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Good start! Looking forward to reading more as it comes.

Wow! I can honestly say this chapter surprised me from beginning to end. I’ve been Team Pete from Day One, but I’m not sure Corbin deserves either Mike or Pete.

I agree with other comments, hearing Penn’s POV made me kind of sad. He seems lonely and in want of emotional connection, but still trying to move on with his life nonetheless. I’m glad he starting to life for himself and not others. But can I just say that even though I’m still rooting for Nash and Penn to get back together, I actually liked Jason. He seems cool, and a good fit for Penn at the moment. Maybe Jason will get a spin-off story after this one? Also, I may have missed this, but do the Knotts brothers have different mothers? Is this why Penn looks different than his brothers?

Yes! I mean, why not? Agreed Yes, I think Corbin needs to be watchful of Hutch. But Corbin is smart. His relationship/issues with Pete is pretty much out in the open by now. Things with David and Chip, however... I suspect Corbin will keep these close to the vest. But I wonder when these entanglements will come to a head. Will it be a choice between Pete (love) vs. David (shaping Corbin’s legacy) vs. Chip (social advancement)? Great chapter @Jwolf Eagerly awaiting the next!

The Knotts seem to have a way of dominating and getting their way, but why are they all the sudden so insistent on Nash socializing with them? I wonder if Penn has a crush on Nash, and the brothers are trying to set them up. They don’t seem too invested in Lee, just focused on Nash. Also, why did Lee bail on Seattle? Does it have something to do with Paul? You have me hooked @Mrsgnomie - looking forward to more!

Oops! I meant Jake and Danny (now edited.) That’s what I get commenting while distracted (working, homeschooling - maybe some wine was involved.) Although Kyle and Danny -- now that’s a thought! Kidding.

Beautiful chapter. One of your best ones yet I love Jake and Kyle together, especially how Jake helps Kyle to grow as a result of their relationship. Ultimately, however, I don't see this lasting. Once Kyle goes to college, I think the distance will make it hard to maintain the connection. But I see both having been changed for the better after having been together. Kyle learns how to love and open up, and Jake learns that it's worth breaking down walls to truly get to know someone. But again, I could be wrong -- maybe these two will stand the test of time. I think I'm still rooting for Jake and Danny coming together once both have had some life experience. I see Danny maturing, for the better, and be better positioned to be a good partner for Kyle somewhere down the line.

Great chapter @jkwsquirrel I really like how the characters are evolving. I'm already starting to miss this story. Any chance this will turn into a multi-part series like W.A.R.? I think it makes sense that Jake and Ryan didn't get back together. Sometimes relationships just don't work out and you just move on. But, I'm glad they were able to stay friends for a bit. I wonder who Ryan will move on with (undoubtedly with some trust issues, courtesy of Jake.) I think I'm still holding out hope for a Jake/Danny pairing. My stance is that Danny is getting a bad rap, and deserves more credit -- he's the only one who has been truly honest -- about himself (inability to commit to Jake), about the longevity of high school relationships, and about his commitment to Jake as a friend. Maybe it's the ultra sex positive part of me, but I don't think there is anything wrong with Danny sleeping around -- so long as all parties are on board. And, he's right, girls do want it just as much as boys. Why not have fun while you're young? I can foresee somewhere down the line, post-high school, post-college, Jake and Danny end up together. It will take Danny getting to the point in his life when he wants something beyond short-term gratification, and realizing that a relationship build on friendship and trust can be beautiful. And, Jake will need to have a better understanding for who is a good match for him, and how to be a good partner -- probably through lots of hits and misses. I don't see Jake/Kyle lasting long, but I think both will learn a lot and benefit from the relationship. That's my prediction, but I have a sinking feeling that @jkwsquirrel will prove me wrong. Bring it on (as in, another chapter!)

I agree. Jake should have suffered for longer than 24 hours, especially for the lesson to “stick”. Ryan did come around quickly, and I definitely wonder why, and how he feels like he screwed up, too. Maybe something happened during football camp? Maybe he did something in retaliation against Jake and Danny that he is feeling remorse over? My first reaction is that Ryan is a pushover and forgave Jake too quickly, but then again, he didn’t get back together with Jake, just gave him the option to earn trust back. He definitely earns points in the maturity contest (for now...)

I am so surprised at how hard some of you are being on these kids! Yes, Danny and Jake screwed up, but they are kids who aren’t mature enough to truly understand or foresee the ramifications of their actions. Plus, they are young and growing and trying to figure out who they are and what they want in life - add hormones to the mix and you’re bound for some bad decision making. Most of us, especially children, need to learn things the hard way (sometimes the same lesson multiple times.) I feel for Jake. He seeks solace and comfort in his best friend, who he still has feelings for, and things got out of hand. He played with fire and got burned. But at least he owned up to his mistakes and took responsibility. His Mom is right, it’s what he does next that will determine if he’s like his father or not. And, Danny. He’s so confused. I have no doubt that he really loves Jake, and I don’t really blame him for “going for it” when he had the chance. I’d like to say that I would have turned Jake down if faced with the same situation, but I can’t say that my 16-year old horn-dog self would have rejected my best friends/soulmate when the connection and situation was that intense. I think it took having sex with Jake for Danny to truly realize and comes to terms with his feelings for him. Who hasn’t used sex as a way to explore feelings? Yes, timing was bad, but I totally get the motivation. I also don’t blame Danny for sleeping with that girl. What exactly did he do wrong? He’s not in a relationship, he knows there is no hope to start anything with Jake - so why not have some fun with someone else? Exactly how long should he be celibate for it to be acceptable? I don’t think Danny is capable of making a long-term commitment to anyone right now - and probably not for a while. He knows this, so having Jake as a friend while he figures himself out — and, yes, fucks people along the way — is the best situation right now.

My mind immediately went to the possibility that Stephanie was pregnant, too. I tried to do the mental math to see if it could be morning sickness, but then I realized that everyone is different. I experienced mild morning sickness very early on in my pregnancies (like, soon after conception), so it’s a wide range for when it could hit. For what it’s worth, I hope it’s just food poisoning or the flu, and not pregnancy. The last thing Robbie needs to deal with is an unexpected pregnancy. If anything, I hope it’s just a scare which will force Robbie to do some growing up and make better decisions in the future.

Really? Oh man, I was hoping Reilly would be Jake’s unofficial mentor. Reilly is the ideal person to help Jake navigate troubled and confusing times (aka adolescence.) Especially since Reilly did make it through life’s craziness to become a fully functional and successful adult. But that’s the optimist in me. Grown ups in your stories tend to be deeply flawed people who disappoint the kids in their lives (kind of like grown ups in real life!) Regardless, I’m liking the characters in this story so far, so wherever you take them, I’m game for the ride!

I’ve been jonesing for a new chapter in this series and was considering re-reading from the beginning to get my fix, but a update/re-write is a better alternative. I like the detail to the characters you added - I can see how it’s a better set-up for future events (if the story still goes in the same direction.) I’m looking forward to more!

Just started the story and am binge reading to catch up. Great story so far - I look forward to seeing Jarren learn at accept himself and feel comfortable in in his own skin. I foresee a bumpy road for Jarren and Nash, but I think it will be worth the ride. And, I’m loving the MA references, Bay State hospital, MGM casino, Merrimack Valley pipe explosions, etc. But I still can’t find a decent Mexican restaurant here to save my life! (*sigh*) I’m hoping you’ll slip in some ATL references, too. (Great, now I’m craving Peach cobbler...)

Great start! I wonder what Jordan’s explanation will be for withholding info on his future or possible employment at Brian’s company. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

Beautifully written and well worth the read. The story had me guessing until the end, and left me feeling satisfied and happy to have been along for Greg’s tumultuous journey of self discovery.

A superbly written portrayal of the trials and tribulations of a relationship in early adulthood. Realistic, yet engaging — I eagerly awaited each chapter as they came out, and they didn’t disappoint. I’m jealous of the lucky people who can now binge-read this whole story. While @Ethan did a great job with ensuring the story came to a natural and fitting end, I wish these was more, simply because I felt I got to know the characters so well and missed them after the story ended. Here’s hoping there’s a sequel or a spin-off story so we can get more Noah and Jordan!

Great chapter, as always! I love that they’re engaged with a promising future together. As for Noah’s Mom and the epilogue, it depends on how far in the future the epilogue is set. While I would love for Noah’s Mom to have an about-face and fully accept and embrace Noah, I don’t think that’s realistic, at least not in the near future. I can see her coming around over time. In my case, it took years and me having having kids for my mom to embrace my relationship. She had time to come to terms with my being gay, she was unhappy with the distance between us, and she didn’t want to miss out on being a grandma! For Noah’s Mom, she asked for time and I think she truly meant that she needs time to restructure her thinking and perceptions. The pace may be glacial to others, but it can see her getting there in the long run. Plus, it’s clear that her relationship with other family members will be negatively impacted by her behavior towards Noah which will help her see that nobody is better off if she still holds on to her bigotry. How is she going to explain to her grandchildren why she doesn’t love Uncle Noah anymore when everyone else still does? I can see moments like this push her in the right direction. I’m sad to see this story come to an end, but I agree that it feels right to close the book and these two. I do hope to hear more from you in the future!

Great chapter @Ethan looking forward to more (and hoping the story isn’t ending soon!) I was completely hooked all 10k words on pins and needles waiting for these crazy kids to finally admit their feelings for each other. I love the payoff at the end. I agree with @Brokenbind that the next conversation with Brody will be tough. But I’m all honesty, probably shouldn’t be a big surprise. It seems anyone that spends 30 seconds with Noah and Jordan can pick up on their deep connection. Great job, as always. I hope that after this story your muse strikes again and you’ll continue writing. You are very talented!

Don’t mind me, I’m just sharpening my pitchfork....

@Ethan Like others have said, I wouldn’t worry about chapter length. A chapter is done when it’s done, and will be the the length that it is. With a good story (like yours) the readers will stick it out no matter the length. (And there are readers like me who want longer chapters and more often.) So, do your thing. It’s been working so far. As for this chapter...sigh...Noah, Noah, Noah. At first I wanted to throttle some sense into him. But then I realized 1) I’m a pacifist, 2) this is the process he needs to go through. He needs to come to terms with being gay, coming out, and find peace with whatever consequence that results. And while I kept hoping Noah would snap out of it, if he decides to stay with Jordan and stay closeted, he will always default to resenting and blaming Jordan for all the discomfort that the closet brings. Noah is smart enough to have figured this out, and had enough foresight to break things off with Jordan. It was agonizing to read, but I get it. Now Noah just has to realize that the benefits of staying closeted and having his family probably don’t outweigh the cost of a broken heart, lonliness, misery and emotional distance from said family because of fear of them “finding out”. Maybe Noah got to this realization at the end of the chapter (hoping!) but I have a feeling that won’t be the case. Maybe Noah will go home, and after it being super obvious to his family that something is wrong, his siblings will stage an “intervention” and extract the truth out of him. And maybe It turns out his siblings aren’t rabidly homophobic like his mom, and maybe they’ll give Noah enough support that he can come out knowing that he has some family that has his back. He may lose his mom (and dad?) in the short-run, but maybe his siblings can help turn them around. So, yah, still pulling for the HEA even though things looks kind of bleak right now.

Yup, I’m 100% Team Jordan on this one. And while I appreciate @Ethan‘s explication of Noah’s perspective, and I can see how he has valid concerns, his utter disregard for Jordan is disturbing, and doesn’t bode well for their future. When confronted with the possibility of being outed, Noah’s immediate reaction is to throw his relationship with Jordan out the window and blame Jordan for the actions that Noah took? And then, not even consider coming out one day - even years in the future - to give Jordan (and Noah) the hope for a better tomorrow? Not only does that speak volumes about the type of person Noah is, but it shows a lot about how he will handle stressful and difficult situations in their relationship in the future. If I were Jordan, I would seriously take that into consideration when thinking about a long-term relationship with Noah. That said, Jordan and Noah are basically kids. This is their first adult relationship so there is a learning curve. So much growing up to do, and so much to learn about life and what it means to be a good partner. But that’s what I love about this story. It’s a realistic portrayal about falling and being in love, warts and all. I’m still rooting for a HEA with these two. And, selfishly, I’m hoping there’s more drama to come to ensure there’s lots more to read!

Great chapter. So much happened to move the story along - looking forward to the next installment! I do wonder why, in the conversation about “unsavory places” in Sydney and Melbourne, Mason didn’t ask about places to be careful about for Black people. As a Black American, being a Black person in a predominantly white environment probably would have been forefront on his mind. I’m surprised that race didn’t come up at all in the conversation, save the mention of “ethnic youth”. I’m with @impunity in that I don’t know what that means.

I’m trying to figure out the most optimal way to set my story notifications. I would like to receive a notification when new content to a story I follow is posted. I would like to receive this notification when I log onto the website only, and not receive any emails. I don’t see a “website only” notification setting option available. I had some luck with setting it to “no notifications” — I get an alert of new content for some stories, but not all. I missed some story updates this way. I wouldn’t mind that email notifications so much if I had the option to NOT be notified when there is a comment. Those emails are taking over my inbox. Also, the emailed comment notifications are less useful since it doesn’t specify which story. I follow the comments for some stories, but not all. If I receive an email that a reader has commented on “chapter 25” - I have no clue which of the many stories I follow this is in reference to, unless I link over to the website, which seems like an extra step that I shouldn’t have to make. Sorry for the tangent - I know his last bit is not really a question, but if anyone has any advice on navigating the system, I’m all ears (or eyes, as the case may be.)

Loved this story - thanks for posting here on GA! It was great to see their HEA years into the future, still in love (with hot sex), and building a family. Looking forward to the spin-off stories, especially the one about Jesse. His character had a lot of opportunity to build a story around. And poor guys needs an HEA, too. I mean, he messed up by leaving Colin, but we all know that relationship was doomed from the start. Great work! Can’t wait to see more!