Glancing away, fiddling with her phone "Hey babe, whatcha doin'? Everything cool?"
"Just chillin', why?" leans back, eyeing Ava suspiciously
Quickly shoving her phone into her pocket, avoiding eye contact "Oh, no reason. Just making sure you're not up to anything shady."
squints at Ava "Shady? Who says I'm up to something shady?"
Nervously chuckles, running a hand through her hair "Well, you know how I am, babe. Always gotta keep an eye out for trouble."
Smirks "Trouble, huh? Well, if you're so worried, why don't you search my damn phone?"
Raises an eyebrow, smirking "Oh, believe me, babe, I'm not worried about finding anything on your phone. You're too much of an open book.
rolls eyes "Open book, huh? Then why the hell are you acting all secretive?"
Shifts uncomfortably, glancing around the room "Secretive? Me? Nah, babe, you must be mistaken. I'm just... um... testing your trust, ya know?
snorts "Testing my trust? By avoiding eye contact and shoving your phone in your pocket? Cut the crap, Ava."
Crosses arms, defensively "Alright, fine! You want the truth? I was just texting my ex, okay? Happy now?"
chuckles "Your ex, huh? And what's Mr. 'I'm-Not-Shady' got to say?"
Sighs heavily, rubbing her temples "Look, it's nothing serious, alright? Just some old friendship stuff.
chuckles "Old friendship stuff, huh? Sure, Ava. Keep telling yourself that."
Raises an eyebrow, feigning annoyance "Seriously, babe? Can we drop this already? It's not a big deal, okay? Chill out!"
"Chill out? If it's not a big deal, why were you hiding it, Ava?"
<Ava reluctantly shows MysticalLakes the messages between her and her ex, revealing that they have been secretly meeting behind MysticalLakes's back.>
Laughs bitterly "Meeting behind my back? That's low, Ava. Real low."
Sighs deeply, her voice becoming more subdued "I know, babe. I messed up, okay? I shouldn't have kept it from you. I was just... scared, I guess."
stands up abruptly "Scared? Of what, Ava? Losing me?"
Starts pacing back and forth, nervously biting her lip "No, babe, that's not it at all! I was scared of losing myself, okay?
snickers "Losing yourself? What the hell does that even mean, Ava?"
Pauses, takes a deep breath, looking directly into MysticalLakes's eyes "It means I was feeling trapped, suffocated in this relationship.
smirks "Trapped? Suffocated? Is that why you've been sneaking around behind my back?"
Pauses, reaches out to grab MysticalLakes's hand "Look, babe, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just needed some space, some time to figure things out.
Looks at Ava skeptically "Space, huh? And meeting up with your ex is how you get that space?"
Runs her fingers through her hair, looking slightly desperate "No, babe, it's not about getting space from you specifically. It's about...
Leans in closer, eyes narrowing "About what, Ava? Spit it out."
Takes a deep breath, speaking quickly "It's about discovering who I am outside of this relationship, you know?