đˇđđđđđđ âż (blossomed) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-09-24 19:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, blossom, tim riggins |
WHO: Blossom & Tim Riggins
WHERE: Random Diner
WHEN: {backdated} mid August?
WHAT: Blossom won a bet, she and Tim end up getting foods.
WARNINGS: PG
STATUS: Complete
Timâs time back in Texas had gone by too quickly. Two weeks was not enough time to spend with Street and Billy, Mostly Street. Sometimes Billy got on his nerves. Okay a lot of the time, but the guy was still his brother. It had just felt good to be back in Texas, where there was plenty of open land and everyone loved football - almost as much as him,
Even though he loved every minute he spent back home there was a part of him that missed Blossom. Hell he was even looking forward to seeing her again and just how much she had learned about football while he was away.
He was not disappointed. She didnât seem to have a complete handle of the game but she at least knew all the positions and how points were made. She needed some help on the rules still though if she truly wanted to follow along at a game. But still he was impressed with how much she had picked up. Which meant that he had to live up to his end of the deal and take her out somewhere. Not that that was a bad thing. Tim just, well he didnât really do things like that. When he went out it was usually to a party, or a bar, occasionally a strip club. He figured Blossom hadnât meant a party, and he didnât think sheâd be a fan of the other two options either.
He honestly had no idea what Blossom meant by out. He figured she just meant doing something that wasnât going over football and game tapes back at his dorm. At least that was what he was hoping she meant. And not like out on a date. For one Tim didnât do dates. He had never been on one in his life before. Even with Lyla. That had been sneaking around and hooking up.
He figured dinner would work. Dinner was good, right? Friends had dinner. Not that he wasnât attracted to Blossom and yeah he had a tendency to flirt with her. But he knew she was the relationship type. And Tim wasnât. So friends with a hot girl it was. Not that he had ever really been friends with a girl before either. But it seemed like a better option than nothing at all.
Tim texted Blossom to meet him at one of his favorite burger places just off campus. It didnât quite compare to the burgers back in Texas, but then nothing did. Dressed in jeans and one of his many plaid shirts Tim walked inside looking around for that familiar head of red hair.
Blossom wouldn't say she worked her ass off to learn about football, not exactly. But she'd tried. Which was the main thing.
She'd started with calling Buttercup, asking about how to learn without watching ESPN which just assumed that everyone knew everything from the first viewing. The recommendation had been watching other people learn, since Buttercup didn't have the time or inclination to talk Blossom through learning these things it seemed like the best bet. So while Tim was back home, Blossom had worked it into her week that she saw some kids games of football a time or two, and had a little bit of coaching from an actual coach. Which ended up helping immensely, since she ultimately won the sort of bet with Tim.
She had checked out what place they were going to once Tim had text her, making sure she didn't get over dressed but didn't look too casual either. So she showed up a little early in skinny jeans and a pale pink off the shoulder top with her hair up in a high ponytail with a bow holding it together. It wasn't her usual, but her dreams were definitely starting to influence her style choices. She was definitely wearing a lot more pinks and blush colours for one thing. She'd managed to snag a booth at the back of the diner, already peering at the menu just as she spotted Tim come in.
"Hey," she gave a small wave to draw attention, beaming brightly.
It didnât take long for Tim to spot her. A smile crossed his face as he made his way over to the booth sliding in across from her. âHey.â
Tim took the extra menu and just glanced at it. He didnât really need to look. He already knew what he was going to order. He came here often enough after all. Or well as often as he could afford to at least. He didnât get things for free as much as he had back in Texas. Pushing the menu aside he looked back over at Blossom. âSo,â he began pushing somer hair out of his face. âOther than studying football what have you been up to?â
Folding the menu up, deciding on what sheâd have, Blossom tried to remember what sheâd been up to around the learning while Tim was away. âWell, I did have to meet up twice for class enrollment, but um, I got another two dogs to walk, and a few of the walks resulted in people coming back to the shelter to fill out adoption forms too, so that was great.â Blossom was loving what was happening with the dog walking, the fact that she could be outside but also doing something good, it was nice.
âI was in a tiny snow flurry, which was so cool, and I even met a few people.â Which was obviously something she was still working on.
âHow was your trip home?â
âYeah?â Tim replied about the dogs. âThatâs great,â he paused briefly biting down on his lower lip. âYou know, if youâre going to come see some of my games,â even if she wasnât coming for him but as a way to meet other people. âI think itâs only fair I go on a walk with you.â He had to admit he kind of wanted to see Blossom convince someone to come back and adopt a dog. It was pretty damn admirable if you asked him.
He knitted his brow at her next comment. âA snow flurry?â Wasnât it not supposed to snow in Southern California. Especially in the middle of summer.
The server came by before Tim could answer Blossomâs question. He ordered himself a double stack with extra cheese, fries and a coke, waiting for Blossom to place her order before answering her question.
âIt was good to be home,â he finally replied. âSpent some time with my brother and with Street.â Jason Street was his best friend, the reason he had gone to college though he hadnât told Blossom that much. Hell he could barely admit that to himself. But if Street couldnât play football anymore, Tim would for the both of them.
âOh,â Blossom would honestly love company for the walks, it was nice taking the dogs out and who she got to talk to while she was out with them. But company to walk and talk meanwhile would be good, âthatâd be really cool if you wanted to.â And she could maybe do an extra few dogs.
âI know right,â the idea of a snow flurry in Orange County was insane but Blossom had loved it. âIt was so cool, and kinda weird, but mostly cool.â And she chuckled a little at her own joke. After Tim gave his order, Blossom opted for a Spanish omelette and a strawberry milkshake, keeping true to her colour scheme too.
âThatâs great, Iâm sure they missed you.â It did sound like Tim was close to his family and friends around his home. At least California wasnât so far away from Texas that he couldnât visit them during the off season and summer. âDid you party like crazy with your old friends?â Just because she assumed that was what people did.
âYeah,â Tim replied. âTraining is pretty brutal but I can fit it in.â That was an understatement. Tim hated training - it was mostly drills. And all Tim wanted to do was actually play. Unfortunately he couldnât blow it off as much as he did in high school. Couldnât risk losing his spot on the team and his scholarship.
Tim let out a small laugh as well. It still seemed weird to him, but the joke was amusing all the same. He let the subject drop though - not really knowing what else to say about snow in the summer.
âThere were a few parties,â he admitted. And a few nights at The Landing Strip where his brother fiance worked. It was a good time over all, felt just like high school in a way, like nothing had changed. It had been more difficult to come back than Tim wanted to admit. âYou hit up any parties without me?â
From what Blossom had seen of the few practise games sheâd used to educate herself -other than the kids group, she could see what Tim meant about them being brutal. âWell, itâd be great for you to come,â because heâd obviously have a great time with the dogs any way, âItâs nice to be out and walking and getting air and the dogs are so sweet.â
And Blossom always like company anyway.
âWell, youâre meant to relax and unwind, so some parties is understandable.â Why not, he was on break too. âI did,â and Blossom was sure it counted as an actual party too, âone of the girls in my class heard about a party at a sorority, so we went there. It was a little uptight honestly.â Not the opposite of a frat party, but there were a lot of girls just in skimpy clothes and some pool games and some dance things and drinking games but nothing that was like, messy or unflattering for them. âI didnât have as much fun.â
âYou have any walks tomorrow?â Tim questioned showing he was serious about his offer. âIâm done around noon.â Though he had to be there at the crack of dawn. His least favorite part of the season. He wasnât even sure if it was worth it anymore. But he made a promise to Street and he intended on keeping it. Plus he did still love the actual playing part.
Tim raised a brow at her response. He hadnât been expecting that. Though it was good. He wanted her to go out and have fun. With or without him. âYou thinking about joining one?â Tim questioned. He wasnât the hugest fan of sorority girls. They were too uptight for him. Though he had somehow made friends with one. Probably because Jess also like to make fun of the ridiculousness of sorority and fraternity life along with him.
âWhat can I say,â he added a small smirk forming on his face at her last comment. âI do know how to party.â
âUm, I have two, one with a chow-chow in the morning, and one with a pair of yorkies in the afternoon. You could come with my for Nancy and Sidâs walk?â Blossom enjoyed taking out more than one dog, but sometimes it was complicated to play and look after them at the same time.
âOh, gosh, no.â Blossom didnât really have the âitâ thing for sororities. She knew that she was pretty enough, but that wasnât her focus, and while she was definitely of the mindset, determination and upbeatness to be a pledge, she didnât have it in her to be mean or rude to anyone. She just always got the impression that sororities were filled with the girls that made fun of her in high school for getting top grades all the time. âI donât think Iâd fit in there at all.â
She didnât want to constantly be trying to be perfect either. âYeah, you really do.â There wasnât even a question about it honestly, sheâd had a lot of fun at the party with Tim, she wasnât sure if it was just his easy going nature or because she tried too hard on her own. âI must need more practise.â
Tim couldnât do the morning walk because of training but Blossom already knew that and was offering him another option. âI could make that work,â he replied giving her another grin.
âGood,â Tim commented as their food came. âYou wouldnât want to fit in with them anyway.â Despite the fact that he went to a lot of the parties, he didnât exactly have a high opinion of sorority girls or frat boys. He didnât care much for joiners or people who just wanted to fit in. Tim was all about his own path, not giving a shit what anyone else thought.
He picked up his burger taking a bite and washing it down with his coke before replying to Blossomâs last statement. âYeah?â he rose his brow. âThat your way of asking me to take you to another one?â
Blossom was constantly getting those happy little butterfly feelings every time Tim came up with a way to hang out, like he genuinely wanted to spend time with her and it wasnât still just an accidental meeting at a coffee shop. âThatâd be really cool, and Iâd love the company.â Which was very true.
Cutting up her omelette, Blossom nodded thoughtfully, âI guess youâre right, I never liked those type of girls when I was in high school.â And the point of college was to leave all that high school angst behind her, she didnât want to have another four years of feeling put down. âIâm happy with just the occasional run in with some of them.â If she had classes it was fine for meeting with people. But she didnât need to live with them.
But she needed to wonder about the parties, was she hinting at more parties with Tim? She did enjoy the frat party, and she was aware that a lot of it was because Tim made things fun and helped her not stress so much. âI wouldnât mind,â picking at her food, she shot a small smile, âit was definitely the most fun Iâve had.â
âWhere should I meet you?â Tim asked. âTraining is done at noon.â And he couldnât wait to get into the actual practice part of it all. Playing football.
It wasnât like Tim knew Blossom that well. They had only met a few months ago. But he didnât like the idea of her turning into some vapid sorority girl. She had too much personality for that. One that he was really beginning to like. A lot.
âIâm gonna need more context,â Tim joked taking a bite of his burger. âMost fun youâve had in a long time? Ever? Since you got here?â If it wasnât the latter he was going to make sure he found some way to get Blossom to have the most fun she had ever had.
âIf you want to meet at the park? Itâll let the dogs get comfortable too and then meet you there.â And it meant Blossom could get past the cute little phase at the shelter where she was ridiculous with the dogs and Tim didnât need to see that. âAnd you can probably clean up if you need to? Iâm sure practise will be hard, right?â
Blossom tended to find that friends were complex for her, she hoped the college broke the trend, she seemed to be doing okay with Tim and some others in the area, she didnât think Elsa was likely to be a college friend but she could be friends with people out of school too.
âUm,â picking a little at her food, trying to think, and being genuinely unsure, Blossom tallied up her experience at the party with Tim against previous instances of fun, âSince I got here, for sure. In a long time? Probably, Prom wasnât super fun for me,â she was only invited by a friend so she didnât get left out, and it was fun but she knew she was just an invite for pity sake. âIâm sure Iâve had fun like that with my dad and sisters before, but that was absolutely the best party Iâve ever been at.â
âYou mean you donât want me to show up smelling like sweat?â Tim joked. Because yeah training was brutal. Tim couldnât wait till it was back to regular practices and that entailed more playing football and less drills.
Tim hadnât gone to Prom at all. Not his scene. So Blossom had him beat there. Though Tim didnât really consider going to Prom winning anyway. âYouâre just confirming my decision to skip it,â Tim grinned popping another fry in his mouth. âYeah?â he rose his brow. âYou know Iâm taking that as a challenge. Iâll have to top it next time.â
âI mean, I wouldnât mind,â maybe a little, sure a little bit of a sweaty man was somewhat appealing, but after however many hours of running around in the heat, that could get gross, âbut the idea is for the dogs to like you. They have sensitive noses.â Blossom didnât really know if there was any truth behind dogs not liking sweat, but it couldnât smell nice, right? Then again, dogs sniffed butts in greeting.
âI kinda wish Iâd skipped it.â She couldâve spent the night with her dad in the lab, doing something both of them enjoyed with people they wanted to spend time with. But teenage social structures were hard to break out of.
âI get the feeling that you like to rise to a challenge?â Blossom smirked around her straw, mostly giddy at the prospect of better parties.
âWell then Iâll shower,â Tim replied with a grin, though he had been planning on showering anyway. âFor the dogs.â
He took another bite of his burger before answering her question. âHavenât met a challenge I couldnât beat,â he replied basically proving her point. And he had a feeling there were going to be many challenges where Blossom was involved. Especially given their relationship so far. But for now? He just wanted to enjoy his burger and her company on their non-date.