The Fading Oddities of Nate Smith (A NateWantsToBattle Fanfiction) --COMPLETE--

Chapter Twenty-Two

¥~Olive~¥

My feet pound onto the tile floor as I dash through the dorm hall, panting frantically as I hurry to me and Tess' room. My heart is hammering, and for some reason, I feel extremely nervous. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I have a terrible feeling that something bad is going to happen...

As I dash up the stairs to the floor our room is on, I can see Chasseur bounding up to me, gold eyes shimmering with intensity. He meows loudly and doesn't stop, even after he skids to a restless halt before me.

"Huh? What's wrong, Chasseur?" I inquire the cat, kneeling down to pet him on the head.

Chas, however, pushes my hand away, meowing and turning to dash away. Furrowing my brow in confusion, I stand up and begin to jog after him, the cat always a few steps ahead of me.

As we run, I can feel something cold wrapping around my wrist, the chilly grip pulling me along - it's almost like someone is trying to pull me closer to Chasseur. Alongside the cold grip is the sound of another pair of footsteps; they sound heavier, like they belong to a man. If I wasn't trying to keep up with Chasseur in a time of frantic concern, I'd be extremely freaked out, but whoever or whatever is pulling me along seems to have an equal amount of - if not more - worry as I do.

We dash past the dorm and up another flight of stairs, then another, and another, until we reach the staircase to the roof. "Why'd you bring me here, Chas?" I ask him, and I look up to see that the door to the rooftop is hanging slightly ajar. Chasseur hisses and leaps up the staircase, squeezing through the door and disappearing behind it.

Curious, I follow close behind and hesitantly approach the door. I can hear a sort of whispering and sobbing from the other side, and the same cold presence lets go of my wrist. A chilly breeze whisks past me, and the door slowly opens from the draft.

"Save him for me," someone next to me mutters, but as I look around, I realize there's no one there. Figuring that I have no other choice at this point, I step through the door and walk out into the sunlight.

My eyes adjust, and my heart stops.

Nate is standing on the edge of the roof, head turned to the sky and arms raised to his sides. Chasseur is meowing loudly at him, but he doesn't hear the cat. "NATHAN!" I scream, but I'm too late. He's already leaned forward and fallen over the edge.

At that moment, time seems to stop, and all sound fades away. All I can hear is the whispering of the chilly presence reminding me to save him, and the next thing I know, I'm acting on pure instinct.

Chasseur barely leaps out of the way as I dash forward, full speed ahead. I dive onto my stomach and skid across the roof's gravel, shooting out my right arm and using my left to keep me balanced over the edge. My hand grips onto something, and everything reverts back to normal. No more slow-motion, no more adrenaline rush, just me, my heart pounding in my head, and Nate hanging onto my arm, eyes wide with surprise. We're both panting out of fear and exhaustion, eyes intense and shining with adrenaline.

"Y-You...?!" Nate can barely speak, his face wearing an utterly dumbstruck expression.

I don't answer him; my grip is beginning to slip. Trying not to get into a panic, I push myself up with my left arm and stand, using both hands to try and pull Nate up from the edge. I plant my feet deep into the gravel and continue stepping backwards until Nate can grab onto the concrete, hoisting himself up and climbing back onto the roof.

I eventually let go of him, and Nate flies forward and crashes into me. We both fly backwards, and I manage to stop the fall by landing on my rear. Before either of us could collect ourselves again, I quickly wrap my arms around Nate and pull him into a tight, relieved embrace.

We stay like that for what seems like an eternity. Everything is silent, save for the panting and sobbing coming from both of us. I refuse to let go of Nate, and eventually, he gives up trying to break free and slowly hugs me back, hands shaking as he breaks down and cries into my shoulder.

"Hey..." I whisper, patting his back and smiling through tears streaming down my own cheeks, "Hey...It's okay now. You're okay now. You're safe, Nate...You're safe..."

Honestly, it breaks my heart to see Nate this miserable. His sobs are muffled, his face buried into the fabric of my shirt as he lets everything - eleven months worth of hurting, regret, and sadness - out of him. He's finally letting go of his fading oddities.

I don't know how long we hugged, or how long Nate cried, but it doesn't matter to me. He needs this moment to let everything go, especially after doing what he just tried to do. I can only imagine if I didn't make it in time...if I didn't follow Chasseur, or if I was just a few steps or moments of hesitation too late...would things be different? Would Nate have died...?

As I continue to hug him, I can see Chasseur take a seat in front of me, eyes glowing with what I swear is gratitude and happiness. I hear someone whisper "thank you," but I don't bother to look around and see who it is.