Why the hate?

Two days..

That's all she had left until the full moon made it's appearance, and she would be stuck in the throws of a transformation.. one she could do nothing to stop. She had already started her routine of taking potions, enough potions to drown someone.. at the correct time of day... everything was going to plan, and here Rise was, secluding herself from the world by the lake. Hidden by a bush, staring into the water as the Giant Squid poked a tentacle out, waved it around for a few moments, before disappearing again under the surface.

People had talked to her a few times these last few days, and while they were nice to her, and offered her words of comfort and hope.. she knew that deep inside.. they still thought themselves better than her.. because she wasn't human.. she wasn't even a wolf, she was some stupid cross between the two, and she hated it. So far she hadn't seen Kendall in ages.. he disappeared off the face of the earth, but she needed him now more than ever. Rise pulled her knees to her chest, and hid her face, letting her hair fall down and hide her even more effectively, while she pretend that she didn't exist.

Jack walked along the lakeside , his hands in his pockets. He was wearing his uniform and had just come from his classes. He admired his surroundings,watching as the wind gently blew through the trees he then turned his gaze to the lake and watched as tiny waves formed and broke against the lakeside. Until he saw a tentacle break the surface of the lake flail around a few times before going back under. He just shrugged it off and continued walking kicking a small stone as he went. He continued walking before happening upon something peculiar. He spied a figure sitting in the bushes it's knees pulled closely to it's chest.

"Hello, is someone there?" Jack questioned to the figure in the bush "are you okay?"

Rise hadn't heard anything until a voice came from right behind her. She jumped and found herself on her feet, having done some weird movement to turn around and stand at the same time, her wand drawn in the same movement. "What the hell do you want?" She asked, her wand pointed directly at the boy who had walked up behind her. After a moment of standing there, Rise slowly lowered her wand, and looked ashamed. Rise stood up all the way, having been in some weird defensive position, and she shoved her wand back up into her sleeve.

"I'm sorry.." She said, looking ashamed of her reaction. "I hope I didn't scare you.. you just.. startled me.." She said and ran her hand through her hair. "Can I help you?" Her whole face was turning beet red, and she was pretty sure she must look like a total loser.

As the girl jumped up from her hiding place and drew her wand Jack quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets and put them up in the air. "What the hell do you want?" the girl ask Jack stuttered "I-i uh er uh" which she apparently didn't notice. As the girl lowered her wand Jack lowered his hands until her wand was back in her sleeve and his arms rested back at his sides.

"I'm sorry.." Said the girl "I hope I didn't scare you.. you just.. startled me.." Jack closed his mouth which had still been agape at the surprise he was just delivered "Uh, not really scared, no, just surprised." Said Jack as the girl ran her hand through her blondish brown hair. "Can i help you?" She asked as her face began to blush.

A long awkward silence filled the air which Jack broke with "Uh my name is Jack, Jack Haggard, nice to meet you." As he extended his hand to wards the girl.

"Uh my name is Jack, Jack Haggard, nice to meet you."

Rise nodded slowly and attempted to look like she was happy to meet him, but in reality she just wanted him to go away. "I'm Rise.. Erm.. Rise Lehmberg" Rise stood there, shoving her hands awkwardly into her pockets. "Erm.. you asked if I was okay.. when you came up to me earlier.. and erm.. yeah, I'm fine... I was just.. ya know.. being alone.." She said her voice raising in pitch as she ended her sentence, still looking as though she found the whole situation awkward.

"You aren't okay.. you know that's a lie.."

The voice nearly startled her and she almost looked around, if she hadn't known it was her own speaking, well technically her own, she would have been much more startled. Her inner puppy was getting stronger. She called it her inner puppy just because there was always the feeling as though she was never alone. The personality that took over at the full moon didn't go away when she transformed back into a human, quite the contrary, she was eternally there, commenting on, and giving reactions to the situations at hand.

When the full moon got closer, her puppy got more active, so it startled her, after it had gone so quiet. "Oh shut up.. I am not to start telling a complete stranger my problems.. besides, if he knew he'd probably run away in fright.. it's not exactly the most comfortable thing to tell someone.. 'Hey! I'm Rise, I turn into a giant, man-eating monster every full moon, wanna be my friend?' Not exactly a conversation starter"

Rise looked at Jack and tried to judge what he was thinking. Had he heard her name before? Did he know who she was? It was a possibility.. everyone knew who the werewolves of the castle were.. it was just a safe precaution everyone took.. so you knew who not to be around when the full moon got closer.

"I'm Rise.. Erm.. Rise Lehmberg." she said "Erm.. you asked if I was okay.. when you came up to me earlier.. and erm.. yeah, I'm fine... I was just.. ya know.. being alone.."

"Rise huh?" Jack said as he retracted his offered hand and put it back into his pocket while putting his other hand on the nearly invisible scruff on his chin.

"Rise...... Rise where have i heard that name...... Could she be THAT Rise?" He thought.


"Rise Lehmberg......" He said "Beautiful name...." Jack let the hand touching his chin fall to his side. "You the Supposed "Monster" right?" he said bring his hand up once more only to do air quotes for "Monster" before scanning her head to toe with his eyes. "For a Monster your awfully pretty" he said slightly blushing because this was first time in well over a year he had paid a complement to a girl let alone a pretty one.

Jack looked at her "Well i don't see a monster, i just see someone in need of a friend" He said with a smile slightly looking down at her as he just now noticed the height difference between the two.

Rise was already blushing after he called her beautiful, but her face went from red, to completely white in a manner of seconds when he asked if she was the monster. Her whole body stiffened, and she could feel the harsh words coming, the anger, the fear, anything and everything that came from other people. People who knew what she was.. just by hearing her name.. the familiar Hufflepuff scarf, the need to be alone.. she was THAT Rise to them... and they stayed clear of her.

So of course Rise was completely taken aback when he called her pretty. She stared at him, he had looked her up and down, literally checked her out, and now he was blushing himself. Rise stared at him for a moment longer, after he said his little bit on her needing a friend. She raised her chin slightly, trying to look less sad. "I don't need anyone." She said and turned around, sitting back on the ground and pulling her knees to her chest. "Especially a friend."

"I don't need anyone. Especially a friend." She said as she sat back down with her back to him.

Jack just stood with a smile on his face. there for a few second before walking over and sitting Indian style next to Rise. "Well whether YOU think a friend is rather irrelevant. You are who you choose to be, not what others make you" he said. he pulled out his other hand and looked at something on the palm of his hand.

"Whether you choose to be that monster that everyone makes you out to be, is completely up to you." he said looking straight at Rise, By the point his smile had been replace with a look of seriousness.

Rise glanced at Jack when he sat down and she sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to go away. Giving up, Rise sat up straight and stretched her legs out in front of her, before bending over her legs completely and stretching out her back, grabbing onto her ankles as she did so. "What if I chose to be a monster? What if I was a monster and you were talking to one? What if no matter what you do, you will change to conform to what society has forced you to become, no matter how hard you fight?"

Rise slowly looked at Jack and sighed. "You can only go so long, being brave and sticking up for yourself.. before it wears you down.. even water can break through stone.. given enough time.." She said softly, shaking her head and bending back over to grab her ankles, happy she was wearing her cloak so that her back wasn't showing at all. "So no.. you are wrong Jack.. Society makes you who you are.. whether you realize it or not.." She said sitting up straight and staring out at the lake.

"So no.. you are wrong Jack.. Society makes you who you are.. whether you realize it or not.."

As Jack listened To what Rise had to say his Serious face gave way again to a smile that didn't look forced in the least. He just sat there at smiled at her for what seemed like a millennium when it reality it was only 10 seconds.

He gave a low chuckle and then a sigh. "Well then society made me a pretty understanding guy" He said with that same goofy smile on his face. He took what look like a small flat stone and chucked it across the lake, it skipping three or four times before sinking into the lake.

"What if i was to tell you I've been called a monster, by people who at the time, i considered my closest friends?" He said "Now tell me, do i look like a monster to you Miss Lehmberg? "