Swing

Simon had planned to spend his whole summer lounging around his house in nothing but his boxers while he read book after book, but the whole plan was thrown askew when his parents announced his cousin Kyle was coming to live with them for the summer. Simon's dad was on his way to the airport to pick up Kyle already, and when he got back to the house everything would change, and Simon's freedom would be gone.

It wasn't that Simon didn't like his cousin, it's just that the two don't exactly mix, and having two polar opposites share a room didn't sound like a very good idea to him, an opinion he didn't hesitate to voice, several time after it was confirmed Kyle would be staying the summer.

Simon was thirteen and an only child living in a small but nice house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was small and comparatively frail, but also really smart and to him that was all that counted. Kyle, on the other hand, was the epitome of the word 'jock'. He was eighteen and muscular, spending more time on the baseball field or in the weight room than he probably did at home. Sure, it was just his thing, but the thought of sweat and stink repulsed Simon more than anything in the world. Now he was going to have an older guy he barely even knew in his room for two months, coming in from camp stinking and covered in sweat. It was going to be the worst summer ever. 

"Simon," his mother called from downstairs. "Make sure your room is nice and picked up! Your father will be home in less than thirty minutes with Kyle and you need to make sure everything is clean!"

Simon sighed and looked around his room. It was at the very top of the house, an attic at one time that was converted to be a bedroom. The room was long , stretching the length of the house, with apex ceilings and bookshelves lining a whole wall. There wasn't a closet in his room, but it was so big the wardrobe didn't seem out of place with the dresser and large desk. 
A new temporary wardrobe had been brought in for Kyle to store his things in while he stayed, and the fact that it took up most of the sitting area by Simon's bookshelf really annoyed him. Then there was the problem with the sleeping arrangement. There were technically two other bedrooms in the house, but one was his parents', and since the other was his father's office, the only place for Kyle to sleep was in Simon's room. 

Yeah, there was the couch, but when Simon mentioned that his mother became upset and it was settled that Kyle would stay with Simon. Simon had a bunk bed so it was really no big deal, but Simon was instructed to let Kyle have the bottom bunk which was not only softer, but also bigger. Simon would be sleeping in the top bunk that was only twin size and super close to the ceiling. 

Honestly, there was nothing for Simon's mom to be worried about. He kept his room clean all the time because if there's one thing he hates more than sweat it has to be a dirty bedroom. There is a place for everything and everything should be in its place, a rule that worked great when it came to his room, but never seemed to apply to his life.

Life was a little mixed up, as it has a tendency to do when you're the smallest and youngest person in your grade. Simon had a few friends, but life for them just wasn't as easy as it was for other people, especially when it came to the bullies.

It wasn't anything bad, but it still made Simon wary of all athletic type guys, another reason why he wasn't looking forward to Kyle staying the summer.

Simon's mom had assured him that Kyle was family and would love him and that by the end of the summer the two of them would practically be like brothers, but he wasn't so sure about that. It was going to suck, end of story.

With another sigh Simon gave his room one last look before closing the door behind him, knowing it would probably be the last time his room would be clean and not smell like sweat until the end of the summer.

When the front door opened fifteen minutes later Simon was in the kitchen helping his mom finish dinner. Due to the distance between North Carolina and Texas, Simon's family hadn't seen Kyle in nearly five years.

"Aunt Diane!" A tall toned figure called from the door frame. He had an accent that was distinctly Texan and his skin was already deeply tanned even though it was only the first week of summer. "It's so good to see you! Momma said to tell you hi and that at the end of the summer we all have to get together because she misses y'all so much!"

Kyle made his way into the kitchen, hugging Simon's mom who greeted him with open arms and a huge smile on her face. "It's great to see you too Kyle! Mary told me you had grown, but my lord you're huge! The last time we saw you I junk you were Simons age, and you couldn't have been much bigger either!"

Kyle looked up to where Simon was sitting at the kitchen bar and offered him a small nod of acknowledgement, quickly diverting his gaze back to where Simon's mom was cooking and continuing their conversation.

"Simon," his mom said a few minutes later. "Why don't you take your cousin up to your room? We're going to eat in a few minutes and he needs to put his bags up."

Simon didn't want to take his cousin up to his room because he didn't want him staying in his room, but he knew he didn't really have a choice. "Okay," be breathed with a slight huff. "It's at the very top of the house. Follow me."

Without taking another look back or asking if Kyle needed any help with his bags, Simon took off up the stairs and away from the virtual stranger in his house. When they were younger Simon and Kyle barely spent time together. They had been closer before Simon's family moved from Oklahoma to North Carolina five years ago, but because of the age difference between the boys they spent more time with cousins closer to their age rather than each other.

"That's the bathroom," Simon muttered when the boys reached the top of the stairs, gesturing to the only other room on the floor. "And this is my room. The wardrobe on the left is for your stuff and the bottom bunk is yours. You know where the kitchen is."

From the doorway Simon watched as Kyle entered the doorway and set his bags on the ground, lazily throwing one bag on a chair and kicking his shoes off, not caring where they went. Already in Simon's room things were out of whack and driving him crazy. Before he could watch Kyle mess anything else up he turned in his heel and retreated down the stairs to where he could smell dinner almost ready.

*****

"We have two family cars and since Diane is a teacher and I work from home they usually sit around all summer. We talked to your mother and decided it would be best if we just let you use my car to get yourself wherever you need to go, alright Kyle?" Simon's dad asked.

It was dinner time and the four sat around the table while Mr. And Mrs. Gates explained the household rules to their nephew. A lot of the things they said had to do with driving and curfew and things Simon didn't have to worry about yet, but since he was hearing them now Simon was starting to see what kind of freedoms he would have in a few years.

"Yessir," Kyle nodded, swallowing his mouthful I'd mashed potatoes. "Tomorrow morning starts my week long camp at the university, and I'll have another one at the end of July. Between now and then I'll be doing a few various camps around town with different coaches, but everyone says North Carolina coaches usually observe there which is what I want. If everything goes well this summer hopefully I'll be going to school here after I graduate next spring!"

"That sounds wonderful Kyle," Mrs. Gates smiled. "I know you'll be very busy during the week, but I know you'll have weekends free a lot of times. There's a few leagues around here you could join if you wanted to play on Saturdays, but just make sure whatever you do with your weekends is okayed through us. We understand you're eighteen and that you'll probably make some friends to hang out with while you're here, but keep in mind when you make plans that church is at ten am every Sunday and that you have to be there and be awake. Also, we will not allow you to have any girls over, and you will not stay at any girls' house. Other than that we're pretty easy to get along with."

"Uh, yes ma'am," Kyle answered, a slow and easy blush creeping its way into his cheeks. "Our church back home starts at ten too, and the girl part won't be of any problem."

Simon sat in his chair taking the whole conversation in and wondering if the same rules would apply to him when he got older. He knew plenty of people in his grade that had already kissed girls, and even a few of them that had slept with girls before, but Simon was by no means one of them. Honestly, he had never even liked a girl before. Sometimes he worried it meant something was wrong with him, but he tried to not think about it too much.

Simon also knew guys that were gay, but he didn't group himself with those guys either. He thought girls were pretty and guys were handsome. He appreciated how girls looked when they dressed up, but he also really liked when guys wore tight pants. In truth, Simon wasn't sure what to think because while he thought both sexes had very pretty members, neither side meant anything to him when it came to the sexual aspect of stuff.

Simone's parents had already had the sex talk with him, explaining things in way more detail than any teenager wanted their parents to. He would be fourteen before school started and even though he would be going to high school where all the girls the other boys in his grade drooled over were, he found no added excitement.

"Simon?" His mom asked again, cutting through his thoughts. "Will you help put the left overs in the fridge? It's getting late and your father and I were planning on going to a movie at nine." Even though Simon hated when his parents left him to go to the movies alone he agreed and helped his parents clean up, pit dishes away, and took care of the extra food. By eight forty-five Mr. and Mrs. Gates were out the door, leaving the two cousins to become reacquainted.

After the departure of his parents Simon found the house a little awkward to be in. Neither him nor Kyle had anything to say, but when Simon decided to go to his room to read he found Kyle following him up the stairs.

Kyle stood uncomfortably in the doorway while he watched Simon decide on a book. "You don't have to follow me around you know," Simon said after a few minutes when Kyle didn't leave. "You can like go down stairs and watch tv or do whatever you want."

"I know," Kyle answered slowly, making his way into the room. "But I figure we need to set a few rules if we're going to be rooming together all summer."

"Rules?" Simon asked in disbelief. This was his room and home, not Kyle's. if anything, Simon should be the one telling Kyle what he can and cannot do while hr's here, not the other way around.

"Well, just some personal rules I have." Kyle made his way into the room, leaning against the frame of the bunk bed and looking down on his younger cousin. "You know my sister Kenzie, and she's only about a year younger than you. I've learned what I need to know about having a kid around your stuff."

Simon scoffed when Kyle called him a 'kid' like his sister. Kenzie had turned twelve barely two weeks ago and Simon would be fourteen in a little over two months. Add that to the fact that he wasn't a nosy little girl, and you couldn't have anyone more different than Kenzie. He was a little offended, but he decided to not say anything just to see what Kyle had to say.

"I'm hoping they're right in saying you're a lot more mature than people in your grade, but nonetheless I want to tell you a few things. First, don't ask me too many questions. Don't keep me up when I get home from workouts. Don't ask about who I like or who I'm going out with. Don't tell anyone who I do or don't like, and don't complain about any arguments the two of us have to your parents. And most of all, don't. Touch. My. Stuff. Okay? You do that and we'll have a great summer. Don't follow those rules and these two months are going to be really long."

Simon stared up at the older boy who was glaring down at him with, returning Kyle's gaze with a look of confusion. It was just his luck to be landed with a cousin that seemed like a right southern gentleman when his parents were around and turned into a bossy asshole the moment they left. Simon shrugged and looked back down to his book, deciding he was going to have to try and ignore his cousin as much as possible for as long as he stayed.

"Good," Kyle smiled, the glare wiping off his face in a split second. "I knew we were going to get along just fine. I'm gonna go watch tv now, it was nice catching up little cuz."

Kyle leaned forward, taking his weight off of the bed frame, and clapped Simon on the shoulder just hard enough to make him rock back a little bit. As Simon looked up to watch his cousin's retreating frame he shut his book and looked around the bedroom that was no longer his sanctuary. This really was going to be the worst summer ever.