Saturday had come quickly, Shaw thought to herself as Alicia and Nathan drove her and Lionel to the arcade. She was pretty sure they'd offered because they were happy to see her being social. Her file was probably a laundry list of reasons she was trouble. At least she hadn't gotten in any fights at school yet, but it had only been a week. She had plenty of time to fuck up.

She still wasn't sure if she would tell them about her emotional issues. Shaw wouldn't call them 'issues,' but that's what everyone else seemed to think they were. It hadn't come up yet, and she didn't know what was in her file. She'd never been allowed to see it. They hadn't said anything anyway.

She looked out the window. Their little town was nice, even if Shaw missed the city. The roads were lined with large trees, green and lush. Shaw was not looking forward to winter when everything died. These roads would be scattered with branches and it would be freezing in the mornings when they walked to school.

It felt weird to be sitting in the back seat as her foster parents drove her to the mall so she could hang out with friends. Lionel say beside her, playing games on his phone. This felt like what normal 17 year old girls did, not her. She couldn't really be upset. Root and the boys weren't awful to hang out with, and she had to kill time somehow.

They pulled into the parking lot, and Shaw took her seatbelt off, ready to jump out. Alicia turned around to smile at them in the backseat. She'd given them some extra money, in case they wanted to see a movie. She was definitely trying to get on their good sides.

"Shaw, we'll come get you two when you're done, but next time you go out, you can just take my car."

Shaw raised her eyebrows, surprised. She'd never had a foster family let her use their car before. Most of the time, they'd been too afraid she'd just steal it. Shrugging, Shaw looked away.

"Thanks."

"Sweet," Lionel laughed. "Can she drive us to school? It's going to get freezing."

Alicia nodded. "Sure. Nathan takes his own car to go in early, and you two can take mine. I don't usually go anywhere anyway, and if I do, I can always take the bus."

Nathan pulled up in front of the mall and stopped. "Alright, have fun with Harold and John."

"And Root," Lionel added. "I don't know her real name."

"It's Root." Shaw glared at him. "Root is her real name."

Alicia and Nathan exchanged a glance. Shaw couldn't figure out what it meant. After a moment, Alicia turned to her, smiling. She sounded too casual when she spoke.

"I didn't realize you two were close."

"I tolerate her," Shaw answered, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't call us close. Is there anything else?"

Alicia shook her head, looking worried. She sat back in her seat. "No. Have fun!"

Climbing out of the car, Shaw looked around. There weren't too many people milling about, and Shaw wondered how big the mall would be. It didn't need to be huge in a small town, but then again, the high school didn't need to be as nice as it was either. She closed the car door and started for the entrance.

Lionel caught up to her as she reached the door and pulled it open for her. He gave her a mock bow and she just snorted, walking inside. Their friends were waiting for them inside, milling around. When Root saw Shaw, she grinned.

Root ran up to her. "Good morning!"

Shaw rolled her eyes, ignoring how good Root looked in her shorts. "It's almost noon. I've been up since eight waiting for your text."

"Sorry," Root apologized, looking sheepish, "I'm not really a morning person. Besides, it Saturday! Who gets up early on a Saturday?"

"A lot of people," Harold responded. "You and John are exceptions."

John scoffed. "I think Root and I are the rule. What kind of teenagers wake up before the sun?"

"People who want to use their time wisely," Shaw laughed. "I love going for a run in the morning." She thought for a moment. "And in the evening, I guess. I don't really sleep that much."

Root laughed, shrugging. "I don't sleep a lot either; I just stay up really late and then sleep in."

"Shaw had to wake me up," Lionel chuckled. "I was still asleep 20 minutes ago."

Root stepped closer to Shaw, lowering her voice. "You could always text me first, you know. I'd wake up for a text from you."

Shaw flushed, rolling her eyes. "I'm not the one who invited someone out. The inviter has to take initiative."

Root smiled, her mouth picking up on one side. "I'll make sure to take more initiative next time."

Shaw just ignored her, looking away. She was getting used to Root's flirting. She wasn't even sure how serious it was. Not that she cared. She definitely didn't care.

"This place is huge."

Harold shrugged. "I suppose so. It's our only mall, so it has to have everything."

They started walking to the arcade. Shaw was glad it was an inside mall. She could hang out here in the winter. She took everything in. There was a bookstore, far too many clothing stores, a large video game store, even a movie theater. Shaw was happy to see a CrossFit gym.

"Do you guys hang out here a lot?" Shaw asked.

"Fairly often," Harold answered, "There isn't that much to do here."

"We hang out here or Harold's house," Root added. "His parents let us have sleepovers whenever."

"Nice." Shaw nodded, spotting the arcade. "Whoa! This is great!" Shaw ran ahead, the other four jogging to keep up.

Shaw immediately went to the counter to buy a game card. She looked over her shoulder at her friends. "I know a game card is more practical, but I really love game tokens."

"Yeah," Root leaned on the counter, pulling her card out of her wallet, "I miss them. I still have about 30 in my room from before they switched."

Harold looked shocked. "Really? I melted mine down."

"What?" Root asked. "Melted them into what?"

Shaw tuned out their conversation as she waited for the receptionist to fill her card. Shaw enjoyed melting things as much as the next person, but she knew they'd end up getting into computer talk and that she was uninterested in. It had surprised her just how much Root knew about computers, but she was starting to get used to all the tech talk, even if she didn't care.

Shaw snatched her game card from the receptionist's hand and turned to her friends. She pretended to listen to them talk as Lionel bought his game card. It didn't take too long. Shaw clapped her hands.

"Alright, nerds, let's go!" Shaw marched into the game room, trying to decide what to play first. She spotted a basketball toss and turned to John, hands on her hips. "I bet you five bucks I can make more baskets than you."

"You're on."

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Root watched Reese and Shaw race off, Lionel chasing after. She turned to Harold. "I'm going to grab a soda, want one?"

Harold nodded and followed her to the restaurant part of the arcade. Root smiled to herself. She was glad to have met Shaw. Being friends with the boys was nice, but she liked having another girl around, even one as rough-and-tumble as Shaw.

She and Harold grabbed their drinks and went to find the others. They were still at the basketball game. Root laughed when she saw the crushed look on John's face. Shaw lit up when she saw Root and Harold approaching.

"I crushed him so badly. By like 10 baskets." Shaw bragged, crossing her arms proudly. "I told you I was the best."

"That you did," Root confirmed. She took a sip from her drink as Lionel demanded a turn.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Root thoroughly enjoyed herself. She and Shaw beat the boys at almost every game. Shaw had 3 Slurpee's and almost threw up. It was fun to be normal and have some time outside of school or personal projects. Root forgot sometimes that being a kid could be fun.

Root thought of Hanna. Hanna would have like Shaw, she decided. They were both smart and ambitious. Root was determined to be a good friend to Shaw; Shaw needed her the way she had needed Hanna.

Root wandered over to a shooting game, Mayhem Machine. She loved shooting games more than she cared to admit. Killing Zombies, or Nazis, or Robots, made her feel powerful. She looked around for Shaw.

Spotting her walking around idly drinking soda, Root called her over. "Hey! Come kill Zombies with me."

Shaw bounded over and placed her cup on the floor. She swiped her card through the reader, grinning at Root. "I didn't take you for a first-person shooter kind of girl."

Root scoffed. "I was born and raised in rural Connecticut, you think I've never shot a gun?"

Shaw raised her eyebrows, relenting. "Alright, Rambo."

Root swiped her card and picked her gun up, pulling the trigger to start the game. The two girls played for a minute in silence, only punctuated by Shaw's concentrated grunts. Root flushed, thinking about what those grunts would sound like in her bedroom. She cleared her throat.

"It's nice that your foster family lets you hang out with us," Root commented, trying to sound casual. "Your last family was too controlling. I mean, they didn't even give you a key." Root closed one eye to better her aim.

When Shaw didn't respond, Root glanced over at her. Shaw had stopped shooting, her knuckles white on the plastic gun. Her face was scrunched into a snarl. She turned to Root, her eyes dark with rage.

"How the fuck do you know about my foster life? I haven't told you shit."

Root swallowed, realizing her mistake. "I just did some research. I mean, people know you moved in with Alicia and Mr. Ingram. I just did a little extra digging. It was just your file."

Shaw threw her gun on the floor, making Root jump with the clatter. "You have no fucking right to pry into my life."

"I just wanted- "

"I don't give a shit about what you wanted." Shaw took a threatening step toward Root. "You had no right looking up my file. I haven't even seen my file. Don't talk to me. We're not friends." Shaw ran out of the arcade.

Root sucked in a deep breath, her heart racing. Her whole body hurt. It felt like she was being pulled in ten directions at once. She saw Harold and John hurry towards her, Lionel racing after Shaw. Root shoved her gun back into the holder and ran a shaking hand across her forehead.

She had just wanted to know some more about Shaw. They'd been friends for a week and the most Shaw had told her was that she was from New York and she had no siblings. Root thought they could skip the small talk. Her stomach lurched and she squatted, wrapping her arms around herself.

John put a hand on her shoulder. "You ok? What happened?"

"I looked into Shaw and she found out," Root said, taking a shaky breath. "My stomach hurts so much."

"Stress will do that to you," Harold said, disapprovingly. He handed her a bottle of water he'd bought. "I assume she was upset. You know I'm always on your side, but I thought we agreed you'd cut back on the snooping. I don't think my parents will keep bailing you out of jail."

Root gulped down the water. She handed it back to Harold. "I know, I know. I can't help it. She's just a closed book and I was curious."

John glanced at the exit. "She probably doesn't hate you."

Root shrugged, her body starting to calm down. "I invaded her privacy. She's beaten people up for less." Root blushed. "Uh, that was in her file."

Harold just shook his head. "Alright, well, you can make it up to her on Monday."