True to his word Dustin left Joan alone for a rather quiet weekend of figuring out the puzzle that was Joan Agatha Henderson.
The year was 1985 and summer was fresh on the block in Hawkins, a familiar feeling to Joan. Agatha-Joan was a 16-year old cheerleader going into her junior year, which annoyed Destiny-Joan more than it should because instead of being almost an adult she was now reverted to almost an almost-adult.
Agatha had once been nerdy, ditching that side of her when high school came around in favor of being a cool kid once her figure started slimming down and boys started to pay attention to her. It was interesting to Joan filtering through ramblings and photos and questioning her mom and brother.
Dustin would be going to camp this year, one that her dad would eventually send her to as well decades into the future and it was a place that Joan was jealous of to the max. Her dad had so many awesome stories from the camp's early years, before laws and rules made it boring, that she had honestly hope she could go as well.
But, alas, Joan Agatha Henderson had built up a life that was not nerdy and Joan had seen Doctor Who before.
Joan was not going to ruin her future, so she was going to play the roll the best she could with all the enthusiasm as one of her campaigns. And who knows, maybe she'd solve a few famous Hawkins mysteries and scandals while trying to figure out the big question:
Why does no one talk about Joan Agatha Henderson?
Getting into character required research, something that was disgustingly difficult without a computer, so Joan had to drive her car to the library to learn how to look up answers to her questions. She checked out three books on cheerleading and gymnastics, desperate to learn whatever she could to be a good junior cheerleader.
Thankfully her mom was a memory-mom who had a few recordings of her performances, helping her out with drills and positioning and figuring out who was who. However, her stomach flipped in terror as she watched her body fly into the air with intricate twists and landed on one fit in two hands.
Oh God she was a flyer too?!
Joan never before wanted her ripped jeans, graphic tees, and hoodies as much as she did while wearing her cheer outfit in her grandmothers backyard thirty years before her actual birth trying to figure out how to do a somersault, flip, handstand, and what other bullshit Agatha had learned.
And yes, Joan was referring to the girl before her as Agatha in order to keep her sanity.
"Why do you look like you're about to murder young children." Dustin asked from behind the screened in door. Joan just scowled over at her brother and tried once again to do a handspring, but groaned at the thump she made on the ground. "I'm no cheerleading expert, far from it actually, but I don't think whatever you're doing is supposed to finish like that."
"No shit, Sherlock." Joan groaned out, sitting up and rubbing her back. She grabbed the book beside her and read the page in growing frustration "I-I think I grew because I'm having problems doing... anything anymore."
"Well, that's a simple fix." Dustin declared, throwing the door open and walking outside towards his sister and snatching the book from her hands. Joan let out a hey! and tried to grab the book back, but Dustin quickly put his hand up and avoided the grabby hands and whacks as his eyes darted across the page quickly. He slammed the book shut and looked over at Joan. "Easy, all this is is simple physics combined with physical strength."
"Alright, dork." Joan exhaled in defeat, accepting that the needed help from a 13 year old nerd to learn how to do anything. She sat down and patted the grass next to her for Dustin to sit, and the boy hurriedly joined his sister, opening the book back and diving deep into the how's and the why's of different moves.
By the end of the day, Dustin and Joan had worked out handsprings, backflips, and cartwheels. They cackled together whenever Joan fell on the ground or when Dustin attempted to do a cartwheel and landed on his face, falling together in the grass and laughing like madmen over each other's troubles.
After dinner, Joan agreed to help Dustin pack for camp, but started to feel upset the little shit was going to be gone for a whole month. She had just started enjoying the kid and now she'd have to deal with summer relatively alone.
"Are you just going to bum around on my bed or are you going to actually do some work, lardass?" Dustin quipped in annoyance, trying to fold his clothes to fit in his suitcase. Joan rolled her eyes, but scooted over to where he was working and pushed his hands away to take over the folding.
"You just get your nerd shit put together and I'll fold these, okay?"
"Deal." Dustin said hurriedly, not offended at all. He was never good at folding laundry so if his sister wanted to do that part, who was he to stop her? But he glanced over hesitantly, pulling down a book from his shelf slowly. "Not that I'm not enjoying the return of the old Joan part two, but why are you acting like... this." He waved his hand towards Joan.
"Uh, I don't know.' Joan shrugged quietly, folding another shirt slowly. "I guess I just... miss being... Joan."
"...Are you sure you're not a drug addict?"
"What? No! God, Dusty-!" Joan pinched between her eyes in annoyance and let out a deep breathe to calm herself down before looking at Dustin severely. "No, I am not doing drugs and if you tell one more person that I swear to Tews I will burn every single one of your character sheets and throw your die in the lake!"
"...Wow." Dustin let out a low whistle looking at Joan with a mix of awe, terror, and nervousness on his face. "Somehow you have combined cool-Joan with bitchy-Joan and created terrifying-Joan."
"Dustin-!"
"Okay, okay!" Dustin held his hands up in defense, turning around to grab another book off his shelf. "You're not on drugs, just a second puberty I guess..."
She let the insult slide out of the grace in her heart.
"...You gonna miss me, Dusty-poo?" Joan mocked in an attempt to break the tension and she grinned at the blush on her brothers face and cackled. "Awe, is my little brother embawassed?"
"Please don't ever call me the again - public or private. I would literally rather have my face torn off than have anyone hear you call me that."
"Awe, I'm gonna miss you too... Dusty-poo."
"Sweet Jesus, Joan. I regret asking for your assistance with this mission."
"Oh, Dusty, I'm gonna miss you so so so much." Joan exaggerated with fake sobs wiping her eyes and standing up from the bed with a glint in her eyes. Dustin narrowed his eyes and pointed at her with the book in his hands.
"No, if you come any closer to my personal space I will throw things at you." He held the book up like a threat, poised the throw and ready to make a run for it at first sight of trouble. For a minute, maybe half of one, neither of them moved, staring at each other until Joan couldn't handle it any longer a shit-eating grin grew on her face.
"Give your sister a hug, Dusty!" Joan dodged the book thrown her way and lunged towards her brother, who screeched loudly and ducked under her arms. Joan followed after Dustin with an evil laugh and chased him throughout the house, both of them ignoring their mom's shouts to stop running throughout the house. "Come on, my child brother. Allow me to smother you with my love!" They had stopped at the kitchen island like a cartoon, waiting for one to move.
"Smother. Verb." Dustin began panickily, moving a few steps to the right when Joan tried to grab at him on the left. "Meaning to kill someone by covering their nose and mouth so that they suffocate. Similar words being asphyxiate, strangle, throttle- shit!"
He was too slow, Joan quickly grabbing him and lifting him up into the air kicking and struggling as she smothered him lovingly. "Oh Dusty, don't forget to write!"
Eventually the snot managed to wiggle out from her grasp and she watched with an evil grin as he ran to the safety of his own room, locking the door, and Joan fetched herself a celebratory glass of orange juice for getting out of work.
She folded most of his clothes, he just had to put them all away. She wasn't that mean.
But the ride the next day to camp was honestly a little sad.
Joan and Dustin pretended that they were not going to miss each other - no they were happy for a break from each other! - as they hugged each other goodbye, Joan stuffing a few extra chocolate bars and a bag of brownies into his bag when he wasn't looking, and Dustin did not watch the car leave the camp site.
When they got home Joan was confused to see an unfamiliar car parked out front and tried to make out the figure sitting on the stairs of her porch in wait. Getting out of the car Joan realized it was a she and a she from polaroids judging by the puff sleeves and bright pink shoes.
Heather Holloway, one of her best friends and a rising senior at Hawkins High. They had multiple polaroids together throughout her room, many of them showcasing the two girls laughing in the kitchen and delicious baked goods with descriptions on the back.
"Heather!" Joan tried out watching the brunette perk up and a grin grow on her face, bounding over to grab Joan in a hug. "How have you been?!"
"Oh my God, Joan you have no idea what you've missed, homegirl." Heather said seriously, puling back with a sparkle in her eyes and grasping onto each other's arms. Joan felt like she was out of her body trying to figure out how to act. She tried to imitate Heather as much as she could, allowing the girl to take her by the arm and guide her inside. "Hi, Mrs. Henderson!"
"Hi, Heather! It's good to see you, sweetheart." Joan's mom said with a smile and a wave from outside of the car. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Could she spend the night, mom?" This was prime time for information gathering. The sooner she could interrogate one of Agatha's best friends the better Joan could be at playing weirdly disappeared sister Henderson. "Please?"
"As long as your mom's okay with it, that's alright with me."
Heather and Joan immediately went into the house to call Mrs. Holloway, who agreed without much resistance, and the two were off to Joan's bedroom where the two sat against the wall on her bed to talk.
"So, you, like, remember Billy Hargrove right?"
Was it bad if she didn't remember Billy Hargrove?
"Uh, how could I not?!"
"God, legit thought." Heather rolled her eyes dramatically and smiled over at Joan who giggled realizing this was definitely a guy Heather liked. "The babe is lifeguarding with me this summer and it's totally wigging me out."
"Oh my God. What's it like? What's he like?"
Heather made Billy seemed like a God descended from above with a golden body kissed by California rays, a body blessed by the Pacific ocean waves, and hair as beautiful as Steve Harrington's if not more. To be clear, these were Heather's words, not her own. Recently graduated, fit, and a flirt to the ladies, but Heather was totally positive that her and Billy would be an item by the end of the summer.
"I'm serious, Jo! I'm going to be Mrs. Hargrove even if it kills me!"
Joan snorted and shoved the girl over, Heather letting out a happy laugh in response and pushing Joan over with her legs and off the bed. The two girls ended up playfully fighting with each other with the pillows, making a mess in the room, and ending with both of them on the floor in a git of giggles.
She liked Heather, Joan decided, listening to her go off about Billy Hargrove and what kind of wedding they would have. Joan would be one of her bridesmaids, of course, in the ugliest puffy dress they could find and they would ride off to California for their honeymoon in his blue Camaro with cans tied to the back fender that Joan said she'd eat 20 cans of beans to get.
And Heather howled in laughter at the image of Joan struggling to finish 20 cans of beans, Joan joining with her own cackles until they were called for dinner and they bounded their way to the dining room table.
Yes, Heather Holloway would be a good friend while she was here in 1985 and perhaps for the rest of their lives, even after Billy Hargrove would whisk the senior away from Joan's life to start a new one.