- Author's Note - Hello, loves! Thank you so much to Winchestergirl123, Otakugirl1996, Avenger-Ally, MedievalWarriorPrincess, SpellSlaughterWithoutLaughter, AngelicMagic01, Alex, JamieBean, and Ahlysab, who sent in a review!

Each and every one truly meant a lot to me, especially since reviews are really the only way I know you are reading and enjoying the story. So, please, if at all possible, review with every Chapter!

Also, I'm VERY excited to say that Sarah Tran/sarahannabella, who "plays" Belle, is actually reading this story! She's not very far in, at this moment, because she's a busy lady, but, wow! I never thought I would be so lucky as to have someone I admire so much actually read one of my stories! She's truly becoming an amazing friend, and I'm so grateful for her!

Which reminds me. For those of you who celebrate it, I hope you had an AMAZING Thanksgiving! And I hope you know that I am truly thankful for each and every one of you! :)

I'm sorry this Chapter is shorter than usual. Thanksgiving has been a busier time for me than I thought it would. However, there's a pretty big reveal in this Chapter, as well as the introduction of a new character, so, hopefully, that makes up for the lack of length! And, next Chapter, we'll finally get around to Mike. As well as a new Monster. Or could it be an ally? You'll just have to wait and see. ;)

With that, I hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to please review!

After what happened at the house on Neibolt Street, Belle took Eddie the rest of the way home. Truthfully, she'd had to carry him most of the distance, but, once they got close enough, he'd let her put him down, though immediately took up a tight grip on her hand.

When they arrived, Eddie's Mother, Sonia, could tell something was wrong, and had eyed Belle in the way she does all of her son's friends, but Eddie was thankfully able to convince her nothing had happened, so Belle was allowed to leave, unharmed.

Had the others not still been waiting for her at Ben's house for their rides home, Belle would've stayed with Eddie. Despite it all, he did have his Mother, if she could be called that. She still didn't want to leave him, though he now at least seemed all right. Children were resilient that way. They could be knocked down, and would be able to get right back up, dust themselves off, then continue on with their lives.

In many ways, Belle was still a child herself. She was 17, on the cusp of 18, and had gone through more in the past year than anyone ever had in their entire lives, but she knew, if she were even the tiniest bit older, she wouldn't have been able to come back from what happened to Georgie. Or, worse, she'd pretend like it hadn't happened, just like everyone else in Derry. As soon as another child went missing, the previous one was immediately given up on and forgotten.

Upon taking all of the others home, Belle and Bill headed back to their house, the former behind the wheel of their Dad's blue Ford F-150 truck, and the latter next to her in the front passenger seat.

Bill could tell that something was wrong with his sister. She was quiet, not that she usually a chatterbox, but the silence wasn't comfortable, and the look on her beautiful face was that of distress, even if it was mild.

"B-B-Belle?" Bill spoke up, as they continued through the streets of Derry, the windows on the truck down, allowing the warm Summer breeze inside, to wash over their faces. "You-You okay?"

Belle snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her little brother's voice, and she flicked a glance over at him, quickly pasting a soft, what she hoped was reassuring, smile onto her beautiful face, while she freed a hand from the steering wheel, in order to reach over, then grasp his own nearest limb. "Yes, I'm fine, love. Why?"

"You-You seem distracted," Bill replied, with a shrug, even as he happily grasped her hand in return.

"Oh," Belle answered, as a soft sigh ghosted past her lush pink lips, before she attempted to cover up the real reason she was acting the way she was. "I'm sorry, love. Coming face to face with Eddie's Mother for the first time in almost a year can have that affect."

Bill laughed, nodding. "Yeah, she-she can be p-p-pretty frightening."

Belle relaxed when it looked like her brother had accepted that as the reason behind her behavior, and the two fell into a now comfortable silence, during which she began stroking the back of his head with her thumb.

"Bill," she spoke up after a moment, drawing his attention to her once more, while she carefully chose her words. After what had happened with Eddie, she was beginning to worry that Bill, and his friends, had possibly had an encounter with the Clown that she didn't know about, because she hadn't been there, like at Neibolt, and they didn't believe anyone, even her, would take them seriously. "Have you seen anything strange?"

"What do you mean?" Bill asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Just. . . anything unusual," Belle answered, it now being her turn to shrug. "At home, or anywhere else in town."

"No," Bill replied, his question only running deeper at her going on.

"You would tell me if you had though, right?" she inquired next, flicking a glance over at him, and he could tell by the look on her face that she was being completely serious, though he had no idea why. "You can tell me anything."

"Of-Of course I w-w-would, Belle," said Bill, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Good," Belle responded, breathing a sigh of relief, before she offering her little brother a soft smile. "I don't want you to ever be afraid to tell me something, or think I wouldn't believe you." Using her hold on his limb, she pulled it over to her side of the truck, then lifted it to her lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. "I'll always be there for you."

"I know, B-Belle," Bill spoke, sending her a reassuring look, which she returned, while she held his hand against her cheek, continuing to rub it with her thumb.

"Hey, who's car is that?" Bill asked, lifting his hand to point out the windshield, as Belle pulled their Dad's truck into the driveway, where they had little room to park the large, long vehicle, since, behind Katherine's Mini Cooper, was a brand new silver Porsche 911.

"I don't know," replied Belle, while she placed the vehicle in park behind the expensive one, then undid her seatbelt. "Though it couldn't be anymore out of place. That's at least a $100,000.00 car."

"Do we know anyone with that kind of money?" Bill inquired next, as he too removed his seatbelt.

"Let's find out," Belle said, before the two climbed out of the truck, she pausing while her brother fetched his backpack from the second row of seats, then came around to join her, which was when she locked up their Dad's vehicle, and wrapped an arm around Bill's shoulders, leading him across the yard, up the steps of the porch, then through the front door.

"Hello?" Belle called, as she and Bill came to a halt in the foyer, where she closed the front door behind them, and locked it. "We're home!"

"Mom?" Bill added on, his brow furrowing. "D-D-Dad?"

Katherine appeared a few seconds later, coming down the hallway that led back to the kitchen, a bright smile on her beautiful face, as her eyes fell upon her children. "Hey!"

Coming up to them, she gave them both a hug and a kiss, before gazing questioningly at them, once she pulled back. "Did you have fun?"

"Y-Yeah," Bill replied, then raising a hand to point at the direction their Mom had just come from. "Who-Who's here?"

"It's a surprise," Katherine said, her smile somehow becoming even more brilliant, while her eyes sparkled with excitement, as she urged her children past her, and, once they did so, albeit while sharing confused looks, she stepped behind them, where she placed a hand on either of their shoulders, then guided them forward, down the hall, then into the kitchen.

"Uncle Bill!" exclaimed Bill, a bright look of happiness alighting his handsome young face, when the three of them entered the room, and found their Dad standing with the man, whom he immediately ran to.

"Hey, kid!" replied Billy Russo, with a brilliant grin of his own, as he held out his arms for the teenager, wrapping them around him, once he reached him, while the boy's went about his lean muscled waist.

William "Billy" Russo was Bill's namesake. He was a very handsome young man, in his thirties, whom Bryan had mentored when he first joined the Military. Billy had had a less than transnational childhood, which resulted in him growing up in various places, before he signed up for the Marines at 18, in order to see the World, very much like Belle and Bill's Dad had, and had met the older man, that very quickly took him under his wing.

A few years ago, after a rather rough term overseas that he never liked to talk about, Billy had retired himself, and created a multi million dollar private Military company called Anvil Security, or Anvil, for short, which primarily operates in New York City, that he's now the CEO of.

That explained the $100.00.00 car in the driveway, Belle thought, as she stood back by her Mom, and watched her brother greet the man for whom he was named, whom she'd never referred to her as Uncle herself, since, even though he was almost twenty years older than her, she didn't see him as being "old enough" for the term to come from her. They should've known it was Billy, even though they hadn't seen him since before Georgie's death.

Though, unbeknownst to the rest of her family, Billy had visited her while she'd been recuperating in England. Rupert, the man she'd gone there to stay with, whom she had no problem referring to as her Uncle, since he was as old as her Dad was, who'd helped train her to protect herself and others, once she was able enough, then provided her with the gun and silver bullets currently upstairs, had been a mentor to Billy as well, though not as much as Bryan had, and all three had fought together in various missions, considering each other brothers.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Bill asked, pulling back from his namesake in order to look up at the man, before laughing softly. "Things in New York get too exciting?"

Billy chuckled himself, as one large hand went into a front pocket of his slacks, and the other came to rest on the teenager's shoulder. "Not quite." Lifting his sparkling brown gaze to Belle, he went on with a nod of his head in her direction. "I heard this one was back home."

"Word travels fast," said Belle, smiling softly, while she crossed her slender arms over her chest.

"Well, it helps when you have eyes all over the World," Billy replied, returning her gentle grin with one of his own.

"Go see him, for God's sake," spoke up Katherine, lifting a hand to her daughter's back, and using the hold to give her an urge forward.

Belle sighed softly, sending her Mom a look, before she uncrossed her arms from over her chest, then walked to where the two Bills stood, offering the older one a fresh sweet smile, which he returned, before she lifted her delicate limbs, and wrapped them around his neck, having to lean up on her toes in order to do so, since, at 6'1", Billy was even taller than Patrick, her eyes slipping closed, as she hugged him tightly, while his own long lean arms secured about her slender form, his rich chocolate orbs gently shutting too, as he held her, bowing his head in order to bury his handsome face into her shoulder, in addition to her endless lush dark brown curls, where he took in a breath of her breathtaking scent.

After a moment, the two pulled apart, sharing another soft smile, before Belle moved into place on Bill's other side, wrapping an arm around her little brother's shoulders, as all eyes turned onto Bryan, when he spoke up.

"We were just discussing where Billy's going to hang his hat while he's in town," said Belle and Bill's Father. "Of course, we insist he stays here."

"Is that all right with you two?" inquired Katherine, quirking a brow at her children.

"Of c-c-c-course," Bill stuttered, a fresh bright smile alighting his handsome young face at the idea of his Uncle being here at the house, which still brings the haunting memories of Georgie, though it got better when Belle came home, and would now be even more so with the man he was named after there too.

Belle nodded, smiling softly herself. "Yes, of course that's all right."

"See?" Bryan said, clapping Billy on the back, while he grinned brightly. "It's settled." Wrapping his arm the young man he considered a brother, he nodded toward the front door. "Come on. I'll help you with your bags."

Billy nodded, giving Belle's little brother's shoulder a squeeze, before he followed alongside Bryan out of the house.

"So, how was the Quarry?" Katherine asked, once the two older men were gone, where she moved over to Bill, who's backpack she gently took off of him.

"G-G-Good," Bill replied, allowing his Mom to take the item. "We s-s-saw a tur-turtle."

"And the boys learned males have dents in their shells for mating," Belle added on, a bright smile tugging at the corners of her lips, while Katherine laughed softly.

"Well, you learn something new every day," their Mom said.

"How long until dinner?" Belle asked, now noticing the kitchen was showing early signs of the meal being prepared.

"Oh, it'll still be a couple of hours," Katherine replied, unable to help but think how her life has changed since she first met Billy, during a time when, if you'd told her she'd be retiring from the Military, in order to be a wife and a Mother, let alone love it as much as she does, she'd have laughed in your face. "Why?"

"I was going to go find Patrick," answered Belle, with a slight shrug of her slender shoulders.

"Okay," said Katherine, as she paused in the doorway with her son's backpack. "Just don't go too far, okay?"

"Yes, Mom," Belle replied, smiling softly at her Mother's concern, which she honestly didn't blame her for, after everything that's happened in just the few short days she's been home after almost a year away.

Belle climbed back into her Dad's blue Ford F-150, and paused to text Patrick to find out where he was. Once he responded that he was at the park, she started up the truck, then headed over there.

Upon arriving at the park, which was the large open grass area in the center of town, that contained a big lumberjack statue, and was where festivities were held, such as the upcoming Fourth of July one, Belle parked the truck, then got out, and made her way along the sidewalk.

Once she stepped past the trees that lined one side of the area, she saw Patrick. He was in the center of the field, at one of the green benches that littered the park, and he wasn't alone. He was with Henry, Belch, and Victor, the latter most soon pointing over, as her boyfriend's back was to her, drawing his attention to her, and, once Patrick saw Belle, he jumped off of the back of the bench, and started over to her.

Truthfully, Belle was a little surprised to see him back with the three. She hadn't expected him to become a completely new person overnight, but, given Patrick had called them "entertainment" and not actual friends, she also didn't think he'd be going back to them, let alone the very next day. But, so long as they didn't hurt anyone, it was, truthfully, fine by her. He couldn't be with her 24/7, after all, much as he'd like to.

Also, after the events of the past few hours, Belle quickly forget about the company her boyfriend was continuing to keep, as she was simply so glad to see him, and therefor all complaints about Henry, Belch, and Victor being several feet away quickly vanished.

"Hey, Princess!" Patrick greeted with a bright smile, reaching her quickly with his long legs, and, once he got close enough, saw the expression on her beautiful face, one of slight distress, a sight which caused the happiness to swiftly disappear from his own handsome visage. "What's wrong?"

Belle merely reached out, slipping her slender arms below his own lean muscled ones, and wrapping them tightly around him, causing him to immediately do the same, securing a limb about her tiny form, while his other large hand to lift to grasp the back of her neck through the veil of endless chocolate curls, as he held her securely against his body.

"It's okay," Patrick said, his first instinct being to comfort her, and be there for her. "It's okay, Princess. I've got you." Turning his head, he pressed a kiss to the side of hers, then moved his hand up to cradle it in its huge grasp.

"Patrick," Belle replied, pulling back enough to look up into his handsome face after a moment, her hands coming to rest on either side of his waist. "I saw It again. I saw the Clown."

"The Clown?" asked Patrick, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What Clown?"

Belle's own brows knitted together at this, and she gave her head a gentle shake. "The-The Clown. The one that attacked us in the sewers. The one that killed Georgie."

Patrick's face continued to hold a look of question, before, after a few seconds, smoothing out in realization. "Oh! Right."

Belle's confusion and concern was not alleviated however. How could he have not know what she was talking about? Maybe he'd been enjoying some beers with Henry, Belch, and Victor.

"Where? What happened?" Patrick continued, his brow furrowing once more, though now in worry for his girl.

"It was at the house on Neibolt Street," Belle answered, shaking off her confusion for now. "I was walking Eddie home, and It attacked us."

"What?" exclaimed Patrick. "Now Kaspbrak's seen It too?" He sighed, when she nodded. "Fuck." Pausing, he flicked a glance away from her, then returned his gaze to hers, where he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to him once more, causing her to lift her slender hands to his back. "What do you want? What do you need?" Pulling away, he lifted a large hand to gently stroke one side of her beautiful face with his thumb. "You want to get out of here?"

Belle's brow had furrowed afresh when her boyfriend had hugged her. Gazing past him, over her shoulder, her eyes had fell upon Henry, Belch, and Victor, and she saw that none of them had anything with them, meaning they either hadn't been drinking, or had done so somewhere else. Plus, she couldn't smell any alcohol on Patrick's breath.

"Uh," Belle said, still thrown off by the fact that he'd seemingly completely forgotten about the Clown. "You know what? I should get home. Uh, a friend of my parents' is visiting, so I know Mom will want me for dinner." Pasting the softest smile she could on her beautiful face, she gestured back at Henry, Belch, and Victor. "You stay. Have fun. Just be careful."

Patrick chuckled softly, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry, Princess. We'll be good. They get the Losers are off limits." Belle nodded, trying to brighten her smile as best she could, before he quirked a brow at her, as he went on. "I'll see you later?"

"Yes, absolutely," Belle replied, with a nod, and she shared a last smile with her boyfriend, before he turned, then strode back over to where the three others were waiting for him.

During the drive back to the house, Belle's mind was a whirl with confused thoughts. Why had Patrick forgotten about the Clown?

Sure, there were the usual possibilities. He'd been drinking with Henry, Belch, and Victor, even though she hadn't seen any alcohol with them at the park. He hadn't properly heard her. He didn't associate the thing that attacked him in the sewers as a Clown first, since his primary experience was with a horde of the missing children as Zombies. They were all possible. And they were all more comforting than what she thought next.

What if he was forgetting like everyone else in Derry?

Patrick had lived in Derry his entire life, and, as far as Belle knew, he'd never been outside of the city limits. Plus, his mind was vulnerable, from whatever mental illness he suffered from, though Caroline just called him a "psychopath".

What if Patrick was succumbing to the same forgetfulness everyone in the town suffered from? Where they didn't notice all of the evil the Clown brought to it. Where, whenever a new child would go missing, the previous one was instantly written off.

Pulling the truck into the driveway, Belle parked, sitting back in the seat for a moment, after turning off the engine, before her gaze was drawn to the house, which was illuminated by the lights turned on inside, since the sun was beginning to set.

Climbing out, she locked up the vehicle, then headed inside. As soon as she opened the front door, then stepped into the warmth of the house, her ears were hit with the sounds of laughter, as well as pans, plates, silverware, and other such items clinking together, while her nose filled with the delicious smells of her Mom's cooking.

Following the noises, Belle soon came to a halt in the kitchen, where she saw both of her parents, her little brother, and Billy, making dinner. Well, Katherine was preparing the meal, and Bill seemed to be helping, while both men were enjoying a beer, in between sneaking bites of food while her Mom wasn't looking.

Bryan chuckled and Bill laughed, when Katherine caught Billy grabbing a baby tomato out of the salad, and she playfully smacked him with the kitchen towel in her hand, as he popped the item into his mouth, jokingly ducking out of her grasp, while he did so.

A soft smile lit up Belle's beautiful face, while her heart fluttered with joy, at the sight of her family, and Billy soon took notice of her, as he chewed the baby tomato, while leaning back against the counter he stood by with one hand, the other holding his beer, causing him to send her a gentle grin, which she returned, as well as a nod of his head, and a "Cheers" type of gesture with his drink, before Belle turned, then headed back down the hall, and upstairs to her room, her phone ringing in her pocket, as she went.

Fetching it, Belle flicked a glance at the screen to see who it was, then pressed "Accept", and lifted the item to the side of her beautiful face. "Hey, Bon."

"Hey, Ellie," came Bonnie's voice in greeting on the other end of the call, before her tone took on a bit of a concerned edge. "You all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Belle did her best to reassure, as she stepped into her room, then moved over to sit down on her bed. "Why?"

"You just sound a little off," replied Bonnie.

"Well, I promise I'm okay," Belle once more lied, reaching down with her free hand to pull off one shoe, before she switched tasks with her delicate limbs, in order to remove the other. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing," Bonnie answered, and she could almost hear the shrug in her tone. "I just miss you. I haven't seen you since your first night back in town."

"I know, love," Belle sighed, while she dropped her second shoe to the floor with the first, then sat up on the side of her bed. She'd been so preoccupied with Bill, her parents, Patrick, and the others, not to mention the damn Clown, that she hadn't even talked to her best friends, except over text, since they'd come to the house three nights prior. "I'm so sorry. It's just taking me longer than expected to settle back in."

"You don't have to apologize, sweetie," said Bonnie. "I understand. We all do. But, I was hoping I could steal you tomorrow. If you're free."

"Sure," responded Belle, before her dark brow furrowed. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Oh, you know, the usual, coffee, shopping," Bonnie said, causing Belle to laugh softly. "And a trip outside of town to my Grandfather's farm."

"That's not a part of our familiar routine," Belle answered.

"I know," sighed Bonnie. "But Mike's really having a hard time settling in, and I know he'd love to see you. Grandpa too."

"Of course," replied Belle, a fresh soft smile alighting her beautiful face. "I'd love to see them too."

"Great," said Bonnie. "I'll pick you up tomorrow then. Around 10:00am?"

"Sounds good," answered Belle. "Goodnight, love."

"'Night, beautiful," Bonnie replied, and Belle laughed sweetly once more, before both girls hung up their end of the call.

She set her phone down on her nightstand, plugging it in to charge, then sat back, a soft sigh soon slipping past her lush pink lips, as her mind, specifically the thoughts in it, returned to Patrick.

Belle knew, were she able to think selflessly, she would be happy to hear he was possibly forgetting about the Clown. After all, what kind of person would she be if she wanted someone she loved to know of such horrors? That was why she had vowed to never tell Bill the actual circumstances of Georgie's death.

But, she could only think selfishly right now, and how, if Patrick was indeed like all the others in Derry, she would lose the one person she had to talk about the truth with. If she didn't constantly remind him about the Clown, she would, once again, be alone in all of this.

"Hey," came a voice, drawing Belle out of her thoughts, and causing her to look up to see Billy standing in her doorway, leaning against the frame, his beer still is one hand.

"Hi," she replied, offering him a soft smile.

"Dinner's ready," Billy said, quirking a dark brow questioningly at her. "You coming?"

"Yes," answered Belle, her soft smile brightening, as she stood up from her bed, then walked over to join him in the entrance to her room. Her thoughts could wait. Right now, mostly like primarily due to the man's presence, the Denbrough house felt lighter, warmer, and full of happiness and love than it had in almost a year, and she was going to enjoy it. "Let's eat."

Smiling softly himself, Billy fell into place beside her, and the two headed downstairs to join Bryan, Bill, and Katherine.

- Author's Note - All right, loves! There's the new Chapter. Again, I apologize for it being short. But, we introduced a new character, who'll become VERY important to the story, and we had a big, pretty heartbreaking reveal about Patrick.

The character of Billy Russo is based upon a character of the same name, portrayed by Ben Barnes, on the Netflix original series "The Punisher", which is an excellent show, and I defiantly recommed checking it out. In the meantime, I've added a picture of the character to my Profile for you all, so be sure to go have a look at him!

And, with that, I hope you all enjoyed the new Chapter, and PLEASE let me know what you thought in a review! :)