The air in the Sigma house was thick with the scent of cheap cologne and stale beer, but Gage’s room was an island of quiet. For one hundred and ten chapters, they had danced around the obvious—the lingering looks in the weight room, the way Gage always found a reason to sit just a little too close on the couch, and the "no-strings-attached" agreement that had become a tangled web of genuine feelings.

As the months went by, the fraternity rivalry began to fade, replaced by a newfound respect and camaraderie. Gage's initiative became a model for other colleges and universities, showing that even the most unlikely of friends could come together for a common cause.