"Ok, How's this?" Zoe began to sign clumsily. "John is bad at giving…um, what's the sign for directions?"

Root held her hands out to demonstrate. "Like this. Thumb and pointer finger together and back and forth in front of you. Directions."

"Okay," Zoe said, repeating the sign. She started again. "John is bad at giving directions."

Sameen laughed from the front seat. "I'm sure he is."

"The worst," Joss agreed affectionately. "You can't take him anywhere."

Root grinned at her from the backseat. The whole group was heading north to go camping for spring break; it had been Joss' idea to try and cram as much bonding time in as possible before the end of the school year. They'd brought s'mores, apples to roast, and several battery-operated fans.

As much as she was looking forward to the actual camping, the five-hour drive there was proving to be just as fun. The past couple weeks, Root and Sameen had been taking sign language classes in Kingsville and now they were trying to teach their friends. Zoe and Joss were picking it up a lot faster than Root had expected.

Root looked out the window at the passing countryside. Dirt stretched out endlessly in every direction. She rolled the window down and stuck her head out, glancing at the road behind them, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. They couldn't all fit in RBG, and the boys were following in John's car.

Lionel spotted her and rolled down his own window, sticking his head out, too. Root waved to him and laughed as he waved back. Lionel signed to her.

'How is the girls' car?'

'Better than yours!'

Lionel gave her the middle finger and she grinned at John in the driver's seat. Lionel could enjoy himself for now; Root had a plan for later. John gave her a thumbs-up and she slid back into the car. The other girls' conversation washed over her, but she couldn't follow. Instead she pulled her phone out and sent Sameen a dirty text for later.

"So," Root started, dropping her phone onto RBG's tan seats and turning to Zoe, "what's the weird direction thing John does?"

Zoe rolled her eyes. "He's so weird. Everything is 'North. Turn west. Three kilometers to go.' He can't just say 'turn left' like a normal person. Hey, how do you sign left and right?'

"Oh, here." Root held up her hands. "The letter 'L' to your left is left and then an 'R' to the right is right. Easy Peasy."

"It's nice of Mr. Finch to give you money for classes," Joss said. "Did he just give it to you, or is he making you do chores?"

"He just gave it to me." Root shrugged. "I quit my job at Greer's. I already have a lot saved up and Harold keeps giving me money."

Sameen glanced over her shoulder at Root. "I still think he's trying to buy you off."

"Buy you off?" Zoe asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Root pulled her feet up. "He and Grace talk a lot about caring for me and being a family, but they weren't really helping when I was super depressed, you know? Sameen thinks they're throwing money at me to make up for it."

"Wow." Joss laughed. "It took 17 years for my parents to start doing that. You're just getting the guilt money from the get go."

"The best part," Sameen said, adjusting her mirror, " "is that now we have twice as much date money. Every time we go out my mom gives us money and Harold gives us money."

"He gave me 50 bucks to go to Dairy Queen," Root scoffed. "I'm just saving all the extra. I mean, I know he's crazy rich, but does he not know how much ice cream costs?"

The warm, April wind blew around the car, whipping through their hair and making it hard to hear. Root checked the time on her phone.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Joss checked the directions in the front seat. "We're less than two hours away. I'm getting hungry, though. Anyone else?"

"Yes," Sameen immediately replied. "I'm starving."

"You don't count," Root laughed. "You're always starving."

Sameen glared at her through the rearview mirror and Root winked at her, her face scrunching to the side. Almost all their dates revolved around food; Root hardly ate anything, but Sameen still magically packed it away. All her exercising allowed her to eat as much as she wanted, but Root was waiting for the day when Sameen's metabolism slowed down and she had to start eating better.

They passed a highway sign and Sameen gasped.

"Waffle House!" She hit her turn signal and changed lanes. "I need ten pancakes immediately."

"Do you mean waffles?" Zoe chuckled as they took the exit. "It's Waffle House, not pancake house."

"It's not me you want to criticize," Sameen said, slowing down at a red light. "We went to a bunch of Waffle Houses on our trip last summer and Root didn't eat a single waffle."

"I prefer savory things," Root countered defensively. "I tried everything else! Their Philly cheesesteak hash browns are really good."

The light turned green and Sameen started down the empty street, John's car following behind. The Waffle House appeared around a corner and they pulled into the parking lot, circling for a minute before finding a space.

"Wow," Joss said, looking out the window, "it's pretty busy for Monday afternoon."

Sameen pulled into the parking space and parked the car. Root opened her door, squinting as she stepped out into the sun. She remembered the Waffle House they stopped at in Arizona. It had been empty and quiet. They'd sat in a booth in the back, holding hands. Sameen had eaten almost ten pancakes, and her kisses had tasted sweet for days.

"Hey," Sameen said, appearing on her left, "Ready?"

Root took her hand, threading their fingers together. "I love you."

"Ok? Weirdo." Sameen rolled her eyes and led them towards the Waffle House. "Come on."

"Let's move, people," Lionel said, running ahead of the group to open the door. "Those waffles aren't going to eat themselves."

"See?" Sameen snorted. "This is why you don't have a six-pack."

"You eat more than I do," Lionel retorted. "I'm blaming my genetics and not my diet."

Root laughed at them and walked inside. An older woman smiled at them as they entered.

"Hello, Dears," the woman greeted, pulling out menus. "Six?"

"Yes." John nodded. "Six. Is it possible to sit in the north corner? The sun is blinding."

Root met Zoe's eyes, giggling. Zoe just shook her head and followed the hostess. Looking around as they were led to their table, Root sighed. She had so many friends now. It was really nice, even if she still had to remind herself she wasn't alone sometimes.

Sameen slid into the booth and Root started to follow her, but Joss grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"What-"

"Reeses on that side," Joss said, pushing Root into the other side of the booth, "girlfriends on this side."

Root laughed and scooted into the corner. When she was settled, she looked across the booth at Sameen. Their legs tangled together under the table and Sameen crossed her eyes, making Root laugh again.

"Don't be dumb," Root said, kicking Sameen's ankle. "We're in public."

Joss leaned forward across Zoe, smirking. "It's no use. The Reeses are just dumb in general."

"Whoa," John held up his hands, "that's unnecessary. You know there may come a day when you three are Reeses, too."

Zoe froze next to Root, her face stilling. "Can we not?"

"Trouble in paradise?" Lionel joked.

Sameen slapped the back of his head, frowning. "Don't."

Root glanced between Zoe and John, trying to understand. Sameen had talked about marriage, why couldn't… Oh. Root realized the problem. There were three of them; if any of them wanted to get married, they'd have to make a choice. If they had kids…

"You know," Root threw out, trying to alleviate the tension, "Sameen and I are going to get married."

John raised his eyebrows. "Really? Did she propose?"

"No!" Sameen growled and crossed her arms. "We're not talking about this."

Joss leaned forward again, laughing. "I don't know how you did it, Root. You won her over."

"Root won her over the day they met," Zoe added, relaxing a little bit. "Remember Dairy Queen our first year? Root smiled at Shaw and Shaw almost choked."

"Ok," Sameen held her hands up, "unnecessary."

Root laughed loudly, Zoe and Joss joining in. Sameen had looked so much like John just then.

"Her face!" Zoe choked out. "It was the same!"

"Oh, no," Joss laughed, "I can't un-see it."

Root elbowed Zoe in the side. "Make sure our tents are far apart. We might get confused!"

Zoe snorted unattractively,and clamped her hands over her mouth.

"I would defend us," John said slowly, "but I don't know what we did."

"You losers are the same." Lionel shrugged. "That's what happened."

"We're not the same," Sameen defended. "I don't do the stupid direction thing he does."

Lionel rolled his eyes. "You definitely do, though."

"Dixie Chicks," John said, glaring at Lionel. "The Dixie Chicks."

"They're a great band!" Lionel shouted, drawing the attention of the other diners. "Classic!"

Root wiped her eyes, still laughing. John and Sameen were so alike and Root wondered how much of that was because they'd grown so close and how much was just coincidence. Taking a deep breath, she opened her menu.

Sameen rolled her eyes and picked up her phone. Lifting her glass of water to her lips, she choked. Root was worried before remembering the text she'd sent earlier. She smirked and kicked Sameen's shin lightly under the table. It was a good thing they had a tent all to themselves tonight, Root thought as Sameen's foot traced up her leg.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"This," John started, his voice husky, firelight flickering on his face, "is the story, of 'La Llorona.'"

Sameen rolled her eyes across the fire. Turning to look at Root, she rolled her eyes again. Root was staring at John, her mouth open. Of course Root would be into this stuff, Sameen thought. She adjusted herself, trying to find a comfy way to sit on the hard ground. The fire cracked loudly, startling the others.

Sameen took a bite of her s'more. They'd gotten to the campsite with enough time to set their tents up before dark. Well, John and Lionel at set up tents; Sameen had started a fire and the other girls had hung out and eaten chocolate. The sun had gone down hours ago and now they were sitting by the fire, eating hot dogs and s'mores.

John grinned at her across the fire. "La Llorona is a mother. Well, she was a mother. The legend starts on the day of her sons' baptism. She had twins, two boys."

"Ugh," Sameen groaned. "Can you imagine being pregnant with twins?"

"Shut up.," Joss glared at her. "Listen to the story and eat your damn s'more."

Sameen raised her eyebrows, but stopped talking. Looking around the circle, she could see that everyone else was invested in the story. Some dumb ghost story was better than making fun of John? Sameen bite into a graham cracker, scowling. All she wanted was to have sex in the woods and eat approximately 100 marshmallows.

"As I was saying," John started again. "It was the day of her sons' baptism. She stood in front of the altar, holding-"

"What kind of church is it?" Root interrupted, adjusting the blanket on her lap. "Catholic? Methodist? Presbyterian? Calvinist? Lutheran? Episcopal? Mor-"

"Root!" Lionel threw a marshmallow at her. "Shut up!"

Root picked up the marshmallow from her lap and popped it into her mouth with a smirk. "Sorry, Lionel," Root said, her mouth full. She winked at John. "Go on."

"It was a Catholic church," John told her. "She was holding her two sons in front of the altar in a Catholic church waiting for the priest. As the priest walked out, a group of soldiers marched passed."

"Soldiers near a church?" Joss asked, skeptical.

John sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Guys, please. I'm trying to tell a scary story."

"Go on," Sameen called across the fire, "Spook us."

Root laughed and bumped her shoulder against Sameen's. Sameen leaned away, too hot to be close to anyone. Why these idiots wanted to start a fire in summer in Texas, she'd never know. They'd brought fans for their tents. The only reason Sameen had agreed to go camping in the first place was because they'd brought fans for their tents.

"As the priest walked out," John repeated, "a group of soldiers marched passed. One son looked at the priests and one son looked at the soldiers. La Llorona knew this meant one son would want to be a soldier and the other a priest."

The wind blew through the trees and Sameen glanced into the woods as she slid a marshmallow onto her stick. They'd found a campsite near a lake in the woods. Tall Elm and Sycamore trees surrounded them, their campfire was the only light for miles. She could hear frogs croaking in the distance; there was a creek nearby and if she really listened, she could hear its soft babble.

Being in the wilderness reminded her of their trip. One morning, she'd woken up as the sun streamed into the car and found Root's side of the bed empty. When she'd looked outside, she'd seen her Root staring up at the trees, only wearing her underwear, her skin glowing in the early morning sun. Now, Root's skin glowed with moonlight.

The fire cracked again, drawing Sameen back to the conversation. She'd missed some of it, but that It didn't really matter; she didn't care about this campfire story bullshit. She shoved the marshmallow into the fire.

"…them. Now, La Llorona wanders up and down the creek, crying 'mis niños' and searching for her children. Sometimes, she takes children from these woods and they're never seen again."

"These woods?" Lionel asked nervously. "Children go missing in these woods?"

Root laughed. "Don't worry, Lionel. We're too old for her."

"Well…" Zoe said thoughtfully, tying her hair up into a ponytail. "Lionel is younger than us."

"And Sameen is pretty small," Joss added. "She might think you're a young boy."

"Excuse me?" Sameen said indignantly, pulling her marshmallow out of the fire. "A 'young boy'? I'm a grown ass woman, Carter. Young boys don't have breasts like mine."

Root smirked at her. "They are nice breasts."

"Welp," John smacked his hands on his knees, "there goes my appetite. I'm going to bed."

Sameen shoved the melted marshmallow into her mouth and dropped the skewer on the ground. She climbed to her feet and reached down to help Root up, pulling her away from the fire as John put it out. Root's blanket fell to the ground. She left it there and led Sameen towards their tent. The forest floor was loud with footfalls and snapping twigs as the group separated for sleep.

Sameen glanced up at the stars as Root pulled her along; Orion was gone until winter, but Sameen still looked for it. Root ducked into the tent and crawled onto the air mattress, and Sameen laughed as she followed her. Harold had bought them a four-person tent, but Root was so long that she took up most of it.

"You know," Sameen said, crouching in the tent to zip the flap shut, her knee knocking against a fan. "it's actually decently cool in here. The fans are working."

"I'd hope so," Root chuckled from the bed, "they're too loud not to be working."

Sameen crawled onto the bed, the soft sheets sticking to her sweaty skin. She threw her leg over Root; Root's eyes drifted over her and she pressed herself closer. Taking a deep breath, Sameen reached down to push Root's hair out of her face. Sameen was always captivated by Root's deep eyes.

Root was beautiful, intense, but fragile. Sameen wanted to keep her safe and make sure she was always happy. She gazed down at Root's face and sighed. Dipping down, she brushed her lips against Root's her hands up Root's sides.

"Mmm." Root turned her head, tearing her mouth away. "I have to run to the car."

Sameen pushed herself up, confused. "What? Now?"

"Yeah." She pushed Sameen to the side and rolled off the bed. "Just stay here, I'll be right back."

"Root, it's pitch black out there. Let me come with you."

Root grinned back at her as she unzipped the tent door. "Aww, you're worried about me?"

"I'm worried," Sameen started, rolling her eyes, "about crazy Texans with guns."

"I'll be fine, Sameen," Root laughed. "Give me your keys."

Sameen reached for her backpack at the end of the bed and pulled out her car keys. She tossed them to Root. Root would be fine; the car was only 100 feet away and besides, it was hot outside she'd just started to cool down.

"Be right back." Root crawled out of the tent, her feet disappearing as she walked away.

Sighing, Sameen dropped back onto the bed. Maybe Root had a present for her – maybe it was a sexy present. Sameen grinned and lifted her feet to untie her sneakers, tossing them to the side. She sat up and pulled her shirt over her head.

Sameen reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, but froze as a scream shot across the campsite, shattering the calm. She raced out of the tent, not caring that she was half naked.

"Root?" she called out. "Was that you?"

The camp ground was silent and completely still. Root wasn't at the car. Sameen hurried to Lionel's tent, keeping an eye out for any signs of movement in the forest. She dropped to her knees in front of the closed tent flap. The rocks on the forest floor dug into her knees, but she barely felt them.

"Lionel!" Sameen hissed. "Did you hear that?"

There was no response from Lionel and Sameen rolled her eyes; he was clearly in the tent – she could see his silhouette – but he was useless to her asleep. Climbing to her feet, she ran to John's tent across the campsite. His tent flap was open and all three of them were missing.

She frowned. Something was going on. There was no way John wouldn't get her if something had happened to Root. Turning on her heels, she marched back to Lionel's tent. Why was Lionel the only other one around?The fact that Lionel was the only one around was also suspicious.

"Mis Niños!" Someone shouted from the woods.

Sameen whipped around trying to pinpoint the source, but the woods had gone quiet again. Kneeling in front of Lionel's tent, she unzipped the flap and crawled inside. Sweat had started rolling down her back; even half-dressed, it was very hot. If this was some prank and they'd dragged her out of her air-conditioned tent for nothing, she was going to be pissed.

"Lionel!" Sameen barked, punching his arm and waking him up. "Get up, Asshole."

"What?" Lionel sat up in his sleeping bag, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Didn't you hear that yell? Both of them?"

"No? Are you hearing things?"

Sameen sighed and scratched her knee, sticking her head out of the tent. "You're so useless," she groaned. "You snore so loud, nothing could wake you."

Lionel scoffed at her. "I don't snore."

"Oh, please," Sameen rolled her eyes, "you almost register on the Richter scale."

"At least I'm not almost naked in the woods," he retorted. "Wait, why are you in a bra? Is this a sex thing? Were you having sex?"

"Yes," Sameen glared at him, "I left Root waiting in our tent while I came to tell you about someone yelling. Idiot."

Lionel smiled slyly. "But you were going to have sex."

Sameen flushed and punched him again. "Shut up, Nerd!"

"Ooh," Lionel laughed, rubbing his arm, "Root and Sameen, sitting in a tree…"

"Christ," Sameen muttered as Lionel kept singing. She climbed out of the tent, looking around again. The trees still loomed silently around their campsite. "I'll figure it out myself."

"Wait!" Lionel climbed out after her, his white snowman pajamas stark against the dark forest. "You were serious about the screaming?"

"Yes," Sameen hissed. "Someone screamed and then someone else shouted something."

"What did they shout?"

"Mis Niños!" The forest answered. "Mis Niños!"

Sameen frowned. "Does that sound like Zoe to you?"

"Oh no," Lionel whispered, eyes wide. "La Llorona."

Sameen looked at him, confused. "La What?"

"La Llorona," Lionel repeated. "She's the ghost around here!"

"How do you know that?" Sameen crossed her arms. "Did you look up ghost lore about this place before we came? That's really dumb."

"No! It's the story John told!"

A twig snapped on the other side of Sameen's car and Lionel jumped. Something was moving nearby. Sameen dropped her arms, squinting to get a better look. Fog was rolling in under Sameen's car, creeping along the forest floor.

Sameen watched as the cool fog covered her feet, providing some relief from the heat. Fog in Texas in April? Something was definitely up.

Lionel reached out to lay his hand on her arm, and Sameen shook her head at him.

"Come on, Lionel, you're not buying any of this, right?"

His eyes were wide as he lifted a trembling hand, pointing into the distance. Sameen followed his finger and saw a woman standing in the fog, her back to the moon. Her face was hidden in shadow and the moonlight made her long, white nightgown glow, her body's silhouette visible through the thin cloth.

Even though she couldn't see the woman's face, Sameen knew it was Root; her hands had spent too many hours memorizing Root's shape to not recognize it now. Lionel, however, didn't recognize her.

"Who is that? A ghost? La Llorona?"

"It's Root," Sameen sighed. "Get your eyes checked."

"It's dark!" Lionel defended himself. "She looks scary!"

Root started towards them and Sameen had to admit Root did look spooky. Her dark hair was wet and dripping now onto her shoulders. Sameen was suddenly thankful for the warm night; if it had been cold, Root might have gotten sick and Sameen didn't want her to miss Championships in a couple weeks.

"Root," Sameen called when Root was within earshot, "what are you doing? Why are you soaking wet?" she paused for a moment, taking in Root's appearance as she neared. "Why is your body wet, but your dress dry? Did you fall into the river and then change? I've never seen that dress before."

"Blood!" Lionel gasped, clutching Sameen's arm, "on her face! What's happening?"

"Wait," Sameen held her hand out, stopping Root's approach, "I don't know this story. Why is she wet?"

"Weren't you listening? La Llorona drowned her kids!"

Root stared at Sameen, her face blank. It would have made Sameen hesitate if it wasn't the same face Root made when she was teasing Sameen for "going blank." Sameen took in the spectacle of fog and Root's bloody face and rolled her eyes.

"What is this?" Sameen sighed. "Are you trying to scare us? Is this revenge for something?

"John!" Lionel cried, pointing in the same direction Root had come from. "They got him, too!"

"Oh my god. Lionel, stop! It's a joke!"

Lionel shivered. "It's fucking terrifying. Why is John shot in the stomach?"

Sameen remembered the first time they went ghost-hunting. She and Lionel had re-enacted the death of the girl who haunted the house. Sameen laughed, making Lionel jump.

"Wow," Sameen chuckled, impressed. "Talk about holding a grudge."

"What?" Lionel asked, keeping his eyes on John's approach. The fog had thickened, making the ground around them almost invisible. "What grudge? La Llorona?"

"No," Sameen said, prying as she pried Lionel's hands off of her. She glared at Root. "This is about that house in Corpus Christi when I pretended to be shot and Root got scared."

"Three years ago?" Lionel's mouth dropped open. "So this is fake?"

"No," John answered as he stopped next to Root, "I'm actually shot."

"Mis Niños!" Zoe's voice called from the woods followed by a quiet giggle. "I'll drown you!"

"We had you for a minute!" Root grinned and pushed her hair out of her face. "You were worried."

"I was curious," Sameen corrected her, "and also skeptical."

"It failed because she didn't listen to my story," John scowled. "You never listen to me."

"Say something interesting and I will," Sameen replied. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Have your girlfriends been behind my car this whole time?"

Joss appeared on the other side of Sameen's car, walking into the open. Zoe trailed along behind her with a fog machine in her hand.

"The fog needed power," Joss said, her footsteps crunching loudly as she stepped towards them. "We had to use your car."

"Well," Sameen sighed, "this was fun, but it's hot as fuck out here, I'm not scared, and I'm done. Good night, everyone."

As she walked away, she heard John ask Lionel if he'd been scared. Of course Lionel had been scared; he believed in all this ghost shit. Sameen ducked into her tent and sat on the air mattress. She watched Root crouched in the night gown and crawl into the tent.

Up close, the blood on her face looked realer. It was dark at her hairline, trailing down her face and smearing across her chin. Reaching out, Sameen wiped some of it away from Root's eyes. It would be awful for Root to go blind, too.

"Did you like it?" Root asked, gathering her night gown in her hands and pulling it over her head. "At least, Lionel was scared. I didn't think you would be, but we thought we could at least confuse you."

"Well, I was confused, for sure," Sameen chuckled. She scooted back on the bed, making room for Root. "Come here. Wipe your face."

Sameen pulled out her toiletry bag from her backpack and took out a small container of baby wipes. Root took them and wiped her face off, carefully tracing around her eyes. Sameen unbuttoned her shorts slid out of them as Root tossed the baby wipe to the floor.

"Sex?" Root asked, climbing on top of Sameen. "The shenanigans are over."

"Hmm," Sameen tapped her chin, pretending to think about it. "I don't know if I'm in the mood, I'm all sweaty now."

Root grinned wolfishly and leaned down, capturing Sameen's lips in a kiss. She pulled away gazing down into Sameen's eyes.

"I guess we don't have to," Root sighed sadly. "Good night, then."

She started to slide off Sameen, but Sameen wrapped her arms around her, holding her in place.

"Oh no," Sameen smirked, highly aware of the way their bare legs rubbed together, "I came here to eat marshmallows and have sex in a tent. I've only done one of those things."

"But Sameen," Root laughed, "we're going to be here for a week. If we have sex now, what are we going to do the other nights?"

Sameen rolled them over, grabbing Root's wrists and pinning them above her head. "These are daily tasks, Babe. Marshmallows and sex, every day."

"Sounds like a plan," Root breathed, stretching her head up, straining as she tried to kiss Sameen.

Sameen leaned away, smiling as Root struggled. It may be hot as hell, but Sameen was going to make sure that wasn't the only reason they were sweating.