Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpVi4xcoLz
— That as-soon-as-you-write-it-it-disappears kind of frustration twisted in her chest like the early warning of a vomit you know has nowhere to go.
Then someone walked in.
A man. In uniform.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyEL14Ezix
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96e6URz9zM
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6AOAj3x0a
This was different.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Zb7rBYL1j
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBhRWeTNMf
The time was right.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXWfQ7dea6
But the man was wrong.
He was young.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPHzO6emNw
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3tYMXoHJ7
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYnZTaz8oI
It was too new.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwVr5msLgw
Too “present.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVh6HTO6IJW
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oVbPAiZSn
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TuKgASZZY
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
— Even his voice had warmth.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVq4Z3o8Yf7
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbnWZPZOWS
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXudeO5pqX
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynMy0JBoAw
He was a new puzzle piece—and this world wasn’t supposed to have any left.
As she packed the bagels, the blue-eyed officer glanced at the newspaper on the counter—the same old Nightwing photo.
The one with the annoyingly cheerful mid-air leap.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZOq3oPYrP
And yes.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhJMuLn4dD
That shot.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6cVxhp2I3
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvkm0uO6sx
Didn’t snort like Kyle.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY53eun63wN
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasoaCghRGO
Silent.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZClPiiwcW0
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoAydn7dPt
Or recognizing something.
Claire stepped out from behind the counter and handed him the bag.
Her gaze flicked to the paper as she did, tracing the direction he had just been looking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1hNfPqYV2
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijkOwVWeKm
Didn’t ask.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9jOeqd7Q3
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEn5hx1Q35d
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqAjGqMA10
“Hey… uh. Just wondering. What do you think of Nightwing? I mean, we work with him a lot. Curious what people think.”
Claire looked at him.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPSVOUFjbM
Just once.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC86sAxbIQH
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGniB2Sa4t1
Didn’t offer a sigh.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxjPInn8nq
Just rolled her eyes with the weariness of someone who’s rolled them way too many times this week.
The officer would later swear he heard her mumble as she turned:
“Hope his ass falls off.”
He blinked.
Not because it was shocking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIHPoDB8Cq
But because she said it so effortlessly.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBApgRzXmWu
So plainly.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8Miptm4H7
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsilhd5ii05
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ijrQfYsCm
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEW9p5UndVe
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fVzZl65D3
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzJ768e8UF
This wasn’t a movie. No last-minute plot armor. No chosen one moment. If she was going to survive this, she had to do it herself.
She couldn’t write things down.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJhOCcj01Z
So she’d memorize them instead.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcINo6ujLe
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESin3oTudt
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJLO0Bh47B
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHz5zZTcUU
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCYuKIMlAe
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzy8l8QQtN
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS4CXlCmnR
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxeDLeOhId
The city didn’t teach you that.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOahIhfUdwf
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4FMVSinIp
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6DFfsVLKO
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcwmBrHbDj
The clock said 11:00 PM.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFhNMZWIUl
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2S0NqERS8
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oqrgu94BY
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdw9Owg7QE
Like a declaration:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8qN7f4CU7
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoI4w87iBx
Midnight? Three in the morning?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSG8yB3mBl
Maybe the second she fell asleep?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MNgUa5cuc
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8ZK4CZFdB
Time always hit reset in the dark.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq53Y81BUGY
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVcsccAk5h
Then came a sound.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkl3LS4DAyM
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMIo52vwxZ
Just a soft “thunk.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZyd2omq7b
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWVIazQcS6
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tfszyxubb
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vLQXTl0sO
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyi1RKfPUq
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegNN9BnbyZ
The twin batons.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQge5vV6nt
That crouch.
She’d never been a fan, but she’d never expected him on her damn balcony either.
He was crouched on the railing, scanning the distance.
— His movement was smooth, breath quiet.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zIUGiWsHg
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcChtkx9ZF
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7WKM3gJbt
Just leapt.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnlT1whMVS
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHE4Gd3CLb
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmHFAIXRpK
Here, then not.
So... he passed by her balcony around eleven?
Had he always come by?
Had she been asleep, missing it every time?
— A blank spot appeared on her mental “loop chart.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApUcc2N5KY
He’d been here.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb6vnqaIMU
And she’d never known.
She shut the curtain, stunned, dropped back onto the sofa.
What if her balcony was actually part of some secret patrol route?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkIZPmztL8
A rest stop?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOS0rF9vs5
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj0yqAKEI1
But not now.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXhd10q0wF
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eCFcQLrrQ
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmyrjjkoZS
One she’d open later.
Tonight’s mission: figure out when this world restarts.
Claire stayed on the couch and sipped her coffee.
— Bitter. Too bitter.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPn6IrgdLCb
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVSRFv677r
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCvElcUe0S
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡms1WhS7rJn
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IwxhkTaHE
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9oWDQA7z8
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TAs2VjhWK
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Eajk81jfj
But it mushroomed in her mind like smoke from a silent bomb.
It was 4 a.m.
What now?
Was she supposed to stay up till sunrise?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWO0Q8oPd0
Was today not even part of the loop?61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9osJBl4E0
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAN3vl6eIJH
Which immediately made her angry at herself for being dramatic.
Her head throbbed.
Maybe… maybe this would be the night that finally led into a real tomorrow.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2k0FocwpnB
A new paper.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmGv68hrZu
A new customer.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbv6oHcupHo
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNuTMWkfwM
Even if it still featured Nightwing’s butt, she’d settle for a different angle.
If that meant selling new bagels, she’d knead two extra batches as an offering.
The TV now sounded like a lullaby.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifZBTo8UiY
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXVNngCHTJ
She couldn’t fall asleep.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIDzT0TySz
She’d made it from ten to four.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnFGF6GH4R
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvKm4bitcu
— Just for a second.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0N96zRF9My
Her eyelids were dry.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4xjcYWEBl
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLz9Q8Hfw2
In bed.
Her head buzzed.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0qbIRPF3l
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvGp5eWdaM
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFazy1s60E
Same damn voice.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLL0Zdv9wQv
That same punch-in-the-gut familiarity that made her want to throw the clock across the room.
She’d failed.
She stayed up all night.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnigrfhbq2
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflSqaOqV4y
and then Add to home screen.