Rory was lying on his bed watching Celtic Thunder for the millionth time when his phone rang. It was Dave.
"Hey."
"Ummm... Roar, could you..."
He sat up straight. "What's wrong?"
"I-" He sobbed. "Could you meet me at the park? Our usual spot?"
"Of course. I'm leaving now." It was dark but if his boyfriend needed him, he'd be there for him.
Rory and Dave had been going out for a couple of months now, and even though it was unknown throughout the school, it really didn't bother Rory. He was content in letting Dave come out on his own.
Rory was worried. He'd never known Dave to be one to show his emotions like this, something must have gone wrong. He arrived to the park, slammed the door, and ran over to the tree which was their usual spot. They normally came here at night, but tonight would be different.
There was Dave, sitting at the base of the tree, his knees drawn up, and his face in his hands. He didn't even look up when Rory walked towards him. He just stayed there, tears spilling from his already sore eyes.
"Babe, what happened?" the Irishman pulled his hands away, and brushed away the tears.
"I came out to my parents." He whispered. "My dad was shocked, but he seemed alright with it. My mom, she," He sniffed. "She didn't take it too well. She threatened to kick me out. I'm sorry Roar, I was getting tired of sneaking around. I wanted to come out for you. So we could really be together."
Rory could feel his heart breaking. This was Dave, strong, resolute, unyielding Dave. And yet that resolve was broken. Rory practically jumped on him as he threw his arms around the bigger boy and immediately felt the strong arms wrap around him. They had no idea how long they sat there, Dave crying into Rory's shoulder. After a while, Dave pulled Rory into his lap, and he stopped crying.
"I'm exhausted." He sighed.
"I'm proud of you, you know?"
Dave looked at him through bloodshot eyes. "What?"
"You took a huge step. You came out to your parents. That took real strength. I'm proud of you, and you don't have to come out to the school anytime soon if you don't want to." He placed a soft kiss on the other boy's lips.
Dave leaned into the kiss, deepening it. Finally, they broke apart. "Okay."
The next day they went back to their normal routine. The only difference being that there was an assembly for the football game that night and everyone in the school was expected to be there.
Dave had asked Rory to sit in the front and then walked away before the smaller boy could even blink. He obliged.
As usual, the football team ran out into the gym in their jerseys, and Rory, as was normal, couldn't take his eyes off of Dave. That jersey really did look good on him. Apparently, he was supposed to say something inspirational about the upcoming game to get everyone pumped. Dave took the microphone and cleared his throat.
It was then that Rory noticed that he was nervous. Really nervous. He barely had time to register why he was nervous when Dave took his hand and pulled him in front of everyone.
He turned to the school and said, "I'm gay, this is my boyfriend, and if you have something bad to say don't say it, and if any of you jocks touch him, well, the fury has ways of finding people." Then he pulled Rory into a bear hug, lifting him up off of the ground, and kissed him.
The whole hall became silent. Not because of what Dave said, but because Rory was so lost in the kiss and in the man that he was kissing that he forgot anyone else was there.
"I can't believe you did that." Rory said breathlessly when they broke apart.
"Me neither." He glanced around. "Just make sure to stay by me from now on. I don't want you to get hurt."
Rory laughed. "Fine by me."
They walked out of the gym, hand in hand, leaving the school, and the world, behind.