From what she had told him earlier, his heart sank a little at the mention of her not doing well in captivity. He could only imagine and honestly, he didn't want to. It was bad enough he already felt for her, but that natural. He didn't want to get attached to anyone here, he didn't want to have to have to make decisions later on that might hurt him or anyone else. It was complicated, but that was how Stefan was. He cared. He couldn't help it, but he was trying so hard not to care. Right now, he was considering this business and nothing more. Because their ultimate goal was to get the attention of their captors. After that, it was anyone's guess of what would happen.
"Hopefully," was all he said, eyeing the people who were passing them on the sidewalk. Were they already here, or were they just like them? Displaced. Did they need help too? They didn't seem like it, so he figured they were already here. And then he wondered if they could leave, or if they were stuck.
Once they reached the hardware store, Stefan followed Alex down the aisles as they plucked items from the shelves that they would need. Both of them did their part and when it came time to check out, Stefan said, "I got this, just go outside." Basically, he was going to compel the cashier because one, he only had little cash on him and his cards probably didn't even work, but more than that, he didn't want Alex to know what he was, or what he could do. Right now, he was just Stefan to her. If she knew the truth, then she would think he was ... a killer. And that was a conversation for another time - hopefully not anytime soon.