(Untitled)

[texas_forever]

Tim hadn't thought much about it the first night. He'd stumbled in late, exhausted from doing actual work all day and had been asleep before he'd even been horizontal. Hadn't thought much about it when he'd finally woken up either, the sunshine through the slats blinding him and rousing him reluctantly

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[izzyevans]

She was tired of the stockpile of old Cosmopolitans in her room. Isabel needed some new reading material and stat. Having hiked all the way up to pay Hyacinthe a visit anyway, stopping in at the compound was totally on her way home. So, she breezed inside and headed to the rec room.

Of course, the moment she set foot inside, the jukebox started up with that damned song again and all thoughts of new fashion magazines went right out the window. Incensed, she threw her hands up in the air and stalked over to it. "Okay, this is getting completely out of hand. I mean, really, do you think--" During her ranting and raving, Isabel caught sight of a prone figure on the couch, a prone figure that didn't look good at all. Cutting off abruptly, Isabel's hands dropped down to her sides and she just looked. "Tim?"

[texas_forever]

Tim recognizes the song, but only vaguely, something he'd heard a few times on the radio back in middle school, back in Dillon, and it barely filters through the muddled haze, only makes his brow furrow in bare discomfort.

And then he hears his name.

His frown deepens and he blinks his eyes open, head lolling to one side to try and see who's calling him. Sometimes he thinks he'll just blink and find himself on his coach back home with Billy screaming above him. Not this time, though, because that voice is definitely not Billy's.

"Yeah?" he finally drawls once his gaze settles on the figure in front of him. Isabel. There's a part of him that wants to smile, that tries to smile. But, he doesn't quite get there.

[izzyevans]

Something was wrong, really damned wrong. Though Isabel had no idea what was going on, she could tell that much. Taking a few steps closer to him, her nose wrinkled. She could smell the alcohol from where she was standing.

Yeah, something had definitely gone down. Isabel wasn't going to ask something trite, like 'are you okay?' It was obvious he wasn't.

"What happened?" she said instead, looking down at him, unsure as to whether or not he actually wanted company.

[texas_forever]

For a second, he's tempted to play dumb, maybe ask her what she's talking about. Except that'd actually require thought or something like it and he's pretty sure he doesn't have what it takes to handle that the moment. Damn beer.

Thank God, he'd had beer. Maybe he'll regret it later, but right now it feels pretty damn nice. Kinda numbing. Better than the alternative.

"Same ol' shit," he tells her and tries to shrug before blinking slowly. He manages to quirk a smile then, even if it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "You lookin' for somethin'?"

[all_happening]

It took a while for Penny to even notice that Tim had come into the room, from where she was sorting through albums in front of the bookshelf. She was reaching the point of being tempted to give it up entirely, as it constantly refused to yield anything good anymore, but as frustrated as she was, she couldn't help but smile when she glanced up and saw Tim.

The smile didn't last, though, after she saw the look on his face. She was on her feet within seconds, lips curving in a frown, and while she didn't cross completely to him, she was already walking forward. "Hey," she said, as quietly as she could and still be heard. "What's up?"

[texas_forever]

A frown curves his lips at the familiar voice and he twitches slightly, eyes blinking open, everything still blurred in front of him.

"Penny?" he manages to murmur. His eyes still haven't really adjusted, but that probably has less to do with the dimness of the Compound and everything to do with the alcohol. In a way, it's almost comforting. He pulls in a slow breath then and tries to sit up a little, legs shifting useless. "Hey..."

[all_happening]

As much as she hated admitting it, she worried more easily lately, and his response -- or lack thereof, really -- was enough to get her the rest of the way across the room, legs tucked up beside her on the couch so she could face him.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied slowly, eyes narrowing with concern. "Tim, what's going on? You're - you don't look good." And he smelled like he'd been drinking, but if that really was the case, he wouldn't need her to point that out.

[texas_forever]

His eyes close when he notices she's getting closer and the dip in the couch makes his stomach roll again, but he manages to not slump back, just teetering a minute as he tries to get his head under order again. Jesus, he's fucked up and he knows it. Back in Dillon, he'd been able to handle a six pack no problem. Or at least he'd never figured it was a problem.

Different here.

"Jus'..." he says, trailing off as he leans forward to rest his forehead on the heel of his hand. "'m fine. Gimme a minute."

[just_wontsettle]

Jason'd been watching him a few minutes now. That familiar slump of his shoulders. Sleepy-eyed, slack-jawed, wobbly-legged, vacant look that Tim Riggins seemed to wear like a second skin.

They hadn't spoken in a few days, and Jason tried not to connect it in his mind with the silence he'd gotten from Coach lately. Just a coincidence, and it'd been a few weeks since Tim had just about drunk himself into oblivion. It figured he'd be due for a meltdown right about now.

Jaw set, Jason looked on from the doorway, huffing out a breath before he finally spoke.

"Get up."

[texas_forever]

He thinks it's in his head at first, his brow creasing and lips twitching into a frown as he tries to shove it away. Because getting up is just about the last thing he wants right now. He's sweaty from the wall and his mouth feels like something's crawled into it and died and he's really pretty sure that his legs won't even work if he tries using them right now.

Finally, he turns his head, eyes sliding open until he sees Jason.

"Gotta talk to you," he slurs before he blinks his eyes closed again and takes a slow breath, trying to calm the way his stomach is doing somersaults again.

[just_wontsettle]

"Alright, Tim. Go ahead, I'm all ears," he said, looking expectant -- frustrated and just plain over it but really, more than a little bit worried. The worry was something he hid. One of those closely guarded secrets between friends.

He had a lot of practice at it.

[texas_forever]

'Course now that he actually has to say something, he's not sure he can. Swallowing, he tries to collect his thoughts and line them up. Jason's not looking for excuses and Tim's not looking to give him any, but that's probably what it'll look like anyway.

"Coach's gone," he says finally and then lets out a breath. It rolls out easily -- way more easily than he's expecting -- and he lifts a hand to scrub over his face.

[hauntedbyelvis]

"Tim?" I ask when I see him, the telltale signs of his alcohol use apparent even to me. I'm not much of a drinker and perhaps I don't know Tim as well as others do, but I've seen him like this before and I know the signs. Something has gone wrong and, as a result, Tim has gotten drunk. "Tim, what is it?" I ask as I come further into the room.

[texas_forever]

Tim doesn't recognize the voice at first and, as a result, only grunts a reply, brow creased as he gives a shrug and one foot twitches.

Eventually, though, he opens his eyes and manages to turn his head to see Sarac-- Odd -- to see Odd standing a few feet away. "Hey," he drawls, but doesn't offer any explanation. "You seen Jay?"

[hauntedbyelvis]

"No, Tim, I haven't. What's the matter?" I ask again. Tim Riggins may be able to charm girls into forgetting whatever questions they may have for him, he may be able to flirt his way out of a thousand different scenarios and he may be able to play stupid with the authority figures, but I'm not quite so easily fooled.

Not in this case, anyway.

"What happened? And don't tell me nothing happened, because I may not be the brightest bulb in the room, but I'm still psychic and I can... sense your aura," I finish, knowing that sounds ridiculous as soon as I say it. I've never been able to sense auras and I'm not even psychic anymore.

[texas_forever]

"You're what?" Tim asks, still frowning deeply as he squints up at Odd. "Thought you just saw dead people."

And, yeah, he knows he's still dodging the question, but he doesn't really want to face it yet. Not until he talks to Jason and maybe not even then. Because what the hell is it about this place that doesn't let people stay? And how long before Jason's gone? Just another one to mark off the list?

[15_words]

Without invitation or preamble, Jaye dropped onto the couch beside Tim. Her legs only stretched a fraction of the distance that Tim's managed to, but she was a world-class sloucher and would not be out-slouched by a Texan just because he was taller.

And drunker.

"You must have been reaaaaally bored," she observed.

[texas_forever]

His eyes stay closed, but his eyebrows lift lazily and he gives a grunt when he feels the weight of someone next to him. Lips still tugged into a frown, he recognizes the voice and, reluctantly, blinks his eyes open to look over at her.

"Somethin' like that," he says quietly, no evidence of teasing in his tone whatsoever. He hasn't seen her much since the day he's made her pamper him, but then he's hardly seen anyone in the past few days, so that's really not that weird.

[15_words]

"Something like that," she echoed, her own eyebrow lifting as she gave him the once-over. Not bored then. Even drunk he would have tried to respond a little better. Jaye knew she could be entertaining, and she usually had a good time with Tim. So, if not bored, what else did that leave?

Drinking to forget. Emotions. Oh, ew.

Her nose wrinkled without her conscious approval. "What happened?" she asked.

[texas_forever]

Underneath the haze and the twisting-rolling-rising thing his stomach keeps doing, he feels a pang of guilt. It slides away fairly quickly though as he lets out a breath through his nose and scrubs a hand over his face before looking over at Jaye again.

"Kinda drunk," he tells her, like that's not obvious. And it's probably not the answer she's looking for, but probably about the best Tim's gonna do for the moment.