Found You in the Algorithm ~ Sam golbach

1

The front-facing camera flickers on. Melinda, slightly off-center in the frame, flips her black hair over her shoulder and exhales like she's been holding this in for weeks. She's sitting cross-legged on her bed, low light, tank top, her silver-flaked nails catching the light every time she gestures. There's no background music. No filters. Just her voice.

"OK, hi. I'm Melinda," she starts, her tone deadass serious. "I only have like 300 followers so I'm not expecting this video to go anywhere. I just wanna like... say my opinion on this whole fucking matter that's going on Sam and Colby-wise."

She shifts her weight, like she's prepping for war.

"First of all — back when Sam and Kat broke up, right? Six months later Sam started dating Kaitlyn. After a six year relationship. Let me just tell you how a brain in love works. When people are there for you while you're struggling? How much do you wanna bet Sam didn't mean to fall for Kaitlyn. 'Cause Sam wasn't looking for anything. He was healing. He was being a fuckboy. Shit like that."

She lifts a brow. "And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. He just got out of something major. Six years. You don't walk that off."

She leans closer to the camera now, voice lower, more intense.

"A lot of people hated on Sam for dating a girl his ex-girlfriend was friends with. But first of all? If Kaitlyn was there for Sam during the breakup, Sam's brain would transfer that comfort into care and love. Because she was there. That's how it works. You don't choose that shit. Your brain latches on to whoever feels like safety."

Beat.

"You look for what you had in someone else. That's grief. That's loss. That's human fucking nature. The same thing happens when people die."

She shrugs, biting back a sigh.

"I'm not saying Sam's ready to be out here dating again. I'm saying — Sam now, in 2025? He's taking care of himself. Started working out. Trying to better himself. Trying to like his own reflection again."

There's a pause. A flash of something real in her eyes.

"And I understand that some of y'all think him and Sofie might start dating. But like — genuinely — if you use your brain? I don't know how old you guys are. I'm 18. But I'm matured on pain, not age. So I'm very mature. Which is why I can see this from a perspective some of y'all can't."

She raises a hand, her tone hard now. "Sam is not looking for a relationship right now. And I do not think Sam would go for someone like Sofie."

She holds her phone tighter, eyes locked on her own reflection like she's daring the world to disagree.

"Sam right now? He's not trying to go out and get a girl. He's trying to focus on himself. To like his own self-image. To look in the mirror and say, 'Goddamn man, you look handsome as hot as fuck today.'"

A small, amused smirk escapes her lips.

"That's what I'm trying to do too."

Her eyes flicker with heat again.

"He's not trying to become prettier for women. He's trying to find himself again after what happened with Katarina."

There's another long pause.

"And I get it — he's a public figure. Y'all wanna ship him. But let me just point out one more thing..."

She pulls her phone a little closer now, eyes sharp.

"The way Sam and Sofie hugged in that video? That was not a romantic hug. That was a platonic hug. That was a 'I'm proud of you' hug. Not an 'I like you' hug."

One last jab — precise and cutting.

"Go back and look at that video. Look at Sofie's hands. They are flat on his back. Over his shoulders. That is not a relationship hug. That is so platonic it's crazy."

Melinda exhales, finally. Like she just dropped a weight.

The camera cuts out.