#od:

And Eric was pretty much the closest thing he had to a brother.

By starting this god forsaken thing with Kelso, she had not only isolated herself from the love of her life and her only girlfriend, but she had lost another close friend. Hyde was her constant support- her sounding board. He understood her better than sometimes even Eric did.

Maybe he would understand this too. Donna and Hyde were a lot more alike that people realized. They shared the same taste in music, in tv, in clothes. They shared passion for activism and a love for the underdog. And now, they shared a broken home and a missing mom.

If there was anyone in the world who could empathize with her right now, it was him.

Hyde was currently alone outside- polishing the camino while Led Zeppelin played from inside the car radio. Donna knew this would probably the only chance she would get to talk to him. At school, when Hyde wasn't with Eric, he could always be seen next to Jackie- a self appointed bouncer in case Kelso ever tried to confront his ex girlfriend in the hallways.

A part of Donna wanted to be surprised at how protective Hyde was when it came to Jackie- but she would just be lying to herself. Hyde had taken her to prom, Hyde had tried to get Kelso caught when he began cheating on her with Laurie, Hyde had let her cry on him every time her dumbass boyfriend screwed up, and Hyde had taken Jackie to Kenosha while Donna slept with her boyfriend behind her back.

As much as Hyde tried to act annoyed by Jackie's antics, he'd always had a soft spot for her. And now that Kelso and her were definitely a thing of the past, he seemed to have stopped pretending. He gave Jackie a ride to school every morning, let her sit with him during lunch, carried her books for her between classes, waited for cheer practice to end every afternoon. They weren't dating- at least Donna didn't think they were- but Hyde was making it obvious to the entire town that he wanted to.

His actions were pissing off Kelso big time. They were also putting a lot of pieces together for Donna. Hyde was in love with Jackie. The girl Donna pretty much stabbed in the back with her grief-struck actions.

Facing him had never been more intimidating.

Still, Donna braced herself. She took a breath and walked over to the Forman's driveway. She cleared her throat and Hyde turned, his shades covering his eyes while he gave her a sharp smile,

"Oh look, it's the big red whore." He taunted, roughly cleaning his hands with the already stained washcloth and tossing it on the Camino's hood, crossing his arms and leaning back against headlights. Donna grimaced at his crass remark- but she didn't want to fight him. She couldn't fight him when she knew she would lose. "What do you want, Pinciotti?"

"I-" What did she want? "I wanted to apologize."

"Really? Why?"

"I never wanted any of this to get as messed up as it did." She told him, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, "I just- things were getting so completely out of hand- with my mom running away, and my dad breaking out in tears almost every time he saw me- I just needed to stop thinking for a minute."

"Well, you clearly weren't thinking, that's for sure."

Donna nodded, "I know. Seriously, that day when me and Kelso first-" She stopped, started again, "it could've been anyone. Kelso was just the first one through the door. And it's not complicated with him, you know?"

"No, I don't. What was not complicated? The part where you're sleeping with your ex boyfriend's bestfriend or the part where you're sleeping with your best friend's boyfriend." He called her out sarcastically.

Donna pressed her lips together, "The part where neither of us wanted a commitment. It was just- just physical."

"Kelso already was committed to somebody." Hyde pointed out, and Donna looked down at her feet, the shame of it all making her cheeks burn. "And you would have to be an idiot to think that sleeping with him of all people wouldn't bother Forman."

"I know." Donna pressed, "I just- I don't know what to tell you except that I wasn't thinking."

"How many times since your mom left did you stop thinking?"

And that was the crux of this whole disaster, wasn't it? It wasn't that she and Kelso had hooked up- that alone would've been bad enough. But it was that they had continued hooking up while he dated Jackie and she continued sabotaging Eric's attempts at moving on.

She didn't have an answer for that that wouldn't make her sound like a piece of shit. The truth was, she didn't want the commitment that being with Eric brought. The 'forever and ever' kind of love he was offering her. She wanted her freedom, her dreams, her future- but she couldn't bare to see him that kind of love to anyone else either. She wanted him to chase her whilst she chased the stars.

God, she was a horrible person.

"Yeah, I thought so." Hyde nodded at her silence, getting off the car and walking closer, "Look, you and I- we got no beef. Frankly, I don't care if you and Kelso keep bumping uglies for the rest of your lives. But, what you did to Jackie? to Forman? You crossed a line, and you broke up the band. I can't forgive you for that."

He walked away, leaving Donna standing on the driveway, eyes still on her shoes and biting her bottom lip tight to keep herself from crying, not noticing the man staring down at her forlornly from his bedroom window.

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