Graeme

Jason is convinced he and Matt will be moving soon. I wonder if he's ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Coming in late (as usual), but this is a great first chapter. It really drags the reader into the story. Well done!

Change means challenges. One of the dangers of a stable relationship is that when things change, the people involved may not have developed the skills required to allow them to adjust. They're too used to the status quo and don't know what to do when that changes. Alan and Peter were in a comfortable, stable relationship. Do they know what to do now that their situation has been thrown off kilter? We'll have to wait and see...

:music: Happy Birthday, Emoe! :music: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

I've been a bit behind in posting to this thread, so here we go... Country community pitches in to help with harvest for farmer fighting cancer Outback radio station training 12 year olds to be the journalists of the future Boy, 5, saves mum's life after an allergic reaction Newcastle cafe serves up hospitality experience for people with a disability 10 year old NASA-bound after creating bandage dispenser while undergoing chemotherapy

The two guys have been put into a stressful situation. It's not really surprising that they're reacting is different ways. Yes, Peter needs to talk to Alan, but will he? As I said below to Jeff, he also doesn't want to add to Alan's stress.

I could feel Cory's emotional swings through this chapter, but between Efrain and Lola, I was confident he'd stay grounded. However, that ending may overturn that confidence. I'm inclined to think that if they came all the way out to VT to see him that they're not going to give him the cold shoulder, so it's either positive, or they're there to kidnap and take him back for 're-education'. Out of the two, I think the former is more likely. At least I hope so... As for the best line (though there was serious competition from Efrain's closing comment of the first scene), I agree with JayT: “Efrain,” I whined. “Indie’s being nice to me.”

Few things in life are black-and-white. There are almost always shades of grey when it comes to motives and actions. As for Peter talking to Alan, the problem is that he loves Alan. How can that be a problem? Simple: he knows that Alan is burdened down by the weight of responsibility towards the boys, and he doesn't want to add any more stress to Alan's already disrupted life. That's fine in the short term, but you're right; Peter needs to find a solution because keeping things to himself isn't going to be good in the long term.

As a coincidence, the day this posted was International Men's Day with a focus on stopping male suicide. One of the articles I read was about how silence can be a killer. I don't think Peter is headed in that direction, but, as you've said, we men have a tendency to keep things to ourselves.

True...very true...

Yes, Alan and Peter were thrown into the deep end. Alan was initially drowning, but with help from Peter, Keidan, and Steve, he's kept his head above water. Unfortunately, it's now Peter who's now struggling, but does anyone besides Scott know this?

Alan was sitting against the workshop door when Bob Burnside’s car pulled up. By the time his boss was out of the vehicle, Alan was standing with his backpack in his hand. “Morning, Alan,” Bob called out as he approached. “I hope you realise I’m not going to make it a habit to be here this early.” His grin showed Alan that he wasn’t annoyed. “G’day, Bob. I’m sorry about this, but I really didn’t have many options.” Bob’s smile faded away, and a hand came up as if to offer some tactile support

Jackson has some good friends Despite some of the things they've done in the past, this chapter shows that they have a good heart and are willing to accept who Jackson is without pressuring him. Even Ally is showing a level of maturity that's encouraging. Now, if only Luke's mother could should that same level of maturity...

One of things that this chapter brings to mind is how compassionate Zac is. Previously, he intervened with the principal to give Kenny a chance to achieve his dream of winning a state championship. In this chapter, we see that he still cares for Kenny and his dream, and is sad that his dream looks like it may not happen. Even when Zac's father said that Kenny has to live with the consequences of his actions, Zac still feels for Kenny. Zac is going to make someone a wonderful boyfriend. I just hope his eventual boyfriend deserves him.

Life is difficult for the two boys. Sadly, happy endings don't always happen. Since I'm a romantic, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

It's good that Ryder now knows someone his own age. That will make his first day of school that much easier. It's frightening, though, that he can't remember anything before the age of seven. That shows an incredible amount of trauma he experienced as a child.

Thank you! Alan and Peter each have their own set of skills and aptitudes. Working together, they can achieve much more than they can alone. That's important as they learn how to look after the boys.

Ryder is definitely a young teenager -- his conversation with first Garret and then later his snarky comment to his dad shows that. He's expecting everyone else to take the first steps; that he doesn't have to make any move. That's normal, but when he's associating so much with others that are more mature (I'm guessing that most of the other football players will be at least one or two years older than him), it also becomes challenging.

Henry Lynton may not be as homophobic as his wife, but he also made it clear that it thinks it is best for Troy and Bradley for them to be looked after by their grandparents, not their uncle. Is that true? That's a matter for debate. As Peter pointed out, there are certainly negatives with the grandparents taking the boys.

Changing the locks would aggravate the situation. It would be taken by the Lyntons as a move to deny them access to their grandsons. As for the legal situation, Helen has already told Alan that the law is on their side. That doesn't mean that there's no chance of the Lyntons gaining custody, just that it won't be easy for them to do so. Changing the locks would be a little more ammunition for the Lyntons if it came down to a legal battle. By no means enough by itself, but if there were other factors in their favour and it was a finally balanced decision in a judge's view, that may be the item that swings the decision the Lyntons way.

As we don't know what the grandparents were about to do before Alan, Peter, and the boys arrived home, there may be a legitimate reason for the door being open. Perhaps they were about to leave, or maybe there was something they wanted to bring in from their car. We don't know.

Thank you! Yes, Alan and Peter are now, in reality, parents, and they going through the same learning curve that all new parents go through, even if their challenges are different to the norm.

Peter woke up early the next morning feeling a trifle seedy due to the quantity of alcohol consumed the night before, but he was otherwise happy. He had been concerned for Alan, but Steve’s and Keidan’s visit appeared to have been the catalyst to pull Alan back from the frantic, almost manic, person he had been evolving into. Troy and Bradley were great kids in Peter’s opinion, but Alan was being slowly crushed by the responsibility they represented. Having a short time away from them while the

I'm surprised that not only Zac, but all other reviewers so far haven't commented on the parallels between Omari and Adrian when it comes to their families. Omari was ostracised, and Adrian fears that and worse. Unfortunately, given what happened on the 'date', I don't think Zac will take the time to understand Omari and his family, which means he's not going to easily understand Adrian and his family. Billy's lucky that Lonnie wasn't there when Omari and Irene showed up. Earlier he had said he wanted him there, but if Lonnie had been there, I suspect Billy might've been in a bit of trouble But there's nothing wrong with having a distant crush. The problems arise when someone tries to follow through on it. Just because person A has a crush on person B, there is no reason that person B will reciprocate. That's what's happening here. Omari appears to have a crush on Zac, but Zac has realised he's still fixated on Adrian. For how long, we don't know, but it appears that Adrian is equally fixated on Zac ( ) but is afraid (for legitimate reasons) to act on it ( ).

My guess is that Dylan will let their secret slip. At 13, he's young enough to make mistakes, though if this is a common occurrence, he may have developed the skills to stay silent. We'll have to wait and see, but I'm betting on Coach K and Mrs. K being able to find out the truth Shawn and Dylan have already made a mistake with inconsistent stories. It's just a matter of time now, in my opinion