I am so bowled over by the number of reviews that have come in during the last 24 hours. I can't thank you enough! I'm really glad most of you are enjoying this story. I love the zennie chemistry and just like finding interesting ways for them to crackle. Thanks again for reading!
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CHAPTER 3
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"Wow. That was pretty freaking hurtful, Donna." Jackie declares.
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Donna is taken aback by her ex-friend's sudden outburst. "I, um, I didn't even mean that. I don't know why I said it, Jackie. I'm sorry," she says as she hangs her head shamefully. "I must be drunk or in burn mode or something".
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"It's Christmas, so I'll accept your apology, but know this, Donna- the main reason I stayed away from the basement wasn't Hyde, okay? It was painful enough having my ex burning me every chance he got like it was an Olympic sport, but to have my best friend as his cheerleader made it so much worse," she rants, happy to finally get that off her chest.
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Donna nods. "I haven't been myself for a long time. Maybe we could, um, have brunch or something and talk? I'll buy," she offers.
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"I don't know. I mean, what else is there to say? You really let me down," she says plainly.
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"Yeah, I realized that a while back when someone at the Hub asked me why you weren't hanging out with us anymore. I thought maybe it was because of Sam, but then I remembered that you left months after she did," she says as she twists a lock of blonde hair nervously. "I was self-absorbed and selfish and I'm not proud of myself. Being a better friend to you was actually on my New Year's resolution list, but by January 2nd you were gone."
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"We dated over two years and he married a fucking stripper while on a bender! And when I needed you most you invited her to a slumber party. You know, for a feminist, you really don't understand women at all," Jackie says shaking her head. "I was in so much pain, and you just pretended like I was fine because it was too much effort for you or maybe you didn't want me bringing you down or something?" she fights back the tears building behind her eyes.
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"Probably a little of both," she says. "You and Hyde always reminded me of Eric and me, because we kind of all got serious at the same time. I mean, I got dumped too and I wasn't even given a damn reason! I felt so raw. Watching you feel sad only reminded me of my own pain, and I think that's the real reason I avoided you." Donna realizes she's been crying and wipes away her tears with the back of her hand.
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"Oh no. Your makeup" Jackie says, starting to cry a little herself.
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Donna wipes the tears from Jackie's cheek and smiles. "I know I have a lot of making up to do, but I really do miss you. I mean, my only female friend now is Fez," she sighs. "Jackie, please meet me for brunch? Pleaseeee?" She juts out her bottom lip, using Jackie's begging tactic against it's inventor.
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Jackie looks at her for a moment laughs.
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"Well, it worked for Hyde earlier," Donna grins.
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"Fine" Jackie says giving in, which makes Donna do a little victory jig. "But only because you need a girlfriend to keep you from going to a Christmas party wearing sensible shoes," she says, gazing down with disappointment at Donna's choice of footwear.
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The women hug long and close, rocking back and forth.
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Eric wipes a fake tear from his eye and puts his arms around the two women. "Okay ladies. Why don't you kiss and make up now? Go ahead, I won't tell."
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"Pervert!" Donna frogs him. "Okay, back to the Hyde torture. In honor of our reconciliation, Jackie, my next question is to ask him why he treated you so badly when Sam was here," Donna says.
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"I don't want to go there," she replies. "Talking about it just makes me think about it and thinking about it just pisses me off, and I'm trying really hard to be less bitchy now." she asks.
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"You know what? You have been less bitchy, Jackie! You're more like the devil's minion now rather than pure evil incarnate. Color me impressed," Eric jokes.
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"Thanks dork. I'd say you're less of a loser now, but I don't want to lie on Christmas," she says with faux-sweetness.
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"And there it is!" Eric holds out his arms like he's presenting her.
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"Okay, I've got it. Ask Hyde if he has any guilty pleasure bands. I'm dying to know!" Donna confides.
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Jackie smiles. "That's a good one," she says as she writes it down.
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"Ask him how he truly feels about Star Wars," Eric says.
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Both Donna and Jackie groan.
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"Fine. Ask him what the best day of his life was," he corrects himself.
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"I love it" Jackie scribbles away.
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Donna interjects "Also ask him about his worst day".
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Jackie's brow furrows at this one. She has a feeling that she has something to do with that day, but maybe she's overestimating her importance in his life. Regardless, she writes it on the paper.
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"This is fun. Can we watch you rake him over the coals?" Donna wonders.
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"You have to watch or it won't be as humiliating for him as we want it to be" Jackie says.
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Eric has an idea. "I want to know what his greatest regret is".
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Jackie stops and looks at Eric sadly before writing it down. "I think we've got what we need".
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Hyde looks over at Jackie and smiles. It always made him happy to see her when she gets excited about something. She really knows how to kick it up a notch. There's something about the way she looks at life that makes her feel everything more deeply than most people. He knows the flip side, but he's been numb for so long that he's welcome a little pain. A little of anything would be better than a whole lot of nothing. She has a talent for living and God does he envy it. He hasn't experienced life that intensely since...well, since she left him.
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Jackie practically skips over to Hyde and plops down on her folding chair at the card table. "Ready?" she asks.
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"As ready as I'll ever be" he sighs, putting his glasses back on.
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"ah-ah-ah! No glasses. That was part of the deal" she reminds him.
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"Worth a try" he shrugs as he tucks them back into his shirt, then turns to face her directly.
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Okay, some of these questions are kind of hairy, so I'm going to start you off light by giving you Kelso's contribution" she laughs at her own joke. "Question #1 – Michael wants to know what you did that made me leave him for you. He thinks it's some kind of sexual trick, by the way".
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He laughs at Kelso's assumption. "Well, he's a liar and I was always honest with you. Next question," he barks.
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Jackie thinks about his answer and realizes that he's right. He has always been honest. She hasn't always loved what's come out of his mouth, but he never sneaked around or tried to pull one over on her. In fact, if one of them was a lair it was her. She spent a lot of time trying to manipulate him into doing things instead of just asking him directly. She has as little faith in him to do the right thing as he had in her.
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"#2- He wants to know how you make it hurt so much when you frog him," Jackie reads.
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"I put a little English on it, you know? Turn your hand while mid-frog" he says, looking at Kelso.
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"Thanks man!" Kelso laughs as Hyde nods back at him.
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"Question #3- Who do you think is the best at burning people?" she says.
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Hyde smiles. "I assume he means besides me."
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Jackie nods "or me, obviously".
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"You're not too bad, but I'm going to have to go with Laurie Forman. I've seen her make grown men cry," he recalls with admiration. "Actually, I've seen her make Erica cry more times than I have fingers".
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"Laurie sucks!" Eric calls out through cupped hands.
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"She sure does!" Kelso screams then turns to Forman. "BURN!" he laughs hysterically.
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"Good one!" Fez yells.
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Hyde rolls his eyes. "Alright, settle down kids. Gimme the next one, Jackie".
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"The next three are Fez's. Question #4. Why are you always wearing those fucking sunglasses? This is a direct quote by the way," she laughs.
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Hyde thinks for a moment on that one. "It makes it easier to cheat at poker? I have sensitive eyes?"
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Jackie pretends to sneeze "Ah-Bullshit!"
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"Bless you Jackie," he smirks.
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"Come on," she prods. "Out with it!"
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"I wear them because there are some things I see that I'd like to block out, and they make it a little easier," he lies.
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"Not true. You wear them to block us from seeing what you're thinking," Jackie insists.
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Hyde looks her dead in the eye and shrugs, admitting she's right.
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"I'll take that as an admission," she smiles triumphantly.
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"This is riveting," Donna says. "I wish we had popcorn".
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Eric pulls a strand of stringed popcorn from the basement Christmas tree and hands it to Donna.
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"Thanks baby" she kisses him and starts to eat the popcorn off the string.
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"Question #5- you're going to like this one Steven- how do you get so many sluts to sleep with you?" Jackie asks, not really wanting to know the answer.
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"I tell 'em what they want to hear," he says simply while holding his hands out.
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"What the hell does that mean? Give me something concrete, fool!" Fez screams in anger.
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"Try to figure out their deepest, darkest fear about themselves, Fez, and then exploit that fear as a way to manipulate them into the sack," he explains. "Oh, and aim one level lower than you think you can probably get. This won't work with chicks who are in your league."
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Jackie's brow furrows at that answer. Did he do that with her? His answer is somewhat disturbing for her to hear.
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"You're a pig, Hyde!" Donna shouts at him. "Seriously. I'm embarrassed for you".
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"Don't be. It's only embarrassing when it doesn't work" he smirks smugly until he notices the disconcerted expression on Jackie's face. "I didn't do that with you" he says under his breath, just loud enough for only her to hear.
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Jackie's face softens and the corners of her mouth turn up slightly at his reassurance as well as his ability to still read her mind.
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"Question #6 goes into some dicey territory. I don't know if I can ask this one Fez" she says, turning to her foreign friend.
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"I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever you throw at me" Hyde pushes.
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Jackie looks directly at him. "Okay. Why the hell did you stay with that stripper when she showed up in Point Place and do you regret it?" she asks tersely. "Another direct quote from Fez," she says quietly.
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Hyde is seriously wounded by this line of questioning, but never lets it show and stays the course. "Honestly? That look on your face right before you bolted from the Forman's was the most gut-wrenching thing I've...Jackie, I thought I fucked up so badly that you would never take me back. I also thought you probably shouldn't take me back, because of what I did. You deserved better than that. At the time I thought that staying with Sam protected both of us from getting hurt, which was obviously wrong. And yes, I regret it every fucking day of my life," he says quietly as he looks away from her.
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The audience of friends is rapt. You can hear a pin drop.
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Jackie coughs and regains her composure. "Here's a lighter one from Donna. #7- What is your favorite color and why?" she says.
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"Booo!" Kelso and Fez shout in unison.
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"We have 20 questions are you picked this? Donna, you're lame," complains Fez.
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Hyde chuckles. "Black obviously, like my soul. I also find it slimming," he jokes.
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Jackie laughs. "#8 – Donna wants to know if you've ever fooled around with Laurie" she sighs, holding her breath until he answers this one.
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Hyde shakes his head no. "There isn't enough beer in Wisconsin," he shivers with disgust, "or penicillin," he says, leaving it at that.
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"#9- and I can't wait to hear your answer to this one- Do you have any guilty pleasure bands and who are they?" Jackie scoots to the edge of her seat for the answer.
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"Not ABBA" he teases. "Umm...I don't hate Donna Summer...or Johnny Cash".
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"Hot Donna will be dedicating the song "Hot Stuff" to you on her next radio show This ones goes out to Donna Summer's biggest closet fan..." Donna taunts.
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"Hey, I like Donna Summer!" Jackie says, defending Hyde.
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"And THAT is why it's a guilty pleasure and not something I will ever admit to outside of this room," he says dryly.
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"#10- the halfway point. This is kind of awkward for me to ask, but I'm just going to suck it up. Who is the great love of your life?" Jackie quickly drops her eyes and looks at her hands, which are currently kneading each other to death under the table.
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"That's easy. The El Camino," he grins.
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"That's a bullshit answer!" Donna heckles, tossing popcorn at him, which he picks off his shirt and eats.
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"I'm going to accept that answer" Jackie quickly says "for the sake of time".
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"Jackie's a coward!" Eric shouts.
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Hyde breathes a sigh of relief as he makes brief eye contact with his ex.
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"#11- you're over the hump now" she says.
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Jackie is interrupted by snickers. "She said hump" Fez laughs hard, sending Kelso and Hyde over the brink with him.
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"As I was saying. #11 - what was the worst day of your life?" she asks.
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Hyde grows quiet for a moment and thinks about what he wants to say. "The day I realized my mother wasn't coming back for me".
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Nobody says a word.
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"Same for me," Jackie says simply. Hyde shifts in his chair, remembering how proud she was about people not finding out she was abandoned. She used to be so damn strong.
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Moving on. #12 – courtesy of Eric- What was your best day?" she asks.
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Hyde smiles broadly. "Easy. They day the Formans took me home with them".
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Jackie locks eyes with him and smiles. She's probably the only other person in the room who understands just how much this meant to him. Probably even more than it meant to her when he sneaked her into his room for weeks rather than have her sleep alone in an abandoned house.
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"#13 – Eric wants to know why you still live in your parent's basement when we all know you can afford to leave the nest?" she smirks, wondering how he's going to answer this one.
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"I didn't have a real family until I was 17, and I'm not ready to give it up yet," he says earnestly and completely devoid of zen.
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"#14- Eric also wants to know if you feel like you're part of the Forman family yet," she asks.
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Hyde holds back his emotion, fingering the glasses around his neck. "I do".
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Eric gives him a smile. "Me too" he says as he throws himself at Hyde and forces a hug on him.
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"Aww!" Donna, Jackie and Fez coo at this exchange between the boys. Hyde, once again, rolls his eyes as Eric smothers Hyde's face with fake kisses.
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"Alright, you've had your fill, Forman. Leave some for the others," he snarks.
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"#15- Eric would like to know what your greatest regret is" Jackie says as she swallows hard.
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Hyde looks at Jackie intently with a pained expression on his face. "Chicago. And every day after that."
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Jackie feels like someone's knocked the wind out of her. "Me too" she hears herself say under her breath without realizing it.
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Sensing they're interrupting a private moment, the gang starts to disperse.
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"I'm going to go make popcorn! Does anybody want any?" Donna asks, tapping Eric on the leg.
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"I'll go with you," Eric offers.
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"I do!" Kelso screams.
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"I want Peeps!" Fez screams.
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"Peeps!" Kelso laughs.
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Hyde and Jackie stay in their seats, both trying to avoid each other's gaze. Hyde motions with his head that they should go into his room to talk. She nods ambivalently, stands, and follows him in.
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Eric and Donna exchange a hopeful look.
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A/N - Sound off in the reviews section-even if you're not registered you can still leave one.