Chapter Four

Waverly lets Nicole mess with the radio. She eventually finds a classic rock station and settles on that.

Nicole hums along with most of the songs as they play. Waverly glances over at her, watching as Nicole taps her fingers on her thigh along with the music.

"So…"

Nicole looks away from the window and over to Waverly. "Hmm?"

"That's cute. How you hum along to the music."

A light blush creeps onto Nicole's cheeks. "Oh. Yeah, um, I grew up listening to this stuff. My father always had music playing."

"Where are you from?"

"Chicago. Although I haven't been back there in… almost eight years now."

"Why have you been away so long?" Waverly glances back over at Nicole, who now has her head lowered. She fiddles with the hem of her shirt, sighing softly.

"There wasn't anything for me there. I didn't have any friends and my parents… we had a falling out. We don't talk anymore. So as soon as I graduated I just left."

"I'm sorry if that was a really bad topic to bring-"

Nicole cuts Waverly off with a shake of her head and a dismissive wave of her hand. "It's fine. I guess that it doesn't really bother me all that much anymore. Don't worry about it."

Waverly nods, silently cursing herself for making the atmosphere feel awkward again. Okay, maybe the impromptu road trip with someone she barely knows was a bad idea.

Nicole clears her throat after about fifteen minutes of silence. "What did you do before you started working for your sister?"

"I worked at Shorty's right out of high school. It wasn't the best job, but I got great tips and Shorty kept me safe from all the creeps."

"You don't strike me as someone who needs saving. I've heard that you can be pretty fierce."

It's Waverly's turn to blush. "Well, when you have a shotgun nearby and some drunk shit ticket is trying to grope you, what are you supposed to do? Threaten him with the shotgun."

It makes Nicole laugh. "Good point. How often does the sheriff have to come down to break up bar fights?"

Waverly snorts softly. "Oh, he's there every day during happy hour like clockwork. His deputies are always in and out dragging guys to the drunk tank."

"I always wanted to be a police officer. Something about being able to help people and keep them safe. I don't know."

"Why didn't you?"

"I guess I just lost the motivation, you know? I didn't really have anyone to cheer me on or tell me that I wasn't wasting my time… And I just didn't have the money to put myself through the academy."

Waverly lets the words settle and she thinks them over. The more she thinks about how lonely Nicole must be, the more she wants to spend time with her.

She clears her throat, shooting another glance at Nicole. "I wanted to be a historian. My uncle Curtis payed for some online courses in high school. Dead languages."

"That's neat. Why didn't you go off to college?"

"I don't know," Waverly murmurs. "I have a degree by correspondence, but that's it. I was working at Shorty's so I could save up enough to move and go to college, but then Wynonna came home."

She pauses to collect her thoughts for a few minutes before continuing her explanation. "I think that's why I didn't leave. I always hoped that Wynonna would come home and I was worried that if I left she wouldn't have any idea where I was. It's probably silly, there are plenty of people who could've told her where I was."

"No, no, it's not silly. I understand." She doesn't, really. She doesn't know what it feels like to have someone to wait for, someone who makes her want to stick around. She would love to know what that's like.

Waverly tries to change the subject to something a little less awkward. "How'd you get that little scar on your face?"

Nicole absentmindedly reaches her hand up and traces her fingers along the scar. And then she lies. "Um, I was eight and I was chasing a cat down the street. I tripped and hit my head off the sidewalk."

Although the cat thing did happen, she didn't actually trip. She caught the cat, who had gotten scared when another kid threw a rock at him. The cat instantly took to her and calmed down.

Actually, late in her junior year of high school, she, for lack of a better word, was jumped at her locker. She'd gotten used to the teasing and the stares, but this was the first time anyone had physically harmed her. It was hours after school had let out, but softball practice had just ended and Nicole needed her math book. She didn't notice the three boys that had approached from behind. That is, until her head was slamming into the side of her locker. She was thrown to the ground, where she hit her head again in the same area.

Nicole came out of it with a concussion, stitches on the side of her face, and three broken ribs. Along with that, bruises covering her abdomen and chest. The boys got suspended for two weeks. It wasn't the last time Nicole became a target.

Waverly laughs, which jerks Nicole out of her morbid memories. "What wouldn't you do for a cat?"

"I'd say kill a man, but…"

Waverly laughs again and Nicole decides that it's a really good sound. She also decides then and there that she wants to spend more time with Purgatory's sweetheart. As Waverly grins at her, she can't help but feel like maybe Waverly wants that too.

—

They unload all of the scrap metal at a recycling plant just outside of the city. They sit in the truck after, pleased that they completed their task.

"So, Earp, what are the highlights of the city? I'll have to come and spend some time here on a day off."

"Or we could just hang around here for a while. There's this vegan ice cream shop that is just fantastic."

Nicole scrunches her nose up slightly. "Vegan ice cream, huh? I guess I could branch out a little bit."

Waverly grins, reaching over to pat Nicole's knee. "I know that it sounds gross, but it's actually really good. I swear."

"Yeah, well, if it's bad you're paying me double for this job," Nicole grumbles, although a playful smile tugs at the corners of her lips.

"And if you like it, I win the absolute pleasing of having you take me out for coffee."

"Deal, Earp," Nicole says, holding her hand out. Waverly shakes it firmly, holding back a giggle.

Waverly drives them to the ice cream parlor, laughing when Nicole starts belting out the lyrics of a Grateful Dead song that comes on the radio.

"She wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls, I knew right away she was not like other girls, other girls," Nicole sings, drumming her fingers on the dashboard.

"Oh my god, Haught, you're such a dork!" Waverly is laughing harder than she has in years and she feels light and truly happy.

Nicole ignores her, starting to dance a little in her seat as she continues to sing along. "Well there ain't nothin' wrong with the way she moves, all scarlet begonias or a touch of the blues!" Nicole's voice takes on more of an exaggerated southern twang just to draw another laugh from Waverly.

The song, along with Nicole's karaoke session, ends as they pull into the parking lot. Waverly has to take a moment and collect herself, wiping at the tears that had formed because she was laughing so hard.

Nicole nudges the shorter woman, her dimples on full display. "So? What'd you think?"

"I think that you're very talented, Nicole. And that that was one of the funniest things I've seen in quite a while."

"I am equally flattered and offended, Earp. That's my favorite song."

"You're cute. Does it being your favorite song have anything to do with it having lyrics about flowers?"

"No. Shut up," Nicole says quickly, an embarrassed flush creeping onto her skin.

"Too cute," Waverly murmurs, smiling fondly at Nicole. "Let's go get our ice cream."

—

Waverly gets peanut butter fudge, while Nicole gets coconut. They sit at a table next to a window, watching people pass by on the sidewalk.

"So, what do you think? Pretty good, huh?"

Nicole rolls her eyes, trying to fight back a smile. "Fine, I like it. It actually doesn't taste all that different than normal ice cream."

"Told you," Waverly says. "Here, try mine." She slides her dish across the table to Nicole. She steals a bite, nodding in approval.

"Good. So I suppose that you win."

"Mhm. You will be taking me out for coffee."

"It's a date," Nicole says. Waverly grins and Nicole is pretty sure that she didn't actually lose at all.