I remember it like it was yesterday. I was about five years old when my best friend Peyton's dads got married. My entire kindergarten class and all of our parents were invited to the wedding.

Peyton, of course, was the flower girl, and Josh was the ring bearer. Before you ask, yes, I was extremely jealous.

All of the boys wore tuxedos, and all of the girls wore pinkish-white dresses with puffy sleeves. My former tomboy self tried not to vomit on that hideous outfit.

During the ceremony, Josh and I held hands while sitting in the back row so nobody could see us. We covered our conjoined hands with my little pink purse; the only thing a purse is good for when you're five.

As Peyton stood by her dads, Roberto and Thomas, the Justice of the Peace exclaimed, "I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss each other."

Once opposite-sex marriage was abolished, they substituted, "You may kiss the bride/groom" with "You may kiss each other" in order to promote gender equality.

Whether I end up with Josh like I hope, or I give in to society's standards and marry a woman, I want to continue this new tradition. Men and women are equal and should be treated as such.

Once the wedding was over, Peyton's dads drove me, Josh and Peyton to the after-party.

The party was amazing! There was a giant chocolate cake taller than me! I'm pretty sure that cake would still be taller than me now, and I'm 13!

There were roses, streamers, confetti, and more guests than I could ever imagine. The adults drank something called "sham-pain" (champagne), and we went outside to play once we got too bored.

Peyton had wedding on the brain, and she suggested that we play pretend wedding . We brought out some stuff from inside to make the backyard look like an outdoor wedding (as much as a bunch of sugared-up five year olds could).

Peyton was in charge of determining who would "marry" whom. I don't remember all of the pairings, but some of them still stick out in my mind:

-Peyton would marry Amaya.

-Josh would marry Anthony.

-I would marry Brittney.

After Peyton and Josh had their pretend weddings, it was my turn to "marry" Brittney. Brittney walked up to our fake altar (which was actually the doghouse) and yelled for me to join her.

"Come on Rylie, you're making me look bad!"

"Why won't you marry Brittney?" Peyton asked.

I knew that what I was about to do would probably ruin my friendships forever, but I had to stand up for myself.

"I don't want to marry Brittney. I-I want to marry Josh," I said, nervously stuttering.

Our entire kindergarten class gasped. One kid said, "Ew, that's gross," and then all of the kids ran inside.

All of them except for Josh and Peyton.

Peyton came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. She said to me, "Don't worry, I don't hate you. I have an older sister that liked boys too when she was little. My dad and her other dad (they're divorced now) didn't get mad at her.

They told her that she's just confused. They told her that once she got her first girlfriend, she'd feel different. You're just confused like her. You'll get over it. Come on, let's go get more cake when the grown-ups aren't looking!"

Peyton ran inside, leaving me both embarrassed and alone with Josh.

Josh looked me in the eyes and said, "If I was allowed to like girls, I would like you," and then he went inside.

I won't say what happened at school the next day, but let's just say I had to switch schools.