"'Simon stayed where he was,'" Root read aloud, "'a small brown image, concealed by the leaves. Even if he shut his eyes the sow's head still remained like an after-image. The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life. They assured Simon that everything was a bad business.'"

"'Infinite cynicism of adult life'," Sameen repeated, bent over a car engine, "This is nonsense. I hate this book."

Root was sitting on a worktable, legs crossed in front of her. Sameen had started working at Lambert's Auto a couple weeks ago. She liked coming to school in her overalls and Root had to admit, the greasy, sweaty look worked for her.

Sameen was always muscular, but lugging around tires and replacing car batteries had given her some definition. Root was tempted to ask Sameen to lift her, but Sameen would probably just roll her eyes and walk away. She did let Root feel her biceps whenever she wanted to, though, so no real loss.

Root flipped to the next page in the book. Since working was cutting into Sameen's study time, Root had started coming to the auto shop during Sameen's shifts to read to her and help her with homework. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Sameen at work and Sameen was always covered in oil and grease. She always let Root wipe her face when she got too sweaty.

"How many more pages for today?" Sameen asked, straightening out and wiping her hands on a cloth. "I hate this book."

"Lord of the Flies is a classic, Sameen. A timeless tale of man's primal urges, but also a study of the good side of humanity."

"It's about a bunch of spoiled, white preteens who go nuts on an island," Sameen countered, reaching for a different tool. "It's dumb."

"We're just going to have to agree to disagree, I guess," Root shrugged, casually. "I think it's interesting to think about how people are inherently wild and awful."

Sameen scrunched her face. "That's deep…"

Root rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You're just jealous that I'm capable of highbrow, intellectual thoughts."

"'I like my body when it is with your body. It is so quite a new thing. Muscles better and nerves more. I like your body. I like what it does, I like its hows. I like to feel the spine of your body and its bones, and the trembling-firm-smoothness and which I will again and again and again kiss, I like kissing this and that of you, I like slowly stroking the shocking fuzz of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes over parting flesh…and eyes big love-crumbs. And possibly I like the thrill of you under me so new.' E. E. Cummings."

Root started at Sameen, sucking in a shaking breath. Listening to Sameen quote poetry at her was a life-changing experience, if she was being honest. The image of Sameen, arms black with grime and sweat, hair tied up, but falling loose, hovering over her was…distracting. Root swallowed, mouth dry.

"Where, uh, you…Do you like poetry?" Root asked her, tried to sound relaxed. Her palms were sweaty as she put the book down.

Sameen shrugged and turned away to the car engine. She stuck her hands into the engine. "My mom was really into poetry. Her favorite poet was Simin Behbahbani, 'The Lioness of Iran.' She used to read me her poems until…So, I do like poetry."

Root tried to imagine a tiny Sameen, tucked into bed, cuddled up to her mother. Root giggled, just like she did every time she tried to imagine Sameen as a kid. Root almost had herself convinced that Sameen came into the world as a grumpy 10 year old.

Sameen glanced over her shoulder at Root. "What?"

"Nothing," Root said, smiling. "Just thinking."

"Uh-Huh," Sameen grunted, banging around in the car's engine. "Hey, what are your plans for the summer?"

"I'm not sure yet. I mean, it's only February."

"Only February?" Sameen laughed. "Who are you and what have you done with Root?"

"I don't have a plan for everything!" Root rolled her eyes. "Especially summer. Summer is for no plans."

"Oh," Sameen said, "I used to go to soccer camp all summer."

"Do you think you'll do that this year?"

She really hoped Sameen chose to stay in Bishop this summer. Despite what Root said, she really wanted to hang out with her. They hadn't looked at the summer sky together and the treehouse still needed some work. If Sameen stayed all summer, they could save up and decorate the treehouse before school started up again.

"I was actually thinking about hanging around," Sameen said, not looking at Root. "I mean, if you are."

Root grinned at Sameen's back, her stomach warm. "Yeah, I'll be around."

"Whatever," Sameen mumbled into the car.

Root flipped through her book, fanning it in her face. It was hot in the garage. She had an idea.

"Hey, what do you think about doing a roadtrip?"

Sameen straightened out, looking at Root. "This summer?"

"No," Root shook her head, "next summer probably. We would need to save up."

"I think it'd be fun," Sameen said, throwing her rag onto her shoulder. "How much would we need?"

Root shrugged. "I'll do the math. We can decide on landmarks we want to see. Oh! We could do Route 66!"

Sameen leaned against the car, crossing her arms. "Towards California or Michigan?"

"Hmm," Root tapped her finger on her chin, "I don't know. Depends on what's on either side."

"Makes sense." Sameen smiled at Root. "You excited about tonight?"

"Um, it's a Valentine's Day concert in the park, are you joking?" Root clapped her hands, laughing. "It's a gift!"

"Alright, calm down, Don Juan," Sameen joked, smacking Root with her rag. "Your date does not appreciate a spectacle."

"Awww, my date? I thought we were going as friends," Root pressed a hand to her heart.

"Disgusting," Sameen mumbled, turning back to the engine. "You're the worst."

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Root and Sameen slid their bikes into the rack and headed across the Bishop Area Park towards the stage, Bear at their heels. The whole town of Bishop had come out to celebrate Valentine's Day and listen to local music. Sameen was excited to see Zoe's band, Two Words, perform. They were the main event.

The concert had started an hour ago, but it had taken Root so long to get ready that they were late. Sameen glanced over at her and smiled. Root had tied her hair back in two French braids, tied together at the end with a red bow. She'd tried to tie Sameen's hair in the same way, but Sameen refused. She had one, sensible French braid with a red ribbon braided in.

Root smiled at her, nose scrunched, and reached out to take Sameen's hand. Sameen rolled her eyes, but didn't pull away. It was Valentine's Day and it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone. She adjusted her grip on Bear's leash in her other hand and looked around the park.

Everyone from the town was here. The music was loud, but Zoe's band was really good. Giant red and pink heart balloons were tied around the pavilions and tied into rings on the ground. Sameen wasn't into this sugary, lovey-dovey stuff, but Root looked like she was in Heaven.

"Look!" Root pointed in front of them, "There's John, Joss, and Lionel. Ooh, Lionel has a girlfriend!"

Sameen let Root pull her over to them. She saw John glance down at their hands, but he didn't say anything. Joss, on the other hand, squealed and threw her arms around Root.

"Are you two dating? Is it official?" Joss gasped, looking between them.

Sameen yanked her hand away, scowling. She crossed her arms. It was bad enough that she had no idea how she felt about…well, anything really, but all of their friends wanted them to date. She only had a vague idea of how Root felt.

Sameen glanced at Root, thinking she might be upset, but Root was smiling.

"I try and I try, Joss, but Sameen's a hard nut to crack," Root joked, lightly punching Sameen in the arm.

Sameen couldn't help, but smile. Root was so dumb sometimes.

"I'm saving myself for The One," Sameen said. She knelt down and let Bear lick her face. "Oh look, I found him."

The friends laughed. Sameen glanced at Lionel, awkwardly standing beside his date. She was pretty with dark brown hair.

"You gonna introduce your date, Lionel?" Sameen asked, standing.

"Oh," he blushed. "This is Rhonda. She's in 8th grade."

"An older woman," Root smirked. "It's nice to meet you, Rhonda."

"Thanks," Rhonda said nervously. "This is a lot of fun."

Sameen looked at the stage. Zoe was at the mic, singing and playing guitar. She'd started her band a few years ago because she'd seen an alternative punk band play in Corpus Christi and 'had to know how they did it.'

Sameen felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Root smiling at her. Root pointed across the field.

"Look at Harold," Root said, giggling. "He's just staring at Mrs. Hendricks."

Sameen watched Mr. Finch adjust his glasses and nervously dust something off Mrs. Hendricks' shoulders. "Gross. Listen, I know he lets you into the school after hours because he's in BACKS, but dude gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Root shrugged. "I think he's just awkward."

Sameen reached down to pat Bear's head. "Finch married someone who likes Lord of The Flies. Something is wrong with him."

Root punched her in the arm. "I like Lord of The Flies."

"Well, I'm not going to marry you," Sameen joked. She saw their principal talking to Mrs. Reese. "Oh, no, what's Control doing?"

"Control?" Root asked. "What is that?"

"Principal McCarthy," Sameen answered, nodding to their left. "The soccer team calls her Control because she's too involved. You know how she always yells at the Ref?"

"That's funny," Root laughed. "Control."

"I'm starving. You took so long to get ready."

Root rolled her eyes. "I was trying to look good for you." She gestured to herself.

Sameen looked her over and had to admit that Root did look good. Her red dress fit her well; it was tied around her waist and flowed down to her knees. She was wearing red booties.

"Fine. You look good," Sameen conceded, "but I'm still hungry."

Root took Sameen's hand and led her and Bear to the food area where local vendors were set up. She led them to the hot dog tent, knowing Sameen could eat her weight in French fries. Sameen grinned, excited for the food.

She went to pull her wallet out, but Root stopped her.

"I'm a working woman, Sameen. I can buy you dinner now," Root boasted, a delicate hand pressed to her chest. "This is my treat."

Sameen smiled and shrugged. "OK. I want two hot dogs, one for me and one for Bear."

Root laughed, but ordered three hotdogs and two large baskets of fries. She passed the food to Sameen as it came out and they headed to the picnic tables. Sameen climbed over the bench, patting the seat next to her. Bear hopped up and laid his head in her lap, eyes begging her for French Fries.

"Fine, but only a few," she told him, passing down the fries.

"That's the reason he's growing so fast, you know," Root said from across the table. "He's going to get fat."

Sameen shook her head. "Bear and I work out together. He comes with me on my morning jogs."

"Ugh," Root groaned, "I hate that you're such a morning person. You always hop into bed after your shower and wake me up. It's all that hair."

Sameen laughed and tore a piece of her hot dog off, fingers getting messy with ketchup. "Perks of being Persian, baby. I'm gonna die with a full head of hair."

She passed the piece of hot dog to Bear and let him lick her fingers clean. Because they had sleepovers almost every night, Sameen had gotten comfortable waking up next to Root. She'd sneak out around four in the morning to go for a jog and then shower and get back in bed. Root always looked so soft in her sleep, it made Sameen feel weird. She broke off another piece for Bear and he licked her head.

"You're going to wash your hands before you touch me again," Root said, scrunching her nose. "That's kind of gross."

"Dog's mouths are really clean," Sameen countered, "and their saliva can heal wounds. That's a fact."

"Is it?" Root said, eyebrows raised.

"It is. I know that because I'm top of our class."

"Oh, fuck you," Root laughed, throwing fries at Sameen.

Sameen just grinned, picking them up and stuffing them in her mouth. "Thanks for the food!"

They spent the rest of the night wandering around the park with Bear, eating various foods and listening to Zoe's band. Sameen was enjoying herself. Root was always a lot of fun to hang out with, but at events like this, when there weren't doing anything other than hanging out, she worried about running out of things to talk out.

Root's brain never shut off, though, and she could always pull new topics out of nowhere. It was either space, or school, or a project she was working on. Sameen never got annoyed with her, either. Not real annoyed, anyway. Root was interesting and she kept her on her toes.

Root didn't try to hold Sameen's hand again and she almost felt disappointed. She wasn't into Root like that, she told herself, but it was Valentine's Day and everyone else was holding hands. She could always initiate the contact, but she knew Root would never let her hear the end of it if she did.

It ended up being for the best, though, because at some point someone handed each of them a mason jar full of something that tasted like apple pie. They drank it slowly, letting it warm their stomachs. Sameen started to feel a little unsteady, but not in a bad way. She felt like she could do anything, but she also wanted to take a nap. It was odd and she wasn't sure what it meant.

She turned to ask Root if she was feeling the same way, but Root was staring across the field at someone. Sameen followed her gaze and saw her staring at Hersch, Lambert, and Martine. Sameen glared at them and tried to punch Root's arm, missing slightly.

"Root, ignore them. I don't want to have to fight anyone tonight."

Root looked at her, eyes slightly unfocused. "I'm not going to start anything. I was just thinking about how awful they all were."

"Well," Sameen said, taking another sip of the clear apple pie drink, wincing at the sharpness, "They're also all dateless."

"That's true," Root squinted at them again, "losers."

Sameen laughed and looked around. She spotted Joss and John. Grabbing Root's arm, she started towards them. Joss came up to them, moving to give Root a hug, but stopped. She grabbed the mason jar out of Root's hand and smelled it, gagging slightly.

"What the hell?" Joss said, pouring the drink out. "Are you guys crazy?"

She snatched Sameen's jar, too, and dumped it out as John came over.

"Hey!" Sameen protested, "I was drinking that."

"I know you were," Joss glared at her. "I can smell the alcohol from here."

"Alcohol?" John said, looking between them. "Are you drunk?"

Sameen tried to take stock of her body, but just stared into space. "Maybe?"

"I'm fine," Root said, shrugging and throwing herself slightly off balance. "I feel great."

"Ok, you two are going home," Joss said, reaching out to turn them in the direction of their bikes. "Go straight home and go to bed."

When they didn't move, Joss gave them a push. Sameen dug her heels in, but Joss was stronger.

"OK," Sameen shrugged her off and started walking on her own, "I'm going. Jesus."

"Should we go with them?" John asked behind them.

Root smiled at him over her shoulder. "We're fine, John. We're big girls."

She reached out and took Sameen's hand, walking shoulder to shoulder with her back to their bikes. Sameen glanced down at their hands, caring less about the contact than she had earlier. Root looked nice tonight, her skin shinned in the moonlight.

"You look pretty, Root," Sameen said, surprising herself. She stopped in front of her bike and looked at Root. "Prettier than usual, I guess."

Root smiled at her, mouth curling upwards. "You think I'm pretty? That's kinda gay, Sameen."

"Moment ruined," Sameen grumbled, rolling her eyes.

She backed her bike out of the rack and threw her leg over. Carefully, because she was unbalanced and didn't want to hurt Bear, she tiptoed her bike in a circle and started off towards her house.

"We should go swimming when we get back," Root said, weaving her bike down the road. She pushed herself onto her toes, her braids flying behind her as she pedaled. "We could skinny dip!"

"And have Mrs. Reese catch us? No thanks," Sameen said, trying to bike in a straight line and failing.

"Mrs. Reese is at the party, dummy," Root said, closing her eyes and dropping her head back. She smiled. "It would feel really good."

Sameen pursed her lips. "Sure, I guess. I mean, it's my house, too, right?"

"Right!" Root said, sitting down and pedaling faster. "Let's go!"

They raced home, Bear running alongside them. Sameen loved biking at night. It was always so quiet and calm. New York had been so loud, constantly screaming and pulsing with activity. Bishop was the opposite, sometimes stifling, but usually comforting. The cool breeze blew across her face and she smiled.

When they got home, they dropped their bikes in front of the house and ran around to the back. Sameen tried to hop the fence, but ended up slamming her stomach into it. Root laughed, pushing her out of the way and unlatching the gate. Bear ran in ahead of them.

Crossing the yard quickly with her long legs, Root opened the screen porch door and turned to look at Sameen. She grinned as Sameen passed her into the pool area. Where they really going skinny dipping?

Sameen turned around to ask Root, but froze. Root had already started to take her clothes off. Sameen spun around, heart racing. She saw Root change all the time, but this was different. For one, Sameen couldn't get her heart to calm down, something she was normally in total control of.

She was also aware that this wasn't like changing. This was actively being naked around Root for…no reason, but to be naked. She felt a hand on her arm and turned around, keeping her eyes focused on Root's face.

"Sameen, take your clothes off!" Root ordered her, eyes wide. She giggled and tilted her head. "Are you scared?"

Sameen tensed. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Prove it," Root whispered, narrowing her eyes.

Sameen couldn't back down now. She lifted her foot to take her shoes off, but lost her balance, falling onto the ground. Quickly pulling her shoes and socks off, she rolled her eyes when Root laughed at her.

"Rude," Sameen mumbled, pulling her shorts over her head.

She was glad she'd worn shorts because she could just pop the button and slide them off. She climbed to her feet and unclasped her bra, stepping out of her underwear. She stood in front of Root, completely naked, feeling like she was on display.

Root's eyes fluttered, her cheeks pink. Sameen knew that Root liked girls and it usually wasn't a big deal. She also knew that she couldn't really like anyone. Right now, though, the blue porch light was bouncing off Root's sweaty skin and Sameen wasn't quite sure what she was feeling.

"Enjoying the view?" Root asked, posing for her. "You're not so bad yourself."

Sameen rolled her eyes and ran to the pool, jumping in. She pulled her body into a ball and landed in the pool with a splash. Relaxing in the water, she let herself float to the top.

She broke the surface just as Root jumped in and got hit with a face full of water. Pushing her hair out of her face, she watched as Root surfaced, sucking in air. Sameen ran her eyes over the column of Root's neck. She looked away when Root straightened up.

Sameen kicked herself backwards and turned to swim across the pool. Root was right; this was nice. The cold water felt fantastic moving against her warm skin. Her fingertips hit the wall and she stopped, resting an arm over the edge.

Root came to a stop next to her and threw both arms over the edge of the pool, resting her head against the cold tile. Root's forehead crinkled and she winced.

"You ok?" Sameen asked.

"Yeah," Root nodded against the wall, "I think swimming like this is doing weird things to my stomach."

"This was your idea," Sameen said, poking her in her side.

The reflection of the porch lights against the water cast rippling shadows across Roots' face, making her look other worldly. Sameen kicked her feet lightly in the water, feeling them brush up against Root's legs. Root had an odd look on her face.

"What?" Sameen asked, scooting away. "What's that look?"

Root didn't say anything, but followed Sameen as she moved backwards along the wall. Sameen didn't stop until her back hit the corner. Root crowded into her space, eyes dark. Sameen was afraid to say anything, afraid to break the moment. She kept her face carefully blank, not sure what Root was doing.

Root closed the distance between them, her legs tangling in Sameen's. She leaned forward until Sameen could feel Root's breath on her face, sweet from the apple pie alcohol. They stayed like that for a moment, and Sameen could hear their breathing, loud in the quiet night. Reaching a hand out, she froze when Root jerked back.

"What-" Sameen started, watching Root clap a hand over her mouth.

Root vomited into the pool, right in front of Sameen.

"Gross!" Sameen reached behind her and hauled herself out of the pool, trying to put some distance between herself and Root. She looked down into Root's watery eyes and sighed.

"Ok, come on," she said, knowing that she sounded angry. "Give me your hands."

She reached down to hold Root's hands and lifted her up, wrapping her arms around Root's waist and hauling her out of the pool. She let Root get her feet under her and then ran back to their clothes, scooping everything up and shoving it under one arm.

Walking back to the Root, she whistled for Bear to follow. Root let her wrap an arm around her and lead her to back door.

"Let's shower and then get some sleep," Sameen said, letting go of Root to pull open the glass door. Root nodded and stumbled inside.

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Later, when they were lying in bed, snuggled up together, Root stared at Sameen, head pounding.

"I'm sorry for throwing up on you," Root whispered in the dark.

Sameen rolled her eyes. "It's fine, Root. Stop apologizing."

"I know, but I'm sorry." Root reached her arm out trying to find Sameen.

Sameen grabbed Root's hand and put it on her side. She and Root had started waking up cuddled together a few weeks ago. Sameen had tried to resist it, but apparently her sleeping self was much more interested in physical affection. Now, they just fell asleep already cuddling.

"Root," Sameen stared, starting to fall asleep, "just…maybe we stick to New Year's kisses for a while, huh?"

Root was silent for a minute. Sameen heard her pillow shifting and assumed Root was nodding.

"Yeah," Root breathed, her voice raspy, "Ok."

Sameen nodded and scooted forward, wrapping an arm around Root's waist and tucking her head under her chin.

"Don't throw up on me in your sleep, ok?" Sameen joked. "Oh, and Root?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Valentine's Day."