Chapter 8

By the time Isadora arrives, the bonfire is already going.

Someone, probably KK, has strung lights between a few trees near the edge of the clearing. Music drifts through portable speakers. A folding table is loaded with chips, drinks, and enough snacks to feed an entire athletic department.

It looks nice. Comfortable. The kind of thing people post pictures of and caption best team ever.

And everyone seems to be having a genuinely good time. Which is unfortunate.

Because it means there’s nowhere for Isadora to hide.

“Isa!” KK spots her immediately.

Of course, she does.

“You made it!” she yells.

Isadora raises a hand in acknowledgment and immediately gets pulled into the crowd.

Within ten minutes, she’s handed a drink, dragged into a conversation about classes, and forced to listen to Sarah and Azzi argue about the greatest basketball shoes ever made.

It should be easy. The team is easy. That’s the problem.

Everything about UConn has been easier than she expected.

Except Paige.

Especially Paige.

Across the fire, Paige sits in a folding chair beside Aubrey. Far enough away that it shouldn’t matter.

Yet somehow, Isadora notices every time she laughs. Every time she shifts in her seat. Every time someone says something that makes her smile.

It’s infuriating.

“Isa.” Aaliyah nudges her shoulder. “You’ve been staring into the fire for like five minutes.”

“I have not.”

“You absolutely have.”

Isadora takes a drink instead of responding. Aaliyah watches her for another second.

Then glances toward the opposite side of the fire. Toward Paige. Then back.

Her eyebrows lift slightly.

Isadora immediately looks away. “Don’t.”

Aaliyah holds her hands up. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t.”

Thankfully, KK appears before the conversation can continue. “Alright!”

Everyone collectively groans.

“Whenever you start a sentence like that, it’s bad,” Aubrey calls.

KK ignores her. “We are doing introductions.”

The entire team stares at her.

“KK,” Sarah says. “We’ve known each other for months.”

“Not real introductions.”

“Then what?”

KK grins. “Weird facts.”

The groaning gets louder.

“Oh, come on,” KK says. “It’s bonding.”

“Everything isn’t bonding.”

“It literally is tonight.”

The circle eventually gives in.

Mostly because nobody wants to spend twenty minutes arguing with KK.

So they go around. Favorite movies. Embarrassing childhood stories. Random fears.

At one point, Aubrey admits she once got lost in a Target for two hours. At another, Sarah reveals she cried during a commercial.

The team immediately refuses to let her live it down. People laugh. Talk over each other. Get progressively louder as the night goes on.

Through all of it, Isadora keeps noticing something.

Everyone talks to everyone. Everyone drifts around the circle naturally.

Except her and Paige. They never end up in the same conversation.

Never stand next to each other. Never speak unless absolutely necessary.

It’s subtle. Easy to miss.

But once Isadora notices it, she can’t stop noticing.

It’s like two magnets turned the wrong way. Always finding space. Always adjusting. Always avoiding.

The worst part is that everyone else notices too.

Nobody says it. But she can tell.

The occasional glance. The way conversations sometimes stumble when both of them happen to join. The way people seem determined to keep things moving.

Pretending everything is normal. Pretending they aren’t all aware of the giant, awkward cloud hanging over the evening.

Later, as the fire burns lower, music takes over more of the night.

Someone starts dancing. Then someone else. Soon enough, half the team is laughing in the middle of the clearing.

KK, naturally, is at the center of it.

“Get up!” she yells.

“No.”

“Get up!”

“No.”

“Isa!”

“No.”

KK points dramatically. “See? This is why we’re bonding.”

Aaliyah laughs. “Leave her alone.”

“I refuse.”

Fortunately, someone distracts KK before she can physically drag Isadora into the dancing.

Isadora settles deeper into her chair. The fire crackles softly. Across the clearing, Paige sits alone now, Aubrey having wandered off somewhere.

For the first time all night, neither of them is surrounded by people. Neither of them has an excuse. The distance between them suddenly feels obvious.

Heavy.

Paige stares into the fire. Isadora stares at the fire. Neither looks at the other.

The music shifts.

Laughter erupts somewhere behind them. Still, neither moves.

It occurs to Isadora then that this is probably exactly what everyone was trying to fix. Not basketball. Not chemistry.

This.

Two people who once spent nearly every day together now sitting twenty feet apart like strangers.

And maybe that’s why the night feels so uncomfortable.

Because nobody else understands how impossible it is to bridge three years of silence.

How do you casually talk to someone who used to know everything about you? How do you start over when the ending never got resolved?

A burst of laughter pulls her attention back toward the group. KK is dancing terribly. Intentionally terribly.

The team is losing their minds over it. Even Paige laughs. 

A real laugh.

For a second, Isadora forgets herself and looks over. Paige’s head tips back slightly. Firelight catches her face. The expression is familiar enough to hurt.

Then Paige’s gaze shifts. Finds hers.

Across the clearing. Across the fire.

The laughter around them continues. Music plays. People keep talking. But for one brief moment, neither of them looks away.

And somehow that feels more awkward than avoiding each other ever did.

Paige breaks eye contact first, looking back toward the group. Joining whatever conversation Aubrey has returned to.

Just like that, the moment disappears.

The fire pops. The team laughs. The night keeps going.

And the distance between them remains exactly where it was.

For a while, Isadora thinks maybe that’s how the rest of the night is going to go.

Everyone else having fun. Her and Paige orbiting opposite sides of the bonfire like they’re following some unspoken rule.

Then KK decides she’s had enough. “Oh, absolutely not.”

The words come out of nowhere.

Isadora looks up.

KK is standing in the middle of the clearing, hands on her hips, scanning the group like a coach about to call a timeout.

“What?” Caroline asks.

KK points. Straight at Isadora. Then at Paige. The entire team collectively winces.

“Oh no,” Aubrey mutters.

“Oh yes.”

“KK,” Azzi warns.

“Don’t ‘KK’ me.”

Isadora immediately sits up straighter.

No.

Whatever is happening, no.

“I have spent two hours watching you both act like coworkers.”

Aaliyah covers her face. “KK…”

“No. I’m saying it.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’m saying it.”

The team is already laughing because once KK gets like this, there is no stopping her.

Meanwhile, Isadora wants the ground to open up beneath her.

Across the fire, Paige looks equally thrilled.

Which is to say, not at all.

“You guys don’t have to be attached at the hip,” KK continues. “But this is getting ridiculous.”

“KK,” Paige says.

“What?”

“Stop.”

“No.”

A groan circles the group. Sarah throws a napkin at her.

It bounces harmlessly off her shoulder.

“You used to play together for years.”

“We know,” Aubrey says.

“You won like a million championships.”

“We know.”

“You were best friends.”

The words land differently. The laughter dies down slightly. Not completely.

Just enough.

Because everybody knows that part.

The best-friends part. Nobody knows anything else. Nobody knows why the friendship ended. Nobody knows why neither of them talks about it.

Which somehow makes the silence heavier.

KK looks between them. Then her expression softens slightly.

“I’m just saying maybe this would be less awkward if you guys actually talked.”

Neither Paige nor Isadora responds.

“See?” KK says immediately.

“You’re proving my point.”

“Some people don’t need to talk constantly,” Paige says.

Her tone is calm. Controlled. The same voice she’s been using all summer whenever this topic comes up.

KK folds her arms. “Okay. Then tell me one thing you’ve learned about each other since Isa got here.”

Silence. The challenge hangs there.

A few teammates glance away immediately. A few others stare into the fire. Everyone suddenly became very interested in literally anything else.

Because they know.

They all know they’ve wandered into something uncomfortable.

Paige doesn’t answer. Neither does Isadora.

The silence stretches. Five seconds. Ten.

Too long.

KK’s expression slowly changes. The teasing disappears entirely.

“Oh.”

The realization hits her in real time.

“Oh.”

Nobody says anything.

Because what is there to say?

Eventually, Aubrey clears her throat. “Okay.”

Her voice is gentle. An escape route.

“Maybe we don’t do this.”

“Yeah,” Sarah agrees quickly.

“Definitely.”

KK immediately looks guilty.

Which is rare.

“I wasn’t trying to-“

“I know,” Paige says.

And for the first time all night, she sounds tired. Really tired. The kind of tired that has nothing to do with basketball.

KK sits back down slowly. The energy around the bonfire shifts after that.

Not ruined. Just quieter. More careful.

People start splitting into smaller conversations. The music gets turned down slightly. Aaliyah and Sarah wander toward the food table. Aubrey starts telling some story from freshman year.

Slowly, the night recovers.

But Isadora can’t stop thinking about KK’s question.

“Tell me one thing you’ve learned about each other.”

Because she can’t answer it. Not really.

She knows Paige still taps her fingers against her leg when she’s frustrated. Knows she still laughs with her whole face when something genuinely catches her off guard. Knows she still hates being put on the spot. Knows she still pushes food around her plate when she’s distracted. Knows all of that.

But none of it is new.

It’s old knowledge. Leftovers from another life.

Across the fire, Paige is staring down at her drink. And suddenly, Isadora wonders if she’s thinking the same thing.

If she realizes that all they have are old versions of each other.

Memories. History. Nothing current. Nothing real.

“Isa.”

The voice comes from beside her.

Aubrey.

Isadora looks over.

“You okay?”

The question is quiet enough that nobody else hears. Isadora nods automatically. Aubrey doesn’t look convinced.

But she’s kind enough not to push. Instead, she glances across the fire.

Toward Paige. Then back.

“KK means well.”

“I know.”

“She just…” Aubrey sighs. “She thinks every problem can be fixed if people spend enough time together.”

The corner of Isadora’s mouth twitches. “That’s very KK.”

“Unfortunately.”

For the first time in a while, Isadora laughs softly. Aubrey smiles. Mission accomplished.

A few feet away, someone turns the music back up.

Jana is arguing with Azzi again. The bonfire crackles. The team slowly settles back into itself.

And for a little while, things feel almost normal.

Until Isadora stands to grab another drink.

And as she reaches the folding table, someone else reaches for the cooler at the exact same moment.

Her hand freezes. Paige’s does too.

For a second, neither of them moves. The sounds of the bonfire continue behind them. Laughter. Music. Voices.

But standing there in the glow of the string lights, it suddenly feels like they’re the only two people awake.

Paige lets out a slow breath. Then steps back first.

“Go ahead.”

The words are polite. Distant. Like strangers.

And somehow that hurts more than if they’d argued.

Isadora grabs a water bottle. “Thanks.”

Paige nods once.

Neither of them leaves immediately. Neither seems to know how.

And behind them, the bonfire burns steadily on.