Hazel
Hazel awoke to the feeling of a pinch on her arm. When she had opened her eyes she saw her sister standing over her.
"Wake up," Sadie shoved her.
She only groaned in response. The clock on her nightstand read 6:15 am. Last time Hazel had checked the clock, it was about 4:40 am. Just great. Since she knew she'd be way too tempted to fall back asleep if she was still in bed, she rolled herself onto the floor. Today was her first day of public school after her dad finally decided to transfer her from the hell that was Notre Dame Prep. Today was her first day of Junior year at Dulaney High School. She got up, grabbing her clothes off the bed and throwing them on; A white t-shirt dress, and a jean jacket. She walked to the bathroom, brushing her teeth, throwing her curly, messy hair in a red scrunchie, before putting on some mascara, lip gloss, spraying herself mildly with perfume, and putting on her deodorant. She looked herself in the mirror, sighed, and gave herself a nod of reassurance before heading downstairs.
"Morning," Sadie, and her dad rang out in unison, earning an exhausted groan from Hazel. If it wasn't evident already, Hazel was not a morning person by any means. Hazel continued, despite her sleep deprivation, and made herself a large cup of coffee. After chugging the coffee, she grabbed her keys, threw her dirty white high-top converse, and went out to get in Roscoe, her 1997 Maroon Jeep Wrangler. Too lazy to put the top up, she got in, put her keys in the ignition, turned up the mixtape that was already blasting from her stereo, and she was off. As she was driving, she passed by a gas station and made the decision to get more caffeine. She exited the gas station with 2 cans of Monster Zero in hand, got back in her car and continued her journey.
Alex
Alex leaned against the driver's side back door of Jack's car, chatting while they waited for Rian to arrive. He heard a familiar tune ring through his ears as a dark red jeep pulled up, stealing Rian's usual spot. He immediately recognized the song: Graduate by Third Eye Blind. The tune stopped as she opened the car door. After about a minute, he watched a short brunette wearing earbuds that were blasting so loud he could hear it from 10 feet away, exit the car. She opened a can of Monster, chugged it, and threw it back in the car before slinging a torn-up hunter green backpack over her shoulder and heading towards the school building.
Alex whispered to Jack, " Do you recognize her? 'Cause I don't."
"Nope."
"New girl?" They both mumbled in unison. Rian's beat-up minivan pulls up next to the jeep. He gets out and walks over to Jack and Alex.
"Dude, who the hell took my spot?" He questioned angrily.
"I didn't recognize her, I don't know," Alex answered
"Whatever, let's go," Rian slung his backpack on, walking off. Alex and Jack got up, following Rian.
"What classes do you guys have first?"
"Rian and I have French," Jack said.
"Dammit, I have Spanish. I swear, I've taken Spanish for 5 years and I haven't learned anything. Not to mention, Nelson fucking hates me."
"Sucks to suck, dude. We can't be late, or Ms. Laramie will bitch us out, so see you at lunch, I guess," Rian and Jack walked off. Alex walked in the opposite direction, towards his locker. After putting his things away and grabbing his books, he headed up to Spanish class. As he was turning the corner by the stairs, a small brunette came sprinting through the hallway, slamming into him. Her books fell to the floor, and she almost did too, until Alex caught her by the waist. He had just realized that the girl he had slammed into was the girl from the parking lot.
"Woah, careful," he chuckled. She regained her balance, stepping back from him.
"Thanks," She laughed softly, bending down to pick up her books, "I'm sorry, I should've been watching where I was going." She turned to face him, immediately blushing. Alex blushed as well, finally able to get a good look at her face.
"It's alright, love." Really, Alex? Is that the best you could do? He looked back down at her.
"Uh, do you happen to know where Room 315 is?" She asked, still seeming slightly nervous.
"Yeah, I'm headed there right now, so just follow me. Mrs. Nelson's Spanish class?" He started walking towards the classroom.
"Yep."
"I don't think I've seen you around, so I'm assuming you're new."
"Yeah, I just transferred from NDP. I'm a junior."
"Hey, I'm a junior too! Maybe we'll have some more classes together. I'm Alex by the way. Alex Gaskarth."
"Hazel Valenov."
"Pleasure meeting you, Hazel." They approached Room 315.
"Here we are. Be careful, If you aren't a wizard at Spanish, Mrs. Nelson probably won't be your biggest fan," He warned.
"I think I'll be alright," She smirked, quirking an eyebrow. Damn, was she interesting. They walked up and got in line by Mrs. Nelson.
"Hi honey, I'm Mrs. Nelson. Last name??"
"Valenov."
"You're gonna sit right there, sweetie." She pointed to a seat near the back of the room.
"Alright, thank you." She walked off to her desk.
"Hello again, Mr. Gaskarth... Your seat is the open one right next to Hazel. I've got my eye on you."
"Alrighty." He walked up to his desk and sat down.
"Welp, Hazel, looks like we're neighbors."
"Cool," She smiled at him.
"So, do you happen to play any instruments?"
"Yeah, I've played piano since I was 5, guitar since I was 8, and I'm trying to learn bass right now," She counted on her fingers. She laughed a bit as he threw his feet up on the desk, crossing his legs.
"Don't laugh at me, I have a reputation to keep up with in this class." She rolled her eyes, chuckling again. The bell rang and everyone took their seats.
"Mr. Gaskarth, get your feet off the desk, this is a classroom, not a barn," Mrs. Mitchell scolded.
"Sorry, Miss." He took his feet off the desk, and when Mrs. Nelson turned away from him again, he put them back up. He saw Hazel laughing in the corner of his eye. Mrs. Nelson was droning on in Spanish about whatever, but when she turned back towards Alex, her face turned red.
"Alright, since Alexander thinks getting on my nerves is funny, why doesn't he answer the question I asked."
"No entiendo nada," He spoke in a poor Spanish accent. He saw Hazel out of his peripheral vision once again, biting her tongue and trying not to laugh.
"Alright then, Hazel?" And then Hazel spoke. Alex didn't know what he was expecting, and he sure couldn't tell what she was saying, but she answered in perfect Spanish.
"Gracias, Hazel." Alex turned to Hazel with a look of shock on his face, to which she responded with a shrug. He pulled his phone out under his desk and texted jack.
Text message to: Jackass- Dude, jeep girl is in my Spanish class. Sent.
Text message from: Jackass- I call bullshit.
Text message to: Jackass- Not kidding. She bumped into me in the hallway and asked for help finding Nelson's room. I swear she's like, fluent in Spanish, and she said she plays guitar. Sent.
Text message from: Jackass- Dude, get her to sit with us at lunch!!!!
"Alexander Gaskarth, please put your phone away before I take it from you."
"Sorry, Mrs. Nelson." He looked over at Hazel who rolled her eyes at him. He tore a sheet of paper and started writing down a note.
Hazel
Hazel was writing down notes as she paid attention to the teacher. Spanish was the only class she was interested in besides Music Theory. Her attention was drawn towards Alex when she heard someone snap. He subtly handed a folded-up note towards her, not looking in her direction. She carefully took the note out of his hand and opened it up.
Sit with me at lunch?
She looked back towards Alex, laughing silently and folding the note back up. He looked at her with hopeful eyes, and she nodded.
"Excuse me, Is there something going on back here?" Mrs. Nelson stopped in front of Alex.
"No, Ma'am, he just asked to borrow a pencil."
"Alright." She walked back towards the front, turning away from Hazel and Alex as they started laughing quietly. Hazel thought Alex seemed like a pretty nice guy. Maybe she would actually make a new friend instead of hanging out with the same friend since elementary school. Not to mention, he was cute. Soon, the bell rang, and class was dismissed.
"Where are you headed?" Alex walked up behind her.
"Room 210?"
"Oh, I'm not in that class, but I can walk you there, If you want," He offered.
"That'd be great since I don't know where I'm going," She smiled at him.
They reached the classroom.
"If we don't have 3rd period together, you can meet me by my locker before lunch, it's the first set of lockers on the 2nd floor," She spoke as she entered the room.
_________
The next two class periods had passed painfully slow without Alex, and now it was finally time for lunch. Hazel walked to the other end of the 2nd floor to switch her books out. She opened up her locker and had just finished grabbing her books when someone came up, leaning on the locker next to her and slamming the locker shut, making her jump. She turned to see a tall, douchey-looking, unfamiliar person towering over her, and very stereotypically, wearing a letterman jacket.
"Hey dollface, you new here?" She crossed her arms with her books still in hand, narrowing her eyes slightly to look unamused, and leaning against the lockers to challenge him. However, he was much taller than her.
"You know, I actually am."
"Oh, really? Are you a freshman?"
"Nope," She said, popping the "p", "junior."
"Nice, maybe I could take you out sometime. What do ya say, babygirl?"
"Maybe in a year or 20, bud," she mocked him, flashing a fake smile. "And don't call me that."
"You heard her," she recognized a voice coming from behind her and felt a hand on her shoulder, "leave her alone," She turned to see Alex standing behind her.
"Well, if it isn't Gayskarth." Derek mocked him.
"Yep, that's me. Now, if you could stop hitting on my friend who very clearly isn't into you, that'd be great.
"Huh, new girl decided to stick with the punks? Have fun with that." Derrick walked away.
"I hope you weren't planning on hanging with him anytime soon, pardon my french, but he's an absolute dickhole," Alex put an arm around her shoulder as he started walking in the direction of the cafeteria.
"Yeah, kinda picked up on that vibe pretty quickly."
"Good. Now, Welcome to the zoo that is the Dulaney High cafeteria." Alex pushed the doors into the cafeteria unveiling a giant mess of kids. He turned left before heading towards a small table near the back corner. At the table sat a tall, lanky looking kid with black and blonde hair, wearing an Anti-Flag shirt, and a shorter guy with shaggy brown hair wearing a 'Dulaney High Marching Lions' shirt. She recognized the shorter kid as the boy that sat next to her in 2nd period English class. Alex sat down at the table, leaving an open space across from the lanky kid. She sat down.
"So, guys, this is Hazel, Hazel, this is Jack," He pointed to the lanky kid," And this is Rian." He pointed to the shorter kid. She waved shyly.
"Yeah, Alex and I saw you pull up blasting blink-182 this morning! Sick music taste, by the way," Jack said. She laughed lightly.
"I could say the same for you," she countered, referring to his Anti-Flag shirt.
"Woah, I don't think I've ever met a chick that's into Anti-Flag! I love you already."
"So, Hazel, where did you transfer from?" Rian leaned on his elbows.
"NDP. Aka, hell on earth."
"Oof, brutal. I've heard some horror stories from there," Rian added.
"Yep. That's not the reason I left though. My dad didn't feel like paying tuition so he said if I transferred to Dulaney, he would buy me a car. I honestly didn't wanna go to NDP anymore anyways, so it was a win-win for me."
"Nice."
"So, Alex told me you play guitar. Is this true?" Jack engaged himself in the conversation.
"Yeah, I've been playing since I was 8. I play bass and piano too."
"Sweet! I'll have you know, we're all in a band."
"Is that so?" She quirked her brow in interest.
"Yeah, We're called All Time Low. I play guitar, Alex sings and plays guitar, Rian plays drums, and our friend at Towson High plays bass. If you keep hanging with us, you'll meet him soon."
"That's cool! I've always wanted to do something with music. So, what kind of music do you play?"
They continued talking about music until the bell rang signaling 5th period.
"Anyone going to Davis' U.S. History class by chance?" Hazel looked at the boys, hopefully.
"Not me, I'm in AP U.S. History," Rian said.
"Yeah, Jack and I are going," Alex's face lit up.
"Could you show me how to get there?" She asked.
"Of course," He motioned for her to follow him. Hazel, Jack and Alex all walked to class together.
"Sit wherever you want," A middle-aged bald man said in a dull, monotone voice said as they walked into the classroom. Alex started speed-walking towards the back of the room and Jack followed him, grabbing Hazel's wrist excitedly, and dragging her with him. All three sat down in the back corner of the class, with Alex in the corner seat, and Hazel in front of him. She turned around to face him.
"Oh lord, Barakat and Gaskarth again?" the teacher rolled his eyes and sighed, "This is gonna be a long year."
"Alex, can we switch?" She nervously requested.
"But I like the corner!"
"Pleeeeease?" She begged, giving him puppy-dog eyes and pouting like a child.
"Fine, but you have to sit with us at lunch for the rest of this week."
"Deal. Now switch with me." Alex got up, moving his books to the desk she was sitting at.
"All yours." She got up and switched seats with him.
"Alright, I wanna get to know Hazel more. Gimme some hidden talents," Jack changed the subject.
"Weird or cool talents?"
"Both."
"Weird talents... I'm fluent in Russian and I can rap the entirety of Slob on my Knob by Three 6 Mafia flawlessly."
"Nice," Jack chuckled.
"That's true talent," Alex commented.
"For cool talents, uh, I can do a backflip. Is that cool enough?"
"For real?" Jack's face lit up.
"Yeah, I've been doing dance and gymnastics since I was 3." Hazel was interrupted when the teacher cleared his throat loudly, drawing everyone's attention to the front of the classroom.
____________________
The bell signaling the end of US History rang and they got up and walked out of the room.
"What classes do you have next?" He asked. Hazel opened up her schedule.
"A free period and then Music Theory," She was a bit confused as to what that meant.
"Oh, we have the same free period! I think Rian has this free period too. And you'll have Music Theory with Jack and I. Mrs. Perry is the best teacher ever."
"Cool. So do we just get to do whatever during a free period?"
"Yeah, I usually just go chill in the music room."
"Alright, let's go then." They started walking. When they approached the room, they saw Rian having a discussion with a teacher, who Hazel assumed, taught music. It was a fairly large room with multiple levels of chairs, a few keyboards, random instruments and their cases scattered across the room, including guitars, basses, and violins. Up towards the board was a gorgeous Grand Piano that sparked Hazel's interest. But before she could walk over to it, Alex pulled her over to where Rian was sitting.
"Hey Ri, Hi Perry," He sat down next to Rian and sat Hazel next to him.
"Hi, Treble. Good to see you again. Who's your friend?"
"This is Hazel, she's a transfer. She'll be in your Music Theory class with Jack and I next period."
"Ah, dumpster fire. Did he fix his hair yet or does it still look stupid?"
"Still stupid," Alex and Rian laughed in unison.
"When will that boy learn that a skunk stripe isn't a good look?"
"Probably never," Alex laughed.
"So, Hazel, what instruments do you play?" Mrs. Perry leaned forward in her seat to speak to Hazel.
"I play piano, guitar, and bass, mostly."
"Do you sing at all?"
"I mean, sometimes. Not usually around other people though. Stage fright."
"I'm sure you're wonderful, honey," Mrs. Perry reassured her before breaking back off into her conversation with Rian. Hazel walked over to the piano. She sat down and started playing "Piano Man" by Billy Joel. As the lyrics started kicking in, Alex sang. She kept playing, chuckling at him. He leaned his arm on her shoulder as she played, while Rian hummed along, working on some of his homework.
____________________
Hazel
"So, I've come up with an idea." Jack sat down next to Alex and Hazel after entering the chorus room for Music Theory. "My parents are going on a trip this weekend, and I think I'm gonna throw one of my famous parties.."
"Oh, god," Alex groaned, "Last time you had a party I woke up under your bed in some girl's dress with the worst hangover ever."
"Bullshit, It was a skirt, not a dress."
"Same difference."
"Still not my fault you had 3 cans of four loko and a shit ton of tequila. Any chance you'd wanna come, Hazel?"
"I don't think I can, I have my own party on Friday. I'm babysitting my little cousins. Plus, I've never been one for the party scene." The bell rang signaling class to start.
"Alright, What's up musical deviants! Those of you who have taken this class before know what's about to happen: assignments for the Arts Showcase on October 8th. For those who don't know what the Showcase is, the visual and performing arts departments put on a showcase for the students to show off their talent, and the music theory class gets to perform some different pieces. This year, we're doing duets, and I will be assigning your partners. So, Let's get started." Mrs. Perry looked around the room and started pairing people. Jack hadn't been assigned to Hazel, nor Alex, and was a bit bummed.
"Treble," Hazel watched as Perry's eyes landed on her, "you're with Hazel," Perry smiled at them. Alex looked down at Hazel.
"Nice! We're partners!"
"Yeah..." She smiled nervously at him, visibly tense.
"Oh... stage fright... right," Alex murmured, "Hey, at least I'll be up there with you! I'm sure you'll do amazing." Hazel relaxed slightly.
"Now that you all have your assignments, you and your partner will pick whatever song you'd like to perform. It can be an original, or a cover, and it can be any instrument. Have your songs in by Thursday. Split into your partners, get to know each other!" Jack got up and turned to Hazel and Alex.
"Lucky bastards, I have to perform with Lia and her goddamn flute. How is that even gonna work?" He sneered like a toddler, crossing his arms and walking away. Alex laughed at him.
"So, any song ideas, partner?" Alex nudged Hazel with his elbow.
"Not really," She was looking down, picking at her fingernails anxiously.
"Hey," Alex put a hand on her shoulder, "You don't need to be nervous. I bet a million dollars that you're gonna do amazing." As soon as he touched her, she relaxed, like all her stress had left her body.
"Okay," she mumbled.
"Good. Now, I actually have an idea. I'm working on a few songs right now. I'm actually writing them for the band, but I think we can turn one into a duet for the showcase. If you can come over sometime before Thursday, we can work on it together," he grinned. He was clearly excited about the showcase. Hazel, however, was still extremely anxious.
"I think I can do tomorrow," She continued to speak softly.
"Hazel, seriously, you have nothing to worry about. I promise." She looked up at him. She couldn't help but notice his pretty, brown eyes.
"Do you want a hug? I give great hugs," He teased, laughing.
"Eh, why not?" She smirked. Alex wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a soft hug. They both pulled away after a few seconds.
"Better?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Much better."
"Good, I can do after band practice tomorrow, so like, 5ish. Can I get your number so I can text you my address?"
"Yeah." They exchanged numbers and talked until the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.
"Here, I'll walk you to your locker," Alex stood up.
"Thanks for actually being nice to me." They walked out of the music room and headed back towards the lockers.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be nice to you?" He looked quite confused.
"Not very many people try to get to know me. I only really have like, 4 friends and I've known all of them since I was 6."
"You've gotta be kidding. You're so awesome though!"
"I mean, I tend to be pretty quiet, and people tend to think quiet people are boring. But I'm not quiet once you get to know me. Oh god, I'm the loudest person ever."
"Now THAT I can believe." They reached Hazel's locker.
"So, did you like your first day at Dulaney?" he leaned on the locker next to hers.
"I think I like it. It's better than NDP for sure."
"Good. I bet I made it ten times better." When Hazel thought about it, he really wasn't lying.
"I don't know..." She said sarcastically.
"Oh, Shush. Park in the same spot tomorrow."
"'Kay. I gotta get going, I have practice. See you tomorrow," She smiled.
"See you tomorrow, new best friend," Alex elbowed her. Hazel started walking and got about halfway out the school before she heard her phone go off in her pocket.
Incoming call from: Chalk
Andreia "Drew" Cleary, also referred to as "Chalk" by the entirety of the gymnastics team, was Hazel's high energy best friend, lover of the word Bitch, and quite the character. They had known each other since they were 3 years old, and did everything together, from school to gymnastics, to ballet, and ice skating. They had gone to school together from pre-k, up until Hazel transferred to Dulaney, leaving Drew at Notre Dame Prep with two of their other friends from dance and gymnastics.
Hazel smiled before hitting accept.
"Yo, Cleary, what's up?" She answered.
"Nothin' much, stick. How's Drug-laney?"
"Pretty good, I actually made some friends, I think."
"Oh, bitch, tell me everything."
"Later. I'm walking to my car right now. Are you at the gym yet?"
"Almost, I called 'cause I'm pulling into Wawa. What do you want."
"You know me too well. Get me a Monster Zero."
"Stick, I know for a fact without even seeing it that you haven't eaten anything today. I'm getting you food."
"Fine, get me some cheez-its or some shit."
"'Kay. See you in 10, bitch." Jack, who was sitting in his car, waved at Hazel. She waved back.
"See ya." Hazel hung up, climbing into her Jeep and heading off to the gym. Once she reached the parking lot of the gym, she got out of her car and walked in, changing into her leotard and spandex, putting her turning socks on, grabbing her grips, and sitting down to wait for Drew.
"Hey bitch," Hazel heard from the doorway of the locker room. She looked up and saw Drew walking towards her with a Wawa bag in her hand.
"Here you go. Now tell me about Dulaney." She threw the bag onto Hazel's lap.
"Well, I made some friends..."
"And?"
"One of them is kinda cute. And they're all in a band."
"Oh fuck, can I have one?"
"I'm getting to that! Anyways, I met him in Spanish," She lied to avoid telling Drew that she completely embarrassed herself in front of him. "Apparently there's an Arts Showcase for our music theory class in November too and we have to perform a duet at it, and I got paired with him."
"Wait... You're gonna sing? In front of people? With a hot guy in a band?"
"Yeah... I know, it's ridiculous. I don't even know if I'll be able to do it."
"I'm coming to that fucking showcase. I wanna see you sing!" Drew was finished getting changed, so they headed out of the locker rooms.
"If I can even get on the fucking stage." They walked up to the uneven bars.
"True. What's their band called?"
"All Time Low?"
"Oh shit, they did Battle of the Bands last year, didn't they?"
"I don't know, I didn't go last year."
"I think they did, but I think they lost to Stars Turn Cold. I remember them being pretty good for a high school band."
___________________
Alex
After Alex got home from band practice, he had decided to search for Hazel on Myspace. After searching her name, he found one with the username "punkballerina". The profile picture was her. She was smiling wide, it looked like she was laughing, and she didn't take the photo herself. It wasn't heavily edited and taken from a high-up angle like most people's. He clicked on her profile. Her layout was more simple than most people's. A light purple background, and the boxes were bordered with a darker purple. Her quote was "When you smile, I melt inside" from First Date by Blink-182.
"Female
16 Years Old
Timonium, Maryland, United States
Last Login: 8/22/04"
Her top 5 were five girls, chxlkedupcleary, xXheathermillsXx, LyssaLark15, Dyl_pickle, and LaurRawrBlanche.
"Hazel Valenov's Details:
Status: Single
Here for: Fun
Orientation: Straight
Body Type: 4'10
School: Dulaney High
Religion: None
Zodiac Sign: Aries
Smoke / Drink: No / Yes"
Her about me blurb read:
"There isn't much to me. All I do is listen to good music, dance at MCDC, play guitar, and do gymnastics at ENA." He hit the friend button before continuing to look through her profile
Hazel
When Hazel returned home from dance, and after a nice warm shower, she opened her laptop to check her Myspace. She got a notification that someone had added her. Their user was "earthtoalex", and she could only assume who it was. She clicked on it. His quote was "it feels like I'm at an all-time low, slightly bruised and broken from our head on collision" from Head On Collision, by New Found Glory.
"Male
16 Years Old
Lutherville-Timonium, Maryland, United States
Last Login: Currently Online"
His top 5 were: panicjack, littledrummer_ri, zack_dangerous, fly_guy_matt, and vinnyf_in_vegas
"Alexander William's Details:
Status: Single
Here for: Hot Girls and Good Music
Orientation: Straight
Body Type: Lanky
School: Dulaney
Religion: None
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Smoke / Drink: Yes / Yes"
She hit the friend button before continuing to stalk his profile for an hour, before going to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello! Small note for a geographical accuracy. I made Hazel's gym ENA because it comes into play later, around when Coffee Shop comes out, because that's where they filmed the video. ENA gym is not in maryland! its in jersey. Just wanted to put that in there as a little nod to the Coffee Shop MV.