Graeme

Me? I'm not digging the hole -- Rick's doing that all by himself

If you love someone, does that have to be a sexual love? Isn't it plausible that Rick loves Drew, just not in a sexual way? If that's true, Rick probably isn't admitting it to himself, though.

LOL -- yes, he has a way with words at times, doesn't he

LOL -- I like characters that are complex. Not everyone is an open book (if you pardon the pun)

LOL -- thank you! Being punished for something we didn't do... doesn't that sound familiar? I had that happen to me a lot when I was growing up

You expect him to be consistent? How many people are consistent in real-life? I know I'm not....

Rick likes Drew. He just doesn't like Drew in the way that Drew wants.

Yes, it's humorous, but is it really that funny for all the gay guys who are doing the same thing, but in reverse?

It won't be a story if there weren't one or two small bits of tension....

Thank you! Yes, Rick is digging a huge hole for himself, but Drew's there right beside him, helping to dig that hole

Isn't it very human to read into someone elses comments more than is really there? Hoping that that other boy is gay, and then interpreting what they say and do as support for that hope? Drew jumped to conclusions based on the signals Rick was giving, but also based on his own hopes. As for being together, the two certainly seemed to have a connection, and Rick's desire for a friend could easily be interpreted by an eager young gay guy as being a desire for more than a friend....

I thought it was normal for human relationships to be complicated....

Peter was making such a bad impression that I decided to activate my reserve plan. I didn’t mind looking like a fool, as long as it was for a good cause and I didn’t lose friends in the process. “Who’s up for a round of DDR?” I asked, dragging everyone’s attention away from Peter, giving him a chance to reclaim some composure. “DDR? But you’ve got a broken ankle!” Joe said. I grinned. “I’ve been practising, though. I think I’m a lot better now. I might even be good enough to beat Peter.” I h

I'm a hopeless romantic, too, but I also try to be a realist. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the rest of the story to find out which side of me wins

Yeah, Drew isn't the most subtle of people....

Straight guys can't tell if another guy is good looking? Oh, and I believe a pink football is used one round a year in the Australian Football League. Pink is the colour associated with breast cancer awareness and they use a pink football in some games as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign.

There's lots of possibilities as to what will happen to Phil. As for Drew, I'm sure you can imagine how he'll react

In his own way, Rick is as loyal a friend as you could ever want. He may or may not have worked out Brandon, but he got away with it... this time

Rick is trying to do the right thing within the context of the situation he's fallen into. How well he's going at doing the right thing is a completely separate question....

I've just read the story -- a couple of hours well spent! I don't know if I'll be around on the 31st, but if I am, I'll be back for the discussion.

LOL -- but is he practising, or has he been thrown in the deep end and he has to sink or swim?

Thank you! The story is posting at a chapter a day, so it won't be long before it's all online.

LOL -- sorry about the work troubles. The chapters are all set to post automatically and I believe they're all set up to post at that time. I think Rick deserves pity. What he's doing is what so many gay guys do, especially during their teenage years, and that's pretend to be the opposite sexual orientation to what they really are. Even the motivation is often the same -- to be socially acceptable and to have friends. I'll admit that it took me awhile to come up with a scenario where it would be plausible for a straight guy to pretend to be gay, but in Rick's case he was pushed into making that decision -- he didn't have a lot of time to decide what to do. With little time to think about it, he went with the 'let's be socially acceptable and have friends' option, like so many of us do As for what's happening with Sharon, that's just a case of two romantics thinking they could matchmake, and finding out that the situation wasn't quite what they thought it was....

Drew rolled off the bed as Mum turned and disappeared. He raced out after her. “Mrs. Wakeland, wait up!” I glanced around the room, hoping that Drew had left my crutches in plain sight, but I didn’t see them. I lowered myself onto the floor and gingerly hopped around the walls towards the door. Before I got there, Drew reappeared. “Rick, I’m sorry.... Wait a sec.” He disappeared again. I got to the door and was almost bowled over by Drew coming in with my crutches. “Here you are. Sorry, I hi

Brooklyn Nets to sign Jason Collins again If everything goes as expected, in just over 10 days time, he'll be signed for the rest of the season.