A/N: Doublet Update ♡

𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

The laughter had faded. The movie had ended. The apartment was quiet again.

Caleb, Lili, and the others had filtered out one by one, leaving only me and Y/n behind in the soft glow of the living room lamp. The apartment door clicked shut, marking the official end of another night that should have felt normal.

But it didn't.

It hadn't for days.

I sat on the couch, curled into the corner with my legs pulled up, my fingers idly picking at the frayed hem of my hoodie.

Across from me, Y/n stretched, running a hand over her face, the kind of tired gesture that wasn't just about exhaustion—it was something heavier.

The air between us was thick, weighted with everything we weren't saying.

Because we hadn't talked about it.

That night.

The one where we'd come so close to crossing the line—to completely erasing it.

The one where I had felt her, hard beneath me, had kissed her like I wanted to swallow her whole, had ground against her until we were seconds away from falling into something we couldn't take back.

The night she stopped it.

And we just... never spoke about it.

But now, sitting here in this silence, feeling the gap between us stretch wider and wider, I knew I couldn't keep pretending that nothing had happened.

So I broke first.

I exhaled slowly, my fingers tightening in my hoodie. "What are we doing, Y/n?"

Her head turned slightly, her eyes flickering toward me before she looked away just as fast.

"Madelyn—"

"No," I interrupted softly, shaking my head. "No joking. No dodging. Just... be honest with me."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Madz—"

"Because I don't think friends do the things we do," I said, my voice quieter now, steadier. "The things we did."

That was the moment I saw it—the way her stomach dropped, the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed.

I had cornered her.

I had backed her into a place where she couldn't just brush it off anymore.

Y/n exhaled sharply, her shoulders tensing, like she was bracing for something.

For the first time in days, I had her attention.
And for the first time in days, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear her answer.

Y/n rubbed her face, fingers pressing against her temples like she could physically push away the conversation. She hadn't answered me.

The weight of my words still hung between us, and the silence that followed felt excruciatingly loud.

I wasn't going to let her get away with avoiding this. Not this time. I shifted on the couch, leaning forward slightly. "Y/n."

Her jaw tensed. She knew. She knew she had no way out of this.

"Look," she finally exhaled, running a hand through her hair before resting her elbows on her knees. "I don't know what you want me to say."

I blinked. "You don't?"

She let out a dry laugh, shaking her head. "Madz, I..." She hesitated, fingers raking through her damp curls, stalling, searching for the right words, or maybe just the least painful way to say them.

I waited. I waited because if she needed time to find an excuse, to build up a shield, I wanted to watch it happen.

She sighed, looking at me fully this time. "Storm is my priority. I work crazy hours. I can't afford to get distracted. I just... I don't think I'm in a place for anything serious."

I stared at her. And then I huffed out a dry laugh—not because it was funny, but because I couldn't believe she was actually saying this.

"Oh, right," I said, voice laced with sarcasm. "Because I, what? Just sit around all day, waiting to spend time with you? I work crazy hours too, Y/n. You're not the only one with responsibilities."

Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn't say anything.

I leaned forward slightly, my eyes narrowing. "Or is it just easier to act like this is all about work so you don't have to deal with the real reason?"

Y/n's jaw tightened, and she exhaled slowly through her nose, like she was trying to stay patient. "It's not just work, Madelyn. I have Storm. My job. I'm trying to balance everything without—"

"Without me?" I cut in, my voice sharper now. "Because that's what you're saying, right?"

Y/n shook her head, sighing. "That's not what I meant."

I scoffed, standing up now because I needed to move—sitting still while she talked like this made me want to scream.

She stood too, running a hand through her hair like she was getting frustrated too, but for all the wrong reasons.

"I just think we work best as friends, Madelyn," she said, like it was the simplest answer in the world.

I stared at her. Hard. And then I squinted, tilting my head slightly.

A bitter laugh left my lips. "How would you even know that, Y/n?"

She blinked, caught off guard. I let out another laugh, shaking my head. "Seriously. How would you even know that if we haven't even tried?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but I held up a hand, stopping her.

"No, don't answer that. It doesn't matter," I muttered, swallowing hard. "Because your mind's already made up, right?"

Y/n's lips pressed into a thin line. She didn't deny it.

I scoffed, nodding to myself. I felt like an idiot.

"God," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "I should've known this was a waste of time."

Y/n's expression flickered—something sharp, something pained.

"Madelyn, it's not—"

"No," I cut her off. "It is. I let myself think we were building up to something, but we weren't. Because you were never going to let us be anything more, were you?"

She didn't answer.

And that hurt more than if she'd just said no.

I exhaled slowly, pressing my lips together. I could feel the burning in my throat, that awful, stupid lump that came right before tears.

I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not in front of her. I nodded once, curtly. "Got it."

Y/n stepped toward me slightly, but I took a step back, grabbing my keys off the coffee table, shoving them into my pocket. I needed to get out of here before I completely unraveled.

Y/n exhaled, her voice quieter this time. "Madelyn, I—"

I turned toward her, forcing myself to look her in the eyes one last time before I left.

I smiled. Small. Distant.

Like she hadn't just broken something in me.

"It's okay," I said, my voice steady even though I didn't feel steady at all. "I get it."

I didn't. Not really. But I wanted to.

And as I walked out the door, I could still feel her eyes on my back, like she wanted to call me back but didn't know how.

And God, that hurt more than anything.

.  .  .

𝐘/𝐍'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

It'd been about a week since Madelyn and I had that disagreement? Argument? Whatever you wanted to call it. The first thing I noticed was the quiet.

Not the obvious kind—the kind that comes with silence—but the kind that sneaks in when someone's presence starts fading. Madelyn wasn't gone. Not really. She was just... different.

It started subtly. Her texts weren't as frequent. The playful, borderline flirty messages had dried up, replaced with short, polite responses. She wasn't calling anymore.

She wasn't sending voice notes, laughing over something ridiculous, or texting me in the middle of the night with a random thought that couldn't wait until morning.

And when we were in a group setting? She was still there. Still laughing, still joking—still Madelyn. But not with me. Not like before. She didn't sit next to me anymore.

Didn't lean into me during movies. Didn't curl up under my arm like she used to, like it was second nature.

At first, I told myself I was imagining it. That things were just... busy. That we were both focused on work, and life, and all the things we were supposed to be focused on.

But then, at Caleb's place, during a game night, I watched her sit next to Lili instead of me, pulling a blanket over her lap like she didn't used to share one with me.

I saw the way she laughed at something across the room instead of looking at me. I saw the way she never touched me anymore, or if she did, it was just a brief hug. And that's when I knew. She was pulling back and I was letting her.

I thought maybe I was exaggerating. That maybe I was reading too much into it. But then, as I sat on Caleb's couch, watching Madelyn from across the room, I knew I wasn't. She wasn't avoiding me. Not outright. But she was keeping a distance—a very deliberate one.

She laughed at something Lili said, her body angled slightly away from me.

When I spoke, she didn't glance over like she usually did. When I reached for the popcorn bowl, she subtly shifted, like she was making sure there was space between us.

I hadn't felt space between us in months. And now? Now, I could feel every inch of it. At some point, Caleb nudged me, lowering his voice. "Okay, what the hell is going on?" I blinked, playing dumb. "What?"

He jerked his head toward Madelyn. "That." I followed his gaze, watching as she grabbed her drink and sat on the arm of the couch—right next to Lili, not me.

"That's not normal," Caleb muttered. "She's been acting weird. You guys aren't...?" He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's nothing." Caleb scoffed. "Bullshit." I shot him a look, but he wasn't backing off. I exhaled, shaking my head. "She's just been busy."

Caleb stared at me, unimpressed. "Busy? That's the excuse we're going with?" I clenched my jaw. "It's the truth."

"Is it, though?"

I turned to glare at him, but his expression softened slightly. He wasn't trying to start something. He was just... Caleb. Blunt. Honest. Not the type to ignore things when they were right in front of him.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Dude, I've seen you two together. She was always next to you. Always looking at you. Now? She won't even sit in the same damn zip code."

My stomach twisted.I forced a smirk, trying to play it off. "Maybe she just likes Lili more." Caleb rolled his eyes. "You know what's crazy? The fact that you're acting like you don't care."

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, Madelyn walked over. Her gaze flicked between us. "What are you two whispering about?" Caleb leaned back, smirking. "Oh, nothing. Just discussing how Lili's obviously your new favorite."

Madelyn laughed easily, nudging Caleb's knee with hers. "Jealous, Monroe?" Caleb grinned. "Maybe a little."

I watched them interact, my stomach clenching at how effortlessly normal she was acting. Like nothing had happened.

Like she hadn't been pulling away. Like we hadn't been tangled up in each other just a week ago. Like she wasn't kissing me like—. I cleared my throat. "You've been hanging out with Lili a lot."

Madelyn shrugged. "She's fun." She said it so casually, like she didn't notice the way my fingers curled into my lap.

Like she wasn't trying to prove a point. Caleb smirked slightly, watching the exchange. He knew. I knew. Madelyn was acting like everything was fine.

But she wasn't looking at me like she used to. She wasn't sitting next to me like she used to. She wasn't mine like she used to be. The realization hit me like a slow burn, settling somewhere deep in my chest.

Madelyn smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Anyway, Lili's grabbing drinks. Anyone want one?"

Caleb shrugged. "I'm good."

I hesitated. "Yeah, I'll take one."

Madelyn nodded. "Cool." Then, without looking at me again, she turned and walked away. And just like that, I felt it all over again. The distance. The shift. The way she was so close and yet completely out of reach.

Caleb sighed beside me. "Damn, bro."

I exhaled slowly, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. "Don't."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Not saying anything." But he didn't need to. I knew what he was thinking. And the worst part? I was thinking it too. For the first time since I told her we were just friends...

I wasn't so sure I meant it.