A large dinosaur sat on the very top of the empty park's steps that towered above normal ground. From behind, the golden sun aimed its warm rays at his scales which gave off a fearsome glare if someone stared for too long. Time to time, many scientists passed through the empty pathways that once served tourists. Ethan waved to them in greeting, but it was more of his tail doing all the waving as his eyes were too transfixed to the super-large, or at least large to a human, textbook in his hand. The other hand was also busy gently stroking the snoozing cat on his lap.

He licked his claws, fully prepared to turn the page until a gentle tap came across his shoulder.

"Oops! Sorry Ethan! Lost control of my board there for a sec!" a voice called out.

Knowing who that could possibly be, Ethan had no choice but to smile. He turned his head behind and was greeted with a young teen running towards the wooden board that slowly rolled away from him. Shakespeare quickly barked happily after her.

"It's no trouble, Layla," he assured. "Hardly felt a thing, but I do advise you, be more careful with that… what is your contraption called again?"

She's been riding on this contraption since day one when she got here. And since day one, Layla liked to drag him outside to show him these tricks she liked to call ollies and nollies. According to her, she learned these tricks from a video game. Neat. Though really, all Ethan wanted to do outside was read, much to her annoyance. What's so interesting about books when there's a person pulling off impossible tricks right in front of you? At least Shakespeare seemed interested. The dog even once tried riding the thing, despite his master's protests. And as Ethan had expected, the foolish dog fell the second he stepped paw on it.

"Ugh, really?" Layla said and rolled her eyes in disbelief. With all the infinite number of books he's read, he'd at least know what a board on wheels is called. She kicked the board's nose and it flipped through the air into her hand. "It's called a skateboard, Ethan, and it's one of the BEST things my dad got me for my sixteenth birthday. And like I totally expected, my mom completely freaked when she found out. Why does she have trust issues with what my dad gets me for my birthday?"

"Maybe because it slipped your father's mind to give you the proper protective gear?" Ethan suggested.

The human looked down to find her bare skin endangered by the rough concrete. Shakespeare whined in agreement. Then after some thought, she brought her head back to the dinosaur to give him a smug smirk. "Pfffffft! Protective gear? That stuff is for lamoes! Only skilled skateboarders like me don't need to waste their money on stupid protective gear!" With that said, she tossed her board to the ground and jumped on, gaining speed with each push of a leg.

Ethan huffed and his annoyed tail flicked. "If you must know, safety is the utmost importance when riding those contraptions. Who knows what event might transpire as your riding unpredictably into danger? At least give me some assurance by wearing a helmet."

She had her hands folded as she rolled in front of him. "Listen, Ethan, I like how you care about me and all, but can you lay off for a sec? I'm about to make the most awesome railgrind ever! Just you watch!"

Unstoppable determination already set in her eyes like permanent marker, she rode as far away from him as possible. Once she finally decided this distance seemed good enough, she turned around and saw two specks small enough for her to crush with her fingers. Shakespeare sat there waiting for her patiently, barking her barks of encouragement. Ginger, though she could not see her, was probably sleeping on

Ethan's lap like the lazy cat she is. Ethan himself still paid the human no mind and instead gave all his focus into his book.

Jerk.

Well, right now he's gonna have to see how great she is! More great than that stupid book of his anyways. One leg launched her forward. A whole lot more brought her enough speed to have the wheels thundering under her feet and the wind howling. Her eyes aimed at the upcoming rail near the huge dinosaur. A few seconds left before she reached her target, she crouched the lowest she possibly can… and jumped.

It's like somebody had pressed the slow-motion button on the remote. To Layla's left, Shakespeare had his long, pink tongue sticking out in absolute awe at the flying human who smirked in return. She turned to her right, and found Ethan still busied himself into reading, never taking a hint of notice at the girl who prepared a verbal slap into his earhole.

However, it never came.

Instead, a sharp clang jabbed his ears. Ginger and Shakespeare's flickered in response, and Ethan finally turned to his friend's direction. He found that she had actually tripped in the air, her skateboard falling behind as she stared at him, suspended in the sky with hopeless fear, falling faster and faster into the solid concrete below.

A sudden rush of fearful adrenaline morphed his eyes into dilated slits.

"Layla!"

...

At first, the human who shut her eyes away from the world thought the hardness being pressed into her face was the concrete probably wet with red by now. But it didn't feel wet at all. It felt feathery, actually. Like really feathery. Not to mention super soft. And when she opened her eyes, there were no blood stains on the floor, but grayness that covered every inch of the floor's feathers.

Wait, what?

"Layla, are you okay?" a voice that cried of overwhelming worry asked as the owner crushed her closer into its form.

"Ethan?" Layla asked and tried to pull out to get a glimpse of her savior, but he swiftly pulled her back in. He held her with his arm swung tightly around her waist and one large hand pushing her head into his feathery soft, muscled chest. His snout dipped over her shoulder and released warmth that breezed across her back. Since he's so tall compared to her, her feet made no contact on the ground below.

A few more concerned nuzzles later, Ethan held her out with both of his hand around her ribs. Layla prepared herself against an onslaught of more annoying "Are you okay?" and "Are you hurt?" but a low feral growl made her think otherwise.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" he scolded like an angry parent, dangerous red eyes glaring her down.

"Well, I tried doing a railgrind... buuuuuuuut I guess that didn't turn out too good…but hey, considering that you saved me and stuff, everything's all good," she answered with a smirk and looked over his shoulder. Shakespeare stood on all fours, barking barks of concern. Ginger was sprawled on floor alongside the open textbook, meowing in dissatisfaction. No doubt the cat will have her revenge soon.

"Didn't turn out too good?" he nearly roared. "Everything's all right because I saved you? What if I wasn't here to save you? What if you injured yourself beyond recognition because you're too foolish and self-absorbed to wear the proper protection gear? Have you ever taken that into consideration?"

Layla wanted to counter with something snappy, but she instantly noticed the honest tears that threatened to creep out under his quivering eyes. Then he pulled her back into his chest, purring contently.

"Just… just promise me you won't perform any more dangerous tricks like that until you get yourself the proper protection… ok? Perhaps a helmet at least?" Ethan whispered into her ear.

How can she resist a voice like that? She snuggled deeper into his chest. "Fine… no more skateboarding for me until I get some stupid protection. But I'm not doing it because I'm afraid pain! I'm only doing it because you're such a baby. And don't expect me to wear it all the time when I'm home either!"

Ethan smiled. He can live with that.

"And next time, I won't mess up that railgrind! Next time I visit, you won't be so whiny when I skateboard over your butt like a pro!"

Sadly for him, next time never happened.

When the new summer came with its rise in unholy temperatures that once again inspired the rise of ACs to revolt, Ethan spent most of the fun season pacing angrily around his room trapped in deep thought.

The problem? Layla never came to visit this time. And even before that she completely ignored his requests for FaceTimes. Her mother apparently wasn't able to be contacted either. The heck is going on?

Perhaps she rescheduled a later day to visit me? He thought on the first day.

Perhaps she's still packing various human objects to impress me with? He thought on the second day.

Perhaps there were technical difficulties concerning with the plane and now she has to travel by boat instead? Boats travel slower, right? He thought on the third day.

Perhaps… perhaps she's busy this summer…a job possibly… despite her informing me she has literally nothing to do during these days… Perhaps… perhaps she wanted to take a break from me, but why? I thought our promise years ago… His thoughts began to swarm on the fourth day.

Ethan's head shot up and his red eyes flared with hatred, scowling at the stuffed dinosaur who googled its taunting, googly eyes at him. "Or perhaps, she chose to abandon me?" he growled, and Shakespeare whined and backed away in fear from his master. Ginger just ignored him and continued sleeping on his bed.

The dinosaur turned and bore deep into his reflection, staring coldly at his scaled skin, the sharp knives in his maw, the claws that glinted dangerously in the light, and the beastly red eyes that glared right back at him. Did she leave him because she finally realized she's been friends with a monster all this time? Is her fear so horrible that she couldn't even say good bye before she left him?

No, it couldn't be. There has to be a logical explanation to this mystery. But no matter how hard the dinosaur pondered over the situation that one thought always became the conclusion: She abandoned me.

He tried his best to ignore the burning fire in his heart and continue on with his life. If she wants to abandon him, then that's fine! It's her decision, not his. However, the fire eventually finds a way to creep its way into his life. Often, many would complain that his works of art are just a tad bit under or overcooked and sometimes just plain too salty, like he spaced off constantly as he worked. Growling, Ethan would respond, and I quote, "Sod off, incompetent wankers! You bloody lot are lucky I'm wasting my talents on you!" Then he'd slam his chef hat on the ground and give it a good stomp, until later picking it back up, dusting it, and apologized for his mishap.

Shakespeare and Ginger tried their best to comfort him. Well, actually, it was more of Shakespeare doing the comforting. Many times, the whimpering canine tried to lick away the despair and anger that stuck to his master's head like stubborn gum to remind him he's not alone. Ethan simply grumbled "piss off" and shoved Shakespeare's whiny head far away. Ginger did more of the forced calming. Whenever Ethan's rage finally takes a hold over him and prepares to murder an innocent chair by chucking it at a wall, Ginger would glare her master back down with her unyielding, demonic, emerald eyes that bore fear deep into Ethan, causing the dinosaur to put the chair back down and sit, waiting patiently for nothing.

For the nights, Ethan was determined to sleep through without Mr. T. Rex standing as his guardian. Before bed, he would glare menacingly at the stuffed dinosaur who reminded him of so much pain and throw him as far he can. The later morning, Ethan would throw himself off bed when he found a pair of googly eyes staring at him innocently on his pillow.

There was one time Ethan nearly grasped a clue to Layla's sudden abandonment. Ethan stood face-to-face with Dr. Malcolm, though it technically wasn't a face-to-face. It was more like a mini toothpick trying to compare to a buff potato.

"Hate to tell you this, Ethan, but I really haven't got a clue to what happened to Claire's kid. Can't even get in contact with the damn woman herself. Sorry, but I can't help you."

Ethan's claws grew a mind of their own. He could feel them gently raking against the air, and he wanted nothing more than to use them to tear the truth right out of Dr. Malcolm's mouth. Ethan could see the flickering of his eyes and hear the rise of the rapid beating of his heart.

The dinosaur held back with all his strength. His desire to find out about the truth was strong, but the idea of hurting any of his close friends to obtain the truth made him sick to the stomach.

But thankfully, he didn't have to hurt anybody to find the truth.

One day, Ethan was once again on a stake-out on his laptop waiting with whatever little hope he had left for Layla to answer his desperate call. However, instead of someone answering his call, he was one to answer a call himself that suddenly popped into his screen. But who from? He wasted no time to accept.

"Ethan, can you see me?" a familiar voice asked through the screen.

Ethan had to blink and shake the confusion away. It was Claire standing in front of the camera, but her surroundings weren't of the usual, cozy home he had expected. Everything around her was painted with pure white that almost made it look like Claire was standing around some kind of heaven. Behind her, a white bed, but Ethan couldn't see what rested on it.

"Mrs. Dearing?" Ethan almost stuttered out. "Why have you- I mean- yes, I can see you."

She let out a sigh of relief, but the worry she wore never ceased. "Good, because I have something to show you. It has to do something with Layla." It's like she had paralyzed him with those simple words. "Have you been wondering why my daughter hasn't seen you in such a long time?"

He gulped down the icy ball of nervousness and nodded.

"Well… there's no easy way to say this… but there's been an accident."

An accident?

She stepped aside and allowed him to gawk at the horrific scene.

The once cheerful and rebellious teen he's always known was now left broken and deathly still on her bed. Layla's neck was collared, head wrapped in white strips, lifeless limbs either bandaged or casted, and he would've believed her dead if it weren't for the heart monitor that beeped the faint signs of life.

Claire continued to explain. "Multiple fractured bones… head trauma… and a whole lot of other problems I don't feel comfortable explaining. What's worse, she's been stuck in a coma for months and there haven't been any signs of her waking up any time soon. Not even a twitch."

Tears began to swell under Ethan's eyes, but he swiftly swiped them gone. "What happened?" was the only thing he could muster.

Another sigh from Claire. "There was a car crash… a hit-and-run…"

Despair morphed into raging anger. His tail flicked angrily and his claws raked against the table. "Did the authorities capture the perpetrator who did this to your daughter?" he asked in a near growl.

Claire shook her head sadly. "No. The only clues they could find were a broken skateboard and a beer bottle."

Ethan's inner beast roared in outrageous fury, and Ethan himself wanted to roar alongside with it. How could he let this happen to her? Why wasn't he there to save her when he should've? What kind of friend is he if he nearly let her die like this?

Is this what sadness feels like… his brain moaned.

I'LL KILL THE BASTARD! His heart roared.

"Listen, I know this isn't the best time to say this… it may sound even horrible," Claire continued, wiping the tears that threatened to fall. "… but w-we should feel lucky Layla's only like this…"

Ethan banged his fist against the table. "LUCKY? WHAT KIND OF MOTHER ARE YOU TO SAY SUCH A THING TO YOUR OWN DAUGHTER? SHE MAY NOT BE DEAD, BUT SHE MIGHT AS WELL BE! WHO KNOWS HOW LONG HER COMA WILL LAST? IF ONLY I WAS THERE-"

"Ethan, stop!" Claire cried. "Just listen to what I have to say! The doctors say if it weren't for her helmet… her condition would have definitely be much MUCH worse."

Silence.

Layla's eyes fluttered open and she groaned in agonizing pain. It's like an entire party was going off inside her head blaring with impossibly loud, annoying music. And not just her head. Every part of her body wanted to scream when she chose to move them, that is, if she can at all, especially her fingers. And why is her neck so stiff?

The hell happened? She thought to herself.

She closed her stuttering eyes and searched her brain for answers, then ended up grimacing in pain. Even thinking hard made her head ache worse than it needs to be. Moving on, she remembered an empty, dark path… a road? Then she remembered looking both ways... then crossing… then seeing this blinding, bright light… then unbearable pain… then... then… then nothing.

And now, she's here.

A faint snore reopened her eyes and she moved them upward. To her surprise, a TV hanged on the wall in front. And a damn good sized one if she says so herself. She'd most likely be playing videogames on it if her hands could move, but that's not what drew her attention.

"Ethan?" she croaked in a raspy voice.

His sleeping head rose steadily from his arms like the morning sun and yawned, "Good morning, Layla," before going straight back into napping.

It took only seconds for him to realize the miracle.

Ethan's eyes shot open and he almost wobbled off his chair. He composed himself the best he can then bring himself so close to the camera that the only thing visible on the TV is a black dot teleporting from place to place in a sea of red.

Layla wanted to laugh, but pain wouldn't allow it.

Ethan quickly noticed. "Layla, I suggest you continue your rest. I deeply wish to hear your voice again after so long, but your health comes first."

Her sight began to fade. She whispered, "Whatever, I'm sleepy anyways."

'"C'mon, Ethan! Do we have to do this?" Layla whined in a much stronger voice than last week.

Ethan dumped a mountain of textbooks onto his desk and it whimpered in agreement. "Why yes, yes we do," he said firmly.

It had been a few weeks ago Ethan explained the whole little accident to Layla. To his shock, she merely replied with "Oh, ok. That's cool. What else is new?" She acted like she didn't care about her near-death experience at all, much to his anger, but he subsided it into an annoyed gruff. Since then, the injured teen has been getting many visitors ranging from friends to maybe about the second or third cousin who she obviously didn't know they existed. To Ethan's disappointment, Claire requested that Ethan turn off his laptop before any of them visited. Of course, it was a request, but Ethan wasn't one to disobey. Layla's been living it up so far, enjoying the get-well baskets overflowing with sweet treats, watching the TV that contained infinite number of channels, and most importantly, NO SCHOOL.

Too bad for her, Ethan decided to bring the school to her.

Ethan drew one textbook from the pile of textbooks like a deck of cards. He opened it to specific page about chemical reactions or whatever confusing science stuff, placed his reading glasses, and spoke, "I have asked Mrs. Dearing to ask your school district for any lessons you have been missing for the past months. And I must say, it is quite a bountiful. The first subject I would like to cover is…"

Layla waited for the word to stab her hopeless heart.

"…Chemistry."

Immediately, she groaned. "Ugh, Chemistry? I really don't think that's a good idea. I mean, have you seen my chemistry grades?"

"Yes, I have."

"Wait, what?"

"I am really disappointed in you, Layla. You may not believe in your potential, but I do. And I won't have some drunken fool ruin your future!" He set his eyes on the textbook. "Now, I will read one paragraph and I would like you to summarize what I've just read, so listen closely."

This is going to be hell.

Many hours of Layla mentally banging her head, the lessons finally stopped their ruthless onslaught. However, Ethan wasn't done there. He closed the chemistry book and put it off aside, then grabbed yet another huge textbook from the pile and made the sickening open sound.

"Next subject we shall be covering is… Algebra."

This time though, Layla showed no signs of disgust or hate. Instead, a look of smug confidence. "If you've seen my chemistry grades then you've probably seen my Algebra grades, Ethan. No need to waste any of our time you if ask me, so can I go back to watching-"

"An A- is not an A+!" Ethan declared fiercely. "And I will make sure when you get back to school, you're going to have the abilities to change that to an A++! But first, a warm up." Ethan closed his eyes and coughed into his fist. This should be good. "If Johnny had three apples and Sally had two apples…"

"FIVE!" Layla shouted with confident confidence.

"But if Johnny were to first multiply his amount by nine then once again times his product with the fifth power then square root it while Sally divides her amount by 1/64 and later…"

Layla shouted, "Screw you!"

After many problems that swirled her head, they moved onto to Spanish.

"¡Hola! Me llamo Ethan. ¿Como te llamos?

"Uh… hola? Me…me llamo Layla. Um, was that right?"

Ethan clapped his hands in joy. "Excellent Spanish, Layla. Now, let us move onto a little more advanced conversation."

A little advanced? So it can't be that bad, right?

"Layla buenas tardes . Me gusta leer , estudiar y estar con mis amigos . También felicitaciones a todo el que puede leer esto porque el autor es tan horrible en español ! ¿Y usted?"

"Shut up."

…

"Ethan, were you mad?"

"Pardon?" He had just finished putting the textbooks back to their home so nothing could cover his puzzled expression.

Layla casted her eyes down in shame. She's been thinking about this since the day Ethan explained the accident to her. Now seems a good time to ask. "Were you mad when I wasn't there? Like… remember our promise we made to each other like a REALLY long time ago? Since I broke it and all… I thought you'd be… you know… mad?"

Ethan sighed and removed his glasses. "Technically, you didn't break our promise. I said that you'd visit me with any chance you get. Seeing as your injuries made you incapable of doing anything, you had no chance. I do hope that clears your mind."

The human pressed on. "But still… before you found out about my accident, did you hate me for leaving you? Please, be honest with me. And I promise not to get mad with your answer."

The dinosaur could feel uncertainty pricking his insides. Guilt drawn over his eyes, he answered with a heavy heart, "Yes… I did believe you abandoned me. I believed that you finally realized the how much of a monster I truly am. And for that, for the first time in my life, I truly despised you. Forgive me. I'd understand if you never want to see the likes of me again."

Layla could only give him a sore smirk. "You know, for a smartass, you're kind of a dumbass. You'd actually think I'd leave an awesome guy like you? No way! You have both brains and brawn. Do you know how rare that is? That's like shiny-Pokémon rare! And the food you make? Screw going to those stupidly-expensive, fancy restaurants when I can just go over to you in the summer. Then let's not forget about Shakespeare and Ginger! Those two love you more than little kids love their candy! Well, Ginger tries not to show it. You're a pretty great teacher too. I just wished you taught at my school rather than some jerks I know there. Referral for forgetting homework? Bullcrap!"

She would've continued the infinite list, but a nasty cough exploding with pain forced her to stop. Okay, so maybe running her mouth was a bad idea. When her vision returned, she found Ethan covering his watery eyes that failed to hold back any tears. She might've thought those were tears of sadness if it weren't for the honest grin spreading across his muzzle.

"You are truly the greatest friend I could ever wish for," he whimpered. "I love you…"

Preventing a blush was about as impossible as moving her left leg. "Love you too…" she muttered.

Ethan wanted to continue with even more mushy-mushy stuff, but a tired yawn broke through. "Good heavens, would you look at the time." Another yawn broke out and he laid his heavy head on his arms. Any other word he tried to speak became a mumble. "Good night, Layla. I'll be here all night, and first thing tomorrow we shall continue your lessons: English and History. Love you…"

Another blush hit her hard and she tried to move her head away, but once again found herself unable to. "Go to sleep already, you big baby…"

Log: Anger

What would have happened if Layla died?

If I became an angry, barely-controlled beast when I thought she abandoned me, how would I react if she actually died? What would I become?

According to my research, any regular human would be left to wallow in their despair if they experience a heavy loss. It's a sad, natural thing that occurs in their daily lives every single day.

But the thing is, I am not human.

I know I'm a simple experiment with genes derived from the most savage predators to have ever existed. Not only will I grieve, I will most certainly feel rage like none other I have felt before. The rage of an unstoppable predator. Will my anger become so great, will I completely forget who I am? Will I become a savage predator and go on a killing spree to satisfy my rage?

These are questions I wish to never be answered

End of Chapter! Review and tell me how this was!