Lisa

Wonderful story,, Altimexis!! Being such a dog lover, I HAD to read this story! Sandy stole every scene. I especially loved the 'turned around a few times and settled down' description! Sandy described things in such a way that made those things sound funny. He was a very perceptive dog. Oh, and what a bladder he had! Jeez, he hardly ever had to go out! I loved the ending! It definitely made me cry. I was so happy for Timmy and Robbie and relieved that the three parents finally saw reason and took it upon themselves to learn more about being gay. They had such archaic ideas! I'm glad the Internet straightened them out (no pun intended! ).

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's about love, loss, and pain with a lot of humor mixed in. The story centers around Jody, who's invited to his ex-boyfriend's engagement party, celebrating his upcoming marriage to Kate. Jody hasn't dealt with the breakup well at all; it's been a year and he's still hung up on his ex, Richard. Throw a few friends into the mix, a gun, a few punches, some sex on the beach, and you've got yourself a great story to read!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, LACEY!!!! I hope you had a wonderful b-day!!

Wait...did Adam/Matt just blow off breakfast with Elle? Rob and Ava seem really nice. On one hand, I hope they can help Adam find Yuri, but on the other hand, some things are better left alone. I know if he can't be with Yuri, he would at least like some kind of closure. Adam should concentrate more on Seth. Seth is a real boy who likes him a lot. Not a fairy tale prince who may or may not be real. Excellent chapter, Stannie! I will miss Elle, though.

Congratulations to @Hudson Bartholomew and @Timothy M. for being featured this month! The Ask an Author is always a fun feature because we get to learn a little bit more about the authors on the site.

I agree with Drought and Graeme; Gene has his own walls he built around him, most likely to please his father. The few times he's alone with Joey, his wall starts to crack. Slowly, but it's still cracking. Like when Joey's pouring his heart out to Star -- his walls are definitely crumbling -- faster than Gene's walls, but hopefully soon Gene will catch up. As long as Star's asshole brother Barry isn't around. I found it incredibly sweet that Joey spent all night in Allen's hospital room. Kudos to the first nurse who let him stay, but shame on that older bitch of a nurse who made him leave!

CONGRATULATIONS, Addy, tim, and Dodger!!!!!! I'm so happy for all three of you!! Very well-deserved wins! This year I didn't even try to figure out who wrote what. Glad I didn't; I would have bombed incredibly! Congrats again!!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, RUSLANA!!!!! I hope you had an awesome day!

Poor Joey. He's doing the right thing by visiting Allen and trying to help him, and he shouldn't have to prove to Allen why he does what he does. As Joey threw it in Allen's face, Allen is one to call the kettle black. Though I don't agree with how Joey threw it in Allen's face, at least he realized what he said was wrong and apologized. It was sort of odd that Gene didn't blow up at Joey. And you could tell he did care about his brother; he did ask about him, after all. I think their father is a horrible person; he's turning one son against the other one. At least the mom is showing concern for Allen. And thank God for Star! She's an angel! No pun intended!

I loved Mr. Brightside! I had figured the title came from The Killers' song! Love them too! I have to say, though, I think Viktor was one of my favorite characters in the story! Everything he did for Shane was just so above and beyond, you know? He was a wonderful protector. I highly recommend this story for anyone who hasn't read it yet. I'm also looking forward to an update on Smile Like You Mean It. (Hint, hint!) Great interview, Cia!!

Hmm, I don't remember everything about the original prologue, but I'm pretty sure Eddie wasn't mentioned. Was that it, or did I miss more? My memory isn't what it used to be, Cole! haha

The 'new' prologue??? Going into it right now! Thanks for the heads up (head's??) up, Cole!!

HAHAHA! This had me and ! Awesome line, rocky!

Yeah, Idk what the hell is going on. Something's definitely up with Nats. She's too hot and cold recently, and it's not her normal behavior. Same with Jake's dad. Why isn't he calling Jake back? His mom, forget about her. He doesn't need her co-dependency shit right now. And Eddie, wtf?? He already stood Jake up? He didn't call him? He claims he never stopped loving him, and he couldn't get him out of his head...that's certainly not someone who would FORGET to call Jake! The bucket is odd too. Who put it there if it wasn't Jake? I ditto Drought's question: could Jake have been on a bender and not remembered? What is going on? I feel like I'm reading The Twilight Zone! Can't wait for the last part of this section, Cole!

This was a very interesting chapter, Cole. Jake was certainly being philosophical! Why did he push Eddie away? Why did Eddie so easily give Jake the space he needed? Did Eddie even realize Jake had a drinking problem? 'It hurts so much, but I have to be honest. I’m not sure it’s Eddie, not anymore. Not after, our night together. I hope I’m not wrong.' I didn't quite understand this. 'I hope I'm not wrong' meaning he doesn't want it to be Eddie? That's how I read it.

I've been catching up on this wonderful story slowly but surely! When I got to the part at the end where Nats is totally rude and callous to Jake, my first thought was, "Jesus Christ, wtf is her problem? I thought she was his friend!" Then I read Def's comment about Nat. That would make perfect sense, though. Nat loves to go out drinking, and now she's losing her drinking buddy, so obviously she's going to be pissed at Jake. Obviously she's being totally selfish, but she can't see that now. She gets pissy with him saying she's lost two days of fun because she's been listening to him constantly kvetching about the same things over and over. So, yeah, it would make sense that she would be upset about losing her drinking partner. As far as Jake's "mother", what a f'n bitch! She's using him, and he's enabling her to use him. He needs to stop. Awesome chapter, Cole!

Thanks, Tim! I actually Googled it after I commented on the story. It's very interesting. I never knew Linden was even a name of a tree!

I honestly wasn't going to read this story because based on the title and the description, I really thought it was going to about zombies. Am I glad I was wrong!! First off, HH, I thoroughly enjoyed your story. I found myself actually laughing out loud at some of Jody's words. And the drinks! Omg, I really was laughing hard with the screw, bang, and blow (was that the name of it?) and the blowjob drink. Shit, that was funny! Another reason why I enjoyed your story was how Jody reacted to his ex leaving him for a woman. I've been there and experienced everything Jody did (except for the gun part and wanting to kill the ex and yourself part -- that was just crazy shit). True, Jody definitely needs help. A year is too long of a time to still be hung up on your ex. Besides, if your ex left you for someone else, why the hell would you want him back? Jody and Dickie (hehe) were together for six years, he's lucky his ex didn't do this when they were together for over eighteen years. With kids involved, no less. The part that really had me choked up was when Tommy was hugging him the first time, and Jody didn't even realize it until then that he really missed hugging and being hugged. As silly as it may sound, that was one of the first things I thought of when my ex left. Sure, your kids can hug you, but it's not the same as your spouse. As for Tommy, was he gay? Was he bi? He never said he was gay; Jody just assumed it. But to hook up with Richard after what Richard did to Jody...I would have found another guy to hook up with. Plus, wouldn't it be like fucking your brother? But Richard is scum, that's all I can say. He started an affair with Kate while he was still living with Jody, then he fucks around on Kate with Tommy. He's going to do the same thing to Kate. Bastard. HH, kudos to you. This was such a good story! I'd love to revisit Jody and Tommy again...maybe in a separate story? (Hint, hint)

Oh man, how embarrassing for Jake! And like others have said, I'm enjoying Jake's petulance. He really does sound adorable.

Very interesting second chapter! Now I know where the title comes from. So...using Jake as collateral... Diaz better come through before Jake decides he wants to stay with Klaus.

What rock have I been hiding under that I didn't see this story???? I love it so far! It's well-written, and the characters are highly amusing. Can't wait to find out what Klaus wants to do with Jake. haha

Instead of walking to the park and trying to remember how he felt when he jumped (crazy shit, if you ask me), Joey should have gone to the bridge. If he was looking for Allen, I'm sure he would have seen him there. I bet Allen's still at the bridge, just waiting to jump. I hope Joey and Star realize this. I think it was pretty cool of Joey to play matchmaker with Star and Ticker. Maybe by the time the story's over, Star will know all about Wadsworth.

I'm relieved Joey is back with Ticker's family. I think they're all wonderful, especially Mr. W. I'm disappointed that Joey went with Roger, though. I understand he wants his own money, and he doesn't want to mooch off Ticker's family, but there must be some other kind of part-time job he could look for. I wonder what Allen's thinking now. Of course, he admitted to Joey that he was a player when he was younger. Like @droughtquakesaid, the difference here is that Joey was getting paid. Well, and he didn't enjoy it. And why the HELL can't Barry the Bully leave Joey alone? What is his problem? He's trying to get Gene to fight Joey, but Gene doesn't seem to want to. Can't they just leave him alone?

Your comment in your ending author's note totally confused me. I thought for sure it was Brady who came into Ness' house. But based on your comment, it sounds like someone else. Or I read your note all wrong. I wouldn't forgive Brady that easily either (if, in fact, it is Brady that walked into to Ness' house). Oh, at the beginning of the chapter you wrote Lyrics' song 1-800 (whatever), but then you changed it to Logic's 1-800 (whatever) song. According to Google, it's Logic (and I think Alessia Cara, also) who sings it. I'm looking forward to the next chapter!

Yay! Go Nessay! Brady certainly deserved that and more! Now he can eat crow and apologize for being such a douchebag to his once best friend.