DID I ACTUALLY UPDATE? In short, I apologize for nearly abandoning this story. Real life stuff got in the way, but I plan to try and complete what I've started. Having said that, unless my previous beta reader is still active and willing to forgive me for my lack of updates (seriously, I feel awful about this), I'm on the lookout for a new beta reader!

(The first half of this chapter concerns itself with Donna and Jackie's friendship. It may seem annoyingly long to some of you, but I felt like their friendship was never fully explored in the show. Also, I inaccurately referred to Donna as a redhead in the first chapter, although she is a blonde at this point in the series. MY BAD.)

Chapter 2

(night; at the Burkhart residence)

"Jackie? JACKIE?"

Peering up into darkness, Donna Pinciotti waited for any sort of response. But only echoes of her own voice pierced through the silence of the palatial Burkhart residence.

She quickly made her way up the stairs, all the while trying to convince herself that the reason Jackie wasn't answering her was because the poor girl had cried herself to sleep. But deep down, Donna began to fear the worst.

She knew that Jackie had felt the backstab of betrayal many times. First with Kelso and then with Hyde. But Jackie had only ever wailed and bitched about Kelso's many infidelities. And Donna had only ever reacted by nodding routinely to Jackie's infuriated rants and by awkwardly patting Jackie's back when she finally burst into tears again. Then, Donna had only tolerated the bossy brunette for the sake of solidarity and to maintain peace within the gang.

But things had changed between them when Jackie had begun dating Hyde. Of course, like all the others, Donna had been initially revolted by their creepy and unnatural relationship - all her life, Donna had known the two to despise each other. But, as the months passed, Donna began to see the benefits of Jackie and Hyde being in relationship. She, the vain shopaholic cheerleader, had become less plastic and superficial; He, the too-cool-for-school burnout, had become less remote and paranoid. Amazingly, both had become more human than they had ever been.

And when Jackie had temporarily moved into her house, Donna realized that, despite all of Jackie's shortcomings, she had grown quite fond of the midget.

Ironically, it had been Kelso who had broken the news to her about Hyde and the nurse. Shocked as she had been, Donna had reasoned that the right thing was to give Hyde a chance to explain. But when Jackie had drifted into their common room that one summer afternoon looking the way she did, Donna only regretted she hadn't kicked Hyde's ass sooner.

Naturally, Donna had expected the usual crying and ranting. But there had been no crying or ranting. Instead, Jackie had remained stiff and silent, distant and detached.

It was only after twenty or thirty minutes of silence, in which Donna had grown increasingly nervous and anxious, that Jackie had finally asked if they could procure a case of beers. This question had left Donna surprised, for it was a well known fact that Jackie despised beer - beer was yucky, gross, and beneath her! But sensing the urgency in Jackie's tone, Donna had asked no questions in return.

Soon after acquiring the necessary beer, they had driven around town, looking for a place to drink when Jackie suggested that they hang out at the water tower. This proposal had left Donna far more astonished, for Jackie outspokenly disapproved of the gang's favorite outdoor spot - it was dirty and peetos! But being a good friend and all, Donna had followed Jackie up the stairs to the tower without objection, again. And they had sat in silence next to each other, simply cracking open one can of beer after another.

And as the time passed, Jackie had begun to give into her emotions. When Jackie began ranting about men and their worthlessness, Donna had vehemently agreed by cracking lines from Grease about men being nothing more than fleas on rats. And when that had prompted Jackie to belt out a horrific rendition of "Hopelessly Devoted to You," Donna had screeched shamelessly right along with her. And, when Jackie had finally begun breaking down into sobs, Donna had devotedly wept with her, feeling the devastation and heartbreak of her best friend as if they were her own.

It was then that Donna had realized how much Jackie meant to her as a fellow woman, a best friend, and an inseparable sister.

But the uncanniness of their little escapade had revealed more than an epiphany about the bonds of sisterhood. Donna had realized that Jackie had fallen completely and incomprehensibly in love with Hyde, because she had never seen her best friend so completely broken and vulnerable. His betrayal had hurt Jackie like she had never hurt before.

As her thoughts returned to the present, Donna let out a deep sigh of relief upon seeing the light peeping from underneath the crack of Jackie's door.

But what she found inside, she certainly wasn't prepared for.

(night; at the Forman residence)

Hyde shook his head in disbelief as an enraged Donna paced back and forth around the Forman living room. She was yelling - that much was obvious.

But he couldn't quite make out the sound.

Just one word kept gnawing at him: Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

Hyde looked up and opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Needing to say something.

But he couldn't quite form the words.

"Idiot, are you even listening to me? Jackie's room looked like the storm outside had blown right in. Oh my god, what if Jackie was kidnapped or something?"

Kidnapped? What if Jackie had been kidnapped? The very thought sickened him and snapped him out of his daze.

"Donna...I-I" he croaked.

"Ugh, shut up and just get your ass in the Camino," Donna muttered, her voice betraying the very apprehension that was also beginning to consume him.

Hyde had never felt like this before. It was neither the bitterness he had felt when his parents had abandoned him nor the anger of finding Kelso and Jackie in that hotel room together.

No. This was a gut-wrenching mixture of pain and fear, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

As he wordlessly followed Donna out to the driveway, Hyde wondered just how his legs still possessed the capacity to move from one point to the next.

But somehow, there he was in the driver's seat with Donna next to him mouthing words he again could not hear. And his hands fumbled over the keys once more.

Hyde had been in the Camino earlier that day, and his hands had been slipping then too. Earlier that day, he had meant to drive away in order to escape from a miserable future. But now, he knew that he was there for a different reason.

He was back there in the El Camino in the middle of that snowstorm for the greatest reason: to hold onto a future. Because that was what Jackie meant to him. His very future.

"Fuck, where are you?"

It was a rhetorical question, one fraught with growing fear and frustration. And he hadn't expected Donna to actually answer him.

But his sudden outburst had hit a switch in Donna's head.

"Oh, god. I know exactly where she is."

All was white. And very, very cold.

But while Jackie could feel herself shaking intensely, she felt powerless to move. And so she remained blanketed in the snow, humming the same tune that had been haunting her the entire night.

"Angel...eyes...paradise," she whispered, struggling to remember the words. Why were they so hard to remember?

JACKIE.

Jackie struggled to open her eyes. She had heard something.

JACKIE.

There it was again.

Jackie finally managed to open her eyes. The sky was white no more. And oddly enough, she didn't feel so cold anymore. In fact, she felt a bit warm.

JACKIE.

It was becoming unbearable, this familiar sound. What was it?

As she struggled on focusing her energies on responding to the strange noise, Jackie realized that a strange shadow had cast over her.

And she finally realized what was happening. She was dying, and something had come to take her away from this miserable world. And it was calling out to her.

And so Jackie smiled. Because she was all right with that.

Author's note: It has been a long time, so I apologize for the horror that is this chapter. I know that Hyde is so out of character. But leaving reviews is a great incentive to do better. :)