Chapter 4: The True Wearer of the Pants

They broke apart slowly and rather reluctantly. The fact of what they had just done didn't sink in immediately. For a few moments, they were the only people that mattered. There were no engagements, moves, or broken hearts… just them. It was hard for them to break away from that.

"So," Hyde cleared his throat, "I think we should leave."

He was about to jump off the hood, but Donna pulled him back. "Wait a minute. What just happened?"

Hyde shrugged. "Nothing, just forget it." He slid off the hood and walked over to the side of the car. He didn't know why he wasn't feeling happy about this. A second ago, he was kissing the girl he always wanted. This should have brought him some joy. Instead, he felt guilty.

"You can't just ignore this," she told him as she too got off the hood. She stood right in front of him; her arms crossed, and determined to not let him dodge away from this.

"Yeah, we can, Donna," he said firmly, not taking his eyes off of her. "And we will."

Donna ran both her hands through her hair in pure frustration. 'I'm not going to let him ignore this.' "Hyde, please."

He turned away and walked a few paces from her. "We can't tell anybody about this."

His words hit her hard. She couldn't believe he was going to pretend it didn't happen. 'Didn't he feel something like I did?' She could sense herself breaking down, but she forced her tears back. She wasn't about to cry… not in front of him.

Although she tried to hide her tears, one of them escaped and slid down her cheek. Hyde walked over to her and brushed it away with his thumb. "C'mon, man. Don't do this. You're getting married… to my best friend. You guys we'll be happy together."

"I know," she said, her eyes on the ground. "I'm not sure I want all that."

Hyde shook his head. "Don't do this, okay?" He had to say this for everyone's own good. He knew that this is what he wanted to hear, but he couldn't let her throw everything away for him. He believed he wasn't worth it. Hyde cared about Donna, but he didn't think he was good enough for her. She deserved someone better.

"No, I can't do this anymore," she said softly. "I can't… I don't…" She trailed off.

"You don't what?"

Donna cleared her throat. "I don't want to get married."

* * *

"What are you two so worried about?" Fez asked, looking at both Jackie and Eric scowling.

Jackie shook her head. "Nothing, because nothing is going on between Steven and Donna." She was mainly trying to convince herself.

"Of course not," Kelso began. "It's not like Hyde is known for stealing other guys' girlfriends." He paused for a moment then shouted, "Wait, yes he is!"

Eric rolled his eyes. "Jackie wasn't your girlfriend at the time. Besides, it was funny that time."

"Thank you Eric for that," she spat at him.

"It's the same thing," Kelso pointed out.

Eric slammed his fist on the table. "No, it's not. Donna's my fiancée. We made a promised to be together forever. God, I shouldn't have let her go." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Fez let out a 'tut'.

The skinny boy turned to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"It's just that Donna would have went regardless," Fez stated, letting his eyes wander anywhere but on Eric's face. "She wanted to spend time with Hyde, and you couldn't have just said 'no' to her."

Kelso nodded. "Yep, Big D does wear the pants in your relationship."

"What?" Eric was at a lost of words. "I am the… you know… sole wearer of the pants."

Jackie scoffed. "Please, she owns the pants."

Eric smiled at her. "Hey, Jackie. Remember the time Hyde cheated on you with a skanky nurse?" The brunette stood quiet. 'Yep, that shut her up.'

Kelso patted his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Eric. Being bossed around by your lady is great. I love it, man."

Eric gave him a stern look. "Shut up, Kelso."

* * *

"What do you mean you don't want to get married?" Hyde asked her. This was something he thought he would never hear her say.

"I don't want to," she told him, leaning against the car. "I didn't want to for a while."

"Why didn't you say anything to Forman?"

She shrugged. "I thought that I could just stall it, you know? Maybe put it off for a while. I don't want to be all tied down right when I start college."

Hyde removed his sunglasses and tossed them into the car. "You should really tell him."

She sighed. "I know, but he seems so happy about it. I don't know how to break it to him."

"Yeah, he'll probably blame me."

"Well, Hyde," she turned to look at him. "It is sort of your fault. You made me realize that I couldn't go through with it. When we kissed, I felt something and -"

"No, no, no," he shook his finger at her. "Don't do that."

"Hyde, we can't just pretend we didn't kiss."

"Yeah, we can," he chuckled. "It's called lying."

"No, Hyde," she took a hold of his hand. "We can't."

He reached out to caress the side of her face. Donna blushed. These little touches always drove her wild. Hyde willed himself to not kiss her again. So, he asked her, "Are you goin' leave Forman?"

"I don't know," she said, looking him straight in the eyes. "I need some time to think about it."

"That's cool." He was only inches away from her face. Her lips looked so soft…

"Hey, remember when this date was supposed to be light hearted and fun?" she asked with a grin on her face.

He chuckled. "Yeah, whatever happened to that plan?"

"C'mon," she led him to the front of the car. They climbed back onto the hood. The couple sat there for a few moments until Donna remembered something. "Hey, you wouldn't by any chance have some… you know?"

Hyde shook his head. "I left it in the basement."

She sighed. "Damn. That could really helped us to mellow out."

"I couldn't agree more," he replied.

* * *

"Where do you think they are right now?" Eric asked, swirling his straw in his milk shake.

"Oh, no." Fez shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, yes my friend," he smiled. "I'm going to look for them."

He got up to leave, but Fez took a hold of his shoulders. "Eric, as your friend, I need to tell you something: You are stupid."

"That's true you know," Jackie added.

"Shut up, I am not!" he exclaimed. "I know Hyde is after her. That's why he wanted to go on this date. He wants to steal Donna away from me."

"Yep, you just can't trust a guy with a perm," Kelso explained.

"Look, Steven wouldn't do that," Jackie told him. "Plus, Donna loves you and stuff."

Eric shook his finger at her. "I can't believe you're not more upset about this. Don't you still like Hyde?"

Jackie shrugged. "I have a few lingering feelings, but I'm not going to spaz out like you're doing."

He let out a dry laugh. "I'm not spazzing out." They all gave him a look. "Okay, maybe I am a little."

"Let's go back to the basement," Fez said, leading the group towards the exit. Eric was reluctant at first, but soon followed the others.

* * *

"It's getting late," Donna said, hopping off the hood. "We should go."

Hyde nodded and hopped off as well. Unfortunately, he didn't want this day to end. It would mean that she was getting closer to leaving him. Hyde didn't want to face that quite yet.

They got into the car and drove off. Donna turned to Hyde. "Thank you for tonight. I had a really good time."

He shrugged. "It was nothing."

"Yes, it was," she said firmly. "And thanks for the kiss. That was nice, too." She was blushing extremely.

"Yeah, it was. I'm just glad you didn't slap me that time," he laughed.

"Oh my god," she covered her face with her hands, remembering the ski trip. She didn't know why she slapped him. It took her by surprise; she didn't know how to react. Donna could remember being angry with him for doing that. The kiss confused her, making her feel something for someone who she always thought as just a friend. She wasn't ready to cope with that.

"Sorry about the slap," she apologized. "Did it hurt?"

"A little," he replied. "I just wanted to kiss you again, since you were my first."

"What are you talking about?"

Hyde glanced at her. "Remember, we were around 10 and we went to the beach with the Forman's. I kissed you, then you got mad and threw sad in my face."

"Oh, yeah," she nodded. "But, that wasn't my first kiss."

He shot a look at her. "What?"

'I can't believe I'm telling him this.' "Kelso was my first kiss."

Hyde began to laugh hysterically. "Oh my god. You kissed Kelso?"

"Oh, no. He kissed me," she told him. "And I punched him in the stomach for that."

He shook his head. "I can't believe you kissed two Kelsos."

She smiled. "Shut up, Hyde."

* * *

Eric could see the car pull up into the driveway. He walked over to the screen door and watched as they got out of the car. They both had smiles on their faces.

'So, they had a good time.' He turned away and walked out of the kitchen. Taking two stairs at a time, he made his way back to his room. He wasn't sure about what he was planning on doing, but he knew it had to wait. For now, he needed to cool down.

Tomorrow he would have a long talk with Donna.

* * * * * * *

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you thought of it.