He knew that, logically anyway, it didn't matter a bit what they said or thought. He had made the choice that he needed to make. And there would be ways and means for him to grow stronger, be safer. There would be so much he could do now, ways he could help that he never could have before. He could control himself. And it was better this way.
"They live that way and yet insult others who do not agree. Its a popularity contest and one I never stood a chance in, but that doesn't matter now. It won't ever matter again."
He planned to live his life, and be content with it, with his friends, with what truly mattered, and with more control than he may ever have had before. It felt good. He was not simply just Hal but he had not switched, he was not the monster. Finally and utterly completely. He was somewhere in between