Staring into the abyss of words on the page, Nicole felt her eyes start to get heavy from lack of sleep and lack of energy to do anything. Even after her third cup of the god-awful coffee the station had, Nicole still couldn't fight the weight pulling her eye lids shut. Being the rookie Officer in Purgatory, Nedley had put her on desk duty for the first month of her starting work, in order for Nicole to "earn the right to go on patrol". However, after seeing Nicole's amazing skills at paperwork, organization, and working with the citizens, Nedley more-often-than-not would keep Nicole on desk duty during the uneventful weeks.
Smacking herself on the face in hopes of staying awake a little longer, Nicole forced herself through the last report on her desk without messing things up noticeably. The clock on her phone showed she still had about twenty more minutes to her shift, which meant twenty minutes of resting her eyes before Nicole would attempt to go home. Nicole got up from her chair long enough to put the last report in its respective spot among the files before folding her coat to use as a pillow on her desk. More times than she could remember, Nicole would fall asleep on just her arms, only to wake up to sweating skin and pressure pain from where her head rested.
Nicole closed her eyes before her head even reached the make-shift pillow on her desk, drifting off into a comfortable rest. Once in that small dream state where a person still recalls everything happening around them but is still dreaming, Nicole saw deep hazel eyes before they disappeared for a second. Waverly... What I wouldn't do to be with you right now... Even in her rest, Nicole felt a small smile form on her lips at the thought of the youngest Earp. Growing up in a small town, Nicole had experience in the area of falling for a straight girl; understanding the outcome of the situation almost never turned out to be good. But her heart stopped listening to her head the moment her eyes landed on Waverly in Shorty's.
If soulmates existed, Nicole was almost positive Waverly Earp had to be the person meant for her. Normally, Nicole could keep her cool and not get nervous around attractive women. But when she walked through the door of Shorty's, her courage and calm walked right back out the door holding up middle fingers. But that didn't stop Nicole from trying to flirt with the other woman, hoping Waverly felt the same itch in her heart as Nicole was experiencing. Nicole was hoping Waverly felt the same infinite feeling inside as Nicole did after she helped the girl removed her beer-soaked shirt.
Nicole's hopes were fueled even more a few weeks later, when she found out Waverly broke up with her "boy-man" Champ. She knew she should never be excited about someone breaking up with the person they have been with for years, but Nicole silently celebrated in her apartment later that night; dancing in the kitchen with her cat (who ran to a different room the first moment it could). That same night, Nicole had several different dreams, all including the possible futures she would have with Waverly Earp.
The sound of a ringtone broke Nicole's concentration on those hazel eyes in her head, and altogether broke her effort in trying to sleep. Grabbing her phone quickly, not wanting to miss the chance to yell at whoever woke her up, Nicole instantly smiled and felt her heart pick up speed when she saw the name appearing on her screen. But with it being this late, is she okay? I don't want to sound to worried when I answer but I swear-to-god if Waverly is in trouble... Just calm down Nicole...
"Hey Waves, is everything okay?" Nicole asked into the phone once she picked up. The sound of a deep breath filled her ears and instantly calmed her heart, knowing Waverly was at least breathing.
"Yeah. I uh, I just got off work at Shorty's and was wondering if you would want to... do something. I mean, I don't know when your shift ends and I would hate to intrude on any plans you might have. But Wynonna is out with Dolls and I really don't want to be alone at the Homestead tonight. I thought of a few other people but no one ever wants to be around me without alcohol and I thought you might be different. I'm sorry but-"
"Waverly, take a breath real quick. I would be more than happy to hang out with you. My shift ends in ten minutes. I will meet you at the Homestead, okay?" Nicole lightly laughed at Waverly's rambling. It was one of her favorite things about the youngest Earp. Nicole could sit for hours, listening to Waverly ramble about topics she was passionate about, as long as it would put a smile on Waverly's face.
"That sounds good. I'll make some popcorn while I am waiting for you to arrive. See you soon Officer Haught."
"How many times do I have to tell you Waverly, just call me Nicole. Officer Haught sounds too formal," Nicole replied with a smile before hang up her phone. When anyone else referred to her by the formal terms, Nicole didn't acknowledge it the same way she did when Waverly said it. The way Waverly managed to make it sound caused Nicole's knees to go weak every time. Her heart would start to flutter along with the butterflies in her stomach before her attention would be taken by something other than Waverly.
Standing up from her desk, Nicole gathered her items and made sure her desk had been locked down correctly. She quickly clocked out with her time card, a full ten minutes early than planned, before walking outside in the direction of her car. With the extra few minutes, Nicole planned on stopping by her apartment in order to change into a comfortable set of clothes and grab the gift she had for Waverly. Nicole felt her cheeks start to warm as she thought about the plan she made in order to ask Waverly on a date.
Growing up in a small town also meant manners and values about dating and related topics were heavily instilled. Both her mother and father had old fashioned beliefs when it came to going on a proper date with someone instead of jumping right in like many people do in today's society. But with old fashioned values, Nicole feared her parents would also belief that homosexuality was a sin worthy of damnation. However, when the 16-year-old version of Nicole finally told her parents about the truth value of her sexuality, she watched as her father laughed.
"You couldn't wait one more week to tell us?! I was excited about getting your father to give me 50 dollars so I could go buy a new dress. Now, I have to give him 50 dollars to help his lantern obsession," Nicole's mother said with a small smile. Nicole stood in the living room of her home, still in shock of her parents' reaction.
"Are you serious? You guys bet money on when I would tell you I was gay?" Nicole asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. Did you really think you were being subtle about this? I mean, you asked for a Unicorn themed sweet 16 party for-crying-out-loud," her father replied while counting the money his wife just handed over with a sigh in her eyes. Nicole felt tears start to form in her eyes, as this was definitely not the reaction she expected. She had a speech prepared to go against her parents going against her feelings, not a speech prepared to acknowledge being accepted.
Nicole smiled as she started her car, thinking of how her father actually used the 50 dollars to buy her almost everything rainbow he could afford. She even received a shirt with the caption "Say Hey if you're Gay" on it. Not many people greeted Nicole with the word "Hey" after the first time she wore the shirt in public.
Her thoughts were interrupted again by the sound of her phone ringing, but this time Nicole knew exactly who was calling. She had set this ringtone specific for this person knowing how much trouble they usually found themselves in.
"Hey Wynonna, are you okay? Why do you sound like you are running-"
"Nicole, have you heard from Waverly lately?"
Worried about the tone in Wynonna's voice, Nicole abandoned her original plan to go to her apartment before starting her car and driving in the direction of the Earp Homestead. "Yeah, she just called me a few minutes ago asking me to meet her at the Homestead. She said something about not wanting to be alone tonight after I told her my shift ended in ten minutes. What is going on?"
"Shit! I am running to the Homestead as fast as I can. Stupid-fucking-car ran out of gas a mile out. How fast can you get there?"
Nicole pushed her foot down on the gas petal, definitely going over the speed limit. But she didn't care. Something was wrong with Waverly and Nicole needed to get there. "I will be there in five minutes. Seriously Wynonna, what the hell is going on?!"
"Gus called me worried about her. Apparently she blanked out during work and ended up washing the same glass for five minutes. Gus said Waverly had that same look in the eyes as she did when..."
"When she what Wynonna?"
"When she first tried to kill herself."
Author's Note: The end of chapter three is here! I wanted to do this one from the perspective of a third-person Nicole, because she is an amazing character and still doesn't quite know everything about Waverly's past. But, as mentioned in the summary, Waverly is not the best at letting people in. What will Wynonna and Nicole find when they get to the Homestead? How will they react? These are still questions I am asking myself, but I am super excited to find out. Until next time, remember to smile at people as they walk by. It might just make their day.