Graeme

I knew you meant Adam Interestingly, in the interaction between Adam and David, I've had some people tell me that they were on David's side. That was later in the story, though. David does do a fair amount of growing up over the course of the story.

He's not unusual in that respect. A lot of people look outside themselves first before they realise that at least some of their problems may be originating from themselves.

Not everyone has a good reaction to someone they know coming out. Since the story is written from David's point of view, we get to see his thoughts and how wrong (or right) they are. Sometime, we might find he's lying to himself without realising it. This is not a story that everyone likes. David doesn't start of as a particularly empathetic character.

Thank you! They were written as three short stories, but it made sense to put them together this way when I put them into the system here.

I don't think anyone where will disagree with you

I like things to be different.

Thank you! It's amazing how misunderstandings can avalanche out of control.

Why do leading characters have to be gay?

The bill has been vetoed: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/us/Brewer-arizona-gay-service-bill.html?hp

I didn't read the responses to the article, but to me this reads as pretty much the same reasons young women are at risk of dietary illnesses like bulimia and anorexia -- the belief that society only has one ideal 'body image' and that if they want to get/keep a boyfriend, they need to have that ideal body image. Ultimately, and you can read it throughout that article, it comes from low self-esteem. To be fair, young gay males who spend a lot of the time in the closet before they come out do have a tendency to have low self-esteem for some time. It's not universal, but being afraid to admit to others about who you are is easily translated into being afraid to appear to others as something other than what you think they want to see. The corollary with acting straight is obvious.

“Who’s up for a round of DDR?” Peter asked once the last of the pizzas had been consumed. They hadn’t been eaten; Angus had been right about that. ‘Inhaled’ would have been accurate. I couldn’t imagine where Drew and Peter put all the calories they absorbed, but between them they ate almost half, leaving the remainder for the rest of us. “DDR?” Peter stared at me as if I was a creature from another planet, which is what I was feeling like after the evening’s revelations. “Dance Dance Revolut

I flicked Drew a sheepish glance as I pulled the key out of the door. “Sorry, I still haven’t worked out which key is which.” Drew laughed. “That’s okay, mate. Didn’t you say you only moved in yesterday?” I was happy when the next key worked. “That’s right. My parents told me I had to start school straight away.” “That sucks, big time.” Drew grinned. “At least you only have two days of school this week.” He paused and gave me a strange look. “Or did they make you go to school right up until y

Rick and Drew hit it off almost immediately after Rick moves into the area. Drew is excited about having a new boyfriend, but Rick is a bit perturbed about the whole situation.

“Hey, guys! I need your help.” We looked up to see Tristan storming towards us. He seemed furious but I couldn’t work out why. I didn’t think it was because of any of us. I glanced at Adam and Scott. The three of us had been having a quiet chat in a corner of the schoolyard, planning a surprise for Liz’s birthday. Gary and Mary were doing their bit by keeping Liz away while we plotted. “What is it, Tristan?” I asked. “I need you to pound some sense into that brother of mine!” I couldn’t help

“You were in late last night,” Dad remarked as I sat down for breakfast. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be,” I replied cautiously. Having recently been grounded, I didn’t want to get into trouble again. I was prepared to argue if I had to, but I decided to wait to see what Dad said. “Did anything happen to make you late?” he asked neutrally. I hesitated for a moment and then simply told the truth. “I ran out of money for the taxi, so I had to walk the last thirty minutes. The driver checked to ma

We all stepped outside to meet Tony. He stopped his bike while he was still some distance away, probably put off by the sight of the crowd, but Tristan took a step forward and waved him on. He cycled down, pulled up next to Tristan’s bike, dismounted, and removed his helmet. Tony turned out to be a weedy young kid. He shared Tristan’s black hair, but his was more wavy than curly. He seemed fit and trim, like a smaller version of his brother, but a pair of gold-rimmed glasses distinguished him

“Now, Carol, we said we wouldn’t say anything about that,” Mr. Wilson said, trying to calm his wife. “I said we’ll still love our son,” she barked. “I never said anything about that boy.” “Mum, Adam didn’t turn Scott gay. Scott was gay well before we learnt about Adam,” Chris said. She spun around to him. “How do you know?” “Why don’t we all go inside and talk about it there?” Dad suggested, gently taking Mrs. Wilson’s arm and guiding her towards the house. “Yes, we can sit down and talk ab

I stared in amazement at Chris. His love and concern for his brother had out-shone that for his parents. Instead of taking the easy way out, he had stood up for Scott and told his mum and dad that if they rejected Scott, they’d lose him, too. I don’t know if I could be that strong. I hope I’m never put to the question, as I’d hate to lose anyone in my family. I love my brother, Mum and Dad, and I can’t imagine them not being there. Chris was breaking down before my eyes, but that didn’t dimini

The next morning, everyone was in a good mood. The outcome of the tribunal had lifted our spirits. Even Randy showed no signs of the simmering anger that had been making random appearances over the preceding week. With the rain still falling, Mum gave us a lift down to the bus stop before she continued on to work. The weather was not putting a damper on the high spirits we were all feeling. Even a reminder from Adam about the history exam coming up later that day didn’t faze me. Randy was quie

We all just stared at Randy. Who was Tony, and why was he asking Randy out on a date? My mind had stopped working; I couldn’t understand what was going on. “Sorry, mate, but I think that’s my fault,” Adam said apologetically from where he was nestled with Scott. “When I started telling people at school that you aren’t my boyfriend, I thought they would realise you aren’t gay. It just never occurred to me that someone would think that it meant you’re available.” “Who’s Tony?” I asked, perplexe

As Mum pulled into the school car park, I wondered what would happen. Sunday had passed without a word from Liz, and I was a nervous wreck over that. I didn’t even know whether she’d gotten the flowers, or Trevor had thrown them out before she saw them. Randy had tried to argue that we should catch the bus to school, but Mum was firm. She was going to sit in the school office until she could see either Mr. Pitt or Ms. Ng. Since Mum was driving, there was no need for any of us to ride the bus. W

I woke up the next morning with a buzz of anticipation. Mum would be taking Randy and me into town so Randy could get his hair dyed black. He’d made some dumb comment about keeping it pink, but I couldn’t believe he’d do it. He’s too sensible for that. While I was in town I would duck into the florist and order some flowers to be delivered to Liz. The night before, I’d agonised about what to put on the card, but I’d eventually decided a simple, “I’m sorry, David” would do. After all, my main p

I stared at Adam across the table. The concern I felt was mirrored in his eyes. “What do you think that’s about?” he asked me nervously. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It can’t have anything to do with us, can it?” Adam shook his head. “I don’t see how it could. Maybe something else has happened?” he suggested hopefully. I had joked that morning about Randy restricting himself to thumping one person a day. I hadn’t been serious, and I knew that my brother knew I wasn’t serious, but I wondered

Of all the things that could’ve occurred, that was one I hadn’t thought of. I was ready for my brother to be accused of being gay. I was hoping that most people would not believe it, though I knew it was only a faint hope. But for him to be accepted as gay by his friends – that was something I just never considered as a possibility. I suppose it’s because his friends are all around his age or younger. They just haven’t had a chance to hear the things that might’ve changed their minds. After al

As we waited for the bus to take us to school on Tuesday morning, I watched Randy and Adam chatting. Even though his black eyes and swollen nose were not as prominent as they had been on Sunday, my brother still looked grotesque. Despite that, he exuded a cheerfulness that ran counter to his appearance. Adam was obviously nervous. Each time he glanced in my direction I gave him a smile of encouragement, but I could tell he still didn’t know if he could trust me. Considering what I’d put him thr