"Just the way things work out, innit?" John replied with a slight shrug. He was going to test things. See how she would take to knowing more. And if she ran, then he was doing her a favour by keeping her safer and if she stayed? Well, he didn't really know. He did like her. Might have even believed he could grow to care about her if he got to know her better. She was very attractive and interesting. He didn't open to people generally but he found himself opening up to her.
"I've lost a lot of friends over the years. And even family. It's been that way since I was born" he said, taking a longer drag from the cigarette. "People who get close to me tend to wind up dead. Either because of something or someone trying to get to me, or because of me" he admitted. "I have to make decisions that most people can't or refuse to, in order to get things done. In order to save people. And with magic, there are costs. My past haunts me along with those who had died thanks to me, Gen. I tried to push you back because I was trying to protect you" he added. And as the words came out of his mouth, he instantly regretted them.
Usually he would be sarcastic and rude about things, but he was being more honest with Gen than he was with most and it made him uncomfortable. It showed in his downward gaze, in his uncomfortable shifting on the bar stool. The way he fidgeted with his lighter.