Sadly, I do not own the rights to this show. I am just playing with the characters. But I am convinced that even as a middle schooler I would have written a way better series final.

Let us begin. Hope you enjoy. And as always, let me know your thoughts in the reviews!

…

He wasn't stalking her.

Honestly.

Steven Hyde was just…watching her to make sure that she was okay. That she made it home safe and that the customers at this shitty bar left her alone and didn't give her too much grief.

Stalking was climbing trees to look through bedroom windows, hiding in bushes to remain unseen, creepy shit. Hyde has never done that. Well- there was the time when he was out in the ally having a smoke and didn't realize that she got off early and when she stepped out of the back door with her head down looking in her purse, he had to quickly dive behind the dumpster to avoid being seen.

But that was a dumpster. Not a damn bush. And the last time he climbed a tree was when he was still in high school.

See? There was a difference.

The first time he saw her working here, he couldn't believe it. To say that he was shocked was an understatement. Hyde knew that it was by accident. A damn coincidence that he found her. In all the bars in Wisconsin, she was working at this one? The one that his fucking friends finally convinced him to leave the basement for.

Forman and the gang had bitched at him that all he did was sit in the basement day after day where he listened to country music and drank beer. He was well on his way to following in Edna's and Bud's footsteps. Hyde had once made a joke about how an alcoholic was the only holic he thought he would ever become. Forman, Donna, Kelso, and Fez were all doing their damnedest to make sure that didn't happen. They invited him places: the Hub, the movies, the water tower. Hyde wasn't interested. Until Kelso mentioned a new bar he heard of in Kenosha.

So instead of the basement, his friends convinced his to go to a bar. Where he would be able to listen to country music and drink beer. Suckers.

…

….

…

Hyde wasn't all that impressed with the bar. There were so many other places to drink in Point Place that they could have gone to. Ones that were way cheaper and a whole lot closer to home, that way it was less of a risk for him to get picked up by the cops on his drive home. Hyde had learned a thing or two about how to become an alcoholic from Bud and his years of watching.

Yeah, he preferred the joints closer to home. The bars had seen Hyde frequently the last couple of months; the bartender and patrons had seen him at his best and worse. But as long as he had money, they didn't care how he acted…until he started to pick fights. There had been a bar or two that had thrown him out. What could he say? Sometimes he was a great drunk; sometimes he was a lousy drunk.

So why the hell were they going all the way to Kenosha just to get drunk at a fancy as bar that would cost a fortune?

He was just about to ask when Kelso grinned at him and said "Man, the girls wear the shortest shorts I have ever seen. And sometimes when the girls wear white, you can see their bras!"

"Oooo, maybe if we are lucky, we could see their boobs. Because they will not be wearing a bra," Fez exclaimed in excitement.

"Oh yeah," Kelso grinned at their foreign friend. Hyde just lifted an eyebrow at them while Donna went on about woman being equal and how they weren't to gawk at. He wasn't sure what else they were saying, he tuned them out. Just like he had for the past two months.

Two months of sitting in his chair in the basement and thinking about her. About how the last time he had seen her, she had been waiting for him. Wanting to make sure he knew that she hadn't cheated on him. Hyde still felt guilty for throwing Sam in her face. If he had known that was going to be the last time he'd see her…

Damn.

He wasn't going to think about that.

Shutting himself off to those thoughts, Hyde followed Kelso into the bar. He couldn't help but notice it was as dingy as any other bar closer to home. Of course, if he commented, it would just pick a fight. And as much as he loved to argue, right now, all he wanted was a drink.

The gang, minus one very loud member, looked around for a booth or table they could all sit at. Hyde usually went straight to the bar, sat down, and didn't move until he was good and drunk or thrown out from starting another bar fight. Or from being passed out. Whichever came first.

But Forman led him to a table. And rolling his eyes, he decided to go with it. As long as he still got drunk, it didn't matter where he sat?

"Hi," a chipper voice said from the side of him. Hyde looked to see a scantily clad chick move in front of the table and smile at them. "What can I get for you?"

"Beer," he said instantly. "Don't care what kind. Just as long as it gets me wasted."

Donna elbowed him in his shoulder and rolled her eyes. "Maybe for tonight you could not get drunk?"

Ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be ignoring Donna, he turned to the girl next to him. Hyde raised his eyebrows behind his glasses. "Why would I do that when I have a designated driver for the night. Now I don't have to worry about sleeping in my car or being pulled over by the cops for drunk driving. I have a free pass to drink all I want tonight. Right, Forman?"

Donna shook her head at him, "No it doesn't. None of us want to watch you do something that could potentially get you hurt. And besides tonight was supposed to be different. Instead of drinking to get drunk, you're supposed to drink to have fun with friends. Right, Eric?"

Hyde snickered at her. It wasn't a nice one either. For the past month, Hyde had done everything he could to avoid the now-back-to-red-head. After he found out that she had been keeping a secret from him. One that directly involved him. He hadn't been able to even sit alone with her in the basement. He couldn't sit in a circle with her or play games or even hang out with Donna and the group without starting a fight.

Eventually they had gotten into one too many rounds and Forman had basically manned up for the first time in his life and told him off. Said that he was a selfish prick and needed to forgive Donna because she wasn't going anywhere, Forman said that he still planned to marry her, and that she was just as a part of their group as any of the guys. He said that as his best friend and girlfriend they both needed to be friends and talk their shit out or they needed to stop talking all together and let the others in the basement finally have some damn peace.

And that is what he did.

He had ignored Donna. Stopped talking almost all together when she was around.

It had worked too. For the past two weeks Hyde and Donna hadn't had a fight because he pretended that she wasn't there. It was easy with how pissed off he was at her to just shut her out. Her sad looks, her anger, her spiteful comments— didn't even have him batting an eye.

He was Zen.

But tonight, it looked like they were going to fight. "Friends?" Hyde asked, voice dripping with cruelty.

Donna nodded. "Yes, Hyde. Your friends."

With an overly dramatic nod, he pretended that he has accepted her answer, "Sure, you go over there," he pointed to a table in the corner, "and I'll start drinking with my friends."

"Hyde," Eric warned. He had been the one to constantly break up their battles. He was thrown into the middle of their fights more times than he had ever been in the middle of Hyde and Kelso playing keep away from him when they were kids.

"I am your friend, dumbass." Donna crossed her arms and glared at Hyde. In return, all he did was shrug.

"Listen. Man, we all decided not to tell you about Ja-" Forman shut up at the death glare Hyde shot him and cleared his throat. "It's not fair for you to take your anger out on just Donna." His friend tried again.

Hyde nodded. "Should I take it out on all of you?"

"Yes," Donna said in triumph while three other voices shouted, "NO!"

With a shrug he looked at Donna. "Looks like you get all the anger then."

"Well, I don't deserve it," Donna told him with a frown.

"You don't?" Hyde laughed in disbelief. "You never fucking told me she was gone, Donna. You helped her pack her shit and didn't tell me. You helped her move and didn't fucking tell me." Hyde was almost yelling now.

"Hey guys, could we not cause a scene in this bar? I really want to see one of the girls' bras." Kelso whispered.

"Yes, Fez has been without seeing any proper cleavage in over four months and it is time he sees another bra!"

"And? What the hell does it matter to you," Donna shot back at Hyde as if Kelso and Fez never said anything.

"What," he asked scrunching up his face and glaring at her.

"Here we go," Forman said leaning back and clasped his hands together. It looked like he was saying a prayer.

"You leave for two months and come back married to a stripper. Did you really think she was just going to sit around and wait for you to get your head out of your ass?" Donna moved into his personal space and jabbed a finger into his chest. "You're the asshole here. Not me. I was being a good friend when she asked me to help her pack. I was being a good friend when I moved some of her boxes. I was being a good friend to her. Something that you never were."

"That does sound like a good friend," Kelso cut in. "You guys never helped Fez and I move. And what do you mean you haven't seen any cleavage? You just walked in on me with my date the other night?"

Fez nodded from his spot next to Hyde, "Yessss, but she was flat. Nothing like the perfect set of twins that belonged to Ja—Ouch. What was that for?" His friend asked him with a nervous glare while rubbing his now sore shoulder.

Ignoring both of his ignorant friends, Hyde focused back on Donna. He wished she had just slapped him. Physical pain he could deal with. Emotional guilt? Fuck if he knew what to do with it. So, he did what Hyde's always do: hurt someone else. "Yeah, a great friend alright," he scoffed. "Was that before or after you became best pales with my stripper wife?"

Donna's nostrils flared as she breathed heavily. "I was just trying to keep the peace."

"Peace," Hyde actually laughed now. "Yeah, ditching her and spending all you time with Sam sure did show her how much you cared about peace."

"That's not fair. You made it seem like you were done with her. That you and Sam were," she trailed off looked at Forman for the right word.

"Official." He supplied quietly.

"Official," Donna nodded at her boyfriend and then turned back to Hyde. "We all thought you were over her."

Hyde stared at the once natural red head. Pulling every bit of his Zen into him, he forced himself not to respond. Now was not the time to argue anymore. It went nowhere; they just argued in circles and came right back to where they started. On the outside he was the picture of calm and unbothered. Inside, he was fuming.

His friends really thought that he was over her?

Man, Zen fucking rocked.

As he picked up the beer that was finally placed in front of him, he continued to hide his thoughts. His buddies didn't need to know that Hyde missed the sound of their loud friend's voice. Or the way she giggled. How he felt when she smiled at him and whispered in his ear. He would never tell them that his lap felt empty without her perched on it. How his bed felt cold and almost lonely without her there. Hyde would never admit that he watched the basement door, waiting for her to bust through and gripe at him about the melodrama that happened that day.

But it never happened. And every time the door flew open, and it wasn't the tiny brunette, Hyde felt…something. He couldn't place it. It was almost like when they first go together, and he thought she had cheated on him with Kelso, and he slept with the nurse. What a fucking idiot he had been. Then and now. The feeling he had had while watching her walk away from him. That's the feeling he had constantly for the past two months.

Hyde looked over at Kelso. He decided he was done with Donna and would go back to ignoring her. It was the only way he was able to get any peace and quiet these days. But Kelso. Hyde had punched him as hard as he could when he returned to Point Place. His tall friend had complained that he had a bruise for a week. It was around that time that Hyde was finally able to listen to what his best friend had been trying to tell him.

Kelso was never there to sleep with her. Instead, he had met another girl. And was gonna ditch her for the other girl. But before he could leave, Kelso had to go and get her ice to put the celebratory wine in. When Hyde questioned why he only had a towel on, Kelso had laughed and said he "didn't want to waste any time. Clothes could sometimes be tricky."

And that was the real fucking icing on the cake. Instead of sticking around and asking his girl about it, he drove to the nearest bar and drank until he passed out. This happened night after night until he woke up one day in Vegas, no idea how he got there and a blonde stripper following him home and telling him they had gotten hitched. Damn, he had laughed his ass off when she told him.

He wasn't laughing now.

"Oh, so you're just going to go back to ignoring me?" Donna huffed at him.

Hyde never replied to her. Just took another sip of his almost empty beer.

"You know, it's no wonder she left, you are the biggest dick I have ever met." This time, Donna got a reaction.

"Watch it," He warned her. Hyde could take a lot. She was one of his best friends, and he might not hit her like he would one of the guys, he would make her cry. It was something that Hyde did, only once about a month ago. When she brought up him running away and he reminded her of California. She had looked at him like she had been sucker punched. And he had no problem hitting below the belt again. "Forman, you better get your chick," he growled.

"Eric, you better get your jerk of a friend." Donna said with crossed arms.

They stared at each other. Waiting for Forman to say something.

But Eric wasn't paying attention to them. Neither were Kelso or Fez.

"What the hell are you guys looking at?" Donna asked incredulously as all three guys stared across the bar with their eyes bugging out and their mouths hanging open.

"Am I imagining things?" Fez asked in wonder.

"No, little buddy, I see her too." Kelso said with just as much wonder.

"I cannot believe my eyes," Forman exaggerated a blink and went back to staring.

"What the hell?" Hyde repeated Donna's question and looked to see what they were all watching.

Eyes roaming the room, they stopped when he saw a big, bald guy throw his head back and laughed uproariously while slapping the bar. "Little firecracker, you are." He laughed while pointing behind the bar at a tiny brunette who was smirking at him.

All the air left his lungs as he stared at the girl.

She moved the hair behind her shoulder, leaned closer to the bar top and said something to the man that none of them at the table could hear. And the man chuckled even lauder and began to wheeze and cough. The pint-sized beauty scrunched up her nose and walked away from the man to a preppy kid who had been trying to get her attention. She flashed him a smile and asked what all bartenders asked. Hyde could read her lips he was so familiar with the phrase.

"What can I get you." Hyde could almost hear her fucking voice. Echoing in his ear was her high-pitched tone that he had been forced to live without for two months.

"Is that-" Donna began.

The guys all nodded their heads.

"Jackie." Hyde could barely whisper her name. The whole table watched her as she manned the bar like a fucking pro.

"Kelso, did you know?" Forman asked the question they had all been wondering.

"Nuh uh," Kelso shook his head so vigorously, he made himself dizzy. "She wasn't here the last time I came here."

"She looks like a beautiful angel," Fez breathed next to him placing a hand over his chest.

Hyde had to agree. She did look amazing. So damn amazing.

"I'm gonna go talk to her," Donna said to the group.

Before she could stand, Hyde grabbed her arm and tried to keep her seated. "Wait," He whispered while never taking his eyes off of Jackie.

"Hyde, I haven't seen her in over two months. I'm gonna go say 'hi' to my friend."

"Don't tell her we're here," He called after her. Don't tell her I'm here.

Forman slid over to the seat Donna had just left and nudged him. But Hyde never took his eyes off the girl at the bar. "You okay?"

Hyde didn't say thing. Just continued to watch as Donna made her way to the bar. She waited for Jackie to make her way towards her before she lifted her hand and waved.

The group watched as the brunette swung around to her with a smile. Once she saw who it was, the smile fell, and she narrowed her eyes. Hyde had no idea what was said, but he watched as Jackie began to scan the joint and finally locate their table.

Three out of the four boys raised their hands. Forman waved, in an uncomfortable and awkward move, Hyde almost went blind with how crazy Fez was rotating his arm at her with excitement and joy, and Kelso shook his hand at her with surprise and awe. Hyde just sat there, continuing to stare at her, thankful for his glasses as his hand tightened on his class.

She didn't look too happy to see them.

Jackie refused to speak to them, asking another bartender to handle their order and miraculously she disappeared. He had to admire how quickly she was able to get passed Donna. Hyde didn't think the taller girl would actually let her out of her sight. But as she went to the back, she had given them the slip.

Donna came back to the table with a sad, dejected face and Hyde couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Looks like she really wanted to talk to you, huh."

"Shut up, Hyde," both Donna and Forman said to him. He just shrugged and reached over to take Fez's beer.

He needed another drink.

…

….

…

The petite girl thought she had gotten away from them; little did she know that Hyde had returned to the bar the next night. And then the next night. Until he finally saw her again. She was wearing skintight jeans and a shirt that ended above her belly button. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and it reminded him of when she was a cheerleader. Wearing her uniform and practicing her cheers in a private show just for him.

Shit. He needed to stop thinking about that stuff.

But that night, he kept his distance. He watched her from the corner of the bar but didn't approach. And when all the patrons had to leave because the bar was closing, Hyde was shocked to realize he had closed a bar without getting drunk.

"Holy shit," he thought as he waited for her in his car. That was a new one for him.

Instead of leaving, Hyde stayed in his car and waited until she came out. He just needed to make sure she got to her car safe. And once she did come out of the now closed bar, Hyde watched as she got into the car with a woman who looked vaguely familiar.

The next day, as Hyde sat in the basement with his friends, Led Zeppelin was playing in the background. It was also the first time he sat there without a beer in his hand.

Hey friends. I'm back! If you are new to reading my material, I should warn you, I am not the best at updating. Please be patient with me. My new but old obsession with this couple has compelled me to write for this show. I cannot tell you what made me restart watching this couple, but I'm glad I did. It has me wanting to write again. So, let's take a joyride with the characters of a show that could have been amazing if season 8 didn't happen .