Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own Remember the Titans or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up.
Summary: This story is a look into the slightly minor characters of RTT; Alan, Sunshine and Rev. Beyond football madness and into their more personal lives outside and inside of the team after the stadium lights shut off every week. Each one is an OC pairing.
Beyond The Titans
Ronnie Bass left practice fuming. He didn't say a word to any of his teammates as he exited, nor did he answer Coach Yoast when he called after him. But amidst all of his anger, he remembered that he had no ride home.
He reentered the school, which had been closed for more than two hours, to look for a phone where he could contact a possible ride. His eyes quickly fell on the bookkeeper's office, and he knocked on the door. A petite, elderly woman opened the door, looking almost as upset as him.
"Can I help you, young man?" She barked.
"Do you have a phone I could use, ma'am?" Sunshine asked as politely as he could. She took a while, but stepped back, letting him in.
"Thank you." He mumbled quietly before dialing.
"Hello? Hey, Pop." He said when his father answered the phone. "Do you think you can pick me up from the school?" He paused. "Ok, thanks." He hung up the phone and thanked the bookkeeper again before exiting. Closing the door behind him, he did not even take a full stride before slamming into someone. Papers flew everywhere and he began to gather them immediately.
"Sorry about that." He said, handing the papers back to them. He looked up when she laughed and smiled back at her. She looked familiar, and his eyes locked with hers as he handed her the last few folders. She grabbed the last few and stood over him, smiling confusedly.
"It's okay. Just watch where you're heading next time."
Sunshine brushed hi pants off before standing.
"I'm Ronnie." He said, holding his hand out. She smirked, staring at his hand and back up at him.
"Oh I know who you are." She answered. The blonde dropped his arm, more flattered than confused. "Nice meetin' you, Sunshine." She said before brushing past him. He stared after her, his curiosity now sparked. This managed to plant a seed in the California native. But a loud honk behind him caught his attention and, seeing that it was his father outside, he jogged out of the door and to the car and climbed in.
"So how's it going?" His father asked, pulling off.
"What, school?" Sunshine shrugged. "It's Virginia for sure." He answered, grumbling the last part.
"Hey. What did I tell you about that attitude?"
"It's not the moving pop, I'm over that. I can handle the moving."
"Then what's the problem?" His father asked sternly.
"The people! This entire place is so … divided, it's… unbelievable!"
"Well we're not in California anymore, Ronnie; we're on the complete opposite side of the country. Things are different here. It's the region."
"Ok I can understand that, maybe with the older people but, Pop, even kids my age are like that. Kids younger than me! Cut me a little slack, please." Sunshine's eyebrows creased. The entire conversation was making him even more furious. "You sound just like—ugh." He shook hi head, dismissing the entire thing.
His father sounded just like Gerry and Petey. He was on the verge of tearing the entire locker room apart when Gerry put in his pathetic two-bits worth in after practice. They had gone through hell and back coming together themselves as a team, showing their vulnerabilities and insecurities; letting all their guards down to become a unit.
Then just like that, it was shattered. It had taken only a week, and it was as if the past months never happened. He'd never seen anyone so affected by other people, and in such a way. And now that it was engulfing his entire life, he was completely on edge.
"Look Ronnie." His father sighed. His tone was softer now, seeing how much this was hurting his son, "I know how it feels. I know. I've seen a lot of it in my day. Seen worse even. But I learned to just ignore it. Avoid it when I can. That's why I sent you to T.C. Williams. You know what's right; you'll learn to ignore it too."
"No!" Sunshine yelled, slamming his fists on the dashboard so hard his father was forced to break. "I'm not!" He yelled, staring straight into his father's eyes. "I'm not gonna just sit here and ignore it! I can't believe you just said that."
"Son—"
"I'm gonna walk home." Sunshine cut him off, climbing out of the car and slamming the door behind him. The Colonel looked after him, but knew not to push his son any further than he already had. He pulled off and left Sunshine to walk.
Ronnie could feel the steam rolling off of his head. His peace had completely left him; he couldn't even hear any of the girls melting over him or the many random guys jabbing at him. This was the angriest he'd even been at his father. He couldn't believe that that was his solution: just ignore it. His father had never been so passive. If there was thing Ronnie Bass hated, it was passive people. People who molded themselves to society, who blindly followed and never questioned who or what was leading. He would never in his life become one of those people. Hearing his father speak like that was even more of a gut-punch then his teammates had been.
After he'd calmed slightly, he found that he'd stumbled into the community park. There weren't many people, and a few children. The mood was perfectly calm. He figured he needed an hour or two by himself to cool down and sat against a tree to try and meditate. He closed his eyes and began to slow his breathing. His concentration was broken when something tapped his chest. He looked down, it was a Frisbee. He picked it up just as a small child ran up to him she beamed at him. Sunshine figured she couldn't have been more than six. He smiled back at her and handed her the toy, chuckling when she ran off back to her mother, but his grin faded fairly quickly, knowing that her innocence would be taken from her entirely too soon by the people of this city. He sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair
Sunshine didn't get home until it was almost dark. And his father jumped up when he came through the door.
"Son—"
"I'm okay, pop." He cut his father off before he could finish, starting off to his room.
"Wait, Ron." He stopped and turned to face him. "Sit down, I wanna talk to you," He didn't question him and sat in the couch across from him.
"You've been gone for a while." Sunshine sat up.
"I know, Pop, I ju—"his father stopped him, raising his hand.
"Let me finish." He said, clasping his hands together between his knees. "Do you know why I joined the service?" He asked weakly. The young blonde only sat there, shaking his head dumbly.
"Well I'm gonna tell you. I was still living in Louisiana when I as your age. And I was feeling the exact same way as you. The exact same way… Except one main difference."
"What's that?" Sunshine asked weakly.
"I was a coward, Ronnie." He laughed. "Hell, I still am as you can see."
"You're not a coward, dad. You're a war veteran."
"That doesn't mean anything, son, believe me. Some of the most cowardly men I've some into contact with are still serving as commanding officers. That's one thing I've always been proud of about you, and envied about you. You're strong, Ronnie, beyond your years. And you've got your own mind. Not your old man. I saw everything you're seeing now. But I didn't want to be different. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't say anything… I couldn't stand up. I couldn't be a man, Ronnie."
Sunshine couldn't believe his father's words, and was completely dumbstruck.
"What I said in the car," he finally continued, "that's just what I do under pressure. That's how I deal with things. Now, here's what I should've told you. Son, you know what's right. And if you know in your guy that what's going on isn't, then you change it. By any means. Times are changing, and if you think you're the man to catch this place up with the rest of the world, then I'm behind you completely."
"I dunno, I think I might shake this town up pretty bad, pop." Sunshine laughed.
"Well then you and the Titans just might have to rock the foundation then." Sunshine stood and embraced his father, both of their spirits lifted and both smiling.
TBC