"Hey, babe?" Joey called Mai from the living room.

"Yeah?" Mai, in the middle of making a salad for herself, replied.

"The gang's coming over tomorrow," he replied nonchalantly, which put Mai on alert. What was he doing, acting like it was okay to drop this info on her without asking her if it was okay? "I'm gonna need you to go buy some snacks and drinks."

Mai, who had been grating cheese, dropped both cheese and grater. "Oh, hell, no," she replied, firmly.

Joey looked up at her from his homework. "'Scuse me?" he asked her, heatedly.

"You didn't think to ask me, Joey?" Mai asked, glaring at him.

"Ah," Joey replied, impudently, "I thought it wouldn't be a big deal."

"You should have asked me!" Mai shrieked.

"You never had a problem with it before! And seeing how we're living together and stuff, I thought I had the okay to have people over without your permission."

Mai placed a hand on her hip and exhaled, trying to regain control of herself. She looked at him and said firmly, "You may sleep in my bed, eat my food, use my electricity, but don't think for a second that you can do whatever the hell you want."

"The hell, Mai?" Joey exclaimed, getting to his feet. "You were practically begging me to move in with you, and now you're going on about your stuff?"

"Because I'm the one paying the bills," Mai replied, tersely. "And, hey, I'm happy to do so since you're a student."

"Happy?" Joey bellowed. "Happy? If you were so happy, Mai, you wouldn't be ranting about what an inconvenience I am!"

Since he had no personal room to go to, he picked up his jacket and keys and stormed out the door, leaving Mai alone.

She sighed, leaning back against her kitchen counter, reminding herself that she wanted to be with Joey, that she was happy to support him. This was what she wanted.

Mai couldn't help but to worry, though. Not even a month together and already she was starting to feel miserable.

It had taken a while for things to fall apart with Valon...

Mai frowned and shook her head. She wasn't going to think about that. She wasn't going to compare relationships. She wasn't going to compare guys.

It wasn't right.

It especially wasn't right that Mai found herself half-wishing that Joey wouldn't come back.

Raphael enjoyed walks. They allowed him to center his thoughts, take note of the scenery, and they also had the added benefit of exercise. He found that he preferred to go on a nice, leisurely walk than to run, as it was more peaceful. That wasn't to say that he didn't try running with Valon. When he'd woken up and found Valon stretching in the living room in preparation for his morning run, he'd asked if he could join.

"Only if you think you can keep up," Valon chirped, looking up at Raphael and grinning at him as touched his left foot with both hands.

Evidently Raphael's steady jog wasn't fast enough for Valon's liking, so of course his host literally ran circles around him. "C'mon now, Raph!" he taunted, nimbly dancing around him. "I know you can keep up."

Raphael grunted, but did not change his pace. "You're obnoxious," was all he said calmly, without a trace of anger.

Valon laughed and started to run backwards in front of him. "This is what happens when you don't mix cardio with your weights," he proclaimed, somehow able to run backwards yet still avoid passersby. It was quite a sight to see, really, and it brought a small, amused smile to Raphael's face.

"Go on without me," Raphael insisted. "Since I'm too slow for you."

"Y'sure, Raph?"

"Absolutely."

Valon grinned and said, "All right, then. I'll meet you back at the house."

So Valon turned around and ran off, leaving Raphael alone to slow down to a comfortable walk. He noticed that he was coming upon a convenience store and realized that he was quite parched, so he decided to take a quick detour. He quietly entered a convenience store with nothing but a hanging bell to announce his presence. He nodded at the cashier, a bored-looking middle aged woman, and made his way to the refrigerated section of the store, where he came upon what seemed to be a familiar head of hair.

Sure enough, it was Mai. After grabbing a can of green tea, she turned around with disinterested eyes, but she perked up when she recognized him. "Raphael?"

Raphael smiled pleasantly at her. "Good morning, Mai."

Mai blinked a few times, obviously not over her shock. "Raphael!" she said, breathlessly. "I certainly didn't expect to see you here."

"The feeling is mutual," he replied.

"What are you doing here in Domino? Are you visiting?"

Raphael nodded. "Just visiting," he confirmed. "I'm staying with Valon, actually."

Mai's smile, which had just started up, flatlined. "Oh," she said, simply, with the kind of expression on her face that reminded Raphael of an animal whose ears were drooping slightly and tail was hanging limply. "Valon. You're staying with him, huh?"

Raphael nodded, pretending not to notice her distress since he had a feeling that Mai wouldn't want him pointing it out. "I do have to note, though," he continued, "that he's been acting a little strange."

"Strange?" Mai asked, nervously. It was so odd. Mai had always put on a mask of cold aloofness, and had never allowed herself to be seen in such an anxious manner during the time they had worked together. Very odd. "How do you mean?"

Raphael realized he'd spoken too much, since there was no tactful, painless way for him to say that Valon was behaving like he'd forgotten all about Mai. No one wanted to hear about that. However, Mai's tone of voice seemed to imply that she had personal experience with what Raphael was talking about. He wondered. "He's just been a little...off," Raphael said, evasively, replying to Mai's question.

"Did he...?" Mai asked, trailing off, and looking down at her can of green tea. She played with the tab. "Did he act like he doesn't know me?"

"I would be lying if I said no," Raphael said, calmly. "I must admit, Mai, I'm puzzled by his behavior."

Mai sighed. "You're not alone, Raphael."

"Okay, hold still," Mai said, holding Valon by the chin and bringing the tube of her signature lipstick up to his face. Soon as she started to smooth the creamy substance onto his lips, Valon involuntarily jerked back and laughed.

"That feels weird," he chuckled.

Mai smirked at him. "I said: hold still," she commanded warmly.

Valon let her continue without a fight, staying still and smiling or opening his mouth when Mai told him to. "Lemme see," he insisted when she was done.

Mai rolled her eyes at him. "Really? We've only just begun."

"Aw, come on, Mai," Valon insisted.

Mai relented and pulled out a small compact mirror out of her makeup bag. "Okay," she said, pulling it open and then holding it up for him to see. She studied him for a few moments. "Hm. I don't think that's your color."

Valon grinned. "Y'sure?"

Mai nodded. "I think you could do better with something darker," she opined. She sighed pleasantly and said, "Never mind. Do you wanna keep going?"

"Sure, why not?" Valon replied. "This is fun."

"Much more fun for me, I can guarantee you," Mai replied, taking out a thin tube of what she called lip liner. "Bear with me, okay? I never had any girl friends to do this with. I'm not used to putting makeup on anybody but myself."

"S'okay," Valon replied easily.

Mai leaned over to her makeup bag and pulled out a tube of mascara. "I trust that you don't have an eye infection?" she joked, holding the tube up. "I really shouldn't do this, but I'm not paying for new mascara so that you can use it just once."

Mai started to twist the top of the mascara off, but the erasing started to take hold. Valon was alert. "No," he whispered, getting to his knees and grabbing Mai by the hands. "Mai, I messed up."

"What do you mean, Valon?" Mai asked, innocently. "You've done nothing wrong."

Valon shook his head and pulled Mai up to her feet. "No, not the makeup, Mai." He looked at the doorway in Mai's bedroom, which was deteriorating quickly. He held onto her hand and ran for the door, hoping to make it in time. "I... I made a mistake. I paid some people to help me forget about you, and now I want them to stop."

When Mai didn't reply, Valon stopped and looked back and found that Mai was no longer behind him, and that he was no longer in Mai's bedroom. He was at the local park with a bag of stale bread in his hands. Mai was several yards ahead of him, standing near the pond where the ducks swam.

"I remember this day," he whispered. "It was cold, and you gave me your scarf to wear." He looked down and sure enough, Mai's black woolen scarf was wound snugly around his neck.

He fingered the soft material while Mai turned around and looked at him. She looked cute with that black wool cap on her head. "Babe!" she called, beckoning him to join her. "You coming?"

"We gotta go, Mai," Valon said, urgently, running over to her. "We gotta go now."

"But we just got here," Mai protested.

Valon took her by the hand and started dragging her away. "Come on, Mai."

"Valon!" Mai exclaimed, struggling against his grip. "What has gotten into you?"

"They're erasing you, Mai, and I have to find a way to stop them!" Valon cried. "I don't want to forget about you."

Mai blinked. "Valon, I don't understand."

Of course she didn't. "Never mind that," Valon insisted. "Let's just go."

"What can we do?"

Valon tugged on her hand and said the only thing that mattered, "Run."