Just wanted to come here and say I still think about this story. It's been 13 years and it still just pops up into my mind at random intervals 3

Of all the places, i really didnt expect this story to go there. Honestly, i was preparing to cringe, thinking that it would be some -characters meet after a week, get through their stuff, and helplessly fall in love, story.
But now im kind of blown away, just how differently you swayed from cliche highschool stories, and how wonderfully you did it. Really, i loved this! Its quite brilliant, unique, and it was like a learning expeirience
Wonderful job!

William is a textbook-case Narcissist. Seriously. You wrote his character PERFECTLY. I really can't believe it. Normally when people try to write a story centered around a certain mental disorder, there's a TON of mess-ups and inconsistencies.

I love how Louis described William's lack of empathy in the end, I love how William's entire sense of self-worth is based off of what other people think about him, and how you showed that by writing about how he wallows in self-pity for a week before moving onto the next person. And I LOOVE love love how he vehemently states that that is NOT the case - the whole "Thou doth protest too much", reaction formation kinda thing. How, in the end of the story, he turns out to be the very thing that he hates. I can't explain to you how spot-on that is for people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

This story is as real as it gets. Seriously. And sometimes, I feel like you just really understood, like you didn't do research on this disorder or anything. You didn't put many classic Psych. vocab words in there - like when Louis was describing William's character in the end, and not ONCE does he use the term "empathy", even though that is the perfect word to describe the whole situation. It kind of gave off more of an understanding, rather than prattling off facts. Like Louis figured it out on his own, which is exactly what you were trying to portray, and you did it well.

I'm not gonna lie - I was seriously hoping for a romantic ending, but this story is perfect just the way it is. When it turned out that it was NOT that kind of story, I wasn't disappointed in the least. This story was an AMAZING experience. Seriously. Like, you don't even know. Psychology is my PASSION, and I have NEVER come across something so hardcore and spot-on as this.

You should consider publishing this story. I can seriously see this being successful. I would buy it. Not kidding.

Favorited

All I just can say is...Wow. You're a born-writer, there's no doubt!
I can recognize myself in the character of Michael 'cause I lived the same thing but with a girl (more or less), therefore this story touched me more than any other. Thank you for this wonderful time reading..
Kisses from a french fan 3

Wow, just wow.
I knew this could not end well. The ''romance'' between Michael and William was felt too forced, too one-sided. Knowing your other stories in which loves blooms between two characters on an equal footing, with a taste of both lovebirds' point of view; this could only be a bad omen.
You did very well in picturing a bona fide Manipulative Bastard: the facade of charm, allure and perfection that get about anyone wrapped around their little finger, while only onlookers can sense something fishy, this is totally that.

I felt bad for Michael when I read him fell right into William's trap. His morbid fascination was both intriguing and disquieting to read. And I felt even badder when he was devastated by the abandonment and the cruel revelations. I am really, really glad that he could get back on his feet and deliver a good "The Reason You Suck Speech" to William. Too bad it fell on deaf ears.
William, William, William, as much as I wanted to despise him, in the end he came across as really pathetic, another thing that you got right. As Michael and Louis rightly put it, he is shallow and insecure, and I really ended up feeling bad for him. If only he was brave enough to heed Michael's word and realize how badly he is screwing up himself, and others. Like Josh realized after ''What a Lovely Scarf, Seth''.

If possible, I must admit that a sequel would be very welcome. So we know if Michael and Louis got the real romance they deserve, with each other maybe? I don't think that it would be healthy to bond over a common suffering but who knows? Also to know it William can turn over a new leaf. Jane could, and even Oliver proved to be not so bad in ''Piece of Cake''.
But I assume that I was not the only one to ask for a sequel am I right? Anyway, the choice is up to you.

Congratulations for all those nice stories. Keep up the good work!

I've read this a million times, you're such an amazing writer

oh wow. i still can't make myself ...i just...wow.
i remember being soo pissed at you for making wiiliam a dick at first that i didn't review for a while. i kept telling myself that it's ok. that you must be doing it for a reason and that if i like your story, it means liking it all, the good and the bad. so i read on. i persevered. my heart bleeding for micheal and also a bit for william cause i had this crazy notion of william being mika in your story and i just couldn't handle you ripping him to shreds. i cried. a lot.
i like how you made michael 'in love' without making him look like a rabid, i-lurv-pink-and-pop-bubblegum type of gay. that would have been annoying, i think.
i'm glad you wrote this though, it's made me grow. exponentially so. thank you!
i'm really really glad i got to read this story! :)

i cried while reading this..you're just too amazing; how you manipulate your words, oh good lord! thank you!

before i even started reading this story, it caught my eye that it was complete. thank you for that, really. i try to make it a point not to read books online 'cause they really screw me over when i have to pause and wait for the author for a couple of days to update their story 'cause i really, really and quite unhealthily get absorbed into the very fabric of the story, into its very essence and have been known to have minor breakdowns because of it. your story is so amazing though that i would have willingly have gone through that anyway. i think i am positively in love with this story. thank you so so much for writing it! _

"Yeah, but you don't know that," he counters. "And it'll get you down if it turns out he isn't. Remember when I liked the girl next door to me and how down I was when I found out she had a boyfriend? Yeah. Believe me, that sucked. You don't want to go through that."

"But I won't go through that," I say. "The situations are completely different."

"But the feeling of disappointment and level of suckishness will be the same," Alex says back. "So, just be careful with this kid, okay? Don't get too hung up on him before you even know him. It'll rot your soul."

I really can't help but snort at that. "Where'd you get that one, Alex?" I ask teasingly.

"My mama," he says seriously, looking at me with a completely straight face
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..have i told you lately how much i ADORE your stories? i LOVE how you incorporate the songs into the stories and make them come alive. i love it!

LOL! i love that part for "..you perspective on life stinks..." and how you made it sound so natural!
you killed it man, just killed it! xD

This is an awesome story!

An awesome story. I think it was a good idea to base it on Mika' songs because the lyrics are really great and I enjoyed reading it.

I loved this story.

It really made me think about the way I perceive the world, others and myself. I'm very glad that you created a character like William. Actually, there are people like that - who find themselves different and hence superior to everybody else, but in fact there is not much hiding behind all their erudical bullshitting, hah.

It was a real treat to see Michael maturing and coming to terms with himself. A smart, beautiful story. Thank you.

Oh My Gawd. While reading this chapter, I realized that I was almost in the exact same position as Michael before. I said something really close to that to my ex-boyfriend. It's like... I really good interpretation of what could possibly happen in real life. This is now officially my favorite chapter of the entire story and kind of my favorite life message thingy.