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31 July 1985 Hawkins, Indiana
As July roared on with hot summer rain, Joan would meet up with the band on Thursdays while Eddie would appear the day before to finish tuning the piano - eventually he started to visit on Mondays because they were just so behind.
Whenever Eddie was over her house the day would dissolve into little work getting done with Joan sharing whatever she had for lunch and Eddie talking boisterously about his campaigns while Joan laughed with him. Lasagna with two forks and one dish became a norm.
Eddie tried to get Joan to let the band sing one of the songs in her journal, but she would shy away from it and the metalhead would bring it back up later. It wasn't that she didn't not want to sing the songs, there was a problem.
She still hadn't opened up the journal.
Every time she decided to herself to dive into the words of Agatha, Joan would only stare at the leather bound journal with steeled hands and a frown. The book was worn and well-used, perhaps daily judging by the bindings, and there were only a few pages in the back that weren't used.
It was obvious to Joan that Agatha wrote in here frequently and she could only imagine the knowledge that could come out of it.
But her stomach felt sick and her body felt heavy the closer to opening it she would get until she would quietly put it back under her mattress and ignore it for a couple more days.
Then repeat.
It was Wednesday once again, the first of August, and Joan had basically shoved the dread of school into the furthest pits of her mind. The day prior, Joan had gone on a girl's night with the other cheerleaders where they feverishly spoke about the upcoming year with excitement, Chrissy's eyes shone brightly with every word and Joan grinned back with her. It was infectious and she understood why Brynnyn liked it so much.
Joan started the new routine of bringing Dustin to where ever he wanted (usually with Steve) and putting whatever casserole or left over food in the oven. She'd sit on the recliner and watch with a leg bouncing up and down for that familiar rickety van hazardly flying into her driveway.
On Monday Eddie had walked straight into the house with a grin towards Joan, but this time he had something in his right hand. Proudly, Eddie showed off the item he had brought and Joan shook her head.
An acoustic guitar.
"I'm teachin' you how to play." Was all he had said and Joan had no reason to hide the grin on her face that day. He had brought the wooden beauty once again today.
She pulled out the leftovers and set them out on the counter seperating the kitchen from the living room and Eddie eagerly grabbed a fork. Eddie blabbered on about the band and their gig then trailed onto the Hellfire club and the campaign he was working on, listening carefully to Joan's input whenever she responded back with a nod and a hand over his lips in thought.
When they were done, she dumped the dish in the sinks and they went to the piano. Joan didn't have the heart to tell him that she technically no longer needed him, the notes were now based on each other instead of a true pitch, because why would he come if she no longer needed him?
There were two notes left - A and B - and Joan stared at the final two as Eddie continued to rant about the seriousness of a good mage while resetting the mute on the strings. She swallowed and looked up at Eddie and hated the thought of not seeing him anymore.
"Okay, go ahead and -!" Eddie had got out of the piano to grin over at the girl but jumped as Joan shut the piano. He frowned and looked over at Joan cautiously. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I just... I have to pick up Dustin soon so I figured if we were to uh do any music things..." she trailed off hoping the nervous way she drummed on her thigh wasn't obvious enough.
For a moment, she was positive he didn't believe her. Eddie stared down from his spot behind the piano and Joan tried to melt into the piano bench, but eventually a grin replaced his frown and the DM shuffled his way out from his spot between the wall and piano.
He jumped onto the couch without any grace and Joan giggled at the way he lovingly held his guitar. Eddie patted the seat next to him and Joan joined, drinking in ever word he shared.
The rest of their time together was filled with giggles and music, soft touches guiding hers to the frets and an arm around her for positioning.
"All you gotta do is put your pointer finger on A and then your going to get that middle finger..."
By the end of their time together, Joan was feeling giddy at the fact that she had just learned the opening to Black Sabbath's Iron Man on the guitar but also slightly embarrassed. More often than not did she stutter over her words because of the closeness of the metal head beside her fixing her hands or shoulders or fingers. He was warm and comfortable, uncaring of the world around them and she was drawn to him like a bee to honey.
Unfortunately, having to pick up Dustin wasn't a lie and she reluctantly freed her guest from his tutoring with a frown. Eddie had also sighed, but didn't let her see the small frown on his lips when she turned away. He was sent off with a tuppleware of leftovers as guitar lesson payment - when he tried to refuse she shoved it into his van window and ran - and a smile on his lips as the sounds of Black Sabbath raided his ears.
The band had warmed up to her, but the ice wasn't melted completely. She still didn't quite fit in with the crowd and it was one of the things that kept Joan up at night because before Kaleigh... this would been her crowd.
Yet every time she hung out with the cheerleaders she found herself relaxed, laughing, and happy.
Joan could barely remember the faces of her friends and memories had started to blend together.
Was it Brynnyn who laughed at her when she fell into a trash can or was it Heather?
"I'm tellin' you, I'm stealthy. Smooth. Graceful. I've got eyes like a Hawk and a walk like a- oof!" "...w-walk like a newborn deer?! Hahaha!"
Did she want to go back to her time? Every time she thought about leaving a fuzzy pit formed in her stomach and memories of long curly hair and guitars, hands braiding her hair and gossip, and the pleasant quiet air of little technology filled her - she felt heavy.
But didn't she miss her home? Would she stay here forever? Was she missing in her time period? Or what if... that was all a dream?
What if this was reality?
"-o? Jo?"
Joan's eyes focused back to the present, eyes staring forward at the green light before her with furrowed eyebrows. One more call of her name and smack on her shoulder sent her jolting forward with a small grunt, the car moving at her command.
Dustin peered over at her curiously from the front seat, his copy of Ghostbusters sat in his lap triumphantly. "You weren't here again." He stated factually and Joan could feel a headache coming on. The kid was smart and for some reason it annoyed her knowing she'd never be as smart as her mom and dad. "...did you see it again?"
"No, Dusty." Joan sighed quietly, another round of summer rain beginning to whisper over her car as she pulled into their neighborhood.
The clouds loomed overhead, darkening the sky and she absentmindedly thought about what she'd wear tomorrow to practice. Eddie said after tomorrow she'd be ready to play a gig with the band - one gig. Joan didn't mean to but she was already trying to figure out how to continue with Eddie- the Band. They'd be done next week with the piano and the thought made her lips pursed.
If only she had known the dark clouds were a warning of the storm to come, because the next time she'd see Eddie alone would be in a record shop where she'd deny their friendship and break whatever bond was forming before it could solidify.
