jkwsquirrel

We know your thoughts on "Sweet Little Dusty"TM.

Thank you! It's been a lot of fun, this time in particular. Getting outside of the BBD trio and playing in their sandbox with different folks was fun. I like when readers get invested and are passionate about their favorites. While I think everyone should read Dustin's World, I will warn you that I put him through the crucible and it can be hard to see him hit rock bottom. But rock bottom is a great place to build a firm foundation! If Aiden's War was light and fun, Dustin's World can be very dark and heavy. But for folks on Team Brett, I think DW is Brett's finest moment. "Mature Brett" is the best Brett! I hope you'll give it a read. And it ends happily ever after.

Thank you! I probably had the most fun writing this one. I'm glad you liked it!

Thank you! You read the whole thing in like a week! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you! I would imagine Hartley's self-destruction will look much like the other times he's ruined himself. He'll mess with the wrong person, maybe Mr. Taylor won't appreciate his son being taken advantage of, and he'll "resign." Then on to the next town.

Thank you so much! It's been a lot of fun and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

It's amazing how in the Pittsburgh area you can walk down the street and pass through several distinct neighborhoods, rich and poor, and never see a distinct border. But you know you're in a different neighborhood, from the style of houses, or the state of the roads, the way people are dressed... It's fascinating. Thanks for being such a good friend and for the comments! I always appreciate and enjoy them, DQ!

Epilogue... Hmmm... How about, Dustin comes back with a desk, Craig's gun, and a bottle of transmission fluid?

Always leave them wanting more! Thanks for being such a great supporter of my writing, my friend. I always look forward to your comments.

“Hey… Better go take a shower, Jackson.” Tyler’s voice roused me from what had been a beautiful dream. I opened my eyes and found myself quite safe in my bed, looking into the eyes of my boyfriend and lover. I touched his face. I just loved touching him, feeling his warm being in my hands. He smiled. It was the most beautiful thing about him. He lit up a whole room when he smiled. “I don’t want to wake up,” I said. “It’s summer. I just want to lay here with you all day.” Tyler dre

Even though the upcoming scene with Billy should be interesting, there's a scene coming up with Dustin that might just be one of the most poignant scenes I've written that sets the stage for Dustin's World.

There was so much hope for the Resistance in WAR, but then Billy and Brett got caught up in their own drama and it fizzled out. I always wanted to get back around to it, and I always saw Aiden as the key to it, hence his mention by Billy at the end of WAR. People don't know what they're capable of until they stretch out beyond what's comfortable. No one would have seen Aiden and Tyler as leaders at the beginning of the story. They were a couple of losers. The journey was necessary to reach the destination.

"Maybe..." He's leaving his options open. lol

"I’ve never understood why you straight guys think the way to torment us gay guys is by trying to make us do gay stuff. Kinda defeats the purpose, don’t you think?" - Billy Roberts, WAR 5.6 "Hero of the Day"

You could send a video over the phone back then, but it would take incredible thumb skills. I really should have foreshadowed Aiden's ability to do that more, like when they went on the trip over the weekend I could have had him do something similar. Oh well. Let's just go with it! It made for a fun ending. lol

Here's the thing though, Jeremy's a sociopath. There would be no growth, no impact of outside events upon his life. He's the same guy he was twenty years ago. There would be no learning because he's already convinced he is right and that he knows everything. He literally doesn't care about anyone but himself. Look at the pettiness, the willingness to destroy people. He made Aiden's dad's life hell for the crime of being chosen as the president of the photography club over him. And he was willing to do even worse things to Aiden. He didn't feel sorry for Aiden one little bit, he just saw an opportunity to use him to further his own ambitions. And he totally doesn't understand love. He sees Dustin's love for Billy as an obstacle to be demolished. He's irritated that Dustin and Aiden initially hit it off and poisons Dustin's mind until he self destructs. (And god how I've enjoyed writing his character! Mwah hah ha ha ha!!!!!!11)

I thought of Tyler's beat down as a kind of "baptism in blood" for him. He's been a timid little boy living in the shadow of his two older brothers, playing the tough guy but scurrying away when things got tough and being easy prey for Mr. Hartley. It's his time to rise up.

I'm just impressed Aiden was able to record and then send that video to Tyler with the phone in his pocket the whole time in the era right before smart phones became a thing. Teens and their phones...

Thank you, my friend!

“Did you hear what happened at the prom?” Tyler asked when he saw me at school on Monday. “Did Sarah win prom queen?” I asked. “Well yeah, but that’s not the big news. Billy and Brett danced together right in the middle of the dance floor in front of everybody!” “They did?” I replied. “Wow! So are they going to be expelled?” “There’s a big meeting in the principal’s office this morning. Parents, school board members, lawyers… It’s huge!” “What I wouldn’t give to be a fly

"God help us, we're in the hands of engineers!" - Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park

I know the perfect psychiatrist they could see! She even wrote a book!

Exploring what made Dustin do what he did at the end of Commencement and how he ended up in that little apartment in Charleroi in Dustin's World was one of the reasons I wrote this story. Dustin would never knowingly betray Billy, and in Commencement he reacted very strangely, at first laughing off Billy telling him what Hartley had done, then defending Hartley. And then, after everything settled after graduation, he pushed Billy away for three years. I hope the next two chapters will give some perspective on what happened. Tyler said it best, Mr. Hartley's betrayal will hurt Dustin worse than anything else that's happened to him. Dustin doesn't give away trust very easily. What's about to happen will break the kid. As for Aiden and his father, I see it as Bob never really being much of a father, but the last night was a crossing of the moral event horizon. We only have Aiden's perspective on the situation, so of course anything good that might have been there is clouded by how it all ended.

Aiden and Tyler are definitely stronger together than they were apart. Thanks for pointing out that Ty is helping Aiden to be a better person, and that it's not just Aiden helping Ty to change. Aiden was a little jerk for a lot of this story. He needed that confrontation with his father, and he never would have got there without Tyler lending him his strength.

I don't know why the non-link links are buried in there. My Word document did some weird stuff too.

Yes, high school is not real life. That's half the fun of writing in that timeframe.