"Oh, this is so not going to go over well." Julie says, watching red letter-jackets get off the bus.
"I don't see the big deal." Rae says dismissively.
"We play the Laribee Lions in two weeks smarty." Tim says, kissing her head. She frowns up at him.
"I still think it was nice of Coach to offer to share the field with them. Their school is gone." Rae protests.
"No offense Jules, but your dad is an idiot for putting them so close to us." Tim grumbles.
"None taken, I tell him he's an idiot daily." Julie reassures him, laughing, pulling Rae off to class.
"If you get in a fight Tim Riggins you are sleeping on the couch!" She threatens, walking backwards.
"Like you'll enforce that." He says confidently, enjoying the looks he's getting from the other team and surrounding students. She makes as face as she's dragged around the corner and out of sight.
"You're so lucky you have Tim." Julie mutters sadly, as they watch Matt and Carlotta walk hand in hand past the burger joint, laughing at each other. Rae looks up from their homework and sighs.
"Do you wanna borrow him?" She offers. "Cause it'd be nice to free up my Thursday and Monday nights."
"Will you wash him first?" She asks without looking at her and Rae snickers, amused at the answer.
"Yeah, I'll wash him."
They're sitting at lunch the next day, uncomfortably cramped with Laribee students on all sides. The place is loud, but goes quiet in an instant when Landry starts yelling at Tyra and football players from both teams stand up.
There's a moment of near silence, then Landry throws the punch and it's total chaos. Rae instinctively grabs Julie and pulls her out of the way of people streaming by. Suddenly food is flying, teachers are trying desperately to break it up. Rae sees Tim in the middle of it all, grinning.
"I'm gonna kill him." She moans, trying to get the rest of the girls out of the cafeteria unharmed and not covered in gravy.
She's at work when the phone rings.
"It's for you." Her boss says. She takes it, confused as to who would be calling. "Make it quick." He orders.
"Hello?" She asks slowly.
"Rae. Coach Taylor. Riggins started a fight in the weight room tonight." He says, without preamble. Rae covers the receiver, swearing quietly.
"Coach, I am-" She starts.
"But I called to tell you it wasn't his fault. He's a good boy. Don't go too hard on him." He says then hangs up. She stares at the phone then gradually hangs it up, not sure of what just happened.
When she gets home, he's asleep on the couch, beer on the end table and remote in hand. She smiles, setting her bag aside and worming her way into his arms. He resists her for a moment than relaxes.
"Hey." He says sleepily, hugging her close.
"Hey." She says softly. "Coach Taylor called me. He said you started a fight." She says, looking up at him. He doesn't open his eyes.
"They peed on my shirt." He mutters. She stares at him in confusion, but he doesn't laugh or correct himself, so she plunges on.
"He said you're a good boy and I should be nice to you." She informs him, waiting for a correction.
"He stood up for me. It was badass Rae." He says dreamily.
"I bet." She says, amused. They lay in silence for a while then Tim startles her by talking again.
"I don't wanna go to the fall formal. I'd rather go to a house party. But if you wanna go to the fall formal, I will go with you because it's what you want." He says. She grins to herself then shakes her head.
"What brought this up?" She asks interestedly.
"Rally girls." He grumbles. "Said I was ashamed to be seen in public with you. And that you couldn't afford a nice dress."
"So pleasant, those rally girls." She says, rubbing her forehead.
"It's worth more to me that you wear my jersey every Friday night. They can suck it." He says and she bites her lip, amused.
"Well, you know me. I hate all things school related. House party it is." She agrees, kissing him.
At the party, Tim sees Julie and her friend on the couch and he remembers the moment in the bathroom, her and Rae holding hands in their terror. He feels a swell of protection and pulls the boy away.
"How ya doing?" He asks, forcing a smile on his face.
"Good!" The kid says excitedly.
"Yeah? How's that going?" He asks, looking at Julie, then looking around for Rae who's nowhere to be found.
"Good!" The kid says, grinning. "I think I'm maybe like, one beer away from getting laid."
"No kidding." Tim says, grinning, taking a swig from his solo cup, and trying to resist the urge to punch him in the face.
"Yeah!" The kid says, nodding.
"Nice, that's great." Tim says without paying much attention, judging how drunk Julie is as she giggles on the couch.
"Yeah, she is great." The kid says, watching her with a smile.
"Hey." Tim says, getting his attention. "If you ever look at her, even tonight, again, at school, anytime, for that matter, I swear to god I'll end you." He promises. The kid nods goes pale and hastily tries to make an exit.
"Alright." He gulps.
"We cool?" Tim asks, nonchalantly sipping his drink and signaling to Rae when she wanders in.
"Yeah. Goodnight then." The kid says, trying to walk away as fast as he can. Tim grabs his shirt.
"No seriously. That way." He orders, pushing the kid the opposite way of Julie. Rae stands off to the side, watching with a small smile.
"The big brother she never had." She teases. He rolls his eyes and they both eye Julie as she writhes on the couch. "Ready to try to get her home?"
"Hey. Yeah it's time." He orders of Julie, gesturing to Rae to help him. They manage to get her home, while she jabbers about him and Rae and college. Tim glares at Rae over the top of her head and Rae smiles sheepishly.
"Thanks for letting me borrow Tim." She slurs, once she's in tucked in bed. Rae kisses her forehead.
"Go to bed Jules." She orders, fondly patting her head. Once they're in the car, she starts clapping.
"What's that for?" He asks grumpily, putting the car in drive and heading towards home.
"Tim Riggins, baby and drunk girl wrangler. Who would've thought? Who is the man I fell in love with?" She teases.
"Different, since he fell in love with you." He says, running his fingers through her hair. She smiles up at him then stretches up to kiss him.
"Tim, we gotta talk about the future." She whispers. He kisses her again, one eye still on the road.
"Later. We'll do that later." He insists, tucking her under his arm as they drive through town.
Rae cheers as Tim runs into the end zone, yet again. He points up to her, hoisting the ball above his head.
"Do you actually like football now?" Julie teases.
"Please, take me to a hockey game and then see what I look like." Rae scoffs, laughing. She watches the final play with her fingers covering her eyes. When the other coach rushes the field and knocks Tim to the ground, she, and the entire stadium, screams in protests.
"What's going on mom?' Julie asks, watching in shock. Rae doesn't realize she's trembling in anger until Julie puts an arm around her.
"I dunno Jules." Mrs. Taylor says honestly, looking around, wide-eyed. "But your daddy isn't going to like this."
After the game, Rae hurries to find Tim. He's joking around with some of the guys, cleaning blood off of his face.
"Are you ok?" She demands, grabbing his face and inspecting it, ignoring the catcalls of the other boys.
"We got the W." He says, shrugging.
"Tim, you got tackled by the other coach! Do not lie to me." She orders sternly. He shakes his head and gently takes her chin.
"We won. You're here. Let's celebrate." He says, pulling her along, winking over his shoulder at his teammates.
AN: Hey guys! I love the feedback I've been getting from you guys- seriously it makes my day. So please keep leaving your thoughts or your wishes for me, they're so much fun to read!