WARPED

Chapter 26

Jocelyn woke up, rolled out of bed, and stumbled downstairs to the kitchen. After walking into a few walls (what was up with her house lately?), Jocelyn made it to the kitchen. Yawning, she poured water into the teapot, set it on the stove to boil, and set up a mug with a teabag.

"MOM!" she yelled. "Where is the Splenda?"

"For the last time, Portal Girl," came a grumble from behind her. "You're not in your house! And there's no reason to yell! Ever!"

Jocelyn blinked. "Right." She spent a moment processing what Stan had called her. "Don't call me that." Jocelyn was not a morning person, and it took her at least 20 minutes on a good day to actually wake up. Could Stan blame her for assuming her surroundings were home upon first waking?

"So… do you not have Splenda?" Jocelyn asked as the teapot began to scream.

"Kid, I don't even know what that is," Stan grumbled from behind his newspaper.

"We have raw sugar packets!" Mabel called from the table. "Those work fine!"

Jocelyn accepted two sugars from Mabel and dumped them in her tea mug. She poured in the boiling water, then carried the mug over to the table and sat down next to Dipper, who was wolfing down his cereal.

"What's the rush, Dipping Sauce?" Jocelyn asked, tentatively sipping her tea. She wanted some milk, but she didn't trust what Stan had in the fridge. She'd have to do without. Freaking Stan.

"They're releasing a new video game today, and I'd told Soos I'd go with him to get it." Dipper picked up his bowl and slurped the rest of the milk. "The first fifty customers get the game for free!"

"How...exciting." Jocelyn actually enjoyed video games, and would kick your butt at Mariokart or Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But this early in the morning, she couldn't muster the energy to freak out.

"Hey, maybe I could play with you guys later," Jocelyn called as Dipper made his way to the door.

Dipper fixed his hat on his head and smiled. "Yeah sure, anytime, Portal Girl!" Then he ran out the back door to meet Soos, who was already waiting in his pickup truck.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

"Well, you make portals," said Mabel, picking the marshmallows out of her Auspicious Talismans and popping them into her mouth, "and you're a girl. Sense: I have made it!"

Jocelyn chuckled and looked around. "Where's Hazelle?"

Mabel shrugged. "I don't think she came down yet. She may not even be awake."

"She's probably still asleep," Jocelyn replied, taking a spoonful of Mabel's cereal. "I know she said she hasn't been sleeping too well lately."

"We should sing her a lullaby next time!" Mabel squawked. "Our beautiful voices would put anyone to sleep in a wink!"

"Yeah, the sleep of death," Stan grumbled, sipping his coffee and making some toast.

"Yo, Stan," Jocelyn called. "Do me a solid and make a brotha some toast."

Stan turned around and stared at Jocelyn. "Don't do that."

Jocelyn put on her biggest, cheesiest grin. "May I please have some toast?"

Stan grumbled under his breath and threw two pieces of bread into the toaster.

"Thanks!"

XxX

Breakfast went on without a hitch. Afterward, Jocelyn went up to shower, and then after getting dressed and braiding back her wet hair, she went back to the hidden room where she'd found the viola to practice.

Jocelyn gently picked up the instrument and made sure it was strung nice and tight. While she did, her thoughts went to Hazelle. It was nearly noon, and Hazelle was still asleep. Just how much sleep had she been losing after the past couple nights?

Jocelyn frowned. It wasn't like Hazelle to keep stuff to herself, especially if it was serious. The two of them shared everything. Hazelle was definitely the more introverted of the two, but wouldn't she tell Jocelyn if something was up?

Shaking her head clear of worry, Jocelyn set up some sheet music and started to play. The music of the viola soothed her thoughts. She was almost lost as she played, but this bliss was shattered upon hearing voices outside the room.

Jocelyn scowled, her concentration broken. She listened, wondering who was about to start telling off for disrupting her.

"I heard you were having some sleep troubles!"

Jocelyn furrowed her brow. Lucy? What the hell? It was Lucy but it...wasn't. It was weird.

"Um...kinda...I mean, I dunno. I'm fine."

That was Hazelle. Jocelyn put down the viola, and crept out of the room to investigate. Peeking around the corner, she saw Hazelle, still in her pajamas, at the end of the hall, and Lucy, hands on her hips, grinning deviously at Hazelle.

What the hell? Jocelyn repeated in her head.

"A little birdie told me you've been havin' some pretty bad dreams, huh?" Lucy said, the smile in her voice.

Hazelle flinched. The bags under her eyes didn't look as bad, but they were still there, weighing heavily around her face. "That's none of your business. Luce, what's up? You look...weird."

"Well, we're in Gravity Falls!" Lucy boomed, laughing. "How else is there to look? Weird is the norm, and the norm is the weird, amiright?"

Hazelle looked uncomfortable. "Um...yeah. Right."

"Anyway," Lucy said, walking closer, which just made Hazelle backpedal in response, "tell me about those bad dreams! I wanna hear about 'em. Every. Last. Detail."

Hazelle frowned. "Who told you I've been having bad dreams?"

"I told you." Lucy's voice took on a dangerous sheen. "A little birdie. Lemme guess: some bad dreams about a certain devilishly handsome triangle?"

Hazelle paled, backing up so far she smacked into the wall. Lucy was a mere five feet away. "H-how did you—"

"In your nightmares, is he hovering above you in an empty stone labyrinth? Telling you to find the way out, and if you don't in time, the passageways will all lock and you'll be lost forever?"

Hazelle slipped on the carpeting and lost her footing, landing on her back. She scrambled back to her feet, glaring. "S-stop it Luce—"

"And so you try to find a way out," Lucy carried on, practicing speaking as if she was telling a nursery rhyme. "But the longer you look, the more lost you get. The more lost you get, the more your emotions swirl out of control. And the more frustrated you get, the more your powers start to act up."

"Lucy—"

"And then you finally lose control of them, opening a tiny portal that sucks everything up into oblivion." Lucy laughed. "A tiny, pathetic, wisp of a portal. A portal, that, when thinking about it, reminds you a looot of yourself." With every word, Lucy got closer, cornering Hazelle. "It reminds you that you're a tiny, pathetic, wisp of a human. And that it's not something that's ever going to change, no matter what dimension you're in."

Jocelyn's blood was boiling. No one put Hazelle in a corner.

"What the FUCK is your problem?!" Jocelyn yelled, coming out from around the corner.

Lucy turned, and a look of surprise quickly passed across her face. As this happened, something flickered behind her eyes, then vanished.

Hazelle hurriedly tiptoed away from the corner, thankful for the distraction.

An ugly smile wound its way across Lucy's face. "Why hello there... Portal Girl."

Jocelyn's eyes flashed dangerously, and the lights overhead flickered. "Don't you dare call me that."

"Why shouldn't I?" Lucy sneered. "It's accurate."

Jocelyn took a deep, shuddering breath. She had to keep it together—she couldn't open a portal in the Mystery Shack. "I'm gonna give you three seconds to get the fuck away from her."

"Or what? You'll send me to another dimension?"

Jocelyn clenched her fists. Keep it together Joss. You are in control.

"Don't tempt me. I don't know what the fuck your problem has been lately, but you'd better knock it off."

Lucy smiled and tilted her head. "Or what?"

"Get. Out."

Lucy fluffed out her short, springy hair and snorted. "Okay, fine. Later, Portal Girl." Her eyes swiveled to the side. "See ya round, Hazelle."

With a leap in her step, Lucy went into the adjacent room, opened the window, swung herself onto the roof, and was gone.

Jocelyn waited until Lucy was out of earshot before screaming and punching the nearest wall. She buried her face in her hands and screamed again. Jocelyn hated feeling powerless, and she had almost lost it just then. She hated feeling out of control.

Jocelyn set her jaw and turned to Hazelle, who was staring at her, wide-eyed. She could feel a headache coming on. "Are you okay?"

"I just—I—I'm fine." Jocelyn had never seen Hazelle look so panicked. Her eyes were bulging out of her head. Had it been that obvious that Jocelyn had almost lost control? "Oh my God. Oh my—shit. Shit." She grabbed Jocelyn's arm raced for the stairs.

"What the—Hazelle, what's going on?" demanded Jocelyn.

"We gotta find Stan, Dipper, and Mabel!" Hazelle hissed. "I think Stan's in the store, Mabel may be in the den, agh, oh jeez—"

"Haze! What's wrong? Why aren't we talking about the hell just happened with Lucy?"

Hazelle frowned and met Jocelyn's eyes, and Jocelyn felt a jolt. She'd never seen Hazelle so grim before. Hazelle knew something—something terrible.

"Joss," Hazelle breathed. "That wasn't Lucy."