( TW: severe description of gore and a panic attack occurs in this one. proceed with caution. )

Adult Steph

"Steph, you look like you're about to faint!" Bill exclaimed as he watched his wife frantically stuff several outfits into one of her suitcases. He examined how panicky she really seemed and how badly she was shaking; however, every time he had tried to reach out to her, she would flinch away with what seemed to be fear. "Pluh-Please talk to me..."

"We can talk when we're on the plane," the blonde bluntly replied without sparing a glance at him. "Now isn't the time."

"Are you sure you're even in good shape to leave?" Bill asked as he stepped over to Steph, his eyebrows raised out of worry. "You're as white as a ghost."

Steph paused her rapid packing as she took deep breaths, preventing the tears from inevitably falling. "Please don't worry about me, Bill..." she pleaded before closing her eyes. "You need to worry about packing your things so we can make it to the airport, okay? I'll be fine, I promise."

Bill couldn't bring himself to believe her as he moved closer; he reached out to take her hand but she refused his touch, mainly because of how terrified she seemed. He knew that it was the most scared he had ever seen her and that made his heartbeat pick up speed out of concern. "You're n-n-not fine, sweetheart," he said. "Maybe sit down and take a deep breath."

Steph peered over at him and finally met his eyes, her shoulders slumping as she thought about how overly scared she seemed to be. She began to breathe through her nose and out through her mouth to try to calm down, giving in and sitting on the mattress. She combed her fingers through her hair and allowed her eyes to slowly shut, almost not acknowledging her husband's hand rubbing her back but she melted into his touch and finally allowed the comfort.

"I'm sorry..." she murmured in the silence of the bedroom. "I just don't want to believe that it's true. I don't even know why I'm so afraid... I-I can't explain it."

"Muh-Me neither..." Bill responded as he slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "But we'll find out, I swear. It's gonna be okay."

The way he had promised that made Steph begin to relax; he always had a gentle tone whenever he assured her that somehow worked whenever it came to getting her to calm down but he remained patient with her every time he did so. Their near two decades of marriage had led Bill to learning every single detail about his wife, from the way she would shyly smile at him whenever they woke up each morning down to the severe panic attacks that would take place whenever she was immensely worried about something happening. It was to the point that she had willingly put herself on medication to lower her bad anxiety around ten years prior.

So, whenever Bill noticed that Steph was acting more frantic than usual, he would always persuade her to breathe evenly and think about good things so she wouldn't start shaking madly. And it worked... most of the time.

Now was one of those times, since Steph's breathing was undisturbed and slow, which relieved Bill like it always did.

I know it will be, Steph thought to herself, unknowingly transferring that sentence to her husband's mind.

"It's still wuh-weird that you can do that," Bill pointed out as he chuckled, making her laugh weakly in return.

"Sorry," Steph replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Um... I am looking forward to one thing, though..."

"And what's that?"

"Seeing our friends again..." she answered in a wistful mutter, staring distantly towards the wall across from her. "Beverly... Richie... Amber... Stan... Eddie... Mike... and Ben...."

Bill couldn't stop the soft smile that creeped onto his face as his head moved up and down. "Me too," was all he said, gently squeezing Steph's shoulder. "I hope th-th-they're all doing well, too, you know?"

Steph nodded. "Who knows? Maybe they're all just as successful as we are," she jokingly said. "Why don't we continue packing? I'm okay now, really."

"Okay... You sure you're okay?" Bill pondered just to make sure.

"Yeah, I am," said Steph. "At least, I don't think I'm gonna freak out like that again anytime soon."

As the couple proceeded to go on with their packing process, Steph seemed to be telling the truth since she didn't begin to overly panic once more. Instead, she neatly folded a few blouses and pairs of jeans to make more room in her suitcase; all she was able to think about was the possibility of whatever could happen upon her return to her childhood town and what could be waiting for her whenever she arrived.

A lightbulb then went off in her head and Steph snapped her head upward as

_____

Young Steph
June 13th, 1960

she jumped at the scream that emanated from the humongous screen in front of her. She then carefully reached over to the popcorn bucket next to her and grabbed a handful of popcorn. She ate it as quietly as she could, hoping she wouldn't alert any of the adults around her and her friends.

Despite the fact that I Was A Teenage Werewolf genuinely frightened the girl, she couldn't help but be engrossed in the convoluted yet impactful story of the film. The only reason that Richie had dragged them to the Paramount Movie Theater to see it was that he had heard of it being a cool little new horror film. However, Steph had corrected him by saying that it was a three year old movie that they were just showing again.

While some of the scenes were quite hilarious and stupid, she found it to be a decent little monster movie. She knew, however, that she would never have any interest in watching it again.

A particularly upsetting scene then unraveled in front of her in which the main character, Tony (who was transformed into a werewolf), killed a dog that was attacking him. Steph's love for dogs led to her being more affected than she thought she would be; instead of screaming like some of the other audience members, she just glanced towards the floor and felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She knew she couldn't watch it anymore.

Out of nowhere, she felt an arm slip around her shoulders and she glanced over at Bill, who was staring at her with an expression of deep concern. "Yuh-You okay?" he asked in an almost silent whisper.

The blonde girl nodded quickly, trying to seem convincing despite how upset she now was. "Yeah..." she murmured. "I just can't handle stuff like... like that. That's all..."

Bill could tell by the look in her eyes that she really wasn't okay, but he chose not to push her buttons. "Okay..." he muttered. "Just checking." He then went to remove his arm from her shoulders but her hand then grasped his to keep it where it was.

Steph didn't even need to read the boy's mind to know that he was blushing from her action and she smiled to herself. She then gently leaned her head against his shoulder, already feeling better now that he was unknowingly comforting her with his presence. She sighed serenely as her eyelids fluttered shut, finally feeling at ease for once.

Their little moment was soon destroyed, however, when the popcorn bucket that Eddie had bought for himself had tumbled off of the railing in front of them thanks to him accidentally kicking it. The movement made Steph perk up and she was unaware of Bill removing his arm from around her. She quickly glanced at little Justin and examined the expression of surprise in his eyes and then towards Amber, who looked utterly confused.

"Eddie, what the hell?" Amber whisper-yelled with her eyebrows raised.

Steph frantically stood up as her heart sank and, although she knew what she would be met with as she peered over the railing, she felt utter dread as the popcorn fell onto three teenage boys that seemed to be older than her.

Henry Bowers, Victor Criss, and Belch Huggins.

The Bowers Gang.

She herself certainly had a history with the trio of bullies, having had moments where she was either insulted for her looks or was physically assaulted and would come home with a bruise on any section of her face. She would have to lie to her parents, Jonathan and Jamie, and tell them she had tripped and fell on the way home but they never believed her despite their fake assurance that they were telling the truth.

A surge of fear then coursed through her when the older boys turned their heads upward to glare at all nine of them, and she instinctively grabbed Justin and lifted him into her arms. "Get ready to hold on tightly..." she whispered to him, and he nodded quickly despite not having a single clue of what was happening.

"They saw me!" hissed Eddie and Steph hummed a little, already knowing that would happen.

"Wuh-We better go, guys!" Bill said.

"I'm a dead man..." Eddie muttered as his hands flew to his head in utter terror.

"We'll be alright, Eddie," Amber said as she placed a hand on his arm to try and calm him down. She knew damn well who the Bowers Gang were and, despite never encountering them herself, she had every reason to be worried about her friends.

Richie, though, didn't seem to be scared at all as he glanced over the railing with a smug look on his face. "If I were you guys, I wouldn't pay to see a monster movie!" he bellowed down, earning several "Shhhhhh's" from the crowd around them. "I'd just stay home and look in the mirror!"

"Richie!" Steph cried out as he then purposely tipped over his drink onto the gang below.

Steph was already running out of the auditorium with Justin in her arms, Amber and Bill, and soon the rest of the group sprinting after them. The blonde didn't stop her journey away from the theater despite the looks she was getting from fellow adults around her. All she focused on was keeping the youngest child safe, and she cradled him close to her to make sure he wouldn't drop from her hold. She was forever thankful that he kept an iron grip on her.

As soon as all of them arrived at the Barrens, Steph carefully set the young boy down on his feet. "You alright, kiddo?" she asked with an earnest expression in her eyes.

"That was more fun than I thought!" Justin said as he grinned. "Can we do it again?"

"I think I've had enough running around with a child in my arms for one day," Steph joked as she finally caught her breath. "Maybe some other day, alright?"

Justin nodded thoughtfully before glancing up at his friend. "Who were those guys Richie was yelling at?" he asked.

Steph froze for a second, becoming completely tense. "I don't think you need to worry about them," she assured him, ruffling his bright hair. "Besides, it's not worth having to explain all of it to you."

"Did you see those guys?!" Richie exclaimed with a burst of laughter and, while Steph rolled her eyes, she couldn't help but smile just a tiny bit at the question.

"Yeah, and we all saw you being a complete idiot," she retorted with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I saw you make it worse," Eddie sighed, nothing that was playful in his tone.

"Oh, come on, Eddie Spaghetti!" said Richie in a high voice. "It was just a joke!"

"Well, sometimes, you juh-joke too much," Bill pointed out with a joking smile.

"Yeah, well, sometimes, you gotta make jokes or you die of boredom," Richie stated. "I mean, are we men or are we mice?"

"We're mice!" all nine of them shouted simultaneously before erupting into a fit of giggles.

Afterwards, Bill walked over to Steph and placed a hand on her shoulder as his eyebrows knit together in worry. "Yuh-You okay after all o-o-of that?" he asked soothingly, feeling very relieved when the girl nodded in reply.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, actually telling the full truth. "I mean, it was scary but we got away, didn't we?"

Bill chuckled. "We sure did," was all he could say.

The whole group then stopped their trek through the woods as they came across a sight that made a few of them curious but unnerved some others. Steph instantly recognized it to be a very tall building and she recalled her father telling her that it was the entrance to the sewer system below Derry. He had warned her to never go down there since she could easily become lost and she didn't hesitate to listen to him.

"That place scares me green," Eddie mumbled under his breath as he shuddered from head to toe. "I think it's haunted."

"Is that something you heard?" Steph questioned him, genuinely interested now.

"It's just a feeling I have," was what he said.

For just a moment, Steph closed her eyes and searched through the boy's mind to make sure he was telling the truth, unaware of Stan and Beverly exchanging a few words. She peered through what seemed to be books within Eddie's subconscious and then got a sliver of the terrible feeling he had about the building in front of them. It made her open her eyes back up and her shoulders went rigid for just a few seconds.

However, Richie beginning to flirt with Beverly in a dramatic way broke her out of her focus.

"You're a pretty swift guy for a girl, my chickadee," Richie said in an over-the-top manner, making the other boys and Amber laugh.

Beverly raised an eyebrow and threw an arm over the taller boy's shoulders. "Why, Richie Tozier, was that a compliment on our very first date?" she asked sweetly before giving him a peck on the cheek. All of the others then let out a chorus of "Oooo's" as they watched this and Steph even giggled at the action in front of her as Richie crossed his arms and smirked smugly.

"How come he's so special?!" Eddie shouted humorously.

"The date wasn't just for him, dear," Beverly assured him as she also kissed his cheek, ruffling his hair. "I love you, too. In fact, I love all of you guys! You girls, too... You're all awesome."

While most of them responded enthusiastically to her, Amber was slightly more hesitant as her face turned pink for a second before she also replied.

After this, the entire group walked out of the Barrens, relieved when the sun became unveiled from the clouds again. Steph kept a tight hold on Justin's hand to make sure he wouldn't stray too far from the group and Bill smiled at the sight of her being somewhat protective towards the much younger boy. It was almost as if she was being a second mother figure to Justin whenever he and Amber were away from their actual parents for a few hours.

It actually warmed his heart that she cared for the younger kids in the group that much and it only proved how sweet she was as a person.

"I wish this summer would never end," Eddie muttered once they arrived at his house. "It's the best summer of my whole life!"

"I'm starting to agree," Steph said, earning smiles from everyone else.

"Eddie!" came the shrill voice of an older woman as they were suddenly approached by who seemed to be Eddie's overly frantic mother. "Eddie Kasprak! I was worried sick, I almost called the police!" She then gripped the boy's shoulders so tightly that Steph became frightened that her talon-like fingers would crush him.

"E-Eddie was with us, Muh-Mrs. K–" Bill began.

"Go away!" she sneered, which made Bill back away and sigh deeply.

"Mrs. Kaspbrak, please don't hurt him," Steph spoke up as she took a step towards the two.

"Shut up!" Mrs. Kaspbrak shouted. "I know what I'm doing with my son!"

"Ma, these are my friends," Eddie whined in a tone that suggested that he was already annoyed with his mother and had been for a while. For a brief moment, he caught the intense glare in Steph's dark blue eyes from Sonia's response as her hands balled up into threatening fists, and that was why he had stepped in when he did.

"Well... We'll see you tomorrow, Eddie," Amber muttered awkwardly with a tight smile.

"Eddie has to rest tomorrow," the older woman said bluntly before tugging her son into the house as Eddie shot them an apologetic expression.

_____

As the group approached the average yet elegant-looking house on Kansas Street, the front door opened and Steph spotted a woman with her platinum blonde hair extending in soft ringlets down her back walking onto the front porch. A smile instantly formed on her face as she jogged over to her mother and gave her hug.

"Well, hey there, kid," Jamie Palmer greeted her daughter with a loving tone as she embraced her back. She then spotted two familiar kids that had surrounded Steph earlier and she grinned in response to seeing them. "Hey, Justin... Amber. How are your parents?"

"Oh, the same as usual," Amber answered in a joking context with a small laugh. "Busy one second, then doting over us the other."

"How are you, Mrs. Palmer?" Justin asked in a really quiet voice, going back to his shy demeanor despite having known Jamie for a number of years now.

"I'm doing okay, thank you for asking, Justin," Jamie said politely.

"And Mr. Palmer?" Amber pondered.

"He's at work for now, but he's alright, too." Jamie then focused her attention on all of the other kids of the group and tilted her head in interest. "Who are your new friends, Steph?" she added to her little girl.

Steph sheepishly looked down for a moment before putting on a confident facade in order to not worry the others. "These are some kids from my class, Mom," she said in a sweeter voice than normal, unknowingly sending a fluttery feeling through Bill upon hearing it. "Meet Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Stan Uris, Richie Tozier, and Bill Denbrough. My other friend, Eddie Kaspbrak, already went home earlier."

Jamie proceeded to shake all of the hands of the younger kids, saying "Nice to meet you all" as she did so, and they were all kind in response. She couldn't lie when she thought about how they all seemed to be really good people that had a lot of potential in their futures. She already had a good feeling about them and she was thankful that her daughter wasn't alone whenever she was out in public because of everything that had been going on in terms of the murders and disappearances over the last year.

"I hope you kids are staying safe out in the town, considering..." she told them with a somewhat stern but easy going expression.

"Wuh-We're making sure to be c-c-careful, ma'am," Bill replied with a curt nod of his head, his stutter giving away who he actually was to Jamie (she automatically felt sympathy for the boy because of his brother's death several months ago).

"That's good," she said. "Well, I was just coming out here to meet you all. Come inside whenever you want to, Steph. Just stay aware of the curfew."

"I will, Mom," said Steph with a smile before turning back to her friends as Jamie left them in the front yard. "I'm actually gonna go inside, guys. I'll see you tomorrow, though?"

"Sounds like a plan, Stephie," Richie muttered with a playful smile as he tossed an arm around her shoulders and brought her into a casual hug. "You stay good, alright?"

Steph nodded before going to hug all of them, making sure to embrace Justin and Amber extra tightly before they bid their farewell for the day. Eventually, all of them walked away one by one until it was only her and Bill remaining.

"A-Are you sure you're alright after all th-thuh-that?" Bill asked with a raised eyebrow, just wanting to make sure again. "They gave us quite the sc-scare there."

The girl smiled as she moved her head up and down. "Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, fiddling with her hands. "I was more worried about Justin, after all. By the way... don't let him know about who Bowers is. I don't want to scare him even more."

"Of course," Bill simply said with a tight smile. "That's a-a-a good idea."

Steph's face then flushed out of nowhere as she interlocked her fingers together. "So..." she began.

"So..." Bill mumbled at the same time as her, which led to them breaking into a tiny fit of laughter. "Yuh-You first."

"So... Did you enjoy the movie?" Steph finally finished her question with her face turning even more pink from her timidness.

Bill's eyes brightened as he eagerly nodded, crossing his arms to appear as though he wasn't nervous at all. "Uh, yeah, I duh-did," he said. "It was a bit st-st-stupid but I enjoyed it. What about you? I know that one s-s-s-scene upset you a bit."

"Yeah, it did..." Steph admitted as she shuddered from the reminder. "But the movie was good, I guess. Not one I'd watch again, though."

The two of them conversed about the movie for a little while longer before a near silent rumble of thunder sounded in the sky not too far away, effectively ending their conversation. They laughed awkwardly in response.

"Well... I better go," Bill muttered reluctantly.

"Yeah, don't get caught in the rain," Steph said in an amused tone before growing sheepish again. "Um... thank you... for making me feel better after I got upset."

"No problem," he replied genuinely.

Steph suddenly stepped forward and placed a tender kiss on Bill's cheek as a way to add to her thanks. She didn't miss the way he had closed his eyes from the touch and it made her grin as she backed away, only grateful that she wasn't any more upset than she had been earlier in the theater.

If she had been... who knows what kind of catastrophe could have happened?

I won't let that happen, she thought as she subtly tensed up.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bill," she whispered, her smile suddenly fading and her voice sounding almost sad.

Bill noticed but the next rumble of thunder prevented him from asking Steph what was wrong. "Yuh-Yeah, see you tomorrow, Steph."

When Steph walked towards her house this time, she didn't look back at Bill.

_____

Eight Hours Later

Steph's slumber right after she fell asleep was a rather messy one, mainly since she was the type of person that had multiple dreams throughout the night. Most of them were underwhelming and she even scoffed quietly in her sleep, but some were a little interesting. One was of her using a greater power than she was aware of to lift the entirety of Derry in the sky, another was more of a distant memory of her playing in the leaves in her backyard when she was seven.

But one dream in particular caught her attention, and it left her slightly disturbed.

In it, the exact opposite of what had happened in the movie theater was taking place. Bowers was sprinting after her as she struggled to run away, clutching little Justin in her shaking arms. His expression seemed almost monstrous and it made her all the more relieved that she was aware that it was just her imagination conjuring this.

"I'll get you, you fucking bitch!" Bowers was screaming at her as his image slowly grew hazier.

Steph couldn't bring herself to reply to him as her fantasy legs carried her as far as she could, but it seemed as though the sunlight ahead of her began to vanish. She was desperate to chase it down, certain that she would be safe and Justin would be completely protected by the sun.

Out of nowhere, the scene seemed to change to utter blackness. Justin was vanquished from her arms as they paused their trembling. Steph attempted to look around her but it was completely useless; she couldn't see a single thing in front of her or surrounding her and, for just a moment, she grew somewhat worried. But the reminder that this was all in her head and that it wasn't real resonated with her and she became more at ease again.

But there seemed to be a sound in the distance and it was drawing her in whatever direction it was coming from; she followed it deeper into the nothingness, her feet subconsciously carrying her forward almost as if she were acting on a sort of instinct. She couldn't recognize just what it was yet and her eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to concentrate on what she was hearing.

And then it clicked for her what it was and it only made her walk even quicker to where it was emanating from... but she still couldn't see anything.

The sound echoing in her ears seemed to be a young child's frantic and horrific screams of agony. The child's voice was unfamiliar to her but it sounded like it was a girl around Steph's age and likely someone that went to her school. This only made her more panicked as the cries grew more pronounced and clear.

"Please let me goooooo! I won't tell anyone just please let me go home don't hurt me pleaseeeeeee...!"

"Stop..." Steph mumbled through unmoving lips as her hands flew up to her temples, shaking her head lightly. "Stop it... please..."

"Can't let you go, little girl..." a new voice entered the scene, a creepy chuckle leaving its non-existent lips. "After all, there would be no purpose to have taken you... It isn't personal, I promise."

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS???????"

"Well... I haven't had a good meal in a while, you see, kid? After all, pain makes each piece of food taste better.... Fear too, so... you should understand."

An even more piercing screech erupted in the darkness.

Suddenly, it wasn't black anymore. Steph catapulted upward almost as if she were a puppet being pulled by its strings. She was back in the tranquil atmosphere of her room but that wasn't what she could see; although she was awake, she was sure that she was still dreaming as she saw a towering figure hovering over said girl she could hear. She could only bear witness to the monster in her fictional scenario slowly tearing the girl's right leg from its socket as she continued to scream hysterically.

"Stop, please..." she whispered in a concerned tone, still convinced that she was asleep. "Please stop..."

But the scene in front of her refused to go away, which only made her begin to doubt her suspicions.

"Stop!" she cried out quietly, finally raising her voice. "Stop!"

Finally, as an idea appeared in her head, she shut her eyes so tightly that her head began to hurt. Sweat suddenly appeared all over her body and she shivered from the chill that passed through her spine. She tried her hardest to focus on what was happening but she could still see the scenario taking place even behind her eyelids.

(STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING PLEASE)

The murderous figure suddenly halted its movements just as it was getting ready to stab the poor girl through the stomach. Its shoulders went rigid and it spun its head towards Steph almost inhumanly quickly. And that's when she recognized it to be a clown of some sorts, almost as if this was its side job after working at the circus eight hours a day.

But the golden eyes and fierce expression on its face was an instant giveaway that this was no ordinary clown. Steph felt a sensation in her heart and, for the first time in her life, it was almost like a warning.

The clown's eyes were about to peer in another direction but it stopped, gazing intently in her direction.

Steph's blue eyes snapped back open and she stared in terror back at the clown, realizing it could absolutely see her. She shuddered when a smile began etching itself into its almost ancient face and that's when her heart sank and would never rise back up.

This wasn't a dream... this was fucking reality!

(NO NO NO NO STOP IT PLEASE DON'T KILL HER HASN'T SHE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH STOP IT)

"You better watch what you're doing, little missy..." the clown spoke up in an eerie tone of voice. "I'd stay away from this if I were you. If not... it won't end well for you... or your little friends." It then halted what it was saying as it suddenly grinned maniacally. "It is nice to have an audience, though."

The clown then swiftly turned back to the dying girl and stabbed her with its left hand that had turned into a jagged claw.

The scene was suddenly gone as Steph unwillingly threw herself back onto the mattress and allowed an ear-shattering wail to leave her throat. She clawed madly at the bedsheets as she tried to grab onto whatever had been in front of her mere moments ago to get her away from the poor girl but it was no use. All she could see was her ceiling and nothing else.

"LET HER GO LET HER GO LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!!!!" she howled at the drywall above her, begging for it to answer her. "DON'T KILL HER PLEASE DON'T KILL HER LET HER BEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

The overhead light was suddenly on and her father, Jonathan Palmer, was at her bedside as he grabbed her shoulders and gingerly lifted her up. "Hey, hey, hey!" he shouted at the top of his lungs to try and make her hear him over her bellows. "Steph, honey! What is it?! What are you seeing?!"

"Steph?!" Jamie cried out as her eyes were widening with fear because of what her daughter looked like at the moment.

But Steph stared straight past them as she continued howling and screeching louder than they had ever heard her. She thrashed wildly in Jonathan's arms and he almost couldn't get a grip on her, which made him think she would break her neck by accident in the process. Her small fists pummeled at him as if she were trying to fight him off no matter how many times he assured her that he wasn't a threat.

Jonathan desperately placed both of his hands on either side of her face and attempted to peer into her mind, trying to see what she could. But, just as he caught a glimpse of the clown that was killing young Velma Daniels, Steph threw her head back and shouted: "STOP IIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, every object in the room was flying.

Jonathan and Jamie both raised their hands instinctively to shield themselves from the pictures on the wall that were now being yanked off of the wall by what seemed to be invisible hands. "Jesus Christ!" they both shrieked as all of Steph's childhood memorabilia was either knocked off of her dresser or was thrown across the room. It was like the entire bedroom had taken a mind of its own in response to Steph's screams.

Both parents suddenly had their daughter by the shoulders and were shaking her so roughly that her teeth rattled. "STEPH, STOP IT!" they yelled. "PLEASE CALM DOWN, YOU'RE DESTROYING THE PLACE!"

That finally got Steph to snap out of it as her eyes, which had rolled into the back of her head from the seizure-like panic attack, returned to normal in seconds. She frantically looked all around, trying to make sure that she was actually okay; she was drenched from head to toe in sweat as she examined all of her things scattered about the room.

And then she finally saw her parents.

And she broke.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she cried quietly as she fell into their arms, sobbing hysterically. "It... It... It killed her... It killed her... Another kid was killed... I'm sorry..."

Jonathan finally came to a terrifying realization based on what he had just witnessed earlier and locked eyes with Jamie. His midnight blue eyes were impossibly wide as his hold on his little girl tightened protectively.

"It's not a person killing these kids..." he whispered almost insanely. "It's a monster..."

"How do you know?"

"Because I saw it for myself...."

A/N: that got intense REALLY fast, didn't it?

anyways, thoughts on this chapter? did you enjoy it? let me know!

what did you think of the small scene with adult steph and bill? did you enjoy their dynamic just like the last chapter?

do you like how i've been going back and forth between adult steph and young steph exactly like the miniseries and original novel did with the other losers?

what did you think of the movie theater scene? what about the following scenes with steph and the other losers?

did you like how instantly protective steph was over justin? i guess nothing's changed lol

did you like the small scene with steph and bill afterwards?

what about the nightmare/shining scene? was it disturbing? was it interesting? i felt bad for steph in this scene...

what about jonathan and jamie being two of the only adults that become aware of what pennywise actually is?

did you like steph presenting what she's truly capable of with her shining and telekinesis?

predictions for the next chapter?

be looking forward to the next chapter!

-denbroughswife