Chapter Text
Nicole sat on the edge of her bed in her room, staring blankly at the inside of her closet. She had zero idea what she was supposed to wear tonight. It was 6:30 and she had about 15 minutes until she had to leave to meet Waverly. To say she was freaking out would be an understatement.
She stood up from her bed, letting out a slow exhale and walking over to the open door. She sifted through a few articles of clothing before pulling out a black and white checkered flannel. She held it up to herself and looked in the mirror next to her. Never had she ever worried about her outfit as much as she was right now.
She looked down at the jeans she was wearing, black and slightly ripped at the knees. These could do. She threw the flannel on top of the charcoal black tee she was already wearing. Looking herself up and down in the mirror she nodded to herself, grabbing her keys from the bedside table and walking out of the door, closing it behind her.
She walked over to her car, sliding into the driver's seat and starting the vehicle before pulling out of her driveway. Her nerves were in overdrive and her heart was racing. This was the first time she was ever hanging out with Waverly, and the last thing she wanted to do was mess it up. 15 minutes and a whirlwind of thoughts later she was pulling into the Shorty’s parking lot.
Upon approaching the diner she looked in the big window in the front, noticing the brunette behind the counter. Was she working? Did she read the note wrong and she actually meant another time? Nicole watched the girl take a few orders and walk towards the back, so she took that as her moment to walk in and seat herself. She sat at the middle of the bar and waited for Waverly to come back.
She took the time to look around the place. It was a simple looking diner, exactly what you would expect from the hotspot of a small town. It wasn’t super crowded for a Friday night which was pretty surprising to her. Not that she minded, it just meant she got to spend more time talking with the girl she liked.
“Nicole, you made it,” Waverly smiled, causing Nicole to whip her head around and smile back at the smaller girl behind the counter.
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it,” she blushed. ‘Keep it cool Haught, charming and collected.’ she internally scolded herself. No blushing, no stuttering, and absolutely no gay panic. Starting now of course.
Waverly’s smile just got wider, showing off her perfect row of white teeth. Nicole realized in that moment that she would do anything in her power to elicit such a beautiful sight for as long as she could.
“So,” Waverly started, “I kinda got roped into working… I’m so sorry. I was waiting for you to get here in a booth and Shorty came up to me saying that Hetty didn’t show up for her shift and they needed someone. I couldn’t really say no.” she rambled.
As cute as Waverly’s babbling was, Nicole felt bad for the girl who was clearly freaking out. Maybe Jeremy was right, maybe she was just as nervous. She couldn’t quite figure out why though, and she didn't dare to hope.
“Waverly it’s perfectly fine, I don’t mind. We can always do another time if that would be easier?” she proposed. She definitely didn’t want to have to do that. She didn’t think she could handle all of the panic of getting ready again, but whatever made it easier for the brunette she would be content with.
Waverly shook her head, reaching out to place a hand in front of the redhead on the bar. “No no, it’s alright. I’m honestly ok with just talking like this if you’re ok with it? I know it’s not really ideal so if you want to reschedule that’s fine, but we aren’t really busy or anything so it wouldn’t be awful.”
Nicole smiled at the girl on the other side of the bar, seeing nothing but genuine hope in her eyes. How was she supposed to say no to that? “Works for me,” she shrugged with a smirk on her lips, causing Waverly to blush and move her hand to her back pocket to pull out a pad.
“Well then, what can I get started for you?” she asked coyly.
Nicole had never wanted to say ‘your number’ more in her entire life, but she refrained from being that bold. That might be a little too much. Although, that wasn’t a bad path to head down…
“I think just some of your time would be great,” she flirted. Amping up the charisma to 100 tonight, that’s the plan.
Waverly’s face got redder, as if that were even possible, and she placed the pad back into her pocket. “Well look at you being all smooth, that’s a lot coming from the girl who hardly talks in class,” she teased.
“Hey!” Nicole laughed, “I’ll have you know I’ve been told I can be pretty charming”.
“I have no doubt about that.” Waverly replied, easing them into a comfortable silence.
Nicole took the short break in conversation to take in the smaller girls work attire. A red and blue crop top that let just a sliver of midriff show with the word “Shorty’s” written across it, and tight blue jeans. It almost took Nicole’s breath away, how stunning the brunette was. She also noticed a song playing in the background, something random from the top 40s. Naturally. This could be the perfect time for her to figure out Waverly’s taste in music, and if it really was her playing the song.
“Where’s the music coming from? And who’s in charge of it,” she laughed, pointing around the diner and spinning on her barstool. Waverly laughed at her ridiculous antics, reaching out for Nicole’s arm to stop her spinning. Nicole just sat there and smiled back like it was the easiest thing in the world.
“That,” Waverly said, pointing at the ceiling, “is top 40’s bullshit. And you can thank Shorty for it, he says it ‘attracts the younger crowd’”.
Nicole laughed at the imitation and leaned forward on her forearms. “Waverly Earp, are you telling me you’re not a fan of that, how did you so elegantly put it, ‘top 40’s bullshit’?” she joked.
Waverly laughed as well and shoved her shoulder. “Hey, don’t make fun of me!” she warned jokingly. “And I don’t hate it, but it’s not really my go to.”
Nicole pondered that for a second. She had a feeling there was a good chance it was Waverly with the song, but she wanted to make sure.
“So then what is your go to?” she asked.
Waverly stood there for a minute, leaning more on her elbows towards Nicole and furrowing her brow in thought. Nicole could have sworn she had never seen something so adorable. “Music that means something,” she answered after some time. “I like when it has a message. Or when it has a reason you know? Like there’s more to it than just beats and random words thrown together that sound appealing to people. I like when there’s a story.”
Nicole sat there, staring intently at the younger Earp. She wasn’t expecting her answer to go that deep, but somehow it was exactly what she was hoping to hear. If she wasn’t head over her vans before, she most certainly was now.
Waverly noticed Nicole’s silence and her staring and blushed from embarrassment. She waved her hand in front of her face, bringing her back to reality.
“Wow,” was all Nicole could manage.
Waverly chuckled lightly, grabbing a cloth to start wiping down the counters and look busier. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Nicole asked, lost in thought.
Waverly giggled again, finding the redhead cuter in that moment than was probably acceptable. “What kind of music do you like?”
“Oh I like practically everything,” Nicole said, feigning ignorance to Waverly’s real question. Waverly gave her a look and she caved, laughing lightly and picking at a loose thread on her sleeve. Talking about music was something she really enjoyed, but it always made her nervous. Especially talking about it with new people, no matter who. “I’m kind of like you. I like songs that mean something. Those songs that you can’t help but feel like they saved you in a way. My friends back home used to make fun of me for listening to songs so unknown that everyone just kind of sits there, but I don’t know, I’d rather listen to music that only I know and feel it than conform to everyone else and not benefit. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah,” Waverly breathed. “Favorite song, go,” she said suddenly.
Nicole was unprepared for the question, but didn’t miss a beat. “Midnight Passion, the alternate universe version though. The regular is good too, but there’s just something about it.”
Waverly’s eyes instantly lit up, and that’s when Nicole knew. It was Waverly. It really was her, and it wasn’t a dream. She knew that song, somehow, some way. She knew it. “No way, that’s mine too! I just found it recently but oh my God, it’s incredible. You can just feel the emotion in it when you listen to it. That’s exactly my type of music”.
Fuck. Nicole knew what she told Jeremy about the song, but now that her ‘perfect girl’ was right in front of her, and God was she perfect, she was starting to lose her nerve a little. She wasn’t expecting to hit it off with her so easily. She was almost hoping for the stereotypical head cheerleader routine, but she knew better than to make assumptions with Waverly Earp. That girl was something else entirely, and a part of Nicole might be terrified of that but the other part of her was intrigued.
“Where have you been all my life, Waverly Earp?” she joked, although, it really wasn’t as much of a joke as she made it sound.
Waverly giggled again, and God, that sound was purely intoxicating to Nicole. She could get drunk and high off that sound alone for the rest of her life. If she were lucky enough.
“Aboutttt two seats to the left and up one?” Waverly joked back.
Nicole laughed at that, understanding that she was referring to their typical spots in French class. “Fair enough, but God please don’t bring up French class right now. I don’t understand a single thing happening in it.”
Why she said that she had no idea. She did great in that class last year. She had a B, could be better, but pretty solid and she never had a problem with it. However, she knew Waverly excelled in French. Hell, the girl excelled in everything. That was part of what made her so incredible.
Waverly looked at her in confusion, “Tu passes la classe?” she asked in a nearly perfect French accident.
Nicole just stared at her in awe. That was hot. And extremely unexpected. Waverly must have mistaken her awe-struck look for confusion because she just laughed and waved the rag in front of Nicole’s face.
“It means ‘are you passing the class?’ you goof. You know, if you need help or anything I could always tutor you. If you want,” Waverly rushed out.
Nicole blinked, finally coming back to reality. “Uh… yeah. Yeah, actually, that’d be nice. My only solid ‘A’ was history, so bringing up French would be pretty helpful”. It wasn’t a lie, history was her only solid class, and French could technically be brought up. So, no harm done.
Waverly’s eyes got big, and a wide, hopeful smile took presence on her face. “Wait, could you possibly tutor me in history? I always kind of struggled in it and could use a hand”.
Nicole looked at her, confused, she could have sworn Waverly was a major history buff. It didn’t make much sense for her to not be good at it. But the last thing she was going to do was look a gift horse in the mouth. She would definitely take what she could get.
“Of course! And hey, maybe we could trade some songs while we’re at it? I’ve got a few I think you’d like based off of what you’ve told me”. How’s that saying go again? Go big or go home. Going big for sure.
“That sounds perfect!” Waverly beamed. “How does tomorrow night sound? I know it’s pretty last minute, and it’s also a Saturday, so if you’re busy I totally understand,” she rambled.
“That works perfect for me,” Nicole answered. “But, I will say for someone as popular as you, is it normal for you to be cooped up inside on a Saturday night? Don’t you have, like, parties to go to?”
Waverly just smiled at her, placing the rag she had been fiddling with throughout their conversation underneath the bar. “Maybe, maybe not. You of all people should know better than to judge a book by its cover, varsity star,” she teased, winking at the redhead and turning on her heels towards the kitchen. “Tomorrow, my place, 7 o’clock. See you then”.
Nicole sat there, surprised by her brazenness and still processing the situation. “Wait- wha- Waverly, how will I know where ‘your place’ is?” she called after her.
Waverly turned on her heels, walking backwards through the swinging door. “I’ll text you,” she smirked, before the door closed after her.
“But you don’t have my number!” Nicole yelled after her, but it was too late, the girl was gone. Although she could have sworn she heard her laugh from beyond the door.
She could have easily stayed seated and waited for the brunette to come back out. She could have taken that opportunity to tease the girl and make sure she had her number. But this was Waverly’s game. She was sure the smaller girl had a plan here, and she’d be damned if she were to get in the way of that. So without another word, and one last glance towards the circular window in the door to the back, she got off the barstool and walked out of the diner. She’d see Waverly tomorrow, she just knew it.
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Nicole was right. Later that night, a few hours later, she received a text from an unknown number. ‘Here’s my address, don’t forget to bring your books ;) -Waverly’. She had to give it to the girl, she was better at this than she would have thought. Either that or Nicole was just putty in her hands. Both options were highly plausible.
The next day Nicole did everything she possibly could to keep herself busy until 7. She showered, picked out a good outfit (nothing much different than the night before of course), cleaned the house (her mom would be so happy about that one), and even drove around listening to music for a little bit. She was trying to figure out which songs she was going to suggest to Waverly. Those options depended on how much of her heart she wanted to expose.
By the time 7 rolled around she was pulling up the drive and past a grey mailbox that read ‘Earp’. She knew a little bit about the infamous Earp homestead. She had heard rumors around school about it. Most of the cheerleaders referred to it as ‘the murder house’ and refused to step foot on the property. Nicole didn’t believe any of it, not unless she heard it from Waverly herself.
Before Nicole could even fully shut the door to her car she saw Waverly stepping out onto the front porch and closing the door behind her. She looked timid and a little nervous as she walked towards Nicole’s car, which confused her a little more.
“Hey Wave, is everything ok?” Nicole asked worriedly.
“Huh?” Waverly replied distractedly, walking up to Nicole with her books in her arms. “Oh, yeah,” she tried to laugh, but the sound just came out strangled, “I just figured you’d want to go somewhere else to study. I didn’t think you’d want to stick around here,” she shrugged.
Nicole just got even more confused. The plan was for them to study here right? Why would she want to go somewhere else? “Wait but I thought you said to come here to study?”
Waverly blushed and looked down at her shoes, scuffing the ends on the gravel of the driveway. “I- I just figured, you know, no one ever actually wants to come here. I was just a little bold yesterday and didn’t really think about it, and then by the time you got here I actually thought about it and-” she cut herself off, looking up at Nicole and feeling embarrassed of her ramblings.
“I don’t know why I wouldn’t want to be here, it looks like a nice place,” Nicole whispered to her, giving her a small dimpled smile.
Waverly quickly shot her head up, looking into sincere and caring eyes. She smiled back at her, trying to keep the sting of fresh tears at bay. No one had ever really cared enough to come to her house and not question the rumors about her home. Most people just believed them and invited her places instead. She never really minded, at least then she didn’t have to worry about cleaning up after Wynonna.
The only people who really knew the truth about her house were Jeremy and her friend Chrissy. Even then, she still typically just went to one of their houses so they didn't have to worry about the backlash from others.
“You step into this house and you’re gonna get weird looks by, like, the whole school. Do you really wanna deal with that?” she warned.
Nicole scoffed, “I could give less of a shit what people think of me. Besides, I already get weird looks by the whole school,” she shrugged.
Nicole could see the guilt show up on the smaller girls face immediately. She knew that she would know about her being outed, everyone knew. It was one of the biggest topics of gossip last year. ‘New girl also turns out to be a gay’ is a pretty big deal at a small town highschool. Of course Shae didn’t get any backlash, she was popular and claimed to just be ‘confused’. People were a lot quicker to go to her side.
“If it’s any consolation, I think all of the shit people give you is fucked up,” Waverly confessed.
Nicole just stood there, not quite sure how to respond to her. Her last year was made hell by kids who everyone considered ‘popular’ and ‘elite’, and yet, here was the most popular girl in school telling her that it was ok to be herself? How else was she supposed to respond to that?
“I don’t know if you will ever know how badly I needed to hear that. Thank you. You might be one of the few people in this backward ass town who understand that being gay isn’t a choice or a lifestyle,” she joked. Well, she wasn’t really joking technically. It seemed like everyone around her just assumed she was deciding this was what she wanted.
Waverly huffed out a laugh that Nicole didn’t quite understand. “Oh, you have no idea,” she agreed, before turning around and heading back towards the house with her books in hand.
Nicole didn’t have much time to dissect that statement before she heard Waverly from the front porch, holding open the door. “You comin or what?”
Nicole shook herself out of her daze, following the brunette into the house. She took some time to look around the living room. It was simple and nice. It actually looked really homey.
“So this is the notorious Earp Homestead that everyone’s scared of? Cause I think I’m missing something”.
Waverly just laughed and led her up the stairs to her room. “Yep, terrifying right?”
“Oh absolutely, I can feel the nightmares coming,” Nicole joked.
They settled themselves in the room in relative silence. Waverly set up a little nook on the edge of her bed while Nicole grabbed the rolling chair at the desk in the corner. She planned on just doing her work there until she received a look from the brunette.
“What?” Nicole asked in confusion.
“So you want to tutor each other… from across the room…?” Waverly asked skeptically, giving her a look.
“Well I didn’t want to cramp your style over there. Seems like you’ve got quite the set up”.
Waverly smirked, moving some of her stuff closer to her on the bed and making room for Nicole. “Shut up and pull up your chair”.
Nicole laughed, rolling her chair over to the edge of the bed and setting her things down in the space Waverly cleared for her. “Alright, let’s get started then”.
“Right. History. Great,” Waverly said unenthusiastically.
“I thought you loved history?” Nicole asked.
Waverly whipped her head around to look at Nicole, eyes wide. “How do you know that?”
Nicole blushed, looking down at the plush comforter in front of her. “I’ve heard people talk. Plus I pay attention,” she confessed.
Waverly’s heart swelled. No one ever really paid that much attention to her. The only time anyone ever acknowledged her academics was to make fun of her for ‘being too pretty to also be smart’. It didn’t matter how many times she tried to tell someone they weren’t mutually exclusive, no one ever listened.
“Well, that’s a first,” Waverly admitted, grabbing the history book next to her and opening it to a random page.
“What do you mean?”
Waverly sighed, shutting the book she had just opened in order to give her full attention to Nicole. “My whole life I’ve been Waverly Earp, the girl with the sheriff father who accidentally killed her oldest sister. Then, her other crazy older sister killed their dad during some manic episode, leaving us orphaned. Crazy older sister gets sent to mental institution after mental institution, while I get sent to live with our aunt and uncle. That’s what everyone saw, and no one really cared to ask what actually happened. No one paid attention.”
Nicole’s heart broke for the girl in front of her. She wanted nothing more than to be able to take all of the pain Waverly had and keep it for herself, but she knew that unfortunately wasn’t how the world worked. She also knew that Waverly had probably never gotten the chance to tell anyone any of this, and she felt honored to be one of the first. “So then what’s the actual story?” she asked.
Waverly knew that she shouldn’t be surprised that Nicole was asking her for the truth. If there was one thing she could tell about her, it was that she didn’t look at things on the surface level like everyone else in this town did.
“Well, for starters, our good sheriff father was an abusive alcoholic, and he killed Willa in a drunken rage. Wynonna wasn’t manic, she was protective. Everyone assumed that watching him kill our sister set her off and caused her to go crazy and shoot him. What actually happened was after killing him he went for me. Wynonna wasn’t going to let him get to me, so she grabbed for his gun and it went off, accidentally shooting him in the back. We were young, so we were obviously hysterical after everything that had happened. By the time the cops got there and saw their boss was dead, they didn’t really care much about what Wynonna had to say. It wouldn’t have mattered much anyways, she didn’t talk much after that.” Waverly confessed. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. She had never told anyone that much before, and although it felt freeing, it also felt draining.
“Wynonna got out of the hospital a few years ago. She convinced my aunt Gus to move us back to the homestead so things could feel a little more normal and we could make better memories. She said it was something she had heard in therapy or something. She gets a bad rap because she couldn’t care less what people think about her and she’s a little too outspoken, but she’s one of the good ones.”
Nicole sat back in her chair, intently listening to every word that was being spoken. She reached out for Waverly’s hand, taking it in her own and giving it a light squeeze. Waverly looked up, brown eyes meeting hazel and locking intently. Nicole gave her a soft smile, hoping that Waverly could see the compassion and care she had for her.
After a moment, Nicole dropped her hand from Waverly’s and grabbed a random book to busy herself. She knew that if she wasn’t careful all of the emotions could just rush out of her, and that wouldn’t be ideal.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” she spoke softly. “I can’t even begin to imagine what that would be like.”
Waverly just shrugged her off, reaching for her own book. “It’s alright. No one ever really cares enough to ask. I figured out of anyone you’d probably understand the most.”
Nicole looked up, flipping idly through her own book. “Why me?” she questioned.
Waverly just smirked, looking down intently at the pages on her lap. “You’re not like the rest of them.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“That’s a great thing,” Waverly chortled.
Just when Nicole thought they were going to actually start studying, she was suddenly hit with a thought. She closed her book and set it back on the bed, gaining Waverly’s attention. “Can I ask you something?” Nicole started.
Waverly nodded, setting her book to the side.
“You said that I of all people should know better than to judge a book by its cover. What did you mean by that?”
Waverly took a deep breath, noticing Nicole’s intense and inquisitive gaze. “At first glance people would look at you and think you’re pretty popular. You’re insanely attractive, a varsity athlete when you were only a freshman, and you have good school standings. But then they would realize you’re actually pretty quiet and keep to yourself. They would think they know you after that, but their judging of you has only started. You aren’t really that quiet, you’re outspoken in your own way. It’s just that nobody’s really gotten close enough to you to listen.”
Nicole held her breath during Waverly’s analysis, only finally releasing it when she was done talking. No one had ever understood her so fast, and she had really only known Waverly a few days. “Wow.”
“Was that too much?” Waverly asked shyly.
“No no, it’s not that,” Nicole rushed out. “You’re just... umm… really good at reading people. Like damn.”
Waverly laughed loudly, throwing Nicole off of the situation entirely.
“Uh, what?” Nicole asked hesitantly.
Waverly was bent over in laughter, practically heaving in between breaths. “Oh God, no, sorry, it’s not funny, sorry,” she said in between laughs. “Whew ok, no,” she started. “Nicole, I absolutely, positively suck at reading people. Ask Wynonna.” she finished, wiping a stray tear from her face and smiling at the red head.
Nicole just got more confused. “But how? You literally just read me like a book!”
Waverly just laughed a little more. “Yeah, that’s because you’re so easy to read. You’re an open book for anyone willing to take the time to read.”
Nicole blushed. She wasn’t wrong, but with Waverly knowing that that just meant she had to keep her emotions in check a lot better than she thought. “Alright, smartass, what are you reading from me now?” she teased.
Waverly leaned forward, elbows on her knees and completely in Nicole’s personal space. Not that she minded or anything. Waverly looked at her intently before smirking. Nicole could instantly feel the doubt and worry seeping into her pores and felt like a nervous wreck. She was pretty sure if Waverly kept looking at her that closely she would be able to see the sweat beading her forehead.
She leaned in close, lips hovering over Nicole’s ear. “Maybe if you’re good during our french session, I’ll tell you,” she whispered. She pulled away, grabbing for her book and flipping through the pages like nothing had happened.
Nicole took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. Waverly Earp was going to be the death of her, but honestly? What an amazing way to go.
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After about an hour of tutoring Waverly in their history chapter, they finally moved on to french. Nicole could feel her nerves bubbling in her chest. How was she supposed to make it look like she wasn’t good at french without her looking like she was just an idiot?
Nicole threw the french book back on the bed after about five minutes and emitted a faux groan. “Wavesssssss,” she dragged out, throwing her head back against the back of the chair and spinning it around a few times.
Waverly laughed, throwing her pen at Nicole’s chest at the perfect time during one of her spins. Nicole gasped and put a hand to her chest as if she were offended which caused Waverly to laugh more. Nicole stood up, pushing the chair back and standing over Waverly.
Waverly could see the look in her eye and immediately recoiled. “Nicole… don’t you even think about it…”
Without missing a beat Nicole spread her arms and tackled Waverly backwards onto the bed, both girls rolling around and laughing. If it weren’t for the sudden rush of adrenaline and serotonin in her system, Nicole might have been more aware of the body contact between her and Waverly.
After a minute they stopped rolling around, Waverly ending up on top of Nicole, straddling her lap. They took a few minutes, panting heavily and trying to catch their breath. That was when it hit. She looked up at Waverly’s face hovering a few inches above hers, her body practically enclosed in the brunettes. She could have sworn she saw Waverly’s gaze flicker down to her lips, but that was probably just wishful thinking.
“We really need to get started on french,” Waverly rasped, not making an attempt to get off of Nicole.
“Ughhhh what if we just, like, listened to music instead?” Nicole whined, also not moving from her spot under the smaller girl.
Waverly smiled down at Nicole, knowing that this was a dangerous position to be in but not having the heart to move. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to say something random in french, and it can be as difficult as I choose. If you can understand me and answer me, we can skip the french lesson for today. If not, we actually have to start. Deal?”
Nicole smirked, knowing she had this in the bag, but also not knowing if she wanted to blow her cover quite yet. She figured staying oblivious would mean more time with Waverly, so that was most likely the best route. “Deal.”
Waverly sat up a little more, placing her palms on the bed by Nicole’s shoulders and pouting in thought. Nicole wanted nothing more in that moment than to kiss the pout off her face, but refrained, knowing that a whole boat of complications that they weren’t ready for.
Waverly’s face lit up, and Nicole knew she found her sentence. When she felt Waverly lean down by her ear, she knew she was in trouble. She found Waverly speaking french incredibly sexy, and their current position was not helping with the pounding between her thighs at the thought.
Waverly’s lips brushed the shell of Nicole’s ear and she whispered, “I think you like me too, but I’m worried I’m reading you wrong.”
Nicole stiffened and Waverly felt it immediately. She quickly pulled back, the moment gone and fear shooting up her spine. Nicole laid there, slack jawed and frozen, trying to figure out if she heard that right. She guessed by Waverly’s reaction she did.
Waverly tried to scramble off of her in embarrassment, but Nicole placed her hands on her waist to still her movements. They stared at each other for a moment, daring the other to speak first.
“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that-”
“I’m actually good at french-”
They both stopped their sentences, taking in what the other had just said when they were talking.
“Wait, what?” Waverly asked, settling more fully on Nicole now that she was feeling more comfortable.
“I- umm- I kinda lied? A little? French really was my worst grade and can definitely be brought up, but it was only a B. And that’s just because I forgot to turn in an assignment. Other than that I’m actually good at it. Please don’t be mad, I just was trying to find an excuse to hang out with you and we got on the subject and it came out of my mouth before I could stop it.” Nicole rambled.
Waverly just looked on wide eyed, a smile playing at her lips. She couldn’t help it, she buried her face in Nicole’s neck and started laughing, her body shaking as the laughs racked through her.
Nicole quickly became embarrassed, thinking Waverly was laughing at her. “What’s so funny?”
Waverly lifted her head from her neck and placed both of her hands on Nicole’s face, causing her to look her in the eyes. “I’m Waverly Earp. Earp. History is literally in my blood. I’m obsessed with it, like you said. I aced that class with flying colors.”
Nicole’s face filled with confusion, but it didn’t last long. She felt a smile overtake her features as she looked up at the brunette. “Did you lie about being bad at history so I could tutor you?” she joked.
Waverly smacked Nicole’s chest and laughed, shaking her head. “Shut up. And hey, with history being your best class you’ve got to touch up a few of your facts. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th, not April 11th. A for effort though.” she laughed.
Nicole blushed, embarrassed with her mix up when she was trying to impress Waverly. “Ok, how long were you holding that one in?”
“Oh my God the whole time, I almost blew my cover a few times.” she retorted.
“You wound me.” Nicole said, faking offense.
Waverly laughed, placing both of her hands on Nicole’s chest to balance herself. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she mocked. “How can I possibly make it up to you?”
Nicole paused, trying to decide how bold she wanted to be. This all happened because of Waverly’s brazenness, so why couldn’t she try it? “Well… you could always kiss it better?” she muttered suggestively, leaning forward a little on her elbows and flitting her gaze to Waverly’s lips.
Waverly followed her eyes movements and copied them. Without a second thought, Waverly pushed on Nicole’s chest, causing her to fall back flat on the bed. Nicole’s eyes widened, but practically slammed shut once she felt Waverly’s lips on her own.
The kiss quickly turned passionate, lips gliding and chasing each other. Waverly’s hands smoothed up Nicole’s chest and up her neck, into her short, red locks. Twisting and pulling her closer to her. Nicole moaned at the feeling, bringing her own hands to wrap fully around Waverly’s waist. They spent a few moments like that, getting lost in the feeling and discovery of each other. Nicole wasn’t quite sure who pulled away, but she could still feel Waverly’s lips on her own.
Waverly leaned back and smiled, eyes shimmering in the light of the bedroom. Nicole knew in that moment that she was falling, hard.
“You know…” Nicole whispered, “I used to have this rule that I lived by when it came to dating.”
“Hmm? And what’s that?” Waverly murmured, nuzzling Nicole’s neck with her nose and breathing her in.
Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly’s torso and snuggled in as close as she could. “I told Jeremy that I wouldn’t date anyone unless I heard them listening to my favorite song. Of course, my music taste is all obscure shit so I didn’t anticipate it actually happening. Then one day your sister decided to almost back into Jeremy at the same time you decided to play ‘Midnight Passion’. Not only did I already have the biggest crush on you, but that just made me realize how much I really needed to try to talk to you.” she admitted.
Nicole could feel Waverly’s smile on the side of her neck, accompanied by a small kiss to her pulse point that caused a shiver to shoot down her spine.
“So I guess I passed the test then?” Waverly spoke into her neck, bringing her head up to rest her chin on Nicole’s chest. “Does that mean we’re dating now?” she asked coyly.
Nicole snorted a laugh, “Quite presumptuous are we, Miss Earp?”
Waverly scoffed, making a move to get off of Nicole before she tightened her arms around her waist. Waverly just looked back at her and pouted, but molded into her front again.
“There is nothing that I would want more in this world than to be able to call you my girlfriend, Waverly Earp,” she punctuated with a kiss to her nose.
Waverly giggled, placing a chaste kiss to Nicole’s lips that the later tried to follow. Waverly huffed a laugh before putting her chin back on her chest and looking into her eyes. “I technically can’t take all of the credit,” Waverly admitted. Nicole gave her a confused look which caused her to elaborate her point. “A friend showed me that song the same day Wynonna almost flattened him with her car,” she laughed.
Nicole’s eyes got wide and her mouth dropped. “No- that sneaky son of a bitch!” she gasped.
Waverly just laughed and placed her hands on Nicole’s face, placing a short kiss to her pout. “Hey, please don’t be mad. Technically it still happened, and it still ended up being my favorite song regardless of how I found it, which were the rules. It just so happened that you had a matchmaker in your corner.”
Nicole tried to keep her pout in place, but no matter what she did she couldn’t. Regardless of the circumstances and outside influences that played into it, she was currently living her dream right now. So instead of worrying about it anymore, she just shook her head and smiled, wrapping her arms around Waverly’s neck and bringing her closer.
“How about we just stop thinking about how it happened, and just continue to make things happen, yeah?”
Waverly giggled, nodding her head and whispering, “I think I can get behind that, yeah,” before connecting their lips again in a kiss that left them both breathless.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few days earlier
“Waverly! Wait up!” Jeremy yelled down the crowded hallway.
Waverly whipped around, holding one strap of her backpack on her shoulder. “Jer!” she beamed, hugging the boy when he approached. “How was the first day back?”
“Pretty good,” he nodded, leaning against the row of lockers, “How about you? What are your classes like?”
“Pssh, easy,” Waverly scoffed, copying his movements to lean her back against her own locker. “Hardest class I have is honors geometry, and it’s not even that bad. What are your classes like?”
Jeremy laughed, nerding out with Waverly for a few minutes before they heard someone yell across the emptying hallway.
“Waverly, come on, I have to go meet Doc after I drop you at home so hurry up,” Wynonna called from down the hall.
Waverly sighed, placing her hand on Jeremy’s arm. “I’m glad it’s going well so far for you. You’ll have to invite me over soon so we can catch up and you can update me on Robin,” she said, singing the last part.
Jeremy blushed, almost forgetting his mission at the mention of his boyfriend. “Wait!” he yelled, reaching for Waverly when she started to walk away. She paused and turned around, raising her brow and looking at him inquisitively. “I actually had something I wanted to tell you. I heard this really cool song the other day and I feel like it’s right up your alley, you should listen to it on the way home,” he rambled. He hadn’t really planned how he was going to approach the subject.
“Yeah, sure, just text it to me, I’ll put it on in the car,” she said, before turning to walk down the hall after her sister.
Jeremy let out a sigh of relief. Step one of ‘operation Wayhaught’ was now out of the way. Now to step two. Wait, shit.
Jeremy quickly ran around the corner to the farthest door down where Nicole usually leaves out of, pushing it open and looking around. He held his breath, only exhaling when he finally saw the head of red hair walking in the crowd of students.
“Hey Nicole! Wait up!” he yelled across the sea of teenagers. He noticed her slow her steps and hoped to whatever God there was that the universe would be on his side and make the timing work. “Jesus, why do you have to have such long legs,” he sighed.
Nicole laughed, “I don’t know Jeremy, why do you have to have such short ones?”
“Heh, touche,” Jeremy chuckled. He saw Wynonna and Waverly getting into the blue and white pick up a few yards away. Maybe this could work after all. They would definitely have to thank him at their wedding. He steered them more into the direction of the now started vehicle, almost coming up behind it. “So how was your first day of-”
“Jeremy watch out!” Nicole exclaimed, grabbing Jeremy by the handle of his backpack and yanking him back in the crowded parking lot, effectively moving him out of the way of the blue pick up truck reversing from a spot.
“Shit, thanks,” he sighed, relieved. Almost getting hit by Wynonna’s truck wasn’t really part of the plan. Oh the lengths one had to go to to stir up love. Yep, he better end up being their bae of honor.