Word of Mouth

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt was not in the mood to sit with Marisol or Asaiah who he could see having lunch at the Gryffindor table like they were accustomed to doing all together. Instead he passed by them, avoiding their gaze all the while, to go search for Stella. He thought that this would be the perfect excuse if questioned about it later but mostly he thought he would be sick if he saw his two friends kiss. The thought disgusted him and not because he thought kissing was gross anymore. So to push these thoughts out he strode towards the Slytherin table and after spotting his kid sister he slid in beside her. "Hey booger," he said and wrapped an arm around her lazily giving her a weak hug because even if she was annoying half of the time she was his annoyance and he wanted her to be happy in ways he was not naturally. If that meant being unexpectedly nice to her he'd do it, even while calling her a booger. He let go of her and then reached for some fries to put onto the clean plate that was provided during lunch.​

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella was glad she'd made the Quidditch team again, even if she was just an alternate, and wanted to head out to practice soon. But first she needed sustenance so she stopped by the Great Hall for lunch. In some ways having her common room in the dungeons was super convenient because she never had to travel far if she was hungry, but in other ways it was a curse because she always popped in just to grab a quick bite and it was never just one bite. Stella was just about to take a sip of her drink when her brother slid into the seat beside her, his limbs nearly making her drop it as he hugged her. She would've been annoyed, but she hadn't seen him all summer so instead she put down her cup and smiled at him. "Hey loser," she replied with a bright grin. "Think you're some big hot shot now just because you've got your own apartment?" she said, her jealousy obvious even though she said it teasingly. She thought it was so unfair that their parents let Wyatt have whatever he wanted if he whined enough for it, just to get him to shut up, while treating her like a baby the whole time. "How was your break?" she asked a little more normally, reaching over for a fry of her own.
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[Wyatt Finch]

As Wyatt sat he rolled his eyes at Stella for calling him a loser. She'd always called him that just because he liked Star Wars and Superheros which were exponentially cooler than anything she liked then or now. Except Quidditch. He could appreciate her following in his footsteps where the sport went. As the apartment came up it elicited a brief chortle. "Nah, I'm a hot shot just because of who I am," he said - false confidence seeping through his words and his equally cocky smirk at his little sister. Wyatt didn't know what his sister had been told of the apartment - except maybe of it's existence - so he said, "If you don't want to stay at Auntie Leah and Uncle Fletcher's you don't have to." There was a room for her in the offshoot that she wanted to stay there with him too but his rules were a bit more centred around him than the house rules that their parents or their aunt and uncle's had. "Just none of your dorky friends can stay over." It was then that he stuffed a few fries into his mouth, chomping down on them gladly. He shrugged his shoulders as he was asked how his break was - it was difficult but he couldn't tell her that. Wyatt felt he had to protect Stella from his troubles and how twice a week during holidays he visited with a therapist - how it involved blood tests and a whole back of questions that he really did not want to answer. So instead he said once he had swallowed, "It was fine. Mostly just moving." He eyed Stella, wondering how she was doing truly but also knowing she would probably hide it from him the same way he hid it from her. Rather than try to fix that he just kept with the status quo and asked, "How about you?" Their mother had sent him a photo of the pair on Christmas, leaving him wondering if it had been just them for the holiday going to their Grandma's or if their father had joined to. Wyatt was so out of touch with his father's on-call schedule that he could not even hazard a guess whereas in younger years he knew it as if it was to be him going to work instead.​

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella scoffed a laugh and muttered, "Please," as Wyatt said considered himself a hot shot. Sure she thought he was pretty cool, but she couldn't let him know that all the time. Stella sighed when he invited her to his place instead of their uncle and aunt's where she normally stayed since their parents were across the country and pretty busy, but she shook her head. "I tried, but mom and dad told them not to let me go," she said with a pout. "They don't want me to 'bother you'," she added mockingly. Stella wished she could have stayed at her friends house's instead but Elliot's family was going through something personal and his older cousin was already staying at Camila's house with her sister so she couldn't have any more guests. "Why didn't your friends stay with you?" Stella asked instead, wishing they both had so she could've stayed with Camila.
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[Wyatt Finch]

"Mom and Dad don't know what they're talking about," he said with a roll of his eyes at their parents who probably assumed that they would be stuck together 24/7 during the holidays if Stella stayed with him or would see some of his more self-destructive tendencies that they were only vaguely aware of. They didn't know that as much as he bickered with his little sister he liked her company just as much and would be forced not to isolate himself with her around. But Wyatt didn't have the energy to fight their parents on it because maybe it was for the best to prevent Stella from finding out what he struggled with even now on medication. The topic was changed quickly and Wyatt frowned at the topic. He tried not to look over to the Gryffindor table where he knew that Marisol and Asaiah were - probably defiling the good Gryffindor name by making out right there - and instead said, "They're dating now. I guess they wanted their privacy or something." He rolled his eyes again, trying not to sound jealous or bitter because he didn't want to leave himself weak incase Stella wanted to point it out and go for the jugular.​

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella chuckled and nodded in agreement as she ate a few more fries. "They really don't. I overheard Auntie Leah telling Uncle Fletcher that mom and dad said you were depressed, which is stupid," Stella said bluntly with a scoff. She looked over at Wyatt and gave a little shake of her head in amusement as if to say 'Crazy right?' Depression was something that only socially inept weirdos claimed because they had no friends and needed something to blame it on. Wyatt at least had friends and was a functioning member of society, someone like him couldn't have depression. The Slytherin continued to eat her fries and loaded her plate up with more food as if the joke in the conversation had passed. She didn't think much more of Wyatt avoiding his friends since it seemed like a valid reason to stay away from a couple and nothing more. She snickered at the thought of Wyatt being an awkward third wheel and then stopped as she realized something. "Oh so is that the only reason you came over to sit with me?" shoving him lightly.
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Out of Character:

The views of this character do not reflect the views of the RPer.

Spoiler

Depression is a serious issue that should never be taken lightly. If you or someone you know is showing signs of depression please seek help because you are never alone!

 

[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt was munching away on fries when Stella said something that shocked him. He practically choked as she looked at him with disbelief. After swallowing and catching air Wyatt looked at his sister, trying to find a way to talk to her thoughtfully now that she had heard. Maybe she didn't think he could be because he had pretended to be happy around her as much as he could try. In his lowest Wyatt didn't want to expose Stella to it. So the boy now had to figure out what to say to her - something he thought he'd never really have to figure out. In the back of his mind he thought she had always known that he had depression but she was so much younger and he protected her the way any big brother would. "About that..." Wyatt said quietly and seriously, "I have a sickness Stells." He frowned - it was sounding more dramatic than he wanted it to come out but he wasn't exactly well practiced in talking about this to non-professionals. "I go to a therapist in St. Mungo's over the holidays, and take medicine because I have depression. Do you have questions about this?" he asked her, for most people he would never offer to answer questions but she was the exception because his hope was that maybe he could prevent her from feeling the way he did. With the more serious conversation at hand he ignored all else that she had said and instead looked at Stella trying to read her face as carefully as he could. ​

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella expected her brother to laugh along with her when she revealed to him that their parents had claimed he was depressed, but instead he seemed to have gone uncomfortably quiet. Stella looked over at him when he called for her attention and raised an eyebrow in confusion when he mentioned he had a sickness. At first Stella was worried, wondering if perhaps there was something wrong with him but their parents had just misdiagnosed him, which was alarming considering their father was a doctor. But once Wyatt explained what his 'sickness' was, Stella looked a lot less worried and a lot more skeptical. She took full advantage of his opening for questions and asked, "Yeah, what makes you think you have depression?", judgement clear in the tone of her voice.
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[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt hadn't expected Stella to understand but he could never have guessed the way she was speaking to him now but he had no way to react except answer her questions. "I was diagnosed a year ago," he told Stella. In truth Wyatt didn't really want to share all about his symptoms with his baby sister because he thought he could protect her from it if she didn't know but here he was sitting with her even if he hated it. "You know all the sleeping I was doing and how angry I was for no reason?" He asked but didn't wait for an answer. "That's just some of the symptoms," Wyatt told her. He, however, decided to keep the consuming sadness and dread to himself because he still struggled with how to explain it to even himself. "I'm doing better now, though," the Gryffindor told her even if it wasn't entirely the truth. He was improving but he wasn't cured. He still struggled daily but he was able to cope better and he wanted Stella to know that.​

 

[Stella Finch]

Stella eyed him critically as Wyatt revealed he'd been diagnosed a year ago. If that was true wouldn't she have noticed something wrong with him? She listened as he told her of the symptoms that meant he had depression and Stella suddenly rolled her eyes. "So you're lazy and you hate everything? That's not depression Wy, that's being a teenager," she huffed, annoyed at his exaggeration. "Who diagnosed you anyway, these wizard doctors? You know they don't know sh!t about normal people," she added, shaking her head. Although she did like magic, Stella had grown up with a muggle doctor so she felt his expertise had more merit than someone who waved a wand around.
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