It's probably just a one shot. It's not really based on anything except for one line in a T7S episode. It's long because it probably could have been a few chapters of a story, but I decided to just make it one long one. It's been sitting in my mind and I needed to get it out. I apologize for any considered OOCness, but then again, I've seen some OOCness on the show itself, and I'll leave it at that….
Donna finished her diary entry. She skimmed through the last few entries…they were mostly about Casey. "Casey…" she sighed, before shaking her head at herself. Turning off her light, she tossed her diary back in the drawer. Lying down in her bed, she stared up at the ceiling.
She had to slow things down. Sure, Casey made her all…gushy...inside. Not in the way that Eric used to, of course. It was a lighter, more easy-going feeling with Casey. She didn't know if it was better, or worse…in the long run. Right now, she did know that it was better. With her mom gone, and her dad with Joanne…right now, Donna didn't need the great yet dramatic romance that was her and Eric. She needed something more…less than. Something that probably wouldn't mean forever; something she didn't have to think so much about.
Besides, Casey was…
Well…
He was a Kelso. And, Kelso men were notoriously gorgeous.
Yes, Casey was a Kelso…as everyone, but Jackie kept pointing out. Donna and a Kelso seemed ridiculous…but…
She was a girl. And she did have eyes. And she always was able to appreciate the beauty of a Kelso guy.
'Donna? Why are you at my house?' Michael Kelso's question from that evening found its way to her head. He had been obviously shocked to open the door and find her there.
Donna furrowed her brow. Now, alone in her room, that question made her a little sad. Their relationship changed so much as they grew up. To the point that it was odd to Kelso to find her at his house.
When they were kids, it was always Eric, Hyde, her and Kelso. The four musketeers Mrs. Forman used to call them.
When they were little, Donna used to play at Kelso's house. Kelso used to play at hers. Sometimes Eric and/or Hyde would be there, but not all the time.
She would never admit this to anyone…ever…but Kelso was her first real crush. On a real guy…not some actor she saw on TV. Sure, she thought other guys were cute…but Kelso was the first one that made her feel…well…gushy really. Of course, it lasted all of two weeks…but still it was a right of passage, a part of growing up…and it was sort of interesting to her that it was with Michael Kelso.
Donna found herself smiling. But then again, she was always able to appreciate the beauty of a Kelso guy.
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Donna didn't get it. She pretended she did, but she didn't.
She didn't understand why Mrs. Jensen thought it was so important, but she nodded and promised to try her best. She didn't get why Eric and Hyde thought it was so funny, but she slugged them each in the arm for laughing about it. She didn't get why almost every single girl in her class thought she was sooooooooooooo lucky, but she shrugged instead of asking.
It was just Kelso. So what if she had to work on book report with Kelso.
Mrs. Jensen pulled her aside after class and told her she picked her to be Kelso's partner because it was really important for Kelso to at least get a "B."
Eric and Hyde found it just hilarious that she was stuck working on her project with Kelso. Sure, Kelso sucked at most things at school…though he was good at math…but was it really that funny?
And she just didn't get why girl after girl after girl said to her, "How's Kelso?" with some annoying giggle, before even saying "Hi" to her. If they bothered to say "Hi" to her at all. The fact that they all knew she'd be spending the majority of the weekend with him, just seemed to amaze them.
Donna rang the doorbell and waited. After a good three minutes, she got tired of waiting and hopped the back fence, as she usually did. The backdoor was open, as usual, and with a polite "Hello" to Mrs. Kelso, who was in the kitchen, yelling at Casey and another one of Kelso's other brothers….was it Mitchell?...she bolted up the stairs to the room Kelso shared with another brother.
"Did you finish reading it?" Donna asked as she walked inside. Kelso's brother wasn't there…he was already in junior high and therefore had more interesting places to be on a Friday night, even in Point Place.
"I think they made a movie…ow ow ow ow" Donna had grabbed Kelso's arm and twisted it behind his back. "Yes…damn, Donna!" Donna let go. "I didn't say I didn't read it, just that I think they made a movie out of it."
"That's better. Because I want an 'A'. And if you screw this up for me…"
"Why?" Kelso rubbed his arm before sitting down on his bed.
"Why, what?"
"Why do you want an 'A'? I mean, Forman's dad rides his ass, so I get him…but you don't really seem to care as much….except for with English."
Donna shrugged.
"It's not like you're gonna be a writer or something…" Kelso laughed. "Maybe one day, some kids will be forced to read one of your books….oh…" Kelso watched as Donna's face grew as red as her hair. "…damn, Donna…you never said nothing…you do wanna be one of those boring writers when we grow up, don't you?"
Donna shrugged again. Normally, she would hit him, but she was afraid that if she hit him, he would be more likely to remember this conversation and tell Hyde and Eric her secret.
"Hey…"
"What?"
"What would you write about?"
"Why?"
This time, Kelso shrugged. "Just wondering." Kelso laid down in the bed, and shut his eyes. Donna looked at him…
His eye-lashes seemed to go on for miles…
"Hey."
"What?"
"If I don't get a 'B' I'm gonna fail English."
Donna blinked….so that was what Mrs. Jensen was talking about. "Oh."
"It doesn't really matter...my folks don't really care…and I plan to ride through life on my looks." Kelso turned around to lie on his stomach. "But I figure if I fail English, I might not pass period, and I guess that might sorta suck, you know. So I'm glad that they made us partners….ow!" Kelso rubbed his arm where Donna slapped it.
"Stop staring at my….you know…" Donna grew more embarrassed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"I wasn't!" Kelso sat up.
"You were!"
"I….okay I was…" Kelso laughed, even as Donna smacked him again. He flashed a smile, and it seemed his entire face lit up. He was….cute.
Kelso ran his fingers through his hair…"Fine…let's get this stupid thing done so we can hang with the guys."
Donna wondered...what exactly Kelso's hair might feel like. Even more, she wondered why the hell she cared.
What the hell was that?! Donna suddenly felt…her stomach suddenly felt….like something was running through them. Not making her sick or anything but…
"So, where do we start?" Kelso's question brought her back to the matter at hand.
Donna looked at Kelso…he was….cute...not that that was a realization. She knew he was cute. Hell, even Hyde and Eric knew he was considered good looking.
Double hell, even Kelso knew he was considered good looking. He could hang out with the popular kids if he wanted, he was that good looking.
It was just that right now…there….Donna found she had to stop looking at him, right now. She opened her backpack.
"Did you like the book?" she asked to get rid of the silence in the room.
"Not really, but I bet you did."
"No."
"We should probably say we did, huh?"
"Probably. Hyde would say they wouldn't make us read it if we weren't supposed to like it. Which is why he won't read it." Donna smirked.
"So if we lie, and say we liked it, then it will be easier for me to get a 'B'."
"Us…to get an 'A'." Donna reminded him, pulling her spiral notebook out of her bag. She figured enough time had passed, so she ventured a look at Kelso once more.
"K, Donna. I don't know if you know this about me…but 'A'? Let the dream die."
"Well, you are an idiot…but you have me. I refuse to let us get lower than an 'A'."
"So if you wrote it, how would you have made it better?"
Donna stared at Kelso. Sometimes, he was….
"What? Stupid question? I was just curious…"
"It's not a stupid question. But it doesn't have anything to do with the report. I just wondered why you thought of it." Donna grabbed one of Kelso's pillows and laid down, propping her elbow up. "What do you wanna do?"
"When?"
"You know…when we're grown up…."
"Make a record; go on TV, or something."
"That's it?"
"Never really thought about it…." Kelso stared at the door. More Kelsos were up and/or home and it was getting loud downstairs. He was used to it, but…he hopped up, closing the door. "Better?" Kelso ran and jumped on the bed. It bounced, and he stared as it caused Donna to do the same.
But for once she was too busy looking at him to notice.
They spent the rest of that weekend together. They worked a bit, but talked a whole lot more. They lied, and gushed about the book in their report, and wound up with an 'A', to Eric's and Hyde's amazement.
But more importantly to Donna, by the time Monday morning came, Donna understood why the girls giggled when Kelso would tell them 'hello'. Donna did feel lucky that she got to work with Kelso all weekend. That weekend, Donna decided that not only was Kelso cute, but she realized she could actually talk about things with him. That he could be sweet. That he could be serious.
That he made her feel happy. And she started seeing him as Michael Kelso…a guy. Not just her friend.
She learned by Monday afternoon that he had the power to hurt her heart as she plastered a fake smile, and watched as Eric and Hyde egged him on to talk to Danielle Perry, the most popular girl in their grade.
He was cute, she was cute….they went out to the movies together that night. And Donna sat in Eric's basement, listening to him talk about this other girl. And she realized that weekend didn't mean much to Kelso at all. That to him, she was still just Donna. Just a friend and not a girl.
It took her two weeks to stop hurting because of that.
Actually, two weeks and a few days.
On the Friday of the second week, they received their year end grades. Because of their 'A', it pushed Kelso to a C+ in English and he passed. That night, their gang was sitting on the couch in Eric's basement, watching TV. Eric and Hyde went upstairs to get some more ice cream, and suddenly, Donna felt warm lips on her cheek.
"Thank you, Donna" Kelso whispered before bolting up the stairs to join the rest of his friends.
When he was gone, Donna allowed herself to touch her face.
That was the first time Kelso 'kissed' Donna. The second time was Donna's first real kiss.
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High school sucked. Donna thought junior high was bad, but high school seemed to be even worse. People who hadn't already paired were hooking up like flies. And aside from a snide comment about her 'melon patch', which really just made her annoyed more than anything, most of the guys in 9th grade had no interest in Donna what-so-ever. Probably because she was such a tomboy still. She, Eric and Hyde all said they didn't really care what everyone else thought. But, sometimes, to herself, Donna admitted she did.
Sometimes.
As for Kelso, he was on the edge of ultra popularity. His 'loser friends' were what had stopped things this long, but Kelso refused to give them up entirely. Yet, they did see less and less of him…Hyde bet that by the time Christmas came, they'd never see him at all.
"Here Big D." Kelso thrust the paper at Donna.
"Here, what?" Donna shut her locker.
"You're invited to Danielle's party." Kelso and Danielle had been dating on and off for a few years now. They were off right now, but obviously Danielle wanted Kelso back. "She had too many guys invited for her folks to leave her alone, so she promised more girls to even it out. Better party, more fun for all."
Donna shrugged. A party was a party. "Sounds good. Are Eric and Hyde invited?"
Kelso stared at Donna, and she realized the answer was no. "You want to meet there, or go there?"
"Eric and Hyde can't go?"
"Invite only."
"I don't know…I feel kind of bad leaving them alone." Donna sort of hinted.
"Donna…" Kelso bent so he could look into her eyes, and Donna took a step back, lightly hitting her locker. These few years, Kelso had grown beyond 'cute' to being downright gorgeous. And sometimes, that gorgeousness caught Donna off guard. "It's one night…ow!" he rubbed his arm where she smacked him for his downward gaze, and stared back up into the green of her eyes. "She can't have any more guys there, anyway. Live a little. You might have some fun. We can hang with the guys on Saturday."
"We? You'll be there?" Bigger hint.
"What's that mean?"
"KEL-SO!" a group of guys called out and he straightened up.
"Hey…hold up!" he answered. "My house, 8:30?' Kelso glanced back at Donna. With a sigh, she nodded and he darted down the hall.
After school, when Eric asked what they were doing, and Donna admitted to hanging out with Kelso at Danielle's party that evening, Hyde made a snide joke about her selling out, as Eric looked a bit crestfallen. But by then, Donna was more excited than she would admit to either of them about this invitation. She went home, and even had her mom take her shopping for a new outfit. Her mom helped her put a little bit of a curl in her hair, and she even wore a teeny bit of make-up. Kelso called once to make sure she really wanted to go, and looking back on it, his voice did sound kind of odd, but at the time, all Donna knew was that as she walked up the porch to Kelso's house, she was wondering if maybe this could be the start of a more fun high school experience. If both she and Kelso got to hang out with the popular crowd, then Eric and Hyde would have to be accepted too. And perhaps, the four of them could hang out all the time, like they used to…and perhaps…
"Hey."
Donna was snapped out of her thoughts as Kelso opened the door. "Not bad" she allowed herself to say as she looked at him.
"Thanks"
"I thought I might have to scale your fence, it took you so long" she stood in front of Kelso, wondering if he might say something about her new look.
But no comment came. He closed the door and she followed him as he headed towards Danielle's house.
"Hey?"
Kelso turned, looking at Donna.
But something stopped her from asking what was wrong. "How long will it take?"
"About 10."
They walked to the party almost in silence. Getting more than two words out of him at a time seemed to be like pulling teeth that evening.
Yet, once they hit that party, Donna stared in awe as Kelso's whole demeanor changed. "Hey!" he hugged Danielle as she opened the door, flashing one of his now trademark smiles. "PARTY!!!" he yelled out, and was greeted with more of the same, sending him running inside.
Danielle didn't speak to Donna, but left the doorway clear as she followed Kelso. Donna closed the door behind her.
"Nice."
Donna turned to the sound of the voice. There, standing against the wall was one of the guys Kelso left with earlier in the day. Matthew O'Donnell. She did a quick scan to make sure there no-one else around and blushed as Matt laughed.
"Even nicer" he smiled, causing her to do the same.
Donna had a pretty good time. She and Matt seemed to click. He wasn't really her type. He wasn't even cute enough for her to just forget the fact that he wasn't her type.
But he didn't just stare at her chest all night. It was a guy, other than her male friends, paying her some sort of attention that wasn't completely driven by just one part of her body. A guy treating her like a girl. And she liked that, even if she wasn't so sure she liked the guy.
Sure, every now and again, Donna wondered if the people she could hear laughing behind her were laughing at her…but she chalked that thought to catching some of Hyde's paranoia.
Donna finished one cup of beer and Matt went up to get her another. She glanced around and saw Danielle sitting on Kelso's lap as she was chatting away with a group of friends.
"You wanna head upstairs?" Matt stated as he sat down next to her.
"Upstairs?"
"Sure…it's loud here and all…"
"I…" for some reason Donna looked towards Kelso again only to see Danielle grab him by the hand and lead him out of the room. "…can hear you fine…"
"Come on…" Matt stood. "I don't bite."
"No….really. I think I should go actually…" Donna stood as well, but turned towards the door.
She didn't like Matt, and she wasn't that desperate for attention. Matt wanted to go be alone with her somewhere, and Donna hadn't even kissed a guy yet. She could guess Matt would want more, and she wasn't about to give it to him.
"Come on, Babe…" Matt grabbed her arm and Donna curled up her other fist…
"Do I have to help her kick your ass?"
Matt and Donna turned to see Kelso behind Matt.
"Kelso, man…don't you have your own chick to deal with…"
"Come on Kelso…you don't have to baby-sit her" Danielle pulled on his arm. "She might be a loser, but she's a big girl…"
"In more ways than one…" Matt turned, winking at Donna…
"Son of a bitch!" Matt grabbed the eye that Donna punched. "…" He doubled over as Kelso hit him in the stomach.
"I told you to leave Donna alone" Kelso ignored Danielle's cries and leaned in closer to Matt. "And I wasn't fucking kidding. She said no, she meant no, and even if she had said yes, I wouldn't had let you anywhere near her."
"Get out!" Danielle yelled, getting on the ground to check her friend.
"Party sucked anyway." Donna smirked and Kelso asked her,
"Do you think the guys are still up?" as they each left the party.
"Hey…"
Kelso closed the door and turned to look at Donna before bounding down Danielle's porch.
"What do you mean, you told him to leave me alone?"
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
Donna froze….and Kelso figured the original question was forgotten. He continued down the sidewalk and Donna jogged a bit to catch up with him. She moved in front Kelso, asking slowly…"What….do….you…mean…you…told…him…to…leave….me…alone..."
"Damn, Donna…I can't remember everything I said…."
"You knew he was going to try and get me alone, right?" Donna's voice lowered. "But not because he liked me, right?"
"I also knew you would say no…so no harm, no foul."
"But…"
"Look, Donna. He probably does like you. But he's an ass. I know, because I can be one too. And you….I know you…you're not ready for the kind of ass he can be. And I told him to back off."
"Back off from what, Kelso?"
"Donna…"
"Kelso…." Donna put some tease in her voice, figuring that if Kelso thought she didn't care, then he'd tell her.
"Fine…he…he wondered if you had done it yet. He figured you had, or if you hadn't you'd automatically be really good at it, and he wanted to find out. So it's kind of a compliment…" Kelso tried to joke, hoping to get even a smile out of Donna, but to no avail. With no more questions, Donna turned around and headed towards home.
Kelso followed for awhile, before saying, "Hey" he moved to stand next to her.
"What?"
"I don't think I'm ever going to be invited to hang there again."
Donna couldn't help but laugh at that one. "Don't forget, you're good looking, they probably will forgive you."
"Probably. I am sort of pretty…you know…for a man."
"Man pretty" Donna smirked.
"I like that. Man pretty…you looked extra pretty tonight by the way."
"You can't find out if I've done it either, so don't waste your flattery on me." Donna gave Kelso a slight nudge. "And the only reason I'm letting you stare at my chest is because you stuck up for me today…" she added, so he would realize that she knew where his eyes were locked.
"Oh, I was not!" Kelso acted offended.
"You were!"
"I….okay I was…but I stared at other things tonight too."
Donna blinked once more and Kelso prepared himself for the Donna kick ass to beat all Donna kick asses. Yet, all that came was a "You weren't." which seemed to be more of a question than a statement.
"Sure, I was. You're kinda pretty, you know."
Kelso thought she was pretty? No one, except for her dad, ever said she was pretty before. They talked about her 'melon patch', which did nothing but make her want to hide. But pretty? "No, I'm not."
"Of course you are! You have cool hair…and your eyes are like really green…and you're like what one of the smartest girls ever….you know…you're probably one of the hottest girls in school...what?" Donna was standing in front of Kelso again.
Donna looked at Kelso, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his lips lightly. She gave him time to respond, and he returned her kiss for a moment before she pulled back, looking at him. "If you ever tell anyone I kissed you I will deny it and then kick your ass!" she added before turning on her heels and running.
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Donna chuckled, but touched her lips absently. Kelso never told anyone about that kiss, her first real kiss; she knew that for a fact.
But nothing came of it either. And she had been right…Danielle had forgiven Kelso…and they went back to dating for a bit.
Yet, Michael Kelso had been her first real crush. And Michael Kelso had been her first real kiss.
So it was somewhat said when tonight, she was reminded of the fact that it was now odd for her to visit him at his house.
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The next day, Kelso got up from the couch to answer his ringing doorbell. "Donna."
"Kelso."
He leaned against the doorway with a smirk. "What are you doing at my house?" he teased. "Are you visiting your lo-ver?" he opened his mouth to call Casey's name but Donna put her hand over his lips.
"I came to see if you wanted to catch a movie before meeting the gang." Without waiting for an answer she left the doorway. A few seconds later she heard a familiar,
"Damn Donna! Wait up!"
Michael Kelso had been one of her very first good friends. Even to this day, even as he worked her nerves, she would bet that if she really needed him, he would be there