Shadow086

I'd laugh if that was a big April Fool's setup, and he just posts super gumdrops and rainbows chapters all day.

What a strange way to celebrate Easter...

"Hey Brett. You dumped me, so I decided to hook up with your brother instead. He's every bit like you."

I don't think it would have, honestly. Joey's the son Jack didn't want, and he treats him accordingly. From what Billy heard, Jack very much wanted to be a part of Brett's life and be a father to him. Which begs the question: was Joey's acting out a response to his fathers's emotional abuse, or a way to get Jack's attention? In my opinion, it's the latter slowly turning into the former.

You know, I'd have to go back and check, but that mention of Joey sounds a lot like what he said about Dustin when he started spending his nights at the park. Not saying that's what Joey's doing, but it seems to me like he's in the same state of mind. I'm worried about where that self-destructive path will take him. Joey's an asshole, but he doesn't deserve this.

I'll add to this that I'm glad you're getting these family issues resolved. I truly appreciate that you're able to finish the story under the circumstances, and I also sincerely hope that you keep writing, even if it's just for yourself and your family.

Good to see that Billy resisted temptation. I was really worried after the last chapter that he'd give in, even if only for pity sex. And it's still sad to see Dustin talk like this, you'd think he was still 'working' in the park. I'm sure he'll find the guy to make him feel worthy eventually, but I hope it's soon. OMG, Brett, that was too funny! That was a mean April Fool's by Em and Dustin, but it's still funny. I'm a bit worried about Joey, his dad must've really laid into him. He looks scared and broken. This Buffalo trip is a disaster waiting to happen. Don't do it, Billy, tell him the truth NOW! Here's how this is going to go: Billy will drive them down to Buffalo, they'll meet Charlie, Charlie will tell Brett the truth while Billy sits there and tries to act surprised, Brett will see right through it, and then they have a nice four hour drive to fight about it. It's good to see Paula knocking some sense into him. Billy's running out of time to tell the truth, and I doubt he wants Brett to blow up at him where he doesn't have an escape route. That's going to be a very uncomfortable trip back from Buffalo. What Billy needs to do is wait until Dr. Reilly leaves, then go to Brett's house and tell him the truth. At this point, he has to settle for what makes Brett hate him the least, and that's NOT driving all the way to Buffalo to hear this from a complete stranger. Sure, things will be bad for a while, but Brett's not stupid, he knows the kind of men Jack and Billy are, and he'll have no problem figuring out that Jack intimidated his boyfriend into silence. I'm sure he'll come around sooner or later. This really puts into question what Brett knows. On one hand, he could genuinely think that Charlie is his father, and is unwittingly setting up this nightmare scenario for Billy. On the other hand, it could be that he knows it's Jack all along, and he's testing Billy to see how far he'd go to keep up the lie. I'm really torn on this as all previous signs pointed to him knowing who his father is, but I don't think Brett could keep up the act for this long. Brett also put Billy in a difficult position with this: "Billy, I don’t ask you for a lot. This is important to me. I need you to come with me." Or maybe it's the third option, which is more likely: Brett knows Charlie isn't his father, but he's going to see him in hopes that Charlie knows who his father is and will tell him.

Wasn't it always meant to be the conclusion? I think that definitely means the previously hinted at Dustin sequel isn't happening, though.

Billy's probably too busy partying to let us know what happened after his sleepover at Dustin's.

I don't think so. He obviously sees himself as the hero, and maybe sometimes the villain, but I think he's just a kid who's awkwardly and clumsily trying to find his place in the world. But if we were to say that he became the villain, I'd say it happened way before that. Being scared of losing Brett and taking the easy way out makes Billy a coward, not a villain. For me, Billy would've become a villain during the whole "Brett is a stoner" thing. That's when I think he shattered Dustin and pushed him on the dark path which led to his suicide attempt. And in a way, he did get his comeuppance for that by having to deal with the consequences. For me, this book is all about Billy redeeming himself and finally doing the things he should've done a long time ago. So no, Billy's not the villain. But if he's the hero, he's certainly not a likeable one.

I had to look up what other movies Kevin Bacon was in and picked the first one.

Mystic River?

So, Billy wants to become a lawyer, I guess? That was some hot sex, they really released some frustration there. Brett's right once again. Billy should grow up and let her have the title so she can set herself up for failure once she realises daddy can't bully her way through college. That's the best way to get back at them, I think. Let her crash and burn in college while you show them what real academic success is. Poor Dustin, it must be hard for him to give up Billy for good. At least now he admitted it to himself and he can start looking for the right guy. I've always felt that he wouldn't have gotten Billy either way, because Billy probably wouldn't have wanted to risk losing his best friend over a relationship that may not work out. So Dustin knows about Brett's dad and got Billy to confirm it for him, since I'm sure he's as good as Brett at telling when Billy's lying to him. Now he also puts Billy in a tough spot. Does Billy let Dustin tell Brett, or does he tell him himself? He needs Jack's help to reach his new career goal, but he risks losing his reason for fighting in the process. I'm guessing he'll be trying to find ways to let Brett know and keep the internship at the same time. Of course, there's always the possibility that Brett finds out on his own (he probably already did), and if Billy still gets the deal if that happens. Maybe Brett can persuade his father to give Billy the internship anyway. Idle Hands: I hope that's not the next morning with Billy and Dustin messing around. I doubt it, it's probably more about what Brett's up to, including Buffalo and Foster & Bryant.

John Taylor's mistake is that he's expecting people like Billy and Brett to "know their place". Yeah, we'll see how that works out for you, John. We forgot one person here: Paula. I think this is going to be her (and Dave's) chance to shine. If Billy did get his stubbornness from her, some people better watch out.

You can only abuse your power so much and for so long before people start to catch on and put a stop to it. I think John Taylor will be finding that out very soon. What does this guy even do for a living, anyway? Besides being a prick, that is.

Right, because the PTA would absolutely go along with that, yes.

I don't think Jack has much power in these decisions, though. You know what would be nice? If B&B had the connections to make sure that either a)nobody shows up; or b)the entire school comes to prom as "same-sex couples". He can't have the entire senior class expelled, now can he?

I'm sure this sort of thing would be common today in some places if they could get away with it. Mention of the class rank makes it pretty obvious what the real goal is here. It's never about "family values", look at Jack. My bet is that certain student will tell John Taylor where he can shove his class rank and show up with his boyfriend anyway. And who knows, this might not even be relevant if John has to resign in disgrace before prom.

Oh, this is going to go over well. I wonder how Billy and his crew are going to crash the prom. It would be pretty funny if no one but Sarah Taylor showed up...

Maybe not, but Araziah strikes me as a bully and the type who wouldn't be above exploiting any of Torsten's perceived weaknesses to get him to comply. And with his personality, he probably sees attachment to others as a weakness that can be used in another bluff. Knowing what Araziah is capable of, I'm not sure Torsten would take the chance to call another bluff if a life is in the balance. I know a couple of people in the Conclave who won't welcome him with open arms when he shows up bragging about how he killed Theo/Thyndorag. Personally, I think the Conclave's offer will be conditional to him falling in line and obeying orders, and there's no way Araziah's going along with that.

Backstabbers have backs too, but they often forget that.

I completely agree! I think that's mostly because Araziah is young and hasn't discovered the value of diplomacy. All he ever does is threaten and intimidate others, and that won't work with Torsten. The only way I can see Torsten helping him right now is if he threatens to kill his friends and family. I can't imagine Celeste will be very impressed with what happened. All Araziah had to do was knock out Theo, and make Torsten admit that Araziah was right about him. Instead, he goes overboard and completely alienates him, I don't see Torsten ever forgiving him for that. To be honest, as much as I liked Theo and think he deserved better, I don't want him to be resurrected. I feel like this is something that had to happen, and having Theo come back to life would make it meaningless.

After spraying on that air freshener because he likes the smell of lavender and not to cover up the smell from the pot he's definitely not smoking because he's not like that!!"

I find it hard to believe that no one in town would notice how much the two boys look alike. I'm not saying they would automatically notice that and say "Jack McKenzie had an affair!", but I'd expect at least a few people to notice, even if they don't think anything of it. And, well, Billy's known to be slow to pick up on some things (like Brett smoking pot), so I don't know if that's a good indicator . EDIT: Incidentally, it's the same reason the community doesn't see what Jack did: "No way, Brett wouldn't do that, he's not a stoner! No way, Dustin wouldn't do that, he's not gay! No way, Jack McKenzie wouldn't do that, he's a fine and upstanding member of this community! No way, Billy wouldn't do that, my son isn't gay!" It's easy to not see things when you're in denial about them.

He also made some comments to Billy that strongly suggest he knows about Brett too.