Scene setup:

John invited Natalie back to his room to watch a movie with him while Evangeline is out of town. They end up playing a card game and Natalie confesses that she still loves John. When she asks John about his feelings for Evangeline, she gets an unexpected response.

John tried not to let the surprise show on his face. This evening hadn't turned out at all like he'd expected. He'd invited Natalie over to cheer her up since she'd seemed so down, but this seemed more like an ambush.

"Am I in love with Evangeline? That's what you're asking?" John wiped his hand down his face and took in a long deep breath. "Natalie," he stared into her sad blue eyes as she patiently awaited his response. After a few seconds of silence, he noticed her calm demeanor starting to waver.

Natalie laughed nervously to break the tension. "My gosh, John, it's really not that big of a deal." She knew John, or at least she wanted to say that she did, and his silence was par for the course. He hadn't made any declarations, though, so she still felt pretty good about this evening.

To Natalie, John had been a life saver. Sure, he shared some responsibility in Cristian's death, but they had a connection that no one could deny. She pushed him away and now he was with Evangeline. He was with her and he seemed happy. It more than irked her that her relationship had failed and Evangeline's relationship with John had flourished.

"Natalie," John's words brought her attention back to the present, "my relationship with Evangeline is none of your business." John had taken a few moments to think about it, but he hadn't found a nicer way to frame his statement. "We gave it a shot, you know? We tried, but there was Cristian, and there was Caitlyn, and more importantly there was us."

Natalie could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. She held back her tears. She wouldn't go storming out of here like an embarrassed little girl. "John," she started but he interrupted.

"I heard what you said before, and I really wasn't planning on getting that deep tonight." His smile was still warm, but it didn't ease Natalie's pain. He wasn't trying to hurt her, but he knew that she needed to hear this. She deserved better than that.

"Were you planning on getting deep any night?" Natalie snapped back unintentionally. She was hurt and lashing out is how she fought off the heartache.

"Don't do that." John tilted his head to the side and tried get her to look at him. "Look, you just got out of this thing with Cramer. That's gotta be rough, but that's how it is sometimes, I guess."

Natalie was about to lay into him when there was a knock that interrupted them. "Hey John, it's Evangeline." Natalie watched with a painful expression as John answered the door.

John felt sick to his stomach, but he couldn't exactly understand why. He'd missed Evangeline and was excited, which was rare for him, to hear from her. He pulled the door open gently and smiled down at her. Her bright smile only made him feel worse.

"Hey, I came back a day early." Evangeline leaned in and kissed him deeply. She'd been thinking about doing that since she boarded the plane to San Francisco. When she finally pulled away from him, she noticed the conflicted look in his eyes. Then she saw Natalie sitting on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company. I'll go." Evangeline felt like an idiot. She turned to leave, but John grabbed her arm.

"Wait, don't go." John knew he wouldn't be able to say the right words, but he didn't want to chase her away either.

"No, no. I don't want to interrupt. Just call me when you're available." Evangeline didn't have to pull away from him. His grip had not been to restrain her. She rushed off in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

John watched her walk away and felt like he'd been punched in the gut. 'Just keep it simple' those had been her words when they were trying to define their relationship early on. Turns out they'd both ignored that one simple rule.

When the pain was too much to bear, John looked over his shoulder at Natalie. She looked like she wanted to bolt out of here too. John would make it easy for her. He smiled at her regrettably and started after Evangeline.

Evangeline was standing near a trashcan in Angel's Square when John finally caught up to her. He could have caught up to her sooner but they both needed a few minutes alone.

"Evangeline…Evangeline!" John had to call to her twice to grab her attention. Evangeline turned to face him with tears glistening in her eyes. "I thought you were coming back tomorrow." That was John's apology.

"I should have called first. I wanted to surprise you. I missed you while I was gone." Evangeline hated how she sounded. She was supposed to be the tough girl but seeing John with Natalie in such an intimate setting had really shaken her. It wasn't like they were exclusive or anything. She was the one who suggested that they "keep things simple."

"I missed you too." John was also holding back tears. "Natalie was just keeping me company." That didn't come out the way John had intended. "It was just two friends hanging out," he restated, but that wasn't exactly true. Natalie was in love and expecting him to be as well.

"I believe you," Evangeline lied hoping that agreeing would end the conversation faster. "Even if I didn't, no strings right?" Evangeline was cursing her need to be in control. Their whirlwind romance had overwhelmed her, and she had instinctively put up walls to protect her heart.

John nodded mutely. This wasn't how he wanted this conversation to go. "You want to come back to my place and talk?"

"No," Evangeline blurted out too quickly, "I'm really tired and I should just go home." Evangeline knew they would end up in bed if they went back to his place. She wasn't comfortable with their no strings relationship anymore and sooner, rather than later, she would have to tell John. She needed time alone to find the right way to say it too him.

John just nodded. He wouldn't fight her. He closed the distance between them never breaking eye contact wit her. He rested his forehead on hers and tried to steady his breathing. He stroked the side of her face tenderly before pulling her into a gentle kiss. "I missed you."

Now it was his turn to rush off. When he got back to his room, Natalie was still there. She still had the same shell-shocked look on her face. He folded his arms across his chest and stood so the door would not shut behind him. "Natalie, what I have with Evangeline is new, and I'm not looking to screw that up. What you feel for me, I don't feel for you."