Lisa and Jojo: how two hearts beat as one

Part 5

It's January 25th and Lisa is free from work today (let's say she has a short vacation after the first days of the month like first day of January, second day of January etc in the games and that's why months in the games have so few days. Idk really, her schedule is a mess because Flipline months don't make sense XD). Lisa is en route to Jojo's house for a cup of tea together. Lisa muses to herself, "He lives in a green house." Jojo has told her where she needs to be, but Lisa is a little oblivious. She sees a green building, but doubts wether it's where she needs to be. She notices that she is in the wrong street after glancing at a street sign. Did I get lost? Lisa panics inside her mind. However, she recalls a time when she was unsure of her direction. Lisa walks back and switches directions. Lisa eventually finds the correct home. She rings the doorbell.

"Welcome, Lisa!" Jojo welcomes Lisa as he opens the door, appearing as tidy and fresh as he does when they meet at work. He lets her in and they have a seat. "Was it easy to find my home?" Jojo asks. "Yes and no, I suppose. I took a wrong turn one time," Lisa answers. She continues, "At least I didn't get lost," and they both laugh. Jojo gets up and goes to the kitchen. He returns to Lisa with some teabags, some cookies, and two glasses of hot water. "Which flavor?" He asks her. "I'd like some mint tea," she replies. Jojo gives her a mint tea bag and he picks out his desired flavor too. Then he gives Lisa a cookie. "Thanks! I love cookies," Lisa exclaims. Jojo smiles and says, "I knew it, I knew you do. "Hm, you seem to know me very well. Don't you?" Lisa asks. Jojo tells her, "I have extensive knowledge of several of the chefs I'm seeing. Just like how you know your customers very well." Suddenly a loud noise is being heard. Lisa, who is noise sensitive, covers her ears and says "ahh! No!" "Jojo says, "Hold on," then gets up and walks towards the direction it came from. The sound then mutes and Jojo returns. "Are you alright?" He asks Lisa. "Well, I'm sensitive to noise and sound," she says. After a little pause, Lisa then says to Jojo, "I'm autistic." "Good to know," he answers, "thanks for telling me". "You don't think I'm weird or crazy?" mumbles Lisa. "No, I don't think you're crazy. I just want to understand you better," Jojo says. He puts his hand on Lisa's shoulder and pats it. "That's one of the nicest ways people have reacted when they found out," Lisa confesses. "Jojo, you're amazing." Jojo smiles and thanks Lisa for her compliment. Why would anyone be terrified of him, wonders Lisa. She really enjoys his personality. "Lisa, does eye contact make you feel uncomfortable?" Jojo asks her. "It does," she answers. Jojo and Lisa are not the same. While Lisa has bad eye contact and dislikes it when people look directly into her eyes, Jojo believes that eye contact is essential while speaking to someone. However, Lisa is content that Jojo, a neurotypical man, respects and understands her. After a while, Lisa says goodbye and heads back home. She tries to remember the route, but this time in reverse. Lisa focuses on the street signs too, as that was where she went wrong on her way to Jojo's. When Lisa gets home, she smiles when remembering today's meeting, while Spookje the cat sits beside her on the couch and they chill together.

February strikes. The month of Valentine's Day. The mall is no longer full of rainbows, but everything is pink, red, and white. There are roses almost anywhere you go, and the air is scented with flowers and perfume. Lisa has never had a Valentine, still she genuinely enjoys this holiday. Theres love everywhere and everything looks so sweet with those candy colors. Before the store opens, she meets Avia, and the two of them also refurbish the lobby. They then put on work-appropriate clothing. Lisa watches the lanterns outside going off now the sky becomes light blue. The lights were pink too! Avia approaches Lisa and asks, "do you have a Valentine or are you still single?" Lisa responds, "I'm single. Always have been." "Really, me too. Thank goodness I'm not alone!" Avia cheers and she high-fives Lisa. "I just have bad luck when it comes to love, but that's good since I still succeed in other areas. I have been travelling the world and I've won the lottery!" Although Lisa recalls her saying as much before, she is still in awe. "Yeah, and I don't need love. I have... well, food!" Lisa says. "Food is the best," Avia adds. The two share a laugh. "Okay it's almost opening time, let's go", Lisa says. "Our first customer is Scarlett. Wait, she's... she's the lead singer of Scarlett and the Shakers!" Scarlett appears sporting attire appropriate for the current holiday. She has white angel wings, a Cupid's bow, and a Cupid-inspired outfit. Avia couldn't believe her eyes, "how many famous people would be showing up here for pie?" Avia muses about the possibility of seeing Rudy, Marty, and Clover as Lisa takes Scarlett's order. Lisa always aspired to be like Scarlett when she was little. She adored her style and thought she's one of those cool girls she idolised in her childhood. And now she's here, waiting for Lisa to serve her some pie. When she's done, she gives Scarlett her pie, which she adored! She leaves Lisa some tips and Avia watches in amazement. "Oh yeah! You did it!" She lets out softly. Customers continue to arrive throughout the day with roses, and Lisa offers each of them a warm, freshly baked pie made with love. After Quinn, the last customer of the day leaves, Lisa wonder what's up with the look on her face she had today. She is aware of her history with Timm, so how would Quinn be affected if the mall had turned into a paradise for lovers?

A few days into the holiday, Lisa discovers a present box standing in the stockroom with Taylor's name scribbled on it. Lisa gets to the delivery phone and she calls the Post Office. Vincent picks up the call, and Lisa tells him about the present. Soon enough, Vincent arrives to deliver the present to Taylor. He takes it from him, reads that it's from Lisa (despite it not being her who prepared it for him), and goes inside. Then he comes out with a brand new outfit on. Vincent returns to Lisa and tells her that Taylor was delighted with the gift. Lisa smiles, being happy to hear that he liked it. Lisa checks the date. It's February 17th already? It felt like Lisa forgot that the 14th has already passed and that Valentine's Day itself was three days ago. Lisa might have been distracted by the abundance of pink colours or taken in by the rosy scent emanating from Smellbound. Lisa does recall buying Avia a box of chocolates one day in an attempt to trick her into thinking she has a admirer. Avia was at least relieved that she had received chocolates after all when she learned that Lisa had actually purchased them for her. At the end of today's shift, Lisa notices that she will have the next day off and that Avia will be in charge of the store. "Goodluck," Lisa says to her before heading to the train station. Lisa got herself some white chocolate too and decides to eat it on the train.