june 2024
dylan's dorm room

dylan was reading percy jackson for the fourth time when she felt her phone buzzing. picking it up, she saw that aubrey was facetiming her. answering it, she closed her book.

"what's up?" she greeted with a smile. "we are going to the club. get dressed." aubrey demanded, her face close to the camera. "uh, what happened to hello? how are you??" dylan questioned.

"hi dyl, how are you? oh, you're good? that's great! now get dressed." aubrey sassed, propping her phone up on her dresser. she was in the middle of messing with her hair. "and why would i be joining you at this club?" the brunette asked as she got out of her bed. "because paige is going, and the girls want to get to know you more." dylan's smile widened, and she immediately went over to her closet.

she started sifting through her tops, "what's the vibe? what's everyone wearing?" aubrey moved her phone so that the girl could see jana and ice wearing cute black tops and jeans. "okay, i can work with that."

aubrey told dylan that someone would come over to pick her up and hung up. the brunette decided that she needed some music as she did her makeup. playing some megan thee stallion and got started.

a few minutes later, there was a knock on her door, "come in!" dylan yelled finishing her hair. she looked over to see azzi walk in. "hey az. how do i look?" she started posing. she was dressed in a black tube top and black leather pants. her hair was curled lightly and her makeup was done sexy. "wow, dyl. you look sexy." azzi whistled, clapping.

"good," she pulled on her jordans and grabbed her purse. "alright i'm ready."

the club was loud before dylan even walked in. she flashed her ID and walked azzi in. she immediately found the bar and ordered a whiskey sour to start her night.

paige was sitting at a table with her team when she heard kk whistle. she looked up from her phone to see dylan at the bar, talking to the bartender. "wow." she muttered, checking her out. she looked good. and paige wanted to make sure she knew that. "i'm gonna go get another drink." she announced, getting up.

"but you didn't even finish the one you have?" ayanna questioned. this caught all of the girls' attention, their eyes on the blonde. paige then downed her whole drink and started walking away, "now i am." aubrey watched her with her eyebrow raised.

dylan was talking to the bartender about drinks when she felt someone standing right beside her. she looked over and met eyes with paige. "hey," she smiled. paige was dressed in a white crop top and cargos. she looked good, real good. "hey." paige grinned back, her eyes wandering over dylan's outfit.

"you look good. trynna impress someone?" she asked casually, resting her hip against the counter. "i guess you could say that.." the brunette responded, raising her glass to her lips. paige watched as she sipped the alcoholic drink. her breath hitched, but it was barely noticeable. or so she thought, because she saw dylan smirk lightly. just as she was about to say something, someone interrupted her.

"hey, sexy. you lookin' real good. you here with anyone?" a tall man stopped right in front of dylan, his hand on her hip. his eyes not leaving her body. dylan placed her drink on the counter and shifted to look him in the eye, moving away from his touch. "i'd be here with anyone but you. i like girls, asshole."

the guy didn't seem to get the hint as he tried to grab her ass. paige's hand smacked his away before stepping in front of the younger girl. "she said she doesn't like you, dickhead. back off." she said, her voice firm. "and who are you, her dyke girlfriend?" the guy laughed, trying to get around her.

dylan moved paige lightly by her hips. "what did you say?" she questioned, her voice slightly louder. "you heard me, bitch." the man was obviously drunk, but that didn't stop dylan from swinging her fist into his cheek. "oopsie." her tone was taunting as she watched him grip his face.

"woah, woah. that's enough." the entire team was now surrounding dylan and paige. aubrey had started to push the brunette away from the guy when he decided to open up his stupid mouth again. "oh, so you have a whole team of girls to fuck, huh?" he sneered.

"you little-" dylan started to lunge back at him but was held back by aubrey. she had her hands on her waist. "dylan stop. let it go." the girl sighed, but stopped fighting. "whatever."

"okay so boom, that happened." kk diffused the silence by dancing. "that was cool, though. next round on me!" after hearing that, the girls started cheering her name.

"let me get, like, 15 shots!" she ordered for everyone. once the drinks were handed out, everyone tapped their glasses together. "to dylan, the baddest sports media major there is!"

a little while later, the team was on the dance floor. yet dylan couldn't seem to get over what that guy said. "hey, i'm gonna go get another drink." she let jana know before pushing through the crowded floor. paige watched her leave, deciding to follow her.

"didn't know you could throw a punch as good as your shots." she joked, ordering another dirty shirley. dylan huffed out a laugh. "there's a lot you don't know about me, bueckers." she smirked, doing a once over. she basically was undressing paige with her eyes.

"i'd like to know, though." paige said, sipping her drink. "hey, let me get 2 more shots, please." she looked away from dylan to order, putting on her tab.

glancing around, paige saw just how many people were staring at dylan. girls and guys. it made her feel weird. she didn't like it. dylan's eyes followed paige's and saw a group of girls waving at her. one of them tried to get her to go over. the brunette offered them a small smile, feeling awkward that people were trying to flirt with her.

she felt a touch on her shoulder, turning back to paige. the blonde had a shot glass in her hand. "here," dylan went to grab the drink, but the older girl shook her head. the hand she had on the younger's shoulder moved to her jaw.

her rings felt cold against dylan's neck. "open." paige said, her voice low. dylan slowly parted her mouth, allowing paige to pour the shot into her mouth. as the glass touched her glossed lips, she made eye contact with the blonde.

paige's breath hitched, her eyes eagerly watching as the brunette down the shot. her eyes stayed on her lips when dylan licked them, cleaning them of any spillage. "fuck," she whispered to herself.

dylan smirked, "your turn." she reached for the shot while also lightly gripping paige's neck. right under her jaw. "you open. now," her tone held a certain lust while also being demanding. paige did exactly as she was told and drank the shot.

the brunette watched as a little bit of vodka dripped down paige's chin. once the blonde was done, dylan reached her thumb up and wiped off the spill. she licked it off of her finger, keeping the eye contact.

"well played, cyprus." paige whispered, leaning down to her ear. "thanks, babe." she whispered back, patting her hip.

"i don't know what's happening here, and i don't care. we are going home. that includes you both." azzi announced, pushing in between the two to pay the bills. paige groaned quietly, upset at the interruption. dylan only shook her head, giving paige another look before following the team out. paige was barely a step behind.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

dylan was sat at her laptop, typing up a script for her and paige's first video. she decided to do 20 questions with a game of horse. those would allow her to ask paige questions while also showing off some of her skills. the brunette really wanted to highlight all parts of the older girl. there was something so enticing about her that she wanted to show the rest of the world.

she hummed along to a random kanye song, when she was broken out of her concentration by knocking. pushing her navy covers off of her, she made her way to the door. standing on the other side was none other than paige herself. "hi." the blonde was slightly breathless, almost like she ran here.

"hi?" dylan responded, obvious worry in her voice. "are you okay?" she opened up her door and allowed her to come in. paige looked around, the room was very clean, pink and navy decorations were placed around. the walls were covered in pictures of dylan and her friends. once taking a closer look, paige noticed one picture in particular.

dylan was grinning, her arm around a younger version of paige, both in basketball jerseys. the blonde snapped her head back over to the younger girl. "i knew it! i knew i recognized you from somewhere. you did play ball!" she clapped her hands excitedly, remembering the first tournament they met at.

"i didn't say that i didn't." dylan shrugged, going back to her computer. paige quickly dropped beside her. "okay but, like, you stopped talking to me." the blonde eyed the girl up, slightly offended at that. 

"i tried to text you! i broke my phone and had to get a new number!" the brunette blinked slowly. "i did the same thing." the two of them let out breathy laughs at their stupidity. "that's crazy. i still watched all of your games." the older girl admitted, her voice quiet. dylan smiled, her eyes sparkling.

"and i still watched yours. every single one."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

2014
basketball tournament, minnesota

paige was excited. it was the first tournament of the basketball season. she was ready to show everyone what she was made of. "dude, i'm so nervous. i heard that girl from new jersey is coming." her teammate whispered. paige immediately knew who she was talking about. dylan cyprus. already receiving offers to colleges at 12 years old. that girl was good.

paige grinned, "we'll just have to show her how it's done over here in minnesota. i'm not scared. i'm gonna beat her." and her teammates believed her. if dylan was maya moore then paige was alana beard. they were both extremely talented. now, it was a matter of who was more hungry for a win.

dylan walked into the gymnasium with her mother, jenni. the tween immediately started watching the games that were going on. she was scouting out her competition. her mother offered to grab her some snacks before walking off. dylan began roaming around from court to court, before she deemed these teams easy wins.

it was only an hour later when she noticed a crowd forming around one of the far courts. she pushed herself off of the wall and maneuvered through the people, finding herself right at the sideline. the game going on was a complete blowout; some school from north dakota against hopkins middle school.

a blonde girl was dribbling down the court before breaking her defendants ankles and sinking a three. the way that she moved left dylan in awe. there weren't many players that had her jaw dropping the way hers did. the girl turned to run back to defend and met eyes with the brunette. she winked at her before getting set.

there was about ten seconds left in the forth quarter and hopkins was dominating 120-40. it was the biggest point gap that dylan had ever seen in middle school basketball. right as the opposing team was releasing the ball for a three, the blonde's arm was up in a block. the final buzzer sounded and the hopkins girls surrounded the girl.

"that's what i'm talking about!" the girl yelled, receiving high fives and aggressive pats on the back. dylan nodded her head in admiration. she took one last glance at the girl before moving back to her team.

it was now time for the two final teams to verse each other for the championship. dylan led her team onto the court, head held high. "alright, you all need to watch the tall blonde one. she's got skill." she instructed, looking at each of her teammates in the eye. "treat this as if it's the last game you'll ever play. if i lose to her, i will literally lose my shit. watch her feet, she moves quick. don't let her anywhere near the arch. if she has the shot, she will take it. and she WILL bank it."

her teammates shared glances. this was the first time that dylan had felt the need to actually analyze a player before being on the court. "okay, let's go. into shooting. TEAM ON THREE."

paige moved over to the middle court, bouncing on her toes. she was so excited. she got to play against one of, if not the best players in the nation right now. her team, on the other hand, were absolutely terrified. they had watched her games in the tournament. she moved with confidence and fluidity. she knew how to get her way. she let the ball do all of the work. the way she shot to the way she blocked, it was phenomenal.

it was either going to be a harsh loss or an EXTREMELY close win. and paige was hungry. she wanted to beat the best. because there could only be one. and it was going to be her.

they watched each other like hawks. eyeing each shot that went in. eventually, the refs called for the captains to shake hands. dylan and paige walked over to the score table. the refs introduced each team and signaled them to shake hands. 

dylan was the first one to put out her hand. "good luck." paige grasped her hand and smirked, "same to you. you'll need it." their grip got tighter before letting go. "we'll see about that." the brunette winked and started walking back to her team. the blonde let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head. this was going to be fun, she thought.

after some minutes of warming up, the referee's whistle blew signaling that the game was starting. both guards lined up for the jump ball. dylan was quicker, using her height to her advantage. she slapped the ball back towards her teammate. before anyone could blink she was up on the other side of the court. her teammate lobbed the ball to her and she quickly got the open layup.

she clapped her hands and moved to defense. paige got the ball and moved up the court with ease. she faked out her defender and passed the ball to her teammate. now both teams were on the board. 

the game continued, each player working hard to keep the score as close as possible. it was now the third quarter and dylan's team was ahead by ten points. she had expected to be further ahead by now. but paige was working hard. she wants to win, and it shows. 

"let's go! pick it up!" she yelled at her team, clapping her hands together. each of the girls looked at each other before nodding. dylan was calm. her movements were fluid and full of confidence. paige took it upon herself to guard her. the ball bounced lightly off the court as they danced around each other.

dylan faked left, allowing paige to overcommit. she then quickly stepped right and threw in the three. "can't block me, blondie." dylan smirked, shrugging her shoulders. paige huffed before receiving the inbound pass. she slowed the play down, allowing her team to get settled. her blue eyes surveyed the court, looking for any openings. 

before she was able to make a move, dylan was in her face. she was posted up, watching paige's every move. the brunette wasn't looking at her face though. she was zeroed in on her hips and feet. paige tried to fake right, but dylan saw through it. paige called for a screen and went to spin around her. the taller girl read the play and moved over the screen with ease. 

as they moved together, paige was getting frustrated. no matter how she moved, dylan followed. as time for the third quarter came to an end, paige lobbed the ball up. she thought it was going in, but in a blur, dylan got the block. the buzzer sounded, signaling a break before the final quarter. 

"maybe next time," dylan smiled before brushing past her. paige's eye twitched. she was pissed. she was over this girl acting like she was better. she needed to prove that she was number one. 

as the fourth quarter was coming to an end, hopkins middle school was only down by two. paige was locked in, she was the one that shortened the point gap. all by her self. there was less than one minute left, and she needed to score. her teammate got the steal and took her time dribbling across half court. 

paige was breathing heavy, her shoes squeaking as she pushed off of dylan. her teammate set a screen and the blonde sprinted to the other side of the arch. she was wide open. with less than ten seconds left, the ball found its way to her hands. a smirk overcame her face as she made eye contact with dylan. 

the brunette cut across the paint, her hand up in the air. the buzzer rang. she wasn't quick enough. paige shot down the three. hopkins beat her. dylan hit the ground hard, too shocked to get her footing. 

dylan sat there for a second in disbelief. "SHIT!" she smacked her hand on the ground before yanking herself up. as a captain, she had to be first to line up to shake hands. as she high-fived the other team, she stayed silent. she didn't say a thing when her coach rounded them up to talk. her teammates were worried for her. 

the brunette was now sat on the ground, slowly taking her basketball shoes off. the bright red of her kyrie 1's was making her angry. her eyes locked on the floor, unblinking. she felt a presence next to her but she didn't flinch. "i've never lost before." she muttered, not making eye contact with the blonde next to her. 

paige didn't say anything for a second, thinking. she then copied dylan, taking her own shoes off. "should i feel honored? or scared that you'll beat me up, now?" she joked, trying to make the younger girl laugh. she succeeded, watching as the brunette failed to hold back a snort. "probably the second one. i'm coming for you, bueckers." 

the blonde's eyes widened. "you know who i am?" her voice was quiet, shy almost. "of course i do. who doesn't know paige bueckers?" dylan responded, making eye contact with the older girl. she just realized how blue her eyes actually were. they were like the ocean. like the sky. they were pretty. just like her. 

"you're very pretty, bueckers." dylan's voice was calm, as if that was something she said every day. paige's cheeks started to match the color of the brunettes shoes. "thank you.. i like your hair." she reached out to push a strand of brown curly hair behind the younger's ear. she quickly pulled her hand back, as if shocked at her own action. 

the 12 year old giggled, finding paige's reaction funny. the blonde smiled in return. she took her time to really study dylan. her hair was a curly mess with sweat lining her forehead. her brown eyes had a unique sparkle to them. paige was impressed at how happy dylan seemed to be after receiving her first lost. 

"you don't seem too upset that you lost." she observed, watching the brunette's smile widen even more. "if i lose to you, i guess it's okay.." she replied, picking at her jersey. 

the two athletes spent the rest of the time at the tournament attached at the hip. they didn't even go to the bathroom alone. their parents seemed to get along extremely well, which the girls were happy about. they giggled and told each other secrets. it was as if they had known each other for ever.

once it was time to go, they would barely let each other go. dylan forced paige to give her number and promise to call her. they made sure that they would see each other at the next tournament. and they hugged for at least five minutes before dylan's mother dragged her away.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

does it sound like i know what i'm talking about.. i have NEVER touched a basketball in my life! 

xoxo