Ishani dropped Mason into his new ‘bedroom’ which was no larger than small parcel.

“I’ll leave you two to get to know each other.”

Ishani smiled deviously, shutting the drawer rather forcefully before Mason could even protest.

Mason scanned the room, confused at her last remark. It was well furnished, though the choice of purple LED lighting in the absence of natural light made it slightly difficult to tell.

“Hey!”

Mason spun round to see a smiling, pale, blonde girl- his own size (slightly taller, in fact)- laying on top of his bed with a book in her lap. She looked relaxed for a girl who had just seen a titan, and her casual attire accentuated this. Her grey graduation hoodie, tight black jeans, and sockless feet all suggested she felt right at home.

His eyes widened as his hands snapped to cover his crotch.

“Nice to meet you!” said the girl.

“I’m Elissa!” she continued, looking him up and down. “Ishani said you were good looking.”

Mason blushed, hoping the purple light might conceal it. He searched for a response but could not find one.

“Anyway, your clothes are in the wardrobe, but I wouldn’t worry about it. We’ll be sharing a bed for the foreseeable future anyway, so get used to it!”

This was all moving way too quickly for Mason. His day had progressed from a normal morning to a fever dream in what felt like less than an hour, though he wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed.

“Wait, stop," he said, "what about me getting returned to normal?”

The girl dropped her smile in sympathy. “I’m afraid we don’t have a way to do that yet. To be honest, I don’t know if we ever will.”

Mason took a second to process what he had just heard before he was suddenly overcome with anger. “So you’re saying that your flatmate lied to me!?”

“Aw… Ishani lied to you? That’s so sweet of her!" said Elissa, lacking any tact she might have had when she was a normal sized human. "She must have felt super uncomfortable doing that. That explains why she was acting so shifty earlier!”

“What the fuck are you on about?” pressed Mason, growing even more visibly frustrated.

“I’m sorry. I really am.” Elissa backtracked, realising her error a little late. “When Ishani said she had finally found someone to keep me company I at least assumed they would know that’s what they were doing!”

“No.” responded Mason sternly, “it was sold to me as a clinical trial. I thought I was getting paid for this.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, pausing just a little longer than would otherwise be natural. “It’s not as bad as you think. Ishani will take good care of you!”

“The bitch stepped on me!”

“Don’t shout! Do you know how hard this is for me as well!? All I wanted was a friend. It's not like I wanted Ishani to treat you that way...”

She looked like she was about to cry, causing Mason to soften.

“Look- wait. I’m sorry for getting mad at you, but this is really stressing me out. I’m not getting any money, I get that- I’m probably never going back to normal… But I just want to get back to my family.”

He looked at her desperately for affirmation, but all she could do was stare back.

“I’m sorry.”

Mason collapsed, dejected, prompting Elissa to get up and kneel next to him, touching her forehead to his and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Hey! It’s not the end of the world. At least you have me.”

Mason opened his eyes and gazed into hers. This was an awful situation, but the compassion she projected made him confident that there was likely far worse company to be stuck with. This girl was sweet, lovely, and beautiful; she could be forgiven for being a bit naïve and maybe even eccentric, what with her only company being a giant sociopath and all.

Mason fell forward into her, ignoring his own nakedness, and embraced her tightly as he began to sob onto her shoulder. She stroked his hair reassuringly.

“Let’s get to bed,” she said softly.