Chapter Text
Jackie walked into the basement with Donna and Eric as the sound of the record player in Steven’s-no HYDE! Hyde’s room wafted loudly through the cinder block walls.
She hadn’t been back in that house in months and here, the first time she was back, she was greeted with this.
“We know what that sound means,” Eric said eyeing Donna.
Jackie did too. The thought made her nearly sick.
She flashed back to all their uses for that record player.
It started that summer.
The California Summer when they’d ended up together making out in his room trying to hide from Eric and Fez when they made their reluctant appearances. More so Mrs. Forman who made multiple trips with the laundry on her days off.
To her daddy being arrested and she couldn’t stop crying some nights when her mom was in who knew what Mexican tourist trap drinking her last brain cells away. God. Donna’s mom wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box and still dropped everything because she heard her daughter was upset over the phone.
Jackie had begged her to come home, and it took months to drag Pam back. Those nights when she was distraught Steven would play songs they both liked and grudgingly danced with her until she smiled or felt like she could sleep.
Their relationship was written on the sounds of music coming off that player.
They played the records when they would make love and tried to drown out the noise so Fez or the others would stop being pervs and listening in.
Mostly music was just them. Washing over them as they were more caught up in the other.
That was her Steven.
Their relationship was like a playlist, favorites, greatest hits, and all-time flops.
It killed her that Sam got to see that person, while Jackie got Hyde.
She loved Steven with everything in her heart.
But God did she hate Hyde.
She snapped back to the here and now in the basement with her best friend and that friend’s boyfriend who until very recently didn’t like her.
It was like Eric had taken pity on her and tried to fill the gaping holes in her life that was missing by being her friend.
“Yeah,” Donna said, “I think we should go before it gets loud.”
Jackie was ready to bolt outside and puke. She couldn’t take the memories of being locked in his room with the music going and knowing he was with some other girl right now.
The music got louder and muffled voices rose above it.
“Too late,” Eric said. “Should we stay just in case?”
Donna looked stricken, “I don’t really know. Maybe upstairs.”
They knew something that Jackie didn’t, and she didn’t want to know, she just wanted to leave and never come back here.
“What are you guys talking about, please let’s just go?”
Her eyes were pleading for the sickening ache in her chest she couldn’t explain to them.
The muffled voices switched to straight-up screaming.
“I don’t feel right leaving,” Eric turned on the TV to drown the noise out with whatever was on.
Jackie was uneasy and didn’t know what was going on, but she couldn’t leave either.
Donna took the middle with Jackie and Eric on either side of her. They all ignored what was too loud to do so.
Jackie had grown up with loads of fighting in the house, but this was more vicious than the worst of her parents’ arguments.
What scared her more is that she’d never heard Steven act this way.
When the door flung open it was Hyde putting on his shades, carrying a suitcase, dropping it into the basement, and yelling “GET OUT!”
Jackie was startled.
She and Steven had loads of arguments, but he’d never screamed at her like that. For a moment she was frightened for Sam.
But Sam was far from needing it.
“Gladly.” She shoved him back into the wall as she collected her things. “You think I want to be here in this dingy hell hole? Trust me, I’ll sign the papers so I can get the hell out of here.”
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard since you’ve shown up here,” he was so bitter.
In another life, Jackie would have enjoyed Sam suffering but this seemed wrong to enjoy it.
Well, maybe just a little bit deep down.
The three of them had turned to see the argument leaving Hyde’s room. Jackie whispered to Donna that she was leaving. She stood and made her way around the couch.
She could have gone after any of them, but Sam zeroed in on Jackie. “Of course, she’s here. Why not? She’s always fucking here.”
Jackie was confused, she knew Sam was talking about her, “I haven’t been here in months.”
“Does it matter, you’re in every god damned inch of this place.”
Jackie stepped forward to be met with a solid wall of Hyde stepping in front of her.
“Don’t fucking talk to her like that.”
Her heart clenched, no, this was Steven. Her Steven.
“Oh, your poor princess can’t defend herself. Of course, Steven her white knight has to save the day. How is she going to like the mess you’ve turned into, all you do is drink and smoke, but you can’t even be happy about it? You’re just a miserable waste of space.
“Stop it.” The words were torn out of Jackie’s mouth without thought. It wasn’t her place to interfere, but she couldn’t stand there and let Sam dig at some of Steven’s sore spots.
“Now, that’s cute. He’s treated you like shit since I showed up and you want to defend him. I guess you deserve each other.”
“Sam that’s enough, take your shit and get out.”
She smiled cruelly, “He says your name in his sleep. He’s so pathetic that even if he married me, he’s still hung up on you.”
“I don’t even remember fucking marrying you, but I’ll cherish the annulment papers forever.”
“Same here.” She picked up her suitcase and headed for the stairs, “And Hyde, go to hell,” she flipped him off. The walls rattled as she slammed the door behind her.
The four of them stood stock still not saying a word. The sound of the record player went unheard in the background as all of them regained their footing.
Steven stepped away, taking a quick glance at Jackie before going into his room and slamming the door.
Jackie couldn’t move. It was like the last few months had happened in a vacuum and now it was over. But it was far from that.
But she’d seen a glimpse of her Steven, she was an idiot for wanting him, but she’d been in love with him since she was fifteen years old. It wasn’t something she could just stop doing, not when it came as easy as breathing. Lord knew she’d tried to forget him but she couldn’t do it.
“So, I guess I better go tell Red we need to change the locks,” Eric said lightly.
Donna and Jackie looked at him incredulously.
“What?”
Donna scolded him, “You have the worst timing in the world.”
He shrugged, “Yeah, well.”
Donna put her hand on Jackie’s shoulder, “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“We never would have brought you here if we thought that that would happen I promise.”
The music was still playing as was the TV, she felt safe asking her questions.
Jackie choked back the revulsion in her throat. “Do they fight like that a lot?”
She and Eric shared a glance, wordlessly discussing how much to confess.
“Not that bad.”
“But all the time,” Eric said.
“Steven is screaming at her like that?”
Donna seemed shaken too, “Sometimes.”
“It’s usually the other way around,” Eric confessed.
Jackie was so confused, “I don’t understand how any of this happened.”
“We’re not exactly sure but they stayed together, and they are not a good fit.”
“Will Sam be back?”
Donna considered it, the fighting had happened loads of times, but neither had ever left like that. “I hope not, and good riddance.”
“I wasn’t kidding about the locks. I’ll go talk to Red and then we can go somewhere.”
Jackie was still shaken, “I think I’d rather wait down here and think if that’s okay.”
Donna understood and followed Eric, pausing on the landing. “Come up whenever you’re ready.”
Jackie waited until they were gone. She battled with herself. She should go up the stairs and wait in the car. She could just go home. The smartest thing to do would be to walk out of here and keep her distance.
And Jackie was a smart girl.
But Jackie was never smart when it came to Steven.
She knocked on the door, “What?” Steven shouted through the door.
This was her sign to turn and run. Softly she said, “It’s me.”
She wasn’t sure he heard her with how long it took him to open the door.
“Hey,” he said with a choked voice.
She knew how to handle Steven, you had to delicately build up to the point, but she didn’t have that kind of patience today.
“Are you, okay?”
“Are you kidding me?” He wasn’t angry with her, more surprised.
“No, I- uh. Oh, to hell with it. That was horrible to watch and Eric is weird and I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”
“You have been gone.”
Jackie waited for him to answer the question.
“No, I’m not. I screwed us up and I’ve been putting up with her because I didn’t want to be Budd but damn it I am.”
“You’re not,” she said softly.
“Yes, I am.”
“Steven, I know you. You’re not Budd. Maybe she was Edna. You two never did get along.”
He snorted a laugh.
“It’s not good for you to be sulking in there, we’re going to the Hub come with us.” They weren’t. They’d planned to hang out in the basement before everything happened.
“I don’t feel like company right now,” he said.
“It’s probably better than sitting in there doing what?”
“Not today, Jackie.”
She couldn’t leave, not yet.
“Can I talk to you for a few minutes then?”
“Yeah,” he stepped aside and let her into his room. It looked like a tornado had hit it. Half the drawers were on the floor and clothes were everywhere.
It reeked of smoke and stale beer. Here and there she noticed cans littered under furniture.
Steven had always been tidy, he didn’t have much but it was always kept clean and put away. She hoped this was just from the fight.
She ignored it and found a stool to sit down, once upon a time she would immediately sit down on the bed.
“I’d have cleaned up if I knew I’d have company,” Steven tried to joke.
Jackie wasn’t interested, “You’re better than this.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, I know you are.”
“Obviously not, I let all of this happen.”
This was odd, Steven’s fatal flaw was not admitting his feelings, he could deflect and blame everyone around him. But he wasn’t like this.
Still, he wasn’t wrong. Jackie decided to move closer, she inched toward him. “You don’t have to stay like this.”
It was a move she’d done hundreds of times, Jackie reached over to take off his sunglasses when she wanted his full attention, but his hand grabbed for her wrist stopping her.
It wasn’t aggressive but it was sudden. He didn’t do that with her.
It could have been he didn’t want her so close, but it was how he moved.
Alarm bells went off in her head.
“Steven,” she said firmly, “take your hand off.”
“Leave it, Jackie.”
“Take them off or I will break them to get them off.”
They didn’t move, stuck in a silent battle of wills. Finally, he let go of her wrist and Jackie slowly removed his shades.
Even with the dim lighting he preferred, she could see the start of a new bruise on his cheekbone and an old one closer to his nose.
“Steven?” Her voice was so small.
He shrugged it off, “Not like it’s the first time I’ve been hit.”
“Don’t,” she said firmly. “Don’t do that.”
“Jackie, I’m fine.”
The outfit Sam had left in left little to the imagination, so it seemed one-sided.
Her hand moved of its own volition; her fingertips gently grazed the discolored skin. Her heart broke into pieces. “Steven are the two of you done?”
“Yeah, I can’t do this anymore. My dad has the papers on standby.”
Jackie paused a moment, taking it in. This was a lot. She’d planned on hanging out and avoiding her ex, only to find he and his new wife are constantly fighting and she was hitting him and here she was trying to comfort him.
“If she comes back and you stay together, I’m not responsible for my actions.” She didn’t know what she would do, but she refused to let it happen again.
“She’s not coming back,” he said firmly.
She stood to go, “Good. You don’t deserve this Steven, no matter what’s happened.”
She didn’t have more words of comfort.
Jackie knelt down, kissed his cheek softly, and left.
*******
She had been so stupid kissing him, but it hadn’t felt wrong at the time.
Still, it left her agitated with the whole ride to the Hub. The three of them were uncomfortably silent.
They didn’t want to talk about what just happened, but there wasn’t anything else they could think of to talk about.
At The Hub, Jackie went on and on about Fez’s gossip from the salon just for something to talk about.
They weren’t listening much, but it didn’t bother her. She didn’t particularly care about what she was saying either. Not today.
A chair scraped beside them and Steven sat down, “Hey.”
“Hyde,” Eric said excitedly.
“Can I join you?”
Donna started shifting her chair to make space, “There’s room.”
“So what’s up?”
“Jackie was just telling us all about some drama at the salon Fez works at.”
“Short version, the skank who keeps picking on him got caught in the laundry room with the manager’s ex after hours.”
“Ouch.”
“She got demoted because she can’t really fire her right now and Fez got her job.”
“Wait, how come Hyde gets the short version?” Eric whined, trying to keep up the light mood.
“As much as you whine about Star Wars on the daily it wouldn’t hurt you to listen to anything besides Yoda.”
Donna laughed, “Burn.”
As the gossip and insults lulled, Steven brought up the reason he’d come to find them. “So uh, I’m going to see my dad tomorrow, anyone want to road trip?”
“Let’s do it,” Eric was excited to do anything that got him out of town.
Jackie fidgeted nervously, “The studio might need us, Donna.”
“They gave us the week off to build the new set, they won’t need us, and they’ll survive one day if they do.”
She was suddenly hesitant to spend that much time in his company. Sure, she’d seen a glimmer of the old him but what if the new one she hated so much came back?
“We can hit the bakery you like on the way back,” Hyde offered.
Damn him. He knew that was her weakness.
She huffed out an annoyed sigh, “What time are we leaving?”