Peter takes a little bit too long to realise that Doyoon is going out into the very cracks of reality he was terrified of a moment ago and it takes all of his willpower to hold himself back from chasing after him.

He'll be fine. People have been doing this forever. Peter did it twice, nothing bad happened. Clearly there's some kind of... of... of trance state they can enter that allows them to cross the vast incomprehensible gulf between the smaller comprehensible bubbles of reality, and no one else remarks on it because no one else is self-aware.

Wait, is that... it? Is that what it is? Are other people not self-aware, somehow? 

No, that makes no sense. What would that even mean? What does he expect people would answer if he asked them if they're aware of their own awareness, that they'd say "no"? Though that's frankly a kind of nerdy framing that might need some massaging regardless so he'd need to find someone who would get it immediately, like a literature major or something.

But like, what would it even mean? Clearly they have a conception of what it means to be who they are, and they have theory of mind, so why is he so fixated on this framing?

Well it's because... sometimes it feels a little bit like the lights are on but no one's home.

Peter should really stop writing grand theories of Sim cognition in his head on two days' evidence and fucking go outside and do things. 

He just needs to cross that terrifying ocean.

But fine. Fine. Since he doesn't want to be stuck on this island forever and he's pretty sure it'll be fine and probably if it isn't it'll be painless, he'll... walk to campus.

Well that was anticlimactic. He supposes the first time it happened it was so subtle he thought he'd just zoned out and the second time felt like a timeskip so he shouldn't feel surprised.

Honestly, the thing he's most surprised by is how easy it was. There was a part of him worrying that he wouldn't succeed at being sufficiently "distracted" from walking to trigger whatever mental state is necessary for it to work but apparently merely not actively trying to fight it suffices. He has now successfully walked, his legs feel like they've been used, his brain has vague non-memories of the path he didn't use to get here, it's all extremely creepy. At some point when the density of revelations per hour in his life gets lower he'll really need to stop and think about what all of this implies about the nature of reality.

Now for the reason he came here earlier than he needed to: to find someone to talk to and see if their lights are on.

Please?

He's going to need to be more specific than that. There are many people, students and staff and visitors wanting to take pictures of the modern campus and Britechester natives who just like hanging out here, doing their own thing and going about their businesses. Is he going to walk up to one of them and say hi? What's he going to do?

...he really isn't expecting this to work, is he. Everyone doesn't act like they think any of this is weird in any way. It all feels a bit pointless. 

But he's gotta check.

Plus, honestly, he doesn't need to be circumspect about it. Either people are normal and they'll understand why he's freaking out or they're not and it won't matter if he's a bit weird at them.

With that in mind, he will look for some kind of staff who looks like they can be bothered. Security? Street food vendor? Barista?

There's the Foxbury commons over there and they have a snack shop?

Yeah, good enough.

"Good morning!"

"Morning, handsome," says the clerk, a girl the same age as Peter (meaning she is also a Young Adult™) with hair dyed pink and a nose piercing. "Can I get you anything?"

Handsome, is it? you're here on a mission, Tarleton. 

"Yeah, could I have a cappuccino latte and a blueberry muffin to go?" People are going to be happier about him being weird if he gives them money.

"Sure thing. That'll be §18," she says, turning around to prepare Peter's order. "What name should I write?"

"Peter's what's on my driver's license but I'll let you call me anything you want." Wow that was lame.

She giggles anyway like that was hilarious and writes "handsome boy" on the cup.

He taps the cash register with his phone to pay and then... tries to figure out what to say. 

Peter had just had the thought that it didn't matter. 

"I never caught your name, though."

"Lilith."

"So, Lilith... I have a question to ask."

"Oh?"

"Do you know about the thing where going places causes a timeskip?"

"—I'm sorry?"

"You know, the thing where to walk from here to, for example, the Chi Beta Gamma house you have to cross an unknowable distance that doesn't feel like anything?"

"Oh, are you a Chi Beta Gamma boy? I should've known, they're all hot. Or at least the hot ones are."