jkwsquirrel

Hi Hunter. Lots of good advice has been given here. I think that it comes down to what the story requires. Sex for the sake of sex is actually acceptable if that is what the story needs (but most stories don't). The best sexual scenes are those that advance the plot or give an insight into the characters. If the characters need to have sex and the readers need to see it then it should be there. If the character is improved upon because of the scene then it should be there. If the sex scene doesn't advance the plot, or give insight into the characters, and is simply there to titillate, then it probably doesn't need to be there. It all relies on what the story requires.

Thanks for the review Rob! I couldn't wait to get this one going. Even though in story time we've gone from December 2000 to March 2002, for us it was just a few days, so Billy's change in attitude is a bit surprising. He was always a little snarky, but now he's grown more cynical. Don't we all reach a point in our lives when we start thinking, "Gee, I didn't think life was going to suck so bad!" It's going to be a fun ride!

Thanks for this review! I think Brett might also be wondering when things are going to get more sexual. Billy has certainly grown more salty since the last book. Ah, the life of a teenager! Everything's a disaster.

If someone told you life is easy when you’re fifteen, they lied to you. When you’re a kid, your life is supposed to be easy. You’re supposed to not have a care in the world. You’re just supposed to do your school work, learn, and play. Somebody else pays for your food and clothes and takes care of you. Your life is supposed to be pretty good. What a load of crap! Let’s start with school. Every day is a savage cut-throat battle for survival. The teachers are boring autocrats, and the

Fifteen-year-old Billy Roberts is caught in a war between his two best friends. Brett Reilly and Dustin Smith are desperate to find the love that they don't get at home, and they are willing to do anything to get it, even if they have to destroy each other. Meanwhile at home, Billy's relationship with his parents is being strained to the breaking point. In the end, someone will be broken.

Thanks NK! I'm glad you enjoyed them, and I am looking forward to Part 3 myself!

Thanks again Lisa! Just a quick correction on my previous reply, Billy was born in 1986, Brett was born March 15 1987 and Dustin on April 1, 1987. Totally agree about Brett. Brett is desperate, starving even, for love. He always eats when he's at Billy's house, in more ways than one. This book highlighted that Dustin and Brett aren't all that different - they both want the same thing, to be loved. They aren't getting that love at home, and they're seeking it from outside. That will drive them to some extreme behavior in the coming chapters. I can't wait to start part 3!

Thanks Lisa! Yep, this was a busy little chapter! Billy's at that point in his life where he's losing his awe about his parents and they're becoming "people" to him. They have a past that he's learning about. There's a reason they're together, and it's not him. At the same time, Billy is beginning to assert himself more as he starts to become more comfortable with himself. Younger Billy couldn't have had the kind of conversation he had with his dad in this chapter.

Hey bud, thanks so much for this review! This part of the story takes place Christmas 2000. Billy's birthday would be December 19, 1987. At that point, schools were just beginning to catch on that kids with dyslexia weren't dumb, they just saw the world differently. As I write, I keep in mind that there are folks who might relate to a particular aspect of a character, and I always want to be respectful of that. Brett's frustration with the way he's treated because of his condition will come to the fore in the upcoming chapters, especially the way his mom and Billy treat him. One of the things I wanted to develop is that Dustin isn't the only neglected character in the story. Even though Brett's mom isn't hitting him, she is neglecting him. It isn't physical abuse, but the way she treats him is still horrible. Brett doesn't really have a mom, he has a roommate.

So I just finished up Part Two of the story. So far so good. I do hope people enjoy what I write. One of the best things about writing is creating characters and watching them play against each other, and then to see how people take sides. Cold Winter set up the rivalry between Brett and Dustin which will have a major impact in the rest of the story. They're both after the same thing, only one can win. It's interesting to see people who support one or the other of my blue-eyed boys. The story's not named WAR only because it's clever! Will we have Team Brett and Team Dustin?

“Billy, I’ve asked you three times to vacuum this carpet!” mom scolded me from the living room. If she’d asked me to vacuum, I didn’t remember. All weekend, mom had been a nervous wreck as she tried to do a thousand different things to prepare for the Christmas Eve party. I was so sick of Christmas and it hadn’t even come yet. Now it was the day of the party and she was on a rampage trying to make everything perfect for the big night. I began vacuuming the living room for her when she

It was even more difficult walking home than it had been walking to Brett’s house. I regretted not taking Dr. Reilly up on her offer to take us home, but if we had, we’d have never met Dustin on the hill and we’d have never found ourselves on that park bench. We definitely didn’t want to be in Palmer Park after dark. Though it probably would have been safe considering the weather, there were rumors about the place and about boys our age that were kind of scary. Rumors that all small towns ha

Thanks Lisa! Ah, young love can be so cruel! We're going to dive a lot deeper into Dustin's life in the next part of the story.

We rested on top of the hill for a few minutes. The snow had stopped for the most part, but it was still very cold and we didn’t want to hang out for too long. The wind had died down as well and it looked like if we hurried we might be able to have some fun in the snow when we got back to my house. As we began to start toward my house, we noticed that someone was walking toward us on the trail. “Oh no,” Brett muttered. I squinted my eyes to try to see what he was upset about. I couldn

Thanks Lisa! I really enjoys your reviews. It'll be interesting to see how things progress with Brett and his father. We haven't heard the last of this situation!

It was about one o’clock when we finally made it out of the house. The snow hadn’t stopped and it was going to be a struggle to walk up the hill and through the woods between our houses. I hoped the rest of winter wasn’t going to be as rough as the first day was turning out to be. Once my house was securely locked up, we began the slow trudge to Brett’s place. We were both bundled up and warm enough for the journey. Brett had traded in his usual Yankees baseball cap for the warmer Yankees w

Thanks as always Lisa! I really appreciate your comments! I'm sure Dustin will have a very mature and reasonable reaction to the developments in this chapter. I mean, 13 year olds are always reasonable, aren't they?

When I woke up the next morning, I felt weird. I knew that there was something different about the day. Something… strange. From my bed, I could see the snow was still falling outside. I rolled over and collided with Brett. “Ow!” I yelped. Brett stirred, but didn’t wake up from me smashing into him. I rolled the other direction and slid out of bed. I stood there for a while and watched him sleep. It was the closest I’d been to him in a long while and I wanted to enjoy just being able to

Thanks again, Lisa! George has his moments, but he's human and messes up. Billy got his temper from his dad, after all.

Aw, you're too sweet, Lisa! Thanks!

Brett fell asleep on the way home. I don’t think it was because of the late hour but because he was exhausted. He had poured his heart out in that back seat. I’d never seen him so emotionally drained. It was like every ounce of his considerable energy had been spent. When we arrived at the house, dad had to shake him to wake him up. Brett was completely out of it and could hardly walk. The light rain had now turned into a gentle snow. It wasn’t enough to stick to anything yet. I fo

Well thanks for reading, my friend! Don't worry, it'll all be in sync soon. I started on nifty earlier and publish there every two weeks or so. I also publish there in a different format. When I started publishing here, I began playing catch-up. When the two sites are in sync, It'll be updated every two weeks on both sites. We'll have to see about Billy and Brett getting together!

Thanks rockycs! Brett is very much a neglected child, both at home and at school. Just because his mom buys him whatever he wants doesn't mean he's not starving for attention. (And here's a glimpse into the writer's mind - that's why he's always hungry and eats the way he does.) We'll just have to see how things go with George as we progress. The story is as much about Billy and his relationship with his parents as it is about his relationship with Brett. Thanks a lot for reading and for your review!

Thanks Arran! I'm slowly working to bring the story here on GA up to speed with nifty, so by the end of Cold Winter both sites will be on the same schedule. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading and thanks a lot for the review!

The car was completely quiet on the way home, except for the sound of the car’s engine and the highway. I sat in the front seat holding a rapidly melting ice bag on my mouth. Joey sat in the middle of Dustin and Brett. He must have felt quite awkward there between those two! Dustin was glaring at Brett with murderous wrath. If he didn’t like Brett before the last couple days, he hated him now! Brett was staring out the window. The last place he wanted to be was stuck in that car after the