Remember The Titans One Shot
The town you lived in hadn't been all that accepting of the integration, kicked up a right fuss about it as was expected.
Luckily for you, your parents were one of the only families not openly opposing the integration for T.C. Williams, they didn't necessarily accept it with enthusiasm, but they weren't about to flip at people who had no control over what was going on.
On the first day of school, the only mingling you saw between the blacks and the whites was within the football team.
You remembered Gerry from your old school, the two of you were often in chemistry together and he praised you for getting him through some classes.
"Gerry!" you called out to him, walking a bit quicker to catch up with him at his locker.
He smiled at you and greeted you with a quick hug. "Hey Y/N! How was your summer?"
You shrugged and explained the holiday you had gone on with your whole family, but then realised Gerry had a friend stood next to him who hadn't be introduced.
Gerry realised this. "Y/N, this is Julius Campbell," he gestured to the black guy standing next to his locker. "And Julius, this is Y/N Y/L/N."
"Nice to meet you," you held your hand out to him. "I got Gerry through chemistry last year."
Julius shook your hand, seeming surprised that you had even held it out to him in the first place. "He's not a chemist then?"
Gerry laughed and shook his head as he crossed his arms. "You know Gerry, more about the field than he is the classroom."
"Can you blame me? Way more interesting out there," Gerry tried to defend himself but then the bell rang. "I expect to see you at our games Y/N!"
You waved goodbye and headed to your next class, coincidentally it was chemistry.
When you walked in, you didn't see Gerry, but you saw Julius. As he had no one sat next to him, you took the opportunity to be nice but also ruffle some feather in the process.
He looked surprised as you came to sit next to him. "You don't mind do you?"
"Uh, no, not at all," he stammered slightly, seemingly in surprise. "I promise I don't need any tutoring though."
You laughed as you got your books out. "That's okay, maybe you can help me – Gerry overestimates my ability."
Julius shook his head, a slight smile on his face. "Nah, I've not known Gerry all that long but he's a pretty straight up guy, if he says you got him through the class then you did."
You smiled slightly, but then your attention turned to the teacher as they came into the room.
Throughout the class you felt eyes on you, you knew who they were from, and you knew why. Not that many of your peers were so accepting of their new classmates as you were, but you saw no reason not to be accepting.
Julius spoke to you occasionally, he was pleasant enough, but you could still tell he was surprised at your choice of seat.
When the class ended you smiled at Julius as you packed up your things, wished him goodbye and then went to head to your next class.
As you walked, however, Julius caught up with you and got you to stop. "Everything okay?" you asked him.
He sighed. "Why did you sit with me?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Scoffing, he shifted on his feet. "You know why," he stated. "Not that I don't appreciate the company, I do, but your people won't be too happy with you now."
You rolled your eyes. "Julius, I sat with you because you seem like a good guy and I like knowing good guys," he smiled at your words. "Besides, you're good at chemistry and I need a good lab partner."
~*~
Written by Hannah.