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Being the only gay kid in high school was probably the worst thing Michael had ever had to deal with. People were constantly staring at him, whispering as he walked by. It was like being in an exhibit at the zoo and Michael was the main attraction.
He was lucky, though. He didn’t get bullied much, and his friends were fully accepting of who he was. They were always there to look out for him, and they never let anyone get away with making fun of him.
Michael wasn’t ashamed of who he was. He liked being gay, and he liked liking boys. The problem was, when you were the only gay kid in high school, there was no point in letting yourself develop feelings for anyone, and there was no use in going to prom.
It wasn’t like Michael was a fan of school activities anyway. He was the first to mock the hilarity of a pep rally, and he never bothered getting involved when spirit week rolled around once a year. School dances were just pathetic.
The thing was, this wasn’t just a school dance. This was prom.
Michael hated to admit it, but deep down he ached to be able to go. It would be the last time he’d ever be able to attend something like this. He didn’t want to skip out on it and then later find himself regretting it thirty years down the line. He wanted to go, and have fun. But there was no way he’d ever be able to find a date, and showing up alone was just humiliating.
“People go to prom alone all the time,” Luke said, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth. The two of them were hanging out in Michael’s bedroom, sitting on the floor listening to music and eating chips, ignoring the stack of homework that sat in front of them.
“Everybody knows that I’m gay,” Michael said. “If I show up alone, everyone’s going to know that it’s cause I’m the only person that was stupid enough to come out.”
“You’re not stupid for coming out,” Luke argued. “You’re stupid for a lot of other reasons, but not ‘cause you decided to come out.”
“Yeah, tell that to everyone that would laugh at me if I walked into the school gym by myself.”
Michael grabbed a few chips, stuffing them into his mouth before leaning backwards until his back hit the side of his bed. Luke rolled his eyes, moving down so he was laying on his stomach. He propped his head up on his hands.
“They wouldn’t laugh,” Luke said. “No one’s going to care whether you show up or not.”
“Thanks, Luke. That’s really comforting,” Michael said sarcastically. “You don’t get to have an opinion. You have a date.”
“It’s a pity date,” Luke said. “Sam only said yes because she just broke up with her boyfriend. Hey, I bet he’s going to show up alone.”
“Oh, great,” Michael grumbled. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed. “I’m not going.”
“You have to go,” Luke said, picking up a chip and tossing it at Michael. It hit him in the shoulder and toppled down into his lap.
“I don’t have to go,” Michael claimed, picking up the chip and putting it in his mouth.
“You want to go,” Luke said.
“Yeah, I want to go,” Michael admitted. “I want the cheesy prom proposal and the stupid pictures that I’m going to hate the second I look at them. I want to dance with somebody to songs I don’t even like and get all sugared up on punch. But that isn’t going to happen, because I don’t have anyone to go with. And I don’t want to go alone. Where’s the fun in that, anyway?”
“You won’t be alone,” Luke said, pushing himself up so he was sitting on his knees in front of Michael. “I’ll be there! Calum will be there! You can hang out with us.”
“Both of you have dates!” Michael said, throwing his arms up into the air. “I’ll be like, the fifth wheel. I’m not going. I’m just going to end up sitting by myself the whole night.”
“I wouldn’t just abandon you,” Luke said, moving over to sit beside his friend. “I really want you there.”
“Sorry, Luke,” Michael said, turning his head to face Luke. “I just don’t see it happening.”
***
The countdown to prom was growing shorter and shorter, leaving only three days left before the big night.
Luke had gone shopping with his brother, Jack. He still hadn’t found the right tux. He was still in the awkward stage of being both broad and thin, his gangly limbs giant shoulders making it hard to find anything that fit him properly.
Honestly, he was distracted. He couldn’t stop thinking about Michael, and how he still hadn’t changed his mind about going to prom. Luke knew it wouldn’t be the same without him. A part of him didn’t want to go without his best friend being there to celebrate the end of their high school experience with him. It just wouldn’t feel right.
“What about this one?” Jack asked, walking over to one of the displays. “It’s classy, but not too formal, and by the looks of it they could probably make any adjustments you need in no time.”
“It’s nice,” Luke said, not really paying attention.
“What’s up with you?” Jack asked, turning away from the display to face Luke. “It’s like you’re not even in the same room as me right now.”
“Michael doesn’t want to go to prom,” Luke blurted out. “I mean, he wants to go, but he doesn’t want to go without a date.”
“I don’t blame him,” Jack said. “I went by myself even though all of my friends had dates, and they all spent the whole night making out with each other. I’m pretty sure I ate all of the pretzels by myself.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t just leave him alone,” Luke said. “I don’t want to go if he isn’t there.”
“It sounds like you should take him instead of that Sam chick,” Jack said. “It’s not like you’re even that into her.”
“No,” Luke admitted. “But it’s not like Michael would even say yes. And I’ve already agreed to go with Sam. I can’t just bail on her three days before the dance.”
“Why not?” Jack asked. “Are you even going to have any fun if you’re just thinking about Michael all night? I’m sure Sam would understand.”
“I don’t know,” Luke said, shaking his head. “Whatever, I don’t want to keep thinking about. Who do I see about trying on this tux?”
***
Two days to go.
Michael was already moping around, feeling bitter about not going to a dance that hadn’t even happened yet. He hated himself for even caring, but he couldn’t help it. The only prom he’d ever have was about to pass him by.
“Why don’t you just go?” his mom asked. It was the third time she’d brought it up, and Michael was starting to get annoyed.
“I’m not going alone,” he replied, repeating his previous answers. “And I’m not changing my mind.”
***
“Is Sam home?”
Luke was standing outside of Sam’s house, waiting for her mom to let her know that he was there. His hands were shaking, already hating himself for what he was about to do.
“Luke?” Sam asked, appearing at the door. She stepped outside and shut the door behind her. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk to you,” Luke said, looking down at his feet, “about prom.” I’m a terrible person, he though.
“Oh. Actually, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk to you about it, too,” Sam said. She grabbed Luke’s hand and led him down the front steps. She sat down, tugging him down with her.
“I don’t think we should go together,” she said. “Ethan called. He wants to get back together. I told him I’d already said I’d go with you, but…”
“No, that’s good,” Luke said, feeling the weight lift from his chest. “You should go with him.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. “Oh, thank you so much, Luke! You’re amazing.”
“No, thank you,” Luke said, giving her a smile. “I was coming to back out, anyway. I was so scared I was going to leave you hanging.”
“Me too,” Sam admitted. “But I guess it worked out for both of us!”
“I guess it did,” Luke said.
***
“Come outside.”
Michael rolled his eyes. It was the day before prom, and all he wanted to do was lie in bed. Luke, apparently, had other plans.
“Gimme a minute,” Michael grumbled, sitting up on his bed. “I’m hanging up the phone now.”
He ended the call and got up, walking to his front door and slipping on a pair of shoes. His pajama pants were hanging low on his hips, and his hair was a disheveled mess. He didn’t care, though. It was only Luke.
He opened the front door and stepped outside. It took him a moment to realize what he was seeing.
Luke was standing on his front lawn wearing a suit and tie. A tiny red rose was tied to his lapel, and in his hands were a bouquet just like the one on his suit.
“Hey,” Luke said awkwardly.
“Hey,” Michael said slowly, taking a few steps closer to Luke. “What’s all this?”
“This is an extremely shitty prom proposal,” Luke said. “Mostly because when I asked Sam I didn’t do anything fancy, so I’ve never really done this before. I didn’t know if I should make a sign or anything. I figured you’d just make fun of me if I did that.”
“Luke, what’s going on?” Michael asked, scrunching up his eyebrows.
“Will you go to prom with me?” Luke asked, holding out the flowers for Michael to take.
“What happened to Sam?” Michael asked, tentatively reaching out his hand to take the bouquet.
“I told her we shouldn’t go,” Luke said. “Turns out she got back together with her boyfriend, anyway. I couldn’t stand the thought of being there without you. It wouldn’t have been any fun.”
“You would have had fun,” Michael mumbled, looking down at the roses.
“No,” Luke said, “I wouldn’t have. But I will, if you say yes.”
“I can’t,” Michael said, looking up at Luke with sad eyes.
Luke frowned. “Why not?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“Well one, I don’t have anything to wear. And two,” Michael paused, “you don’t want to go with me. Do you know what would happen if we walked in together? Everyone is going to think that you’re gay too, or that we’re dating or something.”
“So?” Luke asked, stepping closer to Michael. He carefully reached out and grabbed Michael’s hands. “Let them think what they want. It’s not like we’re going to be around any of them for much longer. I don’t care if they think I’m gay. I don’t care if they think we’re dating. All I care about is going to prom with you.”
“I don’t know,” Michael muttered, looking down at their hands.
“Say yes,” Luke said, ducking his head to try and get Michael to look at him. “Say yes and go to prom with me. We can take those stupid pictures and dance and do all of those things you said you wanted to do. We can go shopping for a tux right now, or fuck, wear that for all I care. Just say yes, Mikey. Say yes.”
“Yes,” Michael said, feeling his heart start to beat rapidly. “Okay, yes.”
“Yes?” Luke asked, wanting to be sure before he got his hopes up.
“Yes,” Michael repeated, looking up at Luke. “Fuck, yes.”
Luke’s face broke out into a grin, and without thinking about the roses, he pulled Michael in for a hug.
“Thank you,” Michael whispered, wrapping his arms around Luke. “Fuck, just, thank you.”
***
They went shopping for a tux that night. Most of the well-known places were already cleared out, so they decided to look around the few thrift stores in the area. After the third or fourth place, they finally found one that fit. Luke had to admit, Michael looked amazing.
***
On the night of prom, the two of them stood on the front lawn together in the very same spot Luke had proposed. They smiled for pictures as both of their parents snapped their cameras, and Jack gave Luke an approving smile before the two of them headed off to the dance.
***
They walked in arm in arm, not paying attention to any of the looks people might be giving them. Instead, they looked for Calum, finding him already on the dance floor with his date.
“You made it!” Calum cried, rushing over to greet his friends. “What happened to Sam?”
“Change of plans,” Luke said, turning his head to smile at Michael. Michael grinned back at him, the twinkle in his eye giving away just how happy he was to be there.
“Wanna dance?” he asked Luke. “We don’t have to, but –”
“Yes,” Luke said, taking Michael’s hand and leading him to an empty spot on the dance floor. A slow song came on, and Luke carefully placed his hands on Michael’s hips. “This okay?”
“Yeah,” Michael said, draping his arms around Luke’s shoulders. “Thanks for this. Making sure I came, and being okay with this.”
“I wanted you here probably as much as you wanted to come,” Luke said honestly.
“Yeah, but,” Michael paused, looking around the room. “This is big, that’s all. Not many people would be willing to do this, let alone dance and take pictures and stuff. It means a lot to me.”
“You mean a lot to me,” Luke said. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
Michael smiled at Luke, watching the way the lights danced around Luke’s eyes. Before he could stop himself, he leaned in, holding Luke closer. He hugged him, letting Luke sway them back and forth.
“You’re my best friend,” Michael whispered, resting his chin on Luke’s shoulder.
“You’re mine,” Luke replied.
Luke smiled, leaning his head against Michael’s. He knew people were watching them, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was Michael.
***
When they song ended, the two of them reluctantly pulled apart. The rejoined Calum and his date to dance together as a group for the more upbeat songs. When they got tired, Luke dragged them over to the photo booth to take a few classic prom pictures together.
It seemed as though the night was over far too quickly. Before they knew it, the DJ was announcing that it would be the last song. All of the couples gathered together on the floor to share one final dance.
“Dance with me,” Luke said, holding out his hand. Michael smiled graciously and took it, letting Luke pull him out onto the floor.
Their bodies wrapped together, comfortably moving in sync to the music. Michael rested his head on Luke’s shoulder, humming along absentmindedly to the song that was playing.
“I had fun tonight,” Luke said, keeping his voice low. Even though the music was loud, there was no need to yell with Michael this close to him.
“Me too,” Michael whispered, smiling into Luke’s shoulder. “I’m really glad you asked me.”
“I’m really glad you said yes,” Luke admitted.
“Do you think you would have had more fun with Sam?” Michael asked, looking up at Luke.
Luke smiled and shook his head. “Not even a little bit.”
They finished out the song together, swaying gently to the music as Michael softly sang the lyrics into Luke’s ear.
***
When it was time to leave, instead of calling for a ride, the two of them decided to walk home together. It was a nice night, and the breeze was cool, taking off the edge from being in a sweaty gymnasium all night.
“This might be weird,” Luke said, brushing his arm against Michael’s, “but can I hold your hand?”
“Sure,” Michael said, lacing their fingers together.
“Feels like we’re a couple,” Luke said, stroking his thumb along the back of Michael’s hand. “It’s kind of nice.”
“You’d make a good boyfriend,” Michael admitted, swinging their arms.
“Yeah?” Luke asked, turning his head to look at Michael.
“Yeah,” Michael said smiling.
***
They walked the rest of the way home in silence, enjoying the peacefulness of the night. It wasn’t a long walk, and soon they were standing outside of Michael’s front door.
“Thanks again for tonight,” Michael said, dropping Luke’s hand.
“Can I kiss you?” Luke blurted out. His eyes went wide, but he resisted the urge to slap his hand in front of his mouth. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you that.”
“No, no,” Michael said, “don’t be sorry. You can, if you want to.”
“Really?” Luke asked. Michael nodded, smiling shyly.
“You don’t have to,” he muttered, shifting his feet uncomfortably.
“I want to,” Luke said. “I don’t know; I just really feel the urge to kiss you.”
“It’s all that punch,” Michael joked, laughing softly. “Kiss me. It’s okay.”
Luke bit his lip gently, eyes moving down to look at Michael’s mouth. He slowly leaned in, looking back up to Michael’s eyes one last time to make sure he hadn’t changed his mind. When he saw no signs of regret, Luke let his eyes slip shut as he closed the distance.
Michael’s lips for soft, and Luke pressed their mouths together carefully. The kiss was soft and sweet, the kind you would have after a very first date.
When Luke pulled away he could feel the blush in his cheeks. Michael’s face was warm too, and they avoided eye contact for a while.
“That was nice,” Luke said finally, looking back up at Michael.
“Yeah,” Michael said, eyes flitting between Luke’s eyes and his lips.
“I should go,” Luke said. “It’s getting late and my parents are probably wondering where I am.”
“You could come in,” Michael rushed out. “I mean, if you want.”
“Yeah?” Luke asked.
“Yeah,” Michael said, “just call your parents at let them know you’re staying over.”
“Okay,” Luke agreed. “Would you maybe want to like, kiss some more?”
“Fuck,” Michael whispered. “Yes, I’d like that.”
***
Ten minutes later, Michael found himself lying on his bed, the weight of Luke’s body on top of him.
They’d changed out of their tuxes and into some of Michael’s clothes. Their lips were on each other the second they were finished changing and Luke had called to tell his parents he’d be sleeping over at Michael’s. After letting Michael’s mom know they were heading to bed so they wouldn’t have any interruptions, the two of them had crawled into Michael’s bed, kissing eagerly.
“Luke,” Michael whispered, tilting his head as Luke trailed kisses down his neck. “Luke, what are we doing?”
“Kissing,” Luke said, nipping Michael’s neck before working his way back up his lips.
“Yeah, but –” Michael was cut off as Luke’s lips found his again.
“But what?” Luke asked once he pulled away.
“You’re straight,” Michael said. “And this is great and all, but if you’re just experimenting we should probably stop this before things get weird.”
“I don’t know,” Luke admitted, crawling off of Michael. He laid down beside him and reached up to move Michael’s hair out of his face. “I don’t know what I am.”
“That’s okay,” Michael whispered. “You don’t have to. But I don’t want you to kiss me now and then pretend like it didn’t happen later.”
“I wouldn’t,” Luke said, looking at Michael seriously.
“Okay,” Michael said, leaning in to brush his nose against Luke’s. “So tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Luke repeated. “I like you. I mean, I liked the dancing, and holding your hand. And the kissing. I love the kissing.”
“Me too,” Michael said, giving Luke a quick peck. “I like that part a lot, too.”
“I don’t know what I am, though,” Luke said, closing his eyes. “But I like you. And I like this. I want to keep doing this.”
“Okay,” Michael said, reaching up to touch Luke’s face. “We can keep doing this. Just this though, and we can figure out the rest in the morning.”
“Okay,” Luke said, leaning in to Michael’s touch. “Do you really think I’d make a good boyfriend?”
“Yeah,” Michael whispered. “You’d be the perfect boyfriend.”
“I think I want that,” Luke said. “To be your boyfriend. That sounds nice.”
“Sleep on it,” Michael said, giving Luke a smile. “If it still sounds nice in the morning, ask me then. If not, there’s no hard feelings.”
“I want to keep kissing you,” Luke whispered, opening his eyes to look at Michael. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” Michael said, laughing softly. “That’s okay.”