<div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 10pt;">It was hard for the petite Russian and it showed with the way small fingers twisted nervously while he stood so uncomfortably just inside the door. She knew she was failing at this and it panicked her, had her running down the mental checklist of what she should be doing to foster some kind of connection. “You can sit ja… I, um, I zhink I have bag of beans you can sit on if it is more com-fort-able. Let me get for you.” <br/><br/>Where some people flitted about haphazardly when they were nervous, her tendency was to pull inside of herself all the more and she had to force herself to move from the spot she was standing in to the closet to find the bean bag chair that was stashed in a box in the back corner. It was the brightest colored thing in the whole room - a tie dyed neon colored monstrosity that was bigger than she was. A huge blot of eye blinding color in the otherwise somber grey and pale blue room.  Turning, she dropped the huge bean bag to the floor while he was ordering the pizza, a deep breath drawn in before she shifted to close the closet door.<br/><br/>His thank you had her glancing back over her shoulder to study him for a moment before thin shoulders shrugged slightly. “You not need to thank.” She was trying so hard to creep out of her shell that it hurt - and not the kind of pain that she liked. The anxiety pushed at her, had her heart racing frantically so that it was all she could do to take a seat in one of the stiff back chairs while he tried to make himself comfortable.<br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------<br/><br/>After his departure that night it hadn’t taken her long to slip into her bathroom for a night of relieving the stress and anxiety that had built up. It was routine, it was how she coped, it was how she relieved the emotions she felt.<br/><br/>The rest of the week found her wrapped up in her own things, rarely venturing out to the common areas of the building unless it was late at night or she was heading off grounds. Gary’s few visits throughout the week were the only break in her normal routine, something that kind of threw her for a loop since she had not expected the man to hunt her down after the evening spent eating in her quarters. She still tried though - gave him small smiles, even flushed when he would start in with his flirting. <br/><br/>But it was mid week when Delilah made her reappearance and the small girl clammed back up again, each greeting sent her way earning the wisp a half hearted, wan smile before she would turn and leave without a word. The continual reference of being a battery grated on her nerves and it didn’t take long to end up cornered between Gary and Delilah - the flirting between them enough to send her creeping away without a word.<br/><br/>No wonder then when the week was ending and she was trying once again to peek out of her shell, that the sound of Delilah had her sighing and eyes rolling. The invitation had her shaking her head while Gary voiced his acceptance, her eyes shifting back down the hall towards the elevators. Her idea of fun was not sitting at a beach around tons of other people - rather, the idea made her stomach clench nervously. “I, um… no.” There were a million and one reasons she could list off for why she did not want to go and only two for why she should go. Neither of those reasons were enough to overcome the dislike of the wisp nor her discomfort in such gatherings.</span></span></div>