Pacify Her | Paige Bueckers

twenty-two | new spaces

As you know, Paige tells her two buddies—Ice and KK—everything. So it's no surprise that she took them out for breakfast, just them three, to break the news about her plan to propose to Azzi.

"Girl, boo!" KK freaked, "what the hell? On the court? After our game?!" KK scoffed, "man, I'm happy for you Paige boogers, for real, but now that I'm hearing that this ring business is what caused your playing to be all over the place last game, I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Ah," Ice thought, "yeah, "I'm gonna have to kind of agree." She repositioned herself, "nothing wrong with proposing to Azzi, I'm proud of you, but I just don't want you to pan your focus on that objective."

"Well... my plan will be ruined if we don't win, anyway" Paige shrugged. "It would be weird to propose on the court after losing, fans would probably not be in the mood for it and would throw their miscellaneous items at me."

"Okay," KK stuck her index finger out, "you do have a point there." She looked down for a second, thinking. "That's my only reservation, really. If you can handle it, then I support you fully. If there's anything that we can do to help your plan, let us know." Ice side-eyed KK.

"Who's we?!" She asked, immediately scoffing. "Nah," she went on, "I'm just playing. I'm in."

"So how are you gonna propose to her?" KK asked, curious to know. Paige seemed to still be in the process of forming this idea. She took a minute.

"I was hoping that she'd get a post game interview, considering this season was a comeback year for her" Paige confided. "If not, then I'll have somebody distract her while we're on the podium."

KK pretended to fake cry, "man," she let out, "they grow up so damn fast." Paige rolled her eyes. KK would be twenty in May, but she was a baby compared to Paige—who would be twenty-four in October. Even Ava was a year and a three quarters older than her somewhat girlfriend.

Not too long afterward, Paige, KK, and Ice wrapped up their breakfast, each lost in thought about the upcoming championship game and Paige's plan to propose to Azzi. As they made their way back to the hotel, Paige's mind was racing with ideas on how to make the moment unforgettable for Azzi. Proposing was simply do or die. You can't say "hold up," let me try again, especially on live television. So this needed to be the most perfected thing possible.

Meanwhile, Ava was in for a surprise of her own. As she walked through the lobby of the hotel, she spotted two familiar faces: her parents. She squinted at first, imagining that she was seeing things. That was, until the two figures began walking toward their daughter, eliminating Ava's uncertainty. Once she was sure of who she was looking at, Ava ran over to her mom and dad, enveloping them in a warm hug.

"What are you doing here?" Ava asked, shocked but obviously happy to see her people. "How did you know you would find me here?"

"We saw you on TV during the game," her mother explained. "We're so proud of you and wanted to surprise you." Ava's father chimed in, "Plus, we've been seeing a lot about you and KK on TikTok. We figured we'd come and meet her officially. Some google searches disclosed where the team would be staying. We imagined you wouldn't be too far from."

Ava subconsciously smiled, something she'd been doing a lot, recently. It hit her then that her relationship with KK had become public knowledge—possibly also why 'Pazzi' fans suddenly backed off of her. She led her parents to KK's room, hand-in-hand like some little kids, where they knocked on the door. KK answered, having known that Ava was previously in the lobby and would eventually be back up, but was surprised to see Ava with two randoms.

"KK, these are my parents," Ava introduced them, getting her sentence out in one breath as she smiled. "They wanted to surprise me, and meet you."

For once, KK was being serious. Well... I shouldn't have spoke too soon, actually. KK invited Ava and her parents in, greeting them. "It's so great to finally meet the both of you! Though, no offense, hotel security here is pretty terrible if they just let you walk right up to my room like that." There it was.

Thankfully, Ava's parents laughed, charmed by KK's humor and welcoming nature. The four of them chatted for a bit before Ava's father suggested. "Why don't we take you two out for dinner? Our treat."

KK and Ava readily agreed, and the four of them set off to a nearby southern food restaurant. The conversation flowed easily, with Ava's parents asking KK about her basketball career, her studies, and her plans for the future. KK, in turn, shared appropriate stories about her and Ava's relationship, making Ava blush and her parents smile.

As the evening wound down, Ava and KK subtly excused themselves to the restroom. While on their phones, standing in front of the mirror for pictures, KK suddenly turned toward Ava, staring at her.

"I'm just gonna do it," she breathed out. Ava looked up, a slight panic in her heart. She thought that KK was about to say something along the lines of "things are moving too fast for me, I need space."

"Do what?!" Ava worriedly asked. "Did I do something wrong?" KK furrowed her brows.

"No," she spoke softly, bending down to make sure nobody else was in the bathroom. "Ava, I know this is an unconventional place to ask somebody to be their girlfriend, but I'm done waiting" KK expressed. "I should have been asked, but I was nervous and focused on ball. Plus... I just wanted to have the timing down. But I've known you for six months now, and we've been romantically linked for four. I wanna be able to say 'my girlfriend' when asked what motivates me after becoming a national champion."

Ava grinned, raising one eyebrow when KK finished talking. "You still didn't actually ask," she made KK aware, "you know." KK chuckled, looking down.

"Ava Former-Mean-Girl Elizabeth Queen-of-Sarcasm James," KK pushed hair behind Ava's ear, "will you be my official girl friend?" Ava giggled, grabbing both of KK's hands as she did so.

"In every single lifetime," Ava whispered as if somebody had came into the bathroom, "yes. Yes, KK, I would absolutely love to be your girlfriend."

Well, there you had it. Two days before the big championship game, April 9th, 2025, Ava and KK finally made it official. This came after four months of them bullshitting, for their own reasons. The two shared a quick, tender tap kiss, mindful of their surroundings, and held hands as they made their way back to the dinner table. Of course, Ava's parents knowing their only child like the back of their hand, picked up on her sudden radiance.

As the dinner came to a close, Ava hugged her parents goodbye, thanking them for the surprise visit and their support. KK shook their hands, promising to take good care of their daughter.

It finally hit Ava that the school year was almost over. It was an incredibly unconventional year, no doubt, but it was one for the books. It's not everyday that you hook up with three DI college basketball stars, get into a relationship with one, get diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and turn gay. But man, Ava wouldn't trade her current life for the world. She knew who she was—finally.

Back at the hotel, Ava and KK lay cuddled in bed, basking in the happiness of their new official
status. They immediately came out to the world, making a shared instagram post, using a mirror picture from dinner. Then the two drifted off to sleep, dreams of the championship game and their future together swirling in their minds.

The stage was set for a momentous day: the championship game would be UConn verses the University of Southern California. Last year, the two faced off in the elite eight, and it was a painfully close game, filled to the brim with talent. This year, USC wanted blood, understandably. But little did they know, the wants of individual players on UConn were rooted much deeper. For some, there was a lot on the line—whether it was dedicating a win to their new girlfriend, or manufacturing the perfect proposal.