You grab your backpack and get off the bus. Checking your phone for directions you start walking to your aunts apartment. You seem to be near so you figure it shouldn't take too long to get there. The streets seem vaguely familiar, but not enough that you can say you really remember the area. Had to be more than a decade since your last visit with your parents. Your aunt and cousin usually were the ones to come and visit instead, although it had been some time since you saw them. Aunt Lara came by last year, but not Alex.
It made you miss him a little. Due to the age gap you had treated him like a younger brother, but as he grew up he became a good friend of yours. Alex should be around 14 years old now, so the age gap don't matter much anymore. For this reason you where happy to take him up on his offer when he called and asked you to visit him. Staying with your cousin and catching up seemed like a good way to spend your spring break from college.
When you arrive at the apartment you notice someone in the window for a brief moment. Before you can ring the doorbell the door opens and your cousin greets you.
"${character.name}! How you been? It's so good to see you. Come on in, mom's in the living room," he says enthusiastically. "Mom! ${character.name} is here!"
"…Alex?" you ask, almost doubting yourself. "It's you, right?"
The appearance of your cousin isn't something you expected. He has become significantly taller since you last saw him, but that made sense for a growing boy like him. What you never imagined is him looking so girly.
He's wearing a pair of dolphin shorts along with a pair of thigh highs and he has a bright pink sleeveless top that leaves his slender stomach bare. His hair has been dyed blonde and he has a couple of piercings in his ears. You could swear that Alex is also using makeup.
"What? Don't tell me you don't recognize me. Thought we were closer friends than that," he smiles. "Just kidding, 'course you're surprised. So, what do you think?"