ꨄ — summary: you feel helpless when juju gets hurt during a game
ꨄ — word count: 1.5k
ꨄ — warnings: MY SHAYLAAAAAA tearing her ACL, slight religious doubt, reader being a baddie, but a sad baddie.
ꨄ — authors note: so sorry for traumatizing you all again with that photo also i changed the score...because i can.
It was the second round of March Madness, and everyone was hyped. You knew you were gonna make it to the Sweet Sixteen; your game was against Mississippi State for crying out loud.
JuJu was locked in, and with the two of you together, you knew you could pull through and make it. The two of you had this indescribable connection on the court. It didn’t matter where you were or what play you were running, JuJu always found you.
The media had been hyping the two of you up since you committed, and seeing the instant connection in the first open practice had the media salivating at the chance to see you and JuJu play together.
It was the night before your game, and you and JuJu had stayed late after practice to do a quick shoot around.
“You nervous about tomorrow?” JuJu asked as she passed the ball to you.
You shot the ball, watching it swish through the net before replying, “No, I know we got this.”
“You sound cocky,” JuJu laughed, walking towards the free-throw line. You walked to the baseline, watching as she shot the ball, also making it in.
You caught it, then said, “It’s called being confident.” You smiled smugly, “and don’t act like you don’t know we’re gonna make it, we have you.”
The two of you swapped places, and she said, “We also have you, don’t forget that.”
You quickly shot back, “Oh, I didn’t, I just didn’t wanna seem cocky.” You winked at her before shooting the ball and making it in.
She just laughed and threw the ball back at you.
The two of you stayed there shooting and rebounding until you called it. The two of you had a game tomorrow, you couldn’t stay up late like maniacs.
While walking to your car, JuJu slowed and asked quietly, “Do you really think we’re gonna make it?”
Realising that she was genuinely asking, you slowed down and turned to face her, “JuJu, you took USC to the Elite Eight in your freshman year, with not much help, now you have Kiki and me, we’re gonna make it.”
Her face relaxed and she smiled slightly, “Now stop overthinking, we have a game tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep.”
“Yes, you do,” she muttered, walking towards your car.
“Don’t make me leave you here, big head.” You said, rolling your eyes.
It was game day, and everyone was locked in. Some of the girls were making TikToks in the background, but you had your headphones on listening to music. You took a glance over at JuJu and noticed she was doing the same thing as you.
She glanced at you at the same time, and when you caught her eye, you mouthed, “Ready?”
She grinned, “Ready.”
The game started as usual, a missed lay-up here, a three-point shot there. USC was up 13 when it happened.
5 minutes in, Kiki caught a rebound and passed it to JuJu. You had already made your way down the court, knowing JuJu would find you, but something went wrong.
JuJu went to cut and pass, but instead, you watched as she collapsed to the floor. All thoughts left your head as you watched one of your closest friends fall.
The whole arena went silent, and for a few seconds, the team watched, hoping she would pop back up and continue, but it never came.
Reality set in, and you rushed over, feeling helpless as she writhed in pain on the floor. You could hear her groans of pain, and stood over her in a huddle with the other girls waiting and watching for JuJu to have a clear head.
While waiting for the medic, you noticed a camera guy getting a little too close, so you tapped Kiki on the thigh, pointing to the cameraman once you got her attention. She got the message and rushed back to the bench to get towels, and once she brought them over, all the girls grabbed one, forming a circle and started blocking the camera’s view of JuJu.
You bent down next to JuJu and laid your hand on her cheek bringing her attention to you, “Hey, hey, hey, breathe” you whispered, her breath was uneven and shaky, “you’re gonna be fine, everything’s going to be fine” you didn’t know who you were trying to convince her or you but it didn’t matter, you both knew this injury was potentially season-ending.
She squeezed your other hand and managed to stutter out, “It’s not, it’s not gonna be fine, what am I supposed to do?” Your heart ached for her. In the most important part of the year, what was she supposed to do?
Coach Lindsay came over with the medic and made her way through the towel barricade to sit on the other side of JuJu. You tuned out what everyone was saying, only focusing on JuJu. She had calmed down, but she was still gripping your hand and it didn’t seem like she was gonna let go anytime soon. Not that you wanted her to, you would do anything to bring her comfort in a moment like this.
Eventually, you tuned back in and noticed they were getting ready to lift her but she wouldn’t let go of your hand, so you waved the trainers off and got up, lifting JuJu and carrying her bridal style through the tunnel and making your way to the locker room.
You heard the cheers from the fans as you exited, and you gave a nod to Lindsay. She subbed you and JuJu out, planned new plays, and the game continued.
JuJu wouldn’t let go of your hand. When you placed her onto the gurney and tried to back away, she only squeezed your hand tighter, so you stayed.
You watched as trainers and medics made their way through the locker room, elevating her leg, doing other doctor things, coming and going. When no one was in the room and you had a moment of peace, you turned to JuJu, whose eyes were red, with tear streaks on her face and her gaze was glued to the roof. You stared at her, and a million thoughts ran through your head.
But this wasn’t about you, it was about JuJu. You leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her knee before bringing your hands together and praying.
You didn’t necessarily believe in God, but you were a firm believer in everything happens for a reason, so what was His reason for this?
JuJu’s attention turned to you when she felt your kiss, and after quietly watching you for a few moments, she picked up on you mumbling, “It’s gonna be okay, baby.”
She hummed, “Baby? That’s new”
You looked up, turning all your attention back to JuJu, “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” She shook her head, tightening her grip on your hand
The two of you sat in silence, both of you lost in your own thoughts. Eventually, a medic came back and said they were getting ready to take JuJu to a medical facility for an MRI, so you placed a kiss on JuJu’s hand, which was still holding yours. You kissed her forehead and whispered to her, “Just breathe, baby.”
Joining the game again in the second quarter was a blood bath.
Every step, every point, every pass, every rebound was for JuJu. You played with surgical precision, but the team could see you were missing that spark. JuJu was that spark.
You didn’t care about your stat line or whatever else; you just needed to make sure Mississippi State didn’t go through. And they didn’t.
49 - 96 to USC.
The handshake line got a little heated on Rayah’s end, not that you blamed her, but you also had to remember, it wasn't their fault. Yes, you got into your head about it during the game but you don’t take that stuff off court. You shook their hands and moved on.
After the game, everyone showered and gathered in your apartment, waiting to hear the news.
Your phone rang through the silent apartment, and everyone’s head snapped up, their attention now on your phone.
You answered, bringing your phone to your ear, knowing it would be JuJu, her cries filling your ears as she mumbled out that it was her ACL and that she would be out for the rest of the season.
Tears rolled down your cheeks silently as you listened to her, and the team noticed, and it brought tears to their eyes as they put two and two together.
JuJu was the spark. The glue. The motivation. How were they supposed to do this without her?
the things I would let juju, rayah, paige, nika, azzi, kk, ice, dominique, emily, diana, jana, kiki, ayanna, jada, aubrey, kennedy, avery, kayleigh, aaliyah, maila do to me are so crazy
