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

Chapter Ten

¥~Olive~¥

I am such a worrywart.

Tess probably made it to the dorm already. Everything is probably under control, and I'd find out that I never had to worry about a thing in the first place.

But then again, worst case scenario is that she's not there yet and I'll come in to find Nate gone. Yep, nothing to worry about here.

"Ughf! Hey, Oli, watch where you're going!"

I'm snapped out of my deep thought as I ram square into someone. I look up to see that it's Leo and fake a smile.

"Oh, hey, Leo!" I say in a rush, already searching for a way around him. "D-Didn't see ya there...!"

Leo raises an eyebrow at me. "Really? I saw you walking in from the end of the hallway. You in a hurry or something?"

"Yes!" I snap, but quickly regain myself. "I-I mean- no! No! I'm fine!"

He crosses his arms and looks at me teasingly. Here he goes again, trying to give me a hard time because I have to do something important...

"You sure? You look as though you're about to run a marathon!"

"I'm positive! Now lemme through, I have...uh...h-homework! Homework!"

"Homework, huh...?" his smug grin makes me sick. "Or do you just wanna spend time with your booooyfriiieeend?"

I flinch as my cheeks turn red, shaking my head wildly in denial. "B-Boyfriend?! Hahah...wh-where'd you hear that? I don't have a boyfriend!"

I hate the fact that I sound like I'm lying, but I'm actually telling the truth. Leo leans in and stares me down, gazing into my eyes like he's some sort of human lie detector. I step backward a bit with an agitated glare.

"Pssh, why're you making it such a big deal, huh?" he crosses his arms and laughs a bit. "I already know you're hiding somebody in your dorm."

I almost have a heart attack when he says that. How the heck does he know about Nate?!

"What did you...?" I whisper.

"Nothing," Leo replies. "I just dropped by the dorm to find Tess and Nate. Oh, and I kinda invited them to Photo Club tonight without your permission, haha..."

"Wh-?!"

With that, Leo smirks and pats me on the shoulder, walking past me and waving without looking back. I turn around and huff angrily. It hasn't even been two days and Leo's already found out about Nate. Even worse, he thinks he's my boyfriend, of all things. I growl and storm off towards the dorm, ignoring the very thought.

At least I don't have to worry about what I'm gonna find in the dorm anymore.

I open the door to the room at the end of the hallway to see Tess and Nate looking up at me. A black cat is lying on Nate's lap. It doesn't look up, but its ears perk up at my entrance as it lazily opens one eye. I shut the door behind me and stay quiet, unable to think of what to say.

"Well," Tess finally speaks up. "Looks like
you made it here in one piece."

I nod absently. "So you're coming to Photo Club tonight?" I ask, not knowing how else to continue the conversation.

"Leo told you?" Tess stands up and stretches, yawning loudly. "He knows about Nate, too."

"I know," I reply. "Who's the cat?"

"The devil's spaw-"

"This is Chasseur," Tess snaps, cutting an annoyed Nate off with an obviously fake smile. "Nate's cat."

"HE'S NOT MY CAT!" Nate growls. "He just keeps following me!"

"Chasseur?" I raise an eyebrow curiously. "Sounds French to me."

"It is," Tess replies. "I forgot what it means, but it sounds cool, right?"

I nod in agreement. "But you do know we can't let him be seen, right? Cats aren't allowed on campus."

"Oh, crap..." Tess and Nate exchange looks. "Well, we can just keep him a secret until we figure out what we're gonna do, can't we?"

I shake my head. "It'll be difficult with your loudmouth brother knowing about both Nate and Chasseur, but..." my eyes scan across everyone the room. "...I guess it can work. Somehow."

"We can't let anyone else know about this," Tess adds. "It could spread to the staff, and..." She makes a 'pfft' noise with her tongue.

Nate shakes his head. "I don't think I'll be as much of a handful as Chasseur'll be. Leo invited me and Tess to Photo Club, so the only one we really have to hide is Annoying Furball over here." He glares at the cat, which meows lazily and licks its paw in reply.

"Chasseur seems like an obedient cat," Tess takes a look at Chas as well. "I don't think he'll cause too much trouble while we're gone."

"Are you sure?" I make a worried face as the idea begins to swirl around in the air. "Photo Club is over an hour and a half...it'll be nearly impossible for a cat to hang around in the same room for that long."

"We'll just lock the door then; it shouldn't be that hard." Tess stands up. "Chasseur can be a good kitty for a while, right?"

Nate facepalms with both hands. "I can't even begin to understand how you even like that stupid cat..." he grumbles, his hands muffling his voice.

I laugh and take a seat on Tess' swivel chair, taking a look at the three. Keeping Chasseur a secret might not be the easiest of things, but both he and Nate seem like great company.

Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought...