Chapter Text
Hyde had gotten a new shipment of records that morning, meaning he would be stacking and organizing them all day before the rush that usually came with Friday afternoons. Of course, he could always have one of the other employees do the work for him, but he enjoyed doing it. Plus, he had a system that none of the other employees could ever grasp, so rather than letting them try and mess it up, he took it upon himself to do it while they dealt with ringing up customers.
He’d put on a Deep Purple record that morning, and as the closing notes of Machine Head dwindled to an end, he walked over to the record player in front of the window to switch it out with another vinyl. He was in the mood for Animals , so that’s what he put on next before glancing up through the storefront window and stopping in his tracks.
There was a moving truck across the street – he’d forgotten that a new store was opening – and various objects were being hauled into the building. Standing outside, directing the movers to where they needed to go, was the prettiest girl Hyde had ever seen. Long black hair flowed down her back and over her pink summer dress. As the movers brought the last of the boxes and items inside, she seemed to thank them with a big smile before heading inside herself.
Hyde blinked. Last he’d heard, the empty building across from his was going to be turned into a grocery store, but nothing he’d just seen indicated that the girl was going to be selling any produce. Most of the workers had been bringing in vases and other large boxes that couldn’t possibly contain any food. Maybe it was a shop for trinkets. He had the sudden urge to go over and help her set up the store.
He shook his head and walked back to the register counter. Where was all this coming from? One look at a pretty girl, and he was all flustered like this. This never happened to him. He was Steven Hyde. But his curiosity was eating away at him, so he decided that, yes, he would go over to her shop soon and welcome her to the area. That’s all. Because it was the nice thing to do.
It had been two weeks since a new flower shop opened across the street from Grooves . Hyde had almost rolled his eyes when he finally saw what the boxes and other items ended up being. Of course, it would be a flower shop. It almost seemed fitting.
It had been two weeks, and he still hadn’t walked across the street. Still hadn’t said hello. It wasn’t his fault, really. His record store had been busier than usual lately, what with new records coming out in quick succession (it was summer, after all) and having to deal with the orders and shipments and all the other crap that went on behind the scenes of a business. But his dad had entrusted him with the store, and Hyde intended to keep it running as smoothly as possible.
Because yes, he hated consumerism and the workplace, but deep down, he was still a kid wanting to impress his dad. And what better way to do it than run a record store, where he was surrounded by music that he loved.
It had been two weeks, and he hadn’t walked across the street, but he had looked and admired, and a few times, he had glanced up to see her looking as well, if only for a moment, before averting her eyes and going back to what she had been doing previously.
The Friday afternoon rush had come and gone, and he was getting ready to lock up and head up to his apartment right above the store; the register had been locked up, the records had been neatly organized, and the listening pit was as clean as it could be. He looked up through the front door, keys in hand, and spotted the girl from the flower shop. She seemed to be tending to the last customers of the day, handing them a bouquet of flowers and bidding goodbye with a soft smile on her face.
Hyde decided right then and there that he would go over and say hello.
Stepping out and locking the door behind him, he walked across the street. A bell jingled above his head as he entered, the smell of different types of flowers overwhelming him.
“I’ll be with you in a moment,” he heard her say, back to the entrance as she rifled with some papers. Hyde looked around the store. It wasn’t a place he would ever be caught dead in (too late for that now). The displays in the window showcased more types of flowers than he ever thought could exist. Potted plants were hanging from the ceiling. A table in the middle held an assortment of hand-crafted bouquets that he was sure she had made herself.
“How can I help you?” The girl asked, turning around to face him. She was even prettier up close, and Hyde hesitated for a second before clearing his throat.
“Been meaning to come say hi and welcome,” he let out. “I own the record store across the street. Grooves .” He scratched the back of his neck. “Name’s Hyde by the way.”
“Well, thank you, Hyde… is that really your name?” She raised an eyebrow.
“My last name,” he explained. “My name is Steven.”
“Thank you, Steven,” she repeated in a softer voice. “I’m Jackie. Jackie Burkhart.”
He didn’t know how to tell her that everybody called him Hyde. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. He liked the way she said his name.
“You’re not from here, are you?”
Jackie shook her head. “No, I only moved here to be with my dad. Had to move my entire shop from Milwaukee. But it’s nice here. Quieter… but nice.”
To be with my dad. He understood the parental sentiment. If only partly. He would never have done something like that - put his business aside, set his life aside - for his mother. But his adoptive parents? Maybe.
He knew Point Place was nothing compared to a big city like Milwaukee, but moving to an entirely new place sounded intimidating.
“You’ve got a cool shop here,” Hyde cleared his throat before continuing. “I could… show you around. You know? There’s not much to do around here, but there’s some hidden gems, if you know where to look.”
She looked up at him, her smile growing, her eyes wide. They seemed to be two different colors. Hyde supposed it was just a trick of the light. “I’ll think about it.”
Hyde offered a small smile back. “Yeah, well, you know where to find me when you decide.” He walked back towards the front door, pointing his thumb behind him. “It was nice meeting you, Jackie.”
“You too, Steven,” she replied, the sound of the bell echoing throughout the store.
One week passed, and Hyde did not hear back from Jackie. Sometimes, he caught himself looking out the window and smiling at her organizing the display windows. Sometimes, they caught each other’s eye when they were both locking up to go home. But nothing more.
It was a particularly slow Wednesday morning when he heard the front door open and looked up to see her walk in.
“Jackie, what are you doing here?” He said, surprised, before cursing himself at his own stupidity. Why wouldn’t she be here? Maybe she wanted to buy a record. Maybe she wanted to take him up on his offer.
“Well, you staked out my place; I think it’s only fair that I stake out yours too,” she replied simply, flipping through one of the bins and wrinkling her nose at the hard rock posters on the walls.
“I came over to be nice, I wasn’t staking out anything,” Hyde said defensively.
“Do you have any ABBA?” She asked, going through more bins. “I can’t listen to rock, it doesn’t sound like real music, gives me a headache.”
“Doesn’t sound like…” Hyde muttered under his breath before looking up as if to ask God, give me patience . “And ABBA is real music, is it?”
“Well, duh, Steven, I think everyone would agree with me.”
Hyde glared at her before beckoning her back to a small section labeled Disco. Jackie scoffed as she went through the singular bin. “Steven, what kind of record store doesn’t have any good disco music?”
“Every record store,” he replied. “Because there’s no such thing as good disco music.”
She looked up at him, feigning shock. “And to think I was going to accept your offer to show me around town.”
“I didn’t realize how passionate you were about ABBA.”
“Oh, I’m passionate about a lot of things, Steven.”
“Like what?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She smirked. “Pick me up at eight tonight?”
And with that, she headed out of the store, leaving Hyde rooted to the spot, his mouth slightly agape.
Hyde had the next few (thankfully quiet) hours to plan where he would take Jackie. It wasn’t a date . He didn’t do dates. He was just being a friendly neighbor and offering to show her around town. Except there wasn’t much to show. The few hidden gems he knew about were more secluded places, like the top of the water tower and a spot near the woods around Mount Hump that overlooked Point Place. He didn’t really want to take Jackie to those places on their first … whatever this was. Didn’t want her getting the wrong idea. But there was a nice diner near the town square. He supposed he could introduce her to some good food and also show her around the area.
Then maybe, next time – if there was a next time – he could take her to those hidden gems.
Hyde closed the shop a bit earlier than usual, silently thankful that he hadn’t had that many customers that day. He locked the entrance before heading upstairs to his apartment. While this wasn’t a date, it didn’t mean that he didn’t want to clean himself up a bit before heading across the street to Jackie’s. He took a quick shower before stepping into his room and began browsing through his albeit small collection of clothing.
It wasn’t a date . He wasn’t dressing for a date.
So why did his eyes keep straying to his nicest pair of jeans and his one blue button-down?
No, it wasn’t a date. So, in the end, he grabbed the nice pair of jeans but forwent the button-down, deciding on a black AC/DC shirt instead.
Glancing at the clock on his bedside table, he headed out and down the stairs, back into his shop, with five minutes to spare. Then unlocking and locking the door once again, he strode across the street towards Jackie.
When he entered, she was nowhere to be seen. He called out, “Jackie?”
“Coming!” Her voice rang out from the back. She rounded a corner and hurried towards him, seemingly out of breath, before coming to stand right before him. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Hyde had to take a moment to gather himself. She’d changed out of her earlier outfit, now wearing a yellow summer dress, and she’d braided her hair to the side, a few loose strands falling out. He had the sudden urge to tuck one of those strands behind her ear.
“You look good,” he said, clearing his throat.
A light blush crept up her cheeks. “Thank you. So do you.”
Hyde beckoned with his head. “Come on, my car’s parked outside. The diner we’re going to has the best food in Point Place.”
Jackie followed him outside, pausing to lock the door before dumping her keys in a small bag hanging at her side. They walked across the street to his car, it was the only one left in the lot other than hers, and he wondered if he should open the passenger door for her.
He might have if this were a date. But it was not a date. Jackie spared him from his dilemma by striding ahead of him and opening her door herself before plopping down on the leather seat. Hyde got in as well before turning his key.
The drive to the diner was short and filled with comfortable small talk, the hum of the radio in the background. Jackie elaborated on her story from their first meeting, telling him that she’d originally grown up here before moving to Milwaukee with her mom when her parents had gotten divorced. Hyde simply nodded along or gave short responses when he needed to, mostly letting her lead the conversation. They arrived at the diner, which seemed surprisingly busy for a Wednesday night, and headed inside, sliding into a booth with windows that faced the main street. A waiter came by with menus, dropping off menus before heading off to attend to another customer.
“So, why a record store?” Jackie asked, looking through the menu.
“Why a flower shop?” he questioned back.
“Touché.”
“It was my dad’s,” Hyde answered. “Originally. He handed it over to me to run a couple years ago, and I’ve been trying to keep it in good shape ever since.”
“You know, you could get a lot more customers at your store if you just expanded your music selection,” Jackie pushed, smirking up at him.
“You mean my record store that’s always filled with customers?” Hyde asked.
The waiter stopped by again to take their order (beer and a sandwich for Hyde, milkshake and burger for Jackie) before Jackie continued. “Either way, you could have more .”
“I am not putting any of your suggestions in the store, I’ll lose everyone’s respect. What are my customers gonna think of me?”
“That you finally have good taste?” Jackie teased.
“Not going to happen, darling,” the word slipped out before Hyde could stop it. But Jackie’s smile seemed to grow.
Their food arrived, and they munched on it, talking about everything and nothing. Jackie would occasionally steal a piece of fries off of Hyde’s plate and point out random people in the street, throwing out a guess as to where they were going or simply remarking on their terrible fashion sense (“ Those boots went out of fashion last year, Steven. ”). Hyde would roll his eyes and tell her pointing was rude, and Jackie would roll her eyes back and say that it was fine because they couldn’t see her pointing.
When they finished, Hyde paid for them both and threw down a tip as they got up to leave. The park across the street had set up a giant movie projector, and it looked like people were making themselves comfortable on blankets on the grass. Hyde turned to Jackie, eyebrow raised as if to ask, “Wanna go?” and she nodded excitedly. Together, they headed in the direction of the park, with Hyde stopping to grab a blanket from the concession stand. They headed to an open spot near the middle and sat down. Jackie plopped herself really close to Hyde, knees folded towards herself, her feet facing away as she leaned towards him, her right hand dangerously close to his left.
They ended up watching some film called Corvette Summer , but if someone were to ask Hyde what it was about, he would have no clue. His mind had been focused on Jackie the entire time. She had somehow moved even closer to him during the movie, and the sharp smell of the many different flowers she was always surrounded by was really distracting. He had the urge to bury his face in her neck and hair, see if she tasted the way she smelled.
He had been too busy staring at her to realize the movie had ended. She turned to face him, and her breath seemed to catch, noticing the small distance between their faces.
“Did you like it?” She seemed to whisper.
Hyde wouldn’t know. “It was alright.”
“I thought it was fun,” she continued, their faces still an inch apart. “I like Mark Hamill.”
He cleared his throat and moved away. “Yeah, he was cool in Star Wars .”
Jackie made a face at him. “Steven, please tell me you’re not one of those sci-fi nerds.”
“I’m not . My best friend is though, I went to watch the first two movies with him.”
“Blegh, I hate space, I couldn’t watch all that.”
“Not even for Mark Hamill?” Hyde smiled.
Jackie laughed. “No, not even for him. I still think I like the scruffy, broodier types more.”
Hyde stood up, offering her his hand. “Come on, it’s getting late, and I gotta get you back.”
“Are you trying to make a good impression on my dad, Steven,” Jackie asked with an exaggerated gasp, batting her eyelashes.
“Seeing as I’m dropping you off in front of your car at your store, I’m gonna say no.”
“He’ll appreciate it either way.”
They headed back, the occasional sound of Jackie’s stifled yawning filling the comfortable silence in the car. Hyde pulled up next to her car before turning off the engine and climbing out with her.
“Thank you for tonight, Steven. I’ve been so busy setting up my shop recently, I forgot what going out felt like.”
She had a cute pout on her face that Hyde wanted to kiss, but he refrained. “We could do it again, y’know. There’re some other places I could show you. And you could meet my friends, they would like you.”
“I would like that.”
They stood there for a few seconds. Hyde was not sure of what to do. Jackie was the first to step away. “Well, I’ll see you, Steven.”
“Goodnight, Jackie,” he let out, watching as she got in her car. He waved his hand as she drove away, a small smile on his face.