Back at home, Adam’s laying across the sofa, finishing his takeaway kebab and surfing on his phone with a few beers he bought from his pay check that finally came.

Taking a sip from his bottle, he lets out a groan as he realises that his battery’s low. Reaching across the coffee table, he grabs the lead before it can falls on the floor.

Plugging it in to the wall, he smiles as the charging symbol shows up. Turning on the Bluetooth, he selects a song and starts playing it through the speaker he brought from his room.

Turning it up, he lets out a smile and begins to nods his head to the beat:

/A few more drinks and I’ll be fine/ he thinks to himself as he walks over to the fridge. /I have to finish them all tonight anyway. Only four more to go and that’s me./

Maybe he shouldn’t have bought the eight pack. He should have went with his instincts and bought the four pack, but again, he couldn’t resist a good deal. Same with the snacks and the kebab meal deal.

It has been his first quiet night home alone in a long time, and he wants to take full advantage of it. Do something random and unorthodox. Maybe even watch a bad movie or two. He’s already done some sketches and painted something to kill time, but now it’s time to explore something new.

Something unknown to him. Something fun.

Something to waste even more time.

Browsing through the app store, he downloads several apps and checks them out. One really catches his eye:*MeetMeHalfway*

Opening the app, he’s greeted by a smiling mascot telling him to put in his details:

*ENTER YOUR DATE OF BIRTH:* 20–01-2001

*I AM A:* MAN
*LOOKING FOR:* ANYONE
*AGE RANGE:* 18-30
*WITHIN 1 KM*

The screen loads as all the boxes are ticked. Just as he thinks everything’s ready, another page comes up.

*PICK A USERNAME:* ADZ01

*WELCOME, ADZ01. ENJOY COSTA DORADA’S PREMIER DATING AND SOCIAL MEET UP APP. HAVE FUN AND USE RESPONSIBLY.*

*I ACCEPT THESE TERMS* / I DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS.

*HAPPY FISHING ;) HERE ARE YOUR TOP FIVE BEST-MATCHED SEARCH RESULTS:*

*B3RBER* 20M
*SEXYHARDQUESO* 100M
*DANICARVA* 200M
*JJ1996* 450M
*COME2MEPAPI* 500M

Taking a deep breath, he decides to message *B3RB3R*. A minute later, his phone beeps, taking his attention away from the movie:

*B3RB3R:* Hi, sup?
*You:* Hey, chillin’ and home alone. Hbu?
*B3RB3R is typing…*
*B3RB3R:* Same.
*You:* Do you want to come around? I’m at number seventeen. I have food.
*B3RB3R is typing…*

Before they finish replying, Adam hears a knock on the door and opens it. A slim figure, standing around his height with deep, brown eyes and a dark crew cut smiles back at him. Strong cheekbones give the babyface some definition. The hairy legs stick out like a sore thumb, as does the Adam’s apple in the neck area.

Dressed in a pair of loose khaki shorts and a short-sleeved shirt with developing biceps, the androgynous person is very attractive to Adam. Laughing at Adam examining them, they ask:

“Are you done yet?” the genderless voice responds.

“Oh, yeah sorry.”

He smiles as they walk inside and sit on the sofa. “Make yourself comfortable.” Adam stares at them again. “You look really familiar.”

The figure nods back, eating some of the Takis Adam’s left sititng out. “Maybe I am?”

“You’re teasing me now… where you in my year in school?”

They nod back. “In most classes.”

“Were you smart?”

“Still am yeah.”

Adam thinks for a moment. “Do you have a twin?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m pulling a blank… I think I know…” Adam thinks some more. “No.. I had someone but now I have no idea. You look really familiar..”

“You seriously don’t remember me? We went down to the river during the summer and swam together. We had picnics too—“

“—Jaleel? How’s your Sister?”

The figure smirks. “She’s fine.”

“What’s she up to now?”

“Sitting beside an idiot and playing a guessing game with him, laughing at his answers.”

Adam’s mouth widens. “Rahel, you’ve changed a lot—“

“—Yeah, I know. I find it weird that you find me more attractive now than you did before,” she adds, “and you can call me Rae or Rehan now.”

“Rehan? Are you transgender now?”

She shakes her head. “I just stopped shaving and I like the name. I’m experimenting with my look and pronouns and trying to find a comfortable norm between everything. It’s difficult.”

“What makes you feel comfortable?” Adam asks, sincerely.

“She, or them. I don’t mind. I don’t think I’m transgender, or want to transition medically,” Rehan adds with a laugh, “it feels weird re-introducing myself to you, as the person I want to be—that I was meant to be, well—“

“—I understand—“

“—Do you really? It was hard enough to be a woman sometimes, let alone one in a household that doesn’t respect you as a human being, just because you were born with a uterus—“

“—I get that—“

“—It was so much easier for Jaleel, being the golden boy and the apple of her eye. The perfect son who could do no wrong. Dude, I’m glad Mama kicked me out.”

“Why did she kick you out?” Adam asks, drinking another can of beer.

“Because to them, it’s not about who you are. It’s about who you aren’t. It’s not religious at all, it’s a pride thing. I’m happy with who I am and who I serve, but to them, I was nothing more than an asset. As much as I love my Mama and Uncle Younes, I had to be true to myself.” Rehan responds, grabbing a beer. “In short, I shaved my head and started dating gangsters. Filthy men, according to them. And I also kissed a girl and got caught with drink.”

Adam laughs. “So you’re becoming female me? Smooth.”

Rehan smiles back. “Not quite as bad. Remember the time my Mama told you off for being ‘too much of a boy’ for wrestling Jaleel in the backyard? And Jaleel stood up for you, by saying that they wanted him to be more of a boy, but when someone else does it, it was wrong.”

“Yeah, she was a hypocrite. Jaleel is nice though, he stuck up for me, even after I took his phone and read his texts and ran around the yard with it.”

“Yeah, you were even worse as a teenager. Remember the time you hated the song Alexis was playing and you threw the speaker into the pool and were mad when you found out the speaker was waterproof?”

“Yeah. That stupid song about quinoa is still stuck in my head. Thanks, Alexis.” Adam laughs. “Remember the time you dragged me into your bedroom and plastered lipstick over my face and called me a sissy boy?”

“And I pinned you to my bed and jumped on top of you and kissed you?” She laughs. “Yeah, I do. It makes a lot more sense now.”

“You have a masculine energy about you. You’re a very tough person with a soft centre who likes to explore things and have fun. And express yourself strongly.”

“A bit like someone I know. Maybe that’s why we didn’t work out. Maybe we’re better friend material. Maybe you need a masculine and a feminine or some sort of reasonable balance to make a relationship work. Not a yin and a yang, but a role. Teamwork. Contrast.”

“You mean someone who fills out the others weaknesses and helps them with their own strengths and to develop as a person?”

She nods and smiles, slipping the blunt from behind his ear. “Yeah. Like a relationship is a blank canvas and the people are what makes it beautiful, messy or unique.”

“Love is a form of art. Relationships are painting and progress. Each failed one is a lesson learned. A learning curve, like Picasso and the chicken. We keep growing and improving with the more experience we have.”

“The more you know, the less you can mess up and the more decisive you can be. The more true things can be. The more you learn about yourself. It’s great.”

Adam smiles. “I know. Speaking of art, do you wanna come and see my studio? We can light that up and share it after the tour.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They get up off the sofa and walk into Adam’s art studio; a messy bed, half-opened window, an old, rickety desk with a swivel chair and a laptop on it; an old, beaten up sofa, a rickety closet, a small television barely holding onto the wall, some crooked shelving and easel filled with neutral tones sporting an unfinished symphony of emotions, expression, and potential. Tranquility in a nutshell, contrasting against the bustling city around him.

Time to blank out the barking dogs, people shouting outside and the sirens passing by. Grabbing his other speaker, he turns up the music and blasts out a tune and starts to dance around the space.

“This is where I go to escape reality for a few hours.”

“It seems nice enough Rehan adds, letting out a chuckle before joining him.

He places his hands on her hips as they sway to the beat together. “You’ve gotten even skinnier than I remember. Your shoulders are broader too.”

“Touch my chest. Above the vest top. What do you think?”

Adam laughs as he feels the beginnings of a six pack form. “Impressive.”

“I started boxing and weightlifting to vent my frustration. I sometimes still paint, write and make clay sculptures but the sports help me a lot in the moment. Art is a gradual thing.”

“I know that too well. I started my portfolio at the start of the year but I got suspended from Juan Catalan in January and Mahmoud forced me to start working.”

“Why did you get suspended?”

“Because of some video going around of me snorting cocaine from a hooker’s bellybutton. Adnan filmed me when we were drunk and someone sent the video around.”

She laughs. “For real?”

“Yeah. We bargained with the principal because of Uncle Amir and decided that a year long suspension was fair. I’d rather be back than work you know?”

“Where do you work?”

“Carreras. It’s nice but I hardly get any time to myself anymore. I’m there five days a week. Sometimes four. Depends on who covers.”

“I see. I work in the supermercado down the street. The one beside the alleyway. You know where the old man got drunk and split his head open?”

“Yeah. I walk past there when I go to catch the bus for Marco’s.”

“Marco?”

Adam nods and sits down. He lights up the blunt and takes a drag. “He’s a new friend I made in college. He’s a great guy. Really hyper but I’m sure he’ll settle down someday. He also likes animals, football and food.”

She smiles as he passes her the blunt. “He sounds like perfect boyfriend material.”

“Yeah, for you. He’s straight as a ruler. We had a fight but we’re good now.”

“I see. Did you used to have a crush on him?”

“A little bit, but you get over it when you see the person inside and you realise that he has his own set of preferences and a personality that’s more suited as a friend. I’m glad he’s in my life either way, though.”

“You really appreciate him?”

Adam nods, blowing a smoke ring. “More than you’ll ever know.”

“That’s nice.”

“He genuinely accepts me as I am as well, which is amazing. He doesn’t complain about my art, my fashion sense, my attitude and he makes me feel like I’m not a freak.”

“It would be nice to find someone who loves me for who I am, you know?”