Authors Note: Wasnt going to post this but i thought what the hell i'll do it anyway. So here's the first chapter you'll have to be content with this for a while...cuz i'm behind in my other stories, mainly Reefer Madness. So enjoy and please let me know what you think. This is based off of the show 'October Road'. It's great and if you havent seen it check it out. So yeah whatever i'm out of here. Please review okay, cuz i really wanna know what ya'll think of this.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Pairing: J/H, E/D, D/H

Jumping Off the Water tower:

Chapter One: Coming Home For the First Time:

Hyde slowly came to a stop outside of the town he once called home. What he expected to find was anyone's guess. All he knew was that no one was going to be happy to see him. Especially the girl he left behind. He looked over at the seat beside him and lightly touched the cover of the book he'd just written called, 'Jumping off the Water tower'. It was a tribute to the place he once called home and the friends he once considered his family. It was also the second book he'd written. The first one he tried not to think about, because it wasn't his best work. He'd written his first book titled, 'Thoughts from the Inside of a Black El Camino', a few years ago and even though it had become a best seller, it's contents said things about the woman he use to care about that he knew he could never take back. However in the end he knew he needed to come home. His place was always here, with his friends and his family. He just hoped that they still had room in their hearts for him.

He pulled the car up to curb and shut it off. He sat in the drivers' seat with his hands on the wheel as he tried to compose himself before he made the journey to the door. Saying sorry was never one of his strong suits. He hated doing it unless it was absolutely necessary and in this case it was more than that. It wasn't just expected of him, it was demanded. After all, he did take off in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye, well a real goodbye. Once he felt he was ready he slowly got out of the car and closed the door. Well the first step was over now all he had to do was make it to the door. He wasn't sure if he could do it but he knew that he had to. He'd hurt the people the mattered the most to him and he'd been paying for it ever since. Finally he grabbed his things and walked up to the door. He slowly raised his arm and knocked quietly as he waited for someone to answer. However he wasn't prepared for who was going to answer.

'It's a ghost,' she thought to herself as she stared at him. She hadn't seen him in 10 years and suddenly he was standing outside the door of the house she practically lived at, wearing those stupid sunglasses that she just wanted to rip of his face and break. 'It's got to be a ghost,' she thought to herself as she slowly reached up and touched his glasses. Once she felt that they were in fact real she glared at him and slapped him across the face. "That's for leaving my best friend you asshole!" Jackie screamed as she slammed the door in his face.

He stood there for a few more minutes as he let what had just happened sink in. Jackie Burkhart, little miss prissy cheerleader, just slapped him across the face for leaving her best friend. 'Wait,' Hyde thought to himself, 'Since when are Donna and Jackie best friends?' He thought as he walked to the driveway and went to the slider door instead. He knew it would be unlocked because Mrs. Forman loved guests and knowing that the kids had a tendency to just show up, she always left it unlocked for them. He slowly opened it and smiled when he saw that the only person in the room was Mrs. Forman. "Red, can you get me…" Kitty stopped talking when she turned around and saw Hyde standing at the door. She set the spatula she had in her hand down and slowly walked over to him, never once looking away for fear that he might disappear. Once she got right in front of him a tear slid down her face. Hyde set his bags down and looked at the woman who had practically raised him, and smiled. "Hi Mrs. Forman,"

Kitty looked at the man in front of her and smiled. He'd grown up so much in the past 10 years and she was so proud of him. Of course she always kept up with his success. She had both of his books, and every interview he'd done in a magazine or on TV in a box hidden in his old room. So knew everything that had happened successfully in his life and now here he was standing in her kitchen and she realized how angry she really was with him. "I'm disappointed in you Steven."

"Mrs. Forman I'm really sorry for leaving without saying goodbye."

"Then why didn't you at least wait? You know I'm the first one up every morning. You could have said goodbye and the others wouldn't have known. Instead you left me that horrible note, and it wasn't even a good one at that Steven."

"That's just it Mrs. Forman, I didn't intend to leave for good. I was just going on vacation and that turned into something more. I never meant to leave for good."

She studied his face and saw the sincerity in his eyes through the sunglasses and she smiled. "I know you didn't, otherwise you would have taken all of your tee-shirts."

Hyde smiled as she laughed in her trade mark tone and walked back over to the stove. Hyde walked over to the table which was the same as it had been 10 years ago however there were less chairs now. "Hey Mrs. Forman, is Eric here I really wanted to talk to him." Hyde asked as Jackie walked in the kitchen.

"Why did you let him in here Mrs. Forman? And you, didn't you learn for my greeting that you're not welcome here anymore." Jackie said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Jackie that's nonsense, Steven is always welcome here. This is his home too." Kitty said as she touched the girl's arm.

"Mrs. Forman what about…you know," Jackie said as she looked at the older woman.

"Don't worry I'll tell him. You just go find them and let them know that he's back." Kitty said as Jackie nodded. She walked over by Hyde and glared at him before she walked out the door.

"Okay what did I do to her?"

"I don't know. She's had a lot of problems over the years."

"So she's rich, cant her daddy just bail her out of what trouble she's in?"

"Steven, you've been gone for a long time and there are a lot of things that you've missed."

"I don't doubt that. For starters since when are Jackie and Donna best friends?"

"Since Jackie's dad went to prison."

"Jackie's dad went to prison?"

"Yeah, for tax fraud five years ago, she's been living here with us ever since."

"Oh, wow I have missed a lot."

"Steven there's something I need to tell you." Kitty said as the sliding door opened.

"Hyde?" Eric said as he stared at the other man.

Hyde stood up and walked over to his friend. "Hey man,"

Eric took one look at Hyde, pulled back his fist and brought it down on the other man's face. Hyde grabbed his face as he fell backwards against the table. Kitty got up and stood between them. "Eric I know you're angry with Steven, but why did you punch him?"

"Mom stay out of this. This is between Hyde and me."

Kitty looked at her son. "No, now you tell me what this is about right now."

"It's about me." Donna said as she walked in.

Hyde turned and looked at girl he'd left behind…no wait the woman he'd left behind. "Donna." Hyde said as he stared at her.

Donna walked over to Hyde and slapped him across the face. "Why did you have to come back?" She said before she grabbed Eric's hand and walked down to the basement.

Hyde sighed as he sat back down and put his head in his hands. "I shouldn't have come back here."

Kitty sat next to him and grabbed his hand. "Steven, you knew you had to come back. I know you knew that. This is just something you're going to have to deal with."

"I didn't know I hurt them that badly. Well I knew I hurt Donna that bad but Eric?"

"Steven there's something you should know."

"What?"

"Eric and Donna are married now."

"They're married?"

"Yeah, it happened about 4 years ago. They started dating about a year after you left and they just were great together honey."

"Is she happy? Are they happy?"

Kitty smiled and nodded her head. "They're very happy Steven."

"Then that's good. All I even wanted was for Donna to be happy." Hyde said as he stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going down there so I can make a few things right." Hyde said as he got up and walked down stairs.

"I hope you can." Kitty said as she got up and started cooking again.

Hyde walked down the stairs and stopped on the landing as Jackie walked in through the basement door.

"You have no right to be down here." Jackie said as she walked over to the couch.

"I have every right midget." Hyde said as he walked over to the couch and stared at Jackie.

"What do you want Hyde?" Donna asked as she looked up at the man she once loved with her whole heart.

"Can we talk?"

Donna looked at Eric who nodded. "Sure, let's go outside." Donna said as she got up and walked out the basement door.

Eric looked at Hyde who stared at him. "Go before I change my mind."

Hyde nodded then followed Donna out the door.

"You're just going to let him to talk to her. What if he makes her cry?" Jackie asked as she sat next to Eric.

"It'll be fine Jackie. Donna needs the closure any way." Eric said as turned back to the TV.

Jackie sighed as she got up. "I hope you know what you're doing." She said to Eric before she went upstairs.

Donna sat on the curb as she watched the cars drive down the street. Hyde walked out of the basement and walked towards the driveway as he looked for her. He found her sitting on the curb. "Can I sit?" He asked as he stared down at her.

"Free country Hyde."

Hyde sat down next to as he continued to stare at her. "You're blonde now." He said more as a statement rather than a question.

"I see your eyes work. Yeah I've been blonde since you left."

Hyde looked down as he let the words sink in. "I never meant to hurt you Donna."

"Then why did you Hyde?"

"I just…I was lost Donna. I was sick of doing the same thing everyday. I was sick of being stuck in this tiny ass town."

"You were sick of being here with me?"

Hyde turned to Donna. "No I was never sick of being here with you. Donna I loved you every day. I just didn't know if it was enough."

"If you loved me so much then why did you write that book?" Donna asked as she stared at him as he tried to think of what to say.

"That book…Listen that book was a mistake. I regret writing that every single day of my life."

"Then why'd you write it? Hell Hyde why did you even get it published?"

"I wrote that book 3 years after I left. I was living in Boston and I was cooped up in my apartment for 3 weeks because of this hellish snow storm and I just started writing. I'd never written before so I didn't exactly know what I was doing so I just did what you always said writers do. I drew inspiration from my life and that's what came out. I never meant for it to get published, I just showed it to my friend, Roy, and he took it to a publisher and before I knew it, it was getting published."

"You know you could have written the characters names better. I mean I knew it was me you were talking about. Come on Donna…Lana….they sound the same."

"Donna I know, I tried to get the names changed I swear but the publisher wouldn't have it. He kept saying that it would take away from the story if I changed the names."

Donna looked down at the street again as she watched two little kids playing basketball in the driveway across the street. "That use to be us you know."

Hyde looked across the street at the same scene. "Yeah, a long time ago."

"You really hurt Eric Hyde."

"I figured."

"I mean out of everyone here why did you pick us two? Why were we the bad guys in your stupid novel?"

"I don't know okay!" Hyde yelled as he stood up. "I don't exactly remember writing that stupid novel. I just remember sitting down and it happened. I didn't mean to make you and Eric in to the bad guys. Honest I didn't. It just happened that way because I was…I don't know angry…lonely. I don't know anymore. But I tried to make things right again."

"Oh yeah your second great piece, it actually made things worse."

"What?"

"Eric took it as an insult. He said that it would have been one thing if you'd have come home and apologized about your first great novel in person, but instead you just wrote another book about how great a friend he was. He felt like you didn't want him in your life and that was your way of saying goodbye. You hurt him Hyde." Donna said as she stood up and stared him in the eyes. "You have no right to come back here and pretend like everything is alright. That might work with Kelso and Fez. But that wont work here. I can never forgive you Hyde."

Hyde looked down as Donna walked away. "I never should have left." He said to himself as he stared at those kids again.

1993- Point Place Wisconsin

"So I was thinking that tomorrow we could all go up to the water tower and redo that pot leaf. It's starting to lose its coloring." Eric said as he sat on the couch next to Jackie.

"Yeah it's starting to look really bad." Fez said from his spot on the other side of Jackie.

"I still say it's a hand giving you the finger." Donna said from her spot on the freezer.

"Whatever it's awesome isn't it Hyde?" Kelso said as he stared at his curly haired friend.

Hyde continued to stare at the floor, completely oblivious to the conversation going on around him. Donna looked at all her friends then back at her boyfriend before she got off the freezer and walked over to him. "Hyde?" Donna asked as she touched his shoulder.

Hyde looked up at her as if he'd just realized where he was. "What? Oh hey what's going on?"

"Are you okay?" Donna asked.

Hyde could see the concern written on her face as he smiled and took her hand. "I'm fine. So what are we doing tomorrow?" Hyde asked.

"Redoing the pot leaf on the water tower, it's starting to look bad." Eric said.

"Oh you mean the hand giving me the finger on the water tower." Hyde said as he laughed.

"It's a pot leaf Hyde!" Kelso yelled.

"No it's not Michael because you idiots did such a horrible job."

"Shut up midget, you were the one who kept going this is so awesome this is so awesome." Donna said as she laughed at Jackie.

"Nice." Hyde said as he smiled at Donna.

"Whatever, we're going Michael." Jackie said as she walked towards the door. "Michael."

"Ah," Kelso said as he got up and walked out with Jackie.

"Thank god." Donna said as the door closed.

"When exactly are we going to get rid of her?" Hyde asked.

"Probably never now that she's actually let Kelso sleep with her." Eric said.

"Damn it." Hyde said as he got up.

"Where are you going?" Donna asked.

"Driving, do you want to come?"

"Sure," Donna said as she got up and followed Hyde out.

Eric watched them go then turned back to the TV.

"You should tell her how you feel." Fez said as he stared at Eric.

"Tell her what exactly Fez? That I love her and that I want to be with her. I can't do that she's happy with Hyde and he's my best friend. I'm not going to do that to him."

"What if she's the only one that's happy?" Fez asked.

'What do you mean?"

"I mean it doesn't look like Hyde is very happy with her."

"He's probably just trying to figure out his life. I mean we just graduated, it's a hard time right now."

"Yes, that might be it. But I still think you should tell her."

"Whatever Fez, that'll never happen." Eric said as he got up and walked upstairs.

"Oh I know it will." Fez said before he left the basement.

"So what's up? You've been really weird today." Donna said as Hyde parked the car in a clearing on Mt. Hump.

"I've just been thinking. With high school over and done with I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my life."

"I know what you mean. But I think I'm going to go to college."

"Really…I mean are you sure?"

"Yeah I really want to be a journalist and I think I'd have fun at college."

"Good for you Donna."

"What about you? Don't you want to go to school?"

"I'm not sure. I mean if college is anything like high school then defiantly not. But maybe if that's what I want I guess."

"You're not really making any sense."

"I'm sorry I'm just not all there today."

"It's alright." Donna said as she scooted over to him. "There are plenty of other things we can do besides talk." She said before she kissed him.

Hyde kissed Donna before saying goodbye and walking into the house. He walked down to his room and stared at all of his things. This was his life. He lived in the basement of his best friend's house because his parents were too drunk and doped up to give a shit about him, and finally they just ran off all together leaving him alone in a house that wasn't even theirs with no food and no money. That's where the Forman's came in. They'd taken him in and took care of his for 3 years. Even though he paid them rent every month he still felt like he owed them so much. "I owe it to them to be more than this." He said before he grabbed his bag and started throwing some things into it. Once it was packed he sat down and wrote two notes. One to Donna and one to Mrs. Forman, he left them on the table in the basement then took one last glance around. He wasn't sure how long he'd be gone. All he knew was that he needed to get out for at least a little while. So he grabbed his bag and walked outside to his car…and left Point Place Wisconsin…his home.

Hyde walked back downstairs to find the place empty. He dragged his bag behind him as he walked into his old room. He couldn't believe his eyes when opened the door. The place was exactly as he left it. Only difference was that Mrs. Forman had put all his clothes and things into boxes and left them sitting on the cot and his chair. He closed the door and pulled all the boxes off the cot and lay down on it. He stared at the ceiling as he thought about everything that had changed while he was gone. Donna and Forman had gotten married, Jackie lost her father and moved in with the Forman's and He'd become…famous…he thought that was the right term but it didn't sound right. It never did. Even when he was at book signings and interviews the thought of him being famous never sounded right. Hyde just figured it was because he hated being in the spot light, but now he knew the real reason. He didn't think he was famous because his fame didn't mean anything if he didn't have friends to share it with. He closed his eyes as he tired to let sleep take him, but just as he thought it was going to happen his door opened.

"I figured you'd be in here." Eric said as he walked in.

"Yeah your mom said I could crash down here."

"Cant afford a hotel?"

"Don't want to stay at a hotel." Eric stared at Hyde as he sat up. "Is there something I can do for you Forman?"

"There's something I need to say to you and if I don't say it now then it'll never be said. I never once planned on anything happening between Donna and me. It just did and even though I never planned on it. I wouldn't change it for anything else in the world. So if you thought that coming back here you'd just magically get Donna back. Well you were wrong."

"No Forman. I'm happy that you and Donna are together. Really I am. I'm glad she's happy with someone and I'm glad that it's you."

"Alright," Eric said as he turned around as he started walking, then he stopped and kept his back turned to Hyde, "I really missed you Hyde...But I can never ever be your friend again." He said before he left the room.

A/N: Ah and that's where i'm leaving it for a while. Feel free to throw some ideas out and i'll take them all into consideration. Thanks!