ᴀᴢᴀʟᴇᴀ ғᴀʏᴇ ɢʀɪғғɪɴ is Aubrey Griffin's younger sister. Expect she's not like her brothers, sister or dad who all play basketball. She totally different from that. She's quiet, gentle soul, keeps to herself, definitely antisocial, and 𝒹ℯ𝒶𝒻. Her b...
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Chapter Twenty Two! real life.
Almost two months had passed, and somehow, it felt like both forever and no time at all. Azalea never realized how effortlessly Paige could fold into her life. From the outside, nothing seemed monumental; they still went to their classes, Paige still had basketball or things related to it to do, they still hung out with their friends and their routines overall continued the same. But on the inside, everything felt different—like her world had shifted just a little closer to something steady and warm.
Azalea always knew she had been someone who found comfort in her solitude—a girl who built walls to protect herself from unpredictable chaos of the world. But Paige seemed to slip through those cracks, filling the spaces Azalea didn't even know were empty.
Their relationship had fallen into an easy and safe rhythm, like two puzzle pieces that had finally clicked into place. They weren't just dating; they were building something—layer by layer, day by day. They still did late-night phone calls, they still FaceTimed every hour of the day, they still were with each other constantly. It was a never ending cycle that they didn't want to end. It was just their way and they liked it that way. Neither of them would want it any other way.
It was the small moments that also mattered the most to Azalea. Like how Paige remembered her shifts, or how she willingly learned more about her because she wants to. How she remembered her favorite songs to play in the background or in the car. How Paige noticed when she was nervous, letting her play with her fingers instead of her hearing aids or how she remembered and asked about the book she was reading. It was small gestures that nobody would notice but Azalea definitely did.
Paige had slipped into Azalea's life in a way that felt seamless but also like she'd been there all along. Every corner of Azalea's once simple, clean apartment had now some mark of her presence. A forgotten hoodie draped over the back of her couch, her favorite cereal in her pantry, a basketball in the corner of the living room, a picture of the two of them on the coffee table. It wasn't just Paige's things though—it was also the way her presence lingered even when she wasn't there.
It was also no surprise that Paige also spent almost every night at Azalea's apartment. It got to the point where she had her own key now or a part in Azalea's dresser for Paige's spare clothes. Most of the time, Azalea was cooking for herself and Paige now—not that she minded anyway. Sometimes she tried to show Paige how to cook, but Paige ultimately didn't pay attention because she was too focused on her girl. And when they slept at night, sometimes they'd simply lay next to each other in quiet mornings or late nights with Paige gently tracing along Azalea's side tattoo, or Azalea softly running her fingers through Paige's hair as they whisper talked or used sign language, not wanting to disturb the peace around them in Azalea's or Paige's room. It was the quiet, slow moments that Azalea cherished the most.
