A/N: I forgot to mention that the title and the summary are from the song by Shinedown. Enjoy chapter 2...
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own FNL
Jess sat in the passenger seat, the back of her thighs sticking to the seat of the truck, her ponytail brushing the back of her neck and her left arm resting on the open window. Tim's eyes were half-closed, staring at the September heat rising off the asphalt. Silence continued to stretch between them; Tim hadn't said much before leaving for work that day, only that he would come by during his lunch break to take her to school to meet with "Coach's wife." He then left, going off to complete another job for Riggins Construction.
The truck pulled into a parking spot, students who were outside looked up as Tim got out, the girls swooning as he walked past. Jess followed, pulling her denim skirt down, her converse squeaking on the linoleum when they entered the school. Tim knew right where he was going, and opened the door to the principal's office after only knocking once. The woman looked up from her desk before plastering a huge grin on her face.
"Tim, how good to see you!" she trilled, her voice awfully cheerful.
"'Lo Mrs. Taylor, how are you?" Tim asked politely, ushering Jess through the door.
"Well I'm just fine Tim. Now who is this? How can I help you two?" Mrs. Taylor questioned, eyeing Jess.
"This is my cousin, Jessica. She's staying with me now, so we should get her in school or something" Tim explained gesturing at Jess.
"Are you her guardian now, Tim?" she asked politely, the grin on her face starting to fade.
"Well, I guess, she's living here now, so..." Tim trailed off.
"Legally, though, you are not her guardian, correct?"
"No, I mean, she's just staying in Dillon now."
"Tim, I don't know what I can do, if you aren't her legal guardian I can't register her."
Jess, who had remained silent, looked down at her shoes.
"Ms. Taylor, please, she has to stay with me."
The woman sighed before addressing Jess, "honey, why don't you go have a seat outside so I can talk to Tim here?"
Jess nodded and left, shooting a pleading glance at Tim on her way out. She lingered outside the door to listen as Tim explained her story, "Look, Ms. T, she has a real bad home life, and she had to get out. Her parents are drunks, and she can't live with them. She's got nowhere else to go, Billy and me are her only family that is still around. She's got nowhere else."
"Tim" the woman said gently, "do you know how to raise a teenage girl? Do you have any idea how difficult it is? Especially with this girl, who seems to have been through an awful lot? Are you sure about this? I could contact social services, and..."
Tim cut her off, "No. She's staying with me. We take care of family. I'm going to take care of her just like Billy took care of me. Now, please, just get her into school."
Mrs. Taylor sighed before finally speaking again, "I'll need to get her records from her previous school, where'd she go before?"
"Thank you" Tim breathed before calling Jess back in. Smiling, she walked back into the room.
Clutching a folder containing her new schedule, locker number, and other information, Jess followed Tim down the hallway towards the exit. Tim stopped abruptly, his hand clapping the back of a tall dark haired boy who was searching through his locker. The boy looked up, before smiling.
"Hey Tim!" he greeted "what brings you around here?"
"My cousin" Tim replied jerking his thumb in her general direction, "starting tomorrow."
The boy smiled at her, "cool. I'm Chris, by the way" he said, shifting his books to his left arm so he could stick his right hand out towards her.
She shook his hand, responding, "I'm Jess. Nice to meet you."
"So, Chris" Tim interrupted, "when we gonna work on your game?"
"Day after tomorrow ok?" Chris responded tearing his attention away from Jess.
"That works, I'll meet you on the field after practice." Tim said, starting to walk away.
"See you then Tim" Chris called after the retreating figure then added, "Bye Jess."
Jess smiled a small smile and continued out to the truck.
Jess was making dinner when Tim came into the house after work, Billy following him. Tim grabbed two beers from the fridge, while Billy took a handful of pasta out of the pot.
"I didn't know you were gonna make dinner" Tim stated, gesturing at the pots on the stove.
"I just figured it would be something nice to do. We need to eat" Jess replied, a little unsure of her gesture.
"Yeah, Tim. Now, don't be complaining when a woman makes you dinner" Billy joked, hitting his brother on the arm.
"I wasn't complaining" Tim muttered as he retreated to the bathroom. Jess let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. For the past two days that she had been there every encounter with Tim had been filled with awkward silences, punctuated with short meaningless conversations. She was unsure if Tim really wanted her around.
"It's fine" Billy said to her. "He's just upset about your situation, and he doesn't know how to deal with it. It doesn't help that he doesn't really know how to talk to you either. Once you settle into a routine it will be fine."
Jess nodded, before sighing and asking, "You staying for dinner Billy?"
Billy nodded, "Mindy's working tonight, and I ain't no iron chef." He laughed a little before continuing, "starting school tomorrow, huh?"
Jess and Billy continued their conversation, and Tim joined in when he returned. It became less awkward with time, and as the three sat down to eat, Jess thought that this actually was kind of nice.
After dinner Tim helped Jess with the dishes, as Billy left to go home. While Jess was drying the last plate, the blonde from before entered the house.
"Tim" she exclaimed, "I just had the worst day ever." She sat on the couch and put her head on her lap.
Tim leaned back against the counter, crossed his arms over his chest, and smirked, "really?"
She looked up to tell him off, but noticed Jess. "Oh, hi. I'm Tyra." She said, raising her hand to wave at Jess from across the room.
"I'm Jess" she replied, smiling uncertainly at her.
"You're the cousin, right? I remember the boys talking about you sometimes."
"Yeah, that's me" Jess said. "Tim, I'm gonna go to my room now, get ready for school. It was nice meeting you Tyra," she said, before going into her room and closing the door behind her.
Tyra raised her eyebrows at Tim, "you gave her my room?"
"She's staying here now; and she'll be here every night, unlike some people who just stop by when they have a bad day. Besides, there's always room for you in my bed" Tim responded, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"In your dreams" Tyra laughed.
"Yeah" Tim breathed, silence settling in the room.
"So, why's she staying here?" Tyra asked.
"It's just a bad situation, and she's got nowhere else to go I guess. She's family," he surmised, crossing the living room to sit next to her on the couch.
"You know what you're doing?" She asked.
"No" he admitted, quietly.
"You're a good guy Tim," she said, patting him on the thigh before reaching for the remote on the coffee table. "What's good on TV tonight?" and the two settled in to watch whatever Tyra picked.