𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒅 ⭐︎ 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔

the 1

"If one thing had
been different
Would everything be
different today?"

<3

Paige

I slid on my shoes and grabbed my keys, getting ready to leave my dorm to go and hang out with Cindy.

I still wasn't necessarily looking forward to spending time with her. But it seemed like she's changed, and I also knew hanging with her would get my mind off of Maddy.

"Where are you going?" Azzi asked, walking out of the kitchen with a sprite in her hand.

"To get food with Cindy."

"Hold on, what?!" Her eyes widened at the name.

"Yeah, we've been talking recently. It's not that big of a deal." I leaned against the door, waiting to leave.

"You hated Cindy for months. You couldn't even look at her during games." She replied, the shocked look still on her face.

"People change, Azzi." I shrugged. She didn't say anything else but shook her head and walked to the couch.

I left the dorm and walked to my car, getting in and driving to the place Cindy told me to meet her. It was a cafe that also served food, so we agreed to meet there for lunch.

As I pulled up and walked into the place, she was already there. I walked over to the table and saw my coffee and lunch order sitting in front of hers.

"Hey!" She smiled as I sat in front of her.

"Hey." I returned the smile before taking a drink of the coffee.

Cindy and I had a pretty good conversation. It surprisingly wasn't awkward considering how long we went without talking. The two of us talked about how basketball was going and how cheer was going for her. It honestly felt nice not having Maddy on my mind. Or sitting in bed thinking about what I could have done to make her not choose Enzo.

At least, it was nice to pretend like I wasn't thinking about her. But in all honesty, she was the only thing I could think of. As much as I hated it.

"Ding"

Maddy: hey, can we talk before the game?

I sighed at the notification and sat my phone back down, not replying.

"Who was that?" Cindy asked

"Maddy."

"Oh nice, she'll be at the game today, right?" Cindy asked, knocking me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. She should be."

"That's nice, she seems so sweet."

I nodded in response, taking another sip of my drink.

"She and that basketball player seem really cute together."

I nearly spit my drink out.

"Basketball player? Like, as in Lorenzo?"

"Well, I think that's the only other person she's with." She laughed.

After that comment, I decided it was time for me to go. That and I had to get ready to leave with Azzi for our game.

"I should get going."

"Already?" She frowned, "Well, I'll see you tonight." She brushed my arm as I stood to walk out, giving me a slight smile.

Maddy

I finished getting ready and moved to grab my bag, putting the things I needed inside of it.

My mind was racing with multiple different thoughts as I finished getting ready and was getting closer to leaving for the game.

I planned on attempting to talk to Paige. I wanted to know if she had seen the photo, and if she did then I needed her to know it wasn't what it looked like.

Another reason as to why I was extremely nervous is because the last time she had a game, was the same day she kissed me. Also the last day we had an actual conversation.

I finished gathering all my things and left my apartment, driving to the game. Which wasn't a super long drive, so I arrived a little bit before the game was expected to start.

I walked in with my backpack strap sitting against my shoulder, walking over to my usual seat. I glanced over at Paige, seeing Cindy next to her once again. This time, Paige had a wide smile while talking to her. The same smile she had with me.

I decided now wouldn't be the best time to talk to Paige, not wanting to get her in the wrong mindset before the game. But then I saw Azzi, tying her shoes on the courtside.

I quickly walked over to her, grabbing her attention.

"Hey, Azzi."

"Maddy." She glared at me, which I honestly expected.

"I know you're pissed, but I need you to listen to me," I told her, to which she replied with a nod.

"I didn't kiss Enzo, like at all. He kissed me!"

Azzi's face immediately dropped, her mouth falling open. "Oh." That was all she said.

"How mad is Paige?" I asked, looking over to her. Her eyes still were on Cindy as she made another shot in the hoop.

"She's more upset than mad."

"Yeah, I can tell," I replied sarcastically, running a hand through my hair.

"She's just a friend." Azzi gestured to Cindy. "Trust me. But you need to talk to her soon."

"I know, I will. Thanks Azzi." I brushed her shoulder softly before walking off back to my area.

I finished getting all my stuff set up and taking practice photos with my camera before taking a couple of actual photos.

The points were almost even the entire game, with one team only being a couple of points ahead before the other team caught up. But as the game came to an end, the opponent team was in the lead by three points.

Great.

Normally I would have just left the gym and headed back to my car, but this time I waited for Paige to show up.

A few other girls came out first, but soon I saw Azzi and Paige walking out.

"Paige, can we talk?" I asked, stopping her. She glanced over to Azzi, who ended up just walking away to give us space. Paige's attention was now turned to me, giving me a chance to explain.

"I promise, it is not what it seems like."

"So you didn't run off and kiss Enzo right after I kissed you?"

"No! I quite literally didn't."

"Yeah right. Look, if you didn't feel the same you could have just told me." She scoffed, not believing me.

"I'm sorry, did I get a chance to tell you anything? You blew me off every time I tried!"

"Maybe because I was afraid of you rejecting me!"

My heart fell into my stomach. Did part of her seriously think I didn't like her back? I know I left after she kissed me, but it was because Azzi walked in. Not because I didn't like her.

"God, Paige, I wasn't going to reject you."

"Then why did you kiss Enzo?!"

"I didn't! He kissed me! Which you would have known if you would've just talked to me." I replied, feeling my eyes getting glossy.

"I can't do this." I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes as I walked out.

I didn't want to walk away from Paige, but I didn't want to cry in front of her. All this over a stupid Instagram post.

————

hi 🤗
messy.
promise they'll love each other again, just not anytime soon.
bye 😘