Title: Lonely No More

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I think it's pretty much a consensus that somebody needs to knock some sense into Tim despite all his issues :D I second that notion, lol. Hope you ladies enjoy this chapter. Let me know your thoughts! Enjoy :D

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By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around and Julie still hadn't seen or heard from Tim, she was pissed.

Her loneliness and hurt feelings had festered throughout the week, leading to anger and frustration at Tim for pretty much abandoning her.

Julie had come to the conclusion that if Tim wasn't going to come to her, she would just have to go to him.

"Hey mom, can I borrow your car for a little while." She asked, approaching her parents as they sat beside one another on the living room couch.

"Sure, honey." Tami replied. "Where are you goin'?"

"Um, I'm gonna ride over to Tim's." Julie said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Tim Riggins?" Eric asked, turning his attention away from the television and focusing on his daughter.

"Yes, dad. That is the only Tim that any of us know." Julie responded sarcastically.

"Hon, are you sure that's a good idea?" Tami asked hesitantly.

Julie shrugged. "I don't know if it's a good idea or not, but I haven't seen him in over a week and I'm tired of wondering what's goin' on in that head of his."

"I don't know if you need to know what's goin' on inside his head." Eric muttered under his breath, earning him a pinch from his wife.

"Well hon, I think it's pretty obvious that he's blamin' himself." Tami stated, sounding more like a counselor than a mother.

"Well, I'm just gonna go over there and tell him that's not the case." Julie said quickly. "If he thinks he can get rid of me this easily, then he's mistaken."

Tami smiled. "You're right. Go and try to talk some sense into the boy."

"Thanks." Julie said, giving her parents a small smile. "I'll be back later." She said as she grabbed the keys from the counter and made her way out the front door.

"Was that a good idea?" Eric asked after Julie had left.

"What?"

"Encouraging her to go over there and talk to Riggins." He said, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"Honey, in case you haven't noticed, our daughter and Tim Riggins have gotten very close with one another." Tami said, resting her hand on Eric's chest as she looked him in the eye.

"I know this." Eric said simply.

"Well, she's been miserable all week long because he hasn't been around." Tami said, patting his chest lightly. "So, she needs to go over there and work out whatever's going on between them."

Eric frowned, running his hand through his hair. "Well, I don't have to be happy about it."

"No you don't." Tami grinned. "But like it or not, our daughter's involved with Tim. That's just something we're both gonna have to get used to." She said, leaning forward to drop a kiss on his lips.

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Julie pulled up in front of Tim's house, bringing the car to a stop.

She didn't see his truck parked out front, and groaned inwardly as she realized he may not be at home.

She hoped to God that he was. She had gotten herself all psyched up on the ride over, thinking of all the things she wanted to tell Tim as she gave him a piece of her mind.

Maybe Billy's borrowing it or something, she thought to herself as she made her way toward the front door.

She knocked on the door, taking a step back.

After several seconds she knocked on the door again, jumping back in surprise as the door opened quickly, revealing a hungover Billy Riggins.

"Uh, hey Billy." Julie stammered, taking in his disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, Julie." Billy said, a genuine smile on his face as he tried unsuccessfully to comb his hair down with his hand. "How are yah?"

"I'm fine." Julie said, trying not to laugh as she noticed that his shirt was pulled on inside out and buttoned wrong.

"You recoverin' alright?"

"Yeah. I'm feeling better. Finally goin' back to school tomorrow." She replied.

"That's good, that's good." Billy said, nodding his head.

"Um, is Tim here?" She asked hopefully.

"Nah, he's not." Billy replied, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He's down at the cliffs."

"Down past the old quarry?"

"Yeah, off of highway 20 back there." Billy said. "You should ride out there and see him."

Julie nodded. "Yeah, I think I will."

Billy nodded too, sighing as he looked at Julie. "He's a good kid, Julie. He's just a real dumbass sometimes when it comes to stuff like this. And hell, he needs friends like you in his life, so I hope you won't let his stupidity mess that up."

"Thanks, Billy." Julie said softly.

Billy was right. Tim was a good guy, despite his stupid reasoning.

"Well, um, I guess I'll go then." She said, taking a few steps back.

"Alright. You take care, Julie. Go easy on him." Billy said with a Riggins' grin, looking very much like his younger brother in that moment.

Julie laughed. "I'll try." She replied. "Sorry about your car by the way."

Billy shrugged. "It's just a car. I'm just glad you and Tim were alright."

Julie nodded. "Okay, well, see yah Billy."

"Bye, Julie." He said, watching as she made her way to her car.

Julie climbed in, giving him a small wave before starting the car and pulling away from the house, headed out to the cliffs.

As she drove through town, she kept thinking of what Billy had said about Tim needing friends like her.

While that was true, Julie needed Tim too.

They were good for each other, that was all there was to it.

As she finally arrived at the cliffs, she spotted Tim's truck parked on the side of the road, and pulled her mom's car in behind him.

She had never been out to the cliffs before, but knew that this was where Tim had said that he spent most of his alone time.

Well, his alone time's about to come to an end, she thought as she stepped out of her car and began walking up the slope toward the sound of something she couldn't identify, the sound resembling crunching metal.

Julie topped the small slope, and her eyes came to rest on Tim as he stood on the edge of the cliff, hitting what looked to be empty beer cans with a golf club.

She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at the sight.

She wanted to laugh because beer golf was so something that Tim would do.

She wanted to cry because she hadn't seen him in over a week, and just the sight of him sent a flood of emotions through her body.

But she did neither of those things as she slowly made her way toward him, watching as he chugged a can of beer in about three gulps.

"Hey Tim." She said softly, watching the tension fill his body as he heard her voice and turned slowly to face her.

They stood there staring at each other for several moments, both drinking each other in as if just seeing one another was like quenching a thirst.

Julie thought he looked tired, with rings underneath his eyes and no smile gracing his full lips. The usual spark in his eyes was missing too, or maybe he was just drunk.

But even tired-looking, he was still gorgeous with his hair hanging in his eyes and an almost wounded expression on his face.

"What are you doin' out here, Jules?" Tim finally asked, his voice low.

Julie shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest in an unconscious defensive motion. "I got tired of waiting on you to come see me. So, here I am."

Tim took a long drink from the can in his hand, finishing off the beer before sitting it on the ground.

"I've been busy." He muttered before pulling the golf club back and taking a swing at the can, sending it flying far out into the canyon.

"Yeah, you look real busy." Julie said, a bite to her words.

Tim didn't say anything as he grabbed another beer, popping the top and taking another long drink, his eyes meeting hers over the can.

"Tim, don't do this." Julie stated quietly, taking a step closer to him.

"Do what?"

"This!" Julie exclaimed, holding her arms out toward the mess he was in. "I know that you've probably some how convinced yourself that all this was your fault, but it's not. It was an accident Tim. There's nothing that you could have done any differently."

Tim shook his head slightly, his hair falling in his face. "You don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Oh, I don't? Well, if that's not it then what is it?" Julie asked. "Did you just up and decide that you no longer want to be my friend? Because correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that's what we were. Though I've gotta tell you Tim, most friends don't pull the shit you've pulled this week." She ended in anger.

Tim sighed, refusing to look at her, only fuelling Julie's anger by not responding to her at all.

"A real friend would have been there for me." She said, taking another step closer, bringing her toe to toe with him. "I needed you this week, Tim. I needed you, and you weren't there." She said, trying to keep the tears threatening to fall at bay as she poked him in the chest with her finger.

"Jules, I…" He muttered, taking a small step back.

"No! I don't want to hear your excuses, Tim. I know you've got your trust issues and that for all your cockiness that you show the world, you've got a distorted sense of self worth, but damn it, you could have at least picked up the phone and called to ask how I was doin'." She said heatedly, biting her lip so hard that she felt sure she was going to leave a bruise.

She didn't know what else to say.

She was so angry at him that she wanted to smack him in the head.

But at the same time, she knew that in some way Tim felt like he was doing the right thing, and that just made her feel an ache in her chest.

"Say something." She said softly, wanting him to say something – anything. "Damn it, Tim. Say something." She repeated louder, poking him in the chest once again.

"What do you want me to say, Julie?" He yelled, surprising her as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Huh? Do you want me to say that I'm sorry? Is that it? Well, I'm sorry, okay."

Julie felt tears coming to her eyes, shaking her head slowly at Tim as he looked down at her, his fingers digging into her shoulders.

"No? Do you want me to say that I'm a shitty friend? That you could do better than me? Because you can. You can do a hell of a lot better than me." Tim said heatedly. "You deserve better." He finished, his voice growing more solemn.

"Tim, don't say that." Julie said quickly, placing her hand on his chest. "I think I'm smart enough to choose my own friends, and know what's best for me."

Tim sighed, dropping his hands from her shoulders and trying to take a step back. Julie reached out, fisting his shirt in her hands, quickly stopping his movements.

"Tim, please." She said, her tears finally escaping as they began to run slowly down her cheeks. "I don't know what to say or how to explain it to you, or to anyone, but I need you. I had tons of people in and out all week visiting me and you were the only one that I wanted to see."

There. She said it. She had pretty much bared her soul, telling him the honest truth.

She watched as emotions flittered over his handsome face, and she could tell that he was battling with himself over what to do.

Julie pulled her bottom lip between her teeth nervously, watching as his gaze dropped to her lips before returning to her eyes.

"Please." She whispered, not sure exactly what she was asking for.

"Ah, Jules." Tim sighed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her head against his chest, dropping his head down on top of hers.

Julie couldn't help it as she began to cry harder, holding onto him tightly as her tears soaked into the soft shirt stretched over his hard chest.

"Don't cry, Jules." He crooned, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm sorry. For the wreck, and you gettin' hurt. And for bein' a dumbass and leaving you alone." He muttered.

"It's okay." She mumbled into his shirt, enjoying the feel of having Tim's arms around her, his strong hands rubbing up and down her back.

"I wanted to come see you. So bad." He said softly, pulling her gently away from him to look down into her eyes. "I just…couldn't."

Julie held her breath as Tim gently brushed the tears off of her cheeks, before cupping her face in his hands.

"I missed you." He said softly, his voice gruff with emotion.

"I missed you, too." Julie replied with a small smile.

"Forgive me?" He asked after a few moments, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Julie narrowed her eyes slightly, pretending to think about his question for several seconds. "I guess." She said finally, giggling softly as he growled playfully and pulled her into his arms yet again.

She sighed as she rested her head on Tim's chest, feeling his arms wrap around her tightly once again.

After everything that had happened – the worrying, the loneliness, the anger – she was finally with Tim.

And that was right where she needed to be.