Little Daisy

Powder Puff

Julie sits down at lunch the next day with a slam of her lunch tray.

"My mom's making me and Tyra play in that stupid powder puff game. She knows I hate football and everything about it. Matt chose me for powder puff and Tim chose Lyla. That's what you missed today in the sad life of Julie Taylor." She snaps. "Oh, and he chose me third."

"Who'd he choose before you?" She demands, with the right amount of outrage, but all of her thoughts are on Tim and Lyla. When schools out, she hurries to catch Tim before practice.

"Tim. Tim!" She says loudly, catching his attention. He frowns, walking over to her, glancing around.

"Rae, I told you I couldn't study, it's powder puff, but if I need help I'll come over." He says lowly. Rae holds her arms.

"Or you could ask Lyla for help. I'm sure it'd be easier, since you did pick her for your powder puff team." She accuses then storms away. He stares after her then runs a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do.

He walks into Rae's house, face cloudy.

"Oh shit." Carden says, glancing at his sister, scrambling for cover. Rae strides out from the kitchen, face equally as pissed off.

"Listen Rae, the powder puff thing is whatever. It's not a big deal at all. Lyla can play, that's all. She's done it before and her dad's taught her everything there is to know about the game. She is an asset and I want to win." He informs her, before she can kick him out.

"I don't give a shit about that Tim." Rae says flatly. "What I care about is that you kiss me like I'm the only girl you're gonna be kissing that night, then you go off and choose the girl you've slept with to play for you. Granted, you've fucked pretty much all of the rally girls, but just a little thought on your part would be nice. I meant it when I told Mrs. Taylor I wouldn't have sex with you, because I am your tutor. But god, for a couple seconds there you let me think about it." She accuses. Carden covers his ears and runs at this point.

"You thought about having sex with me?" He asks, totally sidetracked. She throws her hands up.

"I did, before I realized I clearly meant nothing to you. If I'm just your tutor, fine. But don't kiss me, not talk to me about what it meant, and then be a jackass about it." She commands.

"There's so much shit going around the team with this whole racist thing, I don't need this from you too." He tells her, peeved. She cocks her head, any light from her eyes gone.

"Funny, Tim, because I don't need you, period. Get out of my house." She orders, deadly calm. Tim does as told, slamming the door on his way out. Carden emerges from his bedroom.

"You two are pretty fun to watch fight when you're both really pissed off." He comments.

"Shut up." Rae says halfheartedly, tired.

Tim glances into the stand during the powder puff game and is surprised to see Rae, sitting with some dance girls. She watches the entire game halfheartedly, never once looking his way. At the end, he walks up to her when she's leaning against the rails of the bleachers.

"I didn't come to watch you." She says instantly. "I'm waiting for Julie so we can go to dance together."

"Well there wasn't much to watch anyways." He mutters, shaking his head. She reaches down and pulls his sunglasses off.

"I like seeing you lose. It's a new side of you." She says, trying them on. He's too amused to be offended. "And I swear I came to watch Julie, not you." She repeats firmly.

"And yet here you are." He points out. She sighs, pushing his sunglass on to the top of her head.

"Here I am." She says quietly, glancing around. Then she looks down at him. "I don't care if you pick Lyla for your team. I just hate that you kissed me and left. I don't know how you feel because you never said a word to me about it." She informs him. He runs a hand through his hair.

"I'm not good with words." He reminds her. "And this whole stuff with the team and my dad being back... I guess things just got crazy." He says helplessly. Rae shakes her head, pulling the glasses off her head and handing them back to him, mouth a thin line.

"Things got crazy, so you kissed me and it was a mistake. Got it." She says bitterly, walking away.

"Rae, wait!" He protests, jogging to catch up. He grabs her wrist and tugs her to a stop. "That's not how it is. What I meant was... Things are crazy but that doesn't mean I don't want you to stop wearing my number." He says, desperately trying to get her to understand. She looks down at him. "And I still need your help with that Gatsby final, cause you know I hated that book from start to finish." He begs quietly. She tries to hide her smile.

"Grab your books. Meet you at my house after this." She orders, biting her lip, but her eyes are twinkling.

"Rae, wait." He says, tugging on her wrist. She bends over the railing, curious. He grabs her face and kisses her, then grabs her under the armpits and pulls her over railing, making her squeal in surprise. He picks her up, laughing at her protests, carrying her towards the parking lot. Both Tyra and Lyla watch them go, both wondering what has possessed Tim Riggins to carry a giggling girl, who is neither a cheerleader nor a rally girl, home.

They sit around her table, snacking and laughing. She throws a chip at him when he tries to explain to her why football is the best sport.

"How can you say hockey is boring compared to football? Have you ever even seen snow?" She points out, tossing her head back in laughter.

"Once or twice, but that doesn't affect my judgment!" He protests. She just shakes her head laughing. She goes to make another point, but the door slams and they both go silent instantly. Her father walks in and Rae stands immediately, glancing at Tim nervously. Unlike the first night, he notices Tim's large frame in the kitchen. Without taking his eyes off of him, he asks low and dangerously,

"Maisie Rae who the hell is this?" Rae wrings her hands, then takes a deep breath and steels herself.

"Dad, this is Tim Riggins. He's the fullback for the Dillon Panther football team." She says, hopeful the title will mean something. Her father doesn't seem to be impressed.

"Why the fuck is he in my house so late?" He demands, finally looking at Rae. She shrinks back and Tim can't help himself. He instinctively takes a protective step towards her.

"I, uh, tutor him. So we were just reviewing for his big test tomorrow." She says carefully. Her father snorts.

"Yeah, I bet you tutor lots of boys. You little slut." He hisses, hitting the chip bag and causing it to spill across the kitchen.

"Sir, I think you need to calm down." Tim says, grabbing Rae and pulling her behind him.

"Who the fuck are you, telling me to calm down?" He spits, getting in Tim's face. "You think that just cause you're sleeping with my daughter you can tell me to calm down?" Rae looks desperately at the door, wondering if she could pull Tim out and make a run for it. But she knows Carden is in his room.

"Sir, I'm just requesting you calm down. I know you've been drinking cheap scotch and beer and some vodka. So all I'm saying is it's in all of our best interests if you would calm yourself down, go to sleep, and sleep it off. I mean no disrespect being in your house and your daughter truly is an amazing tutor." Tim says, putting his hands up. Gently, he guides her father towards his bedroom. "And I promise you I am not sleeping with her."

"If that bitch gets pregnant, it'll be the end of me." He mutters, stumbling through the doorway.

"Trust me sir that is not my intention." Tim says, trying to stifle his laughter, closing the door. He turns and looks at Rae, who is wide eyed. Without saying anything, she crosses the short distance and throws her arms around his neck.

For a long time, he just holds her, kissing her head and whispering calming words in her ear. Then she leans back and kisses him, tangling her hands in his long hair, until they're both out of breath. She leans back, looking at him.

"That was amazing." She whispers, awed, hand on his cheek, scratching his stubble gently.

"You deal with that all the time." He whispers back. She laughs weakly, chin quivering. "You're amazing for dealing with that and keeping Carden out of it and watching out for me and keeping your own grades up." He lists off, pulling her into his chest, rocking her back and forth until she calms down.