Disclaimer: I don't own That 70's Show (as if any of you thought I did)
Summary: Hyde's world is turned upside down, inside out and round the bend when Jackie convinces him he needs to go to the mall with her. Set in season 3 we join the group after 'Reefer madness' but before 'Jackie bags Hyde'. Jackie has broken up with Kelso and has started her obsessive and somewhat irritating infatuation with Hyde. Little does she know, what happens at the mall might make her think twice about being so annoying.
A/N: My first 70s fic. I apologize if any of them slip out of character, tell me if you notice anything too outlandish and I'll fix it. I hope you enjoy. J/H forever.
Oh, damn it.
It was happening again.
Hyde shifted uncomfortably in his chair and focused all his attention to the small flickering television. He could feel his skin burning as her eyes raked over his face. He could almost hear her silent orders, yelled at him through those, dark, miss-matched eyes. 'Look at me. Look at me. LOOK AT ME,'
Why was she still hanging out in the basement?? Why can't she just leave them alone? Why can't she leave him alone? It took all his will power to ignore her searing gaze. He turned his chair to face the television and present her with a lovely view of his back.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Foreman watching both him and Jackie with an evil smirk plastering his skinny face.
Bastard.
Hyde couldn't believe his best friend was delighting in his obvious discomfort.
Actually he could believe that.
Eric nudged Donna who was currently snuggled up to his chest and nodded towards the unhappy Hyde and Jackie. The cheerleader was still gazing up at Hyde like an adoring puppy, quite unashamedly. It wouldn't surprise anyone if she started whimpering and doing tricks to get Hyde's attention. Donna's face merged into a smirk almost identical to Eric's then covered a hand over her mouth to stop a giggle from escaping.
The slight gasping noise that escaped Donna, of course, caught Fez's attention who sent a puzzled look in the couple's direction then followed their gaze to Jackie then her gaze to Hyde. Fez looked back between Hyde and Jackie a couple of times then settled down to watch Hyde's unfortunate predicament with his own evil grin decorating his face.
Hyde glanced around the room, carefully avoiding Jackie's stare and found that every other person in the room was now ignoring the television in favour for a more entertaining display.
Morons.
Ever since he had taught her Zen Jackie seemed even more determined to make him love her. It was annoying, tiresome, stupid and most of all….terrifying. She was like a crazy, mad, stalker person with no comprehension of the word 'no'. To Jackie, his willingness to help her with her 'Laurie' problem was almost as good as him getting down on his knees and confessing his undying love for her. Just another example of how helping others can screw you over. It wasn't that Jackie wasn't hot. Hell, if he'd never heard her speak she might have been the type of girl he'd gone out with. However, from the moment he'd met her she'd opened her mouth and start talking. As far as he could tell she hasn't stopped since. Therefore, any consideration of taking Jackie up on her offer also came with the unpleasant image of Jackie following him around, possibly for the rest of his life, and nagging him about something or other. 'Steven, why don't you shave?', 'Steven, I want to go out,', 'Steven, take me to the mall,' To be honest, that was his own personal version of hell.
Donna couldn't hold it in any more. She let out a small laugh and Hyde shot her an exasperated look from behind his dark shades. Jackie, however, was unfazed by her friend's laughter and carried on with her attack on the back of Hyde's head.
This is stupid.
"Jackie!" Hyde shouted as he spun round to face her. He felt an immense surge of satisfaction as he saw her jump in fright. "Stop staring at me!"
This, it seemed, was too much for Fez who joined in with Donna's laughter and Eric also decided to sit back, chuckle and watch the show.
"Oh good, now that I've got your attention, Steven. I need a lift to the mall," Jackie said happily placing a hand on Hyde's knee, pouting slightly, as if she thought that was sexy.
It was.
Hyde glanced at her hand awkwardly for a second, trying to ignore the unnerving connection between her touch and his dry throat, before looking her in the eyes and holding her gaze, hoping to God that the message got across. "NO!" He picked up her wrist between his finger and thumb and placed her hand back on her lap.
"Please, Steven, it'll only be or a short while,"
"No, Jackie!"
"We could get something from the food court. I'll buy!"
Oh, he wasn't falling for that this time. "No,"
Jackie huffed and stuck out her bottom lip in a cute pout. Wait a minute, cute? Steven Hyde did not just describe Jackie Burkhart as cute. He could feel his defences weakening, why did she have this power over people? It was an unfair advantage over everyone else. Alice Cooper would fold over her adoring face. What was wrong with him?
"I'll leave you alone until the end of the week if you'll take me this once," she said with a sexy smile.
Deal.
"Let's go," Hyde said jumping up from the chair. Foreman let out a shout of laughter and Hyde frogged his arm.
"Ow!"
"Thank you, Steven!"
"Whatever,"
She was going to be the death of him.
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Two hours later…
Fez tore his gaze away from the television to take a brief look around the dingy, old basement.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it in his candy-obsessed bones. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as he tried to pinpoint the exact origin of his concern but drew a blank. Eric and Donna were still cuddled on the sofa, Kelso was sitting next them with a goofy grin splayed across his face as he followed a fly around with his eyes. The same fly he had been watching since he came in, shortly after Jackie and Hyde had left….
Jackie and Hyde! Fez jumped in his seat as the realization dawned on him and a more-than worried expression etched his features. They had not returned. This was not good. Only evil could come of this.
Fez cleared his squeaky throat and looked towards Eric and Donna to see if they were worrying as much as he was. Their untroubled looks aided in calming Fez down slightly. That was, until Eric broke off looking at the television enough to glance around the room with a puzzled expression.
"Where are Hyde and Jackie?" he asked.
Fez squeaked in fear. Oh no! Eric was worried too.
Donna broke off her unnatural link with the small black box and looked towards Hyde's chair then the space where Jackie had been but now held Kelso. "I don't know," she said slowly.
"You don't think Jackie ate him, do you?" Eric said, a little panicked.
Donna sent him a look that said 'You're being a jerk but I still love you' then looked at her watch. "They've been gone for hours!" she exclaimed while jumping off the couch. Eric followed in suit and pulled Kelso up with him.
"Relax guys, it's Jackie!" Kelso said "She can spend hours in a mall!"
Fez sprang to his feet in a fit of terror "You don't think something happened to them?"
"Nah!" Kelso waved his hand dismissively.
"You don't think Jackie actually convinced Hyde to…," Donna said thoughtfully.
"What?" Eric whispered in suspense.
"Go out with her, like on a date," Donna finished with wide eyes.
Kelso sprang out of his laidback mood and screamed in disgust. "We've got to find them!" he screeched.
"Kelso, calm down!" Dona said sensing a stupid act coming on as Kelso started pacing the floor. "You and Jackie aren't together anymore," she reasoned.
'Gah!' Kelso screamed again and pointed at Donna as if she'd just announced that Clapton had no talent.
"Why are we even discussing this?" Eric shouted. "Hyde would never go out with Jackie!" he added a nervous chuckle as he looked around at the anxious faces.
"Unless she tricked him," Fez offered.
"Or if he wanted to burn Kelso," Donna agreed ominously.
"Or if he was bored," Fez said.
A hushed, terrified look passed between the gang.
"They have been kind of…nice…to each other recently," Donna said in a hushed voice.
There was a shocked and eerie silence and each member of the group held each other's gaze one by one. Kelso looked indignant, mouth hanging slightly agape, Eric looked twitchy, Donna looked foreboding and Fez looked sweaty.
Then the phone rang from upstairs and everyone jumped.
"What?" Red's gruff voice echoed down the stairs. "I don't understand you….slow down….Kitty, that loud girl's hysterical, can you take the phone?"
Donna sprinted into action and barrelled up the stairs, taking two at a time and grabbed the phone just before Kitty got to it.
"Jackie! Where have you been?!"
"Oh Donna! It's all my fault!! We were laughing and he told me to be quiet then there was this noise and…" Jackie broke down into sobs.
"Jackie, what's happened?" Donna asked, "Start from the beginning,"
"There's no time! I don't know where he is! I can't find him…he was just here telling me to shut my pie hole then he stopped and I stopped and then he was gone and I can't find him! They took him somewhere!"
"Jackie! Calm down! Where are you? Hyde will be fine, he's a big boy now," Donna tried a joke trying to ease the mood but something told her this wasn't one of Jackie's over-reactions. Something was definitely wrong. Eric appeared behind her shoulder and mouthed a silent 'what's happening?' Donna shrugged.
"I'm at a payphone at the mall……Donna! Donna, I've got to go! They're taking me to where Steven is,"
"Jackie! Stay where you are! I'm coming to get you!" Donna exclaimed into the phone.
There was static for a few seconds before Jackie came back the phone sounding a little less hysterical. "I'm going to the hospital, I've seen Steven! They're taking me with him. They say he's going to be fine, Donna!"
"What the hell, Jackie!?" Donna shouted "What's happening??" By now all three boys were pressed up against the phone, trying to hear the conversation while Red and Kitty stood nervously nearby.
"I'm sorry, I've got to go!" Jackie said then quickly hung up the phone.
Donna stood, staring at the piece of technology for a few seconds then turned to look at the anxious faces.
"Well?" Red asked impatiently "What's wrong?"
"I don't know but someone's taking Hyde to the hospital and that's where we'll find Jackie,"
"Something's happened to Steven??!" Kitty asked in a panicked voice as she clutched Red's shirt.
"That's what I gathered," Donna said.
"Well, let's go!" Eric said and led the way to the cars, followed by Red, Kitty, Donna, Kelso and Fez.
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Review, I command you! Joking, you don't have to if you don't want to. I just like writing.