Uplifted Spirit

Randy is bitter. In my mind, he hasn't always been that way. He's changed since Dillon. He's a pessimist and is mad at the world and because he's so young is acting out. I'm not sure I always realized this until I wrote the next chapter. Thanks for your review.

Knots 3 Chapter 1 Andy I was released from the hospital after Thanksgiving and was home schooled until Christmas vacation. Another basketball season was going to go by without Andy Gibson. Last time I was a big baby and pouting over breaking my leg in football and this time I wanted to play and couldn’t. Life surprises you at times. A person sometimes changes for the better through adversity. It would be better if we could live life without it, but this time I w

This is the continued story of Matt Spence, Andy Gibson, and their friends. Knots 2 covered the first half of their sophomore year in high school. Knots 3 covers the second half. Matt and Andy are struggling with their sexuality along with the trials and tribulations that come with being a teenager. Decisions they make cause them to tie knots in their lives that have both good and bad consequences.

Lisa, couldn't have made this chapter as good as it is without you. The Dillon trial is going to change a lot of lives. Andy might have to miss this basketball season too. Thanks for your help and support.

Matt Andy and I thought Knots 2 would cover our whole sophomore year, but as you can see from your reading, it is much longer than we expected. Dillon’s trial was starting after the first of the year and we thought Knots 2 should end with this chapter. Consequently, this chapter quickly covers most of the events that occurred from the middle of the football season to the first of the year. Knots 3 will begin with Dillon’s trial and cover the rest of our sophomore year. At least t

Lisa I guess you could call this "saved by Matt and his dad." Sometimes someone has to have the courage to say something. It really shows what a good friend Matt is to Andy. I've often found that when a guy fights back, they gain the respect of the ones who were picking on him. Fighting back is still a scary thing to do.

Paul Thanks for writing and saying the story is getting better all the time. It brightens my day.

Lisa, thanks as always for taking the time to comment. The next chapter deals more with bullying. Bullies are just cowards in disguise. Sometimes the kids that are bullied need to fight back, not with guns, but with their fists. Bullies think they can get away with what they do because they think the kids they bully won't fight back. As we find out in the next chapter, a bullied kid can surprise the bully.

Andy Matt and I walked the two blocks home from where the activity bus dropped us off. I wanted to kiss him and grab his dick, but I waited until the bus was out of sight and then I kissed him. He was surprised. And then you know what he told me? “Gina kissed me at lunch, and her lips were really soft. I liked it.” “Yeah, but she doesn’t have a dick to suck or put in your ass.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said it, but as you already know, sometimes I don’t know when to

Matt I was kind of irritated when this kid I’d never seen before just walked over to our table and sat down. I started to say something when I realized it was Ollie. “Is that you Ollie?” He smiled and nodded. “Damn, I can’t believe it.” Emily grabbed Ollie’s hand. “Hey there, handsome. If you weren’t so young, I’d go out with you.” He beamed. “I’m only a year younger than you.” “You mean you’d go out with me if I

I think kids tend to dress a certain way because they want to make a statement. I suppose it's not so bad if there is a large group of you. But if you are a minority of one, it's not such a good idea. I've always believe it's best to be different by trying to change things, not by trying to look different or act different. The reason being, that those who have the power to change things use the way you look as a reason for not making the needed changes. Just my opinion, of course. Ghandi dressed like most Indians. Martin Luther King dressed in a suit. Jesus dressed like the people of his time. I also want to thank you for pointing out that after your great edits, I managed to put errors in the chapter text that didn't exist before I made the changes.

Paul I was thinking the same thing myself. I know I'm the author, but often we have no idea what our characters will do.

Andy I did something I never expected I’d do. You know that emo kid that looked so gay and I didn’t want to have anything to do with? I actually stepped in and saved him from a bunch of bullies. At lunch, everyone at the table kept telling me I should go over and talk to him, but all I cared about was what everyone else in the lunch room would think about me. And then you know what, that damn Thomas went and sat next to him. It made me feel ashamed. I tried to coa

Andy I sure had a double standard back then, one for Matt and one for me. I’d fooled around with Randy and Kyle and hated the thought of him fooling around with Thomas. I’m embarrassed to say it, but I followed them out to the football field during lunch and hid under the opposite bleachers. They didn’t see me. They held hands. That pissed me off. Where did he get off holding hands with Thomas? They sat butt close while they talked and ate their lunch before going

Adam, Let me begin by saying, I admit that conflict is important to making a story interesting, and from the reviews you've gotten it looks like many readers identify with the conflict that goes on between Andy and Matt. And, of course, there's a lot of sex in it as Andy tries to run away from his feelings and his fear of what Matt's feelings and fears are. While I enjoyed this story and found it well written, I felt good friends would not be afraid to talk to each other. Most guys would just say, "What's with the attitude?" OR "What the fuck's the matter with you?" They'd argue about it and talk. They'd clear the air. Instead, Andy, who is usually assertive and confident, can't talk to his best friend Matt about much of anything, including the sex they had. He avoids him. I could be very wrong, but it just didn't seem like Matt would have let him get away with it. After all, they're best friends and are both confident guys. I found it hard to believe Matt wouldn't force Andy to tell him what's going on. That's what guys do. Instead, these two act like two wimpy friends who are afraid of what might happen if they talk to each other. I actually found it easier to believe that the wives would let them run off with each other every now and then. ( Although, there probably are very few wives who would do that.) The reason being that they communicated with their future wives about their feelings. They let them know how they felt. Where neither Matt or Andy communicated very well with each other until the very end. . This lack of communication between Andy and Matt was the conflict that carried the story from beginning to end, and from watching soap operas, I can tell you this is what they often do to make the story line work. People love it, so what can I say. I watch The Young and the Restless, and every time they do it, I get frustrated. But I guess art imitates life or at least that's what they say.

Matt, obviously cares about Andy more than he knows. Otherwise, why would he use Thomas. Matt can't be perfect all the time. He has to have some flaws just like the rest of us. But then, who knows, maybe a strong friendship will develop with Thomas. It could just be the beginning despite the fact he used him in this situation. Matt hadn't originally planned on doing anything but talking. Of course it all changed when he saw Andy. Andy must also care a lot. Why else would he follow them out to the football field?

If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails. Thanks to Lisa for editing. Andy Most of Sunday was lost for me. Matt wasn't ready to forgive me, I was mad at myself, and couldn't see me spending the day with my parents. But I decided to follow Matt's advice and give the last one a try. My dad was in the garage working on a wood project. He liked building things and had a table saw, lathe, rou

Lisa Your comments made me lol. It's easy to get sidetracked. I love reading in the morning and then doing chores or writing. My love of writing has increased since I've been writing this story. I always liked writing, but I'm beginning to love it. Of course it helps to have loyal followers like you.

Dawn, I appreciate your comments. Glad to know the chapters are flowing more smoothly. Hope I can keep it up. The boys do have a lot of growing to do. Thanks again for writing.

Authors Note: I used the name Mark for the 17 year old who joined Randy and Andy at the motel in a previous chapter. A reader pointed out that it was confusing because I was also using Matt as a main character. I changed Mark's name to Kyle only after a few readers had read the chapter so I hope this creates less confusion and not more. If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails. Thanks to Lisa for editing

Every story needs a few bad characters. Randy and Dillon are those characters. But sometimes Andy is too. Of course there's always the possibility that Matt may get together with Thomas. They're meeting out on the football field on Monday. Who knows what may follow? I never thought of the glass breaking as being 7 years of bad luck, but I'm a hedonist when it comes to writing. I hate to see my characters suffer. That can be a fault at times. Thanks for the review.

If you like this story, please write a review, click like, and follow me. Contact me at eliassctt@gmail.com I answer all emails. Andy What had I gotten myself into? I said no and here I was riding “shotgun” and headed to a motel with Randy and Kyle. . Kyle turned to me. “So are you joining us or watching?” “Watching.” He grinned. “Yeah, and for how long?” I stared out the front window. “Until you’re done and you bring me

Dawn Thanks for your comments. A writer can only become better when readers are willing to tell them how they are reacting to the story. My goal is to show and not tell. Many stories I've read here and on Nifty often tell us what the characters are thinking and why. I like the action of the story to show how they feel. It does make it more unclear at times. But I think you've picked up the feeling that the story is meant to portray. The boys are confused and in search of what will make them happy, but they really don't know. I didn't want this story to be one that follow the plot line that they meet, fall in love, have problems that threaten the relationship, resolve the problems, and then live happily ever after. Life isn't always that way. The story is called knots and it sounds like the story has you tied up in knots. I congratulate you on your continued reading. Does that mean it's accomplishing its purpose? Quite by coincidence, I read The Story of Dorian Gray and decided to weave it into Knots 2. Lord Henry talks of the power of controlling another person. Randy controls Andy by getting him to have a threesome with him and Mark. Dorian is cruel to Sibyl Vane and the cruelty shows in the painting of Dorian Gray. Andy has had sex with Randy and Mark. One could interpret this as being cruel to Matt and ignoring how Matt will feel. Randy is already that way. Mark is tentative and unlike Dillon, seems to understand Andy's concern. He's like Basil, the painter, in the story of Dorian Gray. Andy comes home and looks at the picture on his desk. He thinks it's changed, but unlike the picture of Dorian Gray, Andy realizes it's him who's changed. He drops the picture and it shows a certain amount of carelessness on Andy's part. Andy is sometimes careless with his life And while it wasn't entirely true, he tells Matt he's upset because he broke the glass on the picture frame. I could have told the reader everything I wrote above, but I want the reader to think about it. Now given all that, I have gone to a lot writers' workshops with a writer, who is a presenter at writers' conference, and he says that if you have to run around the country and explain your story to all your readers, you've failed as a writer. So of course you've made me ask the question, "Have I failed as a writer." It's a legitimate question. Please feel free to write me at eliassctt@gmail.com to discuss this further or to continue it here. I'm interested in what you have to say and would like you to explain a little more why you feel as you do. It will help me do a better job. I'm not sure if you read Knot. If you haven't, you should start there and then come back. It lays a lot of the groundwork to Knots 2. Thanks again for writing.

Thanks for writing a review, Lisa. Both boys are mixed up. Sometimes it helps to just have time to think. Matt had that, but because of Andy's past, Randy knew he was the one he could get out of the house one way or another. Andy did try to resist, but the pull of sex is hard to resist. It's the story of civilization, from King David to Bill Clinton etc. Randy is an ass. But one has to question if he was that way before Dillon or after? Did Dillon change him once he had a taste of sex? Maybe we'll find out later. Matt and Thomas obviously enjoy sex, but it seems readers sympathize or empathize with them I think mostly because they are not as careless with their lives. I've never quite thought of it that way, but sometimes we can be careless with our lives and that's dangerous. That's the story of Dorian Gray, he became careless with his life when the painting took on all his pain, suffering, and evil. I was a teacher, coach, and administrator at the high school level for 32 years and have seen what kids go through. They do often hide it. But they are always struggling. And what Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is what we call our mistakes." But most parents wants to protect their children from making mistakes. I feel sorry for children whose parents take the attitude that they'll just have to learn from their mistakes. We'll make enough mistakes in our lives as it is, never mind making more of them than we have to and tying more knots in our lives that we have to.

Thanks as usual for the comments Lisa. Of course we just never know what the future holds. You may be surprised.