Krista

Ohhh... but most kickers are so tiny. Flexible... but tiny. At least by football standards. An asshole Lineman and Linebacker though would be scary AF... probably more so than the stereotypical QB. Linebackers are meant to be tough and hit you like a damn train... linemen are supposed to be immovable boulders of beef... so yeah, scary. You might be able to outrun a lineman though.

It could go either way. He did have a good game though, they were playing a scrub team, it was a scrimmage. And they were already blowing that team out before half-time, unfortunately. So we'll see. The night is just getting started for the people not directly involved with the Football stuff.

Cody should be asking that question, because the new writing added a few more miles onto his journey. I do like supporting characters. It is my happy place in the writing, especially if the plot is a bit more focused on 'serious' things and this story focused more on Joel's serious than anything else. And I have more freedom in making them who they are without a lot of restrictive importance. I have stopped watching shows when they kill off/move away from my favorite side characters. But I've also stopped watching shows/reading books when they started focusing too much on them. A happy balance is needed. I don't know if y'all would like a "day in the life of Gavin Kepler..." but I dare say it would be an interesting one...

I think he'd make one hell of a good one. Jaxton spin-off in the works? Although the story would seem familiar to me... by the tune of almost 500k words and almost ten years of my life.

Yeah, I think there are some breadcrumbs unintentionally being dropped by Davin and Joel... Joel's hyper sensitivity to that sort of fear will clue him in, but will Davin notice? Oh gosh. I am more scared about this next chapter than I was this one.

If it keeps them off drugs and out of jail... why not? What else are they going to do? Behave? lol. And yeah, High school is about friends... and we've not seen Joel have very many of them. Davin skipped the friend and went right to the kissing part, but he doesn't know Davin any deeper than Colt and Gavin... just what he looks like naked... I guess that's a start.

Yeah, I kind of leaned heavily on the cliche with Jaxton being the QB... didn't I? But in small rural high schools where Football matters most... who else could it have been? A tight-end that doesn't like being called a tight-end? Maybe. lol... I could have thrown a curve ball and made the kicker be the asshole... no one suspects the kickers. Missed opportunity there.

Maybe Faith will take up knitting or something... Mind you it isn't Faith keeping Gavin away, it is Gavin following Faith around. Who knows, she might need a break from him. lol. A belly rub is probably what Colt is hoping for... amongst other things. That's why he's at the football game at all, I'm thinking. lol... but yeah, he's moody. Oh no... 😮 Those questions would traumatize Joel... which might make Gavin more willing to ask them in the first place, but still. Well... I don't know about 230k... please no. But... if not for the new writing, this chapter would've been the end. Not this one specifically, mind you, but we'd be done at chapter 26...

Aren't they all? I mean that lightly and seriously at the same time.

Friday night football was big for me. Nothing else to do on a Friday evening and at least with me, everyone in my "circle" of closer friends would be there anyway. The game is a backdrop to everything else... gossip, parting planning, grudges/fighting, etc. You never knew what was going to happen, except one team on the field was going to win. With my school it was usually the visiting team that did, but meh...

Good and sound advice. I don't think Celia would accept another round of busted knuckles. She might have to start enforcing curfews to keep them all out of trouble. 😮 😮

Yeah, there's probably a lot of them walking around that could wear that hat, to be fair.

What are the chances that Jaxton just ignores Joel and they all have a great time at the party? If you were to bet the odds...

I don't think a few weeks in is going to stop eighteen years of pure (silly?) rivalry hatred. The Football team hasn't shown him any kindness either. So, why wouldn't Joel secretly want to see them battered up and the scoreboard lopsided in Tempton's favor? Maybe if Jaxton and his dumbass lackies were nicer to him, he'd maybe want the score a little closer... but I highly doubt he'll want to see Tempton beaten that night. His competitive streak in baseball though, that's a different story. Unless the team ends up being assy to him too, but at least Chase, the one teammate they met was thrilled about the idea and he already has Davin and Gavin in his corner. But yeah, Joel still bleeds orange and black. He was just too scared to be himself at Tempton, but he never blamed the people there. It was his parents and Wesley that caused him to land at Fletcher County, it wasn't anyone at Tempton High.

Colt reminds me of a cat. Affectionate for five minutes and then they're chewing on the very hand they were nuzzling against wanting pets. He can be kind and good, I think deep down he is that. But he can be a bit assy. Sassy? He has a weight on his own shoulders though... and weight is hard to carry.

This is the first chapter of the "new writing.." so I'm glad. I was nervous about the new writing, as it wasn't in the original and it is already making me edit the 'final' chapter. I've already had to cut four large paragraphs. I may end up having to cut more, we'll see. But since it is the first of the new writing to be posted, it kind of cements the rest of them to follow as well. Which means I have to get back to writing. I know the interactions of just the guys was something that people wanted to see more of. I wanted to see more of it too. Joel was so turned inward that he couldn't allow himself the freedoms. Then Colt hasn't been all that willing either. Gavin comes and goes as he pleases mostly. Then Davin is seemingly trying to have a good year, a little bit unexpected for him too. and yeah, Jaxton has been slighted twice, hasn't he?

All the guys I know were rough and tumble types... they were always grabbing, groping, random piggy-backs, and all that. Making kissy faces... I found it hilarious really. So I tend to write characters of that nature to support the main themes.. I think I always have a character like Gavin represented in the story. It's just in this one, he's been a bit absent. The playful kiss, I had to toss in there, I think he would've done it. Davin and Joel are becoming a little bit more comfortable.

I liked writing the Gavin that showed up in this chapter. He's been there more or less, we just didn't get to see it because you know.. girls and such. Sigh. But when Faith is busy, we get to see Gavin.

Shut your face.

Breaking the kiss, I was about to go in for another when a loud pounding shook the bedroom yes,door. Davin jumped away from me as the doorknob rattled before the door glided open. Seeing Gavin standing there, his shirt off hanging over his left shoulder, he cocked an eyebrow, but smiled as he walked in. “Like what you’ve done with the place,” Gavin said as he pulled his shirt off his shoulder and rolled it up to swat in Davin’s direction. “Thanks,” I offered as the shirt snapped, but m

I see Jackson making the attempt, he'd just mess it up and end up in a full body cast, for which he'd complain but still think he's hot and has the perfect ass.

Okay, I'm calmer now. I am not prone to hysterics I assure you. I may have gasped at the recap of all their after graduation outcomes. The mere thought of them breaking a tradition right out of high school did sting a little. I know they have their own lives and they can easily come back together as a force of nature sort of group. I mean, they've all kind of paired off as it is, so they're... there.. they're just not all trapped for 25 days in a cottage together. I doubt the Cottage would survive that, to be fair it may not survive these two, 25 days is a bit. So.. I'll try to remain calm, for now. But any hint of true and indefinite splintering and I'll have to get creative and think of something you may need threatened with. The good @drsawzall took one of my suggestions. 25 Day To Do List: Clean Trash everything due to excess drinking and boredom Clean again Make the repairs that were promised and the new ones suggestion 2 may have caused. Clean up after those repairs. Perfect the art of writing your names in the snow. May require a lot of liquid consumption so, bonus points for cursive, because no one does that anymore. Drink a lot of liquor, water, and/or other drinks of choice. Make some new friends. Apparently there's shenanigans planned that may or may not be called 'gay chicken' Have a few free resort/out of Cottage days... that may or may not lead to frigid not really suited for outdoor stuff, but it's fiction so do it anyway. And there you have it. I'm a tiny bit helpful. Although I'm joking. I wouldn't know. It took me nearly 500k words to get through a year. It will take me over 300k words to get through... like a month and a half. 25 days would terrify me if I wasn't the queen of slow-pacing a story on life support.

I wasn't attempting to give a bad rep on poor Timothy's shoulders. Although I don't condone outing someone, which he didn't - in a way. He kept his mouth shut and let Jason's reaction to the gift do that for him. So, at most he was the orchestrator, but Jason could have played right into the joke and no one would've been the wiser. The shenanigans of Percy and Five helped settled everyone's nerves, even Jason's in that moment. Even though... they are now on my naughty list for reasons best discussed there. The way Timothy read to me in that moment was someone that knows X - information + Y - Information could = XY doing dirty things to one another. And since he knew. He decided to create a "perfect environment" for his plan to survive in. If anything Owen was a wrench in that plan, one that he wouldn't have liked. And to be fair, it seemed like everyone in their friend group knew about Jason, except for Jason. The only secret that was trying to be kept, was the one to himself. Which is where I'm borderline even hinting that I think Timothy's plan was a miss. But as I see it, the friend group was so grounded in open discussions and a strong foundation that it wasn't a massive mess. As for Owen, although on my list I have other priorities. Like the steps one would need to take to have travel passports or reservations in Ibiza suddenly cancelled. And how to make a Yacht malfunction, but not go boom... also for reasons. Eggnog sneaks up on the best of us. But it is terrible to get snockered off your ass on. I don't feel sorry for you, but I do feel sorry for your tummy after all that.

You mean to tell me that these two hooligans LIED TO US! They lied to us. Shame on them. I am disgusted. And then you break my heart over and over again. I just met these people... and they're all living wrong. Correct their behavior, or I will. Yachts are for old boring people that want to spend all their time with their families. Ibiza isn't going anywhere either... probably. These guys are still young and in college. They could still have that lifelong bond I wanted them to have... No mention of the beautiful Mary either. Money well spent on that bracelet, Timothy? And of course Jason picked the wrong dude. Must be a trait all Jasons share at lease once or twice in their lifetimes with this whole Jolt nonsense. I knew what Owen was all about, it took me two paragraphs. They should have done another booze induced intervention. Second-hand smoke kills, it does every day. Now that you've stabbed me in my chest and twisted the knife. I'll get to the meat of this story. So splintered as they are as a friend group, at least Five and Percy have stayed best friends. It takes a best friend to leave their life to come all the way up a mountain during a full-blown asshole-puckering blizzard. And, that's after a hellish flight. No way in hell, and to be live-in caretakers for twenty-five days? I'd be stir crazy. There is a nice ease and bond to them now. They have accepted one another their entire lives as they are. It is a calm and collected dynamic, despite their more chaotic higher energy sort of companionship they seem to bring out of one another. We'll see if this dynamic changes with them and how. They've proven they're willing to risk life and limb for one another. And they save two lives on top of that, trying to kill themselves, but heroes they are. I don't know if Mario and the sister will come back into the story or not. It may take a bit of time to mend the bones, ribs, and whatever else Mario had going on with him after his fall off the whole mountain. The action of the chapter was a lot, a lot of physics, a lot of tension, and it was nicely written. I am interested to know how much Percy has changed after high school as well.