After one miserable dinner filled with moments that either Heather - who Joan went to kindergarten with - never told Joan about or were simply lies and Heather trying so damn hard to her to drink the stupid tea, Joan was quick to offer her assistance with preparing the brownies and ice cream while Billy talked with Heather's parents. She needed to figure out why her bestfriend since diapers was acting this way.
Or at least... Agatha's best friend.
"Heather, is everything okay?" Joan asked quietly, hoping Billy couldn't hear them. The brownies were being reheated in the oven and Heather was grabbing some dessert ware from the cabinets.
"Why wouldn't everything be okay, Joan?" Heather asked seemingly innocently, but the tone and speech felt like a kidnap victim on the telephone. As if she was being told what to say and the words were copied off of another. Joan licked her lips and tapped on the kitchen counter a tune that she played earlier, the name unimportant.
After a moment she walked over to Heather who only stared down at Joan.
"...I-is he hurting you?" Joan asked quietly, forcing Heather to look into her eyes by grabbing her by the arms with a firm, yet friendly grip. She licked her lips when Heather's head only tilted to the right in confusion, but once again her eyes did not match her reactions. "S-serious, Heath. Just one word and I'll beat the shit out of him. We can run away t-to Washington like we talked about, find some cute boys, and-"
"Joan." Heather cut Joan off firmly, her face become wide and intimidating. Unnatural. "Billy and I are fine. We are fine. Everything is fine." Joan's arms fell at the look of excitement and greed that came across Heather's face and the brunette took a step forward. "Do you want to be fine too?"
"All those thoughts you've shared with me about how in pain you are... how terrible it feels to exist in this world..." Heather sighed softly and Joan walked backwards, trying to get some space from the girl. "You could have a purpose that gives you an identity... self-worth."
"Heath? This isn't funny." Joan whispered out harshly as Heather's eyes continued to grow manic with that damned smile on her face. Heather continued to walk towards Joan, hand grabbing a knife out of the sink. "Are you serious, Heather? If this is some cruel joke that Billy is making you do I swear I-"
"Shhhhhhhh." Heather whispered out, finally in front of Joan whose back hit the fridge. "We can all be one... I'll never leave you again." The knife lifted up to Joan's chest and Joan was a hair away from screaming and fighting back when Heather's head snapped to the living room. Immediately the emotion changed and Heather took a step back with a giggle. "Gotcha."
Heather set the knife on the counter next to the sink all while humming and putting some ovenmits on. She grabbed the brownies out of the oven and looked over at Joan, who stood frozen and staring in shock, and winked.
"Join us, Joan."
She left the kitchen and Joan took a moment to attempt to process watch just happened.
Knew you were a fucking wizard!
That's where she had felt the danger. The same feeling of get the fuck away and don't look back followed by a soft sinister whisper of too late that made Joan want to jump out the window - or at least throw up. The delicious risotto felt stale in her stomach as she heard voices in the living room that weren't there before.
Slowly, Joan took the walk to the living room, afraid of what she might see, but was even more confused at who was in front of her.
"Jo?"
"Max? El?"
Billy's head snapped over towards Joan and she couldn't tell what emotion was on his face. His movements were sending her off guard as he narrowed his eyes just the slightest at the other teen girl. "You know my little sister and her little friend, Joan?"
"U-uh yeah..."
Max and El looked at Joan wide-eyed and in obvious distress, and Joan could see why. Billy and Heather were looking at the two like they were a snack, enemy, and family all in one, and Heather's parents looked at the two girls like they were the most annoying thing in the world.
Swallowing, Joan made her decision and stepped over to the two girls and placed a hand on each of their hands, facing towards the Holloways and Billy. "I-I forgot that I was, uh, supposed to give them a ride home."
"Oh, were you?" Billy's head tilted calculating, and Joan watched as Heather did the same movement at the exact same time. Carefully pushing the girls behind her she nodded a few times quickly, resisting the Henderson urge to start spewing out nonsense when startled.
"Y-yep. Dustin h-hates the rain, so the girls must have come to grab me." Joan laughed nervously, still walking with the girls behind her. Thankfully, Max and El seemed to agree with whatever Joan was saying as they were pushed towards the exit. "T-the boys are a bunch of pansies, hahaha, especially my brother! El lives nearby and, uh, they're at her house-"
"Where?" Mrs. Holloway asked politely and Joan successfully kept down a groan. "I don't recall ever seeing her around?"
"D-down the street, around the corner, it looks the same as all the other houses. Very house-like." Joan said quickly, the feeling of danger at an all time high before opening the front door and leaning down to the girl's ears. "Go put your bikes in the trunk." She handed the keys to Max with a smile and kept her eyes on Heather and Billy as the two girls ran to do what she said without argument.
She'd worry about the mess tomorrow.
"Thanks for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Holloway." Joan said quickly, giving the two adults a hug. They had treated Joan like a second daughter when she came over and judging by a few photos of her and heather throughout the house, she might as well been. She hesitated, before giving Heather a big hug.
Heather reciprocated the hug and Joan winced at the feeling of nails digging in her back and the amount of pressure Heather put into the hug. "Thanks for coming, Joan. I hope you'll join us soon."
"Join us, Joan."
Joan swallowed thickly and pulled away, looking at her friend who made have been staring at her, but was not looking at her. With a hesitant smile back she nodded. "You can't get rid of ne that easily, Heath."
"I hope to see you soon, Joan." Joan wanted nothing more than to turn towards that voice and sucker punch the owner back to California. Whatever was wrong with Heather, she knew it was Billy Hargrove's fault. Joan turned around and tried to keep the pleasant smile on her face, shoving a hand out for a shake, and dying on the inside at the hug from Billy Hargrove. His lips an inch from his ear as he whispered. "Join us soon, Joan. We'll never leave you again."
She threw her raincoat on quickly and stumbled out of the house. Something about the look on Max's face told Joan that they knew something that she didn't know and there was something seriously wrong here.
"Joan."
Heather's voice made Joan freeze, because it was the first time that night that Heather sounded-like Heather. Carefully turning around in the rain and letting El and Max throw the bikes in the trunk, Joan looked over at Heather. She couldn't tell if that was a tear or rain.
"L-love you, homegirl."
Joan's mouth went dry and she couldn't tell if it was the rain or tears on her cheek because she didn't know what the fuck was going on. Billy appeared behind Heather with grim eyes and a neutral face, arms hanging down his side as if he was nothing more than a puppet.
"L-love you too, Heath." She tried not to croak it out as Max and El slammed the door close, MAx insisting on Joan to get in the car! and Joan looked at Billy. "Take care of her Hargrove." Billy barely reacted - a very Billy Hargrove reaction in it of itself - and grabbed the door with a grip so hard Joan was almost positive the door cracked.
"...I hope you never join us again, Henderson."
And the door slammed shut.
At the sharp noise, Joan got into the car on autopilot and wiped her face - she didn't have a sunroof right? - before looking over at the two girls who would one day be her aunts. "O-okay you two. I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I have a feeling you both know something I don't. So, let's take some girls time and have some girl talk." With that, Joan went clutch to floorboard and drove away from the Holloway household where the sinking feeling grew stronger and stronger.
"So, whose first?" Joan asked, even though it came out more of a snap, looking at the rearview mirror to view the two. "Max?"
"We..." Max trailed off hesitantly and looked out of her window. "W-we were afraid that Billy hurt Heather."
Joan took in a sharp intake of breath at the comment and tried not to take her eyes off the road. "Why do you say that?" There was shuffling before El procured a familiar small red bag and Joan pulled over on the side of the road, fearfully grabbing the bag and looking inside to see the familiar HH3 on the inside. "This is Heather's bag..." Joan trailed off before her thumb chipped away some red... "Oh my God, this is blood."
"W-we went to check..." El trailed off, her eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "and she's fine?"
"...No." Joan said quietly and the girls barely could hear her over the rain as she stared at the bag for a few moments later, a dark shadow of dread filling her stomach. Heather need her help, she needed someone and judging by Billy's attitude... he needed help as well.
Dustin's friends didn't need to be involved in this, Joan decided. She'd deal with this by herself and make sure the girls were safe too, because something about the look Billy gave El made Joan feel uneasy.
She threw the glove compartment open and shoved the bag in there, and slammed it shut. Joan ignored the girls flinching behind her. "Where you girls want to go?"
"Uh, you can take us to my house." Max said quietly, looking over at El who let out the tiniest of nods. "We're supposed to be having a sleepover..."
"...If you aren't comfortable being around Billy, you could come spend the night at our house." Joan offered softly, putting the car in gear to get going. She could tell the two eighth graders were scared and nervous, a little bit frustrated too, and honestly, Joan was right there with them. "I could make brownies in the morning or waffles?"
Max and El made eye contact before Max turned back towards Joan. "W-we'll be fine. I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding."
"Right, right." Joan half-agreed quietly, peeling over and listening to Max's directions. The ride was quiet with small conversation here or there under the pelting Indiana summer rain, and when she pulled up to the Hargrove-Mayfield home Joan hesitated. "Hey...Max?"
"Yeah?"
"...You still got that radio like Dustin yeah?"
"Uh, yeah, why?"
"If...if you're ever in trouble and need me, you can radio or call... just say Tennant." Joan said carefully, playing with gold ring on her hand. Aunt Max's favorite Doctor was David Tennant, so it was only fitting. "Boy problems, school problems... family problems."
Maybe she was to forthright or not enough because it was quiet again before Max started nodding, not looking at Joan and opened the door. "R-right, of course." And Joan helped the girls get their bikes out, ignoring the mess once again, and heading home with a mind on fire.
Something was going on and those two girls knew something she didn't, and Joan was going to figure it out. She was going to bring Heather back.
No matter the cost.