jkwsquirrel

Thanks Lisa! I've missed your reviews! I'm glad this chapter was meaningful for you! I do think both boys will grow from their experiences, and in some ways that has happened. As for Billy's list of names, I just thought it funny that they were all rockers!

Thanks Lisa! Paula and Dr. Reilly have both come a long way from where they started! As for the end of the story? Afraid so! All good things... as they say!

I hadn't thought about any of this. Doesn't mean it didn't happen. You'd think Dustin would mention it though? Though he is pretty protective of his former johns.

Yeah, my thought was that Dustin is 18, though it's still illegal to record someone like this without their permission. Oh totally. But Billy would have to tell someone and they would have to find the evidence, and Mr. Hartley isn't that stupid.

I think Mr. Hartley is hoping that Billy will learn to play the game long after there's any way he can get back at Mr. Hartley for what he did!

Yeah, that's what I was going for! Sometimes the bad guy wins the battle, but the good guy wins the war.

This is it. Real life writes the plot sometimes!

No, I don't think Mr. Taylor knows the kind of man Mr. Hartley is. I can't judge whether it's right or wrong to hope he gets hit by a bus! lol I don't think she was afraid that Brett would hit her, I just think she realized she was in a room full of people who just saw her strike her child. Of course, she tried to blame Billy for everything as soon as Brett left. That said, I've really enjoyed the slow-revealing villainy of Dr. Reilly. I've said it before, but Brett is, on some levels, just as abused and neglected as Dustin, it's just more easily hidden behind her money.

Some times the bad guys win the battle and lose the war. Billy never needed to be valedictorian to prove how smart he was.

Dustin - Put yourself in his shoes for the last month. Where does Billy go when Brett's not around? He goes to Dustin. Now that Brett and Billy are reconciled, Dustin sees himself being demoted, as usual, all while Billy sings the praises of his glorious monogamous relationship, a relationship that the boys stayed faithful to even when they were separated. Dustin just didn't want to hear one more time how much Billy and Brett love each other, and let's face it, Billy can be a bit judgy about Dustin's sex life, even if he doesn't mean to be. So no, Billy's intent wasn't malicious, but Dustin didn't want to hear it and shut it down before it made him throw up. Mr. Hartley - Oh yes, absolutely unethical and even illegal activity. Of course he would justify his actions with his "any means necessary" philosophy. I'm glad you saw that from his point of view, he's the hero, doing what it takes to get what he wants, for the betterment of everyone. And if he has to hurt a few people along the way, so be it. But I think it's true of any community that there are those who push the boundaries for their own purposes, or for what they think is the greater good. Not everyone within the gay community in Billy's world is supportive or even nice. Mr. Hartley scoffs at playing nicely with people. He got done what Pastor Carl and John Taylor couldn't do. The homophobes in charge failed, but the gay teacher got Billy to surrender, and I think it's because he understands Billy far more than Billy wants to admit. Mr. Hartley is playing chess while the others are playing checkers. He didn't even tell Billy to keep it a secret. He didn't need to. He already won before the game even started.

Don't expect Billy to keep this one hidden, at least from Brett. He learned that lesson!

I think that was Brett's thought too, just enjoying the chaos of that scene. By the time Billy gets home, I'm sure Mr. Hartley will have made sure that video has no connection to him. He's not stupid, which is why he's so dangerous.

Thanks! The town just gets more corrupt, it really doesn't matter who is in charge. All Brett needed to do was bring popcorn to that meeting.

Actually, there is something illegal about filming students in a high school bathroom! lol I don't think Mr. Hartley cares all that much at the moment. I think Brett's more hurt than angry.

Too bad the principal be retiring! I didn't even give the poor guy a last name.

Yes, it would be satisfying. But you know how life in a small town goes. Nothing will ever change.

Now I know how JK Rowling must have felt when she introduced Dolores Umbridge!

Mr. Hartley is a little more complex than your standard villain #5. Obviously, I want you to hate him as much as Billy does, but if you really look at what he's saying, you can see that he thinks what he's doing is absolutely right. He also knows what he's doing is morally wrong, but he's willing to go there to get what he wants. And if you really read it closely, you can tell he's been terribly mistreated and bullied in his life. His reaction to that bullying is to become an even worse bully. Unfortunately, that is sometimes the case. And yes, I think there is some jealousy that Billy seems to have all the advantages and the life that Mr. Hartley never had, and he's done nothing with it. The question for Billy is, is that the road he wants to travel, or is there a better way?

Thanks! It's been fun seeing Paula's development through the story. Sometimes we just have to be patient with people. I enjoyed the encounter between the mothers, if I'm not mistaken it's the first time they've been "on screen" together in the whole series.

How did he get the video? He was already in the bathroom in one of the stalls when Billy barged in. Right place, right time.

It felt so right to wake up next to Brett on Sunday morning. It was a little awkward finding the best way to sleep with each other since he had the cast on his leg. Brett was used to it, but I wasn’t. A couple of times I ended up with a cast to the shin, but it was worth the pain to have Brett next to me for the night. I woke up first and managed to pull myself away from him without waking him so I could go to the bathroom. I slipped on a pair of boxer shorts and quietly crept out the

No harm in asking! We'll find out a little more about the situation next chapter. It'll all tie together.

You can never be invested too deeply in my story!

Ah the early 2000's! Era of nu-metal, boybands, and Eminem. What I really love about the song choice is that Billy is a metalhead, in the beginning of the chapter listening to early Metallica, and at the end of the chapter there he is dancing to one of the sappiest songs ever written and not caring a whit. True love!

I've always appreciated your take on things, Sir Spikey! I like the challenge of thinking more deeply and avoiding the clichés which can suck us in. Totally agree about David's way of handling Billy. David doesn't try to be George. He doesn't try to be Billy's father. But he truly does care for the boy, and not just because he's Paula's son. It's interesting because we only see him from Billy's perspective, and at first all Billy saw was the vanilla douche who seduced his mother away from the sacred memory of George. For Billy, there was never going to be a time when it was okay for his mom to remarry. Paula knew this. They say that breaking up is hard to do, but making up is even harder! I wanted both boys to grow from this experience. It was so important that both of them admit that they'd fallen short in their relationship. Oh sure, there will still be boneheaded moments in their relationship, but they've shown each other that the other is more important than the selfishness they've displayed previously. As for Jack and Joey, well, I don't think Joey cares too much about his father's opinion anymore.