"Keep your hands steady on the wheel and watch the road," Eric was instructing his twin from the passenger seat as she drove to school the following Monday. "But don't forget to check your mirrors."
Ree whipped her head back and forth rapidly from her rearview mirror to the road. "How am I supposed to keep my eyes on the road if I have to check my mirrors?" She asked, frantically.
"Just glance every so often." The Vista Cruiser began to approach a large hole in the road. "Okay, and, uh, watch out for this pothole," he warned.
"The what?" Ree shot Eric a panicked look before the cruiser rammed into the pothole at full speed, bouncing its occupants roughly. Eric and Ree let out twin screams, before Ree began to veer towards the sidewalk.
"Turn the wheel!" Her brother yelled, yanking the steering wheel in the opposite direction. The car swerved back into its lane, straightening out again. Ree let out a sigh of relief, though her hands still gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were beginning to turn white.
Thankfully, Ree could see Point Place High School coming up ahead. With Eric's instruction she carefully pulled the cruiser into a parking spot, parking it almost diagonally, though still between the yellow lines. Breathing heavily from their near-death experience, Ree closed her eyes and let out a harsh huff.
"I'm never getting my license," she said with a frown and, to her horror, with tears beginning to prickle in the corners of her eyes.
Eric was silent for a moment. "Yeah," he eventually agreed with a small shrug of his shoulder.
Ree sent him a sharp look before slapping said shoulder. "You're supposed to say -" she put on a dramatically high-pitched voice, "no, don't worry, Ree, you'll get better."
"I don't talk like that!"
"In my head you do."
The twins soon exited the cruiser and walked into the school side by side. As soon as Ree walked through the doors she knew something was wrong. She could feel dozens of eyes on her, just as she had on Friday night. Heart beginning to race, Ree began walking faster, leaving Eric behind as he went off towards his own locker. Whispers, stares, and even some dirty looks followed Ree down the hallway. She bit down on her lower lip. What was wrong? Why were people whispering and staring at her? What had she done to garner this much attention?
Usually Ree was able to fly under the radar. She kept to herself, mostly, and she liked it that way. She never had major problems that way. Well, besides boy problems, of course.
Getting to her locker in record time, Ree turned pointedly away from her gossiping classmates, rummaging through her locker aimlessly. Two girls walked behind Ree, talking animatedly with one another.
"She did?" One of them was saying.
"Yep, with both of them!"
"Wow, what a slut."
Ree bit down harder on her lip at this. There was no way they were talking about her, right? She definitely hadn't done anything slutty. Grabbing her Geometry textbook, Ree slammed her locker shut and practically ran to find Donna. Thankfully, the redhead was just down the hall, rummaging through her own locker.
"Donna," Ree whispered, frantically, as she approached her best friend. She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced over her shoulder, only to be met with more looks and whispers.
"Ree, what's wrong?" Donna asked, furrowing her brows.
"Everyone's staring," she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "And, I don't know, they're whispering about me." She rubbed her clammy hands on her jeans as she glanced around again.
Donna frowned, eyes narrowing as she took in the stares and whispers Ree was receiving. As two tiny Freshmen boys walked by, staring at Ree before laughing between themselves, Donna grabbed their arms roughly and shoved them against the lockers.
"Why the hell are you staring at Ree?" Donna growled, glaring at them sharply.
"I - um," One of the boys stuttered.
"Tell me!"
Ree's eyes widened at her friend's actions, but didn't intervene. Donna may be scary as hell, she thought, but the girl got results.
"We - we heard she's been making out with Chris Anderson and Michael Kelso!"
Ree's jaw dropped. "What?" She snapped, glaring at the two boys heatedly. "Where the hell did you hear that from?"
"From everyone!" The other boy said, frantically. "It's all over school!"
Well, that Ree knew. Frowning deeply, she crossed her arms and sank back against the lockers.
Donna let the boys go, dropping their arms roughly, and they ran off. She sent Ree a small smile, attempting to make her feel better, but Ree couldn't bring herself to even attempt one back.
"What is going on, Donna?" The blonde practically whined, leaning her head against her friend's shoulder.
"I have no idea, but I'll kick whoever's ass I need to," Donna said, fiercely, wrapping an arm around Ree.
Ree shot up quickly, "Oh my god - Jackie," she spoke, eyes wide. "She's gonna be pissed if she hears this!"
Donna cringed, "Crap. We'll just have to explain that it's not true."
"And Jackie Burkhart is going to listen to reason?" Ree asked, sending Donna a blank look.
"Well, it's the truth!" Donna exclaimed. "Right?"
"Donna!" Ree exclaimed, jaw dropping again. "Of course it's the truth."
Her friend chuckled, "Just checking. I mean, the two of you did date."
Ree rolled her eyes so hard she was scared they were going to roll right out of her head. "Like two years ago. We were still kids! And you know I would never be with him again."
The warning bell rang, signaling they only had a few moments to make it to class. Ree, not needing anymore problems today, sighed deeply before heading to Geometry alongside Donna. She couldn't afford a tardy or, God forbid, a detention on top of everything else going on.
While she was known for her meticulous and detailed notes, Ree found she couldn't concentrate. Her leg jiggled beneath her desk as she clicked her pen incessantly, staring off out the window. She couldn't stop thinking about the horrible rumors surrounding her. Just as she was wondering who could have started this, the answer practically smacked her in the face.
Who the hell else wanted to make Ree's life absolutely miserable?
She practically groaned, putting her head in her hands. Ree felt like an idiot for thinking the girl was suddenly leaving her alone, that Ree's reasonings had worked. How was she going to stop stupid Everley Simmons? She clearly had a vendetta against Ree, striving to make her life worse and worse at every given opportunity. Was her own life that shitty that she had to tear Ree down?
Ree jumped as the bell rang again, signaling the end of class. She hastily copied down the textbook pages assigned for homework before rushing out of the classroom. Ree knew she had to find Jackie, preferably before Jackie heard the heinous rumor. Though, Ree thought with a deep frown, she probably already had with how many people were whispering and staring at Ree. She made her way down to the Freshman hallway, ignoring her other classmates and their unrelenting stares as she searched for the short brunette.
"Valerie!" A shrill voice screeched down the hallway. Ree cringed, before turning around and coming face to face with a fuming Jackie. The younger girl stormed down the hallway, icy glare fixed on Ree. Ree opened her mouth to defend herself, to plead her case with Jackie - who was clearly caught up on Point Place High rumors- but Jackie just aimed a sharp kick at Ree's shin as soon as she was close enough. Pain flared in Ree's leg as she hissed and grabbed it, hopping on one leg as she tried to rub the sting out.
"How could you?" Jackie asked, still glaring Ree down. "Just when I was starting to not hate you!"
Ree huffed at that, shaking her head as she finally lowered her leg; she was sure she would find a large bruise forming later. "Jackie, it's not what you think," Ree began, calmly. "I swear I never did anything with Kelso."
"Then why is everyone saying so? I can't even show my face in the cool bathroom anymore!"
Ree raised a brow. "There's a cool bathroom?"
"Well, duh," Jackie said with a roll of her eyes. "It's the bathroom you've never been in, obviously."
Ree took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. Jackie made it very difficult to want to be her friend. "Look, it's just a rumor, okay? It's not true, I swear."
Jackie stared at her, her jaw clenched tightly. Finally, after what felt like an agonizingly long time to Ree, she deflated. "It's not?"
Ree shook her head quickly. "I promise. I mean, I've been cheated on before. I know how it feels. I wouldn't do that to someone else," Ree explained. "Besides, Kelso is all yours. I dated him when we were, like, thirteen before I realized how much of an idiot he really is." She paused for a moment. "No offense."
"No, you're right, he's definitely an idiot," Jackie said, though with a fond roll of her eyes. "So, nothing really happened?"
Ree shook her head. "Nothing happened. It's just a rumor."
"Who the hell would start that?"
"Who do you think?"
"That newspaper girl?" Jackie questioned. "What is her problem?"
"I have no idea." She wished she knew. If she could get to the bottom of the girl's problem, maybe Ree could help her and, more importantly, get her off her back. She let out a deep sigh. "Have you talked to Kelso?"
"I was going to yell at him after I talked to you," Jackie admitted, casually, with a shrug of her shoulder.
The warning bell rang, Ree and Jackie heading their separate ways. As Ree walked to class, pointedly ignoring the continued stares and whispers, she tried to think of what to do about everything, about all the drama. She just needed it to stop. All she wanted was to come to school, do her work, and become Valedictorian, all so she can be successful and go to college. Why was Everley making it so difficult?
"Ree!" A voice called out to her. Ree turned to find Kelso making his way toward her. She sighed, slowing so he could quickly catch up to her. "Did you hear what everyone is saying?"
Ree let out another heavy sigh as the pair began walking together. "Yeah, I did. Everyone's been whispering and glaring at me all morning."
"Really? Everyone's been high fiving me and stuff!" Kelso exclaimed with his trademark stupid grin. Ree shot a sharp glare up at him, but he either ignored it or didn't notice. "And they've been patting me on the back and saying stuff like, 'nice going, Kelso!'"
"And you didn't tell them it wasn't true?" Ree practically hissed.
Kelso's face went blank. "Oh. Was I supposed to?"
"Was I supposed -" Ree repeated in disbelief. "Yes, you idiot, since it's obviously not! And what about Jackie?"
"What about Jackie?"
"She obviously heard the rumor, too. She was pissed at the both of us."
"Oh, damn," he said, frowning slightly. "Did you tell her it wasn't true?"
Ree's jaw clenched. She was ready to wring Kelso's neck. "Yes," she said between clenched teeth. "I wish she'd gotten to you first," she muttered, her leg throbbing dully at the thought.
The late bell rang suddenly and Ree could feel her heart drop. She was late for class. She let out a loud curse, picking up her speed, and tried to leave Kelso behind. He quickly caught up with her, however, due to his much longer stride, and the two entered their English classroom together. Much to Ree's dismay, Kelso let the door slam loudly behind them.
Every single person in the classroom turned to stare at them. Ree let out a string of expletives in her head, knowing how this must look considering the strong rumors swirling through the school.
"Ms. Forman, Mr. Kelso," their teacher greeted, curtly. "You're late. Head to your seats before I give you both detention."
Ree cringed, but she obeyed quickly, rushing to her assigned seat towards the back of the classroom. It was only second period, but Ree was ready to go home. It had not been her best day, she thought to herself.
As she quickly settled in, pulling out her notebook in an attempt to actually pay attention during this class, Ree felt a tap on her shoulder. She ignored it, knowing who sat behind her and not needing anymore stress this morning. Hyde tapped her shoulder again, causing Ree to tense up, clenching her jaw. After a third time, Ree whipped around in her seat and hissed sharply, "What?"
Her brother's best friend had a smirk on his face. "You and Kelso came in late together," he said in a low tone - for which Ree was grateful for. She didn't need everyone, especially their teacher, overhearing. "What, were you two making out again?" he asked, this time with a shit-eating grin and a small laugh.
Ree let out a low groan, tilting her head back in exasperation. "No," she hissed, sharply, before turning back around.
"Relax, Princess," Hyde whispered to the back of her head. "Only an idiot would believe that rumor."
Ree turned back around, slowly, making sure their teacher's eyes weren't on her. "Well, almost everyone believes it," she sighed with a frown.
"Well, yeah, almost everyone at this school is an idiot."
Ree turned back around, not needing to give their teacher a reason to actually give her a detention, but she couldn't focus on classwork, again. Chewing on the end of her pen, Ree thought about her options here. She could try and reason with Everley again, but it clearly hadn't worked the past twenty times she'd tried. Nor did it ever work with her own twin brother when she tried to stop him from doing stupid things - the stupid keg party being a prime example of this. Maybe it was time to try a different tactic. But what?
She chewed on her pen harder while in thought. Maybe she needed to ask someone for help, someone who was known for stopping bullies in their tracks. She initially thought of Donna, of the way she'd stopped those Freshmen boys and probably scared the shit out of them. And of the way she'd scared Everley off at her party, pushing her off and getting her to leave. Though, Ree didn't think she herself could ever be that aggressive or intimidating.
Her brain supplied another person who could help, though Ree practically groaned as she thought it. Steven Hyde was notorious for being tough and formidable, for getting bullies to leave people alone. That was how he and Eric had become friends in the first place during third grade, a whole year after Hyde and Ree had stopped being friends themselves. The boy was sneaky and underhanded, qualities that Ree usually hated about him, but could actually be used to her advantage here. But was it the right thing to do? And did she even want to have to ask Hyde for help? To have to spend even more time with him than she was already forced to?
Ree took her pen from her mouth and flipped to a clean page in her notebook, quickly creating a Pro/Con list.
Asking Hyde for Help With the Everley Problem:
Pros:
Finally getting Everley to leave me alone.
Getting back on the school newspaper.
Finally being able to stand up for myself.
Get revenge on Everley.
Cons:
Have to spend more time with Hyde.
Possibly stooping to Everley's level?
Possibly getting detention/going to jail?
Before Ree could continue, her notebook was ripped from her desk and pulled behind her. She quickly turned around and attempted to snatch it from Hyde's grip, frantically trying to take it back before he could read it. They tugged back and forth on the notebook before Ree reached out and began smacking him on the arm. The two caused such a commotion that Ree began feeling the eyes of her classmates on them.
"Mr. Hyde and Ms. Forman," their teacher's sharp tone froze Ree in her tracks. Hyde took the opportunity to snatch up the notebook. "Stop that this instant. Ms. Forman, do I need to give you detention? You've distracted my teaching twice now."
Ree's eyes widened. "No, ma'am," she spoke, frantically, shaking her head. "I won't do it again." She could see Kelso snickering out of the corner of her eye.
"I hope not. You're one of our top students. A detention wouldn't look good." Their teacher soon went back to lecturing, turning back to the chalkboard to write as she spoke.
Ree sank low in her seat, shutting her eyes and trying to compose herself. She couldn't get a detention; that would go on her permanent record. She'd never get into a good college if that happened.
Her notebook slid back onto her desk, Hyde having placed it there discreetly. Ree looked it over, but there was no sign of anything different, besides the crumpled pages from when they'd used it for tug-of-war. She sighed, rolling her eyes. Why had he even bothered to steal it? A minute later, a single piece of folded paper slid onto her desk.
She stole a glance back at Hyde, but he was pointedly not looking at her. Besides, she could rarely tell when he was making eye contact considering he almost always wore his trademark sunglasses. Ree opened the note with trepidation, wondering what Hyde had to say about her pro/con list. Probably something snarky, knowing him. She was just glad that he'd at least had the decency to pass a note rather than try and talk again.
I can help if you want.
Ree quirked an eyebrow at this. Hyde was really offering to help? What was the catch?
What do you want in return?
Ree passed the note back to Hyde below their desks, turning her arm at an awkward angle to reach him. She waited, pretending to listen to the teacher, before he sent his reply.
What, I can't be a good guy and help you out?
Ree rolled her eyes. No, not really. What's in it for you?
I hate that bitch just as much as you do. People like her deserve to be taken down. Besides, I'm sick of hearing about her bullshit every day.
You're serious about this?
Meet me after school.
And I won't end up getting arrested if I accept your help?
We'll see.
That didn't make Ree feel any better, but she sighed to herself. She was getting desperate; she needed this girl off her back, no matter what. Even if it was Steven Hyde, of all people, offering his help.