Krista

I see y'all's point. I just never really minded Mom opening my mail as long as I got to see it.. lol. If I found out she was hiding something from me, then I'd be pissed. So that is probably where the anger comes from between Jack and his Mom. If it was something like that, yeah I'd be angry.. lol. I'm glad you like how they are progressing. They are definitely doing so in a slow, sort of round about way... I've not written people so... restrained? Can't think of the word... at getting together. lol. I just try to make my characters and their situations as real feeling as possible. So I'm glad I'm pulling that off.

I knew Ally wouldn’t say anything in front of Mom, so I offered them both a small smile as I stepped onto the porch. Ally wasn’t paying much attention to me as it was, but Mom nearly attacked me when I stepped into her reach. Wrapping me into a hug, I felt my face flush and I glanced over her shoulder to see the glare Ally still had for Luke, who stood beside me close enough for me to feel his arm slide across my side. “I’m sorry,” Mom whispered, breaking the hug to grab my face. She quickly

Happy Birthday!

Thanks for reading! Ally's character is a bit central for a bit, so we'll see how she 'really' is in the next few installments. I think. I'm always pleased to hear about my characters.. that is why I write, so I'm so thankful people like them.

They do not have them here. We are finally starting to see Taxi services.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

All the Brazilian Beach Volleyball teams are fun to watch! Although at the expense of Americans losing those matches.. but mercy, they are sooo explosive and good. I would hate to see them on the other side of the net for sure.

Thanks for reading! Yeah, it was always planned that he would lose his scholarship - I tried to be mum about it when we discussed it in the forum topic.. lol. I didn't want to be all spoiler-y. I think Luke is being very supportive, but he's just eighteen, so it is out of his hands. We do sometimes need these optimistic people standing beside us.. ready to catch us or push us when we are doubters though.. that's how I see him. The "There's more" of course gets explained 'very' 'very' soon. :D Hopefully by mid-week next week if I get to writing.. lol.

Heyy, thanks for reading! I also never thought you'd like Jackson! You were my one steadfast non-Jackson supporter. Lol! Hopefully that does show his growth a bit. I'm not going to promise he won't crash and relapse, at least maybe he might deserve to be a bit... ornery, after what has happened to him lately.

Hey! Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're liking the story so far. I like having very down to earth and believable characters, I try really hard to have them rounded out pretty nicely.. hopefully anyway. lol.

Thanks for reading! These little bits are very much appreciated.. So no worries! Life can be hectic and crazy, so. Luke was there and Jackson didn't slam the door in his face, so that was nice.

Heyy! Thanks for all that reading! I'm glad that you liked Are You Christian as well! This story is a re-write from a story I started and dumped back when I started AYC, so sort of fitting for you to pick it up. So glad you're liking it so far, Jackson is a character I wanted to attempt writing for a bit. If you like these two, "Standing In Shadows," seems to be better liked than AYC was and it is completed as well... if you find yourself waiting with not much on your slate to read. Lol! Sorry about the self-promoting here.

Thanks for reading! Definitely not a shining day for Jackson, no.. But for the story to go anywhere, something 'had' to happen... or it would become very stagnant very fast. No one was going to put up with a spoiled guy getting his cake on top of his pile of gold.. lol. Humility goes a long way and he's had his tested for sure.

Heyy! Thanks for reading. People like seeing Jackson become a bit more humble. Although at the expense of his world turning a bit upside down for him too. It shows that he 'can' be a worthwhile person to get to know. Shenanigans are very much still a part of him though, he does like to have his fun. Hopefully he's likable now though, after spending the first 10 chapters with having his unlikable moments.. lol. Slow growth. About the Mail incident though - maybe it is just my family, but my mother always opened my mail when I first started getting it. She knew I was accepted to college before I did.. etc. It may also have been a wee bit unclear in the chapter, but his mother knew before the letter even came, what the letter would have in it. Rick and her had received phone calls about Jackson being dropped... so I guess in a way, she was protecting him from opening that letter by himself or whatever.. ill advised maybe. The parents in this story aren't fault free, they aren't perfect. It does seem like Jackson's parents do care more about their lives/professional lives more than they do his.. as they seem to belittle his friendships and such at times... or push him to befriend people he doesn't really want to befriend and so on. So they aren't perfect parents so maybe their imperfections in the past carried over to her holding information over his head - which is bad, I certainly agree. But as a parent.. I 'do' want to protect my children.. even from unavoidable upsets it is really gut wrenching to see them disappointed. Anywho! Ally - well Ally is a firecracker.. and they do go BOOM! from time to time.. lol. Y'all will grow to know her a lot better in the coming chapters, I think. Also, all the friends.

When the last bell rang, I grabbed my backpack and sports bag and followed the bustling people that had drivers’ licenses out the back door to the student parking lots. I sighed, knowing my day was far from over, I still had practice on the track while Coach pulled double duty with me and the football team. Mostly I would be jogging and doing some weight and flexibility shit while he badgered the football team. After I dropped my backpack off at my car I clicked the lockdown button on my key

Probably not, but not for that reason. NBC's coverage has been very sporadic at best. That is why I watch Live Feeds of the sports of interest. Very sweet picture and congratulations to them. As for my coverage... Matt Anderson - Men's Indoor Volleyball has a new fan... mercy. I actually thought the Americans would be more dominate in Volleyball and Swimming, but they're a bit hit and miss in Swimming and very lack luster in Indoor Volleyball. The Men may not even qualify out of Pool Play. I really enjoyed the Synchronized diving as well. I watched the live feed for that and some of the Cross Country Equestrian, but I couldn't stomach watching the horses crashing, they crash hard.. shew. So I had to stop that feed. Not sure what I'll watch later, I'm really wanting to get into Track and Field stuff.

Shew, Cycling was a death trap... those winners really earned those. One woman fractured her spine. I saw that accident live and it looked horrendous, I nearly had to change the channel, because I figured the wrecking was just about to begin. On the men's side, one athlete broke both of his collar bones. One broke his pelvis, there were a couple of them that broke bones in their arms and legs.. mercy. I don't remember this many major injuries in the last Olympics.

Oh mercy... poor guy.

Looking forward to, Beach Volleyball, Swimming, Men + Women volleyball, and Men + Women Gymnastics. Cycling and the Track/Field sports are also pretty fun to watch as well. I know I'm not going to be able to catch all of those, but I really love the Olympics. Also, I'll try to be taking notes during the Swimming comps for The Best Year... if I can keep my mind off wet bodies in tight clothes..

Congratulations! Keep up the good work.

Thanks for reading and dropping a review! I've started chapter 15, so I don't want to say too much (nearly 5 pages into it, just need to iron out a few things). I think the story is shaping up a bit more with chapter 15 for sure. There are a lot of changes coming Jackson's way and what he said in Chapter 13 may have jinxed him a wee bit.

Happy Birthday!

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Yep, our boy Jackson is in a bit of a mess. He realizes it to an extent. Feeling guilty about Ally and his attachment to her vs. he obvious feelings for Luke that seem very strong and new... he'll have to decide which he wants to pursue or.. it will undoubtedly blow up in his face.. lol. We'll see which happens.. The Friends, I hope, will become more interesting and worthwhile in the next few chapters and we really start to understand the group as a whole. I've only treated y'all to flashes and you can form only baseline opinions of them so far. Luke being at the school will definitely bring changes, too. Jackson has a lot on his plate for sure... and his house of cards is definitely being built on unstable ground. Jackson and Ally will need to be worked out inside my head before I put it to paper though.. I just hope I can work them two out before I drag y'all on too much.. lol.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I believe the differences between Ally/Girls vs. Derek/Toby's reaction will become more clear as the story progresses. It is more or less that maybe the girls aren't as comfortable in their group as the boys are. I mean, the guys have all been best friends since, I think I mentioned, birth.. literally. lol. So their bond is very strong and only a 'few' things can test that bond. We'll see in the coming chapters if certain things will or not, for sure. The girls though, might see outsiders as a bit of a knock on their social status of some sort... since it is so easy for them to shuffle between the three guys as far as dates/girlfriends.. maybe the same can be said of just being friends? A theory of mine, of course. lol.