persona || paige bueckers

Chapter 16

Something changed in the second half, and Kazzi was floored. She thought Paige was being plenty aggressive in the first, but that couldn't compare to Paige's aura now, competitiveness amped up by hundreds.

Kazzi spotted Caitlin giving Paige an exasperated head-shake after a particularly nasty shot, and Paige flashed her a cocky smile, egging her on in turn. This was the famous rivalry Kazzi came here for, and she was positively buzzing in her seat. She was interrupted by an elbow jabbing her side, and she doubled over, wincing.

"You never told me what happened with Caitlin," Lili whisper-shouted, "Why does she know you?"

Kazzi nursed the spot of impact, scowling, "I kicked a vending machine for her. The water bottle she paid for got stuck."

"Wow, and they say chivalry is dead."

"Shut the fuck up," Kazzi muttered, eyes refocusing on the game and dutifully ignoring Lili's giggles. The scores were so evenly tied that Kazzi couldn't exactly determine who would win, when UConn scored, Iowa followed up, and whenever Iowa scored, UConn followed. They were at each other's necks.

Kazzi almost choked on her inhale when her eyes caught Paige lifting her shirt to wipe the sweat off her face. The blonde was facing to the side, though, so Kazzi couldn't really get a good look, but just the image of her doing it made Kazzi internally squeal. She was a bit disappointed she couldn't get a good view, but she didn't mull over it for long as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter. Iowa was winning by a hair.

The players seemed to be reaching their limits by now, and Kazzi's eyes were glued to Paige's heavy breathing as she retrieved her bottle. Without thinking too much of it, Kazzi whipped out her phone and opened twitter.

mrs.bueckers @ktalks.azz

me when shes blonde, 5'11, plays basketball, goes to UConn, won the women's college player of the year award as a freshman, first name is Paige, middle name is Madison and last name is Bueckers 😍 😍 😍 (shes so hot i need her before i go clinically insane)

Lili pulled out her phone, taking a second to read the notification before snorting. "Down horrendous."

"And proud," Kazzi proclaimed, grinning widely at the flat look Lili gave her. The other sighed, sparing her phone one more glance before commenting, "I'm surprised there aren't any spelling mistakes. Good job."

Kazzi glowered, "I can spell amazingly, I just make typos when I'm fast."

"Excuses."

Kazzi was about to retort when her phone buzzed in her hand.

Paige Bueckers liked your tweet!

Paige Bueckers @paigebueckersofficial

@ktalks.azz im actually 6'4

Kazzi smiled, unconsciously scouring the premises for the blonde, eyes finally landing on Paige. The other was staring straight at her, phone still in hand, and Kazzi froze.

Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest as Paige anchored her with a single look. The player gripped her phone in a way that seemed to mock Kazzi, and the latter swallowed uncomfortably, wondering if she'd been exposed. Kazzi's limbs felt like lead, only lightening up when Paige's gaze flickered away, and Kazzi shakily released a breath she was holding.