jkwsquirrel

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.

Yeah, what ever happened to that thing?

We'll find out soon!

We're not quite done with Joey and Jack. Joey has come a long way from the punchable douchebag of the past. I still remember the cries of "Fuck Joey McKenzie!" Such a slimy little creep, but maybe there's hope for him yet?

Thank you! I appreciate it!

I think Billy's treatment of Mary was awesome. I think the way he treated her showed a lot of maturity. As for what will happen after this? Well, there's still three chapters to go!

You know, when I think back about Brett over the course of the story, I think about a kid with a great deal of integrity. He is very true to himself and to others, and has been that way throughout the story. He's a tough young man and he never gives up. And of course he figured out the loophole in Mr. Taylor's plan to nail Billy. The best troublemakers aren't the ones who break the rules, they're the ones who know the rulebook better than anybody, they just choose not to obey.

I thought it was vital that Billy not talk about Asperger's or autism at this point. I think Brett would have seen it as Billy just making another excuse to justify what he did. Brett wasn't looking for much, just a little bit of respect. "I know I hurt you and I'm sorry." Not "Well, I had my reasons..." Brett's heard enough of that in his life. He just wanted his boyfriend to be honest with him. What happened after the make-up was the key. Billy walked into that ballroom holding Brett's hand, fully prepared to lose everything except Brett, which was far more than Brett was asking for. This is what Joey was setting up when he told Billy "you have to find a way to show Brett what's in your heart because words just aren't going to cut it." All along Brett has been the one reaching out, wanting to tell people about their relationship, wanting to hold hands, wanting to kiss. Billy's always held back. Brett just wanted to feel like Billy wasn't taking his love for granted (or granite. lol!). The dance wasn't just the conclusion to this one fight, but to the whole story.

Thanks! I think Dustin's pretty sweet myself!

My vision for Mr. Caldwell - overprotective father of a special needs child, now seeing her growing up and wondering what his role in her life will be as she matures into a woman. He's asking "Who is this guy and what does he want from my daughter?" for perhaps the first time. However, he and his wife have raised a strong young lady! Mary chafes against her father's over protection like so many young people do. As for Billy's reputation? It's a small town and some very big wigs are actively against him. Rumors are easy to start and hard to stomp out. I do not see them as members of Carl's flock at all.

I'm glad you liked Mary! I had to hold off on her until late so that it wouldn't be obvious that there was a girl available for Billy to ask to the prom. And it was as if Billy was seeing her for the first time when he saw her across the room. Like, "Oh yeah, there's a girl I could ask!" I wanted to be very sensitive in my portrayal of her due to her condition. It was important to get her character right. She's feisty enough to challenge Billy in ways that others wouldn't or couldn't. I loved how Billy's respect for her grew and grew as he got to know her.

Thanks!

Eww. No. lol

I do love irony! Just a thought, For all Carl's bluster and pompousness, the reality is he has failed to convince the town of his rightness. He booted out Nate, but no one else followed his lead and according to David his rejection of Nate caused a lot of controversy. His rhetoric has become more toxic than convincing. Ever know somebody who has an axe to grind and it seems like that's all they ever talk about? What's your reaction to that, blind obedience to their cause or eye rolling? We don't know much about Jack's involvement in the church, just that he's an influential member of the community. He did seem to conveniently disappear before Brett and Billy danced. Oh, another bit of irony! The "homo-patrol" was done in by their own rules. No one knows more about how to exploit the rules than a career troublemaker and rule breaker!

This was what I was going for. I don't think Mr. Taylor particularly cares who is gay, he just wants to get Billy out of the way. I pictured him as being embarrassed about Kenny, his dirty little secret that he sent off to private school rather than be embarrassed by the gay son. Maybe that's why he's so over-the-top in his support of Sarah?

Latest chapter, "The Dance" (AKA the one that ties the whole freakin' story together) is up. Pretty much the biggest chapter of the book. So enjoy! (And comment! Never forget to comment! lol)