Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3A0kfacl3m
— 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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuzdglPuvh
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74KSKVhMfD
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsAFiTOUNv
This was different.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2slzKPbacc
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PVYTHsqEs
The time was right.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqxwz4LbrM
But the man was wrong.
He was young.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfuTj7h6gn
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnadnJsuVyl
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNdLehkqZQ
It was too new.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQRBMLn3lc
Too “present.”139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡda7LwmNbdy
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxA2PibeuAU
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvF8QULUqQG
“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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCwRUrFYQb
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAT7RqkwZgZ
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyLdpOwO5z
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHiaPKA85m
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOghfpxFleY
And yes.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZY7CaoGxl
That shot.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPZBxVHIF4
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gp6oEaPfm
Didn’t snort like Kyle.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZ98skMa10
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCjdG1Vp1U
Silent.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZPa2OniAW
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUl3kcufOIc
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rziB1is4n
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxZ468G8nc
Didn’t ask.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkNZVygYIr
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNMDvUlLrK
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8bBKj81Y6
“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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwM2YfdVNl
Just once.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeATohCtDpD
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBrvjDijf7
Didn’t offer a sigh.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtJY10dAEo
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVHXQeqQH3
But because she said it so effortlessly.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kzYyekOKi
So plainly.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzDxvliB8P
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cXulfVfJO
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvl2FnBd8x
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4DkNUE9CgB
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaslw8bdIZF
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflTtKPDLwm
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxoJbnatis
So she’d memorize them instead.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6ZOCtqM0h
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JIMYY7htI
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhEsBvgJQ4
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7vLPbNN7Y
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAvjaeNu5S
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDO46ZMO1xE
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElhBAP6NbG
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeG8htqWxWb
The city didn’t teach you that.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29POgFbaAa
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PGPJ3N196
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hgtpk9nFB
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUHSW064tu
The clock said 11:00 PM.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfpR6jQfWW
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EKPoJ26wb
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqGjIutLMp
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrNrx0Jcyr
Like a declaration:139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTM33zSg3P
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfcicjpPc9
Midnight? Three in the morning?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2e9krg9oH
Maybe the second she fell asleep?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3dLpFFmkH
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FJaS1XcId
Time always hit reset in the dark.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tt72kW3By
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Z57dRqEmf
Then came a sound.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiTzOh4667
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkzNspxQOo
Just a soft “thunk.”139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAk75bcs5E
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdfycLU889
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjc5WTEZvbz
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYjSNCEP9D
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoo9h5h8uRw
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgPZ16bjQK
The twin batons.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlExVJzf3LW
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20KRimoIjN
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVifOLszU7b
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauE7n4dwDR
Just leapt.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasWHubZnLq
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYE2NxshAlW
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X2wOaoopp
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.”139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUq718S6Ic4
He’d been here.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5lvlQ09bA
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?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp68YEdYHDK
A rest stop?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRNwvVARJj
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3agRwgO9G
But not now.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDjBH4Y7kU
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUiIQAEGgL
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJ1bKrbSBy
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAMv9AJKsF
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAw4AbqN8f
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XlKABYzGQ
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeHBhdjskb
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdBoUgL6NT
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uoq1iva9q
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPzTxVfef1
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5I7B94DFf
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?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPVUfRwUcL
Was today not even part of the loop?139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegUwLHDwj8
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7EgyX3SiI
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0vZ4TRsJd
A new paper.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomI5oXsy2w
A new customer.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlufe8dT80k
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wjF34oi3v
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUL0UrhzJo9
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPIaH3EFXS
She couldn’t fall asleep.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bKylBipOM
She’d made it from ten to four.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIZkQeHlNi
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWi2ul28c4
— Just for a second.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqXxdofrds
Her eyelids were dry.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0BOrLt8R5
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVA0cDhkNf
In bed.
Her head buzzed.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZLhu09qbp
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrKhZwNB3p
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs82vp9ZgPs
Same damn voice.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LPsI2bRqM
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.139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGPVwn9i57
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
139Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FPyj5Kcvo
and then Add to home screen.