maddie looks at buck with widening eyes while she puts jee on the ground so she can put her hands on her hips.
"yeah, of course i did it, right? i'm a walking cliche, of course i realize i'm bisexual and fall in love with my straight best friend, of course!" buck exclaims, clearly having thought about the subject for many hours with no sleep.
"well, it's a cliche because it's common to happen, so i don't think you should be angry at yourself for that. i mean, chim and i were best friends who fell in love." says maddie, offering him a supportive smile.
"well chim likes women and you like guys, eddie is straight and i'm a man!" buck shakes his head, eyes big and sad.
"has eddie ever told you he's straight?" maddie asks, knowing that this part is the easiest to deal right now. the whole "in love" thing is much more delicate.
"well, not directly, but i heard he tell some guys when we were on a call."
"maybe he just wasn't interested in them?" she tries to reason with her brother, but she knows how he can get when he's in denial. "and you can't use the fact that he has only been with women to try to prove your point because so had you a few months ago, evan."
buck huffs, clearly not enjoying being outsmarted by his sister.
"well, how can i know then? if he's straight or not?"
"you could, you know... ask him?" she chuckles, raising her eyebrows. "directly, i mean."
"what if he gets upset? and realizes i'm asking because i have feelings for him? and i end up ruining our friendship?" buck starts asking, clearly seeing the most pessimistic outcomes when he thinks about actually asking eddie about his sexuality.
"buck, if there's one thing i know in life it's that nothing could ever ruin your friendship with eddie." maddie shakes her head, her voice firm as she says it. "and to be quite honest... a lot of people can see the way you two look at each other, i don't think the chances of him actually feeling the same are as slim as you seem to think."
buck stares at her for a moment, his expression going from devastated to unimpressed.
"you and chim made a bet, didn't you?" he asks in a nonchalant voice.
maddie giggles and her eyes sparkle with mischief.
"well... yes, and me, karen and bobby just won 100 bucks." she responds proudly.
"wait, wait, wait? karen and bobby? they're also part of the bet?" buck asks with an incredulous look on his face.
"yes and when eddie reciprocates your feelings, we'll also win the second bet."