Jayden shook his head in denial. "No, you can't say that. What do you mean it's all me?" he frowned, already getting furious again.
"If I remember correctly, you said my heart rate shouldn't exceed 120bpm. And it did, which means this was the system's doing. Your doing," he added, getting more angry and frustrated.
[Yes I did say your heart rate shouldn't exceed that limit but... I also did say if it did, you would go into a seizure. But you didn't] Luna muttered calmly, trying not to make Jayden get more furious. [And do you know what that means?]
Jayden shook his head, he was slowly calming down his rage. "What does it mean?" he asked
Luna sighed. [It means that your rage was too great to be tamed, and the system knew this. That was why it used that skill to calm you down that day at the hospital] she stated
[And then it set up a limit so that you would learn self control, also adding a possible adverse effect should in case you exceed this limit]
"Seizure,"
[Precisely] Luna confirmed. [But it was more of a cautionary threat... A half truth the system put in place because it couldn't anticipate what would happen if you got too angry]
"So the system truly had nothing to do with the transformation... or the bloodlust?" Jayden muttered in disbelief
[Yes, it didn't. But it's... I've been trying to figure out why it happened, and the only conclusion I have for now is the same as what I told you on the first day you woke up]
Jayden exhaled. "My genes," he muttered, having seemed to have let go of his rage
[Yes, I'm afraid it is] Luna replied
"Can you identify it... My DNA?" he asked
[Not yet. If I could, it would have already reflected in your status info] Luna said. [But I can assure you of one thing, you're not a beast... But you're not human either]
Jayden sighed. "Like that's supposed to make me feel better," he muttered with a sarcastic smile
[Well, yes. You'll be turning into beasts in no time so not being human is kind of a forehand relief] Luna chuckled. [But like I told you before, don't worry about things like what you are or are not. Focus on what truly matters, getting stronger]
Jayden nodded and took a deep breath. "You're right, thanks for the pep talk, Luna. I think you'd make a great coach," he chuckled, before walking out of the bathroom.
Luna scoffed. [Don't butter me up, Beastlord]
"Don't call me that," Jayden muttered with a chuckle
[Why? That's what you are going to be] Luna protested. [And besides, It's better than beast boy]
Jayden sighed. "You know what, I'm just going to ignore you from now on," he said and began walking out of the school, which was almost empty as everyone had gone to their various homes, several minutes ago.
"Uhm... Jayden! Huff!"
But before Jayden could walk out of the gate, he heard someone call out to him.
Jayden turned at the sound of his name, his brows furrowing as he spotted a girl sprinting toward him. Her long blonde hair streamed behind her, catching the glow of the setting sun, and her striking purple eyes locked onto him with an unreadable expression.
She skidded to a stop right in front of him, bending slightly with her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. It looked like she'd been running after him for a while.
Jayden narrowed his eyes, studying her face. She looked familiar... like a memory just out of reach. And then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.
The storm. The field. The moment just before his entire world changed.
She was the girl he had saved that day, the one who broke her ankle on the field when the storm rolled in. And also the last person he saw before everything went black.
"You..." His voice came out quieter than he expected.
The girl straightened, still breathing heavily, but her eyes were filled with something he couldn't quite place... relief, maybe? Or Admiration?
"You're Jayden, right?" she asked, her voice soft but certain.
Jayden crossed his arms, his stance guarded. "Yeah... and you're that girl I saved on the day of the storm?"
She hesitated for a moment before replying. "Yeah, my name's Cassandra. Cassandra Isley,"
Jayden nodded slowly. The name didn't ring any bells, but she clearly knew him. And from the way she was looking at him, she had something important to say.
"I've been looking for you," she admitted. "Ever since I heard you woke up."
Jayden raised an eyebrow. "Heard?"
She bit her lip, hesitating before continuing. "I... I knew you were in a coma. I asked about you after you... After the incident. And when I heard you were finally back in school, I had to find you,"
Jayden remained silent, waiting.
Cassandra took a shaky breath. "I wanted to thank you," she said earnestly. "You saved my life that day. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would've happened to me."
She looked down, clenching her hands into fists. "But... I also wanted to say I'm sorry."
Jayden frowned slightly. "Sorry? For what?" he asked
Cassandra swallowed hard and met his gaze, guilt swimming in her violet eyes. "Because... if I hadn't been so clumsy to break my ankle, you wouldn't have had to save me... you wouldn't have gotten struck by lightning. This... everything that happened to you... it's my fault,"
Jayden chuckled, shaking his head as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "It's not your fault," he said, his voice light. "I mean, yeah, getting struck by lightning wasn't exactly on my to-do list, but that storm was coming no matter what. If anything, I should be glad I was there to help."
Cassandra's eyes widened slightly, she hadn't expected him to brush it off so easily.
"But you could've... Died," she muttered. "And... I wouldn't have been able to live with myself, knowing that my foolishness got you killed,"
Jayden shrugged. "But I didn't die, did I?" he muttered, wondering if she wanted to be punished or something.
Cassandra was stunned yet again, this guy just shrugged a death incident like it was nothing. He was even shaken or traumatized.
It made her wonder what he could've gone through in the past to have been so impulsive to save her. Out of everyone on the field that day, it had to be him, the kid with no abilities to actually jump in to save her. Despite the fact that he had never met her before, this made her mind race with curiosity.
Jayden saw that Cassandra wasn't responding, so he put on a gentle smile and looked into her eyes. "Seriously, don't beat yourself up over it," he said.
"I mean, I gained so much from that lighting bolt," he added. "Which makes me glad that I saved you that day, I don't regret it. Infact it was the best decision I ever made,"
Cassandra blinked in surprise, she didn't even realise that her cheeks were now reddened. "He... he was glad to have saved me?" she pondered inwardly. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts... Excitement, confusion, joy.
And for that moment, she felt special. If only she knew that Jayden didn't mean what he said in the way she thought he did. Poor girl.
"Just... be careful next time, yeah?" Jayden muttered, admiring her beauty one last time before leaving, without even waiting for her response.
He turned, already walking away, but before he could take more than a few steps, Cassandra quickly stepped forward, reaching out toward him.
"Wait!" she said, her tone softer now... almost hesitant.
Jayden stopped, glancing over his shoulder. "What is it?"
She hesitated for a brief second before taking a deep breath. "Can you spare a few more minutes?" she asked. "Please?"
Jayden studied her for a moment. There was something in her voice.. something sincere. He sighed, shifting his weight. "Yeah, sure," he said. "What's up?"
Cassandra offered a small, relieved smile before composing herself. "My mother... she wants to meet you,"
Jayden blinked. "Your mother?" he asked, wondering why her mother would want to meet him.
Cassandra nodded. "When she found out what happened, about how you saved me. She was really grateful. She's been wanting to meet you ever since. She... she just wants to thank you properly. And reward you, too."
Jayden raised an eyebrow at that last part. "Reward me?" he asked, now more interested then ever.
Cassandra smiled. "Yes. I don't know what exactly, but she said she owes you a debt of gratitude, and she'd like to show her appreciation,"
Jayden exhaled, thinking it over. Meeting someone's mom wasn't exactly on his agenda for the day, but... well, he was curious. And, if he was being honest, he wasn't used to people genuinely wanting to thank him for anything.
After a brief pause, he gave a nod. "Alright," he said. "I'll meet her,"
Cassandra's face lightened up, it was like a huge burden had been lifted off her chest. "Really? Thanks.. I guess,"
Jayden crossed his arms, eyeing Cassandra carefully. "Hm, but if we're doing this, it'll be on my terms."
Cassandra tilted her head slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not available now. Or tomorrow," he said firmly. "If your mom wants to meet me, I'll be the one to pick the date,"
Cassandra blinked in surprise. She clearly hadn't expected him to set conditions, but after a moment, she nodded in understanding. "That's... fair," she admitted. "I'll let her know and we'll wait for whenever you're ready,"
Jayden gave a small nod, satisfied. "Good."
For a brief moment, they just stood there, the air between them strangely comfortable yet unfamiliar.
Cassandra smiled, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Just... let me know when you're ready, okay?" she said, before taking out a small paper from her pocket, handing it over to Jayden.
Jayden collected the paper and read it's contents, it was a number... Her number. "Yeah. I will," he muttered, silently wondering if she had planned to give him her number beforehand.
And with that, he turned, shoving his hands back into his pockets as he finally walked away, leaving Cassandra standing there, watching him go.
"He's cute," she thought, as a smile crept on her lips.