"Well, not really. Funny story, actually," Hayley replied as she began preparing the dish shown to her just a couple of hours ago. "I was walking around when I bumped into this chick. A bit of apology here and there and we just started chatting, just asking names, how we're doin' and all. Turns out that she lives nearby and has lived in this city for quite some time. I told her that I wanted to make you something special and she asked if it would be fine for her to show me one of her food recipes. Since that bastard Anderson just broke into my home and I didn't feel like taking her here after all those shenanigans, I suggested that we went to her place instead, figuring that it would be nice for me to socialize with another human aside from you, along with Vincent." Letting Isaac grasp her story, she then continued after a short break.

"So we both went to her home, which is pretty homey, and then this chick started showing me how to make a kickass lasagna. It not only smells good, it also tastes good! I figured that maybe I could try making it at home and see if I could pull it off. She did suggest that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so there's that." She added the last part of the advice and chuckled at how appropriate it was for Isaac and herself. However, she didn't reveal who this person was and her connection to one of their enemies, preferring to disclose it only when Isaac asked for it as it would mean that he was prepared to know and learn.

Isaac nods, smiling once Hayley was finished with her story. "Glad to know that you made a new friend," he says, leaning back against the counter. "And I'll have to meet this girl sometime to give her my thanks for teaching you how to make this. Just looking at the ingredients, I can tell it's gonna be delicious." In the silence that follows, he can't help but feel a slight stirring in his mind, as if something were trying to break free of the wall his amnesia had built around his memories, but just couldn't do it. Weird, Vincent says. I wonder what's going on...

With the lasagna almost ready, Hayley chucked it into the oven and set the timer, then sat down on a vacant chair while it cooked. "So... What did Dickhead Anderson do? Did he leave while crying like a baby?" she asked, still slightly miffed about the incident, but less irritated about it thanks to her relatively positive encounter with Sarah. "I couldn't care less about the guy, but I hope he didn't wreck the apartment room in my absence." Pausing briefly, she noticed that her bedroom door, previously severed from its hinges, was now intact and as good as new. "And did something happen to the door? I remember that I mangled it when I heard that dick in the kitchen."

Isaac looks back at her bedroom door and says, "Yeah, I couldn't repair the old one, so I just made an all-new one for you. As for Sean, we just sat and talked for awhile, he told me to apologize for him, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good, and left. He managed to help me fill in a few holes in my past, but that's about it." Soon, the smell of the lasagna hits his nose and, strangely, a sense of melancholy descends upon him. That's strange, he thinks once the feeling passes. Chalking it up to his mind playing tricks on him, he shakes his head and adds, "While I was waiting for you to get home, I took a nap and when I woke up, I saw that you weren't here, so I couldn't help but get worried, even though you can take care of yourself. Sorry about that, by the way."

"Ah, it's okay. I kinda feel touched that you would worry about me like that... It's... sweet, really..." Now blushing vividly, Hayley turned her sight away briefly before meekly looking at Isaac. "And, uh, thanks for the door... You don't have to do that... I mean, it was my fault to begin with." She began to fiddle with her fingers, signalling her nervousness. "So that Anderson guy apologized, huh? I suppose I can let him off the hook this time..."

Isaac chuckles quietly, still unable to get over how cute Hayley looked when she blushed, and says, "Nah, it's alright. I gotta pay my dues to you one way or another and I figured that was a good way to do it." Hearing what she said next, he nods and says, "Yeah, he seemed pretty regretful over it, too. Guess he's not such a bad guy."

Sighing softly, Hayley was about to say something when she heard a loud ding from the direction of the oven, the smell of cooked lasagna permeating through every open gap. "Oh! Looks like it's done!" Carefully taking the hot food out, she began to slice the large chunk of lasagna into smaller pieces and prepared it for herself and Isaac, putting his portion in front of him. "Well... Dig in, I guess. Let me know how it tastes..." she said to him, almost nervously and timidly, as if fearful that she had given Sarah's recipe a disservice.

Isaac watched as Hayley pulled the lasagna out of the oven and prepared to serve it, all the while wondering why it seemed so familiar to him. As she brings his portion over, he pushes those thoughts out of his head and smiles at her. "It smells delicious," he says, before cutting a small piece and trying it. "Wow, it's good!" he says as he cuts another piece. As he eats, unnoticed to him, a tear quietly rolls down his cheek, as if part of him was reacting to the memories lost to him.

A small part of her jumped in joy when Isaac responded positively to the lasagna. Hayley breathed a sigh of relief, glad that her food came out just fine. However, just as she was about to give her own slice a go, she noticed something glimmering on Isaac's cheek, sliding down before disappearing from sight. ... Was he crying? she thought with surprise, certainly not expecting that sort of reaction from him out of a simple slice of lasagna. "You seem to like it a lot, huh?" she asked, trying to keep him in a good mood.

"Yeah, it's delicious!" Isaac says, his voice betraying the fact that he wasn't even aware of the tear sliding down his face. However, as he turned to look at Hayley, part of his cheek felt strange. Reaching up, he touches it, only for his finger to come away wet. Looking at it, confused, he says almost to himself, "W...what's going on? Why am I crying?" Shaking his head, he wipes his face and, smiling at his girlfriend, says, "Sorry about that, Hayley. This really is delicious."

Hayley wouldn't hide the fact that she was concerned about Isaac's well-being, so she gently cupped her hand against his wet cheek, softly speaking to him, "Hey, it's okay. I'm just glad that you like the food." She decided that her question would be best saved after dinner, so she let the conversation lapse into silence while they enjoy their food undisturbed. Looking down at the hot piece of lasagna, she chuckled and mused, "And here I thought we'd end up eating charcoal tonight."

"You underestimate yourself," Isaac says, glad for the change in topic. After finishing his food, he leaves, only to return with a second helping. Taking a moment to take a bite from it, he swallows and says, "You're good at a lot of things, including skills that don't require punching people in the face. You're a good cook, even though someone taught you the recipe for this lasagna, and you're an amazing girlfriend, even though the whole thing's still new to you." Wrapping one arm around her waist, he leans in and kisses her cheek, saying afterwards, "I love you."

Hayley's face was as red as the tomato sauce richly filling the lasagna alongside the savory beef after being kissed. It was as if any romantic interaction would provoke all sorts of visible response from her, however unintentionally. "I-I'm not that good, Isaac... I mean... I do have my good days w-where things go the way I want them. More often times than not, I'm j-just not good with this sort of things... But thanks anyway... I-It made me feel... a little bit better, I guess," she replied, her voice shifting from an energetic timidness to something barely above a whisper.

Smiling at Hayley, unable to resist thinking about how cute she was when she got like that, Isaac says, "I'm glad I could help, even just a little." Removing his arm from around her waist, he laces his fingers with hers as he returns to his lasagna. A few minutes later, he pushes the plate away with a satisfied sigh. "That was delicious," he says once more. Rising to his feet, he says to Hayley, "Did you want anymore? If not, I can put the rest in the fridge for later."

Given that she had finished two servings of lasagna, Hayley lifted on hand and replied with a pleased sigh, "Nah, I'm good. Let's save the rest for tomorrow." Stretching her arms as Isaac went off to store the leftover lasagna into the fridge, she chuckled and said, "I hope we can make that every now and then. Once we can secure ourselves a job, that shouldn't be a big of a deal. I wouldn't really want to eat lasagna all the time, as good as it is, but it would be nice to have it every once in a while, don't cha think?"

"Yeah, it would," Isaac says, returning to his seat after putting the lasagna away. Once more, he laces his fingers with Hayley's and rubs the back of her hand with his thumb. After a few minutes, he asks, "What now? We could probably do what we did yesterday and hang out in one of our rooms and talk, or we could go for a walk. Do you have any ideas?" If you guys go into a bedroom again, Vincent says, you better not mess it up again! The two of you better be-- Cutting him off, Isaac says, You were doing such an awesome job being quiet up until now. Try to keep it that way. Vincent, in response, grumbles some nasty insults toward Isaac, but, otherwise, doesn't say anything more.

Oblivious to Vincent's ideas, Hayley turned to Isaac and replied, "Why don't we head to your room tonight? I mean, we've been in my room, so maybe we can, well, know what it feels like to be on the other side..." Her face, having gradually returned to its normal hue, now turned back again into a vivid shade of red as she stammered, "W-What I'm t-t-trying to say is that I-I'd... I want to be in your room... Goddamnit! No, I didn't mean in that kind of way..." The blonde looked away from Isaac, wanting nothing more than to bury her own head under the ground out of shame.

While Hayley tried explaining herself, Isaac just watched her, a mock-questioning look on his face. Eventually, when he think she's suffered enough, he bursts out laughing, saying, "You...You're too cute...when you get like that!" A few moments later, he manages to calm down and says, "Don't worry, I know what you mean." Taking her hand, he rises to his feet and leads the way to his room. Stepping through the door into the sparsely furnished room, he chuckles and, sitting down on the edge of the bed, says, "Here it is. I know I've been living with you for awhile, now, but I just can't bring myself to decorate this room. I guess part of me still thinks that I'm just borrowing it from you..."

Hayley followed Isaac with a hushed and annoyed mumble of "Jerk." barely leaving her lips. Looking into the room that was now his, she was quite surprised to find it in nearly the same appearance as it was before being occupied. Sparse furniture and decorations aside, she was pleased to see the room clean, at the very least. "Don't worry about it. My room's not that decorated either," she replied and waited for Isaac to show her where he wanted her to sit down.

"Yeah, I know," Isaac says before looking up at her. Before he asked her why she wasn't sitting, he realized she was waiting for him to tell her where to sit, like he did when they were in her room. Not wasting a second, he reaches out, takes her hand, and guides her down into the spot next to him. "You don't have to wait for me to tell you where to sit, you know," he says, wrapping his arm around her. "Even though this is my room, it's still your apartment, after all."