"Kinda? A little bit of everything?" replies Ava, looking shy once more. He draws in a breath and tries to explain, "Henry was.. breaking hearts when I came along. I was sent here to be his partner, but he didn't even understand what the word meant. And so he broke Josh's heart, and in helping Josh pick up the pieces.. Josh and I grew close." The recounting of the tale causes Ava to sigh, and his tone softens as he goes on to say "But by then Henry had moved on, and he didn't even notice me. I was happy to stand quietly by his side, but he kept hurting those around him so much that I finally couldn't bear it anymore.. and so then when I tried to tell him, we had a big fight and he said hurtful things and.. I left. After I left, Katima helped him see how he had hurt both Josh and myself and so Henry came back to fetch me. He's come to care for me, and a great deal at that.. But there were no fireworks at first."

He smiles a little bit, then says softly "I am very fortunate to have both Josh and Henry.. But in many ways Josh is who keeps me sane. I love Henry dearly but he.. doesn't get it sometimes. And that's okay.. I know that he will in time, and I am patient." He tries to explain, "Henry is still maturing, where as Josh and i have.. been forced to mature in such ways already."

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Alex is quiet as he listens to Ava's tale, taking in the information and storing it for another time. As he listens, there's a range of emotion from him. Happy for the other three guys, sadness at his own loneliness, jealousy, anger at Henry for being a blockhead, and general loneliness.

"I'm sure he will eventually. Or maybe he already gets it and just doesn't realize it yet," he shrugs. "Everyone matures at their own pace."

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"I know he will. One of the joys of precognatives.. I've known of Henry for a while.. ever since I got my ring at 16." replies Ava with a smile. "I just didn't know his name, or know the details.. But I know things about the future that most humans find hard to accept."

Tilting his head to the side, he then looks long and hard at Alex before he asks softly "Why are you so lonely?" He quickly tries to explain "You.. seem like someone hurt you, though I really can't tell for sure. I can feel how badly you ache though. How much you yearn for a partner of your own. It makes my chest feel empty and at some points I feel guilty for being so open and causing you such pain."

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Alex shrugs. "Precognition only gets ya so far. One I used to know always said that the future can only show us choices but not the ones we will take," he says with a shrug.

He then sighs and shakes his head. "It's not your fault, Avalon," he says. "Someone did hurt me..." he trails off. "Henry set me up with this guy. Really hot one...who I had a crush on for awhile," he says. "And we went out dating...I...sorta fell for him," he says, expression faultering. "He was the first guy I ever...actually felt something for. More than just sexual attraction. But," he swallows, things getting a little harder to talk about. "Turns out...he didn't swing my way. Henry didn't tell him he'd be dating a guy...so he just...strung me along. All those dates, everything we did together...then just one day 'I was straight all along'..." he sniffs a bit, eyes tearing up.

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It's hard for Ava to not be drawn in by Alex's tale. He ends up leaning up towards the taller teen, a wing curled around Alex's shoulder in a show of support. Of course as I gets darker and more hurtful, Ava can't stop the gasp that passes his lips as his eyes turn wide as dinner ages. Something so heartless is just unimaginable for him. "He what?" he asks in shock. "What a.. A.. I don't even have the words for it!" he finally says softly.

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Alex refuses to let himself cry again, showing some of that extraordinary willpower of his. He leans against Ava and gives an empty little laugh. "He was an idiot. Insensitive moron," he says. "Still is," the Lantern adds.

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