Root hesitated outside of her English classroom. The bell was about to ring, but Root couldn't make herself go inside. She'd had such a terrible day yesterday and now she wasn't sure she could face Shaw again.

The only person she knew who didn't know about her tragic past or her family trouble or how weird she was and Root had blown it. Shaw could have been her chance for a real friendship, like Harold or John, but a girl. Maybe she could even have ended up as Root's girlfriend. Root thought that after Hanna, she'd never have another chance, but Shaw seemed really great and Root thought she could like her, despite her rudeness.

Why hadn't Root talked to her after the dodgeball game? Shaw would probably have understood why Lambert's teasing had hurt her. Even if Shaw wasn't gay, she probably wouldn't care that Root was. Would it have killed Root to talk about Hanna?

Root sighed, maybe it would. It had been almost 5 years since Hanna had died. She knew that she should probably be over it by now, but it still hurt. Root lost Hanna and her parents in the same year, and she almost hadn't made it through. Harold and John had supported her, helped her feel better. They'd been there for her when nobody was. Root thought that Shaw might have been there for her, too.

Shaw would never be friends with her now that she knew Root was a weird kid. Cool girls like Shaw didn't hang around weird girls like Root. Root's heart pounded in her chest. She might as well go inside. At least Shaw sat behind her and she wouldn't have to look at her.

Root took a step forward, but heard someone come up behind her. She looked over her shoulder. It was Shaw, looking slightly out of breath. Shaw looked at her curiously, but Root just turned and walked into the classroom. The bell rung as she took her seat. She heard Shaw settling in behind her, but didn't turn around.

"Root," Shaw whispered from behind her. "Hey, Root."

Root closed her eyes, ignoring her. The last thing she needed right now was for Shaw to tease her. It figures that her chance at a new friend would turn into a new bully. She put her bag into her lap and started taking materials out. She pulled out the essay on her summer reading.

"Alright, class," Mrs. Russell said, waiting for the class to settle down, "Please hand your Summer Reading Essays up to the front."

There was a loud rustling behind her and then an essay appeared over her shoulder. Root took it, glancing at the cover page. Eragon. She had wanted to read it, but it was too long. She just hadn't had the time at Robotics camp. Passing the essays forward, Root sat back in her chair.

"Root," Shaw whispered again. "Hey."

Root finally looked over her shoulder at Shaw. "What?"

"Are you ok?" Shaw asked, frowning. "Do I need to beat that idiot up for you? I'll take the detention."

Grinning, Root shook her head. "That's ok, but thank you."

Shaw just shrugged and sat down again. Turning forward, Root couldn't knock the smile off her face. It seemed like Shaw wasn't angry at her after all. She didn't think something was wrong with her. Maybe they could still be friends, or more. Root didn't want to get her hopes up about the 'more,' but at least there was a chance now.

Root thought about the essay that Shaw had written. Had she read the book overnight? She'd only gotten her book list yesterday. Shaw was in all the same AP classes as Root, so she had to be smart. Root was suddenly really looking forward to the year.

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The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. Root hadn't spoken too much during second and third period, but thankfully, Shaw didn't comment. Shaw had chatted idly with Harold and John during biology and just silently taken notes during World History. Root wondered why Shaw was being so quiet.

Root closed her locker, locking her backpack away, and headed for the cafeteria. Luckily, she had first lunch, so she could just take her time getting there. Maybe she could time it right and meet the group at the table, just avoid standing in line with Shaw.

Root was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Shaw was going to figure out that she was too weird and ditch her. Honestly, Root was surprised that she, Harold, and John had remained friends this long.

Harold and John were next door neighbors, so they'd grown up together. John protected Harold like an older brother and Harold supported John's athletic goals. John's parents were on a work trip abroad right now, and John was living with Harold. Root smiled, remembering a weekend in 6th grade when Harold tried to convince John that he should shave his head to get rid of wind resistance.

"What are you smiling about?"

Root jumped. She hadn't noticed Shaw walking next to her. She put a hand on her chest. "You scared me."

Shaw shrugged. "You should work on your spatial awareness. It would help you in dodgeball."

Root rolled her eyes. "Not even having God on my side would help me at dodgeball."

"Well," Shaw joked, "Good thing I'm on your side."

Root glanced at Shaw out of the corner of her eye. Shaw seemed sincere. "Thanks."

Shaw nodded, not looking at Root. "Whatever."

They entered the cafeteria and Root was as blown away by the noise as she had been the day before. "high school is so loud."

Shaw laughed, grabbing a lunch tray and getting in line. "My last high school was a hell hole. 3,300 kids all crammed into one cafeteria. I just ate in a hallway."

Root slid her tray along the lunch counter, grabbing a slice of pizza. "3,300 teenagers in a room. I can't imagine. It feels like there aren't even 3,300 people in this town."

Shaw looked at Root, taking a bite from an apple she hadn't bought yet. "There's at least 6,000 people in this town." She sighed and put her apple on her tray. "At least, I'm telling myself that. I'm going crazy here and it's only been a few weeks."

Root followed Shaw to the cashier, watching her curiously. "Where did you move from?"

Shaw finished paying and moved to the side, waiting for Root. "New York."

Root smiled at the cashier, paid, then put her wallet back into her pocket. They walked towards the tables looking for Harold and John.

"That's not too far."

"It seems like a lifetime away." Shaw said, grimly.

Root opened her mouth to ask her another question, but Shaw turned on the spot, forcing Root to lift her tray to avoid crashing.

Shaw stared at Root for a moment before speaking. "I don't care if you're gay."

Root flushed, trying to ignore the looks they were getting from the tables around them. "Uh, can we not talk about this."

Shaw squinted at her, but nodded. "Yeah. Whatever." She turned and headed for their table.

Root followed her, shocked, but happy. Maybe she hadn't ruined everything yesterday.

They arrived at the table and sat down. Shaw immediately began digging into her food. Harold watched her with amazement and fear.

"Miss Shaw, do your parents not feed you?"

Shaw glared at him and spoke around a mouth full of pizza. "I'm a growing girl."

"Growing out?" John joked, "You certainly aren't growing taller."

Shaw slammed her pizza onto her tray and jumped to her feet. "You wanna fight? Because I'll win."

Root laughed out loud, almost spraying her juice everywhere. Shaw was so small compared to John and Root knew that Reese was only going to get taller.

Shaw looked down at Root, betrayed. "You don't think I can take him?"

"I think," Root laughed, "that you think you can take him."

Shaw rolled her eyes, but she sat down again. "Whatever." She pointed her fork at John. "You better watch it." She stuck her fork into her mashed potatoes and took a large bite.

A loud noise made Root look around. A boy she'd never seen before had pulled back a chair. He dropped down into it, waving at the table.

"Hey," he greeted them. "I'm Lionel, Shaw's foster brother."

Root gave him a small wave, and picked up her pizza. "Hi, Lionel."

"Find your own table," Shaw said around a mouthful of food. "Scram."

"Don't be rude." Harold held out a hand to Lionel. "Nice to meet you. I'm Harold and this is John."

Lionel shook his hand and then turned to Root. "What about you?"

Swallowing her bit of pizza, Root smiled. "Root. Are you a junior, too?"

"Nah," he shrugged. "I'm a freshman."

"So you're my age!" Harold smiled. "Finally, another 15 year old."

Lionel looked at Shaw, and they smirked at each other. "Yeah, think that's about the only thing we have in common, glasses."

Root wasn't sure what to make of Lionel. He was similar to Shaw, but Root wasn't really sure what to make of Shaw either. She looked between them, watching the way they both scarfed down their food. She was poor, and kind of an orphan, but she'd lived in the same house her whole life and she just stole money from her parents' bank account to live.

"So," John tried, "how are you liking it here? Do you like Alicia and Mr. Ingram?"

Shaw shrugged. "They're fine. A little clingy, though. They're always asking me questions. I'm not really into bonding."

"They don't ask me anything," Lionel said, pouting. "You're already the golden child."

"It's because of my charming personality," Shaw joked.

The table laughed, and Root smiled. Shaw was only kidding, but she wasn't entirely wrong. There was something interesting and different about her that made Root like her. It hadn't taken her long to find people to eat lunch with.

Root watched as Harold and John smiled at each other. She was glad to see Shaw fitting in. She couldn't imagine Shaw had many friends. Just yesterday, Shaw said she had no friends.

Root saw Shaw watching her and smiled. She turned to the group. "Any plans for the weekend?"

John shook his head. "I was thinking of getting in some soccer practice. Tryouts are in a couple weeks."

Shaw looked up from her food. "Just for boys? Or girls, too?"

"Girls and boys, I think," John answered. "Have you met Joss yet?"

"Yeah," Shaw nodded, "She's a beast with a dodgeball."

Harold laughed. "Oh yes, I heard about your showdown yesterday. It's been a long time since someone has beaten Joss at anything."

Shaw smirked. "Oh, I beat her alright. Her whole fucking team."

"Wish I could have seen that," Lionel sighed.

"Shaw took on Lambert and won."Root looked at Shaw, blushing when Shaw winked at her.

"Who's Lambert?" Shaw asked, looking around the group. "Was he the dude with the attitude?"

"Unfortunately," Harold started, "I'm afraid so." He frowned. "He didn't give you too much trouble, did he? He's definitely a bully."

Shaw shrugged, avoiding Root's face. "Nothing I couldn't handle." She glanced at Root, who was staring down at her food. "I made him look like an idiot in front of his friends."

John smiled and leaned back in his chair, lounging casually. "I'm glad to hear that. He deserves it. Last year, he basically- "

"No." The group looked at Root. "I don't want to talk about it."

She flushed as Shaw stared at her. Lambert was just a dick. He always had been. Root just didn't want Shaw to hear a bunch of stories about her getting bullied. It was bad enough Shaw had been there yesterday. That was enough embarrassment.

Shaw finally looked away, turning back to her food. The boys talked about soccer for the rest of lunch, and Root kept an eye on Shaw. She just didn't know her enough yet to know what she was thinking. Shaw's face was unreadable as she ate, but Root kept looking until the bell rang.

The group gathered their trays and headed out of the cafeteria. Around them, kids scrambled to clean their tables and get to class. Shaw sighed as she threw her tray into the trashcan. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Root was still behind her. They set off for their lockers.

"I am not looking forward to a year of Calculus," Shaw grumbled. "Math is the worst."

Root smiled. "I like math. It's easier. Numbers don't lie."

"I feel like they lie to me," Shaw answered. "Just…lying and always being wrong."

Root laughed. "Didn't you already take Calculus? This should be a breeze."

Shaw stopped in front of her locker and unlocked it. Their locker bank was near the math hallway. "I barely passed the first time, and that wasn't an AP class. Now it's just a harder repetition of things I don't know."

Root stepped past her and walked to her own locker. "I can tutor you if you'd like. I enjoy math and it'd be a good review for me."

Shaw scowled at her backpack as she pulled it out of the lockers and swung it onto her shoulders. "I'm older than you. That would be so embarrassing."

Root closed her locker and sauntered over to Shaw. "I'll make you a deal."

Shaw eyed her. "What?"

"You protect me during gym class and I'll do your math homework."

Shaw closed her locker, sliding the lock through the door. Root was hoping she'd say yes. She was going to be spending a lot of time with Root anyway, they had all their classes together, and it already seemed like she would protect Root from homophobe bullies, deal or no deal. She might as well get something out of it.

"Alright," Shaw said, throwing her hands into the air, "It's a deal." She held her hand out for Root to shake.

Root took it, and gasped. It felt like Shaw's hand was burning her, but it didn't hurt. She felt hot, and tingly, and sharp. This wasn't her first time holding a girl's hand, but this might be the best time. Her whole body shivered.

The feeling disappeared as Shaw yanked her hand back. Root met her eyes, surprised to see the same shock on Shaw's face. Had she felt it, too? Shaw glared at her and turned away hurrying to the classroom.

They walked into Calculus and took their seats. Shaw had wanted to sit in the back yesterday and Root had sat next to her. If she'd known the teacher would make them sit in the same seats every day, she would have forced Shaw to sit closer to the front, but it was too late now.

Root felt her pocket buzz and pulled out her cellphone. Shaw leaned towards her to read it.

"It's from Harold," Root whispered, "He wants to know if we want to go to the arcade on Saturday."

Shaw shrugged. "I have to ask Alicia, but I think it should be fine. They even give me an allowance."

Root decided to play along and nodded. "Mine, too." Root thought about the access she had to her parents' bank account and figured it was fine to use for fun. Root deserved to have fun sometimes.

Shaw nodded and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying.