A/N: I like where this is going!

Chapter 4

A week had passed and I was still staying with Ray. I was sitting in the living room watching television with his mom. Around 5:30, Ray came walking in. "Hey ma." He kissed his mom and the head. "Hey sweetheart." He said to me and then he kissed me on the forehead. He went upstairs and came back down in clean clothes.

He laid down on the couch I was sitting on. He motioned for me to lay down with him, so I did. We laid down for a few minutes. I started to doze off. But a knock on the front door woke me up. I felt Ray get up to answer the door.

"I need to talk to my daughter." I heard my dad say.

"She isn't here." Ray said.

"Her mother said that you came with her to get her stuff. I know she is here."

I saw Ray walk outside, but even through the door we could hear the yelling. "She is in there, she is my daughter, I deserve to talk to her."

"You aren't getting anywhere near her. I will make sure of it. How could you do that to your own daughter?"

"Listen you arrogant prick. I will get my daughter to come back, she always does."

"You need to get the hell off my property or I will make you."

"What are you going to do, I am not leaving here until I talk to my daughter."

I got up and looked out the window at this point. I saw Ray wind back and punch my dad and then literally pick him up and throw him on the street. "Now, stay off of my property!"

I saw Ray walk back up the stairs and come in. I walked up to him and hugged him. He clung on to me and refused to let go. "Heather, I promise I won't ever let him hurt you again."

I smiled at him. "Thank you so much, honey. I-" I caught myself. For the last day, I had, had the impulse to say the love word. I wasn't sure if it was a gracious kind of love or a genuine love. I wanted to be sure before I told him.

"What?" he had caught that I cut myself off.

"I just am so gracious to you and your parents. I couldn't imagine what would happen if it hadn't been for you!"

"I am just glad that I could help you."

I was happy with Ray. It was surprising, before I met Ray I thought about Ronnie, every single day and what we had. Now, I never thought about him. I didn't care anymore, I couldn't believe it.

Ray and I walked up to his room and sat on his bed. "Heather, I really care about you. I know it's only been a week, but I think that this has brought us together. More so then couples that have been together a month are."

I nodded. "I agree with you completely."

He smiled at me. "I can't believe I finally met someone else."

"I know me too. I can't believe it either!"

He hugged me. I couldn't believe that he felt the same way I did almost. I knew that I had found a guy that was a real winner.

The next day we went to school. We sat on the benches out front of the school holding hands and talking before school started.

We were talking about the game coming up. The second game of the season, it was going to be against Herndon. They had already won against Hayfield.

That Friday there were lining up to play. The game started and it wasn't looking good. I couldn't believe that they were falling apart. I was going crazy. I couldn't watch all of my friends lose.

Finally, they turned the game around and they won. 28-10. I waited for Ray outside of the locker room. I saw all of the team coming out. Sunshine and Petey came walking out. "Hey Heather!" I heard Petey yell. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah, good game!"

"I am still sitting the bench." Sunshine said.

"I know, I'm so use to seeing you on the field." I said. I recalled memories from our old school.

"I miss it, but hopefully I get some time on there soon."

"I'm sure you will, with an arm like yours, bud!" I smacked his arm.

"Heather!" Ray had finally walked out of the locker room.

"I'll see you guys later." I ran over to Ray. "Hey honey!"

He hugged me. We walked to his car. "What did Sunshine have to say?" He said it in a somewhat bitter way.

"He was telling me how he wants to see some field time." I paused. Ray didn't say anything. "I wouldn't mind seeing him on the field either. He's an amazing quarterback. Better then Rev at least...Sunshine has a lot of potential."

"So seeing Sunshine on the field would make you happy?"

I shrugged. "In a way yes. I mean, he has a lot of potential and since he moved he probably lost his scholarship. Some universities are gonna have to see him play so he can get another one."

Ray nodded. "Yeah, I have one at Virginia State. I have already signed the papers. I'm going."

I smiled at him. We got to his house and went inside. We laid down in his room for a while. His parents had been more open to letting us stay in his room by ourselves. His parents had asked me if I had ever had sex, I couldn't lie to them, I told them the truth, with my last boyfriend but we had dated for a year and a half before we did.

I wanted it to be the same with Ray. I planned on waiting a while before the thought of the subject even came up. We woke up in the morning to his alarm clock. We had both fallen asleep. It was Saturday and he had to get up for practice. "Do you want to come with me and watch the practice?"

I nodded and got dressed so I could go with him. I went and watched, Sheryl was there watching too. We talked a lot about football and what we thought needed to be improved.

"The left side is a little weak," I said.

"I thought that too, I wasn't sure if it was just me though." Sheryl said. "It's nice having another girl to talk to about football."

"At my old school in Huntington Beach, it was big. Ronnie there was the star quarterback."

"You knew Sunshine?"

"Yeah, we use to go steady."

"Wow," was all she said.

Practice ended and Ray and I went to get something to eat with his parents.

"I still can't believe they are letting those animals play on the team." Ray's dad said. "They have ruined the boys. Gerry Bertier has never played a worse game then yesterdays."

"Coach Coone has brainwashed him." Ray said.

I could see now where he got his hatred and racism from. I didn't like it. I looked down at my plate and kept my mouth shut. "Heather, dear, what was your old school like?" Mrs. Budds asked. "I bet you didn't have to put up with this integration non sense."

I hesitated. "Actually my school I went to in California has been integrated for almost six years now. There is very little integration issues over there." I looked back down at my plate.

"So seeing these animals doesn't bother you?"

I shrugged. "Not really. I am use to it by now. I had to get over it."

His dad nodded. "See that is what they are expecting everyone to just get over it." He was mad, you could tell. "But my son, isn't going to get over it. I won't let that happen, no son of mine will ever be use to integration."

Ray had to add something. "No, never, I could never be like Gerry and all the others. I'm the only one on the team that still thinks we shouldn't be integrated."

I shook my head. I couldn't believe that this was all being said. We went back to his house and I acted like nothing was wrong. After everything that Ray and his family had done for me I didn't want to be rude and say my input on the subject.

The following Thursday we went to school. The day's had become very routine like. I couldn't believe it. I did the same thing everyday. Go to school, go to Ray's house, talk to his mother, hang out with Ray, go to bed then do it all over again. It was frustrating. In another week though, I would be living with Colonel and Ronnie.

At lunch that day, I heard Gerry and Julius talking about a fight they had broken up. "We need to have a team meeting. Our team is falling apart." Gerry said. Everyone at the table nodded.

That night Ray had said that coach had called a mandatory meeting. I knew what it would be about, but I knew if I told Ray he wouldn't go, so I let him go. I sat around for hours, waiting for him to come home. He didn't. Around 10:30 he finally walked in.

"Hey honey, what took so long? What all did Coach Boone have to say?"

"Coach wasn't even there. Louie, Blue, Gerry and Julius called the meeting."

"Oh, well what did they have to say."

"How we aren't nothing because we fell apart after camp."

"Oh, well, do you think thats true?"

"No! I mean, we have won all of our games easily. I haven't had a problem at all with any of my blocks, all the teams have been easy to beat."

I nodded. "Yeah but we both know that Groveton is going to be a different story. Everyone that knows anything about football knows that."

He nodded. "We will still pull ahead. No problem."

"I hope so..I just think you need to put aside everything and be a part of the entire team, black and white."

"I can't do that, you should see the warm up they made for us to do. I mean, Blue made it up, what does that say. I don't want to do it the Titans are going to look like idiots."

I smiled. "You guys couldn't look like idiots!"

"No, trust me sweetie, we do!"

I laughed. "Show me the warm up!"

He shook his head. "That is something I will not do."

I sighed. "Please." I gave him this puppy dog look hoping it would work. "Please honeybee..."

He laughed at the new nickname. "How could I say no to that?" He stood up. "You have to promise me that you won't laugh at me and this stupid warm up!"

"I swear!"

He took a deep breath. "Everywhere we goooo, everywhere we gooooo!" He was dancing to it. "People wanna know, people wanna know. Whoooo we arrrrre, whooooo we arrrreee, soooo we tell them, soooo we tell them. We are the Titans, we are the Titans, the mighty, mighty Titans. The mighty, mighty Titans, who ah oh yeah, who ah oh yeah!"

I smiled at him. "I love it." I stood up next to him. "Will you teach it to me?"

He smiled. "You don't think it's stupid?"

I laughed at him. "No, of course not, it's unique. I bet none of the other teams do anything like this!"

He laughed again and started showing me each of the steps. Within a half hour, I had already learned it and was doing it with him. "I'm glad that you don't think it is stupid."

I smiled at him. "Of course I wouldn't. I think it is really neat."

We walked up to his room. We laid down on his bed. "Your turn eighteen in five days."

"I know, in a way it is really upsetting." I knew that I would have to move out when I turned eighteen. Ray's parents had already told him that.

"That means that you have to leave, I won't get to see you everyday for as long as possible. I won't get to see you before I go to bed, and you won't be the first person I see every morning." I could hear the hurt in his voice. "I won't even be able to give you rides anymore, Sunshine will have that covered."

"Aww, when you say it like that it really is depressing honeybee."

He smiled again. "There is just something about that nickname that just puts a smile on my face. I don't know why though."

"Its because you love it!"

"Yeah, maybe that is why."

I smiled at him, I went to kiss him. "I am starting to fall for you, Heather."

"I am falling for you too."

"I realize it's only been two weeks, but every day I fall for you more and more."

I smiled at him. "I was scared to say anything..I was afraid that you would get scared or something and leave me. I thought it was too soon."

"I did too. I just thought you were feeling the same way and surprisingly I was right."

I smiled at him. He smiled back and with that we shared a kiss.

End Chapter

A/N: Another chapter. I like it though.

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Mary