Hayley's entire body tensed when the familiar voice came towards them and, sure enough, she looked face to face at her new enemy and the man who nearly killed her and Isaac. She hadn't forgiven him for what he did to both of them, but took a silent pleasure in the knowledge that her 'other self' had forced him to flee with his tails behind his legs, a fact that kept her from rearing like a mad dog on his sight. "Hi again, Mr. Howland," Hayley replied curtly, mustering an indifferent expression and returning his cold glare with her own stinging stare. It took her all the willpower she had not to let the 'other her' go out and wreck havoc in the house, not with Sarah watching both of them. The latter was already on the verge of forceful takeover, but she quietly told her to stay put and turned to Sarah, asking with a casual, yet cautious tone, "So, I'm assuming this guy's the shy and sloppy brother you were talkin' about?"

While her brother and new friend were locked in a staredown, Sarah found herself becoming increasingly worried, evident in how she began fidgeting more and more. Eventually, Hayley turns to her and asks her a question. "Y-yes," Sarah replies quietly. "I'd introduce you, but you already seem to know each other..." Nigel looks at Sarah and sees the distress she was in. Ever since they left home, she had become the most important thing to him and seeing his younger sister in such a state immediately calms him down. "I'll go put these away," he says, more towards Sarah than Hayley, "then I'll be in my room." Within the next couple of minutes, he was gone and Sarah breathes a sigh of relief, although she still seemed like she was wound tighter than a spring. "I'm sorry," she quietly says to Hayley. "If I'd have known you two didn't care for each other, I wouldn't have brought you here..."

"Again, not your fault. I didn't know Nigel Howland is your brother." I did suspect that's the case, but it's not like I'm going to say that to your face, Hayley said to herself mentally, sighing and adding, "Our first meeting wasn't a very nice one. We had an argument, so to speak, and it sorta came down on its own. At least he seems to be doing just fine." Mulling over what happened and how quickly Nigel avoided a confrontation, she realized that the serious and dedicated killer did have a loved one of his own. In a way, she finally found a part of him she could sympathize with. "He seems really protective of you, though. I could only wish for a brother like him. Not that I'm complaining about being an only child, but it's nice to know that he cares for your well-being."

Sarah manages a small smile, glad that the altercation seemed to have been solved. "I'm pretty glad for that, too," she says. "Ever since we came here, we've practically been on our own. He's the oldest, although we're twins, so he's been looking after me as much as he can, even though I've told him time and again that he didn't have to bother himself with me. Still, it's nice to know he's always there for me." Raising her mug, she takes another sip of her tea, then says, "He tends to come off as...mean, for lack of a better term, but that's because he doesn't show his true colors around anyone but myself. I think it's his own little way of protecting the both of us." Suddenly, she chuckles and says, "I'm sorry, I kind of started rambling, there."

"Aww, that's just cute," Hayley replied with a teasing chuckle. "Hey, now. I wouldn't mind hearing you rambling as long as it keeps you happy. You seem to adore your brother very much. That, in itself, isn't a bad thing." Although Hayley definitely loathed the elder Howland, she felt that their 'arguments' and personal life were best kept separate. She wasn't so cruel as to break what happy solace he had with Sarah and the younger Howland had proven to be a gracious host so far. "Thanks again for having me here and thanks again for the lasagna recipe. I'd give it a go at some near future and hope that I don't end up burning down my kitchen. Wish me luck~!" she said in jest, grinning softly as she saw Sarah's happy smile.

"It's no bother at all," Sarah replies, glad that Hayley seemed to have enjoyed her time there, despite the minor snag they encountered when her brother came home. Just then, the timer on the oven sounds and she says, "Oh, looks like it's finished." Rising to her feet, she starts to walk into the kitchen, then turns back and jokingly asks Hayley, "Do you have time to try it or is your boyfriend starving and you need to get home quickly?"

Acting as if she was giving her suggestion a thorough thought, Hayley shrugged and, giving Sarah, an amused gaze casually replied, "Eh, he can wait. I might as well give it a try and memorize the flavor so when I try it myself, I know when I mess up badly, which I most likely will." She couldn't help but feel a small measure of delight in their improving first encounter, hiccups aside, and said to her, "I can smell it from here and, sorry if I sound rude, I can see why your boyfriend and your brother, given what he said, dig your lasagna. I would be lying if I said I don't want a slice of that!"

Sarah smiles, a smile of absolute joy, and disappears into the kitchen. Moments later, she returns with a plate for both of them, a generous helping of lasagna on each plate. Setting Hayley's down in front of her, Sarah takes a seat across the table and says, "Something tells me that it's going to taste great. After all, forgive me for using an old cliche, but food always tastes better with friends." Chuckling happily, she takes a bite of her share and, after swallowing, says, "And I'm not disappointed! What do you think?"

Both curious and cautious at the same time, Hayley cut herself a small slice and popped the lasagna into her mouth, humming with pleasant surprise as the savory and salty flavor burst inside her mouth. "I sure hope my boyfriend don't start asking me to make one of these everyday... It's really good! I gotta hand it down to you, Sarah. You really know your stuff!" Hayley began to wander how Isaac would respond to this new recipe she had just acquired and was filled with excitement and eagerness to try it out herself, given the flavorful result.

Sarah laughs and replies, "You're just being nice! Trust me, my brother's a much better cook than I am." For the next few minutes, the pair fall into silence as they eat the lasagna. At some point, Nigel came out of his room, only to go into the kitchen to help himself to a slice, returning to his room shortly after. A few minutes later, Sarah sighs contentedly as she sets her fork and knife on her empty plate. Stretching, she says, "That was delicious." A few moments later, she adds, "I'm glad you came over. It's been awhile since I had any friends to hang out with. Even though my brother's with me, it still gets pretty lonely."

In a way, Hayley could understand why Sarah was so lonely. Despite their close relationship, she figured that she would do with a social connection with other people beside her older brother. "I'm surprised you still want to hang out with me, all things considered. I'm not exactly a friend material, but I'm glad that you enjoyed my visit," she replied, placing her utensils down with a stomach satiated with the delicious lasagna. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was almost dinner time and she needed to head home. "Thanks again for having me here. I have to leave now and get my... boyfriend... something to eat for the night." Not wanting to be an ungrateful guest, she gathered up the dirty plates and utensils and carried them for Sarah before preparing to leave. "I hope you and your brother have a great evening!" she said to her.

Sarah watched as Hayley cleaned up after the two of them, although she wouldn't have minded doing so, then made her way to the door. Following her new friend, Sarah says, with a very subtle hint of sadness in her voice, "And I hope you and your boyfriend do the same. It was nice meeting you, Hayley." Before Hayley could leave, she adds, "Oh, and make sure to make that lasagna for him sometime. If all goes well, he'll love you even more for it. Like they say, 'the way to a man's heart is his stomach.'"

Chuckling softly, Hayley nodded and replied to Sarah with a grin. "Oh, I'll keep that in mind," she replied and waved her new friend goodbye before making her way along the open hall. She was about to head down the stairs before stopping, hearing her 'other self' warning her about an imminent threat around her vicinity. Taking a deep breath, she could feel the cold, chilling darkness pooling around her wrists and a cold wind inside her chest. "Make it quick. I'm not in the mood to deal with you again," she sharply stated to the threat she didn't see, her back turned towards the figure.

Nigel had waited until Sarah had gone into the bathroom to take a shower before leaving the apartment to catch up with her new 'friend.' Now, he was standing behind Hayley, his arms crossed as he glares at the back of the blonde's head. A few moments of silence after she tells him to make it quick, he says, "What do you think you're doing with my sister? She's already been hurt enough so she doesn't need you to make things any worse."

Scoffing at his accusation, Hayley finally turned to glare at Nigel with a dark glare in her eyes. "How touching. That's rich, coming from you," she sneered. "And here I was, hoping that your sister's looks and name are nothing more than a massive coincidence. I guess I'm not as careful as I thought." Dropping her sardonic tone, she scowled and took a more cautious stance against her enemy. "I only came with her because she invited me. We bumped into each other and chatted for a bit, she offered to teach me a new recipe, I didn't see a reason to refuse and that's all there is to it," she said to him, not particularly caring about whether or not he believed her. Seeing that he had offered her no incentive to linger any longer, she began to turn around, planning on continuing on her way home.

Nigel watched Hayley begin to walk away for a few moments before sighing. "Summerland," he calls. Even if he didn't manage to get her attention, he says, "Just...be careful with her, alright? After everything that's happened, she's been in a fragile state for the past few months and I've been worried about her well-being. I won't get in the way of your friendship as long as you continue to look after her, but that doesn't mean that you and I are friends as well. If I get another order, I'll be coming after you and Is--I mean, your boyfriend once more."

Hayley stopped for a bit, taken by surprise by Nigel's sudden change of heart. She began to laugh, a laughter of cynicism and utter contempt. "Us? Friends? Come on, you know better than that," she replied and turned to Nigel again, this time with a dark grin on her face. "So you're basically saying you're letting me live because I make a convenient, once-off buddy for your sister and then you'd dispose of me and Isaac like trash the moment your master says so. At least you're honest and you have your priorities straight, I'd give you that much." The blonde postponed her plan to return home and, against the warnings of the 'other her', closed the distance between her and Nigel, not close enough to invade his personal space, but close enough for either of them to strike.

"I came to notice something today," she said to him in an abruptly calm tone. "Y'know how people say all this old shit about not judging a book by its cover? Between seeing you not killing anyone and interacting with your sister, I came to realize that my view of you maybe wrong, if not slightly so. Your sister adores you and you didn't mangle me on the spot with her around. I don't need a PhD to figure out what it means. About her, I'm no genius, but I can tell than Sarah's been through hell and back. I'm not going to delve into that; it ain't my business. She's a nice girl and she doesn't need any more problems to deal with."

Pausing for a bit to let her words sink in, she continued, still with the same calm voice, "I also came to see a few similarities between the two of us. We're perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish our goals, be it through diplomacy or force. We're dedicated to what we believe in and we're both capable of caring for others, but that's where our similarities end."

Seemingly satisfied, the blonde finally gave him his lost space back and walked home, leaving Nigel with cold, blunt parting words.

"Unlike you, however, I still have standards."

Nigel watches as Hayley walks off, leaving him with a strangely heavy heart. Sighing, he shakes his head and turns back to the apartment. A little while later, Isaac, sitting in Hayley's apartment, was debating whether or not to call the police when the front door suddenly opened. "Oh, thank God," he says before he could stop himself, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend as he does so. "I was starting to get worried, seeing as how it's been a couple of hours since you left. Where did you go?"

"Sorry about that, Isaac. I was just walking around and, the next thing I know, I was invited for dinner." Hayley grinned as she lifted a grocery bag full of ingredients, the ingredients she needed to make a lasagna. "Now that I'm home, you can sit down while I try and prepare an edible lasagna for you. Might wanna write your will though 'cause I have no fucking clue if this would turn out right," she said to him, smiling sheepishly.

Isaac tilts his head curiously, surprised at Hayley's sudden offer to make dinner. "Alright..." he says, taking a seat, turned to watch her work. "So, let me get this straight," he says, "you were walking around and a stranger just comes up to you and invites you to dinner? Sounds pretty strange, honestly." Although it might sound like it, his voice was completely without an accusatory tone, sounding more curious than anything.