You need a lesson in deflection? Well my friend, the best deflection is a question.

"If someone came up and hit me and ran away, would you chase after them?"

"Is that what you would want me to do?" Or "What do you think I'd do?" Or "What do you think I should do?"

It's all in the questions. Of course you can't deflect everything like this, so sometimes you should answer what you know is wrong anyways. Then when they are seemingly upset that you didn't "get the right answer" you are given a chance to make it up to them somehow (think of anything, Romeo), and the roller coaster effect will make them feel better than before because their expectations have been lowered so that you may exceed them.

The ho games are real, and some ladies play them without knowing or thinking that they are simply because that's how people have been taught to have normal relationships.

Source: multiple >1 year relationships and lots and lots and lots of people/friend watching with many different "types" of relationships. At some point, it's all a game.