But then there’s still Owen. On that first night, when everything went so disastrously wrong, he was the one to come after me in that dazzling gold suit. He’s probably the nicest and most gentle person I’ve ever known, a real-life Prince Charming. I hate that I don’t reciprocate those feelings, but maybe I’m just not looking hard enough. Maybe there is something there … something I’m missing? Could this be our love story? Am I just too stupid to see it? It can’t be a coincidence that this was all started by that kiss. Maybe if we could just recreate it – kiss a second time – then maybe those feelings would come?

With the intensity that Kellen is kissing Rhys, you’d think he was working on a similar theory. It’s like he thinks the solution to this problem is in the back of Rhys’s throat and the only way to get at it is with his tongue. It’s so intense that it’s clearly making people uncomfortable. So much so that if it was a pair of straight students that were doing this they’d definitely be asked to stop. Nobody wants to say that to the gay kids, though. What if someone yells homophobia? I look around for Madzikanda. She’s the only member of staff who really understands that equality is about treating everyone exactly the same.

Watching them kiss is starting to turn my stomach, so I resolve to go looking for Owen. I’d rather kiss him than spend even one more second watching Kellen and Rhys.

I find him and Josh sitting out by the lake. They look like they’re having a heart-to-heart, so I hang back for a moment and pretend to be busy on my phone. It must be hard for them, having built this incredible friendship, knowing that it won’t be the same after tonight. That’s something we all have to deal with: life won’t be the same once we finally cross midnight. At least me and Kellen have endless opportunities to make sure we get this right.

Owen shakes his cup, signalling that it’s empty, and Josh stands up to go and get them some more drinks. This is my opportunity and so I take it. Owen is definitely not unattractive. In fact, he’s kind of handsome in his own soft, dorky kind of way. On paper, he’s boyfriend material. Kissing him wouldn’t be that bad. I just need to reprogramme my stupid brain into fancying him. How hard can that really be?

‘Hey,’ I say, approaching. ‘I’m not interrupting, am I?’

He chuckles. ‘Yeah, I was deep in conversation with my imaginary friends.’

I take that as an invitation to sit down.

‘So?’ Owen says, reading me perfectly. ‘You’ve gone all serious, Zach …’

‘Yeah,’ I admit.