Alone together ✕ Wayhaught

six

In the two long weeks after Waverly and Nicole's special reunion, everything started falling into place. It happened slowly, but it definitely happened. Nicole recognizes it's a lot of progress the two of them made, even when it's not noticeable at first glance. But if you compare it to what their relationship was like just a couple of months ago, they made a complete 180 degree turn. Nearly every day Waverly texted or phoned Nicole to check up on her and ask her about her day, and on a few special occasions she had even come over to watch a movie with her and Calamity Jane. The first time she visited Nicole's house again was when she had to pick up her jacket which she had - very purposely - left laying in Nicole's car that one night, as a backup plan to see the other girl again if her other tactics failed on her. Since she didn't really need the backup plan after all, it had still worked nicely as a good excuse to come over without sounding too needy.

Neither one has mentioned a thing about the kiss they had shared in Waverly's apartment, but one evening Nicole did mention that she'd prefer if they would take it slow, and so Waverly obviously respected her needs and hadn't asked about their status yet. The question was burning in her mind every time she spoke to her, though, and secretly Nicole felt the same way. Neither Waverly nor Nicole had terribly busy lives at the moment, so that left more than enough time for both of them to invest in building a strong friendship with each other and getting a fresh new start. Waverly was free for another two weeks until she had to leave for the European tour, till then she was often found in the local dance studio, teaching younger kids, now it being a hobby because of the amount of time on her hands and the fact that she's a full time back up dancer and performer, but it used to be her everyday job. In Waverly's tough youth, she always turned to dancing as her escape, and the studio was almost like her second home. Because of this (and maybe because she was the best kid there), the owners of the dance studio, which Waverly calls her unofficial parents, built a strong relationship with her. They supported her through everything and while she grew up into the confident woman she is now, they helped her create that confidence. They helped her find an apartment and offered her a job when she left home at sixteen. One day, after much, much talking, they convinced Waverly to audition for one of Lady Gaga's dancers. They drove her to it themselves, all three of them being totally oblivious to the fact that this was going to change Waverly's life forever.

When she isn't teaching these days, she's at her apartment, digging through old boxes of photographs and other documents of her childhood. Ever since she returned to Purgatory she'd been feeling really nostalgic. It might have to do something with the death of Willa. A day after Waverly and her team finished the last show in the US a couple of weeks ago, she had gotten the message about Willa's funeral. She had wondered and thought about whether she should show up for hours and hours. Her whole life her family rejected her, humiliated her, psychologically abused her. She never belonged to her older two sisters, and they always laughed at her for being different than the rest of them. Her entire life she was told she was less than everyone. Waverly was always convinced that she had been adopted because of the big difference between her and her family, but according to her mom, she 'unfortunately remembers giving birth to Waverly' and so, she really was an Earp. On paper, then. In reality she would do anything to not be associated with that name ever. But, Waverly didn't want to disrespect her dead sister like that and not show up to her damn funeral, maybe if she just showed up for her. It's not that she was incredibly sad about it, but Willa was still her sister. And the fact that she could have a chance to see Nicole again (which was a big factor) made Waverly take the final decision of taking a flight back to Purgatory.

Now she sits here, alone in her apartment, staring at the few childhood photos she has of herself. She misses Nicole. Today had been uneventful and Waverly was bored of just sitting around and not really doing anything. She had considered dropping by Nicole's to surprise her, but Waverly wasn't sure if that would've been appropriate. She wants so badly to take it to the next step with Nicole, but Waverly is scared she might be crossing boundaries. When they texted, Waverly sometimes made a flirty comment and she was given a good response by Nicole instead of her yelling at her or whatever, so that gave Waverly confidence to maybe ask her out. She had been trying to do that, but for some reason she was just so nervous she couldn't. But somehow, perhaps because of the boredom or because of the way she misses Nicole more than on normal days, Waverly jumps up from the floor and leaves the pictures to grab her phone and dials Nicole's number. She bites her lip in anticipation and with every 'beep' she hears, her stomach turns more. Finally, she hears the other girl picking up on the other side.