"Were the kids able to behave for you two?"

It was 6:30 in the evening now, and Steph was currently putting on her slip-on shoes while talking to Justin and Amber's parents, who had just come back from their date. Bill sat beside her as the two adults turned on a cartoon for their children, turning up the volume so they could hear it while sitting in front of the television on the floor. Steph smiled at the sight of this, playfully messing up Justin's hair while he wasn't looking and causing him to lightly smack at her hand.

"Yeah, they were, Rachel," the girl answered the older woman. "Just like they always have been. They're still little rascals but I love them anyway."

"Hey, we heard that!" the two siblings shouted at the same time, making both Steph and Bill chuckle lightly at them as they looked back up at Rachel and Daniel in a polite manner. The girl saw the kids' father taking off his tie and lazily throwing it over his shoulder, which made her stifle another giggle; she knew Daniel well but not too well (she had known him since she was little), but she could see that he was a very laid-back father that truly loved his children but he wasn't too hard on them.... It often made her think of a scenario where her own father was still alive, where he was an amazing father to her and just as caring to his wife....

....He would have decorated the house for all of her birthday parties....

....He would have walked her to school everyday instead of her walking by herself....

....Jamie would have been far happier and much more cheerful as Steph grew up....

....They would have probably never had to move away from New York City....

....And... Jonathan Palmer wouldn't have died.... He would still be alive... living... breathing....

Steph snapped out of her thoughts as if she had never zoned out in the first place, glancing at the adults again.

Daniel had gone into the kitchen to make proper dinner for the children (Steph didn't quite know how to cook just yet). Rachel O'Connor was now sitting in a rocking chair to Bill's right and having a conversation with him about how his school year had been. The pre-teen girl herself could hear sizzling in the kitchen as the smell of tacos drifted into the living room.

"Thank you for helping Steph with the kids, Bill," Rachel said with a smile on her face, making Steph turn to the older woman. She saw Bill lower his head a little out of the corner of her eye. Then Bill said: "Th-Thank you, Mrs. O'Connor. It's n-n-n-nuh-nuh—"

"I think he's trying to say that it's no big deal," Steph finished for him, making Bill feel grateful that his best friend was sitting next to him.

Rachel nodded. "Well, thank you anyway, kids," she replied, her voice cheerful but also polite, not wanting to be stern towards the young teenagers. "Would you two like to stay for dinner?"

Steph, although it made her feel guilty, shook her head along with Bill. "We'd love to, ma'am, but Bill and I actually need to get home. We have thirty minutes until curfew, so we'd rather not go home late." As she said this, she stood up and grabbed her purse off of the coat rack, Bill getting off of the couch to follow her; Steph turned around and gave the mother of the children she babysat often a kind and sweet smile. "But thank you anyway, Mrs. O'Connor- I mean Rachel!" She facepalmed afterwards at the mistake and Bill chuckled at what she was doing, but it was lighthearted and friendly.

"Well, I'll call you whenever I need you two to help out with the kids again," Rachel let Steph know, and the girl nodded. "Goodnight, y'all. Say goodbye, kids!" she told the children.

"BYE!" Justin and Amber shouted, making Steph giggle with true happiness as she and Bill waved to them and stepped out the front door. She saw her friend grab his bicycle and begin pushing it down the street alongside her, and he stayed silent to make the night around them much more peaceful; this was something Bill often did whenever he was alone with Steph, since he always suspected that she was lost in her thoughts and didn't want to talk to him. He was often scared to open his mouth to speak to her, and she knew this, so she decided to talk first.

"So, did you have a good time watching over the kids?" she asked Bill, looking at him with gentle eyes as she clutched her purse closer to her chest. The boy looked at her with a slightly surprised look in his blue-green eyes, but he nodded nevertheless, pushing his bike further down the street. Seeing him nod made her smile, relieved that he at least enjoyed watching over the children with her like he always had.

"Yeah," Bill replied, glancing at her again, but he was ever so slightly timid as he did so. "I-I felt luh-like i-it may have b-b-buh-been the best time I've had in a w-wuh-while.... Did y-y-you have a guh-guh-good time?"

"I always do," Steph said. "Justin and Amber are such good kids, and they're fun to hang out with. I honestly believe that they're my friends now... I don't know, I guess they're like the siblings I never had. You know what I mean?" As she said the last sentence, she stared over at him as she awaited an answer.

Bill nodded his head, a slight smile touching his lips as he let out a soft chuckle. "I-It would b-b-be interesting if you ever had a b-b-br-brother or sister," he admitted, making Steph laugh a little bit. "Little kids playing g-g-games with you and luh-laughing with you... it sounds a-a-ad-adorable..."

Steph's laughter shriveled up and died right there, the smile vanishing instantly as she quickly looked away from the boy. She had to try her hardest to battle the tears that threatened to fall from her midnight blue eyes, and she suddenly shivered as a new and fresh wave of sorrow and grief splashed through her soul; her fists clenched around the strap of her purse, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palms. She took a deep breath, but it was audibly quivering as her bottom lip trembled.

The thought of Georgie suddenly appeared in her mind again and she had to fight her emotions; Steph couldn't cry, not now... not while Bill was beside her. She couldn't look weak in front of him, since she had always appeared strong around him and the other Losers, so she couldn't let go of that strength now. She could one day, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week, maybe in fifty years, but certainly not right now. It was an unbearable thought to even picture herself breaking down right then and there, sobbing as salty tears coursed down her delicate face.

So, instead, she decided to grin at Bill, the waterworks successfully fading away and her smile was genuine, although it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Exactly!" Steph replied happily. She and Bill had finally arrived at her beautiful two-story house. "Maybe that'll happen one day, if my dream future actually comes true..."

"Yeah..." Bill mumbled, looking directly into her eyes with a small smile as he slowly fell silent, not looking away from her. Steph stared into the eyes that reminded her of an ocean at a heavenly beautiful beach that she herself had never been to. She didn't even know what she was doing, much to her subconscious surprise and puzzlement. She could have even sworn that her left hand was slightly shaking where it was wrapped around the strap of her purse, and she was now completely zoned out and lost in Bill Denbrough's eyes.

Inhaling a rather trembling breath, she suddenly thought, Wow... his eyes are so beautiful. They're the eyes of an angel... And she swore that she felt a warm glow in her heart for just a second before it left. And as it left, she finally looked away from Bill, having no idea that he had also been lost in her gorgeous eyes. A small amount of heat formed in Steph's cheeks, which complemented her shy smile rather well, and Bill couldn't help but notice this and he would picture this in his mind throughout the later part of the night after he left.

"I've g-g-gotta go," said Bill suddenly, breaking the silence, and Steph nodded as she cleared her throat a little bit.

The girl stepped onto the pathway leading up to the front door of her home, Bill trailing behind her a little. She then turned to look at him with a curious look in her eyes. "Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked him quietly. "It'll have to be in the afternoon if I do, since I'm going into town to go shopping with Bev..."

Bill's head bobbed up and down as he said, "Yeah, m-m-muh-maybe." Steph could notice his hands tightening their grip on the handlebars of Silver. "I'm guh-going to the B-B-B-Barrens with Stan, R-R-Richie, and Eddie... But we might s-suh-see you afterward..." He blinked once after saying this, still looking at Steph, an expression of wonder in his innocent and kind eyes.

The girl that was six months younger than Bill was satisfied with this answer, smiling in response. "Thanks for helping me with the kids," she said abruptly, her voice slightly louder. "I really appreciate it... I always do...." And she was pretty shocked at what Bill did next.

He suddenly stepped forward and put his left arm around Steph, pulling her into a gentle hug as his right hand kept an iron grip on one of the handlebars of his bike. The embrace was a simple gesture of him saying "You're welcome," and it felt as if it were a form of affection; but neither of them knew that it was the beginning of a strong and powerful love that would blossom between them over the summer. Steph thought that his arm that was around her shoulders was rather strong but very delicate, as if he didn't want to hurt her. The warmth of the hug soothed her more than she expected but the moment was over seconds later, as Bill pulled away and have her a smile.

"I have t-t-t-to go..." he whispered to her. "I'll see y-y-yuh-you tomorrow..."

Steph nodded, biting her bottom lip to prevent herself from asking him if he was okay, which was something she always questioned him. Her mind was screaming — bellowing — at her to ask him.

"Well... um... See you tomorrow, Bill," Steph said. "Have a good night."

Bill nodded in response and turned to walk away while pushing his bicycle; but he stopped and turned around, his expression dead serious now, much to Steph's dismay.

"Be safe, Steph," he told her without a stutter, his worried eyes boring into hers.

"I will," Steph said, smiling at him to promise him that.

Steph watched Bill turn around and get on his bike, pedaling off as he shouted, "Hi-yo Silver, AWAYYY!" at the top of his lungs. She then turned toward her house, sighing quietly to herself and praying silently that her best friend would make it to his home without a scratch on him.

Her mind was suddenly in a million other places, which turned her out from the rest of the world. She blinked a single time, as if to process what she was thinking about, and then she found herself staring at her house that had all of its lights turned off. She could faintly hear one of her neighbors, Mrs. Grogan, calling her six-year-old son inside from the front yard; she did this every evening at 6:50 so her little boy wouldn't lose track of time and stay outside past curfew. But she unintentionally blocked that from her brain, her subconscious choosing to ignore what she had just heard.

She had a very good reason to be preoccupied with her thoughts: the negative memories she had to relive once again today were almost too much for her and she had to struggle not to sob like a baby. But now, as she thought about it again, Steph couldn't even force herself to cry.... The tears simply just wouldn't flow, almost as if they were refusing her for the very first time in her life, which was rather strange. Instead, she just stared blankly at the house when, all of a sudden, her watch began beeping. She frantically looked down at it, checking the time.

It was 6:55, just five minutes before the town curfew that went into effect every night; Steph just simply pushed the button to stop the beeping and looked back up to the inviting windows of her house. Because of this, she began walking up the narrow pathway towards her porch, silently pointing out how plain and simple the house looked, a small speck of a large and infinite world that swallowed it in its ordinary grasp.

Or was it ordinary?

Were the disappearances that had been occurring for the past eight months ordinary? Were they just a regular thing that happened every few years? Was every citizen of Derry used to it? Was that why they were ignoring the horrible things that were happening?

Who knows, Steph? she thought to herself. Nobody's paying attention anyway, so why should it even matter anyway? A child goes missing and they don't care, they only care about themselves. Those selfish bastards, always ignoring the problems that often plague this awful town! You would go missing or even get badly hurt, and nobody would even notice!

If only she knew...

Steph ambled up the front stairs and opened the door, allowing herself to step inside the welcoming entry hall. She suddenly relaxed just a tiny bit, taking a deep breath to calm herself as she looked around the grand area. The first room ahead of the entry hall was actually the kitchen, which had a marble island with pots and pans hanging above from the drywall ceiling. Straight ahead was the small living room, the black couches resting comfortably against the hardwood floor, a stone fireplace against the wall that had no windows, and a box television residing in the corner of the room. Beside the living room was the staircase, which went straight up to the second level of the house.

A chill suddenly went up Steph's spine, a chill of uneasiness that gave her goosebumps as she noticed that the previously receiving interior of her home felt much colder and much scarier with her alone there. But she had nothing to worry about, right? Her mother would be home after her night shift ended, so nothing bad could happen when Jamie was in her company.

Right?

Steph swiftly turned around and quickly shut the door, feeling relief when she saw herself being secluded from the dangers that settled outside her home. And, although she and her mother never latched the metal chain at the top of the door, she slid the chain into place after turning the lock of the door, hearing it click in her ears.

Just in case, thought Steph.

_____

The rest of the night was one full of paranoia for the pre-teen girl. And it was not the first time that this happened.

Steph turned the dial of the dryer, making sure that the soaked laundry that had been washed after she came home from school was able to rid itself of the water in the next hour. As soon as the machine turned on, it made a loud rumbling noise that would repeat for a while, but it was rather soothing and Steph could listen to it for as long as she wanted to; besides, it was something she could do to break the eerie silence of the house. Her heart, that had since sunken to her stomach because of her uneasiness of being by herself, had since lifted back and had been placed back into her mental ribcage and she felt a little better.

She had turned on the television, allowing for the first Sleepaway Camp movie to play in the background while she cleaned the house up before her mom would come home in a few hours. She washed the dishes as she listened to the over-the-top acting in the movie, as well as sweeping the floors and organizing things in the kitchen pantry and cabinets. But a problem kept invading her mind: she kept thinking that she was hearing noises or seeing shadows in the room, and she would keep turning around every five minutes, only to find that she was still the only one in her house.

Or so she thought....

If there was one thing that the blonde girl despised more than anything, it was being alone or feeling as if she had nobody there for her. Whenever she was home alone, she was always scared that someone would break in and kill her, and the thought often creeped her out and led her to chaining the door shut whenever Jamie had to go to work for night shifts. She had to either watch horror movies, do chores, or talk with Beverly on the phone when she felt anxious about her surroundings, and either one always made her feel better.

The thought of someone being out there, either kidnapping or killing children around where she lived, and that she might've been next made her stomach churn in horror; she even had to stop her organizing for a moment because she felt a little lightheaded from the fear in her mind. She gripped the kitchen island as the blurry image of Georgie Denbrough's bright and cheerful face flashed through her eyes.

God, she missed that kid... She missed him so, so much. He was like the little brother that she never had, and a brother that she would never see for the rest of her life. She wished that she could've been the person to take his place, to be taken away from the world and her loved ones, all so this innocent child that she had grown to love and be protective over would still be alive and happy. But she knew that there was nothing that she could do about it anymore, and she felt as if it were partially her fault.

And that got her to think about it even more. What if the sicko that had kidnapped or possibly killed Georgie was targeting her or one of her friends? What if they climbed in through the bedroom window while she slept and drugged her before taking her away from the home that she had come to love every inch of over the past twelve years? What if they just killed her right there in her bed after taping her down, cutting her throat open and forcing her to choke on her own blood until her life gave out completely, her vision fading to black very slowly?

The blonde girl shuddered at the thought, putting a hand on her forehead. Screw this, she thought frantically. I need to call Bev...

She turned the dial on the radio to the left to decrease the volume, then grabbed the telephone from the living room side table and dialed Beverly's phone number. She took the television remote and paused the movie as she tried her best to breathe, making the nauseous feeling in her stomach to go away as her heartbeat began to slow down a bit. She sat down on the couch as she kept hearing the dial tone, and she tapped her foot impatiently, silently pleading for her closest friend to pick up.

She heard a click, which meant that someone had answered the phone, and she perked up with happiness, but the voice she heard was one she didn't want to hear at the moment.

"Who is this?" a rough and gravelly voice spoke into the phone. Alvin Marsh, the man that Steph hated more than anyone in the world.

No... No, Steph had taught herself to never hate anybody that she knew were horrible people. But she knew that Beverly's dad was the closest thing to her ever hating a person that would ever happen for the rest of her years on the earth. But she forced herself to push the dislike aside and an insane grin pushed itself onto her face as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Hi, Mr. Marsh," she spoke politely and through gritted teeth, trying her best to fake her kindness and happiness. "Is Beverly still awake?" She squeezed her eyes shut as she prayed that Alvin would let her talk to his daughter, but she never knew what would happen sometimes. That monster was protective over his beautiful daughter... rather too protective. He was fine with her hanging out with her girlfriends whenever she wanted to, but when a boy was involved, he would practically go mentally crazy and even physically abuse her as a result, hitting her over and over. It even angered Steph as she thought about it, since she knew that Beverly didn't deserve any of that; if she were hanging out with boys, it was perfectly fine! She would've most likely thought that they were just her friends and, if not, she had reached the age of puberty anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

She heard a sigh on the other end of the phone as her heart dropped a little again. "Stephanie," he said (she hated the way he said her first name), groaning with annoyance. "Bevvie needs her rest right now, she doesn't want to talk to you.... Leave her alone and talk to her tomorrow."

Steph's eyes widened with anger, and she pried her lips to talk again out of outrage. "But, Mr. Marsh—!" she cried out in an irritated voice.

Click.

The bastard had actually hung up the phone on her. She angrily slammed the telephone down on the receiver, furiously pressing 'Play' to continue Sleepaway Camp on the television.

Yeah, screw you, too, she thought to herself as she sighed quietly, calming down again.

The pre-teen looked at the clock on the wall, which read 8:16 P.M. She had spent the past hour doing chores so her mother wouldn't have to feel stressed whenever she came home, and she was feeling a little tired at this point. But she promised herself that she would finish the movie and then fold the laundry before officially going to bed, even though that didn't stop her from yawning a little bit out of sleepiness.

If only I could keep myself awake for another night... her own voice spoke in her mind, making her chuckle weakly as she sighed. Her eyes even dropped for a moment as her head slumped forward, but she fought the sleep for just a bit longer. She had been having to stay awake to study for the final exams of her eighth grade year, which had lasted for three days, and it rendered her to an extremely tired state. This was especially because, every time she did go to sleep, the most horrible nightmare would invade her imagination throughout the darkness of the night.

One time, she had a horrific dream that she would remember for the next twenty-seven years following the summer. She had seen all of her best friends die gruesome and disgusting deaths before being impaled through the back herself, her blood splattering against the metal gate fence. And, when she woke up, she discovered that she had been crying while suffering through the nightmare, her pillow soaked in her own tears. She had refused to sleep for the rest of the night, waiting for the early hours of the morning to arrive so she could get ready for school.

It was the first time she had had a nightmare in a few years, and that fact actually frightened her even more since she really hated her nightmares. They were always so vivid and terrible, and she remembered them every single time she thought of them on a daily basis. She had to close her eyes to rid them away for the time being, getting up from the couch once the horror movie on the television ended and she could turn it off. She did so and got up to go to the laundry room so she could take the clothes out of the dryer and fold them while she was sitting on the couch.

She folded the towels and clothing as quickly as she could, wanting to go to bed early so she could get some sleep. She put them on the rocking chair before making a few last touches to the organized house, feeling satisfied when she saw how good it looked. It was the cleanest it had been in a few days and, therefore, she was relieved that it looked neat. Shutting the radio off, she grabbed her purse before walking up the stairs and down the hallway before reaching her bedroom that had always been her safe haven since she was a child.

She hung her purse on the hanger on the back of her door before going to her closet to find some pajamas to wear to bed. She changed into a pair that had a leopard print all over it, which made them look adorable on her. Steph then looked at her nightstand and saw the picture of her mother and deceased father again, and she walked over and took it into her small and gentle hands once more. She examined the photo before sitting on the ledge next to the window, which could also have been a place to sleep, since it looked like a bed.

A shaky breath entered and left her lungs as she stared at her father's happy and healthy face, still trying to figure out why those monsters had killed him before she was born. The most likely scenario was that Jonathan's killers had no motive, and that saddened and angered her even more. She rested the picture against her legs as she hugged her knees to her chest, resting her head there as she sighed.

She knew that sitting around and worrying about unnecessary things, stuff that had happened over a decade ago, would do her no good.

The knot in her stomach slowly relaxed as her racing heartbeat calmed itself down, and Steph was able to glance at the clock on her nightstand. It was 9:34 P.M.

She laid the back of her head against the wall as she looked out the window, seeing the full moon shining brightly in all of its glory to light up the darkness that had shrouded the community of Derry, Maine.

Mom, please hurry home... And be safe.... the young girl thought to herself as her eyes began closing shut and she finally accepted defeat, succumbing to sleep.

Hurry home.... be safe....

_____

The dreams that Steph had changed all throughout the night, intertwining from themselves as each one transitioned to the other one that was just as strange, if not more. The girl always had the most bizarre dreams that any child could ever have, although they were not always bad. But, most of the time, she wouldn't be able to remember a specific dream by the time the orange sun broke the horizon and changed night to morning to day. But one that stuck out was where she was swarmed by a bunch of animals in the woods, and it eerily reminded her of the movie Bambi.... It was a somewhat happy dream, but one that she had never had before, even though it comforted her because of her love for animals.... One of them, which was a deer, spoke in Bambi's voice about how he wanted his mother back.... "She was killed by a hunter.... I want my mama back....!" She remembered crying as her tears soaked the dirt below the moss that stained her pajama pants....

No animal or child should ever have to suffer through that... she remembered thinking to herself....

The dream changed out of nowhere....

Her body was now filled with panic as she drifted through the town.... the flaming, destructed town. Rubble and debris covered the ground, although it didn't seem to affect the bottom of her bare feet as she walked over it.... Explosions could be heard in the distance as she heard the hysterical screams of terror and surprise as she saw people running past her in a frantic frenzy, and it made the strangest sensation of horror fill her stomach.... It made her feel sick, especially when she saw and smelled the burnt corpses of people that had been electrocuted by power wires from the street lights. She even felt vomit in her throat, but it wasn't able to leave her lips....

She felt as though rain were cascading down on her body that was covered in the pajamas that she had been wearing before seemingly falling asleep. But, when she turned to her left, she saw that the fire hydrant nailed into the sidewalk had been twisted off by someone who seemed to be superhuman.... Water was gushing into the air and splattering against the once asphalt pavement, making the dark crimson color of blood that had puddled on the ground because of the brutal deaths taking place in front of her disappear and wither away....

The vibrant colors of orange, yellow, and blue crossed her vision as she arrived at a building, and the latter of the colors was the most primary at the moment. Steph knew that she was alive, but she felt as if she didn't feel right in this world.... Like she wasn't even a human here, but she was standing in front of a gas pump at what looked like a gas station.... She could see the flaming inferno in the distance, the light of the glowing fire reaching the sky, and the sight looked almost beautiful as she heard the crackle of the visual in her eardrums....

Steph longed to save the people inside the burning building, but she found herself reading the sign of the gas station....

Teddy's Amaco
213 Main Street
May 27th, 1979

She heard a massive BOOM, which knocked her backwards and onto the ground, making her scrape the palms of her hands.... When she looked back up, she saw a 1977 Plymouth spinning on the pavement before coming to a stop, the sounds of tires squealing piercing her ears.... She then saw a blonde woman that looked to be four to five years older than her get out of the car, a look of alarm in her blue eyes that looked very similar to her mother's....

The gas nozzles then removed themselves from the gas pumps, making Steph back away, struggling to her feet.... She then looked to her right and saw a dark figure advancing towards her, and she instantly recognized the blood.... The young woman was walking in a straight line, a transfixed look in her wide eyes of fury as she attempted to wipe her crimson hands on her blood-soaked dress....

She knew where she was now, and she was too late to run for her life when she was finally able to acknowledge who the woman was.... Another massive explosion (right next to her this time) sounding in her ears, the flames consuming her in their deadly and agonizing grasp....

The last thing she saw were the eyes of Carrie White... which were glowing a bright yellow color....

Steph opened her eyes as she shot upward, gasping for air as she clutched at her chest, trying her best to calm her heartbeat. Her face was covered with sweat as she tossed the blanket off of her soaked body, and she wiped some perspiration off of her eyebrow. Then she looked down and saw that she was actually in her bed, figuring that Jamie must've moved her from the window ledge after she had fallen asleep. She looked at her nightstand, seeing that the picture of her mother and father had been placed back there since Jamie returned home.

She moved to where she was sitting on the right side of the bed, putting her head in her hands as she sighed quietly. It had been a long time since she dreamed of the Chamberlain disaster from ten years ago, and she could have sworn that the blonde woman in the car was her aunt Sue. And the only reason that she knew what Carrie White used to look like was a yearbook photo that Sue had shown her a few years prior, and those miserable eyes would never leave her mind.... She couldn't even force herself to forget about it, for God's sake!

But she couldn't understand what had been up with Carrie's eyes being yellow. That had never happened in every interpretation of the nightmare, and that part unnerved her more than the rest of the dream, but only because she had seen those images before. The only thing about this that Steph didn't realize was that she would find out the reason soon enough....

And it would only be in a matter of months....

The blonde girl shook her head to rid the memory of the nightmare from her mind, looking at the clock on her nightstand. It was 11:10 A.M, which meant that Steph needed to get ready quickly if she wanted to go to town in order to go to a bunch of stores with Beverly. She got out of bed and went to her closet to look for something to wear; she had watched the news yesterday, and the weatherman had said that there would be blistering heat over the nest few days, so she wanted to wear something that wouldn't give her a heat stroke.

Steph eventually found a sky blue, spaghetti-strapped dress that reached her knees and had a white floral print all over it. She changed from her pajamas and into the dress, putting on her white flip flops as well, before brushing her hair and putting on the faintest hint of makeup. She then grabbed her purse and slung it over her left shoulder before also grabbing her wallet and then leaving her room, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen after also brushing her teeth. She then saw a note on the marble kitchen island that had recently been written by her mother, and it made her smile.

Steph,

I've gone to work for an early shift, so I can be home this afternoon so we can watch movies together. If you're going into town today, please be careful! Take some money with you, as well as your knife to protect yourself; I don't want any disgusting creeps messing with my daughter. I love you, and I'll be home as soon as I can after work.

Love, Mom.

It was often a tradition between the mother and daughter to watch a few movies every Friday as they ate popcorn and other sorts of junk food after dinner. The several memories of them watching horror movies at night made her giggle lightly as a giddy feeling filled her heart, especially when she thought of the times she and Jamie would have a good fight while laughing hysterically.

If only Jamie wouldn't have had to suffer through her problem of diabetes... then everything wouldn't have been so bad for the both of them at the moment....

Shaking the sad thoughts out of her head, Steph exited the house, locking the front door behind her as she did so with her house key. Deciding not to take her bike with her, she instead set off down the street, already feeling the effects of the sweltering heat beaming down on her slightly pale face. God, she was lucky she had worn a summer dress instead of her normal attire, which would've made her burn up to the point that it normally felt like death to her.

The only thing that the pre-teen regretted was not bringing her Walkman so she could listen to music while walking to the town square. But it wouldn't really matter by the end of the day, since she needed new mixtapes of her favorite bands so she could listen to them while she was at home, so it wasn't that big of a deal to her.

After Steph met up with Beverly, the two girls went to the local diner called Sunny Side Up, so they would eat the breakfast that they had missed earlier that morning. They then went to the bookstore to look around, but Steph ended up buying Paul Sheldon's latest Misery novel, blatantly titled Misery's Return. She was a fan of his, but she couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy towards him, since she had heard all about his kidnapping and captivity in Colorado by the psychotic nurse named Annie Wilkes, who had murdered at least forty to seventy people in her lifetime.

Oh, how it churned her guts to even think about being held hostage by a deranged psychopath who was also a serial killer. It sounded like something straight out of one of those many horror flicks that she had watched while growing up, but it still scared her to death to imagine the terror that the author must've gone through.

After their shopping shenanigans, and also buying some mixtapes at the local thrift store, Beverly told Steph that she needed to go to the Derry pharmacy. She then said in a quieter voice that she had started her first period the night before, something that had surprised the blonde girl ever so slightly; but Steph didn't really have a problem and went with her as they walked down the sidewalk towards the tiny shop.

When the blonde girl opened the door, the bell above the door rang, which announced hers and Beverly's presence. She had the sudden silly thought of the jingle bells on Santa's reindeer that pulled his sleigh every Christmas when he delivered presents to children.

For Christ sake, Steph, it's summer! the girl thought to herself as a quiet giggle left her lips. Get a grip on yourself!

She looked around the white walls of the pharmacy, taking in how the light on the ceiling made them stand out even more and made the aisles and walls brighter and more lit up than if they had been painted a different color. While Steph let Beverly go over to the aisle where the pads and tampons were for teenage girls, she went to an aisle right by the front door, looking through it to see which kind of candy she wanted to eat while watching movies with her mother later that night.

Spotting a Hershey's bar that she liked, she took it, deciding that she would snack on it while on her way home. She then grabbed two small packages of her favorite gummies, which were shaped like teddy bears, so she and Jamie could eat them during their movie night. After feeling satisfied with her choices, she went up to the counter, where an older man with large glasses was standing, organizing the small cigarette shelf; she gave the pharmacist a kind smile in greeting as she placed the items on the counter.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Keene," she said in a polite tone, still smiling at him, since she had seen him on a few stops at the pharmacy over the years. So, because of this, she did know him just a little bit.

The older man shot Steph a friendly smile in return. "Why, hello there, Miss Palmer!" he replied, taking the items into his hands. "Will these be all for you today?"

The blonde girl nodded as she smiled, before looking down to see a small refrigerator. "Actually," she said, grabbing a water bottle and setting it on the counter as well. "I'd like to add the bottled water with that, if that's alright."

Mr. Keene nodded, smiling once more. "That's quite okay," he said, counting up the items in his cashier. Meanwhile, Steph glanced to her left and saw the girl that she did not want to deal with seeing at the moment: Greta Keene, who just so happened to be Mr. Keene's daughter. She saw the curly-haired girl give her a nasty stare, but Steph decided to be mature about it and she gave her a polite but curt nod in greeting; she didn't say a word to her, not wanting to cause a scene as she smiled at the pharmacist again.

"That'll be $2.20," Mr. Keene said, printing out the receipt as Steph took her money out of her wallet, handing him $2.50. She told him to keep the change, which surprised Mr. Keene but he accepted the money nevertheless.

Afterwards, she went towards the aisle where Beverly was, faintly hearing the bell over the door jingle again; she heard frantic voices in the next aisle over, but she chose not to pay it any mind as she stood next to her red-headed best friend. "Find the right one yet, Bev?" she asked her gently, looking at the boxes of tampons herself. She was rather lucky that her period hasn't quite started yet.

The redhead snapped herself out of her trance and nodded lightly, finally choosing the right size of tampons for herself. "Yeah," she said. "It just feels strange, you know? The next step to adulthood, am I right?"

Steph chuckled a bit as she shrugged, resting her left hand on her hip. "Yeah, I guess it is..." she mumbled.

The voices behind the two girls in the other aisle seemed to interest Steph a little more as she listened, especially because of how familiar they sounded. One sounded calm and collected, another sounded frantic and panicked, and the final one sounded soothing and soft, which confirmed that there were three people in that aisle. A particular sentence that the panicked boy said stuck out to her:

"If my mom finds out I bought all this stuff for myself, I'm spending the weekend in the emergency room getting x-rayed..."

Just as she heard that saying, Steph flinched when she heard Greta call out to her dad that she would see him after his shift. And, not wanting the female bully to see Beverly, she took the redhead's hand and pulled her out of the tampon aisle and led her to the front doors, but when she saw three certain boys out of the corner of her eye, she paused and looked at them. She felt the presence of Greta leaving the pharmacy as she stared at her best friends in mild surprise, not noticing Bev hiding the box of tampons behind her back.

Bill Denbrough, Stanley Uris, and Eddie Kaspbrak were standing in the aisle, a bunch of medical items piled into the latter's arms. The sight made her eyebrows raise slightly as her mouth fell open out of puzzlement; she and Bill even locked eyes for a moment, and he seemed to look worried about something that had clearly happened.

"What's going on here, boys? Don't tell me it's some weird science experiment," she joked lightly, although her expression still remained serious and confused.

Stan shook his head, although he tried to hide a small chuckle before Bill and Eddie could notice. The former looked at Steph again, willingly meeting her eyes before at Beverly, a bit puzzled himself. "You two o-o-okay?" he asked cautiously, also concerned for the two girls.

The girl nodded as her lips twitched into the smallest smile, shrugging a bit. She glanced at Beverly for a moment as the redhead asked what was wrong with the boys; Steph knew that it was clear that her best friend didn't know them very well, but she made a mental note in her mind that she would have them get to know each other in the future.

"None of your business," Stan said suddenly in a slightly shaky tone, making Steph look at him with a deadpan expression on her face. Her eyes screamed at the curly-haired boy that he wasn't being nice, and he lowered his head in slight guilt.

"There's a kid outside," Eddie said in such a quick ramble that Steph almost couldn't understand him, although she was able to hear him regardless. "Looked like someone killed him...."

The blonde's eyes widened just a little bit as she looked between the three of them, silently wondering if they were actually telling the truth. But she mentally scoffed to herself, yelling in her mind as she shook her head a bit.

Steph, these boys would never lie to you! she thought. Stop being so ridiculous!

"Is he alright?" she asked in a concerned tone, feeling very relieved as she put a hand on her chest when she saw the boys nod, sighing a little. "Good.... That's good...."

But her relieved expression changed ever so slightly when she saw the hesitant look of anxiety in Bill's blue-green eyes. "W-W-We need some supplies," he mumbled, "but w-w-w-we don't have enough money...."

Steph's heart sank at this information and she frantically grabbed her wallet to give the boys her leftover money, but she then paused suddenly. All she saw were two one-dollar bills, and it made her sigh in despair, frowning as she looked at them. "I'm... I'm sorry, but I don't have that much either..." What she didn't expect was for Bill to respond with a sympathetic look, almost as if to tell her that it was okay and that he wasn't mad at her.

Beverly quickly conducted a plan to distract Mr. Keene for the boys so Bill, Eddie, and Stan could steal the medical items. Steph had to watch for when it was okay for them to make their quick escape, and she did that to exquisite measure, although she barely paid the redhead and pharmacist's interaction at the counter much attention. But, when she saw Bev purposefully knock the cigarette shelf off of there and Mr. Keene kneel down to grab them, she quickly turned to the boys and ushered them out of the pharmacy, following them and shutting the front doors behind her.

Stan and Eddie practically sprinted towards a nearby alleyway but Bill stayed behind for a moment, looking at Steph as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Th-Thank you," he mumbled before hugging her gently, and the girl couldn't help but smile.

"It's no problem," she said kindly, nodding as she slowly pulled out of the hug, gripping the strap of her purse.

"You c-c-coming with u-us?" Bill then asked her, tilting his head slightly. Steph shook her head lightly as she smiled again, pulling her purse further onto her left shoulder.

"I will in a minute, gotta have Bev catch up first," she replied.

Bill nodded, turned around and walked towards the alleyway, where Steph assumed the others would be when she showed up. She leaned against the brick wall as she waited for Beverly to exit the pharmacy, which she did moments later and the redhead received a pat on the back from the blonde. "Good job covering for them, Bev," she said with a smile, chuckling a bit.

"Thanks, Little Loser," she replied with a smile, ruffling Steph's hair, making the younger girl giggle a little as she playfully smacked her hand away. The two then began walking together down the sidewalk as they made their way to the nearby alleyway, just making small talk in the time they had before they would inevitably have to part ways to go home.

Steph then looked in front of her and saw Bill step out of the alleyway to see if they were coming to the others, and she waved to him in greeting as she smiled. She then tucked a strand of her short, blonde hair behind her right ear as she looked at Bev again, laughing at a small joke her best friend had made. When her eyes locked with Bill's again, she saw that his mouth had been hanging open with awe, his eyes half-lidded in admiration and, when she realized that he was actually looking at her, the faintest of blushes touched her face as she looked down shyly. Of course, her naive mind came to the conclusion that the look on the boy's face was from the bright sunlight.

But what she did not know was that Bill had been looking at her the entire time, admiring her beauty as he saw how her elegant blonde hair billowed behind her head due to the light breeze from the air, how her very pretty dress fluttered around her as she walked flawlessly... how her smile radiated in the gorgeous sunlight that beamed down on her perfect figure.... He admired literally everything at that amazing moment.

When the blonde girl reached him, Bill's eyes finally broke away from her as he blushed madly, quickly reaching into his pocket to take out the two dollars he had, intending to give one to each of the girls. "Uh, th-thanks again," he said, handing out the money, but Steph put her hand on his to gently push his hand back as she shook her head. Beverly also let her head shake back and forth as she held up her pack of cigarettes, flashing Bill a friendly smile. "Even, Steven," she said in a quirky tone before looking to her left.

As Steph followed Bev's gaze, she jumped lightly when she saw Stan yelling that someone was bleeding in a horrified and disgusted tone. The voice made her laugh a bit as she began walking down the alley to reach him, as well as Richie, Eddie, and a boy that she found unrecognizable... not knowing that Bill's eyes were watching her the whole time. She eventually ended up in front of them, giving all of them a polite smile, but the boy that looked injured seemed to catch her attention.

"Hi, there," she said kindly, kneeling down to his level. "Are you okay?" She had noticed the scrapes and bruises on his face and arms, as well as a deep gash cut into his stomach.

Ben Hanscom nodded as he smiled shyly at the blonde girl; he seemed to have a feeling that they were going to be pretty good friends. "Yeah, I'm feeling better," he mumbled, still nodding. "At least, I'm doing better than I was earlier... I'm Ben Hanscom..."

The girl smiled when she realized that the boy had been the new kid at Derry Middle School for the past few months, and she couldn't help but extend her hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Ben," she said. "Stephanie Palmer, but I go by Steph...." A cheerful feeling passed through the pre-teen when the slightly older boy shook her hand gently, and she patted his arm before standing up.

"Are you okay?" Beverly asked out of nowhere, and Steph knew that the question was directed towards Ben. "That looks like it hurts...." The blonde girl, meanwhile, got up and went over to stand next to Bill, not knowing that this made his heartbeat go insane as he stared at her again. Steph's eyes did glance over at him for a second, however, and the boy looked away as if he had suddenly been caught, blushing once more. She couldn't help but smile as she looked back at the others, listening to their interactions.

"Oh," mumbled Ben as he glanced between Beverly and the ground, his face a bit pink with embarrassment. "No, I'm good... I just... fell...." Steph actually thought that Ben was acting quite adorable, since she knew how obvious it was that the boy was crushing on her red-headed best friend hardcore. She even had to stifle a laugh from how evident it was, almost as if it was the most conspicuous thing in the universe.

"Yeah. Right into Henry Bowers," Richie added in a snarky tone, and Steph had to hold herself back from snapping at him. Now was not the time to be joking around in a serious situation like this.

"Shut it, R-Ri-Richie," said Bill in an irritated voice.

"Why?" Richie replied in a question. "It's the truth." Ben just shrugged in return, looking down at the ground again.

Steph then saw Beverly take a step forward so she could get a clearer look at Ben, giving him a sweet smile. "You sure they got the... right stuff... to fix you up?" she asked, shooting Ben a wink, and he blushed even more. The blonde patted the redhead's back as she shook her head while giggling a bit, finding her flirting skills to work better than hers ever would.

"Y-You know... wuh-we'll take care of him," Bill spoke up finally, smiling at the two girls, although he tried to avoid Steph's eyes out of embarrassment. "Uh, th-thanks again, guys..." The youngest member of the Losers Club smiled at Bill gently, making the heat in his face increase steadily as he fiddled with his hands.

"Sure," replied Beverly, noticing how shy the boy was around her blonde best friend. "Maybe I'll see y'all around..."

This made Steph realize that her wish of Beverly getting to know the boys would be coming true in the near future. "That sounds wonderful, Bev," she said. "That way we can hang out a lot more.... But I'll protect you from the wrath of these boys..." When Beverly let out a laugh, it made the blonde's heart leap with slight happiness as she smiled even more.

"Yeah," Bill added to Steph's statement, finding the girls' friendship to be interesting and joyful. It made him feel happy for them. "We were thinking about g-going to the quarry tomorrow, if-if you wanna come..." He finally looked at Steph after saying that, inviting her as well as the blush vanished from his face for the first time since they saw one another today. Neither of them knew that the boys were shocked that another girl was being invited to go swimming with them. But count them lucky that Steph didn't actually notice.

"Good to know!" Beverly responded, smiling widely now. "Thanks!"

Steph checked her watch, seeing that it was almost 3:30 in the afternoon now. "Well, we have to get going," she said to everyone else. "My mom is about to be home and I don't want her to worry... We'll see you guys tomorrow morning, yeah?"

Bill nodded, becoming timid again as he smiled at her. "Yeah, s-s-see you tomorrow, Steph," he replied in a shy voice.

Steph then gave Bill her signature one-armed hug before walking away with Bev, waving at the others and shooting the boy her beautiful smile. She didn't know that this gave him butterflies as he blushed furiously, his entire face red at this point.

As the blonde girl was walking home with Beverly, Steph was thinking to herself, wondering why Bill had been acting sheepish around her. Why was he blushing? Why had he stuttered more in her presence? Why had she also felt a tingly feeling when he had looked at her on the sidewalk? And, most importantly...

Was Steph feeling something different towards her best friend...?

a/n: i hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! i know it was very long but i personally love to post longer chapters than usual! let me know what you think or hope will happen next!

-denbroughswife