Rolling out of bed just after nine Stephanie yawned as she made her way down the stairs, it was delightful to have a lie in on a Saturday morning but her mind was drifting from her boyfriend to her parents and then to her brother.

Walking into the kitchen she went straight for the fridge to get herself a glass of orange juice. Sitting down at the island she wondered where everybody was as the house was silent but just as soon as she asked herself the question the back door opened and Shane walked in, "Hey."

Smiling at his sister he leant on the island opposite her, "Well Sleeping Beauty finally woke up. Mom and Dad are at work but they said they should be back at lunchtime."

Rolling her eyes she downed the rest of her glass, "Of course they are. At least they are in this state and are only working a half day. Have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet, I was contemplating what to have as I went outside to explore the back yard as I hadn't really seen it yet. How about you go and get dressed and we do IHoP and then we go to the mall for a bit? Anything to get out of the house really because I am just sick of being stuck inside."

Pancakes and a trip the the mall whilst her parents worked? That idea definitely worked for her, "Sounds like my idea of fun. Give me twenty minutes and we can go."

Heading upstairs she went straight into the bathroom as she didn't want to keep her brother waiting as he liked to whine a lot.

Forty minutes later and the two of them were sat in a booth at IHoP ready to order when Stephanie finally checked her phone for the first time this morning to see she had missed a couple of texts.

Kayleigh:

Did your brother get home for the weekend? Do you have any gossip for me?

Paul:

Be nice to your brother whilst he is there, you'll soon be complaining that you haven't seen him in ages so make the most of it.

Watching the smile that graced his sister's lips intrigued Shane, "Who has you smiling now?"

Lifting her head she shrugged, "Just somebody saying that I should be nice to you and make the most of you whilst you are here as soon I'll be complaining because I haven't seen you in ages."

"That's a wise . . . person. I'm not sure if they are male or female but I like them. I am really glad I worked so hard to finish that assignment so I could come home, I didn't realise how much I missed you until I was here spending time with you. I am so glad that we are making the most of this time."

Normally at this point she would pretend to gag and tease him but she felt the same way as he did, "I am too. Next time you are around we should definitely do more of this, we should make the time for each other before our lives take off and we don't have any."

"Deal."

The two of them enjoyed their breakfast and then headed to the mall, Shane knew it would be torture for him but it would be worth it.

First thing on Saturday morning Paul found himself at the mall, normally this would be the last place you would find him but he had a gift to pick up so it had to be done. Walking into the first jewellery store he could find he went straight to their displays of necklaces looking for the perfect one until he was interrupted, "Can I help you Sir?"

Squinting a little to get a better look at one of the necklaces in the cabinet on the wall he nodded his head, "I hope so. I want to buy my girlfriend a necklace for her birthday, I don't want it to be too flashy as that isn't her but it needs to be pretty."

"Well that narrows it down." Turning to the wall she pulled out a couple of necklaces before she removed two from the counter between them, "What about one of these?"

Looking between them all he was drawn to a purple heart with a tiny little star also part of the clasp that held the heart to the chain, "I absolutely adore this one, I think it is perfect for her."

Smiling brightly she put all of the others away before she packaged it up into a little box, "I think she will love it, I have it in green and I adore it as it goes with so many outfits."

Having second thoughts he played with his wallet as he pulled it from his pocket, "It's not too much when we haven't been together long is it?"

"Absolutely not Sir, I think she will love that you have gone to the effort of picking out something you think she will love and not gone with some flowers and chocolates like most men do even when you have been together years."

Laughing softly he handed over his credit card, "Well thank you for your help."

Once he had paid for the necklace he headed for the store as he needed food for his cupboard and for what he had planned for Stephanie on Monday.

When he finally arrived home after all of his shopping he put all of the food away before he collapsed on the couch, never again was he going to be so thoughtful . . . well until the next big event anyway.

Shane and Stephanie returned home from the mall to see their parent's cars in the driveway, "They really were home by lunch. I think your visit means they actually want to be home."

Rolling his eyes at his sister he shook his head, "Stop being like that, you know they love you."

"Eh, they wouldn't be able to tell you anything about my life so I don't know if I could agree with you on that."

"Give them a chance, I'm sure they are trying their hardest to juggle work and home. I understand that they have failed a lot so far but take this as the first step in them trying harder."

Frowning she didn't know know so decided to vent to the one person who was impartial and texted Paul:

My brother thinks I need to cut my parents some slack and to give them a chance but I don't think I should.

Sending the text she silently climbed out of the car and just thought about what Shane had said.

Figuring his sister was venting about him to Kayleigh he let the text slide and followed her getting out of the car so they could head inside.

Trying to decide between going to the gym or taking a nap Paul felt his phone vibrate against his ass so shifting on the couch he removed it from his pocket and read the text, there was something nice about the fact that she was coming to him to vent so it was only fair he replied:

I think he's right, I think you should give them another chance to prove to you how much they care. Give them a chance, you'll regret it if you don't.

Sitting on the couch she was watching as her brother discussed something with her Dad whilst their Mom was in the kitchen when her phone beeped so removing her phone from he purse she grumbled when she read the text and threw it back into her purse out of irritation.

Watching his sister he noticed the irritation on her face, "What's wrong Steph?"

"I vented to my b . . . friend about what you said and they think you're right, they think that I should give them another chance."

Moving closer to his sister he had noticed he say the letter 'b' before friend and he wondered if she did have a boyfriend but if she did he was certainly good for her, "Whoever said that is a smart person and I don't mean it just because they agreed with me. Changing subjects, kind of, whoever they are I like them if they are the same person as yesterday because they can make you smile so easily. It's not Kayleigh though right?"

Shaking her head she wasn't sure what to say to him, "It's not Kayleigh."

At that moment she was called into the kitchen to help with lunch so she was spared the grilling from her brother so she was more than happy to help.

Sitting down at the table as a family they had a large late lunch celebrating Stephanie's birthday and spending time together as one whilst they were in the same state, "So tell us about your new school Stephanie?"

There were so many things that she could say about school and yet only one of them was positive and that one thing she couldn't share, "Well let's see. Most of the teachers suck, the boys are all preppy stuck up assholes and the girls are . . . I don't even know what they are but if I had to say something about them I would say they are all fake."

Frowning Linda did not like that, "Would you like us to transfer you to a different school?"

"No!" Shrinking at the look of shock she was receiving from all three other people at the table she quickly had to cover, "It was hard enough moving to a new state and a new school for the first week of term in my final year, I really don't want to move to another new school over a month in."

His parents may have bought her excuse for the outburst but Shane most certainly didn't however now was not the time or the place to confront her with his suspicions about what was going on, that would come later when they were alone.

After lunch they all sat in the lounge so Stephanie could finally be given her presents which ended up consisting of a spa weekend, a years worth of manicures and pedicures and a ring with matching earrings. Hugging her parents Stephanie sat back down thinking about whether to take her Mom or Kayleigh on the spa weekend with her but as she saw Shane's face she got nervous wondering what his present was, "It's not like dog shit is it?"

Laughing Shane shook his head, "Definitely not. I really hope you like it though, I spent forever looking for the perfect gift for you."

When Shane handed over a small box she was as nervous as he apparently was as she unwrapped the paper and opened the box to reveal a charm bracelet, "Oh my God, it is absolutely beautiful."

Hugging his sister back as she practically tackled him he was relieved she liked it, "Really?! I had the charm bracelet made from scratch so every individual charm means something and you can have more added as and when you please."

Sitting back down she couldn't take her eyes off the bracelet as she looked through each charm trying to figure out the meaning behind each one of them, "So perfect."

It was in that moment there that Linda truly realised that Shane was right, that Stephanie really did need her and she was determined to be around for her more . . . starting next week, "I need to get some work done so I will leave you kids to it."

Vince was close behind her leaving Stephanie alone with Shane. Closing the lid of the box holding her bracelet she looked up at her brother and frowned, "See? They can't even take the afternoon to spend with us. I guess I will go and do some homework but thank you for the bracelet, I absolutely love it."

Heading upstairs Stephanie sat down at her desk and began her homework but after a little while she gave in because she was feeling too despondent so decided to call her boyfriend hoping his voice would make her smile and lift her mood.

Shane sat in the lounge thinking over what Stephanie had said and the way she had behaved and he decided as a protective older brother he needed to ask her about it because he needed to know if his instinct was right and most importantly he needed to know that she was safe and happy. Getting up from his seat he headed for the stairs.

Moving from the desk to her bed she called him before she crawled onto the bed and lay down waiting to see if he would answer.

Paul had just pulled up outside the gym when his phone began to ring, digging around in his gym bag he eventually pulled it out, "Hello beautiful, everything okay?"

Noticing that he took a while to answer and sounded a bit frazzled she was suddenly feeling bad for calling, "You're busy, I'm sorry I shouldn't have called."

"Wait, I'm not busy so you're not interrupting." He didn't know what was wrong but clearly it was something, "I have just pulled up outside of the gym because I was going to get a workout in to make my Saturday extra productive but I always have time for you."

"Are you sure? If you would rather workout now and we talk after that's okay."

Paul wasn't stupid, he knew that out wasn't a real out and he didn't want to take it anyway, "I am positive. So how's your day going? Did you get your gifts yet?"

Smiling softly she was so relieved he was willing to talk to her, "Yes I did. My parents got this spa weekend, a years supply of manis and pedis and a ring and earrings set and my brother bought me the most beautiful charm bracelet and apparently each charm means something but I haven't worked them all out yet." Rolling off the bed she went back to her desk and picked up the bracelet before she went back to the bed to attempt to put it on as she talked.

Listening to her as she spoke about the different gifts it was clear in the way she spoke about how she felt about the people who had given them to her, "I look forward to seeing this charm bracelet then. Are you big on jewellery?"

"Pretty jewellery only. I really need to get myself a new necklace as I do prefer necklaces as they are so versatile but depending on the piece it depends on how I feel about it. I don't think I will ever take this bracelet off, it means so much to me and is so pretty."

Paul's mind drifted to his own gift for her, "I hope you will like my gift for you as much as you like that bracelet."

Biting down on her lip as she balanced her phone between her ear and her shoulder and attempted to do up the clasp she hated that it wouldn't do up and she would need help, "I am sure I will, it involves me spending time with you so it will be the best gift ever."

"There is an actual gift and not just our afternoon is the gift."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Wait, really? You didn't have to do that."

Before Paul could say anything Shane stuck his head around the door wanting to set his mind to rest, "Steph . . . oh, I didn't realise you were on the phone. I'll leave you to it but call me when you're done so I can talk to you please."

Sensing that it was an important conversation she decided to leave Paul to his workout, "I will let you go as my brother wants to talk to me but I'll talk to you later."

"Whenever you want beautiful but just so you know, I really did buy you a gift and before you think about asking you won't get any hints."

Pouting he was so mean to her, "Ugh, you are so mean to me. Bye."

Hanging up the phone she turned her attention to her brother, "So what can I help you with?"

Walking into the room Shane shut the door behind him, "Do you have a boyfriend?"