Steph sat on her bed, Cherokee laying down on the floor as his eyes were closed, which made her smile at the dog fondly.

Cherokee was a golden retriever that the young girl had owned since she was seven, and he was the most beautiful dog she had ever seen, which only made her love him more. The now six-year-old dog was covered in a gorgeous, golden-brown coat of fur, which complimented impeccably with his wide but tapered muzzle, brown nose, gentle brown eyes, and medium-sized pendant ears.

Cherokee was also a very loyal pet to Steph and Jamie, since he always protected them and always obeyed them; he was also beyond spoiled and loved to cuddle with his owners and play with them. But, unlike those happier times, the dog just slept on as the pre-teen in the same room listened to her Walkman as random songs resonated in the peaceful kaleidoscope of her mind; her blonde head of hair was spread out on her pillow as she stared at the ceiling, a lot on her mind as the lyrics of Old Time Rock 'n' Roll by Bob Seger began to play.

Just take those records off the shelf
I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself
Today's music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n' roll

Steph was completely zoned out, almost as if she weren't looking up at the ceiling at all, and she was in her own little world. She acknowledged nothing else around her other than the thoughts that were seeping into her brain; along with that came the worry for the two children that she would be babysitting tonight, which always came into fruition since the other kids had gone missing, including Georgie.

And (of course, Steph thought) the memory from the day that said boy had gone missing inevitably showed up again which made her groan to herself in emotional agony. She didn't want to think about it again, especially considering her recent thoughts on the current situation that the entire town of Derry was suffering badly through, and it only annoyed her more.

Still like that old time rock 'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes my soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll

Steph sat up and ripped the headphones off of her head in irritation and tossed them onto the nightstand as she huffed. She glanced at the clock; 3:26 P.M. it read, and that only put her through more stress, and she felt

(fear)

overwhelmed, which was the worst feeling to go through at a time like this. But she couldn't help it; the entire town of Derry was suffering through the pain she was agonizing through. It made her run her hands through her messy blonde hair as she suddenly had a crazy thought. It made a tiny bit of adrenaline rise in her heart as Steph glanced around the bedroom, taking in the bright blue walls as she began looking for something.

She stood up from her bed, turning off her Walkman completely as she walked over to the bookshelf that lined the wall next to the bedroom door. She scanned the rows of books that filled each cubby, and it seemed as if she weren't going to find the one she was looking for; but, much to Steph's surprise, she finally found it and she pulled it off of the bookshelf, flipping through the first few pages.

Steph sat back down with the book, which was titled My Name Is Susan Snell, in her small hands. She reached the pages after the first chapter and read through the paragraphs that ran down the slightly aged and crisp white pages.

"There's one thing no one has understood about what happened in Chamberlain on Prom Night. The press hasn't understood it, the scientists at Duke University haven't understood it, David Congress hasn't understood it - although his The Shadow Exploded is probably the only half-decent book written on the subject - and certainly the White Commission, which used me as a handy scapegoat, did not understand it."

The young girl's eyes widened a little as she read the words over again, as it was so

(strange)

unbelievable to her. As she scanned them again, her eyes ended up trailing to the last paragraph, and she got chills just from glancing at it.

"I have told this story before, most notoriously before the White Commission, which received it with incredulity. In the wake of two hundred deaths and the destruction of an entire town, it is so easy to forget one thing: We were kids. We were kids. We were kids trying to do our best..."

Steph couldn't believe that her aunt, who was now twenty-seven years old, had gone through something so traumatic; it was even scarier that Chamberlain was fifty miles away from Derry, and also the fact that a girl like Carrie White used to exist in the past. Although she herself was happy that Carrie couldn't hurt anyone else now, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. She dug through some research with Sue's help in the past when she had first found out about the Black Prom.

She had found some old newspaper clippings that Sue still had and truly realized just how devastating the Black Prom was when it had occurred ten years ago.

And she was now connecting the dots as she thought of something depressing: Would she have to tell her own story of what happened this summer? Would she have to answer questions about the missing children? Would the amount of disappearing kids rise to the level of the Chamberlain disaster? The thought was terrifying for her to picture... would Derry become a ghost town like Chamberlain currently was?

Steph shook her head to herself, tossing the book onto her nightstand as she let out a breathy laugh of humor. You're being absolutely ridiculous, Stephanie, she thought to herself, putting a hand on her forehead and sighing to herself. It isn't going to be that bad, it'll all be over soon...

At least, she thought so...

"Steph!" came Jamie's voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Come on, you have to go to the O'Connor's house, sweetie!"

"Coming, Mom!" Steph shouted in response so her mother could hear her. She then got up from the bed and grabbed her bright yellow purse; after this, she paused for a second, looking at a picture of her mother and father, Jonathan Palmer, together while Jamie was still pregnant with the young girl. A small but sad smile formed on her face as she looked at it, wondering what her life would be like if her father was still with her and her mother.

Jonathan, who was a kind man and someone that Jamie Palmer was extremely happy to be married to, was horribly killed in a drive-by shooting in New York City a month and a half before his daughter was born. He had been thirty-two years old and was randomly shot and killed for absolutely no reason; his death had left Steph's mother devastated through the rest of her pregnancy. But Jamie, much to the girl's happiness, began to move on as much as she could when they both moved to Derry.

That's why Steph had been living in the small town for her entire life: the grief was too much for Jamie, so she had to leave New York for a new life with her only child. She was much happier than she was over a dozen years ago, but she was never fully cheerful anymore. Because of this, Steph truly missed her father, even though she never got to know him at all; she wished she would have gotten to know him, and it made her even more heartbroken to know that he had loved Jamie to pieces and would have done anything for her.

They seemed to be the happiest couple, but Jamie's light in the darkness was extinguished, leaving her in a world of blackness. But Steph was always there to help her.

The girl opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled something out that she hadn't looked at in months. It was a wooden pocket knife and it, surprisingly, still looked sleek and brand new, despite how old it actually was. Steph flicked open the blade and looked at how it gleamed in the sunlight streaming in through her window.

It was her father's pocket knife that Jamie had given her the year prior to today. It was beautiful because it used to belong to a man that she knew was good to everyone he encountered, and he didn't deserve the horrible fate he eventually got. Because of this, she closed it and slowly put it in her purse; she thought she might need it just in case someone attempted to break into the O'Connor's while she was watching Justin and Amber.

After this, she opened her bedroom door and left the room, jogging down the stairs to where Jamie was waiting for her at the front door with a small smile on her face.

"Okay, so you have your purse and everything?" she checked, looking over Steph with a worried look in her sea green eyes.

Steph giggled a little; she went through this every time she left to go babysitting and it always humored her. She was never annoyed with her mother, she couldn't be. She loved Jamie too much. "Yes, Mom," she replied through her chuckles. The middle-aged woman nodded as she gave the girl a hug, which she gently returned in a loving manner.

"Okay," Jamie sighed, smiling a little. "Now, you be careful and make sure those kids behave. I love you, sweetie."

Steph squeezed her mother before letting her go so she could leave for her shift at the chiropractor's office. "I love you, too, Mom..." she said in return, a sweet smile touching her lips as she kissed Jamie's cheek in farewell.

She walked out the front door before Jamie did and began walking down the street once again, not needing to bring her bike with her this time. She had left her Walkman at her house, but she didn't need it tonight, since it was unnecessary to bring it with her. All she needed at the very moment was the slightly chilly breeze blowing her hair in different directions as she heard the engine of her mother's car start. She turned around in time to see the 1958 Plymouth Fury pull out of the driveway and take off down Kansas Street.

Steph then turned around, a happy smile on her face this time as she saw the O'Connor residence come into view. It was a small, two-story house that was perfectly fine for a family like them; it was painted white and had a red door accompanying it, which made it even more beautiful than it already was. It was one of the nicest houses in the neighborhood, if she were to be truly honest, and that made it even better.

Another chilly breeze went through the air, which made Steph hug her arms to herself to keep herself from being cold. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she finally stepped onto the front porch, but with the eerie feeling of someone staring at her, which really creeped her out. Because of this, she knocked on the front door even quicker than usual so she could get inside as fast as possible. She then sighed with relief when she heard footsteps approaching the door and the deadbolt being unlocked.

"Hi, Mrs. O'Connor!" she greeted the woman on the other side of the door happily, a big smile on her face.

"Hello, Steph," replied the mother of two children that was Rachel O'Connor; she was a woman around Jamie's age that had normal glasses framing her still young face that went well with her green eyes and brown hair. Her eyes held a certain kindness that only a mother could own in their personality, and that was why she and Steph had bonded over the years that they had come to know one another. The young girl always looked to Rachel as a second mother, which made them both happy.

"You excited about your date night with Mr. O'Connor?" asked Steph in a very polite and kind voice she often used around the middle-aged woman. Rachel smiled and chuckled a little as she nodded.

"I am very excited, Steph," said Rachel as she allowed her to step into the house. "And how many times do I have to tell you? You can just call us Rachel and Danny, okay?"

The pre-teen sighed playfully as she nodded and smiled. "Okay, then... Rachel."

The woman in question grinned at the girl and ruffled her hair a little before turning her head towards the stairs. "Justin! Amber!" she shouted to the children. "Steph's here, come say hi!"

Almost immediately, Steph could hear loud and frantic footsteps thundering down the stairs and yells of excitement; it made her grin like a dumb idiot when she saw the two small kids of ages nine and seven come barreling towards her. She knelt down so she could hug them easier as they crashed into her arms, screaming about how they were so happy to see her, and she laughed with pure joy and happiness.

"Thank you for letting me watch over them again, Mrs. O'C- I mean Rachel," she said, correcting herself towards the end of her sentence. She then turned to see Rachel's husband walking towards her with a kind smile on his face. "You too, Daniel!"

Daniel O'Connor was a forty-five year old man that was one of the main lawyers of the justice system of Derry. He was one of the nicest men that lived in the small town with his family, which made Steph take an immediate liking to him as a person. She could also tell that he truly loved his wife and kids, and that's what made the young girl appreciate him even more.

"Why, thank you, Steph," said Daniel in response before turning to his children. "Now, kids, you make sure you behave and be nice to Steph here, okay? I love you two." He then gave them both hugs before standing up again.

"Bye, Dad!" Amber and Justin said in unison, sad little smiles on their faces. They loved their father to pieces; they were wrapped around his little finger.

"Now, Steph," Rachel began, "if there is any trouble at all or if there is an emergency, just make sure that you—"

"Either call you guys or the police," finished Steph. She had heard this hundreds of times from the couple. "Everything will be fine, Rachel, don't worry!" She suddenly hugged the woman as she bid her farewell for now. "You two have a great time tonight."

The couple said goodbye to the young girl and the two kids standing on either side of her. They promised to be back before the town's curfew so Steph could be home safely, and they all waved farewell to each other as Rachel and Daniel got into their car and drove away.

And Steph, knowing that she would only have three hours of watching two kids that were basically best friends to her now, shut the door behind her, just barely resisting the urge to lock the deadbolt.

But the worries of the current situation that the entirety of the small town was suffering through never left the poor girl's mind.

A/N: i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! there will be a few following this one that are still original chapters and then we will FINALLY get into the plot of the movie! most of this story is setup and having you get to know and care about the characters before the proper shit goes down later on!

be looking forward to the next chapter in the near future!

-denbroughswife