Eddie sat at the kitchen table, scowling at his phone. His jaw was tight. His chest was burning. His hands were curled into fists at his sides.
Buck had deflated his tires. Deflated. His. Tires.
And gotten him fired.
And made him go viral as a top-tier Karen on The Viall Files.
Eddie had already suffered through two shifts at the firehouse with Chimney and Hen casually calling him "Mad Karen." Chimney had even suggested starting a GoFundMe to help Eddie get his tires replaced.
So yeah. Eddie was pissed.
He could feel the anger simmering under his skin like a low-grade fever.
And then Buck had the audacity to text him earlier that morning:
Buck: "Thinking about you "
Eddie had stared at his phone for a full thirty seconds before typing back:
Eddie: "Eat glass."
Buck's response?
Buck: "Love you too ️"
Oh, he was done.
Fine. If Buck wanted to play this game, Eddie would play.
He grabbed his iPhone and opened Instagram.
Time for revenge.
It started with a fake Instagram account.
Eddie opened the app, clicked "Create New Account," and stared at the screen.
Name:
He thought for a second before typing:
Madison Welment
He smirked. Yeah. That sounded real enough.
Username:
He tried a few options before settling on:
madisonwelmentXO
Then he searched "Karlie Kloss" on Google.
Karlie had the perfect mix of rich-girl energy and influencer aesthetic. Eddie saved about a dozen of her best photos to his camera roll — vacation shots, selfies in designer dresses, soft, glowing natural light.
Once he uploaded the photos to the account, he captioned them with painfully basic influencer captions:
"Feeling blessed "
"Morning light hits different "
"Self-care is an art form ️ ️"
Eddie cringed even as he posted them.
Then he went to the search bar.
He typed:
evanbuckley
Buck's profile popped up immediately — 52.4K followers. His grid was filled with shirtless gym selfies, group shots with the 118, and too many candid shots of Tommy Kinard.
Eddie scowled at the sight of Tommy's hand resting on Buck's chest in one of the pictures.
He hit Follow without hesitation.
And then he waited.
It only took two hours.
Buck's follow-back notification lit up Eddie's phone while he was making lunch for Christopher.
"He took the bait," Eddie whispered to himself.
Christopher, sitting at the table, frowned. "Dad?"
"Nothing," Eddie said quickly.
His phone buzzed again.
Buck liked your post.
Eddie grinned.
That night, Buck posted a selfie with Tommy on his Instagram story.
They were at some rooftop bar. Tommy was holding a glass of white wine. Buck was making that stupidly charming half-smile that Eddie hated. The caption read:
"This one "
Eddie's blood boiled.
"Oh, hell no," Eddie muttered.
He clicked into his fake account.
Time to escalate.
He searched Buck's name and left a comment under his most recent post — a thirst-trap gym selfie:
madisonwelmentXO: "So hot "
Buck liked it immediately.
And then Buck DMed him.
Buck: "lol thanks, Madison ;)"
Eddie's jaw dropped.
"He's actually flirting," Eddie whispered.
Christopher walked into the kitchen. "Dad, who are you talking to?"
"No one," Eddie said quickly.
Christopher frowned. "Are you texting Buck?"
"No," Eddie said defensively. "Of course not."
Christopher narrowed his eyes.
Eddie glanced down at his phone and typed back:
Madison: "What are you doing tonight? "
Buck's response came almost instantly:
Buck: "Hanging out with Tommy. Might go to his place later "
Eddie's jaw clenched.
"Oh, fuck you," Eddie muttered under his breath.
"Dad!" Christopher's eyes widened. "You just swore!"
"Sorry," Eddie muttered.
Christopher crossed his arms. "Are you seriously texting Buck?"
"No," Eddie said quickly.
Christopher's eyes narrowed. "What's that?"
Christopher lunged toward Eddie's phone.
Eddie held it out of reach. "It's nothing!"
Christopher's eyes widened. "Wait… did you make a fake account?"
"No!" Eddie said, too quickly.
Christopher's mouth fell open. "Oh my god."
Eddie groaned.
"You're catfishing Buck?" Christopher's voice cracked.
"No," Eddie said. "It's not—"
Christopher's mouth twisted. "Dad, are you serious?"
Eddie sighed. "It's complicated."
Christopher's eyebrows shot up. "How is this complicated?"
Eddie rubbed a hand down his face. "It's—"
Christopher's eyes widened. "Wait… are you jealous?"
"What?!" Eddie barked.
"You're jealous," Christopher said, pointing at him.
"I'm not jealous," Eddie snapped.
"Then why are you catfishing Buck?"
"I'm not—"
Christopher grabbed Eddie's phone. He scrolled through the DMs and gasped. "You sent a heart emoji?"
Eddie's mouth twisted. "Give me that."
Christopher yanked the phone away. "Dad. This is unhinged behavior."
Eddie rubbed a hand over his face. "I just… I need to teach him a lesson."
"By pretending to be a girl named Madison?"
"Yes," Eddie said flatly.
Christopher's mouth fell open. "You need therapy."
"I'm aware," Eddie said.
Christopher sighed and handed the phone back. "Dad, just… talk to Buck."
Eddie scoffed. "I'm not talking to Buck."
"Why not?"
"Because he's dating Tommy," Eddie muttered.
Christopher's eyes softened. "And you don't like that."
Eddie's mouth twitched. "No."
Christopher smiled faintly. "Then just tell him."
Eddie's chest tightened. "It's not that simple."
Christopher rolled his eyes. "It kinda is."
Eddie's phone buzzed. He glanced down.
Buck: "Hey, Madison wanna hang out sometime?"
Eddie's jaw dropped.
Christopher peered over his shoulder. "Oh my god. Buck's actually flirting with you."
Eddie's face paled. "Oh, shit."
"What are you gonna do?" Christopher asked.
Eddie's mouth opened and closed. "I… don't know."
Christopher sighed. "Yeah. You're screwed."
Eddie's chest was rising and falling. His pulse was pounding.
He had two choices.
Tell Buck the truth.
Keep the catfish going.
Christopher smiled. "Good luck with that."
Eddie sighed. He was so screwed.