CHAPTER TWELVE:
SEB'S STAMP OF APPROVAL

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A COUPLE OF DAYS came and went with Shay Chambers not seeing much of the Cullen family. She knew they were still watching over her and Bella, as were the wolves, but they were also pretty busy preparing for the army of vampires that was coming to kill them, so Shay kept to herself for the most part. However, a week after Shay watched the Cullens train and a week after she and Alice kissed, Shay woke up to Sebastian shaking her shoulders, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.

Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, the time read 9am. With a groan, she rolled away from him; it was far too early to be up on a Saturday, especially a Saturday where she didn't have to work, "Five more minutes, Seb."

"Fine," Sebastian giggled, quick to give in. If Shay wasn't half-asleep, she would've questioned why he was giving up so easily. "I guess I can keep your girlfriend company if you really want to sleep more."

"Girlfriend?" Shay's eyes snapped open. Suddenly, she was wide awake.

"Alice Cullen is downstairs," her brother grinned at her. "She said something about wanting to spend the day with us."

"What, now?" she groaned. Normally, Shay would love to see Alice, but she and Seb had stayed up the previous night eating ice cream and watching movies. So while part of her wanted to race downstairs and spend every second she could spare with the Cullen girl, she also really wanted to sleep the day away.

"Yes, now!" Seb pulled the blankets away from Shay, the ice cold air of her bedroom prompting goosebumps to form on her skin. "So unless you want me to share every embarrassing story of yours with her, you'll get up."

In an instant, she was sitting up, scowling at Sebastian as he howled with laughter and retreated out of her room. Knowing there was no use in going back to sleep, Shay kicked away her blankets and headed to the bathroom for a shower. Downstairs, she could hear the television running and faint chatter occurring between her brother and Alice, but Shay tried not to dwell too much on the potentially humiliating stories Sebastian was telling her as she tried her best to look presentable.

About fifteen minutes went by before she made her way downstairs. Sebastian was sitting on the floor in front of the lounge in the living room, his legs crossed underneath him as he leant over a bowl of cereal that was sitting on the coffee table. Alice was on the lounge beside him, her eyes immediately catching Shay's as the brunette beauty made her presence known.

"About time," Seb chuckled, having also noticed his sister. "We were starting to think you'd never come down."

"I'm sorry I had to make myself look good," Shay rolled her eyes, ducking into the kitchen to pour herself a mug of coffee.

"Well, you have no one to impress," her brother called out after her. "It's just me and your lover here."

"Alice and I are not lovers," she insisted with a scowl. Sebastian smirked, not believing Shay for a second. "Oh, get that look off your face, Seb."

Meanwhile, Alice sat there watching the siblings interact with a fond smile. She knew that Shay and Sebastian were close, but it still surprised her how open and honest they were with each other. They weren't just brother and sister, they were best friends. They could tell each other anything and everything, hence why Sebastian seemed to know who Alice was before she even introduced herself to him.

"I didn't know you were coming over today," Shay directed her attention to Alice, a faint blush coating her cheeks at the look in Alice's eyes.

"I wanted to see you," she shrugged. "And I also wanted to meet your brother."

"Why would you want to meet him?" Shay chuckled, messing up her brother's hair as she sat down on the lounge behind him.

"Oi!" Sebastian hissed, pushing his hair out of his eyes and sending his sister a playful glare. "Watch the hair, will you?"

"I can go if it's too soon," Alice mumbled, shyly averting her eyes towards the television.

"No!" Shay gasped. On instinct, she reached out and gripped Alice's hand, intertwining their fingers with a tiny smile. "You can stay, I'm just surprised."

Neither of them noticed Sebastian watching them, his smirk fading into a smile of his own as he recognised the look on his sister's face. It was new for him to see Shay staring at someone with so much blatant emotion. His sister didn't show her feelings often, and on the rare occasion that she did, it was only to the people that were closest to her; him and Cora, and sometimes Raymond and Charlie. There was once a time where Shay wore her heart on her sleeve, like when she first started seeing Tyler Crowley back in freshman year of high school. They dated for six months before Shay kissed Lauren Mallory in a game of truth or dare, where she realised her attraction towards men and women. Their relationship was much shorter, but even then, Shay's heart was open and on display for everyone to see. Then her dad died, and her feelings stopped mattering to her, especially the romantic ones. Now, it seemed that Alice Cullen was changing that. And it made Sebastian so happy, because there were times where he wondered if Shay would ever find that one person she could love unconditionally. And that's all he really wanted for her.

"So what are we going to do then?" Shay asked, releasing Alice's hand with reluctance. "We could stay here and watch a movie, or we could spend the day in Port Angeles."

"Going outside could be a nice change," Sebastian said. "We watched movies for hours last night, Shay, we rarely go anywhere anymore."

"Port Angeles it is then," Alice beamed with excitement.

"But that means I have to go and change again," Shay whined, only half joking.

"You look fine, Shay," Sebastian rolled his eyes, rising to his feet to take his empty bowl into the kitchen.

"He's not lying," Alice muttered, giving Shay a nod of approval. "I think you look beautiful."

She wore a simple pair of dark-washed jeans and a thick black knitted jumper over a tank top. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she hadn't bothered with makeup that morning, but to Alice Cullen, she was perfect. She could dress in a paper bag, and Alice wouldn't care. If it made Shay happy, then it made her happy too.

"Oh, thank you," Shay grinned shyly.

Alice returned her smile, jumping to her feet as Sebastian came back to the living room with his and Shay's shoes in his hands. Once they'd put them on, Alice ushered them towards the front door, looping her arm through Shay's happily. "Let's go!"

"I call shotgun!" Sebastian called over his shoulder as he took off running towards Alice's bright yellow car, his eyes wide as he admired the vehicle.

"He's a sweet kid," Alice muttered, waiting patiently by Shay's side as she locked up her house.

"Yeah, he is," Shay agreed, shooting her brother a fond look when he wasn't looking. "Thank you for today. I know you're probably busy with the newborns and everything."

"I meant what I said earlier, I wanted to see you," Alice waved her gratitude away. "The others have it covered anyway."

"Are you guys gonna stand there and talk forever?" Sebastian called out with a huff. He was bouncing up and down on his heels, eager to be driven around in Alice's porsche, but his sister was taking ages to lock the door and it was beginning to annoy him.

"Let's go before he complains more," Shay rolled her eyes, taking Alice's hand and leading her down the porch steps without a second thought.

The day in Port Angeles was a nice one. Alice brought Sebastian a Back To The Future poster and another of his alien t-shirts that he loved so much, despite Shay's insistence that she could pay for them. She also brought Shay something when the human girl wasn't paying attention, planning on surprising her with it when they went back to Shay's house. Then they went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant, where Alice pretended to eat while Sebastian shared every memory he had of Shay from when they were younger. Like when Shay was nine-years-old and terrified of thunder. She used to go to her mum and dad's room whenever there was a storm, but Melody soon got frustrated and would turn her away whenever she knocked on their door scared. So Shay would gather every teddy bear she and Sebastian owned, placing them in a line at the end of her bed so it seemed like she wasn't alone when the dark clouds would roar outside her window.

While Sebastian was trying to embarrass Shay in front of her potential girlfriend, the memory he spent the most time laughing about made Shay a little sad. Even when she was young, Melody had her heartless moments. Alice noticed straight away that something was wrong, reaching out to hold Shay's hand as she directed the conversation to how Sebastian was going at school. Shay was thankful for the distraction, but Seb's words stayed with her for the rest of the day. They never left her brain, not even when Shay and Alice retreated up to Shay's room once they came back home.

"Are you okay, love?" Alice murmured from where she was sitting on Shay's bed, the brunette beauty lying beside her as they stared up at the ceiling together. "You've been pretty quiet since lunch."

"I'm sorry," Shay sighed, though she was immediately waved away by Alice. The vampire didn't mind Shay's unusual behaviour, she just wanted to know she was alright. "It just made me a bit sad when Seb was talking about our mum."

"I've noticed that she isn't around," Alice said carefully. "Neither is your dad."

"It's just me and Sebastian now."

"Why?" she frowned. She didn't want to push Shay too much, but she also wanted her to know she was there for her. "You can tell me anything, you know."

"When I was fifteen, my dad was in a car accident. A drunk driver collided with him and his injuries were too severe. He died before paramedics could get him to the hospital," Shay said softly, barely able to get the words out let alone speak louder than a whisper. She glanced at Alice, who was staring down at her with wide eyes. "I'm surprised you didn't know that already, people in town are always talking about it."

"My family and I don't pay much attention to the town gossip," Alice shrugged, reaching out to hold Shay's hand. "I'm sorry about your dad, Shay."

There was silence for a moment. Alice knew that Shay had more to tell her, but she let her say what she wanted at her own pace, simply watching her with soft eyes as she continued to stare above her at the roof, lost in her thoughts.

"My mum didn't take my dad's passing well. She was heartbroken, we all were, but instead of turning to us for support like we wanted her to, she turned to work and partying with her friends. She'd go on business trips and holidays as a distraction and would leave us to fend for ourselves. It was hard at first, but I knew that Seb needed me more than ever so I pushed my feelings aside and got a job at the café with Cora to support us. I've been there ever since."

"And your mum never came back?" Alice frowned.

Shay shook her head, "She comes and goes when she wants to." She rolled her eyes, turning on her side so she was finally looking at Alice. "She was here when I came with you and Bella to pick out your dresses for the graduation party, but she left pretty quickly. I'm not sure where she is now, but at least I know she's alive."

"I'm so sorry, Shay," Alice sighed again, not knowing what else to say.

"Don't be. There's nothing more I can do about it," she muttered. "I used to be really angry with my mum, but I stopped caring after the third or fourth trip away. That sounds really sad, but it is what it is."

More silence. Alice watched Shay through curious eyes, listening to her steady heartbeat and feeling her warmth surrounding her. She thought she knew a lot about Shay Chambers, but this just proves how complex Shay really was. And brave, too. Shay was so brave. It made Alice love her even more.

"I got you something today," Alice whispered, sitting up and moving across the room before Shay could protest. Grabbing a box out of her shopping bags, she skipped back over to where the human girl was sitting up with her eyes narrowed playfully.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I wanted to," she insisted, shoving the box into Shay's hands and grinning widely. "Now, quit being selfless and open it!"

Shay did so with reluctance, her eyes going wide as she glanced up at Alice, "You didn't."

"I did," she beamed. "Let me put it on you."

Soon enough, Shay had a delicate golden chain sitting around her neck, a small heart-shaped pendant resting between her collarbones. Shay couldn't express her love for it enough, whispering 'thank you' over and over again as she hugged Alice tight.

"I'm glad you like it," Alice pulled away to peck Shay on the lips.

The action surprised Shay, but she found herself leaning into the kiss after a moment, smiling against Alice's lips before pulling away as her lungs began to burn.

"I also wanted to ask you something," Alice muttered, looping her arms around Shay's waist comfortably. "I was wondering... if you'd like to, you know, be my girlfriend?"

"Of course!" Shay gasped without hesitation.

Her heartbeat was echoing in her ears and her face was an embarrassing shade of red, but Shay Chambers couldn't be happier as Alice Cullen (her girlfriend; Shay Chambers of all people had finally got the girl!) held her close. 

If only they had known that their happiness would be so short lived.