Zach’s panic had faded by the time he got back to his little house on the edge of town. What replaced it was numb loneliness and guilt. Shane had told him he loved him, and he’d just run away like a scared child.

It was probably for the best, anyway. Shane was the bravest man he had ever met. He deserved someone who wasn’t a coward, and actually knew what they wanted.

His head was pounding from crying so much when he woke up the next morning. He briefly considered calling in sick, but decided sitting around in a nest of self-pity probably wasn’t going to make him feel any better. So he dragged himself out of bed and struggled to focus on work.

The guilt and shame nagged at him, a little whisper in the back of his head that gave him no peace. It only grew worse when Shane texted him, saying he still wanted to talk. Zach would have loved to talk, but the problem was he had no idea what to say. He still wasn’t sure how he felt, or what was best for himself or for Shane. All he knew was that every possibility scared the crap out of him.

He typed out a dozen different messages, only to delete them. More than a few of them confessed that he loved Shane too, all unsent. In the end he told Shane he needed time to think. And think he did, all day and then more that night, when he laid awake restlessly in bed.

It didn’t help that his mom texted him asking if he knew whether or not Shane was coming to Christmas dinner yet. He knew his mother would worry if she knew something was wrong, and right now the last thing he needed was to trouble anyone else. So he told her he’d forgotten and he’d ask soon. He just had to hope he could come up with a better excuse by the time Christmas came.

At least Friday brought with it a distraction: The Board of Education meeting.

Not all Board meetings were open to the public, but as luck would have it, this one was. It took place in the afternoon, late enough that most people would be off of work and could attend. It was only hours away from the start of the Winter Formal, which Zach couldn’t help but be annoyed about. He had very little doubt they had put off making a decision until the meeting, just in the hopes Jesse and Millie wouldn’t want to risk putting out money for their clothes for the Formal, in case they weren’t allowed. It was a dirty tactic that Zach hoped wouldn’t stop the kids from trying to go.

The Board of Education had decided to hold the meeting in the high school auditorium, rather than trying to cram everyone into the much smaller meeting room at their district building. When Zach showed up to the school he saw many vehicles parked out front and some people loitering outside the front door, others seen through the glass windows inside. He wasn’t too surprised to see so many people had come out to make sure their voices were heard, and was relieved that so much of the community had come together.

He slipped into the large front lobby and looked around. There were several high school students there, Jesse and Millie among them, all clustered together and chatting amongst themselves. They paused to wave and smile, and he returned it before giving an optimistic thumbs up.

Cora and some of the old ladies from church had come out to support the younger generation. He spotted a couple handing out cookies with rainbow flags decorating the top and offering words of encouragement for those that looked anxious. He was happy to see Harrison was there too, talking to some of the younger teens. There were a few people from the LGBT community center, including the receptionist that had offered to hand out the fliers. Several other adults he didn’t recognize loitered about too, which he guessed must be parents or other concerned community members. But based on some of them giving Jesse and Millie some cold looks, it seemed not all of them were here to support the cause. It made Zach tense, but he did his best to ignore them.

Then there was Shane, standing off to the side talking to a pretty blonde woman. Shane’s eyes lifted towards him, and Zach forgot how to breathe after seeing the concern and hurt in his eyes. He swallowed to try to get his lungs to work again, but he still felt a little queasy as he walked over to them.

“Hey,” Shane said softly, nodding to him. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he replied awkwardly, then gave a small smile to the woman, extending his hand. “Hey, I’m Zach Calton.”

The woman glanced between the two, but did accept the hand for a quick shake, and smiled warmly. “I assumed as much. I’ve heard all about you. I’m Tina Daniels—I teach here. Nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. Uh, hopefully good things?” He couldn’t meet Shane’s eyes.

“Well, I know I’ve at least only told her good things,” Shane said gently.

He let out a little exhale of relief. Not that he was surprised. Shane didn’t seem the type to talk about people behind their backs. At least he didn’t seem angry with him, even if things felt awkward as heck.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked Shane, forcing himself to look at the shorter man.

Shane’s chin lifted. “Yeah. Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst. We’re not going to stop fighting, even if they don’t change their minds. Either way, this isn’t the end.”

Zach nodded. “You can do this, Shane. I believe in what we’re doing.”

The doors to the auditorium opened, and an older woman stepped out, looking over the crowd nervously. “All right, everyone can come in and have a seat on the bleachers. If anyone causes any disturbances during the meeting, you will be asked to leave. There will be a time when we allow people to speak to the Board, and we’ll call on you one at a time,” she said.

The crowd filed into the auditorium, moving to sit on the rows of bleachers overlooking a long table set up on the floor below. There were about eight people sitting there, with a broad, displeased looking man in the middle wearing a suit that made his chest look like it was about to burst out from it. He figured that was Warren Jones. No wonder Shane had been rattled by him. The Board members looked over the crowd with a variety of reactions—some looked annoyed, others curious, the rest just tired, like they wanted to get this over with.

Zach sat on the front row, and pulled out his digital audio recorder from his bag to turn on, hoping it’d be able to pick up everything from the meeting. He also pulled out a notebook and pen to take notes with. Hopefully he’d be able to focus enough to do so, as Shane had sat down beside him.

Once people settled down, the meeting was called into session. It started off fairly boring, the Board going over the usual end of year routines. Budgets, things that needed to be handled over break, and plans for the next semester once students returned from winter vacation. Finally they came to the last item on the roster—what everyone in this room had been waiting for.

The woman that had opened the doors before stood up again and cleared her throat. “We know you all wish to be heard, so we will allow you to speak now. Please keep things civil and short. We’ll go one at a time. Please raise your hand if you have something to say.”

Several hands went up through the crowd.

One by one they were called upon to stand and give their speech. Some had good things to say. Harrison, to Zach’s surprise, stood up and spoke of his recent attendance at Hidden Creek High School. How he had wished he’d had the support of the school behind him, so he could have had the confidence to come out earlier. Cora stood to give an impassioned speech about how this was history repeating itself from the days of racial segregation in schools. Someone from the LGBT community center stood too, to discuss how a community needs to be fostered in order to grow. Even Jesse stood up, looking like they were trembling with nervousness, to stand up for themselves and give their experiences first hand.

Then there were others that were just as passionate, but far less courteous. Those were the people who had come out to voice their disapproval of their kids being exposed to “the gays.” Zach had to force himself not to leap to his feet when a man demanded Shane be fired on the spot, after calling him some very inappropriate words. Thankfully the slurs had caused him to be asked to leave, which he did after cursing out the Board members. Zach couldn’t help but notice it was only then that Warren looked annoyed at the man’s outburst.

Meanwhile, the Board watched on quietly throughout the testimonials, occasionally taking notes, but said very little.

Finally, once everyone had spoken, the Board’s secretary spoke up again.

“We would like everyone to please wait here while we go into another room to discuss this matter. We believe it will allow us to reach a conclusion more easily. We’ll come back in once we’ve reached a decision.”

People weren’t happy to wait, but no one made a fuss. The Board gathered up their papers and filed out together into the hallway to move into a nearby classroom.

Zach looked Shane over once they’d gone, then shifted nervously in his seat. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

Shane’s arms crossed over his chest. He looked tense. “Not really. But hopefully this will be over soon.”

He wanted to say something else. Offer some words of encouragement. But there was nothing else they could do but wait, so he just reached out and put an arm around his shoulder to squeeze gently. Shane looked at him for a moment before smiling softly in gratitude, leaning into Zach’s side to accept the comfort.

Zach felt his heart fluttering about inside his chest, completely unrelated to waiting for the Board to return. He’d missed having Shane in his arms so much.

The silence between them was tense. Shane’s eyes were downcast, not allowing Zach to really read what he was thinking from his expression. After a few minutes he moved his hand over to Zach’s thigh and squeezed gently.

He had to say something. He couldn’t let this moment pass without letting Shane know how much he meant to him.

“Shane, I—”

Too late.

Half the people waiting jumped a bit when the doors suddenly opened again. Everyone exhaled a sigh of relief at not having to wait any longer, watching the Board members as they went back to their seats. Zach frowned as his opportunity passed him by. With an apologetic glance to Shane, he lowered his arm so he could turn his recorder back on.

The superintendent didn’t look terribly happy as he stood to address the crowd.

“I think it’s obvious we live in a very passionate community, no matter what you might stand for individually. You’ve all made compelling arguments, and we’ve heard what everyone has to say,” he started, tugging at his too-small suit jacket. “While the schools will still adhere to Texas’ statute prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality in regards to sexual health education, the Board has decided to change the regulations related to school dances and dress codes.”

The room was practically buzzing with energy. Zach could hear a few gasps behind him, and he couldn’t help but let his own smile slowly spread.

“Gender will no longer play a factor in whether or not a student can bring a date to a school dance,” Warren continued, though he still didn’t look pleased with the words. His face had turned a shade redder, but he seemed to have accepted his defeat, finally. “Public indecency or intimacy, of course, is still not allowed on school grounds or in school events.” He cleared his throat. “Dress codes will also no longer be enforced based on gender, so long as they meet other dress code regulations regarding length of skirts and shorts, and limits on exposed skin.”

Most of the room broke out into applause and cheers. Shane exhaled a long shaky sigh beside him, and Zach couldn’t help but turn to him and beam a smile before pulling him into a tight hug. Shane shuddered with emotion against his chest, then hugged him back tightly around his waist.

“We did it,” Shane whispered, his voice shaky and soft.

“You did it,” Zach corrected gently.

Far less pleased people were stomping their way out of the auditorium, but it did little to reduce the excitement of those who remained.

“All right, all right,” Warren grumbled. “That’s that. The Board has nothing else to discuss, so I call this meeting to a close.” The rest of the Board echoed their agreements and stood, a few even smiling as they looked over those rejoicing.

Shane pulled back from the hug with a sheepish smile, his eyes glistening with tears. Zach lifted a hand to brush them away from his cheek, but before he could say anything others swept in all around them. He and Shane both were pulled into hugs and handshakes by students, parents, and others who had come in support. Jesse and Millie came to thank him too, but didn’t stick around very long. He couldn’t blame them. They had the Winter Formal to go get ready for now, after all, and not terribly long until it started. Harrison hurried after them, and Zach heard him talking with Jesse about helping them get ready. Something about binders—a corset-like undergarment worn to help hide breasts.

It was a feeling Zach had never truly experienced before. Sure, he’d done plenty of charity work over the years, and had always done his best to help others when he could. And in the grand scope of the world, this victory was tiny. But there was something so much more intimate about it, with the victory happening in his hometown. He’d gone to this high school himself, years before. He knew intimately how hard it could be to grow up gay in a small town, and the fact that other kids in the future might feel a little more loved and accepted in Hidden Creek made it all the more special.

He really couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. This was his home, his community. It was where his heart felt fullest, and at this moment it practically was bursting.

He wanted so much to share this feeling with Shane.

But by the time the crowd had thinned out and he had a moment to himself again, he’d lost track of Shane. He frowned at the thought of being too late, of Shane leaving without saying goodbye. Not that Zach had any right to be angry, after what he’d done to him. After a minute of looking up and down the hallways he sighed and started off towards the parking lot, the warmth in his chest slowly dwindling.

What else had he expected? Zach had made it clear to Shane that he needed time to think. Shane was probably just respecting that.

To his pleasant surprise, however, once in the parking lot he spotted Shane approaching at a trot, coming from the direction of his parked car. Except now he was holding a gift bag made of candy cane print paper.

Had Shane gotten him a gift after Zach had been an asshole to him?

“Hey. Glad I caught you before you left. Here,” Shane said, holding out the bag. “It’s a gift from the kids. They wanted you to have it, to thank you for helping them out.”

Zach blinked in surprise, then reached out to gently take the bag, holding it against his chest. “Oh… wow. They didn’t need to do this.”

“I know.” Shane smiled. “But they wanted to, so take it. I think you’ll really like it.”

He looked down at the bag, but didn’t remove the tissue paper to look inside. He was struggling again to find something to say, but everything felt lackluster.

“Shane, I…” He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “I wanted to apologize for what happened. I didn’t mean to ghost on you.”

Shane’s smile faded, but he gave a slow nod of understanding. “It’s all right. I mean, I get it. I pushed too hard, too quick. But… for what it’s worth, I’m still interested in being with you… If you are. Even if that means waiting until you are ready.”

Some of the weight crushing him eased a bit, but the guilt didn’t subside. Shane didn’t hate him at least, and that was something. Whether or not that was a good thing or not in the end, Zach was less certain about.

He looked down at his feet, scuffing a toe against the pavement while hugging the bag close to his chest. “Thanks, Shane. That means a lot to me. I really want to talk too. I’m just trying to get my head on straight. But… soon?”

“Okay. Soon.” Shane stepped closer, leaning up to kiss Zach gently on the cheek.

Zach inhaled sharply, feeling the warmth against his skin slipping away too quickly. He looked to Shane, wanting desperately to kiss him properly. He swallowed. “The Winter Formal is tonight, right?”

“Yeah, not long from now. I’m chaperoning for it, so I really need to go get changed,” Shane said apologetically.

“Oh, right, yeah. I get it.” He straightened his shoulders and nodded quickly. “Okay. Good luck. I mean—I hope it’s fun. For the kids and all. I’ll see you soon?”

“Soon,” Shane said again, with a little twitch upwards of his lips this time. “See you, Zach.” Then he turned, striding off towards his car at a brisk pace.

Zach stood there quiet, frozen with uncertainty, watching the man he was too afraid to admit that he loved walk away.