Author's Note: First and foremost, thanks to my brand new beta! YouThinkYouNoeMe, you're my hero. :D Secondly, the reviewers. Again, you guys blow me away. I'm flattered, like, whoa. Red and Kitty make their first real appearances this chapter and there's lots of fun dumbassness. (In case anyone's wondering, yes, Fez and Kelso will be appearing but not until chapter five or six, at least.) This chapter's song is Down on Me by Janis Joplin. Also, due to vacationing badness, I may or may not be able to post until after the New Year. So, massive apologies in advance. And, I believe that's all. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Check the first chapter!

Tarnished Gem
by, Caliente

Chapter 3: Down on Me

"But Donna," Jackie whined loudly, stamping her foot and crossing her arms in a perfect picture of spoiled princess, "I don't wanna go back over there! It's smelly and dank and dark and I don't think Eric and Steven like me very much. And, since I'm so amazing, there must be something wrong with them. Like, I don't know, maybe they hang out too much in a dark, dank, smelly basement! And –"

"Zip it Jackie," Donna interrupted finally. She'd had about all she could take of the whining. "You promised. And, if you don't come with me, then we're not going to the drive in later. And by 'we', I mean you. Because Eric and I are definitely going." Nothing, not nothing, was going to stop them, damn it. "So, you'll be stuck here alone on a Saturday night." Jackie made a noise like she didn't care. "And wouldn't your friends back at the university just love to know that…?"

Damn it! Jackie stamped her foot again and pouted some more but to no avail. She knew Donna had won. Stupid plaid-wearing Amazon. Damn, damn, damn her. "Fine!" Jackie spun around and marched back into the guest room. "But I'm not going in this outfit – it's from Milan. Just let me change into something from that little so-called mall we went to yesterday and then we can go." She pulled on a pair of designer jeans and a cute little designer shirt with pink and white stripes. Slipping on a pair of impossibly clean white tennis shoes, she smiled at Donna. "Okay, we can go now."

After shooting her a look, Donna rolled her eyes and just shook her head. "Good… you weirdo," she added quietly under her breath. The more time they wasted there, the less time she'd have with Eric. And that just was not okay. Because she loved Eric and… yeah. It was time to go.

"She's coming back here?" Hyde asked, a surprised and assuredly displeased look on his face as he poked half-heartedly at the remainder of his breakfast. "Why?" He paused. "No, wait, better question: Why didn't you warn me yesterday? I could've taken another shift at the hotel. Or moved out of the state. Or jumped off a cliff. But, no. Now I'll have to find some way to get the f–" Just in time, he remembered to censor himself. Red and Kitty would not be pleased if he swore at the breakfast table. "…outta dodge."

"Steven!" Mrs. Foreman admonished lightly, despite the censorship. "That is not a very nice thing to say. I'm sure this girl is very nice." She laughed in her own unique (and only slightly annoying) way. "A debutante from Madison. A Burkhart. Here." Another, more nervous laugh. "I should make pie. Do you think she likes pie? Of course she likes pie. Everyone likes pie…" She hopped up and began bustling around the kitchen.

Without looking up from his paper, Red sighed. "Look what you've done," he said to the boys. "Now she'll be cooking all day and if that Burkhart girl doesn't eat or like her pie, who's going to have to listen to her cry? Me." He looked over his paper at them. "Dumbasses." Shaking his head, he added, "And, you're not going anywhere, Steven. You promised you'd help me with the yard work later."

Eric almost objected to that but caught himself, smiling instead. Oh yeah, for once his un-manliness was going to benefit him! And he'd be able to spend more time with Donna. Granted, Jackie would probably be there too, but, hell, maybe if he gave her something shiny, she'd play with it and leave them alone or something. She'd seemed sensitive enough to their, er, needs yesterday, anyway. Kind of. In a weird spoiled, it's-all-about-me way.

"What're you smiling about?" Red barked, pulling Eric from his thoughts and nearly causing him to leap out of his chair. He peered closer at his son. "Are you on dope?" Eric furrowed his brows with a slightly horrified look on his face and Red sighed, snapping his paper once and peering over it at his son. "Am I going to have to stick my foot up your ass again?"

Hyde snorted. "That might explain the whole drug thing…" he commented off-handedly. Noticing the horrified looks on the Forman's faces, he quickly changed his tune. "Er, I mean, bad Eric! Bad!" Yeah, still with the looks. "O-kay, I'm done now. I'm going to go down to the basement. Hopefully Lady Jekyll won't be willing to set foot down there again. Since it's probably too 'icky' for her or something." He shook his head and rolled his eyes, heading toward the door to the basement.

"Don't forget the yard!" Red yelled after him, shaking his head before looking at Eric again. "And you – wipe that grin off your face. You still have to clean out the garage. And, if you ever want to drive the Vista Cruiser again, you better do it today." That wiped the smile off Eric's face and he returned his attention to his breakfast with a decidedly smaller appetite. Cleaning would definitely cut into his Donna-time. Man! This… sucked!

"You know, you can pay people to do that for you," Jackie commented as she watched Hyde trimming the hedges. She and Donna had come over shortly after he'd left the table and Mrs. Foreman had been nice enough to feed them. Then, they'd headed down to the basement and watched The Price is Right (a horribly boring show but something to do while her companions made doe eyes at each other), until Mr. Foreman had started yelling for Steven and Eric to come up and start helping with chores. Now Donna was helping Eric with the garage and Jackie was… supervising Steven in the garden.

Hyde growled low in his throat. No wonder Red had excused himself from their company a whole ten minutes ago. If he had to listen to this chick yap for another second he was going to be forced to stab something other than the hedge with his trimming shears, preferably her or himself. "Look, why don't you go bug Foreman or Big D?" he suggested with false enthusiasm.

Rolling her eyes, Jackie pointed to the garage. "See how the door is down," she said in a tone that clearly implied that she thought he was an idiot. "I seriously doubt they're doing any kind of cleaning in there. And, I don't want any part of that." Big fat ew there. They probably had gross sex, all humpy and jumbled and… ew. Definitely ew. She blocked the images from her mind and considered the hedge again. "Hey, you know what you should do? Cut it in the shape of an animal! Oh – I know! A puppy! No, a kitty! No, pony! No – unicorn! Yeah! You should make it into a unicorn." She nodded seriously.

"Unicorn," Hyde repeated slowly, turning to look at her with a mixture of feelings coursing through him –confusion, annoyance, exhaustion and inspiration to commit homicide being just a few of them. "Right. I'll be sure to get right on that." His tone was obviously sarcastic but Jackie was oblivious as she grinned at him. "Just as soon as I finish forming the begonias into a heart shape and I spray paint all the leaves pink."

Her face dropped and Jackie glared at him. "You know, you don't have to be mean about it," she huffed lightly. "I mean, I'm not even complaining about being stuck in this nothing town with a scruffy bartender who lives in a dingy basement." She crossed her arms and looked at him in a way that told him she obviously thought she was giving him some kind of blessed gift. "And I'm gracing you with my presence. What more could you want?"

"Sweet, sweet death," he answered dryly. Putting the shears down, just in case, he peered down at her. "Look, I think we're having a failure to communicate here, so I'm gonna help you out." He pointed to himself, "I," he shook his head, "don't like," he pointed to her, "you." Hyde crossed his arms. "I don't want to listen to you talk. I don't want to be 'graced with your presence'. I don't even want to share your oxygen. I just want you to go back to living in whatever la-la land you came from and to leave me alone." He looked at her from behind his glasses. "Have I made myself clear?"

Jackie felt like she'd been hit in the gut by a two-by-four. No one had ever spoken to her like that. Sure, sometimes she heard the girls make catty remarks behind her back and, yeah, sometimes Donna made smart comments but… nothing like that. Without her permission, her eyes welled with tears and she involuntarily sniffled. Why did she even care? He was poor. He was scruffy. He was a loser. But, for whatever reason, she did. And she'd be damned before she let him see her cry. "Crystal," she managed to choke out before turning tail and racing back to the Pinciotti's house, bursting into tears the moment she was safely back in the guest room.

Staring after her for a long moment, Hyde frowned. "Damn it," he muttered, shaking his head. Well, that had gone well. Sure, he'd gotten rid of her. But he'd made her cry. If there was one thing Hyde couldn't take, it was a crying girl. Especially when he was the cause. He felt like dirt. Lower than dirt. Didn't matter that Jackie was a bitch and a half, he was still a jerk. "Dumbass," he scolded to himself.

"Who?" Eric asked with a satisfied smile on his face as he walked over to where Hyde was standing next to the discarded shears, his arm lazily wrapped around Donna's shoulders. Oh yeah, they'd had sex. If Foreman's expression wasn't enough, Donna's flush and the way their clothes were rumpled was a dead giveaway. Apparently, Jackie'd been right about one thing. So she wasn't as dumb as she looked.

Hyde sighed, running a hand through his hair. Damn, damn, damn. "Me," he replied with a frown. And a glare telling Eric not to press any further.

Unfortunately, Donna chose to ignore that look. Unlike her boyfriend, she wasn't afraid of Hyde. It helped that he didn't hit girls. "What'd you do this time?" Her tone was light and teasing until she noticed the absence of her small but loud friend. "And where's Jackie?" She cast a few glances around just to make sure she hadn't missed her someone. "Hyde! Eric told you not to kill her! Her parents have money, you know. They could make you disappear…"

"Shut up," he growled. "I didn't kill her. I just…" The couple looked at him expectantly and he sighed again. "…made her cry, okay?" He glared at the ground and braced himself for their reactions. It was going to be ugly.

And he was right. "You what?" Eric cried, a shocked look on his face. While Donna's eyes simultaneously widened and she yelled, "You jerk!" hitting him hard in the shoulder. They both stood, waiting for him to explain, Donna preparing to hit him again if need be.

"Ow!" he yelped, before holding his hands up in defeat. "Look, you're right. I'm a jerk. I didn't mean to do it." Seeing their unconvinced expressions, he glared at both of them. "Really." Apparently he wasn't the only dumbass around there. Did they honestly think he'd make a girl cry on purpose? He wasn't six anymore and this wasn't a damn school playground. But damn. Seriously. He'd fucked this one up.

Eric seemed to accept what he'd said and shrug it off. Hyde being Hyde or something to that extent. Plus, Jackie was pretty annoying, so he didn't really blame the guy. Donna, on the other hand, was not so forgiving. Not by a long shot. "Well, what are you going to do about it?" she asked, her fist still prepared should he give an answer she didn't like. Dumbass. Didn't he realize Jackie wasn't like them? She wasn't used to constant burns and insults unless she was the one giving them. And, yeah, it could get annoying but there was definitely a line. Hyde obviously crossed it. And he better damn well fix it because she wasn't going to try and tell the Burkharts she'd somehow broken their daughter. God, such a dumbass.

"Do about it?" Hyde repeated slowly. 'Nothing' was the first answer that came to mind but, seeing the look on Donna's face and remembering that he couldn't hit girls back, he quickly decided against that one. "Uh… apologize to her, of course," he answered in a monotone. Damn it. Now he had to deal with crying girl. And, very possible, Red threatening boot-up-assage for not finishing the yard first. How did he get himself into these situations? Foreman. It was definitely Foreman. Something about him, man… he was like a frickin' jinx.

"Good," Donna said stiffly, arms crossed as she waited for him to leave. Eric glanced at his girlfriend with only a little bit of fear in his eyes (at least her crazy redheaded wrath wasn't directed at him for once), then at his best friend with a sympathetic look. Sucked to be him. But, another glance at angry Donna, better Hyde then him. Hell, maybe he could get her to do that thing in bed he'd been wanting to do while she was in an angry haze… Yet another glance at her told him that he'd be dumb to try, lest she turn said wrath onto him.

Nodding, Hyde put the shears down, dusted his hands and headed from the yard toward the Pinciotti residence. He let himself in after a light knock and no response, eager to get this thing over with. Crying girls. His one weakness. Even if Donna hadn't forced him, he probably would've come over himself. Well, maybe. Kinda hard to say, actually. Once he caught sight of the girl, though, he knew the truth. Nothing would've stopped him from making sure she was all right. He was the cause of her pain; it was his responsibility to make sure she was okay. No matter how much he didn't want to…

Hyde knocked lightly on her door, which was slightly ajar, and let himself in. Jackie quickly wiped her eyes, as if afraid to let anyone see her look less than perfect, and looked up to see Hyde enter. Her wide eyes narrowed instantly and she crossed her arms at him. "Oh, it's you," she sniffed, lips in a firm, angry line. "Take a wrong turn somewhere? Because, if I remember correctly, you didn't even want to share the same oxygen as me. I promise, though, I'll only leave you carbon dioxide."

Her tone was as cold as ice, her eyes reflecting feelings much the same. There were no more tears, at least, which was a small comfort to Hyde. A very small comfort. "Look," he rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly, his eyes on the ground, "I'm sorry I made you cry, okay? I didn't mean to. I was just annoyed." He looked at her. "You're very annoying, you know."

"You call that an apology!" Jackie was aghast. He – she – just… gah! What the hell! "Are you serious! That was not an apology. You just insulted me! Again!" She glared harder at him. Like she needed this. Puh-lease. "Look, I don't care, anyway, okay? I mean, it's not like I like you either." Scruffy, poor, bartender. That said it all. "Or want to share your oxygen or whatever. So, don't worry about it. Just go back to being poor in your basement or whatever."

Hyde grit his teeth, trying very hard to restrain himself. See, that's what being nice got him – nothing. "Fine," he said shortly. "Your wish is my command, princess." He turned and started to leave, pausing for a moment at the door to glance back at her. And, in that moment, he felt sorry for her. Like he had that night at the bar. Just the briefest flash of pity, quickly replaced by apathy. Much safer than feeling. Especially for someone like Jaclyn Burkhart who'd never felt anything for anyone that wasn't herself. (Why was Donna friends with her again?) Shaking his head, he left, muttering a quiet, "Whatever," under his breath as he went.

Watching him go, Jackie felt a mixture of emotions. Triumph because she'd definitely won this round. Disappointment that he didn't want to fight her back or apologize more. Annoyance with him for insulting her yet again. Mostly, though, a sinking feeling growing in the pit growing in her stomach. The sinking feeling that refused to let her forget what he'd said. Not the, "I hate you/Don't want to share your oxygen," stuff. That, she could take. Just another burn between them. (They really were good at those.) It was the other thing he'd said.

"…go back to living in whatever la-la land you came from…"

Over and over it played in her mind. Jackie's eyes welled with tears, and she sat back on her bed, willing them and the words to go away. "I can't," she murmured desperately as the first wave broke free and flowed down her cheeks. "I wish I could… God, do I wish… but I just can't." Because it wasn't real. And she knew that. None of it was. Her 'love' with Michael, her parents doting affection, her friends (except Donna and, maybe, Julie and Anna Marie), her entire life – none of it was real. And living it, living in la-la land… it was slowly driving her insane. Or, she thought with a hiccup of a laugh, maybe not that slowly.

Either way, she didn't know what to do. Except, cry until all her tears were gone. Donna came home, at some point during that process, but Jackie had locked her out. "Just giving myself a facial and doing girly things," she'd called through the door. "I'm not presentable. Go back and spend some time with Eric – you deserve it." And, after about a half hour of refusing to let her friend in, she'd relented and left and Jackie had returned to crying.

Eventually, though, the tears did die down. And, after a quick peek to confirm that she was indeed alone, Jackie made a beeline for the bathroom to clean herself up. It took a while but she managed. She was Jaclyn Burkhart, after all. Nothing could stop her from looking flawless, not even red, puffy eyes and mascara lines. And, if she told herself that enough times, she might just start to believe it. Everyone else bought the skin-deep package… why couldn't she?

After a momentary pause, Jackie decided some questions were better left unasked and returned to dealing with the one part of her life she could control – her looks. If nothing else was going to be perfect, she would at least look like everything was. If for no other reason than to show Steven Hyde that he hadn't won. No, not this time. Jackie Burkhart was a formidable adversary and he would be rue the day he ever crossed her. Or, at least, be really, really sorry. Yeah. Definitely.

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