Chapter Text
“I bet I can get more girls than you Haught.”
“You’re on dipwad.”
Nicole and Kyle had barely been tipsy when they made the bet, but now they, and all their friends, were hammered. Right now they were tied for the most phone numbers collected; the tiebreaker was the bartender. Nicole wasn’t thrilled about the short brunette being Kyle’s pick for tiebreaker, but she was not about to get into it inebriated. She had seen Waverly Earp around town, and yeah, okay, she was kind of, really, cute. Nicole knew better though; the girl was very straight and had an idiot for a boyfriend. Kyle seemed to get the straight vibe as well. Nicole hated the smug look on his face when he suggested Waverly. Nicole refused to back down from the challenge, even if she failed.
A chorus of ‘boos’ and ‘oohs’ echoed from the table, as Kyle returned head hanging with defeat. He chugged the beer in front of him, then turned to Nicole. “If you can get that girl's number, I will bow down to you, and forever refer to you as ‘Queen Nicole, champion of the girls, and cover any bar tab we accumulate while out together.’” Kyle slurred.
Nicole slapped on her most haughty smile, and meandered her way over to the bar. Luckily it had cleared out a little, so it didn’t take long for Waverly to make her way over to Nicole. “What’ll it be for you?” Waverly asked, smile on her face. The fatigue showed through. Nicole suspected that most of the men in the bar, both young and old, had been hitting on her all night.
Nicole let herself smile. It wasn’t the fake, ‘I’m flirting for a contest smile,’ but her honest smile. “Can I just get a cappuccino to go? My buddies and I are heading home soon.” Waverly seemed to sigh, probably relieved the rowdy group of men, boys really, would be leaving soon. “I’m Nicole by the way, Nicole Haught.” Nicole introduced herself while Waverly was still within earshot. “You’re Waverly Earp right? Quite the popular girl around her.”
Waverly’s smile was something brighter than Nicole could ever imagine. “It’s all in the smile and wave.” The only thing that beat Waverly’s smile was her laugh. Nicole followed Waverly around the bar area with her gaze, wondering if the girl could feel her gaze.
“Has it been a big flirting night?” Nicole asked, just as Waverly was bringing her coffee to her. Nicole may have been seeing things, but she thought she saw Waverly stumble. Instead of clarifying what she meant, Nicole kept her eyes trained on the shorter bartender.
“Um… I… yeah, I guess. I’m in a relationship.” Waverly spewed, struggling to come up with words. “I’m seeing a boy… uh a man.” Nicole’s smile grew. Waverly’s flustered reaction and slight blush was quite endearing.
“A boy man, huh. Yeah; I’ve been there.” Nicole leaned into the bar, lowering her voice. “It’s the worst.” She let the words sit in the air, watching the panic envelop Waverly’s eyes. Maybe Nicole hadn’t been exactly spot on with the earlier ‘straight’ assessment. “Look,” Nicole finally said, after Waverly almost broke a glass, “I’ll level with you Waverly. I’m not here to hit on you.” Nicole tried to gauge a reaction, but the girl was like Fort Knox. “My buddies and I are having a competition to see who can get the most girl’s numbers in one night. If I win, he pays for drinks” Nicole smiled, cocking her head to one side. “You’re our tiebreaker.” Had she been more sober, she wouldn’t have objectified Waverly, but though the haze of alcohol, she had made the mistake. “I’d quite like to win the bet, so if there’s any way you can pretend that I’m succeeding at flirting with you then give me a fake number, it’d be much appreciated.”
Nicole was confident in herself. She had been confident in herself and her identity for a long time, but in the moments following she felt incredibly vulnerable. She was just waiting for the town’s sweetheart to laugh in her face, just like high school.Waverly did laugh, but not in the way Nicole expected. Her smile was flirty and her laugh was light. She placed her arm gently on Nicole’s lower arm and bat her eyelashes. Nicole’s heart nearly stopped beating. “Anything to get boys to pay for their girl’s drinks.” Waverly smiles and pulls out a napkin before scribbling a phone number on it. “What's the harm? Here.”
Nicole took the napkin and pulled out her signature move; with one swift motion she retrieved her business card and handed it to Waverly. “Thanks Waverly.” With a wink, she turned and sauntered back to her friends. She flashed the napkin to Kyle, who groaned, before plunging it into her pocket. There’s no way she was going to let the boys find out she had sort of cheated.
“I think I have a crush on a girl”
“Am I still gay if I’m dating a boy?”
“What is bisexuality?”
“Am I bisexual?”
“How did you first realize you were bi?”
Waverly Earp was expecting to go to work. She was expecting to make drinks and flirt with the customers to get better tips. She was expecting to get hit on by most of the men, but what she wasn’t expecting was Officer Nicole Haught to come by and make her fumble. It wasn’t like Nicole Officer Haught was into Waverly, and Waverly wasn’t into Haught, or at least she refused to believe so. Now, Waverly couldn’t deny that Nicole the officer wasn’t hot, as her last name suggested, but she could certainly deny that she was into the taller redhead.
Champ had swung by Shorty’s after closing, like normal, but Waverly couldn’t make it seem normal. She kept noticing all the negative things Champ would do. They ended up making out on the couch, but when Champ went to move things to the bedroom, Waverly advised he spend the night at home since she was on her period. Champ, being the weak man he was, bailed without more than ten words.
That was how Waverly Earp found herself googling random, too personal, questions in a private browsing window. She had never thought about herself as queer or not straight, but then again she never thought about it at all. Sighing, Waverly finally opened a word document and wrote the words she had been trying to ignore and push down for the past few hours.
the ten minute fake relationship with nicole felt more authentic and right than my two year relationship with champ.
i’m afraid.
i don’t know who i am or who i want.
i don’t know what happens next.