Break Away
Chapter One
hockey!paige x actress!azzi
warnings: language
a/n: hiii, I’ve had this idea wafting around in my brain for a while and finally decided to write it down. other than the devil wears prada au I put out a couple of months ago, it’s been years since I’ve written fiction, so go easy on me please :) anyway, hope y’all like this, it’s quite to the point. future chapters will be longer and contain more character building, I promise
if there are any mistakes, please let me know!
wc: 4.7k
MASTERLIST
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January 2026: Los Angeles
Azzi was going to strangle someone. Wait, no, strangle herself.
“It’s been a pleasure having you audition for her. We just don’t see you in a role like this.” The casting director was telling her, as Azzi was busy ruminating over which method of throwing herself off a bridge was best. “But we’ll keep your tape in mind for the future, for sure.”
For sure, she said. Okay, yeah, fine. Azzi was totally cool with that. It’s not like that was like the thirtieth role she had been turned down from in the past two years, after not even being allowed to audition for countless more. Sure, cool, fine.
“Okay. Well, it was a pleasure to audition for her.” Honestly, it was a miracle she managed to get the words out at all, through the tears building in the corners of her eyes.
The casting director, Olivia, nodded, smiling like she had said something comforting. And not something Azzi had been dreading since she stepped into the room. Turned away again. Jesus, what was that? The fifth time she had auditioned for this particular casting agency? And it was the fourth time she had been let down in only the second round of auditioning.
But this was different.
Frozen Hearts was a NYT bestseller, at the top of every booktoker in the world’s recs list, with quotes having gone viral on every social media platform. And best of all (or maybe worst), Azzi loved it. The delicious tension between the two main characters as they shifted from not really friends, to something more. The beauty of having to let someone go to embrace a new love. The fact that Eliza, FMC, explores her own sexuality while doing so. It had been a page-turner, and Azzi knew for certain, that if anyone could help bring it to life, it would be her.
She’d just needed Olivia to have seen it, too. But here she was, being sent out of the room, again, not even being properly considered for a role Azzi would kill for.
And it isn’t like she hasn’t had big roles before. Her breakout role was playing the main character, Emma, in the hit TV show Runaway High. In which her character, well… runs away. The third and final season had ended with Emma’s rather over the top wedding to her high school sweetheart; something Azzi had thought, originally, that she could relate to. What with her being literally engaged to hers at the time. Only twenty six, not knowing the shitstorm that was about to go down.
But it was three years since that all blew up in her face, and now she was pushing thirty, and running out of time to solidify herself as someone with range, someone worth casting and spending money promoting. She knew what happened to other actresses her age, who failed to do with she was attempting now and branch out. They became nobodies, floating off into the void of irrelevance. Never to be seen or heard from again. And Azzi was not about to let that happen to her.
No, she was going to land this role, all right, and she was going to (maybe?) land it today.
“Sorry, just to clarify— why can’t you see me as Eliza?”
Olivia blinked in surprise, knowing the unspoken rule of never questioning a casting director’s final decision, with better actresses than Azzi being blacklisted in the industry for less. But Azzi was desperate, and desperate times called for vaguely desperate measures. So here she was, hands tucked into her sleeves, arms crossed, demanding to know why she wasn’t being given the time of day as a suitable Eliza.
Okay, maybe demanding was a bit of a stretch, but politely asking, certainly.
“It’s nothing personal, we just…”
Azzi raised her eyebrows, almost as if she was begging Olivia to keep speaking. So Olivia kept going, pushing herself up onto her arms, so that she was leaning into the table.
“You don’t have a particularly romantic history. You’ve only played edgy, dramatic roles, and after your last public relationship…um…”
“Went to shit?” Azzi supplied, helpfully.
“Yes. And the fact that you haven’t been even so much as photographed with another person since, well… we just don’t think you could sell a romance. Sorry.”
And there it was. The words no jilted woman wanted to hear. You couldn’t sell a romance. Wow. Azzi supposed it was fair enough, she hadn’t been seen with anyone since Andre. And, to be totally honest, she hadn’t wanted to be seen with anyone. Didn’t want the emotional turmoil that comes with the whole world being interested in your relationship. Couldn’t put herself through that again. And it’s not like anyone ever really stuck around, anyway, not long enough for it to matter, that is. Work was just more important, always.
But Olivia isn’t done speaking.
“Look, your tape was really great, and you’re obviously a great actress, but I just couldn’t cast you.”
And just like that, it clicked.
“What if I proved you wrong?”
Azzi hadn’t realised she’d said the words aloud, until Olivia leans back in her seat, intrigued.
“Prove me wrong? How?”
“What if I showed you that I could sell a romance? And that people would be interested in me as the star of a film like this?”
“I’ll be honest, I don’t really know how you could do that, but if that’s possible, then… yeah. Sure, go for it. We’d love to have you audition again under different circumstances.”
It wasn’t even a promise of the role, and yet Azzi felt the cogs in her brain turning at the thought of getting another chance at this. At getting another chance to prove herself and her skill set to everyone. And so she said:
“Shake on it?”
So when Olivia got up from her chair behind the table, came around it, and shook her hand, promising her that if she got the evidence they needed to believe she could be a romantic figure, she’d get another chance— Azzi thought that maybe this wasn’t turning out to be such a bad day after all.
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Paige Bueckers was having the worst day ever.
It was official.
Firstly, she had slept through all three of her alarms, consequently missing half of practise, which never happened. Secondly, she had woken up with a splitting headache, courtesy of her raging hangover from the night before. Which, also, never happened. Her tolerance was so high she could usually do shots after shots after shots and not even feel dizzy. But not last night, last night she had almost blacked out and had awoken in her bedroom, unaware of how she got there. Yay.
Thirdly, after practice ended, she had the pleasure of being called into David Shea’s office. The GM of the LA Shine was hardly someone to be afraid of, but today he was unusually unhappy.
“This!” He exclaimed, slamming an open magazine down in front of her. “This is what we don’t want to see.”
It was a picture of her hand in hand with a model she had met weeks before, and then another one, and then another one. Pictures became the border for the article, which was all about her numerous scandals and ‘love affairs,’ all of the pictures being recent. Taken in the past season, or so. Paige had to fight to keep a smirk off her face. Yeah, she got down like that.
But David was less than impressed, it seemed. And he was pacing back and forth, walking the stretch of his office and back again.
“At first, when we drafted you, I thought, oh— the girls and the partying? That’ll go away, she’ll mature with age and grow out of all that stuff, right? Wrong. I was so wrong. Paige!” He puts his face in his hands. “You’re easily our best player, maybe even one of the best in the league, but you can’t keep behaving like this. I know it’s not supposed to be any of my business, but when stuff like this—” He gestures towards the open magazine again. “—hits mainstream, magazines and newspapers, it starts to even overshadow the team's success.”
“I’m sure that’s not true—”
David picked up the paper.
“Nowhere in this, Paige, does it mention the fact that our team currently has a ten game winning streak. Not once! However, it mentions three times that you play for us, and have a penchant for leaving parties with supermodels.”
He emphasises the last word by slamming the magazine back down onto the table. Okayyyy… so he seemed mad. Big fucking deal, Paige thought, he’d get over it. Right? So she had basic human needs, like sex and alcohol? So what? She bet half the team had the same routine as she did, but weren’t as showy about it. She knew for a fact that KK Arnold got with the same number of superstars that she did, but did it on the downlow. Fuck, maybe that’s what David was trying to suggest she do.
It wasn’t like doing any of the drinking or the sex under the paparazzi's radar would kill her, she just liked the attention. Basked in it, even. Liked knowing that people cared about what she was up to, liked knowing that she controlled the narrative. After years in college of people making up rumours and things they had heard about her, she liked knowing she had some semblance of control over the situation. Unlike this one.
“Ottawa and I have been sneaking around a bit, discussing a trade. It would be good for you, I think, to get out of the big city. Go to a slightly smaller one. Their rink is in the centre of town, too, so it wouldn’t even feel that different.”
But Paige hadn’t been listening past the word ‘trade.’ Her jaw had dropped and her entire face had gone slack with disbelief.
“You’re trading me?” It came out hoarse, as if she had forced it out the back of her throat.
David rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his index finger.
“Paige.” He began. “It’s nothing personal, or to do with your stats or playing ability. It’s just—”
“But that’s what everyone’s going to think They’re going to think I’m some kind of bum that can’t survive on a team!”
David levelled her with a look.
“People have access to your games, to you statistics. Nobody is going to think that, trust me. In fact, they’ll probably know what this is about, seeing as the reason behind the trade is in every magazine ever right now.”
Paige rolled her eyes. Leave it to David to make her bad day worse.
“So what? It’s done, just like that? I can’t have a say? I didn’t even get a warning!”
“This is your warning, Paige! I’m telling you, this is going to happen. And what could you say, really, to make any of this better? Because I know you’re not going to stop. Otherwise you would have.”
He had her there.
“What if I told you…”
He angled his head slightly, as if to say yes?
“What if you told me you were…what?”
It was then that a stroke of genius hit her.
“That I was with somebody.”
David’s eyes went wide with shock. Okay, jeez, it wasn’t that surprising, Paige thought to herself, offended. But he recovered quickly.
“Yeah? How come I haven’t heard this?”
Oh! Well…
“She’s pretty famous, so we’ve been keeping it on the low for now. But she’s great, yeah, I’m really falling for her.” She didn’t know how thickly she should be laying it on right about then, not knowing if he believed her or not.
“That’s great.” David said, crossing his arms. “If you’re serious.”
“Oh, I am. Deadly serious.”
David smiled his first smile of the day.
“Well, if that means the behaviour we’ve seen spread across the news cycle is bound to stop, then I see no reason for a trade to continue.”
Motherfucking score.
“That is, if you actually are as serious as you say about her, why don’t you bring her to dinner? Kevin’s been raving about his new crock pot— he’s dying to try it out.”
Well… shit. He didn’t believe her.
Not only did he not believe her, but he was testing her. If she said no, it would seem suspicious. But if she said yes, that would mean she’d actually have to date someone. And the idea of doing that, purely so she wouldn’t get traded, seemed deceptive and cruel.
But what else could she say? She couldn’t go from Los Angeles to Ottawa. She knew it was the capital of the country, but Jesus, there couldn’t have been anywhere further from the city she loved and had settled into two years ago. No, that simply wouldn’t do.
“I don’t know if she’s up for meeting the work family just yet.”
But it wasn’t a good enough excuse, David simply shook his head grinned, like he was enjoying this. Causing Paige distress.
“Nonsense! I’m sure she’d love to come round, come on, bring her, this Friday. My place. Kevin’s a great cook, and I’ll text you the address.”
Paige was backed into a wall here.
“Fine.” She said, tightly. “I’m sure she’d love that.”
This day was getting worse and worse. How was she going to find someone who’d jump into a short term relationship with her, purely for the sake (not that they’d know this) of her not getting traded?
What had she gotten herself into?
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“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Caroline exclaimed, propping her phone up on Azzi’s desk and using it to judge the job she was doing, straightening her hair. ”It’s not even an industry party, it’s just my friend Sarah and her teammates. Nobody you know will even be there.”
“Hmm…”
“I’m serious, Az, it’ll be good to get out of your own head for once. Stop stressing so much about work.”
But Azzi couldn’t. Work was her entire life, the reason she got up in the mornings, and the thing she most looked forward to when she shut her eyes at night. The only problem? She couldn’t get any. Nobody wanted to hire her, and after being turned down from yet another audition this morning, claiming she could ‘prove herself,’ Azzi just wanted to curl up into a ball in her bed and fall asleep.
But Caroline wasn’t having it.
“Come onnnnnn.” She said, dragging out the word. “I promise you’ll have fun, and… who knows? You might actually meet someone.”
Azzi scoffed. Yeah, right. She didn’t have time to meet someone, she was too stressed about, well, work. Damn, maybe Caroline was right. Maybe she should go out.
“Okay, fine. But you can’t ditch me as soon as we get there.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll hold your hand the entire time, whatever.”
But Caroline was grinning, clearly pleased with this outcome. She hummed, lightly, as she returned to straightening her hair.
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The party was in full swing when they arrived. Held in a large mansion in the Pacific Palisades, they’d had a small problem getting through the gated area of the community to get there. And had been gawking at the other houses on their way through. That was a level of wealth Azzi could only dream of.
“Sarah!” Caroline called, as she spotted her friend. She dragged Azzi over to a group of girls all dressed in various jorts and baggy t-shirts. A stark contrast to the halter tops Azzi and Caroline were wearing. What was the dress code of this party? Azzi wondered, amused.
“Hey, Car, you made it!” She gave Caroline a side hug, and proceeded to look over at Azzi, eyes widening. “Holy shit, Emma!”
Azzi laughed, she got this all the time.
“Oh wait, no, um….” Sarah looked around helplessly. Caroline ended up coming to her rescue.
“Azzi Fudd. But you were so close.” She snickered.
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that, Azzi. Your show was the shit, by the way, I was so sad when it ended.”
“Aw, thanks.” Maybe Azzi was going to have a good time tonight. “Was I your favourite character?”
“Ha! No, it was Daniel. But you were P’s favourite, though, for sure.” she looked around, at that. “Actually, where is Paige?”
“Paige?”
Caroline leaned over to get to Azzi’s ear and whisper:
“Paige Bueckers.” And oh.
Azzi knew who Paige Bueckers was. Everybody in California knew Paige Bueckers, whether they wanted to or not. She was a hockey legend at only 24, appearing at all the major fashion events, giving interviews, guest starring on podcasts. She was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Azzi had never gotten the chance to meet her, but had admired her work ethic from afar. She knew just how far to go without risking over-exposure. That was, of course, excluding her nightly outings. The ones that had reached every gossip column in the city.
“Paige!” A girl shorter than Sarah, with locs and glasses, yelled. Waving a hand in the air and looking over Azzi’s shoulder.
“Wassup?” The voice came from behind Azzi, and when she went to turn around, she felt a hand go to her shoulder, shifting her out of the way a little bit.
Paige Bueckers was taller than Azzi had assumed she would be, about 6’1 in person. Taller than her, and that was saying something. She had curled her hair into waves and was wearing a grey printed t-shirt with baggy denim jorts, with a little bit of mascara on her eyelashes. She looked the fuck good, Azzi thought to herself, watching her dap KK and Sarah up. Paige then turned to her and Caroline.
“Aye, Car, you made it!” She dapped her up, too, to Azzi’s amusement. Then it was Azzi’s turn.
When Paige’s eyes (finally) landed on her, it felt like the whole room slowed down for a second. Sea blue eyes met deep brown ones, and, not to be dramatic, Azzi thought, time seemed to stop.
Paige’s eyes dragged up and down Azzi’s body, once, then twice. A smirk seemed to settle on her face. Approving.
“Shit.” She said. “You’re Azzi Fudd.”
Azzi nodded, now suddenly aware of the backless top she was wearing, and the deep neckline. Suddenly aware of everything about herself.
“Yeah, congrats on your season so far.”
Azzi knew shit all about sports, especially hockey. But figured it was the right thing to say, as Paige’s eyes lit up as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
“No way, you watch?” She was grinning now, and Azzi ducked her head, smiling bashfully, before raising it and shaking her head, no. Paige laughed. “Well, maybe you should. I could always get you tickets to a game, if that’s something you’d want?”
Azzi was about to respond with a coy remark, maybe something witty to dispel the slight tension in the air, when Sarah burst out laughing.
“Already, P? Damn, get to know a girl first.”
Paige’s smirk dimmed, as if reminded by something vaguely unpleasant, and she took a step back. Azzi immediately missed her in her space.
“Whatever.” Paige mumbled, smile coming back, slowly but surely. “You should still see a game though, for real.”
“Maybe I should.” Azzi couldn’t control the tone of her voice, suggestive and playful. Jesus, she hadn’t even had anything to drink, so where was this drunk confidence coming from? Whatever, as Paige had said. Maybe she should go see a PWHL game, to take her mind off Frozen Hearts, if for nothing else.
Wait, no. What was she thinking? She shouldn’t be taking her mind off Frozen Hearts, it should be firmly stuck on it, actually. Until she finds the freaking solution to all her problems, and getting another audition.
So she excused herself from the conversation, telling Caroline she needed a drink and walking away without any other explanation.
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As the night wore on, Azzi found herself becoming more and more susceptible to her drink, having to pause eventually, out of fear of becoming genuinely drunk. Caroline had, as Azzi predicted she would, abandoned her to go socialise with her friends from work. And Azzi was stuck pretending she didn’t care, and that she wanted to be here. So when the chatter and the music and the lights all became too much for her to bear, she took herself up the floating stairs, to the master bedroom. Where she sighed and locked the door behind her, making her way out to what looked like a balcony on the far side of the room.
To her surprise, and slight aggrievance, somebody was already out there. Head turned away from her, watching the skyline of the city twinkle and sparkle in the night.
It was Paige, she realised, preparing to turn around and go straight back downstairs. But Paige noticed her and waved, gesturing for Azzi to join her. And so she did.
“Hey.” Azzi whispered, over the faint sound of music coming from the floor below, disrupting the peace you could almost touch from up there.
“Hey, you good?”
Paige said it like she meant it, like she really wanted to know if Azzi was alright.
“Yeah, just needed some air. Caroline left me, so I was—”
“Bored?” Azzi laughed.
“Yeah.”
The song suddenly changed downstairs, and Azzi could hear the groans of its haters and some yelling to change it back. She snickered to herself.
“So… You come here often?”
Paige said it so casually that Azzi almost missed it for what it was. A line. Paige Bueckers just tossed her a line. She almost choked on her laughter.
“What?” Paige asked, a cute little wrinkle forming between her eyebrows, displaying her confusion.
Azzi sobered up quickly enough to respond.
“Sorry. It’s just— did you just ask me if I came here often?” And she started laughing again, uncontrollably. Paige just flushed and held onto the railing, as if by letting go, she’d somehow fall down into the hills below.
“Alright. Not too much now.”
“Sorry. I’m sorry. Yeah, I mean— no. I don’t come here often. Parties are an occasional thing for me. I also live in a quite family-focused area, so you don’t get that much of this around there.”
“Oh yeah? Where do you live?”
“Crestwood Hills?”
Paige nodded in recognition.
“Nice. Fancy.” She grinned at that.
“Yeah, well.”
“Big TV star, I get it.”
Azzi laughed, it seemed all she was doing with Paige was laugh. The idea of her being any kind of ‘big’ at that moment was just, objectively laughable. After Runaway High’s ending, she had booked a single role. The lead in an indie movie, and it had ended up being the production company’s second lowest grossing film ever. Doing wonders to quash Azzi’s previously inflated ego.
“I’m probably gonna have to move out soon, if this thing I’m going for doesn’t work out. It’s getting…” She didn’t know whether it was the alcohol she had consumed, or just Paige’s weirdly comforting presence, but something made her want to tell Paige everything that had ever happened to her ever. “Expensive.”
The blonde girl nodded again, this time in thought.
“You not doing too well at the box office?”
Azzi shook her head, smiling and embarrassed. It was the truth, why should she feel ashamed to share it with someone clearly mature enough to handle it?
“No, I— uh… I haven’t exactly been landing roles recently. I’m kind of relying on something I auditioned for a few weeks ago and then again this morning to work out. But they don’t really want me. So. Yeah.” She scrunched her face up and averted her eyes from the bright blue staring back at her. Paige’s attention made her feel singular. Like there was no one else she’d rather be paying attention to. Azzi didn’t let herself get swept up in it.
“Damn. I’m sorry.” And she sounded it, too. Like she was genuinely feeling for Azzi. The thought filled the curly-haired girl with sudden warmth. “There anything I can do?”
Azzi laughed, again.
“Not unless you can somehow convince someone that I can successfully ‘sell a romance.’ No.”
“Oh, well. Yeah.” Paige stopped for a second, entire body going still like she was preparing to do something she’d regret. “I’m getting traded.”
“What?”
It was Paige’s turn to laugh now, although it wasn’t like Azzi’s full belly, or bashful or embarrassed ones. No, this one was bitter and full of regret.
“Yup. Found out this morning. Been partying too hard, amongst other things.”
From being friends with Caroline, a woman who worked closely with people in sports, she knew how difficult trades were, how much of a toll they took on relationships and mental health.
“To where?”
“Ottawa.”
“Canada?!” Azzi nearly choked on her drink, causing Paige to huff out another laugh.
“Indeed.”
“I’m sorry.” Azzi breathed, not knowing what else to say. What else she could say. It wasn’t as if she could do anything about it, much like Paige could do nothing about Olivia and Frozen Hearts. But Paige had asked, and so she would, too.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Another laugh, this one resigned.
“Not unless you want to pose as my loving girlfriend in front of my team’s general manager on Friday. Other than that… not really, no.”
“Wait, what?”
Paige explained her situation, and as she was doing so, the cogs in Azzi’s head started to turn once again.
“Paige.”
Paige stopped her rambling.
“Yeah?”
“I can pose as your girlfriend.”
The taller girl’s face contorted in her confusion.
“Huh?”
“And you can pose as mine!” It was all coming together now, Azzi could feel the plan forming in her mind. “Like, if I come to your dinner, and pretend to be your girlfriend, you could pretend to be my girlfriend in public. Then everyone will know I’ve moved on from Andre, and—”
“Andre?”
Azzi waved a hand, dismissively. “My ex fiancé. But the point is, it’ll be like I tamed a fuck boy—”
“—Hey—!”
“—That’s a romance trope, right?”
“Azzi.”
“It’s perfect! It’s literally perfect. Oh my god. This could work, this could actually work. I could be Eliza!”
“Who’s Eliza??”
Paige looked thoroughly lost, and Azzi decided to stop her own rambling to come and rescue her.
“Frozen Hearts? She’s the main character.”
“Ohh, got you.” She still looked lost, though, so Azzi decided to circle back to the plan. But before she could, Paige was there. “Azzi, your plan sounds insane. Like a romcom come to life, you know that, right? This is some To All the Boys shit.”
Azzi raised an eyebrow, making Paige rub at the back of her neck with one hand. “I have a teenage sister, it’s whatever.”
“Sure.”
“No, I—.” She sighed, clearly trying to choose her words carefully. “If we do this and we’re found out, that could ruin both our careers, not to mention be super fucking embarrassing—”
“Relax, people fake relationships all the time, remember? PR relationships exist for a reason. We’d be just like every other B-list celebrity ever.” She could see Paige was still listening to her voice of reason. “Come on, Paige. We both need this, and this is a simple solution to both our problems. It’s foolproof.”
Paige snorted.
“Okay.”
“I’m serious. And it’s not like we wouldn’t have rules or anything.”
“Rules?” Paige groaned. Azzi rolled her eyes.
“Yes, rules. We need to both be on the same page.”
Paige steeled herself for a second, readying herself to reply.
“So what, we’d just… pretend to date? For a few weeks. You’d get your role, David wouldn’t trade me?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay…”
“Okay?”
Paige sighed again, eyes squeezing shut, as if trying to ignore what she was about to say.
“Okay. But these rules—”
“Wait, really?!”
“Yes. But, Azzi, these rules, Azzi—”
Azzi had had enough of Paige talking and had gone to hug her, instead, muffling the sound of Paige’s shock with her shoulder.
“Thank you.”
She was going to get the role of Eliza, she was going to convince the Olivia she could sell a romance to the public, and she was going to save Paige from being traded.
She was going to be a star.
