Chapter 15

To absolutely no one's surprise, you never ended up stepping foot on the court when the game started.

Paige walked in almost at the last minute, strolling through the doors with a flippant shrug when Nika chided her for being late. The blonde didn't seem to be in a hurry, leisurely walking towards the benches and placing her belongings down. Her eyes roamed the court, and Kazzi caught the exact moment the other saw her. Paige's eyes went comically wide, and Kazzi resisted the urge to laugh at the other's shocked expression, deciding to avert her eyes.

Kazzi couldn't keep her eyes off of Paige for long, though, and when she looked back, the blonde was still looking at her. When their eyes locked, Paige cocked her head, a slow smile stretching across her lips. Kazzi could almost hear Paige's smug voice in her head, asking if she came to support her. Kazzi made a show of rolling her eyes, frowning when Paige's smile grew wider at her antics. She almost looked fond.

"Stop making googly eyes at her."

Kazzi slid her gaze to Lili, who was seated next to her and looking entirely unimpressed.

"I'm not."

"You guys are gross. Just get together already."

Kazzi scoffed, "I can't bag that."

Her eyes wandered back to 'that', catching Paige's eye yet once again. The star threw her a wink, and Kazzi bit her tongue to resist a smile. The two of them can't seem to tear their eyes away from each other, and Kazzi ignores the growing need in her gut to shove Paige against the nearest wall and make out with her. That was what the twitter page is for.

"You guys are equally down bad for each other, it's disgusting," Lili commented, "and you're blind if you think otherwise."

"Equally?" Kazzi muttered dryly, "I don't see her creating a thirst fanpage for me."

"Oh believe me, if she had the chance, she would."

Kazzi ducked her head to hide the growing flush in her cheeks, mentally dragging herself back to the reality where she couldn't pull Paige Bueckers. Careful, almost got a bit delusional there. Kazzi decided to turn the conversation around, "Anyway, what's up with you and Azzi?"

Lili flinched, and Kazzi noted – with glee – the gradual redness in her ears. The former shifted in her seat uncomfortably, clearing her throat, "Nothing."

Kazzi held herself back, usually having already teased the other into oblivion by now. However, following the undoubtably traumatic events this morning, Kazzi didn't want to make Lili feel any worse than she already did. Thus, the former tried to brush over the topic, hoping the latter would feel less awkward about it, "Okay. I just saw that you two hit it off really fast."

"Yeah...I mean she's really easy to talk to."

Kazzi smiled, genuinely happy that her friend was able to socialize and make new connections, "That's great, Li. Azzi is an amazing person, she'll be a good influence on you."

Lili shot Kazzi a playful stink eye, gently shoving the other, "Yeah, unlike you. You're a bad influence."

"What?" Kazzi exclaimed – offended, "How? I'm a great influence!"

"Sure."

"That's not an answer."

"Shh," Lili shushed her, "The game is starting."

Kazzi huffed, leaning back into her seat. Her eyes latched onto the court, bubbling excitement stirring in her gut when she realized she was about to witness two legends play each other. She couldn't hide her anticipation, leg bouncing, stopped by a slightly irritated but amused Lili.

The game was intense from the get-go. Both teams dropping buckets like nothing else mattered – and it probably didn't, in their eyes, Kazzi shivering when she noticed the burning fire in Paige's pupils. This is why she loved watching basketball. Lili was also transfixed, eyes rarely straying from the court when both teams fought to get the upper hand.

Kazzi found that she really admired the way Caitlin played, it was efficient, probably unguardable if it weren't for Nika doing a damn good job at defense. Despite being locked down, Caitlin was still popping 3s left and right, and Kazzi just sat in awe as she witnessed Clark in motion. However, no matter how gracefully Caitlin played, Paige was still number one in her eyes.

Paige was on fire, weaving through the court like nobody's business. Kazzi literally had to stop from kicking her feet and giggling whenever Paige scored, it was embarrassing. Lili shot her a mirthful look whenever her attraction was starting to become obvious, and she would quickly reel it in before the blonde noticed.

As half-time neared, Iowa had a slight lead, which they managed to keep until the buzzer went off. The players dispersed, catching a small break before the game restarted. Kazzi clapped politely, noting with slight surprise that Caitlin was headed in her direction, bottle in hand.

Lili elbowed Kazzi in panic – painfully – and Kazzi winced, shooting Lili a confused look.

"Why is Caitlin walking towards us?"

"Oh," Kazzi started, having forgotten to tell her about the events that happened in the hallway, "I actually–"

"Kaz, was it?"

Kazzi startled, looking up and seeing Caitlin's figure towering over her. Clark was visibly tired, breaths quickened as she tried to catch her breath from the intense game. Kazzi shot the superstar a smile, nodding, "Yup, how'd you figure that out?"

"Overheard the other team saying your name."

"Wow," Kazzi whistled, leaning back in her seat, "Stalker much?"

Caitlin gave her a flat look, taking a swig of her bottle instead of answering. Kazzi giggled like a maniac, finding that bantering with Caitlin was an unparalleled source of entertainment.

"I don't see you on the court, number 17."

Kazzi snorted, lifting her hand and waving it flippantly, "I'm their secret card. Can't reveal all the secrets to the enemy, y'know?"

Caitlin opened her mouth, the words on the tip of her tongue when a sharp voice intercepted the conversation.

"What's this about secret cards?"

Kazzi's heart thumped, and she slid her gaze towards the blonde player, standing not a foot away from her. Paige was still breathing heavily, a light sheen of sweat on her face with her gaze fixated on Caitlin, who raised a brow at the other's entry. Caitlin gestured to Kazzi, commenting, "Apparently she's your number 17, best player and secret card. How do you feel about that, Paige?"

Paige's stare flickered to Kazzi, and the latter had trouble breathing when their eyes locked. Kazzi was 100% sure the way her body reacts around Paige is not  normal, and that she should definitely get it checked out soon. Paige then looked away, mouth curling upwards, "I don't mind. She's our best player."

Caitlin let out a startled laugh, obviously not having expected Paige to play along. She shook her head, eyes alight as she questioned, "Am I not enough to bring her out?" Kazzi almost snorted at the question, wanting to butt in with a 'no, you're not good enough'. She choked on her words, though, when she noted the growing tension and prolonged eye contact both Paige and Caitlin seemed to be sharing.

Paige's demeanor shifted, eyes darkening as she questioned, "You want to bring her out?"

Caitlin offered a one shoulder shrug, "Yeah, is there a problem?"

"No one brings her out."

"Oh? Not even you?"

Paige grit her teeth, averting her eyes, "No. I've tried."

Kazzi had a slight feeling this wasn't about basketball anymore. She glanced between the two of them in confusion, wondering what the hell these two were on about.

Caitlin looked surprised at Paige's answer, pursing her lips, "That's shocking. Didn't think you'd have the balls, Paige."

Paige's jaw ticked, "I'm working on it."

Caitlin smiled, handing her bottle to Kazzi who held it in confusion. "Won't stop me from shooting my shot."

"Oh," Kazzi concluded, brightening, "Basketball shots?"

Caitlin and Paige froze, before the two burst out into laughter. The suffocating atmosphere immediately broke, and Kazzi awkwardly laughed along, unsure of what was funny. Paige chuckled, eyeing Kazzi with something laced in her eyes that Kazzi couldn't place.

"Your comprehension skills need work, Kaz."

Kazzi scowled at the blonde, "Not my fault you guys were speaking in morse code. Try adding context next time, geniuses."

"Yeah, not happening," Caitlin muttered, and Paige was thrown into a fit of giggles all over again.