Polaroid - A Wayhaught Fanfiction

Glad You're Here

"You don't talk much, do you?" Waverly squinted with wonder, observing the sharp lines on the side of Nicole's face while she drove in silence. They have now officially entered the state of Arizona, and the younger woman could read the growing nervousness in Nicole's overall frame of mind the closer they got her hometown. It's only a few hours away now, Nicole said. She sounded shaken and small when she said it. Waverly wanted her to feel better, hence the trivial conversation opener.

"Hm, I'm sorry, what?" Nicole turned to her, too lost in the mundane road and her own thoughts to pay attention to what Waverly just said.

Waverly brought her legs up on her seat and hugged them close. "You don't really talk much. I mean, you're way quieter than I am."

Nicole's lips thinned to a modest smile. "Waverly, most people are quieter than you are." She then turned to look at the brunette so Waverly could see that there was no ill will behind her words before she returned her gaze to the road. "And I don't mean that as an insult. I like how chatty and bubbly you are. It's like you can be friends with anyone and that's amazing."

A blush crept up Waverly's cheeks; she wasn't expecting a compliment. "Thank you."

Okay. What else to do? How to cheer Nicole up? She folded her lips inwards and switched on the radio. She settled for a random music channel and kept the volume low. "Where are we?"

"Uhh...just outside Sun Valley. We're gonna stop at a gas station nearby and get ourselves some lunch in a bit. You don't mind, don't you?"

"No. That'll be fine." Waverly leaned back, out of ideas now. She tried to pay attention to the road but found herself looking at Nicole instead; Nicole just washed her hair this morning and her short red curls looked so adorably fluffy that Waverly kind of would love to run her fingers through them. She wondered if Nicole noticed how long she's been staring. She came up with a silly idea: polaroid. She took out it out and snapped a picture. Nicole turned to her with a flippant eyeroll.

"What?" Waverly shrugged. "You look beautiful today."

"Ha ha." Nicole shook her head dismissively, faking a smile to appear fine.

Dang it. Nicole's still gloomy.

They were caught in a wave of silence again after. Waverly could tell that Nicole didn't seem to look excited at all, yet the redhead tried to keep her calm and look neutral-- possibly because Waverly's here. It was useless though; Waverly could see the deeply imbedded anxiety that impales her deeper the more she tries to conceal it. Waverly wanted to ask her about it, but she wondered if Nicole even wanted to talk about it at all, especially since they honestly haven't known each other that long.

"Okay, we're here." Nicole announced as they entered the gas station and parked in front of the convenience store. Nicole just sat in the car when Waverly got out of it, so the youngest Earp circled the white sedan and knocked on the driver's window until Nicole rolled it down. "What?"

"You coming?"

"Nah, I'll just hang here for a bit." She looked broodier. That's not a good sign.

"Oh come on. Come in with me. Please?" Waverly bit her lip and gave Nicole her best puppy look. Nicole raised a brow with doubt.

Nicole leaned back against her seat and sighed. "Why?"

"There's--" Waverly looked around to find a reason, "a bunch of scary looking dudes around?"

"Oh wow." Nicole didn't buy it for a second. She appreciated the effort though. She chewed on the inside of her cheeks and thought about it for a good 5 seconds before she gave in. "Alright, let's go."