Pia led the way, happy to be outside the commons room. She really felt rather at loss amongst the other girls, they were supposed to be her neighbours, but she knew very few of them. She found it hard to fit in with them, really, like she did not have so much in common with them.

"It was good I met you.", Pia confessed. "Even though I have been here for a while, I don't fit in well with all the girls, I think. It is much easier to deal with one person like you, than with a whole bunch of them. You are much easier to talk to."

I hadn't actually expected any of what had happened so far so I decided not to assume anything from this point forward.
”Good I met you too, so hard to find nice people that don't judge immediately y'know?”
I slipped my hands into my pockets with a fond sigh.
”Fitting in is over rated honestly. I'd much rather stand out and make em jealous; I bet you do that all the time; probably why they don't talk to you..”
With that said I put a hand on her shoulder patting simply in a way to reassure her of what I thought was an obvious fact.

"That is kind of you..", Pia said, both flattered and kind off embarrassed by the comment. She fidgeted a little more with her pigtail, as was her habit. "But.. I honestly don't think that is the reason. I think it is me shying away from people, mostly.. And I don't think I make many people jealous, really. Especially not here, if you know what I mean. I mean, there are a lot of striking girls here. I mean, like yourself and all."

Pia did not really know why she slipped the last one, and she kind of felt awkward about it, but the compliment was honest. Rose was someone one would notice, with her hair and eyes, especially.

Outside, Pia picked a path that would lead to the point described. The ground sloped gently upwards, leading up to a point with a nice view.

She called me striking, well; It had been awhile since someone outwardly admitted that... of course it was a bit troublesome that she did it after shrugging off the compliments I gave her. Definitely could've done without that.

”You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself Pia. Even if you're a shy girl doesn't mean you're not making some girls jealous. Pia you're really just adorable.”

as she led me up the gentle slope I continued.

”what gives Pia? Why have so little confidence in yourself?
I was simply curious I'd never met someone with so much going for them that was so shy and negative about themselves.

"Well, it is just that.. uh.. I did not mean to turn this into a pityfest. Sorry!"

Pia was really apologetic. It was just that.. It was hard to explain. Pia did have a lot going for her. She was smart, intellectually speaking. She was what most would describe as good looking, and she knew at least some found her attractive. Yet few people had ever told Pia this, and she was not very good at taking compliments.

She was silent for a bit, kicking herself for making everything awkward. I am an idiot, she concluded, not for the first time.

"That way there", she said, pointing out the direction "..leads to a cliff with a nice view of the sea. I like sitting there, but be careful, the wind can be rough there, and you'd not want to fall. Up that hill, and we get a view of most of the campus."

Pia slipped into tourist guide mode, hoping to salvage the conversation.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as she apologized to me again. I really didn't know if there was any way I was going to get through to this girl. I didn't like seeing people like her, not because I didn't like the type of person, it was more because it made me a bit depressed; there were people that didn't have any right to have confidence but, then there were people like this girl that had more than enough reason It just boggled my mind.

”Pia... you're not allowed to apologize to me any more alright, you could accidentally push me off this cliff and break every bone in my body and I would not want you to apologize alright , and I also want to say something else, I will say this to you extremely bluntly & I Really don't like saying things like this this crudely but, even the straight girls at this school probably have to change their panties at night because they were thinking about you taking a shower... and don't say anything else about it alright, don't refute it! Got that? Own it, believe it...”

It was the best I could do, I wasn't a psychologist. Anyway, I smiled then as nicely as I could to show I was just trying to help.
”Now lets go enjoy the view and you can point out some things on campus.”

"Err.. okay? I am sorry about the apolo.. err.. wait! I am not sorry! Not at all! Uh.. I kind of messed that one up.."Pia stopped before she managed to mess up her meta-apology any further. Part of her stuttering response was acute embarassment. Rose's comment about her effect on other girls really made her awkward, but also rather flattered.

"..but it was nice of you to say you think I look.. uh.. nice."Pia was red again, but could not help smiling a little too.

She raised her hands, and started pointing out buildings, as well as paths between the various parts of campus. She was surprised how well she knew the area, possibly a side effect of mentally mapping possible escape routes. She did not mention monsters, though.

I sincerely hoped Pia would take my words to heart; she was too sweet a girl to just let her not have any confidence & be shy. I watched her point out the various points of interest & it was a nice view, the sheer number of things on the island was more than a surprise but, thinking about it, it made sense. generally a four year degree could take six, there were always breaks between semesters and taking a semester off... if they allowed that here... could lead to a lot of free time. Either way though, I felt that me and my new friend here should do something rather than just sit here all day.

"Thanks for this Pia. May I ask if you'd like to do anything next? Wouldn't mind hanging out with you for a bit longer."

it was the first time in years that I'd done anything with another human being, well willingly anyway. I waited patiently for her to decide leaving my hands in my pockets, thumbs hanging out.

"Sure, I would love to!", Pia said. "This place is nice and all, but maybe it is a good way not to be hanging out before.. before its gets too late. This place.. this place gets scarier after it gets dark."

Not that nightfall was that close, but better safe than sorry. Pia was not sure if Rose had any idea about the dangers lurking here, but Pia was not going to be responsible for delivering the two of them into the writhing tentacles of one of the things that emerged after nightfall. "What would you like to do? If you just want to hang out, maybe we could go to your dorm, or mine, if the leakage is fixed. Or we could do something else. The pool is till open, we might grab a bit to eat if something is still open.."

Something about the way she spoke about the night bothered me. What could possibly bother her so much about the dark outside... it bothered me for some reason and I just couldn't fathom why. I doubted that she was afraid of the dark... I guess it was possible though... so it slipped out of my mouth.
”How about my room, even if the leak was fixed bet the room is still soggy, can grab something from the cafeteria and make it in the room and hang out, eat and what not... but hey, are you afraid of the dark Pia? You keep saying that we need to get back before it gets dark...”

I paused shaking my head turning back towards the path with a gentle smile and calm sigh.
”Well we can talk about that in my room actually, don't want to do it in public, secluded area or not, doesn't mean someone won't pop up and hear you or anything. That way I can share some of my own things, even trade and all that nonsense. So anyway cafeteria first or should IU just make something from one of my suitcases? I brought some microwave noodles and stuff like that...”

I hoped she'd open up a bit when we finally got to talking.

"I am not afraid of the dark.. as such.." Pia muttered. Now she was sure Rose thought her childish or something. She did not actually do much to help in that regard. Feeling a bit ashamed of herself, she looked down on her shoes, somehow looking smaller and more childlike. Pia had mastered the art of masking her own feelings and thoughts when it came to dealing with staff and the student body in a more general fashion. When it came to people she actually liked, she had trouble shielding herself.

"..the school is just not.. it is not as safe as it is supposed to be, but I think we are kind of meant to keep shut about it..", she continued. "I should not have brought it up. Just.. just be careful when you are alone, OK?"

"Maybe we should go to the cafeteria, pick up something. I think that was a good idea."

She seemed almost afraid of something 'on' the island rather than the darkness itself. I was pretty sure this entire island was man made, I couldn't imagine anything on it being dangerous; except the people themselves of course and those I was sure any normal girl here could fight off
”Alright Pia... you're starting to scare me just a little bit... we'll definitely have to talk more when we get to my room... for now though, you're leading since you know the way better than I do. Lets get some food, some cold drinks, then we can just talk, hang out and play games all night til we pass out if you want. Plenty else to do in my... actually maybe there isn't... I'll have to dig through my bags a little to find some stuff... maybe they found the rest by now too.”

would be pretty boring a night actually getting to know her better if I didn't have all my stuff... really would suck so badly I couldn't think of any worse way for the night to turn out.

”Oh and by the way do you have any Pjs or anything? Doesn't matter if you don't, you could sleep in your underwear if you wanted, Wouldn't bug me long as you gave the same right to me.
I liked having the option even if I never exercised it and I always would give the right to anyone that spent the night in my room... mind you those numbers had kinda dropped off to like 1 a year at that point.

Having some company for the evening did sound like a good idea. Both because of practical reasons, the room would most likely require a drying out after the plumbing was fixed, and Pia did not like the idea of sharing the room with a bunch of fans or other equipment. The other was that she was a bit scared. It was her own fault, really. She was pretty good at pushing away the horrors around her, most of the time. But sometimes the carapace cracked, and now she had gotten herself scared again.

She had contemplated asking Susan to share her place, but Pia was afraid she might be a bit clingy, and she was afraid she might put a bit of a burden upon her brave girl. Susan had studies as well, upcoming tests and all, and near Susan, Pia had a tendency to become a little.. Pia did not follow that train of thought too long, afraid she might blush.

"Hanging out and playing games sounds fun!", she said, a little bit brighter. "I think I should get a PJ though.. I mean, you can wear what you like, it is your room, but I.. uh.. you probably think it is silly, but I get a bit shy sometimes."

Which was true, the blue eyed girl could be intensely self-concious at times. Besides, she was not quite sure about her relationship with Susan, and somehow felt it inappropriate to prance about in her undies with other beautiful girls until she was sure.

Pia had picked up the pace, and was heading towards the area of the cafeteria with considerable more energy in her movements now than seconds ago.

Didn't know what else to say for now as I followed her so I just smiled as the two of us walked forward into the cafeteria finally. I let her pick out whatever she wanted and I got... well I got whatever was free before I finally said anything else.
”Well, worse comes to worse Pia, I can lend you something. I wear my tops pretty big so they should fit at least... though I'm a little taller I have night shirts they might drag a lil bit but better than nothing if all your things are wet I mean but, yeah either way we'll have fun. Your room first we'll see if we can't get some of your stuff.”
Didn't say naything about her shy comment, she already knew my opinion on that idea. I just smiled and continued to let her lead for now, the sun was starting to set didn't know how long she'd still be comfortable.

Pia seemed quite more cheerful at the prospect of food and a more comfortable place to stay. She quickly navigated the cafeteria, Rose in tow, picking up foodstuffs that were easy to bring back, commenting here and there. Things like: "Now, if you like Chinese, they occasionally serve dim sum here, and it is quite good. I try not to eat too much, gotta watch my waistline and all", and so on.

Back at Pia's place, the repairs were mostly done. The tiny room, intended for two but just sufficient for one, had suffered some damage, but was not quite devastated. The repairmen did seem to think it was a good idea for Pia to find another place to stay, parts of the roof had been torn out and had to be replaced because of moisture damage. That Pia was staying elsewhere meant they did not have to pull a late evening and could continue tomorrow instead.

Swiftly, Pia picked out a few items from her closet, it had escaped any water. She picked out underwear and uniform for the next day, a pj and some toiletry, and swiftly packed them in a bag.
"I think I am all set! Do you want to lead the way to your room?", she said.