A/N: I am so terribly sorry it took so long to update! I forgot to (I'm a little scatterbrained that way) then I had to go camping. :I hate camping: So, here it is. With 90 more of Travis/Alicia! Please review. :Note, at the end, there are reviewer comment-y-things.:

Slam. Tim awoke with a start when he heard the door close with a bang. Alicia was home. He heard her clomp up in the stairs in those ridiculous boots that she insisted on wearing. She went into the bathroom, and he listened as she took a shower. Twenty minutes later, the water stopped and she padded back into her bedroom in bare feet. Tim waited for a half-hour before he rose and walked to her room. He paused and knocked on her door.

"What?" She called. Tim noted the annoyance in her voice.

"Let me in," he shouted back.

He heard her sigh. There was a click as the door unlocked and she pulled it open. "Come on in," she mumbled.

She walked over to her bed, and sat down. Tim shifted uncomfortably. "Er, where am I supposed to sit? Or should I stand?"

"You can sit on Angela's bed," she answered. He sat down, and she eyed him. "So, whaddya want?" She asked.

Tim took a deep breath. "What the fuck were you doing with Dallas tonight?" he asked.

Alicia went red and buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Jesus, you saw that didn't you?" she asked.

Tim rolled his eyes. "No shit I fucking saw! What the fuck were you doing?" He was clearly more than a little pissed.

"Tim! Stop yelling and I tell you!" Alicia shrieked back. Tim silenced, but his eyes still narrowed at her. Then she took a deep breath and started to talk. Her words came out jumbled, but at least he could understand them. "Okay, so Travis told me to meet him a Buck's tonight. So I went there, and I was early. Then Dallas comes up to me and says that he wants to buy me a drink. And I let him and we got drunk and then he kissed me. I don't know why, it just sorta happened, ya know? No, I guess you wouldn't know… anyway, when I walked away, he yelled after me? And you know what he yelled? He just shouted, 'Tim!' at my back! Isn't that funny? He thought I was you." Then she started laughing. Her laugh was borderline terrifying, because it was more a cackle than a laugh.

Her brother raised his eyebrows. Why in hell did Dally think that he and Alicia were the same? Actually, Tim did think that he and Alicia looked quite a lot alike. It was sort of funny, in a way. Alicia looked more like him, and Angela looked more like Curly. Alicia and Tim had long, narrow faces and long noses with thin lips, while Alicia and Curly's faces were more heart-shaped. But to think that he and Alicia were the same was un-fucking-believable. "Why did he think you were me?"

She shrugged. "Maybe he was so drunk that he thought he was kissing…" She trailed off, and by the look on her face, it was like a revelation dawned. "Oh my God, Tim! He still loves you! He thought he was kissing you when he was kissing me, and then I started to leave; only he thought you were leaving, 'cause he thought that I was you. And that's why he yelled your name at my back! And you can go talk to him right now and tell him that you love him too!" Alicia's eyes were bright with excitement, and she waved her hands around. As her hands fluttered around her face, Tim saw a ring on her left ring finger. Glad for a distraction, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled it close to his face.

"Who gave you this?" He demanded, eyeing the ring. It was just a simple, silver ring, but it was actually quite nice.

Alicia wrenched her hand from his grasp and held her arm out straight. "Pretty, isn't it? Travis gave it to me tonight." She sighed and her eyes softened. "I seriously think I'm, like, in love with him, or something."

Tim snorted. "Love is fucking stupid and it always ends bad."

She sat down next to him and sighed sympathetically. "Tim, I know you're depressed and all, but can't you just make the next few weeks be fun with the person that you love before you have to go?"

Tim buried his face in his hands and said, in a muffled voice, "I can't."

"Why not?"

He lifted his head. "Because, if I go, he'll go with me, no matter what I do. He'll go and maybe get killed, and I won't let that happen." Right now, Tim didn't care is Alicia knew about him and Dally. Hell, even Angela could know, too. He knew that neither would tell anyone, because that would be embarrassing, and both of them hated being embarrassed.

She started stroking his hair. "What if you didn't have to go to Vietnam?"

"What?"

Alicia sat up straight. "What if you didn't have to go to war? See, Travis's cousin, Elliot, he lives in Texas, he's nineteen and he got drafted a while back. But they looked at his prison record, he's been arrested almost as much as you have, and they figured that he wouldn't be good or something. So it's only a matter of time before they see yours and revoke your notice." She said this matter-of-factly.

Tim raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Alicia, that shit doesn't happen to people like you and me." Then he laughed, bitterly. "There ain't no fairytale endings for us."

Alicia didn't care if she got a fairytale ending or not. In all honesty, she knew that she wouldn't, and she didn't want one. The next day, she and Travis went to the movies. It was a drive-in, but since neither had a car, they sat in the seats. It was bitter cold outside, and Alicia was only wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Travis took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. It was a boring movie, but she didn't care, because she was near him.

And when the movie was over, they walked along Sutton, holding hands and talking about everything. She, of course, didn't mention Tim, except that he got drafted, and Travis told her that he was sorry. When they got to her house, he kissed her, softly on the lips, and she thought she would die of happiness.

Floating up to her room in a state of bliss, she forgot all about Tim and his crisis. Instead, she lay down on her bed and fell into a deep sleep. She didn't sleep for long, though, because a few moments later, Curly came barging in her and Angela's room, without knocking, as always.

"Hey, Ali, you got any condoms?" he asked without any preamble.

She sat up, mildly annoyed. "No. Why would I have condoms?" she said, flatly.

Curly ignored the second part. "Fuck. I need some."

"Hot date tonight, huh?"

"Nah, tomorrow."

Alicia fell back on her pillow. "Then Curly, why did you wake me up? Why don't you ask one of your little friends if they have any tomorrow?"

"Because you're closer," he stated, matter-of-factly. Then he sat down on Angela's bed. "How was your date tonight? First one in a few weeks, wasn't it?"

She threw her pillow at him, but her aim was off and it hit the wall behind him. "Shut up," she said, but she was smiling.

"Did you sleep with him?"

Alicia went a sort of mottled red color and sat up, abruptly. "Curly, I will ask that you get the fuck out of my room, now, before I have to hurt you."

Instead of getting the fuck out of her room, Curly laughed and sat down beside her. Playfully, he put an arm around her shoulder. She went rigid. "C'mon, Alicia, you know that the only way to keep a guy interested is to put out."

She shoved his arm off and stood up. Her face changed from mottled red to a bright purple. "Curly, not all people are sex-starved, horny beasts like you," Alicia snapped.

"Aw, come off it, Alicia. I'm just sayin', because I'm your brother and all that, that the only way to-"

"And I'm just sayin', because I'm your sister that you can't generalize people like that, because Travis isn't like you!" But Alicia knew that it was useless, because Curly wasn't very bright, and tended to not listen.

She was right. Curly was also a master at changing the subject, whether intentionally or not. "So, how're things with Tim?" he asked, nonchalantly.

Rolling her eyes, Alicia said, "Curly, you live in the same house. He's right next door; why don't you ask him?"

Curly shrugged. "Don't wanna," he said, as if it explained everything.

She raised her eyebrows. "Why not? Does Tim scare you, Curly?" she asked, with a look of mock concern on her face.

He went red. "No!" Curly shouted, defiantly. He chucked her pillow back at her, but his aim was worse than hers was, and missed.

Alicia started laughing. "I know you're not afraid of Tim, Curly, don't get your cock in a knot." Then her smile faded, and she said, in an utterly serious voice, "but, honestly, I'm worried about Tim. He's not himself."

Curly shrugged. "It's a phase. Everyone goes through 'em. Maybe it's puberty."

"Curly, he's eighteen, not twelve."

"So?"

She put her faceon her pillowand muttered, "You are the biggest idiot ever, Curly."

He didn't say anything, and they lapsed into silence, both wondering what was going to happen next.

"So, my brother, Tim, is just… I don't know, like, driving the rest of us up the fucking wall. He never talks or anything. And it's not 'cause of Vietnam."

Alicia and Travis walked down the street, holding hands. It was a cold December day, and the wind whipped through her long, loose hair and made her face pink. She pulled her black jacket tighter around herself, and turned to face him. "Why's he upset then?" Travis asked, lighting a cigarette.

She bit her lower lip, trying to decide if telling him was worth it or not. The only people who knew about Tim were herself, Angela, maybe Curly, Dallas, and Summer. She knew, obviously, that none of them would tell. And considering she and Travis had walked in on Tim and Dallas in a rather compromising situation a few weeks ago, it wasn't like he didn't know something was up with Tim. "Okay, see, you know how a few weeks ago, you came over to my house, and we found Tim and another guy like, having sex on my living room floor?"

Travis nodded, and his lips curved up into a smile. "You got so pissed," he laughed.

"You would too, if you walked in on your tuff older brother fucking another guy on the living room floor!" she defended. Then she sighed and ran a hand through her unruly curls. "Anyway, he and Dallas- you know, the guy he was with- broke up or something, and now Tim's all depressed about it." Then she widened her eyes. "Just… please don't tell anyone, all right? 'Cause, ya know, Tim's already fucked as it is. Don't want him to lose his beloved reputation."

He put an arm around her shoulders and she rested her head in the crook of his neck. "Don't worry, Ali. I won't tell anyone. Besides, if Tim's really been arrested as many times as you say he is there's no way in hell they'll send him to Vietnam."

They reached her front door a few minutes later. Alicia probably would have asked him inside, but a crash and a thud from the living room, followed by a loud, "oh shit," made her erase the thought from her mind all together. Instead, she smiled and kissed him, said goodbye, and walked inside.

The minute she stepped in the door, her mother thrust a duster and a vacuum into her hands. "Your grandma is coming at seven thirty. We've gotta clean!"

Alicia stared at her mother, dumbly. "Ma, why is grandma coming?"

Her mother scowled. Alicia knew that Margarita hated her husband's mother. "She's coming to say goodbye to your brother."

"But Tim's not leaving 'til May."

Margarita rolled her eyes. "I know. But oh no, Grandmamma had to see her precious Timmy." She began to dust a table. "She hates you kids, Tim especially. But since he's leaving, she wants to see him; I have no idea why. Anyway, your father wants this place spotless. I'm gonna go make dinner."

"Where're the others?"

"Angela and Tim are cleaning the upstairs and Curly and you are cleaning down here. Now hurry the hell up."

Alicia grabbed the vacuum cleaner and plugged it in and began cleaning the living room. Curly was wiping the windows with an already dirty rag and muttering about this being a 'woman's job.' She rolled her eyes and continued to vacuum.

At seven, all the cleaning was done. The house was more or less spotless, considering how it usually looked and the Shepards were sitting in the living room, waiting for the grandmother. All were conspicuous in their best clothes. Alicia and Angela were in white blouses that weren't dirty or ripped or showed too much skin, and Tim and Curly were in clean, white shirts and nice pants.

At 7:34, a car pulled up, and a woman stepped out. She walked, no, actually, she didn't walk, she strutted, up to the front door and knocked. Angela heard her mother sigh, loudly, as she walked to the door. Margarita opened it, very slowly, then she smiled. "Caroline, how are you?"

"Fine, Margarita," the older woman said, without trying to mask her bitterness. Everyone knew that Grandmother Shepard hated both her son and daughter-in-law. She hated her son for marrying a Mexican woman, and she hated Margarita for being Mexican. She probably hated her grandchildren just for being the spawn of an illegal U.S. citizen.

After a rather uncomfortable conversation concerning Tim, a conversation in which Tim took no part in, they all filed into the dining room. It was funny, in a way, because the last time any of them could remember the entire family eating together was a few years ago at Christmas. At the head of the table sat their father, on the end was their grandmother. On their father's right was Tim and next to Tim was Angela. On their father's left was Margarita and next to her was Curly. Alicia sat on his right.

In a way, Alicia was rather proud of her mother for trying to make a decent meal. She couldn't remember the last time she'd made them dinner. Tonight's dinner was chicken, rice, bread and water. As everyone began to eat, their grandmother began her inquisition. "So, Tim, how do you feel about going to Vietnam?"

Tim looked up, a hunk of chicken hanging half-out his mouth. It took him a few moments to register that the question was directed at him. "Uh, fine I guess."

"You're not scared?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

Tim shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just not." He continued to chew his food, slowly. "I guess it's 'cause I'm not really afraid of dying or nothing."

His grandmother eyed him. "What does your girlfriend say about that?"

He looked confused. "Girlfriend?"

Curly piped up. "No, Tim doesn't like gi- ow! Mother of fuck, Alicia, why'd you kick me?"

"Curly, don't swear," Alicia said, airily.

"Coming from you, that's pretty rich," he mumbled.

Then their grandmother perked up. "What did you say, Curly? Before Alicia kicked you?"

Curly made a big deal of shoveling as much food in his mouth as he could, and chewed slowly, before he decided to answer. It was obvious that he was trying to think of something, and failing. Curly wasn't very good at thinking on his feet. Finally, he swallowed. "I was gonna say that Tim doesn't have a girlfriend."

She looked almost disappointed. "But you said something about him not liking girls?"

Luckily, Angela was much better about thinking fast than Curly. "Oh, he doesn't like any girls in this area." Tim nodded in agreement.

Alicia crammed more rice in her mouth and washed it down with some water, while her grandmother began to quizAngela and herabout school. The rest of the meal went fine and it would have passed uneventfully, had Curly not opened his mouth.

They were almost all done with dinner, when Curly asked, innocently enough, "so, Tim, how's it going with you and Dally?"

Tim's head shot up, and he gave Curly a look to kill.

His mother looked at Tim. "Dally? As in Dally Winston? What happened? Did he slash your tires again?"

Tim looked back down at his plate. "No, it's okay, we just had a fight."

"Over what?"

"Nothing, all right?" Tim was getting a bit defensive. "It's okay, we're gonna work it out."

Now grandma got involved. "Who's Dally?"

"His friend," Alicia said, quickly.

"Why'd they get into a fight?" This question was directed at Alicia, and she looked a bit surprised.

"How should I know?"

"What did you get in a fight over, Timothy?"

Tim shrugged. "He just got mad at me, that's all."

"Why?"

"Like I know."

"Tim dumped him," Curly quipped. This time, it was Angela who kicked him under the table.

Grandma Shepard's eyes glinted with something that resembled malice. "You 'dumped' him, Timothy? 'Dumping' as in 'I dumped my girlfriend?'"

Tim sent Curly a look that could only mean one thing: I am so kicking your ass. To his grandmother, he said, "no, I just didn't want to be friends with a hood anymore. I'm reforming. So, in a sense, I did dump him."

Alicia choked on her rice.

His mother beamed. "So you're not going to hang around with your gang anymore, Tim?"

"Nope."

"But Tim. What'm I gonna do for fun anymore?" Curly whined.

Tim looked amusingly grave. "I don't know, Curly. I guess you're going to have to find some new friends."

Curly grumbled something about Tim being a lying bastard, but at least their grandmother was satisfied. She thanked them for the lovely meal, even though she was lying through her teeth and asked if her son would 'be so kind as to drive her home?" even though she was capable of driving herself.

A few minutes after she left, Tim went to bed. He felt slightly ill, and was pissed at pretty much everyone. He wanted to go out, but his head hurt and he felt sick to his stomach and just fell down on his bed. His last conscious thought before he fell asleep was of Dally.

A/N: :Kicks herself: God, that was a shitty chapter. Anyway, because I can, I'm just gonna respond to my lovely reviewers. I love you all. Really, I do.

CrazyAlchemistgirl- Oh my God:Hugs: I'm sorry I made you cry! I didn't mean to:Hugs again:

Hahukum Konn- I love your constructive criticism! I know it's not really historically accurate, and after I finish it, I probably will go back and revise it and whatnot. And I seriously hope it's not too OOC.

llefey- Thank you! I'm so glad you don't think Alicia's a Mary Sue. I tried to flaw her, and overall, I'm rather pleased with the result.

starbyrte: Aw, thanks. Yes, for some reason, I just see Curly as a sort of man-whore-type. Don't ask why.

krista: Heh, I love Paris! Not too fond of Nicole, but I adore Paris.