Lisa

I think Kevin's trying to play the both of them! I'm so glad Jim FINALLY came to the conclusion that it didn't matter WHAT Dane found out -- Dane's an ass, and why the hell does he want him back in the first place? I'm happy he realizes now how he feels. Maybe now he can forget about Dane and move on. I'm really curious to know what his excuse for not going to Boston will be.

I agree with the readers who feel that Mike is actually helping Dustin by being there for him. Not for sex, but emotionally. I remember the night (day?) Billy heard them. Mike was expressing his love, and Dustin told him not to fall in love with him. I'm glad to learn that Mike isn't paying Dustin. I also agree that if Mike were to get caught, Dustin would be lost. Mike is the only friend he thinks he has. Selling himself for the control and the feeling of being important, mattering to someone, albeit temporarily, is of course horrible, but I can definitely see Dustin doing this. His 'family' (and I use that term oh-so-loosely) is atrocious; they are horrible human beings who have shown Dustin nothing but misery for his entire fifteen years of life. Dustin believes he lost the best friend he had, and he has no one to call his friend except Mike. For Dustin's sake, I hope Billy keeps his big mouth shut and doesn't tell Brett any of this. Brett will only use it against Dustin. Maybe not immediately, but one day he will. Truthfully, Dustin would be better off living with Mike. The less he sees of his 'family', the better. IMO. They're toxic.

Wait, do you know which story we're talking about, Renee? lol Omg, this is too funny!! Unless you're just talking about all the stories that were sent to you to post...hahaha!

I know, watch it'll be someone we never thought of! Haha, maybe they both collaborated on it but sent it to someone else to post! Those sneaky guys!

You posted these poems on a day I will never forget, Tim. The first one breaks my heart, thinking of those who were taken from us way too soon. The second poem I can so totally relate. The first time I stopped believing in God was when my favorite grandma died. I must have been about ten or eleven. My mom was hysterical. I thought, why would a God who's supposed to love everybody take my grandma away? The second time I stopped believing in Him was when my dad died. Of course it was totally my dad's fault -- the doctor warned him to stop smoking and drinking, but he didn't. At least he died in his favorite place -- the bar -- after his massive coronary. But at the time, I still blamed God. Why would a God take people from their loved ones? Take people who are still needed? Why on earth would God make "parents" (and I use that term very loosely), who kick their children to the curb for something the children have no control over? Why would God give people these horrible diseases and destroy families? I understand all that anger and hurt and devastation. Thank you, Tim, for your beautiful poetry. Many of your poems make me cry, but that's a good thing, Tim, because that means they affected me in a powerful way.

Lol, LBO, I thought the same thing about a story I was sure either AC or Parker wrote...of course they're both on the list too. Maybe they wrote it together?

What a great idea!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPIKEY!!!!! I hope you had an awesome b-day!

I totally agree with everyone who thinks Brett took some of Billy's pain meds. He specifically said he didn't buy or smoke any weed, not that he didn't take anything. Billy's door being open and the emphasis on the pain meds when he was packing, were dead giveaways. I must say though, the pain meds might have helped Brett see what a little shit he was being. I'm really glad he's owning up to his issues and his regrets. I wonder if that could be put to good use though...like apologizing to Dustin for one thing.

It amazes me that Brett thinks his mom's patients are all freaks and losers. How can his perception of a psychiatrist be so outdated? I'm glad Jen is finally taking him to see someone. Brett needs someone to talk to, an unbiased someone who will listen to his problems and hopefully teach him how to cope with disappointment and not getting his way all the time. I enjoyed the talk Billy had with his dad. I'm so glad his dad will be better. The talk Billy had with his mom was really good too. I think she was finally able to get through to him and let him know that what happened with his dad was not his fault. I kinda had the same feeling the other readers did, when George mentioned the coin collection that he's saving for Billy. Does he know about B&B? Or was it just something he said because he knows they're such good friends and Brett's always around? Ok, on to the next chapter.

Bailey was a football player??????? That's very interesting. @Shadow: Chris is the one who grabbed Declan's phone and deleted the first video. Then Declan deleted the second video without even looking at it. He definitely should have kept it as proof of Chris and Eric beating Bailey up. Why is Bailey's mom such a bitch? And where are they going? Bailey's a tough kid; I give him a lot of credit. Chris and Eric, though, need to be taken down quite a few notches -- they're nothing by stupid bullies.

As Drought said, Cookie and Ellie have noticed that Wally and Graham, respectively, are miserable. Of course Ellie knows about Wally and Graham, but Cookie doesn't. Or maybe he does. I would have been furious with Cookie also if I realized he set me up like that! Cookie is no dummy, that's for sure! I'm anxiously awaiting the next chapter, Parker.

I'm clueless! I only know the ones I edited. It'll be fun to find out who wrote what!

Wow, Scott bared all to Graham, and he's given Graham a helluva lot to think about. Scott is a changed young man; he's not the TP we knew and hated from the beginning of the story, but Graham doesn't know this. Sure, Scott said he's a different person now, but how can Graham be sure? Graham may be feeling betrayed now -- betrayed that Scott wasn't up front with him sooner, but then of course that would have ruined even their friendship. Ok, on to the next chapter, and by the title, I'm sure it's going to be a sad one for Scott.

I am pleasantly surprised that Alek has made all these changes for HIMSELF, not Liam. I'm glad he finally realized he can't live his life miserable. Liam's accident opened Alek's eyes to the fact that life is too short. Why would he want to spend it in the closet and miserable? Nata seems like she's going to be a good friend to Alek. And good for Alek for getting out from under his father's financial strings too! This was another great chapter, Lit! Liam has some tough choices to make now. Hopefully, as others have said in their comments, all the characters will get their HEA.

Uh-oh. Didn't Jim break the bro-code? I'm sure Kevin realized Cameron was really interested in him...this is gonna get pretty awkward. lol Especially if Jim goes with them to Beantown. Jim's gotta tell Cameron. He can't let Cameron find out on his own. They're still friends, after all.

I'm playing catch-up now. For some reason, I didn't remember Cameron being gay. I wonder if Jim will get Kevin Orr before Cameron. Dane was absolutely horrible. How can you break up with someone you 'loved', when your so-called 'loved' one was in the hospital? What an ass. Why the hell does Jim even want him back? He could do so much better.

I like the way you're telling the story, Duane. It's pretty comical. I also like your name -- just like the drugstores on every corner of the city.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASAMVAV!!!!! I hope you had a terrific day!

I don't get the emails for the PMs either, Tim.

Oh man, it was pretty funny when Declan realized Bailey was in his math class! He's been so oblivious, he just thought Bailey appeared out of thin air just to annoy him. Declan's been so self-absorbed he hasn't paid attention to anything except classes and football. He's so lucky his friends are truly friends, and they're not turning away because he's acting like an ass. I'm glad Evan opened Declan's eyes to how he's been behaving. Great chapter, Mom!

So Declan needs to think and make sense of his thoughts going through his head, and he runs into Bailey on the track -- the person who's putting all these thoughts in his head in the first place. And then in his frustrated and annoyed state, he totally disses the gymnastics team to Justin. Even my mouth was hanging open when he said all they do is dance around. lol It's obvious the football team has no idea what gymnastics is all about! I just wanted to slap Declan upside the head; he was being so stupid. Ok, on to the next chapter.

Awesome chapter, Krista! I loved the talk between Jackson and his mom, and of course the warning that Cindzilla (did I spell that right? lol) can never find out. Yeah, good luck with that! It's so nice to see Luke doing something that Jackson didn't know how to do! And they're actually on a real live date! Yay! lol I'm anxiously looking forward to the next chapter!

And voila! Wait, hang on, I'm in the process of applying to programming school. Seems I need a degree to figure this all out! I'll figure it out tomorrow, err, later, when I'm not so tired. lol

I'm with Gary; I read this when I first came on the site and devoured all of Dom's stories, but now I want to read it again! Excellent excerpt, Val! If anyone out there hasn't read Dom Luka's stories, you definitely have to. He's up there with the best authors on the site. I just wish he would come back. Ok, so stupid question: I've never copied a banner before. I know how to copy it, but where do I paste it? Is it any time I write something in the forums, the banner will show up as long as I copy and past it each time?