All My Shadows

Here it is, the next part of the saga! The plot starts to move, and you will be surprised at what happens! I wanted to also say that if you guys have any complaints about anything in the story, please let me know. The only way to make something better is to say something about it. But, anyway, here we go... AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 7 It had been four days since Luke and Kevin decided to start their relationship. Honestly, for the most part, it was nothing to write home about. For fear of their parents getting wind of it, they pretty much stayed isolated from each other. When they would talk on the phone, it would be about the things they would talk about before the kiss. The precise reasons why there was little talk about it all were the same reasons why they took so long to discuss what happened that night at the cabin. Luke was afraid that, in the midst of lovey-dovey conversation, Kevin would go silent and then suddenly utter, "Luke, I don't think I'm right for this," or "I think I might be straight after all." Luke would not be able to show his face around Kevin again if that happened. Was he indeed just a way for Kevin to experiment? What would happen if the young Mr. Davis suddenly decided that he wasn't gay? Luke felt that Kevin wasn't nearly as stressed as he would be if he truly was gay. Kevin was scared to piss Luke off again. When they met at Lucinda's guesthouse, Luke was so nervous and jumpy whereas Kevin wanted to be with him without a care. He knew that any bad word could send him over the edge. I mean, Kevin thought, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I'm sure that if he's stressed enough, something would happen to his kidney right? Kevin just wanted to protect him. Whatever the matter was, Luke was still acting as if they weren't together. He wanted so desperately to be with him, but because of his doubt in Kevin's sureness, Luke thought that maybe he was better off not seeing him. When they last saw each other at Lucinda's, they left on good terms. After declaring that they were in love with each other, they killed the tea and pastry and Kevin went to a doctor's appointment, leaving Luke to analyze his life. He had great parents, a little out-of-the-loop sometimes, but still great parents. Faith and Natalie were the two most adorable little sisters he could ever ask for. Emma was wise and caring while Lucinda was fun and brutally honest. He had started friendships with Maddie, Gwen, and Casey, and renewed his friendship with Will. And now he had a boyfriend who loved him. For some reason, Luke knew that it should have felt right, but it didn't. Perhaps with time, he thought. Luke was out for a brisk before-dusk walk on a Luther's Corners backroad when he spotted someone familiar just a bit down the road. "Swear to God," he said under his breath. "Luke!" Kevin called from down the road. He started to run, getting Luke worried. "Luke," Kevin repeated. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you much ever since..." "Don't worry about it, Kevin," Luke replied. He hated being so redundant by addressing Kevin as the person he was speaking to. He wanted to use a pet name, but decided against it, but the pause from the comma was still there, so he said Kevin's name instead. "I have missed you though." Kevin smiled at him. "Maybe we should do something to celebrate our reunion?" Luke did not understand why he couldn't just agree and take the plunge. Maybe that old "too good to be true" sentiment was returning. "Like what?" "Well, this road here looks like it could use two hot studs walking on it for a while..." "Two hot studs!? Where?" Luke found himself asking in a joke. The funny thing about Luke was, when he wasn't with Kevin and was only thinking of him, he would get so nervous. When he was actually there with him, things mellowed a great deal. "I'm looking at one of them," Kevin said, getting closer to Luke. Being just a tad bit shorter than his boyfriend, he had to stand on his tippy-toes to get a kiss. When they broke it, the eyes went at it again. "So," Kevin began to say as they started to walk together. "How does it feel to have a boyfriend?" Luke was just so taken aback at how casually Kevin spoke of this. Did he not realize how big this was? He really didn't know how to answer that question, but tried to give the most truthful answer anyway. "It's confusing," he said. He stopped walking. "Kevin, do you really love me?" "Oh, here we go with that again," Kevin said, dreading the place that the conversation seemed to be just running to. "Luke, how many times have I kissed you in the last week? How many times have I told you that I love you? I love you, I love you. I love everything about you!" Kevin smiled as he looked at Luke, waiting for a response. "Really?" Luke asked, finally loosening up. "Yes!" Kevin exclaimed. Luke looked at him. His innocent eyes, his guilty smile. Everything that made Kevin who he was. And behind that lied a personality that was so complex and interesting. Luke loved this boy, he truly did, and for the first time, he felt that Kevin loved him too. Spontaneously, Luke pulled him into a hug. As they walked on, Luke was wondering. "Was it obvious that I was gay?" he asked Kevin. He had so many things to ask him, and he felt like a someone who had to spend a million dollars in one day. "Well...that's not really for me to say, Mr. 'I own the first five seasons of Dawson's Creek on DVD'?" "Hey now, wait a minute! I saw all of those magazines underneath your mattress. What were they again? 'Good Housekeeping'?" "I keep those issues just for collective purposes! Do you know how much a Danielle Seel short story will be worth once we hit the apocalypse?" This was so typical of the both of them. Talking about trivial things and making jokes about everything. They felt the same as they always had, but now they had such a broader range of things they could talk about. Yesterday's baseball game, that new rock CD, and now, the cute little birth mark on Kevin's right thigh or how Luke's striped sweaters made him look like a resident of Sesame Street. All of the things that Luke had wanted to talk to him about were now up for grabs. "So how are things with your parents?" Luke asked. "Just as bad as always. Some days are better than others, but it's easier now that Shari is out of the house. Sean is still the !@#$%^&*] that he is, though." "You need to move out of your father's home," Luke suggested. Kevin looked at him. "I told you already, I can't." "I really don't understand why you can't." "If I went to live with my mother, that would mean another city and another high school. I can't imagine being away from you now." Luke understood. "I don't want you to have to go through anything just because of me." "Luke, you're the only good thing about living here with my dad, and you're worth all of the fights and stupid arguing. Besides, you were blessed with a great father. He's hot too." "Ew, Holden? He's my father! Well, actually," Luke began. He never remembered telling Kevin this before, but now that they were together, he figured that it was something he should know. "My real dad is Damian Grimaldi." "Yeah, really, did you just make that up?" Kevin asked, playfully jabbing at his shoulder. "No, I'm serious," Luke said. Kevin realized that he was. "He's some Maltese gangster or something like that. My mom and dad took a little break after the 80s and Mom fell for Damian." "I never knew that," Kevin said. "I thought they were some great love story that could never be parted." "Ha, yeah, well, they aren't. As a matter of fact, my father named me. My real name is - get this - Luciano. Now do you see why I like Luke so much?" Kevin smiled. "Luciano...I like it. It sounds exotic. Luciano..." Luke hated anybody calling him that. "It's Luke!" he would always shout, but now, when Kevin said it, it wasn't so bad. It was actually kind of good. "So, Luke Snyder is actually Luciano Grimaldi. Sounds like an exciting life." "Believe me, all of the exciting stuff happened before I was even bored. I have to get Grandma Lucinda to tell you the stories one time. You'd die with laughter," Luke said, happily recalling when Lucinda told himself the stories of old. "Well you're with Holden now and he's a good guy from all I've seen. I mean, sure, he probably wants to take my head off with a haybaler, but that means he cares about you." "I guess," Luke said. Holden did care, he thought. He cared enough to keep secrets between them, something he was sure his mother would not be able to do. Luke had never seen this side of Kevin before. It was a more sensitive side, and he liked it. It made their relationship feel even more right. The little walk proved to be lucrative. They both found out so much about the other. They were little things that really made no difference, but they were the things that couples just knew about each other. Luke always wondered how his mother found out that his father's favorite color was blue. Maybe it all started with a night like this. For example, Kevin hated peanut butter but loved jelly. They both loved playing sports. Luke wasn't much of a reader, but he liked to hear other people read. Kevin promised to read a trashy short story from one of his issues of "Good Housekeeping" to him. They were lying in the bed of an old, abandoned truck in a field when Kevin asked perhaps the most random question ever. "Do you ever wonder where you're going to be at in ten years?" "Sometimes," Luke carelessly said. With the cool summer wind blowing through them, all words seemed to just float away, but not before stopping in the other's ear. "I used to always wish that I'd be with you in ten years." Kevin turned and looked at him. Knots grew in both of their stomachs. They had never been so open before. Everything was shared between the two of them and they liked it that way. Now they knew where one was weak and the other was strong. They were now able to help each other through anything. If Luke only knew, Kevin thought, how much I love him. Love, love, love, the word had been spoken by the both of them so many times since the weekend that they really didn't understand the strength of it. Love. It was what they felt deep down inside. Love. It gave them permission to be themselves. "Kevin," Luke started to say, "I'm sorry for doubting you. You just caught me off guard." Kevin smiled. "You wanted things to happen how you wanted them to happen, but I came in and changed that. I'm sorry for it." "Don't be sorry. I'm glad," Luke continued. "Now I can be with you." Kevin looked so deep into his eyes, and vice versa. "What are we going to do now?" he asked. "What do you mean?" "We can't hide in the shadows forever. We have to come out with this sooner or later." Luke was puzzled. "I've come out already. It's all up to you now, and I don't want to rush you. Whenever you're ready, I'll be ready." Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. He had seen it too many times before in movies. The out gay guy starts a relationship with the closeted gay guy and though they love each other dearly, the out gay guy leaves the closeted gay guy because he doesn't want to come out. He was hoping Luke wouldn't do that to him. He just needed time. He wanted to come out, but not until he was sure that he wouldn't have to see his father ever again. They were both lying on their sides in the back of the truck. Slowly, Kevin moved his hand over to rest on Luke's hip. He moved himself closer to the one that he loved and soon his hand was moving all around Luke's back. "Kevin," Luke said. "I don't think I'm ready for this." Here it is again, Luke thought. Suck it up, Snyder, he said to himself. He's told you that he loves you and that he cares for you deeply. Make love to him. "No," Luke said aloud. "I'm definitely not ready for this." "Okay," Kevin said to him in reply. "I'm not ready to come out and you're not ready to do this. Now we're even." "I guess we are," Luke said, smiling because Kevin understood and didn't try to convince him to do it. For some reason, he just couldn't do it. An admission of love was one thing, but giving up yourself to a person was another. Luke was still a virgin in every sense of the word. The closest he ever got to doing it was when he and Jade were scantily clad together in his bed. Luke knew that he wanted Kevin to be the one to deflower him, and hopefully, he himself would deflower Kevin. Kevin's not a virgin, Luke thought. But then again, he also used to tell himself that Kevin wasn't gay. Luke's happy grin turned to a look of strangeness and his breath became faint. He tried to speak. "Kevin," he tried to say. "I can't breathe!" "Luke!" Kevin exclaimed. "What's happening!?" "I can't breathe!" It felt like his throat was closing up, but from what? It was so sudden, so out of the blue. "What's wrong with me!?" Kevin quickly pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket and dialed 9-1-1. After giving the necessary information, he laid Luke out flat on the bed of the truck "Just try to breathe, Luke, help's coming." TO BE CONTINUED...

Thanks, guys, for your continued support! I've basically mapped out and plotted out my next two stories: the next one will be AMC-based and the one after will be another ATWT story. The AMC story will be "The Madden/Myrtle Connection" and explores a more legit, decent way of connecting Greg and Josh to the long-running Pine Valley citizens. ATWT's next tale will be "Enter Christina," which deals with Don Hughes's daughter Christina and her coming to stay with her extended family in Oakdale. The following part is all one scene, the scene in which Kevin and Luke "talk" about their kiss. This scene was HARD for me to write. I wanted to express so much but didnt know how to. I did it and read it over and decided that I would understand it, and hopefully anybody who reads it can understand too! Here goes... AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 6 Luke paced around the guesthouse, waiting for the bell to ring or a knock at the door. Where is he? he thought. Where is Kevin? Did he forget? No, he didn't forget. Instead, he was sitting in his car waiting to get the courage to get out. He could see the guesthouse from where he was parked and wondered what Luke was doing inside. Was he pacing around, waiting? Was he watching TV or listening to a CD? The only way Kevin would know is if he got out of his car and knocked on the door. Kevin was so nervous. Last night in the car, Luke had been so quiet and so withdrawn. Kevin was happy with what had happened, the kiss. It chased away all of the hurt that he felt from his parents and he felt loved. He wanted so desperately to know if Luke felt the same way, but he was scared to say anything to him. He didn't know what would make him snap. Luke heard the knock, but hesitated to answer. He looked at the door from his seat on the couch and a little part of him flinched with each hard knock. Finally, he knocked himself over the head with some confidence and got up to open the door. "Kevin," he said. "Luke," Kevin replied, then laughed at the cheesiness of the situation. "Come in," Luke said. "There's tea and pastry, if you're hungry." Kevin nodded and walked in. Luke closed the door behind him and stood, watching his love walk towards the sofa. Luke was so ashamed of what he did the day before. He had himself convinced that he caught Kevin off guard with the kiss and that his admission of love came from nothingbut shock. There was nothing to do now but apologize. Tensions were high. Kevin was ready to apologize himself for going too far. He didn't believe that Luke was straight, he wouldn't let himself believe it, but he thought that maybe he jumped the gun. Maybe they should have talked first and kissed later. "Kevin, I'm sorry," Luke suddenly said. "Luke, I'm sorry," Kevin said, simultaneously. Neither one heard what the other said, and they both stopped at the same time. "You go first," Kevin insisted. "No, you," Luke said. "Hey, it's your grandma's guesthouse. Your tea and pastry. You go first." Luke swallowed hard. "Okay. Maybe we should sit down." They both sat on the couch and Kevin looked at him. Luke quickly looked down to escape the pressure. "Kevin...well, let me just say, if you don't want to be here, you don't have to be. If you feel uncomfortable at all, you can leave and I won't have a problem with it." "I'll never leave you," Kevin said, quickly, firmly, surprising even himself. Luke tried to look at him but couldn't. "Kevin...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what happened yesterday, I swear. I didn't mean for it to happen like that. If I could take it all back, I swear, I would." All of the words spilled out so fast that he didn't know what he was saying. "You have your own problems at home with your parents and I don't need to bring you into my twisted life. I'm just so sorry, and I would understand it if you never wanted to see me again." Kevin looked down at the floor with thought. He was just realizing something. "You thought that I didn't want it? Luke, I wanted it just as much as you did, maybe even more!" he loudly whispered. "I've been trying so hard for the last few months to make you notice me and it wasn't happening and I got desperate, so I did what I did." "But you didn't do anything! It was all me!" "All you?! Hardly!" Kevin exclaimed. "It was me who was prancing around without a stitch of clothes on! It was me who jumped on you on the ground." "But it was me who kissed you." "It takes two people to kiss. I kissed you too and now that I know that you wanted it too, I don't regret it." "Then why were you so quiet about it? Why didn't you say anything to me in the car last night?" Luke asked. He finally was able to look at him, and he wanted to know why this boy who loved him didn't want to talk to him. "Because you were sitting there like some kind of zombie freak! You didn't say a word to me after it happened and I thought that maybe the less said, the better. I didn't want to do or say something to make you go crazy." "Kevin, you could never make me go crazy," Luke said matter-of-factly. "I mean, you were sitting there yourself all silent. I thought that you hated me and was polite enough to not say anything about it." "If I hated you, why would I agree to meet you here?" Kevin asked. They were both loosening up. It felt like they were solving a mystery, figuring out why the other would not say anything after the kiss. "I don't know," Luke said, almost smiling. "I thought you came to read me the riot act and then run away. You know that saying? 'Too good to be true'? I thought for sure that that was what was going on. I didn't want to assume either way, so I just said nothing." "Why was it too good to be true? You didn't believe that I could love you? I mean, I know I have a reputation at school - " "That's it right there," Luke said. "At school, everyone sees you has this big ladies' man. There's no way you could be gay." Kevin shook his head. "Luke, I'm telling you myself right now." He sighed a small bit. He wanted to tell the whole story, but didn't know if he should. He went with his instinct and began the tale. "I guess it all started with that night earlier this year. You probably don't even remember it..." "We were playing basketball," Luke remembered, like magic, "and your back was sore." "So I asked you to massage it." Luke, for a moment, was lost in the fairy tale, but he quickly snapped back to reality. "You're telling me that you just fell in love with me over a stupid backrub?" "It was more than that, Luke!" Kevin yelled. They were both so tense that everything that came out of either one's mouth sounded like an argument to the other. "You...you didn't give up on me! When your parents told you over and over again to stay away from me, you kept coming back. You was there for me everytime my own parents had one of their fights. Even after your old man threatened to kill me, you kept coming back. And after a while, I knew. I just knew that there was something special and it took me some time, but I grew to accept it...I love you, Luke." Luke got up and started to pace. He liked pacing. You could always be sure of where you were going. He sorta wished that you could pace in life, that you could keep going back and forth from one special moment to the other. "I'm not mad," he said, to make sure things were clear. "I'm...just confused. I'm just completely confused." "What's there to be confused about?" Kevin asked. "I knew that I loved you when you kept risking everything to be with me. I love you, Luke," he repeated, this time with a smile and nod to convince Luke that he was being honest. Luke turned to face him. "I was so sure that you were straight. All of the girls you've dated over the years, how could you be gay?" "Nothing," he replied simply. "I felt nothing for them. And I thought that maybe I did, but I never did. I had girlfriends because I thought that was the way I was supposed to be. It was never anything serious with any of them. And you know, even before you and the whole backrub thing, I knew I was gay. I just didn't want to admit it to myself because then it would mean that my father was right." "Your father? What does he have to do with this?" Luke asked. "You don't want to know," Kevin answered. "The way he gets when he's tired and drunk. No wonder I used to drink so much." Luke looked at him. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. "So you wanted me to kiss you? It wasn't all a big mistake on my part?" "It didn't feel like a mistake to me," Kevin said in a soothing tone. He got up and went to Luke, who leaning against the counter. "Come on, Luke, I've never been this real with someone before, not even you. You have to say something. You have to do something." "Say what?" "What are the only words that you want to tell me right now? What do you want to do to me right now?" Luke was mesmerized by the glow in his eyes. He was like a little child looking through a kaleidoscope. "I love you, Kevin." They played the eyes game once more. Luke had tears in his and so did Kevin. "I want you, Luke Snyder," Kevin said quietly. It was so soft that Luke hardly heard him. It was what Kevin had whispered so many times as Luke walked away, but now that he was saying it straight to him, right in his face, it was a struggle to force the words out. "I need you," he said. "I need to have you. I need you to be with me." Luke almost fainted everytime Kevin finished a sentence. There was such a raw truth in Kevin's eyes and voice. His words resonated with Luke so vividly, that it felt like an invasion of privacy to hear someone else say them. Just two days earlier, the hardest problem Luke had was being able to talk to his mother without the conversation turning into a "I don't think I'm gay, I know I am!" debate. That in itself was hard to do everyday, but now this had to come and cause its own stress. Luke quickly analyzed the problem in his mind. Here is Kevin and he loves me. Does he really? Because this is too good to be true, Luke thought. He thought of what Lucinda would say. Just go for it. And he did. He repeated what happened at the cabin and found his lips pressed against Kevin's. It was full of such passion and such angst, that both of them just did not want it end. It was the perfect end to such a delicate conversation. Luke could feel that Kevin wanted more. He felt his hand slid underneath his striped shirt. "Kevin," Luke managed to gasp as Kevin began to kiss his neck, "we can't - " Luckily for him, Kevin broke the kiss. "Now do you believe me," he asked with that smile. "I love you," he said before starting to laugh. "I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you!" Luke looked at him. This was Kevin, carefree and always in a good mood. "I love you!" Luke exclaimed as well. It was so liberating to say those words aloud and to the face of the person he meant them for. Those were words that did not deserve to be said into a pillow during dreams or to a yearbook picture. They held so much meaning. "Be with me, Luke," Kevin offered. "I don't mean for forever or until we die, but for now. Because I need you, and I know you need me." Luke looked at him, just to see the ambition in his eyes. He nodded. "Yes, Kevin. I'll be with you." TO BE CONTINUED

Thanks for the comment Actor87! (I wanted to PM you earlier, but will do that soon). As far as how many parts are in the story, I have no clue. I know where I want to go, and a basic estimate is around 15-20 parts. I started to write my next ATWT story, so when it comes time to put that up, I'll have a set number of parts for it. Until then, here's part five in the current saga. It was going to be much longer, but I cut the actual Luke and Kevin confrontation out and decided to make that part six all by itself. Anyways, here goes... AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 5 Holden and Lily got home just after Luke and the girls came in from riding their bikes. "I promised the girls a horseback riding lesson for today," Holden said. "Oh yeah," Luke said, "they've been reminding me all day long. I think you better get them over there before they contact the Coast Guard!" He seemed to be in a happier mood this time around. Holden liked that and returned his smile, going up the stairs. "I think I'll go feed my cravings," Lily quietly commented as soon as Holden left the room. She didn't want a repeat of the scene from the previous night. "No, Mom, wait," Luke said, stopping her from going to the kitchen. "Look, I'm...I'm sorry for how I acted with you last night." Lily looked at him and knew he was being real. She didn't want him to feel guilty for her. "It's okay, Luke, it's all okay." "No, it's not okay," he said, turning away from her. "You've been trying hard to live with who I am and to accept me and I make it harder by always giving you an attitude. And on top of it all, you have a baby to worry about. You don't deserve that." "And you don't deserve a mother who is too stubborn for her own good," Lily said, carefully approaching him from behind. "I mean, I'm glad that you can see where I'm coming from, but I think that we both need to be better understanding of each other." Luke turned to face her. Lily gently rubbed his face. "I'm proud of you," she said. "I'm proud of the way you've handled all of the things in your life. You're my son, my first-born, and I love you with all of my heart." "I love you, too," Luke said, and they hugged. They broke apart, and with the most serious face ever, Lily looked into his eyes. "Luke, if you really love me, you'll let me go to the kitchen and get a nice big bowl of French vanilla ice cream." "Of course!" Luke exclaimed, laughing. "I may be your mother, but I'm still pregnant, and I really, really need to eat," she joked. "All right, then, go on ahead. I think I'll pay a visit to Grandma's." "Oh, I don't think that's such a good idea. She's hell-bent on restoring Worldwide to greatness, I don't think she'll even notice you're in the room." "Actually, she invited me. She wanted to spend some time with me. We haven't had any good quality time together in a few weeks and I've missed her." "Good, then. It's always important to keep your friends and family close. I hope that you and I can rebuild what we had." "I hope so too," Luke said. "Now go get that ice cream!" Lily scurried out to the kitchen, leaving Luke alone to think about what he was going to say to Kevin. He didn't want to seem as if he'd been in love with him for years and years, even though that was truth. He knew that if he acted naturally, he might come across as an obsessed, stalker-type. He also wanted to let Kevin know that there was in fact love between them. He didn't want to miss the chance to have exactly what he wanted. ~~~~~~~~~ "Where exactly are you going?" Mr. Davis asked his teenaged son as he grabbed his car keys and headed for the front door of their home. "Out," he rudely said. "I hope you're not going out with that Luke Snyder kid," Mr. Davis replied. "What do you have against Luke?" Kevin asked. "I told you over and over again that if it wasn't for that damned grandmother of his, we wouldn't have to live like we're in a third world country!" "What are you talking about?" "You know what I'm talking about. I was laid off from Worldwide two days ago. Ever since that old bitch got cancer, I've been working my up to the top. I wasn't going to be a low-level assistant for long. But no, she came and ruined everything. She had no good reason to fire me and as soon as I can meet with my lawyer, I'm going to file a lawsuit so big - " "No!" Kevin exclaimed. "You can't sue Luke's grandmother!" "I can and I will, little boy!" the aggressive Mr. Davis yelled. He got up and started to intimidate Kevin. "You know, you're starting to act more and more like your mother, and I don't like it. You're running around here, cooking up and cleaning like some housewife." "Is there something wrong with not wanting to starve to death and trying to make things look nice around here!?" Kevin yelled. Here it was, he thought. He's going to call me that name again, and it was going to hurt just as much as it did all of the other times he did it. "All I know is that my son better not be a faggot, do you understand? Because if that's the case, you can walk out that door and don't come back. Your mother might like the idea, but I won't put up with it." Kevin stormed out without saying anything. He wanted so desperately to get out of there. He wanted a better life for himself. He needed a change. But he knew that the second he moved out and went to live with his mother, that would be the end of it all. To begin with, if he lived with his mother, he wouldn't be able to attend Oakdale Latin with Luke and his friend. And of course, if he moved, it would be like telling his father "Yes, you're right, I'm gay." He couldn't deal with that. The only thing that kept Kevin Davis going that afternoon was the thought of being alone with Luke. That was all he needed. That was all he wanted. To be alone with the guy that made everything wrong go away, the guy who would smile and be there. The guy who would never leave him. ~~~~~~~~~ When Luke walked into Lucinda's living room this time around, she was strutting around on her cordless phone. She saw him when he came in and motioned for him to sit down and take advantage of the pastries that she had on the coffee table. She continued to talk as if no one was in the room with her. Whatever she was talking about, she was in a rage. "Honey, you tell them that I want them to take their best shot! Low-level assistants have nothing on me! Don't they know that I can make all of their lives a miserable hell!? How dare they!" Luke was cheering her on in his own subtle way. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said to the phone. "Look, I have an important appointment right now to tend to. We'll speak more about this later. Oh, and if you didn't know, yes, I am pissed!" She put down the phone, ran a finger through her hair, sat down next to Luke, and put on a smile. "Hello, darling," she said. "You know, you are amazing," he said. "Able to contend with things like that and then listen to me come here and whine and complain about everything." "Oh, please, it's nothing. It's my job. Getting Worldwide out of the incredible MESS that those people put it in, that's my job. Helping you out, it's my job. Everything's my job in this world!" Ah, Grandma, Luke thought. "Now come on, come on, when is your gentleman caller coming over?" Lucinda enthusiastically inquired. "I had the guesthouse cleaned from top to bottom just so you would make a good impression on him. There's even a scent of jasmine in the air and tea and pastry on the coffee table." "Thanks, but I think we're a little bit pass first impressions." "That's not true, my dear! I know, when you've known someone for a long time, and then you find out something brand new about them, it changes everything. Your mother, when she found out that she was adopted, she was furious with me. We had to start all over again. I have no doubt that you and your friend will start all over again and head off in the right direction." "You know," Luke began, with a dreamy look in his eyes, "I've dreamed the same scenario every night for so long. Just the two of us together, by ourselves. Grandma, I know that maybe he's not the right one for me, but I just need to find out. I need to have that experience. I mean, I've been gay all my life, but I don't know anything about having a boyfriend. This is all still so new to me." "Just hang in there, kid, you'll be okay. Now, go, go! Get yourself down to the guesthouse, and pretend to be asleep. He'll come in and find you there, all sprawled out on the couch. Lord knows what he would do!" "Grandma, we're not going to get that far," Luke said, smiling at the very thought of it. "We're just going to talk about things and sort this whole thing out. He's probably going to apologize for leading me on, he'll leave, and that'll be the end of that. I'll never be able to face him again." "Honey, you have to get some confidence. Now, you have to prepared if this young man happens to be really in to you! I mean, you're good-looking, you have a good personality. You give the best kisses on the cheek. What more could he want?" Luke stood up and started to walk around. "It doesn't matter. If Kevin's straight, then that means no matter how good I am to him, he'll never be interested in me." "For God's sakes, you'll never know until you confront him face to face. Now go, so I can try to prevent my company from being the laughing stock on America. Go." "All right. Goodbye, Grandma. Thank you so much for everything," Luke said, giving her a hug. He felt that he was giving too many hugs lately. Would seeing Kevin end up in another, more sensual hug? He could only hope so, but even if it did turn out like that, he'd be confused beyond belief. Nevertheless, like coming out, this was something he had to do. TO BE CONTINUED...

Just dropping in to let you know that TWOO has been really great lately! It's always good, but something about it has got me excited lately!

Thanks for the comment, oakdalelover! I was really having a hard time writing the Lucinda scene because it seems that everybody has a different vision of who her character is. Some people like her as the tough, take-no-prisoners businesswoman, while others like her as the witty, clever grandmother to Luke. I just decided to merge those both together and have both of those roles be displayed greatly in this story. Maybe this is a little spoiler, but Lucinda, who is happy for Luke and Kevin now, will NOT be too happy for them down the line! But anyway, here's part four! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 4 "Remember when we got wasted and crashed in her guesthouse?" Kevin asked Luke as they pulled out of Lucinda's driveway. Realizing that maybe he shouldn't have dredged up mistakes of the past, Kevin quickly apologized. "Sorry about that." Luke, of course, took the apology the wrong way. "Don't be sorry, Kevin, because I'm not." He didn't want Kevin to be in the place he was in right now, wondering if he had manipulated the situation and forced the other to kiss him. "Wow, I thought that since you're the one with the new kidney, you wouldn't want to think about getting drunk," Kevin replied. "Oh!" Luke sighed. "You meant the drinking." For a second, things felt normal, but then he realized that Kevin was going to ask him what he thought he had meant. Kevin didn't want to act too fast. They came to a red light. He looked over at Luke, who had guilt written all over his face. In the car's seat, he looked about two feet tall. "Luke, I think we need to talk about this." "Yeah, I think so too," Luke responded, almost automatically. "Listen, can you meet me in my grandma's guesthouse tomorrow, say around 1:30?" Kevin thought for a bit. "Yeah, sure. What do you want to do?" "Well, like you said, we need to talk about this." "All right." ~~~~~~~~~ "How was your trip?" Lily asked when Luke came through the front door. She and Holden were sitting together on the sofa watching the nightly newscast on WOAK. Luke, who was trying his hardest to pretend to not hear her and get up to his room safely, stopped just short of the first stair. He couldn't do it. He just could not tell either one of them what had happened. It was so hard telling fun, easy-going, tough as nails Lucinda, he could imagine the dreadful pain that would accompany confessing to Lily and Holden. First of all, Lily would probably rest for a measure every time she'd say the word gay. Holden would immediately say "But we love you anyway." Lily would want to know exactly what happened, and Holden would quietly dance around the subject of coming out to Kevin. And God, if Luke told them about the near-naked kissing, well, that would be it. Lily would go into full parent mode and forbid him from ever seeing Kevin again, again. She'd accuse Kevin of trying to sex up her son. "Well at least Kevin can't get pregnant," Luke would fire back at her. "It was okay," he finally decided to say. He put his foot up on the first stair, but knew not to waste his time going up. They'd only call him back down again. "Why don't you come in here and tell us about it," Holden said in that deep farmer boy voice of his. Luke breathed a quiet "Fine," and joined them in the living room. They were on the couch, so he sat in one of the large comfortable chairs. He knew he would be there for a while. "What do you want to know?" Lily looked at Holden, not sure how to approach her son. "Did you and Kevin enjoy yourselves?" "If that's your way of asking if we got drunk, then the answer is no," Luke snapped. He figured he could get out of there faster if he threw a diva tantrum. "Come on, Luke, don't be like that with your mother," Holden said. "She's worked hard to try to re-establish connections with you. You can at least meet her halfway." "No," Lily cut in. "He's right. I'm always on his case nowadays, and a teenaged boy needs his space, right?" Luke didn't know how to respond. He just continued to give her the "I don't care" look that he had perfected over the last couple of months. "Are we finished here?" "You know what? I'm going to go check on the girls," Lily said, getting up and going upstairs, leaving father and son alone. Holden wanted to ask Luke how things went with Kevin, but he didn't want to run the risk of touching a nerve. Instead, he decided to address the issue with Lily. "She didn't mean anything by that, you know. She just wanted to know how your day was." "I know," Luke said, not looking Holden in the eye. "It's just that she keeps prodding and prodding and if I give her answers, she's not going to like them." "Answers? Answers Like what?" Holden's interest was suddenly piqued. What was Lily not going to like? "Don't worry about it," and with that rushed reply, Luke went to the stairs. "I'm sorry, Luke," Holden said. "I'm sorry that things didn't turn out the way you had hoped." Of course, Luke thought. He just assumes that Kevin didn't like the idea of me being gay. Luke could have told Holden the truth right then and there, but maybe the less his parents knew about anything right now, the better. ~~~~~~~~~ It was after breakfast the next morning when Luke had to keep his little sisters busy while his mom and dad went for her latest doctor's appointment. Just a few more weeks, Luke thought, and we'll have another bouncing bundle of Snyderness in the house. It was a very good thing for Luke, because a new baby was always a good thing, and he was great with kids, but most importantly, some of the attention given to him would no doubt be pushed away. Simply, a baby would make things easier for everyone. "Luke, can I ask you something?" Faith, the older girl, asked as the three of them got ready to go bike riding. "Sure, sweetheart," Luke said. He had the perfect charm. "Well," Faith began, "I've been doing something that I shouldn't be doing, at least I don't think I should be doing it. Luke, why do you and Mommy fight so much?" Luke was taken aback. "Me and Mommy don't fight at all," he said. "But I hear you guys, almost every night. And last night, she came into my room and she was crying." "She was crying? Why was she crying?" "I don't know. That's why I'm asking you." Luke looked at her. He wasn't sure how to tell her about this. Was she old enough to understand? "Faith," he started, "Faith, Faith, Faith." "What's the matter, Luke?" "What I'm about to tell you is very important," he said. "I want you to listen carefully, okay?" "All right. Are you okay? Is your kidney okay?" Luke laughed. "Yes, my kidney is fine. What I have to tell you is something about...well it's something about me. Do you know what it means to be gay?" "Doesn't that mean happy?" she asked. Luke just loved how cliche the whole situation was playing out. It was the kind of stuff that he and Kevin would die laughing at. "Well, yeah, but it can also mean something else. You see, you know all about love, right? And how one day you're going to find someone that like a lot, right?" "Yeah. Just like how Mommy found Daddy. I'm going to find a nice boy too." "Good, good. Wait until you're at least my age, by the way," Luke said, trying to lighten up. "But anyway - " "Just like you found Jade, right?" "Well, kinda. The thing with Jade and me, though, wasn't about love. It was about something else. But listen to me. Sometimes you're going to come across people who don't do what other people do. You're going see guys...who fall in love with other guys, and girls who fall in love with other girls. I...I am one of those people." "Okay," Faith said, not really understanding the bigness of this moment. "And you're going to hear things about people like me, bad things, but you can't be one of those people who puts a person down for something that they can't change, okay?" "Okay. I love you, Luke." "I love you, too, little girl!" He picked her and Natalie up and they all started to hug and laugh, but Luke still couldn't get over the fact that he had made his mother cry the night before. That was never his intention. He knew that he had to apologize to her, but didn't know how to go about doing it. He loved that woman, no matter what she did to him or said to him. She had went through so much for him. She was going to marry evil Keith Morrissey for him. He couldn't make her cry. ~~~~~~~~~ Holden and Lily sat together in the waiting room at Oakdale Memorial Hospital. A new kid was coming, and they couldn't be happier. Holden was happy because he loved raising children and carrying on the Snyder name. Lily was happy for another reason, a reason that dealt with the fact that their new child was predicted to be a boy. As much as she did not want to admit, she hoped that this one would turn out straight. "Whatcha thinking about?" Holden asked. "Nothing," Lily said, but she knew that her answer was unconvincing. "Luke...and Kevin...and this whole damn thing." "You think they were drinking?" "No, actually, not really. I was actually thinking about why Luke used to be so adament about seeing Kevin even when he would get him drunk. I mean, back then, nothing made sense. This kid was endangering his life but he still wanted to be with him all the time. Why?" Holden wasn't sure if it was his place to tell Lily that Luke was in love with Kevin. "They've been friends for years. You can't just end a friendship like that." "No, I think it was more than that. I think Luke either had or still has feelings for that boy and that's why I didn't want him to go on that trip with him yesterday. There's no telling what they could have been doing up there." "Well for that to have happened, that would mean Kevin is gay too, wouldn't it?" "Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if this gay stuff was all Kevin's idea in the first place. We should have a talk with his parents." "No," Holden said. "Let Luke handle it." "Let Luke handle it?! Luke doesn't know how to handle his life. As his parents, we need to help him." "Well, I just don't think that we should help him too much. He's gotta find some things out on his own." "He will. He's going to find a lot of things out in life, and it's not going to be pretty." TO BE CONTINUED

Thanks to Actor87 and oakdalelover for the amazing words of encouragement! Don't worry, oakdalelover, I've already begun work on the next ATWT story. It focuses mainly on the Hughes family and a new character who is related, by blood, to them. Here's part 3 of Luke and Kevin... AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 3 The ride home was even quieter than the ride there. Luke didn't know what to say, but if he did, Kevin didn't know how to answer him. They were both of so afraid of saying something that the other wouldn't like. They were scared to admit their feelings for each other even though those feelings were definitely known by now. Luke was shocked. It was like he won the lottery, but wasn't exactly sure if the numbers called out were really his. He knew there was a chance, but didn't think that there was a snowball's chance in hell that Kevin would return his feelings. How did Kevin feel about him, exactly? How long had Kevin been interested in him? Did Kevin dream about him every night? Did Kevin write his name on notebooks just so he could look at it? Did Kevin fall weak everytime he was around Luke? The backrub, Luke remembered. It was a ploy to get his attention, Kevin remembered himself. The backrub was an attempt to turn him on and the drinking was an attempt to get him drunk. Kevin hated himself for endangering the life of his best friend and biggest crush, but he was desperate. He needed to have Luke drunk in order to make out with him. Surely he couldn't have come right out and said it to Luke that he desired him, right? No way Luke could truly want him. But they were both proved wrong that afternoon, and as the moon started its nightly show of inspiring glow, no one speaked. Not a single word was uttered the entire way, except for the usual "See ya," when Kevin stopped in front of the Snyder home. "Wait," Luke said. "Bring me to my grandma Lucinda's house." ~~~~~~~~~ Lucinda was working away at her laptop computer in her living room when she heard the doorbell ring. She'd pretty much faded into the background at Worldwide Industries because of her cancer, but she planned an explosive return that would remind each and every one of her colleagues that Lucinda Walsh was, and would always be, a force to be reckoned with. "Come in, dahling, come in!" she said to Luke when he appeared in her doorway. "Come in from the dark. These days, anybody's bound to be made into a hamburger by some deranged killer!" "Oh, it's nice to see you're back to being yourself, Grandma," Luke said, smiling. They made their way into the living room and sat down. Lucinda wait straight back to her work, leaving Luke to sit there watching her. She looked at him and realized that she was neglecting the poor boy. La Walsh turned off her computer and gave him her full attention. "What can I help you with tonight, my good boy?" she asked. "Well," Luke began, "I really don't know how to say this. I'm still a little bit stunned." "Stunned? Dahling, what's got you stunned? You're not having problems with your mother, are you?" "No, no, it's not Mom. Actually, I think things are getting a little better between me and her." "Really? Because you know how stubborn she can be." "Yeah, I really think so. I think if I just give her a little bit more time, she'll finally be able to just get over it and realize that I'm not some kind of freak and that I'm still me," Luke said. "Yes, dear, you're still you," Lucinda said, with a pinch at Luke's cheeks. "Now what's the problem. What brought you here tonight at eight o'clock? Isn't it time for that show you kids are all crazy about? What is it, 'American Idol'?" Luke laughed. "Kevin hates 'American Idol.'" Lucinda pretended to laugh along with him, but she couldn't help but ask. "Kevin? Who is this Kevin? Is he a little friend of yours?" she asked, nudging Luke's shoulder. He smiled, but started to shake his head 'no.' "That's...well that's part of my problem." "Well, I'm all ears. Go ahead." Lucinda was genuinely interested in what was going on in her grandson's life. "Okay...now it's going to sound like I made this whole thing up, but I swear, it's all true." He cleared his throat and began to recount the story. "Today, my friend Kevin and I went up to his parents' cabin up by Lake Michigan, and we spend the whole day there. As a matter of fact, we just got back. But anyway, we spent the whole day up there, and well...Kevin doesn't know that I'm gay." "Oh," Lucinda said. "And you thought today would be the perfect time to tell him." "Yes! Yes!" Luke exclaimed. "Exactly! But I was so nervous about him hating me, and then we were in the middle of nowhere basically, and if I told him that I was gay and he didn't like it, knowing Kevin he would have just left with the car and just had me stranded out there with nachos and 'I Love Lucy.'" "Wha? Nachos and what?" "Oh it's a long story." "Ah, yes. But you're here now, so obviously your friend reacted better than you thought he would. I mean, you did tell him, right?" "Not exactly," Luke continued, now with a little smirk of remembrance. "So we were outside in the little pond swimming a race, and he beat me, of course. He's the fastest swimmer this side of Bay City." There was a brightness in his eyes when he said that, showing that he was proud. "And he started doing this little victory dance." "Ha ha, he did a victory dance, did he? I'm guessing you were the real winner in all of that, ha?" Lucinda commented, again nudging. Luke loved his grandmother. Her sense of humor was her trademark. She wasn't necessarily a dirty old lady, because, in Luke's eyes, she wasn't dirty and she wasn't old. She was Grandma Lucinda, and she rocked. "Well, you can say that. I got up out of the water and then he wrestled me down to the ground." "Sounds rough!" "Yeah, I thought so too, but then he started playing this little power game with me. He wanted me to surrender all of my defense...and then, I just let go. I stopped fighting him back. And then we just looked into each other's eyes, and then..." Lucinda was holding her breath, but Luke's pause made her gasp for air. "And then?! What happened then?!" "We kissed." Lucinda slapped one hand into the other, stood up, yanked Luke into the air with her and gave him a hug. "I knew it! Didn't I tell you a long time ago that everything was going to be all right?!" "Everything's going to be all right? What are you talking about? Nothing's all right now! I mean, I have my mom on my back all day and night, my sisters keep asking me what's wrong, rumors are starting to circulate about me at school, I have a screwed up kidney, I'm a borderline alcoholic, and now, to top it all off, I just forced my best friend in the whole entire world to be gay." "You hold on one minute, young man! This Kevin something-or-other didn't do anything that he didn't want to do. Now didn't you tell me that he had you pinned down on the ground? Did he resist your little liplock?" "No, but - " "Aha, exactly," she said. She ran her hand down the side of his face. "You know, you're so unlike your mother, it's funny. She was always sure of herself growing up, even now, you have to tell her something a million times before she believes that it's true." "I just don't want to make Kevin do something that he doesn't want to do. He'll hate me for sure." "Dahling, stoop saying that. No one is going to hate you. Now all you did was kiss - and it takes two people to kiss, by the way - so it's not like he's going to be traumatized for his whole life. What happened afterwards?" "Nothing, nothing at all. It was getting dark by the time it happened, so we just got up off of the ground and he said that we should work on getting back home. We packed everything up and came back to Oakdale. We didn't say a thing the whole ride back." "Well, you're going to call him right?" Luke smiled as if he wasn't confident in himself. "I don't know if that's the right thing to do." "Well, dear, when I was a teenager, if some handsome young man like yourself kissed me in a fit of love, I'd be sitting by the phone, just waiting for him to give me a ring. I have no doubt that this Kevin is at home doing the same thing." "No, I kinda doubt that. If anything, he's probably just getting home to hear his parents trying to break each other's necks. His father just moved back in after he got laid off from his job and things aren't going to well for them." "Well there you go. He needs you more than anything right now. Apparently, you're what's keeping him sane." Luke shrugged. "But don't you think you're jumping to conclusions? Two little kisses don't mean anything." "TWO little kisses?! Well, that just opens another can of worms!" Lucinda started to strut around the room. "He obviously planned for it to happen. He pinned you down on the ground for a reason and he's probably just as confused about the whole thing as you are. You need to call him. You're going to promise me that you'll call him." "I don't know..." "Call him! You won't regret it!" She put her hands around his face. He couldn't let her down. She cared for him too much for him to go and let her down. "All right, I'll call, I'll call. I'll call him tomorrow." "And maybe the two of you can meet somewhere?" "No, now that is where I draw the line." "But you want to see him, don't you? How about this - you tell your mommy and daddy that you're coming here to visit me and you get your friend to come here and the two of you can have the guesthouse to yourselves." "Grandma!" Luke exclaimed. "To talk! You can have the guesthouse to talk, or you could walk in the garden perhaps. Whatever makes the two of you happy. Come on, do it. For me?" She looked at him again with those eyes. So innocent, so sweet, but so intimidating. He loved her to death. "All right, I'll do it," Luke said as he started for the door. "I'll call Kevin and invite him over and we'll talk. But you have to promise, you won't eavesdrop or try to interrupt us." "I promise, I promise." She opened the door for him to leave but realized something. "Dahling, how exactly are you getting home?" Luke turned back to her and smiled. "I told Kevin to leave the engine running." "That's my boy!" Lucinda exclaimed. TO BE CONTINUED

Thanks for the comment, Actor87! I've been thinking about doing a regular fan fic featuring all of the characters for a while, but I just feel so uninspired sometimes (while at other times, I have ideas to last a year). I tried that with AMC a few months ago, but as you can see, that didn't work out too well. I think I like this idea more, because I can update whenever I have a decent amount of stuff to add and I like that whenever I decide to finish this story, I can move on to other characters and soaps. I already have ideas for an AMC story and another ATWT story in my head. Here's part two of the current story... AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" - Part 2 The drive up to the Davis's cabin was uneventful so far. Gwen Norbeck's recently recorded demo tape provided the soundtrack for the trip, so hardly any words were spoken on the way. Everytime Luke tried to look at the young man that he had been in love with for so long, his nerves took over and he quickly turned to face the road ahead of him. There was a determination about Kevin that Luke couldn't get enough of. When he first confirmed his feelings, it was after seeing that determination in Kevin's eyes as they raced out to a large rock off the shore of the lake. Kevin won and did a little celebratory dance, unknowingly shaking what his mother gave him in Luke's face, giving his friend an eyeful. Luke laughed out loud at the memory. Kevin looked over at him and joined him in the laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked. "Ah, nothing, just thinking about something. Thinking about the last time I was really happy," Luke responded. "Between my mom's boyfriend and my kidney and the drinking and Jade, I don't think I've been really happy since last summer." Kevin nodded and smiled the million dollar smile that Luke always saw in his dreams. "Well, today we'll change that. I mean it. I owe it to you, Luke. I put you through a lot of pressure earlier this year and I'm sorry, I really am. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have such a screwed up relationship with your parents." "Nah, it's not all your fault. It's a lot of my own troubles too, but hopefully that'll all be put in the past, you know? People change, they grow up. I think my parents realize that I'm not the kid I was in the winter and neither are you." "Yep!" Kevin exclaimed. "We're not kids anymore, we're men! Think about it, when we go back to Oakdale Latin, we're going to be seniors! We'll be able to get all the girls we want." Luke had his guard down and was hit by Kevin's comment. Why was Kevin interested in girls when I've been his best friend for ten years, he thought. Maybe this was all a big mistake. For a second, he wanted to just forget about it all and not come out to Kevin, but he had his mind set on it now and it was something he had to do. Nothing was going to stop him now. ~~~~~~~~~ "This place is a dump!" Kevin yelled when they pulled up at the cabin. "My dad told me that it was right on the coast, but I think the five miles through the woods that we just drove prove him wrong." "I don't think it's that bad," Luke said, admiring the subtle majesty of the small cabin. He looked towards the side of it. "Look, there's a small pond out back. That's better than the shark-infested lake anyway." "Yeah, I guess," Kevin said. "Let's get our stuff inside." Together, they hauled in a twelve pack box of sodas, several bags of chips and cans of dip, a portable grill and all of the fixings for a summer picnic. When they were finally finished bringing the items in, they were both worn out and tired. "I would take a shower, but I don't know if there's enough water to last that long," Kevin said. "Yeah, I could do with one myself," Luke agreed. Kevin went to the window overlooking the pond. "You think that pond's clean?" he asked. Luke joined him in the window. "Should be. The one on our farm is pretty nice." "Good," Kevin said. He walked outside and instantly was in Luke's vision outside the window. He took off his shirt and pants. "What are you doing?" Luke said, laughing. "Taking advantage of this nice pond here. I'm not dirty, I took a bath before we left. I just need to soak in some cool water." Luke smiled as Kevin removed his shoes and socks. He was now naked to the core, with the exceptions of his swimming shorts and underwear. "You think anybody's going to notice if I do it in the buff?" "Yeah, someone's going to notice, me!" Luke joked. "Then maybe you should join me," Kevin replied. He jumped into the pond and floated around gracefully. It was enough to make Luke burst an aneurysm, even if he didn't have any. "Come on, the water's fine. It's cold, but it's not icy." Luke wanted desperately to say yes, but he didn't trust himself enough. He didn't want to do this now and then later, when he would tell Kevin everything, have his best friend question his motives. "Nah, I don't think it's such a good idea. I've been feeling a little feverish lately." "Of course," Kevin said. "I swear, Snyder, you've had every illness in the book." Suddenly, Luke noticed a mass of black cloth floating in the pond. "Hey, what's that behind you?" he asked. "What do you think it is, Einstein? I told you I was going all the way with this!" Luke nodded and forced a grin. He walked around inside the cabin to take his mind away from his naked crush. Giving himself a personal tour of the place, he moseyed down a very short hall. There were three doors, two on the left and one on the right. The right side door was a small bathroom, which seemed to be equipped with plumbing. The first door on the left was a small closet. The third door seemed to have a little hallway of its own. Luke walked through the door and quickly realized that it was a bedroom that wrapped around so that it was in the path of the hallway. The cabin looked small on the outside, but Luke definitely understood that looks could be deceiving. Inside the bedroom, there was a vanity, with some of Mrs. Davis's makeup on it. On the far side of the room, there was a door that led to the bathroom, and right there in the middle up against the wall was a double bed. It showed signs of use, as the sheets were wrinkled and carelessly thrown over the mattress, probably by someone who was in a hurry to leave. Whatever the case, Luke liked the feel of the cabin. There was an intimacy in it that a regular house didn't hold. It was not unlike his great-grandfather Cal Stricklyn's, which sat on the Snyder property and had been most recently occupied by Jade. Luke brought himself back to the living room and went to the window. Kevin was no longer in the pond and his clothes had been picked up, so he must have been out there somewhere drying off. But then, startling Luke, Kevin came through the front door without a thing to cover his body. Luke, shocked at first, quickly covered his eyes. "Kevin!" he cried out. "Give me a break, Snyder!" Kevin said, in his cheery voice. It was innocent yet had a mystery in it. It reminded Luke of the TV character Eddie Haskell. "It's not like I have something you don't." Luke slowly parted his fingers over his eyes and looked down. Inside, he laughed. Yes, Kevin, he thought, you definitely have something that I don't. "Did you have to come in here stark naked?" "I forgot to bring a towel out with me, and I couldn't dry off with a leaf, could I?" Luke didn't care for the reason, he was just thankful for this moment. It was completely shallow and maybe a bit perverted, but he didn't care. After the hell he'd been through the last year, he deserved to be a pervert for a while. ~~~~~~~~~ Hours had passed, literally. Those were hours that were filled with the two teenagers trying their hand at cooking, fishing, bird watching (they were desperate), and watching old reruns on the black and white TV in the cabin. Luke didn't know when the perfect moment would be to talk to Kevin. In his mind, he had the scenario set up. There'd be a fire in the fireplace (even though it was the middle of summer), and they'd both be on the sofa in front of it. He'd look over at Kevin and just say the three words that he had longed to say. "I love you." But he knew it wouldn't happen like that. It was now 4:15 in the afternoon and Kevin was getting restless. "You know, I think there's a big rock out there in the pond," he said. "Bet you I'll beat you to it in a race." Luke swallowed a big blob of air. "What?" "I said I bet you I can beat you out there to that rock in the pond!" The excitement took over Luke. "Oh really?" he asked. "You remember what happened last time, Snyder!" Kevin exclaimed. "I'll beat you again and defend my title as the fastest swimmer this side of Bay City!" "We'll just see about that!" Luke replied. "Come on!" They laughed and taunted each other all the way out to the pond, playfully pushing each other. To Luke's surprise, Kevin dropped down to nothing again. That's it, Luke thought, I lost. I can't take the distraction. Luke himself only got down to his swimming shorts. They both jumped into the water and situated themselves right next to the shore. "On your mark," Kevin said. "Get set," Luke continued. "Go!" they both hollered, and off they went. Kevin's technique caused water to fly as high as the sun while Luke's style was more modest. Nevertheless, Luke allowed Kevin to beat him again, if only just to relive that one special moment. "2-4-6-8! Who do I appreciate? Luke Snyder, Luke Snyder, yeah, Luke Snyder!" Kevin sang and danced. Luke looked up at him on the grass as he himself stayed in the water. He looked at Kevin's legs, firm from the years and years of sports and activity. He looked at the back, which was pretty much the same way. Kevin had it all, Luke thought. And I need to have him. Luke lifted himself out of the pond and up on the ground. Suddenly, Kevin, who had his underwear on again, tackled him to the ground. "Who's the winner?" he asked aggresively but jokingly. "Who owns you?!" "You do!" Luke responded. It was like some sort of dream that he had had night after night. "What's my name?!" "Kevin! Kevin! Your name's Kevin!" Luke continued to scream. This was too surreal! Kevin pinned him down and they were face to face, only an three and a half inches separating their mouths and eyes. Luke looked into Kevin's eyes and knew that it was right. He knew that he was the luckiest young man in the world. Completely and utterly doubtless, Luke reached his head up and his lips met Kevin's. They savored each other. Figuratively speaking, Kevin's lips were lips of wine. Luke, his eyes closed and his mind in another world, reveled in his happiness. Here he was, on the ground behind a cabin in the woods, making out with his best friend, the guy he had been in love with for who knows how long. Last year was only a realization for him. It was then that he admitted it to himself that he loved Kevin, but he knew that the feelings he had for him had existed long before then. Kevin, in his own mind, was proud of himself. It worked, he thought. And this is the perfect payoff. All of the months of teasing Luke and subtly seducing him have worked. No one stood between us. Not Holden, not Lily, not that pathetic bitch Jade. We're destined. It was even more a testament to their connection when they both broke the kiss at the same time. "Kevin," Luke said, "I love you." "I love you too, Snyder," Kevin replied, hardly able to catch his breath. "I love you, Kevin," Luke repeated. "As long as the world turns, I will love you." And at that moment, they could do nothing but kiss again. TO BE CONTINUED...

Well, my first idea of regular blog-writting quickly died, but I remembered this thing and had a feeling that I'd think of something to bring it back to life. Well, while I was having one of my "Damn it, I love ATWT to death!" moments, I just started writing away and came up with a little story about Luke and Kevin. I wrote a pretty good bit of it already, and I decided to post some of it here to see what you all think. Make some comments! If I'm motivated enough, I'll finish the story out and post it all here, and I might even move on to some other characters or maybe go and do something with AMC. Whatever the case, let me know what you think! This takes place in July of this year and follows what would happen if Damian didn't show up in town. The main characters are, for now, Luke, Kevin, Holden, and Lily, but as time goes on, Emma and Lucinda play major parts. Other characters are mentioned and might pop up a couple of times, mainly Will, Gwen, and Jade. Kevin's parents will also be included a lot. And some parts might be a little dull, but hey, I was in one of my moments! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" Luke Snyder sat at a table at Java, mulling over where his life was going. It had been two months since he told his family and friends that he was gay. Unfortunately, the first person he told was Jade, who milked the situation for all it was worth. But now Jade was stuck working at the library and living somewhere that was unknown to Luke. Luckily, he uncared. Looking up, he saw his former best friend Kevin Davis enter the cafe. Kevin was one of the few people who did not know. The only ones who did know were Jade, Luke's parents Holden and Lily, his grandmothers Lucinda and Emma, and his friends Will and Gwen. Luke knew it would probably be extremely hard to tell Kevin the news because it was his love for Kevin that convinced him he was gay. He knew he had to tell him sooner or later, and, more than anything, he wanted to make sure Kevin heard it straight from him and not in the halls at school. Luke knew it was now or never. Almost instantly, Kevin joined Luke at his table. "How's it been going?" he asked in that almost always cheery voice of his. "Things could be better," Luke said, hoping Kevin wouldn't inquire any further. "You sound like you could use a vacation, my friend!" Kevin announced. "What do you say me and you hang out sometime. I mean, your parents have to be over the drinking stuff right?" Luke sighed. "I don't think that's such a good idea. So long, Kevin." He got up and started to leave, but Kevin stopped him right outside the building. "Come on, old pal, it could be like old times. My parents are out of town for the whole summer and they left me the keys to their cabin up by the lake. We can drive out there tomorrow morning, do some swimming, just hang out. Maybe we can find some chicks." Luke thought for a moment. This would be the perfect opportunity to come out to Kevin, and he knew it. Would his parents go for it? He smiled at Kevin. "All right, I'm in." "Ah, I knew you'd say yes! It was the chicks wasn't it? That's what changed your mind!" Luke forced a smile this time without answering. ~~~~~~~~~ "Absolutely not," Lily said, and she meant it. It was she, Holden, and Luke in the Snyder living room and Luke had just asked for permission to go on the trip with Kevin. "That boy is the main reason why you were sick in the first place!" "Actually," Luke said with snark, "I got sick from when I stowed away on your boyfriend's plane." "Don't you dare bring Keith into this," Lily snapped back. She softened her voice a little. "Kevin got you drunk how many times? We can't trust him anymore. There's no telling what kind of stuff he's in to now! Drugs, maybe?" "Kevin's not like that," Luke persisted. "He's changed a lot. He hasn't had a drink since spring." He looked at Holden, who stood behind Lily, with pleading eyes. Holden caught Luke's glance, and deep down he knew what was going on. "What time do you guys plan to be back?" Holden asked. Lily turned and looked at him with astonishment. Luke replied, "We'll leave right when it starts to get dark." "And there'll be no alcohol at all?" Holden asked. "None what-so-ever." "And you guys will behave yourselves, right? You'll keep the Davis's place in order?" "Of course. We're not little kids anymore." Holden shrugged at Lily as he took some money from his wallet. "Here," he said to Luke, "here's twenty bucks in case you guys get hungry on the way back. It's enough for a burger joint, I guess." Luke looked Holden in the eye again. He knew that Holden knew, so he smiled and accepted the offer. "So you mean I can go?" "Yeah, sure, why not? Just be back before 10:00 and all of that. And no alcohol!" Holden said. "Thanks, Dad, I really mean it," Luke graciously thanked before going up to his room to start planning for the next day. Lily was ready to take Holden's head off. "Why did you just do that?" she asked him. "You don't trust Kevin Davis anymore than I do." "Well, you heard Luke. He said Kevin's changed. He sees him more than we do, so we kinda have to take his word for it." Lily exhaled briskly. "I swear, if that kid does anything to our son, I will personally make sure he has no contact with Luke ever." Holden looked at her and knew she was serious. ~~~~~~~~~ Later that day, Luke went to pick his little sisters up from the Snyder farm, owned and operated by Holden's mother Emma. Emma had a slightly hard time understanding Luke when he came out. She had always had a certain set of values and morals in her mind, but slowly she realized that in order to accept her grandson and love him for who he truly was, she would have to learn to change her feelings. By the time Luke went to pick up Faith and Natalie that day, Emma was completely supportive of his life. "Hello, Grandma," he said to her when he entered through the kitchen. "Oh, hello, my dear one," she greeted enthusiastically, rushing from the stove to give him a big hug. "How has your day been, darling?" Luke grinned. "It started off a little dull, but I think it's going to be okay." "Aw, that's nice to hear. Your Aunt Meg's upstairs with the girls getting them ready to go home, so they might be a while. Would you like to talk about anything?" Emma's voice was so sure and honest to Luke that he couldn't resist. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do have something to talk about." Within in minutes, they were on the Snyder porch with some fresh homemade lemonade. "Now what is it you want to talk about?" Luke hesitated. "Well...you remember how I told you that I was...gay, right?" Of course she remembered, he thought, but he couldn't think of another way to bring up the subject. "Yes, I do," Emma said, trying to let him know that she held nothing against him. "Well, my friend, Kevin, he asked me to go up to the lake with him tomorrow and spend the day up there." "Oh..." "Yeah, and he doesn't know about me yet." There was something about saying the word gay to his grandmother that just rubbed Luke the wrong way. "And at first I wasn't going to go, because I didn't think that I could be there and spend the whole day with him and - " "You didn't want something out of your control to happen." "Right!" Luke exclaimed, surprised that she understood the situation. "But then I decided that maybe I should go. And use it as a chance to tell him everything." "Well," Emma began, "you know I'm used to giving advice about love to your father and your aunts and uncles, and for a while, I've wondered what I would say when you yourself would come to me for romantic advice, but after days of thinking about it, I decided that love is love no matter who it's between, and we all share the same type of problems. Right?" "Yeah, I guess." "Well, then. I think you should tell Kevin exactly how you feel. If he's really the friend that you think he is, he'll understand. I'm not saying that he'll be accepting at the very beginning, but he'll come around. If it doesn't happen that way, then maybe it's for the better that he walks out of your life." Luke looked at her and knew that she was right. She always was. ~~~~~~~~~ It was 3:45AM. Luke was downstairs in the kitchen looking for something to snack. He needed something to relieve his nerves. He did not know how he was going to approach Kevin at the beach or what he would say. He was thinking about cancelling the trip altogether when he heard someone stirring in the living room. Soon after, Holden was with him in the kitchen. "Is something wrong?" Holden asked his son. "Are you feeling okay?" Luke looked up at him. "I'm fine." Holden remembered the problem. "You're worried about telling Kevin that you're gay." "Can you blame me? How am I going to tell my best friend that I'm gay?" "And that you love him." Luke gulped hard. "So you figured it out?" "It wasn't hard to figure out. Way back before you even told your mother and me, I had a feeling in my mind. You spent so much time with him and you cared so much about him. I knew something had to be up." "I don't know why I feel the way I do about him. I mean, the guy almost turned me into an alcoholic and he made me go against your wishes, but there's just something about him that I can't shake. The way I feel when I'm around him...I just feel weak, but in a good way." "Aw, come here," Holden said, hugging his son. "Just take a little time and listen to what your grandma said." Luke stepped back. "How do you know what she said? Did you call her or something?" "Yeah, I told her about your little dilemma and she said she'd be of help for ya." "Thanks for everything," Luke said, hugging his father again. ~~~~~~~~~ The next morning, Luke was about to walk out the door to wait for Kevin out in the driveway. He was hoping not to bump into his mother on his way out, but he couldn't be so lucky. Lily was in the living room when he came downstairs and had to stop him. "Have a good time," she said. "Do you really mean that?" he asked her bitingly. "Of course I do! I want you to enjoy yourself. You haven't had a good day to unwind in Lord knows how long," Lily replied sincerely. She took him into a hug. "I know you've been through a lot over the last year, and I know I've been at fault for a lot of it, but I promise I can change," she said. "You're my son and I love you." "I love you too, Mom," he said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and bid her farewell. "I'll see you guys tonight. Tell Faith and Natalie that I love them." "Definitely. Bye, Luke." TO BE CONTINUED...

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 ACT ONE Palmer Cortlandt Jr, aka PC Cortlandt, is sitting on the steps at the boathouse. He wants to know who it is calling his cell phone. On the other end, Sam asks for Lily again. PC says that Lily can't come to the phone, but he could leave a message. Sam, a little shocked, asks who it is he is speaking to. PC introduces himself and says that he is Lily's new boyfriend. Sam angrily slams down the phone. At the Valley Inn, Erica shows up for a lunch date with Jackson. Erica asks how Jack's day has been and he unenthusiastically says that it's been fine. Erica notes this and wants the truth. Jack spills that he misses his true love. Erica says that she's right there, but Jack says that he means practicing law. Erica understands. She says that her own work life has been a little messy lately too. Between the problems with Amanda and Josh and the pressure she's getting from the network, she doesn't know what to do. The doorbell at the Chandler mansion rings. Adam, coming down from the stairs, opens the door and is delighted by the presence of Brooke. Brooke tells him not to be too happy to see her, she's there for business. They go into the living room and continue their talk. Adam pours himself some wine and asks Brooke that if she didn't wake up with a mad desire to be near him, whatever could she be there for? Brooke says that she wants to interview him for Tempo. Adam chokes on his wine. ACT TWO. Brooke slaps Adam on the back, telling him not to panic. She wants to interview him about the warning signs of heart problems. Adam laughs at what he sees as a unbelievable excuse to get next to him. Brooke threatens to leave if he doesn't take her seriously. Adam apologizes and asks what on earth made Brooke think of him for heart disease. Brooke explains that it has to do with his stubborness to listen to her last year and how it turned out to be much more. Adam brushes her off, saying that there's nothing wrong with his heart. At the Inn, Jack is kicking himself. He says that he wishes he could have found a way to save Bianca, Kendall, and Reggie during the Cambias trial while also saving himself. Maybe he would still be district attorney. Erica disagrees, but listens. He goes on to say that his ruthless efforts to help his family out always come back to bite him in the rear end. Erica says that Jack is the most selfless man she knows and that everything he does, he does it for others. She tells him that his good deeds will be rewarded someway, somehow. PC is sitting on the railing at the boathouse, playing with Lily's cell phone. She approaches him and asks if anyone's called for her while she was gone. He says yes, that some crazy guy called. Lily is worried. She wonders if Jonathan Lavery has found out her number and is trying to kill her again. PC tells her that Jonathan Lavery is locked up in a mental institution and that he can't hurt anyone now. He comforts her and she smiles again. She hopes that whoever it was that called will call again, just as the phone rings. She answers it, but when Sam greets her, she is speechless. ACT THREE Janet is fluttering around her penthouse, Erica's old place, gently brushing dust off of the countertops and straightening up the furniture. She fixes her hair in the mirror just as the doorbell rings. She goes to answer it and sees Krystal there. She says that she wasn't expecting her so soon. Krystal barges in. Janet asks if she can get her anything, but Krystal says no. Krystal says that she needs Janet's help with Babe and JR. Upon mention of Babe's name, Janet's face goes sour, but she remembers that she's trying to be friendly now. She asks what she can do. Krystal goes on to say that she doesn't trust JR as far as she could throw him, even though that's pretty far. She doesn't want her baby doll to be tied up with JR again, and wants Janet to help her break them up. Janet laughs. She says that the only person who could get Babe to leave JR is Jamie. Krystal nods and Janet frowns. Sam asks Lily if she's still there on the phone. Lily says hello, but is frozen. Sam goes on to tell Lily that he's back in town and that he's changed and that he's still sorry for calling her stupid. Lily "mhm"s and nods awkwardly as PC looks on. She tells Sam that she has to go. Sam asks if they could meet together soon because he really wants to see her again and make it up to her. Lily says that she will get back to him and hangs up. At the boathouse, PC is surprised. He wants to know if Lily is playing a game on him and this other guy. Lily explains that she isn't playing a game with him, and that Sam is her old boyfriend. Brooke tries to convince Adam that his body is getting older and that he's brain is suffering from years of neverending stress. Adam snidely comments that everyone he knows has been going through years of stress. Brooke says that that's beside the point. She tells him that if he does this interview it could help other stubborn old men like him when it happens to them. Adam looks at her and his never-ending admiration for her wins. He agrees to the interview. Brooke goes on to tells him to call her whenever he has to time do the interview, but Adam suggests that they do it over a nice dinner for two. Brooke warns him that if he tries anything funny with her, she'll gladly use everything she knows about Chandler Enterprises against him in Tempo. Adam asks her why she can never take a joke. Erica and Jack are eating, as Erica talks about her problems at work. She tells him about all of the little mistakes that have gone on, and wonders if Josh isn't the root of all of the problems. Jack says that she should give Josh a little slack. He's new to the industry and Jack knows that when Erica was new to modeling and all of her other business ventures, she was just as lost. Erica says that she was more conniving than lost. She remembers her days of playing mattress tag with Jeff Martin and Jason Maxwell while pining for Phil Brent the whole time. Good times, she says they were, but the good times are spoiled when Greg appears in the dining room. ACT FOUR Erica rises and greets Greg. Greg asks Erica how she's been and how Kendall and the baby are doing. Erica says that everything with everyone is fine. So fine, in fact, that they're having a dinner party soon. Greg asks for what ocassion, and after a little thought, Erica decides it's to celebrate her family's good fortune. Greg says that he imagines he'd not be welcome anywhere around the festivities, but Erica surprises him. She invites him to the dinner party, making Jack do a double take. Erica tells Greg to be there. Greg happily obliges the invitation. Erica slips back down into her seat. Jack asks her what that was all about. Janet says that Jamie is happy Amanda now and that he'd never jeopardize that for Babe. Krystal says that it's obvious Jamie has no feelings for Amanda. He's just using her as a way to get over losing Babe. Janet tells her that she must be joking. Why would Jamie need to get over Babe? After she lied to him time after time? Krystal reminds Janet that Amanda isn't exactly saint, after all, she did accept JR's money to break Babe and Jamie apart. Janet says that Amanda has put the past behind her. Krystal says that Babe has done the same. Janet agrees, saying that Babe's past is Jamie, and he's definitely behind her now. Krystal is upset. She tells Janet that she thought they would be friends, but obviously she was wrong. She storms out. Janet smiles. She wonders why Krystal ever thought they'd be friends, after the way Babe has treated Amanda in the past. Lily is explaining her relationship with Sam to PC. She tells him how Sam was the only boy who tried to understand her autism spectrum disorder, but PC corrects her. He's trying to understand her disorder too. Lily continues, saying that Sam started to focus on hating Zach Slater instead of on her and she thought that was wrong. Then she tells PC about Sam calling her stupid and trying to have sex with her. PC gets angered. He tells Lily that he would never try anything like that with her. She thanks him and says that she thinks she wants to hug him. PC asks if she really wants to and she says she's sure of it. They hug. ACT FIVE At the mansion, Brooke has left and Adam is reading some reports in the library. Mary shows up. She asks Adam how he's been the last few days because, oddly, it seems as if he's been avoiding her. Adam says that he probably was. Mary takes this as a joke. She says that she couldn't help but hearing him on the phone earlier in the day, talking to a sculpter. Adam says that yes, he's getting a bust of his head done to be put into the library. Mary subtly compliments Adam's physical features, such as his cheekbones and nose. Adam tells her to get to the point of leave. She says that she wants to do the job and that she'll do it for free. Adam guffaws. Prices don't mean a thing to him and if Mary did the job for free, it still wouldn't be worth what he'd pay her. Mary begs and pleads with Adam to let her try. If he isn't satisfied with her work, he can get another one made. He agrees, saying that he's letting the women in his life get the best of him. She asks what he means, and he tells her about Brooke. Mary is annoyed. Erica explains to Jack that the dinner party is her latest idea to get to Greg. Jack sighs. Erica goes on to tell him that she's determined to know why he's obsessed with what was going on in Pine Valley 35 years ago. Jack says that he wants Erica to leave Greg alone before she gets hurt, but Erica says that if she doesn't pump Greg for truth, she'll get hurt regardless. She tells Jack that she's going to use Myrtle to get the truth out of him. After the way Myrtle bonded with Zach, she's sure the old lady will work on Greg. Jack shakes his head in dispprovement, but asks when this dinner party will be held. starring (in order of seniority) Susan Lucci as Erica Kane Julia Barr as Brooke English David Canary as Adam Chandler Kate Collins as Janet Dillon Walt Willey as Jack Montgomery Anna Stuart as Mary Smythe Bobbie Eakes as Krystal Carey Leven Rambin as Lily Montgomery Bobby Steggert as Sam Grey Ian Buchanan as Greg Madden Jake Weary as PC Cortlandt

Monday, February 6, 2006 ACT ONE Zach shows up at BJs for a cup of coffee and spots Julia already enjoying one. She asks him to join her, and he does. She asks how things have been in his life lately and he tells her about his and Kendall's upcoming remarriage. Julia laughs, joking that Zach will now become another victim of Kendall's twisted emotions. Zach tells her that she may be right. At her condo, Kendall is attempting to scramble eggs, but burns them in the process. She tells her unborn child to get used to eating take out. While cleaning up the mess, she is surprised when Ryan comes to her front door. Babe and Krystal are sitting on the Chandler patio drinking tea. Babe is gushing about Little Adam's latest happenings, including some of the not-so-good words he's picked up from his grandfather. Krystal laughs and says she can't wait until the two of them get to have the little boy all to themselves. Babe tells her that she's not too sure that'll ever happen. Across town, Joe is kissing Ruth goodbye on his way to the hospital. She tells him about the call she got from Jeff and that he's doing well and is thinking about coming back to Pine Valley. Joe is surprised, but thinks it would be great to have Jeff around again. Just as he opens the front door to leave, Sam rings the doorbell with luggage at his side. ACT TWO Joe and Ruth welcome Sam into their home, giving him hugs and kisses. They sit down and start talking. Sam explains to them that he and Maria had a discussion back in California and decided that it would be best if Sam came back to Pine Valley to bond with his mother's side of the family. He says that his mother wanted him to stay with Tad, but he wanted to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Martin themselves, his great-grandparents. Ruth and Joe tell him that he is very welcome to stay with them as Joe leaves for work. Julia asks Zach if he's found Kendall in the company of another man yet. Zach tells her no, but whenever she's around Ryan he senses an undeniable attraction between the two of them. Julia laughs. Zach continues to explain that he knows it's just because of the baby, but he's worried that they might get too close because of the baby. Ryan tells Kendall that he's taken the whole day off from work at Cambias to take her shopping for baby stuff at Lacey's. Kendall refuses at first, telling him that if she misses another day at Fusion, things will be ruined beyond repair. He tells her to give Danielle some credit and to go with him. Kendall tells him that Zach wouldn't like it, but he says that it's just two old friends having fun together. Kendall finds it hard to resist and goes to get dressed. Krystal thinks Babe is kidding. Babe tells her that now that she and JR are talking about remarriage, she's fallen back in love with him. Krystal tells her that it's just her heart playing tricks on her and that she must keep her eyes on getting back Little Adam. Babe says that it's much more than that. She says that she feels that JR loves her too and that she has a second chance to prove to him that she can be a good wife and mother. Just as she says this, JR appears from the house. ACT THREE JR tells Babe that she doesn't have to prove anything to him, he already knows that she loves him. Krystal says that she has to go talk to Winifred about her pillows being too fluffy, leaving Babe and JR alone. JR asks what that was all about and Babe quickly tells him that it was nothing. She tells him that the previous night was the best sleep she's had in a long time because it was the first time she slept in the same bed with him since their first marriage. JR returns the compliments and they kiss. Krystal watches from the living room and winces in disgust. Adam sneaks up on her and agrees with her wincing. He tells her that he's happy to see she's finally realizes how horrible Babe and JR are for each other. Krystal warns Adam that JR better not be working Babe in any way. Adam tells her that JR is too bewitched by Babe to even think about working her over. Krystal says that if Babe gets hurt by JR again, she'll take matters into her own hands. At Lacey's, Kendall and Ryan are shopping for baby clothes. Ryan holds up an atrocious outfit, sure that Kendall would like it for their son. Kendall laughs at him, making the mood light and cheery. They pass by the Fusion counter and start talking about the perfume. Ryan sprays some of it and smells it, saying that it reminds him of Greenlee. ACT FOUR At BJs, Julia asks Zach why he thinks Ryan and Kendall are getting too close. Julia's sure that Ryan's smart enough not to fall for Kendall all over again. Zach tells her that he isn't sure what it is, but he feels something between Ryan and Kendall. Julia tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself and to lighten up. Though she doesn't like her, Julia knows that when Kendall sets her sights on a man, she rarely lets someone else come between them. Zach reluctantly accepts Julia's advice and thanks her. Kendall hugs Ryan. She tells him that she misses Greenlee too, even after the scene she caused at Thanksgiving dinner before she left. Ryan apologizes to Kendall for the way he acted at that time and tells her that he didn't understand then why Kendall did what she did, but he does now. Kendall tells him that he still has a chance with Greenlee and that he should look for her. Ryan says that he could, but he wants to let her have time alone for awhile. Krystal prepares to go out to do some shopping herself, but is stopped by Mary on the way out. Mary wants to know why she saw Krystal leaving Adam's bedroom at midnight. Krystal decides to play with Mary's mind for a while, telling her that she and Adam had the most amazing love making session ever. Mary is appalled. When she realizes Krystal is only joking, she is upset. She tries to touch Krystal's soul and asks Krystal if there's anything between the two of them. Krystal tells her that she has nothing to worry about regarding her marriage to Adam, it's only for business. At the Martin home, Ruth is laying down the rules of the house to Sam at the kitchen table. Friends are allowed over, but not past 10 on school nights, and 12 on the weekends, unless they're spending the night. His curfew will be the same times. Ruth says that if Sam gets in the company of a ladyfriend, she's only allowed up to his room during the daytime. Sam finds these rules a bit old-fashioned, but thanks Ruth for letting him stay and promises to behave himself. Ruth thanks him for deciding to move in with her and Joe. She says that they were feeling old without someone younger in the house, and raising another teenager will be good for their health. Ruth pulls him in to a hug and officially welcomes him into the Martin family. ACT FIVE Zach shows up at the walkway between his and Kendall's condos and instead of going into his, he knocks on Kendall's door. After no one answers, he enters with his key. He looks around, calling her name, but gets no response. He goes into her bedroom and sees her robe laying on her bed. Zach picks it up and brings it to his face, thinking of how much he loves Kendall. He leaves. Kendall is alone in the maternity department, looking for clothes that she could buy for herself. She holds up a dress in front of a full-length mirror and tries to see how she'd fit in it. Ryan shows up behind her and puts his arms around her belly. She turns around and they share a passionate kiss. Kendall blinks her eyes, though, and this is all a dream. Ryan returns from the bathroom and asks if she's ready to go. She says yes. At the Martin home, Ruth is leaving to run errands. She tells Sam to make himself at home and to help himself to the refrigerator. The second he hears her car leave the driveway, he picks up the telephone and dials a number. When the phone on the other end stops ringing, he asks for Lily. Krystal is on the road in her car when her phone rings. She picks it up and it is Babe. Babe again tries to convince her mother that she is in love with JR and that the lies need to stop. Krystal tells Babe that she doesn't trust JR, but will be happy for them for Babe's sake. Babe says that this is all she asks and that she knows in her heart that this is the real deal. After hanging up with Babe, Krystal presses some buttons on her phone, bringing up the address book feature. She scrolls until she finds Janet's name and number and presses "Call." starring (in order of seniority) Ray MacDonnell as Joe Martin Mary Fickett as Ruth Martin David Canary as Adam Chandler Sydney Penny as Julia Keefer Cameron Mathison as Ryan Lavery Alicia Minshew as Kendall Hart Anna Stuart as Mary Smythe Alexa Havins as Babe Carey Jacob Young as JR Chandler Bobbie Eakes as Krystal Carey Thorsten Kaye as Zach Slater Bobby Steggert as Sam Grey

I've been feeling a little creative lately, so I decided to try my hand at writing an alternate AMC. I'm taking into account my opinions on the show's current state, as well as the opinions of others, and I hope that at least three or four people could enjoy the whole thing. Everything is taking place in the current time, but with some changes: ~ Josh is in NO WAY Erica's son AT ALL. ~ Jonathan is living at Oak Haven, being treated for his mental illness. Erin has moved back out of town. ~ Janet has returned to town, but NONE of the terrible acts that she have committed happened. She's recently returned to town and has a room at the Valley Inn. She's been on her medications, but hasn't been 100% good. ~ Sam has returned to Pine Valley, after promising to behave himself. He moves in with Joe and Ruth. ~ Simone and Ethan are together, but have left town. ~ Sadly, Dixie is NOT alive. ~ Reggie and Danielle are no longer in high school. Both are around Jamie's age (around 20 or 21). They are slowly coming back together as a couple, but Reggie has also been spending time with an old friend, Joni Stafford. ~ Petey is SORAS'd and is back on the canvas. He now goes by PC, his father's old nickname. He is the same age as Lily and Sam. The three are sophomores in high school. ~ Amanda and Jamie are truly in love. ~ Zach did NOT cause the spermbank blackout. With those changes in mind, this is the current cast list... CONTRACT Marian Chandler Brooke English Jamie Martin Greg Madden Adam Chandler and Stuart Chandler Derek Frye Krystal Carey Janet Dillon Josh Madden Di Henry Babe Carey Myrtle Fargate David Hayward Reggie Porter Zach Slater Tad Martin Opal Peter "PC" Cortlandt Erica Kane Danielle Frye Joe Martin Ryan Lavery Ruth Martin Kendall Hart Palmer Cortlandt Del Henry Julia Santos Lily Montgomery Joni Stafford Amanda Dillon Sam Grey Mary Smythe Aidan Devane Jack Montgomery JR Chandler RECURRING Little Adam Chandler Winifred Del Henry Tom Cudahy Livia Frye Cudahy Expect summary-type episodes, where the events of each episode is done in a recap/spoiler style. Episodes will start being posted on February 6, and will usually be posted daily. Check back on Monday for the first episode as it will set up most of the major storylines!