Being out was stranger than Shane could have ever imagined it’d be. Other than the initial confession in his choir group, he had tried not to make a big deal about it. Despite that, everyone in the school knew by the next day. Most of his students didn’t comment, but he could feel them watching him during classes or in the hallways in ways they hadn’t before. For the most part he accepted it for what it was—the latest gossip. Kids would whisper behind their hands and notebooks over just about anything until they got bored of it, but there were some that gave him looks that he had to admit were uncomfortable. He’d gotten that sort of look before, but it was always for being black. Thankfully none of the students dared say anything derogatory to his face.

Overall, the biggest and oddest change had come from his co-workers. The other teachers had immediately started to treat him differently. Previously he had been well liked by the other teachers, and had no problem making friends among them. Now, half of the men on staff ignored him whenever they could. Most of the women were kinder about it, but even they seemed to shift perspectives regarding him.

The worst of which was Tina Daniels, one of the English teachers. He’d always had a good rapport with her before. Tina was a good-looking woman, and if he had ever managed to catch her while she was still single he might have developed a crush on her. As it was, they had remained platonic friends that enjoyed the occasional harmless flirting, and often ate lunch together when they weren’t busy with students. That had turned around completely once she found out he wasn’t straight. Apparently the thought of flirting with someone who was attracted to men was obscene to her, nevermind the fact that it didn’t change the fact he still liked women too. Now he had obviously been labeled ‘gay best friend,’ and while she never had any cruel intentions, he now found her blatant stereotyping incredibly annoying.

Apparently liking dick meant that he was now a qualified fashion expert, and he’d been asked to go shopping with her too many times to be coincidence. His only claim to anything fashionable was his love of funny or weird patterned ties, and he was fairly certain most of them did not count as fashionable at all.

That had come to a head when she invited him out to get pedicures and “dish” about their co-workers. While he had nothing against men that were into that sort of thing, Shane had never been inside a nail salon in his life. He might have even been willing to give it a try, if it wasn’t clearly an offer built on some preconceived view of men who liked dick.

“Tina, if you keep trying to shove me into your little gay box while ignoring everything you already know about me, I’m going to fucking scream,” he had snapped in exasperation. She had not taken to that very well, and since then they’d mostly just ignored each other. At least he wasn’t being forced to hear “yas queen” ever other sentence.

So now he spent most of his lunch hour in the music room. Which, as it turned out, wasn’t so bad. The students that he had come out to support seemed to appreciate having somewhere safe they could hide away during lunch, to eat and talk to each other in peace.

He couldn’t help but be protective of them. He had done his best to make sure Jesse and Millie weren’t bullied, but after handing out several detentions, kids just learned never to do anything around him, and generally administration dealt with such cases with a mere slap on the wrist, especially since there was no proof and no adults who witnessed the bullying.

It was infuriating. He wasn’t sure what else he could do, but just sitting around and comforting kids after the fact felt unsatisfying.

He had always been pretty protective of people younger than him. He assumed it came from growing up in foster homes. His parents had died when he was too young to remember them very well, so all he had were a handful of homes he was moved around between, and the large groups of other children around him. There likely was some sort of coping mechanism hidden away in there involving him wanting to protect others over himself, but it wasn’t something he was going to stop now. It’d been why he’d become a teacher in the first place.

The Winter Formal was fast approaching, at least. He hoped that most of the students would become distracted by it, losing themselves in teenage hormone fueled obsession for ill-fitting suits and evening gowns. Perhaps this whole thing with Jesse and Millie would blow over by then, along with his own coming out, and they could all just go back to having normal, quiet lives.

If only they could be so lucky.

Choir practice had been chaotic, but productive. It tended to be whenever they started practicing new music. Especially when it was Christmas carols. He had done his best to find some newer songs to sing along with the classics, but they still cracked jokes about how corny they were. Everyone was excited about the idea of singing in front of the town though, so in the end they pulled it together and got things done. No one wanted to look foolish during the big Christmas concert that was happening in a couple of weeks.

With practice over, kids were heading off on their way home. Most of them carpooled together, while some had parents that picked them up. He always waited until all of them had gone home, just in case any needed a ride.

He listened to the remaining handful of kids chatter away with each other, watching distractedly when he wasn’t skimming social media on his phone. Jesse was hanging out beside another student named Gwen, letting the younger girl watch as Jesse doodled some anime character in a sketchbook. Gwen seemed excited about it, and from what Shane could see the drawing was pretty good, but he had no idea what show they were talking about.

A light knock on the doorframe drew his attention, and he looked up to see a man with a beard poke his head in. He recognized him as Gwen’s older brother and legal guardian, Grayson.

Gwen had muscular dystrophy, and most of the time had to use a wheelchair to get around. He had had classes with her before, but this was the first year that she’d joined choir. Gwen didn’t always feel well enough to come to practice, but when she did she worked her ass off, which was all Shane could ever hope for.

Shane offered the other man a polite smile, but was surprised to find that his attention was focused on him, rather than Gwen. He decided to slip his phone away and stand, just in case something was wrong.

Grayson looked embarrassed as he stepped closer, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh—hey, Shane. You mind if we step out into the hallway for a moment?”

Shane frowned, casting a look over towards Gwen—who was watching them with a grin rather than a troubled look.

That was odd.

“Sure, come on.” Shane held the door for him, then let it close behind them once they were in the otherwise empty hallway. “Is something wrong?”

“No, er, nah—nothing wrong.” Grayson’s cheeks turned a bit pink. “Sorry. This is kind of awkward, but… uh. You’re single, right?”

Shane blinked in surprise. “Ah… Yes, but,” he hesitated, now feeling quite awkward himself. “Are you and Andre having… trouble?”

Grayson went an amusing shade of red, then laughed. “Yes. I am. I am, uh, happily taken. No, what I mean is…” He puffed out a breath, then smiled sheepishly. “Gwen and my boyfriend are playing matchmaker. They were wondering if maybe you would consider going on a blind date with our buddy Zach.”

“Oh. Oh. Uh… Wow, really?”

“Yeah. He’s a great guy. Been best friends with my boyfriend for a long time. He works at the local newspaper, and uh… well, they seem to think you two would get on really well—uh, I mean, I think you would, too. You know. If you’re even lookin’ for something like that. You’re cool, he’s cool… Maybe you two could be cool together.”

Shane pursed his lips to keep from laughing. “You really are selling this.”

Grayson chuckled. “No, I’m not. I know this is weird, but we love Zach and want him to find a nice guy, and you are a nice guy. Here, I’ll show ya a picture.” He dug out his phone and unlocked it, then spent a moment scrolling through pictures before holding up the screen.

Shane leaned in, then inhaled sharply.

The picture was of a tall man sitting on a couch beside Gwen. Even sitting down, he was a couple of feet taller than the teenage girl. He was white, with neat blond hair, and Shane could just barely catch a glint of blue eyes. The man was hot as hell, but it was his smile that really caught his attention. It was perhaps the most adorable smile he had ever seen. The sort that stole your heart and made you want to drag him back home to meet your mama. Not that Shane had a mama to bring him home to, but the point still stood.

He straightened up, clearing his throat. “He’s pretty cute. I’m definitely interested, if y’all think he’s the real deal. And assuming he’d even be interested?”

Grayson bobs his head enthusiastically. “We do. And yeah, Andre and Gwen talked you up a lot, and he agreed. So, you want his number?”

Shane couldn’t help but laugh. It felt absurd to agree to go on a date with someone he’d never met before. People only really went on blind dates like this in movies. Still, he couldn’t help but be excited at the thought of going on his first date with a man. And with a very cute man at that.

“Sure, give me his number. Least we can do is chat and see where it goes.”

Grayson grinned, then pulled out a piece of paper with a name and number pre-scribbled on it to hand over. Shane accepted it with a snort. It was like when he saw kids nervously passing notes to each other.

He accepted it with a nod. “Thanks, Grayson.”

“No problem,” Grayson replied, smiling. “Guess I should get Gwen and get out of your hair. Thanks for watching her until I could come get her. She really likes being a part of the choir, you know.”

“I’m glad she does. She’s a good kid,” he replied warmly, then moved to open the door and hold it so that Gwen could wheel herself out into the hallway. He couldn’t help but notice the mischievous grin on her face as she eyed the two of them. No doubt Grayson would spill the beans the moment they were alone.

“Bye, Gwen,” he said with a chuckle.

“See you, Mr. H,” she called back before he stepped into the music room.

He settled back into his seat, looking at the piece of paper in his hand. Texting someone seemed like such a simple task, yet at the moment it felt like one of the biggest steps he’d made in his whole life. What if this actually worked out? What if he went on this date and liked the guy? What if he became his boyfriend?

What if they had sex?

That was perhaps looking too far ahead. He hadn’t even met the guy. But the world of new possibilities and experiences ahead of him made him feel lightheaded with giddiness.

Now or never. He slid out his phone, saved the number to his contacts, and sent a text. Which was easier said than done, really. The rest of the students had filtered out onto their way home by the time he’d finally settled on what to send, having deleted and retyped it several times.

Shane: Hey! This is Shane, Gwen’s teacher. Grayson gave me your number, so I hope it’s okay to text you. Would you be interested in grabbing dinner sometime?

Simple enough. Nothing fancy. He’d been tempted to throw in a flirty pick-up line in there, but he wasn’t sure what the guy’s sense of humor was like, so had decided against it. Best not to come off like a creeper.

By the time he had made his way out to his car, his phone was buzzing in his pocket. He’d gotten a reply.

Zach: Hi Shane. :) Sure, I’d love to. Are you free Friday evening? We can go to Rocket.

Rocket was a local diner and as good a place as any for a blind date. Comfortable, good food, and not too rowdy most of the time. He grinned, sliding into his car before he leaned back into the seat, giving a reply.

Shane: Sounds great. 7 work for you?

Zach: Yeah. I’ll see you then. :)

Shane: Looking forward to it.

The only reply he got was a blushing emoji, but he didn’t mind. That went better than it could have. And now he had a date.

Friday could not come soon enough.