The Winter Formal was being held in the middle of town, within walking distance of the lit up park, at Moore Heritage House. It was something of a historical landmark that had been owned by the city for quite some time. It was rented out to the public fairly often for community events, parties, and weddings. Apparently the Winter Formal was usually held here every year as well, as its ballroom was large enough to accommodate the students. It was obviously old, though Shane didn’t know enough about architecture to guess when it was built. But it was well taken care of, with its whitewashed walls and black shutters, and stately columns lining the front porch. It looked like there were some large well-tended gardens in the back as well. There weren’t many flowers growing this time of year, but the trees and shrubs still looked healthy.

Currently the house was decorated for the holiday season. Wreaths hung on the windows, and there were lights twisted up around the columns. It was tastefully done. Shane found it beautiful, especially with the lit-up park as a backdrop. It looked like something off a Christmas card.

Shane took a moment to admire the view before heading inside. There weren’t too many people here—mostly a handful of teachers and students who had volunteered to help set up. It looked like they mostly had everything ready, with the stairs to the second floor roped off to keep students on the first floor. Shane saw a photographer setting up in one of the side rooms, where a backdrop of red and white curtains, glittery streamers and paper snowflakes had been set up for pictures to be taken in front of. The rest of the rooms were less decorated, but had some sitting areas for people to congregate when the ballroom became too crowded.

Confident that everything was ready there, he headed for the ballroom. He nearly collided with someone who was coming out at the same time, and stumbled back with a smile to see that it was Tina.

“Guess you beat me here, huh?” He grinned. “How’re things in there? Not too chaotic?”

She laughed lightly. “Of course it is. But everything is fine, dear. Just got last minute touches to do—mix up the punch and all. Did you talk to Zach?”

His own smile dimmed, but he nodded slowly. “Yeah. A little. Not sure how that’s going to end up. It seems like he cares, just is scared to commit, maybe.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, patting his arm gently. “But at least you tried. Besides, if he doesn’t realize how amazing you are, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

“I dunno about that, but… thanks.” He squeezed her arm in return. “Let’s not get into that right now, though. Tonight is for celebrating.” His lips quirked upwards again, almost a real smile. “And for making fun of awkward teenagers.”

“Oh god,” she groaned. “So awkward. Hopefully they’ll have fun, though. I’m going to go finish setting out the snacks. Can you pick up some of the trash and sweep up a little before people start showing up?”

Shane nodded. “Of course.” Once she’d walked off, he looked over the ballroom. Glittery paper snowflakes hung up all over the walls, many of which looked handmade, making the space into a wintery wonderland of sparkles. The students had made sure to put up some mistletoe here and there as well, along with garlands and streamers.

He really wished Zach could be here to see this. It was exactly the sort of over-the-top, kitschy decorations that he would adore.

After a minute or so he sighed and headed off to help finish getting things ready.

Not long after, students were starting to file into the large house. A long red carpet had been rolled out down the front porch, steps, and down the path. It let the students have a moment of glamour as they paraded inside, often hand in hand if they had a date. Some of the parents had come out to stand off to the side so they could take pictures of their kids walking in, or posed on the front steps. It was a sweet thought, and Shane figured in a small town like this, moments for teenagers to get dressed up and feel special were rare.

Shane was stationed at the front door, taking tickets as people came in and making sure no one slipped past that wasn’t supposed to be there. It gave him a good view of those coming in. Seeing all of the kids dressed up was adorable, and there were several points that he couldn’t help but watch with a sappy grin as they leaned into each other for pictures.

Unfortunately, as sweet as it was, it only made him think about Zach more and more. In the moments when he wasn’t taking tickets he couldn’t help but let his mind wander, imagining what it would be like to walk in beside Zach, hand in hand. Or dancing with him under that canopy of glittery snowflakes. He’d never danced with someone so much taller than him before, but he was pretty sure they could work it out.

Thankfully, he was eventually distracted as another couple came up the red carpet: Jesse and Millie. He blinked, then grinned broadly to see Millie dressed up in a long pretty black dress, and Jesse in a very sharp looking tuxedo. He wasn’t quite sure, because of the cut of the suit, but it looked like they might have been wearing a binder. He watched with a proud, warm heart as Jesse’s mom embarrassed the fuck out of them both by insisting they take several pictures along the red carpet together. What else were parents for, though?

“Wow, look at you two,” he said as they approached to hand over their tickets. “You both look amazing.”

“Thanks,” Millie said, grinning and hugging onto Jesse’s arm. “I totally have the best arm candy of the night.”

Jesse’s face turned a little red, their head dipping shyly. “I’d argue that… but thank you.”

Shane chuckled and waved them in. “You two have fun, okay? You earned it.”

The two teens smiled, then each came to give him a quick hug. Shane returned them both with a pat on their backs, then watched them head inside, hearing echoes of cheers when other students saw them. He was glad to see so many celebrating the victory with them.

The school’s problems weren’t completely over. Shane knew there would still be more fights in the future to see to it students were accepted. Change didn’t come quick, and there were still laws, especially in Texas, that made it difficult to help those in need. There’d be people that tried to make kids like Jesse and Millie’s lives hell—among the faculty and students. But at least they had made a step in the right direction, and proven the majority of people in this town would choose love over hate. It gave him hope and the strength to continue fighting.

Not losing his job was also a plus.

Now he just needed to get his personal life under control.

He sighed and leaned against the outer wall of the building, looking off towards the lights of the park. It had only been a week since Zach and he walked hand in hand along the paths, but it already felt like ages ago.

When the flood of incoming students paused and he had a moment to himself, he pulled out his phone and brought up his text messages to Zach. He stared at the phone, weighing whether or not to text him.

He didn’t want Zach to feel pressured, but it felt wrong to not share his joy with him. Without Zach’s help, tonight wouldn’t have been filled with such joy and celebration.

Shane huffed, threw caution to the wind, and lifted the phone to snap a picture of the red carpet and the decorations leading up to it. Attached to the file he sent a text message.

Shane: Look how beautiful it is! Just saw Jesse and Millie walk down it. They were so happy. Thank you again for all your help. Thinking of you.

He held his breath as he hit send.

Then he waited.