Root ran down the stairs, heels in her hand. She was on her way to Sameen's for Thanksgiving. Mrs. Reese had told her it was a casual event, but to dress up. 'There are very few reasons to get dolled up,' Mrs. Reese had said, 'so we always dress up for the holidays.'

Root pulled her cardigan off the hook near the door. She reached for the door, but had to jump back when it opened suddenly. Her mom stumbled into the house, dropping her purse on the side table.

"Oh, Samantha," her mother said, reeking of alcohol. "I didn't expect you."

Root rolled her eyes and stepped away. "I live here."

"Right, of course." Her mother staggered past her heading for the living room. "Hey," she said, turning to looked at Root, "isn't it your birthday?"

Root tensed. "In a week."

"You're almost a woman, Samantha," her mother said, falling back onto the couch. "Almost 21."

"I'm 14, Mom. Turning 15."

"Right, right," her mother drunkenly waved her hand in the air. "I got you a present. It's in my purse."

She hesitated, trying to decide if it was worth it to humor her mother. Root didn't want to do anything that could ruin her dress and she knew how terrible that was, but she was trying to be happy and her mother always ruined everything.

"Samantha!" Her mother screamed. "Look in my purse!"

"Ok!" Root screamed back, her good mood gone. She reached into her mother's purse and pulled out a bottle of something brown. "You got me alcohol?"

"I got me alcohol!"

Root sighed. "Then what is my present?"

Her mother sat up, frowning. "A present for what?"

"Why do I even bother?" Root mumbled to herself. "I'm taking this."

"No! Give it to me!" Her mother screamed. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out, falling backwards on the couch.

Root rolled her eyes, took some money from her mother's purse, and left the house. She put her shoes and the bottle of whatever into the basket on the front her bike and headed for Sameen's house. Mrs. Reese would probably appreciate the gift.

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"Happy Birthday!" John called as Root walked into the arcade.

It was a couple weeks after Thanksgiving and Mrs. Reese had booked the rink for a few hours so they could all celebrate Root's birthday.

"Wow! Root, you look great!" Joss complimented her.

Root ran a hand self-consciously through her new brown hair as she walked through the arcade to the skating rink. Root looked around at the long table her friends had covered in a bright green table cloth and the balloons taped around the rink.

Root stopped next to the table. "Thanks. Sameen dyed it for me."

"My gift," Sameen said from beside her. "Since I'm still saving up for Christmas."

Root smiled at her. Christmas was a few weeks away and they were all still saving up. Root had everyone's gifts already, but she was still working on Sameen's. It was taking longer than she expected, but there was time.

"Root's here!" Joss called to Zoe and Lionel who were racing around the rink.

Mrs. Reese appeared with a cake. "Normally, we do cake and presents at the end, but I know you kids. If I tried to keep you from the cake, someone would hold me at gun point until I relented."

They laughed and sat around the table. Mrs. Reese put the cake in front of Root and lit the candles. Root watched her friends start singing and smiled. She didn't know what to wish for. It felt like everything she could want was already hers. Friends, good grades, she hadn't been hungry in weeks.

Root took a deep breath and blew her candles out, not sure what her wish was. She just wanted everything to last forever. When the candles were out, Sameen patted her on the back and pulled a cake knife from somewhere.

"Here," Lionel said, handing her a poorly wrapped present, "Open mine while she's cutting."

Root tore open the gift, laughing as she held it up. Lionel had gotten her a shirt that said 'I Want To Believe.' She laughed.

"I got it because I want you to believe in ghosts," Lionel said, smirking.

Root laughed at him. "It's from the X-Files, dummy. It's about aliens."

"Huh," Lionel huffed. "Well, you like the X-Files, so it's still a good gift."

"It's a great gift, Lionel. Thank you."

"Us next!" Zoe said, handing Root a bag.

"Oh! Make-up!" Root pulled out a clear case. She could see nail polish, eyeliner, and a couple of other things. "Thank you!"

Joss sighed, sounding relieved. "We pooled our money together to buy you some quality stuff. You're going to look so cool! Especially after Shaw gets you – oof!"

Sameen elbowed Joss in the side, glaring at her. Root giggled at them.

"I love it, thank you." She said, putting the make-up back in the bag. She dropped the shirt in there, too. "John?"

John handed her a rolled-up poster. "I, um, googled female scientists. I thought you might like this one."

Root rolled the rubber band off the poster and pulled it open. It was a large poster of Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and the first computer programmer. She was one of Root's heroes.

Sameen looked at the poster over Root's shoulder. "John, dude, you're supposed to buy lesbians pictures of hot women. This could be your grandma."

"It's Ada Lovelace, Sameen," Root corrected her. "She's a hero and a pioneer in the field of Computer Science."

"Oh," Sameen shrugged, "cool."

Mrs. Reese slid a box across the table, pushing Root's plate of cake out of the way. "Here, my gift."

Root smiled at her, feeling warm. Mrs. Reese really felt like her mother sometimes. Although, that would make her and Sameen sisters, sort of, and that was weird to think about.

"Thanks," Root said, pulling the wrapping on the box. She opened the flaps and stared down at Ghost Adventures: The Complete Collection. She looked up at Mrs. Reese and smiled weakly. "Thanks. I've never seen them."

"What?" Mrs. Reese turned to Lionel. "You said it was her favorite show."

Lionel shrugged. "It's going to be." He leaned towards Root. "Please, Root. Just watch it. You'll love it so much, you'll build an EMF detector right away! I've already scouted out some places we can go ghost hunting."

Root squinted at him, enjoying the way he squirmed. After a minute, she grinned. "I'm just kidding, Lionel. We can watch it tonight."

Sameen groaned as everyone laughed. "Please don't get into ghost hunting. We already hardly sleep."

Root laughed and ate her cake, incredibly happy. She shoved the last of the cake into her mouth and grabbed Sameen, rising to her feet. She pulled the fork out of Sameen's mouth, laughing.

"Come on!" Root said, laughing. "I wanna skate!"

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Root stretched her legs in front of her, leaning back on her elbows and staring up at the sky. They'd only managed to build the floor of the treehouse before Christmas, but it turned out to be a great place to look at the stars.

Root looked to her right where Sameen was sitting, her legs crossed in front of her, Bear asleep in her lap. Sameen was playing with the bracelet Mrs. Reese had given her. Root looked down at her own wrist, at the matching bracelet she'd gotten from Mrs. Reese.

They'd had a good dinner. John's relatives had remembered her from Thanksgiving and his weird aunty Marla had given Root a hug so big, it'd lifted her off the ground. Dinner had been really delicious. Root had never seen so much food in one place before. She'd had to make a conscious effort not to make herself sick.

"Do you like Orion?" Sameen asked, making Root look at her. "The constellation, not the myth."

Root grinned. "It's my favorite constellation. I love the image of a great hunter in the sky, pointing his arrow to the future."

"I guess," Sameen said, shrugging. "I like it, too. I always find myself looking for his belt. Even in the summer."

Root sat up, pulling on the edges of her new leather jacket. Sameen had gotten it for her, saying it would raise Root's cool factor enough to be seen in public with her. Root didn't take her seriously; they'd been hanging out for months after all.

Sameen sighed. "I hope Mrs. Reese gets me a car for my 16th birthday. I'm so jealous of John."

"Are you going to get your learner's permit on your birthday?"

"Probably," Sameen said, gently shifting Bear off her lap and onto the deck. She shifted onto her knees and peeked down at the boys tossing a baseball back and forth, testing out Lionel's new glove. "Maybe a few days after."

"I should do mine, too." Root said, looking back at the sky. "I haven't studied at all."

"You should study more." Sameen said, hanging her legs off the edge. "Maybe that's why you're only second in our class."

"Wow, that is so-Wait." Root tilted her head at Sameen. "How did you know I'm only second?"

Sameen glanced over her shoulder, smirking. "Because I'm first."

"WHAT!" Root yelled, making the boys look up at her. "You sneaky bitch!"

"You girls ok?" John called up to them.

"No!" Root yelled, glaring at Sameen as she smiled smugly. "Sameen is a snake! A snake, I say!"

Sameen rolled her eyes, lightly shoving Root. "It's Christmas. Can't we be rivals tomorrow?"

Root crossed her arms. "I guess."

"Hey," Lionel called up. "Drop the ladder!"

Root and Sameen glanced at the rope ladder pooled on the deck, then at each other. Root raised her eyebrows.

Sameen turned to look down at the boys. She kicked her legs lazily. "No."

"What?" Lionel crossed his arms. "Come on, let us up."

"Sorry," Sameen said, shrugging, "No boys allowed."

"I'm going to make a sign," Root said.

Lionel threw his arms into the air. "You were enemies like 2 seconds ago."

"Us girls have to stick together."

"Kids?" Mrs. Reese called from the back door. "Bedtime!"

Root smiled at Sameen as she crawled to the rope ladder. She tossed it down and moved aside to let Sameen down. Sameen got up and moved towards her. She stopped in front of the ladder.

"Hey, Root?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."

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Root looked around Martine's house, nervous that Sameen wouldn't be back in time for the countdown. She'd run to the restroom. Apparently, beer makes you have to pee.

They'd ended up at Martine's house for her New Year's party. Sameen had decided to forgive her for being a bitch and Root just wanted to forget the whole kiss thing had even happened, so when Zoe told them about the party, they'd agreed to go.

Root sighed with relief when Sameen worked her way through the crowd. She handed her her beer when she was close enough.

"I don't think I like beer," Sameen said, peering into her bottle. "I mean, I drank almost this whole bottle and I'm not drunk at all."

"Maybe you need more than one?" Root shrugged.

"Maybe," Sameen responded, drinking the last of her bottle and putting it on the table. "How long until midnight?"

Root looked at her phone. "Less than two minutes."

Sameen crossed her arms. "Hey, I was thinking…"

Root sipped her beer and waited for her to continue. "Yeah?"

"It's dumb." Sameen rolled her eyes.

"No, what is it?" Root nudged her. "Tell me."

"Do you want to be each other's New Year's Kiss? As friends."

"As friends?" Root laughed. "Do friends kiss?"

"Zoe and Joss are doing it. It's so…I don't know, so your first kiss of the year is with a good person."

Root knew that Zoe, Joss, and John were working on some stuff of their own and were probably not the best people to base decisions on. She also knew that this could be her only chance to kiss Sameen. Was that weird? Was that predatory? They were friends. It didn't have to be weird.

"It's weird," Sameen said, nodding. "Forget it."

"No!" Root said, grabbing Sameen's arm. "No, I think it's sweet. Let's do it."

Sameen looked at her, her lips pushed into a thin line. She nodded sharply.

They heard the people around them start counting down. Root set her bottle down on the table. She nervously turned to face Sameen, wiping her palms on her jeans.

"…4, 3, 2, 1!"

Root leaned forward, lightly resting her hands on Sameen's hips. She wasn't sure what to do. Sameen pushed herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to Root's, her arms wrapping around Root's shoulders.

Root felt her heartbeat hard against her chest, her fists clenching in Sameen's shirt. This had been a great idea, she felt warm and happy. This was a terrible idea. How could she ever give this up?

Sameen pulled away, her face red. She cleared her thought, her arms flapping at her sides. Root pulled her hands away and picked up her beer bottle, trying to pretend like that hadn't been the best five seconds of her life.

"Happy New Year, Root."

"Happy New Year, Sameen."

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Sameen led the way into her room, shutting the door behind Root.

"I'm all people'd out," Sameen said, crawling into bed and falling on her face. "Kill me."

Root laughed and sat in Sameen's desk chair. She slowly spun herself around, staring at the ceiling where they'd hung the star chart Root made her for Christmas.

They'd spent the last few hours in the living room with their friends, celebrating Sameen's birthday. School started again tomorrow, so they'd thrown a birthday party slash end of winter break party. From Thanksgiving through the first week of January, it was party central.

"I'm almost glad for school to start again," Root said, laughing. "The holidays are exhausting."

"I know," Sameen groaned, rolling onto her back. "The presents are nice, but are the social situations worth it?"

"I don't think so…" Root said. She thought back to their New Year's kiss. "Maybe a little."

Sameen sat up and looked at her chalkboard. Root followed her gaze. The drawing of El Chupacabra was still up. Next to it was the study outline they'd made for their science midterm. She was looking forward to the rest of the year.

She hadn't been allowed to join the Science Bowl team, even though she was definitely smarter than the rest of them. Freshman just weren't allowed. Sameen only had 3 more games until the Championship Finals. Root still thought they had a good chance of making it all the way.

"Oh," She said, reaching into the pocket of her leather jacket, "I didn't give you your present."

Sameen held her hand out. Root tossed her the necklace laughing as Sameen underestimated the distance and the necklace almost hit her in the face.

Root had gotten her a necklace with a pendant in the shape of the Ham Radio symbol, an arrow with a several points and spring in the middle. It was how they became friends, lying on a hill, staring at the stairs and listening to an intern play nerdy music.

Sameen opened the latch and put it around her neck. She held the pendant in her hand. Her face was neutral as she looked at Root.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "I love it."

Root nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "I'm glad."

"Sameen! Root! Are you making out?" Zoe's voice said through the door before she burst into the room. She pouted when she saw them across the room from one another. "Oh well. Come back to the party."

Sameen groaned, but got out of bed. "I hate all of you."

Root got up and followed them downstairs. "You know, Sameen, I'm older and taller than you."

"Um, it's my birthday," Sameen replied, sounding insulted. "You can't be mean to me."

"I'm just stating facts."

"I'm just going to punch you."

Root took her arm as they walked into the living room. "Happy Birthday, Bestie."

"Do not call me that."

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To Root on Her Birthday:
From Sameen: Hair Dye, and Sameen dyed it for her
From Lionel: An 'I Want To Believe' shirt.
From John: An Ada Lovelace Poster
From Zoe and Joss: Make-up
From Mrs. Reese: Ghost Hunters Season 1-10 (per Lionel's instructions)

Christmas
To Root:
Ghost Socks from Lionel
A Sexy Angelina Jolie Poster from John ("I, uh, heard what Sameen said. About getting you a sexy poster")
A Fancy Leather Jacket from Sameen
A New Backpack and A Bracelet from Mrs. Reese

To Shaw:
Plastic Soccer Trophy from Lionel ("Since you're never gonna win Championships)
A Book Called "Getting in touch with your feminine side" from John
A Big, Sheer, Purple cloth with all the stars in the winter sky about Bishop drawn in white-out from Root
New cleats and a bracelet that matches Root's from Mrs. Reese

To Lionel:
Alien Socks from Root
A History of the Mets' book from John
A baseball glove from Sameen
An autographed Mets ball from Mrs. Reese

To John
A spring-loaded comb and a jar of mouse from Root
A book called "Polyamory for Beginners" from Sameen
A collection of Jazz CDs from Lionel
A Black Toyota Camry from Mrs. Reese

To Mrs. Reese:
A picture of all the kids and Bear in a frame that John built and Sameen painted. It says "Mom of the Year"

To Sameen on Her Birthday:
A black and blue work-out outfit from Joss and Zoe
A necklace with the Ham Radio symbol from Root
A poster of Alundra Blaze (A famous, female wrestler) from Lionel
A post of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ("We didn't know if you like boys or girls, or anyone, so we got you both") from John
A years membership to the Bishop Gym and the promise of a full set of weights to put in treehouse when it's built from Mrs. Reese.

The Ham Radio Symbol: wikipedia/commons/2/2c/International_amateur_radio_