The sun was far below the horizon when Tim Riggins walked into my house unannounced. He grinned down at me from behind the couch I was lying on.

"What're ya doin' here so late?" I yawned and sat up.

"Jason's goin' to Mexico for some kind of treatment to help him walk. I'm goin' with him. I want you to know because if I can't get through to him, I'll need your help. Lyla's, too."

"What about school?"

Tim bent over the back of the couch to be at my level. "I'm worried about J. I'm worried he's gonna do somethin' to ruin his life and I can't let him do that."

I nodded. "Okay, okay. Just be careful and please call me if something goes wrong. Have Lyla come to me if you need us. I can get us tickets down there in a few hours."

"Thanks, Cat." Tim kissed the top of my head. "I'll see ya."

I watched him walk back outside. Something clawed at my heart, causing me to jump onto my feet and run after him.

"Tim!"

He turned just in time to catch me when I jumped and latched my arms and legs around him. Tim chuckled and hugged me. He buried his face in my shoulder.

"Please be safe and don't do anything stupid. I don't want to find out you got yourself killed in Mexico." I said everything against his neck. "You're the only person I've got."

"I'll come back in one piece, Cat."

We parted and I waved at Jason behind the wheel. I told him to take care of himself, too, though not as enthusiastically. I watched them back out of the drive and I waved one last time before I went back in. I was going to worry the whole time he was gone.

I didn't hear anything about Tim or Jason until a week passed. I was standing at my locker, putting my books away and looking at my photos. I smiled at the Tim Riggins I captured in a moment of time.

I jumped when my cell phone started ringing. I slammed the locker shut and dug around in my pocket. I couldn't believe I left it on.

"Hello?"

"Tim needs us."

It was all Lyla had to say.

Lyla sat next to me on the plane staring out the window. She wasn't as willing to travel to Mexico to help, but I had to commend her for coming anyway.

"Thanks, Lyla," I said. "I know it sucks because it's Jason, but if Tim says it's life or death... then what's better than saving someone from death?"

"I know, but why is it always me Tim brings along into his problems?"

I frowned. "He wants your help because you can get through to Jason better than anyone."

Lyla went silent for a moment. "So, why did Tim ask for your help if I'm going? You don't know Jason."

"I know that... I told Tim to call me if he needed me and I did pay for our plane tickets. Even if I'm only wanted for moral support, I'm happy to be wanted."

"How do you do it without being walked all over?"

I shrugged. "I don't. I give myself completely over to my friends. I get burned more often than I care to admit, but I can't stop giving up on people. Tim is no different. If it goes badly, it goes badly."

"You are a superhero, Catherine. I'm not even half the person you are." Lyla smiled at me. "Tim is lucky to have a friend like you."

"He's lucky to have friends like us, Lyla."

Lyla and I piled into some hole in the wall motel after we unloaded from the taxi. She asked the owner about Tim and Jason right as I spotted Jason rolling down the hall. He was surprised to see us, to say the least. So surprised that he and Lyla started arguing. I snuck past Jason in search of Tim.

The full-back popped his head out of a room after Jason called for him. His eyes fell on me, stopping his sentence. "Hey there, Barton. Fancy seeing you here."

"You didn't call me for help, Tim Riggins." I put my hands on my hips. "I waited all week and the only call I get is from Lyla. Care to explain?"

"I'm sorry." His voice was low and the bottle of beer in his hand was forgotten. "I panicked and figured I needed to call Lyla first since they have a history. I-I didn't get a chance to call you."

I scrunched up my face like I was mad and once I saw Tim back away, I laughed. "Got ya."

"Oh, you think you're funny, don't you?" Tim towered over me with a half-smile.

"Hilarious."

"I'll show you hilarious."

I squealed when he got a hold of me and spun around. "Don't fall over because I know you're drunk!"

Jason cleared his throat. Tim froze and put me down. I tried to remain stoic, but my face was too flush from the excitement.

"I didn't know you two were such good friends," Jason said. "I mean, I knew you were friends. That was just somethin' to behold."

"Shut up, Six." Tim disappeared back into the room.

I laughed. "So, uh, where are we staying, Lyla?"

Our rescue mission was more of a walk around the city and listen to what the boys did during their first week. It was easy to see that Lyla was not happy about it.

One morning, we went into the boys' room to find them passed out on their beds. Lyla had enough and stomped back to our room. I giggled and tip-toed my way over to Tim.

I carefully climbed onto his bed and stood over him, one foot on either side. I jumped.

He jerked awake, turning over to see me bouncing around him. As soon as he saw it was me, he fell back onto his pillow.

I plopped down next to him and shook his shoulder. "You really should get up, Tim. Lyla is on the verge of leaving.

He groaned and cursed. "If he wakes up, help him as best as you can. I'll go get her." Tim sleepily kissed my cheek on his way out to stop Lyla.

I sprawled out on the questionable bed.

Jason didn't wake up until Tim had to get him up. As soon as Jason was up and getting ready, Tim came back to his bed and laid down on me. His arms went around my torso and he snuggled closer. I had to maneuver my way out from under him just so I could breathe.

Tim's grand idea for an intervention was to take Jason on a booze cruise. So, we went on one.

The breeze felt nice on the water. Lyla sipped on a soda and the boys had their beers. I snuck sips from Tim's beer when he wasn't looking. Keeping a straight face when he wondered why his beer was gone so quickly was impossible.

I waited on the other side of the boat when Lyla and Tim decided it was time to talk to Jason. I fiddled with my fingers for a good minute or two before Lyla came back. She sat down pissed about it. I guessed he was standing his ground on the treatment. I took Lyla's hand in mine.

Tim came back defeated. He leaned against the entryway frame and looked at us. He was gonna lose his best friend and it was eating him up inside. I reached for his hand, too. He looked back at Jason and that's when chaos ensued.

He wasn't on the boat anymore and there was no sign of him in the water. It all happened so fast. One minute we were on the boat and the next we were running to the truck. Tim drove like a maniac until we spotted Jason lying on the beach across the bay. We ran out to him.

Tim practically collapsed next to Jason. Lyla was instantly on his case for his stupid stunt.

"I'm not gonna do it," Jason said. "I had an epiphany out there."

I grinned and kneeled in front of Jason. "Please don't ever jump off a boat like that again, Jason. Also, I can speak for all of us when I say we are so relieved you're not going to go through with this operation."

He smiled at me and let his hand fall on my shoulder. "Thank you for coming, Cat."

I glanced at Tim who was attempting to calm himself down from the scare. "I would do it all over again."

For our last night in Mexico, we spent it at a little bar with a band playing nearby. Lyla was dancing with Jason and looking so serene in the night. Tim and I sat off to the side at a picnic table, me attempting to sip his drink in such a way to keep the moment going.

My face warmed when Lyla sat in Jason's lap and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. I turned away to watched the band play. Tim chuckled beside me.

"Embarrassed?" He spoke in a low voice to keep our conversation between us.

"No. It's just a kiss," I hissed back, still not looking at our friends.

"Your face is red."

"Leave it alone, Riggins."

I could feel Tim's eyes on me as I zeroed in on the band's lyrics. I understood most of the words, the singer saying Mexico was the country where love was made. I disagreed based on the many summers of travel I experienced in cities built on love. The song was still beautiful.

"I'm gonna go to bed, guys," Lyla said. "I'll see you in the morning."

We bid her a night of good sleep and that left three of us.

"Do you two want anything else to drink?" Jason rolled in front of me and Tim. "I'm gonna grab another beer."

I shook my head.

"Nah. Thanks, Street." I could tell that Tim wanted Jason to leave us alone for a minute.

Then there were two.

"You ever kiss someone, Barton?"

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I couldn't look over at him. "No. I never had a reason to."

"Have you ever dated before?" Tim took a drink.

"Of course. Once."

"And you didn't kiss him?"

"No, I didn't. Can we not talk about this?"

Tim quieted, watching Jason talk to a pretty girl at the bar.

My leg started shaking as the air thickened between us. I came to Mexico to help Tim out, not expecting the topic of my sad love life to come to light. The way his eyes kept shifting over to me made matters worse.

"Did you want to kiss him?"

I groaned and put my head in my hands. "No. I dated him to make my parents happy. I had little interest in him, so the relationship ended. I haven't dated anyone since because I don't care too much about it. I haven't kissed anyone, I haven't slept with anyone... I haven't done a lot of things with a guy. Happy?"

Tim finished his beer and set the bottle behind him. "You wanna kiss someone?"

"Tim."

"What? We're in Mexico. What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico."

"That's Las Vegas."

"It goes for here, too."

I finally braved the storm and looked at Tim. He was serious about his unspoken suggestion and it made me feel sick; not because I didn't want to kiss Tim Riggins, but because somewhere in our relationship I knew I wanted to.

"I'm gonna be honest with you because you deserve it. Everything changes if you kiss me. Whether it be good or bad, it all changes." I put my hand over his. "I don't want us to stop bein' friends. I can't risk losing you over somethin' like this.

"If you kiss me... you're choosin' me. I want to be the only girl you ever want to kiss because I will come after you if I'm not. I'm not just a random girl from Dillon. I know this sounds like kissin' me seals the deal on us being somethin' and frankly... it does. I've been screwed too many times to take the risk if I can't guarantee the outcome.

"Kissin' me doesn't mean I expect us to get married out of high school – I see the panic in your eyes. But it does mean that for a long time, either when we go to college, get sick of each other, or decide marriage is the answer, you are going to be the only guy I ever look at, the only guy I spend my time with... the only guy I come to support at every damn football game and rally. It means we'll be seen together and not shy away from it. Kissin' me means you're stuck with me for awhile."

Tim's stare sobered up. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. "You thought a lot about this."

"Tim, I don't make friends easily. Guys tend to stay away from me. I live in a town where relationships change regularly and sex is rampant in our age group. You are the first guy I've ever been close to and you have a reputation among the ladies. I have to be sure of everything before I take the leap because I don't want to get hurt. And you scare the shit out of me when it comes to this."

"So, if we kiss, we start datin' until we break up or tie the knot." I nodded, crossing my ankles. "I stay 100 percent focused on you and only you and you do the same." Another nod. "We're gonna have to talk about how we feel and after fights, aren't we?"

"It's how healthy relationships work, Tim."

"What about sex?"

"If you only want to kiss me for that, then look somewhere else. You have to prove to me that I'm the only girl you ever want for the rest of your life if you want that. And you sure as hell better not search for it from someone else. Take care of yourself in the shower or somethin', but you can't go looking for another girl to take care of it."

I watched Tim think about it. I knew it would be a big fight for him at every turn, but I had faith in him. I wasn't thinking I'd be the girl to help him find a real relationship because I was flawed. At least I could show him what it'd be like to have a strong and trusting bond with another person.

"I have to be able to trust you and you have to be able to trust me. If you can't do that, then let me go through life blissfully unaware of what it's like to kiss Tim Riggins."

Tim wanted to say something, but Jason interrupted. He didn't even notice the tension between me and Tim through all of his joy.

"I can't thank you guys enough," he said. "Tim for coming with me and Cat for savin' my ass with Lyla. I'm blessed to call you my friends."

I stood up so I could hug Jason. "I don't think I'll ever understand what it feels like to be where you are, but I want you to know that we will always love you. Remember that the next time you're thinkin' of comin' to Mexico, okay?"

Jason's eyes were red and shining when I stepped back. "Thanks, Cat. I'm sorry we weren't friends before this year."

I shrugged. "We're friends now and that's what matters."

We finally went back to the motel in the early hours of the next morning. I was so exhausted that Tim had to carry me on his back during the walk there. He let me down outside my room and waited for Jason to shut their door before gazing down at my sleepy face. The longer he stared, the more awake I became.

"I can't promise I won't fail because I disappoint a lot of people, but I can promise you that I will try my best every single day." Tim paused to gather his thoughts. "You scare me too with your no bullshit attitude and your unconditional love for people. But I want to kiss you so bad. I wanna kiss you goodnight and good morning. I wanna kiss you at school and after a game. I wanna kiss you to show the jackasses who've hurt you what a bunch of idiots they are."

"Are you sure? This is your last chance to turn and go back to what you know."

He was so close. His hand was already finding its place in my hair. "I've never been surer of anything in my life, Barton."

My breath was shaky when Tim's other hand pressed against my lower back to bring me closer. I closed my eyes as soon as he brushed his nose against mine. My breath hitched as he lips ghosted over my lips. It didn't come back until he fully took my mouth.

He tasted like beer, smelled like beer, but I liked it. His grip on my hair tightened the second my fingers tangled in his locks.

Tim pulled away first. His eyes were darker than before and he took a purposeful step away from me.

I touched my lips and giggled at myself. Tim Riggins kissed me. He wanted to kiss me despite everything I asked of him. He kissed me knowing he was making a commitment. I felt like I was on fire. I could have floated away.

"Uh, wow," I said.

Tim chuckled and pulled me in for another, much shorter kiss. "Now I get to call you my girl."

"Mmhmm," I pulled my lower lip between my teeth to calm the giddiness growing inside of me.

"Wanna share a bed?"

I nibbled on my lip. "To sleep? Yeah."

We agreed we'd get less flack from Jason in the morning, so Tim tugged me into his bed. Even though I was still awkward with the being so close to a male, but it was easier to cuddle up next to Tim that time. I welcomed the warmth radiating off his body.

I fell asleep before I could begin counting my sheep.

There are probably some errors littered through this chapter, but my brain is barely functioning with the new puppy around (he is such a toddler right now lol). Sorry updates on this are few and far between. I haven't forgotten.