ʚ ɞ
The sunshine beams into Donna's bedroom after a long, long night. She begins to stir as the light hits her eyes, prompting her to turn over. Except she can't, as there is an arm wrapped firmly around her waist, an arm belonging to the boy next door.
"Eric, you need to lift your arm," she begins to whine and tug at his arm out of habit. This situation is so familiar to her, she doesn't even begin to second guess it. She is able to wiggle out from his hold and flips over to face him. She opens her eyes and reality hits her: Eric Forman is in her bed. She had sex with Eric Forman last night! Oh God, how did she let this happen?
She gently lifts the blanket covering them and looks down, they are both still completely nude. Panic begins to set in as she begins to think about the night prior. She remembers that she is the one that dragged him up here, their long conversation about their lives, her crying, her kissing him! Her initiating the sex! No, not how did she let this happen, why did she make this happen?!
"Donna, sweetie! Are you awake?" She hears her father calling outside her door. This is exactly what she needed right now, a naked boy in her bed and her father at her bedroom door!
"Yeah, Dad!" she calls out, as he's beginning to turn the doorknob. She flinches and calls back to him, "I'm changing! I'll be down in a second!"
"Oh!" the doorknob suddenly stops, "alright, sweetie! There's breakfast, Kitty brought some pancakes over! Oh, speaking of Kitty, have you seen Eric? She can't find him!" As Bob begins to yell through the bedroom door, Eric starts to wake. Afraid he'll say something, she holds a finger in front of her mouth to signify he needs to stay quiet.
"Uh, no Dad! He's probably just drunk somewhere in the basement!" she hears her dad start to chuckle.
"Yeah, probably. I spent a ton of my youth drunk on the ground after a party!"
"Alright, I'll see you in a couple minutes," she desperately wants him to leave.
"Okay, sweetie!" Bob calls out, and it sounds like he started to shuffle away. She lowers her finger from in front of her mouth and moves to look at Eric.
"Good morning," he says nonchalantly with a grin stuck to his face. He adjusts himself so he is leaning on his elbow.
"We had sex, Eric."
"I was there, Donna, and it was great," he says, still with that stupid smile on his face. He's acting like any other horny teenage boy after getting laid. Afterall, he is a horny teenage boy, who just got laid.
"We really shouldn't have done that," Donna says, shaking her head as she turns to get up. He sits up, realizing she is not interested in staying in bed anymore.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, missy. You're the one who wanted me."
"I know, it must have been the damn pot or some shit."
"So, you're saying if you weren't high, you wouldn't have done this?"
"Maybe, I don't know," she says as she pulls on a pair of clean panties and hooks her bra behind her back. She turns to face him, now that she is at least partially covered. "I don't know why I had sex with you. I'm not saying I regret it, I just think we shouldn't have. It's too soon. Especially since we're not back together."
"We're not back together?"
"Eric, don't act dumb with me. You should know by now that sex does not equal relationship." Geez, she is playing this game again? Where she wants to use him for sex and make him feel bad when he wants to be together again?
"Ok, fine, we're not back together. What are we then?"
"We're exes." Ouch, that hurt.
"Well, how do we become not exes? 'Cause I'm sorta interested." he chuckles.
"First, we need to sort shit out. We need to work out our problems. Besides, you're leaving for Africa again. I think it's best we stay separated for now." She's now fully dressed and ready to meet her father downstairs. "Please just get dressed and leave."
"You don't want to talk anything out right now?"
"No, I don't. My dad's waiting for me." she says, ending the conversation. She opens the door and exits the room.
ʚ ɞ
This is not the way he had expected this morning to go. He wasn't going to be as naive to assume they were dating again, but hoped that last night would be a foot in the door to reignite their relationship. To him, it seems like Donna wants to have none of that. He stands and begins to dress himself in the clothes he wore the day before. He attempts to straighten out her bed, he doesn't want to leave her room a mess. He picks up his shoes and heads to the window. This is something he had done several dozen times before, but this time it felt different. This time, he doesn't know if he'll have the chance to do it again.
He climbs out of her bedroom window and down the trellis to the ground. He jumps off, and looks back up at the window. He shakes his head and makes his way back over to his house. He's got the worst hangover and the love of his life now doesn't want to speak with him. Could this morning get any worse?
His question is soon answered as he is walking from behind the Pinciotti hedges to his driveway. His parents are standing in front of the Toyota, getting ready to get inside.
"Oh, honey!" Kitty calls out as she sees Eric appear. "Where have you been?!"
"Look at him, Kitty. You know where he was," Red sighs, shaking his head towards his son. He was wearing yesterday's clothes, his hair ruffled, and his belt and shoes dangling in his hands. He is obviously in the middle of a walk of shame.
"Oh!" Kitty says abruptly, and bursts out in her awkward laughter. She steps aside and lets him enter the house.
"That damn kid never learns his lesson," Red mutters as he opens the car door for Kitty, and Eric slides the kitchen door shut. He enters the kitchen and sees Hyde sitting at the table, with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"So, Forman, busy night?" he says, trying to pick on his friend.
"Shut it, Hyde. I'm not in the mood." Eric says, heading to the fridge to grab one of Red's beers. He figured that this would be the best way to nurse his hangover.
"You were in the mood for something last night. Could it have been a blonde neighbor girl?" Hyde laughs, not going to stop.
"Why does it matter to you? I had an eventful New Year's."
"One could say so.. So, where's your lover girl?"
"Hyde, for the love of God, please stop. I'll start asking you about Jackie."
"Suck a dick, Forman."
"Yours, 'cause Jackie won't?" Eric says as he leaves the room. This is not the way he expected his New Year's to go. Last night, he had the girl. He was golden.
ʚ ɞ
Three days had passed since New Year's. Eric was desperately trying to hide from Donna, Donna was trying to hide from Eric. Neither of them understood why they were doing it, they had just assumed the other didn't want to see them. Jackie was tired of hearing Donna moping about Eric, and Hyde was tired of hearing Eric whining about Donna. Jackie told Donna to meet her in the Forman's driveway to go out to the mall, Hyde sent Eric to fetch his "stash" from the El Camino. They set it up so both Eric and Donna were going to be in the driveway at the same time. It was 'bout time they sorted their shit out.
"Dammit, it's not even in here," Eric mutters out as he slams the glove box shut. For as much as Hyde cared about the stuff, he never knew where he kept it. Or, at least he never told Forman where he kept it. As he's getting out of the car, Donna comes around the hedges into the driveway. Both stop dead in their tracks.
Her hair's red again. She's wearing jeans and a tighter band tee. She looks fucking gorgeous.
"Hey." he says to her, leaning on the car door.
"What's up?" she asks in return.
"Hyde sent me out here to get his stash, but it's not in here." she laughs.
"You fell for that again? He probably just wanted you out of the basement. We all know Hyde would never tell any of us where he actually keeps his stash."
"Alright then," he says, accepting the burn. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm meeting Jackie to go to the mall."
"Really? 'Cause Hyde told me she's going to be in Oshkosh this weekend with her cousins."
"That bitch! This was a setup."
"Setup for what?" he ducks down as a joke. "Is there a hit on me?"
"No, you jerk, they wanted us both here."
"Oh." he says. He didn't realize Hyde cared that much about his and Donna's relationship. "Wait, I'm the jerk! You're the one who kicked me out of your room. I had to do the walk of shame, in front of my parents!"
"Yeah, I know. They told my dad. He made me have the same sex talk with him that we had when I was 13. You'd think it was bad then, but trust me, it's much worse when you're 19!"
"Geez, I'm sorry." Eric winces at the thought of Bob trying to explain the birds and the bees. Bob was naive to think that Donna had never had sex before, considering that Bob had caught Eric multiple times sneaking out of Donna's room. Eric always told him he just got lost on his way back from Kelso's.
"No, it's fine. But, you're the jerk because you broke up with me in a stupid letter!" He knew that the letter was going to come up again. And that was totally a mistake on his end. He couldn't muster up the balls to call her and do it over the phone.
"Listen, Donna, I never wanted to hurt you."
"Really, because you sure did!" she says, tears swelling in her eyes.
"Donna, can we just forget the last eight months have happened and start over?" he says, closing the door to the El Camino and taking a step towards her.
"Eric, as nice as that may sound to you, no. I don't want to forget that it happened. I love you, Eric, and you dumped me in a letter!"
"I didn't want you to think you were stuck with me! I wanted you to be able to live your life!"
"But I was okay with being stuck with you! Why can't you understand that!"
"Donna, I'm sorry."
"Was there another woman? Is that why?" she spits out, asking the question she had been wondering all along.
"No, Donna! It has always been just you. You know that. I only love you."
"Really? 'Cause sometimes you have a really hard time showing it."
"Donna, look, I don't want to fight with you. Can't we at least just be friends for the time being? Like way back when? We've done it before." Eric begins to plead with her. He knows that she won't remain mad at him forever.
"Fine. Let's just go downstairs."
Hyde can see that their plan worked as Eric and Donna enter the basement together.
"So, did the boy and girl next door make up?" Hyde teases.
"Sort of." Eric says bluntly and takes the burning joint out of the ashtray.
"Hyde, we really do not appreciate being lied to. We know that was a setup."
"Yeah, it was a setup, but it worked." Hyde did have them there. If it weren't for Hyde and Jackie arranging them to meet in the driveway, Donna probably would've left for Madison without saying goodbye. Eric would leave for Africa again, and their relationship would go nowhere. It probably would have ended. Sometimes, they don't grasp how much their dumbass friends have their backs.
Eric takes a long hit on the joint and turns to give it to Donna. She declines, so he hits it again before returning it to Hyde.
"Did I mention how much I missed this?"
ʚ ɞ
Soon, before they knew it, it was time for Donna to leave for Madison. She packed up her belongings neatly into five big boxes. She couldn't believe her life fit into only five boxes! She remained friendly with Eric over the past week, spending time with him every day since the driveway setup. She forgot how much she missed her best friend, too.
Eric has yet to reveal to his parents that he would be returning to Africa in a week. They had questioned him as to why he didn't unpack everything, and he told them he wasn't ready to yet. They had just assumed that he was being lazy.
Although he didn't tell Hyde directly, Hyde knew. It was little clues that led Hyde to that conclusion, such as Eric being hesitant to make plans and very reclusive in terms of his future. Hyde just hadn't figured out the day that he was leaving yet. He has noticed Eric wouldn't make any plans after the fourteenth of the month, insisting that he needed to check his schedule before he committed to everything. If he couldn't find Forman after that date, he'd know where he went.
It's 9am on a chilly Wisconsin Friday, and the Pinciotti's are outside their house, packing Donna's life into the car to take her off to Madison. She hadn't expected this day to be as painful as it was. Leaving Point Place is something she looked forward to so badly, but, now that it's here, she doesn't want to go. She doesn't want to leave her friends or her father behind. But, she knows that this is something that she has to do.
Leaving for Madison has given her some perspective into what Eric was going through when he left for Africa. She is now able to understand the drive that he had, she understands why he was so insistent on leaving. He was leaving for the sake of his future, for their future. She has forgiven him on the inside. Now, she just has to put that into words.
She believes that she is going to be able to have a relationship with him again when they both return to Point Place in May. She thinks that right now would be poor timing, with both of them being away from home and thousands of miles apart. She is actually kind of looking forward to getting back together with him. She knows that he feels the same way.
Both of them promised to write to each other. Jackie made her promise to call her at least twice a week so Jackie can fill her in on everything that is going on. Jackie doesn't know what she is going to do without Donna being a couple minutes away. Donna can't believe it, but she doesn't know what she's going to do without Jackie or Hyde, or the rest of their friends. She couldn't imagine that leaving Point Place was going to be this difficult.
As Bob places the final box into the trunk and slams the door shut, the gang walks up the Pinciotti driveway to say goodbye to Donna. Tears are forming in her eyes as she recognizes this is the last time they are all going to be together until at least May. She hopes she can stop by and see Jackie and Hyde from time to time, but she knows that this is going to be the last time she sees Eric for four months. She tells herself, "you survived eight months without him, four will be like no time." She knows that isn't true. She is going to be struggling everyday for the next four months.
Even though they aren't officially dating again, they both consider each other the love of their lives. Neither of them believe they are going to find somebody else.
Jackie is the first one to approach Donna. She hugs her and hands her a bag filled with various items, ranging from new, expensive makeup, and flannels to keep her warm during the Wisconsin winter. Jackie wants her friend to be prepared for anything.
"I'm gonna miss my lumberjack!" Jackie bursts out in tears. Hyde comes up behind her and begins to rub her back to console her. He doesn't think he's ever seen her cry like this, not even when her mother left or when her father went to jail. Jackie really does love Donna.
By proximity, Hyde is the next person to wish her goodbye. He reaches out to hug her, and slips a small paper bag into her jacket pocket. As he pulls back from the hug, he winks and flashes a big smile. She nods and smiles back at him, mouthing, "thank you." She's also thanking him for not making a big fuss over her departure. He knows she'll be back sooner or later. He's zen like that. Kelso and Fez take their turns to say goodbye. Before she knows it, everybody has gone except Eric.
Eric moves to stand in front of her, and she immediately wraps her arms around him. They stay that way for close to a minute, her slightly rocking with him. She pulls back and lightly kisses his cheek. He hands her a wrapped box as a going-away gift.
"It's nothing important. Open it in the car." she holds back tears and nods. She thanks him and hugs him again, this time very briefly.
"Donna, I hate to cut this short, but we have to start going. Traffic's getting heavy, and we have to be there before noon." Bob chimes in. Everybody can tell he's trying to act tough, but inside, he's falling apart. What is going to do without his baby girl?
Donna climbs into the passenger seat of Bob's flashy Lincoln, looking back at her friends. Bob sets the car in reverse and begins backing out of the driveway. She waves bye to her friends, tears flowing down her face.
"It's going to be okay, baby. You're going to love Madison," he says, crying himself. "Donna, do you know how much I am going to miss you!" her father bursts out.
Suddenly everything has become so real. She's no longer bumming around some dingy basement, smoking pot and having sex in her freetime. She's a woman, a college student pursuing a degree in journalism.
"Donna, I am so proud of you. Your mother is, too. I spoke to her this morning," Bob says in between sobs. Her parents spoke to each other? She reaches back into the backseat of the car and grabs the present Eric gave her. His mother must have wrapped it for him, it is wrapped so beautifully. It is covered in a green foil paper with silver ribbon surrounding it, and a big silver bow on top. She carefully tears the paper to get to the present underneath.
The box is an old Chuck's shoebox, she smiles to herself when she sees it. She gently lifts off the top of the box and is greeted with white tissue paper. On top, there is a picture frame facing down. She picks it up and flips it over. Her heart melts as she sees what it is. It is a picture of him and her, probably taken about two years ago. They are standing next to each other in his mother's kitchen, looking at each other, so totally in love. It is obvious neither of them knew that photo was being taken, it was likely Kitty being sneaky with the camera. That woman loved taking photos!
She moves the tissue paper to reveal one of Eric's sweatshirts neatly folded, the same sweatshirt that he is wearing in the photo. She runs her hands over the soft fabric as another tear runs down this face. She's touched this sweatshirt so many times, and she's taken it off of him several times, too. But this time, running her hands across it, she knows it is now her sweatshirt. Her piece of Eric. Who knew a gift this simple could make her feel so special?
She loved him so much, it made her heart hurt.