[b][i]William Ascot[/i][/b]

He had to reply to Wolf right away, or did he? All William can take from Vera's diatribe at first was...[i]She has people she cares about as well.[/i] He felt anger then, as the shock faded, he felt rage. The rage came from the selfish place in his heart that wanted to be praised, wanted to be loved, wanted to be known as a 'special hero'. The boy recognized it within himself, forced himself to endure the unpleasant emotions, forced himself to face Wolf as he said, "I thought I can stand it. To know I've justly earned her hate. To know that there's no redeeming myself in her eyes."

Part of Ascot refused to believe that last part. That part was irrelevant.

He pursed his lips. "But I can guess more than you two let on. She's the type who wears her emotions on her sleeves, and she's no doubt ranted about me before. She'll rant about me later on, too. Your girlfriend, Wolf...she's a reminder that good intentions alone do not make one good."

[i]Remember Galiere's lesson, the one that led to this exchange.[/i] His eyes hardened, his face set, "But I had to say what I said. I had to be honest, even if it earned her hate. Because... And she does not need to be here, or believe me, for me to say this: I needed to hear what she had to say. I needed to be fully clear about what I might put you through."

[i]And finally...I need to remind myself that I do not need to be universally loved, even by other good people.[/i] "She's a good person, Wolf. It hurts that I've earned the hate of another good person, no matter how thin our links are." Another purse of the lips. "But I will say this: I am [i]done[/i] fobbbing off the consequences of my actions on other people. I will no longer lurk in the shadows, weaving webs that come apart when light shines. I will suffer beside... All of you, even those who hate me. This time, I am going to live with my decisions."

There was a new intensity in his eyes, a new fire that was lighting up, growing hotter and hotter and driving out the corrosive rot of anger.

"I'm done letting others suffer for me," he intoned. "This time, I deal with my problems directly."

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