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

Chapter Two

I've just about had it with the endless "Why aren't you coming to Photography Club" texts.

Every single one, all ten of them, for the past three hours, have been answered with the same reply: "Something's up; will explain later".

Tess isn't home, either, which makes it twice as awkward. While she's away at some club meeting of her own or whatever the heck she's doing, I'm stuck in our dorm with an unconscious stranger that I can't even talk to or ask if he's okay.

I stare out the window of the small room, hand resting against my temple and propping me up against the windowsill. The quiet night looks like a dead void - not a single soul is out there. I've managed to clean up the man's face and cover up the wounds, and his breathing sounds a lot more peaceful than it was on the way back, but I still have a nervous feeling about him. Questions swim through my mind like a bunch of stunned and confused fish.

Who even IS this guy?

I instinctively turn to the man, who's sleeping quietly on the bed, blankets curled against his face. My lips slightly curve into a small smile. At least he's in a better state than what he was when I first found him...

I turn back around to see Tess at the bottom of the building, walking back inside. My eyes widen at the sight of her being there.

Oh, jeez, what am I gonna say...?

I stand up in an urgent panic, looking around and desperately racking my brain for what to say to her.

No. No. This can't be good. What's she gonna say? What if she gets the wrong idea and thinks he's shacking up with us? Or even worse, what if she turns him in to the school authority? Oh, gosh, I'll NEVER hear the end of-

I turn around to hear the click of the door opening.

"Hey, Olive!" Tess' voice rings through the room. It makes my ears hurt. "What's up?"

I open my mouth and force myself to say something, but nothing but a hoarse squeak comes out. I can already feel beads of sweat forming on the back of my neck.

"What's wrong?" she asks, oblivious to the fact that there's a stranger sleeping on my bed.

"U-Uuuhh..." My eyes flick towards the man.

"What?" she whips around and trots toward her bed, sitting down and looking back at me. "Olive, you look so nervous. What happened?"

Of all the oblivious and un-observational people of the world, Tess is the goddess among them. And praise the Lord that she is.

But, of course, it won't last forever.

Her eyes finally land on the man, but her expression doesn't change.

"Who's this?"

My wide eyes stay glued to her, head shaking slightly. "I-I don't know. I found him on the side of the road. He was hurt."

She looks down at the man, then back up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"He's pretty hot," she says, standing up and patting me on the shoulder. "Nice one."

She smirks at me, and my throat closes up in embarrassment as a warmth creeps up to my cheeks.

"I don't even know him, Tess," I retort. "I told you, he was hurt. He needed help."

"Riiiiight," she says, opening the small fridge underneath her desk and poking her nose through the selection of sodas and leftover sandwiches. "You only did it because it was the first hot guy you found this school year."

"Will you please shut up about the 'hot guy' thing?!" I can feel my cheeks warming up by the second.

She closes the fridge with her foot and opens up a Pepsi. Her elbow rests against the edge of the table, eyes fixed on the man.

"You know I'm kidding," she laughs a bit after a long drink. "But I mean, you don't even know who this guy is?"

I shake my head "no".

Her playful expression is now gone, and is replaced with a serious one. An expression that Tess wears only when she's reading someone. Or doing work. After a minute or so of complete silence, she makes her usual grunting noise - a sort of cross between a "hmph" and an "ugh".

Tess looks back up at me. "How badly was he hurt?"

"Scratches all over the face, rips on the shirt. I think I saw a scar or two on his back," I reply, eyes relaxing and lips pursed tightly together. "Most of the bleeding was stopped before I found him."

She hesitates, then nods, taking another sip of the soda in her hand. "What do you think he'll do when he wakes up?"

I shrug. "Probably freak out. I don't know."

We stay silent again, with Tess occasionally taking a drink of her Pepsi. Questions, for right now, are better off unanswered. Most of them, at least.

"What about Leo?" I ask. "What do you think he'll say?"

"Nothing," she replies, throwing the now-empty can into the trash bin. "I mean, we'll try and keep this a secret till we find out who this guy is."

"But he'll find out sooner or later," I counter. "So will the rest of the Photo Club. And the Drama Club."

She lowers herself into the swivel chair next to her, spinning around and kicking her feet up onto the desk. "You treat him like he's some alien or something. We'll be fine."

I back away and slowly sit down at the head of the bed, a few inches away from the man's head. I rest my elbows on my knees and look down at the floor. "You're right..."

We don't say another word after that. We didn't need to. There's nothing left to discuss. Not until the man wakes up again.

If he ever does...