Chapter Ten Part Two:

Hurrying his pace, Matt found Tim sitting on the back porch with a can of beer in hand.

"Uh, Tim?"

"Seven" he acknowledged.

"Um, well, Jenny is inside and she's drunk, so I didn't know if you know, or cared, but I think she's upset about something, and I though you should know in case you didn't already" Matt stammered and rambled until Tim stopped him by abruptly standing up and getting right into his face.

"Where is she?"

"Kitchen"

"Thanks Seven" Tim said, then took off moving thought eh house, barking at anyone who didn't get out of his way fast enough.

Bursting into the kitchen he quickly found Jenny, now sitting in the corner she had previously been standing in, her third drink half gone. Tim lowered himself to sit next to her, casually throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey Chase, didn't know I'd be seeing you here tonight" he said calmly, though on the inside he was anything but calm.

"I'm being social" Jenny said slowly, so she wouldn't slur too badly.

"Ah" Tim nodded in understanding, a pang of guilt hitting him when he thought that she might only have gotten into this situation because of him. "So..." he paused to sniff the cup in her hand. "Did Smash give you the rum or did you find his stash on your own?"

"Smash showed me the stash. Ha! Smash stash...I rhyme"

Tim smiled at her obvious amusement and stealthily snuck the cup out of her hand, gulping down the contents.

"Hey, you rum my drank!" Jenny said indignantly, not noticing her word mix-up.

"Yeah I think you've rum enough drank tonight Chase...you wanna get out of here? Go down to the lake and get some air?"

"Yeah...it's hot in here" she said, fanning at herself.

"Ok, you think you can get up?"

"That" she hit Tim on the arm for emphasis "That is a very goodly question Mr. Tim Riggins"

Tim got to his feet and then reached down to take Jenny's hands and hauled her to her feet, catching her when she couldn't get her balance and held her close until she could stand on her own.

"You good?" he murmured in her ear and smirked when he felt goose-bumps erupt on the skin of her arms.

"I'm good, let's go" Jenny said quietly, glancing up to look at Tim, a blush gracing her cheeks from both the alcohol and their close proximity.

Tim held onto Jenny's hand as she stumbled along behind him through the house. Smash cat-called at them, but was silenced by a glare from Tim. Matt Saracen stopped them by the door and offered his help, but Tim declined, telling him that they had it under control.

Just as Tim helped Jenny to sit down sideways in her car, her feet still on the pavement, she grabbed onto Tim's arms for support and groaned.

"Oh my God, the world is spinning"

Tim chuckled and pulled her into a hug, letting her get some comfort from the solid, unmoving body holding her safe.

"I know it's spinning Jen, keep your eyes open, it'll pass. You ever drink before Chase?"

"No" she whimpered "And never again"

Her response made Tim laugh and she smacked at him half-heartedly.

"No moving" she demanded weakly.

"You think your gonna puke, you tell me" Tim told her, only half joking.

"Not gonna be sick, just dizzy...well, less dizzy now. You smell good"

Tim didn't reply, just smiled and helped Jenny to sit up on her own and finally manage to swing her legs around into the vehicle so he could close the door and run around to the driver's side. Once he was in he asked for Jenny's car keys and she squirmed around until she produced them from her pocket, handing them over obediently. Tim rolled down the windows and began the 20 minute drive to the lake, both of them sitting in comfortable silence.

"We're in my car" Jenny said a few minutes later. "Where's your truck?"

"Back at the house. We'll go get it tomorrow. Don't worry, she's safe for tonight"

"Ok...no one would dare steal Tim Riggins' car anyway. My car isn't any nicer than yours, probably less nice actually, but if someone were to steal a car they'd pick mine over yours because you could kill anyone who stole your car"

"Wanna know something Chase?" Tim asked her, and Jenny rolled her head left to look at him, her eyes slightly glazed over.

"Okay"

"I'd kill anyone who stole your car too"

"Oh...cool" Jenny smiled at him and then went back to looking out the window.

"You feeling any better?"

"No more spinning, less slurring...more rambling" Jenny said decisively after doing a quick self-monitor of her level of drunkenness.

"Fair enough. Just hang tight, we're almost there"

Five minutes later they pulled into a secluded spot at the lake, no other cars or people there due to the cooler fall weather. Jenny let herself out of the car and slowly wandered down until she was only about ten yards from the water's edge and sat down. She felt Tim sit next to her but appreciated that he stayed silent and let her think.

"I've heard people say that drinking is a good way to forget their pain...that's why it's so addictive. I drank more than my fair share tonight and all it seemed to do was trap me inside my own head with the very thing I was trying to forget" Jenny said quietly, her voice barely past a whisper.

"My friend Kim, the first friend I made when I moved here, seems to think that I'm gonna go over to the dark side and become a popular person now that we're sorta getting along. She thinks I'm going to be seduced, she used that word, seduced, into your ways and forget all about her and Sarah and Les and Anna and the band, so she decided to cut my ties for me and kick me out of the band before I had a chance to do it first.

"But it's so ridiculous because I've known those girls for almost seven years now; they are my best friends, I don't want to forget them. But Kim kicked me out of the band, and no one said anything to stop her. Not even Annabeth" Jenny didn't realise that while she was talking she had started crying until she felt Tim's large hand on her cheek, his thumb gently brushing away her tears.

Not saying anything, Tim moved so that Jenny was sitting in between the V of his upward bent legs, her back up against his chest and his strong arms wrapped around her middle, holding her close. Jenny let herself relax into his embrace and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder, her temple touching his chin and her arms resting lightly on top of his. Neither said anything for a while, both content in merely feeling less alone while in the others embrace. Finally, just as Jenny felt her eyes drifting shut, Tim moved his head just a few inches, pressed a kiss into Jenny's hair, and tightened his grip on her ever so slightly. Jenny slipped one of her hands into his, giving it a light squeeze and then leaving it there, enjoying the heat from his skin flowing over hers as they both stared out into the night.