( 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘹 𝙁𝙀𝙈!𝘖𝘊 )
When a season-ending injury strikes UConn's star, Paige Bueckers, she finds herself using one of her teammates as an outlet for all of these emotions racing through her mind.
◜ THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION...
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A NIGHT TO REGRET.
THE RETURNING PAIN IN HER KNEE WAS EXPECTED BY PAIGE, BUT IT WASN'T WELCOME. She grew aggravated by the second as she continued to run, biting back groans of pain every time a sharp pain shot through her entire being. Everything was fine the entire practice, why did the damn knee have to start up now?
When Geno finally announced that practice was over, the girls sighed in relief and stopped running laps around the court, a workout he was making them do to build endurance. Paige walked over to her bag lazily, trying her best not to seem like she was limping. She grabbed her water bottle and downed it, throwing her head back and letting the cold substance fill her dry throat.
"Good job today, Paige." Nika patted her back and flashed a smile at her as she made her way out.
And one by one, everyone was doing the same thing. Telling her good job. Suddenly, Paige began to have an epiphany. She realized that her teammates pitied her. Pitied her so much that they were afraid to push her like they did before the injury.
Paige clutched her water bottle tight in her hands, her knuckles turning white from the sheer amount of force.
"Paige," Quitéra's voice rose from behind her, knocking the blonde out of her angry daze. "Are we doing our practice tonight?"
Paige shook her head reluctantly, but she decided on something else to repay Quitéra for her help.
"You hungry?" Paige smiled at her.
The night was silent and the girls sat in the front seat not making a sound, just listening to the sound of the road as Paige drove to a fast food place. She glanced over at Quitéra in the passenger's seat, gazing out the window in thought.
"Hey," Paige whispered, making the brunette turn to her. "You good?"
"Mhm." She nodded in response.
The air was quiet, the mood delicate. Paige felt like if she reached out to touch Quitéra, she'd crumble in her hand. She knew something was wrong with her but she didn't know what she had to do to pull back her layers and see what it was. She knew asking if she was okay would only get a short response that wasn't true.
Paige pulled into the drive-thru, two cars ahead of them making a short line. She leaned back in her seat as she braked, watching intently as the guy at the intercom basically screamed his order. And still, with the noise he made, everything still felt silent. She turned to look at Quitéra again, who was back to staring out the window.
"You sure you're okay?" Paige spoke up again. Quitéra fiddled with her fingers in her lap. Part of her just wanted to tell Paige everything but another part was afraid of judgement. But all her tension crumbled when she felt Paige's slender hands comfortingly rub her thigh.
"You can tell me anything," she said softly. "I'm your teammate. We should be like family."
Quitéra looked at Paige, her eyes getting glossy with forming tears. She nodded and blinked back the tears. She'd be god awfully embarrassed if she cried in front of Paige Bueckers.
"My parents are splitting up," her voice barely came above a whisper as she was afraid she would break down into tears. "I had to find out through text this morning. And my mom is blowing up my phone trying to talk about it. I know it's stupid—"
"It's not stupid." Paige quickly said, shaking her head. Her voice was soft and genuine. She cared; Quitéra could tell.
The curly-haired girl let out an airy chuckle as tears started to fall down her cheek. Paige watched and leaned in, bringing her arms out to embrace the girl.
But instead of a hug, she was met with Quitéra's lips against hers. It was a short kiss as Paige was quick to tear away from her, her blue eyes wide as she looked at her. Quitéra's lips parted and she quickly wiped her tears away.
"Shit- I-I'm sorry, I don't—"
Before she could try to explain herself, Paige leaned in again and kissed her. Quitéra melted into it as their lips interlocked, moving together in harmony. Some of her tears got caught in the kiss, their salty taste falling into Paige's mouth as she kissed her.
Their kiss was cut short when a car that had just pulled up behind them honked their horn. Paige pulled away slowly, clearing her throat as she pulled up to the intercom. She fiddled with her ear as she looked at Quitéra.
