“What exactly are you dressing up as?” Joe asked Mike the evening of the Halloween Harvest Dance.

  “I’m a medieval plague doctor,” Mike said smoothing out his black cloak. Joe gave him a confused look.

  “Why that?” Joe asked

  “I don’t know. I wanted something creepy, but I also wanted to wear something with a cool mask,” Mike said.

  “Out of the millions of possibilities, you landed on that?” Joe replied.

  “I think it looks cool,” Mike said studying the bird like mask he had made out of paper maché. Joe shrugged. “What are you going as?” Mike asked.

  “Mike Myers,” Joe said.

  “Mike Myers from Saturday Night Live?” Mike asked.

  “NO!” Joe said. “Michael Myers from Halloween.”

  “So, why didn’t you say Michael Myers instead of Mike Myers?” Mike asked.

  “Isn’t it the same?” Joe replied.

  “There’s quite a difference,” Mike said chuckling. “Are you taking anyone?”

  “Yeah, Tiffany,” Joe answered. “Are you going with Rocco?”

  “Yeah, we aren’t going as a couple, but I’m going in with him and his band. They are dressing up as KISS,” Mike said smiling ear to ear.

  “KISS? Like that 70s rock band?” Joe asked.

  “Exactly,” Mike said. “I can’t wait to see how they all look.”

  “That’s kind of an appropriate costume for them,” Joe replied. “So, you’re not going as a couple?”

  “Do you think our school is ready for that sort of thing?” Mike asked.

  “I mean, you two have all but said it in words. I think word has gotten out that you two are more than friends,” Joe said.

  “Really?” Mike said. He sat down on the bed.

  “Well, Rocco pretty much came out at his show at the skate park. He said he dedicated that song to his boyfriend. Everyone’s been talking about that all week,” Joe said.

  “Yeah,” Mike thought.

  “The word is it is either you or that really girlie guy,” Joe said.

  “Girlie guy?” Mike asked. “You mean Meigs?”

  “Yeah, that guy,” Joe said.

  “People think Rocco and Meigs are going out???” Mike exclaimed.

  “It’s between you two and most people assume it’s Meigs,” Joe said.

  “Have you corrected them?” Mike asked.

  “Nope, I haven’t said a word,” Joe said.

  “Has anyone given you any trouble about it?” Mike asked.

  “No,” Joe said nonchalantly. “They know not to mess with me. And, between you and Meigs…Meigs is the obvious choice to be Rocco’s boyfriend,” Joe replied.

  “Hmm, I don’t know if I should be relieved or offended,” Mike said.

  “Well, listen. You should do something about the rumors soon. I mean, if everyone sees you and Rocco together at the dance and, if Meigs is not around, then people are going to assume you are the boyfriend,” Joe explained.

  “Does that make you uncomfortable?” Mike asked.

  “Me?” Joe raised his eyebrows. “No, it won’t make me uncomfortable. I just want you to be ready to answer any rumors,” Joe warned.

  “I shouldn’t really care that much,” Mike said looking off in the distance. “I don’t want you to have to answer for something that I do.”

  “It’s what big brothers do,” Joe walked over to sit next to Mike on his bed.

  “The point is your relationship with Rocco is going to be public sooner or later. I want you to be prepared for the fallout. Not everyone will be cool about it,” Joe said giving Mike a concerned look.

  “Your friend already made that very clear,” Mike replied glibly.

  “David? I told you. He’s not my friend anymore,” Joe said.

  “Even after what you two did?” Mike asked.

  “That was a mistake, and, since he’s being an overall ass towards gay people, I don’t want anything to do with him,” Joe explained.

  “Do you ever feel bad about any of that? Like I know you didn’t beat Meigs up and you didn’t call Rocco queer, but you let it happen,” Mike asked looking at his brother.

  “Every fucking day I feel bad about it,” Joe said looking down at the floor. “Even after apologizing to Rocco, I still feel like shit for not saying anything.”

  “I think he’s forgiven you,” Mike said.

  “I haven’t forgiven myself,” Joe said. Mike put his arm around Joe.

  “Joe, it’s alright. You’ve been awesome this entire time about me and Rocco. You should be proud of that. I’m proud of you for that,” Mike said. Joe looked up at Mike with tears running down his face.

  “You are?” Joe asked.

  “Very much so,” Mike said giving his brother a hug. “Quit beating yourself up about the past.”

  “It’s harder said than done,” Joe said wiping away his tears. “I keep seeing over and over in my head how every time David called Rocco a name, a piece of Rocco’s spirit died. How this little guy filled with such hope slowly got worn down. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

  “Rocco’s got a strong spirit. He just looks sour on the outside. Inside, he’s still that little guy filled with hope,” Mike said.

  “I guess you would know,” Joe said laughing. “I promise you. I will never let that happen to you.”

  Mike hugged Joe again. “I love you, Joe.”

  “Hand me the white face paint,” Raz said to Rocco after zipping up his skintight leather pants. “I look like a fucking stuffed sausage in these pants.”

  “Yeah, those pants leave nothing to the imagination.” Pete said giving Raz a side-eye peek.

  “Not all of us can be beanpole skinny,” Raz retorted. Raz was not pudgy, but neither was he slim. The tight pants emphasized his soft physique and gave him exaggerated muffin top.

  “Raz, don’t worry. The vest will cover up your love handles,” Rocco said as he grabbed a handful of Raz’s sides and jiggled.

  “Stop that!” Raz said. “I’m already embarrassed at showing so much in these. I don’t need you to jiggle my belly.”

  “AWWW!” Pete purred. He leaned down and gave Raz a raspberry on his belly. “It’s adorable.”

  “Ass!” Raz exclaimed and started to whiten out his face with the paint. “You’re gross. If I wake up tomorrow with a fever blister on my stomach, I’ll be suing you for medical expenses.” Pete burst out laughing.

  “Oh, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll help you with your spaceman eye make-up,” Pete replied trying to apologize. Raz nodded.

  “How am I supposed to do this cat face?” Austin asked.

  “I’ll help you out,” Rocco said picking up the black face paint.

  “You lucked out. All you had to do was make a star,” Austin remarked with a laugh.

  “Yeah, I guess I did,” Rocco said returning the laugh. “So, what’s Wendy dressing up as?”

  “Something cutesy. Little Bo Peep or Strawberry Shortcake. Something like that,” Austin said rolling his eyes.

  “She’s not going to be a punk rock chick?” Rocco said as he applied the black paint around Austin’s eyes.

  “No, she hated that idea,” Austin said.

  “Well, it’ll still be punk,” Rocco replied. Austin cocked one eyebrow. “You know, that babydoll aesthetic next to a rock and roll superstar. It’ll work great.”

  “I like the way you think,” Austin said. “What about Mike? What’s his costume?”

  “He said he wanted to be a medieval doctor,” Rocco replied.

  “A medieval doctor? What does that look like?” Austin asked.

  “You know, those doctors during the plague that wore the flowing robes and the bird masks,” Rocco said.

  “Oh, yeah. Oh man, that’s creepy as fuck,” Austin cooed.

  “Yeah, I know. I don’t know where that came from,” Rocco said working on Austin’s whiskers.

  “He’s got a dark streak. I’ve seen it every now and then. He’s not as wholesome as I first thought,” Austin said.

  “Yeah, he continues to surprise me,” Rocco said stopping to ponder what Austin said.

  “You think you’ll be able to keep your relationship a secret?” Austin asked.

  “Well, we haven’t exactly been discrete about it. The only thing left is to tell the entire school which we aren’t going to do,” Rocco picked back up on Austin’s whiskers.

  “You’re not going to have to anything at this rate. You came out at the show in front of everyone. You two are inseparable. Everyone’s going to figure out he’s the one you were calling your boyfriend,” Austin remarked.

  “I know. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,” Rocco put down the black paint.

  “You totally should have. I don’t think he minded at all,” Austin said.

  “He didn’t but I don’t want to force him--” Rocco stopped himself. “Out of the closet.”

  “It doesn’t seem like there’s much force involved. I think all someone will have to do is ask at this point,” Austin replied.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Rocco thought.

  “Are you going to finish?” Austin asked.

  “I’m done. All we need to do is put on your lipstick. Take a look,” Rocco said pointing to the mirror.

  “Oh, my fucking God!” Austin was shocked at his transformation from an anonymous looking teenager into a member of KISS.

  “Here’s your wig,” Rocco handed Austin a cheap mullet styled black wig which Austin slipped on. He looked in the mirror again and started to laugh. He gave a devil’s horn sign and stuck out his tongue. Rocco put on his black curly wig and picked it out to make it frizzy. Raz had the same style wig as Austin. Pete slipped on his wig before he did his demon man eyes. Rocco frizzed it out for him and clipped it up middle. The members of Fred had transformed themselves into KISS quite well. Pete stuck out his tongue to mimic Gene Simmons although Pete’s tongue was not nearly as legendary.

  “Goddamn we look good,” Pete said.

  The plan was for everyone to meet in front of the school. Rocco wanted to pick Mike up at his house, but Mike insisted on meeting in front of the school. He wanted to surprise Rocco with his costume. He also wanted to be surprised by how Rocco’s KISS costume looked.

  Mike’s plan was to lurk in the shadows and slowly approach Rocco from behind so he could scare the living daylights out him. He would get a ride with Joe.

  “Are you ready?” Joe said peeking his head in. Joe saw that Mike was in his long black flowing robe.

  “Yeah. What do you think of this?” Mike put the mask on over his head and tied the ribbons on either side of the mask.

  “That is creepy as shit, Mike. What about me?” Joe slid on his white Michael Myers mask and held up his rubber kitchen knife.

  “You look deranged,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, I know. That’s the point,” Joe replied and gave an evil laugh.

  “Are we picking up Tiffany?” Mike asked.

  “No, she’s meeting us there,” Joe responded taking his mask off. Mike gave him a thumbs up.

  “We better get going though. We’re supposed to meet everyone in 30 minutes, and Mom wants to get pictures,” Mike said untying his mask and taking it off.

  “She may rethink that when she sees us,” Joe said laughing and left Mike’s room. Mike gathered up his robe belt which was a long rudimentary rosary he had made purely for decorative purposes. Since his family was not Catholic, he didn’t have access to any rosaries. He certainly did not have one long enough to fit around his waist. He had used the remaining pieces of paper maché from his mask and wadded them into rough round beads around silver string. When they dried, he painted them glossy black. Against his robe, it was a believable facsimile.

  Their mother only took a couple of pictures. Joe was correct in his assumption that their mother was not very keen on their costumes. She wanted to document their effort but did not want to have too much of a reminder of their creepiness. She was happy to see them depart and settled back into her wine.

  In the car, Joe turned on some grunge. Mike turned and gave Joe a look of surprise.

  “I didn’t think you listened to Alice in Chains,” Mike said surprised at the selection.

  “I’ve started liking some of this newer music. It just seems appropriate before a Halloween dance,” Joe said nodding his head to the music.

  “Are you going to start watching Headbanger’s Ball now?” Mike asked sarcastically.

  “Not yet,” Joe said as he drove. “How do you know about all this stuff?”

  “It’s stuff Rocco and the guys in the band have exposed me to,” Mike replied looking straight ahead.

  “Exposed?” Joe said laughing.

  “Well, that’s the most appropriate word I can think of. It hasn’t been indecent if that’s what you are getting at,” Mike chuckled.

  “That’s not what I’ve heard,” Joe quipped. Mike gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “So, are you sure about tonight?”

  “You mean like being more open to people about me and Rocco?” Mike asked. Joe nodded his head. “Yeah, I think so. I’m not planning anything. I’ll just play it by ear. I don’t want to make any kind of a production or anything.”

  “I’m here for you, okay,” Joe said looking over at his brother.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Thanks, Joe,” Mike said and gave him a reassuring smile. Joe got a sense that the perceptions of others did not mean as much to Mike as they did to himself. Mike did not care much about popularity; he cared about his happiness. Joe admired that about Mike. He envied Mike’s carefree attitude.

  “You know, I’m impressed with your ‘don’t give a shit what others think’ attitude,” Joe said.

  “Well, I don’t give a shit,” Mike replied.

  “That’s the way to go about life,” Joe thought. Joe was going to make a commitment to be more like his little brother.

  They drove a little while longer before finally reaching the school. There was a line of cars waiting to be pointed into the parking lot. The dance was going be packed. Normally, unless it was Prom, the other dances at school always had a mediocre turnout. This year was different. It could have been more publicity. It could have been more of a commitment from the popular kids to go. It could have been the overall surge in interest in things macabre these days. Whatever it was, the surprise turnout was a positive. Joe finally approached the parking attendant after waiting for 15 minutes to get in. The school had invested in several sets of flashlights with protective cones that mimicked torches waving in the air. The attendants pointed Joe to a spot some distance from the school. Mike and Joe would have a walk to make to the front entrance.

  There was no point in trying to push through the crowd. They followed the flow holding their masks in their hands. The kids around them were vaguely familiar. Neither of them knew any of their names or any of their friend groups. They only had seen their faces here and there. In front of them was a group of guys in togas. To their right were a couple of girls impressively dressed up as Smurfs. Behind them was a quartet of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles without their shells. Instead of shells, they are wearing green coveralls. Only their painted faces and eye masks gave an indication of their characters. The togas and Ninja Turtles looked as if they were assembled that day.

  They rounded the corner to the front of the building. Mike saw the guys in the band in their KISS outfits. His eyes spotted Rocco’s version of Paul Stanley. From where Mike was, he could see that Rocco was wearing tight shiny leather pants and a matching vest. Mike’s stomach fluttered at seeing Rocco in leather. He could make out the star that Rocco had painted on one of his eyes.

  “Okay, I’m going to go over there in the dark and sneak up. I’ll see you over there,” Mike said as he broke off from Joe and the flow of kids. Joe gave him a nod and continued with the crowd. Joe saw Tiffany talking with Rocco. She was dressed up as a pink princess equipped with a cone wrapped in pink netting of some type. She looked incredible in her low-cut ruffly pink dress. Her bust must have been pushed up with a corset of some kind as her breasts were spilling over and out of the neck cut out. He could see that she was laughing at something Rocco had said.

  “Good evening, my fair lady,” Joe said as he approached the group.

  “Hey Joe! How do I look?” Tiffany asked.

  “Hot,” Joe said looking at her ample cleavage.

  “Oh, stop it! My eyes are up here,” Tiffany giggled and pointed to her face. “What are you?” Without the mask, Joe was just a guy in a blue-grey coverall. He slipped on his mask and held up his rubber knife as if to stab someone. He started to hum out the theme song to Halloween. Tiffany let out a little scream. “Oh my God, that’s great.”

  “You guys look fantastic,” Joe said to the members of KISS.

  “Thank you, Michael,” Pete shouted.

  Joe caught a shadow behind the group. It was Mike making his approach. Mike had his mask on. He had pulled up the hood of his robe over his head so that only the long beak of his mask was visible from the black folds of his robe. If he had not known this was Mike, Joe would have tried to push the group behind him to protect them.

  “OOOOOOOOO,” Mike sang in a spooky manner from behind the group. Rocco peeked around and gasped.

  “Mike?” Rocco exclaimed.

  “I’ve come for your soul!” Mike said in the same spooky manner.

  “Oh my God, Mike. You’re scaring the shit out of me,” Rocco said.

  Mike started to laugh. He pulled the hood back and took off the mask.

  “That’s spooky as fuck,” Raz said.

  “You guys look so great!” Mike said to KISS.

  “Thank you, evil bird ghost,” Pete said.

  “I’m a plague doctor,” Mike corrected Pete.

  “Yeah, I know. It’s all Rocco’s been talking about for the past half hour,” Pete said.

  “In any case, you scare me,” Austin said. Wendy was beside Austin. She was dressed up as Raggedy Anne. She nodded in agreement.

  “My job here is done,” Mike said and took a bow. Rocco approached him.

  “You look great,” Rocco whispered.

  “Thanks,” Mike said returning the whispered tone.

  “I can’t wait to have the first dance with you,” Rocco said looking deep in Mike’s eyes.

  “I can’t wait either,” Mike said grabbing Rocco’s hand and holding it tightly. Rocco smiled.

  “Okay, love birds, can we go in? The dance is about to start,” Pete said. They could hear a voice speaking over the loudspeakers which meant the principal, or some other school administrator was making an introductory speech.

  “Love birds?” Tiffany asked giving a confused glance at Rocco and Mike. Pete’s face dropped as soon as realized the faux pas he had made. Pete didn’t know that Tiffany was unaware of Rocco and Mike’s relationship.

  “Oh, it’s just a joke,” Pete said trying to gloss over his error. “I’m just teasing them because they are such good friends.”

  “Oh, okay,” Tiffany said and laughed. “Come on then, you old married couple!”

  “Guys, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know,” Pete whispered.

  “It’s totally cool, Pete. We really don’t care who knows any longer,” Mike said as he put on his mask and repositioned his hood over his head.

  “Y’all quit whispering and let’s go!” Tiffany said and turned towards the front door. “Put your mask on, Joe. It’s time to party. I put a pint of vodka in my corset to sneak in.” She winked at Joe.

  “Shall we?” Joe put on his mask and took Tiffany by the arm inside. From the outside, the voice over the speakers stopped and some bass started playing. The party had started.

  Everyone entered the front door. Past the front door was a hallway leading straight to the gym. The hallway broke off to either side where classes were. They all went into the gym. The doors were already opened. As they all passed through the gym doors, they were flooded with the sound of dance music. The gym floor was almost packed with dancing students in a multitude of costumes. There were lots of kids sitting off in the bleachers hanging out and chatting. In one corner, there was a photo backdrop where partiers could have their picture made.

  “Let’s get our pictures taken,” Tiffany said to Joe. She dragged Joe across the gym to the photo booth.

  “Do you want to get a picture taken with me?” Mike asked Rocco.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Rocco replied. “Hey, guys, we are going to get our picture taken. Do you want to do one with all of us?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Austin said to Wendy.

  Mike and the band got lots of looks from the dancers on the floor. This was an indication that their efforts in creating their costumes was a success. As the guys in the band made their way to the photo booth, they heard lots of comments like “great costume” and “right on”. There was even an occasional “righteous”.

  Mike was right behind Rocco. Rocco reached his hand back to take Mike’s so that they would not lose each other in the crowd. Even after all the two had been through in the past few weeks, Mike’s belly fluttered every time Rocco took his hand. It was as if it were like that first night at Tiffany’s party. His affection for Rocco had turned to love that grew stronger each day. He had given himself wholly to Rocco at this point and had no regrets. Each night they spent together further cemented his feelings for Rocco. He did not care what other people thought about their relationship. He was willing to do anything for Rocco. If Rocco wanted to be out and open to everyone, Mike was completely on board. Rocco looked back and smiled at Mike. Mike instantly saw fireworks in the background.

  Joe and Tiffany were the first to get their pictures together. All four of the guys in the band huddled together to get their picture taken after Joe and Tiffany. Right before the camera flashed Pete gave the photographer the bird. All four of the guys wanted to get a picture with Mike included. Austin and Wendy had their moment with the camera. Rocco and Mike were the last couple to get a picture taken. The photographer did not know the person behind the plague doctor’s mask was Mike so the two were able to get a picture of them holding hands. It wasn’t until the two of them signed up to get prints that the photographer realized two guys posed for a couple’s photo. However, the photographer did not comment on this and took the order giving them a suspicious glance.

  Heavy D and The Boyz started to play through the speaker which prompted everyone to get out on the dance floor. It was not really the dance that Rocco and Mike had hoped for. While Mike enjoyed the freedom behind the mask to get close to Rocco during this song, it was not the slow dance he wanted. It was difficult for Rocco to see Mike’s eyes behind his bird mask, but he could sense Mike’s gaze on him.

  Finally, the first slow song of the night came on which was an old Bryan Adams ballad. Pete and Raz broke off from the group and started talking with some other students. Austin and Wendy started to dance together—slowly swaying in an embraced circle.

  Mike and Rocco stood frozen on the dance floor staring at each other. Rocco saw that the beak of the mask was pointing down indicating to him that Mike was looking at the floor. The beak moved a little to the left. Rocco told a deep breath and approached Mike.

  “May I have this dance?” Rocco asked his masked boyfriend.

  Mike’s heart skipped a beat. He was not only elated but also nervous at the opportunity to have his first slow dance in front of everyone in the school. He inhaled deeply and looked up at Rocco. Rocco smiled wide and held out his hand.

  “Yes,” Mike said and took Rocco’s hand. From the side of the gym, Pete nudged at Raz and pointed at the couple. Raz flashed a smile of approval.

  It was slightly awkward for Mike to situate the long beak of his mask. However, he was able to look up slightly to rest the beak against Rocco’s neck. Mike placed both of his hands on Rocco’s shoulders while Rocco rested his hands around Mike’s waist. They moved in unison as they rocked from side to side in a circle. No one paid any attention to them since Mike was behind his mask. Mike thought, at some point in the night, he was going to have to take his mask off since the mouth and eye holes in the mask released less hot air than he exhaled. At this very moment, however, Mike gave it no further thought. He closed his eyes as Rocco held on to him tightly through the lyrics:

  “Oh, once in your life you find someone;

  Who will turn your world around;

  Bring you up when you're feelin' down”.

  Rocco held Mike closer and tighter when he felt Mike shiver at the words

  “It isn't too hard to see; We're in Heaven”.

  Once the song was over, the two separated and remained looking at each other. Rocco could tell Mike was ecstatic at the barrier they had just broken.

  “Want to go sit down?” Rocco asked Mike as a Red Hot Chili Peppers song came on.

  “Okay,” Mike said. Rocco took Mike’s hand and led him to the bleacher off to the side. It felt amazing to have had a dance with Mike. Rocco was delirious from his feelings for Mike and from the exhilaration of having done something so rebellious in the face of normativity. They sat down on a bleacher in the first tier.

  “How do you feel?” Rocco asked Mike.

  “I feel wonderful,” Mike cooed from behind the mask. His breath had heated the inside of the mask considerably, so Mike lifted it over his face just slightly above his eyelids. He looked down so that no one could see his face except Rocco. “Can anyone see me?”

  Rocco looked up and around but saw that no one was looking at them. “You’re okay.”

  Mike kept his head down but caught a peek of Rocco. “Rocco, I love you,” he said in a quiet whisper. Rocco could not hear what Mike said clearly, but he knew what Mike had just said.

  “I love you too, Mike,” Rocco replied in a normal voice. The music was loud enough that no one could have heard what Rocco said.

  “Promise me we’ll never let this moment end,” Mike said.

  “I promise,” Rocco replied. They sat on the bleacher for a couple of more songs until another slow song came on—this time a more recent Bryan Adams song. Bryan Adams seemed to be the rock ballad king of their day.

  “This time, may I have this dance?” Mike asked Rocco.

  “Yes!” Rocco exclaimed and jumped up from the bleacher. Mike pulled his mask back down and got up. Rocco led Mike to the dance floor. They came together again with Rocco leading the dance. They swayed in each other’s arms to the lyrics of ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It for You’. They had positioned themselves on the dancefloor within eyesight of Joe and Tiffany. Tiffany had her back turned the entire song. Joe gave the two a thumbs up.

  The song ended but Mike and Rocco remained on the floor during the next fast song. When the song was three quarters over, Mike was getting hot inside his mask again, so he lifted it up enough to be able to see floor. He was sweating profusely. Mike was sure to keep his mask down enough so that no one could see his face. Since they had been slow dancing with each other earlier, Mike did not want to risk having anyone figuring out how who the plague doctor was.

  At that moment, David and his female date danced by Rocco and Mike. David smirked at Rocco while Mike slipped his mask back down.

  “Who’s your boyfriend, Rocco?” David asked continuing to dance.

  “It’s none of your concern, David,” Rocco said annoyed at the interruption.

  “Are you dancing with that pretty boy, Meigs?” David pressed on.

  “It doesn’t matter to you,” Rocco continued in the same tone.

  David reached out to take Mike’s mask off, but Rocco intercepted the motion by shoving David’s arm away.

  “Come on, I wanna see which faggot you brought as your date, Rocco,” David taunted. Joe caught sight of David and immediately broke away from Tiffany. Joe ran over to Rocco and Mike and forcefully shoved David.

  “Back off man,” Joe warned David.

  “Why are you so quick to defend this guy?” David asked shaking off Joe’s shove.

  “Rocco’s my friend,” Joe said. He also wanted to add that David was messing with his little brother but bit his tongue.

  “I just want to know who Rocco brought to the dance,” David replied.

  “It’s none of your business,” Joe said. Tiffany was standing off to the side where she and Joe were dancing. She was already a little tipsy. She walked over to Joe and David.

  “Leave my cousin alone, jerk face,” Tiffany said pushing her pointer finger into David’s broad chest.

  “What’s up with everyone taking this queer’s side?” David asked.

  “Why are you so concerned about it anyway?” Tiffany yelled. Everyone on the floor stopped dancing even though the music continued to play.

  “Enough!” Mike yelled taking his mask off. “I’m Rocco’s date. I’m Rocco’s boyfriend.” Mike was fed up with this interrogation and needed to stand up for Rocco. Mike reached over and grabbed Rocco by the hand holding it tightly. Rocco could not form a sentence.

  There were a few gasps from different spots in the gym. There was whispering here and there. David looked dumbfounded. He was expecting the person behind the mask to be Meigs, the guy he regularly beat up for being gay. He was not expecting the brother of the star quarterback.

  “Yeah, asshole,” Joe yelled at David. “Rocco and my little brother are boyfriends. What about it?”

  No one whispered after Joe spoke. The floor was silent. The music stopped in the middle of a song. Within a minute, a chaperone teacher appeared pushing her way through the crowd. It was Mrs. Smith, one of the biology teachers on the verge of retirement.

  “What’s going on here?” Mrs. Smith barked. “What’s the problem?”

  “It seems David Wick has a problem with my little brother’s date to the dance,” Joe said to Mrs. Smith keeping his eye on David the entire time.

  “Is this true, Mr. Wick?” Mrs. Smith asked looking directly at David. “What beef do you have with Joe’s brother’s date?” David stood staring at Mrs. Smith with blank expression. “Well, what’s the problem, Mr. Wick?”

  “His problem is that I’m his date,” Rocco finally said breaking out of stupor. He squeezed Mike’s hand. Mrs. Smith looked over at Rocco and then at Mike. She gave a look of shock.

  “Oh, I see,” Mrs. Smith said shaking off her initial shock. “Well, I---umm, I,” Mrs. Smith was at a loss for words, but she quickly recovered, “It’s not up to you, Mr. Wick, who goes out with whom. I don’t understand these things, but you, Mr. Wick, need to mind your own business. You’ll be seeing the principal first thing Monday morning, that’s for sure.” Mrs. Smith started to walk away. “The same goes for Joe and for you two,” Mrs. Smith pointed her wrinkled fingers at Rocco and Mike. As she walked away, she gave a final warning, “Any more out you and I’ll have you thrown out.”

  She left leaving Joe, David, Mike, Rocco, and Tiffany standing on the dance floor looking at each other. Joe looked around at his classmates who were still standing staring dumbstruck. Joe walked over to Mike and gave him a long hug.

  “I’m proud of you, Mikey. You did something big and important just now,” Joe said almost at a whisper.

  “Thanks, Joe,” Mike said looking at his brother.

  “This is my little brother, and I’m proud of him,” Joe yelled at the crowd. The music was still off so the entire gym heard what Joe said. He went over to hug Rocco. “And I’m proud of his boyfriend, Rocco.” There was a sprinkling of applause throughout the dancefloor. The applause started to pick up as well as a few “right-on”s.

  The music started back up and some of the students started dancing again as if nothing had happened. The kids in the immediate vicinity were watching Joe and David half-way expecting a fight. Tiffany went up to Rocco. Rocco looked down at the floor. She then gave Rocco a hug.

  “I’m proud of you, cuz,” Tiffany said.

  “Thanks, cuz,” Rocco said and laughed nervously.

  “It’s finally out there,” Tiffany said. Rocco gave her a quizzical look.

  “You knew?” Rocco asked in shock.

  “Of course, I’m not stupid,” Tiffany said rolling her eyes. “I was just waiting for you to say something.” Rocco looked her in the eye. “Well, you haven’t said it yet. But I guess you don’t have to now--”

  “No,” Rocco interrupted. “I’m gay and Mike is my boyfriend.”

  “Now you tell me!” Tiffany smiled. They both laughed and hugged again. She then went over to Mike and gave him a hug. “You hurt my cousin, and you have me to deal with.” She pointed her finger at Mike and then pretended to punch him in the face.

  David was still looking at Rocco and Mike in disgust. He was about to say something else when Joe walked up to him and in a threatening whisper said, “You even think about saying or doing anything else to them and I will get on the stage and tell everyone what we did. Understand?”

  David looked at Joe and then at Mike and Rocco. “Yeah, I get it.” David turned back around to his date and tried to grab her arm. She refused and walked away leaving David alone on the floor. Joe turned back to Mike and Rocco and smiled.

  “Joe, thanks for stick up for us,” Rocco said.

  “Just protecting my fellas!” Joe said and patted him on the shoulder. Joe and Tiffany were in light spirits after the reveal and started to dance.

  Mike looked up at Rocco. “I guess we can dance some more?”

  “I’d like to sit down for a minute if that’s okay. Come back to earth. I feel kinda out of my body right now,” Rocco said.

  “Of course,” Mike said and led Rocco to the same spot they were sitting earlier. They both sat down. Mike placed his mask on the bleacher above them.

  “I can’t believe we are out to the school,” Mike said finally realizing what had just occurred.

  “Yeah, I know. It feels weird. Like I’m relieved but also, I don’t know what to expect now,” Rocco said. His eyes met Mike’s. Rocco wanted to give him a kiss, but he also did not want to push any more boundaries.

  “Way to go!” a couple from the dance floor said and continued to dance. A guy that Rocco had in one of his classes gave him a thumbs up. Another guy nodded and smiled in acceptance.

  “I guess we have a few allies,” Rocco said.

  “Yeah,” Mike said. “I’m sure we are going to have a few enemies, too.” Mike looked over at David who was still on the dance floor looking around. Rocco saw that Mike was looking at David.

  “Hey, let’s not take away from this moment. It’s just you and me tonight. To hell with anyone else’s opinion,” Rocco tried to reassure Mike to enjoy the moment.

  “You’re right,” Mike said and placed his hand on Rocco’s thigh.

  Pete, Raz, Austin, and Wendy ran up.

  “You doing okay?” Austin asked.

  “Yeah, we’re good,” Rocco replied.

  Austin came up to Rocco and gave him a hug smearing his face makeup. “You guys did it! You’re official!”

  Rocco looked up at Raz who was giving him a huge smile. Raz mouthed “thank you” to him and came over to hug him and then hugged Mike.

  “You two keep inspiring me,” Raz said. Rocco and Mike laughed.

  “Queer as fuck, my friends. Queer as FUCK!” Pete yelled at the top of his lungs.

  A person walked up to the group that they did not recognize. This person looked as if they walked off the cover of a fashion magazine—glamourous, modelesque, in a sequined gown and wind-blown hair. The makeup made this person look like an exact copy of Cindy Crawford. The group heard the stilettos click again the wood floor and stop in front of Mike and Rocco.

  “Thank you for coming out,” a recognizable voice said. It was Meigs.

  “Meigs???” Rocco exclaimed. Meigs nodded. “Holy shit, I wouldn’t have recognized you!”

  “That’s the best compliment I’ve heard all night,” Meigs said and put one hand on his false hips and one hand in the air.

  “Did you do all of this yourself?” Rocco asked in amazement.

  “I did,” Meigs said making a turn to show off the costume.

  “Wow, you look amazing,” Raz said barely able to finish the sentence.

  “Thank you, um—” Meigs started. “I know you’re a member of KISS, but I don’t know which one.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Raz said still mesmerized at Meigs.

  “Can a girl get a dance around here?” Meigs said to the group but making it obvious that the question was directed at Raz.

  “Um, would you like to dance?” Raz asked nervously.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Meigs said and walked to the floor. He turned around and motioned for Raz to follow. Raz nervously but eagerly followed Meigs to the dance floor.

  “Can you believe that?” Austin said stunned.

  “I’m fucking jealous,” Wendy added.

  “It’s been quite a night,” Rocco said and looked over at Mike.

  “It certainly has,” Mike said returning the glance.

  “Now that I’m back on earth and now that you don’t have to wear your mask anymore, would you like to dance?” Rocco asked.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Mike said trying his best impression of Meigs. They joined Raz and Meigs on the dance floor. The rest of the group followed their example and returned to the dance. What amazed Rocco the most was that everyone seemed to forget what had just occurred a while ago—at least on the surface. All the kids returned to their dancing and partying as if nothing happened. Rocco expected lots of resistance from this moment, but everyone seemed to go back into their own social bubbles. He did not know if things would be the same on Monday. While Rocco was ecstatic to be able to freely dance with Mike, even slow dance, it seemed a little anti-climactic. Why hadn’t they done this earlier?