"And where are you going?" Dustin asked as he watched Joan rush around the kitchen putting things in a bag. When she didn't answer, Dustin frowned and clapped his hands loudly. "Uh, Earth to airship, keyword air adding head, I asked where you were going?"
Joan paused to scowl at her little brother and grabbed her keys. "What are you, my dad?" Joan snorted at the irony and pulled out the bags of brownies she had premade last night into early this morning. Technically Dustin wasn't her dad yet so she refused to have the kid who still tucked his shirt in at all hours of the day and wrote his name on his underwear tell her what to do.
"Well, I suppose as the male of the household there is some responsibility put on me..." Dustin started matter-of-factly, trailing off at the dangerously narrowing of eyes. "Buuuut, but! As the big sister and first born there is a lot more to this family household dynamic than just traditional gender roles."
"Good answer, Dusty-poo." Joan gave Dustin a harder than needed pat on the had and snickered at the ouch! that followed. "I'm going to see Heather at the pool today if you really need to know."
"Oooo, are you bringing brownies to the lifeguards again?!" Dustin reached a hand into the bag filled with sweets, but cried out at the smack to his hand. "Ouch! Rude!"
"You can take one, one!" Joan reiterated with a finger shoved into Dustin's face. Excited, Dustin pushed the hand away from him and dug into the back for the biggest piece he could. After acquiring said brownie he paused. Joan's eyes narrowed. "What's with the face?"
"...I was just thinking about how much Steve and Robin would love to-"
Two more bags were shoved into Dustin's lap and the boy lit up like a Christmas tree, cackling as he ran out the kitchen happily. When Joan left the kitchen herself, Dustin had already stuffed the desserts into his bag and was halfway out the door.
"Bye, Dustin." Joan said sarcastically as the door closed. "Oh yeah, you're welcome Dustin." She sneered at the door with a shake of her head. "I hope you and you're new favorite siblings enjoy my brown-." Her hand paused at door handle.
Since when was she jealous of her dad hanging out with Steve and Robin?
With a shudder, Joan pushed the thought out of her brain and headed over to the community pool. If Heather wasn't there today, but Billy was, Joan was going straight to the cops. No one had answer her calls that morning and Joan was more than read to gouge someone's eyes out.
She wasn't sure if it was Billy or if someone had some kind of blackmail over the graduate, but either way Joan was a hair away from getting her own hands dirty in the mess and hopefully the brownies sweetened the deal. All she cared about was pulling Heather out from whatever mess she got tangled up in.
"Oh fuck yes." Todd moaned out, throwing the magazine down on the counter and making grabby hands towards Joan. "Bring me the sugar, sugar."
"I swear, Todd." Joan snorted as the girl behind him smacked his head lightly and he rubbed it with a groan. "One day you'll learn not to flirt with other girls when Martha's around, idiot."
"Yeah, yeah, but those are the brownies, right?" The shift manager demanded, pointing at the bag that Joan placed on the counter. At Joan's smirk and nod, Todd let out a sharp yes! before diving in and grabbing a bag.
"Thanks, Jo." Martha said with a grin, grabbing her own bag and nodding. Joan only shrugged and threw the bag over her shoulder.
"I guess Heather's on watch?" Joan questioned, pointing towards the pool with a thumb and smile, her feet already leading her in the direction in hope that she was right and there was nothing to worry about.
"No, that bitch." Todd rolled his eyes, not really meaning the insult and set his feet on the counter. "Two days in a row, but thankfully Billy agreed to do a double."
"Hargrove?"
"No, Sampson. Yes Hargrove!"
"Alright, well... I'll go give Hargrove's his and drop by Heather's house later."
Joan stared right at Billy who looked like he was having a heat stroke up there in sleeves and a towel covering his legs. Was the California boy hiding from the sun, or was someone leaving bruises...? Martha walked by Joan, giving the girl a smile, before calling Billy down for his break and Joan followed him to the locker room, frowning at his stumbling.
"Oi, Hargrove!"
"What'dya want, Joan?" Billy drawled out, not even looking at her, instead holding onto the door into the showers.
"I brought brownies." Joan said, holding a bag up with a smile. "I saved you a corner like you said last time. Thought you might want one?"
"Henderson don't like her own baking? Shit, have you tried the corners?"
"Look, do you want me to start like them and eating them all myself, or are you going to take the fucking bag and let me leave?'
"Shit, fine. You can give me all the corner pieces that you don't want."
With a harsh sigh, Billy turned around and snatched the bag from Joan with a fake smile. "Thanks, now get out." Panicked, Joan grabbed Billy by the wrist to keep him from going away. He was her only source of information right now and she needed to know what was with the weird creepy dialogue from last night. At Billy's curious glance at her hand, Joan let the boy go like he was fire.
"S-sorry..." Joan trailed off in embarrassment, before shaking it off. "I heard Heather wasn't feeling good... again. Everythin' okay?"
"Of course, she's fine." That stupid fucking near condescending smile and Joan was sure Billy was smashing her brownie into a patty. "We're fine." Billy stepped into the locker room and Joan looked between the door and the front desk.
There were so many moments in life where her mom and dad had to sit her down and ask why didn't she think things through? and Joan would have to answer that she just had to.
"Why did you think breaking into Officer Powell's house and destroying his son's computer was a good idea?!"
"Dad, he was mean to Brynnyn and I-I just had to!"
"Powell said he almost shot you, Joan!"
"I'd like to see him try!"
When Joan found out the IP address of who had been sending Brynnyn awful messages about her body, she biked straight to the house and watched as Jonah Powell walked inside talking happily with his dad. She didn't have a reason thought out, but her legs sent her straight to the boys room, breaking in silently and running some scripts to completely destroy it.
Just as she finished, she heard a familiar click of a shot gun and a loud voice demanding her to put her hands up.
She just had to and the 40 hours of community service was worth ever single fucking second.
"Oh okay... but she seemed fine last night." Joan said quickly, ignoring the way Billy's pack tensed up and the brownie that was now the perfect consistency to make a cake pop in his hand. She walked closer to Billy, hoping her Henderson genes weren't that noticeable. "And, well, you both seem pretty jittery, or well, not jittery, but more like... stressed? Not in control?" Joan licked her lips, hoping no one was in there changing. "I-I don't know, but I feel like you guys are both in trouble o-or something and I just want you to know that I-I'm going to get help for you both and-"
Joan froze as Billy's shoulder started to shake before it turned into a full blown laugh with his hands on his belly and his head to the sky. He turned around and the familiar feeling of danger passed through her like a hand clearing fog from her view.
"You never were good at knowing when to quit, were you, Jo?" Billy asked mockingly and for a moment Joan was positive that this was no longer Billy - but that made no sense - and Joan did nothing but listen carefully. "Like in second grade when those guys threw spitballs at us, or well, you and Heather, and you beat the shit out of them with a stick. Bloody noses, one had a concussion, even thought they begged you to stop."
"H-how'd you know-"
"Or in fifth grade when - what was his name? - Matthew said you'd never be anything and you tackled him off the dock on a field trip because you knew he couldn't swim." Billy was now right in front of Joan and even if these weren't her memories, she believed every word Billy was saying, but the problem now comes in of how does he know? "You just never know when to quit."
"Billy what are you-!" Joan was cut off by the familiar feeling of air leaving her lungs and eyes nearly bulging out from her head as she clawed at the hand around her throat frantically. Billy seemed to glare at her and a choke left her lips as he tightened the grip further. Her legs left the ground and Joan tried to kick Billy, but nothing seemed to work.
She let out a sob and her vision blurred with tears. If she died here, would she wake up? Or is it go back - er, forward? - to her time? Or was this her do-over, her once more... her second chance to live and she was already fucking it up!? Oh God, she knew something wrong was with Heather, she needed... she needed...she needed...
She needed a nap...
"Just let go, Henderson." Billy murmured with soft eyes eyes. Black edged around Joan's vision and her body seamed slow down in time with her diminishing thought process. There was so much pressure in her head and her body start to transition into a feeling of weightlessness as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "You should have listen, but we're glad for you to join us..."
And Joan let go.