"Door!" Carden yells, when there's knocking.
"If you had time to yell about it, why don't you have time to open it?" Rae chides, opening it. "Billy." She says, startled.
"Hey Rae. I have something to show you." Billy says and she raises her eyebrows. He hands her a letter and she skims it. "Is this a letter of interest from Oklahoma?" She demands.
"It is." Billy says and she rereads it, stunned. "I know Tim's opened it, I found it in his bedroom desk drawer. He must have gotten it when the season started. What if there's more?" Billy asks excitedly and Rae puts a hand over her mouth then shakes her head.
"I don't know." She admits.
"Has he said anything to you?" Billy asks and she shakes her head.
"No, not a word. Not a single word… Typical Tim." She mutters and looks up at him. "Do you want me to talk to him about it?" Billy nods.
"Yeah, I think so. Feel him out. We can talk more about it later." He says, nodding. Rae nods.
"And send me any more of the letters he gets, ok? I'll talk to him." She promises. Billy nods and leaves. Tim walks in, slams the door, and throws his football bag on the floor. Rae sees it and rolls her eyes, knowing that this frustrated gesture more than likely means Tim has had another meltdown.
"Should I get Coach Taylor on text alert every time you quit the team so I can get a heads-up?" She calls as he rifles through the fridge in search of a beer, swearing the entire time.
"I didn't quit, I got kicked off, and I don't need this right now. I'm fucking pissed." He says, glaring at her from above the fridge door.
"Hi, fucking pissed, I'm don't give a shit." She says cheerfully, unyielding. "You missed a week of practice and two games, including a game that they lost and probably needed you in. Did you think Coach was going to welcome you back with sunshine and roses? You knew there were going to be consequences when you went to Mexico. Deal with it." She says sternly.
"Rae, I don't need to hear this shit from you!" He yells, slamming the fridge and opening the can.
"Yes you do!" She yells right back. "I'm the only one who cares about you for you, Tim Riggins! I don't care about you getting your head out of your ass because you're my star fullback. I don't care about you because you're my little brother and I have to because you're blood. I care about you because I love you and I want a future with you!" He puts down his beer and picks her up, setting her on the counter. "Do not kiss me. I am still mad at you." She warns him but he ignores her and kisses her until she's gasping.
"I'll fix it." He promises. "But until that, indulge me." He whispers roughly, fingers pulling at her shirt, and she nods.
"I have an idea." She announces as she makes supper.
"What's that baby?" He asks distractedly, flipping through channels on the TV. Rae frowns and stands in front of it.
"There's a new kid on the football team. Santiago." She informs and he gives her a strange look.
"How do you know him?" He asks and she shrugs.
"He's speaks better Spanish than English. Since this godforsaken school doesn't offer any Spanish classes even though you live how far from the border, I'm teaching him English and he's making sure my Spanish stays where it was. And I think you should teach him football." She tells him.
"Why would I do that Rae?" He asks, leaning so he can see the TV again. Rae refuses to budge.
"Because maybe it'll show Coach that you're capable of caring about someone other than yourself for five minutes." She says shortly.
"That's not fair. You know I care about you and Car." He says heatedly and Rae rolls her eyes.
"I meant someone on the team, dumbass." She says, shaking her head and walking back to the kitchen. "Considering you've walked out on that team more times than I can count."
"I don't like you hanging around felons." Tim mutters, settling back on the couch and switching to a sports channel.
"I hang around you, don't I?" She points out and he twists, giving her a look. She just smirks. "Billy stopped by today."
"What for?" Tim asks, focused on the TV.
"You got a letter of interest from Oklahoma." She says, pulling out pots and pans. He grunts. "Were you going to tell me at any point?"
"Leave it Rae." He mutters and she raises her eyebrow.
"Tim, you're a senior. I am too. Maybe we should start looking at schools?" She suggests.
"Hey, go start the grill. I'll make my chicken that you like so much." He says and she throws her hands up, going outside.
They sit in Mrs. Taylor's office the next day, Tim squirming as Rae lounges next to him.
"Sit still." Rae hisses, smacking his knee.
"I don't want to be here." He hisses right back, knees bouncing up and down in agitation.
"Really? Because I vaguely recall you promising me that you would fix it." She reminds him.
"You know what I remember? The part afterwards where you couldn't stop saying my name." He says slyly, smirking and she smacks him on the back of his head with an eye roll.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." Mrs. Taylor says, rushing in, sitting down and messing with the files. "Rae, how's your brother?"
"Oh, he's great." Rae says sweetly. "I'm pretty surprised, he's doing really well on the middle school football team, so he's not as wild at home. He still eats like a horse though."
"Yeah, well bring him over anytime, I think Erik really enjoys having a boy in the house for once." She invites warmly. "And Tim, how are you?" She asks, giving Tim a skeptical look.
"Good." Tim says, head down.
"How was your little vacation to Mexico?" She asks briskly and he glares at Rae through his hair. She doesn't appear to have much sympathy for him. "Cause you missed two biology exams, and what looks like a pretty important term paper in your English Lit class." She says, snapping the file shut. "And where was his tutor during this time?" She demands, turning her gaze onto Rae. "So let's start there." Tim looks at Rae, who folds her arms.
"I'm sorry?" He tries.
"You're going to be held back a year if you don't get it together." Mrs. Taylor informs him. "And I sure as hell know you won't care, so what's your girlfriend gonna make you do about it?" She asks and Rae raises her eyebrows. Tim looks back and forth between them.
"I thought you were on my side." He accuses Rae, who doesn't flinch and looks at him evenly.
"I'm always on your side, even if it means taking someone else's who might seem like they're against you." She tells him and he rubs his head. "And Mrs. Taylor, I remember last year sitting in here and telling you that I could tutor him because I wasn't a rally girl that he could manipulate to do his bidding then have sex with. And while I may be having sex with him now, there's not a chance in hell he could ever get me to do his homework for him." She says boldly.
"Rae, she doesn't need to know that!" Tim whispers hotly. Rae shushes him dismissively.
"I've brought his grades up once before and I can do it again. I know you don't like Tim and that's ok because sometimes I don't either, but I know you have faith in him like I do. If you'll let me straighten him out, I promise you he will walk across that stage. Because if there's the slightest chance that he's going to college, I am going to see it through." She vows. Mrs. Taylor nods.
"Rae, that sounds just fine to me." She says, putting his file away and Tim looks up hopefully.
"Now can I go talk to your husband about getting him back on that team? Because I cannot have the amount of sex that it's going to take to motivate him to actually do homework." She says honestly.
"I swear to God Rae." Tim says, mortified, grabbing her and dragging her out of the office.
She's making supper when someone knocks.
"Nose goes!" Carden yells and Tim groans, not even bothering to try. He pulls the door open, revealing Smash.
"Hey Smash." Rae calls, leaning back to see him from the kitchen. "Are you eating with us?"
"Damn Riggins, you got a girl that cooks for you. How'd you set that up?" Smash asks, grinning and waving at Rae.
"What do you want, Smash?" Tim asks suspiciously, blocking the door so Smash can't get in.
"I wanted to talk to you. Have dinner." Smash nods towards Rae's general area. "Talk about how you're messing this team up."
"Oh, you mean the team that I'm not on?" Tim points out. Rae rolls her eyes and walks over to try and push Tim out of the way. He refuses to budge against Rae's shoving.
"Look, I got no fullback cause of your drunk, selfish ass." Smash accuses. "And we're having dinner tonight so I can talk some sense into you."
"Hope you like meatballs." Rae says cheerfully, still struggling against Tim's large frame to no result.
"Ooh, I love me some meatballs. You need help?" He offers, squeezing past Tim easily and following her to the kitchen.
"You can stir the gravy please." She says, smiling at him. Tim looks to Carden for some support. The teenager shrugs helplessly.
"What I'm saying is, Coach Taylor needs to see you take it up a notch." Smash insists, stabbing another meatball.
"I talked to coach, he said no, that's it, and it's out of my hands." Tim says flatly, arms folded, refusing to eat.
"So that's it, you just gonna give up?" Smash asks, squinting at him and gesturing with the speared meatball.
"I don't know what else to tell you." Tim says, shaking his head. "He said no." Carden and Rae are both watching in interest, as the boys go back and forth, like they're at tennis match.
"Look, look, we a lot different, you and me. Me? I'm the Smash, I'm primetime, I'm 24/7." He boasts.
"Right." Tim says, rolling his eyes, annoyed as always with Smash's big talk and bravo.
"And you? You that brooding, rough, whatever." He says, struggling for the right words. "Look, the point is, neither of us can be who we are without football. It's the keys to the ignition. Right Rae?" He asks, winking at her. She just raises her eyebrows, eating her meatball. "And if you don't fight for that, you're just wasting a whole lot of potential, that's all." He says, shrugging, Tim watches him, face unreadable. He blinks then gets up and kisses Rae's head. He disappears to the bathroom.
"Very cute speech. Touching, really." Rae compliments Smash. He looks at the bathroom door then at Rae.
"Is he gonna listen to me?" Smash asks her. She shrugs, taking another bite of her meatball.
"I love the kid, but fuck if I know." She says, laughing slightly.
AN: Ok, I'm likely going to cut back updates to Monday, Wednesday, Friday, since midterms are coming up and I will be in a flurry of panic the entire time. That being said, I love writing this story for you guys, so please leave me your thoughts, pretty pretty please!