Monday, November 2nd, 2014

Four Months Before Not What He Seems Premieres

It was a rainy Monday afternoon, and Hazelle and Jocelyn were on their way home from an uneventful indoor band practice. Jocelyn watched with detached amusement as Hazelle's fingers wrapped tighter around the wheel with every drop of rain that hit her windshield. It wasn't a secret that Hazelle was a cautious driver, and rain was one of her worst-case scenarios. Rolling her eyes as Hazelle surveyed the nearly empty high school parking lot for other cars, Jocelyn reached for the radio and perked at the first song that came on.

"Crank it!" Jocelyn exclaimed, and spun the volume dial all the way up before Hazelle could respond.

Much to Jocelyn's delight, Hazelle cringed when she recognized the song. "Jocelyn, you don't even like Meghan Trainor," she commented. "Plus this song's over-played."

"Yeah, but I know the rap!" Jocelyn was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement to show off her newfound "rap skills."

Hazelle snorted. "You know the rap?"

"Um, yeah!" Jocelyn felt slightly offended that Hazelle would even doubt her ability to learn a rap. "Watch me a bust a rhyme here."

As the song neared the end of the first chorus, Jocelyn took a deep breath, ready to begin her freestyle debut. "Boy look at me—Damnit!" How had she had gotten the wrong part of the song?

Hazelle sniggered, keeping her eyes on the road. "Nice one."

Jocelyn, resilient, grinned. "I'll get it next time."

Of course you will, Hazelle's unconvinced look seem to say.

At the end of the second chorus, Jocelyn began her rap again, only to be interrupted by an interlude of music.

"What the heck?" she shouted, indignant. Hazelle laughed again, now amused. After three more failed rapping attempts, the song ended, and they were in hysterics.

"Maybe they don't have the rap in the radio edit?" Hazelle suggested, trying hard to curb her laughter. It was distracting her driving.

"I guess so," Jocelyn laughed. "I'mma do it now. Prepare your body!" She took a deep breath and said in a rush, making crazy hand gestures, "Boy look at me in my face, and tell me that you're not about all this bass!"

There was a beat of silence that was only filled by commercials on the radio.

"That's it?" Hazelle asked.

"Yeah," Jocelyn replied. "That's the only part I know."

"All that for one line?" Hazelle exclaimed.

Jocelyn grinned. "Yeah, I just know the beginning of the rap cause this song is played so much."

"I want my money back."

"You ain't gettin' it, sucka!"

Hazelle rolled her eyes and smiled, clearly focusing her attention back to the road.

Just then, Taylor Swift's newest song came on, and Jocelyn squealed in delight, quickly reaching for the radio dial. But as her fingers brushed the buttons, a bolt of electricity zapped the car, causing it to shake violently.

"What the—!" Hazelle's face went pale as they approached a stoplight. Sensing Hazelle's panic (and also freaking out herself), Jocelyn wasn't quite sure what happened next. Jocelyn put her hand on the dashboard to settle herself, and almost immediately felt as if she could see the inner electrical workings of the vehicle. Channeling the energy, she sent a surge through to the breaks, applying them just in time, and causing the car to come to a screeching halt just at the stop line.

Shaking and hyperventilating, Hazelle turned to face her friend. "What the hell just happened?" she asked, fear in her eyes.

Jocelyn winced, rubbing her fingers together. "Ummm...I guess I can mess with electricity within stuff other than lights?"

Hazelle's hands were shaking as she edged up to take a right. But in her panic, she didn't notice an oncoming car and almost pulled out right into it, if not for Jocelyn's warning and the other car's honking.

"Jesus, Haze," Jocelyn snapped. "What's up with you? We could've gotten into an accident!"

Hazelle was white as a sheet as she pulled over to the side of the road. She wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans, taking a deep breath. "Sorry," she breathed. "God, sorry. I, uh...I don't know what came over me."

Jocelyn scrutinized her friend. She hadn't seen her look that freaked out since their time in Gravity Falls. "Is this about my electric powers?" she asked. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't know it was gonna happen."

"It's not all that…" Hazelle coughed out a laugh. "Driving just kinda freaks me out, you know? I make stupid little mistakes." She rubbed her hands on her pants once more. "And that whole electric thing didn't help. How the hell did that come about anyway?"

"I don't know...what, are you, like, scared of driving?"

"Umm...a little? I don't know, it does freak me out a bit…"

"WHAT! Why didn't you tell me?" Jocelyn demanded, furious. "Still being nervous behind the wheel can be kinda dangerous, Haze!"

"I—Well—You didn't tell me about the electricity thing!" Hazelle spluttered, still flustered.

Jocelyn threw her hands in the air. "BECAUSE IT JUST HAPPENED RIGHT NOW! How was I supposed to tell you about something I didn't even know existed?! Your being scared of driving thing? Yeah, that's something that exists and that you can tell people. Namely, your best friend."

Hazelle frowned, placing her hands delicately on the wheel. "I thought you'd think I was a baby. I dunno, I guess I felt a little pressured by the whole 'I'm the cool one with a car' thing."

A car sped by, making her jump, and Jocelyn couldn't help but truly realize how easily Hazelle allowed her worry to strangle her. She was so caught up in trying to impress everyone, and being so worried about what other people thought, that she didn't think about herself, or her personal well being.

"Haze…" Jocelyn began. "I don't think you're a baby. But you need to tell me these things, cause now I feel like a total asshole. I wouldn't keep asking you to drive me everywhere if I knew this was how you felt."

Hazelle offered her a small smile. "Well, you are kind of an ass, but not because of this."

"Shut up," Jocelyn laughed, shoving Hazelle's arm.

Hazelle laughed, but was quickly serious again. "But what's up with this electricity thing? This could change a lot if you could figure it out. It might come in handy sometime."

Jocelyn thought for a moment. How had this electricity thing come about? She was panicked, so she only tried to control the situation. But it was so weird. Jocelyn could see the electrical impulses flowing through the car, and knew just how to manipulate them to get what she wanted.

"It's certainly new, that's for sure," Jocelyn mused. "Let's just get on home, alright? Then we can fuck around with it and see how it works."

"Pft, yeah, 'cause that's not dangerous or anything."

"Hey, it worked with the portals! Well, sort of."

Hazelle smiled and then took a deep breath, checking her mirrors before turning back into the road.

Jocelyn stared out the window. She loved Hazelle, but she hoped her incessant need to impress those she cared about didn't come back to haunt her one day. It could be the line between trying to buck up and being a complete idiot.

While Hazelle kept her eyes on the road, Jocelyn couldn't wait to get home to try out her newfound abilities. In fact, she didn't.

Hazelle was too busy with the road to notice the streetlights going out behind her as they passed.

Jocelyn smiled to herself. This was all too easy. She was going to have some fun, no matter how many heart attacks Hazelle had.