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Gay Teen Asks Straight Football Captain To Homecoming On National Coming Out Day

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CBS Local) -- There are plenty of viral videos showing unique high school "promprosals" and similarly creative courtships for school dances, but this one may take the cake.

On National Coming Out Day, Alexander Duarte, a gay senior at Valley High School in Santa Ana, California, staged an unforgettable proposal to this year's homecoming dance. Duarte spent two weeks preparing to ask his friend, Erick Pineda, the straight captain of the football team, to homecoming on the designated day of pride.

"It all started as a joke. One day he said to me, 'Yo, take me to homecoming!' so I knew that if I did it I would have to set the bar and be extra," Duarte told Instinct Magazine.

Video of the big moment was posted on Instagram.

Pineda seemed pleasantly surprised as he walked out to lunch to see crowds of students lined up along a long corridor, saying "You go, Erick! You're my hero!"

With Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" playing in the background, Pineda headed toward a homemade rainbow banner, which read "I know I'm GAY, but can I take you STRAIGHT 2 HOMECOMING?" Just as he got there, Duarte popped out from behind the banner.

The video shows the two hugging as Pineda accepts and students erupt in applause.

"It's very important for me to be going to homecoming with Alexander because I'm setting an example for not only my school, but also my community," Pineda told Instinct. "I was definitely excited to be asked to homecoming because I knew how important this was for my friend and seeing the support from the staff and students was amazing."

"The team is very supportive and multiple teammates have approached me to congratulate me and have given me for my actions," he added.

The homecoming dance is scheduled for October 20.

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