I love the way you capture emotion. I really do. And so often in a small amount of words. That's something I really struggle with. My stuff gets wordy.

I think my favorite part was the kiss in the garden, and Chester saying it didn't feel right. That was sad, and yet exciting that they tried.

All this anger that Mike is harboring, and sadness. It's such an interesting mix. I agree with lpfan about the fuzzy line you often draw in your stories between fiction and reality. It adds a layer to everything and makes you think a little harder than you normally would.

Thank you for sharing!

This really makes you pause and think, doesn’t it? It’s the same reaction I had when I met Mike on the PT tour. I had a whole crisis about writing RPF about him once I met him, exactly for the reasons you have in this littler story. It feels invasive at times. I think you are very, very correct that LP learned early on what they wanted to avoid on the internet and as social media became more and more prominent. So I made peace with myself and carried on my happy way, writing way more about Mike than I did before I met him. Ha!

One thing I love about your stuff is how it wedges into your brain and makes you sit and think. It’s based in just enough realism to make you think - wow. Could that have happened? Nah, that didn’t happen. But it could have. Couldn’t it? Just like that. No. Yes. Maybe.

As always, you say very concisely A LOT in this story. I also love Mike angst, so these resonate with me. He wants something he can’t have, something that could have been so special and just for them, but the fans had to go and ruin it with their labels and silly things like pictures and fanfiction. Poor Mike. :( I do really feel for him.

Absolute, hands down, favorite line: → “And it's not like the snap of a twig and rustling in a nearby bush and clouds passing in front of the full moon, casting shadows on the ground all around him made Mike feel watched, seen, surrounded, or made him panic because it felt like all these eyes on him were basking in his vulnerability, the tears in his eyes, his shaking, his inability to breathe properly, his pain.” ← Fuck, that’s beautiful. I just love it.

Thank you for sharing this. I have really missed your writing. I’m tossing this in my favorites with several other of your works so I can read it again if you disappear and I miss you. BUT, I figure you’ll be back. Best sneakers ever.