𝑾𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑰𝑫𝑬𝑨| paige bueckers.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

ASLEEP >

( it hurts to be something,
it's worse to be nothing with you. )

      IT WAS THE START OF THE quarter-finals of the big east tournament. uconn vs providence, the locker room was downed to silence as the concentration in their faces was deafening, nerves eating away at their internal organs, in fear of failure. ada had sensed this once she walked into the locker room, the team had their faces buried in their hands as she approached the girls.

"who died in here?" ada looked towards their sullen faces, eyes flicking up before snickering at the comment. after a few minutes of chatter they approached the game with screams of excitement, firing up as the shouts erupting throughout the stadium corrupted butterflies in their stomachs. running in with bright smiles, nearing the sidelines were geno and levi stood side by side, warming their entrance with applauds and words of encouragement.

      paige wandered towards ada, who sat beside ashlynn in quiet conversation. ashlynn looked up to face paige, reading her expression before shortly waving ada goodbye, sitting on the far end by azzi.

"hey, you ready?" ada could tell by the wary smile on paige's face that the nerves had been getting to her. cameras all over the place zooming in on their figures as the beginning of the game neared. "yeah, we bouta' smash them." paige answered waving it off with her usual charisma. trying to make a joke out of the situation.

"well you gotta play good, the girl you've been tryna impress may be watching." ada indicated towards the cameras that had been streaming the game, readied as the lenses scanned the court and amongst the crowds.

"nah i know she'll be impressed, i don't even needa try." paige smirked cockily, ada quirked a small smile across her lips. she wanted to act like this wasn't bothering her, though it was. the voices that beckoned over her mind told her it was.

"alright then bueckers, you better start heading to the court then." ada directed her eyes towards her teammates as they began to warm up. paige nodded at this, winking at the journalist before jogging backwards towards aaliyah.

ada watched the team as they moved in-sync, mouths parted panting slightly as they completed their drills across the court. even with the atmosphere of the stadium, thousands of people watching them, cameras zoomed into their faces, they all managed to keep a confident smile on their faces. as if the people in their seats evaporated when the team conversed. ignoring the critics and constant belittling of the opposing team.

it looked so different from afar. ada had been quick to judge the valiancy of the uconn girls. that despite everything their passion for basketball somehow withstood it all. and that amongst all the talk the only thing that truely mattered at the end of the day was basketball. the sport ada couldn't understand why they all loved so much until this very moment.

aaliyah preparing for tip off, palms sweaty as she wiped her hands over her basketball shorts. taking a deep breath before walking to the centre. the team readied at their spots, slightly crouched, prepared for that split second moment for the ball to be released into the air.

the whistle rung in the stadium, and the game had marked its start.

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