Author's Note: I forgot to add my disclaimer to the first chapter. Everything belongs to the owners of That '70s Show, The Carsey-Werner Company, LLC.

It really sucked that Donna and Forman were soulmates because it meant during recess that Hyde got stuck being Kelso's partner when they played dodgeball so that Donna and Forman could be each other's partners. And being stuck with Kelso automatically meant you would lose the game since Kelso was a wuss and was afraid to get hit in in the face, or more specifically, get his headgear hit.

But mostly it sucked because it meant that Hyde and Donna weren't soulmates.

Hyde had been friends with Donna for years, and his soulmate clock was still ticking.

Not that he believed in that stuff though.

It was just that, today, well, today was the last time he was ever going to have to think about it.

If Hyde were being honest, he never did think about his clock that much to begin with. When he met Donna and there were still years to pass before his clock hit the zero mark, well, he had stopped caring pretty much then and there. Yet there were still occasions when he would accidentally swipe across the skin over his radial pulse with just enough pressure to make the despotic numbers swim into view.

And one of those accidents had happened just now, when he had lifted his arm to wipe off the sweat beading across his forehead. It hadn't happened in a while, so when he brought his arm back down, the red on his wrist caught his attention. 00:00:00:00:01:23. His breath caught in his throat.

"Wait a second guys." Forman held his arms out wide, his eyes bugging out of his head. Donna held the dodgeball in her hands, turning to Forman anxiously. "I didn't finish my math worksheet last night."

"So what, man?" Hyde shrugged.

"No, no, no," Forman said, his voice squeaking an octave higher. "If I don't hand it in before the end of the day, Mrs. Green will send home a note. To Red."

"Oh, man." Donna glanced at the clock on the wall above the gym doors. "You've got like two minutes. Run." She quickly put a hand to his shoulder, spinning Forman's twig figure in the direction of the door, then shoving him off.

Just watching that simple gesture, the amount of affection that radiated off of Donna's body when she rested her hand on Forman's shoulder made Hyde's stomach twist. It also made him remember his clock again.

He still didn't believe in this crap, but he checked the numbers anyway. 00:00:00:00:11. How had that much time already passed?

"Whatever, man. This is lame." He complained the second Forman disappeared out of the door.

Donna said nothing as she joined him and Kelso on the bleachers. "It's not a big deal," she said. "Recess is pretty much over any – "

Donna was cut off by the abrupt sound of someone pushing through the doors of the gym. It was a girl, probably a year younger than the rest of them, cowering behind one of the heavy gymnasium doors.

"What the hell?" Donna whispered. She jumped up and marched over to the girl, nailing the dodgeball she had still been carrying right into the girl's back.

Wait.

No.

Not her.

00:00:00:00:05.

Hyde shoved his hands underneath his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes vigorously. Nope. No freaking way. But before he knew it, Donna was summoning him and Kelso to join her in her interrogation of the short brunette now standing with crossed arms before Donna.

Unwillingly, Hyde shuffled behind Kelso to stand next to Donna who was still scolding the girl. "Listen up, little girl. I'm Donna." Then she turned. "This is Hyde." She gestured to him. "And this is Kelso."

The girl frantically rubbed at her wrist. Then she snapped her head up, her doe eyes landing on Kelso. Hyde didn't need to check his own clock. He knew what it would say. Hyde also knew that she must think it was Kelso, she was giving him heart eyes already, but she was the only girl in the room, and Hyde knew it was her.

Donna was still going off on the girl, but the girl was paying no attention to her. Instead, her gaze was still locked on Kelso, but Kelso was busy inspecting the hem of his shirt. Hyde took the opportunity to get a good look at the girl.

She wore a bright red skirt with weird red polka-dots all over it. Her neatly tucked-in white blouse had puffy sleeves, and to top it all off, her obnoxious pony-tail was accentuated with a matching red bow. Meanwhile, Hyde wore a pair of grass-stained jeans with a thrift shop plaid button down over a black t-shirt that had a bleach stain near the left shoulder.

Hyde could simply not imagine any kind of future for himself that involved this girl, who, if he had been listening correctly, had introduced herself to Donna as Jackie. But really what Hyde was feeling was a twinge of guilt. A girl like Jackie did not deserve to have a boy like Hyde as a soulmate. Bitterly, Hyde realized that this was probably why she hadn't even considered him, but looked straight at Kelso when her clock went off.

So screw guilt. Jackie was every bit as obnoxiously pampered and conceited as she looked. She deserved the egg-headed Kelso.

Jackie was stomping off now, and Donna pelted her one last time with the dodgeball. Hyde had to get in one quick dig. "Welcome to public school," he sneered. Jackie turned and her eyes sent daggers in his direction. They were nothing like the hearts her eyes were sending to Kelso. Good.

The dodgeball had bounced back over to them and had rolled to a stop in front of Hyde's foot. Tempting his sudden rage, he picked up the ball and hurled it across the gym, the ball smacking into the door that Jackie had first come through.

But whatever. It wasn't like he believed in soulmates anyway.