The Price of Friendship by Graeme

[TalonRider]

Very much agreed, Benji.

[hh5]

hehe I just getting started in reading this story

 

Its all too human - to place a label on someone and we all assume its true.

 

Its kinda a reverse situation of "In Due Time"

 

But I still wonder if Drew and his friends would be more understanding once they get to know rick

I hate to see Rick to get hurt just because everyone assumed

 

Talk about being in rock and hard place.

 

I'm up to chap 5. In chap4 when rick though of the word "fraud" It occurred to me that it would be funny if Rick was criminality a fraud then it be extremely funny in all the things he's getting into ... ahh save that for another story.

 

Gosh, this is a fantastic story. hehe, I think I met a Brandon character in my life and yes - I was just as naive as Rick. But my goal was to make a friend.

 

I do hope the police get Phil. I feel that Phil going to have an early grave. I hope Phil friends realize Phil is no friend but soon to be a wanted criminal.

 

I like to see all rent get together and see if Rick gets outed by Drews Parents.

hehehe I still like the idea Drew getting into Ricks pants but I think Rick would rather be drunk when that happens.

 

I find that since Rick moved to this new place to live. He's been the most perfect human being compared to the other characters.

Of course I will shudder if he will one day in the chapters to come to show some real faults but I doubt it.

Edited December 2, 2008 by hh5

[wildone]

I agree with Benji and Jan .

 

On the other hand, I don't blame Rick for telling Drew, Angus and Brandon to back off. As much as I hate it, it is the right thing to do. I now wonder if Rick forcing Drew to apologize to Sue's mom was a bit of foreshadowing. Hell, it even seems Drew has figured out that Rick is going to hold him accountable for his actions.

 

The one concern that came up during this conversation is with Drew's dad inviting Rick's parents over to dinner. I can see this snowballing as other friends and parents get invited to attend as it becomes a 'welcome to the neighbourhood' dinner. With that many parents all aware of Drew's sexuality, when they find out from their kids that Drew is with Rick, how long to one of the other parents mention something to Rick's parents .

 

Maybe I'm being a bit pessimistic here , but Rick has to do something PDQ.

 

Can't wait to see what happens next, thanks Graeme .

Edited December 2, 2008 by wildone

[TalonRider]

Chapter 7 has been posted.

[Benji]

..............Well Graeme, another enlightening chapter! It is obvious that Rick is not gay, but still harbors confusion when around Drew. Rick seems like a good person that always wants to do the right thing so it is confusing that Rick would make Drew 'do the right thing', when in fact Rick is being dubious with his own truth. Since Rick doesn't believe himself to be in a real relationship with Drew, he is amiss in the Drew's reaction to Sharon coming along. Prompting Drew's fatal utterance within earshot of Rick's clumsy Mom.

[hh5]

..............Well Graeme, another enlightening chapter! It is obvious that Rick is not gay, but still harbors confusion when around Drew. Rick seems like a good person that always wants to do the right thing so it is confusing that Rick would make Drew 'do the right thing', when in fact Rick is being dubious with his own truth. Since Rick doesn't believe himself to be in a real relationship with Drew, he is amiss in the Drew's reaction to Sharon coming along. Prompting Drew's fatal utterance within earshot of Rick's clumsy Mom.

 

ahh not that she is clumsy .... its more like .... ewwww my son has the cooties

 

Rick is definitely in between a rock and a hard place.

So far as we know Rick parents have not shown any sign of homophobic hostilities.

I think this will just add to the price of friendship.

The father doesn't have to know.

Drew and Sharron - do have something in common.

So - I guess - Now Sharron can have more fun on her son with Drew.

Since Rick has not made friends outside the circle of Ricks friends - he is stuck.

Its only two more years minus one week and all this be over or find Drew a replacement like quick.

 

The middle ground to this incident is that he could say he's BI.

Then he can have Drew and the Claire. As long as they can be a threesome.

They can elope to Ca and have a Gay and Str8 Marriage. Then Rick can avoid the Brandon factor.

 

I wonder how many readers would like to be in Rick shoes???

Claire Claire

 

 

[C James]

Rick certainly is in a predicament! He's very neatly placed himself in a very, very precarious position, and it just keeps snowballing on him! Now, apparently Mom thinks Rick is gay too! Rick's home life could be about to get very interesting, and not in a good way! Assuming, of course, that Rick and Drew don't find a way to explain what she heard.. Hrmm, maybe tell her they were rehearsing for a school play?

 

Brandon intrigues me. He's my favorite secondary character in this story.

 

Great story, Graeme! I think what I like most is how Rick's initial lie (actually, just not correcting Drew's assumptions) keeps snowballing.

 

BTW, I can't believe that no one commented on the cliffhanger in chapter 5 (Phil's attack): at the end of it, we had no idea if Rick would survive, or how badly he would be hurt!

[TalonRider]

Ah, but I did point out the last one to him.

[Benji]

Rick certainly is in a predicament! He's very neatly placed himself in a very, very precarious position, and it just keeps snowballing on him! Now, apparently Mom thinks Rick is gay too! Rick's home life could be about to get very interesting, and not in a good way! Assuming, of course, that Rick and Drew don't find a way to explain what she heard.. Hrmm, maybe tell her they were rehearsing for a school play?

 

Brandon intrigues me. He's my favorite secondary character in this story.

 

Great story, Graeme! I think what I like most is how Rick's initial lie (actually, just not correcting Drew's assumptions) keeps snowballing.

 

BTW, I can't believe that no one commented on the cliffhanger in chapter 5 (Phil's attack): at the end of it, we had no idea if Rick would survive, or how badly he would be hurt!

 

...........Quite true, a very intense ending, hummmm!! borders on cliffhanging. But I'm not the judge, perhaps CJ can make valid points since he is near expert in the subject!!

[Graeme]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

..............Well Graeme, another enlightening chapter! It is obvious that Rick is not gay, but still harbors confusion when around Drew. Rick seems like a good person that always wants to do the right thing so it is confusing that Rick would make Drew 'do the right thing', when in fact Rick is being dubious with his own truth. Since Rick doesn't believe himself to be in a real relationship with Drew, he is amiss in the Drew's reaction to Sharon coming along. Prompting Drew's fatal utterance within earshot of Rick's clumsy Mom.

I've highlighted something I wanted to comment on. You could be right, but another interpretation is that Rick doesn't know how to be in a real relationship. The period from fourteen to seventeen is a critical one in a teenager's social development because that's when they tend to move from having 'buddies' to starting a relationship. Because of his past, Rick's missed most of that social education. He can still learn it, so he's not fatally flawed by the loss, but he's essentially developmently delayed.

 

As an aside, I went to an all boys secondary school (years 7 to 11). Both myself and another friend I met at uni experienced the same thing. Because we were both introverts, as a consequence we didn't have much exposure to girls and it become really noticeable when we hit university. The other guys had gone through their social education on how to deal with girls, but we hadn't. Of course, I had a reason for not being particular concerned but the principle is the same -- I missed out on some important social development because of the environment I spent my teenage years in.

[wildone]

Coming out wasn

[Benji]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

 

I've highlighted something I wanted to comment on. You could be right, but another interpretation is that Rick doesn't know how to be in a real relationship. The period from fourteen to seventeen is a critical one in a teenager's social development because that's when they tend to move from having 'buddies' to starting a relationship. Because of his past, Rick's missed most of that social education. He can still learn it, so he's not fatally flawed by the loss, but he's essentially developmently delayed.

 

As an aside, I went to an all boys secondary school (years 7 to 11). Both myself and another friend I met at uni experienced the same thing. Because we were both introverts, as a consequence we didn't have much exposure to girls and it become really noticeable when we hit university. The other guys had gone through their social education on how to deal with girls, but we hadn't. Of course, I had a reason for not being particular concerned but the principle is the same -- I missed out on some important social development because of the environment I spent my teenage years in.

 

Good point! I didn't take into account of Rick's social development prior to his new environment. It was his (to be blunt) goody-two-shoes attitude (apologizing for the flowers and making Drew do likewise) his seemly trying to please. He was attuned to that, which lead me to believe he was just role acting on the boy friend angle. But your position that he was naive due to his age and lack of social situations makes a good counter point.

[TalonRider]

I will be counting the days until Graeme releases the next chapter so we can all find out what kind of shampoo that Clair uses that makes her hair smell so nice. I'm on the edge of my seat here .

 

Hopefully Graeme won't drag this cliffee out for too long and resolve it early in the next chapter .

 

Steve [/size][/color][/size]

The posting schedule that Graeme uses, the next chapter should be posted on, or near, 12/247/08.

[wildone]

Well Graeme has finally cleared up that evvvvvvvvvvvvvvil cliffhanger that he left us with at the end of Chapter seven by releasing Chapter eight.

 

You have to see how well thought out Rick's plan is going when he reveals he has gone beyond a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C and instituted Plan G for the current tension .

 

Actually this is a great chapter in the sense that Rick's hole that he has dug has probably hit bottom and nowhere further to go down.

[Benji]

Well Graeme has finally cleared up that evvvvvvvvvvvvvvil cliffhanger that he left us with at the end of Chapter seven by releasing Chapter eight.

 

You have to see how well thought out Rick's plan is going when he reveals he has gone beyond a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C and instituted Plan G for the current tension .

 

Actually this is a great chapter in the sense that Rick's hole that he has dug has probably hit bottom and nowhere further to go down.

 

..........Sooooooooo!! true, Rick has bottomed out, And the thing I didn't expect was for Drew to figure it out. I think Drew has figured it out and wants to help Rick out in this situation. Rick is still undecided on how he will approach the new developments. Drew has already resolved the problem and is trying to help Rick out. It would seem Drew is the hero here, however the unspoken truth is still unsaid, and needs resolution. Next chapter should be titled 'Blowout'

[Graeme]

Actually this is a great chapter in the sense that Rick's hole that he has dug has probably hit bottom and nowhere further to go down.

Oh, ye of little faith...

 

Seriously, thanks for the comments When I started writing this chapter, I was aware that Drew hadn't been portrayed particularly well. He was fun to be around, but he didn't appear to have any other redeeming points. However, as he has a circle of loyal friends, there had to be more to him that we'd seen so far. I'm hoping that this chapter showed some of that.

Edited December 28, 2008 by Graeme

[hh5]

Hey its gonna be like 800 chapters to cover 2 years

so there's plenty of time for Rick to get into more messy situations

or find his replacement for drew

 

I look forward to more of drews fantasies - if he keeps telling them in front of rick ... its gonna be a long 2 years

[Benji]

Hey its gonna be like 800 chapters to cover 2 years

so there's plenty of time for Rick to get into more messy situations

or find his replacement for drew

 

I look forward to more of drews fantasies - if he keeps telling them in front of rick ... its gonna be a long 2 years

 

.......... .. Maybe you should read 'New Brother' by Graeme, you can find it in CodeysWorld, it may leave a different impression then that which you laid forward on this story.

[wildone]

Oh, ye of little faith...

 

Seriously, thanks for the comments When I started writing this chapter, I was aware that Drew hadn't been portrayed particularly well. He was fun to be around, but he didn't appear to have any other redeeming points. However, as he has a circle of loyal friends, there had to be more to him that we'd seen so far. I'm hoping that this chapter showed some of that.

 

I have to agree with you here Graeme.

 

Drew really showed that he is a good guy and that he is a lot deeper.

 

I think back when Rick forced him to apologize to Sue's mom about the flowers, everyone thought it was so unDrew like. Then in this chapter he stayed for Rick's sake even though he was first kicked out by his mom then by Rick himself. When he didn't respond to the kiss that Rick initiated and then actually called him on it, regardless that Rick's mom was there, he did the right thing.

 

I wonder if Rick is now regretting trying to get Drew to do the right thing. Especially when the right thing isn't by his plan.

[C James]

I agree with Wildone; that was indeed an EEeeeeeeevil cliffhanger at the end of chapter 7!

 

Hrmmmm, my hunch is that Rick may indeed, via great effort, succeed in digging himself deeper yet!

 

Perhaps someone should send him a pamphlet containing the first rule of holes: when in a hole, stop digging.

 

He glanced at my mum and then back at me.

[hh5]

.......... .. Maybe you should read 'New Brother' by Graeme, you can find it in CodeysWorld, it may leave a different impression then that which you laid forward on this story.

 

I have to agree the impression of the other story is very serious for a different tone of story. I've gotten to chapter 16 since your msg above. Homophobic ppl are pretty much a danger to everyone - hate can be totally unfounded at the cost of family, friends, etc.

My life is not too far off from a combination of Aidens and Adams situation with the rents - my only fortunate thing is I kept quiet about my being gay for many years. Having homophobic parents and their strictness etc(many other things) - I probably be a statistic too. The chances of being lucky like Adam is usually very small.

 

But since TPOFF is set in the tone of a comedy and partly serious overtone when the truth does come out.

Rick greatest fear is how will people react when the truth does come out.

Its just a matter when thre truth will ever come out.

It may very well be a combination of good and bad but so far it may lean towards good since they in a way know Rick and don't.

 

In a way Rick is very fortunate for his life at this moment through the help of Drew.

The biggest fear is how much the price tab is gonna be.

I can relate to Rick past life very much - its just that I never had the fortune to have a Drew.

 

I hope Rick doesn't become a statistic - his rents most likey could never handle if it happened.

[hh5]

Both Drew and Rick are both realizing the price of friendship.

 

Drew recognizing his outing mistake.

 

Rick recognizing he living a lie.

 

Both are affecting each other - because of being close.

 

The question is when that price is collected

what will happen.

[TalonRider]

I think the hole that Rick has dug is so deep, he can barely see the light at the top. It's gonna take some help to get out it.

 

It was good to see a bit more of Drew.

 

Resolving that eeevvviiilll cliffhanger won't help you Graeme. The nominations begin in one week.

[Benji]

I think the hole that Rick has dug is so deep, he can barely see the light at the top. It's gonna take some help to get out it.

 

It was good to see a bit more of Drew.

 

Resolving that eeevvviiilll cliffhanger won't help you Graeme. The nominations begin in one week.

 

.........Yes! The nominations are coming in, and although it would appear the goat has wrapped this up, there are too many contenders here!

[Benji]

I think the hole that Rick has dug is so deep, he can barely see the light at the top. It's gonna take some help to get out it.

 

It was good to see a bit more of Drew.

 

Resolving that eeevvviiilll cliffhanger won't help you Graeme. The nominations begin in one week.

 

..........Especially since Rick has finally admitted it to himself;

....'I couldn't tell him that I'd only had a week to get used to the idea of being gay, and I still wasn't comfortable.'

Edited December 28, 2008 by Benji