Disclaimer: Don't own.
A/N: Thanks to Carol and Katie for betaing!
Chapter 7
"Oh my God, Hyde! Of course, I'll marry you," She said and he slipped the ring on her hand. She thought she was going to cry if she looked at the ring so she looked up and jumped. "Oh God! The kitchen is on fire," Donna cried. Hyde ran out of the living room into the kitchen. The stove and everything around it was up in smoke. Donna ran to the closet and immerged with a fire extinguisher. She pulled the pin out and shot the white foam towards the middle of the flames to put it out. She got all the flames out and put the extinguisher on the floor. "I will never forget this birthday," She sighed looking at her ring. "This wasn't supposed to be how it went," Hyde said frustrated. "No Hyde, its fine. I mean its better then I expected," She said lifting up her hand to point out the ring. "Well, what are we gonna eat now?" He asked.
Donna walked to the fridge and pulled out peanut butter, bread, and a container of jelly. "How about some PB&J?" She asked trying to make the best of the situation. "That's not what a normal person eats for their birthday. I mean when I was living with Edna I could expect it but not here," He said angrily. "Oh Hyde, calm down," She said. "We don't have enough to eat out and now we are gonna have to pay to get the kitchen fixed. This is all we can afford. Plus I haven't had a peanut butter sandwich in years," "Whatever you want Donna," He sighed. He took the food from her and began making two sandwiches at the table because most of the counter was burnt. He didn't feel like looking through their stuff to see what was ruined because he didn't want to get her more upset on her birthday.
She sat down happily at the table. She kept playing with her ring; it did look an awful lot like the one Eric had given her. She knew it couldn't be the same, Hyde wouldn't do something that stupid and most engagement rings did look the same except the cut of the diamond and the karat of the gold. No, it couldn't be the same ring she decided.
Hyde dropped a peanut butter sandwich in front of her and went off to sulk in the bedroom. She didn't want to deal with him like this. He should just get over it. Hyde had changed a lot since Jackie and he split. His walls weren't as strong as normal. She would have thought they would be because she hurt him. Jackie was his foundation and Hyde was easily cracked if his foundation fell. His walls couldn't stand up with out her. He became easily ticked off not that the old Hyde wasn't like that. She didn't feel like comforting him on her birthday. She still had to work on her journalism midterm paper. So she got up and got her jacket and bags. She opened the door of their apartment and walked out. Maybe sometime to themselves would do them both some good.
Hyde didn't really like it when she left at night, he didn't trust people on the subway at night. She didn't really like taking the subway to school but it would take her longer to walk there and back. She thought it was safer to ride the subway then walk the streets of New York at night.
She sat down on the train and let her mind wander. Was she happy she was getting married to Hyde? Yes, of course that's a stupid question. That's all she wanted, or was it? Was it the idea of getting married she loved? Was Hyde really the one? Was she doing this to get back at Eric? Or was she just getting cold feet?
Donna calm down, She thought to herself. She half listened to the announcements on the subway but was still lost in her thoughts when she got off the train.
When she finally made it to the school she walked towards the library and looked for a place to sit. She was turning around almost in circles when she heard her name being called. "Donna!" A familiar voice rung in her ears. She turned around to see her old roommate Angela. "Angela!" She called back and walked across the library until she reached the long table her friend was sitting at. "I can't believe you're here," Donna told her. "You're not the type to study," "Yeah, I'm not. I'm trying to find a place to do my cards quietly. The kid next door to me doesn't know the difference between maximum and minimum volume is on his record player," she sighed.
Donna looked down at the chipped table. Angela had her tarot cards out. Donna never let Angela read her cards. She didn't really believe in all that stuff. She did use the oujia board once with Angela but Donna kept moving it. "What do your cards say?" Donna asked her curiously. "That I'm screwed like normal," She sighed again. "Hey let me do yours, it'll let me forget about my crappy life,"
Donna thought about it, what the hell. Nothing could really come of it. It could be totally wrong. This was just the kind of thing she needed right now something to laugh at. "Alright," Donna said sitting across from Angela at the table.
Angela began to shuffle the deck of cards and sat the stack in front of Donna. "Cut them," Angela instructed.
Donna picked up the cards and formed a Celtic cross like she had seen Angela do several times before. When she was done Angela flipped the cards over so she was looking at them. Two cards sat in the middle surrounded by four other cards. The car below the two in the middle touched the corner of the right card and the card to the right of the right card in the middle. "What does it mean?" Donna asked looking at her cards she thought maybe she could make sense of it herself if she looked at them hard enough. She got the three of swords in the card position one, she the ace of swords reversed in the second position, she got the wheel of fortune reversed in the third position and the ace of cups reversed in the fourth position, the knight of pentacles in the fifth position and the six of swords reversed in the sixth position. "Well the three of swords is you now and it means absence or division. The ace of swords positioned the way it means your relationship with your love interest isn't going to work. See how the ace of cups is tying the ace of sword with the six of swords? So it means your boyfriend made some type of gesture prove his love but you don't love him. The ace of cups upside down means false hearts. Now the wheel of fortune card above all that means something great is going to happen. The knight ties in with the wheel of fortune. The knight means a guy. So your gonna meet a new guy after this other relationship ends,"
Angela then turned her attention to the four cards in a column next to the cross. "Now you read these four cards from the bottom to the top. The two of cups in the first position of the column ties in with the knight. You're going to meet this guy soon. And the lover's card above this means you probably will fall in love with him," Angela explained. "Oh my god! What does that card mean?" Donna asked pointing to her next card, the ten of swords. "Donna, don't worry, the card is in the fear/hopes slot. Because it touches the six of swords in the cross you're afraid that you won't love this new guy enough or he might leave you. The card in position four is your future. And you have the sun which means marriage," "So who am I gonna marry?" Donna asked. "This new guy you met," Angela told her. "So I'm not gonna end up with Hyde?" Donna asked. "What?" Angela asked confused. "Well he proposed to me today," Donna explained. "Well this past guy could have been Eric and the new guy could mean Hyde," Angela guessed. "I hope so," Donna responded. "Well you can figure this out easily," Angela informed her. "How?" "Well the way you described Eric he fits the personality of the suit of cups," "Alright," Donna saying wish she would tell her what Hyde was. "Now Hyde, he could be a sword or a pentacle," Angela said biting her lip. "Hey Donna," She heard. She turned around to see Peter from her journalism class. "Hi Peter," She said warmly. "Here to work on your midterm?" He asked.
Peter was tall and had black hair and blue eyes. He was outrageously hot looking. He was on the basketball team at the college. "Yeah I'm taking a break," Donna told him. "Oh tarot cards," He said looking at the table. "Yeah they're mine," Angela said covering for Donna. She knew Donna wasn't really into cards. "Wow that must be a bad reading, look at that guy with ten swords in his back," Peter replied. "You want me to read your cards?" Angela asked him. "Nah, that's okay. I don't believe in that stuff," He told her. "Yeah," Donna sighed in relief. "Hey Donna do you want to get some coffee with me?" Peter asked.
Donna looked at Angela. Angela shook her head in agreement. "Are there any places open?" Donna asked. "If not we can just go to the student union," He explained.
Donna thought about Hyde, would he be mad if she went to coffee with friends? Donna looked at her watch it read 10:15. Well it couldn't hurt and Peter was harmless, plus she didn't want to work on her paper. "Alright," She said picking up her coat and bag. "Bye Angela, I'll talk to you tomorrow," "Bye," Angela smiled.
Donna followed Peter to the parking lot. He had his own car; she stood outside the passenger side of the car and waited while he crawled across the seat to unlock her door. "Have you ever been to Marty's diner?" He asked her as he started up his car. She and Hyde had been almost everywhere but she had never been there. "No, never heard of it," She answered. "I'll have to take you there. It's got the best coffee," He told her. "How long have you lived in New York?" She asked. "Since I was sixteen," He told her. "You?" "I transferred here two years ago," She explained. "Where did you used to live?" He asked. "Wisconsin," "I used to live in New Jersey. So are the winters here better or worse?" "About the same. That's why I like it here," "Yeah I like the big cities. I don't think I could ever live in the country cause I'm so used to city life," "Yeah," she answered.
She and Peter went out for coffee and she had the best time she had in along time. Even more fun then she had with Eric. Peter just understood her. They talked about anything and everything. She started to feel like she only felt that way because of the cards. Was she trying to make herself believe Peter was the one so she would have someone if Hyde and her broke up? She had to stop thinking negative it just stressed her out and she was having a great time.
She sat at a booth and looked at her watch. "We have been talking for three hours," She told him. "Time flies when you're having fun," He responded. "I'm sorry but I have to go," She said "Let me drive you home," He smiled. "Okay,"
The walked back to the car and they started driving back to her apartment. "So what were your plans for tonight?" He asked making the turn on to her street. "Well it was my birthday so I thought I would ruin it by studying," She joked. "Oh, Happy Birthday," He said. "Thank you," she replied. " I mean that, I was having such a miserable time until you asked me for coffee," "I had a lot of fun too," He answered. "Maybe we could do it again sometime," "Yeah that would be great," "Bye,"
The car came to a stop but she didn't want to get out of it. She really felt happy, she enjoyed other peoples company. She had gotten to talk to someone outside of the drama. "Bye," She responded but she didn't get out of the car.
Peter looked over and he got closer to her until their lips met. And she was surprised, she didn't pull back in face she was kissing him back. This was the best kiss of her life. There was a spark, no more like fireworks! She hopped she didn't come off desperate or like a slut. But then they broke apart and it was over. "Bye," they said in unison not in an awkward about that way though they both smiled. This time she had to get out. She stood on the curb and watched the car drive away.
Chapter 7
"Oh my God, Hyde! Of course, I'll marry you," She said and he slipped the ring on her hand. She thought she was going to cry if she looked at the ring so she looked up and jumped. "Oh God! The kitchen is on fire," Donna cried. Hyde ran out of the living room into the kitchen. The stove and everything around it was up in smoke. Donna ran to the closet and immerged with a fire extinguisher. She pulled the pin out and shot the white foam towards the middle of the flames to put it out. She got all the flames out and put the extinguisher on the floor. "I will never forget this birthday," She sighed looking at her ring. "This wasn't supposed to be how it went," Hyde said frustrated. "No Hyde, its fine. I mean its better then I expected," She said lifting up her hand to point out the ring. "Well, what are we gonna eat now?" He asked.
Donna walked to the fridge and pulled out peanut butter, bread, and a container of jelly. "How about some PB&J?" She asked trying to make the best of the situation. "That's not what a normal person eats for their birthday. I mean when I was living with Edna I could expect it but not here," He said angrily. "Oh Hyde, calm down," She said. "We don't have enough to eat out and now we are gonna have to pay to get the kitchen fixed. This is all we can afford. Plus I haven't had a peanut butter sandwich in years," "Whatever you want Donna," He sighed. He took the food from her and began making two sandwiches at the table because most of the counter was burnt. He didn't feel like looking through their stuff to see what was ruined because he didn't want to get her more upset on her birthday.
She sat down happily at the table. She kept playing with her ring; it did look an awful lot like the one Eric had given her. She knew it couldn't be the same, Hyde wouldn't do something that stupid and most engagement rings did look the same except the cut of the diamond and the karat of the gold. No, it couldn't be the same ring she decided.
Hyde dropped a peanut butter sandwich in front of her and went off to sulk in the bedroom. She didn't want to deal with him like this. He should just get over it. Hyde had changed a lot since Jackie and he split. His walls weren't as strong as normal. She would have thought they would be because she hurt him. Jackie was his foundation and Hyde was easily cracked if his foundation fell. His walls couldn't stand up with out her. He became easily ticked off not that the old Hyde wasn't like that. She didn't feel like comforting him on her birthday. She still had to work on her journalism midterm paper. So she got up and got her jacket and bags. She opened the door of their apartment and walked out. Maybe sometime to themselves would do them both some good.
Hyde didn't really like it when she left at night, he didn't trust people on the subway at night. She didn't really like taking the subway to school but it would take her longer to walk there and back. She thought it was safer to ride the subway then walk the streets of New York at night.
She sat down on the train and let her mind wander. Was she happy she was getting married to Hyde? Yes, of course that's a stupid question. That's all she wanted, or was it? Was it the idea of getting married she loved? Was Hyde really the one? Was she doing this to get back at Eric? Or was she just getting cold feet?
Donna calm down, She thought to herself. She half listened to the announcements on the subway but was still lost in her thoughts when she got off the train.
When she finally made it to the school she walked towards the library and looked for a place to sit. She was turning around almost in circles when she heard her name being called. "Donna!" A familiar voice rung in her ears. She turned around to see her old roommate Angela. "Angela!" She called back and walked across the library until she reached the long table her friend was sitting at. "I can't believe you're here," Donna told her. "You're not the type to study," "Yeah, I'm not. I'm trying to find a place to do my cards quietly. The kid next door to me doesn't know the difference between maximum and minimum volume is on his record player," she sighed.
Donna looked down at the chipped table. Angela had her tarot cards out. Donna never let Angela read her cards. She didn't really believe in all that stuff. She did use the oujia board once with Angela but Donna kept moving it. "What do your cards say?" Donna asked her curiously. "That I'm screwed like normal," She sighed again. "Hey let me do yours, it'll let me forget about my crappy life,"
Donna thought about it, what the hell. Nothing could really come of it. It could be totally wrong. This was just the kind of thing she needed right now something to laugh at. "Alright," Donna said sitting across from Angela at the table.
Angela began to shuffle the deck of cards and sat the stack in front of Donna. "Cut them," Angela instructed.
Donna picked up the cards and formed a Celtic cross like she had seen Angela do several times before. When she was done Angela flipped the cards over so she was looking at them. Two cards sat in the middle surrounded by four other cards. The car below the two in the middle touched the corner of the right card and the card to the right of the right card in the middle. "What does it mean?" Donna asked looking at her cards she thought maybe she could make sense of it herself if she looked at them hard enough. She got the three of swords in the card position one, she the ace of swords reversed in the second position, she got the wheel of fortune reversed in the third position and the ace of cups reversed in the fourth position, the knight of pentacles in the fifth position and the six of swords reversed in the sixth position. "Well the three of swords is you now and it means absence or division. The ace of swords positioned the way it means your relationship with your love interest isn't going to work. See how the ace of cups is tying the ace of sword with the six of swords? So it means your boyfriend made some type of gesture prove his love but you don't love him. The ace of cups upside down means false hearts. Now the wheel of fortune card above all that means something great is going to happen. The knight ties in with the wheel of fortune. The knight means a guy. So your gonna meet a new guy after this other relationship ends,"
Angela then turned her attention to the four cards in a column next to the cross. "Now you read these four cards from the bottom to the top. The two of cups in the first position of the column ties in with the knight. You're going to meet this guy soon. And the lover's card above this means you probably will fall in love with him," Angela explained. "Oh my god! What does that card mean?" Donna asked pointing to her next card, the ten of swords. "Donna, don't worry, the card is in the fear/hopes slot. Because it touches the six of swords in the cross you're afraid that you won't love this new guy enough or he might leave you. The card in position four is your future. And you have the sun which means marriage," "So who am I gonna marry?" Donna asked. "This new guy you met," Angela told her. "So I'm not gonna end up with Hyde?" Donna asked. "What?" Angela asked confused. "Well he proposed to me today," Donna explained. "Well this past guy could have been Eric and the new guy could mean Hyde," Angela guessed. "I hope so," Donna responded. "Well you can figure this out easily," Angela informed her. "How?" "Well the way you described Eric he fits the personality of the suit of cups," "Alright," Donna saying wish she would tell her what Hyde was. "Now Hyde, he could be a sword or a pentacle," Angela said biting her lip. "Hey Donna," She heard. She turned around to see Peter from her journalism class. "Hi Peter," She said warmly. "Here to work on your midterm?" He asked.
Peter was tall and had black hair and blue eyes. He was outrageously hot looking. He was on the basketball team at the college. "Yeah I'm taking a break," Donna told him. "Oh tarot cards," He said looking at the table. "Yeah they're mine," Angela said covering for Donna. She knew Donna wasn't really into cards. "Wow that must be a bad reading, look at that guy with ten swords in his back," Peter replied. "You want me to read your cards?" Angela asked him. "Nah, that's okay. I don't believe in that stuff," He told her. "Yeah," Donna sighed in relief. "Hey Donna do you want to get some coffee with me?" Peter asked.
Donna looked at Angela. Angela shook her head in agreement. "Are there any places open?" Donna asked. "If not we can just go to the student union," He explained.
Donna thought about Hyde, would he be mad if she went to coffee with friends? Donna looked at her watch it read 10:15. Well it couldn't hurt and Peter was harmless, plus she didn't want to work on her paper. "Alright," She said picking up her coat and bag. "Bye Angela, I'll talk to you tomorrow," "Bye," Angela smiled.
Donna followed Peter to the parking lot. He had his own car; she stood outside the passenger side of the car and waited while he crawled across the seat to unlock her door. "Have you ever been to Marty's diner?" He asked her as he started up his car. She and Hyde had been almost everywhere but she had never been there. "No, never heard of it," She answered. "I'll have to take you there. It's got the best coffee," He told her. "How long have you lived in New York?" She asked. "Since I was sixteen," He told her. "You?" "I transferred here two years ago," She explained. "Where did you used to live?" He asked. "Wisconsin," "I used to live in New Jersey. So are the winters here better or worse?" "About the same. That's why I like it here," "Yeah I like the big cities. I don't think I could ever live in the country cause I'm so used to city life," "Yeah," she answered.
She and Peter went out for coffee and she had the best time she had in along time. Even more fun then she had with Eric. Peter just understood her. They talked about anything and everything. She started to feel like she only felt that way because of the cards. Was she trying to make herself believe Peter was the one so she would have someone if Hyde and her broke up? She had to stop thinking negative it just stressed her out and she was having a great time.
She sat at a booth and looked at her watch. "We have been talking for three hours," She told him. "Time flies when you're having fun," He responded. "I'm sorry but I have to go," She said "Let me drive you home," He smiled. "Okay,"
The walked back to the car and they started driving back to her apartment. "So what were your plans for tonight?" He asked making the turn on to her street. "Well it was my birthday so I thought I would ruin it by studying," She joked. "Oh, Happy Birthday," He said. "Thank you," she replied. " I mean that, I was having such a miserable time until you asked me for coffee," "I had a lot of fun too," He answered. "Maybe we could do it again sometime," "Yeah that would be great," "Bye,"
The car came to a stop but she didn't want to get out of it. She really felt happy, she enjoyed other peoples company. She had gotten to talk to someone outside of the drama. "Bye," She responded but she didn't get out of the car.
Peter looked over and he got closer to her until their lips met. And she was surprised, she didn't pull back in face she was kissing him back. This was the best kiss of her life. There was a spark, no more like fireworks! She hopped she didn't come off desperate or like a slut. But then they broke apart and it was over. "Bye," they said in unison not in an awkward about that way though they both smiled. This time she had to get out. She stood on the curb and watched the car drive away.