasn't until he talked with Leo earlier that day that he really faced the hollow hole her note had left. It made him angry, vengeful, but most of all lonely. Since her, the solace he used to take at having no true connections with girls felt watered down and unfulfilling, and that life he used to be so content with was something he wasn't ready to turn back to again. He wasn't much of a risk taker, especially when it came to people he cared about. He usually ended up being the one that got burned in the end, but the hole inside of him was getting bigger, devouring his feelings for the tiny brunette pixie. He wasn't ready to let go of her just yet and once again, he was about to spill himself to her just to make the emptiness go away.

Hyde knocked on the thin wooden door. Donna had told him this was where Jackie was staying at until she could find a cheap apartment to rent. By only taking a quick sweep over of the parking lot, Hyde could see that it wouldn't take much coaxing to get Jackie to go back to Point Place with him. The looks of this motel even set his teeth on edge, and he was used to shit holes like this. He could only imagine the things that were running through Jackie's mind.

"Come in," Jackie called from inside.

Hyde slowly opened the door, and Jackie in a short, pink night gown lying on her stomach reading a magazine was the first thing he saw. She looked up at him with her wide, doe eyes and her pink mouth hung open in surprise.

"Hey."

"Steven!" Jackie quickly got off the bed and stood in front of him. "What, um, what are you doing here?"

Hyde shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. He felt naked and exposed; something he always made sure never happened. But once again, he found himself in this situation, for her. Always for her.

"Uh, nothing. Had some free time, thought I'd check out Chicago," Hyde wouldn't look directly at her as he spoke. The shaggy carpet and tearing wallpaper received more attention and he only gave a few glances at her shocked face and sexy night gown. "How's it goin'?"

"Um, good. Hey, do you want to go take a walk, maybe get something to eat? "Hyde noticed that she was in a rush and could see her chest moving up and down with her light but heavy breathing. She must have been as nervous as he was.

Hyde was about to make a joke about her getting dressed first when the door behind him creaked open and Kelso's voice said, "Jackie, I checked. No one can see us doing it from the parking looooHHAAAA!!!!"

Coldness constricted Hyde's shoulders and neck as he turned to one of his best friends wearing only a white towel around his waist. It suddenly all made sense. Jackie's rush to get him out of the room and her god damn sexy night gown hadn't been for him at all but for her moron ex. He knew this day would come eventually; it was just a matter of time.

"You're dead," Hyde could hear the ice in his own voice as he leapt at Kelso, but the skinny man was just too fast for him and he only got a hold of that wretched towel.

Hyde turned to face Jackie who to him looked even guiltier than Kelso. His stomach twisted in a tiny ball and he felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn't looked at how beautiful she was knowing that while he had been worrying himself about how he was going to basically tell her he wanted to marry her...someday, she was here getting over him real quick by screwing his best friend. The coldness running through his spine turned into a white hot stream of rage. He needed to leave.

Jackie's whole body felt paralyzed as she watched the scene unfold before her. She couldn't voice any protest as Kelso walked in at the worst possible time. She couldn't move when she saw the man she loved more than herself storm out of the motel room and back into the parking lot. Every muscle in her body was feeling Steven being ripped from her because of another misunderstanding and an idiot ex. She couldn't let this happen again. Not when he had come so far for her.

Forgetting slippers, Jackie ran out of her motel room to Hyde's El Camino. Her feet pinched as they smacked against the asphalt where all kinds of tiny rocks and gravel lay. She slammed herself between the car door and Steven's body before he could reach to open the door.

"Jackie," his tone was deadly and shook every bone in her body. "Move out of the way."

"No!" Jackie screamed. "I'm not letting you run away again without hearing what I have to say. This isn't how it looks…"

"What?" Hyde was starting to yell. "There is no way you can pin this shit on me, Jackie. I fucking heard what he said and saw what I saw!"

"I know," Jackie groaned as tears rolled down her cheeks. "But you have to let me explain."

"No, Jackie," Hyde's voice dropped again. "Just move so I can leave."

All Jackie could do was shake her head and plant herself against the car. Hyde felt like he was going to explode any minute. Chicago was too suffocating and just looking at her was ripping him apart.

Hyde started to walk around the car to get in the passenger's side. He thought he was good to go when he saw Jackie didn't follow, but then his car bounced and he caught Jackie hurdling herself into the bed of the truck out of the corner of his eye.

"Jackie, what are you doing?"

"If you're going to just leave then I'm going with you until you hear what I have to say," Jackie folded her arms against her chest. "I'm not letting you leave this time. I know you came here for a reason, Steven Hyde."

Hyde kicked his tire and growled obscenities as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Couldn't she see that he needed to get away from her?

"Fine! Do whatever the hell you want. I'm out of here," Hyde stormed off to the sidewalk and started walking away from the motel. Jackie looked after him longingly but knew he couldn't get very far without his car, especially in a big city such as this. She would just have to wait and explain everything that had happened. She didn't realize until Kelso walked in the door and said what he said that what had happened throughout the day was leading up to a very compromising position for the both of them. It was as if God was punishing her by having Hyde show up right at that moment.

Hyde walked down the sidewalk, looking at all the crummy bars and liquor stores. There were so many temptations around him to get shit faced and forget about what he had just seen. But most of all, he needed to forget about the pain in his chest that kept stabbing deeper and deeper by the second. It was two strikes for him and he was sure that if there was a God, he was trying to tell him that this thing people called love wasn't meant for him.

Hyde looked over to a wooden plank fence nearby and saw pasty, naked flesh slightly covered by two trashcan lids shivering behind a bush. Seeing Kelso naked again ignited the rage that had been simmering inside him, and he took off in his direction.

"AHHH!" Kelso screeched once he noticed Hyde charging at him. But he couldn't be as agile while holding onto the two aluminum lids, so it wasn't long until his face was being smashed in the grass and a fist came in contact with his cheekbone.

"Ahhhhaa, my eye!"

Hyde flipped Kelso over on his back, hovering over him with a threatening fist.

"Now, you're going to tell me exactly what you were doing with Jackie," Hyde demanded, seething over him.

"No, you're going to hit me again," Kelso mumbled.

"I'm going to hit you anyways!" Hyde reared his fist back.

"Okay, okay!" Kelso held his hands up in the air. "Just let me sit up and I'll tell you everything."

Hyde stepped over him but kept a close eye to make sure he didn't take off again. His entire body was tense and pulsating. He needed to hit something again.

"Come on, Kelso," Hyde ordered through clenched teeth. "Spill."

Kelso's eyes dodged around as if he was trying to figure out something to say. A small grin formed on his lips, "We were going to do it."

Hyde stomped over to Kelso, ready to pound his face into the ground once more.

"Okay! Okay! I lied!" Kelso yelled, cowering beneath his angry friend. "We weren't going to do it. Not like I didn't try though."

The sleazy grin on Kelso's face churned Hyde's stomach, but his words did release some of the tension. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Kelso rolled his eyes, "Look, this is what happened…"

"Thanks for driving me to my motel, Michael," Jackie smiled up at her lanky ex. "Even though you wouldn't stop rubbing my thigh the whole time."

Kelso looked down at his hand which was still red from Jackie slapping it so many times. "Hey, that's just what you have to expect when you ride in the Doin' It-vertible," Kelso checked out his hair in the rear view mirror.

"Doin' It-vertible?" Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"Hey, there are a lot of ladies that think the nick name is very cute."

"Yeah, well, I don't even see how some of the girls you have been picking up lately can even fit in this thing, much less do it in it."

"Hey!" Kelso pointed a finger at Jackie. "There is nothing wrong with a girl who has a little meat on her bones."

"Pft!" Jackie rolled her eyes, "That isn't just a little meat. Try FAT!"

Kelso held his hand over his heart, appalled at Jackie's outburst, "Well you know what? You're just not very nice, lady!"

Jackie shook her head and laughed.

"Hey, that's the first time I've seen you smile all day," Kelso beamed. "Except when I was touching you, of course."

"Whatever," Jackie sighed. "Why would you groping me make me smile when the love of my life is probably in Point Place right now, passing out in some beer warehouse again and hooking up with bar sluts in celebration."

"Jackie, you know that isn't true," Kelso shook his head. "Hyde is probably just as broken hearted as you are."

"Yeah right, someone who's broken hearted doesn't say, 'Have a nice trip'," Jackie sunk deeper in her seat.

"That's just Hyde's way of showing you that he's hurting. He loves you, Jackie."

Jackie shrugged off the friendly pat Kelso tried to give her, "No, he doesn't."

Kelso watched in disbelief as tears rolled down Jackie's cheeks. He had realized long ago that Jackie was really over him and there were no more chances at them getting back together. Brooke had also helped him see that there were more girls out there than just Jackie that he could settle down with. He hadn't considered though just how serious Jackie and Hyde were. He knew they loved each other, but he had never seen before just how deep that love went. Jackie was a fighter. She hit, demanded, screeched, and pulled out every trick in the book to get her way. But now, she had just given up, and he never thought he'd see the day that someone could really bring down Jackie Burkhart.

"Hey, come here," Kelso held his arms open. Jackie let Kelso embrace her as she cried on his shoulder, blubbering about how much she missed her Steven and wished the job offer had never come up. It wasn't long though until Jackie was screaming and swatting Kelso away again.

"Michael!"

"What? I thought that grabbing your boob would make me feel better!"

Jackie shook her head and laughed as she exited the car.

"See! You're happy again!"

"Shut up, Michael, and just help me with my things."

Kelso and Jackie started carrying Jackie's many suitcases into the motel room. After everything was inside, Jackie reluctantly walked Kelso to his car. He could tell that she wanted him to stay longer, but frankly, he wanted to get home so that he and Fez could play Foosball at the Hub and pick up some girls, but he also didn't want to just leave Jackie all alone in Chicago while she was so depressed.

"So are you going to be okay?"

Jackie sighed and said with a frown, "Yeah, I think I'll just get ready for bed and go right to sleep."

"Well, just remember, opportunities like these happen to us good looking people for a reason. Cause we're hot!"

Jackie laughed and shook her head, "Don't ever change, Michael."

Jackie gave Kelso one last goodbye hug. For old time's sake, Kelso crept his hand away from Jackie's back and went to cup her boob again.

"Michael!" Jackie practically growled. Before she could get her frustration under control, Jackie shoved Kelso with all her might, causing him to land butt first in a huge puddle of water by his car.

"Oh my god!" Jackie gasped. "I'm so sorry, Michael. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, other than I'm completely WET!" Kelso stood up really fast to reveal that his entire back and pants were dripping with water.

"Well you shouldn't have grabbed me!" Jackie retorted, offended that he was getting so angry.

"I was just trying to make you feel better," Kelso scoffed and took off his shirt to ring it out.

"Just a hug is more than fine, Michael!" Jackie groaned and stomped her foot. "Just, take a shower here and I'll hang up your clothes or something and you can leave when they're dry."

Kelso's face lit up like a Christmas tree, "Oh, I get it. You pushed me in the water so I would stay with you cause you're lonely."

"No, I pushed you in the water because you can't keep her hands off me."

"It's okay, Jackie," Kelso put his arm around her shoulders and steered her in the direction of the room. "I understand you're very vulnerable right now. So how about you nude up and we'll talk about this in the shower."

Jackie stared dumbfounded, "You really can't learn, can you?" She tore herself from Kelso's grasp and marched into the hotel room.

"What? God, I was just asking, Jackie!"

"So, you were in the towel because you were just taking a shower?" Hyde asked, starting to feel like a jackass.

"Yep."

"What about what you said when you walked in?"

Kelso sighed and rolled his eyes, "That was just me messing with her like always."

Hyde turned his back on Kelso, trying to organize all the thoughts spinning in his head. He still felt hurt and betrayed, but now it was for no good reason. When he saw Kelso in that towel, it was like the step he took forward just pushed him two more back, back to a time when he had to worry about those two being alone together and there rarely was a day he didn't feel jealous. Now it turned out that once again, he was just the paranoid asshole who jumped to conclusions.

"Look, Hyde," Kelso began. "I know why you came tonight and don't let this stop you from doing what you were going to do. Jackie really wants to be with you again, and I was only hitting on her so much because it at least sort of made her laugh. She's been really upset and I know you have too."

Hyde eyed his friend, carefully. A part of him wanted to believe that none of what Kelso told him was true so that his anger could still feel justified, but the hole that had left a sinking feeling in his chest was slowly closing up again.

Hyde turned back around and frogged Kelso in his arm as hard as he could.

"Ahhh! What was that for?" Kelso yelped.

"For hitting on Jackie all day."

"But we weren't going to do it. I thought you would be happy about that."

Hyde shook his head and started heading for the road again, "I said I'd hit you anyways, didn't I?"

When Hyde got back to the El Camino, he found Jackie in the front seat with her bags in the back. He guessed now she was completely serious when she said she would go with him if she had to.

Hyde got in the car and stuck the keys in the ignition, "I talked to Kelso and he told me everything. Do you still want to come?"

Jackie shifted in her seat, unsure of what to do, "Are you still going to leave?"

"Yeah," Hyde said, looking ahead at the parking lot.

Jackie stuck her chin in the air and answered, "Then I want to come."

Hyde started the car and put it in reverse.

"Where are we going?" Jackie asked, biting at her lip. The cold expression that was still plastered on his face worried her.

"I don't know yet."

Hyde drove away from the Main St. Motel and back up the highway where the blinking, neon sign could still be seen in the distance of his rear view mirror. He came with the intention of bringing Jackie home with him to Point Place, making up on the ride home and happy to be together once again. Instead, they were heading west, their relationship was more complicated than ever, and she was on the other side of the car, sadder than he had ever seen her before.

Kelso waddled into the parking lot of the motel with the trashcan lids still covering his waist and saw that the El Camino was gone. He frantically looked around, spinning in circles trying to spot Hyde or Jackie somewhere.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "Now how am I supposed to get my clothes?"