Destiny | A Stranger Things Fanfic

34

1986

Before Joan could get her hands on that leather journal, the universe decided to give her another gift. Wether it was a universal intervention or coincidence, Joan would have to figure out first if she was lucky or unlucky.

It seemed like as soon as her hands touched the Honeywell thermostat there was a rough banging on her front door sending her straight to paranoia. Carefully, she shut the small plastic and took slow steps towards the front door, hiding behind it while she used a picture frame of a toddler Dustin to figure out who was looking into her window.

"Henderson!"

Frowning, Joan swung open the front door to see Jason's facial expression blink from anger to surprise.

"Woah, what the hell are you doing?!" Joan blurted out as she was shoved aside and the teen scouted out her living room. Two more heads popped around and Joan turned towards the only decently ashamed human, Patrick, who ignored looking at her directly. "What's going on?" 

"We're, uh, looking..."

"Henderson?! You in here?!" Jason yelled out as he barged into a random room - the bathroom by her hearing - and continued his ransack of her family's personal space. 

Joan let out a noise from the back of her throat as Patrick and Matthew looked at each other, and walked past the teen girl to help in their puppet master's search for Eddie. She grabbed Patrick's wrist with intent to question further, but was shoved off like the plague, concern morphing onto her face at the look of genuine fear that Patrick produced.

"Patrick...?"

"I-I-?" Patrick swallowed and shook herself back to the present, turning around and swiftly joining Jason while wiping under his nose with his sleeve.

Joan was torn between screaming, crying, and calling the police because the men in her life were giving her the worst fucking headache today and with a step towards the hallway Joan had every intention of giving these bastards a piece of her fucking min-!

"Pst!"

Joan whipped around to see Lucas trying to get her attention from the porch, eyes panicked and searching with his arms waving her down. Cautiously, she went over to the boy and let out a squeak as she was dragged  out onto the porch.

"They're looking for Dustin because they think he knows where Eddie is." He said quickly, eyes darting around the doorframe for his teammates. "He's not... he's not here is he?"

"What? No. He's..." Joan trailed off as the memory of Steve's car narrowly avoiding hers at the cabin replayed.

The high was already gone, but the burn still hurt.

"He found Eddie, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I-I, uh, was just there." Joan stuttered out with a rub of her neck while Lucas seemed to relax in relief. "He's fine, just being the normal ass he always is just over at that weird drug dealers house."

"What?"

"Some crappy cabin by the lake." Joan shrugged with a roll of her eyes and faked a shiver. "Serial killer vibes, honestly. Like, weird shack, ugh."

Lucas risked another glance around the doorframe and looked at Joan quickly. "Look, I need to warn Dustin. Do you have the radio?"

"It's in my car?"

"Shit, that'll draw too much attention..."

"There's that old AV radio..." Joan said slowly. "It's in Dustin's room though..."

They listened to the three teens throw open another door and start rifling through more things. Soon they'd be in her room and while she didn't have it a mess, the thought of them being in her space made her feel... icky.

"...I'll lure them, distract them in the living room." The words popped out before she could even think about what she was saying. Joan looked at Lucas and tried to hide the nervousness on her face with a serious one. "Dustin leaves the middle window unlocked-"

"Still?"

"God, don't even with me right now..." Joan punched the bridge of her nose at the memory of trying to explain serial killers to a boy who has seen supernatural death. "...not the point. J-just, do that nerdy thing and I'll... buy you time."

While Lucas ran to the back of the house, Joan took a few deep breaths in preparation as she tried to come up with a suitable distraction. Thankfully, by the time she entered the home she didn't have to think because a furious Jason and mixed emotion minions stood in her doorway holding a few things.

A Dungeons and Dragons magazine was thrown at her feet and Joan rose an eyebrow at it.

"...did you find what you were looking for?" Joan asked sarcastically, picking up her brother's property carefully and setting it on the coffee table. "If you wanted to play all you had to do was-."

"You sleeping with the freak?" Jason interrupted as he shoved a Polaroid in her face. "Has your brother... he's corrupting you." The captain said decisively with a shake of his head. "They've... that club, that's why you haven't been the same."

"Chris- are you insane?!"

Jason snatched Joan by the shoulders staring into her eyes in a crazed way that had her looking at Patrick for help. Agatha's ex looked hopeless before a far away look on his face appeared and Joan was shook back to face a stern Jason.

"I knew it, that day at the mall... we didn't get to you in time before that... that satan worshipper cast a-a curse on you."

"I-I wouldn't call it a curse." Joan winced at how that sounded and even Jason's eyes widened at the near admission. "W-wait, I meant-!"

"Don't worry Joan." Jason shushed her with a false kindness, maneuvering her to face Patrick and ignoring the way his friend once again wiped under his nose. "Patrick... you'll see that this is a man for a woman... a man of God. Once we get rid of that rat bastard, we'll free your soul from his grasp..."

Joan pushed herself out of his grip, avoiding Patrick and looked at Jason with wide eyes. Jason was... beyond anything at this moment. The teen was quite literally on the cusp of a mental breakdown, a self righteous aura surrounded him and Joan wanted to throw up as a large rip sounded and two pieces of paper were tossed on the floor.

Without another word the three silently left and Joan was left with a slack jaw, feeling strangely violated as the backs of their head got smaller and smaller. In her racing mind, she forgot all about Lucas until it was too late and Joan was left out on the front porch staring at Lucas with a face of betrayal as the car peeled out.

There was a lump in her throat as she tried to figure out what to do. The piano held the book with all the answers she needed, but the magazine on the table had chicken scratch on the bottom left corner. 

E. M.

He was an asshole - yes she was a bitch too - but she wasn't ready to drive back... there. How could she face the teen after all of that?