"Waverly! Robin's here!" Gus called from downstairs.
"I'm coming!" I called back, grabbing my things.

Robin and I were planning on driving down to the city to visit Nicole at the university. Nicole and I had been planning this visit for a while because Beth was going to be home to Purgatory for the weekend. The plan was to go and hang out with Nicole, maybe go to a college party, and just check out the campus.

I gathered my things and opened my bedroom door, leaving the room and heading downstairs. I was so excited to visit Nicole, that I was practically running and not paying attention to where I was going, which caused me to run right into Curtis.

"Whoa there, pumpkin. What's got you all in a hurry?" He asked as he struggled to keep his balance, all while holding onto my shoulders tightly to make sure I didn't fall over.
"Oh! Sorry, Uncle Curtis... Robin and I are heading to the university to visit Nicole for the weekend." I explained to him, standing up straight and flashing a sweet smile at him.
Curtis seemed pleased by the answer, a smile spreading across his face and his eyes lighting up at the mention of Nicole. "That right? Well, then you two have a safe drive. And tell Nicole to bring 'er ass over here one day, we wanna see 'er, too."
I nodded, smiling widely. "We will, and I'll definitely tell her. Bye, Uncle Curtis." I stepped up in my tip toes, kissing him on his cheek.

I turned around to face Robin, who was standing in the living room with a snack in his hand, his bag draped over his shoulder.

"You two got everything you need?" Gus asked as I passed by her.
Robin nodded, tugging on the strap of his duffle bag, chewing on his chips (or whatever it was he was eating). "Yes, ma'am! Got everything right here in my dad's duffle bag." He smiled at her and she smiled back, chuckling.
"Alright. That's good, Robin. Now, how 'bout you, Waverly?" Gus asked, turning to look at me. She was expectant, waiting for my answer as I silently recounted everything I'd packed.
Toothbrush? Check. Hairbrush? Check. Sexy underwear just in case I get some time alone with Nicole? Check. Did I forget anything? Nope. I don't think so, at least. "Yep! I've got it all in here, Aunt Gus." I smiled at her, confident I had everything I needed.

I gave Gus a quick hug and kiss before grabbing Robin's sleeve and pulling him towards the front door.

"Bye, Mr. and Mrs. McCready!" Robin called out, waving his hand at them.
"Bye, you two. Drive safe." Gus replied, waving back as I opened the front door and pulled Robin outside.

As soon as the front door was shut, Robin and I headed to the Jeep. I opened the trunk and threw my bag into the back as Robin lifted his bag over his head to take it off of his shoulder. I took his bag from him and set it down next to mine, closing the trunk afterwards. Robin climbed into the passenger seat, closing the door behind him as I walked around to the driver's seat.

"Are you excited?" Robin asked as we put our seatbelts on, a smile on his face.
I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "Of course I'm excited. We're going to see Nicole," I replied. It was ridiculous that he was asking that. I mean, I'd been talking about it all week!
"Well, yeah, but Beth won't be there. You two'll have some time alone." Robin nudged me, smirking.
I blushed, starting the car. "You'll be there with us, silly." I shifted into reverse and began backing out of the driveway, keeping my eyes on the mirrors. No matter how much I hoped that I'd get to be alone with Nicole, I wasn't confident that it would happen.
Robin scoffed. "I'm not sleeping in Nicole's dorm," he told me. The way he said it was like it was obvious.
I stopped as soon as we were out of the driveway and put the car into drive, turning a bit before I started driving down the street, glancing at Robin with a confused look. "What? Why not?"
Robin shook his head, reaching for the radio. He turned it on and started scanning through the stations. "Well, firstly, I don't wanna sleep on Beth's bed-"
He doesn't have to sleep on Beth's bed, he can sleep on the floor! I opened my mouth to interrupt him, but he held up his hand.
"Or the floor," he stated firmly.
I nodded, giving a small shrug. "That's fair."
Robin nodded. "Secondly, I wanna give you two some time alone. You haven't seen each other in, like, what was it? Two months?"

I bit my lip at the reminder of just how long it's been since I actually got to see Nicole in person. It was only for a couple of hours, and we were just hanging out in the dorm, watching One Day at a Time on Netflix while Beth did homework. It was hardly worth the four hour drive, but then again, every second I get to spend with her, alone or no, is always worth it. Even so, I remember being so sad when I had to leave... I barely got to spend any time with her that day.

"Yeah..." I muttered, clearing my throat. "Two months," I confirmed.
Robin stopped messing with the radio and looked at me. "Oh, God. Waves, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up." He shook his head, putting his hand on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.
I shook my head, glancing at him as I flashed a small smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, Robin. You're just trying to be helpful, and I appreciate it. And you're right, anyway. So what were you planning?" I asked him, my tone sounding happy and light, even though I felt the exact opposite.
Robin removed his hand from shoulder and shifted in his seat so that he was facing me a bit. "Okay. So. You know Nicole's cute friend, Jeremy?" He asked, sounding very excited when he mentioned Jeremy.
I giggled, nodding in response. "Yes, the super genius who's the same age as me?" I asked, glancing at Robin with a knowing smirk. Robin and I had met him very briefly the last time I took him to visit Nicole, and since then Robin had been begging for me to take him back there.
Robin nodded eagerly. "Yes, him. Well, I was thinking about trying to see if I could stay in his dorm with him. Though if not, then I'd just get a motel room off-campus or something."

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him for a quick second before looking back at the road. We were out of Purgatory, driving through the empty, rural part that's right outside of town. I was surprised that Robin wanted to try to stay with Jeremy. I mean, I know that Jeremy has his own room, which I still haven't figured out how he managed, but I don't know if he'd be okay with letting Robin stay with him for a whole weekend. Maybe he has plans?

"Do you think he'll even say yes?" I asked Robin, glancing at him one more time.
Robin shrugged, not seeming very hopeful about it. "I don't know, but I mean, I can try. It's not like I'm gonna be asking him to sleep with me or anything. I just want an excuse to get to know him better."
That was definitely one way to do it... Get him alone so you're the only thing he can focus on. I had to admit, Robin was onto something. "That's a really good idea. I mean, I think you should try it."
"Really? You think so?"
I nodded. "Oh, yeah. Jeremy seems really nice, and think he'd love to hang out with you. Plus, you're Nicole's friend, so he'd be more than happy to give you a place to stay." I didn't really know much about Jeremy, but he seemed like that type.

The rest of the car ride was full of Robin constantly changing radio stations to find songs he liked, and when he did, we'd sing along very loudly. It was always fun having Robin in the car, because he wasn't extremely distracting, but he wasn't boring either.

When we actually got into the city, I asked Robin to grab my phone and call Nicole. He did, but it kept ringing until it went to voicemail. On the inside, I was panicking, but on the outside, I seemed calm. Or I was trying to, at least.

"You sure she knows we're coming?" Robin asked as he looked at my phone, trying to figure out if he should call her again.
I nodded, attempting to keep myself from freaking out. "Yes, we were texting about it all week. Call her again."

Robin shrugged and pressed the call icon on the screen of my phone again. The phone kept ringing before going to voicemail.

Robin sighed, shaking his head before running a hand through his hair. "She's not answering, Waverly."
I groaned quietly. "Okay, well, maybe we should try to text her." I reached out to grab my phone from him, but he pulled it back.
"Eyes on the road." He told me, pointing a finger at me.
I sighed, putting my hand back on the steering wheel. "Okay, okay. Can you try calling her with your phone?" I asked, shrugging.
"I can text her on your phone, Waves. It's not a big deal," Robin replied.
My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No, don't-"
"Oh, my God! Nevermind!" Robin exclaimed, locking my phone and setting it down in the cupholder.

I blushed bright red, clearing my throat. I didn't want him to text Nicole on my phone because our last conversation had included some... naughty selfies... I was trying to protect his eyes!

"I tried to tell you not to-" I was so embarrassed.
Robin shook his head. "It's not your fault, I should've listened the second you said no." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sighed as he unlocked it. "I'll just call her on my phone," he told me.

He tapped some things on his phone, and within a few seconds, I heard the ringing sound.

"Just so you know, though... You have a great body, Wave." Robin complimented, flashing a reassuring smile.
I smiled a bit, shaking my head. It didn't make me uncomfortable because I knew Robin didn't mean it sexually. He was trying to make me feel less embarrassed. "Thank you," I replied.

After a little while, the phone stopped ringing and it took a few seconds, but finally, Nicole answered.

"Hello?" She greeted, sounding very out of breath.
"Hey, Nicole, it's Robin. Waverly and I are in the city, we tried calling you on her phone, but you weren't answering." Robin replied, looking over at me with a confused expression.

Why didn't she answer when I was calling?

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry. I just got done in the gym right as you were calling." Nicole told him, and her tone sounded genuine.
"Are you headed back to your dorm right now?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.
"Not yet, actually, I still have to take a shower. But I'll be heading there soon," Nicole replied. "How was the drive for you, baby? Did you and Robin take turns driving this time?"
"No, I drove the whole time. It was good, we were just listening to music." I told her, wincing slightly because I knew what she was gonna say.
"Wave, really? I told you that you shouldn't drive the four hours here yourself." Nicole responded, and I could just hear the disapproval in her voice.
"I know, I know, but really it's not that bad. Besides, it gives me a chance to get better at driving!" I tried, before giving a sigh. I liked driving. It was really relaxing.
"If you insist," Nicole replied. Her tone sounded unconvinced, but I could tell she had a smile on her face. "Alright, well, I'm going to go take a shower right now. Call me when you guys get here, and I'll meet you at my dorm."
"Okay. See you when we get there," Robin told her.
"Okay. Bye," Nicole replied.
"Bye, babe," I spoke before Robin hung up the phone.

I drove to a café and parked out in the front of it, turning off the engine and picking up my phone from the cupholder. I unlocked it and was immediately met by the pictures of myself that I'd sent Nicole the night before. I swallowed a bit, deciding the scroll through the previous messages to see the ones Nicole had sent me.

I felt my face heat up, and I decided to close the messages before Robin noticed, clearing my throat. "Do you want anything from there?" I asked Robin, pointing at the café we were parked in front of.
Robin looked out the window at the building and nodded a bit. "Yeah, can you get me an iced vanilla latte with soy milk?" He asked, looking over at me with a smile.
I chuckled, nodding. His go-to drink. "Alright. I'll be right back."
"Thank youuuuu," Robin called out as I got out of the car.

I smiled at him and closed the door behind me. I walked up to the front door of the café and opened it, walking inside. I got in line and let out a quiet sigh, not paying attention to my surroundings much. There was only one person in front of me when my phone started ringing in my hand. I looked at the screen and smiled when I saw Nicole's name.

I answered the phone and pressed the speaker to my ear. "Hey," I greeted. I had a huge smile on my face.
"Hey, baby. Where are you guys? I just got back to my dorm," Nicole responded.
"Oh, we stopped at the coffee shop down the street. I'm in line right, do you want me to get you something?"
"Yeah, sure. You know what I like."
That I did. I knew exactly what to get her. "One coconut milk mocha macchiato for my best baby!" I replied.
Nicole chuckled. "Thank you, my love."
"Of course," I told her. The girl in front of me stepped aside to wait for her drink and the barista looked at me expectantly, letting me know it was my turn. "Alright, well, it's my turn to order right now, so I'll see you when we get there, okay?"
"Okay, Waves. Be careful, though. I'm pretty sure the frat boys are all over campus right now."

I rolled my eyes a bit as I stepped up to the counter, but then flashed a smile at the barista, who smiled back.

"Of course they are. Don't worry, baby, we'll be fine. See you in a bit." I told Nicole, looking down. I didn't wanna make eye contact with the barista who was now standing right in front of me, mostly because I felt weird talking on the phone right in front of her.
"See you in a bit. I love you," Nicole spoke.
I smiled brightly at the sound of the words. "I love you, too."

With that, I hung up and slipped my phone into my back pocket before flashing an apologetic smile at the barista.

"Sorry, it was just my-" I started to explain.
She cut me off, "Boyfriend?" She asked.
I shook my head. "Girlfriend, actually." I corrected, smiling awkwardly.
Her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her and she nodded. "Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume."
"Oh, no, it's okay." I shook my head at her, smiling reassuringly. "Don't even worry about it."
She didn't seem convinced, but she nodded anyways. "What can I get for you today?"

I ordered the drinks and gave her my name before paying for the drinks and walking over to the tables to sit down for a second. I sat down in an empty chair and leaned back against it, looking around the room as I waited for the drinks to be finished. The place was nice and sleek-looking, much nicer than a lot of the places in Purgatory, and also a lot more modern. I liked it, but the coffee shops in Purgatory tended to have more of an at-home kind of feel.

After a few minutes, she called my name and set the drinks on the counter in a drink holder. I stood up and walked over, grabbing the thing as I thanked her. It wasn't very heavy, so I carried it to the door, which I then backed into in an attempt to open it. As you might be able to tell, by the use of the word "attempt", it didn't work out very well. I almost tripped, nearly sending all of the drinks I'd just paid for to the ground. Luckily, Robin had already been getting out of the Jeep to help me with the drinks, so he not only caught me, but he also saved the coffee.

I huffed quietly, upset that I hadn't been more careful. "Sorry, I really thought I could carry them all to the car." I felt terrible. I'd almost dropped our drinks on the ground, they would've spilled everywhere! Who would clean it up? Is that someone's job? Or would they just leave it to get all dry and gross on the concrete?
Robin shook his head, putting his hand on my shoulder, the drinks carefully nestled in his other arm. "Hey, don't worry about it. I should've gone in there with you so you wouldn't have had to carry them all." He was reassuring, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him with a small smile, which he returned. "C'mon. Your girlfriend's waiting," he teased.

We walked back to the Jeep and I opened the passenger side door for him before walking around to the driver's side. Once I was in the car, I buckled my seat belt and started the engine. Robin took a second to buckle his own, but once he did, I carefully pulled out of the spot and started driving in the direction of the university.

It didn't take long to get there, maybe about five minutes. We pulled into the parking area and I pulled into the parking spot I usually parked in when visiting Nicole. We got out of the car and I went to the back to get our bags out of the trunk. Robin insisted on draping his duffel bag over his shoulder, despite the fact that his hands were practically full.

I grabbed my bag after helping him with his and then closed the trunk. I took a second to look around at the school, noticing that there were a lot less kids on campus than there usually was. Well, unless they were just, like, not outside. But Nicole had said something about frat boys... Huh. Not thinking much of it, I began to lead Robin in the direction of Nicole's building.

I started to see a little bit more people as we got closer to the dorms, some of which I recognized from the last time I was here. They waved at me, saying hi and all that, but we just smiled at them and kept walking. We reached the door of the tall dormitory, and I pulled it open, allowing Robin to step inside first.

The building looked so much different compared to the last time I was there, which was odd considering it had only been two months. There were different posters on the walls, a few different people. As we walked through the hallways, I noticed that some of the door were more decorated than I remembered.

When we reached Nicole's dorm, I noticed that there was a small whiteboard on the door that had Nicole and Beth's names on it. I couldn't remember if it had been there before, but it had pretty decorations on it. I smiled a bit at Nicole's handwriting as I raised my hand and knocked on the door at a decent volume.

"Just a second!" Nicole's voice called through the door.

My smile faded a bit as we stood there, and suddenly I felt like I should've called her before just coming to the door and knocking like this. My worries soon melted away as the door opened, revealing Nicole in a pair of gym shorts, and a muscle tee. Her hair was damp and messy, all moved over to one side, but just as red as ever.

Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she broke out into a huge smile. "You're here," she breathed.

I nodded, opening my mouth to speak. I was cut off by the sudden feeling of Nicole's arms wrapped around me tightly. I reciprocated, embracing her in response and burying my face in her neck. I smiled at her familiar scent, never wanting to let go, but also finding myself in desperate need of a kiss from her. It had been a whole two months since I'd felt her lips against mine, and I wasn't sure I could wait any longer. I pulled back from the hug and put my hands on the back of her neck, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

She hummed against my lips in pleasant surprise, but reciprocated immediately. Her hands pulled me closer and the kiss got unintentionally rough.

Nicole pulled away after a couple seconds, her lips slightly swollen. "Oh, wow." She swallowed, her face turning red as she looked behind me, remembering that Robin was there. "Hey, Robin."
I looked back at Robin, who was smirking. He raised his free hand awkwardly. "Hey, Nicole." He replied, looking very amused.

Nicole stepped back, taking me with her so that Robin could enter the room. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him before making his way to set the coffee down on Nicole's desk.

Nicole watched him for a few seconds before looking back at me with a smile. "I missed you so much, baby."

Hearing her say that made me so happy. A huge smile spread across my lips and I cupped her face in my hands, leaning closer to her.

"I missed you, too." I whispered, brushing my nose against hers.

Nicole smiled back and we both closed our eyes for a second and I felt her close the small gap between us, her soft lips pressing against mine in a sweet kiss. Every time we kiss, it always feels like it's the very first time.

Robin cleared his throat, causing us to break apart and look at him. He was smirking once again, an amused twinkle in his eyes and his coffee in his hand. "If you guys wanna be alone, I'd be happy to give you some space." He offered, and I could tell it was genuine.
I shook my head immediately, giving him a look. "Absolutely not. There's time for that later," I replied. I gave Nicole a quick kiss on the cheek before breaking away from her and taking her hand, instead.
Nicole smiled at him. "Agreed. I've got so much planned for the three of us that it would really put a damper on things if you left." She told him, gently nudging his shoulder with her hand.
Robin chuckled, no longer smirking, but actually smiling this time. "Alright, alright. What are these plans of yours?" He asked, picking up her coffee and handing it to her.
She took it from him with a thank you, kissing my cheek after the words left her mouth so that I'd know it was also directed towards me. "Well, there's a party tomorrow night, over in this one weird guy's apartment."
"Weird guy?" I asked, confused as to why she'd want to go if he was weird. "How is he weird?"
Nicole shrugged, making a face as she put her arm around my shoulders. "Not like... weird weird, as in creepy weird. Just weird as in, he's got an.. interesting personality. Definitely a big fan of the Wild West."
Robin nodded slowly, seeming to follow what Nicole was saying. Which was a relief, because I had no idea what she meant by that. "What's his name?"
"John. Pretty much everyone calls him Doc, though." Nicole took a sip of her coffee, not seeming to give anymore information on this... Doc guy.
"Doc? Why Doc?" I asked, completely confused.
"Well, he wants to be a doctor, but also his parents named him after Doc Holliday." Nicole answered, looking at me.
"So that's what you meant by "big fan of the Wild West"? He's named after Doc Holliday?" Robin questioned.
Nicole nodded. "Yep. He also dresses kinda like a modern-day cowboy, and talks like one, too. Like I said, interesting personality." She explained with a chuckle, and finally I understood what she'd meant when she said he was weird.
"He sounds cool," Robin responded with a shrug.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I can't wait to go to his party!"

And I really couldn't wait. It seemed so exciting, even though this guy.. "Doc" was some kinda super fan of the Wild West. I was really nervous about that, not gonna lie. I mean, my last name is Earp. What if he tries to bug me about it? He probably won't, but there is a chance! Then again, he's Nicole's friend, so she's probably told him about me...

Well. Guess we'll find out, won't we?

A/N: Hello! This was a VERY long chapter, wasn't it? I'm sorry it took me so long to update this story, I kinda took a short break from writing it once I'd reached 4,000 words lol. But I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope the way I'm bringing Doc into the story is a good idea, it was kind of a last minute decision!

Anyways, thank you so so much for reading! I'll try to update again soon!