Jason had crossed a line.

"Well, I know them to be more than a rumor... And that is all you need to know." She said in a tight voice, hiding a grimace. Her best friend had been taken in by Jason. She had been just as adamantely against Jason as Liz had, yet Jason had won her over. She had never been the same since. Liz did not want to be the same way. She was going to stay as far away from this jerk as she could.

"And by the way, the reason I will not 'lighten' up is because I know the way you think, and if I 'lighten' up, my sense of self-preservation will be out the window. I am a no-nonsense person, and quite frankly the crap you are spouting is nonsense. As for your appearance--you are nothing special. The rest of the girls are just half-blind sheep who are willing to follow after anyone that resembles a male. Do not take your success personally."

Jason actually laughed out loud. "So what your saying, is that all I want is to get into your pants?" He asked, yes it was true, but why should he admit it? To her, nonetheless. He actually did want to know why she hated him so much. Normally the rumours were just a barrior, one he could lob over, but with her it seemed she had a few unattended to issues with him that he didn't really understand...

"The girls I date all have self preservation. People just assume it escapes them once we go upstairs." He said matter of factly. "Well call me their glasses because they all seem to be playing a different tune than you do." He said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, that is EXACTLY what I am saying," Liz snarled. "And do not pretend it is not the truth. I know what you are capable of--I know the rumors are true, and you cannot pretend otherwise. You can pretend to be charming, you can pretend to be helpful--but I see you as you are, and there is no getting around that."

Liz glared at the use of the term "date". He did not date--dating is a term used for when you go out with a person more than once. What he did was using, not dating. He never went out with any of them more than once. She paid attention, and she knew this for a fact.

"And I'm sorry, but that was the worst attempt at defending your so-called good looks. Just because the rest of the hormone-controlled teenage girl population finds you attractive does not mean it is true." She was disgusted.

"The only person to see me as I am is my mother thankyou very much. And unless my mum stepped into the fountain fo youth, you ain't her." He said malice coating his tones. He shook his heard at the nerve of this girl. For one, did she not know who he was? And for two, what the hell was wrong with her?

"You know what they say, amjourity rules." He said tackfully, keeping his distance as he was not in the mood for a slap across the face. Not that she wouldn't chase him aroud the school if she had wanted to. This further fuled his thoughts that she wanted him, to some distant extent that is. She may not know it yet, but he did. All he had to do was show her whats she felt.

Liz smirked. "So it seems that the smooth operator has a temper. I wondered how long it would take for you to snap... I knew the whole gentleman act would not take too long to crumble."

It was only the first time she had spoken to him, after all, and she was rather disappointed in him. She had heard he could win over anyone, yet she did not find him attractive in the slightest. There was something off about him, something that she could not help but find repulsive and a definite turn-off. She found that in most guys--it was rare to find a good, genuine guy these days, and at Hogwarts, there were even more pig-headed, egotistical "pure bloods". She despised most of them, especially Jason the Jerk.

"I always found that saying frightening. If the majority really does rule, the world is in deep trouble. Between the braindead girly girls with no sense of restraint and the poor deluded girls who think that you 'love' them... I have seen you in action before, and you should be disgusted with yourself, not strutting around like you own the place. Personally, you disgust me even more than the ordinary guy, which says a lot. It makes me ashamed of the human race and the female gender as a whole that they could find you even the slightest bit good-looking."

"And as for knowing the real you? Who knows, you may have a heart deep down there somewhere, but I certainly have yet to see its existence, so unless you feel like getting some new bruises, I would suggest you leave. You have bothered me enough for today. And besides, I need to practice my spells for Transfiguration class, and if you stay around much longer..."

She left the sentence open ended, hoping he would not call her bluff. She was good at lying, but she was not sure that this one was believable... Anyone who knew her well enough would know that she would not find it worth getting in trouble, but those who did not might fall for it. According to one of her friends, the general population only knew that she was very, very strange, and that she hated guys.

"Was that all supposed to make me cry?" He asked impassively, he couldn't even be bothered with her anymore. He'd lost his intrest in her, why play with her now? What was the point? He would ruin her life, her social status and then be done with her. It was either accept, or be thrown down a well. She had obviously, unkowingly picked the latter. He admitted he had lost, she knew how to play very well, except for the fact that she wouldn't stop as some may say 'dis-sing' him. It was enough for him to curl his hand around in a fist.

"I've never told a girl that I ahve loved her in my life. It's not my fault that they assume so." He said, checking his nails for dirt, they were in pristine condition. His lack of anger showed he didn't really care what she thought anymore. He had tried and he had lost, big deal. Okay, it was a very big deal. But all those 'girly girls' as she put it, would be all over him ina second checking to see if he was okay. They'd probaably make her life hell. He had a momentary lapse in character and felt genuinely bad for her, until he came back with deafening force and smirked once more.

He actually laughed out loud, good and hard "You? Transform me?" He laughed again, "I don't think so, little miss I-care-about-school-too-much-to-commit-any-crime" She mocked smirking. "Listen, when you get some guts, you come see me, kay?" SHe said walking around her frame to sit down on the chair. It wasn't like her was forbade to, he was pretty sure it was a free wizarding world. He rolled his eyes, she was so in-your-face, what did she want from him? God, did she REALLY not like any guys? Well they had a word for that...He let the thought trail off, giving a slight chuckle thqat he disguised as a cough.

Liz was very relieved and very uncomfortable at the same time.

She was relieved because it seemed that Jason was giving up on his attempts, which was definitely a good thing. Who knew how much longer she could have battled with him--she did not like Jason, but she knew better than to underestimate him. He would have found some way of throwing her off if he tried hard enough. Luckily, it seemed he was giving up--he must have lost interest. Or, at least she thought he was giving up...

Liz could not tell for sure that he actually was. She had this foreboding feeling in her gut that told her something very, very bad would come of this mess, which was causing her to feel so uncomfortable. Between the blase, indifferent looks he was throwing her way that were uncharacteristic of him and the fact that he was giving up so easily made her think that he planned to make her regret this. There was no way that Jason could get turned down and not care.

"I've never told a girl that I have loved her in my life. It's not my fault that they assume so," he stated in a rather bored tone, inspecting his fingernails in the process. Liz laughed at this statement, her laugh sounding short and sarcastic, which puzzled him. She decided not to explain it to him, because she did not want to admit it to him, but his statement made perfect sense. She could just see girls her age at Hogwarts assuming he loved them, without him ever saying it, because he gave them attention. A lot of girls her age equated love with affection and lust. It sickened her. However, Liz still did blame him, since he planted the seed--even with their creativity when it came to reading signs, girls did not get ideas from nowhere.

Unfortunately, he called Liz's bluff, and she wanted to grimace, but she raised her eyebrow in mock surprise anyway. "Hm... So how did you glean this little nugget of information? I am a wildcard, and you never know what I might do... After all, I turned you down." She was asking out of a curiousity, because she did not know that she had a rep for being a goody-two-shoes. Liz stifled another grimace at this thought.

Jason walked around her, sitting down in the chair next to her. She moved as far away from him as possible while staying in her seat, since she was there first, and even Jason sitting next to her was not going to make her move. She really needed to practice changing her teapot into a tortoise, but she did not want to practice in front of Jason. Liz was very discreet with her magic, choosing to use it sparingly and usually nonverbally instead of being a show-off about it, and she did not want Jason watching her. She did not trust him enough for that... However, there was not much time until she would have to get ready for Quidditch practice, and she needed to make sure that she could do her spell properly. She had succeeded once in class, but she had to make sure. "Well, now that you have gotten your source of amusement for the day, I really do need to work, so would you mind leaving?" She worried this would just make him want to stay more, but she really did want him to leave, and it would be a good test to see if he was going to leave her alone or not.

Jason heard her laugh at his statement and smirked, at least he could make her laugh, maybe her ruining wouldn't be so brutal now, even if her laugh was more like shrill cough and was a riddled with sarcasm.

"How did I 'glean' that piece of information...?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't have to glean anything; we all know it. You act that way, always have, always will." He said, a note of finnality in his tone. "And heads up, when trying to impress a guy- not saying it's me- but anyguy, don't ever use the word 'glean' in a sentence, chances are half the male population at Hogwarts dosen't even know what the word means." He said midly, he knew what it meant...but some of the guys there had the looks...just not the brawns.

He laughed, a short hard bark of laughter. "You want me, to get out? Me?" He asked incredulously, "Yeah, 'bout that honey. Women's rights may be a knew thing to you, but that dosen't mean I have to leave when you say so toots." He said a gleam of amusment in his eyes as he said the words. This was a fun case, so he got turned down, that didn't mean the fun had stop there.

Nuts.

First of all, Liz was surprised by this information. Since when had everyone realized this? She would have to cover her tracks better in the future, if it was that easy to figure her out... Though it was too late for her in this regard, she supposed.

Also, what the heck was he talking about--everyone knew what the word "glean" means. It was a vocab word she picked up before coming to Hogwarts, so she figured it was simple enough to understand, if she knew it before she turned 11. However, just as was his style, Jason turned the simple diss into an infuriating attempt to try to teach her about guys.

"Mmkay, I have three comments about that statement. First of all, why the heck are you trying to give me 'guy advice'? I mean, seriously, why does it matter to you when it does not even matter to ME? Secondly, I have figured out on my own that most boys have just about as many brain cells as a sea cucumber, and you do not need to tell me that. And third, why would I try to dummy down my vocabulary just to impress guys? I mean, if the guy does not know a word that simple, is he really worth it? If I was going around trying to impress guys, though the thought makes me cringe, I would aim for ones with some amount of intelligence." Liz wondered whether he would understand the sea cucumber reference.

Liz was frustrated--He would not leave her alone after all. She had tried, but it did not work. This guy, though he seemed to give up on the whole "get Liz in bed" attempt, would still not leave her alone. She would have to come up with some other way of getting him to leave... unfortunately, it was a free country, and there was nothing forcing him to leave. After all, they were in the common room, and everyone in the house was allowed there at any time. However, she started glaring daggers at him when he called her 'toots'. What the heck was wrong with this guy?

"Mmkay, call me 'toots' again, and I will murder you in your sleep." Liz said this with a cold hard death glare, her stone face letting him know she meant business. She would not really kill him of course, and he knew this. However, she used the phrase very frequently in life, so if he knew anything about her (as he seemed to pretend he did), then he would realize she was not really making a death threat. However, she was dead serious about one thing--if he called her that again, he would regret it. He might think she was insane, but hey, she would not mind. If it made him leave her alone, she was cool with it. However, there was the chance he might laugh at her... He could laugh all he wants, she did not care either way. She never really cared what people thought of her. People are overrated.

If she was someone else, she might have murdered him by now, just to get rid of him. However, as unconventional as Liz was, she did have a sense of morals. Jason, apparently, though, did not. Oh joy.

Jason laughed at her expression, annoyed was puting it lightly, why did she even care what the stupud population thought of her? He thought she was one of those 'Fuck the world, I couldn't give a shit' types. But obviously, she seemed to pay more attention to what others thought that she did. And, she wasn't exactly the world's best expression disguiser. "You seem like the type who may need guy advice." He stated simple, eyeing her face, she was pretty yes, but innocent as well. He almsot scoffed with annoyance, no one was innocent at Hogwarts anymore. "Sea Cucumber?" He micked a wince, "Ouch." His said, his face imapssive.

He blinked, not in the least shocked at the venom in her voice. One side of his mouth turned up into a crooked smile, a sinister smile if anything. "Oh, now you see now I'm all scared that a little good two shoes is going to come and murder me in my sleep." He laughed, fully enjoying the moment, "Because I'm so scared." He chuckled, tears forming in his eyes. This was real, entertainment. Real comedy, not that the shows a few of the kids unintentionally put on for th rest od Hogwarts to see wern'y funny or enteraining...This was just...Pure genious. The do-gooder was the one making the threats. Itw as comedy at it's purest, and he intended to use it all up in his mockery of her.

Liz did not even know how to react. She was incredibly annoyed by Jason. That much was obvious.

She did not need guy advice. The fact that he said she seemed like "the type who may need guy advice" puzzled her, but she ignored it all the same. She was beyond caring at this point, and she found that people were too frustrating. While his statement puzzled her and annoyed her, it was nothing that bothered her too much. Her mood was quickly shifting from overly angry and defiant to overly apathetic and rather snarky....

"I have to say, if all guys are as annoying as you are, then it is not me that needs advice, it is them. And since we are talking about advice, can I make some suggestions? I mean, most girls you have "hooked up" with must not have very high standards, but out in the real world, there are some that do. If you ever expect to keep a girl more than just a few days, you might want to try getting some tact and manners. So you know--stealing someone's homework to try to "help" them is not that impressive. Oh, and some humility would not hurt you much either. Your head could use quite a bit of deflating, as it is rapidly growing to the size of a hot air balloon." She was starting to rant, and she knew it, but she did not really care.

Liz laughed sarcastically at his fake wince. She was surprised he got the reference, but she was not impressed at all. She really could see through him, whether he knew it or not. She knew that with his egotistical nature, he probaby would not believe her in a million years if he informed him of this. She knew that he was guilty of the same thing she was--trying to act blase and unmoved. He was just as bad at it as she was.

And then, he had to smirk at her death threat, like she was just an innocent little kid--just a source of amusement and not someone to be taken seriously. She was about ready to snap--her apathetic mood had not lasted very long, she noted. She hated being treated like a two-year-old. It was one of the things that annoyed her the most in life.

"Now, there is a difference between magical violence and physical violence. As you have noted, I have major issues with magical violence. However, as you also should have noted, I have no problem whatsoever with physical violence if necessary. And while you may smirk all you want, sneaking just so happens to be one of my fortes. Also, girls are allowed in the guys' dorms, while guys' are not able to get into the girls' dorms. I can pick locks, I am a beater, so I am really good at hitting things with large, hard objects--if I really wanted to, I could easily pull it off." Liz was dead serious--when she was little, she was strange and morbid enough that she had sat down one day and figured it all out. She would never ever kill someone, but she was paranoid enough to believe it could happen to her someday. Therefore, she had figured out all the ways that someone could kill her to best know the way to protect herself against it. She was a very strange child, which was partly responsible for her lack of interest in people--she scared them off... Which was exactly what she was trying to do with Jason. She hoped it would work. If nothing else, he might think she was insane and warn all the other guys that she was a loony, and to not go near her. that would save her a lot of trouble.

Jason smiled without humour, it was a rather sickening smile if you stared at it in the wrong lighting. "Taking advice frOm you is like taking advice from a brick wall, it's neither nonsubsequental and irrelevant as I won't reply to it anyway." He rolled his eyes, "I was trying to help, and I only snatched it away because i knew you'd never let me have it."

"To be perfectly honest, Liz, I already know how to be charming, you just don't seem to be able to grasp the concept of it." He widened his eyes, a hurt expression playign across his pretty features, "Again, ouch." He said, in a hrut voice, wipping the expresion off his face in one smooth moment.

He listend to her threats eyeing her, with raised eyebrows "But as you have pointed out, I have no morals, so I'll just hit you back, and I'll hex our door so that you won't be able to get it. I can watch my back, but can you?" He asked, matching he tone, staring her down: good whole entertainment. He condsidered waking everyone up right at that moment, and telling the guys to steer clear of the crazy chick called Liz. But he had a better idea. She wanted to be left alone? Have some privacy? Well, there was no such thing at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He'd get them to holla, ask ehr out, make rude comments, didn't matter. He'd draw as much attention to her as possible, he could almost smile with glee.

Liz laughed at his statement... he probably was not even listening to himself talk. If her advice was "neither nonsubsequential and irrelevant", that had the opposite effect. Jason had just accidently stated that her advice was relevant.

And of course she would never let him have her homework! Liz had always been the "do your own work and let me do mine" type, so the fact that he had tried to steal hers "just because I knew you'd never let me have it" ticked her off. What the heck was wrong with this guy?

Liz raised her eyebrow as Jason said, "To be perfectly honest, Liz, I already know how to be charming, you just don't seem to be able to grasp the concept of it." She did not agree with him at all.

"First of all, charming is not a word I would use to describe you, just saying. And second, just because I do not act in a way that is 'charming' does not mean I do not know how to be charming. I know perfectly well--I just choose to act in a way that is NOT charming, because you know what? I could really care less."

Liz was surprised to see a semi-genuine look of hurt flash across Jason's face. He covered it quickly, but it was there for a second, which shocked her and made her want to grin all at the same time. She had seen him angry before, but even from watching him flirt with girls, she had never seen any doubt or hurt flash across his face. Also, she wondered why he was so hurt... she never said anything that was particularly offensive. She had called him egotistical earlier in the conversation, and he did not react that way to that... This guy had some major issues.

Liz was starting to wonder if this guy was even more messed up than she was when he asked, "I can watch my back, but can you?" She could watch her back, if there was one thing she could do in this world. She knew how to watch out for herself, making herself invisible in the eyes of others and catching anyone who tried to sneak up on her. It was rare that someone could pull a fast one on her. She already had placed a number of defensive spells on her dorm room, designed to protect her, and not even her roomates knew quite the extent of that.

Liz grinned, but there was a glint in her eyes that should have warned Jason that this was a game he could not win... then again, Jason had ways of getting around the rules...

Jason tried to stare her down, but it just led to Liz stifling a laugh. She almost started cracking up--he was not very good at death glares. However, the mischevious spark in his eyes made her a bit leery. She had seen that expression before on her own face, and it was NOT good at all. This jerk was up to something, and the forboding feeling returned.

"Which is exactly why you can never be charming." He stated simply, she may not see the logic but he certainly did. You become charming to impress someone, or to get what you want, she didn't care what others though- didn't need anything from them- so how could she be charming? "You care too little."

He saw her almost crack up with laughter and he narrowed his eyes, she wants to play it like that? well...so be it. She wanted to play dirty? Well so be it. Her eyes were weary as she stared at him now, registering the look on his face, "So you don't like people? Hate them do you?" He asked, innocently, "Do you hate guys Liz? Do you hate all guys? Because if so I know some girls..." He left the sentence trail off, conveying his meaning in the short silence that followed, but before she could get worked up he went on as if he hadn'r said the insult.

"Do you really not like people? Do you like your family? Hmm? Where are you from ,Lizzie?" He asked her sweetly, "Where's poor litrle Liz" he sapt her name, "from?" Fishing for info, was what he was doing, the more he gathered now, the less he'd have to ask another girl to do for him, he wasn't in the mood for false love, he was in the mood for a good game. A Love Game.

While Jason had a point, Liz did not quite agree with him. Some people were just charming by nature--her father, for example, did not have to try at all, and Liz believed that was one of the main reasons her mother was not scared away by the whole "I am a wizard" thing. Liz knew that they had a relationship that was real, and that was what she wanted. However, Jason was right in saying that she cared too little. She really did--love just did not fit into her plans at the time...

But she was stunned at the extremity of Jason's next statement. WAS HE INSINUATING THAT SHE WAS GAY??? First of all, she had no idea where the sudden outburst had come from in the first place. She must be on a roll tonight--that was the second time that he reacted very badly when she did not say anything particularly offensive. She had no idea what set him off like that...

However, before Liz could protest, Jason charged on. His voice was sickly sweet--it was sweet on the surface, but he could hear the venom in his voice when he said her name, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. She kept her face calm and composed, but he was starting to freak her out a bit, something that was not easy to do.

Then, Jason started bombarding her with questions about herself--things which had NOTHING whatsoever to do with their previous conversation. Liz wondered at first about the abrupt change of topic, but it soon became clear to her what was going on. She recognized a good data collector when she saw one, seeing as how she often gathered information about people herself, storing it away in the file system that was her brain. While she knew it was apparent to her what was going on, she knew that most people would not notice his ploy.

Liz did not want to reveal too much about herself--no one knew much about her, and that was the way she wanted to keep it. However, the dangerous gleam in Jason's eyes told her that he was going to get information about her, one way or another. The way he looked at her made her uncomfortable--it seemed to her as if this was one big game to him, but he was determined not to lose. He had not lost yet, and he planned to keep it that way. However, Liz had something a bit different in mind...

Liz addressed the first set of questions first, making sure that she kept her answers brief and to the point, not giving him any ammo to use against her in the future.

"I do not hate all guys, and I was best friends with many guys in grade school. However, at this point in my life, I do not want a huge, blown out of proportion relationship that is just going to end in a month or so anyway. A lot of guys are hitting the peak of hormone production, and while there are some nice guys out there, there are also a lot of idiots." Liz coughed loudly, hinting that Jason belonged in this group.

"Also, I am not gay, though it makes me laugh to think that you thought I was... you really know very little about people, that much is obvious. Just because I did not jump at the chance to have some teenage jerk steal my virginity and then never talk to me again does not mean that I am gay." Liz said this in a rather amused tone, though she was really rather angry with Jason.

"As for people, I tend to find them overrated, but I do not HATE them. It is not even really a disliking, but more of a lack of interest... I would just rather do my own thing. Society has all sorts of stupid rules and expectations that I think are not worth bothering with. I grew up doing my own thing, and that is not going to change anytime soon." So far, Liz had stuck to stating pretty obvious stuff, avioding anything that could be taken out of context and used against her.

"My family is my family. It is hard to hate your family unless you have issues or they had issues, neither of which applies to me. As for where I am from, England. The rest is none of your business... And do not call me Lizzie! I am not five years old, for Pete's sakes!" Her name was Liz--not Elizabeth, not Lizzie--just Liz.

Liz decided that she had satisfied the requirements--she told him everything he had asked, and nothing more. The rest was none of his business, and she was not going to spill her deepest darkest secrets to some jerk who just 15 minutes ago had tried to get her in bed with him. The thought still made her want to smack him. No, this guy was learning nothing he did not already know.