[He pauses. Considering how awful this month has been---losing friends, losing everything---there's something he's been able to take away from this.]

I've always craved the opportunity to prove myself against any challenge, as long as I've lived. I want to prove myself once again. But not in a way I'm particularly accustomed to. Besides, it...

[A sigh. Is he really going to say this?]

It's not just about my own escape anymore.

[That's as far as he's going to go. God, can't get her thinking that he's actually starting to care about people other than himself.]