Krista

I remember.. lol. You were one of Jackson's hardest critics. I feared that I would finally take him too far and you would just wash your hands with him. Yet here we are. It was a sad end to what should have been a great day. It ended on a high note with Luke as far as we know... but the aftermath the next morning will definitely hit him hard and I doubt Cindy would wait for his hangover to ease. I don't know if their household is all that toxic. I think for the most part they having a loving household and honestly, before the Park and Jackson, Luke wasn't really pushing against Cindy's parenting or saw fault with it either. If this was in Luke's POV I don't think it would be as seemingly toxic, but since we're seeing Cindy blow up a lot, we can only assume it carries over all the time and not just when Luke pushes back. It could definitely get rather toxic though.

I don't know about coming out to BFA, if BFA didn't accept Jackson's coming out, I doubt Allison would be a good enough buffer to keep him quiet about it. Also, the two are rivals for Prom King, just like Emma Camp and Allison are Rivals. So I honestly don't think the rewards would outweigh the risks. Connor on the other hand, I don't think he would do them any harm. I think it might be past feelings on Jackson's side that makes him hold back on telling him, but still Connor knowing doesn't solve BFA not knowing. But yes, I can totally see people knocking on the closet doors that Jackson and Luke are hunkering down in, for sure. Like I said though, the weight of having them two know, is far eclipsed from Cindy and Henry knowing... so until those two know, they will just have to live with that fear as best they can and hope they can make it to the end of the year. I'm not sure either of them have an inkling about Luke's sexuality. Well I do know, since I'm the writer, but y'all just have to play detective. Henry does come up in the next chapter, so. Thank you! I'm glad you've enjoyed this story so far! I say if Luke wasn't in the picture Jackson could probably match those names word for word. Maybe he'll have enough and say them anyway... maybe Cindy needs to hear them. That should be a fear and I think maybe that is Henry's fear. Cindy probably thinks for the most part she's won, she just needs to smash this Jackson thing like a gnat and she'll be sailing easy again. It is easy for us to say, "yeah he won't be back," but Luke also has lived with and loved his mother for 18 1/2 years so far... She should, yes. She definitely didn't see Jackson coming either. Not in her wildest dreams, if she had, she wouldn't have allowed him at the park during the restoration. We'd also see a totally different Jackson too.. and I remember how people were really struggling to like the before-the-park-before-Luke Jackson. Also the school closing allowed for Luke to stretch his legs a bit as well, but Luke changing has only been taking place recently. So Cindy will probably be more reactionary now than she has been earlier when Jackson was something she thought would fly in and fly out just as quickly. Thank you, I do like writing these characters. The Counselor was spurred on by the prank for sure. But yeah, I don't think she was trying to guilt him, not really. She just didn't understand the stakes, but she saw the opportunity for sure. Thinking that Jackson is so popular that he is untouchable. But yeah, I really liked writing that scene. I wanted some sort of unforeseen consequence to come from the prank. I wonder if Mrs. Lane will hassle him again or go searching for someone else... Yes. I like showing vulnerability in men. I don't think we see men outwardly seeking comfort enough. They don't have to be walls of stone. Even Jackson is younger and still in high school, it is still good to portray that, I feel. Yeah, holding Jackson and Luke up side by side, as what makes a young man, would totally skew her views on who Jackson is. She should know by now that he is a Straight A student, he's a bit wild, but he's been safe, he's dedicated to his education and his swimming. He will graduate with honors. He probably has good SAT/ACT scores. But he isn't Luke... and if Luke was a total wreck, Jackson still wouldn't outshine him in her eyes. Which is fine, since Luke is also a good guy. I guess the chapter is disturbing because you can see the head-on collision coming through the entire chapter. You know if Luke makes the decisions he does all through it, that the outcome would be what it was. He had fun though. Also if Luke remembers what Cindy said to Jackson, Cindy may have more than she can handle when he sobers up and gets over his hangover. Not going to lie, I'm worried about the next few chapters after reading some of these comments.

The rest of the week the school slowly returned from forest green and cream to the royal blue and yellow. Connor surprised me Tuesday with a Trojan shirt like the one Bailey Ashton wore during his photo shoot. Seeing me wearing it Thursday people kept asking me where I got it, I told them Connor. By last period Connor sold enough shirts to pay off the debt he accumulated from the prank. The shirts sold better than the school affiliated ones though, so Welker told him he could no longer sell them

When you explain it like that, yeah Luke had an A+ night all around.. lol. So Cindzilla's lecture probably fell on deaf and tired ears for sure. Also, to be honest if I was Welker and saw this prank I'd be impressed as crap. Also not seeing any damage to the school or missing things, hurt students, anything that I would have to fill out forms for and answer to a school board about, I'd be tickled. lol Too bad they overdone it a bit and couldn't enjoy it without being foggy from lack of sleep. Lol, I think it was more out of respect for Luke than not missing an opportunity. Connor would probably remember the conversation about not pranking her room, he is that thoughtful. He did mess up by sending that video of Jackson sliding bare assed across the gym floor though... so The poetic justice that came out of it was just a bonus for sure, Cindy probably expected it and in doing so, she pranked the hell out of herself. Yeah, even if Jackson has to whisper ideas to that kid in Cindy's class that stood up to her while he was in the hallway. The one he saw himself in when he was a freshman getting lectured by teachers. Maybe Jackson will pass the legacy down. Thank you for reading. I agree that Cindy pranking herself via her paranoia was better than outright doing something to her. I think she would feel vindicated if something did happen with her room. It would definitely give her more of a right to dismantle everything and issue punishments. I like that you can see the growth in their relationships and the characters themselves. I do fear they've made "too much," growth for high school kids, I don't want them to be too self-realized. I want them to fall all over themselves from time to time. I don't know! The more Jackson is willing to be the bottom, the more I know there will be pressure on me to write the other side of the coin. If that happens. Maybe Jackson will always be the one who bottoms. I know it was a bit of a surprise the first time it happened and Jackson was the willing one, seeing as he is the one that is confident in his relationship with Luke, but doesn't really know who he is, sexuality wise. Thank you! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Thank you for reading, I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! Yeah, I think their backseat of a car relationship came to an end last night. They're both just too tall for it, at least in a mustang. lol. I know this chapter was a fast read, I might should have tacked it onto the end of last chapter, but I thought it was getting way too long. I'm glad it does seem to stand alone for the smaller things within it. Thank you! Thank you! For me, I always thought of Luke as strong. Scared, but strong despite all of that. They both had to do some growing though, but I feel Luke is standing a little more upright these days. I just hope nothing happens to erase all that.

Thank you! It is a really huge prank that probably would be too expensive and too time consuming for them to pull off in reality, but I really liked thinking up the scene and writing it. Thank you! School pranks have come under scrutiny here lately, so I feel the tradition is slowly falling out with most schools. I always thought it was in good fun as long as they didn't become dangerous or too obscene.. lol. Thank for reading and coming back to the story! Thank you! JFH doesn't sound like a bad at all. Maybe one day Jackson will be an Olympic Champion and will found a school and name it after him. I mean he probably has a good vision for how it would look now. The photoshoot was a bit scandalous there, Principals having affaires with their secretaries would be the talk of the small town for years. So them depicting it in a fake year book would be shocking. 😮 And yeah, I feel Welker would pop a vein in his forehead if/when he saw the pictures. Maybe he won't ever see them, at least not until Allison is older and shows him.. lol Part of the reason they didn't want to tell Jackson is that they wanted to surprise him as a group of friends. Also, Connor didn't really tell most of the school. Realistically I could see a lot of people just flat out not agreeing with the prank and ruining it and such, but I didn't want to write that. thank you for reading, even through all the delays. Yeah, probably the only time anybody ever looks forward to a Monday.. lol.

I apologize, I have obviously let my guard down and the Wildone has run amok. I will set out traps and get him back in hand and under control. I say, Fall. I want to say Autumn, but I am not in the habit of saying it. I think it does it a better justice as a season for the beauty of the changing leaves and the sort. Living here everyone just says, "Fall.." though.

Yes.. weddings.. yikes. They're stressful if you're connected to the family. Being a regular guest is honestly less stressful. lol. It is an older story, so there are some rough edges in it, but I really enjoyed this anthology. I really loved writing these characters too. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the story as you progress. :)

After leaving the school, I turned towards town not wanting to go to Lily’s right now. I already told them we were going to be by later. Lily’s parents must be on a trip, they liked to visit family now and then. Unlike the rest of us though, Lily wouldn’t throw a party in their absence, mostly because her mother was pretty anal about cleaning and would know if anything was out of place. “Where we going?” Luke asked after we got to the town’s welcome sign. I jumped when he spoke, not expecti

Yeah, in my research, I also found out that Kentucky's State Championships is sectioned into 4 different areas, so I don't know how to really handle that going forward, but I'm not really going to depict the State Championships and if they're large enough to be split into 4 different aquatic centers, typically, I'd have to look into that further. But for my sanity and this being complete fiction, I'll just have them all competing in the same building/arena.. lol. I am very happy with, Standing In Shadows, it is a bit of an older story, it does have an athlete centered storyline as well and I remember you mentioning that you liked reading those.

Oh gosh, I don't know if I have that many years left in me if I keep with this kind of pace. lol

Actually, him not telling his Momma about the record was a bit of an oversight, looking back. lol. It would have been something he told his parents. I don't know if the school would have mentioned it, but yeah. He also had something else on his mind that night though. I'm also not sure what you mean by 59 sections and 4 zones, I apologize. lol Also! I liked watching Water Polo in past Olympics, but I missed it this round. It seems like a very physical sport since you're in water the entire time and treading water is so tiring. Lol. -- I go into writing thinking, I want to write with enough realism that people think it could happen in their hometowns. I mean I know I am very much writing in the US, and most people would probably stretch that to, the South Eastern or Mid-western US, since my stories focus on more rural places with small towns and sparsely populated areas. I don't like cities myself, so I would struggle writing a story in the middle of say New York City.. so you can officially rule places like those out at least. lol

I'll attempt to break these all down: Here we are typically broken down into two categories. Districts and Regions. Regions contain Districts, so they're easier to understand. Districts are clusters of Counties and if you're talking sports - High Schools, Independent Schools that are private, and/or Independently coached Teams, like Jackson's within a State - Like say, Kentucky. Although Kentucky isn't where this story is based. This story is based wherever I based, "Standing In Shadows," in and I can't remember where exactly that is.. lol. Districts are broken down mostly based on Geography and what counties are neighbors or bordering them + independent/private/unaffiliated schools. Regions are made up of Districts that neighbor one another + independent/private/unaffiliated schools that are also within the same general locations. Kentucky has 120 Counties. There are 11 Districts + a ton of unaffiliated/independent schools and teams. For the most part, during the regular season, he would be competing in different places in general. They aren't restricted to where they want to compete. Some teams travel to different states during the regular season, it is just open competition. They may be required to go to some meets within the district, but for the most part it is up to the coach and/or athlete where he or she wants to compete. District and Regional breakdowns are only important during the end of season Championship Invitationals. District, Regional, and State. In Kentucky, there are 9 regions that combines and splits up districts based on general geography and how many independent/private/unaffiliated teams are in those districts. Being larger, if he broke a record during a Regional Championship Invitational, it would mean a lot more. He would be in a lot better company as far as past record holders and present competition. In Jackson's world, he's in a smaller district that contains no larger cities and they are an independent team. So him breaking a District record during the regular season, isn't a huge deal since his district isn't all that competitive. Also to add, I feel like most smaller districts would actually have 'more' independent and unaffiliated swimmers than actual school sponsored/affiliated teams... at least in states like Kentucky. If my research is correct, there are more individual athletes and independent teams than there are school affiliated ones anyway. I didn't want it to feel so individual and alone, so I wanted him to be in a team and within a district, etc. Technically I don't think you have to be, you just have to be individually good and if your times are good enough, you can qualify for these invitationals. At least at the District level since Regionals would require you winning your event finals at the district level or coming in a close second and hope your times hold up.

Amusing jackass is what I think when I write him. There's always going to be moments where you either laugh or roll your eyes. I don't know exactly how many more times he outright annoys everyone that reads the chapters as the story progresses though. lol

I love these comments. I set out to see how annoying I could make him, but still make him a character worth reading. I hope you're not completely discouraged.

Thank you guys! It only took me a decade and a half.

Oops! I did an iconic car an injustice by adding two whole doors to it. Lol. I think I've done that in earlier chapters as well.. *slaps own wrist* I'm glad you brought this to my attention. Not going to say why...

Hearing my phone chime, I groaned and curled into a ball in my bed. When it chimed again I swore and shoved a pillow over my head. Mom and Dad had just left for church, they always woke me up with their noise, but I never had a problem with falling back to sleep. “Fuck me,” I groaned when the chiming accelerated. I knew I was added to a group chat, no one would be blowing up my phone that badly this early in the damn morning. Reaching blindly behind me, finally finding it where I left it th

Thank you, now I don't feel as bogged down by having to do two more. For better or worse, I'll just press onward. lol I didn't watch much of the swimming this olympics, I didn't watch much of the olympics at all. One that I do like to watch is Triathlons though, the swimming, cycling, and running. It is a long event, but the men is worth the watch at times. I do watch the women too, but more for the actual event. *whistles* I almost had Emily recruit Jackson and Drae for Triathlons, but I didn't think Jackson would go for it. Thank you! You're welcome - I do usually have a sports backdrop in my writing, but this one I decided to do one where the sports aspect is central. Here where I live, you're just plain bored if you don't get into some sort of sporting, whether it be sports, hunting, hiking, etc. There is nothing to do otherwise but stare at a television and I don't like that kind of life. Although I spend a lot of time staring at a screen when I work and write. I do like the representation in sports now - there needs to be more of it.

They're not LGBT novels though. I didn't think we were 'only' discussing LGBT novels within this discussion. They both have distinctly religious and superstitious elements in them. So I wouldn't suggest them if you're only looking for LGBT representation as those definitely won't have them in there. Woops. To add, I've not sat down and read any life changing LGBT novels, most of my outside of GA reading with those elements have been rather mainstream and common themed.

I think I've said this in a different thread, but there's a local author here that wrote stories about impoverished people set in Kentucky and Michigan back during WWII. Two of her novels I really fell in love with and I actually take time to read them every year. Harriet Simpson Arnow's, The Dollmaker, and Hunter's Horn. They're not novels that would typically touch everyone that reads them, as it does focus (sometimes to the extreme) how people in Kentucky lived. I found her when I was in college and my professor had a poster of Local writers on the wall in her office. I had never heard of her before then, but I'm glad I got nosy enough to buy both books when I saw them on the shelves of a local bookstore that has since went out of business.

Happy tears can be very productive, Steven. Good for your digestion, maybe. Thank you for reading! Thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed the swimming part of the story since it took up a lot of the space. Thank you for reading. And yeah, I bet Jackson feels a lot lighter after. He had a nice meet, where he performed well, but finally just bit the bullet, got brave, and got out what he needed to say. And not an explosion of any proportions either, so! Thank you for reading! Thank you for reading! I am glad you're still enjoying the story. Thank you for reading. I am so nervous about the swim meets, so the feedback on those scenes will always be welcome! Hopefully the next chapter won't be so angsty and the guys keep their act together a bit. I sorries, I might put in a disclaimer for the next swim meet they have. I am really glad you enjoyed the story and this chapter. When I write long chapters that include all the action and sports, I worry. I feel like they're dragged out and possibly boring! So this puts me at ease a little bit. Yeah! They did well. It was a nice meet for them to get their feet wet before the two championship invitationals. I'm glad you liked this chapter.

It’s Saturday and I still haven’t fucking told him. The day after I skipped, I returned home after practice to Mom sitting on the couch. She hadn’t lost any practice from her lecturing me, during my Luke induced good behavior stint. She didn’t appreciate me telling her that either. The rest of the week was filled with awkward silences. Cindy was still terrorizing her freshman English classes. Toby was getting surly about his detention all week, it was with Coach and knowing Tate he was still on

Cheeky, Steven. Cheeky.

Hmmm.. needs more pink. Otherwise, I'm excited to see what badges I randomly earn. I can see it being enjoyable for new members that don't have a lot of them grandfathered in.