What If: Eric and Donna Became Friends With Benefits?

Chapter 6: The Eye Of The Storm


Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All rights to That '70s Show and its characters belong to The Carsey-Werner company. I am only a fan.

A/N: Another hearty THANK YOU to all of my readers/reviewers! You make posting this fun. Like last chapter, a head's up that I have taken some (slight) liberties with the S4 timeline here. This is a long chapter, so you might want to go potty first (😂).


Over the next week, Donna did her best to avoid the basement. She was hiding from both Eric and Jackie.

Eric's date with Emily hadn't worked out (she'd bored him), and neither had his date the following night with Leslie Cannon (he'd bored her). Most of the buzz surrounding his 'Most Eligible Viking' status had already died down - especially once word got around that Leslie said he was a bad kisser.

Not that Eric was deterred.

Every time Donna had seen him over the past several days he was smarmy, bragging about which girl he'd ask out next, what so-and-so had whispered about him to her friend, how he had a notebook full of phone numbers. Even though she was the cool girl and even though she knew she'd actively encouraged this, she didn't want to see it - Eric dating someone else. And she didn't want to hear about it, either.

She was avoiding Jackie just as much.

The cheerleader had become persistent, annoying, bringing up a "mystery man" for Donna every time they saw each other. He was older, Jackie promised. Charming. And that the best way to get over someone was to get under someone new.

She couldn't understand why Donna wouldn't want to date someone new. Someone better. Someone who could make Eric jealous, sorry that he ever lost her. She insisted the longer Donna was single, the more of a hit her reputation was taking. And Jackie's, by being friends with her.

But Donna wasn't ready to replace Eric. Even if he was ready to replace her.

Today, it was unseasonably warm. Hyde drove her home from school and she enjoyed his quiet, unassuming company. They talked about Zeppelin, and the dumb thing Timmy said at lunch.

When they pulled up to the driveway, Donna prepared to spring from the car and bolt to her house before she had to hear about Eric's latest flirtation, or Jackie yammering about how she really ought to do her make-up differently so she'd attract the right kind of guys.

But before she could get away, Kelso ran up to them, spastically.

"Hey guys, it's literally a million degrees out. I'm wearing shorts in January!" He gestured to his pale white legs. "Have you ever seen prettier legs on a fella?"

"Michael, we'll admire your legs later," Jackie admonished him. "Snow Prom is tomorrow. We need to keep up our campaign for Snow Queen and Snow King." She glared at each member of the gang, and pointed a menacing finger. "You all better vote for us," she warned.

"That's voter intimidation - "

Jackie shot Hyde a withering look.

"Oh, believe me Steven. I can be a lot more intimidating than this."

"I believe that."

Jackie clapped her hands together primly. "So. Who is everyone taking to the dance?"

Donna became entranced with the driveway. She moved a pebble back and forth with her tennis shoe.

"I asked the lovely Rhonda," Fez supplied. He looked pleased with himself. "I put some candy in her locker." He smiled. "She said it was sweet."

"Well that's great, Fez!" Jackie patted his back supportively. "You two are a match made in mediocre heaven." She looked around at the rest of the group. "Steven?" she quizzed. "What about you?"

Hyde cleared his throat.

"Only way I'm goin' to the dance is with my stash," he said, gruffly. Then he smirked. "I'm gonna have a Circle in Coach Furgeson's office during the dance." He waggled his eyebrows. "I'm bringin' my best stuff."

"Typical," Jackie dismissed. Then she gave Eric a predatory look. "Eric?"

"Yeah," Kelso interjected. "Which SLOPP will it be?"

Everyone watched him swallow nervously.

Donna felt her heart start pounding. Just the thought of Eric taking someone else to Prom made her feel nauseous. The last time he went to Prom, it was with her. They'd had a really special night. They almost lost their virginity! She had to get out of here…

Eric hesitated. His eyes flicked to hers, and Donna quickly looked away.

"Uh. I, uh - "

"You do have a date, right?" Jackie lifted a perfectly manicured, judgemental eyebrow.

"Uh. Well, I - " Eric cleared his throat. "I decided to go stag this year. You know." He cleared his throat again and glanced at Donna quickly before looking away again. "Personal choice."

Hyde cackled. "Well, well, well. 'The Most Eligible Viking' struck out for Prom."

"Look, it's not about 'can I get a date'," Eric protested, backpedaling, but it was too late. Jackie, Kelso, and Fez were laughing. "I could - I could get a date. I've got numbers, pal!"

"Sure ya do, Forman."

"I just thought, you know. Why go to the dance with one girl when you can go stag and dance with them all?" He put on a cocky smile. "There's no reason to commit just yet."

"Huh. That's not a bad plan, actually." Kelso stroked his chin, thoughtfully. Jackie whacked his shoulder.

"Michael," she scolded.

"For Eric," he clarified. "Damn, Jackie."

"We need to go practice our waltz, for when we win," she reminded him, brusquely. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt, heading for the basement. "C'mon. And you better not step on my feet again - "

"I'm tryin', Jackie - "

"Well try harder!"

Their bickering disappeared down the basement stairs, and Donna breathed a sigh of relief. She'd avoided an inquisition from Jackie about who she planned to go to Prom with. Which was no one. And Eric was going alone, too. It was a choice she didn't expect him to make. Maybe he wasn't as ready to move on as he seemed to be.

"So," Hyde said. "Snow Prom." He raised his eyebrows at Donna. "You up for hot boxing Coach Ferguson's office with me, Big D?"

Donna shrugged. "Maybe. I don't think I have a ride, though."

"Forman'll drive us." Hyde jutted his chin towards Eric.

"Uh," Eric frowned. "Yeah, I mean. I guess."

"Okay," Donna met his eyes unsurely. "I'm gonna be at the radio station until 7. Can you pick me up there?"

"I - yeah. Yeah."

"And my lovely Rhonda?" Fez interjected. "She has promised to bathe for the occasion."

"Super," Eric lifted a hand to rub his face, wearily.

"See you guys tomorrow."

He nodded, and she headed home to raid through her closet for a dress that would make him swallow his tongue when he saw her in it.


The next evening Jackie stood in the school foyer with Michael and looked around at all of her classmates, dressed to the nines. Well, maybe to the sevens. She was dressed to the nines, in her pretty new dress.

She glanced around the room, silently judging the other girls and their fashion choices. She primped as she came to the conclusion that she was clearly the prettiest girl in her class - easy.

That was in addition to being a popular cheerleader. And she'd spent all week being nice to people - even gross people, like Martha with the Bad Acne and the AV Club nerds (who were far too Eric-y for her taste). Snow Prom was hers to win. She just knew it.

"Oh, I have exciting news for you two!" Principal Cofflin had appeared at Michael's side, and Jackie prepared herself for a victory squeal. "Michael, you have been elected Snow King."

"Yes!" Michael pumped his fist, ecstatic.

"And Jackie, you are the new Snow Queen runner up!"

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, mirroring Michael's excitement. "This is the happiest day of my life!" But slowly, she frowned as she processed the end of Principal Cofflin's sentence. "Wait, runner up?" She frowned. "How could that be?" She poked him, angrily. "There's been a mistake! It was fixed." Another poke.

But it wasn't a mistake - Jackie had come in second. Principal Cofflin showed her the envelope, with the results. Ten votes. She'd lost by ten votes.

Jackie was devastated.

Michael, however, was thrilled. He was running up and down the hallway, giving everyone high-fives while he shouted "Kelso rules!" He didn't seem to think about Jackie's feelings at all. Per usual.

But someone else did.

"Jackie, man." It was Steven.

Everyone else was congratulating Kelso and the Snow Queen - Mary Ramsey, that bitch - but Steven hung back with her. "It's just a stupid popularity contest."

His words stung, but he was trying to be nice to her, she could tell. His reaction to her tears was softer than she'd expected.

"Popularity contests aren't stupid to me, Steven."

"Why?" He scowled. But he wasn't trying to be difficult. He really didn't get it.

"Because it's all I have," she said, quietly. She looked up at him sadly. "I used to be a rich, popular girl," she explained. "But since my dad cut me off, I have to be even more popular." She shrugged, and glanced away. "That's all I have, okay?"

Steven chuckled. "What do you mean, man? That's not even close to all you got goin'." He shook his head. "You're a smart chick," he said, genuine affection slipping into his voice. It surprised her, and she glanced up at him again. "Funny - a natural with burns. You know your way around a carburetor," he continued. "And that's not to mention," he gestured to her body, the beautiful gown she wore, and suddenly they both blushed. "All of this."

"Steven Hyde. Are you complimenting me?" Jackie dabbed at the corner of her eye, determined not to let her make-up start to run. She may not be Snow Queen, but she still had a reputation to uphold.

He didn't answer her. Instead he reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a small, brown baggie. He grinned at her.

"Whaddaya say? You wanna help me hotbox Coach Ferguson's office?"

Jackie's first thoughts were protests - she couldn't get high, risk getting in trouble at school, the judgment of her classmates at being seen with a burnout like Steven Hyde. Until she remembered that she wasn't Snow Queen. She wasn't rich anymore. She wasn't popular anymore. She wasn't… anything.

"Let's go."


"Eric, you're here!"

Donna ran up to him as soon as he turned the corner.

It had taken him approximately five minutes to remember he'd forgotten her, after arriving at Prom with the gang. But it was a ten mile drive out to WFPP, and rain was pouring down in sheets so it had taken him considerably longer to get there. By the time he arrived it was nearly an hour past when he'd promised yesterday, and he was sure Donna would be pissed. He was pissed at himself. He'd ruined any chance at reconciliation tonight before it had even begun.

"Donna, look. I'm sorry I'm late," he began, wringing his hands apologetically. "I really did want to pick you up before the dance, so it's no big deal, really."

"No big deal?" Donna shook her head. "It's a huge deal. I was in back filing records, and suddenly everyone was gone and I was stuck here alone. And you risked the tornado for me!" She beamed, and leaned forward to pull him into a bear hug.

It was the first time she'd touched him in weeks and Eric melted into her embrace.

One word she'd said reverberated around his head, though. "Uh. Tornado? What tornado?"

Donna pulled back from their hug to look at him quizzically. She thought he was some kind of hero, he realized. This was it - this was his way back to her.

"What tornado - could stop me from helping you." He quickly recovered, grinning. She grinned back, and hugged him again. He savored the feeling.

"So tell me, uh, is it still like, out there?" Eric tried to be as smooth as possible, but his voice still squeaked with fear.

Donna nodded. "Yeah. They say it's a biggie."

"O-oh." His voice pitched with his nerves.

A few seconds later, it suddenly went pitch black around them as the radio station lost power.

"Shit - shit!" Eric fumbled around in the dark, panicking.

But Donna laughed. She found him easily in the dark, and braced her hands against his shoulders. "Eric, it's okay. I think there are candles in Max's office. C'mon."

Her composure helped him return to his own.

"Okay…" he breathed slowly. "Okay."

They held hands, and Donna led them carefully into Max's back office.

And they did find candles. Plus a lot of other cool stuff.

A stash of bootleg albums, stuff that wasn't supposed to be out until this summer. Like, six packs of peppermint nicotine gum in his top desk drawer. Cardboard promotional cut-outs of Joe Perry and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. And best of all, Max's stash. It was stuffed inside a vase that sat far back on his bookshelf.

Donna smirked at him when she tugged the little plastic baggy out.

Within moments, they'd created their own impromptu circle - featuring Aerosmith - and the tiny office was filling up with hazy smoke.

Donna laughed hysterically at his Steven Tyler impression.

"You're bad at that," Donna informed him, through her giggles.

"What?" He protested. "Come on, that's dead on!"

"N-no," Donna shook her head. She was laughing so hard her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "You're terrible at impressions."

"Am I?"

She nodded, and giggled some more.

"Okay," he shrugged good-naturedly. He'd believe her if she told him the sky was green, that water wasn't wet.

"You want to pack one more?" She gestured to the now-cashed bowl, but Eric shook his head.

"Nah. I have to drive us to the dance."

"Oh, right. The dance." Donna sounded less than enthused. She wrinkled her nose. "You know what? I don't really want to go anymore."

"Really." Eric stroked his chin. "And - ah. Pray tell, what might we do instead?" He gave her a cheesy look, and lowered his voice. "M'lady?"

Donna sucked on the front of her teeth and raised her eyebrows. "Scrabble?" she suggested. She was teasing him.

"Mmhm. You know, in the old days we would've - "

"We're not doing that," Donna cut him off. She meant to sound annoyed, but a smile belied her words.

"Oh, c'mon. Why not?"

"Because. Because…um…" she trailed off, an absent look on her face. The pot was definitely affecting her.

"C'mon. There's you. There's me. There's candlelight…"

"Because you've been a jerk lately."

She spoke softly, but Eric felt her words pelt his body like they were bullets shot from a gun.

"What?" He protested, weakly. "I haven't - I - "

Donna raised her eyebrows. "The 'Most Eligible Viking' stuff?"

He laughed, uncomfortably. She'd started that, hadn't she? Insisting she didn't care, that no one else would either. He tried to deflect with humor. "Donna, I mean, I can't help it that women find me so attractive - "

"You're doing it again!" She slammed her palm down on the desk, and stood up. She started stalking towards the office door, so Eric jumped to his feet too.

"Wait - no. You're - you're right," he swallowed hard. "I have been a jerk."

Donna stopped in front of the door. Her back was still turned towards him, but she seemed to be listening.

Eric stood, and crossed over to where she stood. He sighed. He was done trying to hurt her - genuinely.

"I'm sorry. Donna, I'm sorry - I won't - I won't talk about it anymore. Okay?"

If the roles had been reversed and he had to watch her date a bunch of new guys - he grimaced. He wouldn't have handled that as gracefully as she was. And the truth was? He didn't want to date anyone else. He wanted her. Same as he always had.

"I'm gonna be better from now on," he promised her, closing the remaining distance between them. "I'm gonna be nicer." He caught her eye meaningfully. "Friend."

"You better be," she pushed his shoulder, but there wasn't any malice behind it. "Or you're never gonna see The Twins again." She gestured to her chest, and the generous cleavage her black and floral dress provided.

"Hey now," Eric smiled. His eyes darted to the tops of her breasts, and then back up to her eyes. "I have custody over those two."

She shoved his shoulder again, but she'd started to giggle.

"C'mon." She gestured to the futon against the wall, her eyes half-lidded, suggestive.

Eric swallowed, and immediately dropped his hands to start fumbling with his belt buckle.

"Okay."


Their kiss started off slowly, uncertain, a little limp, like Eric wasn't sure if he had permission to touch her or not. But Donna wasn't in the mood to take things slow. She pushed her mouth into his hungrily, taking control of the kiss, and he laughed at her eagerness.

They pulled away from each other only to remove their clothing. The room was lit softly by candlelight, casting long shadows and just enough of a glow so that they could see each other's silhouettes as they undressed. Donna blushed as she felt his gaze, raking her naked body appreciatively. She always did.

"You're so beautiful," he told her, his voice and eyes soft. He always did.

A small, foil square fell to the ground between them as Eric discarded his pants. Donna reached it before he did.

She picked up the condom, frowning. "W-why do you have this?" her voice wavered as doubts immediately crept into the back of her mind. Then it grew hard, accusatory. "Who did you plan to use this with?"

"Hey - no one," Eric assured her. He closed the distance between them again and plucked the condom from her. "No one. You."

"You know I'm on the pill, so - "

"Yeah, no." He exhaled. "I know. Look, don't overthink this, okay?" He raised his eyebrows at her, pleading. "Please?"

She sucked in a breath, willing herself not to cry, even as she felt her eyes beginning to burn.

"Well do we - do we need that?" she asked, wearily. Her voice was thin, unsteady, like she wasn't sure she wanted to ask the question. "I mean - have you - "

"No," Eric shook his head, anticipating her question and answering before she could finish her sentence. "No, Donna. No. I haven't been with anyone else, okay?"

She was still weary. "I don't know if I believe you."

"I swear it. Donna, I swear it on - on my GI Joe's." He held up three fingers. Scout's Honor.

"Eric, you've been out with a different girl every night. Look, I figured you m- "

"Look that's, ah. That's not really true." He rubbed the back of his neck, like he was embarrassed.

"You - what?" She was stunned.

He shrugged, suddenly bashful. "I, uh. I've had a few dates. They just - you know. Haven't gone all that well."

Donna's heartbeat started to thud.

Maybe he hadn't really moved on.

After all, he'd shown up for her tonight. Eric, the biggest scaredy cat she knew, had come for her in the middle of a tornado, risking life and limb to make sure that she was okay. It was something he wouldn't have done for Emily or for Leslie or any of the stupid girls at school.

Maybe he… you know. Still loved her.

Eric continued. He scrunched up his face. "I think there's a rumor going around that I'm a bad kisser."

"There is," Donna said, but she was distracted now. By her own lust. Her eyes flicked up and down Eric's naked body. To his mouth. And finally she met his eyes.

"I see." He closed the distance between them, a hunger for her barely concealed in his eyes, too. "And is this an opinion that you… share?"

"Hmm - " Donna giggled, pretending to think, but this time Eric wasn't playing along. Instead he pulled her into a dizzying kiss, so intense it made her knees weak. Their mouths pushed and pulled against each other for several long moments, languidly, unhurried, sucking and nibbling until they finally pulled away from each other, breathless.

"I guess you're pretty good." She smirked at him, lifted a hand to her swollen lips.

"Pretty good?" He quirked a playful eyebrow at her, and she quirked one right back. "Well." He led her over to the futon, and she collapsed onto it with a giggle. "I have other talents, too, you know." Eric gingerly draped her long legs over either of his shoulders, pulling her body closer to his face. "C'mere," he murmured, tenderly.

Donna blushed and threw her forearm over her eyes when she realized his intention.

He worked her with his mouth enthusiastically, thoroughly, for several minutes.

Donna felt her eyes roll into the back of her head, and then her toes curl as he took her closer and closer to the edge of searing pleasure. She clamped her thighs tightly around his head and whimpered his name as he continued. He knew what he was doing, and she finished quickly, and noisily.

"Oh. God," she exhaled.

As she recovered, Eric stroked her shaking legs and then up her sides with the practiced ease of a lover. He slid onto the futon next to her and cupped her face, kissed her deeply. Their tastes mingled together on his tongue.

"Donna," he whispered, his breath heating her lips as he pulled back. "I can't wait any more. I - God, I need you now." His voice broke with the sheer magnitude of his desire, and Donna's control snapped.

In one movement, she pushed Eric back into the futon and straddled him. He grinned at her through his kisses and nips at her neck, and then grabbed her hips and guided her into alignment. They both groaned when she sunk down onto his erection.

"Donna - " he closed his eyes and grunted her name, nearly delirious with pleasure. He threw his head back and it made a dull THUNK as it hit the concrete wall behind them.

She chuckled, her voice husky, and leafed her hands tenderly through the back of his hair. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm good," Eric assured her. He grabbed her hips again, angling them into full penetration, and his eyes fluttered shut blissfully "So good," he exhaled slowly.

"Okay."

They didn't talk anymore, after that.

She rocked against him while he guided her strokes with firm hands, and they quickly discovered a rhythm that hit the right spots for both of them. Donna moaned loudly, and threw her head back in ecstasy as Eric started to lick and suck her breasts.

She'd missed this. She'd missed this so much.

His wet, nibbling kisses drove her wild and she found herself moving faster, faster, in search of that white-hot, pulsing release. When she found it, she took it. Friction erupted into searing pleasure, and Donna pressed her forehead against his, shaking as she gasped through her climax.

Nothing in the world felt as good as this did. Nobody but Eric could make her feel this way - like she was burning up from the inside out.

Eric grunted her name, and gripped her waist tighter as he finished deep inside her. "God, I - l-love you," he groaned, almost reflexively, as he buried his face in her neck.

Eric still loved her - she'd been right!

Nothing felt better than Eric's love, and she rode it to a feeling so blissful she wasn't sure words could describe.


"That was nice," Eric smiled, a few minutes later. They sat curled together on the futon, cuddling underneath a scratchy orange blanket they'd found in the closet. He frowned when Donna didn't answer right away. "Right?"

She wore a goofy, dazed smile, though, when he glanced down at her.

"It was very nice," she agreed, tracing the muscles in his chest. Her eyes were light, dancing. "You're a very nice guy today," she cooed. Now her hand trailed downwards, underneath the blanket.

Eric gasped as she firmly took a hold of him.

"I can be nice, too," she purred.

Eric wanted her appreciation - God, he did. But he knew he didn't deserve it. Not until he was completely honest with her. "Donna, I have to tell you something - "

But she wasn't deterred. "Rescuing me from a tornado," she was listing his charms, flirtatiously. "Not just one, but two - "

"Donna - " he cut her off, insistently. "I have to - I have to tell you something."

"Hmm?" Her hand popped back up above the covers. She traced his chest again.

"I - look, I wanted to pick you up tonight. I swear," he began, swallowing hard. "But the truth is… the truth is, I-I kind of forgot. I went to the dance without you."

Her hand stilled, but she didn't say anything.

"So I - I came back. For you." Eric swallowed again, watching closely to gauge her reaction. But he knew he had to say the rest of it. All of it. "But I didn't - uh - " he cringed. "I didn't actually know about the tornado until you told me about it."

She didn't say anything for several moments, and his heart leapt hopefully. Maybe it wasn't a big deal.

But as a few more seconds passed, Donna stiffened. And now she pulled away from him.

"So you forgot me, and then you lied to me so I'd have sex with you?" Donna stood from the futon angrily, bringing the ugly orange blanket with her. She wrapped it around her naked body protectively. "Eric, what the hell?"

"No," Eric quickly protested. "No. NO!"

He hadn't done that. Had he?

"Well that's what it sounds like, you jackass." She picked up the condom - the one they hadn't used - from the edge of Max's desk, and threw it at him angrily. "What else are you lying to me about?"

"Nothing!" Eric exclaimed. He shook his head vehemently. "Donna I'm not - "

"Save it," she advised him, shortly. She dropped the blanket and started to assemble her clothing.

"Okay, you're mad," Eric guessed. He'd been hoping to break the tension, but when Donna looked up at him her eyes were glassy. His heart sunk.

"Yeah, I am." Her voice was hard, despite the tears in her eyes. "You made me feel fucking stupid." Her voice broke, and Eric's heart along with it.

"No. Donna - "

"I thought - " she hesitated. "I just thought - " She shook her head, tears flinging free. "Never mind."

"Donna. Wait! I lo- "

"Don't," she warned him harshly.

She'd slipped back into her dress, and now she pulled on her heels while balancing against Max's desk. Then she stalked back into the main studio, where she grabbed her purse off the table. Eric stumbled after her, frantically trying to buckle his pants.

"Wait - no. Donna - wait - " She was headed for the front door, and Eric grabbed for her arm. "You can't go out there, what are you doing? It's a tornado!" he exclaimed.

Donna whirled around to face him and yanked her arm away, her eyes as cold and angry as he'd ever seen them. He gulped, and took a step back.

"I would literally rather be outside with the damn tornado than in here with you," she spat, before she barreled out the front door of the radio station, into the stormy night.

"Shit - shit," Eric clutched at his sweaty, unruly mop of hair, and sprinted back into Max's office to gather his suit jacket and the keys to the Vista Cruiser.

By the time he raced out into the parking lot, there was no sign of Donna - but there was only one way back into town. Rain pelted down in heavy sheets, falling sideways due to the intense wind. Eric dashed to the Vista Cruiser and threw his things haphazardly in the back, and then peeled left out of the parking lot.

When he turned on his high beams, flooding the narrow road with light, he saw her.

She was stalking along the side of the highway, already drenched and shivering from the pelting rain.

Eric idled the Vista Cruiser behind her, as slowly as he could, and rolled down his window. He had to squint to make her out in the storm. She probably couldn't see two feet in front of her.

"Donna, come on. Get in the car," he begged her. "I'll drive you home."

But she wasn't stopping. She stubbornly continued without acknowledging him, stumbling and shivering.

"Please, Donna," he begged her. Rain whipped in his face through the open window, but he could barely feel it. His only focus was making sure Donna was safe. "You don't have to talk to me. Just please get in the car."

Headlights approached them from the opposite direction.

"Donna!" he squawked, desperately, but she continued to ignore him.

The headlights belonged to a big truck. It whipped around the bend towards them much too quickly, spraying water and mud in Donna's path. She finally stopped walking, and Eric hit the brakes.

"Donna - " his voice broke, desperately, and she finally looked at him with a glare.

She stood there, as if she was weighing her options. When another car passed them, whipping up more mud and dirty water, she finally sighed and dropped her shoulders in defeat.

"No. Talking," she warned him. She stuck a finger menacingly in his face.

Eric gulped and nodded, and she came around to the passenger's side and slid into the front seat next to him. He exhaled with relief, and rolled his window back up.

"Donna, I'm sor- "

Her hand jumped to the door handle - hovered over it, a warning.

"You want me to get out? Because I'll get out."

"No - no," Eric stopped himself, hastily. "No," he exhaled slowly, and pulled the car back onto the highway, pointed towards Point Place.

They drove the ten miles home in silence. Thankfully the worst of the storm seemed to have passed, and the wind lessened as they drew closer to town. Eric was afraid to reach for the radio, to cough, to even glance at her. So he kept his hands on the wheel, and his eyes on the road. And he didn't notice she was crying until they pulled into his driveway.

"Hey - " his concern for her now overrode everything else, "Donna, are you - "

"Eric, when I said don't talk to me, I meant it," she snapped, yanking away from his outstretched hand.

"Donna, c'mon," he croaked. "W-We're friends - "

"Are we?" she asked, wearily.

He frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means: I don't think I can be friends with you anymore." She opened the car door and left him absolutely stunned.