Stuck In The Past | Five Hargreeves

Chapter 3: New Experiences

Cassie hated the person the commission had turned her into. The handler might have saved her and Five from the apocalypse but in the end, Cassie couldn't tell if being part of the commission was any better. And given the latest events, she had even started to question if all that she went through was even worth it considering the outcome.

As Cassie and Nathan walked into the dining room the first thing that the girl noticed was that the boy's parents were already sitting down waiting for the two of them. The girl wasn't used to being the center of attention so having both of Nathan's parents staring at her made her slightly uncomfortable but she couldn't blame them for it, after all, she was a stranger inside their house.

Nathan led Cassie quietly towards the table and pulled the chair for her so she could sit down before sitting on the chair next to her. He turned his gaze towards his father who was trying to hide his obvious stare behind some newspaper while he analyzed his son's every movement. "So... Uh, dad. I want you to meet Cassie." Nathan said breaking the ice not wanting to make breakfast extremely awkward for his guest.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Lauder." Cassie said softly as she turned to look at Nathan's dad.

"The pleasure is mine." Nathan's dad said greeting Cassie as he placed down the newspaper he was holding. "I hope you enjoy your stay. It's always nice to have people around the house. It makes it more lively" He said nicely.

"Thanks for allowing me to stay for the time being." Cassie said gratefully and turned to look at Nathan's mom as well. "You two Mrs. Lauder." The girl said thanking Nathan's mom as well since she didn't get the chance to do it yesterday. "

"It's nothing darling. We're here to help." Nathan's mom said kindly.

"So what's your full name?" Nathan's dad asked looking over at the girl.

"Uh..." Cassie said nervously and turned to look at Nathan not knowing what to reply to his dad's question. Nathan looked over at Cassie giving her a you don't have to answer look but Cassie didn't want to come across as rude. "My biological name is Cassie Wagner." The girl said quietly.

"Is your family german? I'm sure Wagner is a German last name." Mr. Lauder asked curiously.

"I was born here in the states, but I'm not sure about my family's background. I was adopted and then I was given the Hargreeves last name." The girl said not putting much thought into her words.

"Hargreeves?" Nathan's dad said recognizing the last name almost instantly. "I know a man with that last name. Reginald Hargreeves" He said remembering the man's name. "Very smart man. A scientist, in fact. He also owns this umbrella manufacturing business, I wanted to invest in it a few years ago."

As soon as Cassie realized that Nathan's dad knew
Mr. Hargreeves the girl felt her anxiety build up. Cassie had already considered the idea of Reginald being alive at this period of time, but something she never expected was for her to be one person away from possibly crossing his path again.

The last time Cassie saw Reginald was the same day she and Five got stuck in the apocalypse. The old man had asked her a simple task, which was to stop Five from jumping, but she failed. And over the years the guilt of not being able to complete what was supposed to be a very simple task for her followed her forever. All those 5 years she spent in the Academy trying to prove to Mr. Hargreeves that her abilities were developed on par with the others and that she belongs in the group went to hell the moment she failed to stop Number Five.

Cassie knew that after that Mr. Hargreeves saw her as a failure. At least, that's what Vanya said in her book and, later on, this was also confirmed by Diego and by the fact that Reginald didn't even put anything in the house to honor her memory, he only did it for Five.