As always to begin, a DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters, places, situations, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No Copyright infringement is intended. The original plot, dialogue, characters, etc. are the property of this author and may not be duplicated without express permission.

So now that all of that is out of the way, all I can say is that Michael is back and in for some hard lessons about friendship and boundaries. Not to worry, he won't be learning all of them alone, but it might seem so for a little while, since his Complainer-in-Crime is going to also have her own installment following this one. Although, you'll get little hints about what's happening in the Marcus-Peterson household, most of it will only be in reference to this particular FRANTIC character.

As stated before and is well known, I do NOT like Michael. I find him churlish on many levels that makes him easy for me to absolutely abhor everything about him. And I make NO APOLOGIES at all for feeling the way I do. However, in relation to this particular series, I am trying my absolute BEST to grow this character. Unfortunately for all of us, it is going to take some time to do that since he's had years to become the way he is.

Hopefully, we can see little glimpses of who Michael could become during this fic. Hence the reason there is no 'Anti-character' warning being given on any of the fics in this series. Therefore I don't expect to receive email advising that there is no anti-character warning on the story, as I just explained why. I don't expect to have reviews saying the same. Just consider this as if you went to buy a novel in a store and you have no foreknowledge of the characters, nor author. To sum it up, I would hope that everyone would give it a try, but I acknowledge that my story will NOT be everyone's- especially die hard Michael fans- version of happy place. I am not a 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' kind of writer; never have been and will certainly not start being that way now. I call it as I see it, and whereas you may not like my vision, I ask that you respect it just the same. So please, govern yourself accordingly.

I will say that so far, it is rough going... but I'm determined to triumph over my aversion to Michael Charles Novotny, while staying true to the story as a whole. This is DEFINITELY an exercise in craft development for me...just saying.

Oh and one more thing: Although B and J will appear at times in this fic, it will be minimal compared to the last two, or even my preference. The star of this story is Michael *whimpers* I'm trying y'all; I'm just not there yet.  

Anyway, HAPPY READING, Darlings!