Ren arrived at Greenfield and went through the actual entrance, heading to the area where the event was supposed to be held—and it was great. There were booths for games and food, a lot of interesting performers using their powers and tricks, and if he wasn't mistaken… there was even a rollercoaster. It wasn't one of those crazy ones that shoot into the sky and nearly gives you a heart attack. No, this one just went around Greenfield.
The whole place looked fun to the point where he didn't even know where to start.
But after a few seconds, he figured out exactly what he needed to do first.
He pulled out his phone and checked where his friends were, and after a second, Jackson replied quickly.
They were at a bike road.
It was a bike road that moved through the woods so you could see the trees and the views. Apparently, it was a lot of fun.
Ren wanted to meet them there and went looking for the place, but sadly… he didn't know where the bike road was, and he didn't see any maps near him. So he might be late, and they might start without him.
That made him sigh.
He wanted to keep looking, but then he spotted an ice cream booth.
The weather lately wasn't so hot and wasn't so cold—it was perfectly neutral. So it was perfectly fine weather to have some ice cream.
He went to the ice cream booth, which luckily didn't have any lines.
"One chocolate ice cream, please," he ordered.
He waited for a second, but then someone stepped up next to him.
"One chocolate ice cream, please."
Ren recognized that voice with the British accent immediately.
When he looked over, it was Cass.
He didn't expect to see her here, so for a second he just stood there, unable to think of anything.
Luckily, Cass noticed him.
"Oh—hey. It's you. I didn't expect to see you," she said sweetly.
Ren got flustered instantly, just like before. And this time, Kai wasn't here to cover for him. So he had to speak right now—before she noticed what was wrong.
"It's… unexpected to see you here as well," Ren said. "I honestly didn't think I would see you again. At least for a long, long time."
Shit. Why the hell did I say that?
It sounded a little creepy.
He bashed himself in his head, but Cass just chuckled a bit.
And before they could say anything else, the ice cream lady interrupted.
"Here are your ice creams."
Ren and Cass grabbed their ice cream cups, but then—
"So… what are you up to?" Ren asked awkwardly, a little bit too loud.
He said it unconsciously, so their conversation wouldn't end With them Walking away with their ice cream His slightly loud and awkward tone startled Cass for a second, but then she smiled and turned around waving for him to walk with her, and they both walked away from the ice cream booth.
"That was smooth, kid," the ice cream lady whispered, giving him a thumbs up.
Ren, who saw that, got a little embarrassed.
What does she think is going on here exactly?
But he distracted himself from that thought and focused back on Cass and what she was saying.
"Well, what I'm currently doing is obviously visiting Greenfield to have fun," Cass said. "And I also came here with my two friends that are also my teammates. But one of my friends went looking for the bathroom, and the other one went to help her find it."
"Oh… I'm actually doing the same," Ren said. "I'm also here to have some fun with my friends, but unlike you, I didn't actually come here with them. I just texted them that we'll meet here, but I'm kind of lost… and they might have already went and are having fun in the bike road already without me."
He sighed.
"It might be good for them after all. Those two should have their moments of relaxation instead of me and Kai giving them heart attacks with our stories," Ren said.
That made Cass chuckle a little.
And hearing her chuckle made Ren blush even more, but he made sure to hide it pretty well.
"You know… it's kind of refreshing," Cass said. "Whenever I talk to strangers, they usually get intimidated because of my family. More specifically… my great grandparents."
That made Ren pause for a moment.
Wait… her great grandparents?
Then he remembered her full name again.
Cassandra Hale.
When Kai told him her last name before, it was familiar. And It stayed in the back of his head, but he couldn't point out why. Then he was busy with SIED work, and that made him forget to look it up and figure out why it was so familiar to him.
But now that she said this…
He finally recognized that last name.
And it absolutely shocked him.
Because that was the last name of Lucas Hale.
A.K.A… Blue Light.
Her great grandfather is Blue Light—that means her great grandmother is the alien who became one of the greatest heroes of Earth Wrong side Blue Light her husband.
Holy shit, I'm talking to their great granddaughter.
Oh shit, I can't be talking to her—
His nervousness of talking to her now became fear. Is he even allowed to talk to someone like her?
Ren was absolutely freaking out, but then Cass noticed his expression and—
"Ha—HAHAHA!" She burst out laughing.
She immediately knew from his expression that he just realized who she really is, and that made her laugh even harder. The situation was ridiculous, and Ren's expression made it even worse.
Ren, seeing that, became embarrassed, but her reaction calmed him down a bit. It reminded him that even though she comes from an incredible background… she's still an incredibly friendly girl.
Ren tried to change the topic, because her background was honestly intimidating, so he asked the first thing that came into his mind.
"So… how are you their great granddaughter—"
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT.
Ren thought.
Cass stopped laughing and looked at him, still smiling, one eyebrow raised.
he saw her reaction and decided he might as well go along with it.
"I mean… my grandma is only a couple of years younger than Blue Light," ren said. "And she is, well… my grandma, not my great grandma."
"And you're what, a year older than me—"
Cass just looked forward and responded calmly, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Well, it's not something like a secret or anything," she said. "It's just… Grandpa Light and Grandpa Star, and my grandparents and parents… they all met pretty young, got together early, married early, and had children pretty early on."
And they all stayed together.
Cass smiled a little.
"So you could say my family has a pretty great success rate with finding love."
"Oh… that's great to hear," Ren said, glancing to the side with a blush still on his cheek.
But this time it wasn't because of embarrassment.
He started feeling something he didn't know what it was yet, but he knew it was positive. And he just smiled.
Then—
"So, Ren," Cass said.
That made Ren look at her.
"I guess it's my turn to ask a question, isn't it?" she said with a cheeky smile.
(Author's Notes: Here's some small information about the Hale family. Blue Light and Starborn had only one daughter. Their daughter only had one son, and that son only had Cass, so she only has really distant cousins.
Also, the reason she still carries the Hale name isn't because her grandmother decided to keep it. It's because of Starborn. On her home planet, last names don't change after marriage the same way they do on Earth. On Earth, normally the woman changes her last name to match the man's, but on her planet, the person from the less powerful family changes their name to match the person from the more powerful family.
Starborn married Blue Light and moved to Earth permanently, so she married into the family. And considering the Hale family is the most powerful hero family, no one on Earth could make them change their name after marriage.