Title: Lonely No More
A/N: Hope you ladies all had a great weekend! Thanks for the reviews and alerts on the last chapter. I'm glad that you ladies seem to be enjoying this story so far. Please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts on this chapter as well. Enjoy :D
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Julie walked into Dillon High a little begrudgingly, hardly believing that her summer was over.
While the first half may have been boring, the second half hadn't been that bad thanks to Tim. And for probably the first time ever, she wasn't looking forward to the first day of school.
Tim had driven her home from work at the pool yesterday afternoon like usual. But when she had said goodbye, a worried feeling had come over her.
It was almost like while they were away from school, Julie felt like she and Tim could hang out and things were great. But Julie feared that starting school was going to do something to mess up their relationship.
She and Tim didn't exactly run in the same groups, and she couldn't help but worry that the new atmosphere was going to put a damper on their friendship.
I guess we'll see, she thought to herself as she made her way down the crowded hall, smiling at several people she recognized.
"Taylor."
Julie turned to see her friend in question coming up behind her. She grinned brightly, surprised to see Tim at school already.
"Wow. There's at least another ten minutes before the first bell rings, Tim. This has gotta be some kind of record for you." She said with a smile, holding her notebook against her chest.
He smirked, shrugging his shoulders. "Figured I'd start out on the right foot."
She nodded slightly as the two of them began walking down the hallway together. "Hard to believe summer's over." She said a little nervously, unsure as to why she felt that way.
"Yeah. It was a good one though." He drawled, giving her an almost boyish grin.
"Yeah, it was." Julie replied, unable to wipe the goofy smile off of her face. She couldn't help but think that Tim was insinuating that the summer was good partly because of her.
As they walked down the crowded hallway, Julie couldn't help but notice all the appreciative looks Tim was receiving from the girls - the long glances and the come-hither smiles.
As they continued down the hall, she was slightly surprised that he didn't have girls approaching him already, begging for dates and offering to bear his children.
"Hey, Tim." A perky brunette said, coming to a stop in front of him. "Guess I lost the lottery. I'm your new rally girl."
So it begins, Julie thought wryly.
"Alright." Tim drawled slowly, not bothering to ask the girl's name.
"So, anything you need, anytime you want it." The girl said, handing Tim her number before placing her hand on his forearm, glancing over at Julie curiously.
Julie felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight of the rally girl's hand on Tim that she couldn't understand.
It wasn't like Tim was her's. They were friends. Period.
But knowing that didn't stop her from feeling a stab of jealousy and maybe a little anger toward the overly-flirtatious girl.
Tim nodded nonchalantly as the girl gave him one last smile before making her way down the hall.
He turned to Julie, pressing his lips together tightly, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Well, that's good. I think we've spent enough time at school today." Tim said smoothly. "I say we head out of here."
Julie laughed shortly, shaking her head. "What happened to starting out on the right foot?"
"I did." He said simply, a smirk on his lips. "But that's over now."
"I don't think so. You do remember that my mom's the principal now, don't you?" Julie said, shaking her head.
"Oh, yeah." Tim cringed. "Well, we could live dangerously. Skip anyway."
"I'll pass. I like being alive." Julie said sarcastically. "I've gotta get to class." She said, beginning to make her way down the hall. "And you should too!" She called back to him as she moved through the crowd.
He grinned. "See yah, Taylor!"
Julie smiled. Maybe this friendship thing was going to be alright after all.
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"So, then we went to Los Angeles for a weekend, which was really kind of disappointing because I was expecting to see movie stars. I mean, it's Hollywood, yah know?" Lois rambled, going on and on about her summer in California. "I mean, come on. Brad Pitt? Tom Cruise? I didn't see a single one."
Julie nodded, pushing her food around on her tray as she sat in the lunchroom. She was glad to see Lois after her long stay away from Dillon, but she hadn't shut up since they had sat down at the table. Julie really didn't think it was necessary for Lois to discuss every detail of her trip during their thirty-minute lunch period.
"But we did see the Walk of Fame, and I got my picture made beside several of the stars. I'll have to bring them so you can see them. They're really great." Lois said excitedly.
"Yeah, you'll have to let me see them." Julie said with a smile, nodding in agreement.
"Well, what'd you do this summer? I mean, I'm just goin' on and on about mine."
Julie shrugged. "Not much really. Worked at the pool most of the time."
"That's it?" Lois asked, a hint of sympathy in her voice.
Julie nodded. "Pretty much."
Oh, and I spent a big part of my summer hanging out with Tim Riggins, Julie thought to herself, not bothering to say that out loud.
She wasn't sure how to tell Lois about Tim, or even if she wanted to right now. Lois had an almost unhealthy fascination with all things Tim Riggins and Julie knew it would lead to tons of questions.
"Hey, Taylor."
Damn it, she thought as she looked up to see Tim standing beside their table, a sexy smirk on his face. Well, I guess there'll be no keeping it from Lois now.
"Hey, Tim. Glad to see you stuck around." Julie said with a smirk.
He grinned, running his hand through his unruly hair. "I had it on good authority from a friend that I needed to get to class."
"Glad to know you've got at least one friend with a little bit of sense." Julie chuckled.
Tim grinned at Julie, taking a few steps back from the table. "Later, Jules." He drawled, giving Lois a slight nod before turning and sauntering away, moving through the lunchroom like he owned the place.
Julie followed him with her eyes, watching as he took a seat at a table with several other football players, turning his chair around and facing her way.
He said something to the other players, causing them all to laugh before looking back up and meeting Julie's gaze, giving her a slow grin.
Julie smiled before turning her attention back to Lois, slightly embarrassed that he had caught her openly staring at him.
"All you did was work at the pool this summer?" Lois asked slowly, surprise still apparent on her face. "Because unless I just imagined it, Tim Riggins just came up to you and initiated a conversation, in which you called yourself his friend."
"We, uh, hung out together some this summer." Julie said quickly, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal.
"You and Tim Riggins? How did that happen?"
Julie shrugged again. "I don't know. He was at the pool a lot, and he drove me home a few times. We're just friends, Lois. It's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? Not a big deal?" Lois stated, her voice getting louder. "It's freaking Tim Riggins! My best friend is now calling Tim Riggins her friend. Oh my God, I think I need to lie down." She said dramatically, fanning herself with her notebook.
Julie laughed, shaking her head. "I can't believe I missed you." She said with a chuckle, causing Lois to throw a wadded up napkin at her.
"So, tell me all about him." Lois said, excitement in her voice as she leaned across the table. "What's he like? Have you been to his house? What's he smell like?"
Julie shook her head slightly. She almost wished there was some way for Lois not to have found out about her friendship with Tim. She sure as hell didn't want to get the third degree about every little detail concerning Tim.
But as she met his gaze once again across the lunchroom, receiving another Riggins' smile, she guessed being his friend was worth it.
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"I can't believe that the first game is already tonight." Tyra stated from her seat on the gym bleachers. "I mean, it's Friday. This first week of school flew by so fast."
"Yeah." Julie replied, looking around at the crowded gym as the students prepared for the first pep rally of the year.
Her gaze travelled toward the far end of the gym, where the players were waiting to make their appearance.
"So, what's the deal with you and Landry?" Julie asked, spotting #85 in the group of players.
"We broke up." Tyra said shortly.
Julie grinned. "Does Landry know that you're broken up? Because he sure is staring at you awfully hard for y'all not to be dating."
"I've told him about a million times, but he keeps comin' over and callin' me. The boy can't take a hint that I just want to be friends. He keeps insisting that we're just takin' a break, not actually breaking up."
Julie grinned, standing and turning her attention to the center of the gym as she watches her dad take the stage, microphone in hand.
It was almost laughable in a way how silent everyone in the gym became, as if everyone was hanging on his every word. Lord, but people took their football seriously.
"I wanna ask all of you only one question…" Eric drawled, looking around the crowded gym. "You ready for Friday night?"
With that simple statement, the gym erupted into a deafening cheer.
"Here are your 2008 Dillon Panthers." Eric said loudly, pointing toward the players as they began making their way into the gym.
Julie watched, smiling as she saw Matt and Tim leading the rest of the players into the gym and onto the stage.
Her gaze flittered over Matt briefly, but came to rest on Tim as he walked confidently to the stage, clapping his hands together.
He looked good in the blue and gold. The colors definitely suited him, as did the worn out jeans he was wearing.
Looking at him, it was easy to see why all the girls were crazy about him. He was gorgeous, no doubt about that.
And he exuded a confidence and almost boyish charm that had girls eating out of his hand. Julie even found herself getting caught up in that feeling from time to time.
When he would give her that slow, sexy grin, or when he would throw his arm around her shoulders and pull her close. She always got a little flutter in her stomach at those moments, no matter how hard she tried not to.
She had decided that her worrying about what would happen between them once school started was all for nothing. With the first week of school over with, nothing had changed.
They still talked almost daily, and Tim was still teasing her as usual. While she still wasn't crazy about the rally girls constantly hanging all over him, she knew it wasn't her place to do or say anything about that.
She had convinced herself that she was just feeling a little jealous because she had gotten used to having him pretty much all to herself over the summer. Most times she actually believed that.
Other times, she let her mind wander into dangerous territory, where she wondered if maybe she was jealous because her feelings toward Tim were becoming more than just friendly.
She took a deep breath as she watched him take his spot on stage. No sense in even thinking that way, she thought.
He was Tim Riggins. He could have any girl he wanted. And she was sure he didn't want her as anything more than a friend.
But as his eyes scanned the crowd, his gaze meeting Julie's, she found herself smiling brightly, giving him a small wave.
He grinned that slow, sexy grin, and Julie once again let her thoughts drift into that dangerous territory as she felt the flutter in her stomach begin.
