A/N: Alright, I got enough positive feedback that I decided to put this chapter up quickly for you guys. :) I hope you enjoy it a lot and feel free to ask any questions about anything.


TUESDAY

When I woke up, I prayed that it would be an easy day and that nothing else 'exciting' would happen. It didn't seem like a good idea to become the subject of rumor my first week at school. The first day was bad enough.

Jesse was really enjoying the fact that I was the popular news at Dillon. He was making all kinds of comments over breakfast that I could kill him for, but I don't think mom would want blood on her new kitchen floor. On the way to school, I told Jesse to just let anything that anyone said go and that it wasn't a big deal.

I don't think he got the message.


My first period was Advanced Literature and Composition, a class that Julie and I shared. We sat towards the back, giggling to ourselves about her date with Matt the previous night and how, even after being boyfriend/girlfriend for a while, he was still always stumbling over himself.

"Hey new girl!" I looked up, wondering who would be calling me out. The girl was slightly taller than my 5'6 with short blond hair and a mole in the middle of her forehead that drove me insane. I stared at quizzically as she made her way to Julie and I.

Julie obviously new what was going on because she stood up and looked the girl right in the eye. "Tyra, just leave her alone. She didn't do anything." My gaze now flew to Julie. What could I have done that this Tyra person hated me so much for?

Tyra sneered. "Yeah? Well Tim broke up with me this morning and wouldn't give me an explanation. And I think little miss priss here is responsible. All he did last night was brood over the fact that Smash 'didn't get what was coming'."

I was astonished. Tim had been dating this girl? But just yesterday I had seen him against the lockers with some stringy brunette. What kind of stuff was going on here in Dillon?

"Tim? Riggins?" I questioned softly, looking up at Tyra. She just snorted.

"Yeah," She flipped her cropped cut. "What are you? Stupid on top of being a slut?" Now that stung a little. I still wasn't completely sure why she hated me so much. Tim and I were…nothing. I had just met him.

The bell rang, not giving me or Julie the chance to retort before Tyra had stalked out of the classroom and down the hall. As Julie sat, she stared at me, obviously wondering if I was going to cry or something crazy like that. I just sat forward and stared at the white bored. This was turning into the worst day ever.


As I followed Julie to the lunchroom, I could almost hear the rumors spreading like wildfire.

"That's the new girl…did you hear about her and Tim…?"

"Tim totally broke up with Tyra for her…"

"I hear she's sleeping with Williams and Riggins…"

I'd only been at this school for two days and already my reputation was the worst it had ever been. I could only hope that the gossip would die out soon.

But the chances of that happening were like 1,000,000 to 1.

Julie and I made our way through the maze that is the cafeteria and sat with Matt and Landry again. This time, however, Smash and his friends steered clear of our table. Only Tim, Jason and a few other guys sat with us, making me feel even worse for somewhat dividing the team.

Of course, I was trying to figure out how exactly I had only been here for two days, but there was already a whole bunch of drama surrounding me. Could my life get any worse?

My answer came when Tyra and Smash entered the cafeteria together. Next to me, Tim stiffened and stared down at his food, completely ignoring them. Tyra smirked over at us and leaned down to literally make out with Smash in the middle of the lunchroom. I was disgusted but Tim was clenching his fork tightly. Despite the tension in his fist, he looked relatively calm, as if this was a normal occurrence in his relationship with the blonde.

"So," I said, bringing everyone's attention from Tim to me. "Are ya'll ready for this Friday's game?" This question got the conversation going and the incident across the lunchroom was completely forgotten. Jason caught my eye across the table and nodded at me, giving me the thanks that Tim probably wouldn't.


"You seem to be quite the peacemaker," Landry said as we sat in Pre-Calculus. I looked up from my problem and glared at him. His hands went up in defense. "I'm just saying. It's a good thing," I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. Being the talk of the school my second day here is just the best thing in the world as the new girl." Matt laughed and Julie giggled from the table in front of us.

Landry just chuckled and nodded his head.

"But you've obviously made an impression. Riggins can't keep his eyes off of you," Matt turned around and looked at his friend, shaking his head.

"Landry, what are you talking about?" He questioned, looking confused. "Tyra and Tim just broke up this morning. Tim has to go through some kind of…grieving process."

I snorted and shook my head before returning to my work. I had picked a weird group of friends. "Grieving process?" Landry asked his friend. "This is Tim Riggins we're talking about. He'll just drink an entire six-pack and then make out with a rally girl. He'll be fine by this afternoon." Landry sounded like he was so sure. But if Tim's 'grieving process' was to always drink a six-pack, there was something else definitely wrong. More wrong than having a skanky girlfriend and hating his teammate.

"Does Tim drink like that a lot?" I asked, finally rejoining the conversation. Julie looked up at me.

"Tim Riggins drinks like a fish that's been left out of the water for too long," She answered, looking disgusted. The conversation went on, but I tuned most of it out. None of it seemed important.

I kept thinking about Tim. Why was he the way he was? What had happened to make him want to get away from the real world so much?

And why was I so drawn to him?


At 3:45, I was sitting on the bleachers, sans Julie who had gotten to go home with her mom, watching the football players warm up. The cheerleaders, or 'rally girls' as Landry said, were also warming up and I felt so invisible in that moment.

Once upon a time, I had been a cheerleader. It had been a great time of my life, for the first few months. I had made so many friends and we were all like sisters in a very short time. It had all changed when…

"Belle!" A brunette girl, whose name I had learned was Lyla a Lunch, was waving at me from her spot on the field. She ran over to the bleachers and I moved down towards her. "Jesse told me you used to cheer." I could tell by the smile on her face that she was up to something. I just nodded, not trusting myself to not say something mean. "Well, we're a few girls short and I thought you might like to join the team. It's really fun." She made a slight puppy-dog face. "Please."

As much as I didn't think me being a cheerleader again would be such a wonderful idea, I knew that my parents and brother were constantly worried about me and it might be a good thing if I could help them to not worry so much.

"When do I have to audition?" At this, Lyla shrieked and jumped up and down, coming onto the bleachers and pulling me back down to the field with her.

"Don't worry about that. How about you go change into a pair of my shorts and then you can just learn and show up what you've got?" As we made our way to the locker room, I could see my brother's eyes following us. He looked happy, and that was exactly what I wanted.


I had changed and was standing at the door of the locker room nervously. It had been a long time since I'd worn anything this short and I wasn't sure how everyone was going to react. I took two deep breaths and let them out slowly before pushing the door open and walking out towards the field.

I caught Jesse's eye and nodded as if to tell him I was ok and that this needed to happen anyway. MY daddy watching from his position on the sidelines as the guys and girls quit practicing.

"Damn," I caught Smash's whisper as I walked past.

I knew they were all staring. Staring at the lines that marked my legs. At the criss-cross design they made where they met. The marring of my legs was one thing I had never shown anyone but the police, the doctors and my own family. There was only one other person that knew about them and he…would never get to see them again.

"Alright," I heard Coach Taylor say. "Get back to practicing boys. That last play was horse crap." Practicing resumed all around me and I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding in. When I reached Lyla, she took my hand, gave it a light squeeze and walked up to the front of the squad.

"Ladies, Belle here is going to practice with us. Let's do some basic cheers so that she can get back in the groove before we move on," I stood in the back and watched the cheer one time before joining in.

I learned seven new cheers that afternoon and I remembered what it felt like to part of a team.


As I waited for Jesse outside the locker room for the second time that week, I watched the team shuffle past me without a glance back. Daddy or Jesse must have told them that they were to be wary of me right now. Not that it would have mattered. I was feeling pretty good about myself and nothing was going to stop that.

Tim walked out of the locker room, but instead of passing by me, he stopped right in front of me. "Hey," He said, his voice gravelly and rough, as if he hadn't used it all day.

"Hey," I said back, waiting for him to continue. We stood there for a second before he spoke again.

"So, how are you enjoying Dillon so far?" His questions startled me. I sincerely expected him to ask about the scars. But I figured he knew that and decided against questioning me just yet.

I looked down at my feet, then back up. "It's been great. Dillon seems like a wonderful place to live. Plus, I've made a few friends." I was hoping he caught the meaning that he was included in that list.

He nodded and looked past me at the locker room door, watching for my brother I'm sure. "Yeah, well," He rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. "I heard about what Tyra said this morning and I wanted to say 'I'm sorry'. If I could get her to take it back, I would." I just watched him, brows furrowed.

"What Tyra said, that wasn't your fault Tim. She's just…jealous. Not that I can understand why," Tim stiffened again and nodded sharply. He mumbled a goodbye and walked off. It was then that I noticed my brother standing in the doorway watching me intently. "What?" I almost snapped.

"Nothing," He grinned. "Absolutely nothing."


WEDNESDAY

Today was my first day of cheerleading practice at Dillon High. Lyla told me that she had talked to the girls, and they were all (for the most part) ecstatic to hear that I would be joining them this season. The one person who was more excited than anyone, however, was my mother. When she found out that not only had I decided to join the squad, but that I had revealed the marks on my legs to my new friends, that she had to leave the room to be able to not burst out crying in front of me. Daddy just nodded and kissed my forehead. They were happy that everything was finally returned to normal.

And in all truth, so was I.


When I got to school, it seemed that most people were still talking about Tim and I. Not that there was anything to talk about. I had only been here three days. And I wasn't a slut. Like some people I know…(that was mean) but whatever. Walking down the hallway wasn't so bad. No one could do anything. I was hanging out with the footballers and no one would dare cross one of them. The chances of getting your head ripped off were just too much.

As the first bell rang, Julie and I made our way to History while the guys left to do their own thing. Without the boys, I felt a lot more vulnerable. More people stared, more people whispered. I was just glad that I had the Coach's daughter, otherwise I might have been mauled or something.

History was, as usual, pretty boring. Other than the looks I was getting, nothing much else happened. The whispers were ignored and no one said anything directly to me. And although I didn't like the idea of being the source of gossip, I was better off not knowing exactly what everyone was saying.

I really didn't feel like going to lunch, so I told Julie that I had homework and needed to study. She stared at me, knowing it wasn't true, but nodded all the same. I headed towards to library, ignoring the growling of my stomach and pulled out my Calculus book to do the next section of homework.

"Well look who it is," I almost groaned aloud at the voice. Smash sat down next to me, smirking wildly. "What's going to on new girl?" I attempted to ignore him, but he obviously wasn't going to let me get away with it. "Aww, don't be like that. I'm just looking for some of that attention that you've been giving Riggs."

I rolled my eyes and glanced up at him. "Just go away Smash," I seethed, not wanting to listen to his bull right now.

"But sweetheart, I came all the way to the library just to see you," Smash reached out and pushed my brown hair off my shoulder, tucking it behind me eye.

"I'm surprised you could find the library," I said straight to his face. His smirk fell and his nostrils flared. I just smiled and went back to my math. I yelped when Smash grabbed my wrist roughly and pulled me towards him.

"I don't care if you're Coach Jackson's kid and I don't care who the hell your brother is or that Tim Riggins is showing an interest in you. When I talk to you, you'll listen and you won't mouth off. You got that?" I refused to nod or show any sign that I was going to listen to his threat, which just made him hold my wrist tighter. "You better watch yourself, new girl," He released me, almost throwing me back into my chair and stalked from the library.

My wrist was red and I knew it would bruise, something I was not looking forward to having to explain to Jesse.


In the locker room before cheer practice, I was wrapping the ribbon that would normally go in my hair around the fingerprint bruise marks on my wrist. I was hoping that it would pass off as a bracelet and no one would be the wiser. Lyla came up to me and grabbed my other hand and we walked out onto the field.

Practice was boring. I knew all of the cheers and it wasn't difficult for me to get into the action. Once we were finished, I joined Julie on the bleachers and we watched the rest of football practice. The guys looked exhausted and from what I could hear of my dad's and Coach Taylor's yelling, they still weren't done.

"Man, it's almost like being in the army or something," I sighed, looking over at Julie. She nodded and watched her dad, as if she knew exactly what I was talking about. For the next thirty minutes, we watched the boys run play after play and the exhaustion become more evident in their bodies. Finally, Coach Taylor blew his whistle.

"Go shower up and then get home," The guys started making their way off the field. "And tomorrow, I don't want to see another sorry ass practice like this one was." Julie and I shared an eye roll as we packed up out stuff. We exchanged a goodbye as I made my way over to the locker room.


I sat outside the locker room, unwrapping and rewrapping the ribbon around my wrist. The bruises were a dark purple, contrasting against my tan skin. I watched them disappear each time I wound the blue ribbon around my arm again and again. It wasn't until an arm reached out and grasped mine lightly that I noticed my brother squatting next to me.

"What the hell happened Belle?" He demanded in a harsh whisper. I looked down at the ground, completely avoiding eye contact. Jesse touched my forehead, stroking the hair out of my face. "What happened?" His whisper was soothing now as he brought my eyes up to his.

The one thing about my brother that I always found so contradictory to his footballer persona was his ability to be so compassionate and kind. "Nothing." I mumbled, rewrapping the ribbon and standing up. Jesse obviously wasn't buying it, but he kept his opinion to himself and followed me out to the car.

"Don't tell me now," He said, climbing into the car. "But I will find out sooner or later." With that, he pulled out of the parking lot and took us home.


I groaned and rolled over, glaring at the clock by my bed that showed 1:00 am. Jesse's threat had gotten to me and I just couldn't sleep. Finally, I rolled out of bed and slowly opened my bedroom door. The floorboards creaked as I made my way down the hall to Jesse's room.

When I opened the door, I could see my brother's bulky body tangled in the sheets. I walked over and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Jesse," I whispered, shaking him slightly. He only groaned in response and tried to nudge my hand off of him. "Jesse," I said louder, hoping to get him to wake up. He finally rolled over and sat up, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Belle? What are you doing in here?" He questioned sleepily, squinting up at me before checking the time.

"It was Smash," I said, sitting on the edge of his bed.

Jesse looked confused and just shook his head as if to clear it of the sleep. I held up my hand and showed him the bruises again.

"It was Smash,"

That night, for the first time in one year, I spent the night in my brother's room and buried my face in his pillow.


Alright, so let me know exactly what you all think, just no flames please. Review make Tim Riggins smile. :) And me too.