Hiatus =/

Hopefully someone cares enough to read this.....

Hi Under the Same Moon readers (I hope there are still some out there)! The story wasn't meant to end when it did (although it would kinda work out); my laptop doesn't run Sims 3 very well and right now it's the only computer I have. It's been on the fritz since a couple days after the the last Under the Same Moon installment and crashed a couple of weeks ago. Although my lap top runs better now, the game not only has the same glitches, but it runs slower. I'm getting a new computer sometime this fall and I might even sell my laptop (any takers? lol) cuz it's kind of an inconvenience to me (which is pretty ironic). Until then, as you can probably tell, I won't be posting any more installments of Under the Same Moon, but I can post the story without the pictures if anyone wants to read (I'll just need to finish it lol), also since I plan on starting the next installment from another point in Patience's life. Lastly, I want to apologize to those I told that the next installment was coming soon and to the loyal readers that have been waiting. I've been so eager to keep this story going that I even dusted off my other computer hoping it would work. Instead it runs as slow as my laptop and force closes because of some stupid "llarmnt5" deficiency or whatever. The only option I have is to wait until I can get my new computer.

Al

Love's Never a Choice: Archer's Story (Working Title)

Hi Alyx (yay I spelled it right)! The site wouldn't let me send thia in a PM. Anyway, I thought I'd show the ending (since I can't think of a beginning) and you can tell me hat I should change and anything else you think should be in the story:

ame41291*: nature calls brb

I opened Notepad over my IM with ()** and walked to the bathroom. As I stood in front of the urinal, a weird thought struck me: what would happen if someone were to find out? How would my parents deal? Would everyone abandon me? I dismissed it. It's impossible, I thought, even () said I'm too careful.

The thought made me laugh as I washed my hands and headed back to the computer lab. As I was sitting down in front of the computer, I noticed something unsettling. "I could've sworn I opened Notepad over the IM," I said. Then I heard something that almost made my heart stop:

"Hey, Jen," Amber whispered.

"What? I'm doing Forensics homework," Jen snapped in a hushed tone.

"Archer's GAY!"

"What?! How would you know?"

"I looked at his computer. He's chatting with his little boy toy!"

I immediately closed my IM with () and said, "oh, crap."

The next couple of days were pure hell. It didn't take long my secret to spread throughout the entire grade. Every day, I came home with a new patch of bruises and scars. Every night, my mom and dad would beg me to tell them what was wrong. I knew that telling them would jeoperdize my relationship with them and I wouldn't be able to deal with that.

Finally, came Friday. All I could think about is the two relaxing days away from this torture chamber. My comforting visions of freedom were interrupted when I bumped into someone on the way to my last class. I apologized, but then I noticed who I had bumped into: Brutus Evans***. He didn't look happy.

"Get outta my way, queer!" he shouted as he knocked me to the floor. Although I was weak from all the thrashings I've had to endure that week, I still managed to get off the floor. Without warning, grabbed me by the neck and pulled me close to his face. "You homos are the scum of the earth," he said, "I wonder what happen if one of them disappeared?"

I usually take threats with grain of salt; however, I've never gotten a death threat before. Mr. Patterson, the assistant principal, broke up the crowd. "Again, Brutus?" He sighed, "You know where my office is. I have other matters to attend to." Mr. Patterson then walked away without a second glance.

"You better pray that you get sick on Monday," he told me, then he walked away.

After class was over, I ran to the bus stop to avoid any more confrontations. As I rode the bus home, I thought about what Brutus said. He's just bluffing, I thought. I almost made myself feel at ease with what he said. But then a thought hit me like a bat to the face: what if he's not? I don't want to die, and it wouldn't be the first time something like this happened. Brutus rarely jokes when it comes to threats, and his dad's a lawyer. He could kill me and get away with it, I thought. At that point in time, there was only one thing I could think of: I have to move.

As soon as I got home, I told my mom that I needed to talk to her and dad. "Sounds important," she said in a concerned tone, "He'll be home around 6:30." I looked around and saw Paige wasn't home. "Where's Paige?" I asked. "She's at a friends," said mom.

Mom and I waited until dad came home. I sat them down and started to confess. "I know you guys have noticed the bruises and scars I've been getting at school..." Mom started asking a million questions a minute while dad turned white, as if to say, "Oh, God. Hopefully he's not about to tell us what I think he's about to tell us." After telling my mom to calm down, I took a deep breath and revealed the truth:

"Mom...Dad...I'm gay."

I spilled everythng; about (), the sneaking out, the computer incident, Brutus' treat, everything. Mom let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank goodness, that's it?" I nodded. "Oh, Archie," she said as she pulled me into a hug, "I don't care if you're gay! I'll always love you no matter what. And don't worry, we'll do something about school."

It was like a weight was lifted off of me hearing my mom say that; however, when I looked behind her, hoping dad was there, I saw no one. Dad had left the room.

That night as I was about to go to sleep, I heard my mom and dad fighting. They've never fought like this before and they were fighting over me:

"He's getting beaten everyday at this school! Unless you want to lose your only son, we need to move!"

"Why can't we just send him to a different school?"

"He told me someone threatened to kill him! It won't be that hard to find out where he lives."

"What are we supposed to do for money?!"

"We'll move far enough to make Archer feel safe, but close enough so that it won't be a long commute."

Dad let out a frustrated sigh, "For God's sake, why couldn't he be normal?!" I went to bed before I could hear anything else.

The next day, I woke up at around 2:30. I must've been exhausted from this insane week, I thought. The first thing I did was check if () was online. Seeing that he was, I IM'd him:

ame41291: hey ()

whiteboy1225: hi wats up

ame41291: ppl found out ive been gettin my behind handed 2 me all wk hbu

whiteboy1225: ooh that suks

ame41291: yea so can u cheer me up i can come ovr @ 5

whiteboy1225:well actually.....

ame41291: wat??

whiteboy1225: i kinda found sum1 else. but can we still b friends

ame41291: RUS???? im gettin the crap kicked outta me at skool n ur gonna brkup wit me NOW????

whiteboy1225: yea sry bi

whiteboy1225: whiteboy1225 has signed off

Trying to manage my anger, I made my way to the kitchen to get something to eat, where I caught mom and dad in the middle of a discussion. Dad immediately retreated to his room while mom spoke with me. "I know that keeping you in this school is a bad idea," she started, "and just transferring you won't help, so we're moving." I let out a relieved sigh. She continued: "We're gonna tie up all the loose ends here while you stay at aunt Sharlene's house."

"Okay," I said, "So, when do I leave?"

"Tonight."

"Are you sure I shouln't leave tomorrow?"

"The sooner the better right?"

I couldn't argue with mom on that one. "I'll start packing now," I stated. I was relieved, almost elated to leave ()****, but I was saddened that my dad wasn't behind me on this.

That night, mom, dad, Paige, and I piled into the car and started the long drive to my aunt Sharlene's. Mom explained to Paige that some bad people wanted to hurt me, so they were taking me to aunt Sharlene's to stay while they finish packing. Beside's that, the trip was pretty silent; even Paige noticed something wrong, so she tried to keep quiet to prevent tempers from flaring. We finally got to aunt Sharlene's house just outside of (). Paige and mom said there goodbye's while dad stayed in the car. After everyone was done, they went back into the car and drove away.

Aunt Sharlene was more caring and sensitive than she usually is (ugh, mom told her). She let me sleep in the guest bedroom. AsI laid my head on the pillow, I had a strange feeling: I'm guessing it was safety. The feeling was so comforting, that I feel right asleep.

That's the ending. Now the stars:

*I couldn't think of a screen name that fit Archer so I improvised. Could you come up with a better one?

**You have to think of Archer's first boyfriend's name

***Brutus is a supporting character, so do you want his name to be Brutus?

****What's the name of the city they live in? I've had to sift through all of Times Change's chapters, but I never came across that.

Sorry I didn't get the story exactly right. Please write back with your comments. Astonn