Pacify Her | Paige Bueckers

nineteen | panic

As the days went on, Paige started considering solidifying her relationship with Azzi more and more. The women's basketball team was on their way to Ohio to play in the NCAA tournament. For the UConn Huskies, who constantly fell short in the last few years, this was more than a big deal. This year was their best bet, and it was Paige, Aubrey, and possibly even Azzi's last year.

Despite senior night passing and going, Azzi still hadn't announced whether or not she'll be staying another year. Due to injury and the fact that next year would be her fifth year, Azzi could stay if she wanted to. But she was also turning twenty-three in November of this year, 2025, meaning she was old enough to enter the WNBA draft if ready.

Paige figured that it was probably best she doesn't pursue much with Azzi until the tournament was over. Right now was when the team needed them both the most, and worrying about love at a time like this would just over complicate things. I mean, imagine if Paige and Azzi finally got their happily ever after—a national championship?

Wait! What if they got two happily ever afters? What if Paige hard launched their relationship by asking Azzi out on the court after they won? No, in fact, what if Paige proposed to Azzi after they won?

I know, I know, it sounds crazy. But hear me out: Azzi and Paige had been interlinked for the last eight years. Sure, they never formally dated, but they fell in love. In fact, they are still in love. Who needs to go through the dating stage when you've woken up and surely choose this person every day for the last 2,920 days? Both women were certain and on the same page of what they wanted with each other—even if they'd never actually talked about it to one another.

Well, Paige had much bigger things to focus on at the moment, like the massive hill that Geno was demanding she and her teammates run up. While Geno was a respectable coach, he did often get carried away when once-in-a-lifetime games approached. The women were outside, all wearing sweats and sports bras, ready to follow orders.

Paige didn't feel good, but she hated speaking up in settings like this. Everybody else seemed charged and ready and here she was gasping for air, feeling throw up stir in her stomach, ready to come out. Hopefully, at the very worst, she passed out before getting to a point of vomiting in front of everyone.

Azzi lightly patted Paige's back, "you good P?" She asked her. Paige swayed on her feet, trying to shift her focus. All she could think about was not throwing up, but she felt doing so only made it worse. Paige made the lightest noise in response, barely managing to sound out "mhm."

"Bueckers," Geno yelled, "stand still."

Paige panted, palms resting atop one another, on the crown of her head. "I'm trying!" Paige whined.

Azzi took the liberty to assess the situation. She noticed that the girls weren't standing linearly, everybody was just bunched up at the bottom of the hill. She and Paige were about the same height.

"Ice," Azzi murmured, making a discreet gesture for Ice to come over. She did, and the two stood before Paige so that Paige could catch her breath in any stance she wanted to. Geno didn't seem to notice.

"One last time!" Geno yelled before blowing the whistle. Paige groaned but joined her team running up the hill, just barely managing to keep up with them. She could feel her legs giving up as she was a couple yards away from the top, but she preserved. Then, suddenly, everything went black for Paige.

"Paige!" Azzi immediately ran got a hold of her, just in time to prevent Paige's head from hitting the grassy floor, hard. The team quickly huddled, Geno realizing he might've overworked the women. "Water!" Azzi freaked, "somebody, please!" She felt Paige's chest and wrist for a pulse and found a very strong one, thank God. So Paige had only fainted.

"Turn her body sideways," Azzi instructed KK and Caroline when they also grabbed hold of Paige. "To prevent her from any sort of aspiration." Azzi was given two bottles of water, giving her an idea. She cracked the cold on open and poured it all over Paige's face—waking her up immediately.

"Thank God," Azzi said, realizing she'd been holding her breath. She coddled Paige's head for a minute.

"She good?" Geno asked, "I don't have to call the paramedics or anything?" Usually, the huskies had a an AED and medic on standby. While there was a portable AED present, this practice was impromptu—so the whole nine yards wasn't throughly set up.

"Y'all can have the rest of the day off," Geno figured, once Azzi had nodded her head and Paige effectively sat up, indicating that she was okay. "I don't need anybody dying before we play in the sweet sixteen."

Meanwhile, Ava was testing the waters with her parents—soft launching, if you will.

"I have a friend, she's a lesbian" Ava began, having visited her parents since it was the weekend. With KK far away from campus, Ava truly had nothing to do. Her parents' heads shot up like a deer in headlights. It startled Ava, but she kept going.

"Would it be okay if I brought her around sometime?" Ava asked. Ava's mother, a little more lenient than her father, looked at Ava's dad. He looked back at Ava, seeming to read his daughter well. He dropped his fork and wiped his mouth.

"What kind of friend is this?" Ava's father asked.

"What do you mean?" Ava retorted, "like is she my best friend, or just a school friend? Is that what you're asking?" Ava's father shook his head.

"Is this a special friend, pumpkin?" Her father asked, more sternly but not in an upset tone. "You mentioned that she is a lesbian. You have had many friends come around over the years, many of which appeared to be the least amount of heterosexual. But you've never told us your friends' sexual orientations, ever." Ava's father leaned forward as he finished that sentence, "so again I ask: what kind of friend is this?" Shit, old people are actually kind of smart.

Ava wanted to lie, because that was a cop out. But, she knew that lying could over complicate things in the future. What if she decided that she wanted to take the chance with KK anyway? Having already introduced her as the gay friend that's only a friend and then suddenly being involved with her would most likely make Ava's parents strongly dislike KK.

"Okay," Ava stood up, "you got me, dad. I know you guys are probably about to disown me but that's my truth. I'm not sure if I like women, but I like that woman, and I'm not willing to lie and lack contentment in my life just to appeal to my parents."

"Woah," Ava's mom began, "sit down, Ava." Ava did as was asked, her parents sharing looks. "First of all," her mother started in a lower tone, "you're our only child. We will never get rid of you."

"Secondly," Ava's father cut off her mother, "I would rather you tell me you like women than say that you want to be a man. I'm not a fan of it but who am I to tell you what to do with your life, Ava?"

"Just" Ava's mom went on, "be careful, baby. It's a cold world outside of these four walls that make our home. Some people will want to hurt you over simple things like that." Ava nodded, relieved that her parents weren't reacting with anger.

"The only thing I ask is that you bring whoever she is so that we can see and assess her" Ava's father insisted. "I promise, there will be no bias on our end. But we'd like to see what woman managed to sway our daughter." Though that was low-key backhanded, Ava did seem to find it funny.

"She's on the basketball team, so she's away from the school right now," Ava smiled, not even realizing that she was smiling. "But when she's back, we'll stop by." Isn't this great?! Ava can be with KK, like, for real! Now all that was left was KK actually asking her out... how the hell was Ava gonna hint at that?

"Thank you guys," Ava sighed, "I love you."

"We love you too, baby" Ava's mom said, getting out of her seat and making her way to Ava to hug her.