𝟢𝟧

7

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"hi nina." i say quietly. she jumps slightly and whips around, surprised to see me still in the room. 

"hello bueckers." she regards me coldly, getting over her startle. i flinch at the glare in her gaze and the venom in her voice. 

"how-how are you?" i ask hesitatingly, watching as she stands up, backpack over her shoulder. 

"i'm good." she says shortly. 

"that's good. that's good," i whisper. "um, can we please talk?" 

nina sighs and looks at her phone, looking resigned. "fine, but not here."

my eyes widen and my heart starts beating faster. "of course! um, there-there's a coffee shop not far from here. like a five minute drive?" 

"yeah, that sounds fine, but i, uh, walked here from the athletic dorms, so i don't have my car." she says, sounding almost regretful. 

"oh! that's fine! i can, i can give you a ride!" i say quickly, begging her in my mind to say yes. 

"umm, yeah that's fine i guess. if that's ok with you?" she adjusts her bag, walking towards me. 

"oh my god! yeah! that's great!" i rush and open the door, holding it open for her. 

"oh, thank you," she walks through the door, pausing in the hallway. "where did you park?"

i follow behind her, careful to keep a small distance between us, even if all i want to do is hug her close and not let go. i didn't think she would like that very much. 

"just through the back, right through there." i speed walk ahead again to open the door for her. she thanks me, but her face remained icy. 

i smile at her and unlock the car, "you can just throw your stuff in the back seat."

i toss my bags in the back and she follows, being a lot more gentle. i again open the door to the passenger side, smiling as she thanks me quietly and steps in. i run to the other side of the car and slide into the seat. 

"you're welcome to change the heat or the music or whatever you want. the aux is right there." i say quickly, watching as nina fidgets as we drive.

"that's ok, thank you." she whispers. 

"um, how have you been?" i ask, trying to maximize my time with her, not know how long she would be willing to hang around me. 

"uh, fine, i guess. still unpacking my dorm and stuff."

i nearly screeched. she said more than four words to me. that was progress! a step in the right direction! 

"o-oh! yeah! how was the move? do you need any help?" we were almost to the coffee house, which made me want to slow down to a snail's crawl just to prolong my time with her. 

"um, no thank you. i'm good. just arranging furniture and stuff and um hanging posters and stuff." she still rambled when she was nervous. "and put my books on my shelves and i need to hang the shelves," she pauses as if she realized what she was doing. "yeah i don't need any help. thank you."

"y-yeah of course. let me know if you do."

i park in front of the coffee shop and hop out of the car, running to her side to open her door  for her before walking her inside the shop. 

"i can get us some drinks and food if you want to go grab a table. just let me know what you want." i say, positioning myself in the surprisingly long line for 2pm on a monday. 

"oh no, i can pay for my own stuff." she walks to stand next to me.

"please don't worry about it. you can pay next time." 

fuck. why would i assume there would be a next time?

"if you want to meet up again of course!" i start panicking when nina places her hand on my arm, freezing me in place. 

"paige, it's fine. thank you. i would like a latte and a chocolate croissant please." she smiles lightly at me and walks away towards a table in the corner. 

oh my gosh. fuck. what the fuck? what just happened? 

her smile is still fucking perfect and her touch still ignites sparks. she's till perfect and amazing and perfect. did i mention perfect? 

her coffee order was still the same. her smile was still the same. her touch still felt the same. but i have missed so much. 

"hi! can i take your order?" a cheery voice interrupted my inner monologue. i look up at the barista. 

"um, yeah sorry. can i get a medium latte, a small hot chocolate, and two croissants please?" i reach into my back pocket for my wallet. 

"sure. name?" 

"paige."

"your name will be called when your order is ready. you can pick it up over there."

"yeah, thanks." i put my wallet away and smile a little at the girl, who blushes and looks away. i roll my eyes and walk towards my crush. 

i sit down at the table nina had chosen, pulling her away from her phone. 

"um, how's your family? leah?" i remember hanging around nina's younger sister leah, teaching her how to shoot a basketball, helping her with math homework, her first school dance. 

i was such a huge part of nina's family's lives, and nina was such a huge part of my family's life. and i left and ruined that. i hurt so many people, nina most of all. 

"um, they're good, yeah. leah misses you." gosh, that was a punch in the gut. "she's a junior this year."

"really? seems like just yesterday she was in 8th grade."

"well, yeah, that's what happens when you leave. people tend to grow up." 

goddamnit. why did i say that? the expression on nina's face was like a punch in the gut. anger, sadness, hopelessness. i made her feel those things, when all i wanted her to feel was happiness. 

"i'm sorry, that was-that was uncalled for. i'm sorry," she looks down at the coffee in her hands. 

"no, no i deserved that. i'm sorry." i fiddle with my own drink, blowing on it gently. "i really am sorry, nina. for everything. for leaving, for not saying anything, for ignoring you all these years. i'm so sorry."

"it really hurt when you left, paige. you didn't say anything to me and i thought you hated me. leah thought you were mad at her and my family still hates you. and then i suddenly hear all this news of the amazing freshman basketball player, paige bueckers, and you were living this great life, without me. i missed you so much and i hated you for so many years." 

"i'm so sorry, nina." i say when she pauses. "i just have one question. do you still hate me?"

nina purses her lips at me, which makes me feel like i said something wrong, but she still responds, "no, paige, i don't think i hate you anymore."

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ᴀ/ɴ! new chapter! sorry it took so long! thank you for all the love on the past (unedited) chapters. if you find any mistakes, feel free to point out any typos and/or mistakes, just kindly please. i do love reading all our comments and seeing all your votes, so please keep leaving them! love all you guys! also, question for you guys. do you guys like paige's pov? nina's? would you like more of paige's or nina's? less of either? same amount? let me know! thank you!