---
By the end of the week, the whispers in the halls hadn't vanished — but something else had started to happen, too.
It was CJ who noticed it first. He nudged Scott at lunch one day, flicking his eyes across the cafeteria.
"You see that?" CJ muttered, a grin tugging at his lips.
Scott glanced up — and his heart squeezed.
Across the room, Alex Chen — the quiet kid from drama club who'd once told Scott he envied his "bravery" — was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Jordan Price, the track star everyone assumed was straight as an arrow.
Except now, Jordan's pinkie was hooked around Alex's under the table.
Their heads were tilted together, sharing headphones.
They looked… free.
---
Scott swallowed, his eyes flicking to Brian across the table. Brian's big hand was wrapped around Scott's thigh — casual, protective, warm. He followed Scott's gaze and let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
"Holy shit," Brian breathed. "We… we did that?"
"Not just us," Scott said softly. "But yeah — I think we did."
---
By Friday, they weren't the only ones anymore.
Marissa walked through the front doors holding hands with her crush — a pretty senior named Emma. They kissed by the trophy case, not caring who saw.
Two juniors from the soccer team started eating lunch together — side by side, their knees touching. Nobody pushed them away.
For every cruel joke, every rolled eye, there were just as many who clapped them on the back, who said good for you, who said I've been waiting, too.
It was like the world cracked open — just a bit — and let in some fresh air.
---
One afternoon, as they were packing up to leave practice, Brian's teammates crowded around him in the locker room. For a moment Scott froze, bracing for a shove, an insult — but instead, the captain — a broad-shouldered forward named Mason — just grinned and gave Brian a rough one-armed hug.
"Hey, man," Mason said, his voice easy, no edge to it. "You're still our MVP. Just don't start checking us out in the showers."
A ripple of laughter. Brian rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.
"Shut up, Mason," he said, shoving him lightly. "You're not my type."
---
Scott waited by the doors, watching Brian laugh with his teammates — the same guys who once would've eaten him alive for a rumor. Now they joked, they accepted it — because Brian owned it. Because he didn't hide.
When Brian spotted him, he crossed the room without hesitating — leaned in, pressed a quick, soft kiss to Scott's mouth right there under the flickering locker room lights.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Brian said, voice low, smile warm. "Ready to go home?"
"Home," Scott echoed, heart beating hard. "Yeah."
---
And when prom posters started going up the next week — "NOMINATE YOUR ROYALTY!" in glitter paint — everyone knew exactly who they were voting for.
King and King.
No secrets. No shame.
Just love.