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

A/N: Seventh chapter was done last night! Just in time! :) This won't be a very long author's note on the top. I do have something to explain at the bottom one, and it regards one of the scenes!

SuperSentai199: Thank you! I came up with the scene out of nowhere lol

robinmuffins: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the nightmare flashback and Pennywise scene! There will be a very shocking moment in this chapter! :)

.2019: Thanks!

Connie Hooper: Thank you for the kind words! And it's fine if you've been busy. I'm a teenager that has to go to high school every week lol And thanks for thinking I'm an amazing writer :D

Special thanks to SuperSentai199, robinmuffins, .2019, and Connie Hooper for leaving a review on the last chapter!

Now, without further ado, here is the seventh chapter!

Chapter Seven

She felt as if she were in a racecar as her feet hammered against the summer grass and the few dead leaves that littered the ground, the sudden cold air shocking her throat and lungs as her breathing became faster. Her heart beat frantically, all or nothing. If she failed, she would pay the price, and she knew that. So Steph ran… and ran… and ran…

At her sides, Steph's slender fingers were curled into freezing but sweaty hands, swinging forward as if it would make her faster. She realized one thing the entire time she ran: being chased was not how it was in the movies. In those films, you could tell they were acting as they sprinted away from the danger, pretending to be afraid and cowering as they tried to escape. They almost never did get away, however.

In reality, Steph didn't know if she would get away from

(the clown)

It or not. She kept on praying and praying in her mind, practically screaming to get away from that thing. All she wanted was to be back in New York, with her best friend, Audra… she wanted to go back to being happy with Bill like she had been for the past twenty-seven years. But a voice in the back of her mind demanded that she at least get somewhere safe for now.

She practically flew down the streets and sidewalks, the many houses of Derry blurring past her to where she didn't notice them at all.

When Steph finally approached Donovan Avenue, she darted up the road, making a mad dash for the front doors of the townhouse. She finally stopped, turning around and wasn't even able to sigh with relief at the fact that It wasn't following her.

She threw open one of the doors and stumbled inside, only just managing to hold on to the doorknob as she collapsed to her knees. She gasped for air, and it was almost like she was having an asthma attack, her hand clutching her chest while she crawled across the floor.

"Steph! Oh, my God, are you okay!"

Steph didn't even know who had said that to her; she felt as if she couldn't hear anything, as her ears were ringing from running so much. Nausea clawed up her throat, and she started to get light-headed. She tried to force down the bile, but it was too late.

"Oh shoot! Bev, get a trash can, quick!" she could barely hear Ben yell.

Seconds later, just as she felt the rim of a nearby trash can, chunks of the food she had digested last night left her gasping and wheezing mouth. Her stomach kept on churning violently as she forced everything out of her throat. When it was all over, her face was pale and covered in sweat. She was completely out of breath, but she was starting to finally calm down from the adrenaline. It was the worst thing she had ever felt in her life, and she had been sick before, but not like this. She wasn't even ill, but she certainly felt like it.

"Can you hear me, Steph?" came Beverly's voice, and Steph could see her waving her hand in front of her face. "Can you see or hear me?"

"Yeah," she breathed out, coughing as she did so. She put a hand to her forehead, trying to wipe the sweat away. She felt two hands grab hers and she was gently hoisted up off of the floor.

"Steph, hold on to me and Bev. We need to get you to sit down," Ben instructed her. She obliged and slowly walked over to a nearby chair, slumping down and leaning back against the welcoming cushion.

Beverly ran out of the room and was back in seconds with a glass of ice cold water. Steph took it from her with shaky hands and drank it all in one gulp before gently setting it on the table in front of her. She rested her head in her hands, knowing it was a tip to keep the nausea at bay for a least a while or for good. It worked, much to her delight.

"You wanna tell us about it?" inquired Ben in a respectful voice. She shook her head, shockingly laughing a little.

"Nah, it's stupid," she murmured. She couldn't see Beverly rolling her eyes at this answer, but she herself knew that she always refused to tell her friends things she absolutely did not want to tell them.

Beverly put a hand on her shoulder, being the person to comfort her just like Steph was the person to comfort her the night before. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't nothing. Now come on, just tell us… We know you're not crazy…"

The dread and anxiety inside of Steph deadened her mind and body, and she froze for a second. In her state of hesitance, she let out a trembling breath, closing her wary eyes hidden by her hands. Her heart ricocheted off of her chest cavity as she finally looked up at the two most caring friends she had ever had. And, parting her stable lips, she told them everything.

Beverly and Ben stayed quiet and listened to her with patient looks on their faces. Steph didn't cry, but instead explained what she had just seen as calmly as she possibly could. It was actually easy for her to not burst into tears, and when she finished, she was much more calm and relaxed than she was a few minutes ago. The sweat was gone and her heartbeat had gone back to its normal rate, her breathing like it was before. She wiped the last bit of perspiration from her right eyebrow when she finished what she was saying.

Steph closed her eyes when she was done, shuddering a little as both Beverly and Ben hugged her. She hugged them both back tightly, appreciating their presence at the current moment. She had told them that never before had she been so terrified in her life when It had threatened to kill her friends and Bill, and she admitted that this was the time she really needed them by her side the most or she was going to lose her sanity.

"You're going to be okay," promised Ben, patting her on the back. "It won't kill us…"

Little did the three know that a part of that statement would be horribly wrong.

When they all pulled away from the hug, they didn't have a second to speak when Richie suddenly came barreling through the front doors, but he looked a lot more sane than Steph had earlier.

"What in the world happened here?" he asked them when he halted in front of them. Steph shook her head a little. "Long story," she replied softly.

"What's wrong with you?" Beverly asked. Richie gasped a little before frantically shaking his own head, turning to go in the other direction.

"I'm leaving," he replied.

Steph shot up, her fear and sadness forgotten as she looked at Richie in shock. "Uh, no you're not," she demanded gently.

"Oh, and how are you gonna make me?" scoffed Richie as he turned back to her, his left foot on the first stair. "I'm sorry, but I'm done. I'm gonna pack my stuff and I'm getting the heck out of dodge. I can't do this anymore." He then turned to walk up the stairs.

Ben tried to run after him, stopping at the foot of the stairs. "You can't leave, man. We split, we all die," he pleaded. Richie barely turned back around, with a blunt expression.

When Steph saw that look on his face, a bit of nervousness creeped back into her being as she wondered what he had seen. But she ignored this as she said, "Ben's right. It's best if you stay instead of leave, Rich."

"Yeah," Richie dismissed, "I'll take my chances. We're gonna die, anyway." He then walked out of her sight.

Steph's blood froze at what he had said to her face. Richie's comment was so out of character, so far from what she knew of him, that she just stared after him, open-mouthed. She didn't even notice Ben running upstairs to follow the man with the glasses. She just walked back to the chair and sank down onto it again. She sighed, twirling a lock of her hair to put her at ease, which barely worked.

And that was how the next half an hour went: complete and utter silence between Steph and Beverly. This time, the stillness was almost unbearable for the woman, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say.

Mostly, she kept pondering through her brain about everything that was going on lately. So far, nearly all of the things that were happening were either terrifying or just straight up saddening. Barely anything in her life was happy anymore. Just when Steph thought she could finally get her life back together, fate just had to come back around and kick her. She didn't know what the destination of her near future would become, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't be anything good.

She had already gone through so much: losing her father before she was even born; the entire summer of 1989, even though it ended well; losing her mother (although she still didn't remember how); losing her memory of Derry and nearly her entire childhood; getting the phone call; losing Stan; having nightmares; It threatening the lives of her own husband and friends… pretty much everything.

But, had the Losers' Club not reformed after the first fight at Neibolt 27 years ago, they would have all died then. However, because Steph and Beverly had been taken by It, they were all reunited just like that. But Beverly had to move away from Derry to escape her abusive dad, Ben had left the following year, and when she was fifteen, Steph's own mother had passed away. She couldn't recall how exactly she had found out or had reacted to it, and she very well wished she could.

She probably couldn't place it because it had happened after the Losers had first defeated It…

But there were cheerful memories to think about. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered all of them: going to the quarry during the summer; gaining more friends than she already had; becoming closer to the Losers; riding her bike with them in the streets on sunny days; hanging out in the clubhouse and playing games; listening to music on her Walkman all the time; taking pictures in the photo booth at the Aladdin theater.

And, most importantly: falling in love with Bill Denbrough.

She couldn't stop the small beam creeping onto her face at the thought of Bill. How they had made it this far together, she would never know, but she was immensely happy that they had. She wouldn't replace that horrible summer almost three decades ago for any other, because if it hadn't been for that, she may have never even realized what she was feeling for the then teenage boy.

She recollected the countless dates they had went on after that summer, especially their first one, which still made her blush now. She vaguely thought about how much he had been there for her after her mother's death, and she was still grateful for him because of that. She could vividly picture their wedding, which had been the best day of her life. And all the while, they had forgotten about the summer that had brought them together in the first place. And it really made her angry when she realized this.

Steph's thoughts were broken when she heard the front doors open again. She snapped her head up to see Eddie entering the lobby, but not once did he turn in her direction. Her expression changed from one of curiosity to disgust when she saw him covered in revolting-looking bile. "Are you okay?" she asked him out of worry.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he murmured, lying and not looking at her at all. She watched as he sped up the stairs, but he at least didn't tell her that he was leaving.

Seconds later, after Beverly followed Eddie to see if he was really alright, Bill walked through the front doors as well. Steph was relieved to see that he looked a little calmer than the others were. She put a hand to her chest, letting out a small and stable breath as he walked up to her.

"Hey, how you doing?" he asked her tentatively, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay," she misled, not making eye contact with him. Bill didn't question her further, although he didn't believe her, and looked up the stairs. "Where's everybody else?" he inquired.

Steph shook her head as she followed his gaze. "Richie wants to leave," she told him. "Ben's upstairs trying to get him to stay. Eddie just came back, and Bev's seeing if he's okay…"

"They're just sc-scared," Bill assured, sounding way too calm for her liking. Steph scoffed as she stared at him. "So am I, Bill," she reminded him.

Her husband turned to look at her with an empathetic gleam in his eyes. He enveloped her in a tight hug that she returned instantly. "If I could tell you what I saw earlier…" She broke off, holding back her tears; she did not want to be weak right now, but there was one thing she did need to admit. "I'm scared… We're all scared. Aren't you? That's what worries me, because that's what It wants…"

"We can do this…" Bill assured her gently, pulling away to make her look directly at him. "...but we have to stick together."

"I know," whispered Steph, resting her forehead against his as he held her. They stayed that way for a long time, almost certain that they would never break the embrace. The quietness of the room was peaceful for the time being, but it was eventually broken.

"What did you s-suh-see out there?" voiced Bill, pulling back to see her if she answered him. "You don't h-h-have to tell me if you d-d-duh-don't want to," he added.

Steph took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She was going to be brave this time, and she was going to tell Bill the truth. "Bill…" she began. "...what happened was…"

A soft thudding sound suddenly interrupted her and both she and Bill turned their heads towards the stairs. To Steph's confusion, she saw a skateboard thudding down them, although extremely slowly. She slowly backed away, her hand latched to her husband's while she did. "Should we be running?" she suggested, and Bill shook his head.

"This is Derry," he pointed out, "I'm kinda getting used to it."

Steph nodded, finally stopping her feet and she stood still. She was beyond perplexed as she stared at the skateboard that hit the floor after a while. The object didn't move at all, and she was ever so slightly disturbed, but she didn't say anything. Bill, however, advanced forward, letting go of her hand, and grabbed a coat hanger before getting close to the skateboard.

"Be careful," Steph warned him, and he gave her a look of assurance. He then turned back to it just as the woman saw what looked like blood floating upwards from the thing. She cringed a little in repugnance, but didn't really think much of, having seen this way too many times for comfort. Bill took the coat hanger he held and tilted the skateboard so they could both see the bottom of it. At first, Steph couldn't see what was written on it, but after she squinted her eyes a little, she could read what the words said:

'Won't be there for him either…'

The blonde-haired woman stared at it, not knowing if the message was either directed to her or Bill. Her heart didn't even race out of fear, because she was so mystified with what was going on currently. "What does that mean?" she asked Bill as she crept closer to him.

No answer.

Bill then dropped the coat hanger onto the floor, looking as if he were going to pass out at any moment. Steph immediately ran up to him and put her hands on his shoulders to keep him from doing so. "Hey, hey," she said, "what's wrong? What is it?" Her husband didn't look at her at all, his face going pale. She then resorted to shaking him a little to get his attention, which worked. "Bill, what is it? You look like you're gonna be sick!"

"The kid…" mumbled Bill.

Steph's eyes widened a little. "What?" she breathed out.

"The kid f-f-fruh-from the… the Chinese place… I saw him on the way here," he explained shortly. "He lives in my old house!"

"What does that kid have to do with anything?" Steph inquired gently, putting a hand on her husband's face.

"He said he was going to the fair, and…" Bill suddenly stopped out of nowhere, not looking at Steph. After she looked down for a split second, he started walking around her. "He's going to the fair, I huh-have to help him."

Steph blocked him frantically. "Okay, okay," she assured him. "I'll go get Beverly, Ben, Eddie, and Richie, and we can all go together, okay, honey?"

"There's-There's no time, " Bill protested quickly. "I c-c-can't let it happen again!"

The blonde-haired woman shook her head in sympathy. "Bill, listen to me right now!" she demanded. "What happened before was not your fault! Do you understand me?"

Bill gave her a look of dismissal as he sighed. "I wish that were true, Steph," he concluded before making his way around her and storming out the front doors of the townhouse.

"Bill!" Steph shouted, trying to get him to come back, but she failed.

Frustration suddenly built up inside of her and she thought she would explode. So, she took several deep breaths to keep that from happening. She wanted to yell, to have a tantrum, but she knew that it really wasn't the best idea. Her hands were clenched into fists, but she remained as serene as she could in that moment. She knew that Bill was being a complete moron by going off by himself to save a kid. She admired his selfless nature, but being alone was the worst idea at the minute.

But, instead of getting angry about it, she ran both of her hands through her hair, tugging at it to make herself calm. She didn't move from where she was standing, but she figured that it would help her.

"Bill? Steph?"

She turned back to the stairs and saw both Ben and Beverly jogging down the stairs. She walked up to them, looking a little panicked, but they at least knew that she wasn't going to freak out again. "Bill just left," she told them quietly. When she saw the shocked looks on their faces, she shook her head. "I don't know what the heck's going on, everyone's leaving…"

"Hey, it's all right, okay?" convinced Ben as he patted her on the back. "It's gonna be okay… Well, at least I got Richie to stay…"

Steph nodded, turning to Beverly. "Is Eddie alright?" she inquired, and the red-haired woman shrugged at her.

"He says he is but he won't tell me what happened to him," she justified. Steph shook her head a little before looking at the two again. "I'm gonna go to my room and just cool off a little," she informed them, going past them and trudging up the stairs. She didn't hear them say anything else to her, as she blocked out everything from her mind.

When she got to her room, she slammed the door shut furiously. She then proceeded to kick the dresser in front of her before plopping down on the bed. Steph was so angry at the moment that she could throw things, but now wasn't the time to do something as irresponsible as that. She needed to control herself, even if it was difficult to do.

The stress she was feeling at the moment was a bit too much like what she felt when she couldn't get a take right while filming a scene for a movie. It was awful, and she despised it. She couldn't even put it into a coherent thought about how much she hated her life right now.

She could feel the fear in her chest waiting to take over her entire being. Steph was trying her best to refuse it every freaking second, but she felt as if she couldn't. But she needed to, because It wanted her to be afraid. It wanted her to be scared so she could die faster, but she wasn't willing to let that happen. So, she focused on the good memories she had recently or in the past. There was something about them — and she didn't know what it was at the time — that evaporated that anxiety, maybe they reminded her of the fleeting happiness she once felt. She wasn't sure at all, but she felt her body begin to relax.

Steph got out her cell phone and found that she had at least ten texts from Audra and about 4 missed calls. She winced a little as she unlocked the screen and going to the messages, and saw that they were all ones that asked if she and Bill were okay.

Of course she's worried, Steph thought, laughing slightly as she texted her back. She explained that everything was fine — although she kept it pretty vague — and that she just wasn't having the best day.

This led to a quick conversation between Steph and Audra through text, which was over and done with in minutes. Afterwards, the woman dropped her phone onto the bed. She ran a hand over her forehead, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. She needed to rest really badly, but something told her that it wasn't a very good idea.

All was quiet in the room. Too quiet.

Suddenly, during the unnatural silence that followed, a small noise disrupted it. It sounded very distant, but Steph still heard it instantly, whipping her head around and pulling out her pocket knife. She stood up from the bed and glanced around the still room. She couldn't hear anything now, but she knew that it wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her this time. The exact same thing had happened when she had her first encounter with It a lifetime ago, and wasn't going to be fooled again.

The noise happened again. In fact, it was two noises; not one.

The first one was a dragging sound, almost as if someone were being pulled across a floor; the second was a laugh. A deep and throaty laugh, not like that clown's giggle. This one sounded straight up terrifying.

And both sources of the racket were coming from the bedroom's connected bathroom.

Steph was only three feet away from the bathroom door when she realized this. But, before she could move away, the door burst open and — for at least three seconds — she could see a figure towering in the opening. He had a maniacal grin on his face that was covered in sweat, his hair was slicked back to a familiar 80s hairstyle, and he appeared to be wearing clothes from a mental hospital.

But the one thing that Steph noticed instantly was this: the man had a switchblade in his hand.

"Did you miss me?!" the man growled.

Steph screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her life. The cry for help and assistance broke through her like a great big shard of glass as it echoed throughout the room. It was at that moment that a grown Henry Bowers lunged at her, slashing through the air with the switchblade. The woman bent backwards to avoid the blade, falling onto the floor in the process. She got back up quickly, however, at the exact same time Bowers swung at her again. She barely managed to dodge it by millimeters.

"EDDIE!" she bellowed. "BEVERLY, BEN, RICHIE! GUYS!"

She shrieked again when Henry knocked over one of the two lamps in the room. A chill shriveled up and made a jagged route down her spine when the man gave her the most terrifying look she had ever seen on any human being. For a split second, just like when he had attacked her all those years ago, his eyes glowed yellow.

"He says it's your time!" Bowers cackled, his smile demented as he stood there.

"SCREW YOU!" screeched Steph as she took the lamp resting on the nightstand and chucked it at Bowers. He used his left arm to block it and it cluttered to the floor. At the same time, the woman could hear banging on the door, and realized that someone couldn't get in. And that meant one thing: she was locked in the room with this fucking lunatic.

"Time to float, Stephaniiiiieeeee!" Henry howled as he dived at her again. This time, Steph was ready for it, jumping out of the way. She only had seconds to figure out what to do before it was too late. He wasn't going to try to kill her again! He dang well wasn't!

So, resorting to the last choice she had at the second, she rushed to the dresser, grabbed the handle of a drawer and jerked it out of where it belonged. And then, turning towards her lifelong bully, she yelled at the top of her lungs as she brought down the drawer down on his head, the wood smashing to pieces on the spot. But to her absolute horror, it didn't do any damage to Bowers. Instead, it made him angrier than she imagined he had been. Knowing he wasn't going down without a fight, Steph decided to go along with it. This made her swing at him with her pocket knife.

But on the first attempt, Henry grabbed her wrist, trying to twist the knife out of her hand. She saw this, latching onto the hand with her own, trying to pry it off of her. "Let go!" she yelled furiously. When he didn't, she lowered her head and bit into the flesh of his arm. He cried out in pain and fury, but still didn't let go of her wrist. Her teeth finally came free as she screamed, "Let go, you bastard!"

Henry gave her a look that just barely managed to scare her to death. "You're gonna regret that, you stubborn freaking twat!" he snarled, raising his other hand with his switchblade and brought it down on her.

Just as the bedroom door broke open, Steph let go of Bowers, raising her arms to defend herself. And, instead of her chest, where the knife was originally targeting, the blade sliced her right forearm. She didn't even cry out in pain when she saw Eddie barrel inside and pull Henry off of her.

"Eddie, don't!" she warned him, but she was too late.

Henry suddenly swerved around and buried the knife into Eddie's cheek. Both he and Steph screamed when he did this, the latter covering her mouth to hide even more vomit. But, getting over her shock pretty quickly, Steph wrapped both her injured and uninjured arms around his neck to give Eddie time, because she knew that he had to get the blade out of his face. He cried a little bit, but more out of surprise than fear or pain.

Bowers tried to fight back against Steph, but she was surprisingly much stronger than he was as she saw Eddie gently tug the switchblade out of his left cheek. He tried his best to not show any sign of pain when he did this, and it made Steph very proud of him as she nodded to him. He then thrust his right arm forward and dug the weapon into Henry's chest like he was punching him.

All three of them froze after Steph released her arms from around Bowers's neck, her mouth dropped open in awe as the psychopath backed up. She moved out of his way and saw his wide eyes, but she didn't care. "You're still as much of an idiot as I remember," she quipped, her voice trembling as she stumbled out of the room, her hand gripped onto Eddie's arm.

"Yeah," the man agreed, "and you should cut that freaking mullet! It's been, like, thirty years, man! GUYS!"

Steph put an arm around Eddie's shoulder for two reasons: so she could help him, and so she herself wouldn't pass out. When she heard a scream, she weakly lifted her head up to see Beverly and Ben hurrying up the stairs, the former's hands over her mouth. "Jesus, Eds! Steph, what the heck happened?!" exclaimed Ben in a panic.

"Henry freaking Bowers!" Steph shouted with the last bit of energy she had. "He's what happened!" She barely saw Ben dart past her to see what she was talking about.

"Is it bad?" asked Eddie in a little worry and that was when Steph let go of him, leaning back against the wall to catch her breath. She glanced at his wound as Beverly examined it, and saw that it wasn't as bad as it should've been but it still looked disgusting.

Steph all of a sudden went pale, her normally pink cheeks turning an ashen color. She knew immediately what was going to happen when she felt her stomach contract; she felt as if her innards were becoming a black and never ending whole. But before she managed to collapse, four words spilled from her extremely dry lips in a rush:

"I remember everything now..."

"What?" Ben, who had recently came back, asked in a worried voice.

And just as Steph saw and felt his hands grip her arms, the nausea crept from her abdomen to her head and the world went black.

"Do you always have to say the most disgusting things, Richie?" Steph exclaimed as she and the boy in question walked down the school hallway; Bill, Eddie, and Stan walked alongside the two. Bill was holding his girlfriend's hand as they strolled towards the entrance of the school.

"Steph, my love!" Richie declared in an over the top, dramatic voice. "You've known me for seven years, you ought to know how I freaking behave by now!"

"B-Beep beep, Richie," Bill said in a slightly irritated voice as he squeezed Steph's hand, causing her to smile at him. His stuttering had started improving tremendously over the years. "And also, I b-b-believe that Steph is my love, so back off!" He then shoved Richie playfully, causing everyone to laugh.

Richie shot Bill a sly smile as he looked at his hand that was linked with Steph's. "Oh, I'm sorry, Big Bill. Steph is your princess, so you should defend her like the knight in shining armour that you are!" He gave the couple a bow as Steph smacked the back of his head.

"Shut up, Richie!" Eddie yelled, although he himself was smiling. All of the teenagers laughed as they opened the entrance doors and stepped out into the beautiful Monday afternoon. Then they started joking around as Bill gave Steph a quick peck on the lips when the others weren't looking. The teenage girl gave her amazing boyfriend a grin as they walked towards their bikes, hand in hand.

"I swear," Richie yelled enthusiastically in a teasing manner. "You two are gonna end up married after you graduate! The two little lovebirds!" He then made dramatic kissing noises, which made Steph and Bill laugh hysterically.

"Beep beep, jerk!" Steph yelled. "Again, I can make out with him if you want us to!" She then grabbed Bill's face and gave him another kiss.

"Okay, okay! Gross, guys! Enough PDA… Y'all can screw later," he groaned as he looked at the two.

"Sh-Shut up, Rich!" Bill said as he looked down. Steph was also blushing as she hid her face from the others.

All of a sudden, deafening sirens broke through the cheerful moment. Steph's head snapped up at the loud noise and she covered her ears. The other boys had also covered their ears as an ambulance and two police cars sped past the school.

"What the heck is going on?!" Stan yelled as they saw the vehicles speeding down the street. Steph didn't say anything as her eyes followed the ambulance. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she saw it turn to the street to her right. Her eyes widened in worry and dread.

That was the corner she always turned on to head home.

Before any of the boys could ask what was wrong, Steph jumped onto her bicycle and began pedaling faster than she ever had before. One foot after the other, she rode the bike a little fast but it was with reckless abandon. She was able to quickly catch up to the police cars that were behind the ambulance. And, sure enough, the vehicles actually did turn onto Steph's street.

The girl's heartbeat began thumping like she had just ran a marathon. Her breathing came in and out in short, haggard gasps as she started losing air. It was almost as if she were choking on the oxygen that she was breathing in.

Several times, Steph was almost struck by multiple cars as she chased after the two police cars. When she saw the ambulance turn into her driveway, she nearly fell off her bike in shock. She quickly sped into her yard and jumped off the bike, letting it fall to the ground.

The teenage girl sprinted to her front door just as two police officers got out of their cars. They tried to stop her in the process.

"Ma'am, you can't be here right now," the female officer said in an urgent tone.

"I live here!" Steph yelled at her as she threw open the front door and stepped inside. She immediately saw her neighbor standing in the entry hall, clearly crying.

"Oh, Steph!" her neighbor exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. "I'm so sorry!"

The teenage girl hesitantly hugged her back, clearly bewildered. "What happened, Ms. Grogan?" she asked in a small voice. Her neighbor, who was in her late 50s pulled away and tried blinking her own tears away.

"Sweetie," she began, "I don't know how I'm going to be able to tell you this, but… Your mother's gone… I think the tuberculosis finally got to her…"

Steph froze as time stopped completely. She knew that her mother's health was declining very quickly recently. Jamie had been diagnosed with tuberculosis just after Steph and Bill's one year anniversary, and the teenage girl spent less time with her boyfriend to take care of her mother.

Bill had understood this, always coming over to her house to help her when she needed it. Steph really appreciated this, and she loved him all the more for it.

And now… Steph didn't know how she felt at that moment… Those words kept repeating themselves in her mind like a skipping record.

"What?" she asked, an appalled expression on her face.

Ms. Grogan had a look of agony on her face as she shook her head. "I'm so sorry, sweetie," she said. "I came over to bring her some food I thought y'all would like, and… she was on the couch… I thought she was asleep… But I couldn't find a pulse… She's gone, honey… And I'm so sorry…"

Steph lost all ability to breathe right then and there. She subconsciously couldn't feel her heart beating in her ribcage. Her hands started shaking as she felt tears brim the corners of her eyes. All she felt was a sense of emptiness.

Her mother was gone… Just gone… And Steph didn't get to tell her goodbye… She didn't get to spend a second longer with Jamie before it happened… She wasn't by her side like she should've been…

The nothingness that Steph felt made her collapse to her knees. Then the tears flowed. She just let it out and began sobbing quietly. This wasn't supposed to happen. She didn't want it to happen. She hated — No, she loathed the fact that this had to happen to her.

She suddenly heard footsteps behind her as someone ran into the house. She didn't turn her head as she leaned back against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in her hands. Her body shook uncontrollably as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her closer.

Steph had a sense that she knew who this was. She just barely welcomed the embrace, but she didn't return it. The shock of the situation wouldn't let her do anything. It was like she was stuck in her own little prison, unable to break free.

"St-Steph…" came a murmur as Steph trembled violently.

She didn't lift her head from its position. She couldn't move, let alone speak. Bill held her tightly to him as he planted kisses into her hair, and she didn't know that tears streaming down his own face.

"I'm so s-s-s-sorry, love," he whispered, his voice cracking. Steph finally lifted her head, although she wasn't looking at him. Hell, she didn't even notice the rest of the remaining Losers standing mere feet away from them.

She was solely focused on the stretcher that carried a mass on it. A mass that was covered with a white sheet. And that was when Steph lost all control and did something she had never done before in her life.

She wailed. She wailed at the top of her lungs as she jumped off of the hardwood floor and sprinted towards the stretcher. She threw the white sheet off of her mother's corpse. Ignoring the fact that Jamie indeed looked peaceful, Steph sobbed hysterically as she began screaming.

"No! NO! MOM! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"PLEASE!" she bellowed as she finally woke up and frantically looked around, bewildered and confused.

"Steph… Steph…" said Ben, grabbing her wrists to prevent her from moving too much, just in case she hurt herself. "Look at me, it's all over."

She was back in the lobby, lying on one of the couches that lined up against the wall. It had just been a nightmare… a memory-based nightmare that she could now vividly recall. She did as Ben said and focused on him, relieved that one of her best friends were there to calm her down. He looked scared to death, almost like he himself had been through a traumatic experience, his dull green eyes severely unsettled.

"A nightmare," Steph whispered. "It was just a nightmare."

"Yes," Ben assured her, "it wasn't real, Steph."

"But it did happen. It was real," gasped Steph in response, and Ben instantly realized that she wasn't lying.

"Are you okay?" asked Eddie, and Steph could see that he now had a gauze on his left cheek. His pale blue eyes were filled with concern. "You were screaming and it scared me and -"

Steph suddenly cut him off by getting off of the couch and throwing her arms around him, tears not coming but she still shook in the embrace. It was the first time she and Eddie had really hugged in so many years, so it felt welcome to her.

"I'm here, Steph," he soothed her, returning the hug just as the woman noticed a bandage wrapped around her right arm. "You're okay now."

A/N: Read this!

Well, that was freakin depressing! :'( It was pretty difficult to put this in here.

Just so you guys know, the memory-based nightmare was originally going to be a one-shot in my story called "Bill x Steph One-Shots." I still don't know if I should put the original chapter in that document. Let me know if I should!

Thoughts on this chapter! Was it great?

Was the scene where Henry attacked Steph shocking? What about the ending of the chapter? That was just depressing as heck. :(

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter like the others! If you did, LEAVE DETAILED REVIEWS! Lol Be looking forward to the next chapter! As always, have a great day, and until next time!

- Hermione Romanoff