“Good,” she purred. “That’s what I like to hear. Today is important. Not only are we letting the world know that we exist, but we are celebrating love in all its forms. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight, the fact that you’re here means you believe in the message of acceptance. Except for the shitheads over there with the biblical signs shouting scripture. You all can fuck right off. If you believe your god doesn’t love us for who we are, then we sure as hell don’t want him.”
The tiny group of protestors shouted angrily, but they were drowned out by jeers thrown in their direction. The protestors didn’t stop, but neither would we. Ever.
“When I was asked to be the grand marshal of the Pride parade,” Helena continued, “I was absurdly touched. The fact that I was even considered was mind-blowing, and I humbly accepted the honor. It’s the only time I’ve ever been humble in my life. I was surprised I was even capable of it.”
Everyone laughed.
Helena grinned wickedly. “But it got me thinking. What is the point of all of this? What are we doing? Why are we here? And it hit me: we are here because we matter. We’re here because we’re necessary. We’re here being our fabulous selves because we demand that our voices be heard. Someone very dear to me, to my family, once said that we are stronger together than we will ever be alone, and this is why we fight. We fight because there are people in the world who hate us, people in the world who want nothing more than to silence us. But I am here to tell you that will never happen. Because I am proud of who I am. And I am proud of who all of you are. Except for the protestors. Because still fuck you.”
I tilted my head back and howled my appreciation. I felt strong. I felt vital. I felt alive.
“We fight,” Helena said, “because times are troubling right now. But no matter what happens, no matte
r what the future brings, I can promise you one thing: we will be victorious, because we’ve come too far to ever let our rights be taken away from us.”
Chills ran down my spine.
“So let’s celebrate!” Helena crowed into the cheering crowd. “And thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be up here, especially with a group of our own future, the wonderful people of Phoenix House!”
The kids all bowed, and I wiped my eyes as Kai grinned.
“That’s it!” Helena said. “That’s all—”
“Oh, I think there might be one more thing, Helena.”
I blinked at the sound of Charlie’s voice coming through the speaker.
Helena put a finger to her chin as if deep in thought. “There is? What could it possibly be?”
“Maybe you should come back here and find out.”
I was startled when Marina grabbed me by the hand and pulled me toward the edge of the float. There, waiting for me, were Vince and Paul. Vince held up his arms as if he was going to help me down. I looked back over my shoulder at Helena. “What’s going on?”
She smiled softly at me. “Your future, baby doll. And I think it’s time you go and get it.”
My skin was buzzing as I turned back to Vince. I grabbed his hands and jumped down to the street. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I heard the others on the Phoenix House float jumping down too. I glanced back to see the float pull ahead a little ways after everyone was down, Darren helping Helena gracefully, spinning her around before setting her down. She laughed and kissed him quickly on the lips before coming toward me.
“You ready?” she asked.
“For what?”
“This,” she said, and silence fell over everyone.
Everyone, that is, except for Paul.
I gaped as he lowered his sunglasses onto his face and said, “It’s Sexy Paul, bitch.”
“That’s not even the right song,” I said faintly as “Toxic” by Britney Spears began to blast from the speakers.
And then they all began to dance.
Paul. And Vince. Helena. Even fucking Darren, and that asshole had moves I didn’t even know he was capable of. I nearly lost it when Nana and Matty and Larry burst through the crowd, jumping in on the routine. Larry was such a fucking dad about the whole thing, jerking his hips left and right so hard, I thought he was going to fall down.
But then I was distracted when the group from the leather bar began to dance along too, and it took me a second to realize this was the stupidest and most wonderful thing in the world: a goddamn flash mob.
It was… well. Coordinated. Mostly. They’d obviously practiced at least a few times, but no one was exactly a professional dancer. Even Charlie and Robert were moving, though a bit slower than the others, and Charlie was scowling at everyone. I gasped as confetti cannons blasted off, shooting rainbow streams across the dancing group.
And as the beat picked up, the leather men parted, and there, in all his ludicrous glory, was Jeremy Olsen.