SONG: Questioningly by Ramones (the acoustic version, more sentimental, trust me)
_____
Earl turned away from a customer he was talking to after she thanked him for his assistance and then walked over to Ida who was leaning on the front counter, chewing gum and glaring straight ahead of her at nothing in particular. 'What's up with the rage music all day?' He asked her.
It was Ida's turn to play music today and all she has been playing was heavy metal, Sabbath and Judas Priest. During the past few days, she's been sad and was listening to Meat Loaf and Wasted Time by the Eagles, but now, the feeling of misery and sorrow were replaced by anger and the wish to rip someone apart. Preferably Hyde. The two haven't been talking since Monday and it was Saturday today. Ida was pissed at him, he was pissed at her for being pissed at him, and even if they did talk, they'd insult each other, so they'd be pissed because of that as well.
'I was rummaging through your cassette box and found an interestingly titled one, so I wanted to play it,' Ida answered, uninterested in making a conversation with her boss. She was playing around with one of the bracelets Donna gifted her for Christmas, loving it's red color and the lettered beads that spelled out angry.
'Huh. I forgot about this casette,' Earl said. 'What was it titled?'
'Rage.'
He nodded. 'Right. Makes sense.' Looking down at Ida, he frowned. 'What's the matter, sweetheart?'
Ida shrugged. 'This entire thing with Jeremy and Hyde is making me angry. And what makes me even more angry is that I'm pissed at Hyde. We've never went more than two days without talking.'
'Why don't you just talk it out?' Earl suggested. 'You kids are making too big of a deal out of it when it really doesn't have to be.'
'But it is a big deal,' Ida whined, burying her face into her hands. 'He always interferes with other people's relationships. You know that he had a crush on Donna and kissed her when she and Eric were hitting it off? Who does that?! And now, now that she's not interested, he likes me all of a sudden! And he ruined my relationship with Jeremy just because I felt something for him for one brief second... I'm making it worse, aren't I? Well, you know what, Steven can go and-'
'Okay, calm down,' Earl interrupted her before she finished her sentence. 'This is why the music is on, for you to groove to it and be angry through it. Second of all,' he continued, 'I will never understand you kids. And third of all, you need to go and talk to him and sort all of this out if you can't stand it anymore.'
Ida sighed. 'Yea, you're right. Could I go now?'
Looking down at his watch and adjusting it on his wrist, Earl said, 'Well, your shift is almost over, so sure.' The he looked away at something that caught his attention. 'And if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and stop that woman from letting her child destroy that new David Bowie cutout. Ma'am. Ma'am!' He shouted and then went to pry Ziggy Stardust out of the toddler's hands. He was swinging the thing around, almost knocking other stuff down around it while his mom laughed and was taking photos!
Chuckling, Ida reached to take her stuff from under the counter when Fez walked into the store. 'Hey, Fez. What're you doing here?' It was a surprise for Fez to venture into the Pandemonium because the last time he did, Mrs. Erdman made him shove his own face into holy water. She still didn't approve of rock.
'I wanted to see how you were doing...' he answered and then averted his gaze. 'Also, Hyde ditched me.'
'Of course, he did,' she replied, rolling her eyes. 'Well, you can hang out with me. I don't wanna go home yet anyway.'
Fez watched her search for something in her backpack. He fidgeted with his fingers, looking at Ida nervously, before finally saying, 'Actually, I have something I need to tell you. It is very important.'
'Did that girl from the Hub give you her number?' Ida asked, hopeful.
'God, I wish,' Fez replied, sighing. 'No, what I have to tell you is about... HyDe.' His voice cracked as he said his name and then smiled nervously. Ida shifted her attention to him, forgetting about the ten dollars she was searching for, which made Fez even more nervous because her attention was completely on him. 'Okay,' he continued. 'You see, lastnightattheHub,HydeandIweresittingandthisgirlcameinthispunkchickandHydewentwithhertoshowherwherethemotelisandwehaventheardfromhimsincehejumpedwithheronher motorcycle.'
Ida stared at Fez, processing the long sentence he dumped on her and deciphering because he said it so fast that you needed to give yourself a moment for it to reach your brain. But when it did... 'Wait, wait, wait,' she said, creasing her eyebrows. 'What do you mean, he went off with some girl?'
'Um, punk chick, not a girl,' Fez corrected her.
'A punk chick in Point Place?' Ida asked. 'We don't get punk chicks here, Fez. I'm the punkiest a chick can get in this dump. And I'm not even that punk!'
'She isn't from here. She's going to New York,' he said, now relaxing a bit after he told her the news and she didn't throw anything at him.
Ida's eyes widened. 'New York? And Hyde went with her to New York?!'
'No, no, no, Ida,' Fez said, sighing and then summing up what he said few seconds ago. 'He went with her to show her where the motel is. If that doesn't say something, I don't know what does,' he said, smirking. When Ida glared at him, he stopped and said, 'Sorry.'
'I can't believe this,' Ida told him, throwing her hands in the air in disbelief. 'He's not supposed to chase other girls now. He's supposed to be following me around and begging for forgiveness. And I'd forgive him and we'd be together. Goddamit, I hate Hyde for being Hyde sometimes! Of course, he'd just move on.' She felt a sudden urge to curl under a blanket while For Crying Out Loud played on the record player.
Fez looked at her and walked over behind the counter to give her a hug. Ida knew he felt bad for her. And she felt bad for herself. She was dumped and now the guy because of which she got dumped is off with another girl. 'You know what always makes me feel better when I am sad?' Fez asked her. 'Happy sex.'
'Fez, I'm not in the mood,' Ida replied.
'So, what you're saying is... later?'
Ida shook her head in disbelief. 'You know what, if Hyde's gonna play it that way, the so be it. I don't care either. He can do whatever he wants and I do not give a single damn about it.' She put on her jacket and grabbed her backpack. 'That son of a bitch.' Then she stormed out of the store...
...and then went back for Fez.
***
'It was so funny,' Donna said, chuckling a bit to herself. 'He was fidgeting with my bra like it was a safe or something. And then he suggested last night we go drive around again, but at this point, I doubt he'll even be able to open up the Vista Cruiser.'
Ida was going through her closet, looking for something nice to wear. She accidentally spilled soup on herself during lunch, but was supposed to go with Jackie to Eric's house since she asked Mrs. Forman if she could help her with a Home Ec project, and Jackie invited Ida to join her. 'Well, Eric is a big klutz, so...,' Ida replied, pulling out a yellow sweater and a clean pair of jeans. 'You should lend him one of your bras. Just to practice.'
Donna laughed. 'I should. At least he'd learn something useful with it.'
'And if he doesn't want it, I'd be more than glad for you to lend it to me, Donna,' Fez added, smiling brightly, while looking through Ida's new box of records.
'Yea, on my way to,' she told him sarcastically, but still laughed at his comment. 'Anyways, Ida, when are you going to talk to Hyde already?'
Ida looked at her over her shoulder. 'Oh, I am not talking to him. He still hasn't apologized and Fez told me this morning that he went off with some punk chick last night, so from now on, I don't care about anything he does or says. For all I care, he can go fuck himself.'
Donna shared a look with Fez, before saying, 'Yea, I know. He came in last night at around ten. I still though think you should talk to him.'
'He came in last night? To the basement?' Ida asked, raising her eyebrows. 'What did he say?'
'We thought you just said you didn't care about anything he does of says,' Donna replied, smirking.
'Look at me. I'm a short girl that does not care about what the man of her dreams has to say,' Fez imitated her. 'I do not care about what he does or says and I do not have any feelings for him, but deep down I love him more than myself.'
Ida glared at him. 'Shut up. I don't love him.' Then she made a pause. 'What did he say then? I just want to know. The more things you tell me, the more I will hate him and be more annoyed with him.'
Donna sighed. 'Yea, okay. He came in and said he met the most amazing woman ever, that her name is Chrissy, that she ditched her life to go to New York and make a punk band. She's into everything anti-government and she likes protesting.'
'That means having sex,' Fez added.
'He also said that punk is music that fights against the corporate rock and roll takeover.'
Ida stared at Donna with a blank facial expression. 'He literally told me the Ramones suck. What a sellout. Did he also tell you that Led Zeppelin is a glam rock band with a bunch of pretty boys?'
'No. At least, not yet,' Donna answered. 'But now punk is his soundtrack to the revolution.'
'Didn't he say that Blue Oyster Cult was the soundtrack to the revolution?'
'Exactly what I told him.'
'Wait a minute,' Fez said, looking up from the records and shifting his gaze to nothing in particular ahead of him, very dramatically. 'I've just realized something.' He set down the box. 'Chrissy likes punk, Ida likes punk. She is against the government, Ida is an anarchist. She wants to go to New York, Ida wants to go to New York. Well, this is just so obvious.'
Donna frowned. 'What is?'
Fez rolled his eyes. 'Do you people have a brain? Hyde is into her because she is just like Ida.'
'Fez, he literally met her yesterday,' Ida pointed out.
'It does not take long for a man to fall for a girl if she is just like the girl that he is into,' he answered. 'He'll just stay here when he realizes that Ida was his punk chick all along and that he wants to go with her to New York and not Chrissy.'
Ida was confused. She set down the clothes she was holding in her hands on the dresser and creased her eyebrows. 'What do you mean he'll stay here and go to New York with me and not Chrissy?'
Donna bit her lip. 'Yea... I just realized we forgot to tell you. Um... Fez, you wanna break down the news to her?'
'What? No!' Fez protested. 'I'm much closer to her, so if she throws something, I will be her target.'
'Guys, what the hell are you talking about?' Ida asked, growing impatient.
Donna looked at Ida with a bit of a sad expression on her face. 'Hyde also told us that he's going to New York with her... tomorrow night.'
'WHAT?!'
CRASH.
'That could've been me!' Fez shouted at Donna, pointing at the now broken flower vase that lay on the wet carpet along with daisies and a magic 8 ball, less than a foot away from him.
Ida was furious. Before she could burst out in front of her friends, she gathered her clothes and went to the bathroom, locking the door twice before looking up in the mirror and seeing that she was about to start crying again. Not because she was sad this time, but because she was angry. And upset. And maybe a bit sad. But there would be more angry tears than sad tears.
When did he plan to tell her he was going to leave? And why was he leaving now after everything that happened with some girl he met twelve hours ago!? He was her best friend. They were supposed to go to New York together after high school: she to college and he... well, wherever he wanted to.
Okay, Ida thought to herself, trying to calm down even though she wanted to hunt him down and twist his neck into a knot. Let's first recapitulate. I like Steven more than a friend. He likes me more than a friend. He comes to the Pandemonium and kisses me. Jeremy breaks up with me because of that. I get my heart broken and am angry with Steven. I am still angry, but I'm hoping he'll come by an apologize. He does not come by to apologize which makes me even more angry. I refuse to talk to him because I have too much pride. And goddamn self-respect! He's the idiot here! You know what? I don't care. If he's gonna be an ass, alright. That's fine by me! Hope he comes crying back after a few days and I WON'T BE THERE TO GIVE A CRAP ABOUT IT!
It was like Kristian was leaving all over again.
'Fuck it,' Ida told herself in the mirror and then changed into the clothes she brought into the bathroom with her before going back to her room. She grabbed her car keys and smiled at Donna and Fez. 'Ready to go?'
***
She dropped Fez off at his house because he had stuff to do for work and Donna had to go home as well to take a shower because she was going out with Eric again tonight, so it was only Ida who went to watch Jackie roll her sleeves up and cook something for the first time in her life.
'Ida, you should really talk to Hyde,' Donna said, getting out of the car and closing the door when they parked on the sidewalk in front of Eric's house. 'He'll listen to you. I mean, all this crap about going to New York... he's making a big mistake.'
'Don't you think I know that?' Ida told her. 'But I know him. When he sets his mind on something, he's gonna do it. He's a stubborn son of a bitch.'
Donna kept on pushing. 'Can you at least try to talk to him? Like, I know you're angry with him and all that stuff, but can you just put your pride aside for one second and talk some sense into him?'
Ida crossed her arms. 'Fine. I'll try. But we're not on good terms now so... don't know how that's gonna go.'
'You guys are fighting for no reason. Just talk it out a finally be together like we all want you to be and like it should be,' Donna said, smiling, and patting Ida's shoulder.
'Yea, right,' Ida replied, rolling her eyes but smiling a bit too.
They said goodbye to each other before Ida went inside, already seeing Mrs. Forman and Jackie in their kitchen aprons, ready to start baking.
'Oh, Ida, sweetie!' Mrs. Forman exclaimed, grinning widely when she saw her. 'You're finally here.' She tossed her an apron. 'I saved that one for you so you can bake with us.'
'Oh...' Ida started, looking down at the apron. 'Well, I didn't really come here to bake, but I guess I could try. I've never really baked anything.'
Jackie bounced on the balls of her feet excitingly. 'This will be so fun! It's like our bonding activity!'
Taking out two bowls, Mrs. Forman put one in front of each of the girls and then stood in between the two of them. 'Alright. Making a pie is very simple. We'll make the filling first and then the crust so that it can go into the over right away.' Then she went to get all the ingredients they needed.
'Thank you so much for helping with my Home Ec project, Mrs. Forman,' Jackie told her.
'You're welcome, honey,' she answered, setting down on the counter some things they needed. 'Now, Jackie, have you ever made a pie before?'
Jackie shook her head. 'No, I don't really cook much. I just plan on getting by on my looks.'
Mrs. Forman looked over at Ida, who only shrugged, in confusion, before saying, 'Okay, then.'
Suddenly, Kelso came out of the basement, holding the Pong console in his hands and he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jackie. They weren't on best of terms either and Jackie was whining about it all the time, but now, she pretended to be cool about it all.
Breaking the awkward silence, Ida greeted him. 'Hey, Kelso.'
'Ida,' he answered simply.
'Michael,' Jackie said, looking at him and crossing her arms.
'Jackie,' Kelso replied. 'What are you doing here?'
'I'm baking a pie.'
'I'm making small paddles.'
'Fine.'
'Fine.' Then he stormed out of the kitchen and headed to the garage.
Ida let out a breath she was holding in during their exchange, and laughed nervously. 'Well, that went incredibly well, didn't it?'
Once they started, Ida found out that she liked baking very much. She was having fun, especially while cracking eggs. Mrs. Forman though had to tell her to do it less aggressively because the first egg she cracked flew everywhere except into the bowl. Jackie was struggling a bit, but not because it was her first time baking, but because she wasn't even paying attention to what she was doing and accidentally would add more of the ingredient than it was necessary, or she would turn on the mixer when she wasn't supposed to and make the flour in the bowl blow up into the air.
The reason behind her not paying attention: Kelso.
Mrs. Forman was being patient with her and trying to help in any way she could, but Ida could see that she was getting a bit annoyed by the end by her constant talk of him. She honestly didn't shut up since he passed through the kitchen.
Once the pies were finally in the oven, Mrs. Forman had to get on with making dinner so she asked Ida if she could go to the basement and get her some peas from the freezer. Ida said that was fine and headed downstairs where she bumped into Eric at the bottom of the stairs. 'Ops. Sorry.'
'No, that's okay,' he told her. 'Are you also baking?'
Ida nodded. 'Yea. Thought I'd try it out. By the way, you're having peas for dinner.'
'Great,' Eric said and then looked over at Hyde who was sitting on the couch. He then looked back at Ida. Then and Hyde again. And then at Ida. 'I'll just go up real quick,' he told her before darting up the stairs.
Hyde didn't even turn around to look at her, but instead kept looking at the TV. Ida didn't want to say anything first, so she just went to the freezer and started digging through it to find the pea bag. The noise she was making was bothering Hyde, so he said annoyingly, 'Can you keep it down a bit? I'm trying to watch something.'
'Oh, sorry,' Ida said, and then started practically throwing everything around.
'Do you mind?!' Hyde told her, a bit louder this time, finally turning to look at her.
Ida shook her head. 'No, it's fine. I don't mind.'
He leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms. 'What is your problem?'
She raised her eyebrows, also crossing her arms, interpreting his actions as a challenge. 'Nothing. I heard you found some punk chick last night.'
'I did, and it's none of your business,' he snapped back at her.
'Yea, just like my relationship with Jeremy was none of your business and you just had to go and ruin it. And you still didn't apologize,' she told him.
He shrugged, looking back at the TV. 'I don't do apologies.'
Ida wanted to stomp her foot against the ground so badly, but she knew he'd take her even less seriously if she did so. She wanted to try and talk to him again, so she said, 'You're going to New York?'
'Yep,' Hyde answered, still sounding uninterested in the entire conversation.
'Why that all of a sudden?' Ida asked, finally digging out the bag of peas.
'To get as far away from you as it was possible,' he replied. 'Couldn't get a ticket for overseas so New York would just do.'
Letting out an annoyed gasp, Ida slammed the lid of the freezer closed, threw the cold bag of peas at him and then stomped up the stairs. When she got up into the kitchen, she sat down on a chair at the table and splayed herself across it.
'Ida, honey, are you okay?' Mrs. Forman asked. Like it wasn't enough that she had Jackie to complain about boy problems, now there was Ida as well.
'Yes,' Ida told her.
'Well, if it will make you feel any better,' Mrs. Forman continued, looking down into to the oven, 'Your pie seems to be turning out better than Jackie's.'
'WHAT?' Jackie exclaimed, leaping of the bar stool and walking over to her to see with her own eyes what was going on with the pies. 'Why does mine look like that?! You were not supposed to come here and do better than me, Ida!'
***
The next day, Ida was working an afternoon shift at the Pandemonium and Eric and Donna came with her to just hang out. There weren't many customers there today, so Johnny, who Ida was now sharing shifts with, played some live music and entertained few girls that were looking at band t-shirts.
Ida was counting pennies and setting them in different plastic bags, 50 coins in each (they had a lot of kids coming in to buy records with handfuls of coins), while Eric sat on the counter, looking at Donna who was browsing some new records.
'Did you talk to Hyde last night?' Eric asked, referring to the talk they were supposed to have once he left the basement.
'Yea,' Ida answered, tying up one bag, setting it aside, and then starting to count another 50 coins for the next bag.
'He's still leaving,' Eric replied after a few seconds of silence between them. 'My parents tried talking to him today but with no luck. He still wants to go.'
She nodded, absent mindedly. 'Forty-seven, forty-eight, nine, fifty,' Ida mumbled to herself and then scribbled something on a piece of paper that lay next to her hand.
Eric stared at her. 'Are you even listening to me? Ida, Hyde is going to New York.'
Ida looked up at him. 'And what to do you want me to do about that?' She let out a deep breath and looked down at her shoes. 'When I asked him last night why he was going to New York, he told me it was to get as far away from me as it was possible. At this point, I really couldn't care less about where he goes or what he does.'
'I still don't get what's going on with the two of you,' Donna said, setting down a record she was looking at and walking over to Eric and Ida.
'It's fairly simple,' Ida answered. 'He kissed me, ruined my relationship with Jeremy, I got angry, then he got angry because I was angry and because he thought it would just be the way he wanted it to be. Then we got into an argument, which you guys witnessed, he said some stuff, I said some stuff, no one apologized, and I believe that he's the one that should apologize first. But he doesn't want to, clearly doesn't care enough to, so yea!' She smiled bitterly, placing her hands on her hips. 'There you go!'
'Can't you put your pride aside for once and try to talk to him again?' Donna told her. 'Are you aware that he is throwing his entire life away. I get that you guys are not on the best terms right now, but he'll listen to you.'
Ida sighed, annoyed by everything. 'I know Hyde almost as well as I know myself. Well, recently I started doubting how much I know myself, but what I'm trying to say is that I can't stop him. It's his decision and he will go unless he changes his mind.'
'And you can help him with that and have him change his mind,' Eric added.
At this point, Ida was just trying to make excuses for not to talk to Hyde. Was she sad that he was leaving? Absolutely. But what could she do when he was acting the way he did? 'No,' she replied. 'Listen, ever since we were kids, we both talked about getting out of this shithole as soon as we get the opportunity to do so... just to get out and make something of ourselves in the world. And he got the opportunity to leave.'
'You're not telling us that you agree with his choice?' Donna asked in disbelief.
'No, I don't agree. But you know that he is stubborn and no matter what I tell him, he won't change his mind.'
'Are you really that pissed at him that you won't even try to actually talk to him?' Eric kept on pushing. 'Like, I know that Hyde can be a jerk sometimes, but you're not and you know how to have a normal, diplomatic conversation so...'
Chucking the bags into a basket and setting in under the counter, Ida pushed her hair out of her eyes. She could not let him just go away without even trying to stop him, and not now when things were just supposed to take off for them... hopefully.'
Without saying a word, Ida went to the back to get her stuff. Putting on her jacket, she checked the time on the clock that was on the wall: 6.32 pm. Her shift was ending at nine. Whatever, she thought to herself before walking back out. 'I'll try to talk to him. But if he starts being an ass, it's not my problem.'
'Hey, where are you going?' Johnny asked Ida, seeing her heading towards the exit.
'I have some crap I need to take care of,' Ida replied. 'Snitch on me if you want to, I don't care.' Then she walked out and headed towards her car.
Okay, where could he be? Ida thought to herself, turning on the Impala and pulling out of the parking lot. He's probably packing, so I'll go to his house and see if he's there.
She had a lot of luck. As she parked the car on the sidewalk near Hyde's house, she saw him walking home from a different direction. When his eyes landed on her, he stopped walking and opened his mouth slightly, crooking his jaw and then shaking his head in disbelief and annoyance. 'What are you doing here?'
Ida walked over closer to him and shoved her hands into her pockets. 'I wanted to talk to you about leaving because Eric and Donna asked me too.' And because I don't want you to leave.
'Glad you care,' Hyde replied and scoffed. She thought he'd turn around and leave, but he only shifted his weight onto his left leg and crossed his arms, looking down at her. Ida took that as an acceptance to talk. Hitting off on a right note.
'Well, I know how much you want to get out of here and I didn't want to stop you.'
Hyde kept on staring at her as if her was asking, Is that really all you have to say and the reason you came here for? 'Great. I'll be on my way now,' he told her and then headed towards his house.
'But I'm also your best friend and I have a job to stop you from doing something that you're not supposed to,' Ida added abruptly before he could go inside.
He stopped and turned around. 'My life is comprised of things I'm not supposed to do. And this isn't any different.'
'And what if you go and it all blows in your face?' She asked him.
'Then I'll work from there,' Hyde replied and shrugged.
Ida cocked her head to the side. 'I don't get you sometimes. How can you just do things like this without thinking of the consequences?'
'Cause I'm not you,' Hyde told her simply. 'And I don't have a pink glittery planner in which I have a schedule of when I will be taking a shit.'
You are making it too difficult to have a normal conversation. It was obvious that he was trying to provoke her. 'I do not have a schedule of when I will be taking a shit!' Ida shouted at him. 'And the planner is yellow and not pink.'
'Yea, whatever,' he said and then headed to the door.
'No, you don't get to "whatever" at me!' She yelled, stomping towards him. 'I'm not just gonna sit by and watch you throw your life away. You didn't even finish high school.'
'I thought you specifically said you did not give damn about what I do with my life.'
She told that to Fez and Donna and not to him. Did he by any chance ask them about me and what I said about everything? 'Well, now I do!'
Hyde sighed, letting go of the doorknob. 'Ida, go home. I'm leaving and that's it.'
'You're not gonna go,' Ida said. 'I know you'll change your mind.'
'Watch me. I'm waving at you, see?' He replied, waving at her and opening the front door. 'And now I'm going inside to get my stuff. And now I'm saying goodbye, so goodbye!' Then he slammed the door shut directly into her face.
'WELL, FUCK YOU, STEVEN!' Ida shouted, hitting his front door with her foot before storming off back to her car and driving away.
***
For the next two hours, Ida drove around. She drove to nowhere in particular. But she didn't cry. Instead, she put on music and screamed first to Run of the Mill and then to Wasted Time, again, as though she didn't listen to that song enough.
This all is too much for my emotional ass, Ida thought to herself as she kept her eyes on the road and gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could while she drove through Point Place, passing by the Hub for the third time that evening. First my brother, then Jeremy dumps me, and like a cherry on top, my best friend is leaving. I think now is the time to shut down for a while. She had this thing when stuff around her got crappy - she'd just cocoon herself, keep all her emotions in and withdraw into her room. The others caught up after some time with it and knew they should let her blow some steam off for a bit, but they never let her stay away for more than a few days. 'It's not good for you,' Hyde would always tell her. He'd be the one who would come and get her and she'd leave her room only because it was him who she would talk to. But now that he was leaving, there would be no one to come get her. Well, she was sure the others cared for her as much as Hyde did, but it wouldn't be the same.
Ida hated to admit it, but she depended on him so much, more than she ever wanted to depend on someone. She and Hyde were so different, but so alike each other. Sometimes, she felt like he needed her too...
That's why they were Jekyll and Hyde.
But he also kept her from going completely crazy. Ironically, he was the one that kept her grounded, while she was his support. They both had different issues that made their lives easier, but both knew how to help each other which is why they were such a good duo. They completed each other. Like Batman and the Joker. Yes, that's what they were. That would explain Ida having a stick up her ass all the time and being so uptight.
'FUCK YOU!' Ida screamed at the top of her lungs. 'I FUCKING HATE HIM!'
He's so selfish! And so annoying! And I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! I hope he comes back home from New York crawling and desperate! Fucking asshole!
At this point, she was just pissed at him for leaving and being so indifferent, and the fact that the last thing she told him was a swear word. I should've just put my stupid pride aside and talk to him before any of this. I should've...
HOOOONK!
Ida was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of someone honking behind her. It was already a green light. Turning right, she quickly checked her watch to see the time. 9:14. She didn't want to go home yet. And for some reason, she didn't want to be alone either, so as she drove, she went though her options with who to hang out. Jackie was finishing up her Home Ec project. Fez went to salsa night to get girls. Kelso was... God knows where. Eric and Donna went driving around. Maybe they were back home though. They left quite early and Donna was saying something today about wanting to catch a rerun of a movie at 9:30.
Off to Eric's house then. She'd just bother him.
When she pulled up to his driveway, Ida was happy to see that the Vista Cruiser was parked there and that Eric and Donna were standing by it, talking. When she got out of the car, they stopped and looked at her.
Donna grimaced. 'You look awful.'
'Thank you,' Ida answered bitterly.
'What are you doing here?' Eric asked. 'I thought you'd go home or something. Are you okay?'
Ida shrugged. 'Yea, I guess. I'm just... I don't know. Hyde and I got into a fight again, he left and I'm still upset about being dumped. I didn't wanna be alone.'
'Oh,' he replied, sounding genuinely surprised that Ida didn't close off into her room, refusing to answer the phone when any of them called her. 'We can go hang out in the basement. It's not that late.'
Donna took Eric's hand to look at his watch and said, 'I'd love to hang out too, but I wanna rewatch the Magnificent Seven with my mom. You know her obsession with Yul Brynner.'
Ida chuckled a bit and nodded. 'Yea. It's fine.'
'Alright,' she answered, first hugging her boyfriend and giving him a kiss, and then giving Ida a hug and telling her, 'Call me tomorrow in the morning.'
'Will do,' Ida said.
'What? I don't get to call you?' Eric asked her, pretending to be offended. 'Hyde's my best friend too.'
Donna rolled her eyes. 'I'll just come in through your window if I hear you crying tonight.'
They all laughed, said goodbye to each other and then headed their own ways. 'Will your parents wonder where you are?' Eric asked Ida, opening the sliding door leading into the kitchen.'
Accidentally, Ida's sweater hooked around a loose nail on the column on the porch, pulling her back, so she stopped to untangle it. 'No. I told them we're going to the movies after I finish work and that the movie ends at 12 so...'
Suddenly, a loud motorcycle flew down the street. No one in Point Place had a motorcycle like that that and Ida caught a glimpse of a woman, the same one that Donna and Fez described to her when they were over at her house. There was a man sitting behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, and at first, Ida thought it was Hyde, but the guy on the motorcycle was too tall to be Hyde. And he had longer hair. 'Hey, is that that chick Hyde was with?' She asked Eric who was also looking after them.
'Yea, I think it is,' he answered. 'Wow, she ditched him real fast.'
'Wait, if he's not... is he staying then?' Ida said.
Eric raised his eyebrows, leaning on the door. 'Seems so. Did you talk to him?'
Just as Ida was about to answer, Mrs. Forman appeared in the kitchen, a big smile on her face, holding a half-drank Margarita in her hand. 'Oh, there you two are! I thought I heard voices coming from the kitchen.'
'Mom, have you been drinking?' Eric asked her, looking at his mom with a bit of concern.
'Well, I'd see you after baking seven pies and each turning into a disaster. Good thing Jackie has a pretty face. She'll get out prison easier if she poisons someone with her baking,' she answered and laughed in a way that only Kitty Forman laughed and then took a sip on her cocktail before taking a Cosmopolitan magazine off the counter and disappearing back into the living room.
Eric looked after her with a what the hell look on his face, before clearing his throat and saying, 'Okay... let's go downstairs.'
'Sure thing. I'll just go get myself a glass of water real quick,' Ida told him. He nodded and went down to the basement, while Ida opened one of the cabinets and reached to grab a glass, one of those that had red flowers with tiny green leaves painted in a circle around, and poured herself some water before following Eric. Before even taking a step down, she could hear voices from the basement and realized that someone else was there too.
'You surprised to see me?' It was Hyde.
'No, I knew you'd stay,' Eric answered. There was some shuffling and then silence again.
'Yeah, we've been friends way too long.'
Ida didn't move. She just stood in the doorway, gripping her glass and listening into the conversation between the two boys.
'No, Chrissy just drove by with some guy on the back of her bike.'
'Poor kid. She's grieving.'
'So, what made you stay?' Eric asked Hyde.
There was a short pause before he replied, 'I don't know man. Just felt right.'
'Was Ida a part of that right?'
'What? No. I don't even want to see that midget.' He made a pause again. 'Fine, maybe a little bit but if you tell her, or anyone for that matter, you're a dead man, Forman.'
'Aw, Hyde has a heart,' Eric teased him.
Ida couldn't help but smile as she slowly backed away from the doorway. Now was not the right moment to talk to Hyde. I know I was pissed at myself for not talking to him, but now that he's staying... WE'RE CHANGING THE RULES.
She headed into the living room where Mrs. Forman was. 'Ida, sweetie, are you okay?' Seeing her cocktail on the coffee table, Ida reached for it, and took a large sip.
Then she grinned and dropped her bag onto the floor before taking a seat on the couch next to her. 'I am now, Mrs. Forman. I think I'll hang out with you tonight.'
Mrs. Forman looked at her in confusion and first before breaking down. 'Oh, Ida! That is the best thing I've heard today, right after Jackie saying that the last pie didn't burn.'
_____
Question: Do you think Ida and Hyde had a good reason to be pissed at each other?
I think yes, but at the same time, I have a feeling they made it into too big of a deal... well, I made it too big of a deal, lol.
THANK YOU FOR 300 READS! And thank you for the votes and all that stuff!
Hope you have a nice day! <3
~ I