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"Stefan Schluter does not go over to see Nick Politis" that was hilarious. "Sometimes I felt that I was living my life in a novel written by someone who was determined to torture me." very fourth wall. Mark, that was just mean to poor JJ lol. Although JJ still has some atonement to do I hope this relationship sticks. Not that I think Kris is all that special yet but I think for JJ to grow he needs a stable influence in order to find his own.

In an earlier post I wrote that JJ was not my favourite character by far but he had then actually become one. And then I read chapter 2 of this book... Lol, his pity party about his graduation made me want to facepalm myself and yell "doh". But somehow Mark managed to reel him in, for which I am so happy. JJ is a broken character but there is also something wonderful in him. He has been through a lot and he isn't as strong as his brothers, or the others in the family. But he is slowly gaining resilience and coming to his own and I find this journey exciting. Well done Mr Arbour. Please continue with JJ's redemption arc. I admit it is challenging for me to read when he is being a spoiled brat, but it just makes it so much more rewarding when you managed to get through all the defense mechanism and insecurities and get to know who JJ is and is able to become. It is also hella difficult to write a character that has so many flaws yet you end up liking anyway. Bravo!

Your writing has brought a lot of joy to me. It is so hard to find quality writing on gay love that isn't all about sex. Thank you for sharing your stories. It got me through some hard times. Good luck with your health and think and surround yourself with positive stuff.

I have not seen any comments here yet so thought I'd throw my two cents in and promote this great story. As Frank said, he has posted it in another place and for me it was the best story I've read in a long while. I thought the characters came alive in his story telling and the story, the language, the grammar etc, flowed really smoothly. They were also long chapters so suited me wonderfully. I have not read this edited/re-worked version that he has posted here in GA but am looking forward to it once he has finished posting it. The original had some minor grammar/editing mistakes, nothing that detracts the story but just enough for the ocd, anal part of me to notice. I highly recommend this story. And for those who doubted the character Jon (I was one of them at first), he turns out to be a gem, yay! I needed that as when I read the story I was so fed up with dirtbags. Looking forward to reading this Frank and I hope you will continue with a sequel!

To Timothy M, I think that is a very common traits among us - to be indulgent of the faults of those we love while being overly critical on those we do not. Honestly I loathed Matt in 9:11 and Flux. He is still not my favourite character and I have a hard time coming up with anything nice to say about him. The best I can do is that he is Robbie's son but then Robbie was not my favourite character either . It's just that having been in so many books I miss him once in a while. Hopefully Mark will find some time soon to post another chapter. I find myself having JJ withdrawals which is wierd as I did not like him that much in the earlier books. But as I wrote in an earlier post, this book has really made shine. Given Marks previous posting schedule he must be super busy to be away for so long. Hope you are staying on top of things Mark!

JJ's opening salvo was just beautiful. I laughed when I read it. Someone mentioned that it might backfire and the only way I can see is that it will sour relation with Alex which to me is not a great loss. Actually this allegation might even help JJ's skating a bit as his trouble is mainly that he is perceived to have had a homosexual relationship. Not that I think JJ should go back to skating. He learned a valuable skill; getting up with a smile after he has fallen, and should now go ahead with some other stuff. He has become so much more interesting in this book. I agree that Will and Zach are really the biggest victim here. Hopefully Mark will be able to write something good for them. I was pissed at Zach before it was revealed why he broke up with Will and thought it was the whole Hayes curse again. It wasn't, but given the trackrecord of Hayes men I really hope that Zach will be able to break it and not fail miserably like Jeff and Robbie. Sure Robbie was successful as a businessman but as ha human being he failed with his infidelity. I left out Brad as besides it being fun to see how Will riles him up, I really have lost interest in him. Will is definitely my favourite character in this serie but surprisingly, in my opinion, JJ is the star on this book. Thanks Mark for a wonderful work!

I agree with Never Surrender that it seems a lot of people do not like Will. I am a big Will fan though. I can see why people get annoyed with the way he handles things but I think that is what makes me love him so much, because the things he do comes from a place of love. Yes knowingly sleeping with someone else's boyfriend was a dickmove and I give him a minus for that. But other than that everything he has done is to turn a mirror on his family to encourage them to become better, bigger person. He has a tremendous amount of love and forgiveness, as evidenced by how he forgave Robbie, his mother and Matt although they hurt him deeply. My heart goes out to him as he seems so desparate to be loved yet the people that he is counting on seems to fail him time and again. Speaking of people who fails Will, I was also one of those people who hoped that Zach would break the Hayes curse and not end up as a screw up. But so far the only person who seems okey is Frank. Hopefully Will can find someone who truly loves him and is there for him as an equal. Zach had a period when he was that, just after 9.11, but for the most part it seems like it is Will who is doing all the work in that relationship.

I love this serie so if I give any negative feedback, please keep that in mind. I have a hard time liking Matt. That is unusual for me as I tend to fall in love with/side with the protagonist and Matt had his own book in Bloodlines. I think that would be my negative criticism about this serie, that I find it hard to understand how the characters could change their personality from one book to another. Matt has turned into a douche. Marcel, another protagonist, turned into a douche. Sam (not a protagonist), Brian, Bitty (bitch to someone redeemable to back to bitch again). Back to Matt. Because of my dislike I did not feel that what Wade and Brad did could be considered as much a betrayal as what Matt did to Will. Wade and Matt were over. Even while they were together I do not remember Matt expressly forbidding Wade to sleep with Brad (although he was uncomfortable with it). Not like the way Will did who spelled it out to Matt in no uncertain term. Yet Matt was too stupid, or selfcentered, to take note of that. So no, I have little sympathy for Matt. Having thought about it I am now willing to concede that it was a betrayal of sorts, although I am still loathe to put it on par with what Matt did. But that is just personal opinion on this drama. However, I think what needs to be adressed is Matt's attack on Brad. Even though neither of them will admit it, everyone knows and that single act, to me, nullifies whatever high ground Matt had towards Wade and Brad. One does not attack family. One certainly does not do it in a cowardly way, sneaking up on someone in their own room and suckerpunch them. If violence is needed to clear the air (which I personally can not see a situation where it does) it should be in the open - man versus man. So let's say Wade and Brad betrayed Matt just as badly as Matt did Will (still dispute that). That attack was cowardly and came from someone who is just as much a scum as he thinks Brad is. Matt still has a lot of growing up to do. One small light is his reaction to Will when he finally realise the depth of his betrayal to Will. But it felt short and considering how many times Matt has fucked up, felt remorse to only go back there again I am not convinced that this epiphany will spark any change. I am really looking forward to more chapters in this excellent series. Keep on the good work Mark and congratulations to you and your editors for a superb job. Besides an exciting story your language, grammar, etc were professional in standard. I find myself easily distracted with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors etc when reading online fiction. Yours have been smooth with such a flair of language. Kudos!