𝑳𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑶𝑵𝑺 & 𝑳𝑨𝒀𝑼𝑷𝑺

𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑹𝑻𝒀 𝑻𝑾𝑶 ; 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑴

One week had passed since Sloane had seen Paige, and it felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on her chest. The texts between them had become increasingly short and distant, with Paige always claiming to be busy. Sloane had been moping around her dorm, barely eating, she was drained. Haven, decided she has had enough.

"Sloane, you're driving me insane," Haven said as she stood by the doorway, arms crossed. "You've been sitting in here for like a week days, not eating, not doing anything all because of her. It's time you go talk to Paige."

Sloane looked up from her phone, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. "She doesn't want to talk to me, Haven. She's been borderline ignoring me all week."

"That's exactly why you need to go," Haven insisted. "If you don't confront her, you'll keep torturing yourself."

torturing yourself

Hearing Haven say it out loud made Sloane come to the realization she was right, the whole week she hadn't been taking care of herself which wasn't like her at all and even she knew she needed to stop it.

She needed to confront Paige in person. Paige couldn't ignore her face-to-face, and Sloane was done playing the waiting game. After a long, hot shower, Sloane felt a bit more like herself. She threw on some comfortable clothes and was on her way

As she approached Paige's dorm, her heart pounded in her chest. She stood outside the door for a moment, gathering her thoughts before knocking. When the door opened, it was Nika who answered, her eyes widening in relief.

"Finally!" Nika exclaimed, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't know what's been up with Paige, but she's been acting super weird... like depressed?? I don't know, Maybe you can figure it out."

Sloane forced a small smile and nodded. "I'll try."

Nika stepped aside to let her in. A few of Paige's teammates were lounging in the living room, chatting. They greeted Sloane casually, and she replied back, registering their words, her focus solely on what was waiting behind Paige's door. She walked down the hallway, feeling the tension rise with each step. Her knuckles rapped against the wood before she heard Paige's muffled voice from inside.

"Come in."

Sloane opened the door, and as soon as Paige saw her standing there, her face paled, and her entire demeanor shifted. She was sitting on her bed, a textbook open in front of her, but her eyes were now glued to Sloane, wide and unblinking.

"Sloane..." Paige started, but her voice was quiet, almost unsure.

Sloane crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "We need to talk. I don't know what's been going on with you, but I'm tired of you blowing me off and borderline ignoring me."

Paige closed the textbook, her expression hardening, though there was still a flicker of guilt in her eyes but it quickly changed to a defensive glare. "I've just been busy. I told you that."

"Busy?" Sloane scoffed, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "You've been avoiding me, Paige! Every time I try to hang out, you have some excuse. And when I text you, all I get are one-word replies. What is really going on?"

Paige clenched her jaw, standing up and facing Sloane. "Maybe I don't want to deal with this shit right now, okay? Maybe I've got my own shit going on."

Sloane felt her temper flare. "So, what? I'm supposed to just sit here and watch you pull away and act like nothing's wrong? That's not how this works, Paige! You can't just shut me out every time you get in your fucking feelings."