In high school, being crowned homecoming king or queen is basically like being a real king or queen. It means that you’re liked. It means that you’re popular. You’re seriously royalty. It’s every teen’s dream to stand up there at the dance with their crown and new title.

That’s why it was such a shock when one student forfeited his homecoming king title only a few hours after he was crowned. Yep, that’s right. He decided it wasn’t for him. But his reasoning for doing it was the absolute sweetest.

It all happened at Douglas County High School in Colorado. When it was time to announce who was crowned king and queen, a boy named Brad Cooley received the title of king. His queen was Meghan Bailey, a 17-year-old girl who was born with a form of Cerebral Palsy that inhibits her ability to talk on her own.

Meghan’s date to the dance was another 17-year-old boy named Ian Brennan. Ian has Down syndrome, and he and Meghan have been friends since they were just five years old.

So when Brad was crowned king alongside someone who had such a special connection with someone else, he didn’t feel like he truly deserved to stand up there, and he knew had to do something to fix it.

“Something didn’t feel right to me, it didn’t feel like I was the one who was supposed to have it,” Brad said.

So Brad did the unthinkable. He decided to pass on his king title to someone else: Ian. “There was just something in me that was like, I just felt like it would be better deserved for someone else,” Brad said.

Teens typically get a bad rep of cruel. We always hear about bullying and teasing…it’s a tough age, after all. And yet, this young man performed such a gentleman act with grace, all on his own.

The act of kindness was so sweet that it brought Meghan’s mother Heidi to tears.

“It made me cry,” Heidi said. “It was amazing to have just the sweetness of sharing that moment, it was really amazing.”

Jim, Ian’s father, had to agree. “It was really overwhelming, so it is a very, very special, it was a special night and a special memory and we’re going to hold on to that one,” he said.

In fact the moment was a bit bittersweet for Ian and his father, as they had just lost someone very special to both of them: Ian’s mother, and Jim’s wife. She died of liver cancer just two months prior.

“She was my hero before she was diagnosed,” Jim said. “Our hope now is that we continue, along with a whole team of other people, the work that she did and just make the world a better place not just for Ian, but for everybody.”

We’re sure she would’ve loved to witness this special moment in her son’s life.

To see Meghan and Ian together in their homecoming queen and king journey, and hear more of this heartwarming story, check out the video below.

What do you think of Brad giving up his homecoming king title and hand it over to Ian? Have you ever seen a teen do something so selfless?