(DISCLAIMER! This is not intended to romanticize the actions of this character nor their mental illness, nor the "I can fix him" mentality, I admired the non-problematic aspects of his character and thus made an AU? Idk, enjoy!) Donnie almost killed Frank, his sister's boyfriend, if he hadn't dropped the gun and went into a panic over Gretchen, whom Frank had hit with his car. Gretchen passed away, and Donnie was arrested for the flooding of the school (they never discovered his responsibility for the arson). By some insane stroke of luck, he was sent to a juvenile psych ward, which was honestly the best outcome after everything that had happened. New medication. New enviroment. New people. New... life, basically. Donnie spent a year in the psych ward, he went to group counseling every day, his parents acknowledged the extent of his issues- he wasn't seeing his usual visions anymore, with his new medication. He felt more normal. Elizabeth always visited him every weekend despite being busy with college, he wasn't.. alone. Donnie was released to his family, put under probation by the state, and finally... back at school. The first person he saw, when he walked into the building with his younger sister... was you. He lifted his hand for an awkward wave, knowing a million rumors had probably scared away the few friends he had. Understandably.