Flashback
"Kimberley! Are you ready yet?" Brian yelled from the kitchen.
"Almost, hold on! I just gotta grab something." She yelled back. "Patience brother!" She added. Brian huffed.
After a minute or two, Kim came running to the living room stuffing clothes in her cheerleading bag. Brian had football practice and she had cheerleading try-outs, for some strange reason she was nervous as hell. She was captain in her cheerleading squad back in New York and she had to admit, she was good. Great even. Cheerleading was one of her top 5 favorite sports, in fact it was her second favorite sport, after volleyball that is.
"What's up with you?" Brian asked as he drove down the road towards Dillon High.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it seems to me like you're nervous or something. Everything all right?"
"Mmm...I guess. I mean, I don't know, for some reason I'm nervous about cheerleading try-outs." She answered, staring blankly ahead.
Brian chuckled lightly. "You? Kimberley Wilson nervous about cheerleading try-outs?" He asked looking at her but also focusing on the road.
"Um...yeah?" She said, looking at him with both of her eyebrows raised.
"Why?" He asked suddenly. "I mean, you have been cheering since God knows when. You've either been captain or co-captain in at least every cheer team you've been in. You know everything there is to know about cheerleading. I mean, schucks lil sis, if they don't put you on the team, then there is definetily something wrong with those people." He looked and smiled at her.
She laughed. Her brother always knew how to make her laugh, he was her confident booster. And she loved him for that.
After 10 minutes of driving they finally got to the parking lot near the Dillon High field where they practice for almost every sport Dillon High School had to offer. Brian and Kim both got out of the car being greeted by Tim Riggins.
"Sup Wilsons?" He nodded to the both of them.
Both Kimberley and Brian talked at the same time.
"Hey Tim."
"Hey Riggins."
"So Kim, you excited about cheerleading try-outs?" Tim asked her with a hint of the southern drawl in his voice.
She couldn't help but smile, oh how she missed that southern drawl of his. She remembered when they were still young that everytime he talked all that was obvious and what she loved to her was the southern drawl coming out of his mouth. But now it's been too long, and apparently he grew out of it.
"Eh, I guess so. Kinda nervous too." She answered, squinting up at him. The sun was too bright today, and it was hot.
He smiled, "Since when do you get nervous about cheerleading try-outs?"
She shrugged, suddenly she saw him pull out a card with a red rose attached to it.
This made the corner of her lips shoot up, then another memory entered her mind.
*Flashback"
* Kimberley and Tim were walking together along the sidewalk, talking. Actually, it was more like Tim was walking with Kim along the sidewalk listening to her babble on about cheerleading try-outs back in California. She was eight and he was ten years old.
"Ohmygoodness, Tim! What if I don't make it on the team? What if I'm not good enough for them? What if..." Kim said.
"Geez, Kim. Chill out, it's just some dumb girly thing. Ain't nothing big about it." He told her with that big southern drawl.
She shot him a look. "Ehm...excuse me, this is big, okay? I love cheerleading, cheerleading is my life-"
"Everything is your life." He interrupted, rolling his eyes.
"I have been working hard on my jumps, my tumbling..." She continued. "If I don't make it on the team...I'm going to...I'm gonna..."
"Gonna cry like a little baby? Whine like a spoiled little brat who-for once in her life-doesn't get what she wants?" Tim said looking at her, an eyebrow raised knowingly.
Kimberley blushed, then frustration crept in, and then suddenly anger took over. She stopped walking and whipped her head looking at him, eyes full of hurt and anger.
"What?" He said looking back at her realizing she stopped walking.
With one last stare at him she ran full speed to her grandmother's house not looking back.
"Kimberley, WAIT! I was just kidding, come on! Can't you take a joke?" Was the last thing she heard from Tim Riggins that day.
A couple of days had passed by, she still wasn't communicating with Tim Riggins. When she heard the doorbell ring, she quickly got up and opened it not expecting Tim holding a card and a red rose attached to it nicely tied with a ribbon.
"Uhm...uh...hey...Kim." He said slowly, not meeting her eyes. "These are for you. I just - I uhm...I wanted to say 'I'm sorry' for saying what I said to you that day. I didn't really mean to offend you or anything. So, yeah, here." He shoved the card and rose at her. "And I'm really really sorry." He quickly added finally meeting her gaze. She couldn't help but smile, taking the card and looking at it. It was a dark shade of red-orange-ish that said "I'm sorry" in blue cursive lettering. She opened it and read the messy writing:
"Kimberley,
I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad or whatever. Don't worry Kimster, you'll make it on that cheerleading team of yours in California.
GOOD LUCK! :).
-Tim-inator"
It was quite short but she knew that he meant it, shoot, he even added the nickname that she calls him, which is saying something 'cause he disliked that name. She also observed drawings of pom-poms ... at least that's what she thought.
"Awh, thanks Tim-inator!" She happily said and hugged him tight.*
Ever since that day they both made it their tradition that he gives her a card with a rose attached to it everytime she tries out for cheerleading. However, the tradition stopped after all the moving that the Wilson family did, with all the constant move Tim just couldn't keep up with all the new addresses. Kim took the card and read it:
"Kim, it has been so long since I've done this. Well, like always, good luck and I know that you'll make it on the team. Just do your best and have fun!
-Tim"
It was short but that was just typical Tim. A bit of sadness went through her, he didn't call her (or himself) the nicknames that they had for eachother. She snapped out of it, not realizing why she was upset about it.
"Why thanks, Tim!" She smiled and walked off to the field.
Kimberley ran for about 15-20 minutes, afterwards they went down to business. The coaches showed the girls the routines and cheer for the final try-outs. When it was Kim's turn to perform she found herself looking to the side across the football field, she saw that Tim had looked up observing the cheerleading try-outs and found Kimberly's gaze, he smiled. Suddenly, her heart started beating faster, feeling her palm sweat, and hands shaking she finally started to realize why she was so nervous: it was because she knew that Tim would be around watching her.
She was relieved that they had a 10 minute break, she was sitting with her sisters, Katie, and a few other girls trying out. They introduced themselves, and some even recognized the Wilson sisters. Their conversations jumped from one topic to another, then they were talking about Tim Riggins.
"Oh my God, he is sooo freakin' hot!" One girl said.
"Who?" Kim asked, dumbfounded
"Tim, of course!"
She looked over at him. Tim was just running a ball down the field scoring a touchdown and she had to admit he was fine. When she was younger she always had a a little school-girl crush on Tim but she knew that he only saw her as his best friend's little sister, nothing more.
"I'm glad I had my time with him." The girl said, whose name was Leslie.
This comment got Kim's attention. "What do you mean?"
Leslie chuckled along with Ashely (one of the other girls). "For a lot of us girls, it's a dream to hook up with Tim. Some are lucky and some are not, and I happen to be one of the lucky ones." She said grinning stupidly.
"Oh." Was all that Kim could get out. Kim didn't hate players but she didn't particularly like them either, they were just guys who were there and that she tried to avoid going out with. Lucky for her though, her ultimate little girl crush for Tim dissappeared a long time ago.
"Time to avoid a player." She sadly thought to herself.