Israfil

I seriously doubt he's as bad as Owen - I'm taking him at his word that it wasn't personal until Riley was...himself haha. He worked for his spot and wants to keep it - who doesn't?

You have a rather black and white view of things, I've noticed. I agree with @Sweetlion - while Trey was annoying and it was fun to see Riley put him down, Riley is a dick (takes one to know one) even if he's awesome. Who wouldn't have a negative reaction to him? I've been Riley but I've also been Trey the one considered "a hater" cause I choose not to put up with someone's antics. If Trey worked for it, he has a right to question the Coach's decision - though yes, he was a dick about it and certainly provoked Riley (not that it takes much) butttt he's a jock so I'm not expecting much in the way of diplomacy.

As someone who enjoys writing difficult to like characters - kudos for taking the risk with this story. I may not like Jeff all that much but you’ve shown some of his good intentions (though we all know where those lead) despite his serious shortcomings. The fact he remembers the natural beauty of Vietnam despite the trauma also struck me. Jon irritates me though he’s 14 so that’s to be expected. Clearly he knows about David and Simon and isn’t a fan but the fact that he hasn’t told his father yet is interesting. So either he disapproves but thinks it’s their business (which is oddly mature for a 14 year old as they tend to have a black and white perspective) or he’s not as unsupportive as he appears - but he and David’s relationship is definitely strained either way.

Yay! I'm no longer alone! Welcome!

Perhaps - perhaps our dear author can confirm if the Caldwells are part of Pastor Carl's church.

So....maybe I'm forgetting something but what was Mr. Caldwell referring to when he said Billy was "bad news" aside from being gay? Yeah he has a temper but that's mainly been with other students. Which of Billy's escapades did he pick up on? Or when Billy admitted he's known for some not so good stuff? From what I can tell, all most adults in town could see is that he keeps to himself and gets good grades. And dates Brett Reilly haha. Loved the chapter.. The reconciliation was great - it felt natural, not forced or glossed over. There's still hurt but it's outweighed by how much they need each other. Also kind of sweet how Joey stood up for them. I wonder how Sarah will react if she finds out that Dustin hooked up with her cousin Hopefully it won't be pretty.

Well that was intense. I kind of like the depiction of a reverse version of what a lot of men go through when they realize they’re gay - even if they have had strong romantic feelings for a woman. Drake’s pain also reflects what a lot of women go through when their significant other figures out his sexuality and that, I must say, was very well done. Normally I’d say something like “oh, Drake was nicer than I would have been” but this time, I think I would have had the same reaction. Once I’d released some of my bottled up anger, it wouldn’t have been easy to tell someone to just fuck off after a deeply personal conversation like that. But yeah, good job on the arms length thing despite Richard’s clear desire to be friends again. I can totally identify with Drake’s “I want you to be happy but that doesn’t mean I want to see you” policy.

I loved this chapter - primarily the band scenes. It’s interesting to see Ryder at work and his interactions with the band. Oli’s shaming them into getting their act together was pretty fun too. Him and his mother’s adjusting to Oli being a professional musician as well as a middle school student was well done - overall would like to see more of what was in this chapter. Brandon clearly means well but like he said, “addict” didn’t really click until the end. “Just drink responsibly” is the refrain of every non-alcoholic friend a recovering alcoholic has to deal with. It’s natural for people to want as little to change as possible - sure cut back on drinking but you can still party like you used to, right? What many don’t understand is one can’t change such ingrained habits and come out the same person. Also, while I’d long decided now wasn’t a good time for a relationship, reading this chapter on my birthday, as a single guy, makes me want to find a happily ever after. Dammit, Ace.

Not gonna lie, Nathan was a tad obnoxious here haha. I get he’s jealous but I think he’s used to being, maybe dominant is too strong a word, but the one who takes the lead in the relationship. On the upside, Robbie doesn’t really have to worry about the blowback of Nathan finding out his history with Alex seeing as his boyfriend clearly has secrets of his own regarding our favorite jerk (honestly I’m all for Alex and Robbie getting together lol)

I doubt they would stand by him. While there are exceptions, high school students as a whole are pretty sucky human beings.

Yeah, we in the biz call that “inspiration.”

I agree - I suspected after last chapter that Joey, seeing as he does care about Brett, would at first relish having Billy out of the picture but seeing how lost Brett was would find he couldn’t really enjoy his victory properly. That’s never a fun realization. I can see Joey drawing their conclusion - “Dammit, we need Roberts...” I identify with this characters way too much... Also I’m amused Brett is so pissed at Dustin’s and Billy’s interaction - were Brett and Billy even together at that point?

Okay going to reiterate an old point - can Joey just die? Yes he has a point and whenever I’ve been in Billy’s place like that I’ve been like....”could you just drop dead? Like now? Thanks.” You’re a massive hypocrite and the one time you’re in the right you’re making the most of it?

As much as I’m usually the first to defend Billy, I agree. The denial is strong with this one. As they walked into the office, Brett bloody DID tell him he knew. Sigh. That being said, as someone who has lied more than I care to admit, one does tap into untold reserves of self delusion in these situations. Especially if you’ve convinced yourself you’re smarter than people around you. Once you’ve gone past a certain point, you’re almost compelled to believe things will work out somehow - you know you’re riding a tiger you cannot control but feel you have no choice but to see where it takes you. And hope. Even when you know what’s going to happen on some level.

No! If you give in to that formula you’ll lose your soul! (Is what a friend of mine told me when I had my own brush with a typical gay fiction trope).

About Preston - yeah it sucks but in Drake’s place I’d just be like “um, and I should care why?” It doesn’t look like they ever had much in the way of a fraternal relationship so he should have zero emotional investment in him. Of course it’s a shame when your own blood treats you horribly but come on.

Poor Teddy - giving “the talk” is never fun. He handled it well though.

Cause Oliver is such a reliable source From an objective standpoint, Teddy isn’t bullying him - not even in the “big brother” way (which is really just standard bullying so that wouldn’t even be much of an excuse). He was calling him out - and I disagree with the idea that you can’t call the kid out cause he’s fragile.

I know it’s not easy being a teenager - in fact it really sucked - but I dislike Ryder calling Teddy a jerk for how he deals with Oliver. Teddy not being patient with him is not the same as bullying him or deliberately causing emotional stress. Yeah Teddy could be better at communicating but come on, I think Ryder’s a little hard on him. Oliver has issues but is annoying as hell and Teddy is just trying to be responsible. Just cause some people are always one step away from exploding as Ryder put it, doesn’t mean you don’t tell them things they need to hear. Oliver is a young teenager who makes noise. It’s not surprising people dismiss him - we all felt like that at his age and we all survived it. The reason people don’t listen to you when you’re 13? Cause 9 out of 10 tines you’re an idiot. We all were. The one time you’re not completely wrong doesn’t negate the other nine where you are. The not calling him out on every lie to spare his anxiety is just wrong. I was an anxious, emotional kid too - my parents made damn sure to call me out every time they could. Otherwise I’d keep doing it (still tried but I was a bratty teen haha).

When you’re in labour five minutes is a lot. That likely wasn’t anything to do with Teddy and more to do with practicality. When she said “depends how I’m feeling” it means depending on how bad the pain is. I doubt Blake would want to delay it more than necessary either - that’s without factoring in traffic, etc. Couples expecting their first kid plan this stuff out to the second.

What’s wrong with having a selfish motivation for justice? Legally sanctioned revenge is half the reason we have the concept of justice in the first place! Also, I know Dustin’s frustration - at least they got a proper kiss out of it. Still ship them - in another story they would be the main couple. The star baseball player and the scorekeeper - sounds pretty standard I wonder if he’s going to come out at school - and how people will react to their school athlete being gay ( obviously I think I know but that’s cause I assume the worst in people). Poor Emily, though.

As someone who hated those kids in school (and as something of a bastard) if I witnessed something like this at that age, I suspect my first reaction would be "Brilliant." Let them feel what it's like to be not good enough - to meet someone bigger than they are and be tossed aside. To be taken for granted in the same way they do to everyone else. Yeah, as readers we know Teddy tried to improve but from a classmate's perspective, they'd just see Mr. Popular dating a rock star (yet another amazing thing he has in his perfect life) and finally getting a dose of long overdue reality when said rock star gets bored with him.

Okay, so are you disagreeing more with the slapping (which she did kind of go overboard with) or the overall lack of forgiveness/anger? Cause it seems to fluctuate between the two there. The first, I agree - but the rest, if someone's not ready to deal with what others think of them then they need to take responsibility for their own mental health and avoid these situations - especially when meeting people they wronged. Teddy knew about Liz and Ryder's state of mind and he still let this happen, so it's safe to say he wasn't expecting Liz to really hold back, nor should he. Even Ryder admits he never really heard just how bad it was for Teddy after he left - he absolutely needed to hear that from someone other than Teddy. Until this point, I think there was still an element of "well, yeah it hurt but he went on to become a doctor so he can't be all that scarred." He's only seeing Teddy after all of that - Liz and Blake saw him through it. Just because Teddy's life isn't as outwardly messed up now doesn't mean he came off much better emotionally and mentally.

Honestly, if he’s out of the house meeting people it’s safe to say he can bear to hear some real talk. Teddy wouldn’t have let it happen otherwise, knowing how Liz feels about Ryder. Sure there’s a risk but that’s part of being human and interacting. They can’t walk on eggshells forever for fear of causing a downward spiral. The results just make someone insufferable haha.

Before all the Liz hate comes in - I want to say I get it and completely see where she’s coming from. Honestly, it makes sense that not everyone would take him back. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how sorry you are - the damage is done. Not only is this a betrayal for her on Ryder’s part, she had to fill a role she never should have had to when she was still a kid. It’s hard to see a friend crash and burn and try to be there for them - it leaves scars all its own. I suspect a lot of people (seeing as they already have) are going to be saying how she’s such a bitch and why can’t she forgive him cause Teddy has. It doesn’t work that way - nor should it. She wasn’t wrong about calling Ryder Teddy’s drug. What’s good is she seems to understand he genuinely regrets it and wants to change. Maybe she’ll come around. Maybe she won’t. But at least they made peace after a fashion. Doesn’t always mean friendship.