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jaellyfishh · 1 month ago

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The Corner Where We Met · Part 5

trope: art teacher!azzi x PE teacher!paige

content: miscommunication, HUGE azzi dialogue and mature content towards the end

dc: i was struggling on this one fr. this chapter’s a mix of Azzi and Paige’s POV. i’m planning on dedicating a chapter mostly in Paige’s POV soon. still thinking as i go. feedback is appreciated!

word count: 9.8K

Thursday, fourth period

Paige was whistling her way down Moore’s second floor high school hallways, heading downstairs towards the school’s clinic to bother Kayla during her free period - her usual Thursday activity. Suddenly, she heard someone call for her name.

“Psst, Paige!”

The blonde whipped her head towards the voice to be greeted with a familiar face peeking out the music class’ door.

“‘Ms. Burrell, wassup?” Paige fully turned around and walked slowly towards her.

“We finished up our rehearsal, so my piano’s free,” Rae explained, eliciting raised brows from Paige. “How about I give you a proper lesson instead of just letting you sneak in here to play it when I’m not around?”

”Hey, I did ask permission the first time. And you were there the other time, busy writing your composition or something. So, technically, I wasn’t sneaking around,” Paige raised her arms up in defence.

Rae laughed. “Alright, alright. You gonna take the lesson or not?”

“Mmyeah, why not?” Paige shrugged with an animated frown before stepping into the class.

As Paige took her seat on the long piano stool, Rae nervously sat beside her, her muscles partially tensed when their arms brushed against each other.

“So…anything in particular you wanna learn? Since you already know some chords,” Rae asked, eyes cautiously glancing at Paige, who stared blankly at the piano keys while humming, thinking of a song.

A few seconds passed and a faint smile etched across Paige’s face.

“Elvis Presley. Can’t Help Falling In Love,” the blonde said plainly.

Rae raised her brows, head tilting with amusement. “That’s interesting. I thought you’d pick Yurima’s Kiss The Rain or something like that”.

“That’s too common. I wanna learn this,” Paige said with certainty while facing Rae.

The taller woman felt a warmth grow on her cheeks as Paige looked at her, to which she quickly covered with a chuckle.

“So you chose the most common romantic song?” Rae quizzed.

Paige shrugged again, looking back at the keys. “I dunno, maybe I’m feeling a bit…romantic these days”.

Rae held her breath, her heart thumping loudly in her chest, a small wave of hope creeping on her mind.

“Ooo, got somebody on your mind?” she asked cautiously, playing it cool.

“Uh… perhaps,” Paige shrugged.

“Anyone that I know?” Rae pressed a little.

“Maybe,” Paige answered with a polite smile. The vague answer making Rae’s heart race, feeling both hopeful and dejected.

But Paige didn’t feel the need to tell anyone else about her and Azzi. To her, it was a mutually exclusive, going nowhere, yet intimately growing relationship - and she’d like to keep it that way. It was comfortable enough.

“O-okay. Well, I’ll show you a beginner’s way to play the song. We’ll start with the right hand first, then practice with the left. Just follow what I’m pressing,” Rae started placing her hands on the keys, Paige following suit.

The familiar tune filled the empty room as the pair continued pressing on the notes in a slow tempo. After a few mistakes and several melodic repetitions later, the fourth period bell rang for lunch, causing the pair to stop, halfway done with the song.

“Wow, Paige, you’re a quick learner,” Rae smiled.

“You’re not too shabby yourself. Dang, now I gotta remember all of it,” Paige laughed while sighing.

Rae chewed on her inner cheeks before an idea popped in her head. “Hey, maybe I could teach you over the weekend? For reinforcement, of course”.

As Rae fiddled with her fingers in anticipation, hoping to score an unofficial date with the gym teacher after school. Paige hummed to think.

“I appreciate it, Rae. But, I’ll have to decline. I made…plans,” Paige smiled sympathetically, partially lying.

Well, the blonde had yet of a plan. She didn’t want to say that she reserves her weekends in case Azzi would be free after school. It wasn’t for anyone else to know, anyways. Fudd had days being on the brink of exhaustion, barely left with free periods ever since taking up the high school’s art classes, which limited the pair’s time to seeing each other at work or after school.

Rae didn’t want to push, but still wanted to take her chances. “I understand. Look, if you have spare time fourth or sixth period tomorrow, we can do our lessons then”

“Aye, I’m free fourth period,” Paige smiled at the schedule’s alignment.

“Then it’s booked,” Rae shrugged with confidence as Paige chuckled.

The blonde exited the class, thanking the music teacher briefly before heading downstairs. As Paige descended the last flight of stairs, her eyes caught a familiar figure walking down the adjacent hall. The two locked eyes, Paige smiling widely as she stepped on the ground floor.

“Hey, stranger,” Paige greeted Azzi, whose eyes wandered to the stairs behind.

“Coming from somewhere?” the shorter woman asked curiously.

“Yeah, just played the piano a bit. The usual. Rae was teaching me,” the blonde breathed out, still smiling at the Azzi.

Azzi’s expression slightly dropped. “Rae taught you?”

Paige tilted her head. “Yeah”.

“T-that’s nice of her,” Azzi stuttered, trying to give a polite smile.

“I know, right? Inês would’ve bit my head off before I even thought about touching her piano,” Paige joked, making Azzi half chuckle. ”Once I get good, you’ll be my first audience”.

Azzi smiled. “Yeah?”

”Mm-hm,” Paige looked at her, almost smitten.

Azzi bit her inner lip, her mind repeatedly asking the one simple question she’s been wanting to know. Then a voice interjected from nowhere.

“Coach B, you stare at yo’ mama with those eyes?” a young boy snickered, while the rest of his group stifled a laugh.

“Stay right there, Michael!” Paige yelled at the high schoolers, who raised their hands pretending to be scared, nonchalantly walking towards the gym. “I’ll have to go, but I’ll see you if I can”.

“Don’t worry about me, go,” Azzi chuckled.

Paige tapped Azzi’s arm lightly before jogging towards the boys, hooking one arm around Michael’s neck and giving him an aggressive noogie.

Azzi half smiled in endearment, watching them walk further away before returning to her own classroom.

“What did I say about minding your own business, man?” Paige scolded as they walked.

“Ow! Sorry, geez! Stop being such a simp then!” the young boy yelled in a whisper.

“A simp? I’m sure Cassy knows all about that, huh?” Paige retorted.

“I dunno what you’re talking about!” Michael turned red in self-defense before his friends made teasing noises to taunt him.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, buddy”.

—

Friday, fourth period

“You’re getting the hang of it now, Paige!” Rae cheered for Paige, who was mastering the first half of the song with both hands already.

“What can I say? I’m a natural,” the blonde responded with a common line.

Rae giggled. “If you can do this, the second part won’t be as hard”.

“I trust you. I have to give you credit for your teaching skills, though. Inês would’ve made me cry,” Paige joked with a grin.

Rae smiled shyly, tucking her hair behind one ear. “You’re pretty charming, Paige, I have to admit.

Paige was caught by surprise, appreciative of the compliment before making another light-hearted joke. “Wow, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever told me today”.

Before Rae could speak further, the bell rang, alerting the pair that it was lunch time.

Azzi ascended the last stair of the second floor before hearing some chatter. For some reason she paused in her steps, peering through the wall’s edge. She caught Paige and Rae leaving the music room, which Fudd assumed was empty when they were inside. Closely observing them, they looked deep in conversation, laughing at each other probably over some lame joke Paige told.

Azzi’s breath hitched, the twist in her stomach returning.

And for the first time in a while, Azzi was reminded of her past, the image of her old self taunting her. She began breathing erratically, stumbling backwards.

Just then, a voice snapped her back to reality.

“Azzi, you going to lunch?” Kayla’s softly voiced as she held Fudd’s lower back, her face slightly concerned.

“Huh? Oh, um…Of course, ha ha” Azzi laughed dryly.

Kayla took notice. “You good?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? C’mon,” Azzi’s sudden change in expression left Kayla unconvinced, but she didn’t press further, unsure of what to suss out.

The friend group were in their usual spot again, in the corner of the room, noisy as usual. The common buzz of teachers chatting was like white noise to Azzi, whose mind went on autopilot. Her reactions to her friends’ conversations were half-hearted as she pretended to listen, her thoughts elsewhere. Paige, who sat beside her, noticed she didn’t get her usual attention from the curly brunette.

“Azzi, try this,” Paige smiled, motioning her fork that held what looked like a honey-garlic glazed salmon.

Usually, the younger woman wouldn’t hesitate to try a bite, but she just stared at the fork, emotionless. “I’m good, P, thanks.”

Paige furrowed her brows slightly, retracting her hand back. Before she could ask her something, KK’s loud voice called for Azzi, asking her to recount some funny story during last year’s field trip.

The blonde let it be, resuming eating and observing the woman beside her, whose emotion was hard to decipher.

Is it me? Or maybe she’s overworked? Or maybe it’s actually me? Paige’s thoughts ran.

After half an hour of empty exchanges between them, the lounge had already emptied out and the pair seemed to be the last to leave the vicinity. Before Azzi walked out without saying a word, Paige tugged on her arm just slightly, trying to catch her before they parted ways.

“Az, what’s wrong?” Paige was straight-forward, looking at her in bold concern.

The younger woman’s eyes scattered, her head turning the other way before looking down, then back up again. “Nothing’s wrong”.

“I don’t believe it,” Paige stated.

“It’s…it’s just work”. Azzi partially lied, unsure of what to say, or rather, afraid to admit her underlying feelings.

Paige sighed sympathetically. “If it’s work, you know I can always help out, right? Show me the assignments. Tell me what to grade, I’ll share the load with y-“

“No, no, it’s not like that. This is just…one of those days, kinda thing,” Azzi trailed, her reasoning vague.

Paige tilted her head in confusion, this angle of Azzi’s behaviour quite new to her. Although the blonde didn’t know what was really going through the brunette’s head, she thought maybe Azzi needed to unwind, take a break from school work, even for a day.

“Come by mine tonight. I’ll cook you something nice,” Paige said quietly with cautious eyes anticipating Azzi’s reaction.

To Azzi, that was the most tempting offer. But, maybe it was luck or unfortunate timing as she had already made plans.

“Thanks, Paige, but Caroline and I made plans over the weekend. We’re leaving tonight for Montgomery, a mini staycation. I figured I needed to unwind”.

Paige half smiled, relieved to know they both knew Azzi needed it.

“That sounds great, you deserve it,” Paige rubbed her arm.

—

Azzi and Caroline spent a good three hours at Montgomery Hotel’s famous bath and spa, the knots in their muscles kneaded out at the massage parlour and their bodies detoxified at the sauna. The pair were now ending their night in a secluded corner of the warm baths, catching up on life.

“Alright, spit it out, you don’t look like yourself,” Caroline couldn’t hold it in. She had hoped her best friend would’ve opened up about something early on, but her patience ran thin.

“I know, I know,” Azzi responded dispirited. “I was really hoping I came over it, but I thought wrong”.

Caroline tilted her head, scooting closer to Azzi.

She continued to ramble on. “It’s about Paige. About what we have. And the flashbacks. And… Rae“.

“Flashbacks? Rae? What?” Caroline looked lost, shaking her head as if to hear better.

“Sorry, I’ll try that again. You know how I told you Paige and I have no label? Well, we never had the chance to properly talk about the ‘rules’. Or, more like, we didn’t really care much about it ‘cause I think we know where we stand. Until Rae, you know the new music teacher, came into the picture. I had my suspicions, but I ignored them at first. Then two days ago, she asked me if Paige was single”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “For real? And what did you say?”

“I said yes. And I also said she wasn’t seeing anyone-“

“Girl, why did you say that?” Caroline asked in a light-hearted manner.

“I know. I realised my mistake then, but I didn’t take it back because when I thought about it, Paige and I never specified if we’re only seeing each other”

Caroline furrowed her brows trying to think. “But Paige isn’t actually seeing anyone else, though, right?”

“Yeah? Maybe? You never really know. Technically, we should be allowed to meet other people until we figure out what we want, right?”

“Azzi, have you seen Paige spend her free time outside of school with anyone else besides you?”

“No”

“Well, do you want her to meet other people?”

“No”

“And do you want to see other people?”

“Not really. I only like Paige”

Caroline remembered the other word Azzi mentioned. “What about the flashbacks?”

“Well…Paige told me she was getting piano lessons from Rae in school- Yeah, I’m hoping it’s not anything like that. I saw them walk out the music room together yesterday, smiling, laughing at each other… I was reminded of how I was treated back then. I guess I didn’t wanna disappoint myself again, so I-“

“You let Paige go”

“It shouldn’t have clouded my judgement, but I couldn’t help it.”

Caroline only frowned sympathetically, rubbing on Azzi’s arm.

“Azzi…I know it’s too much to ask, but why don’t you just tell Paige the truth?”

Azzi shook her head. “Truth about how my ex treated me like shit when we’re not even dating officially? It might be too much on her…”

Caroline sighed. “Isn’t that what’s holding you back from wanting to be in a relationship with her, though?”

“I…” Azzi thought long and hard about it. “I guess so.”

“Then talk to her. Next Monday, tell her after school or something. It’ll be fine. Knowing Paige, she’d drop everything for you”

Azzi nibbled on her lower lip, semi chuckling yet still covered in anxiousness. “Yeah, I’ll see how it goes.”

—

It was a Saturday afternoon when Paige was busy cooking for lunch, when she received a notification from her phone.

Camera Arnold (1)

The blonde halted her activity momentarily to unlock her phone, curious to know what would KK like to annoy her with on a weekend.

KK: Boogers! You free tonight?

Paige sighed, her mind thinking about Azzi and what could’ve been a day shopping for groceries and cooking her food, but is now in her apartment ready to binge watch White Lotus alone.

Paige: Maybe. Why?

KK: Bar Lobo at 8? We’re giving Rae her welcome to Moore moment. Everyone’s coming, minus Caroline and your wife

The blonde chuckled.

Paige: Wife is crazy. But I’m down. See you later bookie!

KK: See ya bookie!

. . .

Paige made her way to Bar Lobo, the breeze of the chilly night hitting parts of her exposed skin. She didn’t wear anything too fancy, just a white crop top and a black leather jacket with wide faded jeans, her infamous boxer shorts revealing just above the pants, and some platform boots. Her hair was down, with light waves, and a no makeup, makeup look on.

As she walked in, she was already greeted with the booming sound of music, a remix of familiar songs playing, the dance floor crowded as usual, and the DJ lighting putting her in a trance. It didn’t take long before she spotted her friends in the rounded booth in the centre, all of them chatting and taking sips of their glass.

“Paige! You made it!” Nika yelled in high spirits.

Paige laughed as she approached them before her eyes locked onto a new face among her usual crowd, who was already staring at her. Rae was sitting in the middle almost tightly squeezed in between Aaliyah and Kayla, purposely compressing her body to make space for herself.

“Y’all realise how much you’re torturing Rae over there?” Paige pointed out with a chuckle, causing the other women to notice.

A chorus of profuse apologies sang before the girls shifted outwards, causing Rae to laugh at the scene.

“Thanks, Paige. You look good, by the way,” Rae commented.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” Paige responded coolly before taking her seat at the edge as she was the last to arrive.

Paige started easing her way into the group’s conversation, everyone enjoying each other’s company and the overall atmosphere of the night club, when a certain pair of light brown eyes kept glancing at the blonde over several minutes. Rae was almost blushing and quite nervous, the aura Paige radiated almost too enticing for the teacher. She wanted to get as close to the blonde, hopefully strike up a conversation, maybe flirt a little. Then she quickly thought of an idea.

“Guys, sorry, I need to use the toilet,” Rae interjected.

The ladies were quick to get up, slightly struggling in their movements but had made enough way for Rae to leave.

Just minutes after, she had sauntered back to the booth, her eyes targeting Paige with a level of confidence she hadn’t tapped into before.

As the women saw her, they almost stood up again when Rae stopped them.

“No, no it’s okay! I’ll sit here for now, makes it easier,” she said before the girls scooted a little to make space for Rae at the edge of the booth, now sitting beside Paige.

She noticed the blonde extend her arm across the table to where she had sat previously and returned her drink to her. The kind gesture made Rae’s heart swell, her infatuation for Paige cementing.

“I thought you had plans, Bueckers,” Rae was able to start.

Paige scrunched her nose briefly. “I had to make some changes”.

Rae got excited, perhaps assuming the blonde cancelled for her. She noticed Paige only having a glass of water. “You’re not gonna drink?”

“Uh, I don’t really drink. They’re used to it, I’ll be fine,” the blonde explained with a small smile. “You like the place?”

“I do, it looks fun. Inês told me about this place before, but seeing it in person is kinda cool,” she responded, taking a sip of her glass.

“Guys, I got us more shots! You better drink up!” Kayla yelled as everyone else cheered.

As the waiter came in with a plate full of shots for everyone, except Paige, KK took out her phone to take videos and pictures.

“To Rae Burrell, welcome to Moore!” KK toasted.

As each person downed their shot, KK continued taking pictures, capturing a moment of Rae laughing and leaning towards Paige, who said something about ‘you’re gonna regret that later’ with a wide smile.

After an hour and a half of nonsensical conversations and safe alcohol consumption flew by, the girls soon made their way to the dance floor, encouraged by the intoxication.

“This DJ’s so good!” Rae shouted, her eyes half-lidded and her mind getting lost in the sound, a drink in her hand.

“She is! You never want to leave the dance floor!” Paige yelled back, swaying next to her, enjoying the music.

Just then, the DJ creatively transitioned the song to something slower and sexier, the familiar tune of Muni Long’s Hrs & Hrs started playing. KK was way too excited a row behind them as one of her favourite songs played, picking up her phone to once again video the crowd.

Just then Rae, gathering the confidence from her almost lost inhibitions, turned her head to Paige. The blomde was still swaying by herself in the same motion, mouthing some of the lyrics and slowly bobbing her head.

Rae’s hand moved first before she could think, suddenly touching Paige’s arm to grab her attention. In one swift move, Rae slowly wrapped her arms around Paige’s neck, while carefully holding the drink in her hand.

The blonde froze at first.

Rae didn’t say anything. She just smiled dopily, instinctively inching closer, not wanting to kiss Paige yet, but wanting to feel her body close, relish in her touch.

Paige clenched her jaw, a mix of confusion, guilt and sympathy washed over mind within seconds. Soon enough, she gently grabbed hold of Rae’s arms, carefully detangling them from her neck and putting them back to her sides.

“Rae… I’m seeing someone,” was all the blonde could say, twitching her lips to the side and shoving her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” she said faintly enough for the blonde to hear it, a tinge of embarrassment in her tone.

“Not your fault. Don’t feel bad,” Paige shook her head, trying her best to console her.

Soon after, Aaliyah tugged on Rae’s arm when the song transitioned to another R&B classic from Ray J.

“Rae, that’s your song!” Edwards exclaimed giddily, swaying the arms together as they danced away.

Paige just bit her inner cheeks, unsure of what to feel. Amidst her guilt, her mind was already picturing Azzi, her dimpled smile that she loved and her touch that she craved. Paige already misses her, even if it’s been two days.

A couple hours went by when Paige decided to end everyone’s night after being completely wasted. Before the potential of Nika vomiting again, Paige had timely called for some of their Uber. She carefully guided Nika, Kayla and Rae into the car, making sure the driver knew where to go. And then dropped Aaliyah and KK home as they lived the closest to her.

It was almost 3am when Caroline and Azzi were in their hotel room, the ending credits of the movie rolling, signalling to stop their never-ending gossip session. Azzi and Caroline’s screen lit up showing a notification that KK sent a message to the groupchat.

As the pair unlocked their phones, tons of media from the night were sent, waiting to be downloaded.

“Oh, it’s from the girls tonight. Looks like they’re having fun,” Caroline tiredly commented.

Azzi was silent, scrolling through the pictures knowing Rae would be there. She saw some group selfies and pictures of the food. But what caught her attention the most was Rae and Paige sitting next to each other in the booth in some of the group pictures.

Azzi felt a pang in her chest.

There was that shot KK took of Rae leaning on Paige, both of them laughing as they held their drinks. Then there was one video, it was blurry and quick in motion. The sound of Muni Long’s Hrs & Hrs blasting through Azzi’s phone speakers. It was hard to tell what was going on at first with the amount of bodies in the video, but then she caught it.

Slightly further from the view, she could see Rae wrapping her arms around Paige before the camera turned away.

Her heart shattered.

Azzi locked her phone off and flung it towards the end of her bed before going under the covers, her eyes welling up.

“Azzi?” Caroline was confused. She got up to take Azzi’s phone to unlock it, revealing the video. She replayed it again before she noticed the same thing again.

“Oh, Paige,” Caroline whispered to herself in disappointment before turning her attention to the blanket-covered lump on the bed in front of her.

After Azzi’s last break up, she tends to shut people out when she needs time to think. Then when she had figured it out in her head, she’d pretend to be fine the next day until she’s ready to address it. Or until her breaking point. It was a coping mechanism she developed after her last breakup, sparing no time to wallow in emotions when she’s got a job she cared more about.

Caroline knew this and just let Azzi be for the night, allowing her to rationalise her thoughts and let the sleep take over.

—

Monday, morning assembly

Paige was lightly huffing and puffing as she jogged her way to the gym. She could only blame herself for snoozing her alarm long enough for her to be late. But the blonde couldn’t help it, she was up all night over the weekend thinking about Azzi.

Paige had been ghosted by her the entirety of Sunday when the blonde was curious for an update on the staycation, unable to contain her yearning. But after a whole day of no response and rejected FaceTime calls, Paige could only worry that something might’ve happened.

Paige barely made it on time at the start of the assembly, quickly making her way to the row of teachers and subtly waving her head around to find Azzi. Unluckily, Nika and Aaliyah had already taken their seats beside her, leaving only one empty seat just behind them… right next to Rae.

Oh, great, Paige thought. Not so much in disgust, but more so in nervousness, uncertain of what Rae must be thinking, if she can even remember what happened last night.

Before sitting down, she noticed Azzi glance behind her before whipping her head back to the front, emotionless and stoic.

“Morning,” Rae quietly greeted with her lips pursed.

“Hey,” Paige plainly replied, sighing as she sat down.

As the announcements went on, Rae’s leg kept on bouncing, her thoughts going a mile a minute. Paige noticed immediately, frowning a little.

“Rae, can we talk later?” Paige whispered as she leaned slightly towards her.

The nervous woman stopped bouncing her leg, turning her head to face Paige with a surprised but guilty look. “Yeah, okay”.

As the pair sorted out their arrangements, Azzi was able to eavesdrop the entire conversation, lowering her head and swallowing hard to contain her sadness.

Azzi might have lost faith, that the mistrust she had on people she fought hard to overcome was all for nothing, an effort in vain.

By the end of the assembly, Paige tried to approach Azzi, who was leaving her seat to get to her students.

“Azzi-“

“Breanna! Your mom did your hair today, huh? It’s beautiful. I like the pink beads, it’s my favourite colour,” Azzi smiled widely at the young middle schooler, who beamed brightly at her teacher.

Paige could only stare as the two kept each other close until the end of the hallway, leaving the lone blonde hurt and confused among the scattering crowd. She rubbed her hands on her face, giving herself a moment before shaking her head. With a long sigh, she brought herself to the second floor, to where she needed to meet Rae for the first period.

“Paige. I-I just want to say I’m sorry. Had I known, I wouldn’t have done it. And the alcohol,” Rae rambled on, her face painted in guilt.

“Rae, relax, it’s okay. You didn’t know,” Paige reassured before taking a seat on the chairs, motioning for Rae to sit as well. “I didn’t feel compelled to tell you because…honestly, I didn’t know you saw me that way”.

Rae half smiled before Paige continued.

“I’m seeing Azzi”.

The name piqued the taller woman’s interest, causing her to raise her head, her mind piecing things together.

“I…I knew it,” Rae slightly smiled to herself, a soft sigh escaping her mouth almost in relief. “I had my suspicions, but I didn’t wanna be too invasive at first”.

Paige chuckled in amusement. “Didn’t think we’d be that obvious.”

“Paige, are you kidding me? Dropping her to class every morning? Feeding her your lunch every day? Anyone would think y’all were dating. Heck, I thought y’all were dating,”

Paige grew red, rubbing her forehead in embarrassment. “But because Azzi said you weren’t seeing anyone-“

“Wait. Azzi said that?” Paige asked, puzzled and betrayed.

“Yeah. She said you were single and I should ask you to find out for myself. Great, now I feel like I was set up,” Rae shrugged, leaning on her seat.

Paige furrowed her brows. “There’s something she isn’t telling me. She’s been ghosting me since yesterday and she completely ignored me this morning. I have to get her to talk to me”.

“A good ol’ lovers quarrel, I see,” Rae chuckled.

Paige shook her head at the comment before Rae asked. “Is that why you chose that song to play the piano on?”

A small upward curve formed on Paige’s lips. “Yeah”

Rae pursed her lips. “This feels like a romcom, for real.”

Paige laughed, a small sound of embarrassment escaped her lips. “I wanna finish learning it. I wanna show her. Maybe get a laugh out of her when she sees me mess it up”

“Well, if you can learn quick enough, we won’t have to do more lessons and I won’t have to feel like a homewrecker,” Rae got up, taking a seat on the piano stool waiting for Paige.

—

The blonde seeked an opportunity after lunch again, tugging on Azzi’s wrist before she could leave for fifth period. They stood just by the fridge, Paige waiting for everyone to leave the teacher’s lounge so they could be left alone.

“Azzi, you got a minute?” the blonde let go of her hand. “I’ve been trying to reach out. What’s going on?”

Paige inched closer, trying to ease her way into getting Azzi to talk, get an answer she’s been dying to know. But Azzi stepped back, catching Paige off guard. She could see Azzi’s eyes scan the space behind her, thinking. Then her face grimaced before lowering her head to hide it.

“You enjoyed your weekend?” she asked suddenly.

“Sure…could’ve been better with you,” Paige admitted, a softer tone in her voice.

But Azzi was not buying it. She’s experienced a similar scene before, the outcome not exactly something she wanted to remember.

“I-I have to get back to class,” she croaked before turning her heel and speed walking out the door.

Paige was left alone in the teacher’s lounge, frustrated yet again thinking about Azzi’s recent deflections.

—

It was another school day on a Wednesday and Paige felt like the world was punishing her.

After two days between empty text responses and Azzi purposely dodging any encounter with Paige at school, the blonde was in a hopeless state. She was teaching her gym class in a different head space, forgetting to blow the whistle after the high schoolers had finished their reps with jumping jacks.

“Ms. Bueckers, you need to blow your whistle!” a young voice yelled, the rest of the students groaning.

“Sorry, guys! Alright, everyone let’s line up for a warm up jog!”

“Coach B, we did that already, remember?” a short girl at the front put her hands on her hips as if stating the obvious.

“Right, um, what is it we haven’t done yet, Stella?” Paige tried to ask nonchalantly, not admitting to losing her focus

“We’re supposed to start dodgeball,” the young girl reminded sternly.

Paige nodded with pride. “That’s correct! See, I was just testing you.”

As Stella shook her head in disappointment.

While the kids were busy playing, a student had walked up to Paige after being eliminated.

“‘Sup, Ms. B,” a familiar voice grabbed Paige’s attention.

“Look who it is. Mr. Simp,” Paige teased.

“Haven’t seen you around art class lately. And you look down. Your love life alright?” Michael teased back.

Paige shook her head. “I’m not discussing my business with you, boy”

“C’mon, you’re no fun when you’re sad. Same goes to Ms. Fudd,” the boy replied.

“W-what, she say anything?” Paige grew curious.

“Why don’t you ask her?” the high schooler raised one brow.

“Sure, if you can get her to talk to me fourth period on Friday,” Paige joked sarcastically.

“Alright, bet,” Michael nodded, to which Paige shook her head, not taking him seriously

—

Azzi’s middle school art class was peaceful as usual, the sound of sketching pencils scratching the papers. Leo’s quaint voice called for the teacher in the corner.

“Ms. Fudd, can you help me with this?”

”Mm-hm,” a soulless reaction from Azzi, getting up from her seat to approach the young boy.

“How do you draw the hands like this?” Leo asked while showing his drawing.

The older woman took his pencil and started drawing on the paper. “You got the proportions all wrong, Leo. Make this base shape longer and the fingers shorter, just like this”.

The monotone voice, the absence of an initial positive feedback, and the lack of getting the student involved made Leo worried. It was all uncharacteristic of Azzi’s style of teaching. And the student has noticed it since the beginning of the week.

“Ms. Fudd. Are you alright?” Leo asked. Azzi got taken aback by the question.

“Of course, Leo,” she chuckled, however the young boy wasn’t convinced.

“I haven’t seen Ms. Bueckers around. She do something to you?" The usual bluntless of her student made Azzi half smile.

“Don’t worry about us, Leo,” the woman shook her head.

“I can talk to her for you, if you want,” the boy looked determined.

Azzi lightly laughed. “You have a good head on your shoulders, Leo. But I’ll talk to her…when I’m ready”.

The woman mumbled the last sentence, intelligible enough for Leo to hear.

As the bell rang for lunch and the students started shuffling out of art class, Leo was making his way out before someone tapped his shoulder.

“‘Sup, Leo!”

The younger boy was greeted by a familiar high school student. “Hey, Michael”.

After dapping each other up, Michael was quick to the point.

“Listen, something’s going on between Ms. Fudd and Coach B and it’s just not the same teasing them anymore. So, I’ll be a good person for once and help them out a little. Coach said she can’t get Ms. Fudd to talk to her, so we need to get them to talk. You in?”

“I’m in. Ms. Fudd looks a bit down these day, I don’t like seeing her like that. But Ms. Fudd said she won’t talk to Ms. Bueckers until she’s ready”

“At this rate, they won’t talk at all. C’mon, let’s do it before the week ends. Got any ideas?”

As the pair pondered for a while, Leo twitched his head.

“Maybe get them to a room? A classroom would be difficult,” Leo started off.

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe the janitor’s closet?” Michael thought.

“Too dirty”

“Yeah. Oh, I know, how about the school clinic?”

“You think you can get Nurse Williams to leave?” Leo wondered.

“Li’l Leo, I can get Nurse William to be in on it,” Michael smiled proudly.

Leo shook his head. “Alright, but then how do we get them to come to the clinic at the same time?”

“Easy. Find the day they have both have free periods”

“Ms. Fudd’s only free period is fourth period every Friday. Sometimes she helps me draw on those days”

“Bruh, is this a coincidence? That’s exactly the period I need!”

—

Friday, fourth period

Azzi stood in front a section of the colourful boards of her classroom, replacing the sheets of drawings to newer ones for the new lesson on Pointillism. After sticking the last drawing on, a loud voice erupted from the doorway.

“Ms. Fudd! Leo’s nose started bleeding in math class, he’s in the clinic right now and Nurse Williams said she needs your help!“ Michael panted, his acting spectacular.

Azzi instantly grew worried, making her way out the class and slightly jogging to the clinic nearby.

Meanwhile, at the gym, Paige was busy playing basketball by herself when Leo came bursting through the door.

“Ms. Bueckers! Michael got into a fight in the toilets, he got hurt real bad. Nurse Williams said to come get you!”

Paige threw the basketball away, immediately running out the gym to where the school clinic was.

As the two women saw each other approached the school clinic, they slowed their pace until they were just near enough to talk.

“Michael got into a fi-“

“Leo’s nose started blee-“

They both paused, confused at what the other said before their eyes turned to the closed clinic door beside them. Paige turned to face it, extending her arm to reach the door handle before turning it open.

The clinic was empty except for the bed on the side of the wall that was closed off by the white curtains, indicating that someone might be behind it. As Azzi followed Paige inside, her hands immediately went to the curtains to slide it away, revealing an empty bed.

Before they had time to process, they heard the clinic door shut behind them, the sound of a lock following right after, the pair sensing they were now trapped inside. They heard a couple of youthful giggles and saw shadows of feet emitting from the door’s small open space below.

The two women turned to each other, no words coming out of their mouth at first, except for their breathless panting.

“Michael’s so gonna get it when I see him,” Paige muttered under her breath before taking a seat on the bed.

Azzi just stood there, fiddling with her fingers with her head low.

“Azzi. Sit”

The two words surprised the younger woman. She stared at Paige for a moment before reluctantly taking a seat beside Paige on the bed. It was quiet for a while. The blonde hunched over staring at the ground, her hands clasped together as her arms rested on her lap, just thinking, not knowing what to say first. The brunette was still fiddling with her fingers, also unsure if she should start.

“I miss you,” the blonde spoke up, eyes glued to the ground. Azzi shifted in her seat, her emotions mixed.

“Why have you been ignoring me?” Paige continued, hurt in her tone.

“I”m sorry,” Azzi whispered, her guilt creeping up.

“I’m gonna need more than that,” Paige brought herself to sit up straight, now turning to face Azzi. She could see her eyes slightly watery, biting her lower lips to contain her sadness.

“Paige, I’m sorry for ignoring you. I just…” the brunette paused, trying to formulate a better answer before sounding too distraught. But Paige didn’t have the patience anymore.

“Azzi, no. If you’re just gonna shut me out and leave me in the dark, I at least deserve an explanation right n-“

“If you wanna see other people, I have to be fine with that,” Azzi added, her voice gloomy.

“I- what?”

“Look, if you wanna start seeing Rae, then I don’t wanna be the one to hold you back”

Paige shifted her body closer. “Azzi, there’s nothing going on between me and Rae”.

“Yeah, I thought so at first,” Azzi said soullessly. ”Even after knowing you were getting piano lessons from her. But I still had my doubts. Then the video of you and Rae at Bar Lobo-“

“What video?”

“The video KK sent on the group chat. I saw Rae wrap her arms around you. Y’all were probably making out with each other for all I care”

A pang of guilt hit Paige’s chest. “I never saw the video. I didn’t really read the group chat after that night. But, Azzi, you’re getting it twisted-“

“Don’t tell me I’m getting it twisted when you still talked to her on Monday after assembly,” Azzi took shallow breaths, lowering her head.

Paige just stared at her before taking a deep breath.

“Azzi, you told Rae I wasn’t seeing anyone else. Ever thought about asking me about my own feelings?” Paige started off. Azzi’s breath hitched, her face even more regretful.

“But I’m not entirely wrong,” Azzi trailed, still fiddling with her fingers. Paige bit her inner cheeks before reaching out to grab Azzi’s hands, caressing it as if to console her.

“Well, you are. We never made out at Bar Lobo. Honestly, I was caught off guard myself when she wrapped her arms around me, but I stopped her before she could do anything else. And she apologised for that. Then that Monday morning, I asked if we could talk because I knew she felt bad. She’s still our colleague at Moore, I didn’t want to burn bridges over some miscommunication. I told her, Azzi. I told her I was seeing you”

Azzi’s head lifted, her watery eyes scanning Paige’s face. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Paige gave her a small smile. “And the piano lessons. At first I thought it was just for fun, but then I got inspired. By you”

Azzi’s head tilted in confusion as she watched Paige fetch for her phone. She opened her gallery to show a video of herself in the empty music room sitting by the piano.

“Okay, Azzi, don’t make fun of me if I mess this up, but this is dedicated to you.”

The video proceeded to show Paige nervously pressing every key, the familiar melody in the same slow tempo. Azzi let out a small laugh whenever Paige’s face winced every time she hit the wrong key, a strong feeling of endearment felt through her body.

When the video ended, Paige returned her phone to her pocket before giving Azzi an anticipative stare.

“I’ve never been digitally serenaded like that before,” she smiled weakly.

Paige gave a small shrug. “A special serenade for a special girl”

“I love it…but I’ll have to give it a seven out of ten. You hit the wrong keys way too many times,” Azzi joked with a weak voice.

Paige lazily laughed before leaning forward, touching their heads together as they laughed together, her hands still holding onto Azzi’s.

“I only have eyes for you, Azzi,” Paige breathed out, eyes closed.

The younger woman was left breathless.

“Me too… Sorry, I got insecure. It’s just…something coming back to haunt me,” Azzi trailed off, but Paige squeezed her hands.

“We can talk about it after school, if it’ll give you peace of mind. Come home, I wanna cook you something,” Paige consoled, retracting her head back to fully face the younger woman.

“I’d like that,” was all Azzi could say before her eyes darted down to Paige’s lips.

It wasn’t hard for Paige to notice before she leaned in, connecting their lips.

It’s been a while since the pair shared a kiss that they yearned so long for. They scooted closer to each other, making it easier for Paige to wrap her arms around Azzi’s lower back. The brunette hummed into the kiss, the softness of Paige’s lips devouring her own, feeling like home. Her hand gripped Paige’s jaw with possession, pressing their mouths together so they could never part, not even for a moment.

After a whole week, how could they not miss each other?

But in the midst of their passionate makeout session, the bell rang for lunch, causing the pair to jolt. And then a knock from the door followed after.

The pair pulled away, scrambling as they pretended to dust something off their clothes before yelling “Come in” towards the door.

“I didn’t cockblock this time, huh,” Kayla peeked her head in, smiling proudly.

The trio laughed before making their way to the teacher’s lounge to join everyone at lunch.

—

Paige’s bedroom door remained locked as muffled sounds of moans and pants barely escaped the room.

Dinner had been eaten an hour ago. They were cuddled up on the common sofa where Azzi was curled up next to Paige, who had her arms wrapped around the younger woman, holding her close. Between the idea of being alone in Paige’s apartment and the neediness for each other’s touch, one thing led to another, and now locked they’ve themselves away from the rest of the world.

“Fuck, Azzi,” Paige moaned as the curly brunette grinded her clit against hers, hovering over Paige as she struggled to keep her grip on Azzi’s waist. She continued moving her hips in a circular motion, causing more air to escape Paige’s mouth. Then Azzi leaned in to kiss her, almost sloppily and swallowing her breaths.

“I need you bad,” Paige whimpered when Azzi traveled her lips to Paige’s neck, leaving a new hickey and sucking on the previous ones.

“Mm, patience,” Azzi sighed on her neck before traveling down Paige’s long torso, giving light kisses on the way.

As soon as she reached Paige’s centre, the blonde gripped Azzi’s head, lifting her hips, so that Azzi’s mouth came in contact. But the curly brunette gently held her waist and lowered it down, trying to get Paige to relax. Then almost immediately, Azzi dipped her mouth into her entrance, her tongue playing around the folds.

“Mmm, just like that,” Paige moaned, the vulnerability in her voice turning Azzi on.

Azzi quickened the pace of her tongue, the erratic movements and wet sounds making Paige shiver. The blonde still had her hands on Azzi’s head, caressing her hair with her thumb, the younger woman feeling more encouraged. Then Azzi slowly inserted two fingers, thrusting it in a semi-fast tempo before enveloping Paige’s entire clit in her mouth at the same time.

The sensation made Paige jerk her hips up, instantly arching her head back into the pillow as she could feel herself climax.

“Azzi, I’m gonna,” she voiced tightly, her hands gripping her head harder.

“Look at me,” Azzi demanded, lifting herself to hover halfway over Paige so she could see her.

Azzi quickened her fingers into her, the sound of Paige’s entrance getting more and more wet. The blonde was struggling to keep her stare on Azzi, her moans starting to get shorter and frequent. Within seconds, Paige reached her climax, a stretched out moan escaping her lips as she came all over Azzi’s hand.

After Paige had relaxed, she had her eyes slightly closed and her eyebrows furrowed. She was recovering with laboured breaths, the sight almost sexy to Azzi. The brunette licked her fingers to taste Paige before straddling her waist again, dipping her head to leave soft kisses on her chest and neck.

The blonde just rested her hands on Azzi’s lower back, enjoying the sensation of her warm mouth on her. Then Azzi shifted so she could lay back on the bed, settling beside Paige and wrapping her hand around her waist.

Paige sighed, rubbing Azzi’s arm while looking at her with hooded eyes.

“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered.

Azzi only smiled, her eyes gleaming. Then a soft expression of guilt washed across.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you for that long," she croaked. Paige just continued rubbing her arm whispering ‘it's okay’.

Azzi continued. “Seeing you with someone else. I was scared of going back to my insecure self…when I was with my ex.”

Azzi was hesitant to talk, biting her lip as she let her thoughts run. But Paige lightly wiped her cheek with her finger, to grab her attention.

“Talk to me. I’ll listen," with a soft smile, she reassured.

Azzi sighed. "Her name was Destiny, quite ironic, isn't it?”

A small air escaped through Paige’ nose.

“We were childhood best friends, did a lot together; same school, sleepovers, family dinners. We had similar personalities, the quiet kids in the back. But she definitely changed in high school, started becoming more outgoing, made lots of friends. I struggled on that front, but she still kept me close. In tenth grade was when our relationship began to blur, we started developing feelings for each other, subtle flirting but didn’t do anything more”

Azzi sighed again, thinking of how to say the next bit.

"When she decided to go to UConn for Computer Engineering, she had to convince me to join her. It wasn't even my top college. I actually wanted to go to Rhode Island, they’ve got the best design institute over there… But remember when I told you before that my feelings for her were just mere infatuation? I’ll admit that I was, in fact, in love, at the time. So, I did it. I followed her because I loved her”

Paige just made subtle nods while listening.

"College life. What can I say? Stereotypical as it can get. First year was alright, assignments were doable for me, a bit demanding for her. But we did make a good group of friends; most from hers, some from mine, even met Car through book club. And then there was Amanda, or Mandy, as we called her. She was Des’ classmate, a girl with conviction, spoke with confidence. Polar opposite to me. They studied a lot together, hung out when I was busy. They were getting close, almost too close to my liking. So, I started getting scared. The more weeks passed, the more I felt my chances with Des were disappearing.”

Azzi shook her head now, remembering the next part of her story.

“There was this house party over summer break, some senior of Des. All of us went. And there were so many people, everyone was drunk, I think I went a li’l too ham on the alcohol, too. And then I caught them sitting on the sofa, just chatting, a little touchy, a little flirty. Seeing them together made me feel so upset at myself for pussy’ing out. I dunno what got into me, but I shoved myself onto Des… And I started making out with her.”

Paige raised her brows surprised, Azzi scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Yeah, not my proudest moment. Des was shocked, at first; not expecting this side from me, I didn’t either. But she said she’d been waiting for us to date for a while. And, so, I got the outcome I wanted then. Our first two years together, it was sweet. We did a lot for each other; gifts, dates, you name it. We talked a lot about our future together, too, having a family, buying a house, all that stuff. We invested a lot into our relationship, it was going so good. But at the background of it all was Mandy. Des still kept her close. And I couldn’t say anything, I didn’t want Des to think I was too possessive. I was worried my insecurity would put her off”.

Paige furrowed her brows, subtly shaking her head as if to say Azzi’s feelings were valid.

“Our third year was…something. We were getting a little distant. Des got tied with her assignments, her coursework got more difficult. I had to brush off the fact that day in and day out, Mandy and her were always at the library studying together. I’d even drop by every so often at Des’ dorm to keep her company. Until one day she said not to visit, saying it’ll be too much of a hassle for me. I reassured her it wasn’t, but she was insistent, promised she’ll make time for me, even hang out after studying. Well…I didn’t know her definition of ‘hanging out’ was just sex at my dorm every time she was frustrated. Regardless, I still enjoyed any type of company with her. And we still went out on dates, so she did keep her promise.”

Azzi went silent for a bit to gather herself.

“Then it started getting dry, our dates lacklustre. I had to give her the benefit of the doubt, I knew her major was a difficult one. So, one day I decided to keep her company at her dorm again, even brought her favourite snacks and everything. But when she opened her door, she had this shocked look on her face. When I looked inside, Mandy was there. Nothing out of the ordinary, though, she was sitting on the floor busy with her books. Des reasoned with me that she was there to study, but I was confused…that’s when I started overthinking. Study in a cramped up dorm room? When the library was open 24/7? Is this why she told me not to visit anymore? Things were starting to click for me.”

Paige clenched her jaw, almost knowing what would come next.

“I pondered it for weeks. But between our dry conversations and soulless sex, I finally had the courage to confront Des about it when she came to my room for another ‘hang out’. She told me I was ridiculous, that my judgement was clouded. She said Mandy was just a friend and nothing more, but I wasn’t convinced. I told her to stop hanging out with her if she loved me that much, cared about my feelings. Then, all of a sudden, she got defensive; saying I don’t trust her, that I was too insecure…and have always been. That hurt the most. She knew I wasn’t the most confident person growing up, she knew how much I struggled to overcome that, too. We fought that day, I didn’t talk to her for weeks. But then she came back, showed up with flowers at my dorm saying she’ll spend more time with me and that she’ll stop hanging out with Mandy, I figured she felt bad. So, of course, I forgave her. I was still upset, but I still wanted to trust her. I wanted to overcome that little voice in my head.”

Azzi paused to give Paige a small smile. “You hanging in there?”

Paige chuckled lightly. “Yeah, don’t worry”.

“We’re getting to that part now,” Azzi said before a long sigh.

“For another year, it was the same story. She continued to leave me in the dark without realising, I pretended to be happy. There was no more romantic talk, no more sweet gestures from her. When I’d get upset, she’d continue to gaslight me, saying it’s her major, saying that my insecurities are getting the best of me again and that I needed to trust her. Then to make it up to me, we’d have sex. And it kept happening again, like a vicious cycle. I was beginning to feel so useless. One day, Des made dinner plans for our fourth year anniversary. Of course, I was really excited about it. But when time came ‘round, she wasn’t responsive on text, calling didn’t work either. So, I went to her dorm. Knocked on it, no response…then I heard something through the door. Someone moaning her name. I froze at first. I didn’t want it to be true, but I had to see it for myself”

Paige lifted her hand to caress Azzi’s cheek, giving her a touch of support.

“And there they were. Having sex, on her bed. Books and papers scattered. Apparently, they had been seeing each other since the start of our third year together. I knew I wasn’t being delusional, but I…I just felt more ashamed of myself. I kept asking myself why did I believe I could still trust her all this time? So I just left. She texted me saying it was a mistake, then blabbered on about how Mandy was ‘different’. It was all bullshit. She’d throw all those years down the drain to be with someone who was… a projection of who she wanted to be, maybe someone who was a better version of myself. Because I knew I wasn’t good enough for her, no matter how hard I tried to change. So, I cut her off. She moved to Australia after graduation and I couldn’t care less what happened after. So… there you go.”

It was quiet for a moment. Azzi shifted to have Paige on her hold more properly, staring at her with full attention.

“Honestly, it’s not so much what Des did, but more so what I became when we were dating. I lost my trust in a lot of people since then, it was hard overcoming my low self-esteem and it felt like I had to start all over again. Caroline’s the only one who kept me grounded all those years. She never liked Des from the beginning, kept telling me to leave her. But I never listened.”

Paige gave a half smile. “I…I understand what that’s like. Healing isn’t linear, there’ll always be lapses, but I’m proud of you for working on yourself since then. I’ve never met a person more confident in themselves. You know your worth, Az”.

Azzi hummed, lost in Paige’s blue orbs.

“Thanks…that means a lot. Paige, I…I didn’t think I’d share this part of my life so early on, but…I felt I had to”.

Paige shook her head. “Only if it felt right to you”.

“Yeah, it did. That’s, um, that’s why I wanted to ask you something,” Azzi nibbled on her bottom lips just subtly.

“Sure,” Paige whispered.

“It’s been almost two years and I want to try dating again. Ever since meeting you, you’ve changed my perception on everything I knew about trusting people, loving oneself, caring for others. I guess, all I wanted to ask was…will you be my girlfriend?”

Paige sharply inhaled. She couldn’t think of anything initially. The moment she heard the word ‘girlfriend’, it was like she had been electrocuted. It had been a while for her, too. She’d almost forgotten what it was like to give so much love and commitment to someone. The prospect of that seemed daunting to her, what if things go wrong again? How badly will she take the blame on herself? Just like before, Paige thought.

But one thing was for certain. Azzi made doing that all so easy, so natural. And Paige knew it well. Perhaps the blonde didn’t feel ready all this time because she didn’t meet anyone worth being ready for.

“Yeah. I want to,” Paige smiled, nodding slightly.

Azzi let out a deep breath nervously, almost relieved. “Okay…yeah, okay”.

Paige laughed before rubbing her back. “Happy you’re gonna get full access to me now?”

“Why do you have to say it like that and ruin the moment?” Azzi groaned into her neck.

“It’s not entirely false, though,” Paige pulled herself away so she could get Azzi to look at her.

“Yeah, whatever,” Azzi replied, defeated.

Then Paige grabbed her cheek and leaned forward, giving Azzi a soft peck.

“We’ll take it day by day,” Paige reassured.

This time Azzi gave her a small peck. “I appreciate that”.

They kept each other close as the night was beginning to end, settling in the warmth of their naked bodies. But between heartbeats and soft breaths, their minds raced in the darkness. There was fear as much as there was excitement for what’s to come tomorrow.

#pazzi #pazzi fics #paige x azzi #azzi fudd #paige bueckers

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