DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!

A/N: Okay, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A MILLION YEARS since I started this rewrite but I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER, so YAY! Anyways, just to keep it short and simple, this chapter is more character development for Steph, a cute scene between her and Bill, and a VERY surprising moment that you die-heard Stephen King fans will screech over! Sound good? Good!

MusicLover14rd: SHE'S A BABYSITTER AAAAAA- And yes, they have an amazing relationship! And I'm glad you're enjoying Steph's character much more this time around! My mission is beginning to pay off! :D JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH!

robinmuffins: Why, thank you! Sadly, I wasn't able to fit the babysitting scene into this chapter, but it will definitely be in the next one, I promise! And I'm glad you caught the Halloween vibes! Hope you enjoy this chapter, which also has a nice surprise! ;)

angryfanfic: Of course haha

Special thanks to MusicLover14rd, robinmuffins, angryfanfic, SusanBenson2812, TabbyVoorhees, MitsukoDoki, Kagz419, ZabuzasGirl, and malayalikesbread for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the first chapter!

Now, without further ado, here is the second and LONG AWAITED chapter!

Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to

You give me something I can hold on to

I know you'll think I'm like the others before

Who saw your name and number on the wall

Chapter Two: Connecting Certain Dots

All but two members of the Losers Club had already gone home since they left the school. Richie just bailed on the rest and went straight home, but promised that he would hang out with them the next day; Stan had to go to the synagogue so he could practice his Torah for the Bar Mitzvah that would be taking place in the following month; and Eddie had to get home early so his paranoid and protective mother wouldn't be worried about him.

So the only ones that remained were Steph and Bill. And neither of them minded at all.

In fact, Steph was happy that it was only the two of them walking home now; it made her smile softly knowing that, perhaps, her closest friend besides Beverly was in a much better mood than he had been over the past several months. Despite the fact that he had a little run-in with the Bowers Gang, he still managed to put a smile on his face for the young girl walking beside him. And his happiness was contagious, since it also stuck with her, just like it always did since they were younger.

But the confusing part was this: she had absolutely no idea why she was particularly happy in Bill's presence on a daily basis. It was weird and confusing, but she decided to forget about it for the time being and try to pay attention to what Bill was talking about, but she couldn't keep her mind off of it. It frustrated her, but she couldn't stop it from happening. This thought had entered her mind so many times that she couldn't even count, and it left her puzzled every time.

Ever since Georgie's disappearance eight months ago, Steph had felt something different towards Bill that she couldn't explain at all. It had all started the day she found out about the little boy vanishing into thin air, and that was when her anxiety and paranoia began, two things she wished she could run away from entirely. She had always felt safe in Derry, despite the fact that she knew something was off about the small town; but now, everything was different, and she wished it would go back to the way it was all those months ago.

But something also changed that Steph couldn't quite put her finger on, since it confused her so badly. All she could do was think about it as the memory of that day lingering in her mind.

It was the fourteenth of October and the rainy day had been overwhelming Steph more than ever; but, then again, it had been raining for three days straight and Jamie had been driving her to school so the young girl wouldn't get sick. Steph had appreciated this, but missed riding her bike to school a lot. At least it was better than taking the school bus, where all of the kids would laugh at her. She didn't have to do that anymore, much to her relief.

School was now over for the week and Steph had just gotten to her bedroom, unable to take her dog, Cherokee, for a walk due to the poor weather conditions. But the dog was laying down on the floor, sleeping peacefully, while the pre-teen was sitting on her bed, listening to her music on her Walkman. It was one of the only activities she could do that wasn't boring in the slightest, especially when the lyrics of Just Like Heaven by The Cure began ringing through her eardrums.

Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick

The one that makes me scream she said

The one that makes me laugh she said

Threw her arms around my neck

Leaning her head back against her pillows, Steph began to silently think to herself, immediately missing the presence of her friends. She hoped that they were doing okay without her around outside of school, since she couldn't hang out with them as much as she wanted to. She couldn't help it; she was a kid that had to obey her mother because it was something she couldn't control. But that was okay, since Steph loved her mother to pieces and she would do anything for her, despite the fact that she wasn't in the same room as her.

Steph's thoughts then slowly drifted towards Bill, which made sympathy and concern flood her emotions for the time being. She hated the fact that he couldn't come to school due to his severe cold, which had caused him to be absent from school for the past week. Steph would visit him every now and then to give him some warm food that she helped Jamie make, and he appreciated it every time. Each time Steph visited him, she would stay for hours at a time, and they would grow closer as friends, which neither of them minded at all.

Based on how his condition was the day before, it seemed as if his sickness would go away within the next few days, which made Steph happy to know.

You, soft and only, you lost and lonely

You, strange as angels

Dancing in the deepest oceans

Twisting in the water

Just as the song was drawing to a close, two things happened at the same time: one, Cherokee's ears perked up as if something bad had went down; two, the door to Steph's bedroom opened and she was met with the sight of a crying Jamie, wiping at her face with a tissue. The latter of the two made the young girl sit up in worry as her mother sniffed through her tears. She couldn't say anything, never seeing her mother this emotional before.

But, after a few seconds of silence, Steph was finally able to gather the courage to part her lips to speak. "Mom, what's wrong?" she asked in a very small and miniscule voice; it shocked her at how quiet she was when she had said those words. It was almost as if either God or the Devil himself had stolen her vocal cords much like the Sea Witch had stolen Ariel's voice in the fairytale, The Little Mermaid. It felt just like the story that had given her nightmares as a kid.

Jamie refused to answer her question at first, her sea green eyes brimming with what could have been millions of tears; after a few seconds, a few more fell down her gentle cheeks as she stared at her daughter. She hated the fact that she had to be the person to tell Steph the horrific and shocking news she had just received over the telephone. It was something that she never wanted to hear and it was something she wanted to keep Steph in the dark about.

But she had a problem with her wish: she couldn't hide it from Steph forever, and the young girl would find out anyway.

Jamie sighed, finally deciding to tell her daughter the truth as she walked over to her bed and sat down in front of Steph. Wiping more of her tears away with the tissue, she struggled to meet the girl's eyes as she explained what she needed to say.

"Steph…" she began, wiping another tear from her eye. "I... I just got a call from Mrs. Denbrough and... she told me something awful..." She paused for a moment as she sobbed a little, but she eventually continued. "Sweetheart... um... Georgie's gone missing... He went outside a few hours ago, and they never found him... I know how close you are to the young boy, and I'm so... so sorry, honey..." She cried even more as she awaited her daughter's reply.

Steph's face fell faster than it ever had in her entire childhood, and it was to the point that it shocked her immensely. In that instant, her skin turned a greyish color, her mouth hung open, her lips slightly parted, and her midnight blue eyes were as wide as they could stretch. Her heart dropped to the neverending pit of her stomach at those dreadful words, not even able to process them completely for a few moments.

"Wait… what?!" exclaimed Steph out of utter shock. "Did you just say that Georgie's missing?! Mom, please tell me this is a joke! Please!" As she waited for Jamie to tell her mother that she was playing a cruel prank on her, the young girl was trying to hold back her tears that formed in the corners of her eyes; she blinked them away for a moment as Cherokee hopped onto the bed beside her, and she ran a hand over his light brown fur to calm herself down.

But her worries and emotions returned tenfold when her mother shook her head.

"No," said Jamie quietly. "I'm not joking… You know I would never joke about something like that… I'm being serious. Georgie is missing, sweetheart."

A single tear suddenly fell down Steph's cheek as she -

"Steph?"

The young girl flinched slightly as she was brought back to reality; she felt something wet on her cheek and she wiped the spare tear away. She then turned to the boy standing beside her and looking at her, a concerned expression in his blue-green eyes that asked the question she knew he wanted to ask. In an attempt to do away with her best friend's worries, she gave him a friendly smile.

But what Steph was about to learn was that she would never be able to fool William Denbrough… even if she tried to for the rest of her life.

"Y-You okay?" asked Bill in a worried tone, his voice as gentle as it could have ever been, which always made Steph grateful. Bill could have his moments of anger that would scare her, but he was still shy and quiet, mostly because of the dreaded stutter that the boy hated so much. Despite his struggle to speak at times, he still managed to be as polite as he could be, even after what had happened eight months prior to today.

Out of all of the current members of the Losers Club, Steph was probably the one that Bill was the closest with. He never really knew why, he just felt as if the girl was the one he could trust the most out of all of his best friends; also the blonde was the nicest of his four friends, even if she had a sassy attitude at times. But he never really minded that, and always looked past it, much to Steph's relief. The stutterer found her to be very polite and kind to people, and he even had to admit that she was pretty… very pretty. So he never actually understood why she was a loser to begin with, despite the fact that she was quiet.

Bill was also very protective over the girl and always panicked if she hurt herself even slightly. This was because of something that had happened about a month before Georgie went missing, and it made his blood boil just thinking about it. Because of this, he tried to forget about it for now, but one specific part stuck out in his mind.

"Bowers and his goons were tormenting her near the bathrooms just earlier… And it looks like Hockstetter decided to have a little too much fun…"

He blinked a few times to rid himself of the horrid memory, but he was at least grateful that it had brought him and Steph closer together as friends. He tried to hide the fact that he was protective over the girl, even though she would realize it at times but she pretended that it didn't happen. But, what the pre-teen didn't know was that Bill was feeling something different towards her, and it wasn't even a bad thing. But he was mainly feeling concerned for her in that current moment.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" answered Steph, although she was lying. "Just… happy that this school year is over with, you know?" She saw Bill nod in response, since he agreed with her on the subject. This, in turn, made her smile softly.

Bill, continuing to nod, replied with, "Me t-t-too." He then turned to look in front of his bike again. "I just w-w-wuh-wish that we didn't have t-t-t…" He struggled to form the word and, in the process, his tongue pressed roughly against the roof of his mouth and he bit through it when he found that the sentence wouldn't slip out the way he wanted it to.

"...that we didn't have to get bullied so much?" Steph finished with an effortless sort of ease that made Bill ever so slightly jealous. He nodded nonetheless.

The two fell into a peaceful silence again, which was the most common thing to occur between them, and Steph never minded this. They did need their times to think about whatever they needed to and it made her happy to know this. It only ever happened between them specifically and she never really knew why. Did she question it? Of course she freaking didn't. She never did; there was no need to whatsoever.

But, in turn, she found herself feeling a little nervous because of the silence; however, she chose to not let this bother her and she tried to shake it away from her mind. Taking a few deep breaths, she just continued walking alongside Bill as he walked her home, just like he did every day after school. It always warmed her heart when he would do this, even if he didn't have to.

"Do you want m-m-m-me to help you with b-b-buh-babysitting Justin a-and Amber tonight?"

Steph looked at Bill, not surprised at the question that he asked every time she babysat the O'Connor's. She giggled after he asked it again as she shook her head lightly. "Bill, you've asked that question one too many times! You don't have to have my permission anymore, okay? Of course you can lend a helping hand. Besides, you know Justin and Amber looove you more than they love me, and I'm kind of jealous of you."

"But th-th-that's just because I l-l-l-let them do whatever the heck they wuh-want," replied Bill, a light smirk touching his lips as his blue-green eyes locked with Steph's midnight blue ones. She playfully rolled her eyes at this as she shook her head.

"And that's something you shouldn't do," she warned him. "You see, Denbrough, the purpose of being a babysitter is to, while the parents are gone, make the kids behave… to make them be good. Do you get what I'm saying here?" She was expecting him to nod his head in response, but she got something totally unexpected.

Bill instead shook his head from side to side instantly as the smirk grew more apparent. "Uh… no," he replied in a sly tone, continuing to walk while Steph scoffed at this. She playfully smacked his shoulder and he laughed in response, which, in turn, made the pre-teen girl laugh along with him. That was one thing she couldn't understand: Bill Denbrough's laughter was contagious, and that was something that kind of annoyed her. Every time he laughed, she would laugh as well.

"But yes, you can help me with the kids," she answered genuinely, giving Bill a true smile. "Plus, their parents love having you help me, and it isn't easy for me sometimes…"

Bill nodded in reply, an understanding expression in his eyes as he looked at her. "I g-get it," he said, "but i-i-it-it's okay. They're good kuh-kids…"

Steph chuckled. "I assume you're right, Denbrough," she responded playfully, making them both laugh afterwards.

They just remained talking until Bill told her that he had to go home, but he promised her that he would be at the O'Connor's in a few hours. They hugged each other goodbye before going their separate ways, Steph hearing Bill practicing his speech therapy as he dragged his bicycle, Silver, alongside him.

He thrusts his fists against the post, and still insists he sees the ghost…

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 her 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 hit the pages before 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 over 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 her 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 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 able 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 into 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 alway 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 the 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 fit 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 her 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 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 for 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 around to see Rachel's husband walking towards her with a kind smile on his face. "You too, Danny!"

Danny 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, so he had that aura of trust that Steph got from him instantly, which made her 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 more.

"Why, thank you, Steph," said Danny 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 Danny got into the 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: And, with that, chapter done!

So, I hope you guys liked this! It took me WEEKS to write because I had been feeling so uninspired, but after that cool idea I had, I forced myself to finish it lmfao

ANYWAYS, did you guys enjoy this chapter? If so, what was your favorite part? Is Steph's character better than before? Did you enjoy the scene between her and Bill? Let me know!

So, there were TWO Stephen King references in this chapter: One, the reference to the novel, Carrie, with Sue's book and her character. Keep in mind, she MAAAAY return later. ;) Two, Jamie's car, which is a reference to Christine. :D

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!

- Hermione Romanoff