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It's been a strange, confusing, amazing and horrifying few days.

For someone who generally keeps to himself, Joel's not sure how so much has happened at once, but no matter how he looks at it, there's enough going on in his life right now to satisfy him for years to come. The ball had been both a disaster and one of the more gratifying nights of his life and while he hasn't yet spoken with Lou since sending her home in a cab, he knows he needs to find the courage to visit her at some point.

He needs to speak with Lara as well. The truth is, he's been avoiding her, still not entirely sure what he feels. He's angry, but more than that, he feels betrayed, and that's a feeling Joel has gone out of his way to avoid, it's why he's kept himself so closed off from most people in Siren Cove.

The threatening letters he's been receiving aren't helping matters and although he's handed them over to the police, he'd still spent most of the night in his work room, crafting witch bottles that he's hoping he can convince people to put in their homes or bury in their yards. Something is coming and he doesn't know yet if that something is coming for him or the people he cares about, but he's not taking any chances.

With the bottles in his bag, he locks the door to his store and heads into town. He needs to find a few specific people, he needs to run some errands and he wants to stop by the library to see Spencer, maybe bring him lunch. Even as he thinks about that, he finds himself smiling and he has to duck his head as he walks. The premonition he'd had the night of the ball had disrupted things a little, but even with that, he feels a lot more certain of where things may be headed.

[ooc: Joel can be just about anywhere in town. There are some specific people he needs to speak with, so find him wherever suits! He's also made witch bottles for people he cares about, so come collect your protective charms. And no matter what you read on google about making a witch bottle, he did NOT pee in them.]

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She's been at the bakery night and day, working on pastries for the Art Festival - but that doesn't mean she's forgotten the people she's friends with, albeit new friends. She's sort of avoiding everyone the best she can, given that she's still figuring out how to get her head on straight after the ball, and so she's been the baked-good fairy to Joel and Spencer and Levi and the occasional person looking for a snack. She's got a bag of little pastry boxes, and she's planning to leave Joel's at the shop - nevermind if it's probably outside of his hours, that would just mean that she'd get to just hook the twine on the doorknob and leave and not have to worry about awkward conversations.

However, there he is, and she actually draws up short as she blinks, before she moves forward to catch him anyway. "Hey, Joel! I was actually just coming to stop by." She sounds a little more bubbly than usual, but she totally blames that on the latte she'd had this morning as a treat for herself.

"Hi," he says, smiling at the sight of Emily. He hasn't seen her since the night of the ball, but he figures that's his own fault, given how wrapped up he's been in the letters and the premonition and Lou finding out his secret and Spencer. He usually doesn't have so many things going on that distract him, but the past few days have been a little overwhelming and he knows he's kept to himself more than usual.

She looks better than she had at the ball. Happier. Maybe in a little less pain. Joel has to resist the urge to read her aura again and wonders if he should give her one of the bottles. He can say he bought it from the Coombs, pass it off as a gift instead of something he's made himself. "How are you?"

She digs in her bag, not even caring that they're in the middle of the sidewalk. She's both happier, and in less pain; she hasn't really been taking it easy, but there's taking it easy, normal, and on the other end of the spectrum, down the hall and in a room labeled Bad idea, is where she was at the ball.

"This," she says matter-of-factly, "Is for you." It is - it's labelled with his name, and everything. "I had extra when I was making pastries for the Art Festival." She's doing her absolute best to be social, and if that means she needs to use baked goods to grease the way.... so be it. "And I'm okay. Busy, but... you know. You?" He looks a little... stressed. Tired. She doesn't know him all that well, but he's someone she'd like to get to know better, so her brows furrow in concern.

Joel isn't used to anyone bringing things to him -- Cosette and Jacob both do from time to time, but he's known them for long enough that it doesn't surprise him anymore -- and he smiles, pleased to see his name on the box. "Thank you," he says, taking it from her. Lately it seems that he's been making more friends, new friends, and it's not entirely a comfortable experience for him, but it isn't one he wants to completely avoid anymore either.

"Oh, it's..." He rubs one hand against his eye, then shrugs. "It's been a weird week is all." He can't tell her about what happened with Lou, because that would mean admitting he's a witch, but the letters are ominous enough without involving magic. "I've gotten some strange letters. Kind of threatening. It's been... unsettling."

She's glad he's smiled - they've only talked three or four times, so it might be weird that she brought him pastries, but he seems like a really good guy and she likes him - she likes thinking of him as her friend, sort of.

Her brows furrow with concern when he says it's weird, and her eyes widen. "Threatening?" She resists the urge to look around. "What kind of threatening?' She's ignoring the way that her heart spiked with fear. It's his letters, not her letters. It's his life, not her life. She doesn't need to be afraid (even though she absolutely is.) "Are you okay? Can I help somehow?"

"I'm fine," he says quickly, because unsettling is something he can deal with easily enough, and he doesn't want anyone else to worry more than they have to. "I've already spoken with the police and they're looking after it. It's probably just someone who... someone who doesn't like me very much. There are a few of those around town." He might not have any real enemies besides Mark, but he's trying to convince himself that it can't possibly be him. Ten years have gone by since they've last seen each other and Joel can't imagine anyone holding a grudge for that long.

But he's not quite convinced of that either. It weighs on him and he's finding it more and more difficult to sleep. He's more worried about Cosette and Spencer than he is himself. If Mark were to come after him directly, Joel knows he has magic on his side and Cosette is a siren, but he worries anyway. "I'm just waiting for the day I get a brick through my store window," he says, forcing a laugh.

She doesn't look all that much like she believes him when he says he's fine, but she lets it slide when he explains. "Well, they're stupid," she says susinctly. "Like, you don't like somebody, fine, but you don't threaten them. You don't threaten anybody." She says it flatly, and she's still got her brows furrowed as she looks at him.

Then he talks about getting a brick through his window, and her eyes widen almost comically. He laughs, but it's not funny. It's so not funny. "Do you need somewhere to stay?" She's only got a boarding room, but she's not thinking of that - just that there's no way that waiting for a brick through my window' is fine. "Listen,I don't have a lot, but you can totally crash if you want, and... and I dunno, you can talk to the police more. I know a detective there." She barely knows Levi, but she's been dropping off cinnamon rolls and that's got to be worth some goodwill, right?

"I'm really okay," Joel insists, though he's touched by the offer. There aren't many people in town who'd let him stay with them, though the truth is that he doesn't feel comfortable leaving his apartment for that long. "I'm more worried about..." He pauses, looking at Emily for a moment before he goes forward. He'd told her how he feels about Spencer at the ball and he doubts it's much of a secret anymore either, not after they left together.

"I'm more worried about Spencer," he says. "And another friend of mine, Cosette. The last letter made reference to both of them. It means I'm being watched." He can protect himself, he has magic on his side, but he really is worried about the others.

"Brick through store window is not okay, you get that, right?" She has to say it, but then he says he's worried about Spencer and she actually turns to look at the Waters house, then he continues. "But- But they're both nice. They're both so nice, why- why would somebody hurt them?" It made no sense to her.

But then he says that he's being watched, and she can't help it. She can't help the way all of the color just sort of leeches from her face. "How do you know you're being watched?" Her voice is odd, almost strained.

It's a weird MO. Being followed and watched and stalked, and it's what got her up here. It's what made her run from Boston.

Joel's shoulders lift briefly and he chews the inside of his lip. "The last letter asked about the librarian. Spencer and I have only been... spending time together for about a month. Someone would have to be watching me to know that I've been seeing more of him... enough to warrant a mention in a letter meant to frighten me." She's asking a lot of questions and most of them he can't really answer without telling her the whole story of what's happened, but so few people know it that he knows he won't be able to tell her. Not the whole story, anyway.

"Like I said, the police are already involved," he says. "It's probably someone who just wants to scare me. I've definitely made... I don't want to say enemies, but there are people who don't like me. People who would think this sort of thing was funny."

"But it's not. Nobody sane would think this is funny." She looks like a stormcloud, but it's not her fight. "Just... if you need anything - like, emergency pastries, place to crash, a stick to whack people with... let me know?" She's worried - not just for him, but for Spencer, now.

And somewhere, deep down, she wonders if it's the same people. If she's being watched. And it's not about her, but it eats at her, the fact that she doesn't know anything.

"Okay? No matter what, no matter what time it is."

He's touched by the offer and even though he has no intention of dragging anyone into this who doesn't need to be, he nods anyway. There aren't many people who would offer such a thing, not to him and not to Spencer, and it's a kind gesture, more than he expects, which maybe it's fair, but he's grown used to a certain kind of behavior. He's not entirely without fault, he's certainly discouraged people from getting close to him for a long time.

"Emergency pastries sound like a good offer," he says, giving her a smile. He doesn't need any weapons, not with what he has at his fingertips any time he decides to return to that sort of magic, but he tries not to think about that. "Don't worry, okay? Really. The detective I spoke to was very helpful and very clear that he'll do everything he can to make sure it all works out."

She smiles a little because he's obviously trying to get her not to worry - not that it works at all, but she knows he's trying, and if she doesn't reciprocate he'd keep trying to reassure her. "Okay. Just... be careful." She paused, and then- she can't not say it, even though it's probably more about her past experience than his own. "And, Joel - if you just like... get a bad feeling, listen to it, okay? People just sort of...pick up on stuff, and it's better to know then it is to brush it off."

She sighs quietly, and then shrugs a shoulder. "I've got some more boxes for people - lots of trying stuff out last night." Raleigh doesn't want this to be awkward for either of them, so giving herself an out seemed like a good bet.

Emily can't possibly know just how close to home such a comment hits, but Joel tries not to let it show. He's gotten feelings all his life and for the most part he's left them as such. He hasn't wanted them to turn into anything more. But in recent weeks he's been working hard at turning them into the real premonitions they want to be, though they still come at inopportune moments, like the night of the ball, and aren't any easier to read.

"I will," he says. "I listen to my gut." Then he smiles and nods. "I've got some things to drop off for some people, too, but... here." It's a risk, he knows that, but he can't leave her without. "It's a witch bottle. I just picked up a couple somewhere. I know it's probably just a silly superstition, but my mom always had one in our house somewhere. Take one."

She has no idea just how that resonates with him - she's talking just from her own experience, when she thought people were following her, and if she'd acted sooner, maybe... maybe she never would have ended up here. Maybe.

She's got no idea, but she is surprised when he hands her something. He says it's a witch bottle, but she just sort of... stares at it. 'Thank you? ... Just.. What's a witch bottle?" She doesn't really care about where he got it, or where he found it - but she doesn't know what it is, is the problem.

"Oh, it's... it's supposed to be a protective charm, I think," Joel says, as if he doesn't know exactly what it is, as if he hadn't been the one to make it in the dark back room of his shop, the one where no one goes, the one he keeps locked at all times. "You're supposed to keep them in an undisturbed corner of the place you live and it's supposed to ward off bad things."

He smiles and shrugs. "I don't know if they really work. It's just... leftover, I think. From my childhood." That's not the truth at all and he's usually not such a good liar, but if he can get Emily to take one and if it helps her at all, then he's more than happy to lie to make it happen.

She looks down at the bottle and actually smiles. "Okay. Okay - you have one, right? And Spencer? I mean, if anybody needs it right now, it's you guys." And she could kick herself even as she says the words, because there's a part of her that's saying Oh, god, what are you doing? You need this. You need this if they find you- but she's ignoring it because that's who she is. It's who she's always been.

"If he doesn't have them, or you don't, you should keep it." Even though everything in her is saying she needs whatever help she can find.

"I have one," Joel says, though that isn't true. The charms in place on his apartment and store are far more complicated than a witch bottle, but he can't do the same for others unless he takes his ingredients with him and he's not sure he can do that. He wants to, he wants make sure he can keep Spencer and Cosette as safe as he possibly can, but he has such a hard time doing magic outside that room.

"And I'll do everything I can to keep Spencer safe," he adds. "Really, you can take that."

"Okay. Okay, if you're sure." She chews on her lower lip, and she looks up at him. "Just.... be careful. And-" She pulls in a breath. "I mean, all I can do is keep an eye out, but I will. Okay?" She sort of wants to hug him, but she'd only known him for a few weeks, and she really doesn't want to be weird.

"It'll be okay." She doesn't know that, she doesn't know any of it, but she knows that at least saying it will - sometimes, she feels like it helps.

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