THE DAYS TURNED TO WEEKS AND THE WEEKS LED THEM INTO AUGUST. Not much changed after that, the same routine both April and Bill settled into after everything. They practically lived at each other's houses. Spending hours upon hours in one another's presence. The feeling of his heartbeat to her cheek becoming familiar, as if it was something that has always been there.

Sometimes, they found themselves in the Ambrose's living room watching movies from the VHS tape cabinet. Other times, they'd be lounged around in one of their bedrooms. Doing anything, doing everything. Bill's favourite moment being that time April had gotten a necklace stuck around her neck, unable to unclasp it. The thin chain slipping through her fingers repeatedly.

She had called for him so softly, he was across the room, on her bed reading a book while she stood in front of her mirror when her tiny voice filled his ears. "Billy, can you help me with this?". It was enough to make his heart melt. She looked so pretty all the time, it hurt.

He'd simply nod. "Y-Yeah, baby. What i-is it?" He asks, words slipping off his tongue smoothly and April couldn't help the dopey smile that formed at the new nickname. He placed his book down on her bed before seeing her looking to him, tugging at the necklace chain helplessly.

He laughs, coming up behind her, moving her hair to rest on one of her shoulders before plucking the necklace that sat on her neck into his fingers and carefully pulling the clasps apart, setting it down on her dresser before she turns around with a sweet smile, thanking him quietly. It made him lean down and kiss right against her hairline, his arms wrapping around her waist.

It was like when they were together nothing existed. Nothing at all. Nothing but them and their feelings. Good God, did these kids ever love each other... It was as if they were made for the other. They fit one another so well. Everything about her made Bill feel happy again and everyone knew how much he needed to. After everything that happened this year, he needed her most.

She had this way of making him feel better, especially during those times where the sadness become overwhelming. Eating up at his insides, making him feel empty and shattered and at fault for something he wasn't at fault for. During those times, he'd have hot tears staining his cheeks and trembling hands as he sputters out for his brother, wishing to God that he was still here.

It made April want to cry with him but she'd hold back for his sake, feeling as if that if he saw her falter it'd make things worse. She'd be strong for him when he needed her to. Just like he'd be strong for her when she needed it. She'd take him into her arms, running her hands through his hair, mumbling soft whispers into his ear until his shaking subsides. All of her words reassuring him that he's loved, that it wasn't his fault, and that Georgie doesn't blame him.

The closer the two of them became, as much as April loved it, she felt as if she was losing everyone else. She hadn't spoken to any of the other Losers since July and she felt a lump in her stomach at the thought of losing them. They were her first real friends. The first group of people who ever made her feel completely welcome. They embraced her for who she was and she did the same to them. Losing them meant she was losing the only people in Derry who ever truly gotten to know her and that seemed scarier than anything.

Her mind was wandering back and fourth as she tossed and turned in her bed. It was late, around one in the morning. She was lying straight on her back, staring at her dark ceiling, her mind replaying all the memories her and her friends had made. They'd only been friends for a month and yet, April felt as if she was losing the most important people in her life.

She sighs, closing her eyes and attempting to relax her mind. Attempting to lead it away from the fear she felt of being alone... She's felt like this all summer, terrified when she wasn't with anyone. Sleeping wasn't her greatest friend right now at all.

She begins to replay good memories. The day Gretta tripped her and she first met the boys, the day at the quarry, giving them their friendship bracelets and their bright smiles. She even replayed memories from last summer when her and her family visited her grandparents in Greece, the days under the sun and constant swimming with her cousins.

It took a long time, constantly flashing back each memory and feeling in her mind before she finally felt her eyes go heavy, begging for sleep and she didn't fight it because she complied, thankful that she'd finally have peace of mind.

♧

The next morning came quick, April waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside her bedroom window. She wasn't ever sure where the noise was coming from, just that they always woke her up and when they did, it made her feel as if she was some type of Disney princess.

She went through her daily routine, slipping into a white sundress and brushing through her hair before she found herself clambering down the stairs and into the living room. Her and Bill hadn't made any plans for the day so it left her bored. Her mind pondering what she could do. It was as if she forgot what she used to do with herself, back when she was so used to being alone.

She didn't have much of an appetite so she settled to sitting on the living room sofa and switching on the television as she glanced at the clock which was hung up near the foyer. It was eight in the morning and she felt as if it was far too early to be watching television! She'd always been an awfully early riser. Puckering her lips as she shakes her head, she switches from the weather channel to a network which was playing an episode of 'Full House'.

She stayed there for awhile, watching the show lamely as she begins to hear her family wake up. It was the weekend so her dad didn't have to go in to work and she felt somewhat relieved at that considering she felt as if she hadn't seen her dad in ages. She was lost in thought, her eyes glasses over as they stare at the television — not even paying attention to it.

Lost in thought that is, until she saw that. Three cockroaches crawling on the side of the television. It made her eyes widen, feeling her throat tighten and it wasn't in fear of the bugs anymore. It was because she knew why they were there. IT.

Her breath hitches as she watched them crawl about the screen now before she's finally able to rip her eyes away and look down to the coffee table, hoping to find relief and be able to blink away the illusion IT was creating for her.

It was as if her heart was beating out of her chest and into her throat as she swallows harshly, her eyes widening again as she watches dozens of the same bug crawl across the bare coffee table. She instantly lifts her legs onto the couch, lifting them to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

She clenches her eyes shut, cradling her body back and fourth as her lip quivers. "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real. Nothing is there," She whispers to herself over and over — attempting to sway herself away from the fear she was feeling.

It was getting worse as she begins to realize IT was here. IT was targeting her now and she didn't know what to do. She was alone with no Losers. She didn't have anyone to protect her and no matter how many times she numbered that it wasn't real, she couldn't believe it because she was so frightened.

The cockroaches weren't even the problem anymore it was what it reminded her of. That day where they spilled out of her hamper and onto her bedroom floor, the day she etched 'IT' into her skin. Everything was building up as she continued to rock back and fourth of the couch, her breathing heavy and shallow as tears begin to form in her eyes.

Suddenly, she feels a hand on her shoulder — making her flinch, yelping out as her eyes open frantically, turning to the feeling. Tears falling down her cheeks as she makes eye contact with the source. Her dad.

She lets out a sigh of relief, feeling comfort fill her being as she quickly looks back to the television and coffee table noticing that the bugs are gone and she finally her lungs get their fill of oxygen. She was so busy recovering from the fear she just felt, she hadn't even heard her dad's worried words.

"Hey, hey, hey. Apple, what's wrong?" Cain asks, walking to the front of the couch and sitting next to his daughter, s looking at her worriedly. He noticed the way her eyes were clouded, holding something more than worry, more than sadness. It looked like terror, pure horror and trauma and he wondered what on earth ever made her adopt those expressions.

April stares at him for a moment, wondering whether this was really her dad or whether it was a sick trick the clown was playing on her. She quickly was able to shake the thought away though, realizing that the clown would be unable to embody the kindness and love her father held.

"I-I think I've got a problem," She whispers, voice trembling as it reverts into the childish tone Cain would hear whenever she'd have a nightmare as a child.

She'd always have them. Nightmares. She was no stranger to them. Having had them for the majority of her childhood, only growing out of them in the seventh grade. Up until then, it was an ongoing problem in the Ambrose household. The nights where they'd all be woken up by the sound of an ear-splitting scream coming from the youngest daughters room.

They'd have her hysterical and the worst part was April could never remember what they were about, just the feeling. Only now realizing that they felt the exact same as whenever she'd be in IT's presence. They were the exact same feeling. Pure fear.

Cain sighs, looking at his daughters eyes and nodding. He understood her words and tone as a nod to her nightmares, believing that the mumbles her heard her whispering to herself was her attempt of calming them. He simply thought that she was dreaming with her eyes open. It wouldn't have been the first time, after all. Those nightmares plagued April's mind in every way for the longest time. He was just surprised that they were happening again.

April wished she could confide in her father, open up and tell him what really happened instead of letting him believe her outburst was just a dream but she knew she couldn't. It'd just make her seem insane!

"You wanna go for a walk?" Cain suggests, a small smile on his face as he attempts to find a way to clear his daughters mind from whatever horror she was reliving in her mind and she simply nodded, glad that she had an excuse to be out of the house.

♧

They were out for quite awhile, walking the sidewalks of their neighbourhood as Cain gently spoke to his clearly shaken up daughter and he wondering what could be scaring her so badly. April was thankful that he didn't ask what happened, what made her panic so badly. She was never a good liar. Some things were better left unsaid.

Which brought her back at home now, around two hours after they got back from their walk. She was sat in the living room once again, this time with Holly by her side watching a show as she carefully braided a new bracelet. It was peaceful, the initial fright that embodied her in the morning having washed away as she focuses on making the prettiest bracelet she'd ever made before.

There was no words spoken between the two of them. Both of them far too engrossed in their activities to even acknowledge one another. April was practically in another dimension, pulling at a string to tighten the intricate pattern of the strings before she jolts suddenly. "April, Bill's on the phone!" Her moms voice sounds from the kitchen, Holly smirking as she looks to the side of her sisters blushed face.

"Better go get that, Juliet," Holly laughs as April looks towards her and blushes deeper before placing the bracelet down and wandering to the kitchen where her mom stood holding the phone off the hook.

Taking it, ignoring the small smile her mom wore on her face, she brings it to her ear. "Hi," She speaks into it quietly, feeling shy knowing that her mom was in the same room cooking and likely listening in.

"Sunshine? S-Somethings wrong," She's instantly greeted with Bill's worried voice. She could practically feel his hand shaking through the phone and it made her heart begin to pound in fear and worry.

Inhaling sharply, she twirls the telephone cord around her finger. "What do you mean?" She presses, not wanting to explicitly ask what's wrong as to not sorry her mom who hummed to herself as she cut carrots.

There was silence on the line, only hearing rustling and shuffling from him before a shaky breath. "It got Bev. B-Bev's g-gone, Sunshine," He whispers, voice quiet and sounding strained.

It was as if she was winded, feeling a punch to the gut as her lips fall part, resisting the urge to cry and scream as her hand shakes. "What?" She asks despite knowing exactly what he said.

"I-I-I... I went t-to her a-apartment. There w-was b-b-blood," He elaborates, voice wavering.

April felt shattered, her eyes beginning to water as her mind begins to get clouded. The thought of the bugs in her hamper and the projector and Neibolt and this morning and now, the thought of losing Beverly just made her shudder in complete and total fear.

"S-Sunshine? Y-You there?" Bill's voice breaks her from her trance, she hums in response — it even sounded broken. "I-I'm gonna p-pick y-y-you up, alright?" He says.

She nods, unable to form words for a moment and forgetting that he couldn't see her before it finally set in. "Oh... Okay, alright. I'll... I'll see you," She whispers, her mind vacant.

She hadn't even heard him respond and say goodbye before the line went dead and she placed the phone onto the phone hook, lost in thought as she stared at the calendar which hung next to the hook. She stood there for a moment, forgetting all the good thoughts she had been for ing herself to think while attempting to forget IT's presence.

She couldn't do that now. Not anymore. Not when IT had Beverly. Not when she had so much to lose if she did. And so, with held back tears and glassy eyes, she stays turned away from her mom and with her best attempt of stabilizing her voice, she speaks. "Momma? Billy's gonna pick me up. We're gonna go out for awhile,". The month, August. The year, 1989. This would be the summer that changed everything.