Change // Bill Denbrough [ON HOLD]

Chapter One

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P R O L O G U E   -   The Divorce

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The first time Y/N Uris saw the signs was two years prior, when Y/N had just turned eleven and was at that age where she believed her life would be as happy as it was right then for the rest of her life.

It started with the comments here and there, little jabs that her parents threw back and forth at each other in low whispers. They hadn't wanted their daughter to hear their words, but she had caught them all and that was when she first realized something was wrong.

But then came the yelling at night, the same yelling that kept her awake until the early hours of the morning. Then there was the crying, tears being shed from both sides while Y/N silently cried herself to sleep in her own room.

After a year, the sadness turned into pure anger and hatred and Y/N found herself showing up to school more often than not with dark bags under her eyes from having gotten no sleep the night before.

There were days where Y/N's parents wouldn't even be in the same room together, their usual family dinners turning into nothing more than Y/N sitting by herself at the dinner table with a bowl of mac and cheese in front of her. Days where Y/N wouldn't see one of her parents whether that be her father leaving to spend the night in a hotel or her mother leaving to spend a few nights at Y/N's grandparents' house.

But then came the day that Y/N knew was coming, but she hadn't wanted to happen.

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce."

It was like the words had physically hit her, the girl flinching back slightly as she stared up at her parents.

"I don't understand."

She did understand. She understood very well what was going on. It was not wanting to accept it that was the problem, not wanting to believe that the words falling out of her parents' mouths held the meaning that they did.

She wanted nothing more than to go back to the happy family they had used to be, wondering where on earth they had gone wrong.

"Your father and I believe it's in our best interest as a family if we split up."

Had Y/N done something wrong? Was she the cause of this?

"We wouldn't be much of a family then, would we?"

The words made her parents flinch and Y/N could already feel the tears springing in her eyes, her whole body numb as she stared at her feet.

"We're sorry, Peanut."

Y/N was silent, her arms slowly coming up to hug herself as she felt a few stray tears roll down her face. It took her a minute before she finally looked up at her parents, the realization that all three of them were crying making her heart hurt even more. But then she saw the hesitation in their eyes and she knew they were hiding something more.

"What else?"

Her parents sighed and glanced at each other, but Y/N couldn't help but notice the distance in between them that seemed to grow bigger and bigger with every moment that passed.

"With the summer approaching, we've decided to send you to spend your summer with your cousin Stanley in Derry."

Y/N froze slightly, her arms going limp as she looked weakly you at her parents and whispered, "What?"

It's not that she didn't love Stanley Uris. He was probably the closest thing she had to a best friend and the two had always grown up practically tied together at the hip. If it hadn't been for the fact that they lived so far away from each other, Y/N was sure her and Stan would be even closer.

Y/N would've loved to spend the summer with Stan any other year, but hearing this from her parents right after the news of the divorce made it seem more like they were trying to get rid of her than anything else.

Maybe she really had been the reason for her parents splitting up.

"It will only be the summer, darling. Then we will be able to finalize the divorce and figure out the whole living situation."

Y/N didn't respond after that and the conversation ended a lot quicker than any of them would've liked. There were so many questions Y/N had, but all she could think about was how she would only make it worse if she did.

She didn't want that, especially not after she had just split her family up.

So the last few weeks of school were long for the girl, the family of three barely talking to each other as they went through the motions.

Her parents tried to act like everything was okay, assuring the girl every moment that they could that things wouldn't change. But Y/N knew the truth and would just weakly nod at her parents before locking herself in her room and crying into her pillow until she fell asleep.

The school year finally came to a close and Y/N was put on the first plane ride to Derry. She had been numb and quiet as her parents said goodbye, weakly muttering a goodbye back before getting on to the plane, knowing that when she came back everything was going to change.

The plane ride was long, but Y/N eventually reached Derry. The thought of seeing her cousin was the only thing keeping her going, wanting nothing more than to sink into his arms and that's exactly what she did when she caught sight of her curly haired best friend.

She couldn't stop the tears as she practically leapt into the boy's arms, Stan's arms wrapping around her just as tight as he whispered, "I missed you."

That was enough to put a smile on Y/N's face, something that she hadn't done since she heard of the news.

"I missed you too," she whispered as she held her cousin just a little tighter.

Standing there in Stan's arms, Y/N felt safe and loved for the first time in what felt like forever. And she couldn't help but think that maybe. . .just maybe. . .the summer might not be as bad as she thought it was going to be.

Little did Y/N Uris know, but the summer of 1989 would be one of the best and worst summers of her life. And it all started because of a group called the Losers' Club.