A/N

The last five chapters all take place across ~5 days, and all of them are Saturdays. I can't. *facepalm* Pretend it went from Tuesday to Saturday, just for my sanity.

ʚ ɞ

After all that we've been through

I will make it up to you, I promise to

And after all that's been said and done

You're just the part of me I can't let go

ʚ ɞ

Outside of the Kelso home, Hyde leans against the El Camino, waiting for his friends who are still inside the house. Jackie is already seated inside the car, playing with the radio. He sees Eric come down the driveway, sans Donna.

"Where's your neighbor girl?" he asks his friend as he approaches the car.

"Brooke wanted to talk to her." Eric opens his car door and leans in to start the car. He reaches into the console and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, and plucks one out from the center. He slams the door shut and moves to stand next to Hyde. He lights the cigarette and leans back against the car as well.

"That can't be good."

"No, it can't," he shakes his head as he takes a drag from the burning cigarette in his hand. "I don't understand why she hates me so much."

"Nah, man, It's not hatred, just distrust." he pats his friend on the shoulder.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"Wasn't trying to," Hyde grins. Eric chooses not to respond and stands beside his friend in silence. Just another moment later, Donna walks down the driveway.

"Hey," she says, breaking the silence.

"Hey," Eric responds, tossing the butt of the cigarette on the ground. He lifts himself off of Hyde's car, and stands beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "What did Brooke say?"

"Oh, nothing."

"I don't think that was nothing." Hyde chimes in.

"She just wanted to say goodbye." She doesn't appreciate him digging into her business.

"That's it?" Eric asks.

"Yes!" Donna says, irritated.

"Whoa, calm down, Big Red." Hyde holds his hands out.

"I just don't like that you think you need to be involved in everything I do."

"He's the one who asked!" Hyde defends himself.

"Donna, it's no big deal. If it's nothing like you said, let's move on." Eric tilts his head to place a kiss on her cheek. "Let's just have fun tonight."

"He's right, Donna." Hyde grins.

"Do you want a kick to the shin?" Donna asks. As he's getting ready to respond, the passenger door opens and Jackie sticks her head out of the car. ABBA is playing quietly from the speakers.

"What is taking you guys so long?"

"Nothing, Jackie." Hyde looks back into the car. "We're getting ready to leave now."

"Good, I was getting impatient."

"Are you ever patient?" he picks at her as she closes the car door. "Look, Forman, follow me. I know a place not too far from here."

"How is it you 'know a place' in every city?"

"Don't worry about it."

ʚ ɞ

The first bar Hyde took them to was greeted with instant disapproval from Jackie. She said that it was small, dank, dirty, and all other synonyms to say she did not like it. She thought the wait was too long, the people there smelled, and that it was simply too crowded for them to stay any longer.

"Jackie, it's a bar, in Chicago, on a Saturday night. It's going to be crowded." Hyde remarks as he pulls open the heavy door to exit the bar, Jackie's hand in his and Eric & Donna following close behind.

"I know that, Steven. I'm just saying I don't like that."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Find a classier, less busy establishment!"

"Good luck with that." Eric remarks, butting into their argument. Walking down the street to the next bar, the group split, with Jackie and Donna walking ahead, Eric and Hyde following behind them. Hyde slows down and uses this time for a more one-on-one welcome, while still keeping a close eye on Jackie in front of him.

"So, what's new?" Hyde starts the conversation.

"Me and Donna are together again."

"I can see that, genius."

"You asked what was new! That's it!"

"Geez, man, calm down. I think both you and Donna are PMS-ing or some shit. Shared hormones. I heard those things can line up 'round that time of the month."

"Ha ha, real funny, Hyde." Eric says, pulling out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"Man, I thought you said you were quitting? That's your second one in like an hour."

"I did say that. I'm gonna quit, I swear. Once I'm done this pack, I'm done." he stresses, putting the cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

"Well, how many do you have left?" Eric takes the pack out of his pocket again and opens it to show Hyde. He has about 6 left in the box. "When did you start that pack?"
"This morning," he says, almost ashamed.

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy to quit."

"Nah, man. I've got this. I had to give up Playboys when I went to Africa. Now, that was a serious addiction." Eric smirks, leaning his elbow on Hyde's shoulder. Hyde shrugs it off.

"I don't think a porn addiction is equivalent to a drug addiction."

"I'm not addicted to drugs," Eric tries to argue. "It's just a habit."

"What do you think is in cigarettes? Nicotine, which is a drug. It's not 'just a habit'. You're addicted to a drug right now."

"Fine, I'm addicted to a drug." Eric admits, finishing his cigarette and tossing it to the ground. His relationship with Hyde was a unique one. Besides Donna, Hyde was his closest friend, and likely will be for life due to Hyde's relationship with his parents. They were each other's best friend at this point, they could pick on each other without harm, criticize things that the other one does. But, they also shared a brotherly love that Eric didn't have with Fez or Kelso. He honestly thinks he can call Hyde his brother, with everything they have gone through together. Hell, his parents call him his son. Not just that, their favorite son!

The girls ahead of them stop, they found another bar they want to go in. It's standalone, and looks larger than the previous one. Hyde stops to examine it, he knows what a dingy bar looks like. He doesn't see any of the tell-tale signs, like needles around the entrance, prostitutes soliciting on the side. He thinks it seems alright.

"Let's go in." He nods, pulling open the door and holding it open for his friends. This bar is nicer than the last one, but still very crowded. The music is loud, the lights are dim. Hyde settles at the bar, Jackie right beside him with her arm wrapped around his waist. Donna and Eric chose to sit at a table on the outskirts, in a secluded corner with very poor lighting.

"Did you have fun today?" Eric asks, taking a swig of his beer. It was a cheap brew, and he was reminiscing of the pricier one he had that afternoon with Kelso.

"Loads." Donna rolls her eyes. "Jackie and Angie got into a fight over something, I don't even know what. They were completely fine one moment, then, the next, they were going at each other's throats. I actually had to pull Jackie away from her."

"Geez. What did you guys do then?"

"I took Jackie out to the car, Brooke stayed inside to talk it out with Angie. She said Angie felt better when she left."

"Did Jackie tell you anything?"

"No, she just kept saying 'that bitch, that bitch'."

"Do you think it was Angie's fault?"

"It was probably a combination of both of them. I gotta talk to Brooke to figure out what happened. If she kicks Angie out of the wedding, she's down a bridesmaid. So, she'll have to find a new one, or drop a groomsman." She takes a sip of her cocktail.

"'Y'know, back when they first got engaged, my mother suggested she asked Laurie to be a bridesmaid." Donna chokes on her drink.

"Really?" she coughs, "That's the stupidest thing I've heard all day. They hate each other! Like, absolutely despise one another. I would use the term arch nemeses."

"That's what I thought, too!"

"While we're on the topic," she takes another sip of her drink, "you and the other guys need to get fitted for your suits. Jackie's going dress shopping next Saturday, and bridesmaids will go the following Friday."

"Alright." Eric nods. "Are you tired of the maid of honor duties, yet?"

"Actually, she doesn't ask a lot from me. She asked me to run down to the post office this week to mail out the invitations, but that's it. I think she'll want more from me the closer we get, but there's still six months 'till the wedding."

"That's good, right?"

"I guess. I'm looking forward to the wedding."

"I am, too. Hyde told me they're having an open bar."

Just as Eric says his name, Hyde appears behind them, Jackie in tow.

"She wants to go to the next bar."

"Already?" Eric whines, just finishing his beer.

" Way too loud." Jackie chimes in, hand covering one ear for dramatic effect. Her other hand is firmly wrapped around Hyde's.

"Jackie, you're being way too picky for bars in a big city," Donna chimes in.

"I have taste, Donna! It's not my fault."

"Fine. Let's go." Eric says, pushing in his seat. "M'lady?" he says, extending his hand towards Donna, lifting her from her seat. She blushes, and follows them out of the bar.

ʚ ɞ

They ended up going to two more bars before settling on a meager bar on the far outskirts of the city. And, ironically, the closest one to Brooke and Kelso's house. It was clean, not too busy, and had live music playing on a modest stage. The group sat around a circular table near the bar. Eric had purchased another beer, and Donna and Jackie ordered margaritas. After about another hour or so, the band finished playing and the bar slowly became empty. Soon, they were the only patrons sitting at a table, and there were only two (they assumed) regulars sitting at the bar.

"Looks like we should call it a night." Hyde says, stretching back in his seat. He looked down at his watch, and the time read just past 2 in the morning. "Shit, I think we should really call it a night!" His reaction caused the rest of them to look at the time, and all of them had the same realization.

"Alright, man." Eric says, getting up from his seat. They exit the bar and start walking down to the first bar they went to, their cars still parked there. Eric and Donna walk hand in hand down the sidewalk, while Jackie and Hyde are just a couple feet ahead of them, wrapped up in their own conversation.

"What do you say we get a hotel room for the night?" Donna asks him.

"Oh, really?" Eric says, waggling his eyebrows. "We're gonna make a night out of it, afterall?"

"Not for that," she giggles, playfully hitting his chest. "I just don't want to drive the three hours back right now."

"I gotta be honest with you, Donna." he takes a deep breath, "I didn't want to either. I was gonna pretend to stumble down the street so you would drive." She drops her jaw, and hits his chest again.

"Not cool, Eric!"

"I know! That's why I didn't!" He attempts to justify himself. She laughs to herself, he really was her dork.

As they approach the cars, they linger outside to finish any last goodbyes.

"Do you wanna just follow me back, Forman?" Hyde asks, leaning back on the Camino. Jackie and Donna are next to the Cruiser, Jackie doing most of the talking. Eric stands beside the Camino, next to Hyde.

"Nah, man, we're getting a hotel room." He boasts, a stupid grin on his face.

"Alright!" Hyde grins, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Good for you, Forman."

"Thanks, man, but, alas," Eric says, shaking his head and looking down at the ground. "There will be no sex tonight. Donna said so." Hyde bursts out in laughter.

"You are so whipped by a woman who doesn't even put out!"

"Hey, hey. Sex isn't the most important thing." he then lowers his tone, "but, it's a very important thing. I don't know how much longer I can last."

"You'll live." Donna says, her and Jackie walking up to the Camino. She heard everything he had just said. "Hyde, I don't appreciate that comment. I'm not some hooker who will have sex with any man after the first date."

"I'm not any man! I'm your boyfriend." he holds his hands out in front of him, "Please, have sex with me!" he nearly begs.

"See, look at what you did to him! No man should have to do this!" He laughs at his friend's expense.

"Steven, you've begged for it before." Jackie tells him.

"Nuh-uh." he says, trying to keep his zen.

"Yuh-huh! Are you forgetting we didn't make love again for three weeks when we got back together again?"

"Man, three weeks?" Eric laughs, "I don't think you've got any room to talk."

"Fine, let's go, Jackie." Hyde says. After she gets into the car, he turns back to Eric, just for one more remark. "Maybe I had to wait three weeks, but remember, I have a better chance of getting some tonight than you do!"

"You don't know that!" he points a finger at Hyde.

"Oh, yes, I do!" He says, getting into the car. Eric flips him off before getting into the Cruiser, where Donna is already sitting with the car turned on.

"Are you going to make me wait three weeks?" He looks at her.

"I was thinking six." she giggles

ʚ ɞ

They found a cheap hotel about twenty minutes from the first bar. It was in the suburbs and seemed decent on the outside. Eric paid for the room while Donna lingered around the lobby.

"Let's go," he walks up to her, dangling the keys from his pointer finger. She takes them from his hand and reads the room number, 213. They head up narrow stairs to their room, a small lodging with short walls. The bathroom is located right inside the door, and Donna darts in as Eric walks into the main room. There's a double bed situated in the center of the room, bedside tables on either side. He walks and opens the drawer of the one closest to him. As he suspected, a Bible sits inside. He walks around the small enclosure, opening the drawers of the dresser, pulling open and closing the curtains.

He sits down on the bed closest to the door, waiting for Donna to come out of the bathroom. He plays with his hands, bored out of his mind. Just another moment later, Donna emerges from the bathroom and sits beside him on the bed. He stretches, using a move from high school to wrap his arm around her shoulder. She smiles and holds onto his hand. There's a clock planted on the wall across from them, reading nearly half past three.

"Shit, I probably should've called my parents." he sighs.

"At your grown age?" she laughs, knowing her father didn't mind she spent the night in the city. He knew where she was going, and she usually always spent the night with the Kelso's when she visited.

"You've met my mother."

"I have," she responds. "She's probably already put out the missing person's report. You've got flyers all over town!"

"You're probably right."

"I know I am." she giggles again. She reaches back and removes his arm from her shoulder and places his hand in her lap, still holding on firmly. "Would you ever want to marry me?"

"What kind of question is that?" he asks her. "Is this because of Jackie?"

"Sort of? I was just thinking about it." He lifts one leg onto the bed, turning himself to face her head on.

"Of course I want to marry you." he runs his other hand across her arm.

"You mean that?" she whispers. "You backed out the first time."

"I did," he treads lightly with his words, "and you know I'm sorry about that. But, you know we both agreed it was too early for that."

"But, what if, Eric? What if we actually got married?"

"Donna," he places his free hand over hers, "I love you, you know I do. I love you so very, very much. Let's not worry about 'what if's'. Let's live in the moment now." he places a kiss on her cheek. "We don't need marriage to tell us that we love each other."

"I guess you're right." she says, sniffling.

"Donna, Donna. Don't cry." he reassures her, "It's all going to work out, alright? We're moving in together, right?"

"Yeah.." she nods, "Next semester."

"So, that'll give us a taste of married life." he tries to explain to her. "Then, when the time comes, when we're ready, we'll get married. Okay?"

"You promise?" He leans forward and kisses her lips.

"I promise."

"I just don't want you to hurt me again." she says, a tear running down her face.

"Donna," he scoots forward to wrap her in a hug, "why would you think that?" She pulls back from him to look him in the eyes.

"That's what Brooke wanted to tell me. She told me 'Don't let him break your heart again.'" she whispers, holding onto his arms. "Eric, she's right. You've broken my heart too many times." Right now, his heart is aching seeing how distressed she is, thinking he will hurt her again. Part of him aches just for breaking her heart in the first place.

"Donna, I'm sorry," he pulls her in for a hug again. She holds him there, feeling his embrace. "Donna, this morning when I woke up." he pulls back from the hug, "I thought to myself, 'This is where I want to be for the rest of my life. With her. I want to be with her.' Donna, I love you and that isn't going to change."

"I know that, and I believe you, but I just can't help but think of what she said."

"Donna, I get that she's just looking out for you, but listen to me. Eric. Your horny nerd boy," she can't help but smile, "I'm telling you I love you. And I promise I will never make you feel the way you felt before again. I promise you." he pushes his forehead against hers. "I'm just so sorry for all of this." he whispers.

Donna was good at bottling up her emotions. But, right now, it's just all coming out. It's a combination of just about everything that is causing her reaction right now. Him leaving abruptly, the break up, the failed reunion, Jackie's wedding, all of it. His mother's nagging piled a little more on her plate, but Brooke's comment is the one that really threw her over the edge. She needed to address it before it ate at her any longer.

She held onto him, clinging to his shirt and crying silently into his shoulder. He patted her back and ran his hands through her hair, trying to calm her down. She found it ironic that the boy she was crying about was the same boy who was comforting her through this mess. She pulls back from him and sniffles again. He reaches his hand up to wipe the tears off of her face. He braces himself for what she is going to say next, afraid she's going to burst into tears again.

"God, I could really use a cigarette right now," she whispers to him.

"So could I!" he smiles, making her laugh. "I've got something better, though." He gets off of the bed and pulls his pack of cigarettes, and pulls out a joint tucked inside. "Courtesy of Hyde. He passed it to me as we were leaving."

"That is much better," she says, standing up as well.

"Then, what do you say we go smoke this then?"

"I'm in." she says, taking the joint from his hand.

˚ʚ ɞ˚

They snuck downstairs and hid behind the hotel until the joint was completely burned. The smell of marijuana is like no other, and they didn't want to be charged for smoking in the room. The smell wafted through the air, however, and both were surprised nobody came around to tell them to stop. They didn't exchange any words while smoking, they sat in silence. That was something they both came to appreciate, the ability to sit with each other in comfortable silence. They just took turns taking hits from the joint and passing it back and forth. Both of their highs were strong, and something they both needed.

The sun started to come up by this point, both of them up for nearly twenty four hours now. They go back up to their room, tired as hell. Eric pulls up the covers of the bed and sits down on the sheets.

"You meant what you said earlier?" she asks him, the first time either of them had spoken since they went outside to smoke.

"Yes, I did." he tells her. "I love you, and that isn't going to change." She walks towards the bed and stands in front of him. She leans down and cups his face in her hands.

"I love you, too." she kisses him. She pulls back slightly, "Now, take your shirt off." she whispers.

"Really? Are you sure?" his eyes light up, he grips at the bottom of his shirt.

"No, not for that." she smiles. "I want to wear it to bed. I can't sleep in this top." He looks straight ahead at her blouse - her breasts right in front of his face - and examines it. It did look pretty uncomfortable to sleep in.

"Fine." he says, grinning. He stands up, pulls his shirt over his head and hands it to her. Her eyes immediately dart back to the wound across his abdomen.

"Are you sure that's nothing? It looks like it hurts."

"Are we back to this again?" he asks, placing his hand over his injury.

"Yes! I'm worried about you." he moves her chin to look right at him.

"I'm fine, I promise." he kisses her. She pulls back to remove her own top and discard it to the ground. His eyes go wider than before, she's wearing the pink bra from earlier. She reaches behind her back and unhooks her bra, it falls onto the ground beside her top. He thinks she's doing this now just to mess with him.

"Like what you see?" she giggles, pulling his shirt over her head.

"Uh, yeah I do!" he laughs as she discards her bottoms as well. He takes this time to tug off his jeans, knowing he can't sleep in them either. He slides over on the bed, giving her room to join him. "C'mere," he says, lifting the blanket for her. She happily obliges and slips in beside him. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close to him, appreciating the warmth she's radiating in his grasp. They start to drift off to sleep, holding each other.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." he whispers in her ear.

"So do I."

A/N

Eric and Donna definitely needed to talk some things out before the relationship progressed any further. She had a ton of bottled up feelings, and felt like she couldn't just jump back into the relationship just yet. Their conversation reassured her that they were ready to be together again. I hope you guys can understand.

As always, feedback is appreciated.