When Nicole asked to see Jeremy right after work that day, Jeremy already had an idea what it might be about. But when Jeremy arrived at her flat and they sat down to talk, the first subject rendered him speechless.
"Waverly Earp? The Waverly Earp? You made out with Waverly Earp?"
Nicole gave him a thin, sarcastic smile and nodded. "She was terribly drunk, Jer. It probably meant nothing. She hasn't called since anyways."
"And she's got a boyfriend."
"Yeah, that too." Nicole stood up and paced about the small space uncomfortably. "But that's not the reason I asked you to come here."
Jeremy sighed sympathetically. "I figured."
"If only Waverly Earp was my only problem." Nicole scoffed. Jeremy just stared up at her with concern. He knew what's up.
Nicole took the eviction note from her pile and threw it to Jeremy's lap. "It's the third warning this week."
"Still struggling with that rent, huh?"
Rent. Just hearing the word made Nicole flinch.
Nicole Haught doesn't come from a wealthy family, but it's enough. Enough to get food on the table and enough for her to go to college. Problem is, her relationship with her parents has never been easy. It got harder when they found out Nicole was gay.
Nicole didn't even come out. Nicole never planned to come out. In high school, some girl's parents caught her making out with their daughter in their house, and then they told Nicole's parents, and the next day the whole town found out about it. When Nicole came home that day, her parents didn't say anything-- they just looked at her with utmost disgust. So Nicole promised to change. Promised to be normal. It didn't work, of course, but she never told her parents about it. The subject of her homosexuality stopped coming up in their dining table conversations, and when Nicole graduated high school, she purposedly picked the farthest college she could find from her hometown. She got in, and her life's been a bliss.
That is, until, a few months ago, towards the end of the last semester, her parents decided to pop by, as a surprise, they said.
Nicole had ordered pizza that day, so when she heard knocks, she opened the door, oblivious-- and there were her parents, standing right there with the widest smiles on their faces. They stormed in excitedly only to drop their jaw open to find a half naked girl on the bed.
To say that it was awkward would be an understatement.
Nicole profusely apologized to the girl and politely asked her to leave. When the girl left, her parents went on a frenzied rage. They fought, and fought and fought with words, until her dad came up with a deadly resolution:
"You're not my daughter."
She cried, but she didn't beg for their forgiveness. She'd grown tired of pretending. So she let them leave, and eversince that day, her allowance money stopped coming, and she had to get by with what's left in her savings account. She tried working part-time, but it's not enough. She settled for the police station internship because they promised that if her work's satisfactory enough she'd have better chance in getting deputized. She's almost out of money now-- there's enough to get herself food for another few weeks, but one thing for sure she won't be able to pay rent to keep the flat for another month. She already owes the tenant 2 months worth of rent. She's lucky that the guy felt sorry enough for her to let her stay there without pay. He told her that this month is the last straw, though. He's kicking her out by Wednesday if she still can't pay.
"I'm moving out next Wednesday. I just need you to help me pack up a bit." She said, almost too calmly. She doesn't want Jeremy to worry. Jeremy can't help her-- he got in the uni on a full scholarship. He was raised by a single mother who still juggles between three different jobs up to this day. He also lives with three other roomates in a packed boys-only dorm, so, staying with him is definitely not an option.
"But-- where are you gonna stay?"
"I don't know. I'll figure it out, though. I think I'm just gonna crash at the station for the time being."
Jeremy went silent for a while. "Will you be okay?"
"Don't worry about me, alright? I'll figure things out along the way."
"Nicole." Jeremy stood up and pulled her to a hug. Nicole welcomed it wordlessly.
"You'll be okay." Jeremy whispered. "You'll be okay."
.
YOU ARE READING
Polaroid - A Wayhaught Fanfiction
Romance"You're straight, Waverly. You like boys." She said to herself as she looked into the mirror on the bathroom sink. "You like boys. You really do like them. You like them a lot." She blinked and found herself recounting every single romantic and sexu...
