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

Chapter Fourteen (One-Year Anniversary Update!)

¥~Olive~¥

It's been five days since I first found Nate on the way home from the park. The Photo Club has gotten along really well with him, and I'm starting to notice that he's looking healthier; most of his wounds are completely healed. Tess and Leo have stopped messing with me and Nate with the whole "boyfriend-girlfriend" mixup, but Heaven knows how long it's going to be before they set the spark ablaze again.

And finally, despite all of the crazy things that have happened these past few days, no one has noticed Chasseur.

How a house pet could go under the radar for so long is beyond me, but that cat is like a ninja. Once we hear someone stopping by during our lunch break in the dorm, he just leaps off and disappears to some place or other.

But through all of his mysterious ways, Chasseur is like a fourth dorm mate to us. He's loyal, friendly (contrary to Nate's belief), and he just seems to fit right into our little roommate family. Something about him seems almost...human, if you ask me. But maybe that's just because he's a loving cat. Loving pets tend to act that way, right?

It's Saturday evening, and the three of us are unwinding after a long day of drilling Tess through her play lines for the first time. Nate is laying in the makeshift bed we made for him on the floor (he insisted that he would sleep on the ground; he said he hated how he had to sleep in a bed that was supposed to be mine) and scrolling through his phone, Tess is sitting on her bed against the wall playing on her 3DS, and I'm sitting in the swivel chair, flipping through my camera's photos.

From the corner of my eye, I catch a familiar black blur hop up onto Tess' bed. Tess lets out a giggle as she scoots over to allow Chasseur some sitting room, who in turn curls into a heap of fur against her leg.

"Hey, buddy," she says cheerfully, not looking up from her game, "wanna help me choose my starter Pokémon?"

I can hear Nate scoff sarcastically. "You're gonna let a cat choose the most crucial part of your team?"

Tess huffed a bit in annoyance, a thing she does only when she's rolling her eyes. "Chasseur wants some input, too," she replies simply.

"What are your choices?" I inquire, shutting off my camera and placing it down on the desk in front of me.

Tess furrows her eyebrows. "Uh...Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur," she answers, biting the end of her black stylus as she takes a hard look at her game.

"I'd go for Bulbasaur," I say with a smile. "Grass-Types have always been my favorite."

Nate scrunches his nose. "Really? I'd choose Charmander, if it were up to me. That thing kicks some serious butt once it fully evolves."

"Hm...That's exactly it," Tess sighs, shaking her head, "I love them all, but I just can't choose..."

Chasseur lets out a quiet meow as he places his arm on the screen, pawing at it with a purr.

"Oh?" Tess perks up as she moves Chasseur's paws aside. "You want me to choose Squirtle?"

Chasseur meows a bit louder in reply, flicking his tail and resting his head in Tess' lap.

"Squirtle, huh...?" I smile and nod my head. "That's a pretty good choice, too. What do you think, Nate? ...Nate?"

Tess and I shift our gazes to Nate, who has one hand ruffling the crown of his raven hair and the other clutching his phone tight to his chest. His eyes seem a bit droopy and glazed over, like he's been overcome with shock or grief of some sort...

"...Nate? You okay?" I scoot my swivel chair forward a bit to get closer to Nate. He doesn't reply.

Chasseur makes a sort of internal growling sound as he hops off Tess' lap, treading across the bed and leaping off the edge, straight into Nate's stomach.

"Wha-AAH! What?" The impact of Chasseur's landing snaps Nate out of his trance. He jolts his entire body and flails his arms around, exhaling sharply as the black cat landed on his stomach.

"Helloo-oo! Earth to Nate?" Tess laughs as she shuffles across the bed, peeking over the edge to see Nate pushing Chasseur off of his stomach and coughing up a storm.

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" Nate replies between coughs, grumbling Heaven-know-what kind of insults at the cat.

"You looked a bit distant after Chasseur chose Squirtle." I cross my arms and lean back in my seat, "Is everything okay?"

Nate looks like he just flinched. He hesitates for a moment before weakly replying, "...I-It's nothing. I was just..." - he shakes his head and huffs - "It's nothing you should worry about."

"Are you sure...?" Tess raises an eyebrow at Nate's sudden odd behavior, pursing her lips together and giving him a frowny glance.

Nate nods and goes back to his business on his phone. "It's none of your business. Seriously."

"If you say so." With that, Tess returns to playing her Pokémon game and I go back to sorting through my camera. Despite the return of the peace, however, I can't help but feel like something is off about all this. That was the first time since last Sunday that Nate has had that glazed-over look...I can't help but wonder if there's something deeper to all this than I originally thought.

It's then that I begin to really start putting things together. Finding Nate on the side of the road, Chasseur's sudden appearance and the fact that he had been following Nate for eleven whole months, even Oracle's surprise visit during the last Photo Club meeting...all of this is connected in some sort of way, but how...?

---

Okay so this is mainly just a filler chapter/transition into Part Two I guess? Honestly, I wanted to get this chapter out today because - you guessed it - it's this book's one-year anniversary! :D

Also, I wanna wish a VERY happy birthday to the one and only NateWantsToBattle <3 This chapter in particular is pretty much dedicated to you, big guy! ^^;

Anyway, this chapter on is where things really begin to pick up. The truth will soon be revealed, so keep your eyes out for more clues and connections c:

Alright, stay tuned for the next chapter and the first step into the final half of The Fading Oddities of Nate Smith! :D

With Love,
SkippyTheMudkip