persona || paige bueckers

Chapter 21

The moment Kazzi laid eyes on Paige Bueckers, she internally laughed at herself for thinking she could ever move on.

Seeing her was like getting steamrolled in the best way possible, Kazzi having avoided any type of social media in the past two weeks in fear of accidentally stumbling upon a post about the blonde. She was afraid that once she was reminded how hot Paige Bueckers was, she was going to do something stupid again. She was just a girl.

When Kazzi finally saw her again, her mind blanked, unable to think of anything but 'oh'.

There she was – in all her glory – golden strands falling to frame her face, half lidded eyes partially hiding piercing blue pupils, dressed in a tank top and sweats that did nothing to hide her figure. Kazzi was going to die.

Paige's expression morphed into one of shock upon locking eyes with Kazzi, clearly surprised at the sudden development. Kazzi's inner turmoil was unbeknownst to Bea, who loudly called her friend over.

"Kaz! You made it!"

Bea enveloped Kazzi in a hug, to which the other reluctantly returned, head swimming with nothing but Paige Paige Paige. She could feel the blonde's stare burning into the side of her head, and it took everything within her not to look.

"Bea," Kazzi's voice sounded strained, even to her own ears, "It's nice to see you. We haven't hung out in a while."

"Right?" Bea agreed, nodding her head as she jutted her thumb at a random guy Kazzi has never seen before, "This is Liam, he's the one with the four-person escape room coupon. Today's events are sponsored by him."

Kazzi offered a grateful smile, about to verbally thank him when Bea yanked on her arm, cutting her off and pulling her closer as she quietly squealed, "He brought Paige! Bueckers! I can't believe it! I'm so geeked–"

Kazzi tried to smoothly maneuver her hand to cup Bea's mouth, she needed Bea to shut her mouth this instant. Paige raised an amused eyebrow at the struggling. Kazzi refused to acknowledge the blonde, managing to bring Bea into a headlock as the other squirmed in her hold.

Liam pointed and laughed at Bea's flailing, and Kazzi's heart stuttered when Paige quietly chuckled along. Someone better bury her now. Liam flicked his wrist to check his watch, looking up to address the whole group, "We better head in now, we're a little bit late."

Kazzi finally released Bea, who started choking dramatically and clutching her chest as if she's having a heart attack. Kazzi rolled her eyes, "Okay, let's go."

As Kazzi entered a room with gorey blood splatters and ominous writing smeared on the concrete walls, she vowed to always ask Bea for details whenever the other invites her out.

Kazzi has never had problems watching a little bit of horror, but actually experiencing this type of stuff was – and never will be – Kazzi's strong suit. Kazzi felt shivers run down her spine when she spotted a fake (or she hoped) decapitated head resting in the corner, and shuffled closer to the person nearest to her.

That person happened to be Paige Bueckers, but as Kazzi laid eyes on a creepy cupboard in the other corner with a cracked hole in it, she found that she didn't particularly care for embarrassment right now.

Bea swiveled her head back and forth, scanning the small room for clues, before proceeding to stomp over to the decapitated head and poke at it. Kazzi's heart dropped when it flopped over, smacking against the floor with a wet sound. Kazzi internally gagged.