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"I guess so. I'd feel more comfortable going to a goodwill or something. Less expensive and I wouldn't feel guilty about messing it up."

It seemed like Alex was rather reluctant about the idea of getting actual clothes, as Margo thought of them. He muttered a bit, but sounded quite sure that that was what he wanted. Still, who was she to disagree with him? After all, it was his stuff.

"You sure? If that's what you want than we can go to a 'goodwill or something'. Most goodwills have decent clothes- you know, not exactly new but still good." Considering his statement more, she added, "If it's the money you're worried about, what's money for rather than to be spent on the things that matter? Heh, everything gets messed up sometimes. Well, whatever you wanna do."

Half-kidding, she said, "But sooner or later I'm going to drag you along to get at least one respectable outfit. You know, most people nowadays define you by what you wear." It was his choice whether he paid attention to that or not. Actually, she would rather they just got something from a goodwill now, and maybe touch his wardrobe up later. Like he said, seeing the school was a priority.

"Yeah, it's the priority. I'm not in a hurry, though." She added the last part as to not make him feel rushed.

Margo observed with a rather amused smile as he attempted to be subtle about wondering about her. She saw Alex's curious look as she slid her phone back into her pocket, quickly replaced by a smile- he was probably wondering why she had the item on her anyways. Anyways, he shook it off, did a little turn- spin- thingy with his eyes closed and started walking in the direction she assumed was the bus stop. She took a few steps to catch up with him. Well, catching a bus sounded good to her.

"Sure, I ran away. Doesn't mean I'm 'on the run'." The girl explained briefly, just because she felt bad for not telling him too much. Who knew if he would get it? It was none of her concern.

She almost laughed at his reaction to her next comment. He looked, again, throughly confused. "Um, why and where are we stopping at?"

"Um..." She tried to work it out in her head, but gave up. "Well. I don't know about the where, but it definitely looks like somebody needs a trip to the mall."

Lucy had used to drag Margo along to the mall sometimes. That didn't mean she didn't hate the shopping sprees anyway. But, malls were convenient places. Especially for boys who didn't live on the street anymore but still looked like they did.

"Well yeah, that's how I got here in the first place. I mean I guess we could try and catch the bus. But I don't know how long that would be in comparison. Do you have somewhere to be?"

There was curiosity in his voice, but also a note of doubt. "Not really." Margo replied, wondering if she should tell Alex about her dad. She decided against it quickly. After all this time, the thought of her father still hurt. Who cared about a stupid phone call anyway? She had left a note. He would find the note, and she would call him back later. That was it.

"Not particularly" She repeated, sliding her phone out of her pocket and turning it off. The anger was still in her voice a little, so she cleared it out and tried again. What a mystery this must be to Alex. "But time is precious. The bus, if we can catch it, sounds great. The subway.. Never mind, probably isn't worth it for such a short distance. Anyway, I can pay the fare. I'm stinking rich, if you haven't noticed." She said with a laugh at herself. That was actually stretching it a bit, although she did have quite a bit of money.

"You walked here? Wow, you need to learn time management." Not that she had anything against a nice walk. Another thought occurred to her as she spoke, confirmed by a more detailed survey of Alex's clothes. Was there a mall somewhere near.. There had got to be. NY was incredibly diverse. Well, she would figure it out once they decided about transportation. "And also, it looks like we might want to take a stop on the way."

"So Margo.." It was clear to Margo, that after he had so gratefully conceded to her victory, Alex had no idea what to say next. He cast about for words, stretching out the 'soooo', finally coming up empty handed. Or rather, empty mouthed. "... Ah, I got nothing. Heh, I just want to talk with you some more but I can't seem to think of anything to talk about."

Again, his words told her something about him. He wasn't quite ready yet to accept silence, but usually people did tend to consider that awkward, especially between persons just acquainted. The boy said he wanted to talk with her, which suggested something more than just wanting to fill the silence, probably a sense of.. Friendship?..

Ugh, she thought to herself. Why was she being so analytical anyway? Margo supposed maybe it was a habit. She always was too critical, too judgmental of others, as well as herself. Or maybe she was just too desperate for a sense of being wanted that she was making things up.

Realizing she had probably paused in thought for too long, she laughed and replied. "I doubt there's a limit to the things that I want to talk about." Huh, mostly things he had no interest in. "But I figure you're pretty bored, so.."

Again, a pause. This time shorter. The girl wanted to ask him about a lot of things, but finally settled on a simpler question. "What's your planned route fir getting to wherever we're going?"

"It has nothing to do with bravery. It's just playing it smart. You're smart enough to know when things aren't in you favor, so you took your chances to bet on a better option. And look where you are. On your way to a place that's best for your situation." He replied nodding confidently. Wow, way to brush off a compliment and turn it back to her.

"Playing it smart, huh?" Margo asked, giving a little smile. "Well. Then, you definitely played it very smart." She didn't really believe him on this, but let it slide. Maybe he was just sticking to the logical answer because the emotional one was too hard for him to figure out. She knew enough people did this, herself included sometimes. Lucy had done it too, more than anyone else she had ever known.

Lucy- who she didn't miss that much, yet more than anybody else, who she thought about every day since she had left. Alex reminded her more of herself in some ways than Lucy, but still..

"Maybe...But that doesn't mean I have to let it hurt me and I'll be the one to decide what defines me, nothing else."

He'd startled her. She hadn't realized he had heard her. Still, any philosophical debate was fun. "Right, you shouldn't let your past hurt you. But no matter what, it's what makes you you and smart people learn from their pasts." She replied with a serious look.

He replied with a small smile. "It wasn't all bad. I mean it sucked for a while, sure, and I regretted every once in a while. But, with everything I've learned and how much stronger I am now...it kind of made it worth it."

They were such simple words, but carried so much weight to them. Three years. Margo could not even imagine three years by herself, struggling to survive day after day. It was a miracle Alex had even survived. Oh, he must have been so desperate, so clever. Far more serious about it than she had been. She almost hated the boy- in his company, she saw every single one of her flaws. How petty her own reasons for leaving were, how safe her life? She could probably still make it back home without too many people having noticed she had gone. What about him? Had he ever even had a place he truly called home?

"Besides if I'd stuck around...I dunno, I just don't want to be ashamed or hide what I am, who I am. Not any more."

Well, that was almost puzzling. She almost wanted to ask him whether running hadn't been an act of fear, one to try to hide, but she stopped herself. How could she ask him such a question, after all that it seemed he'd been through? His actions had taken incomparable courage and determination. The words had reason, though. Margo didn't want to be ashamed or hide who she was, either, at least she tried not to. "You're just too brave." She said softly to Alex. "Me neither, anymore. I came out here for some alone time to sort everything else. Now.. Well, I'm not brave enough to go back and taint my memories with my friends with this. I don't want to hide anything to anybody I meet here anymore."

It seemed he had come to the pretty much same conclusion as her. He patted her on the shoulder as if to say everything was okay. She winced a little, but smiled, really meaning it.

"Don't worry too much about it though. It's no big deal, really. The past is in the past."

"That's one way of looking at it." The girl said softly to herself at his last sentence. "The past is in the past, but it determines everything about you in the present."

She saw at once that she had struck a sensitive note. Alex turned his head away, taking his time to answer. For a moment, she regretted having asked. But anyway, what was done was done, and she was very interested to hear his answer.

"I ran away about 3 years ago. I had prepared for it. I knew that there was going to be a time when I would have to run, given who my legal guardian was. So when it happened I ran for the forest."he explained, looking back at her with an unfathomable expression.

it took a while for that to actually hit. Golly, three years ago? If Margo had guessed his age correctly, that would have been when he was.. What, twelve? Thirteen? How much more desperate and scared he must have been than she was. For a kid to run for it, at that age.. What did he mean by legal guardian? It couldn't have been a parent, she was sure. Not with his choice of words. Foster parent, maybe? Against mutants? Once again, she found her pity and respect rising for the boy.

She nodded with sympathy, but kept her curious gaze on him. She wouldn't ask outright that would be far too rude and uncaring. She did want to know, though.

"Three years." Was all she said.