Davide

Good point about the pretending, it's hard to continue to do that after the way Five reacted to Percy's injuries. At least that's the one good thing in the middle of how bad that was, because those two would have otherwise kept pretending, including to themselves, until five minutes before leaving.

So Michael is not just an asshole, he's also an idiot. He's one of those people who are smart in their specific field and clueless about everything else. Especially safety in his case, Jesus! When Percy saved that kid, he didn't do "what anyone else would have done", that was very brave. There's no chance in hell I'd have the courage to attempt anything close to that, I'd have stuck to calling 911 (actually 112 in my country, but I digress). The way Five reacted to Percy's injury, both running with him to help him and staying next to a sleeping Percy for eight hours, that's how you see how much he loves him. I know Five has a girlfriend, but I think him Percy belong together, what they have is way beyond a friendship.

Fuck! I'd like to say I hope things will go well with Nate's dad now, but I don't believe that will happen. He was too furious to change his mind that fast. But maybe they'll be less bad, since what he was probably doing was being alone to try to clear his head.

It took me way too long to realise you were talking about choosing a reaction, not choosing between World Of Warcraft and Love, lol.

The talk with Gigi went well, Nathan reacted correctly by stopping her. But now this thing with his father, fuck! The way he shouted, the only question is how awful will his reaction be.

Ev meeting Nate's high school friends and seeing where he grew up in must be cool, plus the guys were all nice. It was probably good for Nate that he wasn't present during the Gigi encounter.

So Connor basically cut things off completely, I guess I can see why. It must be difficult for him to be around a guys he loves as more than a friend, while knowing he can't be his boyfriend and seeing him with another guy, on top of knowing Connor's own actions hurt him. Ev's family would probably be fine if him coming out and saying Nate is his boyfriend, but the last sentence means they need to be very careful around Nate's father to not do anything that could give him hints.

Nate's been reading the comments, lol. Just kidding, but he reached the same conclusions. Ev was a lot nicer to Connor at the end than I would have been, considering what he did while Ev was sleeping, followed by lying and blaming it on Toby. What he did was messed up, but the damage to our friendship would have much more reduced if, after realising he shouldn't have done that, he had admitted to it right away without needing to be confronted.

I do think that sounds like an awful combination, but I had so many things to say that I forgot this one. I was also going to point out that it's funny that Miguel thinks boba tea is weird because there something to eat inside something to drink, but then it turns out that cheese in hot chocolate is normal in Colombia, which is also something to eat inside something to drink. I'm looking forward to the Noah chapters, I'm glad we'll get to read from his point of view because I want to understand him and his motivations better. You did say that somewhere in the comments of an early chapters. I imagine he'll become more likeable later as he learns from mistakes. But it's interesting to see a character like this.

I know Hunter had no one else he could talk to about his doubts, so talking to Rory is what had to do for his own sake. But damn, it must have been super hard for Rory to see a guy he still loves talk about dating other guys, it's different from vaguely knowing he's probably doing it. And then Rory seeing the guy who cheated on him talk about having feelings for other guys while having a boyfriend hits too close to home, it probably brings back those memories. And I think Rory is spot on, he knows Hunter very well, when he says "Look, Hunter -- you’ve gotta pick: stability or excitement. You can’t have both. You want love, but something in you won’t let it stick—maybe you don’t think you deserve it." After Hunter's inner thoughts say he doesn't really love Yeison, at least not as a boyfriend, he looks like he loves him as a friend, his thoughts while spending time alone with Miguel confirm he's clearly attracted to him. His brain says he shouldn't be Miguel's boyfriend because of the multiple red flags, but his thoughts and feelings tell us that his heart disagrees, even if he doesn't realise it because his brain doesn't want it. And Miguel being attracted to Hunter isn't surprising, it explains why he acts differently towards him than other guys, for example, in chapter 2, when Zack said that Miguel isn't a fan of gringos or him being willing to skip a party after Hunter said he doesn't like them. In chapter 8, Hunter's father says that Miguel's father is "very wealthy, very influential" and "He’s been walking the line between legal and illegal for years". I wonder if Miguel wanting to leave Colombia suggests he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps of whatever illegal stuff he does. Hunter is on the path of very much failing the other part of his father's request, "try not to get emotionally attached". But Hunter is just a regular teenager, it's not like he can control his emotions, they just happen naturally and he can't avoid them. I'm worried about what could happen in potential future getaways, like the one in this chapter, where Hunter and Miguel go outside the zone deemed safe without Juan Camilo knowing.

That was a wholesome chapter. The moment to remember Adam was emotional and perfect, the dolphins were a great touch. The plans for the new building in Stingray Heads sounds good for everyone in both families. And they're all getting some deserved time with mostly not needing to think about uncle Phill, the lawsuit and everything involved. I'm glad Daniel is progressing faster than Kevin expected in regards to working towards being comfortable with sex after what he went through. It's also good that they're able to talk about this with Jordan and Cameron. It's topic teenagers and young adults normally don't like to cover with people of a generation above, but what Uncle Phill made Josh and Daniel do makes it important for them and their partners to be able to talk about it.

This was hot, but there isn't much to say besides that. And Nate doesn't get pleasure from bottoming, but now he knows, experimenting is how you find out.

Sex as a distraction isn't bad writing in this story, it's completely in character. Partially because they're horny 24/7 when they're around each other, but mostly because there's topics they really don't want to even think about and that's the only solution they can come up with to avoid a direct question about them. Interesting on the different versions, I hope you'll give us a vague idea of what the one you don't go with was in the comments of the final chapter. I'm not replying to everything, but the rest of your comment is also appreciated.

Happy Monday, I'm caught up for the first time, now that the story is ending. A general thought, not about this chapter, is things would have been a lot simpler between Percy and Fine if they actually talked about stuff. But the story would also be less interesting, so never mind that. The rare two or three times when they actually started to talk seriously about feelings or what will happen after these days, one of them distracted the other with sex to not reply about a topic they're trying to avoid. I'm curious about what the outcome will be, whether they'll be boyfriends or have some other arrangement, because there's no way they can go back to being just friends. Regarding the actual chapter, Michael is a dick, but that's not news. The rest of the crew is nice, especially Krista, and surely making her the coolest character of that group is totally not biased on your part. If I was in Percy or Five's place, I'd suggest continuing to sleep in the same bed, considering at least most of the group isn't homophobic. But maybe this arrangement is for the best, since they're probably incapable of only sleeping if they do it together. As for who will break first, my bet's on Five. I'll have thoughts about Ethan at some point, but I'll leave them for a chapter where he appears more.

I'm not fully sure what that number means, but thank you. (This isn't me asking, I'll find out by googling it.)

Connor still seems fishy with the way he doesn't want Ev to talk to Toby about this, probably because that conversation would reveal Connor has been lying. Ev finally told Nate, but I understand the wait, it's not aneasy topic.

I just got caught up on the story. I don't how the same person can write both this and Black Sun, especially when you were doing both at around the same time. This was a great chapter. I'm a bit late to be worth going into specifics, I'll start on the next one.

Now it sounds like it was probably Connor who did something to Ev while he was sleeping. He was the one who spent time sleeping alone with Ev, plus he wanted to know if he has a boyfriend, probably to know if he's taken. Plus he's been acting very defensive, while Toby acting like he doesn't know anything is probably genuine, after all.

Shit, someone definitely did something to Ev while he was sleeping, that's fucked up. It had to be either Toby or Connor, and the comment that Connor later claimed was a joke means he must know. So he's lying to protect either himself or Toby.

Ev and Nate are adorable together. It's nice that the friends at the end don't seem to be homophobic. Given Nolan's comment about a friend with a crush on Ev, I wonder if that's Toby. Because maybe asking about Nate with the assumption of him being Ev's boyfriend could be more than a joke, maybe he was trying to sound Ev out to try to figure if he's gay and he's taken.

I still think Ev should see a doctor, just to be safe. But I get why he feels it's embarrassing and he's feeling better, so it's probably not serious. Meanwhile, those friends seem nice. And Ev can relax, most people aren't remotely as perceptive as Jay.

And here it is, the proper introduction to Ryan. I can feel the easiness between him and Jamal, they already make a great pair and they barely know each other at this point. The way Jamal feels seen by him matters a lot and that's highlighted well in this chapter. The conversation about the food truck being halal is a standout example of that. Seeing how important being seen is for Jamal and how much better it makes him feel helps emphasize the strength of the hurt in the first chapter, which takes place chronologically later. But I'm getting ahead of myself, we'll talk about that when we catch up to that point. For now, I'll enjoy their happiness together.

Yes, I had a brain fart. Of course i meant Rowan, but I unfortunately can't edit the comment anymore. And I agree with your last paragraph, that makes it feel worse.

Most of the chapter was beautiful, the way the sex went shows how much they love each other, it wasn't just for physical pleasure. It was a moments that shows how good they are for each other, but this will sadly serve as a way to show us what they're both going to lose. But “Don’t ever leave me, Chris.” was sad knowing what will happen. And Christian's doubts at the end hit hard because we can see Rowan's manipulation driving a wedge between that. The thought "What if I needed you to ask?" made sense from Chris' perspective, but only because Rowan placed that doubt in him. If it weren't for that, he would have been fine with not being asked because he would know Henry would be ready to listen if he said he wanted to talk. This is what makes it all more frustrating, and me angrier at Rowan, he's too good at planting doubts that they won't question because they seem logical on the surface. It looks like now is the time when things will start to go downhill, with Henry's manipulation precipitating them towards the situation we saw in the prologue. I can only hope that, after we get through that over the course of some number of chapters, the story will have a second part that goes from the prologue and, through a probably frustrating and painful process, towards them getting back together. I expect that will be the case and, if it happens, their love will be stronger after all the pain.

“Ughh! N-Nate, what did you hit just now?” I always like to see characters discover what happens when you touch the prostate. I get his reasons, but hidding the bleading wasn't a good idea. Ev should have gone to the doctor today, at least he now agreed to do it tomorrow.