Lisa looked down at the two cans of dog food. One can had its expiration date on it, the other one didn't. Even though Matthew had picked up the can that had the date written, the written date was actually false. The store owner must've decided that he didn't want to throw away food that was a few days too old. So he rewrote the date, and put it back on the store shelf for some sapless customer to buy it instead.

Matthew was the sapless customer. They would've gotten away with it too, if Lisa weren't so meddling. It wasn't that she didn't trust Matthew to take care of her own dog, it was just that she trusted herself more. Because while Matthew certainly was mature enough to take care of a pet he truly cared about, Lisa made it her mission to take care of that dog on a level only Rachel could be proud of.

Lisa put the can that Matthew picked out into the trash can. She picked out a different can of food, as well as two dog toys, into the grocery cart. She walked down the aisle and found Matthew speaking to the cashier in a calm, kind gesture.

The cashier was twenty, only slightly older than Matthew. She was smiling, brunette and pretty, and clearly attracted to Matthew's attitude. Matthew, of course, was oblivious to any of her gestures.

Matthew wants to be friendly; Cashier wants Matthew to ask her out.

Lisa pouted, but put on a fake smile once she reached the register. "Hello," she said with an irritated smile.

"Did you find it?" Matthew asked.

"Yup," she pointed at the cart, which also had the added dog accessories that she picked out herself. "We're making Rachel proud here."

The cashier smiled at Lisa, putting on that casual employee smile she was obligated to put on. Lisa raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything as the girl finished checking out their hand picked items.

Upon reaching outside, it was raining. Matthew and Lisa stared forward at the street underneath the store's outside roof. Neither of them had any attire that was prepared to take on the pouring rain.

Without thinking, Matthew extended his hands outwards and let his arms get wet from the water. He smiled. It was such an thoughtless decision, it often times seemed like Matthew's body would move on its own, rewarding Matthew with subtle pleasures of the world around them.

Matthew felt the rain. Matthew felt the rain.

For most people, walking through the rain just meant getting wet. For Matthew, it felt more like being a part of the rain. To him the rain had a knack for washing away all the dissonance of noises around. The water noise would splash together one sparse unison, and would connected together the unrelated noises into a single melody.

It was a calmness, hearing the rain while being a part of it. Like stepping into a far off world which was completely natural and non-violent to the reality around him.

Lisa stared at Matthew for a full minute. For awhile, Lisa had criticized Matthew for getting lost in thoughts whenever they were together. But as time went on, Matthew's distance felt more like a trip to her. Matthew could get lost into the color or change of the environment around him, and Lisa could just stare right into him, and get an ounce of his relaxation just by letting her powers describe his thought.

It was intoxicating. In a world where Lisa was so addicted by reality, so hard set to address the harsh realities of the world around her, being next to Matthew offered an escape. A controlled vacation from the responsibilities. The ability to feel more attuned to the world in front of her instead of constantly paranoid of the world outside of her peripheral image.

Matthew said, "I'll get an umbrella."

Lisa blinked at him. This time she forgot where she was. "You do?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back."

Matthew headed inside. Lisa relaxed her shoulders. It was late outside, and Matthew made sure to visit Matthew at nights whenever she'd get off from work. She often times brought her work to his apartment, prepared to get an important call whenever they were together.

Matthew was amazingly tolerant to Lisa's busy lifestyle. To him, her life wasn't an inconvenience, just a part of the full package. Not a lot of non-capes realize how hectic cape lives are. There's this idea that being in costume is the only work capes had, Matthew knew better. Or maybe he didn't care?

Either way, giving each other the minimal amount of time worked for the both of them.

Matthew came back with an umbrella to hand over to Lisa. "Here you go."

Lisa stared at the umbrella. She noticed a red ribbon was tied around it. "Where'd you get this?"

"Cashier gave it to me." Matthew answered. "Said it was a gift."

Lisa blinked at him. She opened the umbrella, and underneath the umbrella's fabric, three words were written in bright red marker.

I LOVE YOU

Lisa glanced over at Matthew.

Matthew didn't write that; the Cashier wrote that with the intent of confessing to Matthew

Matthew was frozen at the sight of the words. All the subtle hints that girl had given him was suddenly becoming clear. Lisa stayed quiet. Matthew said, "we can't come back here."

"I know," Lisa said. "I'm keeping this."