a lover / a soldier ?

sally-anne, xvii, hufflepuff. // keep trying anyway.

[trcydvs]

sally-anne & tracey / ( post-war welsh countryside road trip au ) do you think they would’ve wanted to come with us? i know it. do you think things are going to be alright? i don’t know. how do we piece our broken families back together? i don’t think we can. no matter what, i love you. i love you too. so much. @bencvolences

[bencvolences]

( noah. )

“ okay, thanks. ” noah stopped moving his things, but he was still tense, his shoulders straight and the corners of his mouth tugged down into a smile. he’d stay until given a reason not to, he figured. “ are you going to sit ? ” he tilted his head to the spot open next to him. he wouldn’t be offended if she sat down, maybe slightly annoyed, but he certainly wouldn’t be upset if she chose to sit anywhere else open at the table. “ he just — didn’t tell me about that, i guess. ” he glanced over to his own table, his frown growing. if he had to, he’d go over there. or leave. “ i’m fine, sally-anne. happy about quidditch being back. i need to go to the library later to finish a transfiguration essay. ” he forced a smile. “ what about you ? how were your holidays ? ”

“Right. Yeah, of course,” Sally-Anne replied nervously before taking the empty seat next to him, part of her wishing more than anything that Wayne or Hannah or Susan would come along and join the conversation. But of course, she’d never been one to back down from uncomfortable social situations, and she never would be. “Yes, it’s got to be nice to have quidditch to look forward to again. Good distraction and all that.” Sally-Anne set her bag down before pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice and beginning to butter some toast. “Oh, my holidays were fine. A bit weird not having my parents there, but it’s always great to see my brother and of course Susan was a joy to host. Did you enjoy yourself at the Cornfoots’? They’re just the loveliest family, aren’t they?”  

[bencvolences]

( stephen. )

The buzz that Stephen had going was drifting in another direction the longer this conversation continued. As soon as he noticed the anger on Sally-Anne’s face, his stomach churned uncomfortably. He quickly shook his head as she continued to talk. “No - that’s not… it’s not like that,” he tried to defend, even though everything she said was completely accurate and made the guilt feel even worse. He hadn’t made a dumb decision in not telling Wayne - had he? 

“You make me sound like I did it because I don’t care about him, Sally-Anne,” he pointed out, narrowing his eyes as his head started to ache. “And just so you know, I have tried to talk to Mandy about it, on a few different occasions, actually - both about her family and her lying to Wayne. And I - I don’t know,” he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders and wishing that he hadn’t finished his drink. “I guess I didn’t want to be one responsible for ruining Wayne’s happiness. I had hoped that Mandy would eventually do the right thing, so I didn’t need to mess up one of the few things that made Wayne happy… I mean, he’s my best friend. You really think I’d keep something from him without a good reason? I only have his best intentions in mind - even if this decision maybe was a little stupid.” 

He frowned, already starting to think about how this knowledge was going to hurt Wayne - and if he found out that Stephen had known for a while? He could be even more hurt. Looking back at Sally-Anne, he furrowed his brows in frustration. “Why are you treating me like I’m the one who did something wrong? I don’t see you out here yelling at Mandy - only me. I didn’t lie to Wayne. I was trying to protect him.” 

Sally-Anne could probably count on one hand all of the times she and Stephen had ever fought. It wasn’t something she was used to, looking up at her best friend and feeling anger where there was usually nothing but affection. Keeping something like the rekindling of his relationship with Noah a secret, she could understand... but this? Something that had the capacity to hurt Wayne so deeply the longer it went unmentioned? No, this was a decision she just couldn’t support Stephen for making. 

“For your information, I’ve already talked to Mandy. I made it clear to her that if she doesn’t step up and do the right thing soon, I’m going to do it for her. Because that’s what friends do, they don’t withhold information like that.” Sally-Anne wasn’t yelling, but her voice shook with anger after each word. “The only thing protecting him from the truth does is make it hurt so much more when he finally does realize. I mean, come on Stephen, you of all people should know that.” She paused for a moment --- bringing up what happened with Noah was sure to wound him, but it seemed like the only way to make him understand. 

“Let’s say Wayne or I had found out that Noah was lying to you before you did. Are you really saying you wouldn’t have wanted us to tell you? You would’ve preferred to keep being happy and ignorant? Because clearly, that worked out well for you.” 

[bencvolences]

( theo. )

In truth, Theo didn’t really think anything Sally-Anne could say would get under his skin — her sunny disposition was just simply easy to ignore, and she’d been tiptoeing around the touchier topics that connected them. But bringing up Tracey and what happened to her rubbed salt in the wound; he already felt overwhelmingly useless in not being able to do anything about it, and honestly fuck Sally-Anne.

“Don’t talk about shit you don’t understand, Perks,” he says, and his tone is eerily colder than before. “What we’re not going to do is talk about Tracey in an attempt to make me feel guilty.” 

He wants to cast a Silencing spell on her, stop her from mentioning his father or anything about him at all. Anything to make her shut up, because this term has already been draining enough and he’s on edge. “Merlin, fuck off, Perks. You sound like a fucking child in a temper tantrum because the world isn’t all sunshine, and you can go and take it out on someone else who gives a shit enough to listen.”

She’s angry, that’s for sure --- but more than anything, Sally-Anne wishes she could just get through to him. As they stand in the middle of the train car, however, drawing stares from the various students still gathered around the scene, she realizes there’s little chance of that happening. An overwhelming sense of pity sweeps over her all of a sudden, making a small part of her wish she hadn’t raised her voice; but most of her still looks at Theo and sees someone who is, at his core, selfish. Someone who can’t be bothered enough with basic human empathy to see how his inaction is affecting others.

That still strikes a nerve for Sally-Anne. 

“Don’t you bloody dare talk down to me,” she snaps. Just a naive little girl who doesn’t understand, is she? Fuck. That. “My entire point is that you clearly don’t give a shit. And honestly, you should feel guilty. That’s better than whatever forced indifference you’ve been putting on. Or, you know, don’t listen to me and run off to join your dear father, prancing about with a dark mark on your arm and attacking literal children. I’m sure that’ll be quite a fulfilling life for you.”

[bencvolences]

WHEN: 1 February, 6:21am WHERE: Quidditch pitch WHO: @seamusburning

Sally-Anne emerged from the changing room all geared up and clutching her favorite old Cleansweep broomstick --- she didn’t have Quidditch gear or a broomstick of her own, so she had to borrow from the school whenever she wanted to get some practice in. During her earlier Hogwarts years, this had been training for when she would (hopefully) get onto the Hufflepuff team, but now it just served as a good form of stress relief. Birds chirped in the chilly, early morning air, and the pitch was still wet with dew when Sally-Anne stepped out onto it. She was about to mount her broom when she noticed another figure, one who had just emerged from the boys’ changing room. 

“Seamus?” She inquired, walking towards him. “Hey! I didn’t think anyone else would be out here this early.” Sally-Anne paused and noticed the tired look in his eyes, wondering if he’d even slept at all. “Getting ready for the big match in a few days? You’ll need all the help you can get if you don’t want Hufflepuff to wipe the floor with all of you,” she teased, offering Seamus a bright smile. 

[bencvolences]

WHEN: 30 January, 8:15am WHERE: Great Hall, Hufflepuff table WHO: @megjcnes

Normally, Sally-Anne considered breakfast to be a vital part of her day --- but this morning, she stared down at her toast and eggs and pumpkin juice with a somewhat queasy feeling. There were times in the Great Hall when all she could think about or feel was the stare of the Carrows from where they sat at the staff table, scanning the room with their piggish, evil little eyes and making Sally-Anne’s hair stand on end. Today was one of those days. She stole a glance in their direction and nearly caught Alecto’s eye, but turned away quickly enough to avoid making contact. 

“I want to kill them,” she said in an undertone to Megan, who was sitting across the table. “Can’t we just kill them?” 

[bencvolences]

WHEN: January 29, 8:03pm WHERE: an empty classroom WHO: @lisaturpins

“Ta-da!” Sally-Anne revealed, uncovering Lisa’s eyes with a playful flourish. It had been a grim day all throughout the castle, but Sally-Anne was especially worried about her girlfriend, given that she and Oliver had been housemates. Lisa, of course, was tough, and not likely to show her emotions on the matter --- but Sally-Anne figured the least she could do was try to take her mind off of it. She’d persuaded the house elves in the kitchens to hand over the makings of quite a meal: bread, several different cheeses, grapes and cherries and apricots, a jug of ice-cold pumpkin juice, and even some leftover treacle tart for dessert. Sally-Anne had arranged it as elegantly as she could on one of the large desks, over a blanket of hers that she was using as a tablecloth. There were candles lit around the table as well. 

“D’you like it? I tried charming the candles to float, like the ones in the great hall, but I couldn’t really get it to work. In my defense, I think one of them lifted a millimeter or so off the table.”

[bencvolences]

( mandy. )

So much for that. Cursing herself for leaving the letter on the nightstand (if it hadn’t been Sally-Anne, no doubt it would have been Lisa - a girl who had never learnt to keep her nose out of other people’s business) - Mandy immediately moved across the room, projecting a picture of calm as she sat next to Sally-Anne in the bed. It was all a big misunderstanding. There was nothing nefarious in keeping a secret or two - was there? It was the best thing for all of them. Sally-Anne would see that. 

Delusion was one hell of a powerful drug.

“…No.” Mandy had never been one to beat around the bush, even when it came to delicate matters. Preempting the Hufflepuff’s shock, horror and confusion, she continued before Sally-Anne could interject. “No. They don’t. But - “ I have a good reason? Well. She did. Her father’s wouldn’t approve. They had always expected….the best for her, demanding standards she herself couldn’t cling to. “Look, we don’t exactly have a good relationship. Actually, it’s pretty terrible.” She felt like spiders were crawling across her skin, her bones trying to work themselves outwards. There were few things she despised more in this world than having to delve into her past. “If I tell them, they’ll tell me to break up with Wayne. And I - I really don’t want to do that Sal.” Softer now, she met her eyes. “Not when it’s so good. There’s no need to ruin things.”

Sally-Anne’s eyes narrowed as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing. “Why? Why would they want you to break up with him?” She questioned, although as her memory flashed back to the words she’d read in the letter --- the most notable of them being pureblood --- she had a feeling she already knew. It was a tale she was already familiar with, one her own mother and father had retold countless times: the elitist family who wants to match their daughter with someone who can carry on the pureblood tradition, but she shirks said duty for a boy whose blood is, to them, less than pure. They run off, and live happily ever after.

This doesn’t feel like it’s leading up to quite as much of a happy ending. 

“Why doesn’t Wayne know about this?” The question was not ‘does Wayne know about this’ --- if he did, Sally-Anne had no doubt that she would, too. “He would’ve understood needing to keep it hidden from your parents, he’d sympathize... so why all the secrecy?” There was something else she was still missing, another piece to this puzzle that Sally-Anne needed to finally get the full picture. She searched Mandy’s expression for it, hoping that whatever it was wouldn’t be potentially devastating to her best friend. 

[bencvolences]

( lisa. )

Lisa’s hands found Sally-Anne’s wrists, stilling the flurry of anxious movement coming from the girl on top of her for a moment as she considered how to proceed. As new as so much of this was for Sally-Anne, there were parts that were new for Lisa, too—for a girl who’d spent the past few years acting equal parts indifferent fuck buddy and human wrecking ball, handling an intimate situation delicately was not her forte—but for Sally-Anne? She knew she had to try.

“Of course I want you, Sal, I—” She almost laughed, because god, how could Sally-Anne not understand how much Lisa wanted her, in every way? But she caught herself, not wanting her girlfriend to misinterpret the sound. “I want you—-I—I love you, but you—-I want you to enjoy it, too, Sal, and you’re hurt. I’m not—-you know I’m not very good at—at romance, or whatever, but I can—-at least I can make sure out first time together is amazing for you. For both of us. You deserve that. So—c’mere—-let’s just—just relax, okay? No pressure. I just want to—-” Lisa swallowed, feeling embarrassed. When did she become so sappy? Was this what being in love was like? “I just—-uh, want to…. be near you. Okay?”

At Lisa’s touch she calmed instantly, the feeling of the girl’s hands at her wrists grounding Sally-Anne in a way she hadn’t even realized she needed. That’s when it hit her that she’d never really done this before --- navigating a healthy relationship both physically and emotionally was actually just as new to Sally-Anne as it was to Lisa. She wasn’t used to the idea that nothing was expected of her right now, that she had an equal part in this and that her own thoughts and feelings were valid and wanted. 

Sally-Anne wasn’t used to being listened to. 

Her body relaxed and she sighed, dismounting Lisa and falling into place next to her instead, turning so the two of them were laying face-to-face. It was one of those rare moments when Sally-Anne was lost for words, both embarrassed by her own actions and deeply touched by Lisa’s. So instead she kissed her, not frantically like before but slowly, taking her time to savor every second of it. “Okay,” she finally replied.

[bencvolences]

( tracey. )

a snort forces itself out of tracey’s lips as sally-anne speaks, and she shakes her head. “that’s not true, and you know it.” sure, she gets to be self-deprecating sometimes, doesn’t she? “i’m not. nice. like you are. and i get that i’m not nice, that it takes more out of me to be kind, and it’s okay if people don’t like me on the basis that sometimes i can be an arsehole. but – padma knows me. padma –” loves me. does she? “she’s my girlfriend. isn’t that? enough?”

she takes a deep breath, leaning against sally-anne’s side as she does. “padma amongst slytherins is… not a pretty sight. i don’t think any of them would like to get to know her, to be honest. it’s just – this is a bit more difficult than it should be, isn’t it? or am i just overthinking?” she straightens her back, raising her eyebrows. “what about you, sal? what’s going on in my second favourite perks’ life?”

“They’re your friends. They should want to get to know your girlfriend,” Sally-Anne replies simply. She’s aware of the many factors in play here and the nuance to the situation --- some of Tracey’s friends would likely not take kindly to Padma considering her family background. Of course, some of Tracey’s friends would likely not take kindly to Tracey herself, if they knew the truth of her own parentage... but that’s a sensitive topic for a different time and place. 

“’Second favorite’? I take back what I said, you are an arse,” she laughs, nudging Tracey playfully. Sure, Tracey might have a girlfriend now, but Sally-Anne is going to keep teasing her about her crush on Finn until the day they die. “I’ve got nothing going on, really. I mean, it’s been more than a year since I dated anyone, which is kind of sad, but still okay. Besides, dating isn’t looking too appealing since what happened to ---” she cuts herself off. Sally-Anne doesn’t want to ruin the good mood by thinking about how heartbroken Stephen’s been. “You know, all the drama recently.”

[bencvolences]

( hannah. )

send ☾ for an interaction in a common room or dormitory.                                              ( meme. accepting. )

WHEN: January 16, 3:12pm WHERE: Hufflepuff girl’s dorm WHO: @bencvolences

Hannah was a proactive person. Most of the time, when there was something bothering her, she took it upon herself to get busy. She’d paint or bake or walk or focus her energy on others. If she didn’t, she ended up drowning in all her reasons to feel bad, and there were plenty of those these days. And sure, sometimes she gave in — plenty of times, really. She would take to her bed and stay hidden under the covers and tell her lungs to breathe as they normally would and cry until snot and tears had ruined her face.

That day, though, she was determined to not let it get to that. Well — she was determined to fight it off from now on, as she’d spent most of her day thus far in bed. She’d eaten breakfast, sure, and she’d stretched her legs to pay a quick visit to the library, but apart from that, she’d lied beneath the sheets, notebook in her arms filled with words meant for Justin and maybe someone else who was listening out there. She’d not written much. She’d mostly thought about the things she wished to forget and dwelled on them, even though she knew she shouldn’t. 

And so, eventually, Hannah had slid from her bed and told herself that this was an excellent day to organise. To refold her clothes and tend to the succulents on her nightstand and pick stray bras from the floor and shove them in her drawers. And then, eventually, she’d made her bed and then lied down on top of it, eyes staring at the ceiling, thoughts drifting again. She wasn’t sure how long she had been lying there when Sally-Anne entered the dorm, but when she sat up, she noticed the wetness on her cheeks and the heaviness of her head. “Hey, Sal,” she said. “Look — I cleaned!” She gestured around, putting a proud smile on her lips. “Probably the first and last time that will ever happen, so feast your eyes on this neatness. You will never see it again.” She cleared her throat, subtly wiped at her eyes. “How’re you?”

It had become more and more of a frequent habit of Sally-Anne’s to retreat to the safety of her dormitory whenever possible. She liked the reassurance that nothing terrible was likely to happen to her when she was in her own bed, among her own possessions (although, of course, Michael and Lisa were both living proof that not even one’s bed was truly safe nowadays). Usually she preferred someone’s company, ideally Lisa’s, and the pair would just lay under blankets and stare up at the ceiling, perfectly content even if it was just for one moment. Today, Lisa had class, but after receiving a scathing look from Amycus Carrow in the hallway, Sally-Anne decided she needed to retreat anyway. 

She wasn’t surprised to see Hannah when she slipped into the dormitory, but it still concerned her. Sally-Anne was familiar by now with these behaviors of hers, and she took the fact that she hadn’t seen Hannah at all since leaving the dormitory that morning to mean that her friend had not moved much from her bed all day. The wetness in Hannah’s eyes which she reached up to wipe as Sally-Anne approached did not go unnoticed, either. Regardless, she met Hannah’s smile with one of her own as she admired the handiwork. 

“You’re an inspiration, Han, seriously,” Sally-Anne complimented, glancing embarrassingly at her own incredibly cluttered area. “We could all stand to learn a lesson from you.” She dropped her bag down with a soft thud at the foot of her bed before turning back to Hannah, meeting her eyes with a sort of sad understanding. “M’alright,” she shrugged, kicking off her shoes before approaching where Hannah sat. “I’ve been better. D’you mind scooting over, though? Because something tells me it’s much-needed cuddle time.”

[bencvolences]

( stephen. )

And here he thought his fake surprised face would’ve been able to sway her. Perhaps he’s not quite as good of an actor as he thought he was, but Stephen does his best to continue to overexaggerate his look of shock. “Huh?” he eventually answers, trying to think of how he should be reacting. If this was the first time he’d heard about this, what would he do? Hex Mandy himself? The thought is appealing. “Nothing’s going on. I’m just - shocked. In a state of shock that she would do this to Wayne. And I’m… I’m outraged. Furious, even. How could Mandy do something like this?” he tried again, hoping that she’d eventually take the bait and they could drop the subject or move on. 

But even as they’re still standing there, he’d be lying if he didn’t feel the smallest bit of relief that Sally-Anne was aware of the truth now. He’d spent the last months aware of Mandy’s history, and felt like absolute shit for thinking poorly of the person that Wayne was in love with without anyone else to confide in. Not that Mandy was undeserving of that hate - but he’s supposed to always have Wayne’s back, no matter what. 

Maybe Sally Anne knowing wasn’t a bad thing. Stephen sighed, before frowning and shrugging his shoulders. “Fuck. Look - I know she’s a blood purist, Sal. I’ve known for - well, a while. My mum - it’s her business to know who’s in that world of people, and Mandy’s family has a reputation.” 

Having been Stephen’s best friend since they were eleven, Sally-Anne had gotten fairly good over the years at reading him; which was why when he only continued to feign surprise, her concern only grew. What was he hiding from her? Why was he hiding it from her? She looked at Stephen expectantly, waiting for him to come out with some other explanation that didn’t involve him keeping information to himself that Wayne should know. But when he finally told the truth, Sally-Anne wasn’t appeased --- much to her surprise, she found herself growing angry. 

“So... hang on, let me get this straight. You’ve known about Mandy’s family for a while, and you --- you didn’t think that maybe you should’ve told Wayne? I mean, Merlin, I’ve only known for a few days and I’ve felt awful keeping it to myself. Which I’ve only been doing because I want to give Mandy a chance to come clean herself, by the way. How long is a while, even? Weeks? Months? Bloody hell, Stephen, what on earth made you think that was okay? Wayne is your best mate. You’ve known that someone he cared about has been lying to him, and you just... did nothing? What kind of bullshit is that?”

[bencvolences]

♪

Send ♪ for my muse to dance with yours.

“Anthony! Anthony Goldstein!” Sally-Anne shouted above the music, running over to him in a flurry of giggles. “Helga’s sake, I feel like I haven’t seen you all night. How have you been? Are you feeling alright? Ooh, I love this song, let’s dance!” She pulled Anthony away from the wall with a laugh. Sally-Anne was certainly having a great time letting loose for once and simply not worrying about the myriad of things she usually worried about, and as she bopped around to the upbeat Weird Sisters song with Anthony, she started to wish this feeling could never go away. 

“Hey, I’ve told you lately that you’re great, right?” Sally-Anne smiled at him. “You’re such a good person, Anthony. You’re so important to Lisa, which means you’re important to me. You deserve everything, do you hear me? Everything!”

[bencvolences]

☁ + Who do you think should've been sorted into Hufflepuff that wasn't? (aaaah I know I read it wrong and forgot to change it! also this is nerdy but so is ernie lol)

Send ☁ + A QUESTION for my muse to answer in truth or dare.

Sally-Anne laughed at the question --- there were quite a few people she would’ve loved to be sorted into Hufflepuff, mainly just because she wished she could see them more often, but none of them really struck her much as Hufflepuff types. The only person who truly came to mind was Tracey; before they’d come to Hogwarts, Sally-Anne had always pictured herself, Hannah, and Tracey ending up in Hufflepuff together, and to this day she didn’t quite understand what it was about Tracey that made her a true Slytherin. Since Tracey was in the circle, however, and quite a few of her Slytherin friends were present, Sally-Anne thought it would probably be best not to voice that out loud. 

“Everyone, obviously,” she laughed instead. “We’re the best house, the most accepting house, and honestly it’s shocking that not everyone wants to be a Hufflepuff in the first place. You should all be here,” Sally-Anne pointed to several of the non-Hufflepuffs in the circle with a giggle. 

[bencvolences]

♪

Send ♪ for my muse to dance with yours.

She spotted Morag from across the common room and made her way over to say hello, noticing that the party was winding down and she still hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to the girl. This wasn’t wholly unrelated, of course, from the fact that Sally-Anne spent much of the night around Lisa, who couldn’t be more disinterested in spending time with Morag, but she had a free moment now and gave Morag a bright smile in greeting. 

“Parties aren’t really your thing, huh?” Sally-Anne leaned in so Morag could hear her over the music. She’d noticed Morag looking rather uncomfortable at various points in the night, and the Ravenclaw had always struck her as someone who generally had trouble letting loose. “I can understand that. I don’t drink, so I thought I wouldn’t be enjoying myself at all, but I’ve had a lovely time --- the secret’s just acting like there’s no one watching you. It helps especially if you get yourself dancing.” Sally-Anne was bopping around to the catchy music, and got a playful glint in her eye as she looked over at Morag. “You should try it! Come on, dance with me.” She took Morag’s hands and pulled her in toward the center of the common room, tossing her hair wildly to and fro and jumping around to the beat, laughing as she spun Morag around. 

[bencvolences]

sally-anne perks + text posts

[bencvolences]

( stephen. )

As soon as he hears Mandy’s name, Stephen knows that he’s had way too many drinks for this conversation, and he resists rolling his eyes. He wants to have fun, he wants drink, he wants to make out with Noah until he’s forgotten how to do anything else - he does not want to talk about Mandy being a blood purist. 

But Sally-Anne is still talking, and Stephen’s thoughts aren’t working as coherently as they should be. He takes a long sip from his drink - if perhaps to buy him some time to think on how to respond. Maybe he can change the subject. Or pretend he didn’t hear her. He coughs slightly, because he still has no way to evade this conversation. It’s not his fault Mandy is a blood purist - all he was trying to do was protect both Wayne and Sally-Anne from the truth. “Oh,” he says simply, widening his eyes and trying out his best fake surprised expression. “That’s - wow. Incredible. I never would’ve guessed that could happen. Who would’ve even imagined that? Poor Wayne.” 

Sally Anne is one person that’s always been able to read him like a book, and for that he’s usually grateful… but this is one instance in which Stephen wished that she wouldn’t be able to see through him.

Maybe Stephen’s just drunk, or maybe this isn’t the time for them to be discussing this --- but either way, Sally-Anne realizes immediately that something is off. He doesn’t seem to be reacting in any way close to what she would expect from someone who just found out that his best friend is being deceived by his girlfriend. Merlin, this is Stephen; under normal circumstances, Sally-Anne would be holding him back by now to prevent him from storming off to confront Mandy personally. 

“Hang on, why aren’t you actually surprised?” She questions, her voice taking on an edge that isn’t necessarily accusatory, but certainly suspicious. Sally-Anne doesn’t want to come right out and say it, she has no desire to accuse Stephen straightaway of already knowing about this, because she knows it’s impossible that he could know and not have told her and/or Wayne by now. Especially after everything he went through with Noah last year, there’s no way he would just keep that kind of information to himself. He couldn’t. 

“Stephen?” Sally-Anne prods once more after a moment. “What’s going on with you?”