‘Not you as well.’ I groan. ‘Please tell me you didn’t.’

‘Why, are you jealous?’ He smiles mischievously. ‘Who did you vote for anyway?’

‘Oh … erm …’ I can feel Cameron’s leg pushed up against mine. ‘I … erm …’

‘He voted for me,’ Chase says, coming to my rescue. ‘Best friends stick together.’

‘I’m just that good an ally,’ I joke, shrugging my shoulders.

Chase actually groans at that. ‘He knows I hate that word.’

‘What, “ally”?’ Josh says, intrigued, sitting upright.

‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘I just hate how some people claim it as such a badge of honour. I’m an ally! Cool, congrats for not being phobic. And don’t even get me started on people who think it belongs in the LGBT+ acronym.’

‘I think it belongs!’ says Josh. ‘Laura Ann Carleton!’

‘Who?’ Owen looks baffled.

Josh throws him some side-eye. ‘She was that incredible woman who was murdered in California. People kept tearing down her rainbow flags, but she kept putting up new ones. She ended up paying the ultimate price. She wasn’t queer, but she will always be one of us. There’s space for her in our acronym, and I will fight you on that.’

‘That’s fair.’ Chase nods like he’s deep in thought. ‘I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t want every straight person with a LOVE IS LOVE tote bag to start claiming they’re part of the community. That’s the “allyship” I have an issue with.’

‘You mean the T in LGBT doesn’t stand for “tote bag”?’ Josh pretends to be shocked.

I laugh. ‘OK, if we’re being controversial,’ I say, ‘I hate LOVE IS LOVE as a slogan.’

‘What?’ Cameron says. ‘Hate is a strong word for something so inoffensive.’

‘I hate it because it’s inoffensive!’ I say. ‘It’s like diet allyship. Being supportive without actually being supportive. It doesn’t mean anything!’

‘Not to mention it’s not trans inclusive …’ Chase says.

‘OK, I hear you,’ Josh says. ‘But I think it’s about context, right? Sure, LOVE IS LOVE isn’t the most inclusive statement, but imagine you’ve got a homophobic grandparent, and you spend years trying to convince them that your identity isn’t criminal. And then one day they show up wearing a T-shirt with that written on it? It would mean the world to a queer kid. It’s accessible because it’s easy. Allyship doesn’t always have to be radical. Sometimes it’s the little gestures that mean the most …’

‘Well, fuck,’ Chase says. ‘I guess you make a good point. Just a shame I can’t take it seriously because you’re dressed like an actual court jester.’

‘Just here to entertain the royal court,’ says Josh, jingling his bells. ‘Speaking of which …’ He looks at his watch and hops to his feet. ‘We should probably head back inside. They’re about to announce our prom kweens.’

‘Kellen and Rhys are not going to win,’ I say. ‘It’ll go to Tiffany.’