twenty four
"Mmmh, Paige." Athena moaned out, arching her back more into Paige's body that was hovering above her. She tangled her hands into the silky, blonde hair, pulling every time Paige sucked on one of her weak spots. The blonde traveled farther down, tugging down the collar of Athena's shirt to expose the top of her chest.
"Shhh..." Tightening her hold on Paige's hair, Athena felt as the blonde's hands traveled down her body, tugging at the bottom of her shirt and wanting to take it off. Her cold hand flattened on Athena's abs, running up until she could feel her bra. The blonde continued her work on the top of Athena's bare chest, moving her hand farther up to cup one of her breasts and lifting her shirt in the process.
"Oh, Paige..."
The blonde shot up, awakening from her not so innocent dream. She sat up so fast the brunette that was half laying on her rolled over onto her back. Paige looked at her, her eyes widening as she processed where she was. She picked up her phone from the night stand to check the time, seeing it was 3:50am.
Paige rubbed her hands over her face, taking one last glance at Athena and walking out of the bedroom. She entered the dark kitchen, using her home screen as a flashlight. Paige grabbed a glass and filled it with water, calming herself down and trying to shove her dream out of her mind.
2 weeks. That's all, so stop being a creep. She thought, taking a sip of water then putting it down and gripping the edge of the counter. No matter what she did, the blonde couldn't get the image out of her head and there was no way she was going to be able to go back to sleep after that.
Meanwhile back in Athena's bedroom, the brunette was peacefully sleeping. It wasn't until she reached her arm out to hug the girl and was met with emptiness, that she woke up. Athena opened one eye, feeling around the bed and noticing it was unoccupied. She sat up and resting on her hands behind her, looking around her room for any sign of the blonde.
When there was none, she noticed the cracked door. Athena flipped the covers off her, grabbing Paige's discarded shirt off the ground and putting it on. It was big on her, reaching just below her butt. Nothing sexual happened before they went to sleep, just the two girls wanting skin on skin contact as they slept. They both silently agreed to take off their shirts because they wanted to be as close as possible to each other.
Athena grabbed her glasses and shuffled out of her room, rubbing at her eyes to be able to see more clearly. The half awake girl noticed the blonde leaning on the edge of the counter, her head tilted down and a glass of water next to her. She quietly approached her, standing behind her and reaching a hand up to place on Paige's shoulder.
Paige jumped at the touch, not expecting it. She looked back at the girl, standing up straight then looking back down. "hey baby" the blonde said softly.
"hey" the brunette mumbled, too tired to care about scolding Paige for calling her that. She leaned her head on Paige's shoulder, "what time is it?" Athena reached over to tap the screen on Paige's phone, a blurry photo of Paige tackling Athena in a hug with huge smiles on their faces after the soccer team advanced to the national championship appeared on her lock screen behind the time.
Athena smiled at the picture, it was one of her favorites of the two of them. It was one of the ones that was secretly taken by one of the basketball players, later sending it to the group chat with a caption of 'soulmates ??' It was crazy how that picture was taken 4 months ago, way before the two of them...got together? If you can call it that.
How it took them 4 months and a failed relationship later even when they looked like that? Nobody knows but as long as they stop the constant longing for each other, every body around them were happy.
"i love that picture" The brunette said, staring at the lit up phone.
"it's my favorite one" Athena could tell Paige was holding something back.
"you ok?"
Paige nodded, "mhm..."
"bad dream?" She hugged Paige's arm with her left arm and used her right to rub soft circles on Paige's bare, lower back.
"something like that" Paige rested her head on top Athena's, closing her eyes and quietly sighing.
"you wanna talk about it?"
"no, no, it's ok.."
"you sure?" Paige nodded, "ok then...come back to bed please, the bed is cold without you."
"you go ahead, i'll be there in a second"
"ok...don't take too long" the blonde turned her head to kiss her forehead and Athena placed a kissed on Paige's bare shoulder then unwrapped her arm from Paige's and walked back towards her room.
Paige watched as she walked away, sighing again when she was out of sight. Every step Paige watched, her mind flickered back to her dream. It was like an addict going through withdrawal, she had gone from hooking up pretty much daily to nothing for 2 months. She was so sexually frustrated that every touch Athena had on her sent shivers down her spine. It's not like she wasn't allowed to feel like this, because she was...technically. But she hadn't gone this long without sex since she first lost her virginity.
When the two first hooked up in high school, it was daily after that and sometimes twice a day, only slowing down when their schedules got busy and even then it was at least 3-4 times a week. Paige thought she could handle it, the touching and teasing without it leading to anything but every time the blonde saw the girl, she wanted to rip off every article of clothing and kiss every inch.
The basketball player took another 5 minutes to collect herself before facing the brunette again. She put her glass away and walked back to the bedroom, opening the door and seeing Athena laying on her side, scrolling on TikTok and her shirt back on the floor. Paige smiled at the sight and shuffled over to her side of the bed. She placed her phone down next to Athena's glasses and pulled back the covers then got into bed behind Athena, wrapping her arm around her waist. Athena scooted back into her and put her phone back on the night stand, she placed her hand onto of Paige's and laced their fingers.
The blonde placed a few kisses on Athena's back, moving from the strap of her bra down to the side of her arm. "night..." She said softly, placing a last kiss behind Athena's ear.
The brunette squeezed her hand and mumbled, "night...by the way you're not getting out of this, we are talking about it in the morning."
Paige groaned, not looking forward to trying to explain how she was so sexually frustrated she had a sex dream about the girl she was holding and it was so bad...wait...good? she literally woke up in a literal sweat and had to get up to collect herself only for her to come out and check on her while only wearing the shirt Paige had on earlier.
Yeah, no. She could not say that.
------------------------------------------------------
Paige woke up to an empty bed, much like Athena had just a few hours prior. She rubbed her eyes to wake up then grabbed her phone off the night stand. She had a few notifications but would get to them later, most of them being KK spamming her at this ungodly hour of the morning...on a weekend.
The blonde sat up, removing the covers and walking out of the bedroom without caring to put on a shirt. She saw Athena standing in the kitchen, waiting for something and chewing on her thumb. Paige smiled, walking up and pressing a kiss to her cheek, "mornin'"
"hi." Athena said, dodging the kiss by taking a few steps back.
Paige's smiled dropped at the tone of her voice. "is...something wrong?"
"nope. nothing's wrong."
"um, ok....so, you wanna get coffee? or Breakfast?"
"i do...but not with you."
"what?"
"you heard me."
"did-...did i do something?" Paige was confused as to why Athena was suddenly acting so cold towards her. Hours ago they were cuddling in bed and now Athena wouldn't even look at her. "Athena...?" The blonde took steps towards the brunette and reached her hand out to place on her arm. Athena flinched away and took a step back, making a concerned look appear on Paige's face.
"What's wrong Thea?" Paige took another step forward, not getting the hint that Athena didn't want her touch right now.
"I think you need to leave."
"Athena, what's going on? What is wrong?" Paige is very concerned at this point, Athena wasn't looking at her, she was using the same tone that she did when she spoke at her the last time they saw each other in high school.
"Us. We are wrong."
"Athena..."
"Leave. Now please."
"Not until you tell me why."
"Because we won't work. All our promises and codes and bullshit are just going to break and fall apart. It's not worth it. Now leave. Please Paige."
"Not worth it? Breaking up with me all because you think it's not worth it? Where is that even coming from? Last night we were literally cuddling and you let me kiss you, and now you're suddenly worried we won't work? What the fuck, just talk to me! Athena i have waited months- years for you because you're worth it and now you're running?!" Paige's voice starting rising, frustrated at this sudden change in Athena.
"I'm not breaking up with you. We were never together in the first place."
Paige scoffs, poking her tongue into the side of her cheek, "Wow, ok. I thought you would've known that even without the label i still considered us together but guess not. Whatever, i'll leave. Hope you figure out whatever the fuck is going on with you."
The blonde grabbed her backpack and stormed out, her mind racing with confusion and anger. Why was this so sudden? What the fuck happened between us going back to sleep and waking up this morning? Did she think she forgave me but really didn't? Am i not good enough to take a risk on? Will i ever get my...our chance?
Paige got in her car and drove back to her dorm in silence, her knuckles turning white with the tight grip she had on her steering wheel. She ignored everyone as she walked in, going straight to her room and slamming the door shut.
------------------------------------------------------
Athena broke down as soon as the door closed behind Paige, leaning her elbows on the counter in front of her and crying into them. She just did the one thing she never wanted to do, hurt Paige like she hurt her.
Athena couldn't help it, she went into fight or flight mode. When she woke up that morning, in Paige's arms, she was at peace and so extremely happy the girl holding her was close to being her girlfriend...finally. She stayed in bed for a while, grabbing her phone and deciding to scroll on social media for a minute. It had been a while since she actually paid attention to it, usually just scrolling on TikTok and watching funny videos but today was different.
Athena opened Instagram, going to her latest post, one that was a collection of 10 photos just summarizing the soccer season and saying thank you and stuff like that. The post included one photo of Paige, just one, but that was more then enough for her entire fandom to attack her. It wasn't even that bad of a photo, just the two of them standing side by side and their arms wrapped around each other. It did look a little coupley, the two of them smiling into each others eyes and having every body part they could, without giving anything away, touching.
Paige's fans of course found it, immediately going into the comments and flaming Athena for it. Some were just 'since when did they know each other?' but most were along the lines of 'ew wtf r u doing w my wife?! back off fag,' it was clear that Paige's fans didn't like the idea of the two of them together, hating and slandering Athena in her comments. They were much more on board with the idea of Paige and Azzi together and Athena was getting in the way of that.
It wasn't a new thing per say, Paige knew about the shipping with Azzi and didn't really care but Athena kind of did. Not that she was jealous or anything like that because she knew that once you give a mouse a cookie, they are going to take the whole fucking jar and throw it against the wall, but more so that it got so big that an actual news station wrote an article about it and all the reactions were in favor of 'Pazzi.' "Booker vs Fudd: The battle for Bueckers' heart?"
It was the most bogus article, claiming that Azzi and Athena actually hated each other and were just acting nice to each other for the cameras. It was so stupid a fucking monkey could tell it was all made up, but they were able to provide circumstantial and didn't matter because Paige was more famous then Athena. Her comments got flooded by Paige's fans, calling her a untalented nobody and thrashing her for even being friends with Paige, like she forbidden to even breathe the same air as her.
Athena ran, it was the only thing she thought to do. She wouldn't be able to deal with the fans, especially if they were actually together, so she cut it off. The soccer player always cared about her image, never wanting to come off as the person people were accusing her of being. She let it get into her head, letting the words of the media drive her actions.
Athena did feel horrible for the things she said, she knew they were together even if it wasn't labeled neither of them were going to be with anybody else. The brunette also blamed herself, maybe if she gave into Paige earlier and they started dating, she would be confident in their relationship enough to fight through it but because it was just an agreement they never actually said out loud but more both understood what they were doing, she got scared.
15 minutes after she left, the brunette was already missing her. She wanted to call her, tell her it was a joke and run back into her arms and kiss her until they were in a coffin. But she knew better. She knew Paige would be so furious at her that she would ignore her for weeks, dodging her calls and texts. Athena wondered if she would tell the team what happened, what she said, because they were like her second family...oh god...Paige's family.
Right after Athena agreed to go on the world tour with Paige, she called her family and told her she would be coming with her. Athena hasn't been able to see Paige's family, always being busy with her own thing when they were here. Paige's mom was so excited the two were back to talking, because Paige hasn't been the same since they stopped and now she had her sunshine daughter back. How will she react when she learns i broke her daughter...again...
And Drew. Man did Athena miss that boy. Every night for her freshmen year, Drew texted her even though his sister and her weren't on speaking terms. He was like her inside agent, answering questions about Paige's well being and what she was up to. She still cared for the girl, no matter how much she broke her, Athena was always going to care for Paige.
Drew texted daily, giving her updates on his life and how it was going. It was nice, knowing the entire Buecker family didn't hate her for making their daughter/sister miserable even though she did it to herself. But they definitely will now!
Athena only left her apartment that day to go to the store and buy ice cream. She thought it would help her wallowing but it only made it worse, reminding her of the time Paige bought her ice cream and flowers after her breakup with Alex. She hoped the blonde would walk through the door with the same offer, mending her broken heart but that wasn't possible.
She was glued to her bed, watching sappy rom coms, eating ice cream, and crying. Athena felt like she didn't deserve to feel like this, she made her choice so why the hell should she be sad about it.
Because she felt like she didn't have a choice, it was forced upon her. Athena has never had a stable, healthy relationship with anybody. The most long lasting relationship she has with anybody is her dad. It started with Paige, them having a unofficial one in high school, then her first girlfriend her sophomore year in college, yikes, and then Alex. Maybe Paige would've been different but Athena switched over to flight mode, leaving before it could get to the inevitable bad parts.
She truly loved-...loves Paige but sometimes love just isn't enough and Athena didn't want to find out that their love wouldn't be enough to keep them together with the public face they both have. She know in her heart that they would stay strong, maybe even build a future together but her mind was holding her back, constantly nagging her about the doubts and comments she would get.
Athena's being selfish. She's prioritizing her image over what she really wants, Paige. It's ironic considering the girl never spends any time on social media but is obsessed with keeping a good reputation. Even if it means pushing away her favorite person.
------------------------------------------------------
"Paige? Can i come in?" Azzi spoke behind the door, knocking softly.
"No, go away." Paige said. She's not in the mood to talk to anyone, just wants to suffocate in her pillow for the rest of her life.
"Paige you've been in there since you came back from Athena's at 10am...it's now 7pm. Did something happen between you two?"
"No! Go away Azzi!"
"have you had anything to eat?" Paige stayed silent, trying to think if she did. She came home and went straight to her room, only getting a shattered heart for breakfast. "Come on, you need to eat. Open the door and we'll go get food."
"Can't you just leave me alone?!"
"Paige! Open this door before i get Nika to kick it down!"
Paige groaned, pushing herself off her bed to open the door. Once she opened it, Azzi was greeted with a red-eyed and sniffling Paige. "There. Happy?" Paige said as she turned back around and flopped back down on her bed.
"Paige...what happened?" Azzi entered the room, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the edge of her bed and placed a hand on Paige's back.
"Athena...broke up with me?"
"You guys were official? I thought you were waiting until the end of the tournament."
The blonde sat up, her eyes watering as she started thinking about it again, "We were. But you know how i am, i just assumed we were unofficially official because i know i sure as hell wasn't going to be with anyone else. Guess that didn't matter though..."
"Why don't you walk me through what happened."
Paige told her everything, from the amazing night before, to her awkward sex dream and waking up in the middle of the night, and the morning. She fidgeted with the star ring Athena gave her for her birthday while talking, as if it was a reminder of a better time. A few tears slipped out, falling onto her hands that were in her lap. Azzi almost started crying to, hearing about Paige's self doubts and thinking she did something wrong.
"I was angry at first, but now i'm just worried. Something obviously happened before i woke up because i don't think, or i hope, that she wouldn't just randomly decide she didn't like me anymore....I don't know what to do because i don't want to give up on her...us but it's like she won't let me in. Maybe she's scared i'll run again."
"Paige stop. Don't put this all on yourself, it's not your fault."
"It feels like it is...i probably scared her off with all my relationship talk."
"Stop blaming yourself, this was all Athena. Not you. And you didn't scare her off with relationship talk, that girl was just as into it as you."
"Then why? Why does she suddenly think it's not worth it anymore? Am i not worth it? Is...is this how it felt w-when i did it? Is this payback?" Paige couldn't hold back anymore, crying into her hands. "Does she n- not love me like i love her? "
Azzi scooted closer, bringing the crying girl into a hug and letting her cry on her shoulder. She felt horrible for Paige, knowing she had been planning their first date since the beginning of March and maybe before that. The curly haired girl knew how much Athena meant to Paige, how she would literally kill for her if she asked. Azzi's anger started to rise, she was mad at Athena for making her best friend feel like this.
She was going to get answers, even if it meant interrogating the brunette until she cracked. Azzi wasn't going to be able to do it alone, no, she has to get Nika involved. Athena could never lie to Nika even if she tried, the Croatian saw right threw it and called her out.
"Can you do me a favor?" Paige weakly said, pulling back from Azzi's hold.
"Of course.."
"Can you check on her? I don't think she's ok and she definitely won't reach out. Can you or Nika go see how she's doing, she likes you guys the best. You don't have to like report back to me or anything just...yeah..."
Azzi's face softened, she knew Paige was a good person but asking for someone to check on the girl who just broke her heart? She's an angel.
"Of course. I can go with Nika tomorrow."
"Thank you...oh bring ice cream and flowers, white roses to be exact. She'll love em."
"You're too nice P," Paige shrugged, looking down at the ring on her right hand. "Do you want me to tell her there from you?"
The blonde shakes her head, "no, just give them to her. If she asks how you guys knew you can mention me but otherwise please don't."
"Ok...are you ok?"
"Not really...but i'll be fine. I think i'm gonna go to sleep now though."
"Alright, night P" Azzi said, standing up from the bed and walking towards the door.
"One more thing...don't be mad at her, i think she had a reason for what she did so just hear her out and...don't hate her."
"I can try, but if it's some bullshit reason i'm going to be mad."
"deal...night Az."
"night P" Azzi walked out the door, softly shutting it behind her then leaning her back against it. She took a moment for herself then headed to Nika's room.
Azzi didn't even bother knocking, barging in and shutting the door.
"Sure, come on in." Nika said, looking away from her phone at the intruder while laying on her bed.
"Have you talked to Athena today?" Azzi questioned, sitting next to Nika on her bed.
"I mean i texted her but she didn't reply...why?"
"Because she broke Paige."
"What?"
"She broke up with Paige."
"I thought they weren't dating, i mean that's what she tells me everyday when i ask."
"They're not, or weren't. Whatever, i don't know. Point it, we need to go talk to her tomorrow. Paige seems to think she'll open up to us if we ask."
"Open up? What about?"
Azzi brings Nika up to speed, explaining to her what Paige told her without sharing too many personal details. "oh...wow...is Paige ok?"
"For now. But Paige being Paige, wants us to go check on her, to make sure she's doing ok. And told us to bring ice cream and roses, white ones to be exact. So, you in?"
"Uh...sure. I've been meaning to see Athena anyways so yeah."
"Good...also i promised Paige that i wouldn't be too mad at her, no matter what."
"Wow, even after all that she still doesn't want anybody to be mad at her. Me personally, would not be doing that. Athena must have a deeper hold on her then i thought, damn."
"I know, i was shocked when she said that considering Paige is the most stubborn and petty person you'll ever meet." The two of them laughed, "anyways, how bout around 3? That work"
Nika agreed then kicked Azzi out of her room because she wanted to go to sleep. Azzi left to go to her own room, settling in to her own bed and drifted off while thinking of different ways she would kill Athena if she gave her the wrong answer.
------------------------------------------------------
author's note:
so what had happened was...
it was supposed to just be petty Athena but then my fingers just got a mind of their own and took off
but i needed to drag this out longer so
- 4.1k words -