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

Chapter Nine

It wasn't until two weeks later that I was finally taken off my monitors.

I had broken my left arm and my right leg. I wouldn't be using those two for a while, unfortunately. I had suffered severe blood loss and a concussion, too. I guessed that explained the sudden episodes of emotional breakdowns and the reason why I was so pale lately.

"How're you feeling, Nate?" Dr. Mendez asked me that Tuesday.

"Good," I replied, stretching my healthy arm and enjoying my newfound freedom from all those wires. "I'm glad those monitors are gone; the noise was honestly starting to get annoying."

He chuckled, standing up and tapping his pen in his hand. "Well, that's wonderful to hear. Good news, by the way..."

"What?"

"Your blood level is finally back to normal. You'll be free to go by the end of the month."

I smiled for the first time in a while. The fact that I'd finally be out of this small room alone was enough to lift my spirits.

But my spirits fell back to rock bottom as quickly as they rose. Going out there meant that I'd have to deal with the world again. Going out there meant that I'd have to explain to everyone what had happened.

Going out there meant I'd have to remember that Hunter died.

My smile fell, and Dr. Mendez noticed. His eyes seemed to droop in sympathy as my gaze fell to my hands.

Hunter...

"You'll be okay," he rested a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Think of this time as a time of change. Think of this as...a new beginning."

I didn't move my head, but my eyes turned to the left to meet Dr. Mendez's.

"And I'll be with you every step of the way," he smiled. "I promise."

I smiled back. But this time, it wasn't real. This time, I had to gather my strength and make my lips curve in the other direction. I couldn't believe that I had flashed a real smile earlier. For that short amount of time, I remembered what the Old Nate felt like. He was happy. He didn't have to worry about waiting in the hospital for his injuries to heal up. He didn't have to worry about losing someone he held dear to himself, or losing everything he knew in the blink of an eye. Now that I had thought about it, the Old Nate and I were completely different people. The Old Nate was gone. All that was left was an empty shell.

~~~

A suspenseful silence hangs upon the room. Other than the constant knocking and hollering from whoever the heck was on the other side of the door.

The voice belongs to a boy, I know that for sure. He keeps asking "little sis" to open the door, most likely referring to Tess, who's wearing an expression that looks like a sort of cross between complete horror and agitation.

"What do I do?" I whisper as quietly as possible.

"I don't know! Hide under the bed or something!" She hisses back.

"What about Chasseur?!"

"I hope you're not allergic to pet dander..."

"No. Nooooooonononono. I'm not hiding under a bed with the devil's spawn."

We whip our heads back towards the door.

"Hey! It's unlocked!" says the voice in a just-figuring-this-out tone. The doorknob begins to turn, and I can hear Tess curse under her breath a little too loudly.

The door swings open, which reveals a relatively tall brunette-blonde boy. He's wearing a black athletic jacket with a white shirt underneath, and has a camera similar to Olive's hanging around his neck.

"Heeeey, Tess!" he says cheerfully. "Just checkin' up on my little siste..."

His voice trails away as his gaze lands on me. The smile that was glued to his face earlier is now completely gone, and is replaced by a look of stoic confusion.

"Who's this?" he asks, not taking his hawk-like eyes off of me.

"Leo," Tess replies, noticeably trying to stay calm. "This is Nate. Nate, Leo. Uh...Olive brought him here after she found him on the road."

"The road?" Leo crosses his arms and raises a cocky eyebrow. "So you're her new boyfriend or something?"

"B-Boyfriend?!" I retort. "No!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." he smirks a bit as he shifts his gaze downward. That's when he notices Chasseur. "And who's the kitty?"

"That's Chasseur," Tess replies in a much more enthusiastic tone. "He followed Nate here."

"Okay, so Olive's new boyfriend's a cat person."

"SHUT UP! I'M NEITHER OF THOSE!"

"Hey, no need to get so worked up about it," Leo laughs. "Besides, I know Olive. She'd react the same way."

I shoot a deathly glare at Leo.

"Anyway..." he ignores my threat and reaches into his book bag, pulling out a stack of paper that was stapled together. "Drama Club told me to deliver this to you since it's been cancelled today."

"Oh, thanks!" Tess takes the papers and takes a look at the text on the front page. A silence hung low in the room for a moment, before she finally smiled in approval. "Beauty and the Beast, huh? And I'm playing Belle?"

She looks up at Leo. "Good. I'll take a look at the lines."

Leo nods affirmatively, but I can tell that he's not listening to her at all. "Yeah, you're welcome," he says blankly.

"Thanks, Mr. I'm-Not-Listening," Tess rolls her eyes and playfully punches her brother with her knuckle, and Leo rubs his arm and laughs.

"Alright, I gotta go. Hey, since Drama's not today, why don't you meet up with Photo Club tonight?"

Tess nods. "Sure. I might be late, though. Professor Remembré's giving the class HEAPS of homework tonight."

With that, the three of us exchange goodbyes, and Leo leaves the room.

Now all we have to do is wait for Olive to come back.