Love and Basketball: All-Star Romance

2

"She just tripped me on purpose!" Athena exclaims, her head still hurting from the fall. The UConn coach tries to dismiss it as an accident, but Paige Bueckers isn't buying it. She looks at Nika with a stern expression and says, "That was not an accident and you know it." Nika doesn't respond or try to defend herself; she just stares back at Paige with a blank look on her face. Paige can't believe that Nika would resort to such underhanded tactics just to win a game. She is used to facing players who are skilled and determined, but not ones who cheat their way through matches. The rest of the UConn team seems uncomfortable with what has happened as well; some look ashamed while others try to ignore it by pretending like nothing happened. Paige decides to confront Nika about her behavior. She walks up to the other player and says, "Why did you trip Athena? Was it because you knew she was going to score a basket that would put Duke in the lead?" Nika remains silent for a moment before finally responding, "It's not my fault if your teammate is too weak to handle a little shove." Paige is furious at Nika's response. "Weak?" she repeats, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "If anything, you are the weak one for resorting to such dirty tactics just because you can't handle playing against someone who is better than you." The rest of UConn players start whispering among themselves and avoiding eye contact with Paige. Paige doesn't back down and continues to stare Nika down, waiting for her response. After a few seconds of silence, the UConn coach steps in between them and says, "Alright ladies, let's just forget about this whole thing and continue playing." But it is clear that things will never be the same between Athena and Nika after what happened on the court. Athena stands up and dusts herself off, trying to ignore the pain in her head. She walks back over to her teammates who are all still upset about what happened with Nika. Paige looks at Athena and asks if she is okay; she doesn't want anything else bad happening during this game.

Athena

Athena is still in shock from what happened on the court. She can't believe that Nika would trip her like that and then have the audacity to deny it afterwards. As she walks back over to her teammates, she tries to shake off the pain in her head but it keeps getting worse with each step. Athena can feel her head spinning and her vision starting to blur. She knows she should sit down, but she doesn't want to look weak in front of the other players or disappoint her teammates. She tries to push through the pain and focus on playing, but it is getting harder by the minute. Athena can feel herself getting weaker and more disoriented by the second. She tries to fight through it, but her body is betraying her. Suddenly, she feels someone grabbing onto her arm and leading her off the court. Athena looks up and sees Paige leading her away from the court. She is relieved to see a friendly face, but she can't help feeling embarrassed that she had to be rescued like this. As they walk off the court, Paige asks if Athena is okay and how bad her head hurts. Athena tries to play it down, but she knows that Paige can tell she is in pain. "I'm fine," she says, trying to sound confident. But her voice wavers and her head starts throbbing again. Paige looks worried as Athena speaks. She asks her if she has ever had a concussion before and if it feels similar to what she is experiencing now. Athena shakes her head and tells Paige that she has never had a concussion before. She says that this is the worst pain she has ever felt in her life, but she's not sure if it's just from being tripped or if something else might be wrong.
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A/N: if the font for Athena is different it's because I forgot to change it back to the original font back to the story..
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Paige tells Athena that they should go to the medical staff immediately and get her checked out. She takes her by the arm and starts walking towards the med tent. Athena is grateful for Paige's help, but she can't help feeling embarrassed and vulnerable. She follows her to the med tent, hoping that they will be able to figure out what is wrong with her head.