Sameen lazily kicked her legs to keep herself afloat, the cold pool water moving around her. Her hands made figure-eight, sending out small waves. It was their last night in Houston and they were hanging out in their apartment complex's pool. It was bigger than the one at her house and Sameen had spent several afternoons doing laps while Root worked on her computer.

She stared up at the stars and listen to Root and Bear splash at the other end of the pool. The blue pool lights made the water look deeper than it was, and Sameen almost felt like she was floating in space. She was looking forward to going home and visiting the hill again. She was also looking forward to dinner tomorrow night. Mrs. Reese was making lasagna and a cake. If Lionel thought he was getting even one bite of either, he was in for a rude awakening.

Overall, Sameen would say that the summer was a success. Despite her infuriatingly rude supervisor, Sameen had learned a lot and she was surer than ever that she wanted to pursue medicine. Maybe she'd ever emotionally heal anyone, but she could physically help them. Maybe one day, she and Root could work together and invent something to help with her hearing better than a cochlear implant could.

From underneath the water, two arms wrapped around Sameen's waist, dragging her down. She took a deep breath of air before her face submerged. Kicking her limbs out to turn over, Sameen glared down at Root. Root just grinned at her and tapped a finger to her lips, demanding a kiss. Sameen swam down, pressing her lips to Roots and pushing them against the rough pool floor.

Pulling away, their eyes met. Root reached up to pull on Sameen's hair. Sameen took Root's hand and pulled them to the surface, sucking in fresh air. Root laughed as they pushed hair out of their faces.

"Sorry to interrupt your floating," Root joked, "but I missed you."

Sameen rolled her eyes and moved slightly so she could rest her toes on the pool floor. Root followed her, her shoulders rising out of the water.

"I didn't go anywhere, weirdo," Sameen scoffed.

"I know, but still!" Root reached out to wrap her arms around Sameen's shoulders and pull her close. "We're going to be back home soon and I'll have to share you with other people."

Sameen rolled her eyes again for good measure, but she put her arms around Root's waist and held her close. They were taking difficult classes next year, almost all APs, and she was sure they wouldn't be able to go out as much as they usually did. She'd have to make sure to find time for them to just be together. Between classes, soccer practice, Science bowl, SATs, and applying for colleges, it might be difficult.

"I can't believe your mom made us sign up for Home Economics," Root sighed, resting her cheek against Sameen's. "You already know how to cook and I can…make some things."

"You can barely boil water, Root. I think she wants us to try something out of our comfort zones."

Root pulled away, pouting. "I like my comfort zone. It has computers and books and space."

Sameen laughed. "Yeah, but can you do anything practical? Like make eggs? I can't marry someone who doesn't know how to cook."

"Ooh," Root drawled, her face lighting up, "thinking about our future marriage again? I'll cook dinner and you'll do the dishes, then we'll go for a moonlight stroll through the snow. Wait, do we live somewhere it snows?"

"I'm not playing along," Sameen replied. "I just meant that we'll probably learn something next year. You'll take your crazy Physics class and I'll take AP Bio. It'll be good."

"When I'm with you," Root purred against Sameen's lips, "everything is good."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Root rolled down the window, her bicep straining to turn the handle. RBG had been upgraded over the last year and a half, but it was still almost impossible to open the windows. Sticking her body out into the warm air, she stretched her hand out to hit the Bishop, Tx sign as they passed by. Hard to believe the summer was done and they started their senior year in two days.

The breeze blew back her hair and Root smiled. Once they took their SATs at the end of August, they'd be applying for colleges and really thinking about the future. They passed the first few houses and Root ducked back into the car.

"Back in the old 361," Root sighed. "One more year and then never again."

"Until Thanksgiving anyway," Sameen said. She stopped at a stop sign and turned her signal on. "Then Christmas. Probably at some point in the summer, right?"

Root slipped her feet back into her shoes. "Fine. One more year and then only on special occasions."

Sameen nodded and pushed her aviators up on her head. They hadn't really talked about colleges yet. Root had always planned on MIT. Harvard had a good med school. Sameen could easily get in there and they could get a cute apartment in Boston with Bear. They could go to Cheers!

"Hey, Sameen," Root started, turning in her seat and stretching her legs into Sameen's laps, "where do you want to go to college?"

Shrugging, Sameen turned right. "You want to go to MIT, right? Harvard is pretty close."

Root cheered and clapped her hands. "Perfect! We'll go to Cheers every night."

"What?" Sameen looked skeptical. "Where everybody knows your name? No thanks. Why don't we just wait until we get there."

"Sure," Root agreed. "I'll make us fake IDs, so we can drink."

Scoffing, Sameen turned left onto their street. "Did you tell them we're close?"

"Nope," Root answered, popping the 'P'. "We'll surprise them."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"I swear to god, Lionel, I will rip the still-beating heart from your chest."

Across the table, Lionel picked up his fork. "This cake is for all of us, Sameen." He slid his fork under the piece of cake Mrs. Reese had just cut for him and moved it onto his plate. "I can have a piece if I want to. Right, mom?"

Sameen whipped her head around to glare at Mrs. Reese. Between them, Harold and Grace watched, amused.

"Lionel is right," Mrs. Reese said, rolling her eyes. "It's a big cake. You can both eat as much as you want."

"I have been gone," Sameen started, dramatically, rising to her feet, "for over two months…"

Root laughed and tugged on Sameen's shorts. "Don't be overdramatic! Besides, you shouldn't have too much cake anyway."

Sameen stared down at her. "Et tu, Root?" She lifted her hands. "Are you calling me fat? Did I get fat over the summer? It's your fault! All that Chinese food."

"I didn't gain weight." Root smiled. "I did a lot of sit-ups. Remember?"

"That's nice," Grace spoke up. "Was Sameen working you hard?"

Sameen bit her cheek and sat back down. Her sore biceps reminded her just how hard she'd been working Root the past few weeks. Except for the week when they had their period, they'd synced over a year ago, they'd had sex every day for the last month. She couldn't say that to their families. Beside her, she could hear Root laughing softly.

"Gross," Lionel muttered around his bike of cake. "You guys are the worst."

"We spent a lot of time studying for the SATs," Sameen finally answered. "Every question I got right, Root had to do a sit-up or a push-up. Kept her fit."

Harold leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. "What if Root got a question right?"

Flushing, Root shrugged. "Uh, she gave me a kiss."

"Gross," Lionel repeated. "Every time you guys leave and come back, you get even worse. When you come back from college, you're gonna be making out on the table."

"Oh, Lionel," Mrs. Reese laughed. "You're just upset because your girlfriend moved away."

"Riley?" Sameen asked, frowning. "When did that happen?"

"Early July," Lionel said, pushing his food around. "She moved to Dallas."

Root scoffed. "They all do, Lionel. They all do."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Root pushed her shopping cart and hopped on the back, riding it down the aisle. They were shopping for school supplies and she was ready to leave. She loved post-its and pencils as much as the next nerd, but they'd been here for hours. School started tomorrow and everyone was buying last minute supplies.

They'd already run into Principal McCarthy, Mr. Collier, and Mr. Ingram. All of them had asked about the summer and wanted to know all the details. Root heard Sameen's sneakers squeak on the floor as she jogged to catch up.

"If one more person asks me a question, I'm going to scream."

Root hopped off the cart and smiled at her. "How about a nice question?"

Sameen scoffed. "Like what?"

"Like…" Root pretended to think. "Can you give me a kiss?"

"Hmm," Sameen said, stepping forward and reaching out to hold Root's hips, "I think I can manage that."

Root smiled into Sameen's kiss, putting her hands on Sameen's shoulders and savoring the moment. Being back in Bishop was cramping their style. Lionel kept bursting into Sameen's room at all hours and Harold had asked Root to sleep at their house every night since they'd been back. The school year hadn't even started and they were already kissing less. Root couldn't stand it.

"Excuse me," a voice said next to them, "I need a stapler."

Root pulled back and looked at the small person standing next to them. A young girl with wild blonde hair was scowling at them and tapping her foot impatiently. She was clutching a small notebook in her hand and Root spotted a pen tucked behind one ear. The girl raised her arms.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" The girl asked loudly. "Are you deaf?"

"I am, actually," Root replied, stepping away from Sameen. "In one ear."

The girl rolled her eyes. "That barely counts. Listen, I need a stapler."

"We heard you the first time," Sameen said. She moved out of the way and made a sweeping gesture towards the shelf. "Knock yourself out."

The girl stared at Sameen for a moment before opening her notebook. Root watched as she flipped through several pages and then snapped the book shut again. She looked at Sameen, grinning.

"You're Sameen Shaw, captain of the soccer team."

Sameen glanced at Root. "Uh, yeah. I am."

"I'm Gen Zhirova. I'm new in town and I'm going to be on the soccer team this year."

Root raised her eyebrows at the girl's confidence. Freshman weren't allowed on the team; Sameen had been an exception and this small girl definitely wasn't.

Sameen scratched her head. "Freshman usually don't make the team."

"You did," Gen answered. "Now you're captain. I'm going to be captain my senior year, too."

"Sameen," Root said. She tilted her head. "Let's go."

Sameen nodded and walked around Gen, heading out of the aisle. Root watched Gen watch Sameen. Gen's eyes suddenly snapped to hers.

"Who are you?" Gen asked.

"Uh," Root blinked, "I'm Root. Captain of the Science Bowl team."

"Uh-uh," Gen muttered, opening her notebook. She scrawled something quickly. "I'm not joining the Science Bowl team, so I don't care."

Root pursed her lips, trying to decide if she'd get in trouble for pushing Gen. This girl was already getting on her nerves and school hadn't even started yet. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this girl was new in town and probably didn't have any friends yet.

"Well, she's my girlfriend," Sameen told Gen, "so, you better be nice to her."

Gen scowled. "Fine. I won't be mean."

Sameen squinted and took a step forward. "I didn't say 'don't be mean,' I said 'be nice.'"

"Whatever."

Root laughed and shrugged. "As long as she doesn't sit at our lunch table."

Gen perked up. "You have a table in the cafeteria? That's great! I don't know anyone yet and I'll bet your table has a great view of everyone. You seem like an observer, Shaw."

Root looked at Sameen who just looked confused. She smiled and started pushing the cart away. "Come on," she said, grabbing Sameen's arm and pulling her away. "I'm done with this child."

"I'm 14," Gen called after them. "I'm almost your age!"

They turned the corner, ignoring her. Sameen crossed her arms.

"She's going to bother us all year, isn't she?" Sameen asked.

Root leaned forward, resting her arms on the cart's handle. "Probably. She's after you, though, not me. So…Good luck!"

"Oh, god," Sameen groaned. "Let's pick a grave for her now."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sameen adjusted her grip on Root's hand and stared up at the sky. It was still too early to see Orion, but the sky was so clear tonight, she didn't mind. After months of the almost-empty sky about Houston, it was nice to be back under their usual set of stars. The hill hadn't changed at all in their absence. She dropped her head to the side to look at Root.

It was hard to imagine what they'd been like at 14. So much had happened in the last few years, Sameen felt like a totally different person. Well, some things hadn't changed and never would, but Sameen was more open than she had been when she first got to Bishop. She looked forward to the future now, her future with Root.

"You know," Root said, breaking the silence, "Orion's belt isn't actually three stars. It's twelve."

Sameen rolled onto her side to face Root, breathing in the smell of her lavender shampoo. Root smelled like adventure and electricity. Root looked at her and rolled onto her side so they were facing each other.

Reaching out with her free hand, Sameen pushed Root's hair out of her face. Sometimes, Sameen was surprised by how much she liked Root. If someone had told her four years ago that she was going to fall in love, Sameen probably would have punched them. Now, she'd punch anyone who tried to tell her she didn't love Root.

She'd worked hard for this and Sameen wasn't going to give it up again. They were still learning. Sameen had to talk about things and so did Root, but at least they knew they could work through it.

"If we're still together in 5 years, propose to me," Sameen said quietly. "In case I forget."

Root laughed, her breath hot on Sameen's face. "What?"

"I could forget." She frowned. "If it looks like Lionel is going to propose to his girlfriend before you and I have gotten married, we have to get married immediately. I refuse to lose to him. He ate my cake two days ago."

"It was everybody's cake, Sameen," Root chuckled, her eyes shining in the moonlight. "We'll get married eventually, there's no rush."

Sameen scooted closer to Root. Their legs tangled together, sweaty in the summer heat.

"It's supposed to be a cold winter," Root said. "Cold for Texas anyway. You might have to wear pants instead of shorts."

"Ugh, kill me." Sameen brushed Root's lips with her own. "Let's sleep out here tonight."

"We have school tomorrow!" Root swiped her tongue over Sameen's lip. "Harold will kill us."

Sameen nipped at Root's mouth, growling softly. "Fine, but we're staying out late."

Root pushed a hand into Sameen's hair and pulled her close, crashing their mouths together. Sameen sucked in a breath through her nose, her eyes slamming shut, her arms wrapping around Root and pressing her as close as possible. The smell of Root filled her senses and she dug her fingernails into Root's back, drinking in her moan.

When she was this close to Root, melted together, Sameen could understand happiness. She opened her mouth when Root's hand tugged at her braid, gasping for air. A cold hand slid under her shirt and up her chest and Sameen groaned. Root's long fingers touched her with confidence and Sameen grinned.

"God, you're beautiful," Sameen panted, her eyes still closed.

"Thanks," was the breathy reply, "but my name is Root."