Chapter 7: She's Got a Haught Date pt. 1

Waverly and Nicole managed to cut their cliché make-out session short and make it to rehearsals in time for no one to notice that they were backstage. It was a close call but they managed to go unnoticed by everyone. Rehearsal was kicked off by Bobo telling them what the goal for the day was. He gave them a scene to work through and sat in his chair to watch. The scene they were starting off with for the day was the first time Hercules and Meg met. Bobo gave them the go and they jumped into action.

"Halt!" Nicole yelled.

"Step aside, two legs," Pete York, who played the roll of the monster centaur Nessus, grumbled.

"Pardon me, my good, uh, uh...sir," Nicole paused to glance down at her lines, "I'll have to ask you to release that young..."

"Keep movin', junior," Waverly rolled her eyes.

"...lady. But you-- are-aren't you a damsel in distress?" Nicole locked eyes with Waverly.

"I am a damsel, I am in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day," Waverly struggled against her "captor's" grasp.

"Uh – " Nicole noticed that she had been staring at Waverly for too long and suddenly forgot her lines. She cleared her throat and held her script up. "Ma'am, I'm afraid you may be too close to the situation to realize – " Nicole drew her fake sword and immediately got knocked off of her feet by Pete.

Nicole fell, her head hitting the ground hard, and slid back across the stage; Pete shoved her harder than she anticipated he would. Lying flat on her back, Nicole let out a groan and held her head. This was just rehearsal, she shouldn't have even been knocked over; they hadn't practiced that yet. Feeling a bit dizzy, she closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

"Nicole!" Waverly yelled and ran over to her. She knelt over the redhead, Bobo appearing next to Waverly soon after, and gently took Nicole's hand in her own. She moved Nicole's other hand away from her face and Nicole shut her eyes tighter.

"I'm okay," she said. "Just a little dizzy."

"Nic, open your eyes," Waverly leaned down closer, blocking the bright lights that were shining in Nicole's face. "I need to see your eyes."

Nicole slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Waverly. "'m fine, Wave," she mumbled.

"Oh you have a concussion, don't you? How hard did you hit your head?" Waverly turned to look at Pete. "?!"

"Waverly," Nicole spoke, slightly more coherent, and gripped Waverly's upper arm firmly. "Hey, I'm okay. Just thrown off a bit. I'm okay."

"You can sit the rest of practice out if you feel like you can't continue," Bobo said. "Run your lines from your seat by me."

"I'm alright, Mr. Del Rey," Nicole sat up and smiled gratefully at him. Without warning, Waverly surged forward and enveloped Nicole in a tight hug.

"I suddenly hate the idea of you being Hercules," Waverly mumbled into Nicole's shoulder. "Don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm perfectly fine, Waves," Nicole whispered into the smaller girl's hair. "I promise."

"Where's Champ Hardy?!" The familiar voice brought everyone's eyes to the back doors of the auditorium. "Is he here?"

"Detention," Bobo said. "And he's not cast in the play. He wouldn't be here."

"He'd be wherever my sister is," Wynonna huffed and made her way to the stage. Nicole and Waverly were too lost in their embrace, and their quiet conversation, to notice the older Earp's presence. "Well it's about damn time," Wynonna crossed her arms.

"Not now, Wynonna," Waverly said, hugging Nicole tighter. "You knew it was coming. She just got hurt. Please give us a break just this once."

"Alright, alright," Wynonna shot Nicole a look that said and Nicole responded with a nod that conveyed an. "Doc texted me, told me everything he's been hearing. I had to come. Just tell me that the rumors are true. Chump has been telling everyone you're with him?" Waverly nodded. "Good. Gives me even more of a reason to beat his ass. My sister is off limits!" Wynonna spoke loudly for everyone to hear. "And if any of you give her or Haught any shit, you'll be hearing from me."

Nicole watched as Wynonna retreated, exiting the room. When the doors closed, all eyes landed on the pair. Nicole gave a weak thumbs up and everyone went back to whatever they were doing. Nicole ducked her head and placed a gentle kiss to Waverly's temple. It was soft and gentle gesture that managed to get Waverly's attention.

"Good?" She whispered.

"Good," Waverly nodded and stood up. She helped Nicole to her feet and straightened out her shirt.

"Alright," Bobo clapped his hands together and dove into what the rest of rehearsals entailed for the remainder of their time.

- - - - -

Chrissy asked over Waverly's laptop screen; she, Rosita and Waverly had been talking on Skype for the past hour.

"Yeah," Waverly smiled. "She won't tell me what we're doing, though."

Rosita replied.

"I couldn't care less. We could watch a movie at her house and I wouldn't care."

bad," Chrissy laughed.

"Champ was never even an option," Waverly scoffed. Her friends laughed and there was a small knock on her door.

"Baby girl?" Wynonna's voice came from the other side.

Waverly looked down at her screen. "Gotta go, girls. I'll text you guys later," she smiled and ended the call. "It's open."

Wynonna opened the door and took a step inside. "Hey," she said.

"Hi," Waverly responded, moving to make room on the bed for her sister.

"Can we talk?" Wynonna asked as she sat down. " talk?"

"About Nicole?" Waverly asked. "About me and Nicole?"

"Yeah," Wynonna took a deep breath before meeting her sister's eyes. "I'm happy for you, baby girl, I really am," she smiled.

"There's a 'but' in there somewhere," Waverly raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Wynonna shook her head. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I know she can be a lot to handle sometimes. As her best friend, I've seen a lot of shit. But I need you to know that, if things end up going south with you and Nicole, I will always be on your side. Haught is my best friend, but you're my sister. You come first, Waverly. Always."

"So you're okay with this?" Waverly bit her lip and looked at her sister. "Because if you aren't, I can call her and we can figure out – "

"Waverly," Wynonna took one of Waverly's hands between both of her own and gave it a light squeeze. "You're happy. Happier than I think I've ever seen you. Never in a million years would I intentionally stand between you and what makes you happy. Haught is..." she sighed. "Haught is about as good as they come. Like I said before, if anyone is going to date my sister I'd want it to be her."