Not sure if I'm going to stick with this title, but I had to put something down, so here you go, hope you enjoy!
There are two types of people in this world; ones who stay the same their whole life, and those who don't quite know who they are, changing a little with every breath they take. Jackie Burkhart is the latter. She's brutally honest, but lies constantly, she's superficial, but a profound dreamer, a heart breaker, but a hopeless romantic. What she wanted changed faster than fashion trends, whether it be boys, cars, ponies or clothes. Although it never stayed the same for long, there was always something in her radar, and she almost always got it. For her thirteenth birthday she asked for a authentic gold charm bracelet, accented with pink diamonds, real ones, not the cheap kind. She received not only the bracelet, but matching earrings too. Most of her life had gone like that; people don't feel like dealing with her attitude so they give her what she wanted, no questions asked. However, often there is a fine line between what one wants, and what one appears to want.
...
Talk about last resorts. His entire life was a quilt made up of them, sloppily patched together over the years, revealing one huge mass of color and chaos. It started before he was even born, when his mom, in desperate attempt to hold on to her boyfriend, purposefully got pregnant. It didn't work; she ended up being too scared to tell him, and actually broke up with him herself. It continued from then on. After his "father (who turned out not to be his real dad)", left with all their money, he and his mom hitched a ride with a door to door mattress sails man named Larry. He told Edna Hyde that he was in love with her, and was going to give her everything she and her son ever wanted. Turns out he was an alcoholic who just wanted their money, but when he found out they didn't have any, he booted them out of his car, drove away with their suitcases still in his trunk, and left them, broke and homeless, in a town called Point Place.
...
It had been almost two years since she'd left Point Place. The only proof she even had of her ever living there was her old drivers license and a faded, torn Polaroid photograph taken the day of her high school graduation. The rest of her possessions she had obtained somewhere along the way on her journey from Chicago, to Vegas and eventually New Orleans. But none of those places seemed to give her what she wanted. With the little money she had, Jackie began to set out yet again, by bus, taxi and even hitchhiking here and there, in search of what she was looking for, even if she didn't quite know what that was.
...
It was true, last resorts seemed to follow Hyde everywhere. Hell, he even became one himself, when he took Jackie to prom way back in high school, when she had no one to go with on account her her breaking up with Kelso. One of the most prominent ones in his life took place after his mom left, and he moved in with Foreman so everyone would stop worrying about him. But the one he couldn't ever get over, the biggest mistake of his life, the worst last resort he'd ever taken, was marrying Samantha, the stripper he met in Vegas. They lasted a mere six months and though Hyde swore to himself he was going to make some changes after that, last resorts followed him into his early adulthood. In July of 1982, his El Camino, about the only thing he had of his very own, was running on an empty tank, and was in desperate need of an oil change. Hyde was determined not to stop until he got to where he was going, but he knew he needed to get to a gas station. He found himself in Boone, North Carolina, just miles from where he wanted to be. For the past four weeks, he'd bent over backwards, gone to the moon and back, and all but sold his soul to the Devil to score a ticket to a music festival going on, where he'd be watching Zeppelin, and about a dozen other legends. He didn't like thinking about how he'd had to sell all his records and , his signed Jimi Hendrix guitar to score the tickets. But it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he wouldn't miss it for anything. Chances are, he'd meet a woman at the seven day long festival, which could keep him busy for two or three weeks, at least until he got some money and could get the Hell out. He'd been with about half a dozen women in the past couple of years, none lasting more than a few weeks. They'd given him short lived satisfaction, if anything someone to share a motel room with. It had become repetitive, and just plain boring. It always ended the same way; him leaving quietly before what ever girl it was woke up. It had been a long time since he'd seen her, but for reasons he couldn't understand, each and every time he was with a woman, Jackie's face would flash across his mind, just for a second, and then it would be gone.
"I noticed you're alone a lot...and I'm alone a lot. So I thought maybe we could be alone together."
...
Jackie sat at the bus stop, waiting for the Number Whatever Bus to come and take her Wherever. Next to her on the bench sat a plastic, pink tote bag which contained everything to her name, minus the clothes on her back. There were a couple of books, some makeup (she may be poor but she will not look it), a small change purse with about five dollars in coins, her Wisconsin ID, an old photograph, and a pack of gum, only one piece left. To keep her self entertained, she had her nose buried in People magazine, which she'd taken from a drugstore about an hour before.
"I would never wear that," She thought to herself, grimacing at a baby blue pant suit with puffy sleeves and rhinestones around the bust, worn by a celebrity in the magazine. "Thank God for people like me who actually have a sense of fashion and can save the world from crisis."
Setting the magazine in her lap, she looked up and down the street, starting to get a little impatient. If a bus didn't get there soon, she would melt in this heat like the witch in The Wizard of Oz. Wiping some sweat off her forehead she licked her lips, wishing she had something to drink, anything to quench her parched throat. Remembering that her mother used to tell her that sweating was not something a woman should do unless it's in the bedroom, she got a makeup sponge from her bag and dabbed at her dewy face. Afterwards, she glanced down at her feet. She wore bright red flip flops, and her toes, she noticed, were in desperate need of a pedicure. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been to a nail salon.
"I'm being weighed down by a 95 pound brunette with pink toenails."
Giving up on reading, Jackie put the magazine back in her tote bag, and popped the last stick up of gum in her mouth. Minutes ticked by. She waited and waited. Uncomfortable, she leaned back, and decided to read license plates of cars that drove past. Most were from North Carolina, which made sense, a couple from neighboring states. An El Camino drove by, one very similar to the car that Steven had. Steven. She hadn't allowed her self to think about him in ages. But when the license plate said Wisconsin, and that little dent was there, from the time Michael had backed in to a tree, her pulse began to race, and she sat up, staring at the back of the car. "No..." She whispered, in disbelief.
...
After filling up his tank, spending all but seventeen dollars of the money he had, Hyde was back on track, continuing on his way to the concert. He lazily glanced at shops as he cruised through the town that seemed to still be living in the 70's, and hungrily gazed at diners he passed. But he knew once he got to the concert he'd be able to mooch some food and a few beers. And he was gong to need it once he hit up his stash. He'd almost reached the town limits when he passed a pregnant girl sitting on a bench, who a looked to be very interested in his car. His eyes glazed over her, his mind still on food, when suddenly something clicked in his head and he did a double take, looking over his shoulder, completely forgetting about his vehicle, which was still going 25 mph, heading towards on coming traffic.
"Oh my God, Jackie..." He said out loud. He stared for a couple more seconds before being snapped out of it by a horn honking. He whirled his head around and barely dodged a pickup truck.
"Shit," He muttered, pulling into a convenient store parking lot, suddenly out of breath. He parked his car about ten feet away from the bench where he saw Jackie. He left it running, his mind already back to her. She was standing up now, facing him. After of few minutes of them just staring, blinking at each other, she raised her hand in wave. Keeping his widened eyes locked on her, he cut and engine and stepped outside.