Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2023 18:13:17 -0400 From: James Heady Subject: The Wounds Within My Heart--Chapter 5 The Wounds Within My Heart By James Disclaimer If you're not of the legal age to read this story, or if you're offended by this type of material then leave now. This story may at times contain sex and romantic moments between consenting teenaged males. It also may contain scenes of Hate Speech towards people of different races, sexual orientations, disability groups and others. If you can't handle reading about that, then leave. Please remember to donate to Nifty, as it's your donations that keep these stories and other information on the site free to the public. Finally, if you like this story and haven't done this already. Let my E-mail address jamesheady1985@gmail.com know that they have an extremely important call on the other line. Tell them that it's from one of their favorite music group representatives, but when they transfer over to the line, blast Dub Step Music in their ear instead. Thanks once again to K. for editing this story, as well as for editing this chapter. I really appreciate your work. Thank you. Chapter Five Nohea I was much calmer now as I paused my music player. Of course, I wasn't happy about being back at the school. I was glad to at least be away from my mom and Ray. I put away my music player so I could get up to get a Pepsi from the machine. As I walked back to the bench, I saw a shadow moving near it. I stepped closer, and stopped. I felt a tap on my shoulder, just a single tap. "Hey Pietro!" I said, then hugged him. He hugged back just as excitedly, and we sat down. "Did you have a good weekend?" I asked. One tap. "I'm glad to hear that," I said. "What did you do over the weekend?" Pietro mimed walking, then drew a couple of flowers on the palm of my hand. He also mimed tipping something to the side. "You helped to water plants?" I asked. One tap. "That was some of the things you did?" I asked. One tap. He also mimed eating something, then drew a shape of a bowl. "Was it soup?" I asked. One tap. "It sounds like you had a nice weekend," I said. I told him about my weekend, and he made a sad sound. He hugged me. He held me for a long moment, and I could sense the protectiveness he clearly felt for me. I felt truly safe in his arms at that moment, and I just rested my head on his chest for a long time. After we separated, I let him look at the neckless once again. Once he put it back around my neck, I offered to get him something to drink. He agreed, and after returning back to the bench, I went to sit down once more. Pietro got up, and gently pulled on my hand. He then moved my hand in the direction of his dorm. "You want to go in for a while?" I asked. One tap. Okay," I said. We entered the dorm, and after saying high to Jack, we went into Pietro's room. He put on his music, and I told him that whatever he wanted to listen to was fine. He sat down beside me as the music was going. The first song on the play list was Separate Ways Worlds Apart by Journey. I told him that that song was definitely a good choice. He smiled, then scooted closer to me. I looked in the direction of the closed door, and then back to where Pietro sat. I moved so that I was lightly pressed against him, and took his hand. He accepted the contact immediately, and we sat there for a long time like that. Eventually I turned to him, and he rested his head on my shoulder for a moment. I took my other hand and gently stroked the side of his head enjoying the softness of his hair. He stayed like that for a long moment, then put his arm around me. Me having him lean against me like he had been a moment ago felt good, but also different. It felt different since he was bigger than me, and the other way definitely felt even more amazing. I wasn't bothered though. Any time Pietro and I were making some sort of physical contact was a really nice moment! "You're truly my best friend Pietro," I said leaning my face close to his. "I love how you and I can just sit together and it feels like all is right with the world. I sometimes don't know if you're able to understand every single thing I'm talking about, but I still feel like you're deeply connected to me all the same. You mean so much to me, and I'm discovering that when we're not together that I feel really empty. I also feel sad when we're away from each other." He nodded his head, and gave me one tap. "You feel the same way?" I asked. One tap. "I'm glad you understand," I said, as I reached up to stroke his hair. "I really like you a lot, and I find myself thinking about you a lot when we're not together." Pietro made a happy sound, and then hugged me hard. I hugged back with equal strength, and then he rested his forehead against mine like a few nights ago at the dance. We sat there like that for a long time. At that moment, we were truly one once again! This time the song Into The Night by Benny Mardones was playing. It was a deeply magical moment! Soon the song ended, and Pietro moved his head away from mine slightly, but his face was still close to mine. We had our arms around each other that whole time, and I never wanted to be away from him at that point! "That was the second time you rested your forehead on mine," I said. "You did that at the dance Thursday night for the first time. I could sense you looking into my eyes just now when you did that again. I hope you like what you see." One tap, and Pietro eased my head down on his chest. As I sat there resting in his arms, I felt the most deep and intense love from him. I could sense how much he needed me, and I felt exactly the same way. Even if he could have talked, I knew that we wouldn't have needed words at that point. Soon we separated, but Pietro still had an arm around me. Through all that time we were sharing that physical contact, I had noticed another sensation that I could feel, but was ignoring. Soon after Pietro and I started holding each other I felt myself rapidly harden. I didn't remember feeling that hard, and I could feel more wetness than ever before when getting erect. I wasn't sure if Pietro felt the same way, and I didn't feel right about asking him, at least not yet. After another song came on, I stood up. I let Pietro know that I had to use the restroom. I really did, but I also wanted to wipe away the river of precum I was sure I'd find in my boxers. I went into the restroom, and took care of things. Once back in Pietro's room, I checked the time on my iPod's clock. It read 7:30 P.M. "Good," I said. "We still have some time together." Pietro made a happy sound, and I joined him again on the edge of his bed. As I sat back down, Pietro put a hand near my neck. I knew what he wanted, and I gave him my necklace again. "I'm really glad you like that," I said. Pietro made a sound of what could have been agreement. After a moment passed with him looking at it again, he held it out to me. When I moved to take it, he moved it back quickly, then stood up stepping out of my grasp. He was now laughing too. "Oh, so you're playing Keep-Away with my necklace?" I said laughing and standing up to follow him. I got close to him, and just as my hand brushed his shoulder, he moved back another step laughing harder. I was laughing just as hard, and I got his right hand which held my necklace. He moved it back away from me again, but not too far away this time. He then moved his hand close to mine, then withdrew it. He then leaned forward and put the necklace around my neck like those times before. "Thanks," I said. He took me in his arms, holding me more tighter than before. I hugged him back, and as we stood there, I felt myself hardening rapidly once again. I realized at that moment that I could also feel a slight hardness from Pietro. I began to move my hips away, slightly worried that feeling me in that state might frighten my friend. After all, I had no idea about his developmental state, nor how much he knew or didn't know about sex. He surprised me though by following my motion, and I could feel that he was fully hard just as I was. He made a soft sound of contentment, and we stood there like that holding each other tightly and fully aroused! Soon though we moved back from each other, and I looked up at him. It was a good thing we had separated at that point, because I heard footsteps nearing our door, then they walked past. "Would you like to sit back down again?" I asked trying to get my racing heart and other emotions under control. One tap. We sat back down, and my erection was subsiding, and I figured that Pietro's was as well. While we sat there, I told Pietro about other things we could do in the evenings if I didn't have much homework. I talked to him about going off campus to eat somewhere, and I also told him of a small wooded area way in back of the school where we could spend some time. It had a small lake, and I suggested that we could probably do some swimming there while the weather was still nice. He clearly liked all that I was saying, and we planned for that Tuesday evening to go to dinner off campus, and then to the area I mentioned. Soon it was time for me to get to the nurse to get my eye drops, and I hugged Pietro for a long moment. He held on just as long, then I told him I'd see him sometime the next day. He stroked my hair gently for a moment, then I turned to go to the nurse, then back to my dorm for the evening. Tuesday of that week was a bright and sunny day. My classes seemed to go by extremely fast. Soon it was time for me to meet Pietro. We hadn't visited the night before because of me being given several homework assignments that lasted for the next two hours after dinner, and by the time I was finished it was almost 9:00 P.M. I told Jack to let Pietro know that I said hi. I let him know that that Monday afternoon just before going into my dorm to get started on the first couple of assignments before dinner. He said he'd tell him. Fortunately, there was only a quick Math assignment of ten problems. I got through them in Study Hall, then went back to the dorm. Once I put everything away, I went and got Pietro. We went to a small restaurant off campus which served a lot of really good sandwiches, wings and pizza. Once seated, I read off the menu to Pietro. He selected a plate of hot wings, and we both agreed on pizza with Pepperoni and Cheese. I decided on some garlic wings. We both got Pepsis to drink, and I sat there just enjoying the setting after our drinks came. I was also enjoying the fact that Pietro was next to me once again. "I really missed you after going back to my dorm," I said leaning close to my friend. "I also missed you today." Pietro had eaten lunch, but he and his other classmates left quickly before I could get a chance to say hi to him. "I definitely missed seeing you at lunch today," I went on. One tap. "Yeah, I'm sure you would have liked to have seen me at lunch today like before," I said. Another tap. As we sat there, I heard a couple of the songs that various customers played on the juke box. One was Photograph by Nickle Back. That was definitely a song I deeply hated. The next one was Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock. As we got through our first Pepsis, The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson started up. I smirked as it began. At the point where Jackson calls out the line "Come on girl!", I said the line along with it, but put the word boy in. Pietro laughed, and I asked him if he knew what that was in reference to. He gave me two taps, and I explained all the issues Jackson had while he was alive, and with all of the questionable behavior with him towards young boys. Pietro made a disgusted sound, and drew a question mark on the back of my right hand. "Are you wondering if I believe what was said about him?" I asked. One tap. "Fuck yeah I think he's guilty even though the courts said not guilty," I said. "You got a weird guy in his thirties, then in his forties who's letting kids from nine to 13 years old sleep in the same bed as him. He also has alarms not just on the bedroom doors, but in the hallway where the bedroom is located that go off if anyone enters the hallway. Add in a couple of books he had which contained pictures of naked boys, then I'd like for someone to tell me just what the hell they thought was on his mind. As you're probably guessing right now, I definitely get worked up about this, but I do about anything like this where kids are concerned. So yeah, I'm not someone who's blinded by the charm of the so-called King of Pop." Pietro made a sound of agreement, and I finished my Pepsi. The song was fading, and I listened for a moment. "Now let's just hope that they don't start up some Bullshit by Lil Flip, Young Thug or whoever the next Rapper idiot with Lil in his name is going to be within the next minute," I went on. Pietro laughed hard at that last thing I said. As I sat there watching as the waiter came with a refill on my drink, a song started up that I hadn't heard before. It was a heavy-sounding song, and it was definitely Metal. "Well, this might be interesting," I said. Pietro gave a sound that seemed to be curiosity, and he drew a question mark on the back of my hand. "Yeah, I'm not sure who this is either," I replied as the waiter sat down my second Pepsi. "Finally, some music worth getting excited over," the waiter whose name was Brandon said. He was kind enough to introduce himself with his name when he greeted us after we got seated. "You know who this is?" I asked. "Yeah," Brandon said. "It's the song Mein Teil by the German Metal group Rammstein." As the vocals began, I listened. They certainly sounded like the German language. "Sounds really disturbing," I said. "You'd be correct in this context," Brandon replied. "Look up the song once you're not near food." I laughed. "Okay," I said. Once our food arrived, we both ate in silence for a few minutes, and I then began telling Pietro about how my day was. I asked him about his day, and he gave a slight handwave as if to say that it was all the same. We also talked about what we would do after we finished eating. I asked Pietro if he would like to go to the wooded area I told him about the night before. He agreed, and I could tell that he was really excited about checking it out. Once we finished eating, we returned to the school. It didn't take us long to get to the area, and after we arrived, I began showing him around. I showed him several rose bushes as well as a couple of pine trees that provided a lot of shade. I also showed him where the lake was, and he made a sound of happiness. I was glad he was enjoying everything I was showing him! We sat down on one of the benches that were situated between a small cluster of trees. This not only provided plenty of shade, but also hid us well. I was glad we had more privacy here, and I figured that Pietro felt the same way. I put my arm around Pietro's shoulders for a moment, then he took me in his arms soon after. We sat like that for a long moment, then he leaned in close with his forehead almost touching mine. "What?" I asked looking deep into his eyes. He took my hand and drew a question mark on the back of it, then two more. "Do you have several questions?" I asked. One tap. He then took my hand and moved it close to his lips making a motion that went to the right side. "Is it something you want to stay just between us?" I asked. One tap. Can you give me another sign about what you're wanting to ask me?" I asked. He took my hand, then moved my other fingers. I got the idea, and extended only my index finger. He moved it downward in the direction between my legs, then moved it near the same area between his own. I felt myself getting nervous, but excited at the same time! "Are you referring to last night?" I asked. "I mean, when we hugged, and our dicks pressed together?" One tap. "Are you bringing that up, because it made you feel uncomfortable?" I asked. "I wouldn't ever want to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable or scared." He touched my cheek gently, then gave me two taps. "You're saying that it didn't make you feel uncomfortable?" I asked. One tap. "How did it feel to you?" I asked. I felt my cock hardening once again, and my balls were throbbing at this point! He took me in his arms, and made a sound that sounded like he was aroused. "You liked it?" I asked. One tap, and he moved back, and drew a question mark on the back of my hand again. "What did you want to ask me?" I asked. He touched his hand to mine, then moved it to where my upper thigh was, then slid the tip of his index finger up barely an inch. "Are you asking if you can feel what I feel like down there?" I asked as my heart began beating hard and rapidly! One tap. "Uh, yeah," I said feeling my palms begin to sweat heavily. I undid my shorts, and moved them and my boxers away from my stone-like erection. I was cut, and was a bit large for being only 13. I had started going into puberty the year before, but that was mainly a little bit of peach fuzz on my upper lip. The sexual side of things started earlier this year. At that point, no boy had ever touched me down there, at least not until now! The feeling of Pietro's fingers lightly grasping my stiff cock sent shivers through me, and I moaned without realizing I was going to! It felt so good with him holding my cock. He was touching the head of it, and caressing it with his index finger and thumb. He then began sliding his fingers from the tip to the base where he explored every inch of it! "Oh my god Pietro!" I gasped. "Oh man, that feels so good! Damn, I never thought having another boy touch my dick would feel this good! It really feels amazing!" He made a happy sound, then pointed my index finger in the direction of his own cock which I was sure was probably as hard as mine. "I'd love to check it out," I said. "Just let me know if you get uncomfortable at any point, and we'll stop." One tap. Pietro put my hands on the button of his pants, and I undid them. After unzipping them, I moved them and his boxers away from his cock. He took hold of his boxers and pants, and held them out of the way while I took hold of his cock with the index finger and thumb of my right hand. He was bigger than I was by probably an inch or two. Unlike me, he was uncut which I found interesting and rather cool! "Shit, your dick is so hard!" I said smiling. I felt it up and down like he had done with mine, and he moaned in pure pleasure. He was still touching mine and feeling up and down the shaft. It felt incredible, and I never wanted it to stop! We sat like that for a long time, feeling and lightly squeezing one another's erections. We felt up and down every inch of them, then I moved my hand to Pietro's ball sack which was a little hairier than mine. His balls felt slightly bigger than mine as well! I lightly slid my fingertips over his sack, and this made him moan loudly in pleasure! He did the same with my balls as well, and we kept this up for another minute, then I told him I needed to stop. I let him know that I was alright, but the feelings were getting more intense than I could handle. He stopped, and I took my hand off his balls as well. We put our cocks away, and both made sure each other's boxers and pants were in order again. "You leak a lot of precum," I said as we leaned back on the bench holding each other. I asked him if he knew what precum was, and he gave me one tap. I soon learned after a couple of questions that he knew what sex was, and most of the things pertaining to it. I was glad of that. I then rested my head on Pietro's chest, and he held me like all those times before. I felt even closer to him in that moment than ever before! 0000 David Swanson finished the last E-mail on his phone, then tapped send. He had just gotten home, and wanted everything to be finished for when Triston came home. David didn't want work to be left over distracting him from spending his quality time with his son that evening. Putting the phone down on the desk, David leaned back for a moment in his chair. Resting his head against the head rest, David enjoyed the silence. The house in which David and Triston lived was a large three-story house. It was made up of the first floor in which the living room, kitchen, dining room, David's study and a sun room were housed. On the second floor were seven bedrooms, two of which were occupied by David and Triston respectively. On the third floor, was the attic, which was made up of three rooms. The first room was a room that was right when one entered the area. The second room was a room in which an easy chair sat. The room went unused for the most part, but was kept clean in case anyone ever wanted to put it to some sort of use. The third room was a library with several floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Each shelf took up all of the walls save for a small space at the back of the room where an easy chair sat with a table next to it on which sat a reading lamp. Below the first floor was a basement. This was where the washer and dryer were kept, and with the exception of those two appliances, the space was used for storage. David had bought the house about three years after having gone out on his own after he and his son were separated. He had rented apartments for the first three years, and worked his ass off at several construction jobs, then several reception jobs. He saved like crazy, and when he saw the for-sell sign in the front yard, he asked about it. The owners were quick to sell, and David jumped at the chance to buy the home. It didn't take long. He got possession of the house shortly after asking the owners about it. The other thing David loved about the house, was how it was basically out in the country. He still didn't have too long to drive to go into the city of Sangger though. Aside from that, when he arrived at his house after work, he was out in the most peaceful area of woods he had ever experienced. In the Winter time, the snow covering everything was like something out of a post card! David loved where he lived, and when he brought Triston home to live with him, he was glad to see how much the boy loved the place. Most of all, he was glad to see how much of a calming effect the house and the surrounding woods had on Triston. That was the thing that David worried about the most. David was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the door to the house unlock then open. He figured that it was Triston and his aid Jena arriving home. Walking out of the study, he saw the two of them entering the kitchen. He greeted both of them, and Jena told him that everything went well that day. After thanking her, she left and he shared a long hug with Triston before they went in to Triston's room so he could put his backpack away. After David watched Triston arrange all the things that had been in his pack he returned to his study. He was preparing himself to check his personal E-mail, then his phone chimed with an incoming text. He looked, and frowned. He read it, then gave a sound that was a cross between a snort of disgust and a laugh. He knew who the text was from, and thought in his head that she had a lot of nerve reaching out to him once again. This was no surprise. The Bitch had no problem reaching out whenever she wanted or needed something. Of course, she wouldn't allow him any contact with his son. That had been made clear the second day his first son had been in the world. As mentioned before, the boy's mother and him had fucked up equally which caused the boy not to be in his life. Unlike her though, David wanted to try and be a parent to the boy. It was in the end, a simple case of her and her family joining forces. Together they let David know on the second day of his son being in the world, that the boy would go with them. David told them that he was prepared to honor his responsibilities as the boy's father. They would have none of it, and they went home that day, but not before ordering the hospital staff to make sure that David had no further contact with his son. Several weeks later, the courts awarded her full custody of the boy. Nothing David did or said changed anything. This haunted David for all these years, and with all the usual feelings running around in his head he read the text again. 0000 I'm about at the end of my rope with the little Faggot. Yeah, so I kept you away from him for all these years, but that was in hopes that your perverted ways wouldn't rub off on him. It looks like he's turning out to be like you anyway, so I don't know why I even fucking bother! I'm giving serious considerations to just dumping the little cock sucker off on your door step. Don't worry, I would have consulted with the courts and got things straightened out on that end so once with you, his being there would be on the level. I'll keep you updated. 0000 David read the text a third time, then set the phone down struggling not to throw it across the room. So now the fucking Bitch was going to toss the boy off on him, because he wasn't what she wanted him to be. David knew what it really was. She didn't want the boy, and in the beginning didn't want David to have him either. Now she was completely done. David sat there more upset now. If she was talking about the boy in that text, how was she talking to him in real life. "I should have faced who I was much sooner," David said looking at the only picture of the boy he had. This picture was taken just hours after the boy was brought into the world. David looked at it many times, and he stared at it intently now. "If I had faced who I was much earlier, than maybe you wouldn't have to be living whatever you're living now," he said. "I'm so sorry." He looked at the picture a final time, then put it back in his wallet. He then went to visit with Triston and spent some time with him. 0000 Nohea Pietro and I continued spending time together over the next couple of weeks. I was the happiest I had ever been. I was able to endure the weekends at home with my mom and Ray a little easier. I found that it was easier getting through them, knowing that I would be back with my best friend in a couple of days. It was truly a magical time through all those days and weeks. I even told Mrs. Jones about Pietro, and she actually took my feelings for him seriously. By that I mean that she was supportive of how happy I was to be around him, and didn't make fun of us. Sometimes boys who had a best friend at the school would be made fun of by other students, and they might be asked things like where their boyfriend was that day. The staff would make equally mean-spirited comments. Fortunately, as I said, I didn't have to worry about hearing any of that from Mrs. Jones. There was even one point in the middle of September when I was telling her about when Pietro and I hung out the evening before. We had spent time in the wooded area we had been going to like all those times before. She commented on how much I seemed to care for him. This had been one day after school. I had stayed over to talk and visit with her for a few minutes. We had started doing this she and I, starting a couple of days after me meeting her for the first time. I found it easy to talk with her, especially since she had talked to me that first time when I broke down about how difficult it could be at the school some of the time. In short, she was becoming a really good friend as well as a teacher who was good to learn from. After I told her about the evening before with Pietro and I which as I said was in the middle of September. She said that I clearly cared for him a lot. I guessed she knew my true feelings but was trying to not say anything. I felt a little worried, but felt like I wanted to ask her about what I had been thinking in my mind for a while at that point. "Mrs. Jones, I feel so connected to Pietro when I'm with him," I said. "It's like we're one, and when we hold each other that feeling becomes even more strong." "It sounds like you guys truly mean a lot to each other," she said. "He definitely means a lot to me," I said. I paused for a moment, and though the door was closed all the way, I glanced over at it, then back at Mrs. Jones. "I've truly never felt this way about a girl," I said. "I certainly never felt like this about a boy before. Only, sometimes I would notice that I'd get more excited to be around certain boys. I'd notice this in the last couple of years, and by excited I just mean happy to see them and to get to know them if I didn't already." "I figured that's what you meant," Mrs. Jones said. I sat there for a moment thinking. I waited for another moment, then spoke again. "Mrs. Jones, I think I might be gay," I said. I hadn't expected to say that, not really. I surprised myself, and then I waited for her response. She reached out and hugged me, and I rested in her arms as she held me. "I fully accept you if that's who you are," she said. "I couldn't ever see myself turning you away, or rejecting you for loving who you love." "Really?" I asked starting to cry. It was what I wished my family would say to me. "Yeah, really," she replied. "For people who are gay, or of any other category of the LGBT Community, that's who they are, and it's within their hearts. They are who they're meant to be, and the love they can share with someone resulting from whatever sexual orientation they are, should be honored and allowed to flourish. It shouldn't be destroyed, or prevented from being allowed to live and survive." Thank you for saying that," I said sobbing harder. "I'm guessing you're not getting a lot of support from those around you?" she asked. "My family wouldn't ever accept me," I said. "My mom and her husband Ray have made it clear for all of my life how they feel about LGBT people. They've told me many times that they'd disown me if I ever turned out to be gay. There's also the endless amount of gay jokes Ray loves to tell at the dinner table, and the rants my mom goes on seemingly at the drop of a hat, about the perverted ways of homosexuals are hateful. No, they'd kick me out of the house. Come to think of it, I'd be lucky if that's all they did." "Now they have no right threatening you like that," she said deeply upset at this point. My tears had long-since went away, and I was sitting back in my chair as we continued talking. "I don't think they'll do anything right now," I said. "I'd let you know if I thought I was in any danger." "Please let me know if at any time you feel unsafe," she said looking directly at me. "I will, I promise," I answered. "Good," she responded. "I promise that what we talked about here today, especially what you said about possibly being gay will all stay between you and I. I won't share any of that with anyone." "That means a lot," I said. "Thank you." "You're welcome," she answered as we hugged. With that, I left to return to my dorm then to visit Pietro. As I neared the door to his dorm, I smiled widely. I was soon to be with my best friend once again! Once he came out, we went to our special hang-out. We walked along at that point with the two of us truly happy and content. We neared the area of trees like all those times before. I sat down, and we snuggled like before, and I rested my head on Pietro's chest. We sat like that, and I felt so safe and content. I enjoyed the warm feelings as my best friend held me. We left at one point to go have dinner, then we returned around 6:00 P.M. to do some swimming. It was a really fun evening that Thursday evening. Eventually we returned back to our respective dorms, and after hugging Pietro at the door to his dorm, I turned and returned back to my own dorm. As I entered my room smiling widely, I had no way of knowing that things with Pietro would be at an end, and sooner than I could imagine. Author's Notes I hope you guys liked how I did with everything concerning Pietro and Nohea in this chapter. I also hope you all like how I did with the scene where they felt each other while in the woods near the beginning of the chapter. Also, I'm sure you're wondering who David is thinking of when he thinks of his first son. You're all going to find out soon enough. I hope you guys like what happens next. In the next chapter, you'll see where things go between Pietro and Nohea, and Nohea will have really hard things to get through at that point. You guys will have to stick around to see how all that plays out. Having said all that, I hope everyone is having a good evening, and I'll see you all in Chapter Six. x