Paring: Paige Bueckers x Fem!
Warnings: Angst, family issues, moving away, emotional tension, unspoken love, bittersweet ending
Summary: You’ve always had Paige — her hoodie, her laugh, her loyalty. But the summer she leaves for basketball camp, your world gets quieter, darker. And now, the day she finally comes back… is the same day you’re being forced to leave.
The screen door creaked louder than usual.
You wiped your eyes with your sleeve, the skin beneath already raw from the tears you didn’t want to be crying—at least not in the open, not with cardboard boxes all around you.
“Hey.” Her voice came soft, familiar. Like a memory.
“Did I—wait. Are you crying?”
Your breath hitched before you could answer.
She walked forward, the clack of her suitcase wheels hitting every crack in the sidewalk like they were beating against your ribs. “What’s going on?”
You finally looked at her.
Hair a little longer, tan deeper from hours on outdoor courts. Her UConn duffel slung over her shoulder, and that gray hoodie—the one you used to borrow without asking. Paige looked like summer.
And you looked like a goodbye.
“Today,” you managed. “My mom’s car is already packed.”
She blinked. “What do you mean you’re moving?”
You felt your throat close up.
“Things with my parents… it got worse. They said they need time apart. And my mom got offered a transfer. She’s taking it.”
Her hands gripped the strap of her bag tighter. “And you’re just—what? Going? Without telling me?”
“I didn’t want to ruin your camp. You’ve been working so hard and—”
“You’re my best friend,” she cut in, voice tight. “You don’t ruin things by being honest with me.”
You looked down at the porch steps. “I didn’t know how to tell you. What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, hope camp’s great, I’m getting yanked out of my life’?”
“I would’ve come home,” she said, without hesitation. “I would’ve been here.”
A pause. Thick with everything you both weren’t saying.
She set her bag down, kicked her sneaker against the wood. “When?”
You sat there in silence for a long time. Birds chirping in the tree above like they didn’t know everything was falling apart.
Then softly, Paige sat next to you. Not too close, but enough that your legs touched.
“You were the only part of this summer I was looking forward to,” she said. “I kept thinking about what we’d do when I got back.”
You let out a breath that wasn’t quite a laugh. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Her voice dropped. “You were supposed to be here.”
You nodded, eyes burning again. “I didn’t want to leave like this.”
She turned to look at you. “So don’t.”
“It should be,” she whispered. “You should get to stay where your heart is.”
You knew what she meant. She wasn’t trying to be subtle.
“You remember last year? After the tournament?”
You smiled, barely. “You mean when you made me sneak into your dorm to watch a Disney movie because you couldn’t sleep?”
“You fell asleep with your head on my chest,” she said, soft.
“You braided my hair without asking.”
She smiled too. “You didn’t mind.”
You shook your head. “I never do.”
The space between you got smaller, and smaller still.
“I thought about kissing you that night,” Paige said, quiet like a secret. “But I didn’t want to ruin anything.”
You swallowed. “I thought about it too.”
“I love you, you know,” she said. “Not in some stupid high school crush way. Like, I actually love you.”
Your lips parted, but no words came out.
She laughed under her breath, a little sad. “Great timing, right?”
You reached for her hand. She let you take it.
“I love you too,” you whispered. “But I’m still leaving.”
“I know,” she said. “But not before I kiss you.”
She leaned in, forehead resting against yours. “I don’t want to wonder anymore.”
So when she kissed you, it wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t movie-perfect.
It was soft. And sad. And necessary.
Like two people trying to carve out something real in the space between what is and what could’ve been.
When your mom called your name from the car, you didn’t answer right away.
Paige stood up first. Helped you with your last box. Pressed one more kiss to your cheek.
“And when you come back,” she added, “I’m not starting over. I’m picking up where we left off.”
You gave her a look. “Where did we leave off?”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Right here. Right now. Loving each other quietly.”
You climbed into the car, turned to look through the window—
And saw her standing on the curb in your hoodie, hair messy, tears barely hidden.
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