A/N: sorry for the wait. i had a family emergency. enjoy

Chapter 2: Anticipation

Hyde woke up the next morning with a smile on his face. Jackie would be here soon, and, since he didn't marry Sam, she would have no reason to be upset with him. Sure, he left her in Chicago and had been unwilling to commit, but, compared to what had happened the first time around, convincing Jackie of his love for her should be a freaking cake walk.

At least he hoped it would be. This time he would not flip out about Kelso. Jackie would come in and apologize, and he would forgive her. In the grand scheme of things, his petty jealousy of Jackie's history with Kelso didn't matter at all.

He just wanted to do everything right this time, and he was determined to give Jackie the goodbye she deserved. His eyes clinched shut, and he rubbed his temple-his head already pounding at the thought of losing her again.

Mustering as much resolve as he possibly could, he got out of bed and got ready for the day. He made a promise to himself to not dwell on Jackie's death before it happened. He refused to waste these last days on grieving. He would have all the time in the world to do so afterwards.

Not knowing where to look for her, he finally decided to wait in the basement. Although he hated waiting, especially with the clock ticking like this, he knew that the basement was the closest thing to a "home" that Jackie had ever had.

Eventually she would be drawn to this room, just like all the rest of his friends were. No matter what was going on in their lives, they had always found their way back here. He prayed that Jackie would, too.

He absent mindedly turned on the TV before sitting down. Try as he might, there was no way in hell he could focus on the latest episode of Scooby Doo. With a frustrated sigh, he stood up and turned it off, before plopping back into his chair. His eyes shifted to the door, willing it to open.

Apparently he had some sort of telekinetic powers that he didn't know about because seconds later Donna came rushing into the basement. Maybe he should've been more focused on willing Jackie in his lap than how she got there.

"Hey Dilhole," Donna spat out the words as she sat down on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, a scowl present on her face.

"Hey…Have you seen Jackie at all today?" he asked, feigning disinterested and failing at it miserably.

"As a matter of fact, she came over late last night, crying her eyes out about you. Dumbass."

With a huff, Donna flipped on the TV and sent another glare Hyde's way once she sat down again. She wasn't going to make this easy on him. If Hyde wanted to know anything about Jackie, he would have to work for it.

"Well, do you know where she is now?" he asked, stressing the words as his annoyance grew.

"She's at my house sleeping. Sobbing your heart out can be so exhausting." Venom dripped off each word.

"I know," he replied softly, thinking back to the past few nights. He cried so much and so hard that Mrs. Foreman had given him a shot to sedate him.

Donna's eyes widened at the implication his words brought. "What do you know about it?"

With a deep sigh, Hyde stood up. "Look, Donna, I don't have time for this. I'm going to go see Jackie."

"Don't break her heart," Donna said firmly, not moving from her petulant position on the couch.

Hyde gave her a brief nod of recognition as he opened the door and stepped outside.

"And don't do it on my bed!" she called out before he could close the door.

The short walk to the Pinciotti residence wasn't short enough for Hyde. He opened the front door without bothering to knock and raced through the house. Just outside of Donna's room, however, he hesitated, trying to prepare himself. He ran his hand through his hair and took off his sunglasses, clipping them to the front of his shirt, before opening the door.

A/N: Jackie is actually in the next chapter! I'm so excited.