Chapter 12

"Yes, Mom, everything is fine here," Shane said into his cell phone the next morning. "No, we didn't have any wild parties. We played some games, ordered some pizza, watched a movie, then went to bed." He paused for a minute. "No, I don't know why Steph isn't answering her cell phone. I'll go check on her now..."

He walked out of his bedroom and down the hall to Steph's bedroom. He knocked on the door first, out of respect, but then he just barged in. He noticed that her bed was still perfectly made, as though she hadn't slept in there the night before. He walked into her bathroom, but she wasn't there, either.

"Ah, Mom, she's in the shower," he lied. "Want me to tell her to call you when she gets out? No? Oh, ok, then she'll be waiting for your call then. Love you." He pressed the end button, slipped his phone into his pocket, then looked around, scratching his head. "Now where the heck is she?"

He decided that she was probably checking on Amy and Ty. After all, they were her special guests for the weekend. That seemed logical enough, so that was where he decided to go. He walked down the hall to the guest room where Ty had slept the night before and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in!" Ty called brightly. She was definitely a "morning" person.

Shane opened the door and looked around. "Hey, Ty. Sleep well last night?"

"This bed is so comfortable," she answered. "So how could I not?"

"True," he said with a smile. "So, uh, have you seen Steph this morning?"

"No, can't say that I have," she replied apologetically. "Why? Something wrong?"

"Mom called a few minutes ago and she wanted to speak to Steph, but she's nowhere to be found. I have to find her before Mom calls back," he explained.

"Check Amy's room. Maybe Steph decided to sleep there last night," she suggested.

"Yeah, I'll do that, thanks," he said, already getting lost in his thoughts of Amy as he left the room. He really did need to work up his courage and ask the girl out already, before someone else beat him to it... He didn't understand why he was so incredibly nervous at the thought of asking her out. Usually, he was a pretty bold guy... He walked down the hall, stopping in front of an elegant mirror to check his reflection. He wanted to look perfect for her, no matter what the occasion.

He stopped in front of the door to the guest room Amy always stayed in and tried to calm down. This was getting absolutely ridiculous. He was older than her and he was a guy, and older guys weren't supposed to be so darn nervous when they had the hots for younger girls, right? "That's right," he said confidently to himself, and then he raised his hand to knock on the door...

Just then, Amy opened the door. When she came face to face with Shane's upraised fist, she looked surprised and took a step backwards. "Uh, wow, Shane, what are you doing here?" she asked, running a nervous hand through her hair.

"Uh... I'm... I'm looking for Steph," he stammered, bringing his hand down to his side. "Have you seen her?"

"Not since last night," she said. "It's still pretty early, though. Maybe she's in bed still asleep."

"If she's in bed, she's certainly not in her own bed," he said, biting his lip. "I just checked her room and Ty's room."

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Did you check with Chris? Maybe she's somewhere with him. After all, they were the last two in the theater last night."

He gasped a little as a sudden thought came to him. "You know, it didn't look like she'd slept in her bed at all. Do you think she..." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head, trying his hardest to get rid of the thoughts and speculations he was beginning to have about one of his best friends and his baby sister. "Hell no, there's just no way they would've..."

"Did you check his room, though?" she wondered.

"No, but I'm about to," he said. His eyes narrowed. "And if Chris has my baby sister in his bed... If he did anything to her, I'm going to be pissed at him, best friend or not."

"Chris isn't like that and you know it," she said, daring to place a hand on his arm. He felt so tense, and he already looked pretty mad as well. That wasn't the way to go about things at all, so she resolved to calm him down. "Look, I'll go with you. Just calm down and come on."

They walked down the hallway together with her hand still resting on his arm. At Chris's room, they stopped walking, and she knocked lightly on the door. She got no reply, though, and she looked at Shane, wondering what he would do.

"I'm going in," he decided, and he opened the door, afraid of what he might see but determined to find out where his sister was before his mother called back. He didn't see anything out of place. The bed was still perfectly made, but the one thing that stood out was the fact that neither Chris nor Steph were present. "So he didn't sleep in his bed either," he commented in a low voice.

"I see," she said, looking off into space as she recalled a conversation they'd all taken part of the day before. "Do you remember yesterday when Stephanie said she wanted to sleep under the stars?" He thought for a minute, then nodded. Satisfied, she went on talking. "And do you remember what Chris did? He teased her about it and told her that she was a romantic at heart."

"You have a really good memory," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," she replied, smiling back.

"So you're saying that you think they slept under the stars together?" he asked after a moment.

"Seems possible, if you look at the circumstances. I mean, it's Chris and Steph, and I think he likes her," she said.

"He does," he confirmed.

"Anyway, aren't there some balconies on the third floor?" she asked.

"Yeah, but there are balconies on this floor, too," he pointed out.

"True, but since the third floor is higher, it makes more sense to assume that they'd be up there."

"And why is that?"

"They'd be just a little closer to the stars," she explained.

"Oh, right," he said, now finally understanding her point. "Well, thanks for the help. I'll go look on the balconies upstairs now." He turned and started to walk away, and she reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked at her. "What's up?"

"Want me to go with you?" she asked shyly.

Yes! his mind screamed excitedly, but he decided to play it cool. "Sure," he said casually. "It's up to you."

"Great, then I'm going," she said, smiling at him. They walked together to the stairs, then headed upstairs. "So how are you enjoying your senior year so far?" she asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"It's pretty cool," he said with a shrug as they climbed the stairs. "It's really just the same old thing...well, except for the fact that you and Steph are there now, finally."

"So... I'm sure you have the girls chasing after you," she said, looking at him.

"Those girls want me because my family's one of the wealthiest families around. They're all superficial," he said, looking back at her. "Besides, I already like someone...an amazing girl, actually."

"Lucky girl," she said in a voice that could barely be heard.

"What'd you say?" he asked as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Nothing," she said quickly, looking around the third floor. "So, uh, which room do you think they're in?"

"Probably the best room up here, at the end of the hall," he said, pointing. The whole time, though, he was wondering if he'd heard her right. Had she really just referred to the girl he liked as a lucky girl? Had she? And did it mean what he thought it meant? Because if it did, that meant-

"We're here," she said, interrupting his internal dialogue. "Should we knock?"

"No, let's just go in," he said, opening the door. He looked over at the bed, which was, like the others, still perfectly made without a wrinkle in sight. "Good," he said, heaving a sigh of relief and letting out a breath he'd holding. "They're not in the bed."

"Come on, the doors to the balcony are open," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him quietly over to the balcony. She stopped walking at the sight before her. "Oh, look at them! They look so sweet!" she whispered.

"They're sharing a sleeping bag," he observed, not very happy about that fact.

"But look at the way his arms are around her," she went on. "It's so sweet..."

"But they're so close together!" he exclaimed. "Who knows what could happen or what could've already happened?"

"Nothing happened," she said matter-of-factly.

"How do you know/" he asked.

She looked up into his eyes. "There are just some things that you know," she said softly. He looked down at her, and then they both looked at the two in the sleeping bag. "See, Shane? You know they'd be so perfect together."

"But he's my best friend, and he's taken," he protested. "I'm not so worried about Trish, but I am very protective of my baby sis. I don't want her to get hurt..."

"Let's have breakfast," she said, and he raised his eyebrows at her. "We could just let them sleep and go eat."

"You're just saying that so I'll leave them alone," he accused.

"That's part of the reason," she told him. "And the other part is... I would really love to hang out with you sometime...just me and you."

"You're serious?"

"As serious as a car accident."

"Oooh, I don't like the sound of that," he said with a shudder.

"The car accident part, or the fact that I'm serious?" she wondered.

"Only the car accident part." He pulled his camera phone out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"What does it look like? I'm going to take a picture of them."

"And the purpose of that is?"

He shrugged. "Seems like something Steph will want to have, a picture to go along with this memory..."

"So you're going to send it to her phone?" she asked, surprised. He nodded, and she smiled at him. "You're really sweet. I knew there was a reason I started liking you..."

"So you like me, then?" he asked her.

"We'll talk about it at breakfast," she promised. "But for now, just take the picture."

He smiled at her, then snapped a few pictures of Chris and Steph sleeping. He had to admit, they did look pretty sweet together. He had never really liked the thought of his little sister having a boyfriend and he still didn't, but if he had to choose for her, he would've definitely chosen Chris. Chris was a good, down-to-earth guy, and he always put everyone else's needs ahead of his own. Shane knew that Chris would treat Steph right, but there was just one problem...

Trish.

"What are you thinking about?" Amy asked as Shane stared at the picture of Steph and Chris on his phone.

"Just thinking of how Trish would react if she knew about this," Shane replied. "She'd be pissed at Chris and even more upset with Steph, and I don't want that."

"Let's not worry about it right now. Let's just go have breakfast," she said. "I'll be able to think better on a full stomach."

"Ok, ok," he agreed. He took one last look at the slumbering two below him, then turned and followed her away from them...

Thirty Minutes Later

Chris opened his eyes and instantly thought that he was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. How else could he explain the fact that he was literally holding Steph in his arms like this? How else could she be lying practically on top of him with her head resting on his chest? And had they slept that way the entire night?

As he laid there contemplating all of this, he remembered what had happened the night before. All the sweet memories came rushing back to him. He could remember the way she had kissed him in the movie theater, the way he had kissed her back without the least bit of hesitation... And he remembered watching her fall asleep as they both laid beneath the sky, which had seemed like a dark velvet with twinkling stars scattered everywhere..

Man, that was kind of poetic, he thought with a smile. I'll have to use that for one of my songs...or maybe in one of my poems... He decided that he wouldn't move at all, because he didn't want to wake her. So instead of moving, he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter and kept them there, just enjoying the way she felt in his arms...

Steph woke a little while later. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around, her eyes darting to and fro without moving her head, wondering why she seemed to be outside instead of in her bedroom. Why wasn't she in her bed?

"Well, look who the angels decided to wake up," Chris said in a soft voice. "My beautiful Steph..."

She lifted her head from his bare chest and looked at him, and all of the memories of what had happened the night before came rushing back to her. She remembered kissing him and holding his hand, and she remembered falling asleep next to him beneath the stars...

"Morning," she said finally. She reached over and unzipped the sleeping bag, then got up. "When did you wake up?"

"Oh, about ten or fifteen minutes ago," he said, sitting up. "But you were sleeping so peacefully on my chest, so I decided not to get up yet."

"Oh," she said, blushing. "You could've just told me to get up or whatever. I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, I liked it, ok? So don't go beating yourself up about it," he interrupted her. "Did you know that you tried to rape me while you were sleeping?"

"Seriously?" she gasped.

"Nah," he laughed. "But it would've been ok. Someday I'm going to just let you have your way with me..."

She smiled and shook her head at him, then headed for the door. "I'm going to go get ready for today. What about you?"

"I'm right behind you," he said with a little laugh as he stood up. "Right behind you..."

Nearly Twenty-five minutes Later

Steph checked her reflection in the full-length mirror one last time. She thought she looked ok with what she had decided to wear. She was wearing a red shirt and some blue jeans, and for shoes she had decided to go with some flip flops. That was her style. She was just a flip flop and jeans kind of person. She knew some people probably thought that she was weird for wearing flip flops and jeans together, but she didn't care. She thought it looked cool, and besides that, it was comfortable!

She grabbed her cell phone and noticed that she had missed two calls, both from her mother. Oh my God, she thought, quickly dialing her mom back. The phone rang three times before her mother answered. "Hi, Mom," she said nervously into the phone. "How are you and Daddy doing this morning?"

"We're doing just wonderful, just enjoying the rare time we get to spend alone," Linda answered.

"I'm really sorry that I missed your calls earlier. I'm sure you were wondering what I was doing," Steph said. "Just so you know, I was-"

"Shane told me that you were in the shower," Linda interrupted. "It's ok. I know you can take a long time getting 'pretty' in the morning, just like me."

So Shane covered for me? He really IS the best big brother in the whole world!

"Next time, I'll be sure to have my cell phone with me so I'll be able to take your call," Steph promised, still in disbelief that her brother had covered for her. What had she really expected, though? They always covered for each other. She'd have to remember to thank him.

"It's no big deal, really," Linda said. "As long as you make time to call me back..."

They talked for a little while longer, and then Steph hung up her phone and slipped it into her pocket. After that, she walked out of her room. Shutting the door behind herself, she turned and headed for the stairs.

"Hey, you forgot about me," Chris said from behind her.

She turned around and noticed him leaning against the wall next to her door. How had she not seen him? She really must've been distracted to miss such a glorious sight...

"I like your style, Steph," he said, walking over to her and admiring her clothing selection. "Flip flops and jeans don't work for everyone, but it's just so...you."

"I like your style, too," she said, checking him out. He was wearing a black shirt and some jeans. Very casual, and yet he seemed to give the word "casual" a whole new meaning. "It's very...Chris."

"Well, I try to be me," he said with a shrug. "So, you seemed kind of preoccupied when you came out of your room just now. What's on your mind?"

"Shane covered for me this morning when my mom called and I wasn't in my room to answer her," she said, looking up at him. "He always covers for me, but usually he knows what I'm up to. He didn't know where I was, though..."

"I guess we'll have to thank him for covering for you then," he said. "But, can we do it after we eat breakfast? I'm starved..."

"Yeah, we can do that," she said absently.

They walked down the hallway to the stairs and went downstairs. They headed for the kitchen, stopping to peek into the den to see if anyone was in there. C-Dawg and Ty were in there talking and watching music videos, and they looked to be very into their conversation...or into each other.

"They'd make a cute couple," Steph said as she and Chris peeked into the den. "I thought she liked Shane, but I guess she realized that he's practically already taken by Amy."

"Yeah, and C-Dawg seems more like her type," Chris put in.

They watched for another minute, then continued their journey to the kitchen. Steph spaced out the whole way there, thinking about everything that was going on in her life. They reached the kitchen sooner than she thought they would, and she was just about to walk in when Chris pulled her back.

She turned around to look at him with her eyebrows raised. "What? Didn't you say you were hungry?" she asked him.

"Shhh," he whispered to her, turning her around. He pointed at something in the kitchen. "Check that out."

She looked in the direction where he was pointing and gasped lightly in surprise. It had finally happened. Shane and Amy...were kissing. She looked up at Chris. "I wonder how that happened," she whispered.

"I don't know, but I'm glad it did," he whispered back to her. "Your brother's been liking her for a while now."

"What do you want to do about breakfast?" she asked curiously. "I mean, I thought you were starved..."

"I am, but I can hold out for a while. I'd hate to interrupt them after it took forever for them to get together," he said. "Come on, maybe you and I should come back in a few minutes..."

They took one more look at the two in the kitchen, then headed back the way they'd come, both smiling...

A/N: Yes, two chapters in one week, because I just love you all SOOOO much, LOL! Thanks for all the great reviews, everyone. I never thought this story would go over well since it's just one high school fic out of a whole plethora of them on this site... Guess I was wrong! Now, about this chapter... I got lost. VERY lost. I hope it wasn't too long and boring... It's the longest chapter in the whole story. I'll have some better ideas for the next chapter!