A/N: Late update!

𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭.

♡ 2.95m likes | 44k comments
madelyncline: An incredible night for the most incredible woman. I hope this birthday was everything and more. You work so hard and give so much for those around you, and we wanted to return the favor. I adore you. I adore the way you love me, the way you love S. You make me feel the safest and most comfortable I've ever been. You are my best friend, my favorite person. I love you. 💘

@madisonbaileybabe: Oh we're in our soft launch era huh? 👀✨
↳ @mariahlinney: More like our "tease the fans and make them lose their minds" era 😂🔥
↳ @drewstarkey: This is gonna be good. grabs popcorn 🍿 but seriously, y'all are so cute
↳ @jonathandaviss: FINALLY. My favorite couple are Insta official.

@calebmonroe: She was my best friend first, but I guess we've let you into the crew. 😒
↳ @madelyncline: I love you, Caleb. She's still your best friend. 🫶🏻
↳ @liliharper: I literally am so obsessed with how happy you make her. 🥹
↳ @liliharper: Also, shut up Caleb, let them have their moment 😤

@carlaciagrant: My girls 😍✨ love to see it.
↳ @obxfanpage: WAIT WAIT WAIT. IS THIS A CONFIRMATION?!

@obxupdates: WAIT A MINUTE. WAIT A DAMN MINUTE.

@fan1: WHO IS THIS WOMAN?? WHO IS THE MYSTERY GIRL??!!

@fan2: A girlfriend?? A new bestie?? A new co-star??? WE NEED ANSWERS MADELYN.

@fan3: Okay, so no face reveal but the hand placement, the cozy lighting, THE KISSING?! THE CAPTION—she's in LOVE??!!

@fan4: That's literally her girlfriend. No one captions a "friend" like that and Madelyn has never just kissed a girl like this on socials lmao

@fan5: Madelyn soft launching a mystery girl on her birthday... yeah, she's in her lover era.

@fan6: HOLD ON. DID WE JUST GET A QUEEN MADELYN CONFIRMATION??

@fan7: Y'all acting like she hasn't had besties before. Maybe it's just a really really good friend??

@fan8: The way I already know this fandom is about to go FULL DETECTIVE MODE over this picture.

@fan9: Okay but why am I feeling some type of way over this caption??? "I adore the way you love me" ???

@fan10: Someone enhance the reflection in the wine glass and find out WHO TF THIS IS.

@fan11: Wait. WAIT. I think I've seen Madelyn around Charleston with this girl before. I just assumed they were friends... THEY WERE DATING?!?

@fan12: Y'ALL. I FOUND HER INSTA. 👀👀👀
↳ @fan13: DROP THE @ RN.
↳ @fan14: Noooo don't do this. Let them be.
↳ @fan15: Too late, Twitter is already on it...

@fan16: Madelyn's a lesbian?! Wasn't on my bingo card.

@fan17: So did she just decide she was gay or???
↳ @fan18: Y'all are just homophobic and it SHOWS.

@fan19: No because the fact that people are treating this like a crime scene is wild. She's living her life. Y'all need to let her breathe.

@fan20: I'm sorry but Madelyn was with Chase, then Jackson, and now she's into women??? The math isn't mathing.
↳@fan21: THIS. I'm just saying, people don't just wake up one day and switch teams.

↳ @fan22: I promise you, sexuality is more complicated than your tiny ass brain can comprehend.

@fan23: Wait, did Madelyn confirm she's a stepmom?!
↳ @fan24: LMAO Madelyn gets into a lesbian relationship and chooses to be a stepmom is CRAZY.
↳ @fan25: Madelyn... you went for someone with a kid?! Kind of gross.
↳ @fan26: Imagine hating on a child like this, y'all are weird.

@fan27: People out here acting SHOCKED like Madison Bailey isn't gay. Not everyone shouts their sexuality from the rooftops.

@fan28: Y'all better hope Madelyn doesn't deactivate cause this is looking real invasive rn.

@fan29: Bro, this is why celebrities never share their relationships. Fans start acting unhinged.

@fan30: The straights are in shambles rn 😂

@fan31: Madison and Mariah, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.

@fan32: I just know OBX season 4 press tour is about to be MESSY.

@fan33: Can't wait for her to be asked about this in interviews and have to awkwardly deflect.

@fan34: THE INTERNET IS IN CHAOS RN AND I'M LIVING FOR IT.

@fan35: Imagine this is just her assistant and we're all embarrassing ourselves for nothing 🥲

@fan36: I NEED TO KNOW WHO SHE IS IMMEDIATELY.

@fan37: Y'all, I tried to go through Caleb's Instagram for clues but HIS ACCOUNT IS PRIVATE.
↳ @fan38: Same with Lili's! She's got NOTHING public.
↳ @fan39: Okay, but this just makes me think they're hiding stuff even more. 👀
↳ @fan40: Or maybe, JUST MAYBE, they don't want a bunch of strangers stalking their accounts? 🤡
↳ @fan41: Y'all are actually insane for this. Go touch grass.

↳ @fan39: WAIT SOMEONE ON TWITTER JUST SHARED HIS POST! HERE'S THE LINK! twitter.com/obx4updates

@fan42: Madelyn kept her relationship private for a reason, and this is probably why. Y'all are so nosy. Let her be happy.
↳ @fan43: FR. Some of you don't know how to let people live.
↳ @fan44: But it's Madelyn Cline! The people DESERVE to know!
↳ @fan45: The people deserve to STAY OUT OF HER BUSINESS.

.  .  .

𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

Tweet from @obx4updates
@obx4updates: GUYS. Someone just found Caleb Monroe's Instagram post for Y/n's birthday and I— 😭💀 LOOK AT THIS!

[Attached: Screenshot of Caleb's Instagram post]

@calebmonroe:
Damn you're getting old, can't believe you're 25 and we've been friends for 25 years?! Wild. So insanely proud of the human being you are today, would not have made it this far without you. Forever my best friend, forever my sister, and forever the most annoying person on the face of the earth. I love you, idiot. (It's cute watching you fall in love)

💬 Replies:

@fan1: NAH. "FOREVER MY BEST FRIEND, FOREVER MY SISTER." I'M SOBBING. DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM BUHHH THEY'RE CUTE

@fan2: WAIT THIS MEANS THEY'VE BEEN FRIENDS SINCE BIRTH. THIS IS A LIFETIME FRIENDSHIP??

@fan3: Not me getting emotional over a birthday post for people I don't know😭.

@fan4: Okay but Caleb saying "I would not have made it this far without you" LIKE???

@fan5: No bc the fact that Madelyn is now part of this friend group like she's one of them... I LOVE THIS.

@fan6: WHO CARES ABOUT CALEB I'M LOOKING AT THAT LAST PHOTO OF MADS 👀👀👀

@fan7: OH HELLLL NO. THAT LAST PIC? MADZ WAS ALL UP ON HER.

@fan8: Y'all. Y'ALL. We have a face. A FACE. IT'S HER!

@fan9: THIS IS A CONFIRMATION. I DON'T CARE.

@fan10: Caleb exposed Madelyn's girl more than she did 😭😭.

@fan11: OKAY SO WHO IS SHE??? SOMEONE FIND HER.

@fan12: No, because this means Caleb and Lili know EVERYTHING.

@fan13: So she's been hanging with them this whole time and we had NO idea???

@fan14: "Forever my best friend, forever my sister" meanwhile his best friend is in a full-blown relationship with Madelyn Cline 😭.

@fan15: Bro, the way y'all are dissecting this is crazy.

@fan16: Okay, but now we know they've been FRIENDS since birth. Is she even in the industry??

@fan17: I did some digging—she's NOT famous. Not an actress. Not a model. Just a regular girl who somehow bagged Madelyn.

@fan18: "Regular girl" is crazy bc did y'all SEE her? She's fine as hell.

@fan19: LMAOO Madelyn got into a relationship and chose to be a stepmom I CANNOT.

@fan20: Wait, she really is a stepmom now 😭.

@fan21: WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT HOW HOT CALEB IS...

@fan22: FR. LIKE WHO CARES ABOUT THE MYSTERY GIRL, CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM???

@fan23: WAIT. SO LILI AND CALEB ARE TOGETHER AND THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS WITH MADELYN'S GIRL?!

@fan24: No because this friend group is actually ELITE.

@fan25: I feel like Caleb and Lili are just sitting back watching all of this unfold like it's reality TV.

@fan26: Y'all are being so weird about this whole thing. Dude, leave Madelyn alone.

@fan27: WAIT SHE'S A FIREFIGHTER! SOMEONE JUST POSTED MORE PICTURES FROM CALEB'S INSTA. LOOK!

@fan28: Y'all need to STOP digging into his profile, it's private and whoever is leaking their information is disgusting.

@fan29: No because people leaking private accounts to find dirt is CRAZY behavior.

@fan30: This is why celebs don't share their relationships, y'all act like investigators.

@fan31: I promise you Madelyn is gonna see all this and log TF out.

@fan32: What's next? Y'all gonna pull her birth certificate and social security number too???

@fan33: I fear Madelyn and her girl are about to go FULLY private after this 😭.

.  .  .

𝐘/𝐍'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

The first thing I registered when I woke up was warmth.

My body was tangled with Madelyn's, her arm draped over my waist, her face buried in my neck, her slow, steady breathing tickling my skin. The soft glow of the early morning sun peeked through the curtains, casting a golden hue over the room.

It was quiet, peaceful, and for a moment, I allowed myself to just exist in it—to soak in the feeling of her curled against me, of how natural it felt to wake up with her like this.

Then my phone buzzed.

I groaned, cracking one eye open, blindly reaching toward the nightstand. Madelyn stirred slightly but didn't wake. I squinted at the screen, the brightness nearly blinding me as I tried to make sense of the notifications flooding in.

My stomach immediately dropped. Twitter was going crazy.

I blinked, scrolling through the endless tweets and mentions, my sleep-addled brain struggling to process what I was seeing. My name wasn't trending, but Madelyn's was. And so was:

"Madelyn Cline's Mystery Girlfriend"
"Madelyn Cline Comes Out?"
"Madelyn's GF Is A Firefighter?!"

I sat up so fast that Madelyn groaned in protest, her arms tightening around me. "Mmm, stop moving," she mumbled sleepily.

I ignored her, my eyes darting over the chaotic mess of tweets.

— @celebritybuzz: "Madelyn Cline is OFFICIALLY in a relationship, according to fans who connected the dots from her latest IG post and a birthday tribute from longtime best friend Caleb Monroe. 👀 More details unfolding..."

— @gossipcentral: "Was NOT expecting Madelyn Cline's girlfriend to be a firefighter. This is the most random but hottest plot twist of 2024."

— @user2431: "I FOUND HER INSTA. 😭😭 twitter.com/obx4updates"

— @fan5432: "Y'all need to chill. Madelyn kept her relationship private for a reason. This is exactly why."

— @popcultureinsider: "Madelyn Cline's relationship is the internet's latest obsession. Between Caleb's birthday post, photos, and online detectives doing their thing, it seems like we finally have our answer. So who is the mystery girlfriend?"

My heart pounded. Holy shit. This was bad.

Not just oh, a few fans are speculating bad. This was full-blown media coverage, news outlets already running with the story, people digging into my personal life. I hadn't even confirmed anything, and yet somehow, they knew everything.

I scrolled further, seeing more tweets, more speculation. Some people were being supportive, some were just nosey, and some... were straight-up out of pocket.

— @fan901: "So Madelyn went from Chase Stokes to a firefighter?? Kinda iconic ngl."

— @user8372: "Nah this is crazy. She really bagged Madelyn