Future as Bright as Halogen - Comments

SORRYSORRYSORRY. I'm lazy, that's my only excuse for this being so bloody late. But it's here now.

you've got style, you've got nerves.
Firstly, I'm pleased you've brought this back, it's one of my favourites of yours. And secondly, lol at Mariah. I love that you've used such a renowned diva to be the bane of Macy's existance for the moment. I can only imagine how irritating it must be to put up with someone so famous and have to deal with them chopping and changing their mind and she can't say anything out of term, which probably makes it worse.

I think it's funny how both Macy and Amber seem to have attracted men that have dangerous jobs. Chase was the Bear Grylls wannabe and this Spike bloke is a stuntman. It seems the two sisters are like the lesser extravagent half of their relationships. It's interesting how you've done that. And I can definitely understand the sisterly rivalry. This day in particular isn't the greatest for Macy.

Gabe's so sweet. He's like the rainbow over the storm. I'm hoping over time he's going to permenantly inject some pure happiness into Macy's life. She's been dragged down by work and Chase and now the prospect of Amber getting married before she does to someone she's not been with for very long. I think Gabe's going to cause her more happiness than annoyance, as much as she's trying to fight it.

The thought of her going back to Maryland is a little like you want to cringe and think 'nonononono!' but she's going to do it anyway and probably go mental in the process. I don't think I'm going to like Amber, she sounds quite the demanding little cow already.

I don't care what you tell the other guys.
And it gets worse. I think the postcard and invitation arriving on the same day really rubbed a bit more salt in the wound. Macy not long since said a farewell to Chase and sort of moved out of their apartment, her relationship is broken down and in tatters, and then she's got the invitation where Amber and Spike are all loved up and happy. It's a nice contrast between the two sisters and how their relationships are working out.

It must take a hell of a lot for Gabe to keep his mouth shut. Nobody has really said anything out of term about Chase or Macy's current situation, and I bet he's dying to tell her what he really thinks. He's thinking sense, but I think he's scared she won't see it that way. It's tactical, and smart of him to hold back. But I think at some point, Macy will want someone to tell her the truth.

I LOVED the idea of bringing Leighton into it. Again, more sweetness from Gabe. He really knows how to cheer her up, what with the zoo and the penguins the day before, and now he's letting her meet someone she admires. They really do need to become official, asap. He doesn't take no for an answer either. The way he just turns up at her office and whisks her away and then takes her off to the studio. But saying that, Macy doesn't complain, she just goes with it and doesn't question or complain. They're so well suited, when will they see!

It's funny she was so starstruck. Leighton's famous, of course, but you'd think Macy would have a sort of famous person meeting poker face, after working with so many stars. But it's cute and shows she does have a human side, and she is like everybody else.

These parts were really sweet, and I love seeing their friendship develop and see how Gabe's obviously got Macy on his mind a lot of the time, for Leighton to know about her, she must be a permenant position in his mind. I love this story, each part has a touch of drama, but is really cute at the same time. Looking forward to the rest of this when you get back from Montreal. (:

I love this story. This is actually the first Gabe story I've read and its wonderful.

I'm here reading!!
Great chapter!!

I'm still here and still reading this.

It's great to see that Macy is working her way out of the rut. Although the wedding invitation and the postcard were big setbacks in this process, but Gabe's ability to make Macy smile easily overcame them. I thought it was adorable that Leighton and the rest of the Cobras noticed how Gabe and Macy would make a cute couple.

Yesss of course I still read this! Loved the update. :)

I'm stoked that this story is back from the dead.
It's been a while since I've read a quality Gabe story, and I genuinely missed reading this one.

BACK FROM THE DEAD!! Very happy about that!! :)

Sorry about failing so much and making you wait for this review. I feel so mean. Since I can't sleep, I'm coming to review now. Hopefully this will all be comprehendible.

First of all, I love how much this part says about Gabe. It really gives the reader an insight into so many aspects of his character and it really helped me to understand him a lot better.

I liked how you opened with dialogue, it brings the reader straight into the story and instantly grabbed their interest. And it's like the pair of them have been interrupted, so not everything is clear right away and the reader can make their own mind up. It's a really clever technique and really works well in this story. You know what to do to make things interesting.

And I love how calm Gabe is; he doesn't even argue back and just let her have her moment. He seems awfully laid back, which is such a contrast to Chase, who is always on the go. “Technically you got your self drunk,” Gabe said with a smile, not even trying to dispute the facts. “I just bought the drinks.” He's also very sure of himself, he knows that it is his fault, but he's trying to slip the blame off him in an inconspicuous way. And he's just smiling and going along with it, letting her slip the blame onto him whilst trying to wriggle his way out. I loved how you wrote that.

I think that Macy wants Gabe to fight back. She glared at Gabe who was the picture of calm, and it infuriated her. She's not used to all this calm in her life and she's expecting Gabe to start something, but there's just...nothing. She's all geared up for an argument - I think that this may have been a regular occurrence when she was with Chase and they were both home together - but Gabe's just not that type of person. He'd rather take things as they come, rather than dwell on stuff.

And he's sensible, too! Retaliation would only fuel her bad mood even more. He knows that fighting back will just make things worse, and all he wants to do is leave a lasting good impression on her. Gabe knows what to do and knows that even though Macy isn't happy about the fact that he phoned in sick for her at work, he did it because he knew that she'd feel better for having a little break from it all.

This really does emphasise his honesty. He prided himself on telling the truth but there were times when even he crossed the line. Often people describe themselves as having all these desirable traits, but they gloss over the "undesirable" aspects of these traits. And Gabe knows that he's brutally honest and his honesty sometimes hurts people, and he's completely at ease with the fact. It shows that he's a person who's confident in himself and can recognise his flaws.

It was sweet that Gabe waited for Macy whilst she got her hair done! And I think that it made it all worthwhile because by doing it, he did help Macy's bad mood. Maybe it was when she had finished at the hairdressers and saw that Gabe was still waiting. She's just so used to Chase never being there that she's still getting used to the fact that a male figure in her life is prepared to go at her pace, rather than at a pace that suits him. This really shows that Gabe is a patient person and doesn't mind doing what Macy wants. He's really sweet and you've portrayed this well.

Aww this line was possibly my favourite in the whole story, it was so pretty! The more time she spent with Gabe the more she realized that she had truly been missing this kind of person in her life. It's like he's the missing link that she's been waiting for and the more time she spends with him, the more he grows on her. And because she was so wrapped up in Chase, she couldn't really appreciate the type of friendship that she now has with Gabe, because there was no way for her to experience it.

Gabe just understands. “It’s okay you don’t have to apologise for anything. I’ll see you soon,” He knows that Macy's been through a hard time recently and is willing to take his time. And he's just being so understanding towards her, and I thought it was so sweet when he kissed her cheek. He's been hiding these feelings for a little while now, and he's finally acted on them. But not in a pushy way, he's just gently showed her how he feels and left it at that.

The ending was good, too. I like how it just ended on Macy feeling completely and utterly confused, it doesn't give anything away and it makes me wonder whether she likes him back, whether she's unsure about her feelings or whether she doesn't know how to break it to him that she doesn't like him back. I like how the reader was left in slight confusion because it echoes Macy's character and it makes me want to read on so much.

Great update! Sorry about the lateness! :twitch:

This is a little bit late. I'm just lazy, and that's all I can say on the matter.

The beginning was very much the morning after. Macy was just realising where she was and what had happened the previous night. It's like she's collecting all the memories together and fitting them into the puzzle, and she blames Gabe for her drunkenness, because he was there with her. She hasn't been drunk for so long, that it's natural for her to blame him, because that makes it out of her control. I think I've said before that Macy seems like a character that prefers everything to be in her control, than not.

Gabe's so calm and I love how he's just plonked himself in her life. He knows he's going to become a permenant fixture at some point, and he's hinting at that to her, I think deep down, Macy knows that Gabe wants to be her boyfriend and all that jazz, but she's keeping it to herself, as is he.

Gabe's a lot more orderly than Macy thought, and he's one step ahead of her. It shows how thoughtful he is, and I like that you've written him as being really nice and caring, it's refreshing since he's normally a cocky arsehole. You've made him into this much more charming, yet cheeky character, and I really like that.

The idea of Macy hiding behind a wall is a good one. It's as though she throws herself into her job, and although it enables her to do an amazing job at each event she organises, it's stopping her from letting go and having fun. I think Gabe's going to help her make the divide between work and having fun, and I hope he's going to be a really good influence on her. Plus, it's going to help her forget Chase ever existed and he might end up falling from a great height or something equally as fatal and nasty.

Gabe's forwardness is good. It's like any other band boy might have more tact and keep quiet to please Macy, but Gabe's lack of tact is reassuring in a way. It's what he says and how he says it. It's the first step to showing Macy that she can be fun, and she can forget about Chase and still do well at work. He's going to give her that balance that she's needed for a long time, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it develop and seeing how her character reacts to the changes she's no doubt going to go through.

His determination is so sweet. It's not an obvious cutesy thing to put in, but it's underlying and it's there. Gabe knows he looks a bit gay, sitting there in the hairdressers, reading through Cosmo and all those other celebrity magazines, but he's doing it with Macy's best interest at heart. I think he could be also doing it to prove a point, he does like her, but he's also hanging around because I think he knows she expects him to have gotten bored and left already, so for him to wait will be a nice surprise for her.

I liked the idea of her haircut being the physical change. Macy's changing her appearance to make her feel better and to re-invent herself. So I'm looking forward to the mental and emotional changes, and seeing if those work out as easily as her physical one's have.

That had really made all the difference; Chase had never waited for her. And there's the difference. I don't know if Chase and Gabe are in fact, polar opposites, because in a sense, both of them have jobs which keep them away from the people they love the most, but I think their personalities are the main difference. It shows that Gabe has one over Chase already, so he's well on his way to getting firmly in Macy's good books and for the pair of them to become more than just friends of a friend.

The ending was perfect, and the kiss was really cute. I love that he didn't steam on ahead and kiss her full on the lips. Again, it's that hinting of wanting to be something more, but still holding back for fear of scaring her off. It's really sweet, and I love them as a couple already and they aren't even 'official'! It did leave it open for me to wonder for a little bit about what's to come, but I think their future together is pretty much halfway to being sealed. Really looking forward to the rest of this now, Nina.

Lovely.(:

Awh. Gabe is such a sweetie. <3 The guys I know might be able to tolerate going to the hairstylist with me, but not without bitching about it the whole time.

Gabe's persistence is great, but I can see why Macy is confused.
After being with Chase for so long, she's not used to having a guy go out of his way to make her smile.

You had best still be online a bit so we can chat!

I love this update though, Gabe seems to be quite the charmer, yeah?

Ah finally a Gabe story! :D

I love it.

This is late and I apologise for that. But I'm here now, typing this what I hope will be epic feedback.

The beginning really set the backdrop for Macy's life. It's all very hectic and stressful and it's a wonder she's not tearing her hair out. The amount of people and problems she's been bombarded with today isn't fantastic and it's not doing her any favours at all. I liked the celebrities you pulled in as well to make matters worse, especially Mariah and her ridiculous demands.

Pete's like Macy's lifesaver. I'm so glad you haven't written him as some sort of big headed twat, like he's often portrayed. You've looked beyond the big headed persona he's usually shown as having, and I find that really nice to read. He's a breath of fresh air in Macy's life, and even though he asked her to organise the Invisible Children event, she doesn't view that quite as bad as other things she's in the middle of. I think that could be because it's finished, it just needs to happen now. Macy comes across as someone that likes the job done properly, she's very thorough in what she does, and she could be a tiny bit of a perfectionist in a way.

The gala was like the result. Macy seemed happy with how everything was going at first. She's happy to sit back and watch, and not have a fuss made of all the work she's put into. The guests have the easy job, but Macy's put in the hours and the effort to make the night run as smoothly as possible. She gets no recognition from the press or anyone that shows up, and it's quite sad in a way, but at the same time, it could be the way she prefers it to be.

Gabe's entrance shook things up for her a little bit. She was caught off guard, as she expected the night to solely be work, but then Gabe pops up and you know that Macy's going to get something unexpected. She's suddenly very aware of their surroundings and their previous meetings. Before, she was too upset about Chase to really care what any new people thought of her, but now she has the option to become more self concious of herself, and maybe she's embarassed about the circumstances under which she and Gabe first met.

Pete trying to be sneaky was good. It goes back to what he said to Bronx before, and how he knows what Gabe's after, but he's protecting Macy and making sure she doesn't get hurt again. Even though, he probably knows that that isn't what Gabe wants to do.

She was glad to always be in demand and be needed for something, it kept her mind occupied and her hands working. It seems that, she's always been very into her work, and she throws herself into organising these events and making sure they run as planned. But this seems even more apparent since her and Chase broke up. It's taking her mind off things and keeping busy is keeping her thoughts away from Chase.

The fact that the night went really well was a nice little contrast to how the day began. It was all a little too hectic at first and now everything's fallen into place and things have gone right for Macy.

I loved the description of the club. It's making me want to actually be in one now. It was really accurate. And I liked that you took Macy out of her comfort zone. I also liked that she didn't fight Gabe and went along with it. It took things out of her control for a while, and it was nice to see a different side of her. Gabe was extremely nice as well, even though he sort of put his foot in it asking her about Chase, it did seem tactless, but I was surprised to see that Macy gave him an honest answer. It's nice that she's had that dwelling period and that time to reflect upon what had been, and now she's on the way to getting over it. But it's good that you haven't had Gabe jump on in there and suddenly want her. He wants to be with her, but he's keeping it to himself right now. He knows he can't come on too strong, because it might scare her away.

Tipsy Macy was really funny. I can just imagine the drunken one rambling. She's a nice drunk. Gabe's still listening to her as well, despite the fact the booze has gone straight to her head. He wants to know everything about her, but there's still those barriers, they don't know each other well enough to ask certain questions and so he's still keeping it to himself and instead they go off and have a little dance. The ending left it open for us to decide what happened during the rest of that night, and I like how your establishing their relationship. It's refreshing to read a story in which the characters didn't know each other straight off and they're having to build up trust and a friendship before taking anything further. I'm looking forward to the rest of this now.

Bloody hell Nina, if you call this slow updating then I dread to think what you'd call my speed of updating! :twitch: I've not updated my chaptered for over two weeks now! And your updates are like, double the size of mine :lmfao

I'm dying not to hurt you
I like how it opened on one sentence. By Friday Ashlee was worried. it really sets the mood for the piece, and it also shows that Ashlee is a person who really cares for her friends. She really looks out for them and she knew that Macy was really upset about Chase, so she's worrying if she's okay because she hasn't heard from her for a few days. She knows that Macy needs breathing space but she wants to make sure that everything is alright. It's really sweet of her.

I loved Pete's take on the whole situation. “She’s probably just burning everything that reminds her of Chase and is making a voodoo doll of him, you know what she’s like,” This is his way of telling Ashlee not to worry and he's just trying to bring some humour to the situation to lighten the mood. He cares about Macy but I get the feeling that he's a very laid-back person who doesn't worry and tries to see the good in everything, which is why he complements Ashlee so well - because she tends to worry a bit more, for example. I get the impression Pete helps to keep Ashlee calm.

This shows that Ashlee is nervous. Ashlee said nothing as she began to chew on her nails. Biting your nails is a very nervous habit and she's using this as an outlet to let out her worry because she doesn't know what else to do. Pete is just being really calm about the whole situation and she just can't keep her cool because she knew how much Chase meant to Macy, even if he was a bit of a twat and stayed away from her for long periods of time.

I liked Pete's disapproval. :tehe: he narrowed his eyes at his best friend. Gabe had taken a little too much interest in Macy’s situation and the girl herself for it all to be kosher enough for Pete (I cut the end of it a little.) He doesn't like the fact that Gabe is taking too much of an interest in Macy and he's worried that he might take advantage of her in her upset state. Something isn't quite right here for Pete and I think he wants to say something to Gabe but he doesn't know what to say.

The light-heartedness from Pete made me smile here. “I’m not letting you date until you’re at least 21, you got that?” I like the character of Pete, I like that he's a bit of light relief from the slightly heavier moods, he makes me smile. And I like that this little phrase gives an insight into Pete's take on the whole Macy/Chase situation. I just get the impression that he's just tired of what's been happening between the pair of them and hates the fact that it's so complicated. And I liked that he's really protective over Bronx too, it shows that he's a really doting father.

This comment from Gabe amused me. “Maybe she’s not in,” Gabe suggested, feeling slightly dejected at the thought. I get the impression that he wants to be the knight in shining armour that will save Macy and make her feel better again, and when he's faced with the problem that she's not there (or so he thinks), he doesn't know what to do about this.

I like that they took her shopping. Despite initial protests Macy was glad to get out of her apartment, it helped that she was not alone – she had Ashlee and Gabe to push her along. It was something to take her mind off Chase - even if she didn't initially think of it like that - and I think that by getting out of the house she was able to escape all of the memories of Chase that were still in her house. I think the fact that she was stuck inside there for so long made matters worse instead of better and she just wallowed in self-pity instead of trying to get on with her life.

This was the start of her forgetting all about Chase. She deleted the Discovery Channel on her TV guide so there would be no way of her catching a re-run of ‘Extreme Survival With Chase Savage’. After spending time with Gabe and Ashlee, she's realised that Chase really isn't worth her upset and I think that deleting the channel was the best thing to do because right now, she just needs to take her mind off Chase and just look to the future, instead of focusing on the past.

Gabe's timing amused me. “What would you do if I were to ask Macy out on a date?’ Gabe had asked Ashlee the minute Pete had left the house. He knows that Pete doesn't approve of his feelings for Macy so has seized his chance when Pete wasn't there to comment on all of this - but Ashlee would probably tell him anyway. I like that he was checking out the possibilities before diving straight in and I think that's the main difference between him and Chase. Chase often acts on impulse and doesn't think things through, but Gabe is the opposite and likes to think things through and plan ahead. I like how you've made them really different to one another.

Really liked this part, it gave me a great insight into Pete and Gabe in particular. Now onto the second update! :tehe:

I don't care about my dirty pleasure for you
I like the chaos that ensues over the first paragraph of the story. It's just setting everything up to be the day from hell and I think that it's a good thing that she has the event that evening to look forward to, because I get the impression that she's very close to snapping. And by the way, I loved the little mention of Jared Leto, it made me smile. :tehe:

And I loved Pete's outlook on it all. “It’s best if I don’t ask right?” Pete asked taking a seat in front of her desk and stretching his legs out. He can tell when a woman is under a lot of stress and knows that the best plan of action is to stay well away from her or not mention anything about it. I love how Pete can just be so relaxed when everybody around him is just going crazy. He's a contrast from the other characters and I like this because it's good to have variety, instead of a dozen characters that all act the same as one another.

It was good to see a little mention of the quality of Macy's work. She watched the celebrities pour in and she couldn’t help but feel proud at the fact that she had pulled them all here. I like how it's not explicitly stated about how brilliant she is at her job, I like that it's just hinted at - like in this line. It's obvious that Macy's organisation skills are perfect and she's done her job really well because there are so many people that have turned up.

Loved the introduction of Gabe to this part! “What no flannel pyjama bottoms today?” came an amused voice from in front of Macy. I like how Gabe is ever the joker! I think he knows that he can get away with the comments he makes because he's always such a sweetheart afterwards. He seems to really notice Macy and what she's wearing, which again is a contrast from Chase who only really thought about his latest escapade which would be filmed for all to see.

Mm, I really don't think that Pete approves at all. Gabe had the sneaky feeling that maybe Pete was introducing him to new people solely to keep him at his side. I think that one of his biggest fears is that Macy will get hurt again. And I know he trusts Gabe because they're best friends but Pete knows that Macy has just come out of a really heavy relationship and she just needs some time to recuperate, and he wants Gabe to respect that.

Sorry for quoting a lot here. So the end of the night ended on a positive note, and as the guests were filing out nodding their head at Macy as a means of thanking her, Gabe strode towards her. His shirt was now un-tucked and his blazer slung loosely over his arm. First of all, it was good that you mentioned about the night ending on a positive note and being a success, because that's exactly what Macy was hoping for. It was nice to see. And secondly, I love how Gabe is just so scruffy and I like that he "strode", it just seems like a Gabe-like thing to do (although to be honest I'm not too well-up on Gabe, I only know that he's the singer for Cobra Starship :tehe:). He just seems so relaxed and he only has one thing on his mind, which is speaking to Macy. He's respected Pete's wishes over the evening, but has figured that since it's all over now, it's fair enough for him to go and speak to Macy.

This was quite sad to read. She wasn’t sure how to act around Gabe yet. The couple of times she had met him were when she was in moments of great personal distress and acting far from normal. She was really affected by Chase and is still not entirely over him. She wants Gabe to know that she's normal and that it was Chase that had really messed with her, but she doesn't know how to put this into words without coming across as slightly needy and upset because after all - she was the one who finished it. I think she worries that Gabe won't understand why she was so upset after finishing things, but I think she underestimates him and that Gabe would totally empathise with her.

I thought this was clever of Gabe, even if he labelled himself as stupid for asking it. “Not even with Chase?” He wasn’t sure why he had said it, but he did. It was a stupid question to ask but somehow he needed that question to be answered with a ‘no’. I think that by asking this and expecting a "no", Macy will instantly see him as a different person to Chase because he's treating her entirely differently. He wants to show her the life that she never had with Chase.

This says a lot about Macy and maybe a little bit about why she started to see Chase (sorry for epic quotage). “Dating stupid reckless boys seems to be a family occupation. My mother married a marine, my sister is engaged to a stuntman and my brother signed up for the SEALS. I mean seriously is it any wonder I dated the nature freak who eats a mountain bears bone marrow to survive?” I think that in some sense, she started seeing Chase because he was exciting and reckless. It was almost as if she had to because the rest of her family were involved with reckless people too. I get the impression that Macy tries too hard to fit in, and if she just relaxed a little more then everything would get a lot better for her. I like that she has flaws because it makes her a much more believable character.

This made me giggle. Pete played it to Bronx as a lullaby for a while. Until Ashlee put her foot down at least. I think it was a good move to put a light-hearted thing like this into the story to bring the mood up from Macy's big confession to Gabe. It made me giggle because it's a cute little argument, nothing serious and just a bit of a laugh.

I loved the way this ended. She decided that now was the time to live a little. Or a lot. Depending if Gabe was the one dragging her to the clubs. It gives the reader hope for the future, that Macy is going to pick up her life and carry on, helped along by Gabe. I get the impression that Gabe will be very good for her and I can't wait to see how the rest of the story pans out. I loved this and I love you. Hopefully next time I will be more prompt with my feedback. :lmfao

Although nothing big happened in this chapter, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great to see Macy having fun for a change.

This was lovely, as always.

Fantastic, as always. And I'm so excited you get to see Jack's!!! :D

<333