Stories

It is August of 2004, the month that the Olympics were held in Athens. Will Schluter will be there, then he'll start his freshman year at Harvard with his cousin Marie. It's a bittersweet event because the man he loves, Travis Buck, has to remain in Hollywood to work on his acting career, and they'll have to deal with being separated by thousands of miles.

Meanwhile, Will's brother JJ is firmly established in New York City, trying to deal with the inevitable challenges life throws at him, while his father Brad will face a crisis that could ruin his marriage.

It is January 2004 and the United States and its “allies” have just completed the successful invasion of Iraq and Saddam Hussein has been captured. US Presidential Elections are on the horizon. Howard Dean is the frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate to take on George W. Bush.

These events weigh lightly on the mind of Will Schluter. He just graduated from high school a semester early and is looking forward to spending the next eight months in the pursuit of hedonistic pleasure and mind broadening experiences.

Neither Will nor his country had any idea about the challenges that lurked ahead.

A year after moving to Washington, D.C., CJ Abelló’s a much more confident young man, ready to challenge the world.

He and his friend Harley embark on a road trip soon after the end of their sophomore year in high school, spending time in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Oshkosh.

Leaving his yellow Jeep, Defiant, at home. He travels to Australia on his own. A second road trip has him visiting the Blue Mountains and exploring Canberra.

Following a stop in Miami, he returns to the District, where someone he meets at a party will influence his future.

CJ's education, in school and life, continues.

CJ just celebrated his sixteenth birthday, received a Jeep as a present from his fathers, and is about to fly to Sydney to spend Christmas vacation in Australia. New characters appear who will play a pivotal part in his life.

A story about gay men of all ages.

CJ has spent his first few months in Washington, D.C. living with his father and surrounded by a group of gay men who have become his mentors.

As he begins his sophomore year in high school at School Without Walls, the traumatic events at the end of summer linger. And over the next few months, he begins to explore his new life with visits to Chicago, Miami, and New York City.

Follow along with an Aussie group of musicians on their first tour of the United States.