All right, I apologize for taking so long to update. And I apologize for the fact that this chapter's so short. I just...um...okay, I don't have an excuse. Wait...uh, I'm tired? Yeah, that's the ticket. I'm tired. Yup. Ah, the hell with it, just read the fic!

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Chapter Five: Shopping?

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"Sorry, Greta. Do you want to come too?"
She turned to Ororo for guidance. Ororo looked down at her for a moment, thinking, then spoke again: "Yes, I think it would be all right if you went, Greta." Greta nodded slightly, but then a thought occurred to her.
_How can I go out in *this* stuff? I mean, now that I have dignity..._
Peering down at what she was wearing, she played with the end of her sleeve. Ororo seemed to see what was troubling her.
"Of course, you could always go to the movies later. You haven't gotten your new wardrobe yet, have you?" There was a cheerful-looking smile on her face. Greta shook her head.

Evan's heart sank. _I was *that close*! Argh, now I have to go sit through a movie with Kurt and Kitty falling all over each other...why couldn't I have just kept my big mouth *shut*?.....wait.....maybe there's a way I could make this work!_ "Hey- I could take Greta shopping." Another thought popped into his head. "That is, if you *want* to go shopping." There was a shrug from Greta.
"I don't know, Evan," Ororo started. "The last time we trusted you with the Professor's credit..."
"I'll be *good* this time, Aunty O', I *promise*. Aw, come on-" he flashed his most winning smile at her. "Please?" Just like that, she melted before his eyes. _She's really kind of a soft touch, once you get down to it._ Evan smiled, knowing that she would relent.
"Alright, Evan. But remember, you're just shopping for *Greta.* Nothing for yourself. Do you understand?"
"Sure, Aunty O', I understand." He clapped his hands and turned to Greta. "So…let's go!"
"Not so fast, Evan."
"Huh?"
"We have to ask for permission from the Professor first."

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Fifteen minutes later...

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"Well, then I see no reason why you shouldn't take her shopping, Evan."
Evan smiled, surprised. "All right!"
"That is, provided Greta still wants to go."
All the eyes in the room turned to look at her. Quavering a bit, Greta fought the urge to take a step backwards. There was no *way* anyone could expect her to think like *this*...
"Evan, are you, like, coming or *what*?" asked an impatient-sounding voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at at Kitty, who had her hands on her hips and was tapping her toe, annoyed. Greta took the opportunity presented to think to herself.
_Okay, Greta, think fast. You could go to the mall with blondie over there and get new clothes for the first time in your life...you could go to the movies and scare yourself ta death with a blue fuzzy weirdo-lookin' guy and a valleygirl...or you could stay here and figure out how to push blocks offa people's hands..._
She closed her eyes, trying to block out anything that was happening in the room.
_Uh..._

As Greta was thinking, Evan was looking with a rather stunned expression at Kitty, who now had an equally annoyed-looking Kurt standing behind her.
"Ja, man, you kind of left us dangling there. Are you coming with us?"
"Uh...I dunno, that kind of depends on Greta, here," he said, gesturing with his head. "I might be taking her shopping if she wants to go."
Kitty seemed fully fed up with the situation. She scoffed, "Ugh, then, Greta, do you, like, want to go shopping with Evan?" Evan turned to her, crossing his fingers (sort of) inside his head.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her again, Greta panicked. "Uh, okay," she said softly. She sighed with relief as everyone but Evan looked away.
"There is your answer, Kitty," Evan heard the Professor take this opportunity to intercede there was an argument. She turned on her heel, scoffing again. They could still hear the two of them as their voices receded.
"Oh, *God,* I can't, like, *believe* this," Kitty said through clenched teeth.
"Calm down," they heard Kurt say. "Let's just go to the movies, Katzchen."
A faint sigh was heard; they were nearly all the way down the hall. "Okay. Let's just, like, go."
Evan focused back on the girl in front of him. While he had been listening to the conversation in the hall, Greta had moved to the nearest chair and sat down, withdrawing into herself.

"Now that *that* is over with," Ororo muttered.
"There is only one thing left to say before you go," said the Professor. Greta looked up from her position on the chair. She didn't much feel like going anywhere at this point. She would rather just go to sleep, or sit down and think for awhile.
_Oh well, girl. You said you were going shoppin', so you had better *go.* If you suffer, it's your own fault._
"Yeah? What's that?" Evan moved to stand by Greta's chair, causing Greta to glance up at him, surprised.
"Greta can spend up to five hundred dollars on her clothing." Greta could almost *feel* Evan's eyes widen. "Here is my credit card." He handed it to Evan. "I trust you can find your way to the mall?"
"Yeah, I can handle it."
"Very well, then. I expect you back here before nightfall. It is-" he checked his watch. "2:30 now." Greta watched Evan nod. The Professor lifted his eyebrows. "That is all. Greta," he looked at her. "Have fun." She could swear that she almost saw him smile before she turned and walked out of the room with Evan.

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Okay, okay, I know it's short (and I know I said that already). And I *know* that it's unlikely that the responsible adults would send *Evan* out with *money* and a really frightened new recruit, but...I *had* to get them alone *somehow.* Tee-hee-hee! Oh, and forgive me for making the plot move so slowly, will ya? This is my first *real* fanfic (*chuckles nervously*...you know *chuckles again*), and I just want- I just want people to *like* me! Is that so much to ask?! Really?!
All right, I'm insane, I admit it. Okay, here's the deal (in case you didn't see it in the summary; or in case I didn't *put* it in the summary): I want *fifteen* reviews before I update again. Got that? *Fifteen.* In case you *didn't* get that, I'll say it one more time: *fifteen.* Okay. Just wanted to make sure you understood. Well, talk to ya next time I post (after I get *fifteen reviews*)!
:)
P.S. *Fifteen* (hee-hee-hee).