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Stephanie and Harper sat in silence in the main room of the Belfry, attempting to grasp this situation in front of them. Wayne tower had just fallen, and Turner was nowhere to be found. As soon as the news of Turner going missing reached them Stephanie broke out into a blood curdling scream. As she sunk to the ground letting her grief consume her, Harper sat on the ground next to her and enveloped her into a tight hug. The hug acted as a way to show Stephanie that Harper was there and as a way for Harper to ground herself instead of running away like she normally does.
By the time Cullen, Duela, Carrie and Brody return, Stephanie had begun to doze off while Harper just watched her carefully. Even though the four of them had returned, the Belfry still stayed dead silent as they all mourned the loss of their friend. At some point during their haze Stephanie pulled Harper with her to the couch so that they could attempt to sleep, and Harper allowed herself to be pulled along. She laid next to Stephanie silently staring at the ceiling above them. Stephanie was turned away from her but she knew that she wasn’t asleep, and her suspicions were confirmed when Stephanie turned over to her and maneuvered herself to where her head was resting on Harper's chest. Harper didn’t realize it but this was Stephanies way of making sure that she hadn’t lost everyone she loved that night.
Harper had managed to fall asleep at some point that night, but when she awoke the next morning she was startled to find that Stephanie was no longer next to her. Harper sprung off of the couch and ran down the stairs to the main room of the Belfry where Cullen was sleeping. “Cullen…. Cullen wake up.” Harper says helplessly while shaking Cullen awake. Cullens eyes shoot open and he puts his hands on top of his sisters. “Harper? What- What’s going on?” Cullen says, his voice still thick with sleep. “It- It’s Stephanie, she isn’t here, she's missing.” Cullens’ face softens when he realizes that his sister is finally letting someone break down her walls. Cullen gets up out of his hammock and puts his jacket on. “C’mon we’ll find her. She wouldn’t go far without telling anyone.” Cullen says, as he reassuringly reaches a hand out to gently squeeze Harpers shoulder.
The first place the Row siblings check is the library, but to no avail Stephanie was no where to be found. After the library they decided to check a few of the other buildings around the Belfry before eventually ending up in the gym. Harper was about to give up when she spotted Stephanie in the gym wailing on a punching bag. As soon as Harper spots Stephanie, she turns to Cullen and softly asks him if he could head back to the Belfry while she talks to Stephanie. Cullen happily obliges and heads out of the gym right as Stephanie spots Harper and ceases her attack on the punching bag.
“Harper?” Stephanie croaks, concerned by the expression on her girlfriend's face. Harper wordlessly closes the gap in between her and Stephanie until they were only inches apart from one another. “I panicked when I woke up and you weren’t there.” Harper says softly, as if she was unsure of the words coming out of her mouth. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at Stephanie. Instead her eyes were glued to the punching bag silently swaying behind Stephanie.
That was until Stephanie gently brought her hand to the side of Harper's face and guided it until she was looking her directly in the eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t exactly get much sleep last night, so when I got tired of being stir crazy I decided to come to the gym and let you sleep for a bit longer.” Stephanie says tiredly, the exhaustion finally showing on her face for the first time since she started living with them in the Belfry. “Stephanie… You’re always allowed to wake me up if your mind is eating you alive. I would much rather be exhausted and with you than be alarmed to find you missing.” Harper says all of this sincerely, and her sincerity is met with a chaste kiss from Stephanie.
When Stephanie pulls away from Harper she smiles softly and reaches out to gently take one of Harper's hands in her own. “I’ll definitely remember that the next time I find it impossible to sleep. Now should we go back to the Belfry and find out what our next move is going to be?” Stephanie says as she starts to pull Harper towards the gym exit.
Stephanie and Harper head back to the Belfry to regroup with the rest of their group. The question of what happens next looming over all of their heads. They’re officially no longer fugitives on the run from GCPD. None of them have anywhere to go considering Stephanie's parents disowned her, Brody's parents were both part of the court and Carrie's mom is now confined to the hospital. They went from a ragtag group of fugitives and accomplices to being a group of lost teens unsure of what’s to come.
