disclaimer: i own nothing.

Take Care.

chapter seven

let the flames begin

It had been a weird couple of days since Tim and Julie shared that kiss in the kitchen. Shelly did as she told Julie and never said a word to Eric or Tami. The friends had almost been acting like nothing had even happened between them. After school and practice lately, Tim had been out selling product and hanging out at Tyra's. Julie still had yet to say anything to Tyra after walking in on her naked the other day. She avoided her in the halls and ignored her calls. If she didn't talk to her soon, Tyra was going to know something was up and start questioning her. That was the last thing she needed.

She'd just got home from school and flopped down on the couch next to Shelly. "Hey, what's up?"

"Hey, sweetie." Shelly replied, still into whatever show was on.

Julie followed her gaze to the TV screen. It was one of the many shows about the rich, boring and dramatic housewives. "Really, Shelly?" Julie mocked.

Shelly playfully slapped her leg. "Shut up, woman, you watch dumb shit, too."

"Shell!" Tami whisper yelled as she walked out of her bedroom.

"What?"

Tami walked into the kitchen. "First of all, Eric just got Gracie down for a nap, so it'd be great if you could quiet down. Second, why are you cussing in front of Julie?"

Julie rolled her eyes. She would always be a little girl in her moms eyes.

"C'mon, Tami. She's not a child." The sisters caught eyes and Tami shook her head, negatively. "So, anyways..." Shelly started, trying to quickly change the subject before Tami could use anything against her. "Where's Tim?"

"I don't know." Julie said, a little too quickly. She couldn't think of an excuse, but at the same time she wasn't exactly sure where he was. They'd cooled it on the partnership for a minuet since that night in the kitchen. Tim told her that maybe what happened, happened because they were spending 'too much' time together. He was just avoiding the truth and she knew it. They had something.

"It's getting a little late. Why don't you call him, honey." Tami said. "I'm about to run out and get us something to eat. Do y'all wanna come with?"

Shelly got up from the couch and walked over the the bar. "Yeah. Is Eric keeping Gracie?"

"Uh huh. Now throw your shoes on girls and come on."

Tami and Shelly drifted into their own rooms and Julie had a moment alone. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and unlocked it. She had a message from Tyra. She was just going to delete it but she figured she might as well see what Tyra had to say first. Julie rolled her eyes. It was something about Tim. She read it again. Tim was over at her house and Tyra was wondering where she was. She cleared her inbox before locking her phone.

"Julie? You ready?" Shelly said as she came from the hallway to their bedrooms.

She stood up. "Y-Yeah. Let's go. Tim's out at Tyra's place, so I don't think he's gonna be eating with us tonight." Her stomach felt like it was eating itself. She still had burning thoughts of Tim and Tyra having sex in her head.

Julie's face said a lot. "Hang on, honey. Are you alright?" Shelly was concerned. She knew that mysterious boy meant something to her niece. She put her hands on Julie's shoulders.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

"What's going on?" Tami asked as she came back to get them.

Julie nearly freaked. She did not want her mother to know about this. "Nothing, mom." She faked a smile. "C'mon." She took her moms arm. "What do you feel like picking up?"

They walked toward the front door together, with Shelly lagging behind. "I don't know. What sounds good?"

"Chinese!" Shelly called out after they had shut the front door.

"If you say that one more time, I'm gonna have to throw you out myself." Tami laughed. They already had Chinese twice in the four short days Shelly had been in town.

The girls laughed and got into the car.

Tim sat on the edge of the bed putting his clothes back on. He had sex with Tyra twice on the day he kissed Julie, but since then he'd been trying not to get into bed with her. That was hard but he was successful. Until tonight.

He was kidding himself if he said he didn't think about Julie while he was with Tyra this time. Imagining what it would be like to make love to her. So, then what exactly was he doing with Tyra? Tim really thought for a few moments. Was he just drowning his sorrows inside her? Did he have feelings for her again? He compared the girls side by side without sex or any complications in the picture.

Tyra was a rebellious fireball. If you messed with her, you would get burned. She had a false reputation as a skank. She used to use her looks to get attention or something she wanted but that was about it. Sure, she made out with Smash right after they broke up, but he slept with Lyla while they were together. That was a much bigger deal in the end. Tim deeply cared for Tyra, but emotionally it was on a friendship level right now. Since that's what they had been for the last year or so. In the end, sex was just sex and he wanted something more than that for once. He just wasn't sure if Tyra could give it to him.

Julie was almost the complete opposite of Tyra. She was still innocent and naive sometimes, but she was sweet and true. She was a real, caring human being and that was hard to come across in this town. They did share one thing that he couldn't really do with Tyra. They talked, like, really talked. He could talk to Julie for hours about nothing in particular. He felt more at ease and comfortable and normal when she was around. It was definitely easier not to drink around her.

Damn. He thought. He knew there was beer in Tyra's fridge. He'd been trying hard not to touch it because he would want to start drinking all day, every day like he used to, but he lived at the Taylor's house now. It wasn't going to fly over there.

"Hey." Her raspy took his attention from his thoughts. "What is it?"

"What do you mean?" He turned to her. Her baby blue eyes looked worried.

"You were thinking about something real hard. What was it?"

For some reason, Tim was really put off by her questioning him. He got up and finished getting dressed without ever responding.

"Tim? Tim, what's going on?" She got off the bed and tried to stay calm. He was acting really strange all of a sudden and she wanted to know why.

"It's nothing, Tyra." He left the bedroom and walked to the kitchen. An ice cold beer was calling his name. He popped open the fridge and cracked open a Bud Light. Not his top choice of beer but it would do.

Tyra had followed him. "Tim, what'sr wrong?" Something was definitely up if he was drinking. She was flipping out.

"It's just that..." He started, then stopped. Honesty could be brutal. "I don't feel like it's something I can talk to you about... sorry."

Never had Tyra Collette's house been so dead quiet. She just stared at him in disbelief. With how long they've known each other, the stuff they'd been through together and how much sex they had, she was hurt that he felt like he couldn't talk to her.

Tim sighed. He knew he pissed her off. His phone just so happened to go off to break the tension in the room. He flung it out of his pocket and it hit the floor.

Tyra scooped it up and looked at the screen. "Who's Jordan? Huh?" Tim tried to snatch it back but was unsuccessful when Tyra quickly moved away and he managed to spill beer on himself. "He said, 'What's up with the shit?' What does that even mean?"

Tim finally grabbed his phone from her. "Fuck, Tyra!" He yelled as he looked at the text Jordan had sent. "I gotta go." He set the beer on the counter and headed for the front door.

He was well on down the road when he texted Jordan back. He hadn't talk to him in a couple days. Tim let him know that he'd stop by tomorrow after the game and kept driving down the road while the sunlight was fading.

What the fuck was wrong with him? His heart was beating fast and his stomach was in knots. What was this strange feeling he was experiencing? He didn't know. All he did know was that he was excited to see Julie. He felt bad for acting like a dick to her after they kissed. Dodging her and not letting her go on any deals for the last few days. Dick. The poor girl had let herself go in his arms, showed him her true feelings and he got cold and distant toward her. Dick. He was acting like he was scared. Was he?

The house was dark when Tim pulled up. It didn't look like anybody was home. He sent Julie a text before climbing out of his truck and going inside. The air conditioning felt so good on a humid night like tonight. The living room was lit up when he turned around and he found Julie on the couch when he entered the room.

"Oh, hey. I texted you 'cause I didn't think anybody was home." He walked over to the chair beside the couch and sat down. "You babysittin'?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They went out to a movie and left me with her after we ate. There's leftovers in the fridge." She spoke without taking her eyes off the television.

Tim leaned forward in the chair, closer to Julie. "Jules?" He paused and waited for her to actually pay attention to him.

She looked over at him. "What?" It had felt like she hadn't seen him in days. She hadn't really. He'd leave real early and come back home super late and go straight to his room.

"I'm sorry."

She looked in his eyes. She knew that he was being meaningful and real with her. When he wasn't, he had this blank, dead glare in his eyes. That look wasn't there right now. What was there was despair and regret. He looked so pitiful. "It's okay, Tim." She gave him a reassuring smile. "I-I'm sorry. I made things weird between us by kissing you. I-I wish I could take it back." Lie.

That hurt him, probably more then it should have but he cared about what she thought and how she felt. "It's my fault we haven't been hanging out. Apparently, I'm emotionally retarded and can't deal with that kinda stuff."

"It's okay." She repeated.

"But... I want to."

Julie was confused at what he wanted. "You want to what?"

"I want to be able to deal with emotions and feelings and all that." He knew he had to be direct to get through to a girl like her. "I..." He paused. It wasn't so easy to confess your attraction to someone like Julie Taylor. First of all, she was the Coach's daughter, he'd flip shit if he thought one of his players had a thing for his daughter. Sure, Matt did and actually dated her, but Matt had a different kind of reputation then Tim did. Second, she was a beautiful, smart, independent individual. He closed his eyes and spoke. "I'm gonna end things with Tyra. Whatever that was, it's over."

"Why? What happened?" Julie was again concerned for Tyra. She loved that girl and didn't want to see her get hurt, but in some way she was relieved.

"I guess I was just distracting myself with her... from what I really wanted." Tim knew what was about to pour from his lips. Maybe he would be able to relax after putting everything out in the open. "You, Julie."

She gasped for air. "W-What?" Had he really just said her name?

"I want you." Those word made him feel really exposed and vulnerable. Unsure of what to do he stood and hesitated, then turned to walk to his room.

Julie grabbed Tim's hand and he stopped in his tracks. She looked up at him with tears filling her eyes. "I... I want you, too." She paused, still grasping his hand. He was staring down at her and she got that feeling again. The same one from the other night that led her to kiss him. "I need... you."

Tim heard the front door swing open. He let go of Julie's hand and sat back down quickly to act like they'd just been watching TV. It would have been one hell of a conversation to have with her parents, but it wasn't happening tonight.

Tim was laying in bed later. The adults had gotten home and they all chatted for a while about the move, then other things and laughed. Eric and Tami were good people. He felt bad for consciously betraying their trust in him. They had their daughter to consider when deciding whether or not he'd be staying with them and they chose to let him. That had to take a lot from both of them as parents.

His hand still felt like it was tingling in the spot where Julie had held it. A simple gesture, hand holding was, but with Julie it was some how more. They were telling each other how they felt through that single moment they were grasping onto each other. His own smile broke his concentration. He was infatuated. His concious soon wondered what he was going to do about Tyra. He hated the idea of hurting her this time around but that's just what he did. When he dumped her the first time he hadn't spent much time caring, but he was a different person now. Though he still had trouble expressing emotions, it was a long way from the reckless, drunk he was known as being.

The Panthers suffered their first loss of the season tonight. Now they had five wins and one loss. Tim had personally not done his best either. His mind was elsewhere all game long and he couldn't shake it. He felt horrible for clearly letting the team down.

In the locker room, his teammates kept telling him not to worry himself about it and that it was all good. It was just one loss, they said. Well, one loss was not the same as an undefeated record. He had to get his head on straight before next game or they were in trouble.

He changed out and headed for Jordan's house like he promised he would. It took him longer then usual to get over to his apartment due to after game traffic. When he finally did pull in he noticed that Jordan was down at his car anyway.

"Hey, man." Jordan said to Tim as he shut off his truck.

"Hey. Whatcha doin'?"

Jordan was standing at the back of his car with the trunk open. "My homeboy dropped off some really nice shit. I leave my trunk open for him and he stashes it for me and I leave his cash in the little gas tank door."

Tim smiled. "That's clever, but why not just leave it in the trunk?"

"Don't question the routine." He laughed as well. "Alright. Let's get upstairs." Jordan said as he grabbed a black backpack and slammed the trunk shut.

They walked up together and once inside, Jordan locked the door behind them. "So, what's up? Where's your girl?" He walked to the kitchen and pulled out the new stash.

Tim sighed. "She's not my girl."

"Your 'business partner', then." Jordan laughed. "I'm just messin' with you, man. Chill out." He nodded in the direction of the couch. "Have a seat. I'm about to break us up some of this new shit."

Tim hated himself for feeling glad when Jordan mentioned that they would soon be smoking. He needed to clear his mind and take the edge off even if just for a little while. He sat and waited for his new friend to join him. While waiting he also noticed that Brianna wasn't around either. "Where's Bri? Working?"

"Yeah, she's closing. Won't be off 'til midnight or after probably. Fuckin' sucks." Jordan joined Tim in the living room with a large, glass bong in one hand and a box of matches in the other. He set the bong on the table. "This is about to rape you, dawg."

"What?" Tim watched him pull out a bag from his pocket and set it gently in his lap.

Jordan opened it up and proceeded to load a bowl into the bong. "This bud looks so good. It's all lime and white with crystals all over it, dude. It's gonna rip out of this piece." He sounded like an excited little kid.

Tim looked at the box of matches he'd set down next to the glass water bong. "That is the biggest box of matches I think anybody has ever seen." They laughed. "Lose your lighter?"

"Negative. It's like, whenever I get stuff that's really good quality, like really fucking good, I like to taste it without all the chemicals of the lighter fluid. It's just much more pure tasting with matches." The bowl was loaded and Jordan handed it to Tim first. "Here. Hit these greens. Taste it and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Tim took the bong from him. It was heavier then it looked. He put his mouth on the top and grabbed a match. It sparked and he watched the green buds turn into black ash as he filled up the tube with smoke. He pulled the bowl out and let his lungs take in what they could, then he passed it off to Jordan. His chest was on fire. The smoke from this piece was thicker and harsher. He let it out in a big gush and coughed.

Jordan cleared the smoke that Tim had left behind and laughed at him. "Dude, I told you, this bong kills."

He nearly choked himself causing them to both bust out laughing. The after taste of the weed was really good. Almost delicious, he would say. He was already feeling warm and buzzed. This stuff was good. A rush moved over his body and once it disappeared he got suddenly serious. "Can I ask you something, man?"

"Yeah." Jordan was slouched over on the couch holding onto the bong with both hands.

"If... if anything happened to the place I'm staying at right now, do you think I could crash on your couch. Just 'til I found another place and I could pay you or whatever." He was high and could feel it.

"Yeah, Tim. Don't even worry about it. I ain't 'bout to let you sleep on the streets." He cleared his throat. "There's a place for you here anytime you need it, man. Got an extra room back there." He motioned toward the hallway with his head.

A calming feeling now washed over his body. He relaxed a little bit with that off his chest. "Can I buy some of this stuff? I got a little of Billy's stuff left but this is really good." Tim was surprised at how much business he already had. He had no idea how many and how much people smoked weed. It was like opening a blind eye to a subculture.

"Yeah. You could make a lot more profit if you sold by the gram, just sayin'."

"What do you mean?" He was definitely interested in more money, he just needed the fine printed details.

"Like, you know how you cut deals when people buy a large amount, like half or whole ounces?" Tim nodded along. "Well, for this shit, just tell them that you're selling by the gram only because of the quality. Yeah, they might bitch but in the end... they'll pay up." Jordan sat up and pulled out a scale. "How much cash have you pulled in?"

"Little over two grand." He probably could have made a lot more on how much he had, but he was just trying to flip it quickly and get it out there that he was selling now.

"Alright, let's see." He thought for a minuet. "You still got the cash I gave you?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then, how about you throw me just a flat thousand and I'll hook it up on the good shit?"

"Alright, cool." Tim followed after Jordan when he got up and headed to the kitchen. "What's this stuff called, anyway?"

"White Widow."

thanks for reading.