"I'm gonna miss you when you go." Julie says, leaning against her shoulder as they stretch.
"Minnesota to Texas… Could we be any further away from each other?" Rae observes dryly.
"I mean, I could move to California and you could go to Maine, we could try that." Julie points out thoughtfully and Rae grins, bumping shoulders and rolling into her splits.
"I won't be that far. We can talk and text and call. It's not like we'll be cut off. You're still my best friend. Even if you are from Texas." Rae promises.
"Does Tim know what you're going to do yet?" Julie asks curiously and Rae hangs her head.
"He doesn't know exactly but he knows I'm not going to San Antonio. But god Jules, I want to. I wish I could want that." She says miserably.
"If my mom was here, I'm sure she'd say something kind and sweet and enlightening about not losing yourself into some boy and how important it is that you're forging your own path without Tim Riggins." Julie tells her and Rae nods. "But it sucks cause you want to be with him."
"I hate growing up." Rae says.
"Well you gotta, cause last time I checked, you were responsible for a teenager." Julie reminds her and Rae smiles.
"I wish it wasn't like this." Rae mummers, tracing patterns on Tim's bare back. He switches his head to look at her.
"What's like this?" He asks.
"I wish I was angry with you. I wish I could throw your state ring at you and call you a jackass and all the things you probably deserve over the course of our relationship. But here I am, deeply, deeply in love with you. And that makes everything so much harder." She admits.
"What am I going to do without you?" He asks and she shrugs.
"You'll drink too much and sleep too long and I doubt you'll go to class. But I have faith in you." She says softly.
"Do you think I'm going to flunk out of college?" He asks and instead of answering she kisses him.
"Hey Rae." Carden says, setting his books down on the table.
"Yes brat." She says, not looking up from the mountain of paperwork that she's looking through.
"What are you doing?" He asks, picking one paper up and looking at it. Rae snatches it back.
"This is me trying to gain a scholarship." She mutters.
"Can I help?" Carden asks.
"You could make me a sandwich and tell me why you're being so sweet to me." She requests.
"Because I counted today."
"Counted what?" Rae asks, looking up.
"Days left of school." He says.
"Yeah? How many?" She asks, setting her pencil down and taking the sandwich from him.
"School days or normal days?"
"Both. School days first, then days total."
"27 school days, 36 days total." He says, sitting down.
"Your sandwich is delicious. Who taught you to cook?" She asks and he raises an eyebrow.
"This isn't cooking Rae. It's a sandwich. That means you have less than 40 days to tell Tim that we're moving to Duluth pretty much the second you walk off that stage." He points out and she rubs your temples.
"Why is everyone so concerned about Tim and I's relationship?" She mutters and Carden scrapes his chair on the kitchen floor.
"Because when we leave, you're not just losing a boyfriend. I'm losing my big brother." He reminds her, getting up and walking to his room. Rae flings her pencil at the closing door.
"Babe." Tim says, startling her. He's standing in the doorway, looking at her strangely.
"Hi, sorry, where have you been?" She asks hurriedly, trying to gather the papers in a nice pile.
"Have you eaten tonight?" He demands and she looks around, noticing the dark sky and time.
"Uh, Carden… He made me a sandwich at like… 5:30." She says and he shakes his head.
"Rae that's not a real meal." He reminds her gently, picking up one of the pieces of paper.
"I'm not hungry." She insists.
"You haven't been eating." He says, pulling the fridge open.
"Why are you watching out for me? This is reversed. Don't flip the world around on me." She protests.
"Well you don't eat when I'm not here to remind you. You gotta cut that out when you go… Go to wherever it is that you're going." He says, gesturing with his hands fruitlessly.
"Duluth." She says quietly.
"What?" He asks, looking at her.
"Duluth." She repeats, keeping eye contact with him. "I am going to the University of Minnesota in Duluth and I will be a Bulldog. Carden is going to start high school at Duluth East and he is going to be a Greyhound."
"I didn't… I didn't know that you had this so planned out." Tim says, fridge still wide open. She nudges it shut with her toe. "Did you even consider San Antonio State, like at all?" He asks, a wounded note in his voice and she finally looks away, unable to handle it.
"I did. You know I did, I got scholarships. I got accepted. I want to go Tim. But do you want to be strapped with the burden that is Carden and I?" She asks and he shakes his head, running a hand through his hair.
"Rae, you're not a burden." He says softly.
"No, but I sure come with a lot of them." She says, slumping over and putting her head on the table.
"Would you eat?" Tim asks quietly, stroking her head. She looks up and nods. "Thank you."
"Come with me." She says suddenly. "Come to UMD. Hell, don't go to UMD. Come with me and get a job. You can work nights and be there in the day with Carden. I'll go to class and work and we can make it just like it is here. We practically live together here, so why would it be any different in Minnesota?" She begs, tugging on his hand.
"Rae." He says softly. "There's snow there." She breaks down in giggles, shaking her head.
"Alright, alright. You win." She admits.
"Whoa, what were those words?" He asks, taken aback. Rae gives him an annoyed look. "Can I have a repeat?"
"You win." She says loudly. "You win, you have a better point than me! Tim Riggins wins!"
"Can we get that on tape? Can I have that on a plaque?" He asks loudly, picking her up. "Mark the day that I won and Maisie Rae lost!"
"Are you done?" She demands as he spins her around. "Are you done being a sassy little shit?"
"No, never, not when my winning streak is so hot."
"You are an ungrateful winner Tim Riggins and frankly I don't think it's good for you."
"You graduated!" Julie yells, hugging her tightly.
"Careful, you'll pull my tassel right off." Rae protests but beams and hugs Julie back just as tight.
"Rae, congratulations. We are so proud of you." Mrs. Taylor says, hugging her. "So proud."
"I could have never done it without you." She says honestly.
"Tim, nicely done." Coach says, shaking his hand.
"Thank you coach." Tim says, shaking Mrs. Taylor hand and giving Julie a brief hug. He smiles at Rae as she struggles not to cry.
"You and your diploma. What a sight." She says and Tim ducks his head, shrugging. She leans into his side. "Done with high school. On to college." She says, watching as the rest of their class exchange hugs.
"What time does your flight leave?" He asks quietly and she looks up at him, shaking her head.
"Can we do this tomorrow?" She pleads and he nods, kissing her.
"Is this the last time I'm going to fall asleep with you in my arms?" Tim asks, kissing her forehead as they snuggle into bed after the party.
"No." Rae says instantly. "No, it's not. Because I will visit. I will see you. This is not goodbye Tim Riggins. Not goodbye."
"Except tomorrow you get on a plane." He reminds her and Rae is silent for a long moment.
"Get on it with me."
"Goodnight Rae. I love you."
"This is only goodbye for a little bit." Rae promises, clinging tightly to Julie. "Only a summer or two. I'm going to come visit, I promise. I promise Jules. And you can come visit anytime." She rocks back and forth and lets go.
"Sweetie, you need anything, anything, you just call." Mrs. Taylor says, enveloping her in a tight hug.
"I will, I will. I promise." Rae says and even Coach Taylor hugs her. Julie hugs Carden close.
"You be safe, Rae." Coach Taylor says bracingly.
"I will, I will. I really can't thank you enough." She says. "And baby Gracie, next time I see you, you'll be all big, you'll be so big, you'll forget to give me kisses." Rae says, kissing Gracie's head repeatedly.
"Oh no, she'll never forget kisses, we'll make sure she remembers all the kisses you given her. You've given her millions and millions." Julie says and Rae is silent, kissing Gracie again.
"We gotta go y'all. Your flight is getting ready, we gotta go." Mrs. Taylor says, gathering everyone. More hugs are exchanged and Rae waves goodbye to the first family to accept her in Dillon with a watery smile.
"I'll wait with you until the last possible second." Tim vows and Rae holds his hand tightly.
"I should give you this back." She says suddenly, pulling the state ring from around her neck.
"Don't you dare." Tim says, pushing her hand away. "You leave that thing on. The day you decide that you don't love me anymore, you take that thing off and send it back to me." She stares up into his eyes. His mouth is a firm line.
"Tim," She protests.
"No, no. That's not me trying to make you stay faithful. That's not something I can ask you. I'm just saying that as long as you have that ring, there'll be a chance that my girl will come back. You keep it." He protests and her hand closes around the ring tightly.
"I love you." She says, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I know. You're my girl Rae. I love you too. My girl. You're my girl. I love you. I love you. I love you."
AN: The end is getting closer... This chapter may or may not be my favorite, for many reasons. But let me know what you think too- love it, hate it, can't wait for more, anything. Thank you for reading!