CHAPTER TWO:
STRANGERS

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A WEEK HAD CAME and went, and Shay Chambers hadn't stopped thinking about Alice Cullen. Her dark hair, cut into a short and stylish pixie-cut. Her golden eyes, shining bright and alluring in their warmth. The way she smiled like everything suddenly made sense in the world. It confused Shay, but the more she tried to push away her thoughts, the more they began to cloud her mind, every waking moment spent revolving around Alice.

It was the weekend, and Shay was standing behind the counter at The Carver Cafe, her eyes heavy as they stared out the diner windows at the setting sun. She'd spent her entire afternoon at work, wishing to be back home with her brother, watching re-runs of Friends and eating pepperoni pizza, as per their usual weekend routine. But they needed the extra money to keep themselves afloat, so when Cora called Shay and asked her to cover for Amy - a fellow waitress at The Carver Cafe - she agreed with reluctance to step in for her. Sebastian said he didn't mind, but nonetheless, Shay thought she was letting him down the longer she strayed away from their tradition, so to say she was eager for her shift to end would be quite the understatement.

"Shay, can you take this over to table six please?" Cora asked, appearing by the young brunette's side with two mugs of coffee and a plate of donuts resting on a black plastic tray in her hands. 

Shay plastered on her customer service smile as she moved from behind the counter, the tray balancing in her arms. She arrived at table six which inhabited a man and woman who were holding hands over the tabletop, and she was just greeting them and placing their order in front of them when the cafe's doorbell chimed, signaling that someone had entered the building. Shay glanced at the counter to see if Cora was going to take the customer's order, only to find that the older woman was on the phone with her back facing the entrance. 

Shay let out a sigh, before calling out to the customer, "I'll be with you in a second."

"There's no need to rush," a woman responded, and for some odd reason, Shay shivered at the sound of her voice. "Take your time."

Shay gave one last polite smile to the couple in front of her, bidding them a nice rest of their day before she turned away from them, tucking the empty serving tray under one of her arms as she looked towards the door. Her dark eyes met pure gold in an instant, and every sensible thought she had went out the window. Time seemed to stop as Alice Cullen smiled at her, moving to sit on one of the bar stools at the counter, her eyes never straying from where Shay stood. The brunette in question was quick to snap out of her trance then, blushing furiously as she moved behind the counter again, her eyes lowered to the ground. Her heart was hammering in her chest in an almost violent manner, and Shay spared a tiny glance around the diner, paranoid that everyone in the room could hear how it raced. It certainly didn't help that Alice's smile had morphed into an unusual smirk, eyeing her like she knew all her secrets.

"Hello," Shay greeted, the confidence in her voice contrasting against the nerves that twisted around inside her. "What would you like to order today?"

Alice made an unsure humming sound in the back of her throat, her eyes leaving Shay's to trace the menu she'd grabbed from the countertop. She didn't seem interested in any of the products on sale, but in the end, she snapped the menu shut and gave a blinding smile as she said, "I'll take a latte to go, please."

Shay nodded, repeating her order as she turned towards the coffee machine, hands shaking as she went about making Alice's latte. The whole time, Alice's eyes never strayed from her face, almost like they were analysing her every feature, committing them to her memory. She seemed to sense Shay's confusion, for she sent her another grin, leaning forward in her chair to maintain conversation.

"So," she drawled, her voice light and inviting. "How long have you worked here," she glanced down at her name tag on instinct, though she already knew her name. "Shay?"

"Just under three years," Shay said, meeting Cora's eyes as the older woman hung up the phone and turned towards them. She sent Shay a knowing smirk, her eyes darting from Shay's blushing cheeks to Alice's intense stare.

"Shay's one of the best workers we've had in a long time," Cora added as she passed them, a notebook and pen grasped in her hands as she moved to where a group of teenagers had sat down at an empty table.

"You're just saying that," Shay called after her friend, who winked at her before turning back to her customers. Shay finished Alice's coffee, placing the mug on the bench in front of her as she muttered the price for the drink. 

Alice's fingers grazed against her own as she pressed the money into Shay's hands, her golden eyes glimmering as Shay shivered at her freezing touch. "Thank you. I'll see you around, Shay."

Shay stayed silent as she watched Alice leave the diner, shooting her one last grin over her shoulder before she disappeared. Shay stood there for a moment, only snapping out of her daze when Cora appeared in front of her, smirking knowingly.

"What?" Shay narrowed her eyes, to which Cora let out a laugh.

"You like her?" she asked when her giggles faded, gesturing towards Alice's car, which was reversing out of The Carver Cafe's parking lot. 

"Please," Shay scoffed, though the sound was weak. "I just met her."

"But you think she's cute." Cora leaned against the counter, eyes wide and teasing as Shay blushed, shaking her head stubbornly.

"Is my shift over?" She changed the subject, glancing at the clock hanging above the cafe door.

"Yes," Cora nodded, chuckling in amusement. "Now get outta here, Chambers. I'll see you Monday morning."

Shay disappeared into the storage room, where she hung up her apron and gathered her things together. The whole drive home, Cora's words repeated over and over in her head, taunting the depths of Shay's mind. She didn't like Alice, not in the way that Cora thought she did. There was just something about her that drew her in, distracted her in a way she hadn't experienced in what seemed like forever. No, Alice was just another stranger to her. Nothing more, nothing less.

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SHAY AND SEBASTIAN WERE on their last episode of Friends for the night when the latter turned towards his older sister, whose distracted eyes stared past the television, tracing patterns on the living room window. The whole evening, she'd been lost in thought, and while it worried Sebastian, it also made him curious to know what was going through her head. Shay had never been distracted before. She'd always been focused, determined to live each day as it came. When their father died and their mother started disappearing at odd hours of the day, that was the only time Sebastian ever saw her struggling. Don't get him wrong, he knew that Shay kept a lot of things from him, but it was different that time around. Something about his sister was different.

"You okay?" Sebastian asked her, reaching out to pause the television. 

Shay glanced at him, her eyebrows darting into a frown. "Of course I am."

"Really?" he scoffed, not believing her for a second. "Then what episode of Friends are we on?" Shay stayed quiet, her eyes squinting as she cursed her brother's too observant nature. "That's what I thought." He nudged her with his elbow, watching as she let out a sigh, leaning her head back on the sofa they were sharing. "Tell me what's wrong, Shay. I can help you."

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Shay promised, reaching out to grip his hand in her own when his doubt only increased. "Seriously. I just had an odd encounter at work today, nothing to be concerned over."

"Are you sure?" Sebastian whispered, reluctant to let things go without a fight. "It's not about mum, is it?"

"No," Shay shook her head, swallowing thickly at the mention of the woman who'd abandoned them. "I'd tell you if it was, you know that." Sebastian sighed, nodding through his hesitance. Shay squeezed his hand one last time, before grabbing the remote and switching off the television. "It's getting pretty late, you should head to bed now."

Sebastian complained the whole way upstairs, Shay following behind him to head to her own room. They parted ways on the landing, Sebastian embracing his sister in a surprise hug before disappearing into his room, kicking the door shut behind him. Shay heard him switch on the radio, ignoring her demand for him to go to sleep, and she rolled her eyes as she disappeared into her own room, the door clicking shut behind her. She moved to lay on her bed, sighing as she stretched out across the mattress, her eyes staring up at the dark ceiling.

"What do I do, dad?" she whispered, the words a mantra in her mind. Silence was her only response, along with a heavy dose of disappointment. She sat up with a groan, moving to push back the blankets, crawling underneath them, ready to fall asleep.

That night, Shay Chambers dreamed of Alice Cullen. They were in The Carver Cafe together, lost in their own world of shared glances and knowing smiles. Alice's voice was a beacon of hope for Shay, something for her to hold onto and cherish. It made her life seem a little easier, less like a chore and more like a challenge. And when Shay woke up the next morning to Sebastian blaring music in his bedroom, Alice's eyes and smile and voice stayed with her the whole time, an unconscious saving grace.