All My Shadows

Our next installment sets up some plans for our title couple, but at the core of today's drama is a startling confession from an aunt to her niece. The story continues! AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" - Part 20 "Well, you look awfully busy this afternoon," Luke said to Lucinda as he walked through the door of her home office. In actuality, Lucinda sat, reclining in her chair, enjoying some sort of alcoholic beverage. "I do recall a certain special lady once telling me that the answers to life's problems aren't in the bottom of a bottle..." "Life's problems? Darling, I have no problems right now. This is just a drink for joy," Lucinda replied, taking a sip. "What brings you here?" "Actually, I have a bone to pick with you," Luke said, sitting down. "A bone to pick? With moi? Whatever do you mean?" Lucinda asked, a bit surprised. "Well," Luke began, with a smile, "Kevin and I got into a little fight all because of little old you." "Me?! Sweetheart, if I inadvertedly did anything to jeopardize your relationship with Kevin, you do know that I apologize, right? I apologize whole-heartedly! But I do have to ask...what exactly happened?" "Grandma, please, don't apologize, I'm kidding," Luke assured her, putting his hand on top of hers as it lay on the desktop. "Kevin and I just got into a little tiff, that's all. I overreacted about something and had a big old [!@#$%^&*] fit. Excuse my language." "Honey, I've said worse," Lucinda said. "Well, yeah. You see, Kevin and I were sitting around at his cousin's apartment and the subject of you came up and somehow I conjured up in my mind that Kevin blamed you for his father's death, and it's all such a convuluted story, and I just don't...I don't want to get back into it." Lucinda nodded. "Understandable. On both parts, I mean. I can see why Kevin would think that I should be responsible for his father's accident." "But you're not!" Luke exclaimed. "And I wasn't going to let him think that you are." "Okay," Lucinda said, trying to change the subject. "So, tell me then. If you're not here to read me the riot act, why are you here?" Luke settled back in his seat. "Well, you've entertained gentleman callers more than a few times in your day, correct?" "Right," Lucinda replied, a smile forming on her face. "You should know, then, that after a fight comes a night of...shall we say, reconciliation." "Haha! That is my boy!" Lucinda bellowed. "What do you plan? Oh, in my younger days, we'd go dancing, or to the beach, or to the drive-in. What is it that you kids do nowadays?" "Well, we actually were gonna go see a movie, but Kevin's not really feeling that anymore, so I was thinking that maybe we could spend some time...in your guest house?" "Oh," Lucinda said. "Well, of course, you're always welcomed to the guest house. You didn't even have to ask me about that." "Oh, I know, but I when I say 'spend some time'...I kinda mean the whole night." "The whole night?" Lucinda asked, not completely understanding Luke's motives for a second. Luke, on the other hand, had his eyebrows arched up in a position that suggested something risque. He hoped Lucinda would get the hint without him having to actually tell her. She was a cool grandmother, but she was still a grandmother. "Oh! Oh! The whole night," Lucinda suddenly exclaimed. "I do believe I understand where you are going with this." "Mhm," Luke nodded. "I just wanted to make sure it'd be...you know, all right with you." "Sweetheart, of course it is. I mean, you're both level-headed young men...you both have good sense, I think, despite the whole alcohol thing." "There won't be any alcohol, I promise, I swear on my life. The most intoxicating thing we'll have is Crystal Light." Lucinda laughed. "Good. And, well, neither one of you can get pregnant, so I don't see the harm." "Right! Right! That's a very important point. I should tell that one to Mom." "Your mother, your mother...have you told her about your plans for this evening?" Luke shook his head. "We both know how she'd react." "I'm afraid you're right. But to come to her own defense, I have to say that she did seem to be preparing to fully accept your relationship earlier today when we saw Kevin at the Lakeview." "The two of you saw Kevin at the Lakeview? When was this?" "Earlier today. I assume he was there with his mother." It all became clear to Luke now. The reason why Kevin decided to knix the movie was not because he was sick but because he had to endure a meal with his mother. Luke could only imagine how that had turned out. "Okay," he said to Lucinda. "So it's all set?" Lucinda thought for a second. "Sure. Why the hell not?" "Great! Thank you, Grandma. You are helping out in more ways than you can imagine," Luke said as he got up and started for the door. Lucinda started to walk behind him. "I hope it makes up for whatever confusion I caused the two of you last night." "It does. Believe me, it does!" Luke said in parting. He gave her hug and then went on his way. Lucinda felt good about herself then. She felt as if she was important in his life, as if she actually meant something to him. It felt good to be a significant figure in her grandson's life. It made her feel young and lively again, not to say that she had ever felt old and homely. This just released her and kept her on her toes. Settling back down behind her desk, hot off the heels of the warm family visit, Lucinda could feel her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. "Ugh!" she groaned out loud. "Can a lady savor just one special moment in a day, without business affairs bombarding her?" She took the phone out of her pocket and read the tiny screen. "Oh-ho!" she sighed out. "Business, the daughter, business, the daughter, business, the daughter! They're both work!" "Why did it take you so long to answer?" Lily asked when Lucinda finally put the phone to ear. "I was very busy working, dear, working to keep this company afloat. You're lucky I even answered at all! Now what is troubling you so much that you had to call me only an hour after we last talked?" "Mother, I hope you are happy because I just got the proof I needed, the proof that screams why Kevin is all wrong for my son!" Lily's voice sounded highly upset. "Dear, what are you blabbering about?" Lucinda asked loudly, roughly sliding her free hand through her hair. Her fingernail caught one of the hairs, and she gently pulled it out, examining it because that was truly a more exciting experience than whatever it was Lily was going on about. Lucinda smiled at the thought, however, even though she knew it was wrong to think such a way of her daughter. "I just saw your best bud, Kevin, over here at the Oakdale Leaf Mall. And would you like to take a stab at what I saw him doing?" "Trying on the newest Barbara Ryan original? Because, darling, that would truly make me turn against him..." "Will you get serious, Mother?! I saw him with...with some girl! Some girl that I didn't even recognize. I have no idea where she came from, who she was, or anything like that! And get this, this is the best part. Not only was he with this girl, but they hugged, they kissed, and I think I even saw some phone number exchanging going on." Lucinda at long last placed her full attention on Lily. "Oh, really? And what makes you so sure that it had to be what you are thinking? Surely you could have been mistaken." "Mother, I know what it looks like when two people are...involved with each other. Now, we have to tell Luke before that Kevin has anymore of a chance to...to brainwash him! That's exactly what he is doing! He is brainwashing my son and I swear I will not let him get away with it!" Lucinda heaved a big sigh, carelessly shifting her eyes around the room. All of those good feelings she had? Gone. That special moment she felt she had had with Luke? No longer existing. Of course Lily was overreacting...or was she? And that's what worried her. "Look, just make sure you know what you're doing before you tell Luke anything." "I saw it as plain as day, Mother. As plain as day! Luke is going to thank me when I tell him. You told me to start handling these kinds of situations better, didn't you? You told me to take action! Well that's what I'm doing now. I'm taking action and you should be proud of me!" Lucinda could feel that Lily felt very passionate about this. Damn, that girl loved her kids more than anything else in the world. Even when she was bound to make a gigantic mistake, she was so determined to do it because she felt it would be right. It was true, Lucinda decided. Learning did not stop at a particular age, especially learning from your mistakes. Lucinda didn't know for sure, but as sure as she knew her own daughter, she knew that Lily was on her way to making a mistake that could truly put a major dent in her relationship with her son. ~~~~~~~~~ Sheryl Davis slowly opened the door of the bathroom in her niece Nora's apartment. With her head firmly back, her eyes closed, and her arms stiffly pointed diagonally from her body, she walked through the door. As she pulled it close behind her, she paused for a moment, to lean on the door for support. She let out a sigh of internal pain. What had she let her life become? What was she doing? Why? Was this new way of living any better than her old way of living, as the victim of her husband's mental conflict? The front door opened and Sheryl immediately fell out of her trance, yet she was still a bit jittery. She looked around for an instant before deciding to just face Nora and Kevin, which, indeed, was the last thing she really wanted to do. She walked down the short hallway that ran from the living room, straight through the kitchen, and ended with the door to Nora's room, with the guest bedroom door on one side and the bathroom door on the other. "I still don't see what makes you sure that Major's is going to be having a sale anytime soon," Kevin said, a continuation of whatever he and Nora had been talking about before they entered the apartment. Neither one had any bags, but they both sank down into the sofa as if they'd be working out all day. "Trust me, Kevin, trust me. If there's anything I know, it's my sales. I never miss a good sale," Nora said. She smiled at Kevin before turning her head and noticing Sheryl coming through the kitchen. Nora looked back at Kevin, to see his reaction. "The two of you went shopping," Sheryl observed in a shaky voice. "Did you buy anything for me?" she asked, putting on a grin. She looked such a mess now, very different from the way she was at breakfast. Her skin was pale, her hair was uneven, and her lips were chapped. "How was your nap?" Nora asked, as if Sheryl taking a nap was a big secret that she had just found out. "Nap? I didn't take a nap. I came home, watched a little television, and that's it," Sheryl replied. "I'm too up to take a nap right now. I have energy in me and it wouldn't dare let me go to sleep." Kevin and Nora both felt something weird in the way Sheryl talked. Was she not remembering what had happened just a few hours earlier? She had no simple words of apology for either one of them? Kevin felt that she owed him one, but his experience with her, as far as her leaving him with his father, told him not to expect anything. "I'm going out with Luke tonight. I'm gonna go take a shower," he dryly said to Nora, facing only her. "Kay," she said in reply. Kevin rose up from his seat and walked past mother to the bathroom. "You just let him go out for the night like that?" Sheryl asked Nora. Nora ignored her question, rose from her own seat, and walked to the counter that Sheryl stood behind. "What...in the hell...is wrong with you?" Sheryl laughed. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? What's wrong with anybody these days?" "Okay, you're way too young to be hitting menopause, so..." "What? Menopause? Nora, stop it!" Sheryl exclaimed, still laughing. "Just a few hours ago you were begging, pleading for Kevin to leave town with you, but now you seem like you couldn't care less. What gives? What changed?" Sheryl carefully backed up into the kitchen, sitting down on the tabletop. "You know, that's something I wanted to talk to you about. I could have used your help back there." "My help? Wait, you thought I was gonna help you tag-team up on your son, guilt-trip him? Have you lost your mind?" Nora swiftly marched around the counter and into the kitchen, hands firmly on hips. She was ready to kindly hand her dear aunt her ass. "Why are you so hell-bent on trying to ruin this for me?! What did I ever do to you?!" Sheryl asked. Nora couldn't believe this! What was this woman talking about? Why was she acting so strange? This was not her Aunt Sheryl. Absolutely not. Nora could only look at her, up and down, wondering who she was. Who was she?! This woman with the ragged hair and dirty face. Who could she be? "Why, Aunt Sheryl," Nora calmly began, closing her eyes, "is it so important that Kevin go to Chicago with you?!" She opened her eyes and raised her voice as the question went on. "Just answer it. That's all you have to do." "Because!" Sheryl responded to Nora's toughness. "Because he just needs to! I need to have somebody with me!" Sheryl was now crying, her face becoming a mecca for tears. Nora immediately lost her edge and knealt down beside her. She automatically connected Sheryl's weeping to Sean's passing. "I'm sorry," Nora said as she put her arms around a bawling Sheryl. "I'm so sorry, I forgot. I forgot. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's okay now." As Nora tried to calm her down, Sheryl could feel herself slipping back into form, back into who she was. She became herself again. She pulled away from Nora and looked around the room. "Do you want something to drink?" Nora asked her. Sheryl looked down at her. "Nora," she said, not answering the question. "Nora, we have to talk." "Okay. We can talk. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about." Sheryl could feel another tear coming down her face as she stared directly into Nora's eyes. "Nora...you have to promise...you can't tell Kevin. You can't..." "I won't! I promise. Now what is it?" "I....I.....I can't bring myself to say it....Nora....." "Come on, you can say it. Just take your time." "I need help, Nora," Sheryl said, her voice barely there as she whispered. "I need help." "Help from what?!" Nora exclaimed, trying her hardest to stay patient. "Nora...I...I...there is no Dr. Alex Steele...he does not exist. I don't have a job...and I live in an abandoned warehouse...and I...I am a prostitute." Her voice cracked on the word. She was now crying again and her thoughts had to come through that. "I'm a prostitute," she repeated. Nora's eyes grew wider than she could have ever imagined. She did not hear what she just heard. No, she did not. It was not true! Not true at all! No way in the world would her aunt ever think of doing anything like that! "I'm so sorry, Nora," Sheryl continued. "But now...but now you understand, don't you? You can now understand why I need Kevin to come back with me. I need my son more than anything right now." Nora remained speachless. The path between their eyes was filled with confusion, confession, hurt, betrayal, regret...and every other emotion in the book. Nora gathered her thoughts, as broken as they were, to form one final reply. "Okay." TO BE CONTINUED...

Wow, that's really BIG stuff. The Carly/Jack story with Sage would have been so great! I could only imagine how amazing it would be if it played out on TV. Same thing with the Nancy stuff, the conclusion of the Emma/Lisa stuff (though, with Lisa, I doubt that would have been the real conclusion lol), and the Susan/Neil stuff. You SO should not have quit writing!

Wow, that was great! I'm really looking forward to this, Matt. I think you'll be giving us some good stuff.

The story continues... AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" - Part 19 The sounds of teenagers laughing, along with the sent of various summertime food items, filled the patio of the Oakdale Country Club. There were nerds, jocks, band geeks, and cheerleaders, even some of the emo crowd. Most of them were members of Oakdale Latin High School's class of 2007, and all of them were slowly counting down the days until they could strut around school as seniors. One of them, Luke Snyder, aired out his frustrations about senior year by immersing his body into the cold water of the country club's pool. The frigidness gently tickled him as he backstroked a few laps, but he liked it that way. That slight mixture of the warm sun beating down on him and the cool water freezing him was the perfect combination of all of what summer had to offer. To Luke, summer was hope, it was carefree, and most of all, it was free. Just like how he felt when he'd swim in the country club pool. Free. He rose from the water, revealing a pair of red and yellow swimming shorts, and toweled off. From across the way, he could hear some of the girls talking about him. "I think I'd like to have a piece of that," a girl who was new to the area said to another. "Who is he?" The new girl motioned for her friend to look at Luke. Her friend couldn't help but snicker. "That, my cousin, is Luke Snyder. He's not interested in you." "And what makes you say that?" asked the new Oakdale resident. "I'm not ugly." "You are also not a guy, which means that you are not his type." "No way." "Yes. Way." Luke rolled his eyes as he heard them speak, but he decided to be mean just for a little bit. He went to where his things were and picked up his cell phone. I have a boyfriend, he thought, but they don't. What would be wrong with flaunting that, if only to prove to this new girl that I am, indeed, gay? Nothing at all. He clicked on Kevin's name in his phone and, as he waited for the line to connect, he turned to face the girls who spoke of him behind his back. They were obviously staring at him. It was evident in the way they quickly looked down when he turned around. Nevertheless, Luke continued to try to make them feel played. "Kevin," he greeted in a smooth, bright voice. "How's my favorite guy?" The new girl's eyes widened as her cousin nodded her head. They walked away. Luke laughed, confusing Kevin. "What's so funny?" he asked. "Oh, don't worry about it. Just taking care of some business. Nothing important. How have you been?" Kevin was in Nora's car as they drove to the mall. Nora had made a wise decision in driving herself to the Lakeview. She knew for certain that after the breakfast would end, there would be a separation necessary between mother and son. They left Sheryl at the hotel and went ahead to the mall. "...Fine," Kevin unsurely answered. "It's...it's just one of those days. One of those days." "Oh, really?" Luke responded. He sat in the shade of a table covered by an umbrella and leaned back, making himself more comfortable. "And just exactly what kind of day is today?" Kevin could sense that Luke was in a good place, and he sure didn't want to be the downer in his day. "It's...it's nothing, don't worry about it," he said. "So what are you up to?" "Nothing much at all, just soaking up some sun and fun down at the country club. What about you?" "Oh, well me and Nora are headed to the mall to do some random shopping, I guess." "We're still on for the movie tonight, right?" Kevin felt indifferent towards that. He figured he'd just go on home after the mall and mope around the apartment until he fell asleep, totally forgetting about his and Luke's previously scheduled plans. He wanted to say yes, the plans were still on and he was still ready, but he just couldn't. "Um...sure, I guess...but I think I'm feeling a little under the weather..." "Under the weather? Like sick? Kevin, if you're sick that's definitely much higher on my little personal hierarchy than going to see 'The Rosehill Slasher.' We'll do it another time." Kevin suddenly felt guilty about lying to Luke. "No, we'll go, we'll go. I'll be okay." "You know what? I have an idea. How about we just get together at Grandma Lucinda's. We can have dinner, watch some TV, listen to some music, that kind of stuff. What do you think?" That would be a better idea, Kevin thought to himself. He could already imagine how comfortable it could be. Some nice, romantic music playing in the background while he and the boy he loved were sprawled out on the floor, just talking together. "Yeah, that sounds good," he said. "I'll see you then." "See you," Luke replied. He smiled as he closed his phone. He sure felt lucky. That new girl and her cousin were obviously lonely individuals with no love to share. Not Luke, though. He had himself a guy to dote on and it felt good. He started to gather his things together just as Jimmy Warner came out of the country club building. Upon seeing him, Luke sped up his pace just a little bit. One run-in with that guy was enough for him in just one day. For a second, Luke felt that it was kind of stalkerish. Major coincidence? Totally. But just what were the odds of Jimmy showing up at Java while Luke was there and now him showing up at the country club...while Luke was there. It made Luke just a bit scared. Did this kid follow him around town all day long or something? Luke sure didn't want to find out why Jimmy was there, so the quicker he could get his things together and get himself out of there, the better. But it did not turn out that way. "Luke," Jimmy began when he saw him standing there. Luke, head down and all possessions on him, tried to move out of Jimmy's way, but the bully stopped him by grabbing his arm. Luke's natural reflexes made him look up, which was the last thing he wanted to do. He once learned in driver's ed that if you're sharing the road with an aggressive driver, it's best to avoid eye contact. For now, the paved pathway to the patio door served as a road, and Jimmy was the aggressive driver. "Look, I'm moving out of your way, okay? Can you please let me go? Besides, we've already had our round for today," Luke snapped at Jimmy. Jimmy briefly closed his eyes and he shooked his head in disapproval of himself. "All I just wanted to say was...well, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry for...you know, messing with you and Will at Java this morning. I didn't realize that it was way too early for that childish stuff." A bewildered Luke was able to stand on his own once Jimmy released his grip on him. He didn't walk away, though. What Jimmy was saying was too strange to walk away on. "Whatever, Jimmy. Can you just save the stupidity for another day? Please?" "I'm being serious, Luke, I'm serious!" Jimmy smiled at him to show that he wasn't a threat to him. "I mean...I don't know...me and my girlfriend, we got into a fight after all of that because she happened to be sitting in the corner at Java and saw it all. What can I say? She knocked me down a couple of pegs." "And now she's forcing you to apologize. Well, you can tell her that my forgiveness is just as real as your apology." Jimmy laughed. "There's no getting through to you is there?" "What do you expect? For every moment of the last year or so until now, any encounter between the two of us usually ended with me storming away as fast I can. Except for that other time, you know, when my pregnant mother had to get in the middle of it. Tell your little G.F. that I apologized if it means you leaving me the hell alone. I don't care." And with that, Luke left the country club. Jimmy turned to go after him but decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do now was make him mad. He felt that it was now time to finally make the changes that he'd been thinking about for a long time. ~~~~~~~~~ Nora and Kevin walked through the entrance under a large sign that read "Oakdale Leaf Mall." What a weird title, people had always thought. Oakdale Leaf...it made some kind of sense, if you thought about oak trees and the leaves that grew on them. But it seemed foreign for the name of a shopping center. A golf course, maybe. A retirement home, definitely. But a mall? No. The cousins, without words, both headed down to one of the most popular clothing department stores, Major's. It's stock was a blend of trendy and sophisticated, with something for everyone. The elderly lady could find the perfect outfit for the Sunday service. A athlete could find the perfect sneakers for his work-out. Teenagers shopped there, but so did their parents. Kevin wasn't as keen on clothes and fashion as his cousin was. It was one of the many gay stereotypes that he did not fit. He liked clothes, and he had some preferences, but as long as it was something comfortable and in a color he liked, he had nothing against it. "You would really waste your money on this ugly thing?" Nora asked in disgust as she yanked a green and blue shirt out of Kevin's hands. They'd been in Major's for a good ten minutes and had spent most of that time apart. "All I said is that it looks nice," Kevin responded defensively. "And besides...I already bought one just like it a couple of weeks back." "Well, if you're going to be stay with me long-term, you're going to have to acquire a better fashion sense," Nora smirked. Kevin smiled in shock. "This is coming from the woman who sleeps in flannel PJs with little barnyard animals on 'em!" "Oh, really?! I'd appreciate it if you did not make fun of my sleepwear." "Oh, sleepwear? That's what we're calling it now? Whatever you say, sweetheart, whatever you say," Kevin joked. "Maybe you can graduate up to hearts or something one of these days." "Haha, cousin, haha." As Kevin put his green and blue shirt back on its rack, he took note of Nora's empty arms. "We've been here for, what, ten minutes and you haven't found anything that you like? Are your standards that immensely high?" "Actually, I found several things. All I can do is hope that they're all still here when I come back on Saturday," Nora said as they started to exit the store. "Why Saturday?" "Cousin, you know nothing about shopping do you? That's the day of the weekly one-day only sale!" Nora exclaimed matter-of-factly. "Weekly...one-day only...I'm sure that if you add it all together, it cancels out fine. Whatever." They were now out of Major's and in the barren space in front of it, the space that was decorated with several potted plants, a car, and a few benches. "Yea, I think I drank just a little bit too much at the Lakeview. I have to go to the ladies' room," Nora said. "Okay, I'll just be around. I have my cell, so just call me when you're ready to leave or whatever." "Got ya," Nora said in parting as she went one way and Kevin went the other. He aimlessly strolled down the main corridor of the mall, looking through the windows of the stores he passed. He had passed by a shoe store, a women's boutique, and a small electronics store before seeing a face that he thought he'd never see again. The face was smooth, free of acne and the other plagues that teenagers endured. The hair was long, silky, and the darkest brown he ever did see. The body was still the same: perfect in all of the right places, shaped in a way that would make all of Kevin's contemporaries sigh. But it still did not have that affect on him, nearly a year and a half later. She was his ex-girlfriend, Stacey Matheson, and for about eleven months, she was his world, or so she thought. They were a couple when they were freshmen and sophomores at Oakdale Latin, but Kevin felt so trapped in the relationship. Stacey was one of the school's most atheltic girls, participating in volleyball and track, while also maintaining a high GPA in gifted and talented classes. She wasn't stuck up like many of her acquaintances were, but she was independent and she knew that she deserved only the best. Being as attractive as she was, she didn't have to do much to get a boyfriend. Honestly, Kevin never did see why so many guys thought she was so attractive. She was gorgeous, he couldn't deny that. Her body was indeed nice to look at, but he never did feel that way about her. He loved her, but as a friend, and she kept expecting more out of him, more of something he couldn't give her. After those eleven months, they broke up. Stacey and her family moved to Bay City about a month after that and thus the end of their relationship and friendship was cemented. But there she was, back in Oakdale, standing in line at an ice cream parlor in the mall. Kevin's feelings about seeing her were mixed. It would be interesting to see where her life's been going the last year and to find out why she moved back, but what if she resented him for breaking up with her? Surely, however, when she moved to Bay City, the boys there were just as spellbound by her beauty as they were in Oakdale. She must have rebounded quickly. And so, Kevin's curiousity about Stacey and a sudden craving for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream won him over and he soon found himself two spots behind Stacey in the line. He secretly begged inside for her to notice him, but it looked like it wasn't meant to be as she took her cone of rocky road and started to walk away. In a freakish turn of events, though, she didn't see a sign that read "WET FLOOR" and slightly slipped. She didn't fall, she was barely embarrassed, but she loosened her grip just enough for her cone to fall right onto the floor. Kevin jumped on the chance to help her out. He hopped out of line and started to help her pick the cone up. "Thank you very much, but I think I can handle it," Stacey said before she could look up and see who her knight in shining armor was. "No, I want to help," Kevin persisted. Stacey smiled, looked up, and then the shock came across her face. "Kevin!? Oh my God, Kevin?!" she exclaimed. "Stacey?" Kevin asked in pretense. "Yeah! It's me!" she answered, clearly excited to see him and not resentful at all. "How have you been?" "I've been fine, just fine," he said as they both stood back up. "What are you doing back in town? I thought you all moved to Bay City." "We did, but Daddy wanted to come back home, so we found a nice house for a good price and jumped on it," Stacey graciously explained. "So you'll be going to Oakdale Latin when school starts back up?" "Yeah," she nodded. The stood in a smile-filled silence for a while before Kevin thought of the admirable thing to do. "Hey, let me replace that cone for you." "Oh, no, you don't have to do that. I shouldn't be eating ice cream anyway, if I want to keep up my figure." "Aw, come on, one little ice cream cone isn't going to hurt." "All right." They stood back in line and, this time, got their ice cream without any trouble. They sat on one of the benches in front of Major's and continued to catch each other up on the other's life. "I was going to try out for the football team, but I decided not to. It just wasn't my thing," Kevin told her. "Your heart belongs to baseball," she reminded him. "I bet you thought I forgot that." Indeed, he was somewhat surprised that she remembered that detail about him. "Yeah, I kinda am. I bet you thought I forgot about your little poetry books." "My poetry books are not little, Kevin Davis!" Stacey said, smiling. "I'll be a very well-known poet one day, just you wait and see." Kevin leaned back on the bench and, to his own surprise, put his arm on the bench behind Stacey. It was completely force of habit. He couldn't think of what it would be like not to at least touch her as they sat next to each other. "So, what's been going on in your world for the last year and a half?" "Hmm," Stacey began. "My GPA's finally getting up there again. Last time I was at Oakdale, I had a 3.677, but now I have a 3.792, so I definitely won't be valedictorian, but I can be good old salutatorian." "With my 2.9, I'll be lucky if they even give me a diploma." "Aw, you're not stupid, Kevin." "Wow, thank you, Stacey, considering I never even said the word 'stupid.'" "Well, you know what I meant!" The laughter died down a little as Stacey kept sneaking peeks at him eating his ice cream. From the second she recognized him when they were on the floor, she could see that it was still there. The reason why she devoted her life to him for those eleven months and the reason why she cried her eyes out almost every night for the week before she moved away...it was still there! Could she...would she...should she try to get back with him? She didn't even know if he was taken or not. Nevertheless, it was time to turn on the subtle flirting. "So, I hope you haven't been lonely lately," she asked, emphasizing the word lonely, hoping that Kevin would pick up the hint. He picked up a hint, all right, but not the one she intended. Lonely, Kevin thought to himself. Lonely? Is she trying to say that she's been lonely? She seemed so pleasant that he put away all thoughts of her being resentful, but now he thought that maybe he judged too soon. He knew he was on thin ice with a person that he felt he could confide in about some of his problems, so he tried to make up for it. "Lonely? Me? No, no...not really. I know you haven't been." Stacey was a bit taken aback. "What is that supposed to mean?" "Well...um," Kevin stumbled, "I just assume that a girl has hot as you has some lucky guy wrapped around your little finger." Stacey laughed. "Well, that used to be you, remember?" "Yeah, it sure was," Kevin said, happy that she laughed. If she laughed, that meant she didn't hate him. "You say you haven't been lonely. Who's been making sure you stay that way?" Stacey carefully mused. She didn't want to make it too obvious. "Well," Kevin began, instantly turning his head and focusing on something else, like the pre-teen girls who were walking into Major's. He remember he once told Luke that he didn't care who knew about his sexuality anymore. He did not care, and if people were going to start finding out, by the time school opened again, everyone would know. He felt that it would be best if he was the one who told Stacey, so he sucked up all of his fear and just let it go. He took a deep breath, turned to face Stacey again, and blurted it out. "Me and Luke have been together for a little while now." Stacey laughed out loud. "Oh, really now?" Kevin tried to laugh too, to make the pressure lighten, but he wanted to go through with it. "I'm serious, me and Luke...we've been together for a while..." Stacey's laughter went away. "No...way. You...you have to be kidding. If you and Luke...that would make you...Kevin, you're gay?" "Yeah, I guess that would make me gay..." Kevin could see the surprise in Stacey's body. "Wow...that's...that's something I never would have expected. But...wow, wait a minute, were you gay when you were with me?" "Welll...I guess you can say that," Kevin slowly stated, but he didn't want to make her feel bad. "But, please, know that it wasn't you. You didn't have anything to do with it, Stacey. It's all me." "Is that why you broke up with me?" Stacey asked quickly. She could sense that Kevin was growing a bit uncomfortable, so she felt it was her duty to ease the situation for him. "You can be honest with me, Kevin, I'm not going to say anything." "I...I broke up with you because we didn't...no, not you, me, I didn't...I didn't want to mess anything up. I didn't want to lead you on for so long because I didn't know when I'd ever get...get the, you know, the courage to do what I had to do. The courage to come out." "Okay," Stacey said seriously, pausing for a moment. She slowly turned her head away before repeating herself. "Okay, okay. It's all good. I wouldn't want you to be unhappy just to make me happy, Kevin." "Thank you," Kevin said. "That means a lot to me." Stacey took his hand and smiled. "We need to get together again real soon, me, you, and Luke. It's been forever since I've seen him too, so I guess the three of us need some catching up to do." "You won't...you won't feel weird about it?" "Oh please, of course not. I think you forget that my brother came out three years ago. I stuck by him and now I'll stick by you," Stacey reminded me. "Oh, that's right! I forgot that Ryan was gay!" "Exactly! And his world is still turning and yours will too," Stacey said. "Now, I better get back to work before you get me fired. See you later." She hopped up and started to walk towards Major's, but Kevin called after her. "Hey, what's your number?" he asked. "I'd like to call you some time." He took out his phone so that he could put Stacey's number in, but she took it from him and put it in herself. "I hope that's a promise," she said, before taking him into a hug. "See you later, hot stuff." Kevin watched as she walked away and knew that he was lucky. Not because he had once had Stacey Matheson as a girlfriend, but because he had once had Stacey Matheson as a friend. Hopefully, they could get closer again, this time without a pesky romantic relationship in the way. He walked away from the area they were in, just in time for someone to appear from behind a rack that flanked the opening to Major's. It was Lily, and she had just witnessed Kevin and Stacey's number-swapping, not to mention the kiss. TO BE CONTINUED...

And here it is, the start of a regular schedule for this little blog! Like already said in the announcement below, one new part, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No more long, unnecessary breaks! If you got lost along the way somewhere, I urge you to get back into the story NOW! AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" - Part 18 Luke sat at his usual table at Java, thinking not about how tortured his life seemed to be, but about how lucky he was, despite the various obstacles he was forced to encounter day in and day out. Reconciling with Kevin after their small argument was a good idea, he decided. It cleared his mind and he was now able to do some much-needed writing. His favorite hobby lately was sitting down at his computer and compiling all of the stories, all of the history of the two branches of his family. He knew that between the whole lot of them, the Snyders and the Walshes had the makings of a real best-seller. He felt it was up to him to get it out there. And now, he thought to himself, he and Kevin were adding their own chapter to the already overflowing story. He had just finished typing up all of his notes on how both his grandmothers, Lucinda and Emma, were once involved with debonair doctor John Dixon when he decided to get a refill of espresso. Luke was pleasantly surprised when he got up and saw Will Munson walk through the door. "Hey, man, what's up?" Will greeted. "Nothing much, just hanging here keeping my days busy," Luke replied. "Wishing I could go a year into the future and be through with high school." "Ah yea," Will said. "I remember the feeling. Luckily for me, I was able to get my diploma this summer and I'm pretty much college-bound now." "That's great!" Luke congratulated. "Sit down, join me. What'll you have?" "Uh, just some coffee would be fine." Will sat down at Luke's table and started to read what was written on the computer screen. Luke returned with their beverages and smiled when he noticed Will's immense attraction to what he read. "You liking what you see?" "Yeah, this is...some really screwed up stuff here. Did you make it up yourself?" Will asked, as he backed up in his chair. "I didn't mean to just start reading your personal stuff like that, but it was just sitting here, and..." "Oh, don't worry about that. It's nothing personal at all. As a matter of fact, I didn't have to make it up. You know the old saying? Truth is stranger than fiction? Well that's especially true here in Oakdale." "No way." "Yes, way. Clarice...that's my grandma Lucinda. Jessie, that's my grandma Emma. They both had the same man, Dr. John Dixon, for a little while just a couple of years before I was born. See all the fun we missed?" Will reclined in his seat while Luke closed down the laptop. "Well I think our generation is helping to contribute to the 'fun.' Don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but..." "I don't know. It's good because it makes me feel strong enough to go through just half of the stuff my parents and their parents went through. But it's bad because sometimes you wish things didn't have to be a certain way." "Somehow I get the feeling you're talking about how things have been going with you. So...how have things been going with you? You still with Kevin?" "Uh...yea," Luke said, nodding. "We're still together, but it hasn't been nowhere near as long as you and Gwen or anything like that. Just a couple of weeks." "Well, don't act as if it's nothing. If he's the person who makes you happy, what the two of you have should be considered special." Luke grinned. "I know, but - " "But what? You said that you wish some things didn't have to be a certain way...what did you mean by that?" "Very pushy today, aren't we, Will Munson?" Luke asked. "Oh...I'm sorry about that." "Don't be. I think I need some advice from a contemporary who isn't Kevin." "Well, I'm all yours." Luke looked at him and gave him a facial expression that told him that the story would be long and complicated. "So, I don't know if you've heard about it or anything, but Kevin's father passed away last week. You see, and I swear I'm not making it up, Mr. Davis lost his job and couldn't pay any of the bills. He was already an alcoholic, so all of this just made him drink more and more. Well, one day he got the bright idea to set his own house on fire, you know, to collect the insurance. Well, unfortunately for him, he couldn't get out of the fire in enough time. He died." "Wow...I'm sorry to hear that," Will said sincerely. "That's awful." "I know, it is, and I just wanted to be there for Kevin throughout all of this. Even in the back of my mind, I was seeing this as something that would bring us closer together and really give us something to...I don't know...conquer together. Kinda like how you and Gwen, with the baby, and..." "Yeah," Will said. "So I was just going to be there for him. Whatever he needed, I was going to help him out with. The last thing I wanted was for him to start drinking again just to get over it, but it turned out that that was te least of what could go wrong. His mother came back to town a few days and, well, since I don't want to waste any more of your time, I'll just cut to the chase. She wants Kevin to go back to Chicago with her, but he doesn't want to." Will sat silent for a moment. "I don't get it...what's so bad about him going to Chicago for the rest of the summer?" "No, no, not just the rest of the summer. For as long as he's 17, she wants custody of him, and she's obviously doing this because she doesn't like the fact that her son is gay." "Well, do you know that for sure?" "Do I know it for sure? Isn't it obvious, though? Why else would she be so hell-bent on making Kevin leave the only place he's called home?" Luke tried to make Will see things the way he saw them, but Will was different. He wasn't going to just accuse Mrs. Davis of being against Luke and Kevin's relationship. Just from listening to the story, an instinct inside him developed and told him that maybe there were other reasons. "Well...maybe...maybe that's just the thing. I don't know anything about her, but I'm sure that whenever she moved to Chicago, she had to leave everything she ever knew back here. Now she has the chance to take a piece of that back with her." "But Kevin shouldn't be treated like her security blanket! I mean, this isn't the best time for her to be playing mind games with him." "Look, Luke, if there's anything I've learned in my lifetime, is that mothers aren't as strong as they always want you to believe. Sometimes they need comfort more than you do and just like they make sacrifices for you, sometimes you have to make sacrifices for them." Luke finally heard Will. He could finally get what he was trying to say. Suddenly he was thankful to have a friend like him. He was definitely someone who could offer a fresh opinion we needed. "Maybe you're right," Luke let out, feeling a sense of defeat. "But something tells me that everything isn't so easy to believe." "Nobody ever said that they were," Will replied. "It was great talking to you, Luke, but Casey's expecting me at Crash. He wants me to help him with inventory." "Oh lord, have fun..." "Oh, I'll try. It can't be too hard to teach Casey how to count. See you later." Will rose from his chair. "Bye, Will," Luke said. "And thanks, thanks a lot for your advice." "No problem," he said. And just as he turned around and started for the door, there stood Luke's worst nightmares. "No problem, Luke, my boyfriend, no problem at all," Jimmy said, imitating Will. "Looks like we found the next big couple," he said to his friends. "I always knew there was something up with you, Will. Not only do you kill people, not only do you cheat on final exams, but now you're playing for the pink team. I'm sure your father the cop is just loving this." "Well, well, well," Will said calmly. "If it isn't the kid who started the gonorrhea outbreak at school two years ago. How has that been going?" Jimmy was shocked that Will would bring up such a thing. He desperately searched for a comeback. "Obviously not as good as things are going here for you and your little boyfriend," he said, turning to his friends and giving them a signal to laugh. Will prepared to attack Jimmy again, but Luke stood. "Don't worry about them, Will. I don't think he knows about how you and Gwen are happily married. He also doesn't know about how happy I am with Kevin." He looked at Jimmy. "Kevin, that's my boyfriend," he said. "And if you have a problem with me, that means you have a problem with him, and I'm sure you've seen him fight. You don't want to have a problem with Kevin." Jimmy, for a moment, caught Luke's eye and could see a quality in him that he had never seen before. For the first time ever, he could see that Luke wasn't hurt by his words or actions. Jimmy felt defeated, like he just lost a battle. Without a saying a word, he and his pals went to the counter to order their coffee. "Wow, that went well," Luke sighed to Will. "Thanks for that, really." "Oh please, all you have to do is mention the gonorrhea and the kid's on the verge of tears. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking he was more hurt by your confident little proclamation there." "You really think so?" "Yep. Maybe the idea of you being happy with a person while he's still pleasuring himself threatens him. Who knows? I'll see you later." Luke laughed as he and Will shook hands. Not a minute after Will left, Luke as well. He did not see, however, the way Jimmy looked out trough the Java windows at him. ~~~~~~~~~ "What a pleasant idea," Nora said to Sheryl as they, plus Kevin, sat down to breakfast at the Lakeview. "A really...really pleasant idea, Aunt Sheryl." "You don't have to pretend like you were looking forward to this," Sheryl said. "I know that the timing is just a little bit off, but I figured that it would be nice for us to have a nice family breakfast together." Nora looked over at Kevin, who sat across from her. Sheryl sat at the head of the small table. "Well, I guess you're right. The fact that you're paying made it even easier to say yes." A waiter came and handed out three menus for them all to look at. "Everything sounds so good," Sheryl said. "Western omelet, French toast, bacon, they've really stepped their game up since the last time I was here. What'll you have, Kevin?" Kevin looked at the menu. Since their soul-bearing conversation that morning, Kevin decided to cool down his tattered feelings about his mother. He was able to believe that she was in a bad place right now and that him beating down on her was not going to help anything. No, all she needed now was to know that no matter what, no matter what bad words were said, he still loved her. "The French toast does make my mouth water..." "All right. French toast for you, and Nora?" "Oh, dearie, it's your treat, so I might be a while." "Don't push it, Nora," Sheryl smiled. Nora grinned. "Western omelet would be just fine." The waiter returned to take their orders, leaving them time to talk. Nora could tell that the atmosphere between Sheryl and Kevin was calmer than it had been before, but she still felt a need to break the ice. "So I'm thinking that Jack and I will be heating up pretty soon." "Jack?" Sheryl asked. "Oh, that's right! I never told you about my boyfriend Jack. Jack Snyder, he's a cop. We've been together for a couple of months now and I really think that he is the one." "Jack...Snyder?" Sheryl had to make sure she heard that name right. Her glance caught Kevin's for a second, but they didn't exchange words. "Mhm. Met him one night and he was just getting through with a messy divorce, so we kept talking, and talking, and things started happening. His ex-wife is making things a little difficult, but I don't think she will be much of a problem once I have a little talk with her." Sheryl laughed. "Don't get yourself into any trouble over some man, Nora. You're better than that." "Oh really? Speaking of men...how has your love life been since you moved to Chicago?" Kevin did sort of a double take when Nora asked the question. Surely she realized how it was. Even Sheryl had to stop her train of thought for a moment. Quickly scanning the table, Nora caught on. "Oh, good lord, I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid...I shouldn't have asked that." Sheryl looked up at her, inhaled, and smiled. "No. Don't be sorry. As a matter of fact, I have been seeing someone for a couple of months now. He's a...a really great guy, a doctor. Dr. Alex Steele." "A doctor?! You, my friend, have hit the jackpot!" Nora exclaimed. Sheryl smiled again. She seemed to be on to something here. "Yes, yes I have. And like I said, he's also a wonderful, wonderful guy. He's everything that I could ask for. He...um...works out of his house. I mean, he runs a private practice and the office is on his estate, his family's estate. It's beautiful there." Kevin couldn't stand it anymore. He and his mother had a major breakthrough the night before and he thought that he'd attempt to understand her reasons for wanting him to live with her, but now he was truly confused. She seemed to pretty content describing the magnificant palace where she lived with her precious Dr. Steele. What the hell kind of name was that, anyway? Sounds like a porn star, Kevin thought. Maybe he's hot, he asked himself. "He would have come with me back to Oakdale, but he didn't want to have to cancel any appointments with his patients. That's how caring he is," Sheryl continued, describing her new man. "Um," Kevin began. "If I don't go pee right now, I think my bladder's gonna flood this whole room. I'll be right back," he said. "Okay, sweetheart," his mother replied. Nora simply smirked at him. In the back of her mind, she believed that it was what he deserved. He drank himself half-blind the night before and it served him right to have to run to the bathroom every five minutes all day long. Kevin left his mother and cousin at the table to continue discuss their love lives. On his way to the bathroom, he silently prayed that by the time he returned, the food would be there and the three of them would be too busy eating to talk. Despite what he had hoped after the events of the morning, he just knew that he still was not ready to just talk to his mother. He reviewed the facts in his head. First, she leaves him there to suffer miserably with his father when he was only 13 years old. Now, she wants to yank him out of his life in Oakdale and force him into her new life in Chicago. Was not going to happen, he repeated to himself for the hundredth time that day. He just wanted to get away for a moment now, away from everything. He rounded a corner and immediately ran into a scene he didn't want to be in. Lily and Lucinda sat at their own table, enjoying their own breakfast. Before he could turn and walk away, he realized that it was too late. They had seen him, and unlike himself, they probably weren't going to pretend like it never happened. "Oh, well, look who it is," Lucinda announced. "Kevin," Lily said, with a sense of surprise. "Good morning." "Good morning, Mrs. Snyder, Mrs. Walsh," he said. "It's...it's nice seeing the two of you." "It's nice to see you, too, Mr. Davis. You seem to be in better spirits than you were the last time we spoke," Lucinda said. "I am," he automatically responded, though he wasn't exactly sure how true that was. "I really have to be going to the bathroom, so - " "Oh, by all means go! Go! Don't screw your natural systems up on account of us!" Lucinda replied, with a hearty laugh. "We'll see you later." "Yes, ma'am," Kevin said before walking away. Lily waited for him to be gone beyond hearing before she spoke. "Mother, why did you stop him?" "Why shouldn't I have stopped? He is your son's boyfriend, after all." "Oh, funny funny." "Darling, what is so funny about that? It is the truth, isn't it? Or are you having another one of your little fits?" "I am not having a little fit, Mother. I just don't trust the kid." "Oh, God, here we go with this again. Lily, you seesaw between your feelings about him more than...well, more than you and Holden seesaw in and out of marriage." "Please tell me that you did not just go there." "I did." "Well, I have reasons for not wanting Luke with him! Do I have to remind you that he's the one who got Luke turned on to - " "To drinking, Lily, I know. You need not remind me. Perhaps I should remind you of something, though. As far as I know, Luke hasn't even touched a glass of anything alcoholic for a quite a while. He probably feels guilty drinking ginger ale!" "Well, it's more than the drinking. It's much, much more than the drinking," Lily said, rolling her eyes at the thought. "What do you mean? Is there something else?" Lily hesitated. "Well, I told Holden. I might as well tell you too." "Honey, what is it?" Lucinda asked urgently. "Yesterday, Luke was involved in a little altercation at the library. Some kids were picking on him, it got a little physical, but I was able to handle it." "What?! No. No way! Who are these kids? Do you know their parents?" "Mother, I handled it. It's over and done with already. Why can't you and Holden grasp the fact that I've taken care of the situation for once?" "Because, and I'm not being judgemental here, but you probably did not handle it the way it needed to be handled! Did you call the police?" Lily felt the trap enclose around her. "...no, but I threatened to." "Exactly. And that is why I am concerned. But I do have to ask, what does that have to do with Kevin?" Lily scratched her forehead. "Don't worry about it." "No, tell me. It's something far-fetched, isn't it? It's some little theory that you've concocted in your mind." "If Luke stays with Kevin, that would mean coming out to more people, and coming out to more people would mean...well it would mean more intolerance from more people." Lucinda softened as she extended a hand across the table to meet Lily's. "Sweetheart, you can't protect him from everything. He's bound to come across people who will not exactly approve of who he is inside, but he'll learn soon enough to just live his life without worrying what others think." She took back her hand as her voice firmed up again. "But when things get physical, you have to take action! You have to draw a line somewhere and that's where it should be. If those hoods mess with him again, you'll call me at once and I'll handle it my way." "Fine. Fine, dammit!" Lily found herself exclaiming. Never before had she found the courage deep inside her to stand up to her mother, if only for that brief second. Lily could barely wait for Lucinda's response. "Fiesty, aren't we?" Lucinda remarked rather nonchalantly. "Well, hopefully you'll use that fiestiness the next time those...those neanderthals attack my grandson. I'll be seeing you later, honey, I have business to tend to." Lucinda rose and smothered one of Lily's hands in both of her own. "See you later," she said. "I love you," Lily responded, spontaneously. "I love you, too, darling," Lucinda said before leaving. Lily then felt a rush of excitement flow through her veins. She felt as if she had a good life. Kids she adored, a mother she admired greatly, and a husband who loved her more than she could ever imagine. Lily smiled at the quaint thought, but soon, the smile vanished as Kevin passed by again. Instead of ignoring him, she replayed her mother's words in her mind. She knew deep down that what happened to Luke wasn't Kevin's fault. She wanted to trust Luke with the drinking, but that was a little too hard to do. Was that Kevin's fault or her own? "Kevin," she blurted out. The teenager turned around to face her. "Mrs. Snyder," he replied. "I was... I was just wondering about something. You and Luke are pretty close, right?" she asked. She knew she sounded stupid, but this seemed to be the most comfortable way to get the information she wanted, no matter how uncomfortable it felt. "Uh...yeah," Kevin said with a little laugh. Lily quickly returned the laugh, following his lead. "Well...um...you'd let me know if he was doing something that was damaging to himself, right?" "Absolutely," Kevin eagerly assured her, almost sitting down in Lucinda's old chair. "The last thing I want - the very last thing on earth that I want - is for Luke to hurt himself or anything like that. You have to believe me." Kevin immediately thought that Luke had told her about the wine fiasco at Nora's the night before. "I believe you," Lily said. "Thank you." "You're welcome," Kevin uncomfortably replied. What in the hell just happened here? he asked himself as he walked away from Lily's table. What was that? Lily didn't know the answer herself. She felt as if she had wanted him to say something, but she did not know how to get what it was she was after. For that matter, she wasn't entirely sure of what she wanted to hear him say either. Dazed and confused, she rose from her chair, leaving a tip. ~~~~~~~~~ Kevin sat back down with his cousin and mother, annoyed that his mother was still telling her tales about her new man. Now, however, the food was on the table, so maybe, Kevin thought, there wouldn't be so much talking as there was eating. He thought wrong. Just as Kevin took a sip from his orange juice, Nora opened her big mouth and asked Sheryl about Dr. Alex Steele. "Where does his family come from?" she asked. Sheryl seemed to be lost for a second before she let a smile go across her face. "Well, his parents and his younger brothers and sisters all live in Arkansas. He's been in Chicago for the last fifteen years." Nora was a little confused. "But you said that he lives on his family's estate." "I did? Well, um I meant to say distant family. A great-uncle left it to him as an inheritance, but...his parents, they didn't want to make the move and all of that, so when he decided to go to medical school up here, he just figured it'd be a load off his mind and wallet to live at the estate." "Oh, well that makes sense," Nora said. "Must be pretty lonely, living on a big estate all by yourself. But I guess he doesn't have that to worry about anymore, now that he's got you." "Yep. It's just the two of us," Sheryl replied. She felt a little risky and smiled at Kevin. "But, of course, that'll be changing soon." Kevin looked up when she said that, somewhat unsure of what he heard. She smiled again, because she felt that after the morning, they were on common ground. Nora caught on. "Oh?" she asked, turning to Kevin. "You...you changed your mind?" Sheryl looked Kevin in the eye and half expected him to say "yes." Kevin could feel the pressure burning him. He looked at his mother. She was in much better shape since the morning, so he figured it wouldn't hurt her too much to remind her that he had no plans on following her back to Chicago. No matter how much he had felt for her earlier, he kept it in mind that he couldn't possibly let his mind change. But instead of being frank about it, he decided to take into consideration his mother's feelings, something he hadn't done in a long, long time. "I don't know," Kevin said. "I really don't - " "But he's thinking about it now," Sheryl said to Nora, as if Kevin couldn't speak for himself. "It's only a matter of time before he decides to come back with me." Nora felt the tension at the table more than ever now. As far as she knew, Kevin was deadset against anything having to do with Chicago. Why would Sheryl act as if there was a real chance of him changing his mind? Kevin, on the other hand, was getting aggravated by the minute. One thing he could not, would not stand was somebody else making decisions and speaking for him. At seventeen years old, he felt that he was old enough to talk for himself and old enough to express his own opinions! He was not going to let his mother tell people what he was thinking, especially if it wasn't what he was really thinking. Again, however, he decided to be nice. "Don't be too sure about that," he said, with a smile that he hoped would lighten the situation. But as soon as he said it, he began to scream "Oh crap!" in his mind. He had her believing that he was really thinking about making the move, and he figured that that would be the easiest way to go about things until it was time for her to leave...without him. But now...now new thoughts entered his mind. Now Sheryl's sense of hope for having her son with her started to fade away. Her smile quickly turned into a look of worry. "What do you mean by that?" she asked softly, putting her fork down and looking at Kevin with honest, innocent eyes. "You...you said that you would give it some serious thought, that you'd really think about it. What...what happened?" Kevin tried to look her in the eye, but he just couldn't. His eyes darted between his mother's and the table as he tried to work up something to say. Desperate reaching for something to say, he just started to talk, putting it together as he went along. "I...I did think about it. And I...well, I...I decided that I should just stay here and just...you know, finish out school and thn I can spend some time with you after I graduate." "But why can't you spend some time with me now? There's still a good while left in the summer now. You can always come back for school in August," Sheryl insisted. "And I'm sure Nora would love to have her apartment to herself again..." "Actually," Nora cut in, "I don't mind Kevin staying at my place." At that moment, Kevin was so thankful to have a cousin like Nora. She knew just when to jump to his defense, and he felt he really needed her help now. He found it strange that before, his mother wanted him to live with her in Chicago for good, but now, she only mentioned the summer. She even said that he'd come back in August. Was she going soft just like he had done? Or were there ulterior motives? What if, when August came, Sheryl refused to let him go back to Oakdale. That thought sent him a tad bit over the edge that he had been treading throughout the whole breakfast. Sheryl put on a fake, but warm, smile for her niece. "You're not helping, Nora," she said. She removed the smile and returned her focus to Kevin. With him, she smiled again, but it was a smile of a different breed. The desperation that Kevin had seen in her face earlier that morning returned. Her eyes were wide. "You can come to Chicago for the summer and after a while you can decide how you like it. You just have to give it a chance, Kevin, you just have to. I didn't like it at first either, but I found a way to get used to it. Once you come and you see how everything is, you're going to want to stay." Nora looked at Sheryl. She felt bad for her. But then she looked at Kevin and felt horrible for him. She'd seem him mope around the apartment for the last couple of days and now to see Sheryl trying to unload her own needs onto her son, she was ready to stand up for her favorite cousin. "Well, it looks to me that Kevin's all but made up his mind," she said. "Nora, please, can you just - " Sheryl began, trying to control her voice. "Can you just let Kevin and I talk? Without your little comments, please." "Well, I'm sorry, Aunt Sheryl, but...well, Kevin's told you time and time again that he doesn't want to go, but you keep on prodding and it's making you look really bad. I...well, I kinda hate to say it, but it's making you look desperate." Anger descended upon Sheryl in a way that neither Nora nor Kevin had seen it before. It was a subtle anger, almost unintentional. "Nora, this is between my son and I," she said, forcing another smile to make them believe that she was okay. "I don't meant to be rude to you, really, but you have to give us this moment." The whole time, Kevin just wanted to disappear, yet again. He'd been getting that way a lot, usually around his mother. Whatever the matter, as the two of them went back and forth, Kevin just sank his seat. They were talking about him as they were not in his presence. He quickly, roughly rubbed his hands down his face. "I don't mean to be rude to you, really I don't, but you have to give us this moment," Sheryl said to Nora. "No," Kevin finally let out. "Nora, you stay. I'll leave." Nora watched approvingly as Kevin stood up, but his mother looked at him as if he'd just drove a knife through her heart. "You're just going to leave me in the middle of this conversation?" she asked urgently. "You are not having a conversation with me. You are having a conversation about me with Nora," Kevin said. He took in a deep breath, so deep he had to close his eyes. "Your cousin keeps inviting herself into this discussion. She clearly does not understand that this is a decision between me and you," Sheryl said, shooting a look at Nora. Nora, puzzled, looked at Sheryl with examining eyes. She did not know the woman sitting at the table with her. It sure wasn't her Aunt Sheryl. "What are you talking about?" Kevin asked. And suddenly, he was back to the way he was the day before. "A decision between me and you? If it were a decision between me and you, you'd understand why I need to stay in Oakdale. Why can't you just let me be here? Why is it so important for you to have me there?! And I don't want to hear that crap about me finding out when I get there either! As of now, I have absolutely no reason to go to Chicago! None! If you want me to go, tell me why!" "Tell you...," Sheryl slowly faded, nearly tearing up. "Yes! Tell me! That's all you have to do!" he pleaded with her. "Tell me!" "I...I...I have to go to the bathroom," Sheryl said. "I have to go to bathroom." She repeated it to herself as she got up, taking exceptional care to get her purse off of the ground. As she went away, Nora and Kevin let their eyes meet. Nora grasped for anything to make the mood better. She took a look at her watch and decided on the perfect way to spend the early afternoon. She looked at up and down at Kevin. "You. Me. Oakdale Leaf Mall. Shopping. Now. Sounds good?" Kevin's mouth slowly formed into a smile. "Sounds good." TO BE CONTINUED...

After a month-and-a-half long hiatus, "The Stories" will return with all new installments on Monday, March 19, 2007. New installments will be posted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Stay tuned as the plot thickens in two directions. Sheryl reveals a startling truth about her life in Chicago while Luke finds himself reluctantly drawn to someone else! The story continues exactly one week from today!

You're lucky I'm off today! I actually got to read the episode before the weekend lol! I think the windows in my room just got a little steamy after the Roxie/Chris lovefest. My glasses are a little foggy too... LOL poor Luke playing Wii...and Henry...I feel so much for him. Can't wait until the next episode!

As usual, GREAT episode! LOL at the little plugs in there. I think its hilarious that Ben was watching "The Stories" at night. Must be on a SONBC-SOAPnet type channel LOL! I'm gonna catch up on this week's episodes tomorrow morning. Was busy with MARDI GRAS all this weekend, so I didn't have too much time to devote to blog-reading.

After yet another long break, here is the next part. If I'm losing some of you with these extremely long breaks, don't worry. I've taken some advice and this will be the last part to be randomly posted. Starting with part 18, they'll all be posted on a daily basis, Monday-Friday. I could start it now, but I want to fine-tune some things first. Look forward to Part 20 because a major secret will be revealed! Lots of dialogue in this part! I think I've gotten to a point where the set-up is there and I'm feeling that the words are coming straight from these characters' feelings! I feel like I'm no longer writing this story, but I'm just telling you all about this story. Whatever it is, I'm feeling good about it! AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" - Part 17 At the Snyder Home, Lily poured a cup of coffee. Next to her on the sofa sat Sheryl Davis. The two women had been casual acquaintances for some times, given the fact that their sons were good friends. Lily never really knew why Sheryl and Sean had divorced several years ago, but she knew it had to be something bad. Thinking about the things that made Holden and herself break up sent chills through her at times. Unlike Holden and Lily, however, the Davises would never have a chance to mend their fences. As a matter of fact, Sheryl was just in the middle of describing her new boyfriend to Lily. "He's a doctor, a pediatrician. He's very good with children," Sheryl said, sipping from her mug. "We would be living together now, but he comes from a strong-valued Christian background so he isn't exactly into us staying together now. But soon." Lily had to laugh in the inside. This new boyfriend of Sheryl's was from a strong-valued Christian background? She wondered what he'd think of Sheryl's gay son. "Sounds good. Sounds like you're getting yourself right back on track." "Yep," Sheryl said. "I just...I just feel bad that Sean didn't have the same chance to do that. You know what? He had a chance to do it, he just chose not to." "Well...it's a part of your life that is no longer there. No sense trying to analyze it when you have so much going for you now. So tell me, what's this doctor's name?" Sheryl smiled. "His name is...Doctor...Doctor Alex Steele." Lily laughed. "Well he sounds like a really great guy." "Oh he is." Just then, the front door opened and closed. Luke came into the living room. He looked at Lily, looked at Sheryl, grunted, and started for the stairs. "Um...," Lily said in pllace of an awkward silence. "You'll excuse me while I go see what is wrong with my son." "Sure," Sheryl said. As Lily got up and went to the stairs, Sheryl inhaled and exhaled deeply. She had a feeling that she'd have to run into Luke again. She was indeed at his house. Lily caught her son at the top of the stairs. "Hey you, slow down," she said. "What's your problem? Did you run into those thugs again?" "No," Luke said. "I'm just tired." "Well that doesn't give you the right to be rude to a guest in our home." "A guest in our home, of course." "Luke, I'm not going to tell her about you and Kevin, if that's what you're thinking," Lily said. "You don't have to tell her, Mom, she already knows," Luke said, matter-of-factly. "She already knows." "She definitely doesn't. She hasn't said anything about it." "Because she probably doesn't want to believe it, or at least acknowledge that it exists. She definitely saw us back at Nora's apartment. She didn't say anything about it then." Lily was shocked. "Well, then..." "Look, I'm sorry for being mean and all, but I really just don't feel like talking right now, Mom. It's not you, so don't think that it is. I'm just not in the mood." "Okay...if you get hungry, there's some food in the kitchen. Your Grandma Emma sent over a meatloaf and she made a sweet potato pie." Luke sighed. He couldn't resist that. "That just might cheer me up." Lily smiled. "It's in the kitchen on the table. You better get to it before your dad does." Luke finally smiled. Lily patted him on the back as he went upstairs and then went back downstairs to finish things up with Sheryl. Fortunately, Sheryl had her sweater on and purse on her shoulder by the time Lily returned, so getting rid of her wasn't going to be so hard. "I'm sorry about that," Lily said in regards to Luke. "He's just...it's teenager stuff." "I'm sure it is," Sheryl said. "I have to get going anyway." "Okay, good. I'm thinking this little one's bedtime is coming up soon," Lily laughed, rubbing her stomach. Sheryl let out a small laugh. Lily's little talk about her unborn child kind of made her resentful for reasons she didn't want to explain. "I'm sure I'll see you again before we go back to Chicago." "We?" Lily asked. "You brought...um...Alex with you?" "Oh? Oh! No, no. I'm talking about me and Kevin." "He's going back to Chicago with you?" "Yeah. He's thought about it and we've decided that it's best for the both of us. We need each other right now and who knows, he might like it in Chicago. He might never come back to Oakdale." Little did Sheryl know, Luke stood at the top of the stairs, listening to this conversation. He knew that he couldn't believe a word out of Sheryl's mouth. Kevin wasn't going to go back to Chicago. Sheryl was just wishfully thinking. Or was she? ~~~~~~~~~ Holden Snyder sat on the back porch of his home with a slice of his mother's sweet potato pie. It was the true defintion of comfort food. Problems? He had them. Stress? Lord knows he'd seen his fair share of it. But the comfort, the relaxation that would calm it all...well, that existed all in one piece of Emma's sweet potato pie. It took him back...back to his childhood on the farm, back to when the whole clan would snuggle up on a winter's night and keep each other warm. He could taste the hot cocoa at that moment. "Dad?" Luke asked as he stepped outside from the kitchen. Holden's dream of long ago, of a time where there were no problems, suddenly vanished and he was immediately forced back into the present, where his problems and those of his children were much too big. "Oh, hey, Luke," Holden answered. "When did you get in?" "Uh...a few minutes ago....Dad, can I talk to you about something?" Luke asked reluctantly. "Sure. Sit yourself down and my ears are all yours. Hell, I might even be able to help you out." Luke followed the directions, but he wondered something. "What makes you think I need help with something?" "When a kid wants to talk to his old man, it's usually because he needs help." "Well, I can't say that you aren't right." "What is it then?" Luke breathed in and out. "Well...Kevin and me got into a little...a little tiff tonight, I guess you can say." Holden's forehead wrinkled. "Over what? What happened?" "It was nothing...just something stupid, something silly. We were talking about his father and how grandma fired him from Worldwide and all of that. I just reacted wrongly. And I guess you can factor in all of the stuff with his mom too." "Sheryl? Wasn't she just here not too long ago?" "Yeah, she just left. I wish she'd just leave town altogether." "Why do you say that?" "Well...it's hard to explain. She's come back and all...and she's trying to brainwash Kevin into wanting to go back to Chicago with her. She knows that we're together...she saw us kissing. And right before she found out that we were together, she was telling me about how Kevin's gonna go back to Chicago with her and forget all about Oakdale and all of that. She just told Mom the same thing." "Is Kevin going to go with her?" "I don't know. He doesn't want to, but he really doesn't have a say anymore. His father's dead and he's only 17. He has to go with her unless he can get emancipated and that'd be a waste of time." Holden shifted positions in his chair so that he could lean towards Luke. "When does he make his birthday?" "Four months," Luke said. "But that's...that's just too long for now." "I understand what you mean. But if it's out of your hands and it's out of his hands, I don't know what can be done. Four months seems long, but it could be worse. The both of you could be younger." "I guess you're right. We'll just see what happens in the next couple of days." Holden nodded. Luke nodded. They both nodded. Holden left Luke outside for a few minutes, minutes that Luke spent gazing at the stars. Out here, away from the city lights of Chicago, you could see the stars. Not just one or two, but all of them. Every star in the sky was visible in the rural part of Oakdale. Why would anyone want to leave that behind? ~~~~~~~~~ The next morning, Luke awoke to sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. Just like the stars from the night before, this sunlight was something that couldn't be found anywhere else. Why on Earth did Sheryl think she could make Kevin leave that behind him? And more importantly, Luke thought, why would Kevin leave him behind? It was a little arrogant, sure, but Luke thought himself an attractive guy. He stood up and looked at himself in his full-length mirror. No, he wasn't bad at all. Maybe not the hottest guy around, but a real looker. He reached for his cell and started to dial Kevin's familiar number. To his surprise, there was an answer. "Kevin, you answered," Luke said with surprise in his voice. He decided to give his boy a call, just to apologize for the way he was last night. He felt horrible for beaing that way, knowing that Kevin was still going through a really tough time. "I'm glad you did" Kevin was at Nora's. Nora was out already, but his mother was in the kitchen making a small breakfast. Kevin was sitting on Nora's bed, which he had just made. He talked low so that Sheryl wouldn't hear him. "I'm surprised you're calling me," he said. "You were pretty ticked off last night." "Yeah," Luke said. "Well, I'm sorry for acting like that towards you. I just wasn't feeling good and I just needed to go to sleep or do something. I'm really sorry." "Well it's my fault, so I'll just apologize and let that be the end of it." Kevin smiled. It seemed that things were looking up for the both of them. "So what are you up to this morning?" "Eh, I don't know," Luke said. "It's only 10, so it's too early to go out anywhere. I'll probably stop by Java to do some work for school." "School...which we don't have again for a good little while. Why are you wasting your time?" "I'm not wasting my time! I'm just...I'm enhancing it. I want to be ready for when it is time for school to start back up. Besides, I don't plan to spend my whole day there. I think I'll head over to the country club for a swim later on. What are you gonna spend your day doing?" "You don't even want to know," Kevin began. "Nora...she thinks it'll be great for the three of us to have lunch together at the Lakeview." "Three of you? As in you, Nora, and your mother?" "Yep. Peachy, right? Same thing I thought." "I was hoping we coud have done something together today. Lord knows if we'll ever have a chance at it again with your mother trying to kidnap you," Luke said. Kevin laughed. It was good to make light of this, he thought. "I think I might be able to, you know, sneak out through the window and catch a movie with you. I'm hearing that new slasher flick is pretty cool." "Oh, I've already seen it already. You mean the one about the teens who get offed by some mysterious slasher? And everyone thinks it's this one girl, because the first victim stole her boyfriend? And then it turns out that the slasher is really the girl's sister because the girl - " "Yes, that one. Please continue the ruin the ending for me, I won't hold it against you." "Sorry," Luke said. "We can see it tonight. If the warden lets you out, that is." "I'm sure I'll be able to make it. What time are we looking at?" "How about 9 or 10? I'm thinking the movie'll probably be playing at 9:30 or so, unless you want to catch the late showing." "No way. Horror movies give me the creeps," Kevin said. "Well then that's good for me. I'll have an excuse to...I don't know...hold you close to me." Kevin let out a little, evil chuckle. "You hardly need an excuse to do that." They both laughed and just enjoyed the moment. In only a few short hours, last night was behind them and no longer mattered. Now it was time to be happy. "It's a date, then," Luke proclaimed. "A date." "A date," Kevin agreed. ~~~~~~~~~ Kevin hang up the phone. He felt good about things now. Something just came over him that morning, a feeling of happiness. It was a great feeling and he wished it would last all day long, which was why he dreaded lunch with his mother. It was going to be so awkward and he knew it. It was something that had to get done, though, and he felt that he was up to the job. Maybe something good would come out of it. After giving Nora's room a quick spray of air freshener, he looked it over and smiled. It was a good arrangement he and his cousin had. He had a nice place to stay, his very own room. And she had her own housekeeper for free. It was a good thing! Why did Sheryl feel the need to come in the middle of it and just ruin it all? There was no way that he could go. Absolutely not. And that's what he intended to tell her if she asked him about it over lunch. When he went into the kitchen, his mother was munching on some scrambled eggs and toast. "I just washed those," he told her when he saw her eating off 'the good dishes.' "I'll take care of them," Sheryl said. She didn't seem to understand. He spent a good thirty minutes washing the dishes that morning. And it wasn't all done just so that she could come and dirty them up again. It was such a little thing, but it hurt. Just like she was trying to ruin his life, she succeeded in ruining his housework of the morning. "I'll be back," he said, but he couldn't go. "Wait. Wait a minute, why don't you sit down and join me. I can make some more eggs." "Great, let's dirty more dishes," he said. Sheryl laughed. "I can't believe you're making such a big deal out of dirty dishes." "It's not the dishes. Just don't worry about it." "No, Kevin, if something is bothering you, maybe we need to talk." Kevin moaned so loudly inside. Ruin my morning, ruin my dishes, ruin my life, he thought. He didn't want to talk to her. She told Luke that his boyfriend would be moving away to Chicago. If Kevin had anything to say to her, it would be said loudly and the neighbors would hear it too. His mother could sense his stress. "You know, there's this great gym back in Chicago - " "Will you please just shut up about Chicago!? I am sick and tired...of hearing about Chicago! It makes me ill to think about it! Why in the hell do you want me to go to Chicago so damn much?! Why is it so important to you!?" These words actually hurt Sheryl. They were laced with venom and it stung much worse than any insect could sting. This was her own son telling her this. He was basically telling her that he did not want anything to do with her. If she dared to think about it, she would recognize these words as something Sean used to say. "It's important to me, Kevin, because I want you with me. I need to have you with me! Can't you see?" "I see it alright. I see you trying to break me up with the person that I care about the most right now, that's what I see." "It has nothing to do with that! You and Luke, or Luke and you, whatever you want to say. I don't care! I just need you back, Kevin! You are my son and I'll love you no matter what, whether you're gay, or if you're straight, or if you...I don't know...if you have some other deep dark secret that you aren't telling me." "Mother, there is nothing dark about me and Luke. It's not a secret anymore." Sheryl felt bad. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry for saying that. But you have to understand me, Kevin. There is a reason why I need you back in Chicago with me and I can't tell you about it now, but when I do, you'll understand. I know you will." Kevin started to soften. "If it's so important to you, why can't you just come back here? Wouldn't that just be easier for the both of us?" "There's too many memories here. Way too much for me to deal with." Kevin felt his heart go out to her. He was starting to feel for her. He felt himself actually trying to understand her. "It'll still be there, no matter where you are." "I know...but if I don't have to see it everyday, if I don't have to pass by the house where we used to live or the place where I used to work...it'd be so much more easier. Just being here brings me back to places that I don't want to be." And suddenly it became clear to him. She did need him with her. She yearned for him and she ached. He could now see things he hadn't seen yet. He could see that under the pounds of make-up on her face, there were wrinkles. Her fingernails were chipped. Split ends plagued her blond hair. He looked her square in the eye and could see the tears forming. Reaching for her hand felt like something he never would have done just a day earlier, but he soon found himself doing it. "I understand, but I have to do things on my own right now, for myself. You can do things your way." His touch felt so good to her. It was like he was finally opening up to her. She quickly grasped his arm. "Please, Kevin, just think about it. Just...just give it some serious thought. Please." "Okay," he said, knowing deep inside that his mind was made up. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would make him want to go to Chicago. No matter how much she cried, or how much he felt for her, nothing would work. And that was that. TO BE CONTINUED...

ROTFLMAO at Grant moving in next to Emma! I love it.

And the story continues. Thank you Steve and Dusty for commeting even though I don't comment as much as I should on you guys' blogs! I'm enjoying them both, BTW. Part 16 means a little snag in the star relationship of this story! Hopefully, they can get past it. I want to take some time to give you all just a little preview of the next story, "Enter Christina," which centers on the arrival of Don Hughes's daughter. Christina Hughes comes to Oakdale to go to the local university. Instead of having her stay in the dorms, Tom and Margo decide that with Casey out of the house (and the dorms completely filled, anyway), it would be best if the 18-year-old "good girl" stay with them. They figure that the best way she can learn more about her family is by actually staying with them. Christina comes to town and sooner rather than later, proves to be quite more than what was expected. The center of the story expands to include Lisa, who uses her experiences in life and love to help Christina make decisions about her own ways of living. The story comes immediately after L&K finishes and promises to be a multi-generational tale of how a reformed bad girl tries to keep a young woman from following in her path. But until then, here is part 16 of L&K! AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" - Part 16 Sheryl couldn't believe her eyes. She and Kevin used to be so close...or maybe that was the way they used to be. When the boy was a pre-teen, he always looked up to his mother, it seemed. If faced with the decision of spending the day fishing with his father or spending the day running errands with his mother, it was clear to all three of them what he would choose. Kevin and Sheryl had such a connection because it was always them. Always. Sean would work all day and, unlike a normal person, he wouldn't come straight home. No, he went out with the guys to bars and strip clubs. Thus, Sheryl and Kevin were left home alone. Maybe, she once thought, she should have taken Kevin with her when the divorce went through. At that moment, it would have made them both happier than ever. But she knew that someone in that marriage had to seek the help that they needed more than anything, and if Sean wasn't going to do it, she was. And getting the help meant time alone, time to organize everything in her life. Now, she was finished. She felt that she was whole once again, something she hadn't been in about twenty years. Now, she wanted her son back. She wanted to renew their relationship and take it to new lengths. She predicted how nice it would be to have serious adult conversation with him, to hear the opinions that her own child had made about life. "Um..," Sheryl began. There she stood in her niece Nora's apartment, looking at her teenaged son and his "best friend" kissing. This was not just some sort of childish, playing around kiss. No, this one was on the lips, squarely on the lips, and she was shocked. She heard Kevin tell her that morning that he was gay, but she never would have imagined this. "Um...I'm going to go see some friends," she made herself say. Instantly, Luke and Kevin broke apart and spun around to look at her as she stood in the hallway. "Mrs. Davis," Luke said, preparing some sort of explanation for what she had just saw, but there was no use. The startled look on her face said it all. Her eyes slowly moved from matching Kevin's to matching Luke's, adding an element of question to her expression. What did she want? "I'll be back later," Sheryl said. "Yeah, I'll...uh...I'll be back a little later on." Kevin just stood with his eyes trained on her, silently asking, "What do you think about that?" He wanted to be bold enough to say it aloud, but somehow, he had Luke's best interest at heart. He didn't want to have to go toe to toe with his mother, either, so perhaps it was in his best interest as well. Whatever the case, he simply nodded as Sheryl scooped her purse and keys and headed out the door. After she had gone, Kevin went to the window to watch her drive away. Once she was finally, truly gone, he turned around, faced Luke, and devilishly declared, "That's the end of that. Now where were we?" Luke obviously felt different about the situation. "Kevin, your mother just found out that you're gay by catching you - " "No, no," Kevin interrupted. "She knew. Hell, I told her this morning when she came here in the first place. If she chose not to hear me, that's all on her. If she wants to make a scene like that and go drive herself off some cliff, let her." "Make a scene? Kevin, she didn't know what was going on, she was shocked!" Kevin threw his arms up in the air and began to pace. "I should have known that she would have tried something like this. I knew it! Of course she comes in here and tries to ruin my relationship." "Kevin, it's not that big of a deal." "No, Luke, no. She's mad because I don't want her anymore, so I guess that she figures that if she can break us up, I'll have nothing to stay here for." Luke didn't want to hear that kind of talk. "What do you mean you don't want her? What kind of thing is that to say? She's your mother!" "Well, she sure didn't want me five years ago, so what makes her think that she can just waltz on in here and - " "She didn't just show up out of the blue. Your father died." "Ugh," Kevin thought to himself. "My father," he said out loud. "You know, it's no wonder I'm so screwed up. With parents like those, who wouldn't be a mess?" A streak of pity ran through Luke. "Kevin, you're not a mess." They looked at each other as Luke slowly walked toward him, taking Kevin's hand. "But you have to work things out with her. If I'm able to get along with my mother, and talk to her, and laugh with her...well, then, you should be able to get along with yours." "It's different, Snyder. It's just different. I felt betrayed when she left me with him, and you know, it was a long time ago, but it still hurts. Do you realize what hell it was living alone with that man? I just learned not to show it." They hugged. Just then, Luke's cell phone rang. He stepped back to answer it and was pleasantly surprised to hear Lucinda's voice. "Hey, Grandma!" "Yes, hello, darling grandson of mine," she said. "What can I help you with?" As Luke and Lucinda talked in the living room, Kevin went into the kitchen. He hoped that Lucinda didn't tell Luke about his visit that morning. He didn't particularly feel bad about the visit, but he knew that Lucinda was a smart woman. She definitely knew that he was not happy when he went to see her. Hopefully, Luke wouldn't get defensive. No, that wasn't like Luke. He poured two glasses of wine and went back into the living room. He only caught the very end of the conversation. Relief went through him as he felt sure that they hadn't talked long enough for him to even pop into the discussion. He soon discovered that he was wrong. "So, Grandma says that you went to see her this morning," Luke said as he sat down next to Kevin on the sofa. Kevin gave him his glass of wine, but Luke quietly set it on the table next to the sofa. "Yeah," Kevin answered. "We talked for a while." "She says that she thinks you might have some kind of animosity towards her for some reason." "Well...yeah, at first I did, but not anymore," Kevin quickly said, almost glossing over it all. Luke let out a little laugh, as if what Kevin said was a joke. "I thought we talked about this a few weeks ago. Remember, when you said that you didn't want to live in her guesthouse because she was the reason why your father was a drunk?" "I didn't mean that," Kevin said, remembering the conversation... "Well, when she fired my dad, that was when he started to drink more, and..." Luke was insulted. "Kevin, your father was a stinking drunk way before a few weeks ago! You can't blame my grandma for that." "I know!" Kevin exclaimed. "He just...I don't think it would do him any good to know that I'm staying with the woman he can't stand." "Well...the old man did what he did for a reason, he had his reasons. One of them was the fact that he no longer had a job, and well she was the one who fired him..." "Ha," Luke said. "You make it sound like she purposely went there and said 'You, you're fired, you're out.'" Kevin didn't want to do this. He didn't even care anymore. "Well, it really doesn't matter anyway, does it? He's gone, he's not here anymore." "Yeah, and you seem like you're blaming my grandmother for that. Kevin, you know the kind of man your father was." "Can we please just not talk about it anymore?" "Okay...how about we talk about how you just poured me a glass of wine, when you know that I shouldn't be drinking." A shock went through Kevin's spine. "Oh my God, I don't know what I was thinking!" He quickly picked Luke's glass up from the table and put it on the counter. Luke sat on the sofa, his eyes rolling. He didn't know why he felt so annoyed by Kevin today. Maybe it was harmones. He then stood, obviously ready to leave. "Where you going?" Kevin asked. "Home, Kevin. I'm not feeling too well, and I just think that I need to get on home," Luke replied, yawning here and there. "Well, are you sure you don't want me to drive you or something? I don't want anything to happen to you." "I'll be fine, Kevin," Luke declared. "I don't need you to drive me." "Okay..." Luke took his keys out of his pocket and started for the door. Kevin followed him. They kissed one final time before Luke left, and within in minutes, Kevin was alone in the apartment. He felt like the night had been a complete disaster. Something deep inside him told him that somehow, he disappointed Luke. What the hell was it? Oh, it had to be the whole thing with Lucinda. Kevin honestly didn't mean anything when he said that her firing his father from Worldwide had to do with the suicide. Hell, since he now knew that Lucinda offered Sean another job in Chicago, Kevin actually felt gratitude towards her. He could only wish that his father was smart enough to take the offer. Whatever the case, Kevin now felt that he had to make things right with Luke. He felt so stupid about the whole wine thing; that's something that he should have remembered. And of course, if Lily ever found out, she'd probably want to kill him again. Kevin sighed and looked down at the two glasses of wine. They were exactly what he needed now. Exactly what would make his self-doubt go away. So there he sat on the sofa, one glass per hand. Somewhere along the line, he went and got the rest of the bottle, and by the time Nora arrived a half-hour later, he was nearly wasted. She could see him sitting on the couch from the window, and Nora was not the type to fish around for her keys in the dark, so she just knocked. And knocked. And knocked five more times on the door until she decided to use her key. "And just what makes you too good to get up and answer the door?" she asked when she got in. Kevin stretched back on the couch and closed his eyes. "Good Lord, kid...you're drunk. You're plastered." All Kevin could do was burp. "Well," she said as she sat down. She put her purse down beside her. "You want to tell me what's driven you to this?" Kevin slowly looked at her, his eyes slowly opening. "Nothing," he managed to cough up. "Oh, it's something, cuz. It has to be something. What is it? Is it...your father?" "No, it is not that. That is over and done with, and I don't even feel like bringing that up again," he responded harshly, heavily accenting each "that." "Oh, hold on, hold on. I am not the one," Nora said defensively. She roughly grabbed at the sleeves of his shirt and sat him up. "Now you listen to me. The answer to life's problems do not lie in the bottom of a bottle of wine." "What about a can of beer?" Kevin asked, laughing at his own lame joke. Nora slapped him. "I'm not joking! Now you promise me something! You're not going to do this again. You're not going to drink yourself half-blind." Kevin jerked out of her grip and stood up. "It's just a little too late for that, Nora. A little too late. Luke's gone." "What?" Nora asked, standing up. "What happened?" "Well, we had a little spat a while ago and now he's pissed off at me and now he's gone. Thanks to me, and thanks to the liquor. And to make matters worse, my dear old mother, and apparently you too, have decided for me what my life is now going to be." Nora looked at him. "What in the world are you talking about? Do you even know?" "I'm talking about Chicago, Nora! Chicago! I'm talking about how you think I'm too much here for you and how my mother wants me to move in with her." "Kevin, sit down. Nobody ever said anything about you being too much for me. Sheesh, kid, you managed to get my place cleaned up and prettied up. Why would I want to throw that away?" They sat down. "Now, you're mother is your mother, and I'm only your cousin. I can't tell her what to do with you. I can't tell her that you need to stay here in Oakdale. That's her decision to make." "Well, it should be mine! I'm old enough!" "Not yet. Not for a few more months. Until then, you have to do what she says. I didn't want it anymore than you did, but she is your mother." Kevin sighed. "She can't do this to me. She just can't. I didn't go to Chicago trying to rip her life from under her. I bet she has a boyfriend, a new man. I just know she does. She didn't like it when Dad had Shari there living with us, so why would it be okay for me to live with her and her boyfriend? It makes no sense." Nora took his head and put it close to her heart. "Nothing makes sense nowadays. I just got home from a date with Jack and he tells me that he's having feelings for his ex-wife again. Some lame Carly chick. I could probably kick her ass." Kevin sat back up and smiled. "For some reason, I feel I should say thank you for that." "You're very welcome. Now you have to make me that promise." "What promise?" "No more drinking." "Nora, it's not that easy. When you grow up with two alkies for parents -- " "If you promise me that you're going to at least work on it, I'll talk to your mother. I'll try to convince her to let you stay here." Kevin looked at her. "Okay. I promise." They hugged and Nora slowly patted his back. TO BE CONTINUED...

Being pre-occupied with the holidays combined with SON's downtime caused this entry to be a month and week later than the last entry. Of course, I apologize. Honestly, if anyone has any good tips on how to pick a timeframe and stick to it, PLEASE let me know! I honestly don't see how some of you guys have the ability to just pump out material day after day after day. You guys are much better than me! Anyways, here is part fifteen of our story. Oddly enough, I've decided to make the story run longer because I feel I need more time to develop some things that will become important as the story goes on. Whatever happens, I hope that everyone is enjoying where things are at now! Comments are more than welcomed. AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" Part 15 Lucinda sat in her home office reviewing paperwork for her company. She was back in full force after taking a leave to deal with her cancer. It was so hard for her to just sit there and watch other people make major decisions for the business that she built from the ground up. It was what she had always envisioned it to be and the thought of others running it...it scared her. But she was back now, back where she belonged, and nothing was going to make her leave again. She exhaled deeply and put her elbows on the desk, resting her chin on the platform made by her fists. She aimlessly looked down at the desktop and picked up the day's issue of her newspaper, The City Times. Thumbing through the pages, looking for something to take her mind off work, she found something that did exactly the opposite, a headline about Sean Davis's death. Lucinda rolled the paper up and threw it across the room into a trash can. She got up and went for the door, but before she could put her hand on the knob, it twisted and the door opened. It was Kevin. "Um, hello, who are you?" Lucinda asked, rather annoyed that he just slipped into her home without notice. "Can I help you?" "I'm Kevin Davis," Kevin answered. There was an edge in his voice, but he didn't seem to angry. Of course, this was indeed the woman he blamed for his father's death. It was too easy to just take it all at face value and come to the realization that it was Sean's decision to do what he did and that he had to live with his mistake. No, Kevin had to have someone right there to put the blame on, and somehow, he decided Lucinda was that someone. Lucinda carelessly let out a little laugh. "Ah yes, of course, of course." In her mind, she thought, "This is just what I needed." "I wanted to know if you've seen Luke yet today. I went to his house, but the place was empty. No one was there" The diva was a bit relieved. "No, no, I haven't seen my grandson at all today. You must be the young man who's putting his heart on cloud nine, I presume." Kevin seemed to ignore that comment. "If you see him, tell I need to talk to him, please." He nodded and turned to walk away. "Um...young man, I can't express how deeply saddened I am about the news of your father's passing. Please except my deepest sympathies," Lucinda said to him as he stood in the hallway. He turned to face her. "If there's anything that Worldwide can do..." Kevin couldn't believe that this woman just proposed to give him some sort of consolation prize for losing his father. "No, thank you, I'm fine," he simply said, fearing that she would unleash the anger in him. Lucinda wasn't convinced, so she continued to try to make him see that she was truly sorry. "I just got off the phone this morning with some of the executives at Worldwide and we've decided to put a memorial plaque in the lobby of our headquarters." "Why?" Kevin asked before he could stop himself, but now it was too late to stop. "Why spend money on a plaque that he'll never see? Why couldn't you just have let him keep his job? I mean, he was working there ever since you even started the business, I'm sure he deserved more than to be given a pink slip." Lucinda felt cornered. "His whole division was cut. I assure you that we tried our best to keep your father on board, but what had to be done had to be done. We even set up another job for him at another division, but he refused to take it." Kevin did not know this. Why on Earth would his father pass up the chance of having another job? "Of course, he would have had to move to Chicago, but..." "Move...to Chicago?" Kevin asked. And now it was suddenly understandable to him. His mother lived in Chicago and his father, the selfish jerk, didn't want Kevin to live closer to his mother. "Yes," Lucinda said. "He said that you wouldn't have been able to adapt so easily to the big city life, so he passed on the job for your own good. Not that I'm blaming you for the events that have occured..." "I understand," Kevin cut in. He didn't know what to feel at this point. The realization that his father's jealous greed killed him...it just tore through the young man's soul. He could have helped his father! If he had only knew about the job offer... "I hate to rush you, but I do have some business to tend to," Lucinda said, hoping not to ruffle any feathers. She could sense that she had let him down already, she didn't want to make it worse. "Oh, of course, I'm sorry," Kevin sincerely replied. "Uh...thank you. Thank you very much." ~~~~~~~~~ Lily put her key into the doorknob of her home and turned. Just as she stepped over the threshold, she could hear her husband's vehicle arrive in the driveway. Following were his footsteps as he took the same path that she had taken not too long before. Lily kept the door open for him and smiled at his presence. It was odd, they had been together on-and-off for years and years, yet they still felt a small rush of excitement when they saw each other. They had gone through so much since their first meeting over twenty years ago, but both were now sure that this was it. They were going to be together forever. Now, they hugged. "My, my, my," Holden said. "I keep bumping into this woman, this amazing woman..." "Oh, really?" Lily asked, playing along. "Well, I keep seeing this tall stranger, this dashing debonair man..." "Oh, really? Well, if I catch the jerk, I'm going to knock his head off!" "Oh, Holden..." Lily simply sighed as they walked into the living room together. She hoped, hoped, hoped that the conversation would not turn to their teenaged son, but she also knew that it was inevitable that it would. Unbeknownst to her, Holden also wanted to stay away from Luke conversation. He wanted to believe that they didn't have to always be there for Luke's rescue and that maybe he'd figure out his current troubles all on his own. Like Lily, he also had a feeling that they'd eventually start talking about their son. Instead of beating around the bush with smalltalk, Holden decided to just get started with it. "Where's Luke?" he asked. Lily let out a small chuckle. "Luke...well, Luke is on his way to see Kevin, or so he told me." Holden's face wrinkled with question. "That doesn't sound right." "He's gone to see Kevin, Holden. I'm not going to just say it like it's nothing, especially after what happened today." Now she had his attention. Honestly, as long as she planned to go on and on about her disapproval of Kevin, he wasn't going to invest much into the conversation, but now, he wanted to know. "What happened today?" Lily wanted to take back what she said. She figured that she had already handled the situation herself and she really didn't want to get Holden involved. But, on the other hand, he was Luke's father and he did have a right to know. Really, she was beyond pissed when finding out Luke was gay hit her all at once. All Holden had to do was just tell her that he had suspicions, but he didn't. It would indeed serve him right to be left out in the dark, but Lily knew she couldn't do that to him. He was the man she loved. "Well...I went to the library earlier today to pick up some books for the girls, and right as I pulled up into the parking lot, Luke...was being heckled by a bunch of guys from his school," Lily said. She tried to make it seem like it was no big deal, but she knew it wasn't working out that way. "I had to break it up, but Luke said that everything was fine." Holden reacted the way she knew he would. "Wait a minute, you say he was heckled. What are we talking, verbal, physical? Who were these guys?" "Well, when I showed up, they were all cornering Luke in front of the library, and one of them was holding him down, but I don't think - " "Oh hell no!" Holden exclaimed. He got up and began to walk away, but Lily's call stopped him. "Holden? Where are you going? Are you going to do something stupid? They're just immature little kids who don't know how to acknowledge the differences in people! They'll learn, someday they'll learn." "Yeah, because I'm going to teach them a damn lesson!" Holden said. Never had he been so upset about something. "Where's Luke now?" "I don't know. We talked for a while at the library then he left. I asked him if he was going to be okay and he said that he would be fine. Come on, Holden, sit down. It's not worth getting worked up over." Holden sat down next to Lily on the sofa. "This was the last thing I wanted to happen to him. The last thing." "I know...me too, but...I don't know. Luke is a young adult now. I think he's at the point where he wants to experience things. Think about our own lives. Would we be the same people we are today had it not been for things we've had to deal with in the past?" Holden let Lily's words soak in. What she said made so much sense to him. He kissed her. "No, we wouldn't. And I guess that maybe you're right...this kind of stuff only makes him stronger. But I just wish that I could eliminate all of that from his life. I want to just take it away for him." "Holden, so do I! We just have to...we just have to let him do what's best for him and not get in the way." "Okay...and just who are you? What did you do with my wife?" "What is that supposed to mean?" Lily was glad that their talk became a more light-hearted. "Is your wife not allowed to be mature and make sense?" "Oh, she is, but she usually opts to take another route," Holden said. He kissed her again. "I love you." "I love you too." "And we both love our son." "Right." "And so do the girls. And so do Mama and Lucinda, and Meg, and Jack and Carly." "And Kevin." Holden looked Lily in the eyes. "And Kevin," he repeated. "And Kevin loves him too." ~~~~~~~~~ Luke showed up and Nora's apartment late in the morning. It seemed like a lifetime since he and Kevin had been with each other and the thought of being close to the person that he loved was something that kept him burning all through the night and into the morning. It was the prospect of continuing his relationship with Kevin that kept him going. He was quite interested in seeing where this thing would go. They were still only in the beginning stages, but in Luke's mind, there was a whole world ahead of the two of them. But for now, they'd have to help each other get through some things. Luke worried about Kevin's feelings about his father. He knew that their relationship was far from conventional, but he did not know what to expect of Kevin's reaction. Whatever it was, Luke had a feeling that Kevin felt that it was done. But Luke himself knew all too well that it wasn't. He rang the doorbell twice, but there seemed to be no one home. He rang the bell again, this time following it with a knock. Just as he turned around, ready to give up, the door opened and a strange woman appeared. "How can I help you?" she asked. Luke felt embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I must have the wrong place. The last time I came here, it was dark and -" "Well, if you're looking for my niece Nora, you're at the right place." "Oh! Okay, yeah. Wait a second, though...you're niece Laura?" Luke looked at her for a second. "Mrs. Davis?!" "Yes...and how do I know you?" Sheryl replied, as if she was almost ready to slam the door. "Mrs. Davis, it's me! Luke Snyder! Kevin's best friend." Sheryl stepped back and looked at him. "Oh, it is you!" she finally said. She took him into a hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you and you've grown so big and tall, I could hardly recognize you!" "I almost couldn't recognize you," Luke said. They broke apart. "You look really, really good, Mrs. Davis. You know, Kevin told me about what went on between you and Mr. Davis and I'm glad that you...you know, that you were able to move past that and turn over a new leaf." "Thank you, Luke," Sheryl said. They went inside. "It was hard at times. Oh, it was so hard. I think the hardest part of it all was not having my son with me. But I knew what I had to do and I knew someday it'd all pay off." "You're right," Luke said. They sat down on the sofa. "How do you feel about coming back to Oakdale to bury your ex-husband?" Sheryl paused and looked at him, telling him that his question made her uneasy. "Or is that really none of my business?" he quickly added. "No, no, it's not that," Sheryl said. "It's just that you're the first person who's asked me that since I've come here and you know, I really don't know the answer. I feel...I don't know. I feel betrayed because that sense of closure isn't there. I always believed that even though I'd never ever get back with Sean, he could be a nice enough guy for me and him to be friends for Kevin's sake. But that can never happen now. I just want it all to be over with so I can go back to Chicago with my Kevin." Luke's heart was warmed by that sense of hope that Sheryl had. But then he actually listened to what she said. "Go back to Chicago with Kevin?" "Yes," Sheryl said. "When did you all decide that?" Luke asked, kind of sternly. "Well, he's been staying here with Nora for a few days now and I just wanted him to put Oakdale behind him and - " "Wow," Luke subconsciously let out, not knowing that he cut off her sentence. He didn't know what to feel now. Kevin was honestly going to leave Oakdale without telling him? No, Kevin would have told him. He was simply waiting for the right time to tell him. "When...when are you guys leaving?" "As soon as we tie up the loose ends with Sean. He didn't want a service, so that'll make things much easier." "And then...and then you and Kevin will be moving to Chicago?" "Well...Kevin isn't completely sure yet if he wants to go with me...but I'm going to give him time. I'm sure he'll see what good it's going to do him." Luke suddenly felt sick. His breath grew short and he became scared. The last time this happened...the last time was too scary to even revisit. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to leave...I have to go outside to get some air." He went for the door and as soon as he was outside, he pulled out the inhaler that he had to use and took a puff from it. He looked at his car and didn't even think to go back to say goodbye to Mrs. Davis. She was not on his happy list at this moment. But then a car pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. Luke didn't recognize it, but it parked right next to his, so he hesitated going to his car. He didn't want to run the risk of getting mugged or something. But then Kevin exited the car and said goodbyes to the guys inside, thanking them for the ride. As the car drove away, Kevin noticed Luke standing outside Nora's door. "Oh my God, Snyder, I've been looking for you all day! Where you been?" Luke looked at him. "I went to the library earlier today. And that's about it." "Oh okay," Kevin said. "We should go inside, it's getting really frosty out here considering it's summer. Come on." Kevin took Luke's hand in his and as Kevin put his key into the knob, Luke remembered that Sheryl was sitting inside and she would probably wonder why her son was holding hands with him. The door opened and he quickly jerked his hand out of Kevin's. Obviously not a good idea, as Sheryl was no longer in the living room. Kevin was surprised by Luke's action. "What's the matter?" he asked as he closed the door behind them. "Your mother is here," Luke replied. Disappointed, Kevin rolled his eyes. "You want to go somewhere else?" "No, I'm fine here. As a matter of fact, I wanted to ask you something about her." Kevin sighed. "Don't ask me any questions about her, because I can honestly tell you that I'm just as clueless as anybody about her." Luke took another deep breath. "Actually, it's more about you and her. It's more about you moving to Chicago with her." "Did she tell you that?" Kevin asked, annoyed. "Did she honestly tell you that?" "Yes, and it seemed like things are pretty set as far as that's concerned. Why didn't you tell me that you wanted to move?" "Because I don't! She wants me to move with her, but I'm not going. I'd rather move back into the charred remains of the happy, happy Davis home that move to Chicago. Why...why would I even consider that now that I got you?" Luke couldn't explain his feelings at that point. He felt that he had overreacted about the whole thing. His breath now back to normal, he smiled at Kevin. It was one of those smiles that said "Come here." Kevin understood it perfectly and walked closer to Luke. "I told you that I love you and that means that I'll never leave you." "Of course," Luke said. Kevin put an arm around him and then came the kiss. And soon, both of them had their arms around each other in a soft but passionate lip lock. As they found themselves in this familiar place yet again, one of them kissing the other to make him feel better, they seemed to forget that they were not alone. Sheryl had gone into Nora's bedroom to find herself something to sleep in and to take an aspirin, but once she realized that she heard her son's voice coming from the living room, she returned. She came down the hall way and before she knew it, she saw it. She saw her son and his boyfriend, standing by the front door, holding on to one another and kissing as if there was no tomorrow. TO BE CONTINUED...

Awesome! This is what should have been on the show. Taking time out to celebrate the holiday, but also having the storylines make some kind of progress. I loved it!

And the story continues. I want to take some time in this entry to show some mucho support to all of the other blogs here on SON (or SONBC as some like to call it). I don't comment often (I'm working to change that lol) but that's because usually after catching on the stories, I am just in awe of the greatness and I promise to come back and comment later. Then I wondered, what else would be more encouraging than for someone to read EXACTLY how their writing made them feel? Some of you will think I'm crazy after receiving some of my comments about your work, but please no, I LOVE IT. I love all of the blogs here, though I do keep up with some more than others (and one, I've been following since it's early-early stages, back when it was a thread on the boards). Nevertheless, good job to all. I'm especially enjoying Steve's "From These Roots" at the moment. But anyway, here's part 14 of our story. I went over it so many times and rewrote it a lot, so it changed a lot from what I originally intended, but this version feels right. I think it really highlights that I can be strong with dialog but lacking with descriptives, etc. There are some changes with the blog, as is probably obvious to you all. I changed the blog title to "The Stories" because it's shorter and easier to say than "The Various Soap Opera Fan Fiction Blog." And plus, it gives a shout out to all of the grandmothers out there who still refer to their favorite soap as "my story." The current story's title has been shortened to just "Luke & Kevin" because I think it sounds better than the original title. I added a small cast list on the right side of the screen. Whenever I get to doing the next story (another ATWT tale, focused on the Hughes family), I'll add a list of "past stories." Feel free to comment! AS THE WORLD TURNS "Luke & Kevin" - Part 14 The sound of a vacuum cleaner whizzing across shag carpeting. The smell of lasagna baking in the oven. The sight of a perfectly organized, perfectly cleaned, perfectly beautiful apartment. Surely this was not the home of Nora Jean Larpenter. Of course not. She'd have the sink full of dishes, the linoleum floor would have waxy yellow buildup, and the odor of wine coolers would be in the air. She wasn't trash, but she had trouble keeping a clean home, despite the fact that she lived alone. It was strange, because a teenaged male moved in with her and suddenly the house became something out of "The Donna Reed Show." But it was Nora's place, and Kevin did what he did best in his times of depression: he cooked and cleaned. The windows would have sparkled, but you could see right through them, so it was like they weren't even there.The floor was such a rich color of navy blue and it was without any dust particles. The pillows on the sofa were fluffed to their fluffy capacity. And Kevin probably emptied half the can of mountain valley-scented air freshener. How did this strange habit come to be? What about death and devastation told him to just become a housewife? Maybe it started back in his childhood, when his father would make it a point to beat his mother at least once a week. After he'd leave to get drunk some more, she'd crawl into bed and cry herself to sleep. The young Kevin couldn't bear to see his mother in such pain and he did all he could to make her the least bit happy. And that meant learning how to do teenager chores at the age of 6. Nevertheless, it was what calmed Kevin down and it was something he enjoyed to do. He was sure that Nora would be impressed by the job he had done. As a matter of fact, when the doorbell rang, he was sure it was his cousin, who had went out for her morning jog and coffee date with friends. He went to the door and was surprised to see his mother through the peephole. He stepped back for a second to collect his mood and took a deep breath before opening the door. "Mom," he said. "Hello, son," she said, giving him a big hug. "How are you today?" Instead of replying, he suddenly resumed his vacuuming. The vacuum cleaner, a 1975 original, was too loud for conversation so Sheryl just stood there, watching her son. She tried to smile, but felt awkward. "You wanna turn that thing off for a second? I'd really like to talk to you," she announced. Kevin looked her in the eye before shutting off the vacuum cleaner. "Come in the kitchen," he said. "I made lemonade." ~~~~~~~~~ Luke dotted into the Oakdale public library with a stack of books under his arm. Truth be told, they weren't the average teenage boy fare. With titles ranging from "Midnight Trysts" and "Sinning with a Summer Stud," these were novels meant for mature audiences. Or were they? Perhaps the intent of the writer was for the spinster who lived alone to fantasize, make herself feel young again. Or maybe the writer wanted a suburban trophy wife to feel special and appreciated. Or maybe, just maybe, this writer, this Constance McLaughlin, wanted a 17-year-old guy from Oakdale, Illinois, to experience, for just a moment, what it felt like to be loved by a man. Luke had absolutely no problems being gay. It took him no time to get used to it when he realized it, but for so many years, he wondered if he'd ever get the chance to have a real relationship. He never counted on coming out so soon, so he wondered how long he'd have to live alone, without a person to feel crazy about. He ached for love, and he needed it more and more as he grew older. But now, he thought, he had it, and with a person he didn't think would love him that way. "Returning these?" Mrs. Stacell asked when she saw Luke standing at the counter. "Uh...yes, ma'am," he said. "Yes, I'm returning these." "Alrighty then," Mrs. Stacell said as she took the books from Luke. "How did I know that you'd be interested in these particular titles?" Luke grinned. "Well, they keep my imagination stimulated whenever I'm babysitting the little sisters. I don't read them out aloud, of course." "I would hope not!" Mrs. Stacell joked. "Have a nice day, Luke." Mrs. Stacell put the books on a cart and proceeded to wheel it away. Luke looked forward to finding some more books, and maybe, he thought, he'd get something that Kevin would be interested in to cheer him up. Luke seriously worried about his boyfriend's well-being. He fully intended on dropping by Nora's to see him as soon as he left the library. Suddenly, his plans changed when a group of boys from his school showed up at the library. They were the four guys who always seemed to cause Luke trouble at school. They always hassled him, heckled him, and outright bullied him. They didn't know that Luke was gay, but they knew that he was unlike all of the other guys at school. Luke preferred the company of girls, had great grades, and otherwise stayed out of trouble. Not a "real man" in the eyes of his tormenters. Luke, not being violent, didn't know how to respond to such terrorism. The only thing he could do was leave, and so he went straight for the door, but it was too late. "Well, lookie here, boys. It's our girlfriend, Lucy Snyder," the lead jock, Jimmy, said to the others. "I wonder if he's in the mood for a date." Luke was so annoyed by this that sometimes he wanted to cry, but he didn't. His mind wouldn't let him. Jimmy's idea of a "date" was pretty simple: he and his friends would torment him continuously until either he or they left. The sad thing was, before it all began, Luke would have died to have had a real date with Jimmy. Jimmy was, in Luke's eyes, the perfect male speciman, physically. He had everything that Luke liked, but those feelings died fast after their first "date." "Look, Jimmy," Luke began, "I'm not in the mood for anything with you guys, okay? Now I know you get some kind of a kick out of my sexual orientation, but please, not today." The jerks were shocked. "Your 'sexual orientation?' You finally admit it now?" Jimmy asked. "You're finally swinging open that closet door?" "You know what? I'm just going to leave. How about that? That'll be fine for everyone. You don't mess with me, I don't mess with you, everybody's happy," Luke quickly decided. He turned around to walk out of the library, but Jimmy and his goons darted after him, grabbing him and holding him still. "You act like you don't like getting this attention from us. We're the closest thing to getting some action that you'll ever see," Jimmy said through gritted teeth. This had never happened before. All of the other times, there'd be a war of words and that'd be the end of it. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Luke called himself. I never should have told them that I'm gay, he thought. He didn't know what they were going to do, but it didn't look pretty. He only stared into Jimmy's eyes as he stood, pinned against the wall of the library. "What are you going to do?" he asked quietly. "We're going to go all the way," Jimmy said. The look in his eyes, the fire, just evoked hate and violence. He seemed so hell-bent on making Luke's life a miserable hell, and Luke was scared. What in the hell were they going to do to him?! ~~~~~~~~~ Kevin just stood against the kitchen counter, drinking from a own paper cup and looking out the window across from him. He had nothing to say to this woman. He hoped that their conversation the day before didn't make her believe that he was over it all. He hoped that she knew that he was still upset with her and would probably be that way for the rest of his life. Sheryl, on the other hand, wanted her son to know how much she loved and adored him. She wanted him to know how much it tore her up inside knowing what he had to spend the last couple of years doing: living with a father who didn't care. She wanted him to know that she was different now, much different. They had seen each other so little over the five years since the divorce that they both changed and, essentially, they stood as strangers in the room. "I talked to Nora and we've decided to have you come stay with me whenever you're ready. We can't have you in her hair forever," Sheryl suddenly said, breaking the awkward silence. Kevin was taken aback. "What do you mean, stay with you? As in living with you, full time?" "Yea...I mean, you've spent so much time with your father and - " "You didn't think that maybe I wanted a say in it. I mean, this is my own future you're talking about here," Kevin cut in. He was obviously upset and he felt betrayed. "But you know, I'm really not surprised that you're making decisions for me. It's the divorce all over again." Sheryl stood up confidently and began to match his tone and pitch. "You wait just one minute. A lot has changed over the last five years, including me. I refuse to be spoken to in that manner." "How do you seriously expect me to be? How should I react to you resurfacing after a year and a half of not seeing me? With hugs and kisses? Those are reserved for real mothers. Mothers who would protect their children from all harm!" "Don't you dare put this on me, Kevin!" Sheryl screamed in defense of herself. "You had just as much right to come to see me as I did to see you." "But I couldn't! You know I couldn't! You knew when you divorced him that he wouldn't let me see you! When you gave up all of your custody rights!" Kevin was no crying. "When you let him have me, knowing that he was sick, knowing that he wasn't fit to take care of himself, not to mention a son." Sheryl's voice softened when she saw her son's tears. "You think I wanted leave you with him? Son, I wanted so much to keep you myself, but I couldn't. I needed help, probably more help that your father did. Can you imagine what kind of a woman would let herself be used a punching bag for years on top of years? I needed so much...so, so much, and I knew that me having you would not leave a good affect on you." "But letting me stay with him would? Mom, do you realize how long and hard that was? He would get drunk two, three times a week. He'd heckle and attack me for trying to keep the house nice. The names he'd call me..." "Names? Oh, Kevin, what names did he call you?" Sheryl walked to her son and tried to put her hand on his cheek, but he rejected her offer of comfort. "What does it matter now? He's gone and he doesn't matter anymore. None of it matters." Sheryl looked at her son as he faced away from her. An idea popped into her head and she went back to the kitchen table for something in her purse. She withdrew a card and held it out for Kevin to take. "This is my therapist's card. Kevin, if there's anything, anything at all that you need to sort out, please, don't hesitate to call her. She made such a difference in my life and I am no longer the woman I was back then, sweetheart. I've changed! I've changed! And so can you. You can learn to forgive your father and try to remember him for the good in him." Kevin looked at the card with a tear in his eye. "You think that little card is going to change anything? You think your little shrink can get into my brain?" "She won't try to get into your brain," Sheryl exclaimed softly. "She'll just listen while you talk and she'll try to help you, that's all." "Well then," Kevin began slowly, building up to give his mother the shock of her life, "I'm sure that she won't be able to stop me from being me." Sheryl was confused. "What do you mean?" "I...I am gay." The look of shock that Kevin wanted so much was there. Sheryl could hardly keep her breath. "What are trying to say?" "I said exactly what I meant to say. I am gay and no therapy, no shrink, no little business card can change that at all, and that's all there is to it!" And with that, Kevin left the kitchen and Sheryl could hear the front door slam. She rushed to the window and saw her son walking away down the road. ~~~~~~~~~ "Look, I don't know what your problem is, but I don't have the time for any of this today," Luke pleaded with his attackers outside the Oakdale library. Inside, he quietly prayed for someone, anyone, to happen upon the scene and break up this blatant act of terrorism. Suddenly, he got his wish, but when he realized who was coming along, he knew that this was a mixed blessing. "What's going on here?" Lily asked when she appeared with her purse on her shoulder. She saw the boys huddle around in a circle, but could not see what they were holding up against the wall. A closer glance revealed to her that it was her son that was being victimized. "What the hell?!" she exclaimed, briskly pulling one of the kids off of Luke. "Get your damn hands off my son!" "Mom!" Luke called back at her as she wrestled with one of the other boys. "I can handle it!" Lily stopped her fighting and went for an easier option. She got her cell phone from her purse and dialed a number. "Hello, Oakdale Police Department? Yes, I'd like to report an incident at the Oakdale Public Library." Suddenly, the gang disappeared at the sound of the word police. Lily closed her phone and walked to Luke. She ran her hands down the sides of his arms. "Are you okay? I mean, things looked pretty violent here." "You didn't have to do that," Luke said, walking away from her and sitting down a park bench. "What do you mean I didn't have to do that?! Luke, those jerks were attacking you! They should be lucky that I didn't do more than that!" "What about the police? What are you going to tell them when they come here and they don't see anything?" "The police won't be coming here because I called your cell phone, which was sitting on the kitchen counter at home when I just left from there. I thought I told you to keep your phone with you at all times? What would have happened if I didn't show up here just now? Why were those kids messing with you?" Luke looked at her. "You know why." Lily knew, but she didn't want to say it out loud. "You can't just let people do that to you, Luke." "Well, I'm sorry, I didn't know that I appeared to be enjoying it." "That's not what I mean. Was that the first time you had a run-in with them? Does it happen at school?" Luke couldn't take it anymore. "Let's just not talk about it," he said, getting up and walking away. Lily smiled because this is what happened everytime. She'd tried to show Luke that she cared about him, but he'd just brush her off again. "You know, Luke, I really really don't understand what it is you want from me. I'm trying to understand this thing between you and Kevin, and I've accepted that you are who you are." "Since when are you trying to understand me and Kevin?" Luke asked, almost laughing. "If we broke up today, you'd be so happy." "I would not be happy! Relieved, maybe, probably even thankful, but I wouldn't be happy. Not if my son is unhappy. Why can't you understand that? All I want is to see you happy, Luke, that's all. That's it. I don't care where you find it, who you find it with, how you find it, as long as you are happy. I love you, Luke. I love you so much that if I had to give my life for you, I would." Luke almost cried. Never had anyone told him that before, not even Kevin. Sure, Lucinda probably said it once or twice, but it felt so different coming from Lily. He loved his mother to death, but he also felt that she seemed sort of self-centered, sort of pre-occupied. The statement that she had just made...it blew him away. He walked to her and she put her arms around him. "It's almost everyday, Mom," he said through like tears. "Everyday they pick on me and they can't just grow up and leave me alone. And they never put their hands on me before...I didn't know that they were gonna do that. I'm scared." Lily looked out into the distance as her son rested his head on her shoulder. She rubbed his back up and down and told him that it would all be okay. "Don't worry, Luke. Your father and I are going to take care of it." TO BE CONTINUED...

And here it finally is. I'm not even going to lie. It was so hard to find time to write more over the last few months. I had to get used to some outside things first. But alas, here is part 13 in our story. I've decided on no more than 20 parts to the story, so things will start to move faster and faster to a climatic end! Stay tuned! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" - Part 13 It was the next morning in Oakdale and if Luke Snyder wasn't a male, he would have sworn that he was suffering from morning sickness. He'd been throwing up for a good twenty minutes now. Luckily for him, his parents were nowhere in sight, so he didn't have to answer any of their third degree questions. He knew for a fact that he had not been drinking the night before. He did absolutely nothing wrong last night. All he did was show a little love, and then he got back home and went off to sleep. He couldn't think of anything wrong that he did the night before, so why was he throwing up like this? Maybe I'm just sick, he thought. Wouldn't be the first time. As he came down the stairs in the living room, the doorbell rang. It was good old aunt Meg. "Good morning, sunshine," she said. "Is your father in?" "No, ma'am," Luke replied, putting his hand up to his face to block the sun. The intense summer light hurt his head and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to crawl back up the stairs and back into bed. "He and my mom took the girls over to my grandma Lucinda's for breakfast and stuff. They'll probably be back later or they might go over to the farm or whatever." "Ah okay," Meg said. It was clear to her that something was on Luke's mind, but she remembered the days when she was a teenager and decided that maybe it was best to just step away and leave him be. "See you later," she said, but just as she turned around and began to walk away, a thought crossed her mind. Indeed, when she was his age, she didn't want anyone's advice or help, but thinking back, she sure needed it. "Luke, what's wrong?" Meg asked, turning back around to face her nephew. "Nothing's wrong, Aunt Meg. What makes you ask a question like that?" he asked, forcing a smile so he could convince her that there really was nothing wrong. "I'm fine. You're fine, I assume. Everything's fine." "Oh really? Well then you won't mind if I come in for a cup of coffee?" she slyly suggested. Luke rolled his eyes. "Sure. Why the hell not?" ~~~~~~~~~ At Lucinda's, the atmosphere was light and airy. It had been such a long time since Holden, Lily, and Lucinda had really spent time together without stress. At that moment, the proud mother couldn't be any more proud as she watched her daughter playfully frolicking on the sofa with her own children. Lucinda briefly caught eyes with Holden and they exchanged smiles, knowing they were both feeling the same emotion: relief. But Lucinda wondered if there really was something to be relieved over. She knew that firing so many workers at Worldwide would drive some of them to partake in desperate actions, but never did she expect someone to kill himself. Never mind the fact that the man who killed himself happened to be the father of the young man that her very own grandson was spending extra time with. Somehow, some way, she felt that maybe this might put a strain on either her relationship with Luke or Luke's relationship with Kevin. That was something that Lucinda Walsh could not let happen. I'm gonna make this family happy, dammit! she thought to herself. "If you sillies would excuse me," she announced through a small chuckle as Faith gently rolled off the sofa onto the floor, "are you okay, my dear? I hope you didn't hit your head too hard. You might end up like your mother! No, seriously, if you sillies would excuse me, I have to take a walk out to one of the guesthouses. I believe I left some important paperwork there one afternoon when I was enjoying the summer breeze and glow." "I'll come with you," Holden offered. "No, no, it'll only take a minute. I'll be back before our Faith here takes another spill from the sofa to the floor." "No, I insist," Holden said, catching Lucinda's eye enough to let her know that he wanted to talk to her about something. Lucinda's eyes grew beady as she nodded. "Okay, if you must, you must." "Sure, and leave me here with these two terrors," Lily said jokingly. "Oh please, you'll be fine. Nobody knows more about taking care of terrors than the queen terror of them all," Lucinda replied. "Funny, mother, very funny." ~~~~~~~~~ "So, what's up?" Meg asked as she and Luke sat down at the Snyders' kitchen table. "Fill me in on what's going on with Luke Snyder." Luke took a deep breath, looking at her as he exhaled and flashing a quick grin that told her to prepare for some drama. "Well...for one, I have a boyfriend." "Really? Are you serious? That's awesome, Luke! Who's the lucky guy?" Meg seemed to be really happy for him. "Kevin Davis, you don't know him. We've been pretty good friends for a long while now and I told him that I was gay a few weeks ago and somehow, by some fricken miracle, he told me that he was waiting for me to come out to him so he could do the same and from there, we just winged it. And now we're together." Meg was astonished. She sipped from her mug of coffee without blinking an eye. "That's creepy yet amazing at the same time. I'm proud of you, Luke, for having the strength to do something like that." "Yeah, well, it gets better from there, believe it or not," Luke said, almost trivializing his melodramatic life. "Kevin happens to be the son of one of my grandmother's ex-employees." "Oh?" "Yeah, and this ex-employee was laid off a few months ago when my grandmother returned to work. She felt that there were too many people on the payroll and he was one of the many that were fired. Now this man was a drunk, a complete alcoholic." "Wow..." "Mhm," Luke said as he sipped some coffee. "Mr. Davis was too drunk to go out and find another job, so he did what anybody would do. He got drunk - of course - and came up with the bright idea of setting his house on fire so he could get the insurance. But he didn't get out in time and he died in the fire." Meg's face showed disbelief and she started to laugh. "Okay, okay, I get it. You're trying to teach me a lesson about prying into your life. I understand. If I try to offer my services, you'll just make up some overly dramatic story." "Aunt Meg, I tell you no lies. This is all the truth. You can call my parents and they'll confirm it. As a matter of fact, I need to be getting over to Kevin's cousin's apartment. That's where he's staying for now." Luke stood up and lead Meg back into the living room. "Well...I'm sorry for not believing you there. I didn't realize how much stress you were under. You don't feel bad or anything, do you?" "Well, yeah I feel bad. My boyfriend - who my mom hates - just lost his father and I'm pretty much all he's got now. I'm the only person who truly knows the real Kevin. He's so used to keeping up appearances around the kids at school and I'm trying to let him see that he can be himself." Meg beamed with pride. "Luke, I want you to know that if there's ever anything you need from me, don't think twice about asking. I'm always here for you, and so are your parents, and Mama, and everyone else. We all love you." "I know," Luke said. He gave Meg a hug. "Now I have to get going to work before I'm late. I'll see you later?" "Definitely." ~~~~~~~~~ Holden and Lucinda were only about 20 feet from the doors to the living room of Lucinda's home before they stopped and Lucinda asked, "Now why were you so adamant about joining me for my little journey?" "What? A son-in-law can't take a peaceful stroll with his darling mother-in-law anymore?" Holden asked, giving her that handsome smile that no one could resist. "Of course he can," Lucinda snapped. "But I know you, Holden, I know when you have something on your mind. You're either worried about that wife of yours or that son of yours and you, being the good man that you are, decided to come right to me and ask for my advice." "You know, Lucinda, you hit the nail right there on the head." "Because I swing a big hammer. Now tell me, what's troubling you?" Holden looked back to make sure he couldn't be heard by Lily. He put an arm around Lucinda and they started to walk. "It's this whole thing with Luke." "Ah yes, continue." "Tell me what you think. Do you think that we should let Luke continue to see this boy?" "Well...the decision of whether or not Luke sees him is not up to me, is it?" "No, and I know what you're getting at." "Do you really?" Lucinda asked, sure that he didn't. "You think that it's up to me and Lily." "Absolutely not. It's up to Luke and Kevin, and them only. They're teenagers. They're not going to listen to you. And especially now that Kevin's going through a rough time...come on, I don't see them breaking up any time soon." "I know that, I really do, but it's convincing Lily that's the hard part. She's so overprotective and she doesn't want to see Luke get hurt. I don't know how to make her stop worrying." "She's a parent! She'll never stop worrying! She'll just have to learn that Luke can take care of himself and when he needs her opinion, he'll ask. It's something that I wish I had found out a long time before I did." "I guess you're right," Holden said. "You always are, aren't you?" "Of course I am." TO BE CONTINUED...

VERY good job! I imagined it as watching an actual episode and by the time I got to the end I was thinking "I can't wait to go to SON and post about how great ATWT was today!" But then I caught myself and remembered that I was reading a TWOO episode lol Congrats on the 200! May there be 200 more!

Nearly a month later, but here all the same. Here is part 12. Look for 13 sometime later this week! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 12 5:32PM. Thursday, June 15, 2006. That's what the clock read as Luke started the engine, his lover in the passenger's seat. He had never noticed the signifance of anything so insignificant before. Clocks told you more than what time of day it was. They gave you an outlook on your entire life. For instance, just a year earlier, his mother was involved with Keith. Holden and Lily were divorced, and Lucinda just discovered that she had breast cancer. If Luke remembered correctly, Casey Hughes was still dating that annoying twit Celia Ortega. Meg had just returned to town and Allison Stewart left Oakdale to be with Luke's adoptive half-brother Aaron. And, now, just two hours earlier, Luke Snyder lost his virginity. To Kevin Davis. And he still didn't know how to react. It was strange to him, that something like this happened at a time like this. Here, Kevin's father just died in a fire, and not even five or six hours later, Kevin and Luke made love on the back seat of Luke's car in the middle of woods, right next to the Snyder farm. It was beyond ironic. "You wanna come in or something?" Kevin asked when Luke pulled up in the parking lot of Nora's Melrose Place-esque apartment complex. "Uh..," Luke said, not really sure if he should or shouldn't. "Come on," Kevin said, reaching over to tug at his shirt. "Nora's cool about everything." "Okay," Luke said. As they walked across the parking lot to Nora's door, Luke couldn't help but notice a familiar car. It couldn't be, he thought. It just couldn't be. But when they knocked on the door and he saw his cousin Jack Snyder, he knew it very well was. "Jack," he said, a little surprised. "Hey, Luke! I was just about to go out to your place," Jack said with a cheerful attitude. He looked at Kevin and made his voice more serious. "Hey, Nora told me what happened to your dad. I'm sorry things happened the way they did." "Thank you," Kevin quietly said fast enough to make sure no "I want no pity!" speeches flew out instead. Jack left just as they arrived, leaving Kevin to do the introductions between Nora and Luke. "This is my cousin, Nora Larpenter. And this is Luke Snyder," he hesitated, "my boyfriend." Nora, who was admiring Jack through the front window as he left, turned to face Luke. "How do you know Jack?" she asked. "He's my cousin," Luke said graciously. "Oh, of course," Nora commented. "I shoulda known, good looks must run through the Snyder family tree. Unless there's something in the water at the Snyder pond!" Luke laughed. First time he smiled all day. "Thanks," he said. "So you're the kid who's got my cousin up all night," she continued, in a way only she could. "You're Luke. It's nice to finally put a face to the name. Would you like something to drink? Yeah you kids look thirsty. How about some sodas? Or maybe you want something to eat? My best friend's husband's sister's daughter sold me these awesome Girl Scout cookies. They're delish. Yeah, I'll get you guys some soda and cookies." "I'm not that hungry," Luke said, but it was too late. When Nora thought out loud, she always went ahead with what she thought about. Whether he wanted to or not, Luke was about to get some high quality soda and delish Girl Scout cookies. Left alone in the living room with Kevin, Luke couldn't help but smile. "You know, I think I like her. I can't wait until Jack's ex-wife meets her, but I like her a lot." "Yeah, Nora has that effect on people," Kevin replied, not really paying attention as he sat down on the couch. Luke sensed that something was wrong and sat down next to him. "Hey, what's the matter?" Kevin looked at him. "Do you regret what we just did?" Luke didn't know how to talk about it. He had never had sex before, so, naturally, he had never talked about it with someone that he actually had it with afterwards. "No," he simply put it. "Not at all." Kevin smiled. "Good. Neither do I. I love you, Snyder," he said. He was somehow showing a vulnerable side. "Don't leave me, okay?" "Not a chance," Luke said. "I'd never leave you." ~~~~~~~~~ "I can't believe this," Lily exclaimed when she came through the front door of her home. "Luke!" she called. Holden came down the stairs and wondered what all of the fuss was about. "Hey, honey, what's wrong?" "This whole damn thing with Luke and Kevin, and I'm going to put an end to it!" she exclaimed. "Luke!" she called up the stairs again. Holden was a little out of the loop. "Okay. Luke's not here, and the two of us need to have a talk." Holden lead her into the living room and they sat down on the sofa. "Now, what exactly has you all riled up?" Lily took a deep breath. "I don't even know where to begin. Our son thinks he's in love with a felon!" Holden passively nodded. "You mean Kevin." "Uh...yea, I do!" Lily snapped, in a condescending tone. "That kid is no good, and now he's stringing Luke along." Holden, with his arm around her on the sofa, looked away. He couldn't look her in the eye, because she'd know that he knew about Luke and Kevin. He was hoping she'd just forget about it, and he himself thought hard of things to change the subject to. Lily wasn't that blind, however. She knew what Holden's silence meant. He had always had a passiveness about him, but it was easy to tell when he felt a little guilty about something. "You knew all about it, didn't you?" she asked. She hoisted herself up and paced. "Of course you did, but you did not tell me. Just like you didn't tell me that Luke was gay in the first place!" "To be perfectly accurate, Lily, I didn't know that Luke was gay at any time before you did!" Holden said, raising his voice just a little bit. He stayed seated on the couch, but sat alert, wanting to get his point across, but not wanting to anger Lily any further. "No, but you had your suspicions and you failed to tell me about them." "What was I supposed to do? If told you what I was thinking, you would have went right to Luke, and where would that put me? He'd make me out to be some kind of spy!" Lily took a deep breath as they both went silent. "We can't let this happen. Kevin as Luke's friend was tolerable, but in a relationship with this kid? Are you for real? Are we even sure that Kevin isn't pretending to be interested in Luke just to set him up for some kind of a heinous hate crime!?" "Lily, you know Kevin wouldn't do that! You know that! Kevin and Luke have been friends for years. We know his parents for goodness sake." "We didn't know that he drank, did we? Holden, he could have had Luke killed!" she exclaimed, her voice softening just a bit. "I caved and let him be Luke's friend, but I can't let it go past that. What if Kevin is ready to do something that Luke isn't ready to do?" Holden got up and put his arms around his wife from behind. "Luke has a good head on his shoulders. He won't do anything that he doesn't want to do. And I don't think Kevin would make him do anything like that." Lily let out a little laugh. "All of those sleepovers they had growing up." Holden joined her laughter. "Yeah, who would have thunk it?" ~~~~~~~~~ "Where have you been?" Lily sternly asked as Luke came through the front door that night. She stood at the bottom of the stairs. Oh, Lord, Luke thought. If it isn't time for "The Lily Walsh Snyder Comedy Hour." He didn't feel like talking about what happened, because if she knew, she'd probably lose her mind and plop her unborn child out right there in the living room. But then he remembered the last time he wanted to just brush her off. He couldn't let that happen again. "Out with some friends." "Well, it's almost 9 o'clock. I wish you would have called and told us that you'd be out for a while." Luke looked at her and didn't know how to answer. How did she want him to answer? Was she looking for an explanation of where he was at and what he was doing? Truth be told, he really didn't want to say anything about where he was at. After leaving Kevin at Nora's apartment, he went for a long, long drive through the country just to clear his mind. He lost track of time and it was only the darkness that convinced him to drive back home. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just went for a drive." "With Kevin," Lily said. "You went out with Kevin, didn't you?" Luke's silence let her know that she was right. "Luke...how many times do I have to tell you that you have to stay away from him? He's showed you too many times already that he doesn't care about your health!" "What? My health?! What are you talking about?! Do I have to remind you that Kevin was the one who called the paramedics when I had a frickin asthma attack!?" "You know, I'm not a doctor and I have no proof, but I wouldn't be surprised if your whole asthma situation didn't arise from your whole kidney situation, which was made worse by Kevin's endless beer runs. What is it going to take for you to see the truth? He's no good!" "Kevin would never hurt me! He'd never hurt me like you have! Kevin loves me!" Lily let out a laugh. "Did he tell you that?! Did he honestly tell you that? Because if he did, I'm sure he said it with his eyes beady and his fingers crossed." "Kevin doesn't lie," Luke firmly stated. Kevin may have done some other off-the-wall things, but he was not a liar. Even when he'd suggest that Luke lie to his parents so he could get out of the house, Kevin never lied. "We'll see about that. Where's he staying at now? What's his cell number? We're going to call him up." Lily started for the phone, but Luke quickly followed and stood in her way. "No! You're not going to call him right now! He's had a long day and he doesn't need this! He doesn't need to hear from you." "Luke, if you know what's best for you, you'e going to stop seeing him, and I mean it. Are we supposed to believe that Kevin just upped and decided he was gay? There's got to be more to it!" "I thought we decided that being gay isn't a decision. You reacted the exact same way when I told you that I was gay. It wasn't a choice. I didn't wake up one morning and decide it. It's something that's been burning inside of me for years and years and...and I finally couldn't take it anymore. And that's what happened to Kevin." Lily stopped her fight for the phone. "Did he tell his father about the two of you?" "No." "Does anyone else know about him being gay?" "His cousin knows. That's who he's staying with." Lily paced to the other side of the room. From where he stood, Luke tried to talk calmly and maturely. "Mom, you have to understand why I can't stop seeing him. I need to be there for him. He needs me more than anything right now." Lily turned and looked at him. "I'm going to bed. Turn the lights off when you're finished down here." She went upstairs, leaving Luke alone in his misery. He did not know what to do and even if he did, he didn't have the strength to do it. He just wanted things to be different. Thinking back, he believed that living with a secret love for Kevin was better than this drama he was going through now. It was unbearable, just unbearable. He wouldn't wish this on his worst enemy. He turned off the lights and went upstairs. TO BE CONTINUED...

Again, I'm sorry for the delay, really. I haven't had nearly as much time as I used to to right this story out, but I assure you that I'm trying to make as much time as possible to get it done! To help make sure that none of my other stories get these kinds of interruptions, I've started writing them in advance, so don't worry! Here's part 11 of the saga of Luke and Kevin. AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 11 It was now around 2:00 PM and Luke had just told Will that he'd see him later. Now he sat in his car near the bridge, starting the engine. When his cell phone rang to the newly-set ringtone of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, he knew who it was. "Kevin," he greeted when he answered. On the other end, there was silence. "Kevin?" Luke asked again. "Luke...he's dead," Kevin finally said. Ever since leaving the blackened remains of his father's house, Kevin had spent the the afternoon locked up in Nora's bedroom at her apartment. Nora and his mother were talking in the living room, but he could do no talking. The shock, the utter surprise, continued to set it and probably would never completely settle in. "Kevin, what are you talking about?" Luke asked in a concerned tone. He turned off his car engine so he could hear Kevin clearer. "My...dad...he's dead." Luke was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say because he still wasn't sure that he heard what Kevin had said. "What...when...how did it happen?" On the other end, Kevin's voice was frail and fragile. He was panged with immense guilt from the way he treated his father. Sean deserved a lot of what Kevin dished out to him, but a man who was in such a desperate state couldn't have possibly sustained all of that. It hurt Kevin when he realized that just the day before, he was planning to leave his father all alone in that house. "Kevin?" Luke said agian. He was now fully alert in his car and very worried about what Kevin was talking about. "Kevin, are you still there?" "Luke, where are you? I need to see you." "I'm by the old foot bridge around my grandma's farm." "I'll be there in a few minutes," Kevin quickly said. "Kevin!" Luke tried to say, but it was too late, Kevin had already hung up the phone. Luke looked around. He got out of his car, took a deep breath, and decided to go for a walk before Kevin arrived. Winding around a corner in the woods, Luke stopped dead in his tracks and started to laugh. "Jade, what the hell are you doing here?" There was the little waif, sitting on an abandoned dock with her feet dangling in the water. "Luke!" she said, immediately jumping from her seat and straightening out her ragged hair. "Oh, please, don't stop your weekly bath on my account," he snapped at her. Jade rolled her eyes and turned her back on him, deciding to ignore him. She knew that she brought all of the scorn upon herself, but she just didn't want to hear it. She was tired of having to hear bad comments from the whole town. "Hey, look, I'm sorry," Luke apologized. He was definitely not a fan, but he knew that she was facing some hard times. "Don't apologize. I gave you reason to hate me a long time ago and I know that you're still feeling the effects from that." "Well...yeah, you're right, but I'm still in a better place than you are. Do you have a place to stay?" Jade finally turned to him again and nodded. "Yeah, actually, I found an ad in the classifieds to share a room with some nice girls." "That sounds nice," Luke replied. It was so awkward. He didn't just want to cut and run and leave her here, but he wasn't really interested in talking to her either. She'd hurt him and his family very much, but she was still a human being with her own motives and reasoning. "I hope you don't mind me asking," she said, "but how are things with your parents and Kevin? Have they gotten better over the last few months?" "Uh...yeah, actually. Dad's been great, Mom's been coming around. The Grandmas are awesome as always." "And Kevin?" Jade asked, grinning because she knew how Luke felt about the subject. "Kevin's...fine, which reminds me, I think I should get back to my car." He turned and started to walk away without saying good-bye, but that came as no surprise to Jade. She was sincerely apologetic for what she did to Luke and his family, but she also knew that telling them that would never be good enough and that it would be best to stay out of the Snyder/Walsh orbit. ~~~~~~~~~ Luke sat in his car. It was getting increasingly late and was already an hour past the time he got Kevin's call. Luke could barely grasp the idea that Kevin's father was dead. Maybe, he thought, Mr. Davis had some kind of an accident and was in the hospital. Kevin had to be jumping to conclusions with his claims that his father was dead. "Luke," Kevin's voice quietly said from a short distance. Luke quickly got out of his car and went to Kevin, who stood not far away. "Luke," Kevin repeated. "He's gone." "Don't say that," Luke said. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and squeezed him until the feeling in his arms was gone. Kevin's eyes streamed salty tears that stained Luke's shirt. "There's still a chance," Luke quietly whispered into his ear. Kevin backed away. "What do you mean there's still a chance? I saw it with my own two eyes. The house is gone. My dad is gone. He ran out of chances." "What happened? How did it happen?" Luke asked. Kevin took his hand and they sat on the hood of the car. "The police say that he set the house on fire." "What!?" Kevin closed his eyes to keep in the tears as he nodded. He sucked it up and tried to be tough, slipping off the hood and walking around with his arms crossed. "And it's pathetic. And typical. It's just like him and I don't know why I'm surprised." "Kevin, don't say that. I mean, I know you two didn't get along, but he was still your father," Luke said, hoping to make things easier for this boy that he loved. Kevin shook his head in disagreement. "The worst part is that I should have known it was going to happen." Luke was puzzled. "I really don't understand what's going on. How could you know that he was going to accidentally set the place on fire?" Kevin laid it out on the table. "Luke, it wasn't an accident. He did it on purpose to get the insurance money." Luke couldn't believe it. He knew that Sean Davis was a bad man, but would he really stoop that low? Would he honestly set fire to his own home just to get money? And then he killed himself in the process, Luke thought. Sucks for him. "Kevin, I'm sorry." "Don't be sorry," Kevin snapped. "Just don't be sorry for me, I don't need pity." Luke looked at the way Kevin paced around with pain in his steps. Rarely had he seen him this way before. When his mother moved out was one of those times. Also, when he had just missed making the varsity basketball team at Oakdale Latin because he had to miss practice to stay at home and nurse his inebriated father. Luke hated seeing him like this. It was a Kevin that he did not know, but in order to really, truly be with him, he knew that he'd have to know how to bring him out of this state and back into the Kevin that he loved. "You obviously need something," he said. "What is it?" He went to Kevin and slowly pulled him into a hug, never letting their eyes wander away from each other. Their faces were so close. "Whatever it is, I will get it for you." Kevin looked into his eyes. There was so much that they said to each other through their eyes. "I need you," Kevin's eyes seductively said to Luke's. "Right here, right now." Luke understood perfectly and before he knew it, his lips were touching Kevin's. The kiss was by far the most intense that they had shared up to this point and it only got steamier. After finally breaking up a good thirty seconds of lip-locking, they played the eyes game again. It took Kevin no time at all to comprehend Luke's body language. He started to unbutton his lover's shirt, tossing it to the side once it was out of the way. Instantly, Kevin worked his way up and down Luke's neck, savoring every inch of the soft, milky skin. From the neck he went to the arm. Luke had never, ever felt such...such rage before. It was a rage that had existed inside of him ever since the previous summer. It was a rage to love. Never disconnecting their bodies, they worked their way back to Luke's car, opened one of the back doors and, together, fell onto the seat. The only break in the passion was when Luke stopped to make sure this was the appropriate thing to do so soon after Mr. Davis's death. "Kevin, are you okay...do you really want to do this now?" Kevin's answer was light but sultry finger-dance on Luke's back as he reached up for another kiss. ~~~~~~~~~ 5:32PM. Thursday, June 15, 2006. That's what the clock read as Luke started the engine, his lover in the passenger's seat. He had never noticed the signifance of anything so insignificant before. Clocks told you more than what time of day it was. They gave you an outlook on your entire life. For instance, just a year earlier, his mother was involved with Keith. Holden and Lily were divorced, and Lucinda just discovered that she had breast cancer. If Luke remembered correctly, Casey Hughes was still dating that annoying twit Celia Ortega. Meg had just returned to town and Allison Stewart left Oakdale to be with Luke's adoptive half-brother Aaron. And, now, just two hours earlier, Luke Snyder lost his virginity. To Kevin Davis. And he still didn't know how to react. It was strange to him, that something like this happened at a time like this. Here, Kevin's father just died in a fire, and not even five or six hours later, Kevin and Luke made love on the back seat of Luke's car in the middle of woods, right next to the Snyder farm. It was beyond ironic. "You wanna come in or something?" Kevin asked when Luke pulled up in the parking lot of Nora's Melrose Place-esque apartment complex. "Uh..," Luke said, not really sure if he should or shouldn't. "Come on," Kevin said, reaching over to tug at his shirt. "Nora's cool about everything." "Okay," Luke said. As they walked across the parking lot to Nora's door, Luke couldn't help but notice a familiar car. It couldn't be, he thought. It just couldn't be. But when they knocked on the door and he saw his cousin Jack Snyder, he knew it very well was. "Jack," he said, a little surprised. "Hey, Luke! I was just about to go out to your place," Jack said with a cheerful attitude. He looked at Kevin and made his voice more serious. "Hey, Nora told me what happened to your dad. I'm sorry things happened the way they did." "Thank you," Kevin quietly said fast enough to make sure no "I want no pity!" speeches flew out instead. Jack left just as they arrived, leaving Kevin to do the introductions between Nora and Luke. "This is my cousin, Nora Larpenter. And this is Luke Snyder," he hesitated, "my boyfriend." Nora, who was admiring Jack through the front window as he left, turned to face Luke. "How do you know Jack?" she asked. "He's my cousin," Luke said graciously. "Oh, of course," Nora commented. "I shoulda known, good looks must run through the Snyder family tree. Unless there's something in the water at the Snyder pond!" Luke laughed. First time he smiled all day. "Thanks," he said. "So you're the kid who's got my cousin up all night," she continued, in a way only she could. "You're Luke. It's nice to finally put a face to the name. Would you like something to drink? Yeah you kids look thirsty. How about some sodas? Or maybe you want something to eat? My best friend's husband's sister's daughter sold me these awesome Girl Scout cookies. They're delish. Yeah, I'll get you guys some soda and cookies." "I'm not that hungry," Luke said, but it was too late. When Nora thought out loud, she always went ahead with what she thought about. Whether he wanted to or not, Luke was about to get some high quality soda and delish Girl Scout cookies. Left alone in the living room with Kevin, Luke couldn't help but smile. "You know, I think I like her. I can't wait until Jack's ex-wife meets her, but I like her a lot." "Yeah, Nora has that effect on people," Kevin replied, not really paying attention as he sat down on the couch. Luke sensed that something was wrong and sat down next to him. "Hey, what's the matter?" Kevin looked at him. "Do you regret what we just did?" Luke didn't know how to talk about it. He had never had sex before, so, naturally, he had never talked about it with someone that he actually had it with afterwards. "No," he simply put it. "Not at all." Kevin smiled. "Good. Neither do I. I love you, Snyder," he said. He was somehow showing a vulnerable side. "Don't leave me, okay?" "Not a chance," Luke said. "I'd never leave you." ~~~~~~~~~ "I can't believe this," Lily exclaimed when she came through the front door of her home. "Luke!" she called. Holden came down the stairs and wondered what all of the fuss was about. "Hey, honey, what's wrong?" "This whole damn thing with Luke and Kevin, and I'm going to put an end to it!" she exclaimed. "Luke!" she called up the stairs again. Holden was a little out of the loop. "Okay. Luke's not here, and the two of us need to have a talk." Holden lead her into the living room and they sat down on the sofa. "Now, what exactly has you all riled up?" Lily took a deep breath. "I don't even know where to begin. Our son thinks he's in love with a felon!" Holden passively nodded. "You mean Kevin." "Uh...yea, I do!" Lily snapped, in a condescending tone. "That kid is no good, and now he's stringing Luke along." Holden, with his arm around her on the sofa, looked away. He couldn't look her in the eye, because she'd know that he knew about Luke and Kevin. He was hoping she'd just forget about it, and he himself thought hard of things to change the subject to. Lily wasn't that blind, however. She knew what Holden's silence meant. He had always had a passiveness about him, but it was easy to tell when he felt a little guilty about something. "You knew all about it, didn't you?" she asked. She hoisted herself up and paced. "Of course you did, but you did not tell me. Just like you didn't tell me that Luke was gay in the first place!" "To be perfectly accurate, Lily, I didn't know that Luke was gay at any time before you did!" Holden said, raising his voice just a little bit. He stayed seated on the couch, but sat alert, wanting to get his point across, but not wanting to anger Lily any further. "No, but you had your suspicions and you failed to tell me about them." "What was I supposed to do? If told you what I was thinking, you would have went right to Luke, and where would that put me? He'd make me out to be some kind of spy!" Lily took a deep breath as they both went silent. "We can't let this happen. Kevin as Luke's friend was tolerable, but in a relationship with this kid? Are you for real? Are we even sure that Kevin isn't pretending to be interested in Luke just to set him up for some kind of a heinous hate crime!?" "Lily, you know Kevin wouldn't do that! You know that! Kevin and Luke have been friends for years. We know his parents for goodness sake." "We didn't know that he drank, did we? Holden, he could have had Luke killed!" she exclaimed, her voice softening just a bit. "I caved and let him be Luke's friend, but I can't let it go past that. What if Kevin is ready to do something that Luke isn't ready to do?" Holden got up and put his arms around his wife from behind. "Luke has a good head on his shoulders. He won't do anything that he doesn't want to do. And I don't think Kevin would make him do anything like that." Lily let out a little laugh. "All of those sleepovers they had growing up." Holden joined her laughter. "Yeah, who would have thunk it?" TO BE CONTINUED...

Sorry for the continued delay. I was involved in several things this past week that prevented me from having any significant writing time. Thanks to the continued comments and support! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 10 "So, should you say something, or should I?" Luke asked with some snark as Holden started up the car and they set off on their journey to the pharmacy for his asthma medicine. He knew that Holden was just dying to know what was going on with Kevin, and frankly, Luke was rather annoyed with it. Did he constantly ask his parents about their love life? Holden took a quick glance at him, to see his expression, but not long enough to accidentally run off of the road. "I don't mean to get on your bad side, Luke," he said. "I was just a little curious in your situation with Kevin." Luke took a deep breath. Kevin said it himself, he didn't care who knew anymore. But was he in his right mind then? He had to be completely out of it to suggest something like that. "Kevin's gay," Luke suddenly found himself saying. He wanted to kick himself for even uttering the words. "Okay..." Holden said, soaking it in. He didn't want to believe that his son was truly in love with that guy. Sure, he had grown to accept Kevin as one of Luke's friends again, but as a lover would be stretching it. Like Lily, he still found it a tad bit hard to forget all of the trouble Kevin had gotten his son into. "And we're going to be together," Luke said, defensively, "whether you like it or not. We don't care what other people think about us, and if you don't want me to see him again, I'll just move out. Grandma would love to have me." "Slow down, son," Holden responded. "Nobody's going to kick you out and we're not going to make you stop seeing Kevin. Of course, if he gets you in to drinking and drugs again, though..." "Drugs!? What the...Kevin doesn't do drugs! He's never given me drugs!" "I know!" Holden exclaimed. When he mentioned the drugs, he realized how big of a mistake that was and hoped that Luke wouldn't say anything about it, but he did, and that made Holden just a bit mad at himself. "But the drinking is bad enough." "Well, we've both stopped drinking. There's nothing to worry about there." "Your mom and I just want to look out for you. Are you sure you're ready for a relationship?" Luke was disgusted. "Come on, Dad, be for real. If I was straight and Kevin was a girl, you wouldn't even think of asking me that question." "You're right," Holden said, "I wouldn't. You do realize that if you have a relationship with Kevin, if the two of you want to be truly happy, you have to be open to everyone. A lot of people aren't going to take so well to the thought of two guys being together." "I don't need those people. They won't mean a thing to me twenty years from now, but Kevin will." "Well...I hope things turn out well for the both of you." ~~~~~~~~~ "What happened!?" Kevin asked frantically to the many firefighters and policemen camped out around his home. The house itself was now rid of fire, but the damage was done. All of the windows were busted, and the front door was nowhere to be found. Inside, there was still smoke and soot everywhere. "Where's my father!?" Suddenly, he saw his mother standing by an ambulance and ran to her. "Mom!" he called out. "What did they do with Dad!?" Sheryl Davis stood at about 5 foot 4 and had an average build. She was a walking cliche for the abused woman: her eyes were dark from years of crying, her hair was always desheveled. She held out her thin arms to hug her son. She rubbed her hands through his hair. "Sweetheart," she said. "Your daddy didn't make it." Kevin quickly broke the hug. "What?" he asked flatly. "What are you trying to say!?" "Kevin!" Sheryl exclaimed. "He's gone!" "What the hell happened!?" he asked loudly, walking around in circle because he did not understand what was going on. "What is going on!?" Nora asked Sheryl those same questions, but in a more civil way. "Aunt Sheryl," she asked, "what went on? How did the fire start?" Sheryl turned slowly to her niece. "The neighbors say that they saw Sean come home today with a jug of gas. The police are thinking he set the fire himself." "Hey, my father's in there!" Kevin said to the paramedics as they began to load up the ambulance to leave for Oakdale Memorial. "Son," the paramedic said, "your father is no longer living." Kevin watched without words as the ambulance drove away. The sirens did not blare for his father and the lights did not flash. Mr. Davis was dead, and there was no need to rush him to the hospital. Kevin just stood, not being able to digest all that was around him. "Kid," Nora said as she quietly came behind him. "They're saying that your room wasn't hurt much, but they don't think it's safe for anybody to be up there on the second floor. They'll find a way to get all of your things down, though." Kevin turned and looked at her. "I don't care about those things, Nora! I could only pray that my stuff had been burned up and that my father lived!" He broke down in tears and immediately went to Nora's shoulder as she started to pat his back. How could you feel anything for him? This man who abused you verbally for years and treating your mother like a punching bag. This man who drank gin more than he drank water. This man who would never, ever accept his son being gay. How did this happen? What drove a man to do something so desperate? It was the money, Kevin thought as he remembered the conversation he had on the phone with his father the night before at the hospital. The insurance money. Money seemed so damn insignificant to him now. He needed someone blame. He ached for someone to blame! His mother? No, not her. She had no idea. Nora? No, Nora was there for everyone and hated no one. Himself? Or maybe Lucinda? At that moment, Kevin wanted nothing more than to weep his cares away into Nora's shoulder as she whispered phrases of enlightenment in his ear. "Everything turns out fine in the end," she said. "The world will always turn, that's something you can be sure of." ~~~~~~~~~ "You have something to do with this, don't you?" Lily asked her mother as Lucinda poured them both a cup of tea in the living room of her home. "Something to do with what, dear?" Lucinda asked, trying to evade the question. Damn right I have something to do with it, she thought. "This thing with Luke and that kid Kevin Davis. You know something that I don't know and you're going to tell me." "Dear, dear, have you not learned anything over the last, what, 35 years? Nobody makes Lucinda Walsh - or Mary Ellen Walters, for that matter - do anything she doesn't feel she has to do." Lily let out a dry laugh. She was right. Lucinda was not one to be pushed around, ever, and this was no exception. Lily knew that it would take a more than just her wanting to know for Lucinda to spill the beans. "Well, I don't trust Kevin, so if you know anything, you really should tell me." "Honey, please. I didn't trust Holden or any of those Snyders when you first started running around with him, but that turned out fine...for the most part, didn't it?" "So, you're saying that Luke is 'running around' with Kevin? I knew it!" She instantly flashed back to the hospital when Kevin said things that only lovers said. The thought crossed her mind then, but now that she had been thinking about it for a while, it couldn't be denied. "My son loves the guy who almost got him killed." "Oh, come on, Lily, Kevin didn't try to get Luke killed. Luke chose to go out drinking with him all of those times." "Yeah, but that would not have been an option if Kevin hadn't been there around the corner everytime Luke got into it with me or Holden. Every single time, Luke'd get a phone call and out the door he'd go, and when he came back, he'd go straight up to his room, all without a word." Lucinda frowned. "He's a teenager! A teenager! He's not going to want to tell you everything he does, no matter how much you want him to." "But he's just - " "Just your little boy still? Honey, I've said it already. He's a teenager. He knows how to handle things and, if he's anything like his mother, he has a very good head on his shoulders. Misguided at times? Yes, but overall very good." Lily looked at her mother. Rarely did Lucinda say such mushy things, but it was understood mutually how deeply they appreciated each other. When Lucinda did say it out loud how she proud she was, however, Lily couldn't help but feel sentimental. "Thanks," she said, hugging her mother. Just then, the telephone rang. Lucinda went to answer it, and once the person on the other end said what they had to say, a look of guilty relief came across her face. "What is it?" Lily asked. Lucinda slowly hang up the phone. "One of my employees, Sean Davis, one of those who were going to sue me...he just died in a house fire." Lily instantly recognized the name. "Sean Davis?" she asked, almost cutting Lucinda off. "That's Kevin's father!" That couldn't register in Lucinda's mind. "What? Kevin? You mean Luke's Kevin?" "Yes! As a matter of fact, I remember Luke once telling me that Kevin's father worked at Worldwide!" Lucinda couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Would you believe it? The man who was going to sue me is the father of my grandson's boyfriend. And now he's dead. Only in America, I swear. Wait, no, scratch that. Only in Oakdale!" ~~~~~~~~~ After dropping Luke off at home, Holden went for the drive out to Luther's Corners to visit his own mother, Emma Snyder. Emma was a milk-and-cookies kind of mother and was always able to help solve whatever problems her children were having in their lives. Seldom did her own life become the source of melodrama, so it excited her, the thrill of being involved in the development of people and relationships. "Luke...has a boyfriend," Holden said when Emma sat him down at the kitchen table. "You know, no matter how much I tell myself that everything's going to be okay, I can't help but think otherwise." "It's that old feeling of 'what if?' I think," Emma graciously commented. "May be. But there's something inside me that tells me that this all wrong." "Well, maybe you can tell me the whole story so I can understand it more clearly," Emma said as she poured her son another glass of milk. "You know, it feels like twenty years ago when you were a teenager dealing with your own problems." Holden nodded. "But that's the thing, Mama. The problems I had are worlds apart different from what the problems Luke's going through. I had it easy. I did what was expected of me. I chased skirts around and - " "Luke prefers to chase tight jeans?" "That's a colorful way to put it." "Forgive me," Emma said light-heartedly. "Luke's been best friends with this kid Kevin for years, literally. They practically grew up together, and Luke...well Luke started to trust him, I guess. It's so hard to explain." Emma looked her son in the eye and saw that he was in agony. He couldn't help it. He was so scared that Luke would get hurt, by Kevin or someone who wouldn't be as accepting of his sexuality. He knew that if Kevin broke his son's heart, he'd find him and follow through on the threats he made months ago. "No matter how much I try to understand it, I just can't. And it's not so much the gay part anymore but the fact that over the last year, Kevin's been such a bad influence, and Luke usually knows how to choose his friends in a good way. I mean, Kevin knew all about his kidney, but still had him drinking all night long." "People do strange things for love," Emma said. "What happened when Luke told Kevin how he felt?" "Luke won't exactly tell me what happened, but, from what I gather, things turned out in his favor. Last night when he had the asthma attack, Kevin was the one who was there with him out on Comet's Trail. He knew what to do and he made sure Luke was taken care of until the paramedics got there. And Luke says that he stopped drinking." "Then what's the problem?" Emma asked. As far as she could see, Kevin passed the right tests. He seemed loyal to Luke and that's all that mattered. "He seems like a good young man." Holden caught Emma's eyes, smiled, and started to shake his head 'no.' "You always make everything seem so easy," he said. "Everything that I think about for hours and hours, you just solve in no time. What's your secret?" "No secret," Emma revealed. "I just have more years of wisdom than you do." She started to clear the kitchen table. Holden continued to tell her what was going on. "I don't want Luke to get all hung up on this guy and then it turns out he was just using Luke as some kind of experiment to find out who he is." "If there's one thing that I've learned, it's that people always know who they are. It's just a matter of whether they want to admit who they are or not. How does Lily feel about all this?" Holden groaned. "She doesn't know what to do with anything. She's got our marriage to think about, she's got Luke, she's got Faith and Natalie, she's got to make sure her mother doesn't try to take over the world, and she has a new baby to think about. I want to tell her to let me handle it all, but she knows I can't, so she tries to help out, and with Luke, that only makes it worse." Emma went to her son and put her arm around him. "And when it all looks like it won't work out the way you want it to, and when you just need to sit down and not think about a thing, you know where to go, don't you?" "Home," he said. And with that, Emma gave him a quick peck on the forehead. ~~~~~~~~~ As soon as Luke got home, he got into his own car and drove out to one of the most serene places in Oakdale: a quiet, quaint, cozy clearing that surrounded a small foot bridge. Ever since he was old enough to venture out on his own, it was somewhat of a home away from home for him. It was where he could go to air out. While leaning on the railing of the foot bridge, he was joined by a long time friend, Will Munson. Will was a year older than Luke, but had always been a good person to talk to. After all, Will's half-sister was now engaged to Luke's aunt's ex-boyfriend. With a strong family bond like that, they couldn't help but be friends. "What's up, man?" Will greeted when he walked up onto the bridge. "Nothing much," Luke said as he dropped a stone into the water below. Wanting someone to turn to, he just went for it. "Guess who found himself a boyfriend." "No way!" Will exclaimed. "Who's the lucky guy?" Luke smiled because he was glad to see that Will was happy for him. The "lucky guy" comment didn't exactly hurt his ego, either. "Well, I'm not sure he wants me to tell anyone...but, you know what? Just yesterday he told me that he doesn't care anymore what people think and that he wants the whole world to know." "Sounds like a keeper," Will said. "Is he someone I know?" "Kevin Davis," Luke announced. Will started to laugh. "Kevin Davis!? Well, we all have our crushes. Mine's on Jessica Simpson, but..." "Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Luke asked. Will contained his laughter. "I'm sorry, it's just that Kevin Davis isn't exactly the guy you'd expect to be gay. Not to mention the fact that he's basically Oakdale Latin's resident male slut." Luke became defensive. "Well, there's two things that I can say to that. Looks can be decieving, and don't always believe what you hear." Will could sense that Luke wasn't being serious and that he wasn't looking for jokes. "Hey, I'm sorry, really," he said, putting his hand on Luke's back. "How did you and Kevin come to be...a couple?" Interesting question, Luke thought. Now that he knew that Kevin wanted him for a while, and he had his own feelings for Kevin for a while, could that be interpreted as them becoming a couple the instant they both fell in love with each other, even though both were afraid to say anything? Of course not, Luke said to himself. "I started to trust him," he said to a attentive Will. "Kevin was there for me. And last year, when both my parents were out acting like crazy teenagers with their new boyfriend and girlfriend, Kevin was the only constant, I guess you can say. When that Keith creep got between my and mom and I was mad at Holden for letting her be with Keith, Kevin was the only one I could talk to about anything. He was kinda like a drug." Will couldn't believe that he was here to hear this. This was some deep, serious stuff, probably something that Luke had been wanting to say to someone for a while now. Will thanked God for giving him the opportunity to witness such a life-affirming moment. "Well...if you ever need anything, I hope you know that I'm always here for you." "Yes, I know," Luke replied. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I don't know if I would have ever gotten the courage to come out to my parents in the first place. I'm glad I finally did." "Don't thank me," Will said. "You convinced yourself. It's all you. Your life's what you make of it." Luke thought about that for a second and agreed. "Yeah," he said, with a smiling developing on his mouth. "You're right." Luke wanted a hug. Maybe it was all of the hugs that happened betwen he and Lucinda, he and Lily, he and Holden, and he and Emma over the last week that made him a sucker for them. All he knew was that he couldn't end the conversation without giving one to Will. Will sensed this and spread open his arms. "Come here," he said. It was a male-bonding hug, nothing more than that, but Luke still found himself enjoying the fragrance that was in Will's shirt and on his pale skin. He had always had a schoolboy crush on the older teen, but it never went more than that. Will was a friend, a true blue friend, and Luke was thankful to have him. TO BE CONTINUED...

Sorry for the lack of updates the last few days! I just had to handle some other things for a while and didn't have time to add much to the story. Thank yous go out to everyone's been commenting! Nice to know Ms. Walsh and winterguy125 are keeping up with the story! Part nine is here! We are introduced to a new character in this part who will become part of the cast of my little version of ATWT as she is connected to long-running character who isn't involved in this story. Look for her to be featured more prominently in third ATWT story. Enjoy part nine! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 9 Asthma. Luke looked at the word as it appeared on the front of the brochure that Susan had given him at the hospital. He sat in his room, scared to open it, because it would mean accepting that he suffered from the respiratory disease. "This is just ridiculous," he said aloud. He opened the brochure and began to read. On the first page, there was a passage that said that asthma was commonly diagnosed when the patient is a young child. Of course, he had to defy the odds in this situation. After reading several paragraphs, he threw thew folded paper across his room and watched it land on his desk. He looked out the window and saw the moon sitting up high in the sky, somehow giving him hope. The moon had a funny way about it. No matter what Luke was going through, all he had to do was look up at the moon and he felt better. He went to his door and quietly opened it a bit, looking down the hall to make sure Holden and Lily were fast asleep. Lily's snoring was enough to wake a dead man, so she definitely wouldn't be awake anytime soon. Settling back down in bed, he got out his cellphone and dialed Kevin's number. In Kevin's room, a familiar tune rang and Kevin knew that it was Luke calling him. "Luke," he greeted when he answered the phone. "So you are awake," Luke said surprisingly. "I was hoping you were." "I'm always awake for you, sweetheart," Kevin said. For just a small second, things felt surreal to Luke again. He wasn't used to hearing Kevin say such mushy phrases and terms of endearment. But then he remembered, he liked this Kevin. It wasn't the same as the always joking, rarely serious Kevin, but it was the perfect balance in character. "I can't get to sleep," Luke said. "So, naturally, you called me? Am I that boring?" Kevin asked jokingly. "Of course, I did!" Luke replied. "Five seconds of talking to you and I'm out like a light!" They both started to laugh. It was such a beautiful thing. They weren't even laughing at their own lame jokes, but they were laughing out of happiness to be together. That's what their love was about. Being together and loving each other. "Seriously, though," Luke said, "I think that on top of the kidney crises and this asthma stuff, I might be suffering from insomnia now." "Aw..." "And you know what? I think I found a lump in my breast earlier. And there's this funny looking mole on my shoulder. And I think my Alzheimer's made me call my parents Will and Gwen on the way home from the hospital. But you know what? Everything will be okay once I talk with my grandma. She's gonna love the idea of you living in her guesthouse." Kevin wasn't so sure about that. After realizing that Lucinda was the reason why his father was a raging alcoholic, he didn't think that it would be too appropriate if he lived with her. "She doesn't even know me," he said. "But she knows how you feel about me and that's enough for her to want you around." Kevin didn't know any other way around it. He knew it would break Luke's heart, but he had to tell him the truth. Their relationship was only a few days old and he knew that lying about anything was not good. "Listen, Luke..." he began softly, "I don't know about...well...your grandmother...that's Lucinda Walsh, right?" "Yeah, and she's mega rich. I kinda like it. One grandma is like swimming cash and living in a mansion, but the other one lives on a farm. It's cool." "Yeah," Kevin said, letting it fade. He took a deep breath and just came out with it. "Luke, I don't think I can live with your grandmother." Luke was shocked. "Why not!? Oh God, Kevin, don't tell me you're going to stay with your loser father. What did he tell you? Because it doesn't mean anything!" Kevin felt terrible. He didn't want Luke to worry about him. "Luke, I don't know if you know anything about it, but my dad worked at your grandmother's company." "Worldwide?" Luke asked. "Yeah. He had some complicated position or something like that. But the thing is, he was fired a few weeks ago when your grandmother started going back to work." "Yeah, Grandma's been telling me about how she's been trying to bring the company back from the gutter. She fired a whole bunch of people." Kevin was frustrated. He was hoping Luke would understand without having to tell him himself, but he realized that would not happen. "Well, when she fired my dad, that was when he started to drink more, and..." Luke was insulted. "Kevin, your father was a stinking drunk way before a few weeks ago! You can't blame my grandma for that." "I know!" Kevin exclaimed. "He just...I don't think it would do him any good to know that I'm staying with the woman he can't stand." Luke thought about it for a while, ultimately deciding that Kevin was right. "But you shouldn't have to stay there just because of that. Didn't you say that you have a cousin that you can stay with?" "Yeah," Kevin said. "I'm gonna talk to Nora about it tomorrow and see what she says." They sat on the phone in silence for awhile. Luke felt all kinds of emotions. He didn't want to think about anything for a long, long time. He just wanted to fall asleep. "Kevin?" he asked. "Remember when we'd have sleep-overs when we were younger, and we'd sing old songs the whole night long until we fell asleep?" "Yeah," Kevin said, almost laughing at the memories. "The good old days." Luke had an agenda. "Sing," he coaxed quickly. "Just sing some song to make me feel better." "Um...okay?" Kevin agreed, but in question. He cleared his throat. "You're just too good to be true...can't take my eyes off of you..." Luke was pleasantly shocked out of his mind. Was this really Kevin's voice? It was so smooth, so fragile, but yet so dominant and demanding. It put him in such a spell that he didn't think he'd be able to hear anyone else sing and not compare it to Kevin's singing. "You must be heaven to touch...I want to hold you so much..." So soft, so calm. It was something that Luke thought only existed in dreams. "At long last love has arrived...and I thank God I'm alive...you're just too good to be true...can't take my eyes off of you..." Every word was filled with meaning and truth. As Kevin continued to sing, Luke just listened in silence. How did he get so lucky? He had no idea that Kevin was such a big romantic, but he was so glad that he found out. All he wanted to do from then on was be with the guy that he loved. ~~~~~~~~~ Lily poured a generous amount of orange juice into her glass as she, Holden, and the girls sat at the breakfast table. Both parents understood that, after being diagnosed with asthma, Luke would probably like to sleep a little late this morning. "So what did daddy teach you girls how to make this morning?" she asked the daughters when she sat down. "Scrambled eggs," Faith replied. "Yeah, and Natalie thought it would be funny to hand me the sugar instead of the salt, so be warned." They were all enjoying themselves, having their cheesy family moments. Holden and Lily had been through so much together that they were pleased to be living this life. Two adorable daughters, a baby on the way, and... "Luke!" Faith called out when her brother came into the kitchen. "Good morning, darling!" he greeted her. "What are you guys up to?" "Just a little breakfast," Holden answered, hoping Luke would take his silent offer to sit down and join them. "Well I hope there's enough for another mouth," Luke said. He got himself a plate and sat down. Lily flashed Holden a warm smile. They were both more than happy to make room for their son at the table. "Your dad's gonna go pick up your prescription at the pharmacy later on today," she said. "Oh?" Luke asked. "Yeah, you want to come with?" Holden asked. He wanted Luke to say yes so that they could have some time to talk alone on the way. "Sure, why not?" Luke agreed, knowing exactly why Holden asked. ~~~~~~~~~ Four doorbell rings followed by three hard knocks. Nora Larpenter knew that her favorite cousin was coming over for a visit. The beautiful brunette woman in her mid-30s was engrossed in her favorite soap opera, "As the Wind Blows," and Kevin was the only person she would tear herself away from it for. "Hey, hun!" she greeted in her big voice. Everything about her was big. She was well-rounded (for lack of a better term), her personality was urgent, and her heart was the size of a giant elephant. "Come on in!" Nora went to the kitchenette in her apartment and did what she was used to doing whenever Kevin came over. She got out two sodas and a huge bag of hard candy. Chances are, she thought to herself, he's having problems at home. Kevin waited for her to come back into the living room area before he told her. "How do you feel about putting your old cousin up for a few days...or weeks...or maybe some months?" he asked hesitantly. Nora seemed unfazed by his question. She just opened the bag of candy and put it all in a bowl, casually answering, "I have no problem with it. Where's your bags? Get them out from off of the porch, it looks like it might rain." "Nora!" Kevin said, trying to stop her before her mouth started to talk and talk and talk. "I didn't bring anything. Hell, I didn't think you'd be so open to the idea." "Oh come on, Kevin," Nora said. She put her arm around his back. "You know you're always welcomed to stay here. Uncle Sean is back to...you know, right?" "Drinking? Yeah," Kevin nodded. "I'm just tired of having to live with that." "Well you don't have to anymore." Nora gave him a small slap on the back and opened her cold drink. "We can alternate every night. You take the bed one night, I'll take the couch, then we switch." "Oh, no! No, I can't ask you to do that. I'm fine on the sofa, no problem there." Kevin looked at her for a moment and just hugged her. "Thank you, Nora, thank you so much. I promise, I'll do whatever I can to help out around here." She could hear a little sob in his voice. Kevin was ashamed of himself, crying for something like this, but he didn't care. He was happy to finally be out of his father's home. "Hey now," Nora said, pulling him off of her. "Why the tears? What's the matter?" Kevin knew he was going to have to tell her something about him and Luke, and even though he knew she was going to be perfectly fine with it, he had never really told anyone before that he was gay. The only person who knew was Luke, and the way that happened was so much different from coming out to a beloved family member. "Nora, I'm gay," he said. "Not flaming," he quickly added. Nora laughed and hugged him again. "Your secret's safe with me. After working with the guys at the salon for so long, I'm pretty much used to it." Kevin's tears went at it again. For some reason, he couldn't contain them today. For so many years, he never ever cried, but now, these tears were just streaming out. Must be tears of joy, he thought. "I'm glad you feel that way," he said after they broke apart again. "I told my boyfriend that you wouldn't care." "Boyfriend!?" Nora was surprised at how fast her cousin worked when it came to getting a boytoy. "Is he somebody that I know?" She wad dying for details. "Nah, I don't think so," Kevin replied. "It's kinda funny, actually. We've been friends for so, so long and then one day we went up to my parents' cabin and one thing lead to another, and..." "One thing lead to another," Nora repeated. "That's exactly what Jenny said to Clark when he asked her about her affair with Bernard." Kevin was lost. "Wha?" "I'm talking about 'As the Wind Blows.'" "Oh..." Kevin understood, looking at the TV screen. "Speaking of boyfriends, guess who finally dumped that deadbeat dumbass that she was dating!" Nora announced as she went to throw her empty soda can away. "Really!?" Kevin asked as he joined her in the kitchenette. "Yep. I told him it was over yesterday afternoon. Honestly, it was over weeks ago, but he was too stupid to realize it. I mean, I've even been seeing a new guy ever since last Tuesday." "A new guy? Sounds interesting..." "Yeah, and the best thing is, he's a cop, so if I hear a bump in the night, I can call him up...and get a bump in the night, if you know what I mean!" Nora was the type to laugh at her own jokes, definitely. "Detective Jack Snyder," she said. "He came just the way I like it: fresh off a divorce and in need of help to move on. How could I resist?" Kevin was hit by that last name. "Jack...Snyder?" "Yep. His last wife was a little fiery blonde who lied her way out of everything. I think he's ready for a real woman now." Kevin couldn't help but wonder if there was a connection between Jack Snyder and Luke. It didn't really mean anything to him, but he had to laugh at the thought of his cousin Nora at a Snyder family gathering. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. "Hello?" he asked when he answered it. "What!?" he exclaimed loudly. "Oh my God! I'm on my way! I'll be there soon!" "What happened?!" Nora asked urgently. "My house! My Dad's house! It's on fire!" "Woah!" Nora exclaimed. "I have to go!" Kevin said, quickly going to the front door. "I'll be following right behind you," Nora told him as she grabbed her car keys from the counter. Kevin opened the door and ran across the parking lot to the other side of the apartment complex, where his car sat. He just couldn't believe this. His father had gotten so desperate for money, so pathetically desperate, that he torched their house on purpose. Kevin didn't know who to blame. Mr. Davis had alcohol running through his veins, so he couldn't be held responsible for what he did. Who drove him to do such a thing? Why? And then Kevin realized it. Lucinda Walsh, he thought to himself as he sped out of the parking lot. It's all her fault. TO BE CONTINUED...

It sounds like a GREAT summer ahead for TWOO! I can't wait to read it! The Henry spoiler intrigues me the most...

Thanks for the comments, Michael and amello! Words of encouragement are always welcomed. I've been toying with some ideas for where exactly I want this story to go, and it's pretty much planned from beginning to end now, though I'm still not sure how many parts I want to break it down into. I'm still estimating around 15-20, so look forward to the story continuing throughout June and early July! Actor87 made a beyond awesome L&K banner that will be put into my signature ASAP, so make sure you check it out! Here is part eight of the story. Just one hint: Kevin and Lily are definitely NOT fans of each other! AS THE WORLD TURNS "The Luke and Kevin Story" part 8 "Luke is back to breathing fine on on," Dr. Susan Stewart told alarmed parents Holden and Lily, "but we want to run a few more tests just to be safe." "Tests, tests? Why do you need to run more tests?" Lily asked nervously. "Give it to me straight, Susan. Is it good or bad?" "Well, Luke's shortness of breath could have been attributed to anything. Right now, he's doing fine, but there is always the chance that this is just a symptom of something else. In a way, this was a good thing. We now have the chance to go in and check everything and we'll know if something's wrong now. We can prevent something worse from happening." Lily nodded, but she really wasn't listening. All she knew was that her son couldn't breathe and he was rushed to the hospital by am ambulance. Nothing seemed to make sense to her now. "Can we see him?" "Sure," Susan replied. "You can go in whenever you like." "Thanks, Susan," Holden said. Susan squeezed his arm to comfort him and walked away. Holden put his arms around Lily. "I think that after we see Luke, you should get someone to bring you home. I don't think all this stress is good for the baby." "Oh, no, no," Lily said, kinda laughing. "If you think you're going to convince me to leave my son in that hospital bed hovering between life and death, you're clearly mistaken." "Aw, come on, Lily!" Holden said. "Dr. Stewart said that he's fine, good as he can be. He wouldn't mind it if you left. He would probably want you to leave so you can get some rest." Lily just looked at him before going into Luke hospital room. Luke was in his bed, clicking through the channels on the TV. Lily sat herself down in the chair next to the bed. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked. "Better than I was," Luke replied, not taking his eyes off of the TV, which hung in the air. Lily put on a fake smile and looked Holden, not once changing her facial expression. "Well, Susan says that you're going to be fine, but they still want to take some tests." "That's fine with me," Luke replied, still not looking at either one of them. Holden realized that maybe because it was Lily talking to him, Luke wasn't going to respond too enthusiastically. He decided to take his own chance. "Well, your sisters are at home working on get well cards for you. All of the times you've been in the hospital lately, they've become little pros at it." Lily laughed, Holden chuckled, Luke just gave a 2-second smile. He wasn't in the mood for this. He just needed to escape. There was something that happened to Luke everytime he became extremely upset. Anyone and anything annoyed him and he just shrugged everything off. If they were all at home right then and there, this would have been time where he would have gone up to his room and locked the door. This is just screwed up, he thought. Here, I finally, finally, finally give in to Kevin and we finally start this thing up for real, but then my stupid kidney gets in the way. Luke wasn't sure of it, but he just had a hunch that his breathing problem was linked to his kidney. If he was wrong, that would mean that not only did he have a brand new kidney that worked like crap, but he also had lungs that were equally crappy. Maybe I should just die and possess someone, he thought. ~~~~~~~~~ Outside in the hallway, Kevin was on his phone with his father, trying to convince him not to burn their house down. "Oh, Kevvy," Sean Davis cried through the phone. "The insurance! The only way we can get money is by burning this house down and getting the insurance! I'm just thinking of me and you, Kevvy." He was so drunk, and now he crying his eyes out. So pathetic, Kevin thought, that a grown man lived like this. "I know, Dad," Kevin said, "just, don't do anything until I get home, please." "Where are you?" Sean asked. "I'm...I'm out with some friends. I'll be home soon, I promise." "All right, Kevvy boy," the poor Mr. Davis said. "You're a good kid." Kevin turned off his phone and was wandering around the hospital like a lost soul. He and Luke were finally there. They were finally at level ground and were on the same page. They understood the other's intentions. But then it happened. Something deep in his throat caused him to stop breathing. Why? Was it some kind of punishment from God for the two young men being together? No, Kevin thought. I can't think things like that. It's just something that happened. "You!" Lily calmy exclaimed when she came out of Luke's room and saw Kevin. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" she asked him. "You must think you're so cool, putting my son in the hospital and acting like you really care." "Mrs. Snyder, I'm so sorry," Kevin said. "I don't know what happened. We were just sitting there and he couldn't breathe anymore! I don't know what happened!" "Oh I know what happened!" Lily yelled. She started to imitate a stereotype of the modern teenage boy. "Yo, Luke, I got some booze and some smokes, why don't you come on out here and we can get wasted and high! It's gonna be rad, dude!" "What are you talking about!?" Kevin yelled right back. Normally, he could be so contained. Calm, cool, collected. But when people accused him of things he didn't do, he became their worst nightmare. "You and your husband have been against everything I do for the whole year! God forbid your son has a friend who actually cares about him!" "You don't give a damn about my son, Kevin," Lily said, back to normal volume. "You're just upset because you lost your drinking buddy. I swear, if I knew that you were trying to get my son hooked on marijuana..." "MARIJUANA!?" Kevin yelled in question. "There was no marijuana anywhere! I've never even touched the stuff and Luke hasn't either!" "Yeah, well, whatever has my son in here has to be your fault. He was doing fine until he started hanging with you again." Kevin started to laugh. "I find it funny that you blame all of his problems on me. When he started drinking, you blamed it on me, but it was really because of you and your boyfriend. And then that Jade chick came into town. You can't tell me that I'm the reason for everything wrong in his life." "I don't want you here," Lily said. "That's for Luke to decide!" Kevin felt a little tear come out his eye. He couldn't believe this woman. He cared so deeply and tenderly for her son, but she didn't know it. He didn't want to see him hurt. If he could, he would have snapped his fingers and the two of them would have been back in the back of the old truck, waiting for the stars to appear in the sky. "I care about Luke. More than you could ever understand," he suddenly said to Lily. Kevin started to walk towards Luke's door, leaving Lily speechless. No, she thought. You have got to be kidding me. The words that came out of his mouth were words spoken from a lover, not a best friend. My god, Lily thought. What the hell is going on here? ~~~~~~~~~ In the Luke's room, Holden was curious. "You were with Kevin when it happened," he casually said. "Yeah," Luke answered. "So does this mean that he's coming around?" Luke didn't want to say anything there. He didn't want to be the one to tell people that Kevin was gay. That was Kevin's job. He remembered how furious he was when Lily told Lucinda about himself. Even after he told her he didn't like it, she went and told Dr. Bob Hughes that he was gay too! Luke didn't want Kevin to be upset with him. "I guess so," Luke replied hastily. "Did you tell him about your feelings?" "Um, well, he knows. And he...uh..." And just then, Kevin came into the room. "Hey, Luke, Mr. Snyder." Holden shook Kevin's hand. "We were just talking about you. I can't thank you enough for knowing what to do with what happened. If Luke was alone out there and - " "Ah, it was nothing," Kevin said. "I was just making sure my best friend here was okay." Luke tried to catch Kevin's eyes to tell him not to lay it on too thick, but his attempts were unsuccessful. Kevin was so happy to see Luke well again that he didn't care what came out of his mouth. At this point, he just didn't care what anybody thought of their friendship. "Luke's done a lot for me over the years, and I was just returning the favor." "Ah, yes," Holden said. "Well, I'll leave you two some time to talk." He turned at gave Luke a look that pretty much told him that he knew what was going on and approved of it. He left the room. "Kevin," Luke said, "I think he knows." "Knows what?" "He knows that you're gay." Kevin just looked at him for a moment. "Do you honestly think that I care who knows that I'm gay right now? All I'm worried about is you and how you're doing. Are you feeling better?" Luke didn't understand him. "I'm fine, but what do you mean you don't care? What if your father - " "I don't care about him, Luke. I don't care if the whole world found out. I just realized today how easily you can lose someone that you love. God forbid, if something horrible had happened to you today, I would have been kicking myself for not letting people know how much I love you. Your parents wouldn't have believed me if I told them. As a matter of fact, I just got into it with your mother in the hallway. She had the nerve to accuse me of making this happen to you!" "She did what?!" Luke became livid. "She ruins everything! Everything! I'm sick of her trying to make decisions for me. She tries to live my life and she wants me to live the way she wants me to and I'm tired of it! When she finally dumped that Keith creep, it was MONTHS after I told her that he wasn't any good. She's so self-centered! I thought she was changing, I really did. She went a proved me wrong again." "I can't wait to see her face when I tell her that I love you," Kevin said. "That'll put her right in her place!" Luke wasn't so sure of that. He couldn't care less what Lily thought of Kevin, but he didn't want his boyfriend to have to put up with Mr. Davis's mess. "I think we should wait until you are sure. There were times when I wanted to come out, but decided against it because it was the wrong time. When I thought I was going to die, I wanted to, but it was just going to make things worse. Besides, if your father found out, he would kick you out." "But I don't think I can wait until we graduate before I say anything to him, Luke. I can't imagine going through a whole year of loving you and wanting you, but not being able to have you because of what he would think. I want to move out, but I just don't know how I can do that and still stay in Oakdale." And then, a light bulb went off in Luke's brain. "Oh my God," he said, "I have an idea." "Anything would sound good right now." "You can stay at Grandma Lucinda's guesthouse!" Kevin's face brightened. "Do you think she would go for it?!" "She'd love it!" Luke exclaimed. "She'd love having you around and getting to know you. It would be perfect! And she's not like most older people either, she's really cool. The two of you would get along great!" "Well when can I speak to her about it? I mean, I'm sure she wouldn't want me to suddenly show up on her doorstep with all of my stuff. Besides that morning she found us passed out, she doesn't even know me." "We can go to her place tomorrow or whenever and talk about it. She's going to be ecstatic! Kevin looked at the happiness in Luke's face. There it was, he thought. There's that smile that I love to see. "You're perfect, you know that? You're everything I could ever want," he said, taking Luke's hand. "We're going to be all right." Kevin was glad that there'd be a chance that he'd get out of his father's home, but he remembered something. Lucinda...he heard that name before, and it wasn't in conversation with Luke either. Wait a minute, he remembered. Lucinda is the name of the woman who owns Worldwide. Jesus Christ, he thought, Luke's grandmother is the reason why my dad lost his job? No, it can't be the same woman! She's rich, she must own a company. How many rich businesswomen named Lucinda could there be in Oakdale? Only one, he finally admitted to himself. He didn't know how it was going to go wrong, but he knew it would in the end. TO BE CONTINUED...

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...