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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

18 Weeks of Twoey - 122. Week Eighteen Wednesday Dec 31, 2014: Blessings

acceptance

beatific, blissful

lightening ,encouraging ,blessing

climate of comfortable calmness

contentment

 

– David

 

 

***

 

 

Two things overwhelmed me this morning when I first woke up near sunrise. The first was the sharp taste of rebuke from my dream. The second, which thankfully eclipsed that dream, was my memory of his exquisite sign of love, when David gave himself to me last night.

The dream was simple, stark and sobering. Danny was with me, sitting on that white bed where he left me after we were shot. He smiled and gave me a kiss. Then his face became stern. He admonished me, reinforcing all the guilt I already felt for having failed my love during his time of greatest need.

“You did not fight hard enough for him, Twoey! You almost lost him. It was his love for you that caused him to wage the war with his own mind in the first place. It very nearly cost him his life. It was only love – his love for his brother – which saved him. But now you are together and I’m happy for you both. If you never forget how difficult it was to get where you are, you will succeed. I’ll wave goodbye to you a little later.”

Danny kissed me again, and then vanished.

I was humbled. Forcing my mind to return to thoughts of David and last night, I could not comprehend how, after only two days into our “us,” his love for me was so great that he wanted – almost needed – to have me enter him. I tried everything I knew to make it easier for him, but I realized he must have experienced pain. Pain for me! Remembering what Danny told me, I vowed to never let him go. That began right away, as I hugged him more tightly and drifted back to sleep. This time my sleep was peaceful and happy.

A lick to my ear was the next thing I felt. When my eyes popped open, the lick was followed by a nibble and then a kiss.

“What time is it?” I was still groggy from the contented second-slumber.

“Eleven. We’ve slept in.”

“I was awake earlier, but it felt so right with the two of us in bed that I drifted off again.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Pee.”

“And then?”

“Shower.”

“And then?”

“I thought that while we were showering, I’d give you practice making love to me in a vertical position.” I figured there was no sense wasting the experience I gained at the hands of Erik.

“Let’s go.”

My angel was a fast learner – that is, if we can judge by the load of cum he forced out of me onto the shower wall. It made me even more determined for us to get tested. I wanted to feel his skin inside me. Erik did that, “by accident,” a few times and it was electrifying, but also made me worried, and more than cautious. The last thing I would ever want is to give a disease to my angel, especially one from that devil.

By the time we had finished with all our morningnanigans, it was afternoon. David and I decided on a small lunch of cheese quesadillas made with some tortilla shells we found in the freezer. He whipped up a spicy, tangy cheese sauce for the filling with some Piri-Piri sauce he came across in our fridge. He also found another peach and stuck thin slices inside the wraps. I began to believe that perhaps the peach was his weakness!

After enjoying that little warming treat and having cleaned up, we were once again on the sofa – but this time to talk. I could sense a small concerned look on his face.

“School begins again on Monday.”

“Yep.”

“You just came out to all your friends.”

“Um-hm, and so did you.”

“I guess I did. So do you see any need to hide the fact we’re boyfriends?”

“Not for me.”

“Good. Then we won’t.”

“There might be a few who don’t like it.”

“That’ll be their problem. And with some of the friends we have, it could become a significant problem for them. But I think we owe it to ourselves, as well as every other gay kid in the school, to be out and secure about it.”

“Maybe we could start a gay-straight alliance. They had one in Nottingham, where I went to school in Syracuse. I should contact Lisa Brock. She could get us in touch with the right people.”

“She’s Sam’s friend.”

“Our Sam?”

“Yeah! He told me about her a while ago.”

“All the better.”

“Well, it’s a thought we should seriously consider. Maybe it’s about time Daleville discovered the twenty-first century.”

We were interrupted by his ringtone.

David looked at his phone. “It’s my father. I’m going to decline the call.” And he did.

“Angel, you’re going to have to talk to him at some point in time. He’ll be home in a few days.”

“I know. I’m not ready yet. I need to purge myself of this hate first.”

“What hate? Why do you hate your father?”

“Something happened to me when I was young. Something so terrible that my brain has shut out its memory to protect me. He was supposed to protect me; he was my father. She was supposed to protect me; she was my mother. She was in league with the evil responsible. So, I ask you, what was he? He told me a story of whisking me away to Gary’s house, but it was just a story. Things don’t add up. Maybe they will when I remember. But for now, I’m suspicious. I’m suspicious because he continues to ignore me. He’s ignored enough important stuff that my gut instinct has been to distance and protect myself from him. Am I right? I don’t know. But I think my instincts are trying to protect me. If they are, I’ve got to go with them for now. Maybe our mom will help me unravel all this shit, but for the time being, I have to protect myself. Does that make any sense to you? Am I wrong?”

“Oh, God! Angel, I never knew. I don’t know how to answer except that your instincts have been pretty accurate when it came to me. I have to agree with you, I think.” He gave me a kiss, and then I had a thought.

“What about the rest of your family?”

“I don’t know. It’s like Tommy and I have been living in a bubble. He’s the only one who watched out for me. My sister Liz has been basically absent. When I was in the hospital, she told me some startling stuff about when we were younger. But since then she’s avoided me. My Aunt has taken the place of a mother in our house, but not really. I mean, I like her enough, and she’s been good to me, but there is a strange disconnect between us. This wall I’ve felt between them and me led – during my confusion –to the belief they would hate me when they discovered I was gay. I don’t think that’s true anymore. Now I just think they don’t give a fuck about me. During my confusion I wondered if I was really their son. I thought maybe I should I get a DNA test. Then, from some stuff Gary had mentioned, I even thought I might have been some kind of child hostage held between his uncle and Enos Johnson. I was really whacked-out and over-thinking stuff during that time. This is the crap that had been consuming me before.”

“Before what?”

“Before you. Now I don’t care, but I still need to keep a distance. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m misreading everything. I know I have to consider that possibility. But for now, I need to protect myself and keep a distance. My new therapist will help me straighten it all out.” My angel graced me with another kiss.

At that moment, my phone chimed. “It’s Gary.”

“Hey Gary, what’s up?”

“Twoey, do you know where David is?”

“Yep, sitting right here next to me.”

“Oh, thank God. I was beginning to worry. I hadn’t seen him at his house.”

“Nope. Been with me 24/7, he has.”

“Really? That’s great. Hey, Mel is here. Are you guys decent? Maybe we could visit for bit?”

I hit the mute button. “Gary wants to come over with Mel and visit for a few minutes. Is that OK?”

“Sure.” But then he got the strangest look on his face.

I went back to Gary. “Yeah, we’re just sitting here talking. Come on over.”

After I disconnected I looked at him. “What?”

“He got orders from New York City to check up on me. They don’t like that I declined the call …hehe.”

We threw on ‘more-decent’ clothes and returned to the living room just as Gary knocked on the door. David answered it.

“Gary, Mel, how are you guys? Come on in.”

He showed them in and directed them to the little love seat as he joined me on the bigger sofa. I took over my duty as host. “Do you guys want anything? There’s soda and leftover snacks from the party.”

Gary was looking around. “No, we’re fine. I see you guys got everything cleaned up and returned to normal.”

“Yep. My mother will be back Friday. At least that’s what she told David. He’s been the only one who’s talked to her. I’ve been trying to avoid her witchlike powers. She’ll figure out I had a party though. There’s no doubt in my mind.” We all had a chuckle about that.

Then Gary looked at David. “So, you talked to Twoey’s mom but won’t talk to your father?”

“Pretty much. Sooo, what did they send you to find out?”

Gary smiled at my angel’s bluntness. “Just to see if you were OK.”

“I’m OK. Actually, I’m better than OK.” That was when he put his arm around me.

“I can see that.”

“What else do they want to know?”

“Nothing I haven’t already verified. I think they were just worried.”

“How novel. Well, as you can see, we have everything under control. Are you guys going to be at the lake tonight?”

“Sure. We wouldn’t miss the New Year’s Eve shindig for the world. Especially with the mild temperatures. Do you remember how we froze our asses last year?”

“Yeah, my body didn’t thaw out until February, I think.”

Gary and Mel stood up. “Well, we’ll see you later down at the lake. I’ll go back home and report that you’re perfectly fine.” He was chuckling.

After they left, I hugged my angel. “Are you really alright? Did Gary upset you?”

“No, not at all! He was just being a good little soldier. He could have told them without coming here, but the fact he did, and witnessed me with his own eyes, is important to them.”

“Them? Who’s them?”

“Someone once told me: never ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.”

He followed that with a kiss and then a make-out session which left me unconcerned about the details of his weird family. After that, we started a fire, got back into our ‘comfortable’ clothes, watched a movie and hung out until about eight when I got to watch him make a meal.

“This was the first meal our mother taught me. You were still in the hospital. It’s fast and easy. Chicken and mushrooms in a quick little sauce over pasta.”

Sure enough, we were eating in about forty-five minutes. Mom had made this for me before, but the fact my angel prepared it, before my eyes, made it more special. The rest of the evening flew by until a little before eleven. We dressed and bundled up a bit but, as Gary mentioned, it was in the high 40’s tonight and so it felt unusually mild to our winter-thickened blood.

The first thing I noticed, as we entered the park, was the music. It seemed somehow foreign, this human music-making intruding on the beauty of nature. But it was a gathering to celebrate the arrival of 2015. I thought about the year as we made our way into the park. I was born in 1999 and so had lived in two centuries. If I lived until I was over one-hundred, I will have lived in three centuries. I had a vision of the two of us, all cranky and old, living in some home and celebrating the New Year of 2101. That random thought was erased when we ran into Matty and Martin. When he came to my party Sunday, Matty had told me how his brother and Cory Snyder’s younger brother had this big talk and swore off boy-sex to become fully straight for high school. I guess at about the same time Martin had decided he was more gay than anything else and the two gravitated together. It seemed so weird seeing Matty in a relationship, but I’m happy for him. Maybe it was all for the best. At least he won’t be pawing David during gym – he’d better not!

The lights were on, but seemed at half their usual strength. I noticed the small rose-like explosion of a skyrocket over the lake. Gary and Mel appeared. He grabbed David in a tight hug and seemed to whisper something in his ear. He hugged me too, but I didn’t receive that best-friend whisper. Too bad Mike wasn’t here. Maybe I could get him down next year. The crowd began increasing pretty rapidly as the clock moved on. Every so often a little pattern would appear in the sky. I couldn’t tell if they were being sent from somewhere on this shore, or from the other side of the lake, but they weren’t very loud.

We saw Donny and Chuck. They had the look of freshly discovered love – sort of like David and me. The only difference was, I’d known David long enough to understand him. I thought that made our new-love status a little easier. In a way, it seemed we were old friends. Whatever it was, I knew I would never stop fighting for him, for us. That lesson had been seared into my brain. Chuck hugged David and whispered something in his ear, and then Donny did the same thing, whisper and all. I’d have to ask him about those whispers tomorrow.

Just to reiterate a point I had previously mentioned, Tommy and Barbara appeared with two other couples. One was Matty’s brother Mark with a cute girl and the other couple I didn’t know at all. When they were introduced to us, I guess it was Mark’s other best friend, a kid named Curt. I wondered if that was Cory Snyder’s younger brother – the name almost rang a bell – but by the time I had thought of the possibility, they were gone and lost in the growing crowds.

David kept his hand firmly in mine the whole time. I guess he didn’t want to lose me in the confusion. We made our way down to the shore where we could see the fireworks barge in the lake. It really looked like there would be quite a display at midnight, just as David had explained. Every once in a while, the crew on the barge would send off a quiet rocket to ‘bloom’ over the lake. There was even some guy on the beach with one of those backyard kettle-grills cooking hotdogs!

We met Sam and Deena down there. With them were Lanni and Benny. Lanni approached us and had a knowing grin on her face when she spotted our clenched hands. She then held my face in both her hands and kissed me. She repeated the kiss with David. I cautiously glanced at Benny, but he was smiling broadly – almost proudly.

At about that time the half-strength lights slowly went down and off completely. A display lit up the sky in bright red, then white, then blue stripes. The stripes began to fade as the crowed turned even more jubilant. I checked my phone and saw it was almost midnight. I looked back at the sky and noticed the red and white stripes were nearly gone, but the blue persisted, although weakened.

The mayor’s voice replaced the music over the audio system. He was at 60 seconds, counting out every 10 seconds at first. It was at this moment the last display began to fade gently into a pattern of soft blue stripes which quickly lost their brightness and became mere vestiges. With the park lights off, and no brightness from the fireworks, except that quickly decomposing blue background, the entire sky lit up as the stars were now visible on this crisp winter night. You could even see the quarter-moon reflected in the lake. I smushed myself closer to my angel. It was truly a spiritual moment.

We were in awe, staring at the sky, when suddenly an amazingly bright shooting star slashed across the sky and across that rapidly fading blue pattern.

“Danny!”

We both said it at the same time.

David and I looked at each other, still a bit shaken.

The mayor was now into the last ten seconds. The crowd joined him in the countdown. But we were both crying, and then kissing while crying. The sky must have exploded with a brilliant display at midnight. But all I could make out through my tears was the enormous brightness as I heard the deafening sounds.

My angel and I were oblivious to it all because the three of us were now joined forever in love.

 

 

 

 

The End

 

 

 

And so our short (?!) tale comes to an end.

There will be no epilogue, no promise that their growing love will, in fact, be forever.

But one thing is certain. They each have experienced life-altering trauma.

We can hope that David’s general popularity will encourage the needed acceptance of the other gay couples in this small, out of the way town.

We can hope that David, aided by his new therapist/mom, will successfully navigate his difficult path forward.

We can hope that Twoey, taking Danny’s admonishment to heart, will robustly fight for his other half.

And so, let us leave our no-longer star-crossed lovers with those hopes.

I wish to thank the readers who stuck with my story, even through a couple pretty difficult chapters.
Your encouragement, comments and messages have meant more to me than you will ever know.
Thank you all so very much! :heart:
 
Copyright © 2016 skinnydragon; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Morningnanigans?! Amazing!

 

Another sweet chapter, and a very nice place to end. And that last sentence? Beautiful. I hope the other readers 'get' it. It is something special. I am a little disappointed we don't get anything about David's father other than his general distrust and concerns being articulated, and on top of that no touch of David's perspective at the end of it all. Not saying he should have the last word, but... I dunno. Something feels incomplete considering we haven't had anything told to us in his voice in several chapters, and that after nearly ending his life... We don't need closure because this is not an 'ending' per se, but David's perspective has been the one constant throughout while Twoey has dropped in and out of the reader's view. One could say it is appropriate for Twoey to have the last word because he is the title object, but in a lot of ways this truly is 18 Weeks off David just as much, and it feels awkward to have the ending told by someone on the outside looking in after being so overwhelmed with David's inner world for over 100 chapters.

 

I will miss these characters and this story. Thanks for it, skinny. Quite the ride indeed.

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Had a wonderful time and a great ride following the boys. Thank you so much for your time and all the effort you put in for us. I cried and laughed along with the boys. I'm going to miss them that's for sure. I hope you do a follow up as there are many things still to be tied up. So from a Aussie in the desert , thanks for sharing the love

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Thank you. For all of this. For all of the work you put forward in this to make 18 weeks of Twoey a reality, you deserve nothing short of our complete thanks and accolades. This was beyond a work of fiction, and I will never, ever forget this story.

 

And so, let us leave our no-longer star-crossed lovers with those hopes.

 


On the most personal of levels, you have given hope. There's no greater gift than that. You give me hope for the things in my own life. A good story can change people in ways they will never fully appreciate. I have no higher compliment that I can pay you, beyond saying that you brought hope to someone.

 

Take your bows, good sir. They are well-earned and entirely deserving of this monumental effort.

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Yeah unfortunately, and I think you're probably aware, I'm never going to be fully satisfied with this ending. I have to second lux's statement that we should have had something from David at the end, it really was his story more than anyone's. Also the question of David's weird family. David's general mistrust was well-stated here, and it was generally all points I myself have brought up in numerous reviews. In fact, it almost felt like David was channeling me when he explained to Twoey why he wouldn't accept the call.

 

I didn't realize David's family was part of the "them" that is somehow tied up with Gary's bizarre and illicit activities. Of course, I hate to say this, but the "don't ask questions you don't want answered" feels like an easy out from actually answering the question of what the hell is going on with that family. I feel like if David was cheated here because he deserved to have a confrontation with his father, to state what his issues were. Maybe even to say that he was staying with Twoey for a while since he's not exactly in a healthy environment at home with people (especially his father) ignoring his serious problems. It was just a missed opportunity to bring even a tiny bit of closure to the situation. I'm sure it's more complicated than it seems, but some of these glaring questions (like the actual purpose for the inexplicable New York trip) could and should have been answered. It, sadly, weakens the story that it's just left completely unanswered just for the sake of being unanswered. The convient holes in David's memory don't help. The whole situation doesn't make a lot of sense and just leaving it entirely unanswered is unsettling simply because enough attention was given to it in the first place.

 

Ok enough about that, the actual conclusion was very sweet and very satisfying. There's not much more to say. They go well together, and their connection is very sweet. I myself don't need guarantees for their future because anything could happen. Some teenage couples last a lifetime, others don't. David and Twoey have a good shot at it, and if they can fight through the coming trials together they'll probably be all the stronger for it. Personally I'd rather you left them here at this age, full of possibility. It's a very heartwarming end to the convoluted way they ended up together.

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Overall an interesting read, but there are some points that left me incredibly unsatisfied.
The ending feels a little bit like a soap opera that's been cancelled in the middle of a story arc due to lack of viewers. Too many questions unanswered, too much unexplainable behavior from professionals in the health department. Too many, well, many.
A lot of those unexplainable things (at least to me), feel like they have been entered to serve as a deus ex machina. Gary's dad who has ties to someone/thing/where to get rid of everyone who hurt David, which also seem to involve David's father and grandfather. The journey to New York (or wherever) without any obvious reason or explanation. Ginny's blindness to the real state of David. It all feels like it happened so David would be more or less completely alone by the end of the year, without any real explanations of the how and why.
Are there any plausible answers to those things or did it happen just for dramatical reasons like in those hilarious horror movies where the blonde girl runs screaming into the arms of the axe murderer instead of silently trying to find a way to safety.
Up to the point where David goes all out ninja investigator everything makes sense, after that pretty much everyone starts acting crazy and does exactly the opposite of what I expected, based on their previous behavior and what is said. I tried really hard to understand and find reasons for all the strangeness, but that only caused me to feel less for everyone involved.
Maybe, just maybe, Twoey would have been better of with Erik and David at the bottom of the lake. For me that would have been much more plausible than what really happened AND it would have saved David from Twoey, which I absolutely can't stand anymore. Also the idea to have Ginny as his therapist... Good luck with that David, you need it.
Don't get me wrong, I like your writing SkinnyD, but compared to Toph's empty Year, I don't know what happened here or maybe I am just to blonde myself and should start taking screaming lessons so I can find my one personal axe man ;-)

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Alas, the end of a great story. I'm not going to disect it. I'm not bothered in the least by unanswered questions: the reader is left to find his or her own way to answer those. What will stay with me for a long time about this story is the breathtaking way you were able to give insight in the mind of someone whose perception of reality gradually narrows so much that he is on the brink of ending it all. For those of us who have been there it was maybe difficult, but very recognizable.
My praise of your story may be that for more than a year I eagerly awaited every new chapter and read them as the first thing whenever they were posted.
I will miss my regular dose of David and Twoey. Thanks so much for this story.

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Thank you for this story. Thank you for its imperfections, for nobody's story is perfect. Thank you for keeping dozens of characters juggled successfully and for bringing (nearly) all of them safely to a conclusion I could live with. Thank you for having the patience to complete this tale, even though some of it clearly meant pain for both writer and reader alike. It is sad for it to be over, but I know that your creative mind will present us with many more characters to love and to inhabit our hearts.

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Thank you Skinny for such an engaging story. I enjoyed every installment, even when I thought I would have to come hunt you down. This story was well worth the time it took to be told. David's journey stirred me in a way that I could not have predicted, and I was more than happy to see him come to this great end. There is much yet he has to do, but I know now that he can.

 

It is sad to say so long. I will miss David and Twoey along with their friends. (No chance of following them to college?)

 

Thanks again SkinnyD... <3

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I can hardly believe David and Towey's story has come to an end. Thanks SD. It was a lot of fun! I guess it's time to find another story to read. I'll miss these characters and your easy to read writing style. Thanks. Jeff

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It has been a thoroughly enjoyable roller coaster ride! Our two heroes have certainly endured and survived more than their share of trauma and despair, as well as good times and happiness, over the last 4 months of their lives. No surprise that they went off the rails from time to time! And your writing, Skinny, has made them and all of the characters in this story come to life. There were times when I found myself at work and fretting about what might happen next in 18 Weeks! Thank you for all the effort over all of these months that you have put into making this story happen!

 

But now what to do, to satisfy my firmly implanted addiction to 18 Weeks?? Oh, wait, I know: I'll just give it a reasonable length of time to let it settle in my mind, and then start over again at chapter 1. [...][...] Okay. Time's up!! *click*

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And, so, we come to the nearly never ending tale of David and Twoey. All in all, a great story with the multiple POVs driving the plot. I suppose the only disappointing facet of the story is the last chapter. It’s my feeling that it should have been from David’s POV if only to tie the beginning to the end.
I’m not so much troubled by all the unanswered questions about David’s mysterious childhood and his relationship with his family. An author doesn’t have to fill all the holes to make a story work. To do otherwise you run the risk of turning a love story into an explicit history, which wasn’t the point of your story from the very beginning (Chap. 2) when David inexplicitly ran from Twoey’s presence and then began to worry he was gay. And, that set the stage of their eventual acceptance and bonding.
My only complaint would be that some of the side stories didn’t seem to have much to do with the eventual outcome and only seemed to have been added so as to give an extreme degree of adolescent sexual fervor to the far edges of the main story.
Again, thank you for giving us, your readers, an excellent view into the sometimes troubled adolescent mind.

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Well, I knew it had to come, SD, but I still wasn't prepared for the end. David and Twoey have become part of my life, and their absence is going to leave a big hole in my day.
I differ with a few points from other reviewers: first, unanswered questions? Certainly--life doesn't guarantee you every answer you want, and for a story which tries to emulate the teen experience, what else could it do? The man who thinks he has all the answers is a fool.
Second, the final chapter not being from David's point of view? It was said that Twoey was only peripheral, being in and out of the story more often than not--to me, this is very fitting as Twoey is the very cause of David having a story to begin with--without that mysterious attraction, David would never have doubted his perception of himself. Through his observations in this last chapter, Twoey IS giving us an insight into David's mind...and doing it as his spiritual guardian now, taking the place of all those others David had relied on for guidance--that's why the two of them thought of Danny when they saw the shooting star...his role is done.
Finally, and the hardest for me to comment on, is the 'unreality' of David's 'ninja investigator' and his disconnect from his family...I held similar doubts at many points, and felt that the actions of some of the adults was very inconsistent. In some ways, I still have that sense, but here's a word to combat it: every instance of the professional psychologists' actions can be considered as cautious, but not entirely unrealistic--they are in possession of only the information David gave them, and he was very good at keeping the feelings behind the facts to himself. Another thing which has occurred to me is this: we see these events from David's view, but we already know that he was flawed, and developing symptoms of severe depression and distancing himself from reality--so how much of what he mentions can be relied upon? I'd say that certainly applies to his family, and probably even his friends. So, except for his mother and the evil Pastor and Mr. Birch, who knows how much our view is distorted through David's lenses?
Come on SD, don't cut us off permanently from our dysfunctional friends. :)

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Danny's shooting star gave me chills. So I have chills as well as tears. Tears of happiness for D&T finally getting together, and tears of sadness because two of my most favorite stories have/are coming to and end: Twoey and ET. :(:(

 

I absolutely LOVED this story, Skinny! i was riveted from the first line. I loved the quotes you wrote at the beginning of the chapters which set the mood for each chapter.

 

I can't tell you how much I will miss David, Twoey and their gang. And of course Tommy -- the best brother on the planet! :) I'm crying now thinking I won't see them again. It's like losing a part of your family. I agree with everyone who wrote that these characters have become like a part of my life, where I want to "catch up" with them and see what they've been up to. Now I won't be able to.

 

I did have a question though: What the hell was everyone whispering to David????? lol That's gonna drive me nuts now! :yes:

 

Skinny, you've outdone yourself with this story. I can't tell you how wonderful/sad/scarychilling/happy/tearful/joyful it was. Among lots other emotions I can't think of at the moment. lol

 

Toph will be ending soon also, so you better have another story planned for us!!!! :P

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What a beautiful, haunting, utterly compelling, and ultimately joyful story! Such a hellish roller coaster ride to get there, though. :) I shed a few tears and bit a few nails along these kids' journey.
It's late October, 2016, and, having just discovered 18 Weeks of Twoey, I had the treat of reading it through without having to wait for updates. I feel that having the entire story to read at my pace made it especially powerful.
After seeing the other reviews, I no longer feel silly for becoming so attached to these guys and for hating to have to part with them. Truth be told, finishing the story left such a void I had to re-read the last few chapters; I wasn't ready to let go.
I'll resist any temptation to pull a "David" by over thinking or analyzing plot lines and unanswered questions. Honestly, all dramatic arts require a certain suspension of disbelief, and I was happy to allow myself to become fully engrossed in your mesmerizing story and fill in the blanks through my own imagination and life filters.
The ending took my breath away as I shared David's and Twoey's tears.
Bravo!

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On 09/02/2016 04:44 PM, Lux Apollo said:

Morningnanigans?! Amazing!

 

Another sweet chapter, and a very nice place to end. And that last sentence? Beautiful. I hope the other readers 'get' it. It is something special. I am a little disappointed we don't get anything about David's father other than his general distrust and concerns being articulated, and on top of that no touch of David's perspective at the end of it all. Not saying he should have the last word, but... I dunno. Something feels incomplete considering we haven't had anything told to us in his voice in several chapters, and that after nearly ending his life... We don't need closure because this is not an 'ending' per se, but David's perspective has been the one constant throughout while Twoey has dropped in and out of the reader's view. One could say it is appropriate for Twoey to have the last word because he is the title object, but in a lot of ways this truly is 18 Weeks off David just as much, and it feels awkward to have the ending told by someone on the outside looking in after being so overwhelmed with David's inner world for over 100 chapters.

 

I will miss these characters and this story. Thanks for it, skinny. Quite the ride indeed.

Thanks, Lux!

 

And thanks for your stamina in this long journey!

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On 09/02/2016 06:13 PM, Roy_northernaustralia said:

Had a wonderful time and a great ride following the boys. Thank you so much for your time and all the effort you put in for us. I cried and laughed along with the boys. I'm going to miss them that's for sure. I hope you do a follow up as there are many things still to be tied up. So from a Aussie in the desert , thanks for sharing the love

Thanks, Roy!

 

I'll miss them too. It was an enormously long ride. Thanks for sticking with the boys.

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On 09/02/2016 07:11 PM, Hunter Thomson said:

Thank you. For all of this. For all of the work you put forward in this to make 18 weeks of Twoey a reality, you deserve nothing short of our complete thanks and accolades. This was beyond a work of fiction, and I will never, ever forget this story.

 

And so, let us leave our no-longer star-crossed lovers with those hopes.

 

On the most personal of levels, you have given hope. There's no greater gift than that. You give me hope for the things in my own life. A good story can change people in ways they will never fully appreciate. I have no higher compliment that I can pay you, beyond saying that you brought hope to someone.

 

Take your bows, good sir. They are well-earned and entirely deserving of this monumental effort.

Hunter!

 

What can I say. Your taking the story so personally is the greatest thing a reader can say. I appreciate your tenacity. :)

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On 09/02/2016 09:44 PM, spikey582 said:

Yeah unfortunately, and I think you're probably aware, I'm never going to be fully satisfied with this ending. I have to second lux's statement that we should have had something from David at the end, it really was his story more than anyone's. Also the question of David's weird family. David's general mistrust was well-stated here, and it was generally all points I myself have brought up in numerous reviews. In fact, it almost felt like David was channeling me when he explained to Twoey why he wouldn't accept the call.

 

I didn't realize David's family was part of the "them" that is somehow tied up with Gary's bizarre and illicit activities. Of course, I hate to say this, but the "don't ask questions you don't want answered" feels like an easy out from actually answering the question of what the hell is going on with that family. I feel like if David was cheated here because he deserved to have a confrontation with his father, to state what his issues were. Maybe even to say that he was staying with Twoey for a while since he's not exactly in a healthy environment at home with people (especially his father) ignoring his serious problems. It was just a missed opportunity to bring even a tiny bit of closure to the situation. I'm sure it's more complicated than it seems, but some of these glaring questions (like the actual purpose for the inexplicable New York trip) could and should have been answered. It, sadly, weakens the story that it's just left completely unanswered just for the sake of being unanswered. The convient holes in David's memory don't help. The whole situation doesn't make a lot of sense and just leaving it entirely unanswered is unsettling simply because enough attention was given to it in the first place.

 

Ok enough about that, the actual conclusion was very sweet and very satisfying. There's not much more to say. They go well together, and their connection is very sweet. I myself don't need guarantees for their future because anything could happen. Some teenage couples last a lifetime, others don't. David and Twoey have a good shot at it, and if they can fight through the coming trials together they'll probably be all the stronger for it. Personally I'd rather you left them here at this age, full of possibility. It's a very heartwarming end to the convoluted way they ended up together.

Thanks for all your reviews, spikey!

 

Even when David frustrated you so much, your rants were very creative! You should write a story! But in spite of it all, here you are at chapter 122. I thank you for that.

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On 09/03/2016 01:20 AM, shamayne said:

Overall an interesting read, but there are some points that left me incredibly unsatisfied.

The ending feels a little bit like a soap opera that's been cancelled in the middle of a story arc due to lack of viewers. Too many questions unanswered, too much unexplainable behavior from professionals in the health department. Too many, well, many.

A lot of those unexplainable things (at least to me), feel like they have been entered to serve as a deus ex machina. Gary's dad who has ties to someone/thing/where to get rid of everyone who hurt David, which also seem to involve David's father and grandfather. The journey to New York (or wherever) without any obvious reason or explanation. Ginny's blindness to the real state of David. It all feels like it happened so David would be more or less completely alone by the end of the year, without any real explanations of the how and why.

Are there any plausible answers to those things or did it happen just for dramatical reasons like in those hilarious horror movies where the blonde girl runs screaming into the arms of the axe murderer instead of silently trying to find a way to safety.

Up to the point where David goes all out ninja investigator everything makes sense, after that pretty much everyone starts acting crazy and does exactly the opposite of what I expected, based on their previous behavior and what is said. I tried really hard to understand and find reasons for all the strangeness, but that only caused me to feel less for everyone involved.

Maybe, just maybe, Twoey would have been better of with Erik and David at the bottom of the lake. For me that would have been much more plausible than what really happened AND it would have saved David from Twoey, which I absolutely can't stand anymore. Also the idea to have Ginny as his therapist... Good luck with that David, you need it.

Don't get me wrong, I like your writing SkinnyD, but compared to Toph's empty Year, I don't know what happened here or maybe I am just to blonde myself and should start taking screaming lessons so I can find my one personal axe man ;-)

Thanks, shamayne!

 

Thanks for reading it all and expressing your opinion. That's all a story can hope to accomplish. It is what it is and, as is true in life, all the i's are not dotted nor the t's all crossed.

 

Thanks for hanging in there!

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On 09/03/2016 04:55 AM, J.HunterDunn said:

Alas, the end of a great story. I'm not going to disect it. I'm not bothered in the least by unanswered questions: the reader is left to find his or her own way to answer those. What will stay with me for a long time about this story is the breathtaking way you were able to give insight in the mind of someone whose perception of reality gradually narrows so much that he is on the brink of ending it all. For those of us who have been there it was maybe difficult, but very recognizable.

My praise of your story may be that for more than a year I eagerly awaited every new chapter and read them as the first thing whenever they were posted.

I will miss my regular dose of David and Twoey. Thanks so much for this story.

Thanks so much, JHD!

 

I'm glad you recognized the real story here. And it was exceedingly difficult to write -- emotionally. I think I'm just getting over it now, and it's been just over two months that I posted this last chapter. :o

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On 09/03/2016 05:40 AM, Parker Owens said:

Thank you for this story. Thank you for its imperfections, for nobody's story is perfect. Thank you for keeping dozens of characters juggled successfully and for bringing (nearly) all of them safely to a conclusion I could live with. Thank you for having the patience to complete this tale, even though some of it clearly meant pain for both writer and reader alike. It is sad for it to be over, but I know that your creative mind will present us with many more characters to love and to inhabit our hearts.

Thank you, Parker!

 

You may be the only one to know, first hand, what such a journey takes out of the writer -- hehe. So thanks for all your support in following David's jarring journey to hell and back.

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On 09/03/2016 06:10 AM, Defiance19 said:

Thank you Skinny for such an engaging story. I enjoyed every installment, even when I thought I would have to come hunt you down. This story was well worth the time it took to be told. David's journey stirred me in a way that I could not have predicted, and I was more than happy to see him come to this great end. There is much yet he has to do, but I know now that he can.

 

It is sad to say so long. I will miss David and Twoey along with their friends. (No chance of following them to college?)

 

Thanks again SkinnyD... <3

Thanks, Def!

 

And David thanks you for never giving up on him, even though he made it pretty difficult at times. Maybe I need to put a four chapter limit on any story I write in the future. :P

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On 09/03/2016 06:21 AM, JeffreyL said:

I can hardly believe David and Towey's story has come to an end. Thanks SD. It was a lot of fun! I guess it's time to find another story to read. I'll miss these characters and your easy to read writing style. Thanks. Jeff

Thanks, jeff!

 

Well, we knew from chapter one how long the journey would be. I think the poor kid needs some rest now, don't you?

 

Thanks for following such a long and arduous journey of discovery!

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On 09/03/2016 07:35 AM, jess30519 said:

It has been a thoroughly enjoyable roller coaster ride! Our two heroes have certainly endured and survived more than their share of trauma and despair, as well as good times and happiness, over the last 4 months of their lives. No surprise that they went off the rails from time to time! And your writing, Skinny, has made them and all of the characters in this story come to life. There were times when I found myself at work and fretting about what might happen next in 18 Weeks! Thank you for all the effort over all of these months that you have put into making this story happen!

 

But now what to do, to satisfy my firmly implanted addiction to 18 Weeks?? Oh, wait, I know: I'll just give it a reasonable length of time to let it settle in my mind, and then start over again at chapter 1. [...][...] Okay. Time's up!! *click*

Thanks so much, jess!

 

Now aren't you glad, deep down that you don't have to worry about these kids anymore?

Thanks for your kind words. This was my first story ever, and at times the boys even surprised me. I never knew what Matty was going to turn into!

Anyway, thanks for hanging with it all!

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