twenty seven
"surprise"

—

—

"FINALLY."

AFTER A STRESSFUL, LONG shift of having to deal with the increasing tension between Buck and Eddie, along with seeing a man get inflated twice his usual body weight because of pressured air, Lynn had finally made it home. For once, Lynn and Buck had rode into work separately since she suggested she get groceries after the shift, and finally arrived home no less than an hour since they departed.

Lynn was definitely not going to let the teasing about Buck being extremely jealous of Eddie die down tonight, so when she heard the shower running in the bathroom, she shook her head while chuckling to herself.

"It's too easy."

Slowly and carefully, she placed the two brown bags full of fresh produce and meats on the marble counter in the kitchen. And she quietly tiptoed towards the bathroom where she heard the water running, and peeled open the door inside; just making sure the man wasn't getting undressed or dressed.

This wasn't anything necessarily new. Not that Lynn or Buck had showered with one another, but because often times one would go into the bathroom while the other was in the shower. They were roommates, how could they avoid that all the time?

"Is a shower gonna wash away your bad attitude from today, you baby?" Lynn teased, and just as she was about to hop her little butt on the counter right beside the bathroom sink, she heard shuffling noise and a loud gasp.

A feminine gasp.

"Oh, shit!" Lynn covered her wide mouth as her eyes landed on a brunette woman currently showering, in her shower. The two met eye contact, and instantly the woman covered her body with the shower curtain. "Oh my God! He didn't tell me he had a girl over, I-I, wow, uh, I'm sorry!"

Instinctively, Lynn spun on her heels while seemingly covering both of her eyes from glancing at the naked woman any longer.

"Wait, what?" The woman questioned, and although Lynn didn't see, her face was etched with a mixture of shock and confusion. "Who are you? I thought Evan Buckley lived here!"

"Yeah, he does," Lynn replied, and she peeled open two of her fingers so that one of her eyes would make eye contact with the brunette. "I'm his roommate, um, Evelynn. Or Lynn."

"Wait, are you Buck's girlfriend, or something?" The woman asked, and Lynn was a bit confused on how she wanted to continue this conversation as one of them was currently naked.

"Uh, no, no! Evan's my best friend," Lynn waved her arms around, moving her eyes towards the ground so she wouldn't make the woman anymore uncomfortable than what she already was. "Aren't you a date or something?"

"Ew, no! Buck's my brother!"

Lynn already wide gasp seemed to take another turn, and her pink lips parted even further than before. You mean, the sister Buck briefly mentioned he hadn't spoken to for over three years?

"Maddie?" Lynn gaped, raising her hand to cover her mouth, fearing a fly would surely make its way into it.

"He talked about me?"

"Okay, you know what?" Lynn rose both her arms up in the air, feeling even more awkward and flustered than usual. "We can finish this conversation once both of us are fully dressed and out of the bathroom."

"Yes, I agree!"

•••

"So, you and Buck?"

Lynn placed two clean wine glasses down on the marble kitchen island, and shifted the white wine she had in her spare hand. She almost narrowed her blue eyes at the woman, and then quickly waved her off with a soft scoff.

"Evan's my best friend," Lynn corrected, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she popped open the wine, pouring a little in both of the clear glasses.

"Evan? I only call him that when I'm yelling at him," Maddie chuckled, graciously thanking Lynn as she hooked her fingers around the glass, taking a sip of it.

"I don't know, I guess it's our thing," Lynn explained, sending a half smile as she took a seat next to the woman on a wooden stool. "He calls me Evie when my names Lynn and I call him Evan when his is Buck, I'm not even sure how it all started, really."

Maddie seemed to suspiciously narrow her eyes brown eyes at the brunette, not really believing her words but figured it wasn't her place to interview the newfound friend of her brothers.

"God, I could never imagine Buck could actually live with a woman, let alone just be best friends with her."

"He's changed, a lot since I first met him," Lynn replied, raising her glass full of wine towards her pink lips. "He used to be this hot playboy, but now he's really a softie, that doesn't like treating women poorly like he used to."

"And he just suddenly started acting like that? I mean, I know my brother, and he's been chasing girls for as long as I can remember," Maddie giggled, and Lynn closely followed her with a few rounds of laughter.

Before either Lynn or Maddie had a chance to continue their conversation of Buck's past with women, they were interrupted when they heard the front door knob start to jingle.

The two woman quickly exchanged looks, and it was as if they both had the same plan; it's a surprise!

   Quickly and carefully, Maddie ducked from her wooden stool and went down behind the kitchen island; which you couldn't see past if you were just opening the door. And just as her head bobbed underneath the counter, Buck swung open the front door.

   Lynn swiftly lifted her head up from staring at Maddie crouching beside her and had to bite down on her lower lip to keep in her laughter. And within a second, Lynn's amused face was replaced with complete seriousness, trying to sell the surprise.

   "Oh, hey, Evie," Buck spoke up with a slight smile on his face when his eyes landed on the girl, but then that smile started to fade when his eyes enviably landed on two wine glasses resting nicely in front of her on the marble counter. "Let me guess, you invited Eddie over."

   Lynn's happy attitude from being able to surprise Buck with his sister began to turn with annoyance, and she let out a loud scoff while her expression turning sour.

   "Really, Evan?"

   "Don't 'really, Evan', me. You're the one who's apparently all buddy buddy with Mr. Eight Pack," Buck retorted, gently setting his bag from his shift onto the marble by the counter. "So, where is he? In the bathroom? Oh, wait, maybe he's in your bedroom."

   Lynn's pink lips shifted into a gasp at how absolutely cruel Buck's tone of voice sounded towards her. Then she clasped her mouth back closed, and stood up from her wooden stool while it made a croaking noise being moved back.

   "Surprise," Lynn stated with fake excitement, and then her eyes landed on Maddie who was still kneeling on the ground.

   Buck's face twisted with confusion and shock as he saw his older sister slowly crawl back up from behind the counter. She had a completely horrified awkward expression, and she cleared her throat through the tension. Then, Buck switched back over towards Lynn, and guilt and shame spread across his face.

   "If you'll excuse me, I realized I forgot something at the grocery store," Lynn spoke up, but both of the Buckley's knew she didn't do such a thing, but just wanted to be out of the apartment at that point. Her body then shifted towards Maddie, and Lynn sent her a small smile. "Maddie, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. Goodnight."

   And with that, Lynn hooked her fingers around her car keys that were resting in a cup holder right beside the door. She slightly shoved her right shoulder into Buck's as she walked past him, and then shut the door behind her.

•••

   "So, what happened to you? Because this place is nice, and clean, and you just cooked me food, actual food. Is there a shallot in here?"

   Buck let the smallest of smiles cross his face while he itched the top of his eyebrow, with one glass of white wine in his spare hand. He watched his older sister walk towards the living room, and took a place beside the woman as they both sat down on the comfortable couch.

   "It's Eve, she, uh, she's this really amazing cook, and she's been teaching me. Uh, we have not made it past breakfast, though," Buck explained, and the tiniest bit of sadness stung in his eyes when he was reminded of how he snapped on her earlier. "It's her place, actually, I moved in a little while ago when her sister moved out."

   "Evelynn, yes, she does seem like a pretty amazing woman," Maddie stated, and then her eyes switched from staring at her plate of food towards Buck. "So, are we gonna talk about all that that happened earlier between you two, or?"

   Buck let out a deep sigh, and his gaze down to his fingertips that were playing with one another.

   "Mads, I don't know..." Buck trailed, almost stuttering at trying to find the words to describe his feelings. "I met Eve almost eight months ago, and ever since then...it's like I haven't wanted to be that old Buck who played with girls feelings. Like, I wanted to change."

   "Lynn mentioned that, that you weren't your usual playboy self," Maddie agreed, and she sent her brother a sympathetic smile as she waited for him to continue.

   "I mean, I started to see this one woman, Abby," Buck explained, his palm reaching out into the air aimlessly. "But I broke things off with her, because I realized I didn't even like her that much. But I think I was using her as a distraction..."

   "A distraction from?"

   Maddie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion towards Buck, and he just shook his head at the ground beneath his feet.

   "I think I like Evelynn, Maddie."

   Maddie's expression turned happy as a smile started to etch on her face, and Buck rose his head to make eye contact with his older sister.

   "What?" Buck questioned, his head tilting like a lost puppy.

   "I could've told you that the second I saw you look at her when you walked in," Maddie countered, and she let out a laugh which was closely followed by Buck, and the two took a moment. "If you like her, why haven't you done anything this entire time?"

   "Well, see, right before I moved in we had this...moment, where I spent the night when we were both kinda drunk," Buck revealed, and he shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Evie more so than me. One second we're just chilling in the kitchen and then the next we're making out."

   "Oh," Maddie almost gasped, not really expecting the story to just suddenly shift in that way.

   "Yeah," Buck responded, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "And we haven't talked about it since, and I don't know if it's because she wants to pretend like it never happened or if—"

   "—Who kissed who?"

   "What?" Buck asked, almost raising an eyebrow at his sister for abruptly cutting him off.

   "Which one of you kissed the other?" Maddie retorted, setting her now empty plate of food on a coffee table a foot or so in front of them. "It's important."

   "Uh, well, I guess she did."

   "Buck!" Maddie exclaimed, pushing the boys shoulder softly while he just sat there in utter confusion. "You were totally the one who was supposed to bring it up. She already made the first move, the next one was on YOU! She's the one probably thinking you didn't want it to happen."

   "Wait, really?" Buck almost gasped, and then his gaze fell back to the floor as he was thinking.

   "Yes, really! Gosh, boys can be really dumb," Maddie replied, rolling her brown eyes while leaning backwards on the couch. "You have to talk to the woman."

   "Well, she's been really hitting it off with this new guy, Eddie," Buck explained, and just talking about the situation seemed to only make him more annoyed about it. "And he seems to dig her, too."

   "And you're the one pushing her farther away from you and towards this Eddie guy with your damn jealousy," Maddie scolded, raising his index finger to flick behind Buck's ear. "Think you could make it anymore obvious?"

   "Man, I know, I know," Buck groaned while he threw his head back on the couch, throwing his arms up in defeat. "It's just, every time I see them together and giggling or whatever, I just get so angry and I lose all my cool."

   "Maybe don't throw that anger towards Lynn?" Maddie suggested, raising an eyebrow towards her brother. "It's not her fault, you know."

   "When did you become so wise?" Buck joked, sending Maddie a small smile while he reached for his glass of wine.

   "I'm your older sister, I've always been wise."

a/n: i was so happy to introduce maddie finally yay!! she's definitely one of my faves🥺