Years Of Love

The Cheer(leader) pt:2

Paige stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest as she faced her team. Kk's eyebrow was still raised, but there was a mix of concern and amusement in her eyes. Ice, standing beside her, sipped from her mug, trying to stifle a laugh.

Caroline leaned against the wall, her arms crossed but smirking like she had already heard the whole story. Aubrey and Jana exchanged glances, while Inês gave Paige a sympathetic look from the side.

Paige groaned internally. There was no escape from this.

"Why am I trending?" Paige finally asked, her voice hoarse, still trying to piece together the fragments of last night. She knew it was bad—she just didn't know how bad yet.

Kk didn't waste any time. She pulled out her phone, tapping through her notifications. Then, with a smirk, she held up a TikTok video.

There, in full, humiliating glory, was Paige, high out of her mind, kissing Shay under the neon lights of the bar. The worst part? The crowd had cheered them on, with people recording from every angle. It had racked up thousands of views overnight, and the comments section was blowing up.

Comment 1:
"UConn's golden girl wildin' out 👀"

Comment 2:
"Is that Shay?! Didn't she reject her in high school? LOL karma."

Comment 3:
"Ayo Azzi better watch out... 😂"

Paige's face burned with embarrassment as she shoved the phone away. "That's not what it looks like."

Kk crossed her arms, a teasing grin spreading across her face. "Then what does it look like?"

Ice leaned in, tapping her chin dramatically. "Looks to me like Paige had a little too much fun last night."

Paige sighed, rubbing her temples. The hangover was bad enough, but now the consequences of her actions were smacking her in the face. She needed to talk to Azzi before this got out of control.

"Azzi—" Paige started, but Kk cut her off.

"Yeah, about that," Kk said, a little more serious now. "Azzi called me at like 2 a.m., asking where you were. I didn't know what to say, so I told her you were with us... but she knows something's up."

Caroline nodded, her smirk fading. "She's been worried. She woke up earlier, asking if you'd come back."

Paige felt a pit form in her stomach. "I need to go see her."

"Uh, yeah, you do," Aubrey added, sipping her coffee. "And maybe explain why your ex-crush—who rejected you, by the way—is suddenly back in the picture."

Paige winced. "It's not like that. I didn't plan any of this." She hesitated, looking around at her friends. "The drink was drugged, I think."

Jana's eyes widened. "Wait, for real?"

Paige nodded. "I didn't feel right after I drank it. Then Shay was all over me, and I couldn't think straight. I wouldn't have done that sober, you guys have to believe me."

Kk's teasing demeanor dropped, and she stepped closer to Paige. "If that's true, you definitely need to tell Azzi before she finds out another way. It's better coming from you."

Paige nodded, guilt weighing on her. She looked over at Ice, who gave her a slight nod of encouragement.

"I'll talk to her," Paige said quietly, brushing past her teammates and heading toward her dorm. As she approached the door, her hands trembled. She knew Azzi would be hurt, maybe even furious. But the truth had to come out.

Paige opened the door slowly, stepping into the quiet room. Azzi was still asleep, curled up under the covers, her face peaceful. For a second, Paige considered letting her rest, just to delay the inevitable. But she knew better.

She sat down at the edge of the bed, gently touching Azzi's shoulder. "Azzi... wake up."

Azzi stirred, groaning softly before blinking her eyes open. When she saw Paige, a sleepy smile spread across her face. "Hey... you're back."

Paige's chest tightened with guilt. She forced a small smile. "Yeah, I'm back."

Azzi sat up, stretching before she noticed Paige's anxious expression. "What's wrong?"

Paige took a deep breath. "Azzi, I need to tell you something about last night. I... I made a huge mistake."

Azzi frowned, her sleepy expression quickly shifting to concern. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Paige looked down at her hands, trying to find the right words. "I ran into Shay at the bar. She offered to buy me a drink, and I didn't think anything of it, so I said yes. But... I think she drugged it, Azzi."

Azzi's eyes widened, her concern deepening. "What? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Paige said quickly. "But... things got out of hand. We started dancing, and before I knew it, I was—" She swallowed hard, feeling her voice shake. "I was kissing her. And someone recorded it."

Azzi's face went pale as she processed the information. For a moment, there was only silence. Paige could feel her heart pounding, waiting for Azzi to say something—anything.

Finally, Azzi whispered, "You kissed her?"

"I didn't mean to," Paige said, her voice desperate. "I wasn't in control. I'd never hurt you like that on purpose, Azzi. I swear."

Azzi bit her lip, looking away as she tried to hold back tears. "Paige, I... I don't know what to say."

Paige's heart shattered at the sight of Azzi's hurt. She reached for her hand, but Azzi pulled away. "Azzi, please..."

"I need time to think," Azzi said quietly, standing up from the bed. "I don't know if I can handle this right now."

Paige felt the weight of her mistake crashing down on her. She had hurt the one person she cared about the most, all because of one reckless night.

"Take all the time you need," Paige whispered, watching as Azzi walked out of the room, leaving her sitting there, alone and broken.