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

Chapter Twenty-Five

The train will be here soon.

I'd actually been tossing around the idea of going back to LA for the past few weeks. Of course, I waited until after Tess' play was over, because I agreed to perform during the intermission and I didn't want to break that promise.

Speaking of the play, it was a smash hit; most of the campus showed up to watch both nights of the production, and a lot of the students who couldn't go either time were requesting an encore. Tess had asked me if I'd stick around for the third performance, but I honestly wasn't sure if I could stay that long.

Now, I'm standing in the middle of a busy train station with Olive, Tess, and the Photo Club standing all around me, chatting happily amongst one another. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, I'd stumbled upon Florida State University with no intention to stick around. Now, however, I've let those days go; I'm ready to move on from the past. Yeah, it was a hard thing to do, but...I had a few people there to help me, even though I didn't know it at first.

"Do you have to go?" Tess pouts at me as we step onto the platform to wait for the train to pull into the station, "I mean, I've gotten pretty used to having a YouTuber and a cat living in a dorm with us. It's gonna be super boring with just Oli around..."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Olive double-takes her roommate with a questioning smirk, earning a light-hearted laugh from Tess.

"Nnnoooothiiiinnng," the blonde smiles innocently, placing her hands behind her back and looking around conspicuously.

The blonde suddenly stumbles forward, yelping in surprise as Leo punches her playfully in the arm. "Aw, that isn't true, sis," he chuckles, "Besides, we all know you're gonna miss Chasseur more than you're gonna miss Nate."

My lips curve into a small smile as I glance down at the black cat, who's comfortably curled up inside my open messenger bag. Much to even my surprise, I'd decided to bring Chas with me back to LA. Honestly, I've grown to tolerate this cat a little more than I did in the past; I feel like there's something more to him than we all think...I'm starting to get an air of familiarity from him.

As the others resume their conversations among one another, I can feel a tap on my shoulder coming from behind me. I turn around to see Oracle, her black hair pulled into a low bun to show her entire face.

"Nate," she says, grabbing my arm, "come here for a second."

Furrowing my brow, I follow close behind her until the view of the group is lost in the crowd. We stop near the wall, and Ora lets go of me in order to turn around.

"What is it?" I ask, but she cuts me off before I can say anything else.

My eyes widen as Oracle leans in towards me, placing her lips on mine. Oracle's purple eyes disappear behind closed eyelids, and my heart starts beating a mile a minute. My mind practically shuts down from the amount of shock, confusion, and a million other emotions that are cascading over me right now, and what surprises me even more is that I eventually find myself kissing her back.

When we break away, Oracle has a satisfied grin on her face, and I'm pretty sure I'm wearing the stupidest shocked expression in existence. "What was that for?" I barely manage, my senses still someplace else.

Ora chuckles bashfully, a blush spreading across her cheeks as her eyes avert away and wander off to the side. "S-Sorry," she giggles, "I-I've always wanted to do that..."

I can't help but laugh a bit myself. This is the first - and probably the last - time I've ever seen Oracle act so shy...in all honesty, it's kind of adorable. "Well, you saw the chance and you took it," I reply, rubbing the back of my neck.