Paige POV:
It's the next morning, the day of the Iowa game in the Sweet 16, and me, Peyton, Nika, Aaliyah, and Evina are all in the lobby of the hotel waiting for everyone else to come down to go to breakfast.
They are all having a conversation with each other but I'm just sitting down looking at all of them, not talking. I'm just overthinking about the game tonight because of all the press of Caitlin vs. Paige.
I get snapped out of my thoughts when Peyton taps my arm gently and says "I left my phone in my room do you wanna come with me to get it?"
"Sure" I say standing up
"Well be right back" Peyton says as we make our way to the elevator.
Once we make it into Peyton's room she closes the door and immediately asks "what's wrong?"
"What do you mean?" I say
"Oh come on Paige, I've been dating you for a while now, I know when somethings wrong"
I walk past her and sit on her bed, as she follows me but stays standing in front of me.
"Look at your phone that 'you totally forgot in your room' and go on twitter" I say doing air quotes knowing she had her phone in her pocket the whole time
Peyton pulls out her phone and goes on twitter like I said.
"Now scroll down" I say
She does as I say and I can tell she understands what I'm trying to show her. Which is every tweet I see on Twitter is 'Paige vs Caitlin' 'Which freshmen phenom will help lead their team to the Elite 8' etc.
"Who cares what these people are saying" Peyton says putting her phone back in her pocket
"I do. Because why does this game have to be me vs her. It's supposed to be UConn vs Iowa" I say
"I don't know, you're right. It's not fair" Peyton says grabbing my hands and holding them
"I'm just nervous" I say softly
"Why?"
"Because what if I don't play as good as everyone expects me to. What if I can't make a shot today. What if because of me we lose today"
"Ok, you need to take a deep breathe. All you have to do is go out there and play the game you fell in love with. Everything comes naturally for you. But when you start to overthink is when you start to panic. So relax, you will do fine. And listen, it's okay to have an off night too, not everyone is perfect, not even you, you're human just like the rest of us. So just go out there and have fun." Peyton says softly
"You're right. I'm so stupid for letting this get to me"
"Hey your not stupid. You have feelings and worries just like the rest of us. It's okay to feel this way. Especially with all the pressure that's being put onto you. So don't think your feelings are invalid" Peyton says squatting down to be level with me
"I love you" I say pulling her in for a hug
"I love you more, now let's go eat because I'm starving" she says pulling away and giving me a quick kiss.
—
Peyton POV:
The first quarter of the game just ended and UConn is winning 18-22. I can tell Paige is still fighting some nerves because she hasn't taken as many shots as she normally does, she's just been passing the ball.
So before the second quarter starts I get up from my seat and walk as close as I can to the court, while the teams are in a huddle.
As the teams get out of the huddle and make their way back onto the court Paige looks in my direction and I tell her, "Relax, you're okay, stop overthinking and have fun"
She then gives me a nod before getting into position and I see her take a deep breath, as I make my way back to my seat.
—
Paige is definitely less nervous and more like herself after that first quarter. It's currently halfway through the 4th quarter and she has 18 points.
Towards the end of the game Anna Makurat makes a 3 and Paige hits Geno on the butt which makes me laugh because she is back to being her goofy self.
With a couple seconds left in the game Iowa inbounds the ball to Caitlin Clarke who runs towards the basket and then passes it to her teammate on the wing, but before she passes it she runs into Paige who gets the charge.
Caitlin helps Paige up and they share a laugh with each other and I can't help but smile as they make their way on the other side of the court.
With 15 seconds left in the game UConn fans start to stand up and cheer since we are winning 72-92. I stand up and look at Paige and see her hugging Caitlin and couldn't be more proud of her. Even though the media was pinning them against each other, she never let that get in the way of their friendship
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Behind The Cameras
Fanfictionwhat happens in paige bueckers' life behind the cameras and interviews? does she meet someone she can't stay away from or just focus on basketball? peyton is a freshmen at uconn who's on the softball team and unexpectedly runs into paige and the tea...
