10. Chapter Ten

Waverly walked into the police station, carrying a tray full of coffees in one hand, her coffee in the other and had a bag slung over her shoulder filled with books from the library.

Her and Nicole have taken to spending time together every day around lunch. Expect today Nicole canceled, saying something about having to review a case for Nedley.

Waverly would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to see Nicole, even if just for an hour.

So Waverly decided to surprise Nicole with coffee anyways and of course the other officers on duty. She brought some books along with her that way even if Nicole was still busy reviewing some case, they could at least sit in the breakroom, enjoy their coffee and do their own thing.

There was no one else that Waverly could just sit in silence with while they both did their own thing. Being alone with Champ meant that they had to be doing something together (usually something Champ chose). When they were alone together, it was like they were one person instead of two completely different people, with completely different interests.

It was nice and new to be able to just sit and be with someone just for the comfort or just because you wanted to be around them and they wanted to be around you too.

“Miss Earp, so good to see you,” Eric called from the front desk, quickly scrambling to hide the file he had been reading over. A file on missing girls from a couple years ago that Nicole had given him a few minutes prior, that she had dug up in the archives in the basement. A file that Nedley nor anyone else but Nicole knew he had.  

He nodded towards the coffees she was carrying. “One of those for me?”

“Of course, gotta keep Purgatory’s finest caffeinated,” Waverly smiled setting her coffee on the desk and handing him the coffee cup marked two sugars.

She’s brought coffee to the station enough times in the past few days that she has everyone’s order down. Not that it was hard to really remember, there was only five officer, counting Nicole, plus Sheriff Nedley.

“Right, right, as long as your favorite officer is on duty right?” He winked at Waverly then took a sip of the coffee, wincing as the coffee burnt his tongue.

Waverly blushed a deep shade of red and ducked her head, tripping over her words. “I...I….We’re friends, she’s my friend.”

Her best friend. A friend she made all on her own. A friend she felt she could truly be herself around. A friend she truly felt comfortable with. A friend she knew wouldn’t judge her for her quirks.

Don’t get her wrong, Chrissy Nedley was a great friend but, she was no Nicole Haught. Chrissy didn’t make her feel as safe as Nicole did. Chrissy didn’t make her feel as warm and as accepted as Nicole did.

Maybe it was wrong to compare the two but Waverly couldn’t help but to compare Nicole to everyone around her. Nicole was new and shiny and she made Waverly feel things no one had ever made her feel before. And if she was being completely honest with herself, it scared her.

It terrified her that this one person had turned her life upside down, made her question and reevaluate all the relationships she had with people.

“Eric, who are you harassing?” Nicole asked as she walked up to the front desk, slapping another file down for Eric to look over, lowering her voice as she spoke. “I made some notes on things we should probably follow up on.”

Nicole looked up from the file to where Waverly was standing, still holding the tray of coffees. She couldn’t help the grin that made it’s way onto her face as she stepped around the desk, quickly forgetting about the file she just handed off to Eric.

“Waverly, hey, what are you doing here? Did I not tell you I couldn’t do lunch today?”

“Coffee,” Waverly held the tray of coffees up.

Nicole came to stop in front of Waverly, picking up the cup labeled Nicole in Amy’s delicate handwriting. “You didn’t have to do this Waves, we can survive on the sludge Nedley tries to pass off as coffee but, thank you.”

Waverly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear almost shyly, Nicole followed the motion with her eyes, fingers twitching against her coffee cup. It was weird, she had never wanted to brush hair behind a girl’s ear as much as she wanted to brush a stray strand of hair behind Waverly’s ear.

Maybe allow her fingers linger than for a moment, before letting her hand drift down to cup Waverly’s cheek and maybe just maybe, pull her in for a kiss.

No, no, no. Don’t go there Nicole. Waverly is your friend, your best friend. Even if she wasn’t, she’d never feel the same way. She’s too good for you.

Nicole had never thought about kissing someone as much as she thought about kissing Waverly. Almost every moment they were together, Nicole was thinking about kissing her, holding her, touching her smooth skin in some way. And it was slowly driving her crazy.

“Do you want to come sit in the break room with me?” Nicole asked motioning down the hall where said break room was located. “I have to do some paperwork but I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Waverly nodded and smiled. “I brought books.”

“Always prepared,” Nicole winked and made her way to her desk to grab the files she is supposed to be filling out for Nedley and not the ones she’s supposed to keep hidden for everyone but Eric.

They have barely made heads or tails of all the strange things that have been happening around Purgatory for decades. For decades weird and unexplainable shit has been happening here and has just been swept under a rug by anyone in a position of power.

Nicole and Eric were determined to get to the bottom of it but it was proving harder than they first thought it would be. Add on the fact that they had to hide what they were doing from everyone made it that much harder. Not that talking quietly about some of the stuff in the middle of the station could be considered discreet.

“I’m a planner.” Waverly set the tray of coffees down for Eric to hand out and followed Nicole to the break room.

“Oh trust me, I remember.” How could she forget anything from her first interaction with Waverly? Especially when Waverly had been standing in front of her shirtless and rambling adorably.  

“So, what are you reading?” Nicole asked, pushing her paperwork away and looking up at Waverly, who was staring down at the book in front of her,twirling a strand of hair around her finger, tongue poking out in concentration as she read.

Every time Nicole thought she had never seen Waverly look more beautiful, Waverly goes and proves her wrong.

They have been sitting in silence for twenty minutes or so and Nicole was bored out of her mind. Don’t get her wrong, she loved being in the company of Waverly Earp, being with Waverly was comfortable and relaxing but, paperwork was a bore and sucked the life out of her (or that least it felt that way).

“I’m researching Wyatt Earp and the outlaws he killed,” Waverly answered, not looking up from the book.  

“Wyatt Earp? Any relation?” Nicole knew very little about Wyatt Earp other than the fact that he had apparently drank at Shorty’s.

“Mhm, great-grandfather,” Waverly looked up at Nicole. “Didn’t you know that? Didn’t you know that this is Earp country?”

“Honestly, I seen the signs in Shorty’s but I never put two and two together,” Nicole shrugged then took a sip of her now cold cappuccino.

“You’d be a terrible detective.”

“You wound me Waverly Earp,” Nicole placed her hand on her heart and tapped it gently. “Right here.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. Nicole was a bit dramatic sometimes but, honestly Waverly loved it.

“Tell me about Wyatt and the outlaws he killed?”

“You really want to know?” Waverly asked. No one but her Uncle Curtis wanted to know about the things she was researching or the things she had found out about her heritage. She had tried to talk about them with Champ a few times but after a few minutes he’d tell her to shut her brain off and then try to make out with her.

“Of course.” Nicole propped her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand.

With a nod, Waverly quickly launched into telling Nicole everything she had learned about Wyatt Earp over the past few years (leaving out anything on the Earp curse). She went into detail about all the outlaws she had dug up information on. She wished she had her notes so she could show pictures of the people she was talking about.

Nicole actually looked interested in what she was saying. Nicole listened intently to every word leaving her mouth at a rapid fire rate (she was impressed that Nicole was able to follow along). Waverly never knew it could feel so good to have someone actually listen to you talk about the things you were passionate about.  

Nicole could listen to Waverly talk for hours. She could recite the alphabet and Nicole would happily listen, smile and nod along as if it was the most interesting thing in the world and it would be to her because it was Waverly Earp.

“Hate to interrupt,” Eric poked his head into the room. “But, we got a case Nicole.”

“I’ll be right there,” Nicole began gathering up her papers quickly. “I’m sorry to cut this short, tell me more about it later?”

Waverly nodded. “Of course.”

Nicole smiled and stood, walking around to where Waverly was still sitting. “I’ll see you tonight, we’re all meeting at Shorty’s right?”

She was referring to the girls night that Jamie had invited them to last week. She had actually forgotten about it until Amy had brought it up yesterday morning when Nicole had her pinned against her front door with three fingers working inside of her (who talked about plans of going to the club when they were having sex?). Turns out that Amy is quite insatiable, not that Nicole minded one bit.

“As far as I know.” Waverly put a bookmark in her book and stuffed it in her bag, bringing Nicole from her thoughts.

“Alright, I’ll call you later,” Nicole smiled down at Waverly and without thinking, kissed the top of her head, breathing in the smell of her shampoo (almond and shea butter), then made her way towards the door.

She stopped in the doorway, staring straight ahead, with wide panic filled eyes. She just kissed Waverly Earp on the top of the head. She just kissed Waverly Earp on the top of the head.

Without saying anything, without looking back at Waverly to see if she was freaked out, grossed out, Nicole continued walking, cursing under her breath as she went.

Well if she hadn’t weirded Waverly out before with all her flirting and light touches then she definitely has now. Who just goes and randomly kisses people on the head?

“What’s wrong with your face?” Eric asked when she got in the car. Nicole had an absolutely horrified look on her face.  

“I kissed Waverly on the head as I was walking out,” Nicole mumbled looking down at her hands.

“How did she react?”

“I don’t know, I left as soon as it happened.”

“So glad you’re able to think on your feet there Haught,” Eric laughed as he put the car in drive and pulled out of the station parking lot.

Hopefully Waverly forgets the whole thing by tonight and things wouldn’t be awkward between them. The last thing she needed was her best friend feeling weird around her.

“I fucked up,” Nicole groaned, throwing her head back against the headrest.

Eric laughed again and patted her arm awkwardly (he wasn't good at comforting people). “It'll be okay.”

Nicole paced back and forth in front of Shorty’s, her insides a bundle of nerves and anxiety. She has not spoken to Waverly since she practically ran out of the station earlier.

She tried calling, several times but she kept chickening out. Eric told her to woman up, apologize and move on but, that was easier said than done.

Fear had a tight grip on her heart and wouldn’t let go. She felt like she might vomit at any given second.

She messed up. She messed up so fucking bad. What the hell was she thinking kissing Waverly? Oh, that’s right, she wasn’t thinking.  She let herself get too comfortable, too relaxed. She let herself forget that Waverly has a boyfriend. She let herself forget that they were nothing more than friends. She let herself get caught up in Waverly’s presences and the feeling of being around her, being alone with her.

She let herself slip up and ruined the best thing that happened to her since coming to Purgatory.

“Nicole?” Someone calling her name from her left pulled Nicole from her thoughts and she looked up at them with stormy brown eyes that seemed to be flashing with different emotions.

“Jamie, hey.” Nicole smiled, or at least she thinks she smiled but judging by the look on Jamie’s face, it didn’t quite come out as a smile, maybe more of a grimace.

“Are you okay?” Jamie asked, stepping closer to the redhead and placing a comforting hand on her arm.

They haven’t spent much time together outside of the station but, Nicole stilled considered Jamie to be a friend, sure a work friend but, a friend nonetheless. Right now, she could probably use a friend but, the thought of speaking her feelings for Waverly out loud scared her, would make them real.

As long as she didn’t utter the words out loud. As long as she didn’t tell another soul, Nicole could bury her feelings for Waverly deep down, she could pretend that they didn’t exist at all.

She could pretend she wanted nothing more from Waverly than friendship.

“I’m great,” Nicole lied with a tight lipped smile.

“Really?” Jamie asked, eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Because that face you’re making says otherwise.”

Nicole opened and closed her mouth a few times, debating if she should just confess her feelings to someone and be over with it or, if she should just put thoughts of the kiss and feelings for Waverly to the back of her mind and have fun tonight.

Her mind was made up for her as Amy made her way down the hallway straight for her, hips swaying in that provocative way of hers that had Nicole’s eyes glued to her every move.

“Hey Officer Haught,” Amy husked, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s neck then pulling her down for a heated kiss.

“Hey yourself,” Nicole grinned when Amy pulled back just a bit.

“I didn’t know you two were dating,” Jamie said, giving Nicole a thumbs up behind Amy’s back.

It was nice to see that Nicole had someone. Nicole had seemed rather lonely and more than a little heartbroken when she arrived in Purgatory. Jamie was happy that Nicole seemed to be finding her way here and taking steps to making this town her home.

“We’re not,” Amy told her, dropping her arms from Nicole’s neck and stepping back, smoothing her black dress out.

She wasn’t planning on kissing Nicole but, when she was her, with her beautiful red hair done up in loose curls, in blue jeans that hugged her curves perfectly and hung low on her hips, wearing a short sleeve dark blue button down shirt, showing off those toned arms that had her pinned to a wall yesterday well, Amy couldn’t really resist.

“Oh,” is all Jamie said as Chrissy and Stephanie, joined the trio. “Nicole this is Chrissy Nedley and Stephanie Jones, girls this is Nicole Haught.”

“Nice to meet you ladies,” Nicole gave them a wide smile as she shook their hands. Well shook Chrissy’s hand, Steph had just stared at her hand until she dropped it back to her side.

“Nice to meet you Nicole,” Chrissy returned her smile. “My dad speaks very highly of you.”

Nicole was going to say something back to Chrissy, tell her that her father was a great man who had been nothing but kind to her but, Stephanie spoke over her.

Nicole already knew that she wasn’t going to like Stephanie. She reminded Nicole too much of the girls from her high school, who thought they were better than everyone else just because they were beautiful. Girls who hadn’t been nice to the only openly gay teen in their town.

“Are we ready to go?” Stephanie asked impatiently.

“We’re waiting on Waverly,” Jamie told her.

“Right,” Stephanie rolled her eyes. “I forgot the Earp is coming with us.”

Nicole’s blunt nails dug into the palms of her hands, narrowing her eyes at Stephanie as the need to protect and defend Waverly rises.

“Steph.” It was a warning, a plead from Chrissy when she noticed the way Nicole tense up at how Stephanie said ‘Earp’. She had only seen one other person react that way and, Wynonna usually followed the tensing and the narrowing of the eyes with a punch.

As if on cue, the door to Shorty’s opened and Waverly walked out. Hair done up in one of it’s usual braids (that Nicole wanted to run her fingers through and mess up). She traded the high waisted jean shorts and crop top she had been wearing earlier for a sinful short red dress and heels.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting, Champ was being,” Waverly trailed off for a second as she approached the group. “Well, he was being Champ.”

“You’re staring,” Jamie whispered to Nicole as the others launched into a discussion on where they were going first.

Nicole blushed and quickly averted her gaze from Waverly. She couldn’t help but to stare, Waverly looked stunning, beautiful, gorgeous. Waverly was breathtaking. She stole the air right from Nicole’s lungs and Nicole found it hard to care.

“I was not staring,” Nicole mumbled and Jamie snorted with a shake of her head, drawing the attention of the rest of the group to them.

When Waverly tried to meet Nicole’s eyes, the redhead quickly looked away, unable to look Waverly in the eyes, afraid of what she might find there.

If she had looked even for the briefest of moments, she would have seen Waverly give her that smile she always had when she seen Nicole, a smile reserved solely for the redhead.

Waverly couldn’t forget the way Nicole’s lips pressed against the top of her head felt, how right and natural it felt to have Nicole so close. She couldn’t forget the smell of her perfume and something that was undeniably Nicole. She couldn’t forget how she wanted more, how disappointed she felt when Nicole pulled away.

When it had happened Waverly’s heart had been ready to beat right out of her chest. She had half the mind to grab Nicole and actually kiss her. The only thing that stopped her was Champ, guilt for wanting to kiss someone other than him and fear.

Fear that Nicole hadn’t meant anything by the action. Fear that Nicole would freak out and wouldn’t want anything to do with Waverly.

Nicole may be gay but that didn’t mean she liked Waverly that way. She had Amy for God’s sake. And who in their right mind give up someone like Amy for an Earp?

And what the hell did wanting to kiss her best friend make her? Was she gay? Bi? Straight? These thoughts had been swirling in her head all day. Waverly was a thinker, a planner. She never went into anything halfcocked. She had an answer for almost everything and if she didn’t, she wouldn’t stop until she found it. But these feelings? These questions?

She had no answers for them and she didn’t even know where to begin to look for them. Searching Google for ‘how to tell if your gay?’ or, ‘how to tell if you have feelings for your best friend?’ , had as much appeal as the drunks at Shorty’s who hit on her.

She pushed her conflicted feelings down, the guilt and all those unanswered questions plaguing  her mind along with them. She just wanted to let loose and have a little fun. She wanted to be able to hang out with Nicole without any of those complications.

“Who’s going to be the designated driver?” Stephanie asked, in a tone that implied that she was not going to be the D&D.

“I’ll do it,” Nicole offered. “I have work in the morning, so I shouldn’t be drinking.”

“Great,” Stephanie said turning on her heels and walking towards Jamie’s mini van that they would be taking.  

Jamie tossed Nicole the keys along with a thank you as the small group turned to follow Stephanie.

Waverly hung back, waiting for Nicole. “You look really nice.”

It was always so weird seeing Nicole out of uniform. She was so used to seeing her as Officer Haught , that sometimes she forgot how absolutely beautiful she was in plain clothes with her hair let down from its usual braided prison. Nicole’s red hair falling just past her shoulders and framing her beautiful face, was a sight to behold.

Nicole’s hands reached for a belt that wasn’t there, something Waverly noticed she did when she was nervous.

“Thanks,” Nicole chanced a look at Waverly, still fearful of what she might find in those eyes.

Waverly just smiled at her, eyes shining with affection. She was stupid, so incredibly stupid and foolish for thinking Waverly, sweet Waverly wouldn’t want to be friends anymore because of a stupid kiss to the head, an accident.

“If I look really nice then you,” Nicole gave Waverly a once over. “Waverly Earp are a vision.”

Waverly ducked her head to hide her coloring cheeks. “T-Thanks.”

Nicole just grinned at her as they slowly, oh so slowly made their way to the minivan (neither of them in a hurry to join the others). Making Waverly blush had quickly become one of Nicole’s favorite things to do. It was almost too easy to do. All it took was a single compliment, no matter how small it was, it would have Waverly turning a bright shade of pink and mumbling out a flustered ‘thanks’.

Champ had told Waverly she looked sexy, beautiful even but, he had said it with lust clouding his eyes and as an attempt to get her to blow off girls night and go upstairs with him to fool around. When Nicole complimented her, her smile was genuine, her tone was open and honest, her eyes didn’t hold lust, they held a fondness that no one had ever looked at Waverly with.

“Haught, move that Haughtass.”

“Please don’t,” Nicole groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose at Amy’s words. She had probably heard every ‘clever’ pun, every variation of her last name in high school and it got tiring very quickly.  

“What’s wrong Haughtass?” Waverly asked with a smirk and a wink, eyes dropping down to said ass (which Nicole did not miss).

There was a comeback on the tip of her tongue. One that would no doubt make Waverly a flustering, blushing mess but, Amy walked over and grabbed Nicole’s hand, dragging her towards the minivan, effortlessly stopping Nicole from saying anything.

Before she could get pulled too far away, Nicole grasped Waverly’s hand lightly, dragging her along as well. She refused to let Waverly feel left out. She refused to leave her behind in any form.  

They all piled into the van, with Nicole in the driver seat (though she had no idea where they were planning on going), and Waverly riding shotgun next to her, playing with the radio dial, trying to find a station everyone was happy with.  Once everyone was seated and buckled in and, a station had been agreed upon, Nicole started the van and headed out of Purgatory with Waverly’s directions.  

A one hour and forty-five minute car ride filled with everyone expect Waverly trying to come up with new puns for Nicole’s last name (they couldn’t), off tune singing to some crappy pop song on the radio and Stephanie going on and on about her fiance.  

Nicole was seriously regretting her decisions to stay sober for the entire night. She was pretty sure these women were going to drive her crazy by the end of the night.

She spent countless hours in a car with five siblings throughout her childhood (on vacations and the like) but, even all that time spent with annoying older brothers in a cramped space was better than the almost two hours she spent in this minivan with four grown women who didn’t know when to be quiet.

Waverly was her saving grace. Speaking with her the entire ride to distract her from the craziness going on in the back, just loud enough to be heard over the radio but not loud enough for the others to hear. She told Nicole more about Wyatt Earp, more about the outlaws he killed and, about his best friend Doc Holliday.  

Waverly spoke with her hands moving wildly around in front of her (Nicole couldn’t help but to find it adorable), her tone filled with an excitement, a passion Nicole had never heard from her before.

Nicole hated that she couldn’t give Waverly her full attention. She hated that she wasn’t able to see the way Waverly’s eyes lite up as she spoke. She had never see Waverly happier than when she talking about her research. If there’s one thing Nicole wants in life, it’s for Waverly to be as happy as she can be, she deserved it.

The first bar they hit was some seedy biker bar that instantly made Nicole uneasy the second they walked in. Waverly reassured her that the bar was safe, that Amy knew the owners. Though her words did little to ease the feeling in the pit of Nicole’s stomach.

They stay in the biker bar for a couple of beers and a few dances and that uneasy feeling left Nicole and she was finally starting to relax and enjoy herself.

Nicole was at a booth that was close to the bar, had a view of the front entrance and a full view of the small dance floor (her inner cop told her that this was the best seat to keep an eye on the other women and keep an eye out for potential danger).

She was sipping on a glass of coke when Chrissy slide in next to her, holding a beer and breathing heavy. Nicole glanced over at the blonde and smiled before turning her attention back to the dance floor.

Nicole really liked Chrissy. She was sweet, funny, had a hell of a foul mouth at times (which Nicole found amusing), kept Stephanie in line (for the most part), and most all she was a good friend to Waverly.

“You’re such a cop.” Chrissy had been watching the way Nicole kept scanning the room for trouble and keeping an eye on the other women (reminding her of her father when they went out for lunch or dinner, or out together for anything). She also noticed how Nicole’s eyes seemed to linger on Waverly but, not with lust, no her gaze held a certain fondness.  

“Um, thanks?” Nicole raised an eyebrow at the other woman. Was that a good thing? Or a bad thing?

“I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s nice to know there’s someone looking out for you, especially in this place,” Chrissy motioned to the bar where a couple of angry looking bikers were sitting.

“Why come here if you don’t feel safe?” Wasn’t it an unspoken rule for women to stick to places they were comfortable with? At least had been for Nicole and her friends from the academy. They were all skilled fighters, knew had to defend themselves but, they still stuck to places they were all comfortable with, all felt safe at (as safe as a group of women could feel surround with drunk men).

“Life is easier when you go along with Stephanie and Amy.”

“I see,” Nicole turned back towards the dance floor, catching sight of Waverly dancing to some old rock song, hip swinging with the rhythm of the song. She couldn’t tear her eyes away, mesmerized by the way Waverly seemed to effortlessly move along with the beat of the song.

She looked happy, at ease, finally relaxed and so damn carefree that it made Nicole smile. Waverly always seemed a little sad to Nicole, always seemed so tense as if she was waiting for something bad to happen, she was always hiding behind a fake smile and a wave but here? On that small, crowded dance floor? It was like Waverly was finally free.

“You like her,” Chrissy stated, nodding towards the woman in question.

“Well we’re friends so yeah,” Nicole tried to keep her tone neutral, even. Admitting to a crush on Waverly to someone, one of Waverly’s friends at that would do Nicole no good.

Chrissy laughed and shook her head at Nicole. “That’s not what I mean but if that’s the story you want to stick with okay, I get it, she has Champ and you and Amy are doing whatever it you two are doing.”

Nicole didn’t say anything, didn’t look Chrissy in the eyes. If it was so easy for this woman she barely knew to see that she had feelings for Waverly, did Waverly see it? Did Waverly know that she has a crush on her?

If Waverly did, would that change things between them? Would Waverly be uncomfortable around her? The last thing she wanted to do was make Waverly uncomfortable.

“Look,” Chrissy started, sensing the shift in Nicole’s mood. She hadn’t meant to upset the other woman. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think she knows, Waverly is kinda blind to those things, she thinks everyone sees her as just an Earp.”

“She’s so much more than her last name, she’s so much more than she realizes,” Nicole stated fiercely, brown eyes burning with pain, as if physically hurt her that Waverly didn’t see herself the way Nicole did.

“She’s lucky to have someone like you,” Chrissy turned her attention back to the dance floor, back to Waverly. “So many people in Purgatory can’t separate her from her sister’s actions and she tries so hard to be what everyone wants her to be that she ends up losing herself in the process but you, you somehow see who she really is and I think she really needs that.”

Before Nicole could think of anything to say, before she could really process what Chrissy had said, Amy walked up to the table, grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her towards the dance floor.

“Have fun!” Chrissy called after the pair, watching them weave through the crowd to the middle of the dance floor.

A few minutes later, Waverly joined her at the table, panting and with a thin layer of sweat glistening on her skin. She slid into the booth next to Chrissy and grabbed Nicole’s abandon soda, taking a long drink from it.

“Having fun?” Chrissy asked when Waverly leaned back against the booth to catch her breath.

“Probably the most fun I’ve had in awhile,” Waverly smiled at her friend. “I really needed this.”

And Waverly did need this. She needed that carefree feeling that came with dancing until your legs were ready to give out. She needed the break, the distraction it provided.

Distractions from whatever she was feeling for Nicole. Distractions from the questions that have been plaguing her mind since she first laid eyes on Nicole. Distractions from the conflicted feelings she’s having about Champ and their relationship. Distractions from her research on Wyatt and the Earp curse. Distractions from Wynonna’s quickly approaching birthday and the fact that she hadn’t talked in months and hadn’t seen her in three years. Distractions from just everything going on in her life right now.

“She’s really great,” Chrissy nodded towards where Nicole and Amy were dancing.

Waverly couldn’t help the smile at made it’s way onto her face. Nicole was really great. She was probably the nicest person Waverly had ever met.

“Yeah, she really is,” Waverly sighed happily. Sometimes she couldn’t believe that Nicole was her friend, that she had someone as amazing as Nicole in her life. People weren’t exactly lining up to be her friend. Most people in Purgatory were friendly sure but, they couldn’t be considered her friends.

“I can’t believe you’re replacing me though,” Chrissy joked, bumping Waverly’s shoulder with her own.

“Well,” Waverly reached forward and snatched up the other woman’s beer. “Maybe if you were around more, I wouldn’t have to replace you.”

She had winked when she said it but Chrissy could still hear the hurt lining Waverly’s tone and she instantly felt guilty. She could be, should be a better friend to Waverly. She should be there for her more.

“Hey,” Chrissy placed her hand on Waverly’s, turning to look the other woman in the eyes. “I’m sorry I haven’t been such a good friend lately, I’ve gotten so caught up in Stephanie and her crap that I’ve neglected you, ignored you and I’m just sorry, I’ll be better, do better I promise.”

Waverly was a better friend than Stephanie could ever be, yet Chrissy let herself get caught up in wanting to be like, wanting to fit in that she ignored Waverly in order to do so. And it was wrong and she felt so damn guilty because Waverly deserved a better friend than her.

“It’s okay Chrissy, life gets in the way sometimes, I understand.” Waverly’s words were sincere and that Waverly feel even more guilty than before.

“Let’s have lunch this week?” Chrissy asked, giving Waverly a hopeful smile.

“Of course.”

Four hours, two clubs and way too many drinks later, they were finally on their way back to Purgatory.

Nicole was exhausted and was not looking forward to having to be up in a few hours for work. She envied everyone sleeping soundly in the back seats.

Waverly sat in the seat next to her, head leaning heavily on the window but not quite asleep yet. She was well passed buzzed (not quite as drunk as Amy and Stephanie), and dreading going home to crawl into bed with Champ.

She was in a good mood. She had a lot of fun out dancing with everyone tonight (though she never got a dance with Nicole). She might not have enjoyed watching Amy almost constantly grinding on Nicole but, she still had fun. And the last thing she wanted to do was have to sleep next to Champ, that would completely ruin this lightness she felt (he sometimes drained the life out of her).

Not only did Waverly get to dance away all the stress she had been carrying around with her for months, she got to spend some time with Chrissy.

It had been so long since the two of them hung out that Waverly had forgotten how much fun they used to have together (usually without Stephanie). She had forgotten that with Chrissy she didn’t have to hide the fact that she was a nerd (Chrissy was a nerd as well, she hid it just as well as Waverly).  She had forgotten how easy things between the two of them were (not as easy as things between her and Nicole were).

She just hoped life or Stephanie didn’t get in the way of them having lunch together sometime next week. Stephanie tended to talk Chrissy out of hanging out with Waverly and, Chrissy usually went along with it.

Not that Waverly blamed her. Chrissy had been an outcast in grade school right along with Waverly. She was picked on and made fun of almost as much as Waverly. Until the first day of freshman year when she came to school dressed like a totally different person, thanks to Stephanie. So now, Chrissy felt like she owed Stephanie something, even after all these years.  

“What’s on your mind?” Nicole broke the silence, looking over at her for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the road ahead of them.

Waverly lifted her head from the window to look over at the redhead. Nicole was beautiful with the lights from passing cars illuminating her face, red curls from earlier in the evening long gone and mussed hair left in it’s place.

Waverly wanted to tuck the stray strands of hair behind Nicole’s ear, caress her soft cheek and maybe, just maybe press a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Just thinking about my research,” she lied, eyes locked on full, red lips.

“You ever take a break from it?” Nicole looked over again, smiling this time.

Waverly’s eyes snapped up from Nicole’s lips, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Thankful that it was too dark for Nicole to notice.

“Of course not, she’s a nerd,” Stephanie said, voice slurred from both the amount of booze she consumed and sleep.

Another car passed them, allowing Waverly to see Nicole’s hands tighten around the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. Allowing Waverly see the soft lines of Nicole’s face harden with anger.

“Go back to sleep, Steph,” Nicole spoke through gritted teeth. Every second she spent with Stephanie, her dislike for the woman grew.

She had played nice all night but, with every backhanded compliment Steph had given Waverly, Nicole wanted to say something, to call her out for being a bitch to someone as sweet as Waverly.

There was an incoherent mumble from the backseat before things fell silent once more.

Nicole loosened her grip on the steering wheel and reached over to the the radio on, volume just loud enough to keep anyone in the backseat from hearing them.

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked, looking back over at Waverly, letting her gaze linger for a few seconds.

“I’m okay,” Waverly lied again.

Nicole reached over and took Waverly’s hand in hers, squeezing it softly. “You deserve better friends.”

Waverly just shrugged but squeezed Nicole’s hand back, relishing in the feeling of Nicole’s hand in hers. Honestly, she didn’t care what Stephanie had said because, she got to hold Nicole’s hand, she got to feel the warmth of her skin once more. It was worth her hurt feelings.

It was well past three in the morning by the time everyone had been dropped off at their homes and Nicole was dreading saying goodnight to Waverly, dreading having to let go of her hand.

They were parked in front of Shorty’s, just sitting in the van, reluctant to get out, to part ways.

“So I just leave the keys in here?”

“Yup, Jamie and her husband will be here in the morning to pick it up,” Waverly said, playing with Nicole’s fingers absentmindedly. “No one's gonna steal it, we’ve done it before.”

“Alright,” Nicole placed the keys in the visor with her free hand. It didn’t seem like the safest thing to do in the world but, honestly she could care less at the moment. All she could focus on was Waverly’s fingers on her skin.

She could stay in this moment forever. Just the two of them, her hand in Waverly’s and Waverly’s fingers dragging up and down her arm slowly but, it was late and she had work in a few hours.

“I should probably get home and try to catch a few hours of sleep before work.”

“Oh right, sorry,” Waverly quickly let go of her hand and started to get out of the van, Nicole following after her.

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Nicole walked around the front of the van where Waverly was standing. She placed her hand at the small of Waverly’s back and led her towards the door.

When they reached the door, Waverly turned towards Nicole and stood on her tippy toes, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Good night Nicole.”

Nicole smiled down at Waverly, cheeks turning a light pink. “Good night Wave.”

Waverly turned back around to the door, grasping the handle and pulling it open, only it wouldn’t budge. It was locked and Waverly didn’t have her keys on her. Champ was supposed to leave it unlocked or be up to let her in.

“I take it you don’t have your keys?” Nicole asked, still standing behind Waverly.

“No,” Waverly sighed, leaning her head against the door and pulling her phone out of her purse. “Champ was supposed to be up to let me in.”

“Say no more, he’s rather forgetful lately.”

“Mhm,” Waverly hummed her agreement, waiting for Champ to answer his phone.

She called three times and each time Champ didn’t answer his phone, her anger grew. Why was it so hard for him to remember to do simple things? If it did not benefit him in anyway, he was most likely not going to do it.

She called again and, again and, again and still he didn’t answer. Her anger had reached the point where she was on the verge of tears. She felt bad that Nicole was still standing here with her, waiting when she needed to get home and get some sleep for work.

“Looks like he’s not answering,” Nicole said gently, sensing the anger radiating off Waverly.

“He’s such an ass,” Waverly kicked the door in front of her then hissed in pain, forgetting she was wearing heels.

“Seems that you attract assholes,” Nicole grinned widely at Waverly but, it fell the second Waverly turned her blazing gaze on her.

“My bad,” Nicole held her hands up in surrender the same way she had done at the bar the other night and Waverly couldn’t help but to find it oddly charming.

“Come on Earp,” Nicole threw her arm around Waverly’s shoulder. “You can crash with me.”