Today is Nicole's going away party. It really isn't necessary, because she's just going to be a few hours away, but Gus and Curtis insisted. They won't get to see her often after she leaves, so they wanted to do something special for her; say goodbye.

I agreed that it was special, but I wasn't ready to let her go. We spent the entire summer together, not once leaving each other's side. It was nice while it lasted, and I knew that Nicole would be back in Purgatory after a while... But even with the promise of frequent phone calls and possible Skype sex, I just didn't want her to leave.

I didn't want to go to sleep without being able to hug her and smell my most favorite smell in the world: her.

I know it's stupid, and I shouldn't be this stubborn, but I can't help it. What if she meets someone better over there? What if she falls in love with someone else and forgets about me?

"Baby? Are you okay?" Nicole asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at her, squinting in the sunlight as we continued walking down the street. We were out in Purgatory, shopping, while Gus and Curtis set things up at the house.

"I'm fine... Just thinking," I responded. I looked back down at the ground and sighed, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jacket.
Nicole nudged me gently, pushing her shoulder against mine. "Penny for your thoughts?" She asked sweetly.
I stopped walking, turning to face her. I took a deep breath, gathering the courage to tell her what was on my mind. "I don't want you to leave," I told her.

Nicole blinked, looking at me with a confused expression, her eyebrows furrowed. It took her a while to find the words she was going to respond with, but eventually she did.

"That's what this is about? That's why you've been quiet all day?" She asked, shaking her head a bit.

I nodded quickly, shrugging and turning away from her. "I've just... It's all I can think about. Gus and Curtis wanted to throw you a surprise going away party, and it was my job to get you out of the house and distract you while they put it together and-"

Crap. I wasn't supposed to tell her!

"Wait. Gus and Curtis are what?" Nicole asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me back towards her.
"Oh, fudgenuggets." I grumbled quietly, turning to face her again. "I wasn't supposed to tell you..."

Nicole shook her head. "Look, that's not what matters right now. What matters is that you don't have to worry about anything. Okay?" She took both of my hands in hers and looked right into my eyes. "I love you, Waverly Earp. No matter where and how far I go, I will always come back to you. Because you're everything to me."

I knew she meant it. I don't know how, but I just knew. It felt like something she would never say if she didn't mean it. I didn't respond. Not at first.

Instead, I leaned forward and kissed her. She kissed back, her hands releasing mine and moving to my hips. After a few seconds, I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers.

"I love you so much," I told her. I took a deep breath. "And I know how important this is to you, so... I'll support you."
Nicole smiled, placing a small, quick kiss on the tip of my nose. "Thank you, baby."

I smiled back, watching her eyes light up, and suddenly I felt okay. Knowing that she'd be back, that she'd always come back... It made me feel a lot better. It made feel like I was finally ready to let her go.

"You promise we'll talk every night?" I asked, my tone very innocent and sweet.
Nicole chuckled, nodding. "Yes, Wave. I promise we'll talk every night." She told me, pulling me close and leaning down to kiss me.

I eagerly pushed my lips back against hers, almost forgetting we were in public. Nicole didn't, however, and pulled away after a few seconds.

"Come on. Let's go," she told me, pulling me in the direction we'd been walking earlier.

I smiled, gladly following her as she held my hand.

A few hours later...

After walking around Purgatory for a while, I took Nicole back to the house. When we walked through the front door, we were greeted by Gus, Curtis, Robin, Chrissy, and Sheriff Nedley.

"Surprise!" They shouted at Nicole.
Nicole smiled widely, laughing in feigned surprise. "Wow! Thank you, guys!" She exclaimed.

None of them seemed to notice that she was faking, they just smiled at her and gave her a hug one by one.

"Good to see you, kid." Sheriff Nedley told her, his hand on her shoulder. "You'll do great at the academy."
Nicole gave a nod and smiled at him. "Thank you, sir."

The rest of the night was full of all of us talking and enjoying each other's company. It was great to just sit down and talk, holding hands with Nicole almost the whole night. I didn't leave her side all night because I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before she left tomorrow.

She got into the university in the city, and would be taking classes there for two years before she actually got to start at the academy.

It would be hard being without her, but I'd manage. I knew I would.

After the party, Sheriff Nedley left, and Chrissy and Robin stayed. Chrissy wanted to go out, just the four of us, which I was worried would be awkward considering Robin is her ex-boyfriend... But it wasn't that bad, actually.

We went to see a movie and then got dinner and walked around Purgatory. We stopped at a park and sat down, Nicole wrapping her arms around me.

"So are you guys gonna get to see each other at all?" Chrissy asked, watching us hold on to each other.
I shrugged, resting my head on Nicole's shoulder. "Yeah, I mean, we'll definitely try. But between the classes I'll be taking online and Nicole's classes, I don't know if we'll be able to visit that often." I answered, my stomach doing flips as I talked about it.
Nicole nodded a bit, her cheek resting against my head. "Yeah, but we'll talk on the phone and video chat as much as possible." She added, moving to kiss my forehead.

I smiled, closing my eyes. I let out a happy sigh, feeling Nicole's arms wrapped around me tightly, her lips against my forehead.

"Ooh, video chat. Like sex?" Chrissy asked teasingly, waggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
I blushed, chuckling. "Shut up," I told her. I smacked her arm gently, being playful.
Chrissy laughed a bit. "Come on, seriously. Are you guys gonna do that? Like phone sex, or video sex?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, I mean... It definitely crossed our minds..." Nicole replied, her voice trailing off as her hand moved a bit lower on my waist.
I bit my lip, putting my hand on hers to stop it from going any further. "It was an idea." I added, lifting my head and giving Nicole a look.

Nicole chuckled, kissing my cheek as she interlocked our fingers instead of attempting to move her hand any lower.

Robin chuckled, shaking his head. "You guys are adorable," he told us.

I smiled at him before looking over at Chrissy, who was scowling at her phone.

"What's going on, Chrissy?" I asked, my smile fading a bit.
Chrissy rolled her eyes, handing me her phone. "This is disgusting." She spat, shaking her head.
I took the phone from her and looked at it, immediately gasping and putting it face down on my leg. It was a dick pic! "From Champ?" I asked her, shaking my head in disgust.
Chrissy looked at me, nodding. "Can you believe him?" She asked. I shook my head, handing the phone back to Chrissy.
"What? What did he send?" Nicole asked, confused.
"You don't wanna know," Chrissy and I said in unison.
I looked at Nicole. "Seriously."
Nicole shrugged. "Show me," she told Chrissy.

Chrissy raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged in response.

"Are you sure?" Chrissy asked Nicole.
Nicole nodded, holding her hand out. "Yeah," she replied.
"Okay," Chrissy muttered. She handed her phone to Nicole, who took it from her and looked at the screen.

Nicole's face changed immediately and she pretended to gag. I laughed, leaning my head back against her shoulder.

She held the phone still, shaking her head at the picture. "He's gross. In more ways than one," she said. She handed the phone back and blinked as if she were trying to get the image out of her eyes.

Chrissy looked at Robin, holding the phone out to him. "Do you wanna see, Robin?" She asked, trying to include him.
Robin shook his head quickly. "Nope. I have no interest in Champ's unsolicited dick pic." He responded, pushing her hand away. He paused for a second, looking at the turned over phone in her hand. "On second thought, I'm kinda curious." He took the phone from Chrissy and snickered.
"Definitely overcompensating, right?" Nicole asked, an amused grin spreading across her face.
Robin nodded, handing Chrissy her phone back. "I'd keep that. For insurance." He told her, clearly amused.

I felt weird about the fact that they'd all just seen my ex-boyfriend's dick... Especially Nicole. I wasn't expecting her to be so calm about it.

Nicole shook her head. "I can't believe you put that thing in your mouth, Waverly." She said out of nowhere, catching me off-guard.
My eyes widened and I turned to look at her. "What? How do you know I put it in my mouth?" I asked, shocked that she'd said that.
Chrissy gave me a look, raising her eyebrows. "You're really gonna say that you didn't put it in your mouth? At all?" She asked, not believing for a second that I didn't.
I rolled my eyes. "I mean, I did, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it," I muttered. "Champ made me feel like I had to."
Nicole shook her head. "No, see- That's- You should never feel obligated to give someone head. You should do it because you want to," she spoke.

I was kind of surprised. I'd never heard her use that word before.

"Do you do it?" Chrissy asked her.
Nicole looked at Chrissy, confused. "Do what?"
"Give Waverly head," Chrissy clarified.
I blushed, swallowing hard. "Wh- Chrissy!" I shook my head, not wanting to have this conversation.
"Well, I-" Nicole started.
Nope. Not happening. "Nicole Rayleigh Haught, do not answer that question." I wasn't mad, just stern.

Chrissy and Robin did not need to hear about this.

"Oooh. Someone's in trouble," Robin teased in a sing-song voice. He had an amused grin spread across his lips.
I rolled my eyes. "She is not," I insisted.
"So let her tell us," Chrissy told me.
I shook my head, not breaking my resolve. "Absolutely not. That is our private business."
"We all just saw Champ's private business," Robin shrugged.
"True," Nicole replied.

I shook my head again, my face letting them know I wasn't going to budge. They sighed and backed down, not asking about it again.

We spent the rest of our time at the park talking about high school and how crazy it was that we were done.

I mean, I couldn't believe that I had graduated. I was sixteen (almost seventeen), and I was already a high school graduate. It felt like I was too young for all of this, even though I knew why it happened.

"Waves, you're sixteen, right?" Chrissy asked, looking over at me. I nodded. "How were you a senior again?" She asked.
"I skipped a grade," I answered.
Robin's eyebrows furrowed. "Really?" He asked.
I nodded, turning my head to look at Robin. "You didn't know that?"
"I must've forgotten. That's crazy though, you're only sixteen and you were valedictorian of our senior class." Robin seemed surprised for a second, but his expression changed. He was impressed. "Not that I'm surprised, or anything. You are really smart."
I smiled. "Years of hard work."

It wasn't, though. Sure, I'd worked hard, but that was only because I wanted to do good in school and have people think of me as more than just Willa and Wynonna's little sister. I'd made a reputation for myself and it wasn't bad... It was actually really good.

Chrissy sighed as she checked her phone, looking at the time. "Well. Curfew is creeping on me. Time to go," she groaned. She stood up, brushing the grass off of her pants.
Robin stood up and looked at her, rubbing his hands together awkwardly. "Hey, do you think I might be able to get a ride with you, Chrissy?" He asked. His expression was nervous, showing that he was scared she'd say no.
Chrissy, surprisingly, nodded. "Of course. Come on," she put a hand on his shoulder.

They both said bye to us and then walked to Chrissy's car. Nicole and I stayed seated on the grass, and I leaned my head against her shoulder.

Once they were gone, Nicole nudged me.

"Hey... Come here," she muttered.

I looked at her and she patted her legs. I blushed, chuckling as I moved to straddle her lap. Nicole wrapped her arms around my midsection, resting her head on my chest. I sighed happily, wrapping my arms around her. I ran my fingers through her hair, closing my eyes as I focused on the feeling of her arms wrapped around me tightly.

"I love you so much," I told her. That was all I could think of at this moment... How much I love her. "Like. More than anything, Nicole. Like- like, to Pluto and back... Bigger than the sun."
Nicole chuckled, moving away from my chest to look at me. "Wow. That's a lot," she replied.
I nodded, looking back at her. I cupped my her face in my hands and caressed her cheeks with my thumbs. "Yeah... Yeah, it is." I closed my eyes and leaned forward, pressing my lips against hers.

Her lips felt the same as always... Soft and plump. It was a softness I'd practically memorized at this point, just like I'd memorized every dip and curve of her body and the way her skin felt under my hands. There was absolutely nothing that could make me not love her anymore.

Nicole pulled away from the kiss and smiled at me. "You are amazing, Waverly Earp."
Waverly chuckled, shaking my head. My nose brushed against hers as I did, turning it into a nose kiss. "You're everything and more, Nicole Haught."

The next day was the day Nicole left. We woke up, same as always: in each other's arms. I didn't want to get out of bed because I knew it would be a long time before I got to experience that again.

"Waves... It's time to get up," Nicole whispered in my ear.
I shook my head, burying my face in her neck. "No," I protested.
Nicole laughed, running her fingers through my hair. "Baby, come on."
I moved away from her, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. "I don't want to," I whined.

Nicole put her hand on my cheek, leaning close. Her nose brushed against mine for a second before I pulled away.

"I haven't brushed my teeth yet!" I exclaimed, horrified.
She laughed, pulling me closer again as she shook her head. "I don't care. Kiss me," she whispered.

I gave in, allowing her to kiss me passionately as I closed my eyes. We pulled away after a few seconds and rested our foreheads against each other.

"I don't wanna leave..." Nicole spoke, surprising me.
I opened my eyes, pulling back to look at her. "What?" I asked, confused.
Nicole looked at me, the sadness evident in her eyes. "I don't wanna leave," she repeated.
I swallowed, running my fingers through her hair. "But you have to," I finished for her. I knew it was coming.
She nodded. "I have to."

It was my turn to play the reassuring girlfriend. It was my turn to be supportive of Nicole and encourage her to go no matter how much I didn't want her to. This was her dream! I didn't want her putting it on the line just so we could stay with each other. Besides, it wasn't like we were breaking up in order for this to happen.

"Yes. You do. So go, Nicole." I told her, looking her right in her eyes.
Her eyebrows furrowed, her lips turning down into a slight frown. "What?" She asked.
I blinked, realizing my tone had been off. "I meant, go and do what you've always dreamed of doing: become a cop. I'm not going to stand in the way of your career, so don't worry about me; don't worry about us. Go and do what you have to do to make this happen," I rephrased. My tone was much more encouraging, my voice filled with love as I spoke to her.

Nicole hugged me, the side of her face pressed against my chest as she held on to me tightly.

I wrapped my arms around her, running my fingers through her hair, and closed my eyes.

We stayed like that for a while before Nicole actually had to leave. It was early in the morning because she was supposed to get there before the afternoon. She had all of her things packed up and in the car, except for a few things I refused to let her take (like her sweater), and all that was left was the good-byes.

Gus, Curtis, and Nicole and I stood outside the house, not sure what to say exactly.

"Well, you be careful over there in the city, Nicole. Don't take nuthin' from nobody and take care of yerself," Curtis told her. He was trying not to cry, I could tell.
Nicole smiled, nodding. "Of course, Curtis. Thank you so much for everything," she responded.
Curtis nodded, giving Nicole a quick hug, patting her on her back. "Of course. Yer family, kid."

He stepped back, allowing Gus to step forward. She gave Nicole a tight hug, telling her the same as Curtis: take care of herself. She would, of course. I knew she would. She was good at taking care of herself.

When Gus stepped back, I knew it was my turn. I swallowed, trying to hold the tears back but as soon as Nicole's arms were around me, it got a lot harder.

"God, I'm gonna miss you." I told her, closing my eyes as I buried her face in my neck. I breathed in her scent, taking it in for probably the last time in a while.
"I'm gonna miss you too, baby. But remember... It's not forever, and we will see each other." Nicole promised, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

I nodded as we pulled away, just a little bit. She pressed her forehead against mine and we stayed there for a second, our eyes closed. Nicole's hands moved to the sides of my face and her forehead disappeared. I felt her lips press against mine gently, and I felt like I was in heaven. I kissed her back, my hands moving to the back of her shoulders.

Her kiss... Her touch... It was everything to me, especially in that moment. It was like Nicole had managed to out every ounce of love she had for me into one kiss.

She pulled away from my lips and kissed my forehead, lingering there for a second. She pressed her forehead against mine one last time before finally pulling away and looking at me.

"I love you," she told me.
I nodded. "I love you, too." I replied, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it.

I walked with her, over to her car, and we shared one more kiss right before she got in. We didn't let go until the very last second, so she could close the door.

She started the engine and then waved at us with a sad smile.

Gus and Curtis walked up behind me, Gus wrapping her arm around me. We waved back and Nicole pulled out of her parking spot before driving away.

"You did good, baby girl." Gus told me, pressing her forehead against the side of my head as she hugged me from the side.
"You'll be seein' her again before ya know it, kid." Curtis told me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded, allowing them to embrace me. It was comforting, but not as comforting as Nicole's embrace was. "I know. Thank you," I told them.

Gus kissed my cheek. "Anytime, darlin'. Now come on inside," she told me. She pulled away and took my hand, leading me back inside the house.

I kept telling myself over and over: it's not forever.

A/N: And that concludes My Best Friend's Haught! I hope you all enjoyed this story, I know I definitely enjoyed writing it. I'm so sorry it took so long to finish this chapter. I've been working on things for my comic book company I started with my sister (ZYRA Comics if you'd like to check it out!)

We've got a lot of work to do for the next two months because we're going to ClexaCon 2019!

So if any of you are gonna be there, please don't hesitate to check out our table in the artist alley! It would mean a lot!

I will get started on the sequel (which will be titled There's A Honey) as soon as I can.

Much love,
Jordyn 💕