This chapter is sMut free. Sorry! Probably the cleanest chapter in the whole fic :(

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CHAPTER 7

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Donna stepped out of the shower and headed toward her room. After 30 hours in a car with Kelso, she needed a shower, a circle and a nap – not necessarily in that order. She opened underwear drawer and looked through it.

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Right after Eric broke up with her the first time, Jackie gave her a piece of advice that she thought was dumb at the time, but it turned out to one of her more brilliant suggestions – she told her to go out and buy the tiniest pair of underwear she could find and put it on. She said it would make her feel sexy, which would in turn give her confidence - and confidence drives a man crazy. Donna doubted her at the time, but she turned out to be totally right. Occasionally, there's a diamond amongst all of that cubic zirconia and rhinestone Jackie likes to toss around.

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Trouble was, Donna didn't have much in the way of sexy undergarments right now. She had gone out and purchased a few after the whole 'granny panties' incident, just to prove to the guys (and herself) that she wasn't a total dude, but a couple of bleach stains courtesy of Bob's inadequate laundry skills and several Kelso panty raids later, she was back to Square One - which ironically was the brand of the giant cotton monstrosity she was holding in her hand at the moment.

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Unexpectedly, there was a knock at her door, and before she had a chance to turn around and answer, the door was ajar and Eric was walking into her bedroom.

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"Ohmigod!" Eric shouted as he turned around quickly to give her privacy. "I'm so sorry. You dad said you were up here in your room and I just assumed..."

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Donna laughed. She had forgotten how adorably awkward Eric would be when he got flustered. "It's okay. He didn't know I was taking a shower."

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"I can come back," he offered with a hand in the air.

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"No, it's fine," Donna assured him. "Let me just get a robe," she said as she pulled a hunter green terrycloth one down from the hook on the outside of her closet door. "It's safe to come out now."

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She couldn't believe he was actually here, in her bedroom! This wasn't exactly how she'd intended to greet him, but he knows what she looks like, and it was just so great to see his face. She missed his face more than anything.

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He turned around and put a hand to his head. "You know me, as slick and as suave as ever. I'm like Southern Wisconsin's own James Bond." He stopped for a moment and just stared at her. Three months had passed and she was still as beautiful as ever, more even. Life sucked.

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She held in another laugh. "Wanna sit?" she asked as she gestured to her bed.

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He gave her a wary look, but then figured he'd sat on this bed so many times throughout his life that one more wouldn't really make a huge difference. "So. How was California?"

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"Okay. I mean, it was nice to see my mom and the weather was good," she answered shallowly, not ready or willing to share with him how miserable she'd been or how much she'd yearned to see him.

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"Good. I'm glad you had, you know, some time to...you know what? This is crazy. I can't small talk with you," Eric admitted.

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"Yeah...well, if we're doing 'big talk' then can I go first?" the redhead asked as she sat beside him, playing with the tie on her robe nervously.

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"The floor is yours. So is the bed and the dresser, but you know...okay, I'll just shut up now," he rambled. Laying on the legendary Eric Forman charm wasn't really going to make this go any easier.

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She took a deep breath and stared at the tie on her robe, which Eric had put his hands on almost as much as she had. "I'm really sorry for running off without saying anything. I just felt...I don't know...humiliated?" she cringed as she said the word.

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He nodded. "Yeah. Me too."

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Donna's head jerked up and she finally looked him in the eyes. "Why were you humiliated? I was the one who put myself out there and got rejected."

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"You came to me hours after you got dumped by Casey and told me you wanted to be with me. I'm supposed to take that seriously? Was I supposed to be flattered to be your second choice?" he asked her, feeling suddenly more resentful than he had in months.

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"You weren't my second choice, Eric!," she insisted, her voice straining with emotion.

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Eric's jade-colored eyes got darker as his intensity grew. "Then why didn't you break up with him if I was your first choice? Why did you only come to me after he dumped you?"

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Donna didn't have a ready response for him. "I don't really have a good answer for that, but it doesn't mean what I'm saying isn't the truth."

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"Look, I'm not saying it isn't, it just doesn't feel like it is, okay?" he explained.

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She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. You have to know that I love you. I never loved Casey. God, he was such a huge dillhole. I guess it just took seeing who he really was for me to realize I wasn't happy with him."

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"I get that, okay, but it still doesn't make me feel any better. I mean, would Luke Skywalker settle for Han Solo's sloppy seconds?" he posited, realizing almost immediately how obnoxious that must have sounded. "That came out all wrong."

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Donna wiped a lone tear from her cheek and stood up. "That's okay. At least I know how you feel now." She walked to the door of her room and opened it.

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"Donna...I didn't mean...shit. I don't always say the right things, and it seems like I'm constantly making everything worse every time I open my mouth, but you know I don't think of you like that. I don't. I'm really sorry," he whispered as he walked quickly through her door frame into the hallway.

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She shut the door behind him and leaned on it, sobbing quietly into her arm.

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"So...that could have gone a little better," Eric reported from his seat atop the deep freeze.

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"Oh God. What did you do?" Jackie asked.

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"I may have referred to her as, um, Han Solo's sloppy seconds," he confessed as he unwrapped his popsicle.

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Hyde involuntarily laughed. "Oh man. Even I haven't said something that cold to a chick and I've pretty much made a career of being an asshole to women."

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A worried look crossed Jackie's face as fear and uncertainty began to creep in. If a friend of hers dated a man who gleefully announced to the world he liked to treat women badly, she'd slap her like an old-school Italian widow for not hightailing it toward the exit at light speed. If there's one thing she's learned the hard way, it's when a guy says he doesn't want a serious relationship, he should always take him at his word. Maybe this was Hyde's way of telling her how he felt?

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Hyde caught her mood shift and cursed himself for saying something so stupid in front of her. Probably not the brightest move to tell your chick that you treat girls like shit minutes before her old boyfriend rolls back into town with the goal of reclaiming her.

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"Thanks for the support," Eric grumbled.

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"Is that what we were supposed to be doing here?" Hyde joked as he searched for signs of life in Jackie's distant expression.

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"I feel like an asshole," Eric complained, full of self-loathing.

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"Yeah well, you kind of should. Although I guess if Donna's gonna have to be somebody's sloppy seconds, Han Solo would be the way to go," Jackie theorized while imagining herself in the arms of Harrison Ford. "Besides, getting a hot girl as sloppy seconds is equivalent to getting an uggo before anyone else has had her...better even. So, why are you complaining? You've already outdone yourself."

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Forman rolled his eyes. "You have to help me make this better, Jackie," he informed her. "Today."

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She thought for a moment and then smiled. "No I don't."

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"If you don't I'm going to tell her that you're the one who fixed me up with Lucy," Eric threatened desperately.

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She tried to think of a way out of it and then scowled. "Well played, dork. Catch up with me later and I'd try to figure out a way to have your foot surgically removed from your mouth. We could also rip your tongue out. It's really the only solution."

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He fake laughed. "You have until 8pm to think of something or I'm removing the foot from my mouth myself and telling Donna what you did. Tick tock, satan."

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A commotion occurred at the top of the outdoor steps as Kelso struggled with Fez to get inside.

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The door swung open and the boys fumbled inside. "Yeah, my dad took away my slingshot, so I'm feeling it pretty bad too," Kelso complained to his foreign friend.

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Jackie's stomach clenched as she watched her ex-boyfriend enter the basement and make a beeline straight for her.

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"Look, Jackie, we've been avoiding each other. I think it's time we hashed this thing out," he started, using the most sympathetic voice he could conjure as he plopped down on the couch next to her.

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Jackie's insides began to churn as she sat next to her ex for the first time in three months. "It's okay. I'm good," she told him. At that moment she realized that she actually was good. If this had been six months ago, she would have been bawling her eyes out and scheming to get him back, but she didn't want him back. She wanted the guy sitting to his right.

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"I can tell that you're devastated over losing me," he told her with manufactured concern. Kelso knew Jackie was just putting up a front to save face in front of the others. She couldn't take him back right away or else she'd seem weak. He respected that. She was a proud woman and it was one of the things that made him fall in love with her.

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Hyde leaned back in his chair and made eye contact with his girl. He could feel his palms sweating. She seemed to be handling it well, but he knew deep down that things could change on a dime. Kelso may be an idiot, but he was a man-pretty idiot with charm to spare, and had some kind of bizarre, Svengali-like hold over the little brunette. She always went back to him no matter what he did. There had to be a reason why, even if it was completely invisible to all those who knew them best.

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Jackie turned to Kelso and smirked. "You know what Michael? I'm fine. Really," she said and slapped his knee condescendingly, but of course the meaning behind her tone went right over his head.

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Kelso could tell she was hurting because of how cold she was being to him. Normally after a breakup, she would get all emotional. He figured she must be super-pissed off this time if she'd gone past that point. "You sound brave, but inside you're a scrambled mess," he speculated aloud in that low, sexy voice that he knew she loved. A little empathy couldn't hurt his cause. Kelso figured it wouldn't be long now before she cracked and begged for him to come back to her.

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Kelso was actually impressed she was able to hold it together so well in his presence. He wondered briefly if a sexual overture of some sort was in order to give her the hint that he wanted to be her boyfriend again. He figured she probably wouldn't try anything since he rejected her, and he'd have to be the one to let her know she could have the key to his pants again. "Just remember this, I'll always be there for you, in case you have any physical needs, alright?" Kelso made his grand gesture and then placed his arm around Jackie's shoulders and drew her near. He estimated that should be enough to do the trick.

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Watching Kelso put his dumb, moron arms around his chick made Hyde's blood start to boil. He leaned forward and frogged Kelso in the shoulder hard.

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"Ow. Damn Hyde! What was that for?" Kelso shrieked.

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"I just missed you, man," Hyde shrugged with a smile. He didn't really want to hurt the guy, but he needed him to keep his stupid hands to himself or else he was going to have to liberate him of them.

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"It was great catching up, but I've got to get to the mall for some last minute shopping before school," Jackie told him, as she gently extricated herself from her ex-boyfriend's grasp.

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"I'll come with you," Kelso volunteered. "I could give you a ride." He smiled and tilted his head to the side demurely, which usually made her melt like butter.

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"You know, I really do my best work alone Michael, but thanks for the offer," she said tightly and headed toward the door. As she was about to leave, Jackie shot Steven a pointed look and then walked out.

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Kelso shook his head and unwrapped a dum-dum pop. "Poor kid. Trying to replace me with shopping."

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Hyde pulled his keys out of his jeans pocket and walked toward the door.

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"Hey, where are you going Hyde? I just got here!" Kelso pouted.

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"I've got a shift, man. I'll catch you later," he informed everyone and shot off an apologetic look as he left the building.

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The minute the door shut behind them, he and Jackie were at it again, groping madly and kissing each other within an inch of their lives.

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Needing air, Hyde pulled back first. "I can't believe how you shut Kelso down in there. That was badass."

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She smiled seductively and slid her hand under the front of his shirt to feel his chest. "You're right! I am totally badass! I think I'm gonna use the word badass way more often!"

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"Don't get carried away," he advised, as he pressed her into the wall with his pelvis.

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"You need to get your hands off of me, Steven, or we're going to get caught," Jackie admonished. Though she wanted nothing more than to mount him in the stairwell and have her way with him, she wasn't exactly comfortable with Michael just on the other side of the door.

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"You say it like it's a bad thing. I mean, we're gonna get caught some day you know, so who cares?" he said breaking to her. He didn't want to hurt Kelso any more than she did, but her paranoia about it was starting to get on his nerves. At some point, he was going to find out about them, unless she wasn't planning on hanging around long enough for that to happen.

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"I guess..." Jackie broke away from Hyde and looked down. "I don't even really know how you feel about me or what your intentions are. I just would hate to hurt Michael for nothing."

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Now Hyde was pissed. "For nothing? No. We wouldn't want that, Jackie."

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He started up the stairs without her. She had one foot out of the door right now and he could feel it. He figured the moment that Bozo walked into the room she would be a lost cause, but he didn't see it happening this quickly. He'd been left enough times by people to see the warning signs and hers were blinking in bright neon. A veteran of this story, he wasn't planning on sticking around for a sequel.

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"Steven, wait!" she screamed as loudly as she could without the gang inside hearing her. "I can see you're mad at me for some reason, but I don't understand why."

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"We're cool," he said in a tone that indicated anything but. "I've gotta be somewhere," he announced, blowing her off as he jumped into the driver's side of the El Camino.

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"What just happened?" Jackie asked herself aloud as she literally pulled her own hair out of frustration.

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Hyde turned the key in the ignition and felt his motor kick in and begin to hum.

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Dealing with Jackie reminded Hyde of those people who are dumb enough to illegally keep baby zoo animals like tigers and chimps as pets. For some reason, they believe that through their love, these wild animals can be turned into domesticated pets. Just because something is freaking adorable, does not mean that it's safe. These idiots feed and bathe their tigers, give them love, and generally forget that they are living with feral predators. Then one day, out of the blue, the tiger just loses its shit and mauls its human parent to death.

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It's not really the animal's fault, because that's what a tiger does and you have no business messing around with a tiger, much less letting your guard down around it. Any idiot who ever lulled themselves into a false sense of security around a wild tiger - or in his case, a 5'2" vixen with a mean shin kick, really made their own bed and needs to lie down in it and just shut the fuck up.

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Watching Hyde pull out of the driveway made Jackie feel like crying, but she couldn't do that there. People would ask too many questions. She turned to head back inside. No point in 'shopping at the mall' anymore, fake excuse or otherswise. Even the thought of actually shopping at the mall had lost it's appeal for the moment. Things must be worse than she thought.

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From across the driveway, Donna watched her little friend lean sadly against the front porch of the Forman house without moving. She wondered what put her in that state, though had a feeling it had to do with a tall himbo who had puppy dog eyes, a penchant for eye injuries and a demagnetized moral compass.

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Jackie re-entered the basement only to find it had been completely vacated.

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Figuring it to be as good a time as any with him gone, she walked down the corridor to Steven's room to look for her underwear again. She didn't mind too much not having them on when he was around to get turned on by it, but without him there to steal glances at her, she felt kind of like a slutbag.

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Jackie climbed onto Steven's cot and searched around the sheets for her panties. Frustrated by her lack of success, she stood up on her knees to check one of the shelves and promptly heard a cracking sound beneath her, as a record broke under her weight and sent a sharp shard of vinyl directly into her knee.

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"Shit!"

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Alone in the basement searching for her friend, Donna's ears pricked up at the sound of Jackie's yelp. "What are you doing in there, Jackie?" she shouted as she made her way back to Steven's room.

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Jackie looked up at her pal with wide eyes and gave her a tight grin as she wiped the involuntarily tears that streamed out of her eyes from the pain. "Nothing. Um...I told Steven I'd help him find something he lost."

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The skeptic furrowed her brow with suspicion. "What?"

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Jackie's eyes darted around the room and she bit her lip. "His...'Physical Graffiti' t-shirt."

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A laugh escaped Donna's lips that sounded more like a hiccup. "Why would you be helping him find anything, much less a Zeppelin shirt?"

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Jackie decided the best defense would be a good offense. "Well...he lost a t-shirt, and I am kind of an expert on clothing. Why are you in here?"

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Ignoring her question, Donna continued her inquisition. "I don't buy it. Come on, Jackie. You've never in your life helped somebody just because they asked, especially not Hyde."

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She had forgotten how much smarter and tenacious Donna was compared to the rest of the gang. It had been too easy for her to lie to everybody all summer, because Fez took almost everything she said at face value and Eric didn't care enough about her to ask followup questions. The lumberjack knew better than to take Jackie at her word. She'd have to think of a reason that was more in keeping with her character. "He...blackmailed me into helping him."

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A hand now stroking her chin, Donna nodded. "Okay, that sounds more plausible. What does he have on you?"

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Jackie fisted her hand on her hip. "Now why would I give you dirt to hold over my head too?"

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Donna figured the midget had a pretty good point. "Well, do you need help?"

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"It's okay, thanks. By not finding the shirt I'm really just doing him a favor," she commented.

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The taller woman's brows knit with concern as she noticed a trickle of blood coming from her friend's knee. "Jackie, take a seat and let me look at what you did to yourself."

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Jackie complied and sat herself down on the bed, stopping only to pull the broken record out from under her.

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"Hyde's gonna kill you," Donna snickered as she grabbed one of the burnout's wash cloths and held it to Jackie's cut to stop her bleeding.

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"Probably," Jackie whispered sadly as she gazed at the broken record in her hands.

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"What's the damage?" Donna asked and reached for the album. "Steppenwolf? Well, in my opinion, breaking this was your good deed for the day," she said cheerfully. "Let that count as your 2nd compliment of the day. Please."

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Jackie shrugged her acceptance and then smiled to herself. "Oh, I don't know. I kind of like Steppenwolf. It's grown on me."

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"Well, Eric always did say you were a 'Monster'," Donna quipped as she blew some cold air on the cut to dry it.

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Jackie snorted at the cheesy joke. "Thanks, Donna."

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Something about having her best friend home was bringing out all of the complicated feelings that she'd kept hidden for the last three months. She had nobody to confide in about this, and now that the one person she could talk to was back, she felt paralyzed.

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"This looks kind of bad Jackie, you might want to get it checked out by a doctor," Donna said, wincing as she gingerly touched it.

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Watching her friend carefully as she wrapped her cut, Donna noticed a tinge of melancholy starting to cloud her mood. "I saw you outside earlier," she mentioned casually, hoping it would prompt a willing response.

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"What did you see?" Jackie asked hesitantly.

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"Just you out there alone, looking sad. Why?" she wondered, getting an inkling that something more might be afoot.

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The smaller girl's eyes started to water and the deluge wasn't far behind.

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Donna wrapped her long arms around Jackie and held her while she cried. "He still loves you Jackie, don't cry. He told me that he knows now that you're the one for him."

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Jackie looked up at her friend puzzled. "What?" she asked, tear-stained and confused.

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"You're crying about Kelso, right?" Donna questioned, now finding herself slightly confused.

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The dark beauty looked down and shook her head, unable to meet her friend's eyes.

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"Then who-?" It was at that moment that Donna noticed a small strip of purple fabric tucked behind Hyde's pillow. She pulled the item out from under it, read the name embroidered on the back and her mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh crap."

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Jackie took the panties from Donna's hands, stood up and put them back on, then immediately sat down again as if nothing happened.

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"What the hell, Jackie? Is this a prank?" she asked, desperate for some kind of logical explanation.

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"No. It's for real," she confessed.

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Donna's large hands ran through her silky red mane, trying to scratch out the images floating around in her mind. "How long has this been going on?" she asked and sat down next to her.

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"11 weeks," Jackie confessed, prompting a new round of jaw-dropping and expletives.

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"Holy shit. Who else knows about this?" Donna wondered.

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"Just you," Jackie admitted, then remembered getting busted a while ago with her hand down Hyde's jeans. "Well...and Eric's girlfriend Lucy, but she kind of walked in on us."

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Donna stood up in disbelief. "You're telling me that you and...Hyde have been fooling around for the past three months and you—the girl who was voted 'biggest gossip' last year for the third year in a row in an unprecedented landslide—hasn't breathed a word of it until now?"

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The brunette nodded shyly.

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"Oh my God, you really like him!" Donna shouted at her friend.

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Fresh tears erupted from Jackie's eyes and she blotted them with Hyde's towel. "I think I really screwed things up with him tonight though."

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"How?" she asked.

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She shrugged her narrow shoulders and took a deep breath. "I don't know. Once minute we were in each others arms, and the next, he was stomping off into the night. I don't even know where he went."

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"Well that's the first thing you've said that sounds like anything Hyde would do. I can't believe I'm even asking this, but are things between the two of you serious? I mean, are you sleeping together?" Donna wondered, not sure whether the concept of the two of them coupling up seemed hot or disturbing to her.

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"I don't know what we are. I guess that's probably why he took off, maybe he changed his mind. As for sleeping with him, you just found my undies under his pillow Donna, I'm pretty sure you can do the math," she admitted with a sigh, all of a sudden feeling strange being in his bedroom without him there. "I just hope I didn't ruin everything."

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Donna had never seen Jackie this distraught. She had seen her angry, bitter, sad, and a dozen other unpleasant emotions that Kelso had provoked, but nothing like the way she appeared now. This was something else entirely, her friend seemed almost broken. "You're not...Jackie, are you in love with Hyde?" she asked bluntly.

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"I...I don't..." Jackie's face crinkled and she buried it in her hands.

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"Come on. Let's get out of this room and get some ice cream, okay?" Donna offered, remembering how much Jackie liked to eat when she was depressed.

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"Can we get beef jerky instead?" she pleaded, always having found the act of ripping leathery meat with her teeth the best way to safely get out her aggression.

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"No. I can't go down that road again with you. It was like watching a National Geographic special. You're going to eat ice cream or chocolate like a normal person," Donna decreed.

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A/N – PLEASE KEEP THOSE REVIEWS COMING! Thanks for reading xox