Israfil

Hmm, I guess that scene in the beginning of the book with Sarah was something of a red herring. Wise words from Dustin in the car about standing together. He’s really come into his own. Not surprised about Dustin and Emily but still, I was sort of rooting Billy, Brett AND Dustin since a few chapters back when someone said “please no polyamory” - occurred to me that Id be totally okay with that lol Aiden has a point but god, people like that annoy the hell out of me. Billy certainly handled it well though - he doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to personal attacks, but maybe that’s just with people he’s close to. Or maybe he’s just grown

I agree that Oliver seeing Ryder during one of his episodes was necessary. As Sweetlion mentioned, it shows that there's a reason for what Teddy says since Oliver is usually ready to discount it. He's been protected for a long time from things like this, regardless of what Harry says. This is a dose of reality he needed.

I’d hardly call them attacks. Yes Billy isn’t the most courageous but lots of people would have trouble on the spot like that, which is what Jack was counting on. As to your second point, well I may feel a little more sorry for Joey but my thoughts on him haven’t changed much. I’m thinking that forgiveness for years of torment was still too easily given. It goes beyond that one incident.

I was happy to see a little bit of Teddy’s.. dark side, I suppose, with Nate. The snark, going ahead and blacklisting him and how he laughed when Nate said the board would protect him. Righteous anger is all well and good but this is a lot more fun. I have a feeling living with Ryder is going to be a rough...ride (couldn’t resist). They say you don’t know someone till you’ve lived with them - factor in a 13 year break, Ryder being used to living the high life, an obsessive fanboy and two less than thrilled parents - this should be interesting.

Well, everyone’s going to be crowing about David. I’m more relieved than anything, thinking his perceived niceness was a red herring. So on some level, Brett knows about Jack. Interesting. Or Jack told him in the heat of the moment and Brett’s too out of it to put it together. Poor Billy is going to have to deal with that soon. Whats never been made clear is Jack’s feelings on homosexuality - not that it’s particularly important but I’m curious if he’s drunk the koolade or not. Clearly he’s not a fan of Brett being with Billy but is their being gay an issue? He must have some feelings beyond ambivalence considering what happened to his brother. Does he think being gay killed his brother or the mental strain of religion/bigotry/depression? As annoying as Paula is, I’m surprised she admitted she was wrong about Brett and Billy’s relationship. For all that she says, she has proven that she puts her son ahead of religion - and I think there’s a turning point coming.

This. So much this. Factor in Oliver being...Oliver. But I don’t want to be super hard on him either - is there a possibility there’s some kind of emotional issue or is it just lack of social skills/awareness?

Bear in mind he’s a great deal older than Oliver. Older siblings tend to have their own lives and that can take them out of the equation to a degree - it’s different than growing up together. Teddy has been pursuing his own goals and career while dealing with emotional fallout. Sure he could have made more of an effort but “horrible” and “crappy” are a bit much, in my book.

Not so much maternal (thought it may have played a part) as medical training. She's a nurse for a reason- she helps people. When you go through the amount of training it takes to be a nurse, let alone a doctor, when you see an injury like that you do something about it. It really doesn't matter who or when most of the time. Hippocratic oath - do no harm, I'm sure that includes through inaction. PS For god's sake, Dustin is way nicer than Joey. He actually feels bad about what he did to Brett. Comparing the situations is like apples and oranges.

And this is what I was talking about. We all would say the same thing in her place. I doubt any of us would nod our heads and say “the course of true love never did run smooth” and break out the pom-poms.

Ok, so this was emotional and all and I get that Ryder's going through a hell of a lot right now.....but I have to say he's something of a brat. Maybe I'm overreacting to it but when he asked "then why did you yell at me in the store" I rolled my eyes. Of all the stupid questions... Someone can feel all the things Teddy is feeling and still be angry as all hell and have plenty of choice words and I'm surprised he didn't understand that. That sort of simplistic question is something that I would expect from a child Oliver's age, not a 31 year old man, let alone one who knows better than most how complicated emotions can be. On the other hand, not to paint a broad brush but he is a major celebrity which kind of explains that. He's rich and famous beyond the hope of most people on the planet and hasn't had to truly engage his brain in anything but his music for the last 13 years. He's not going to be the sharpest tool in the shed, let alone terribly mature. Oh, I almost hit "add comment" before adding this - I'm sure a lot of readers are going to yell about how Teddy shouldn't listen to Liz and run to Ryder. Go for it - Teddy and his mother's reasoning makes sense - that love doesn't (make sense that is). But in Liz's place, would any of us say anything different? If I saw a friend go through what Teddy did, I know I would advise against getting back with their ex in the strongest possible terms.

So awesome to see Robbie stand up for himself. I get why Nathan’s worried but Robbie’s logic was pretty sound (for once :p) If you give an inch they take a mile but bullies are usually cowards. Emphasis on usually.

I might be in the minority here but Teddy has nothing to be sorry for. Ryder set out to break his heart, he succeeded. Oliver is a little brat. He has a right to like Ryder’s music but he does not have the right to begrudge Teddy his anger. Thirteen year olds tend to think they know everything (as well as be brats haha). Brothers dont always have to be close - I agree they could be better but I’m actually okay if they never end up really bonding. The time jump took me off guard though. That’s the sort of thing that I’d expect to kick off book two. A jump on the last chapter seems...

Regarding Ryder’s stunt, it’s really nice to see they aren’t perfect, honestly. Honestly I think Teddy handled it quite well, given the circumstances. He was angry but didn’t go off the rails. And it led to bonding so yay. I was hoping this wouldn’t happen with Grandma but I can’t say I was surprised. Now the concert scene was like a goodbye, in a sense.

There was a chapter where they crossed that point - after that I think it’s just implied now. There’s no need to note it every time they hook up now, I suspect, that’s just the style that some authors choose to do.

I have that song! Ahaha couldn’t resist. And @mally I feel your pain on the bus

Haha - is it bad that I enjoyed seeing angry Teddy? We finally get to see Ryder helping Teddy through an episode of sorts - and now Teddy will help through another one of his - full circle. And yes, Mike’s a dick and the sort of Billy I despised in high school and still do. But I still feel a little bad about him and Teddy. Dammit, Ace, why you have to make me empathize with those I hate? And Teddy was being a little hard on Ryder at the game. Sure, that kid and others may not have hurt him but they didn’t help him either. Yeah, it’s easier said than done but Ryder’s entitled to a degree of bitterness.

I can’t blame Teddy’s Mum for reacting the way she did. Maybe not eavesdropping but what she said after is perfectly normal for a parent hearing their kid is going to get married at 18. Just cause she did it doesn’t mean that she wants her son to follow in her footsteps. It’s not like she freaked out in the extreme. Even his dad advised caution at the beginning. People change as we can see from Ryder’s development. I’m not so sure if he was serious there. It might have been a joke about avoiding getting in trouble with his brother haha

Well, that’s more than a little ominous.

That was a nice positive chapter! Jaimie sounds adorable and I’m glad that Robbie is looking out for him - it’s clearly doing them both good.

You’re back!

That would make sense - though I suspect the ingrained homophobia from Joey’s side would prevent him from becoming a sympathetic character haha. Unless it was for a super Christian audience then Billy would be the perfect villain - the evil gay trying to corrupt Joey’s troubled friend/half brother.

I’ll have more to say later but for now: we’ve seen Joey get a little emotional a few times, overheard him crying in the bathroom but after this latest argument, I really want to see Billy make him cry. Like real tears - and we know our boy can do it haha. I’m sorry but Joey deserves it and it would be super satisfying. Seriously, you didn’t think that being a dick to Billy, who is also a dick, wouldn’t make him lash out? However what makes him an interesting antagonist is that he thinks he’s a relatively good guy. He admits he’s not perfect but operates by some kind of honor code after a fashion and expects others to as well. Sure, he messed with Billy a few times (aka constant bullying but he’s gay so that makes it alright) but thinks that no harm was actually done as he didn’t follow through on his threat to out Billy since apparently that would be a bridge too far. In his mind, Billy is the bad guy who crossed that line by humiliating Joey like that in front of his all-powerful father. It’s fascinating cause he really thinks he did nothing wrong - sure you might hate and make them miserable but there a rules of engagement, in a sense. You might talk about how your finger’s on the button but you never actually go nuclear. Mind you, I was never one of these kids - there is no code of conduct in high school rivalries (or college for that matter). Anarchy reigns.

Yay! Revelations and development! I know what Teddy did was wrong but it’s nice to see he’s not as perfect as he appears - we had got hints of that earlier but this fit the build-up nicely. The implication that he traded sexual favors with a teacher is worrying, though. Perhaps that will come up again - especially if said teacher(s) are still at school. If Ryder finds out it will be twice as worse seeing as not only has he also suffered intense bullying, but Ryder will identify with Abe on the mental health issues as well. Trusting Teddy will be difficult after this. Still, now we know why that guy cheating on him shook Teddy so much - even now still affects him. Not only was he “not good enough for someone” for the first time, he was also discarded just like he did to Abe. Howecer, we’re all little bastards when we’re in high school - let alone 14 >_< And Mike’s refusal to accept things makes a little more sense - it sucks when you screw up and your friends act like they’ve never done anything wrong. Howecer, the issue about the song cut down whatever sympathy I was feeling. He’s convinced Ryder cant amount to anything even as he listens to his music on a commercial platform.

Regarding Andy, how so? He just seems stressed and annoyed. I’d probably react the same way to someone like Tyrone and I absolutely do react the same way to co-workers like Bob.

Well, this was a pleasant surprise! You weren’t kidding when you said the next few would be out quick This has actually been something of a stroll down memory lane for me - a friend of mine used to be really into the band scene and was a regular Warped Tour attendee. Probably dreamed of one of his bands performing on stage. I would go to some of his shows and help out. Thanks for bringing back some fond memories, Ace.