First date? Yes? No? Maybe? (Alex)

[Ellie Mankelow]

She smiled. Alex was the first person that understood why she would give up what could possibly be the opportunity of the lifetime. Everyone just said she was an idiot.. and maybe she was. "Now, it's your turn. Tell me some random facts about you." She smiled.

[Alex Reed]

"hmm.." he thought for a moment. "I skipped kindergarten." he laughed. "Uh..my parents are divorced and i've never been in love." he explained.

[Ellie Mankelow]

She listened to what he had to say. "Your random facts are a lot more interesting than mine, I've gotta say." "..I'm sorry about your parents. That must have been rough."

[Alex Reed]

He shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything else." "Thanks..it happened a long time ago, so I'm pretty much over it." he explained. "I'm sorry about your dad." he told her."I'm sure he was a really great guy." he said.

[Ellie Mankelow]

Ellie bit her lip, unsure of what to say. "So who do you live with now?". She wasn't sure if he was on his own here of if he was with one of his parents or if he went between. She smiled when he spoke about her dad. "Thanks.. that means a lot."

[Alex Reed]

Alex guessed that this was the part of the date where things got deep. "Well, my dad left when I was 8..so it's been me and my mom ever since. She came here with me." he told her, and smiled a bit. He was a mama's boy. "You're welcome." he said softly. "I know I didn't know him, but he raised you..so he must have been a great man." he explained.

[Ellie Mankelow]

Hearing about Alex's dad was something that Ellie could relate to. "Oh.. Alex. I'm so sorry. How people can just run off like that and leave their family behind, I'll never understand. I- I know how you feel though. Honestly, I do. My mom did the same thing to me. She left just after my sister was born.. I was 2. My dad raised us by himself.. and now he's gone.". Her eyes towards the window and she gazed out into the distance as she spoke. "I met my mom a month or so ago. She lives here now. She's got a son, he's about the same age as Abby. Maybe younger. Worst part was.. she didn't even recognise me. She kept her son and then she didn't even recognise the daughter she had abandoned..". Ellie's voice trailed off and the room filled with the silence. She bit her lip. "Sorry. I'm talking about myself too much." "Did your dad leave because of the divorce or..?"

[Alex Reed]

He was a bit relieved to hear that someone could actually relate to what he was going through, but he hated that Ellie had no family. "Ellie, I'm so sorry." he said, and got up to sit next to her. "I don't know why people leave, or why that happened, but you'll be okay." he told her, and put his arm around her. "Did you tell her it was you?" he asked. "They got a divorce..after he left. I mean, he never came back and she wasn't going to just sit around. If that makes sense."

[Ellie Mankelow]

He put his arm around her and it comforted Ellie. She felt protective and almost as if she could tell him anything. "I saw her a few days later at a restaurant. I went up to her and told her who I was. She just got up and left. We've avoided each other since." She sighed. Ellie looked Alex in the eyes as he spoke. Her heart went out to Alex's family.. especially his mom. She nodded, telling him it did make sense. "Your mom sounds wonderful. Being able to be so strong to get through that and raise someone like you."

[Alex Reed]

"She got up and left?" he asked, surprised. He couldn't believe her mother would do that. "Maybe she was in shock, & just didn't know what to do." he added. Alex smiled a bit when Ellie mentioned his mom. "She's literally the strongest person I know. I'll keep her around for a while longer." he laughed and smirked a bit.

[Ellie Mankelow]

She shrugged her shoulders a little bit. Shock or not, there was no excuse for abandoning your daughter. Twice. The way that Alex speak about his mom was beautiful. It brought a smile to Ellie's face. "She's lucky to have such a loving son like you around." "It's not often you here guys speak that proudly of their mothers.". His mother seemed like someone that Ellie would definitely love.

[Alex Reed]

He grinned. "Well, I've just been really fortunate to have a really great mom. I mean it's hard to speak badly about her." he explained. "She would LOVE you." he told her. Ellie was so sweet, her and his mom would get along so well.

[Ellie Mankelow]

Ellie smiled and took another bite of her frozen yogurt. "I'd love to meet her some day. She seems like an amazing person.".

[Alex Reed]

"Well whenever you're comfortable to." he smiled. He looked at her. "So, I have to ask, what happened between you and Sean?" he asked. Normally he would say it was none of his business, but he realized her mind seemed to drift away every time he was brought up. "you don't have to if you don't want to." he then told her. He never wanted to force her to do anything.

[Ellie Mankelow]

She froze a little bit when he asked her what had happened between herself and Sean. Things seemed to being happening between Ellie and Alex so he deserved to know. She looked at him. "I-I guess it was just another timing thing. Things were.. great between us but then people started getting in the way. Guys going after me, girls going after me it made things a bit rocky between us and then..". Ellie took a deep breathe, knowing it would be hard for her to talk about this. To anyone. "We found out that Sean was sick. Like sick sick and everything that had been going on with me and Sean.. i-it was just making him distracted. He wasn't focused on just getting better.. so I broke it off.". Her eyes fell to the ground. Alex must have been so disgusted in her. She couldn't even bare to look at him to see his reaction. She spoke softly. "..I guess in a way I left him when he needed me the most. I just wanted him to get better and I knew while we were together he wouldn't be thinking about that..".