Summerabbacat

Shaun would have to have kissed my arse for a lot longer to be rewarded with forgiveness. I was almost getting to the point of forgiving him when he made reference to the notches on his bed head. I am not sorry to disagree with the majority of my fellow readers, I still think he is a prick and Gary would be better off without him.

I must be old and bitter too @jaysalmn as I don't think I would be forgiving Shaun either. My attitude, you made your bed now you lay in it. Gary does not need Shaun anymore, he has far better friends to support him, not to mention a likely boyfriend in Todd. Shaun's outing of Gary was completely unprovoked and he had no real proof at the time that what he was saying was true. Let Shaun remain in the past where he belongs.

"When he slammed his locker shut, I jumped. I guess I thought he was going to hit me or something. Todd was carefully watching me. I knew he had my back in case Shaun wanted to start something. However, he didn’t say anything. He just looked at me sadly and walked away". Oh diddums. Poor little Shaun. He is pathetic and should take his puny little self and fuck off. Wonderful to see the basketball guys come to the fore and stick up for Gary and by default Todd.

"It was the first time I had really thought about him over the past few days. Todd had been a pleasant distraction. However, I still have to deal with Shaun, my former best friend". The best way to deal with Shaun is to completely ignore him. Gary owes him nothing, well nothing positive anyway. Shaun is Gary's past, Todd is his present and perhaps his future. Shaun is amoebic dysentery, Todd is kittens and puppies. If I were Gary and Shaun made any overtures of friendship, I would tell him to "go fuck himself".

I happen to think this story is a fine debut @Ronyx. I am particularly enjoying the humour present in the past few chapters and the delightful creation known as Todd. With reader feedback and an increase in confidence your writing has improved, but that does not lessen the joy to be experienced in reading this fine work. I do recall reading Writing For Joe, but have to say I remember next to nothing about it. The two which left an indelible impression on me are Brittle As A Bird and Down The Darkened Path, both masterpieces. As a non-American I thought nothing of the interracial relationship featured in the latter, just as I thought nothing of the same type of relationship between James and Dion in Taking Off The Mask. Finding Good Trouble was the first time I had ever given such a relationship any real thought, perhaps because in that story race was the issue at the crux of the story, whereas it was not so in the other two. Suffice to say I have enjoyed all your works I have read and will continue to revisit them, even Writing For Joe.

Ditto @raven1's comments. Gary's mother is wonderful, but she is no pushover.

Todd is almost certainly gay @raven1 and if he is as close to Josh as he claims this could be part of the reason Josh feels so strongly about admitting his part in Gary's beating. Todd may be a gentle soul prone to tears, but I suspect he is much more resilient and stronger than he appears to be.

I was surprised and concerned Gary seemed to be prepared to forgive Shaun so readily, believing it was he who was his visitor. Gary, please get with the program. Shaun does not deserve your loyalty or friendship. He is a grade A arsehole and a significant contributor to the events which landed you in hospital. Gary's mother is a regular Dolly Levi. She clearly has heard the rumours about Gary and is seemingly aware Todd is likely gay. I hope her efforts do not go unrewarded.

I don't place any faith in Shaun or the three bullies who attacked Gary in the restroom. Unless one of them has a sudden attack of remorse, which I think very unlikely, they will likely go unpunished. The only possibility for justice for Gary that I see at present is that one of them will boast of their "beating up the faggot in the restroom" and it will be overheard by someone who will turn them in. Gary's mother will soon suspect something is amiss if Shaun does not come to visit or make any enquiry of Gary's wellbeing. Once she learns of Shaun's outing of Gary I hope she gives him hell. He is an evil little prick who deserves to have shreds torn off him literally.

Shaun is a despicable cu... Clearly Gary's friendship has not meant as much to him as what his has to Gary. Gary is better off without him. I just hope there comes a time when Shaun needs Gary's help and his plea falls on deaf ears. I hope Shaun and the other three from the restroom incident are exposed and thrown off the basketball team. They need to be treated like the losers they are. May I suggest retrospective abortion for all four.

I for one like the leisurely pace @Ronyx. It allows one to fully appreciate the characters, their motivations and behaviours. I recall behaving like Gary as a teen and being short tempered with my mother for much the same reasons. That was back in the late 70's and early 80's and yet I cannot readily remember what I had for dinner last night.

I have read this story before too (several times I think), but am keen to revisit it as I intend to do with all @Ronyx's "back catalogue". The common denominator with all the stories written by him is that he gets you in hook, line and sinker with the first chapter. Thereafter its angst, sadness, happiness, hate and love, all shaken and stirred to create a wonderful tale to entertain, educate and provoke. What more could one ask for from an author I ask you?

Like all of your stories I have read to date @Ronyx, this one was full of emotions, both positive and negative, which kept me enthralled, engrossed and entertained right down to the wire. So many wonderful characters, with even Donovan somewhat redeeming himself in the end. As commented by @tesao, the multi-generational friendship between Mr Wilbur and the two boys was a treat, a joy to witness. All three derived so much from their friendship. And what about Nurse Dorothy? She was also a rare gem. Her grief at losing a son to murder must have been horrendous, and then to almost lose another son as a result of that murder, is something I cannot imagine bearing. It is a testament to her strength of character that she put aside her own grief to save Dion from the darkness which threatened to end his life. I am particularly pleased @Ronyx that my memory of this story was defective regarding one character. For some reason my recollection was that James paid a "final" visit to Mr Wilbur to thank him for his kindness and wisdom, only to find Mr Wilbur had passed away unexpectedly in the preceding week. The fact that he was "alive and kicking" at the barbecue was an unexpected joy and the "icing on the cake" at this most joyous of occasions.

Me either. It has been raining (AGAIN) in Sydney, Australia, but it had stopped. I think I have just added significantly to the dampness in the air. I think it must be my allergies (it is not Love Is In The Air rather Mould Is In The Air). Wonderful story telling @Ronyx with just the right amount of melancholy and tears. I had forgotten just how profoundly Terrence's death had affected Dion.

Nurse Dorothy continues to delight. Her concern for Dion and the happiness a simple visit to the mall and cinema brought to Dion opened the floodgates, which had threatened to burst before. Roy continues to astound. He wants to save his virginity for marriage as does Jackie. Whilst I don't agree with them, I have to admire and respect them for their principles, particularly given they are not sitting in judgment of others who do not share their beliefs. They seem well matched. This story goes from strength to strength, continuing to delight and entertain.

@weinerdog was prophetic with his warning Jackie should not "get too dolled up". Roy is certainly an oddity in that he preferred the "before" Jackie rather than the "after" Jackie. Given this, I would suggest his feelings for Jackie are genuine. Nurse Dorothy is also obviously aware of a budding attraction between Dion and James. It appears not to bother her, which for Dion particularly, will be essential if a relationship is to bloom. Mr Wilbur continues to enchant. This has been my favourite chapter to date too @Wesley8890.

I am glad James appears to be turning his attention to Dion. Given Mr Wilbur has already noticed Dion appears attracted to James, James may be the only person able to help Dion remove the mask he is wearing. He will have to tread carefully and lightly though if he is to do so, one wrong move could shatter Dion. His fragility is deeply rooted in the murder of his brother and perhaps other as yet unknown issues. I seem to recall he stole the sandwich at school not for himself, but for a younger sibling (although this may have occurred in another story by @Ronyx I have read). Will Donovan learn a little humility now that Mr Marshall has not kowtowed to his threats. One can only hope he does, but I somehow doubt it. He may have to learn his lesson the hard way in the "big house" with Bubba one day.

I agree with @weinerdog and @Doha. James should ensure he does not delete the threatening text from Donovan and alcohol was not the reason he forced himself onto James. Had he not been drunk he may not have done so, but clearly he believes he has the right to "take what he wants". A stint in prison as Bubba's bitch may be just what he needs to adjust his attitude. James' mother's subsequent action to his confirmation that he is gay reminded me of the actions of a certain Jewish-American singer, songwriter, actress, producer, director and activist, when she learned her son was gay. She researched and networked as much as she could before becoming a staunch support for her son. Of course, she was starting from a different position having been surrounded by gay men in her professional life, but to her credit she embraced his life and re-affirmed her support for the community as a whole. She remains a staunch ally as well as a consummate performer and entertainer.

First sexual experiences are often clumsy, awkward and not necessarily fulfilling; such an experience would certainly have been preferable for James. Instead he is raped and beaten by someone he was attracted to and appeared to be attracted to him. James was fortunate Roy was obviously watching out for him. Whilst I agreed with much of what Roy said, his comment that Donovan "really is a nice guy,” ....... “You just saw the bad side of him.” is way off the mark. He saw what Donovan was trying to do to James and yet he still made excuses for him. Several of my fellow readers have raised the possibility Donovan may have raped before. Given Roy warned James beforehand and was obviously watching out for him and the ferocity with which Donovan assaulted James, I think the possibility of this being repeated behaviour is very high. If so, Donovan will likely do it again as he believes any guy would be lucky to have what he has to offer. Donovan's mask is certainly an effective one, a veneer of charm and kindness. Instead he is a predator, who had no qualms about "taking what was rightfully owing to him" and when James refused to acquiesce, he beat him. Perhaps he needs a taste of his own medicine. I was disappointed in the reaction of James' mother, although to be fair to her she does not know the cause of James' bruised face. Had she known I would hope she could have put aside her own feelings and immediately reassured James she has no issues with his being gay. A very well written chapter @Ronyx. The violence was real without a graphically explicit prolonged depiction of what took place.

I attended many parties like this in the late 80's and into the 90's and found they became tiresome very quickly, particularly when they were held in my share household as they so often were. I don't hold much hope that James' trip to Sylvia's bedroom with Donovan is going to be an enjoyable one. I suspect Roy will become James' "knight in shining armour". From what James has experienced thus far at the party I think only two positives will emerge from it - a potential friendship with Roy and being turned off attending any such parties in the future.

This has to stop @weinerdog. Canines and felines rarely if ever agree this much on anything. I almost made mention of "Ben's story" in my comments above, but thought I might DM @Jeff Burton instead. I vacillate between liking that story as much or even more than Jacob's Advocate. I suspected from prior comments Jeff has made it is more difficult for him to write, as he has confirmed in comments above. The character of Ben appeals to me even more perhaps than any of the characters in Jacob's Advocate; he truly is a victim but refuses to identify himself as such, motivated not by any false sense of self-bravado, more I think by self-preservation. Similarly to Tyler and Travis, his inner beauty is such that it dwarfs his outer beauty.

I have to agree with you again @weinerdog regarding the comments Dr Davis made. She seemed more concerned with the reputation of the school than anything else as evidenced by "What will the parents think" and “Still it shouldn’t have happened, especially on school property! This has been all over the news!”. I also thought her comments comparing Jacob to a sex offender were ignorant at best and malicious at worst. I don't think anyone has made an appearance yet who would be suitable for Travis. Being bisexual he has a wider selection to choose from him or as Woody Allen reportedly said "it doubles his chances of a date on a Saturday night". I assume Travis is 16 years of age like the rest of the group, so Gavin is probably not a viable option. I think we should leave it up to @Jeff Burton @weinerdog. He may have a new character up his sleeve, waiting in the wings to be introduced, or perhaps two new characters waiting in the wings, a bisexual three-way for Travis and at least one of the other characters.

Once again I have to agree with you @weinerdog. Given "the influence" our comments have reportedly made in "shaping the direction" of prior chapters, I believe @Jeff Burton will take our feedback into consideration and realise changing the status of this story to Complete at this point in time would be premature and ill-advised.

After reading this chapter @Jeff Burton I am puzzled by the following comment you made after the previous chapter "I love all of your comments, and your debates I'm almost done with Chapter 4, it'll be posted tomorrow. I did something though dont hate me." Unless my eyes and/or brain have deceived me, I found nothing written in this chapter likely to upset any of your faithful readers, let alone cause any of us to hate you. Certainly it was touch and go for a while with Dr Davis' strident opposition to allowing Jacob to return to school, but Tyler's disclosure of his having called Jacob a "fag" had the desired affect almost immediately. The only incident/event/outcome which may disappoint some readers is that Tyler has realised he loves and is in love with Jacob, whereas he merely loves Travis. This scenario was almost inevitable though, therefore I doubt it will come as a surprise to any of your readers. A beautifully written chapter with emotions once again running high. Given your aforementioned comment I was not confident the school board would vote in favour of allowing Jacob to return to school. Fortunately for my blood pressure you did not go for the "cliffhanger" and make we readers wait until the next chapter to reveal the outcome of Tyler's plea. The concluding paragraphs have a sense of finality about them. If this chapter is the final chapter this may be the cause of a revolt on the part of your faithful readers (hint hint).

The only thing which I find irksome about the former Olympian is that she votes Republican and formerly supported Donald Trump. Whenever I think of her I cannot help but remember her role in Can't Stop The Music, certainly one of the worst films I love (I am an Australian and we loved the movie and the soundtrack). For that role alone she has at least made some contribution to society, which is more than one can say for any of her own hideous daughters or even more hideous stepdaughters (especially the one with the arse which must surely have its own postcode/zip code).