mitchelll

Mr. Brightside Chapter 14 When Jason left his apartment, he was vibrating with adrenaline. He couldn’t quite believe he had actually been able to do it, to end his engagement with Denise. There was a sense of relief, a sense he had done the right thing for once, but it was overshadowed by a myriad of other thoughts and emotions. Sure, he had taken this step, but what was the fall out? And he also felt like a coward for leaving her weeping in his apartment, but he had used his reserves of

Denise is certainly not his only concern.

you could be right about Denise

The older I get, the more I become fascinated by people's ability to delude themselves and to interpret reality in such a way that it fits their own narrative. And Jason just wanted to get away, so he didn't stop to think. Even he he had, he knew he had nothing to find (he didn't really think of the Bywater Bad Bois as anything other than research.....yes, he too is deluded) and if anything figured, at this point, she's gone through this boxes....why worry?

To be fair, doing things without thinking them through is kind of Jason's m.o. And he is so emotionally overwrought, that all he could think of was getting away. And he really wasn't worried about her snooping because he's been used to limited privacy by having a roommate, and he was so far in denial that he doesn't have anything that would normally be suspicious as it relates to his sexuality....even the visit to the gay websites was for research and thus he didn't think of them as something to hide.

De Nile ain't just a river in Egypt.

Mr. Brightside Chapter 13 Jason stared, open mouthed, at Denise standing on his porch. Mentally exhausted, for a moment he thought he was imagining things. He had spent much of his time walking the streets of the Quarter thinking about her, and the sight of her seemed almost like an apparition his fevered mind had conjured. He had realized today that he had, in fact, never really loved her. Jason had loved the idea of her; the idea that he would have the wife, kids, and dream life that wou

i'm glad David is making steps towards accepting himself. hopefully the therapy session will bring even greater results. i was (and still am) petrified that he's going to end up sleeping with Alex and getting her pregnant.

I spent most of my 20s ensconced in academia, and, while I never witnessed anything like this, I can tell you sketchy things happen. Just look at Baylor's rape cover up. I think I missed the mark in introducing Thomas. I didn't realize he came across as such a cliched trope; I meant for him to be young, headless, and a little spoiled, not the male version of Amanda from Melrose Place. And as for the parents: Ted, as a member of the military, has seen first hand the devastation caused by DADT before its repeal. So whether or not he's okay with homosexuality, he is certainly not okay with someone sticking their nose where it does not concern him. And for the mother....growing up in the rural south, I have encountered many like her...she probably doesn't even have a real stand on homosexuality....since it's never really affected her directly, she is happy to follow along with the rest of the flock on this subject.

thank you so much, SD. Considering the ride you've taken me on with David and Twoey, I take this as a high compliment.

It is going to remain veiled for now. There are forces at work that Jason has yet to consider. And at least Jason is being forced to confront things; even if he would prefer to continue to ignore them.

thanks so much for reading. and I know what you mean about hating a fictional character. I hope Jason can redeem himself. And I can guarantee you he has a lot more things to deal with on the horizon. Through lack of enough planning, I feel I let my story structure get a little complicated. I never realized I would have to devote so many chapters to back story. Hopefully I can now focus on the present and the redemption portion of Jason's character arc.

Mr. Brightside Chapter 12 Remembering the horror of that long ago day, Jason shuddered and took a sip of his beer. He felt moisture gathering in his eyes, and he scrunched them tightly together, willing the tears not to come. Eventually, he felt able to look at Paul, into those blue-green eyes that were so like Shane’s. Jason had been afraid that anger was going to be what he saw in them, and he was prepared for that. Maybe even welcomed it as penance. But sadness was what he saw. “Wel

exactly.

Again, what Jason did was awful, but it was done without him pausing to consider the consequences. His rage blinded him to the probable outcome until it was too late. And as far as Thomas and Shane, there will be further details about the relationship, so I don't want to do too many spoilers about how Thomas really felt, other than say he did pursue Shane. However, I can explain why Shane falls for Thomas and doesn't try to have a relationship with Jason. Just think....the kiss happens and Shane is drunk. Not too drunk to remember, no matter what he said, but definitely drunk enough to be confused as to the context and how much it means to Jason. Unsure and scared, he runs. And then what happens....Jason willingly accepts Shane's not remembering and proceeds to act like nothing happened, and then basically ignores Shane for the rest of the summer. A summer spent with his hyper religious stepmom who dislikes him and a father who has moved on to his new family. They have also become deeply involved in the stepmom's homophobic church. So Shane decides ignoring the kiss and his feelings for Jason is the best option. But it has stirred up his awareness of his sexuality, and he is very lonely (especially with a distant friend) and desperate to be loved, not to mention completely inexperienced at relationships. So when a good looking, charming boy shows up who proceeds to deliberately woo him, how could he resist?

There will be consequences for what Jason did. However, for what it's worth, his actions were the result of striking out without thinking. There was no deliberate malice behind it. But "I'm sorry" can't fix some things.

Shane does seem to be targeted by fate. However, he has definitely had a hand in some of his problems. And as for Jason, yes it was awful; jealousy can be an awful, awful emotion when allowed to reign unchecked.

Mr. Brightside Chapter 11 When the day finally arrived for Jason to return to Tech, he was as excited and nervous as he had been last year as a freshman. True, he was returning to a now-familiar campus; in fact, he was returning to the same dorm, floor, and resident assistant as last year, but he was definitely keyed up to see Shane again for the first time since their kiss. The nervousness stemmed from being alone with his friend for the first time since the incident; while the nervousn

why, oh why couldn't Alex have been in the trunk of the PPF's car?

Thomas isn't that bad. Or at least, he doesn't mean any harm; he just wants everybody, especially himself, to relax and have a good time. But, of course, life usually isn't that easy.

The real problem complicating Jason and Shane is their unwillingness and/or inability to just be open with each other. Oh, the folly of youth

Thomas just likes a bit of fun; but you're right that he usually gets what he wants.

Thomas isn't that bad. He just thinks life should be fun, and if could be having fun right now, why not go for it. But I think you're right things are about to get messy.

As much as I enjoy stories involving over the top elements, it's nice to read a story like this that is grounded in reality with characters that actually act and react like real humans.

Thanks so much for the review. The story has turned out very different from where it started, but I was actually inspired by a comic story by Graeme where he managed to hit (on purpose) every cliche possible in a m/m college romance story. I decided to try to see if I could take familiar elements--college roommate romance, hospitalized character, mysterious forces at work, and try to do something a little different.