Kyle was a freak. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. He wasn’t any particular kind of freak. He didn’t work at a circus or have irregular amounts of body hair (he had hardly any, to be honest) or any extra appendages. He was just weird. If there was a crowd of people, he was the one wearing neon green shoes with blue laces, brown cargo pants, a t-shirt with a cartoon on it and the same jacket that he wore every other day since his arrival on campus. When he was asked about his attire he’d just shrug and say “I like it” or “It’s comfortable.”

Everybody knew who he was, though it was doubted whether or not they actually knew what he name was. He was ‘that one kid’ or ‘hey’. He wasn’t particularly anti-social; he had a smile for everyone, even if it was obvious that he didn’t like the person (he scowled the moment he turned away). He was funny. He had a strange sense of humor that one couldn’t help but laugh at. He said whatever he was thinking. Things like “my elbow hurts” while people were complaining about a professor, or a quote from a movie that no one’s seen but him, but he’s said it so many times that people caught the gist of it and started laughing with him.

So maybe freak was a harsh word, but strange doesn’t quite cut it and there isn’t a word that exists between the two. Not everyone like him, but it was hard not to smile and wave him over to a lunch table. Lots of people had only seen him, had never talked to him, but everyone that knew Kyle, had ever really talked to him, liked him. He had a habit of mostly hanging out with the girls, listening to Disney music on an off-brand mp3 player and watching Aladdin in one of their dorms with them. Nobody minded, though, it was pretty obvious to those that paid attention that he wasn’t at all interested in any of them… or girls period for that matter.

Kyle liked to spend a lot of time in his dorm room, too. He liked to be away from people and at his computer just typing away at this or that. Kyle’s roommate was one of those aforementioned that didn’t like him, didn’t know him, and didn’t take the time to. Simon was a generally outgoing person, but he, just like everyone else, had a few certain people that he just couldn’t stand. Kyle was one of them.

It didn’t bother either of them, being roommates; as long as they stayed completely away from each other, woke up at different times, showered at different times, kept their music to themselves, and their friends away from the room everything worked out fine. They both kept their side of the room clean and neither of them ever really even spoke to the other. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. At the beginning of their semester, Kyle had tried a few conversations that had all ended terribly. He stopped trying after he got a nose-full of Simon’s late-night-college-party breath.

That’s how it worked. All the way up until almost the end of their first semester together, they completely ignored each other. At least, that’s how Simon saw it. He’d planned to keep it on a ‘just pretend he doesn’t exist’ basis, until a certain event when Kyle’s attempts at conversation were rejuvenated.

“Hey Simon.” It wasn’t a salutation. They’d both been sitting in the room together, at their desks that faced away from each other.

“What.” He didn’t really want to know.

“A friend of mine has a crush on you. We’re all going out for dinner in a little bit. I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but I figured that you wouldn’t come on my account. She’d really like it if you showed up.” All this was explained in a relaxed, mild tone, as if Kyle spoke to him every day- as if the fact that Simon couldn’t stand him was a little matter that didn’t bother him at all. Maybe it didn’t.

“Who?” Simon was interested now. A girl. Kyle was good for something after all. Kyle snorted.

“If I tell you, she’d know, and she’d never be my friend again. She’ll be the only person there acting like she has a crush on you, if you can believe that.” Sarcasm. So he went.

Two days later, Simon and Kimmy were dating. Simon was, by the rules of gratitude, entitled to be nice to Kyle. He started going with them on movie nights and dinner nights, spending time with his girlfriend automatically meant spending time with the not-quite-freak-but-not-strange guy.

The more he talked to Kyle, the more he felt comfortable with talking to a guy that was on his list of “do not likes”, the more he realized that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t so bad after all. It was nice to not have to go about the room in complete silence. Talking to Kyle was quite a bit more entertaining than ignoring him.

“Hey Kyle.” It wasn’t a salutation. They were sitting on floor, leaning against their beds, facing each other.

“Simon.” Sarcasm. Said student snorted and shook his head with a grin before getting a serious, thoughtful face.

“So… what are you, exactly?” Without even a pause for consideration, Kyle laughed and answered.

“I’m an eighteen year old white boy. I’m a student, a son, roommate, and a general purpose pain in the ass. What are you?” Simon grunted and shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Kyle snickered. He was in a good mood today.

“So what if I do? And what if I don’t? How are you so sure? You want my heritage or my IQ number?” Simon threw a piece of popcorn at him from across the tiny room. Kyle caught it in his mouth.

“You’re right. You are a pain in the ass. I meant, you always hang out with girls, but I’ve never seen you kiss one or anything. What’s up with that?” Kyle pursed his lips in thought.

“Maybe I got a girl back home.”

“That you never call.”

“Hey, technology negates a need for phones.”

“So, you’d rather see her font typing l-o-l than hear her laughing? That’s kinda messed up.”

“Ah. I guess you’re right. I haven’t really got anyone special… now. I just haven’t found anyone, I guess.”

“Are you gay?” It was hard for Simon to say it. It was weird. But the thought had been bothering him for awhile now. No one had ever said it, everyone just assumed, but Simon wanted to know. Kyle shrugged, staring down at his Mighty Mouse pajama pants. Looking up at his roommate, he smiled weakly.

“I think,” he started, “that there isn’t any need for stuff like that- for classifications of attraction. I mean, love is love. I’ve seen a lesbian fall in love with man, and vice versa. Who cares? I think those things are worthless.” Simon frowned. That was such a mature way of thinking, he almost felt stupid for being so worried about actually having to just ask. Almost.

“So… is that a yes?” Kyle laughed and Simon realized something. That Kyle was very fake many times. He smiled at people he didn’t like. He said whatever was on his mind, but what if he didn’t? What if he only said what he half-thought. What other kinds of things were going on in his mind? How many times had he used a fake laugh so that when he laughed genuinely, there was such a stark difference between the two?

“Yeah, I guess so.” That was the end of that. The subject was quickly changed because, really, what more was there to say? Nothing. So, they talked about other things.

As the days progressed, Simon began to notice more and more tiny, fake things about his roommate. Things that people didn’t really notice and he wondered why. Either they were stupid, or Kyle was a good actor. He doubted the latter. None of the things he saw were truly spectacular, but hearing the difference in laughter had sparked an interest in Simon. He wanted to find more things about the not-quite-freak that nobody else knew. He wanted to know why. He spent his time with Kimmy and the group watching Kyle for slip ups. Every once in awhile, the boy would go quiet and stare out into space with a look that was hard to describe. It wasn’t back on their previous conversations, Simon came to a conclusion. He got Kimmy alone and they talked.

“I think he’s really lonely.”

“Who? Kyle?” She snorted. She didn’t believe him. Simon rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Kyle. You can’t really tell if you don’t look for it, but sometimes he just gets this look, you know? Like he’s lonely.” Kimmy stopped to think about it. She bit her lip and knotted her fingers together. Simon smiled at the worried look. She was cute.

“Maybe. Okay, so what if he is?” Simon shrugged.

“I dunno. I’m no good at these things. That’s why I’m telling you. Don’t you know any other gay guys to set him up with?” Kimmy snorted again.

“Yeah, I just have a list of them lying around.” Sarcasm. Simon frowned.

“I’m being serious here, Kimmy. What if something’s really wrong and he’s just hiding it?” She paused for a moment, meeting his eye to see the stern look he had. She sighed and nodded. “I talk around a bit and see what I can find out.” With a grin, Simon pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Thanks, doll.”

This isn't the entire story. This is actually supposed to be a short story kind of thing. I'm just writing this much of it now, though, and I wanted to see what people thought of it. I'm not much for titles, so please forgive -nervous laughter-. I just wanted to prove that I am actually doing something with my life. -sigh-