𝑷𝑳𝑨𝒀 𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬 - Steven Hyde

forty seven

47|BACK TO WISCONSIN

Marigold smiled widely as the van pulled into the driveway, her real home coming into view. Eric and Donna got out of the van first, greeting their friends that had gathered around excitedly.

"So, my folks have no idea I was gone." Eric said with relief as he quickly hugged Hyde in greeting.

"No idea, you're golden." Hyde reassured him, holding back his mischievous smile.

"Oh, hey, Hyde!" Kelso greeted the boy as he stepped out of the van next. "You got a beard. You look so old."

"Of course I look old, man." He retaliated, knocking away Kelso's hands from his beard. "Party more than you, worked more, drank more, and slept with way more chicks. I'm exhausted man."

"Bold of you to assume you partied more." Goldie scoffed as she stepped out of the van last, raising a brow at the boy before hugging Jackie.

"Wow, you look hot." Jackie complimented the girl, looking over her tanned complexion. "Like I hate you hot."

"Thank you." She spun around, letting them all see every angle of her new body. "It was hard trying to keep all the Cali boys away."

"You were partying with tanned surfer boys?" Hyde questioned, his eyes trailing down her body.

"They taught me many new party tricks and different ways to take shots." Goldie smirked, pushing her hair over her shoulder and turning to walk into the house. "Aunt Kitty, Uncle Red!"

"Hello, dear." Red happily embraced his niece, happy to see the smile back on her face. "Did you have fun?"

"Lots but I missed you both so much that I had to come back." She grinned, moving to hug her aunt next. "Plus school starts soon."

"I made sure your room stayed clean and tidy while you were away." Kitty informed her before going outside to talk to her son.

Marigold ignored the commotion outside the house, happily grabbing a Coke from the fridge and wandering to her room. She was happy to be home but as soon as her eyes had met his, her heart felt like it was breaking all over again. She thought she was over their break up, over him. She had spent her months in Malibu improving herself and her lifestyle. She would exercise, eat healthy, sunbathe, party with strangers but never kiss anyone or take them home. She was enjoying life alone. That was until she saw him again.

~•~

Marigold wandered down the stairs, noticing Eric and Donna getting yelled at by their parents. She sneaked past them, avoiding getting in trouble. She paused in the kitchen, wondering if the others were in the basement.

Her movement was silent, the pair making out on the sofa not realising she was there. Goldie cupped her hand over her mouth, trying not to make a noise as she scurried back up the stairs to hide in the kitchen. She grabbed a drink from the fridge, sitting down at the kitchen table as what she had just witnessed replayed in her mind.

"Goldie, we're going down to the basement." Eric greeted his cousin as him, Kelso and Donna wandered into the kitchen. "You want to join us?"

"Oh, eh, yeah, sure." She stammered, following behind the group as Donna informed them of her punishment for running away to California.

"Oh, Catholic School?" Kelso repeated, shocked by Donna's news. "That's rough. Yeah, my dad took away my slingshot, so I'm feeling it pretty bad too."

"What were you guys doing?" Eric questioned Hyde and Jackie, noticing the pair were awkwardly silent.

"Huh? Oh, we're just watching, um, this old lady eating a fish." Hyde gestured cluelessly at the television, not knowing what was playing.

"Look, Jackie, we've been avoiding each other." Kelso sat down beside his ex-girlfriend, wrapping his arm over her shoulders. "I think it's time we hash this thing out."

"It's okay, I'm good." Jackie easily shot him down but he didn't understand.

"I can see you're devastated over losing me."

"You know what, Michael? I'm fine, really."

"You sound brave, but inside you're a scrambled mess." He continued to ramble, smirking down at the short woman. "Just remember this, I'll always be there for you, in case you have any physical needs, all right?" Hyde reached over and punched the boy, cutting him off from the awkward to witness scene. "Damn, Hyde, what was that for?"

"I just missed you, man." Hyde shrugged it off, not revealing the real reason.

"Wait. Donna, you're actually going to Catholic School?" Jackie questioned, changing the topic of conversation immediately.

"Not just Catholic School, Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow." Donna answered with a distraught face, hating her father's choice of punishment. "That means "sad forever". Eric, we're never going to see each other."

"Yeah, I know." Eric replied sadly, hating the idea of not getting to see Donna every day at school. "And I can't even drive you to school. And we can forget about any lunchtime hokey pokey. That's what it's all about."

"Nice one." Goldie air high fived her cousin for his song addition.

"Man, it sucks not having a car." Hyde sighed as he stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go drive mine. Catch you guys later."

"I have to unpack some things." Goldie spoke up, startling the others after her long period of silence. She left the basement in the opposite direction as Hyde and Jackie, refusing to see the pair making out again.