Athena fit into life in the RV much better than either of the other two girls would have thought. She always seemed to know where to be and where not to be even without Savannah having to point it out.

When they stopped in Alabama and Savannah had her first customer, Athena disappeared behind the teal curtain and quietly entertained Ranch with her knowledge (or there lack of) in a game of Trivia Pursuit. When they were driving, Athena slipped up front and let Savannah make her laugh. Late at night when Savannah had yet to stop scribbling her pen in dark grating lines of unsuccessful creativity, Athena was there to gently lead her back to the couch with promises that her notebooks wouldn't spontaneously explode over night. Savannah had thought Athena would be a distraction, despite her promises otherwise.

Savannah was pleasantly surprised.

"I spy with my little eye....something green."

"Is it me?"

Savannah could feel Athena's gaze violently shift from the road before them to where she was sitting. "You're not wearing green today."

Savannah laughed adjusting her hands on the steering wheel. "Athena, please." She said.

"Savannah is always wearing green." Ranch called from the back.

Savannah had noticed that too. With the arrival of Athena, Ranch had has also seemed to move around the cabin more. She came out of the back area and sat in the booth with her phone playing music out loud. She scrolled through in her laptop doing essays for the online courses she was taking. Sometimes she even just watched the scenery past by until Athena engaged her in an easy conversation.

Savannah couldn't help but smile into the glare of the sun.

Athena raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Always?"

Savannah pulled her hand of the wheel and displayed it to her. The charms of her green bracelet jingled, "Always."

Athena looked down at her lap, but Savannah detected the upwards curve of her lips and counted it as a win. She had gotten better at that: She hadn't made the girl cry in at least two days. In her sticky notes she had compiled a vague list of things that she had discovered was "the safe zone". Savannah imagined herself like an explorer: mapping a new world in the only way she knew how. When she got to something that made Athena's shoulders tense, her eyes water, her voice rise an octave, or a combination of the three, it was added to the list of things Savannah was not to bring up again.

Slowly, slowly, she thought she was beginning to map out the situation that made up Athena.

She didn't like to talk about her home life, so that eliminated family, holidays, and pets. She didn't mind hearing about other families though. Savannah had shared a twenty minute story on a recount of her favorite Thanksgiving while driving and Athena had laughed at the end. (She had a really pretty laugh, but she kept it bottled up inside her, almost unfairly.) Athena would not talk about her eating habits, which Savannah had caught on that they weren't the best. And Savannah had gone through her dictionary and taped a picture of Athena next to the words, "Sorry" and "Fine", so she would never forget the other girl's catch phrases.

There was however exceptions to the rules. Whenever Ranch held something out to Athena, she would take it. She had hesitated the first couple of time, but Ranch would hold it out to her and follow her wordlessly around until it was accepted by the other. Savannah had been entertained for a good ten minutes over a chocolate chip granola bar. She had admitted in Ranch's presence that she was an only child, and that she had never had a real pet.

"Where should we stop for lunch?" Savannah asked Athena.

"Uh, I..." She trailed off, "I'm fine."

Savannah huffed her bangs from her line of vision, "That's not what I asked." She said before turning her head to call over her shoulder without removing her eyes from the road, "Ranch? What do you want for food?"

"I don't care."

Savannah drummed her thumbs on the steering wheel, slouching forward in her seat. "Really?"

Ranch appeared in the hall, arms out on each wall to keep her balanced in the moving vehicle. She was wearing another flannel, which meant that she and Athena were matching. That was another than Savannah had learned: Athena loved flannels. At the first stop after picking up the new girl, they had also gone off and picked up some new clothes for her. Namely a pair of jeans that weren't nearly worn through, a jacket that fit, and several flannels that she insisted she was "just looking at" and "didn't even really like". Ranch had seen right through that lie and shovelled a whole bunch on to the conveyor belt without a glance at the price tags.

"Just pick from the signs." Ranch said, pointing out the blue highway signs for the next exit. Savannah skillfully avoided running into a small red car and looked back up just in time to see the sign pass.

"I didn't see anything."

"There was a Cheesecake Factory." Athena supplied, warmly. Savannah glanced at her in confusion. Athena was full on grinning this time, nearly bursting with excitement.

"You...like cheesecake?" Savannah guessed.

Ranch wrinkled her nose, "Ew."

Athena turned to look at her in complete horror, "Take that back!"

"No."

Savannah grimaced, "I don't know, Athena. I'm not a fan of Cheesecake myself."

The girl looked like they had handed her a severed human head and told her it was dinner. While Savannah had thought a lot about decapitating some people she knew, she never thought that cannibalism would go hand in hand with it. Unless it was a story about Zombies, she reasoned. Zombies were known for eating people's brains and you always decapitated a zombie right?

The more Savannah thought about it the more she reasoned that if there was a Zombie apocalypse, she was glad she was with Ranch and Athena. If nothing else they could make each other laugh until the bitter and bloodstained end.

Athena pouted into herself quietly. Ranch sighed loudly, drawing Savannah's practice eye away from the car changing lanes in front of them. It was a silent question.

The last time Savannah had cheesecake it was at a birthday party. Instead of a regular cake the girl's mom-- Savannah didn't even remember who it had been anymore-- had bought her daughter two different cheesecakes. Savannah had eaten a slice of each, swallowing every bite and smiling even when it made her feel nauseous. She could eat cheesecake no problem she supposed.

(She knew from her beginners' psychology class in high school what she was facing was not a blatant dislike of cheesecake. It was simply taste aversion. After all, when she got home after the party was when everything went wrong.)

Savannah turned on the exit ramp.

She didn't think she had ever seen anyone smile brighter before.

And if she turned her phone on silent, well, Savannah didn't think it was anyone else's business anyway.