Two chapters ahead. Hope you enjoy it! I've put the story into perspective in my mind so it shouldn't take long until the next uptade.

Again, sorry for my, sometimes, poor English (I'm still learning).

Oh before you start reading, I wanna thank everyone that reviewed. Special thanks to SUNSHINE-M who took time to answer all my newbie questions. ; )

Thanks all of you!

ENJOY!


Chapter 4:

As she woke up, Julie felt good. She was positive and really looking forward to the day that was ahead. Feeling so nice was a surprise. It had been a long time since she last felt that way. There wasn't anything special to explain it, it just happened. She should have felt like crap, after the Matt interaction and the somewhat tormented discussion with her father. Instead, she felt light and fresh. She knew some of that was due to her hanging out with Tim.

The boy was still a mystery to her but she did have a good time with him. Plus, he did save her ass the day before, so really, how bad could he be? She asked herself as she looked through her wardrobe in search for something decent to wear to church. Usually, she would put something casual, to fit in, but today, she was in the mood for something flashy, a piece of clothing that would show how good she was feeling.

She put on a denim skirt, long enough to be church-wearable, and a pink t-shirt that looked really noticeable when put on with the skirt. Ok, she wasn't really dressed for church but who cared? It was really hot outside; half the people would be naked anyway…

The ride to church was silent. Her parents seemed in a really bad mood, their after-argument mood. She knew it because her father didn't even bother asking her again about the previous night. No one mentioned her face that was still a little red. Both she and Tim felt uncomfortable in the back of the car, as if they were interrupting something between the two adults. They gave each other inquisitive looks, smiling at their own uneasiness about the situation. They had not spoken at all since last night, except for a polite "good morning". Whether the complicity from last night was still there was a mystery.

As they arrived at the parking lot, Tami asked Julie and Tim to look after Gracie while she left with her husband, promising to meet them inside.

"Ok., Sure, no problem." Was Julie's answer as she took Gracie in her arms, followed closely by Tim.

"What's with them?" Tim asked while playing with little Gracie's chubby hands.

"No idea. Looked like a fight."

"Yeah, Coach seemed pissed."

"Happens once or twice a month. They'll get over it." She said, rolling her eyes in frustration.

"Right" He was focusing on Gracie again, making faces at her in order to make her laugh.

Julie felt uncomfortable. He was leaning over Gracie, making the baby's hands move which also made contact with her. His fingers were touching her arms that she had around her sister. "Do you wanna hold her?" She asked amused by the faces he was making.

"Sure" He grabbed her, thrilled, lifting her in the air to make her fly. The baby was obviously enjoying it since the only noise coming out of her was laughter. Gracie couldn't stop giggling as Tim kept lifting her up and down, impersonating the sound of a plane.

Julie was amused as Gracie was not the only one having a blast. Tim couldn't stop smiling either. As soon as Gracie would giggle, he'd laugh too. He was completely under the baby's charm, he was enjoying every moment of their playtime, completely forgetting that Julie was staring at him with a wide smile. She was absorbed by every one of his movements waiting to see when the tough, imperceptible Tim would be back.

As he realized the way she was looking at him, he suddenly felt embarrassed, bringing the baby back in his arms. Julie could swear he was blushing even though his face was too tanned for it to show.

"I think you're officially her favorite teddy-bear." She said, kindly mocking him.

First he looked seriously at her, making her think he was offended and then he said: "Oh, I think someone's jealous.." His answer was playful, accompanied by a wink. He was smiling lightly, amused by her remark.

"Well, she does like you better than me. It's kind of frustrating"

"What can I say? No one resists me."

"Right" She chuckled. "Maybe I should leave you two alone, then?"

"Nah..I think my girl Gracie doesn't mind you staying."

Their little teasing game was interrupted as Tim suddenly froze, focusing his gaze on someone behind Julie. She looked around and saw Matt coming near them. She panicked, looking for an answer in Tim's eyes.

"Calm down Jules, I'm here now" He told her, reading the panic in her eyes. Gracie was still in his arms so he couldn't do anything except put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She was shivering, frightened by the thought of Matt hurting her again, he guessed.

Matt Saracen was coming closer every second. He seemed embarrassed. He saw her take a step back as she took sight of him, her face still a little red because of his violent treatment. Then he saw Tim Riggins putting an arm on her shoulder, something he wished he could do. Altogether, it made him realize that he'd lost her forever. Julie Taylor would never be his girlfriend or even his friend again.

As he arrived in front of them, he didn't know what to do. Tim was obviously making things even more difficult for him. He was like a wall between him and Julie, making all his apologize process even harder. The fact that she needed protection from him literary scared him, making him feel guiltier by the second.

"H-hey. Julie. Could I, l-like..talk to you for a sec?" He said, hesitating, knowing the answer would probably be negative as she didn't even dare look at him.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Matt." Tim replied instead, quietly, sure of himself. Mostly, Julie was still shivering under his arm, so he knew her answer would be "no".

"It's ok Tim, I should probably talk to him." She said, trying to convince herself at the same time she was trying to convince Tim. Her eyes were intensely looking at him. Even though he was surprised, Tim couldn't do anything except release her and leave with Gracie still in his arms. He would never admit it but he was mad. She should never have accepted; he thought, trying very hard to keep his eyes away from them.

Julie and Matt were now alone, in front of each other. They were both uncomfortable. Julie was looking at the floor while Matt was trying hard to think about something smart to say.

He finally gathered his courage and said with a shivering voice: "Julie, I-I am..I'm sorry Jules, I'm so sorry. I was such a jerk. I don't know what happened. I was so wasted. I can't believe I hurt you.." His eyes were now searching for her gaze. "Julie, please..please look at me?" He was begging, his voice beginning to fade. His eyes were full of tears he wouldn't allow to fall.

She needed to face him sooner or later; she thought before putting his eyes on him for the first time. As their eyes locked, she could see his eyes all red. The Matt she knew, the uncomfortable and clumsy, sensitive Matt, her Matt was staring at her now and not the drunken, violent guy who was in front of her the day before.

"What happened to you Matt? Yesterday..that wasn't you…" She said with a sad voice, really trying to understand.

"I-I know ..I'm sorry if I hurt you. I-I can't believe I did that. It's all I think about. I'm so sorry Julie. I don't know what happened. All I know, is- it's like- I couldn't take my hands off you…I'm so sorry. Believe me, if I could take the whole thing back, I-I'd do it in a second." Julie didn't have an answer to that one. If things could be taken away, she would have done it without hesitation, too; she thought as her eyes started to fill with tears. Seeing him like that was tearing her apart. The last thing she wanted was to see him hurt.

Seeing Julie fixing the floor, Matt lost all his courage. His tears were now silently falling down his cheeks. "What happened to us Jules? Me, I mean my being a jackass, that was just me.. I was drunk, that was me trying to understand… " He said with a broken voice, letting the regrets fall out of his mouth.

Julie gazed back at him. When she saw the tears in his eyes, it made it even more difficult for her not to cry. She knew what had happened to them. They were Matt & Julie, the IT couple, the QB1 and the coach's daughter, the blonde confident Julie in love with the insecure, sweet Matt. Everyone, including them thought they'd stay together forever. Now they were Matt & Julie, two strangers and she knew it was her fault. There wasn't anything that could be done now. She'd changed too much, time had passed. Nothing could be fixed between them anymore.

"I..I don't know what happened Matt…Maybe we weren't meant to be.." She said shamefully, knowing that was not the reason they had split.

"No, we were, we… WE were meant to be Jules, you and me."

"It's over Matt"

"Don't say that, please Julie, don't." His voice was barely audible. "I miss you Julie. I miss us. I miss hanging out with you. I miss your smile, I miss the way you laugh..When I wake up, you're the first person I want to see! Remember how we used to talk for, like hours…? What happened? You and me, we were good for each other…" His voice was now louder, accentuating every word. He did not know what to expect from her. He just needed to tell her how he felt. He hoped deep inside it would convince her he was still her Matt, still the same guy, madly in love with her; that his overreaction was caused by the fact she'd broken what they had without explanation. He wanted to tell her all of it but somehow the words couldn't come out.

"I'm sorry Matt" was all she said. She really was sorry. That's the only thing she was certain of. She was sorry their relationship had come to this.. There was no Matt & Julie anymore, they were over.

"I-I know, me too.." He answered but she was already gone, leaving him alone. Confusion, anger, disappointment, sadness were the feelings mixed up in his mind as he leaned his head down, defeated.


Tim was waiting for them to finish their conversation. Well waiting was an understatement. He was rather hoping for them to end what seemed to be a quiet discussion as soon as possible. There was a little devil on his shoulder telling him to go get Julie but he resisted. He knew both of them had history together, they deserved some privacy even though Matt had acted like a jerk.

At least Gracie Bell was with him... She was putting her little fingers all around his face, making him realize a baby needed a lot more attention than he'd ever thought. Even if he'd wanted to, he couldn't focus on Julie and Matt.

As Gracie was trying very hard to get her hands through Tim's hair, being stopped repetitively by a somewhat frustrated Tim, Julie suddenly appeared, erasing the few tears that were on her cheeks.

"You alright?" Tim asked, seeing she had cried.

"I'm fine, thanks." Julie answered, giving him a quick smile but avoiding his gaze as much as possible. "We should probably get inside, we're already late" She said, remembering what they'd come for in the first place and refusing to talk about her immediate feelings.

"Ok. Sure." He didn't want to push her into saying things she obviously wanted to keep to herself. On the other hand, it really annoyed him to not be able to see through her. He would have liked to help her but seeing how bad he was with talking about feelings, he decided to keep his distances.

When they entered the church, everyone around them looked their way, giving them the annoyed glance. Tami and Eric were already inside. Mrs. Taylor asked what took them so long, taking Gracie Bell in her arms. Tim was about to answer when Eric told them both to shut up as they were obviously bothering everyone around.


After church, they'd driven home, in silence, once again. As they entered the house, Julie immediately excused herself and went to her room. She needed time alone. The day had not been what she thought it would. She wasn't in a positive attitude anymore. She changed her clothes again, to suit the new mood she was in better. She chose a large black t-shirt and a pair of wide Adidas trousers. It fit perfectly with the state of her mind: black for depression and wide because she was hiding.

"Julie hun, your dad and I are going out. We're meeting some friends for dinner. " Tami said hours later, waking her up from her dark thoughts.

"Are you alright hun?" She asked, coming to sit next to Julie. She was concerned by the blankness in her daughter's eyes.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine, mom. What were you saying?"

"We're going out. Gracie'll be with us. Are you sure everything is ok sweetie?"

"Why? No, everything's fine…"

"Jules, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know mom"

"If you want me, I can cancel my evening out Jules. We could send your father and Tim away and spend time just the two of us. We could watch a chick flick, eat some ice cream and talk…"Tami said hopeful her daughter would say yes. She really missed spending time with her.

"Nah, it's ok mom, thanks" Julie replied, giving her mom a hug. She was grateful for the efforts her mother was making to make her feel better. The fact she was willing to cancel her plans was already a great gesture. She did not need more. Knowing her mother was there for her was already a huge comfort.

"You sure? Cause I'd be glad to have a girls night with you hun. With Tim in the house, there are way too much male hormones in here" She joked, trying to hide the disappointment Julie's negative answer had brought to her.

Julie laughed at her mother's "joke" and said, trying to sound more convincing this time: "It's ok, mom, really."

"Then I'll see you later hun." She said, leaving a kiss on her daughter's forehead. Before she closed the door behind her, she peeked a head back in the room and whispered" Oh, I forgot to tell you, Jules, Tim's making dinner right now, for you two. You should come see this." She chuckled. Obviously Tim's cooking was funny.

Seeing the amused smile on her mother's face, Julie was intrigued. "What? Tim Riggins is cooking?" She asked, amazed by the idea. "He can cook?" She asked again, this time with a wide smile spread across her face and illuminated eyes.

"Well, he's trying.." She said, still whispering. "Don't mock him, hun. He wanted to do something nice. He's really adorable, all clumsy and uncomfortable trying to deal with the chicken... "

"Tami, how long are you planning to make us wait like this?" Eric shouted from the living room. He was waiting impatiently for them to leave, with an overexcited Gracie in her arms.

"I should go, see you soon Jules. You'll tell me how the dinner was" She said, giving her a malicious wink and left with a smile on her face.

Julie was still in her room. Tim is cooking! The thought brought a smile back on her face. She had to see this by herself. She got up, left her room and headed towards the kitchen, looking forward to see Tim's attempt to make dinner. Maybe this would make her day less depressing!


Go ahead..there's another one waiting for you....

Oh if I say please...would you? Please, would you review? : D