Disclaimer: no copyright infringement was intended; i own nothing.

ERIC FORMAN.

Things had changed too much by the time I got back from Africa to salvage much of my high school life. Donna had moved on, and even though we'd tried to give our relationship another try, it only lasted a matter of weeks before we agreed we were better off on our own. I hadn't been with many girls after that – in fact, it was only a whopping two over the five or six year span. The first was a drunken waste of time. I'd been wallowing in self-pity at a bar, had one too many beers, and woke up next to a pretty blonde that I wouldn't ever have a chance with if she hadn't been drunk at the time. The second had been pretty serious, actually. Evelyn. She was a brunette and she was beautiful, smart, educated. She was everything I'd wanted, and yet at the same time, everything I was scared of being with. How could someone like her possibly want someone like me? I kept reasoning with myself that it was because I was so cute in that dorky, endearing way, and managed to keep that up, because she didn't leave. In fact, she was the one that insisted we move in together after we hit the one year mark. So, in what I guessed was some weird lapse of judgment on her part, I moved in with her. And still, she didn't leave. She even turned down a position at some high-class law firm for me. Me. The high school English teacher who had practically no money to his name, and she had turned it down for me. I thought I'd finally done something right – thought I'd finally bagged someone perfect.

Of course, we all know happy endings don't exist. At least, not for me.

I came home to an empty apartment, and didn't think anything about it at first. But then I'd gone into the bedroom, and her closet was open and there was nothing left except for a sweater she knew I loved on her. Her beauty products weren't to the side of the sink, her shampoo wasn't in the shower, and her key was sitting on the kitchen counter on top of a quickly scrawled note. She said there was someone else, that she was sorry, that she didn't want to hurt me. I just remember being so angry, so frustrated with myself for ever thinking someone like Evelyn would settle for someone like me that I pulled a girl – I ate stupid ice cream, and I chucked out everything that reminded me of her. And then, as a final, solidifying gesture, returned the engagement ring I'd spent three years of my salary on. That was the first time I think I'd ever had my heart broken, truly broken.

When I was twenty-five, I got some wedding invitation from Jackie – it baffled even me, and I almost considered going. But I was still wallowing in self-pity, and hadn't made it. My parents had been irritated with me, and Red had even literally kicked me in the ass when they got back to Point Place, but I didn't even care. I didn't care about much anymore, really. It was pathetic, and I knew it. Utterly pathetic. Even my students noticed that there was something wrong, and a few of the girls went so far as to bombard me after class and try to rope me into 'talking about my feelings'. But I was too old for that bull-shit, too tired for it.

But I got over it, just like I got over everything else. I got over Donna, I got over all the shit I'd seen in Africa, and I got over Red kicking my ass for not going to Jackie's wedding. That's what I did best – I got over things. I didn't hold grudges. I just wasn't that kind of person. I wanted to be, but I couldn't bring myself to. Hell, I couldn't even so much as dislike Evelyn, even after what she'd done. I was too much of a push-over, and everyone knew it. Everyone knew it, and everyone took advantage of it. Donna still made fun of me for it, tried to make me into a suitable 'man'. But it never worked. Nothing ever works.

I'd been kicking back on the couch with a beer, watching some rather unpleasant soap opera that Evelyn used to watch, when I heard the phone ring. I had the urge to just stay where I was at and not answer it, but chances were that it was my mother, and she'd probably run right over here to make sure I wasn't dead if I didn't pick up. Slowly and irritably, I stood and hopped over the back of the couch, grabbing the phone up on the fifth ring. "Hello?" I asked groggily, stifling a yawn.

"Eric, Eric, sweetie! Jackie's in town!"

Why on earth my mother thought that I would care, much less need to know, that Jackie Burkhart – or, I'm sorry, Jackie Burkhart-Edwards now – was in Point Place was beyond me. "Uhm, that's great?"

"Eric, I want you to come over. She wants to see you, sweetie."

"Wait, really? She asked to see me?"

"Well, umm, not exactly, but I know that she does! I can see it in her eyes!"

"Jesus, mom, do I have to? I mean, she and I never re-"

"Eric Forman, you get your butt over to this house or so help me god I'll send Red after you."

I hung up the phone with an irritated sigh, passing a hand over my face before taking another sip of my beer. Going to visit Jackie was probably the last thing I'd wanted to do today, and I didn't want to be the one to tell her that Hyde hadn't spoken to any of us since they broke up except for the few times he needed bail money. Drugs. Jacking cars. Not that she'd care anyway, what with her rich husband and getting everything handed to her on a silver platter. It wouldn't surprise me if there was some nice car or a limo in my parents' driveway, sent by that rich husband of hers. I grabbed the set of keys to the Vista Cruiser and hustled out the door, not exceptionally looking forward to coming face to face with Jackie Burkhart after almost six years apart.

(FYI, there was an extremely nice car with a foreign man in the front seat parked next to Kelso's van. Spoiled bitch.)

Author Notes: this one got put up REALLY fast after the first one, i know. xD it's just because i had these two done at the same time, so i figured i would put them up at the same time, haha. i'm not sure if i managed to do eric right, so let me know! men are NOT my strong suit. read&review, please. 3