For the Love of the Game [Pazzi | Part 2/10]
paige bueckers x azzi fudd
summary: tensions between paige and azzi grow
a/n: im still tryna set the scene for all the fake dating stuff to take place, so bear with me. we will get there very soon!
Paige might not like Azzi, but she knew basketball, and she could appreciate the fellow guard’s precision and dedication when it came to the sport. It was the first practice of the season, and Paige watched from the sidelines as Azzi sank yet another 3 under Geno’s approving watch.
“Baller, huh?” Caroline wiped her neck with a towel, her gaze following Azzi’s movements.
Paige made a noise of agreement. “Her shooting mechanics are flawless.” She took a swig from her water bottle, swishing the cool liquid around in her mouth before swallowing.
“Paige? Complimenting Azzi? Never thought I’d live to see the day,” Nika chuckled from behind them.
This piqued Caroline’s interest. “Why? Do you guys have beef or something?”
“No,” Paige replied shortly, tossing a glare to Nika behind Caroline’s back. Nika just grinned. “We’re just…not best friends.”
“Paige freaked when she found out that Azzi chose UConn,” Nika informed Caroline slyly. “I think she’s jealous that Azzi’s so good that she’ll outshine her.”
Paige scoffed. “That’s the most untrue statement I’ve ever heard.” Although Nika’s reasoning would’ve held some substance a few years back, it meant nothing to Paige now. She was secure if her position on the team. She was the first freshman to win the Associated Press National Player of the Year, for Christ’s sake. No, her friction with Azzi was inexplicable, a result of the uneasy, tumbling feeling that drummed in her chest every time she saw her. Bad vibes, you could say.
“What’s untrue?” Azzi was next to them now. She used the bottom of her shirt to wipe sweat from her upper lip. Paige saw a flash of Azzi’s abdomen, flexing and taut, before her shirt dropped. She looked away, trying to ignore the buzzing feeling in her chest.
Nika looped an arm through Caroline’s. As the walked away past Azzi, Nika whispered in her ear, “Paige thinks you’re a hell of a player.” The two girls cackled as they left. Devilish duo, Paige thought.
Azzi’s eyebrows shot up, and she turned to study Paige’s face. “Oh, really?” She said, a smirk faint on her lips. Paige’s cheeks flushed, and she looked away without replying, embarrassed. “Can’t look me in the eye and say something nice at the same time?” Azzi stepped forward. “I’m starting to think I make you nervous, Bueckers.” Azzi was close now, so close that Paige could grab her waist if she wanted to. Not that she wanted to. But she could. If she wanted to.
Paige moved back, their proximity becoming too much for her to bear. “Your already big head would actually explode if you heard a compliment from me,” she derided.
Hurt flashed through Azzi’s eyes, but she quickly covered it up with a mask of indifference. “What’s your problem?” she asked coolly.
The two looked to the left to see Geno impatiently waiting, tapping his pen against his clipboard. Without so much as a glance at Azzi, Paige brushed past her, knocking her shoulder as she walked past.
“Maybe she’s on her period.”
Azzi was so tired she couldn’t even muster a laugh at Amari’s joke. “She’s always been like this. A total bitch.”
Amari rubbed her forehead. “It’s so weird,” she said thoughtfully. “Paige is so nice to everyone else. You sure you didn’t accidentally steal her girl or something?”
Azzi sent Amari a death glare. “For the twentieth time, I don’t like girls, Amari.”
Amari shrugged, giving her an amused look. “That’s what they all say,” she crooned in a sing song voice. Azzi affectionately rolled her eyes and gave her friend a gentle push.
Bueckers aside, Azzi loved UConn so far. Her teammates were the funniest people she’d ever met, and her fellow freshmen kept her sane. She was ready to win a national championship, to follow in the footsteps of legends like Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird.
The two girls sat in silence, with Amari typing away at her phone. “Speak of the devil,” Amari said. She looked up from her phone and gave Azzi an apologetic smile. “Looks like Nika and Paige are drooping by right now. Geno sent them to show us to the trainers’ room and get us started on recovery.”
Azzi groaned. The last thing she wanted was to go back to Werth. Practice had taken a toll on her - the team ran lines after every practice, which would be okay if Geno would just give them a set number. But no, Geno the sadist made them run until he felt like telling them to stop, and today he didn’t feel like telling them to stop for an entire half hour. Azzi’s legs felt like they were about to fall off.
“If I see the court, I think I might throw up,” Azzi whined.
Amari grinned, jumping up and offering a hand to help Azzi up. “Well they’re helping us get started on recovery, so it might help. Just try not to kill Paige in the process please.”
“You should tell her that,” Azzi grumbled.
The two freshmen met the two sophomores outside their dorm building. “Can you believe we used to live in this lowly place?” Nika nudged Paige, staring at the dorms.
“It was literally like a month ago,” Paige responded dryly.
“And now we’ve upgraded to our fine apartment,” Nika boasted. “The dorms are so ghetto. If you freshmen ever wanna escape this hell hole, feel free to come over.”
Azzi would definitely not take up Nika on that offer. If Paige saw her in her apartment, she might actually have a seizure, she thought.
The four fell into step, making their way back to Werth for the second time that day. Azzi didn’t know how, but she ended up on the very side, next to Paige. As they walked, their fingers brushed, and Azzi yanked her hand away as if it was on fire.
“Goddamn, I don’t bite,” Paige grinned, enjoying the uncomfortable reaction she got out of Azzi from something as simple as their hands brushing.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you did,” Azzi shot back. “You’re like one of those little chihuahuas. They look harmless but they’re actually freaks with huge incisors.”
“Hey, I love chihuahuas,” Nika protested, but her words fell on deaf ears.
“Are you serious right now?” Paige’s glare was deadly. “I bet if you were a dog you’d be one of those ratty white ones with the eye boogers.”
Azzi gasped at that. Her reaction became even more enraged when Amari, who was supposed to be on her side, burst out laughing. She hit her friend on her neck. “Why are you laughing? It’s not fucking funny.”
Amari wiped at tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “She’s kinda right, Az. I could totally imagine you as one of those dogs.”
Paige beamed, a triumphant smile taking over her face. This was the happiest Azzi had ever seen Paige around her, and she was unsure of what to do with herself. They weren’t seriously fighting, like they always do, but were light heartedly bickering, the closest the two had ever gotten to getting along. It felt weird, but also…nice?
But any positive feelings quickly disappeared later on during the tour.
After recovery, they had somehow made their way back into the court. Someone had picked up a basketball, and before they knew it, they were playing a game of 2v2. Azzi was exhausted, but she loved spontaneous moments like this, where she was with a group of people who loved basketball so much they couldn’t help but play whenever given the chance.
It was Nika and Azzi on one team, Amari and Paige on the other. Azzi had the ball, driving it down, with Paige guarding her, when she stepped back and hit a jumper from mid range.
“That was an offensive,” Paige gasped, her hands on her knees as the ball fell smoothly through the net and bounced to the floor.
“How was that a foul?” Azzi furrowed her eyebrows as she fought to catch her breath too.
“You pushed into my torso,” Paige argued.
Azzi rose her eyebrows, insulted by Paige’s claim. “Are you blind? What’s wrong, Paige? Can’t accept the fact that you can’t guard me?”
Her words must have hit Paige’s sensitive spot, because the blonde’s expression turned from mildly annoyed to angry. “No, it’s the fact that you can’t shoot a mid ranger without getting the ball turned over. These are basic foundations of basketball, Fudd. You’re playing college ball now. It’s time to grow up.” Paige was all up in her face now, her cheeks red. Azzi wasn’t sure if it was from the exertion or from her frustration.
Noise roared in her ears. Her heart pumped furiously, and she felt blood rush to her head. Her biggest pet peeve were people like Paige, who were so arrogant that they had their heads stuck miles up their asses. “Back the fuck off, Bueckers.” They were in a staring contest now, heaving into each other’s faces. Azzi’s fists were clenched at her side, gripping so hard that the ends of her fingers were turning white.
Paige was the first one to step back, but she maintained eye contact as she did so. “Just because I complimented you once,” Paige gritted out. “Doesn’t mean you’re suddenly a perfect player. Get a grip.”
Azzi scoffed in disbelief. “Believe it or not, your opinion doesn’t matter to me, Paige. My life doesn’t revolve around one compliment you gave me. I know whenever I fuck up, but I also know that that was nowhere near an offensive.”
“Okay, I think we need to calm down.” Nika finally intervened, pushing the two of them apart. “It’s just pick-up. Both of you are overreacting.”
Azzi turned away, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth. At this point, all she wanted to do was go home. Paige’s face was the last thing she wanted to see. Thankfully, Amari tugged Azzi’s hand. “Come in, Az,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”
