Krista

4 Decades, Steven.

Yeah, I don't think Matt would have said anything if the Paper was rather benign. I can say that now that the chapter containing the paper is out. lol Not sure if it is Gabe's first kiss, but it definitely was Ridley's first kiss. A kiss tends to change the dynamics of a story in Romance, that's usually when things are starting to come together, finally. lol. This kiss definitely did though, yeah. But did it change Ridley? *whistles* That scene had me wrecked as well, but I knew I had to do it. I had to give readers hope and proof that there is good in Ridley's future and what better way to do that, than to have it happen on what should have been Ridley's biggest night. Not in his own mind, mind you, but in a player's mind that maybe wasn't going through a tragedy and other things. The scene itself wasn't difficult to write, but I did cry. I hoped people would feel some semblance of maybe happy tears while reading. If not, then the entire story leading up to that part might have fell flat. You're supposed to feel a little bit of something there, so I'm glad you did - even if it was a good cry. Thank you for reading! I am surprised to see that readers are associating a protective/fatherly sort of memory or feeling with this story. It has been commented some in prior parts. It is a big underlying theme for sure and I do like the connecting comments. The story actually started with that idea in mind, plus the other one you mentioned about how he got his name and that connection. I wanted to write a character that was isolated, partly by choice, partly because he was pushed aside. The Article is posted in part 4. I can say that now that the part is posted. Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed this part. Thank you for reading. Emotional scenes and parts are nice for me to write, but I know they can be hit or miss. So I'm glad you liked it. Sorry! There may be a few more, I know I cried at least twice more? I think, when I was writing this story. Maybe the other times won't be as felt by readers. I am glad you have enjoyed this story so far. And yeah, Ridley most defintely would qualify as a runaway train at this junction. lol Aww yeah, that was an extremely thoughtful gift by any stretch of the imagination. I doubt many people in that predicament after going that far, wouldn't get a kiss. Or at least, that's what I think should happen.. haha. I'm glad you thought the phone call was just right, it is a little fun and a little scary to write scenes of that nature. You can cheese/ham them up, or they can fall flat. There does need to be a balance to get it right, so I'm glad you commented on that specifically. Lol. Well part 4 is posted, sorry for the bit of a late response. It did end on a cliffhanger and I didn't really want to explain or possibly give away much of the rest of the story. It is posted now, so hopefully I fulfilled some of your wishes for the next part.. lol. Thank you for reading and enjoying the story so far! It is complete, so no waiting with this one. Yeah, it is an odd place to be. You're there, and in the back of your mind and despite your own wishes you've become a centerpiece. He had to know they were cheering him on, probably a little bit more than that rest of the team... and it not even touch him the same way it is affecting the rest of the team. They definitely felt it more, at least until he got the gift right before his name was announced to the crowd. He definitely felt that, but it still didn't change the night for him, he still was just playing a game he was good at. The night instead became what it was far outside of what happened with a ball in his hands. (Struggled to keep that spoiler free for anyone reading comments before they read the chapter) You bring up an interesting sort of point. I've always felt that Matt was more to blame for any lost friendship between the two. He stopped coming around before the bombing. He didn't really reach out afterwards either. To me, Matt isn't the best person at this stage of the story, so I don't think Ridley ever felt any sort of romantic/crush sort of connection to Matt. He misses him, or the friendship he had, but he also closed that door a long time ago himself and isn't really looking back either. Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Lol, yeah you disappeared on me. 😮 I thought you might've went potty or something. I didn't know you were off getting tissues or I would have allowed you time to get over it. Thank you for thinking I do these emotionally heavy scenes just right. It is something that can really bog down a story if you do it for too long. It shouldn't be like ripping off a band aid and it shouldn't be open heart surgery either. It is one thing to feel it, feeling something is okay. It is another to derail the story with the scene. We have to keep in mind, that despite the tone or what ever, people read for enjoyment and to escape into a different world for a bit. So a nice balance is always key.

Realizing what I had just done my eyes shot open, but when I tried to pull my hand away from his shirt, he gripped it harder and grabbed hold of my other arm with his other hand. He pulled me back and I grunted as my weight shifted uncomfortably into the console between us. When his lips started moving against mine, that was forgotten and I closed my eyes again. Then he abruptly broke the kiss, gently pushing me away. “That was,” he breathed, “can we go somewhere else so we can do that some

The rest of the week I felt a small bit of anticipation fluttering in my stomach about the feature. True to his word, Gabe didn’t bother me anymore. I looked for him between classes, through the faces I didn’t really know because I didn’t care to. I doubted I really gave him anything to use for the feature and when they hit the wire baskets in the hallway for us to pick up, I grimaced when I saw me in full uniform on the front cover. It was an official team picture, so I had my safety glasses on

I know what my mother would say about swinging free and loose with your privates.

As much as the Gif you posted just sells the entire idea for me.. I must say no. NO, Ladies and Gentlemen wear underwears. It just isn't done, it just isn't done.

It is rare that we have people in this world that touches the lives of generations. We got that with Betty White and I'm glad of it. She walked through life in such an exemplary way that it still amazes me when I read about her life. I typically don't get emotional when a celebrity leaves us, but for Betty I do feel her loss. I hope she felt some of the weight of the good and joy she brought people with her life and work.

What the heck is Gabe going to write about? Hmmm.. lol. I am a bit worried, I don't know if what he writes about is in part 3, I can't recall. Ridley does say things, but he closes the door just as quickly and shuts down any true conversation he doesn't want to take part in. Thank you for reading and leaving a comment. Thank you for reading! Yeah, a home tells a story of a person too. Especially if there are pictures hanging on the walls and Gabe pointed out a couple of them for sure. I don't think it crossed Ridley's mind that allowing Gabe into his home would open up those possibilities, but observant people don't really seem all that intrusive - not until they bring up things you don't want them to, and that you never shared. I honestly don't know if Ridley is in the closet at home, I would have to ask @wildone what he thought, since he's read the whole story already too. For me, I have one way of thinking, but as a writer, sometimes what we have in our heads doesn't always hit the paper the same way. Thank you for reading! I thought it was the opposite, I think he'd rather Mari be in charge of the paper still.. lol. Gabe unnerves him and is pushy enough to not leave things unanswered, at least in part. Mari would have hoped for the email to be answered, but Ridley wouldn't have answered those in a way that would be completely beneficial. Gabe knew that, that's why he ditched the email completely. But I don't think the conversation in this part was of much help either. Thank you for reading! I actually have never seen the movie 'Hoosiers.' I've heard about it and that it was a good film, but I've just never took the time to look for it. Being in the know about the newsletter, I can't say much about it. Will Ridley even read the thing, he pretty much told Gabe that he wouldn't and we've seen that Ridley typically sticks to his guns on things. You cheeky thing. We talked about this in Beta. There is a fine line with team dynamics. There is no one team that is the same. The team was well aware of what they were doing. With the harder than necessary passing and the lack of concentration. Sometimes you need to reward players that go beyond themselves and focus on the team - which Ridley was - as he handled the passes offered him and was focused on practice and not the feature. Otherwise he would be running too. So Ridley having to run punishment laps for something that he was pretty much being bullied into - probably would have given the ones doing it a satisfaction of having him get into trouble with them. Coach taking Ridley's side on this, put them in their place, maybe they needed knocked down a few pegs. So it could go either way, like I said fine line and all that. Also, pity likes - just sayin. Aww, this had me in tears as I read it. As writers we don't expect a lot of people to open up to us, so when we do get that it is special. I do like hearing life stories that are remembered or connected to my writing. As unintentional, but lovely that it was. It was heart breaking to me that you had to watch your father suffer through his illness and that you were so young. I couldn't imagine what that would feel like, so I am glad you shared that with me. Also, Happy New Year to you as well. (A little late, I know). Hopefully we will see this year well with a lot of good in it. Thank you for your kind words about my writing and the way I handled Ridley's inner struggle so far and how it is nicely placed in the larger picture of the story. As I develop characters I do worry that I lose the intention of them or that they move too fast through their growth. Ah.. Jacksepticeye. My younger brother made me very aware of him. Gabe is smart and he is pushy. Even I wondered if his way of dealing with Ridley was a tactic to get a story or geniune interest. I don't know if at this point in the story we know that to be certain or not. I do wonder what people think of Gabe and whether or not you all feel much for the two of them moving forward. Right now I get a sense that there is a consensus on mutual attraction and/or curiosity at the very least. Thank you for reading! Thank you for reading and leaving a comment! Yes, the paper is completely up to what Gabe can come up with. Maybe he will be able to crack Ridley's wall a bit. We'll see. Thank you for reading and enjoying the story so far. Characters are important to me, I go in to stories with a character in mind, not so much a story or even where I want it to go. So I'm glad you're enjoying Ridley's character so far, maybe even Gabe in the short bursts we've gotten to really see him.

Thank you for reading! Ridley isn't talking, that much is certain. I wonder who will break that wall down... if it ever comes down. Also, the way I see Ridley and basketball - is that he is a big fish in a very shallow pond. He does so well because - he is rather dedicated, yes, but he's also in a district/area that just doesn't offer a lot of true competition for him? Even then - I think I hinted the school has struggled significantly in the past and now they're doing really well. So who knows, maybe there is some attention swirling around. Ridley wouldn't be aware of that though. Thank you for reading! I feel his mother and to a point, his sister are concerned about Ridley. I just haven't really gotten into the family dynamics aside from the closeness with his father. As far as the school, from what I have seen with my own experiences, is that unless Ridley's grades drop or he becomes a behavioral issue/concern - acting out/causing disruptions, or skipping school a lot - then they would only show concern then. Otherwise they just let it go. It isn't the most ideal scenario, but there are probably true 'students of concern' in that school that time is allocated towards and Ridley - just doesn't require the attention. Also, without the disruptions/loss of grades/etc.. it would take a willing participant in Ridley and I don't think he would ever be willing - if his response to be featured in the school paper is anything to go on anyway. Thank you for reading. I hope the future chapters live up to the first one. Lol. I know after this chapter posted I went back and I completely re-read the entire thing, hoping the tone and such didn't change much. I do enjoy the discussion so far. I'm sure they could find out about the bombing and such, then link it back to Ridley, especially after the story of how Ridley got his name. Small towns also like to write about these sorts of things in their own publications, so the tragedy would be known, at least in archive formats to be honest. Whether it has remained in the minds of the people around him is yet to be seen really. It is interesting that you say Ridley's issues started well before his father's injuries. I only hinted at him possibly shutting down well before the current situation the story is about. Matt dumping him as a friend and Ridley's somewhat indifference to that happening is probably the most telling. As for the adults in the story - yes, I feel they are aware. Well his Mother has to be, she is directly involved, but the Counsellor and teachers probably were just briefed of the situation and told to be wathful, but typically they only watch out for behavioral issues, not changes, right? If the grades are maintained and Ridley doesn't become disruptive or a behavioral issue then they typically don't interfere, or at least that is my take on things when issues such as these popped up in the schools I've attended. Aww, yeah - Ridley is probably one of the more vulnerable characters I have written about. Most of it is internal, but there are hints that maybe school, for him, could be better. Thank you for reading! Yeah, started right in the middle of the action there. Also, thank you for pointing out a segment of the story and calling it a classic. I don't know how many one-liners or dialogs and such that are out there that I am truly proud of myself for.. I know TBY when Olivia said answered for Connor about his Senior Loyalty and she said, "In my pants," when I re-read that as I spot edited - I laughed and was like.. 'How on earth..' - I may have mentioned that before. But Ridley thinking this line with such unapologetic conviction stuck with me, so I'm glad you noticed. ----- I just want to thank you all for taking the time to read this story and post comments. It started out as a short story that got too massive. So my biggest concern with that, is if I moved things along too quickly, but when I decided to face the music and break it up into parts - that the story arc became too fast, then tapered off into something else. Also, I am 'very' worried when it comes to responding to these, since I already know how the story ends. So I don't want to start babbling all over the place and slap you all with a spoiler unintentionally. So know that I have read and enjoyed the discussion so far. I will try to respond to comments individually, but if they felt disconnected or something, that's the reason. I just don't want to accidentally respond with something that I know happens, but may not be in this particular part.

Practice went as expected. Some of the passes from Reed and Matt stung my hands, but after they saw I handled them easily enough it stopped. They still hated that I was being featured for homecoming. Over the years we had gradually gotten better, some of the guys grew taller, some of them were replaced by better underclassmen. We had a winning season last year and this season we had only lost a handful of games. We were favorites going into the postseason district championship tournament. So the

Another slight this world has dealt you lefties. -- Also, I used to wear my husband's boxers as shorts around the house. I would roll the elastic so they would stay up. I wore my own underwear underneathe. Does that count? I put a stop to his boxer preferences ages ago, btw.

“Riddles,” a girl said as I heard a chair pulling away from the table where I sat. Her accent gave her away as soon as she called my name. Glancing over I saw Mari juggling her camera as she sat down at the circular table trying to keep her laptop bag from falling from her shoulder. She left a seat open beside me, despite the table being empty. I wondered if she saw my cringe in the reflection in the window’s glass, but it was bright in the cafeteria and I could barely see my reflection staring

Ridley wants a lot of things. To be left alone, for people to forget a stupid nickname, and for time to stop and rewind two years. What he doesn't want is to be featured in the school paper.

Some readers do notice the differences with a man writing m/m fiction vs. a woman. I'm also sure there are narrow minded people that can't pick up a M/M romance with a woman's name on the cover. Probably of the same mold that wouldn't choose a female doctor and so on. I don't think it is that big of an issue as a whole within the genre. There are probably more Women who write M/M romances than men - or at least a more readily available one/rabid following. On the other hand, some men may prefer women who write M/M. I personally don't see much of a difference, but I write more than I read within this genre. I am extremely picky, I write the stories I want to read and if what I am reading differs too much from that, then I don't finish - typically. I'm like that with Heterosexual romances too, probably only slightly more forgiving. If it is a strict romance, I mean. I can read M/M stories where romance isn't the basepoint with a lot more ease - that is why I used to lean heavily towards Paranormal/Fantasy stories when I started reading and fanfictions - because those were different than what I can critique as I read. I do get what she is saying; that men want a male voice when they read. When you lose the male voice, you lose the whole purpose of M/M Romance and that includes the sex scenes. There are discussions about this type of thing already on GA, so I don't want to repeat myself too much. You can put down the writing, the story, etc I only ever get annoyed when people outright blame a person's gender for the reason why they can't read something. As she said, it takes some research for women to write the sex scenes, but not so much the romance because we really aren't that different. That tends to hold true, because one of the most asked questions of me is, "How do you write such believable male characters..." and I always just respond with something like, "I'm not really writing a male character, I'm just writing about people..." Men are different in a lot of ways, so as long as some of those things aren't thrown out the window, you can write M/M as a woman. Now, for me I don't feel like her when I go about writing a sex scene/explicite or not. So maybe I'm doing it wrong. I don't feel like I have expressed any of my own fantasies/do's and/or don'ts when it comes to sex. I don't feel like anyone would be like, "Oh wow, that's you Krista..." when they're reading about two dudes playing hide the worm. I do have a funny story of when my husband caught me in the middle of writing a M/M sex scene. It ended with him saying that I was filthy - as a complete compliment, mind you - and I had to remind him that I was still a lady.

No. They won't get Golden Girls right. No one can pull off what those four women did. Also, the writing was controversial and a bit ahead of its time as it was. Also, Hot in Cleveland was a sort of a knockoff of the Golden Girls and if you wanted to torture yourself for an evening you watched that show. Betty was the only redeeming quality in that entire thing. Golden Girls is one show I can pick back up and watch no matter how many times I've watched it, so I don't even want there to be a 'rumor' around that show being picked up for a reboot. -- Some Reboots are very well done, if they keep the essence of the original, but maybe the original was hindered by technology and special effects. Although, nothing is typically worse than Book to Film. Especially in the YA world. Twilight, City Of Bones/The Mortal Instruments... ugh.

I typically do not like remakes - especially sitcoms from decades ago. So when they say they're going to Reboot shows like Frasier, Friends (rumored, probably not going to happen), Will and Grace, etc.. I always take them with a grain of salt. I also feel that writers, even returning writers, tend to falter with reboots, especially if the same actors/actresses are in it. The writing either gets distinctly off-brand or it gets lazy because they're banking on a rabid fanbase forgiving them for lazy writing. Also, I hate to say it, today's culture just ruins a lot of promising ideas. People get offended too easily and it makes creators gunshy and stifled. Sci-fi/Comic Book adaptations and the like are different. They either hit or miss. I feel most of them are boring and follow the same general outline - especially if The CW or FreeForm, etc are involved. I personally tend to like the reboots within these genres to be starkly different, if they're more of the same then I lose interest way more easily. But yeah it's more or less, do you want Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip cookies or Milk Chocolate Chip cookies, you're not going to sense much of a difference unless you pay attention. (As you can see, I've been doing my Christmas baking) As for Lois and Superman, I heard the first 1/2 of the first season was slow and a bit boring, but it gets better. I personally gave up halfway through the second episode.

As someone who played Mass Effect, I cannot condone this type of Science.

Thank you for reading, leaving a commenting, and a review of this story. I mean, a part 2 would deserve to have some of those things resolved or at least evolved into something more closed, for sure. Right now, I hope Ty has covered his own tracks, letting a felon run is a felony of itself, so he is rather implicated if his bosses catch him in that act as well. So, there 'is' a lot left in this sort of story. I just don't know if I have the time and energy to write it. I'll give it a thought though, I did have plans at one time to give it a go...

Single All the Way - too full of streotypical nonsense, I couldn't get through the first 10 minutes of the film. I have no patience for Christmas movies in general, so I thought maybe that's what it was. Regardless, I feel Netflix went into this thinking, "We'll out-do Hallmark/Lifetime with the campy christmasy bullshit, but we'll also MAKE IT GAY!" So I peronally can't reccomend, since I only watched the beginning. It might have gotten better? But still. I think I will stick to the nostalgia factor movies I grew up watching like those scary assed Rudolph cartoons, Muppets Christmas Carol, etc if I were to find myself actually wanting to watch a Christmas movie. And @wildone you need to put the grinch hat on, because it will complete your entire ensemble. 😮

Liked writing this scene a lot. I wish there was a 'real' place like that out there. I'm sure there is something like that... but the cost of waterproof, non-toxic, environmentally safe slime might be costly.

Can we take a moment to realize that Olivia just called Jackson, "the biggest most spoiled ass." -- and got away with it. lol. I guess they could have squashed some questions by saying, "well we've been neighbors our whole lives and our parents are friends.." If he wasn't the biggest most spoiled ass in school and that's - undeniably - how some people view him, even if they also love him for that exact thing.

His friend group, which includes her son. Much to her dismay at the moment. lol

Ahh, I can only imagine how that would look. Poor Lily, to be honest.. lol. I'm sorry about the delay, it will be a lengthy one as I'm kind of stuck where I'm at. Since you're in the process of rereading, maybe you could PM me and offer some advice? With everything that is going on in the world and what I've personally dealt with for the past few months, it is sometimes hard to write happier stories. Also, sorry I'm a bit of a downer.. lol. I'll try to behave.

It would be an improvement if proven true, unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Lol, I appreciate all comments! I'm glad you felt so strongly about what Andy is doing/the decisions he's making to call him an idiot. A story of mine that I do really recommend as well is, "Standing in Shadows," it took me ages to write and I'm very happy with that story.