Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0d78vkbuVS
— 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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKtSEeBrN3
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uPUDhpEO5
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkF1wYLNCbV
This was different.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhmVFwJ0HU
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBfSdRytmL
The time was right.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdB8Za4UCQT
But the man was wrong.
He was young.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAzHgggIMj
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk8LKRahbf
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoZIiyJ0ON
It was too new.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWT8VTTTFia
Too “present.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpCIrcOFMH
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMct13VhubS
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYNTH6bku4
“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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKntjdYpoi
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINAoJioSVU
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQM6mOLDSPW
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTTGJUrovb
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrUXrXKAne
And yes.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxQTyuYpNL
That shot.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsk1tv6bcnk
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVQ6GIzI5j
Didn’t snort like Kyle.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqkDbEwPol
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡku8Bkas5Xt
Silent.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprZTmk1jzy
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Y0HW79Pzr
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkMyn4cLwT
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZiZkvvFz2
Didn’t ask.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliUBTI8XKl
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oSaOLBQPR
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNE3BFuGXf
“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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51mwOcI6JM
Just once.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8pmYUG7bv
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpYo9lTHpG
Didn’t offer a sigh.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpE57xHuvz
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGKCNzR0tL
But because she said it so effortlessly.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJLiNvXyjW
So plainly.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCwdwOHFxi
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs256BgS2LY
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbd0XPk916
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcZN2tYRR8
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uFL8Em3Qq
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpd5mgrGKLU
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Bj1xDY8t2
So she’d memorize them instead.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuj6vyQSA7j
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR83z9AH8Do
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzT0jzC2ZV
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cZTCmpnFv
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJLMx2JHWS
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEz2wtmRS2k
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxMcvur3Rd
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcGv7duhOU
The city didn’t teach you that.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESBN6Flvz6
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT55OMLGaM3
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUM2nYgviXP
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Qh9eh9zTu
The clock said 11:00 PM.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUL06PCGXJ
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrdnmkzHKe
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLG3fEHVFs
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE49cDygzzz
Like a declaration:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nrb3C4yVc
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwpUFtr4O8
Midnight? Three in the morning?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wHkbWWSe0
Maybe the second she fell asleep?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOVOmOa0dv
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnn7j2fRHR
Time always hit reset in the dark.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zXsfUvVgq
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsHSL8SG3V
Then came a sound.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhWzsFDB3V
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntTLpkBJy1
Just a soft “thunk.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSV9cjKk6kT
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlX3x4VreBk
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8On4gCQ3b
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1o0u1TB9cB
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡascn0nrqbT
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡna4xQvSk5k
The twin batons.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcdxPIpNbd
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGn8WqgT49
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOQ8wLZEPr
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4ysU4SwWT
Just leapt.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0Ju2M9E7n
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKK5jeWkpsB
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5oTIJerzH
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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JB0o7yE19
He’d been here.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVClXz2keL
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?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYBTRI7gCQ
A rest stop?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm2bNBgo52
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTENCygdhpW
But not now.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxue5p0xRQc
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYBWdtQ2w3
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnfo7JvXRC
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5TCpXuvJs
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBWOPDJ0tF
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmd3y7zhSE
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKIXbdInll
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9usc2fh89
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLqzs5DZRt
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCptthJdz8G
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9N3xt4HoE7
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?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGlvk8F6Hh
Was today not even part of the loop?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NUIxqspO5
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiLwOt9n8h
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOOVsnHCas
A new paper.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOWefkwGMh
A new customer.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkIBuuZwRF
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TTFeWQLho
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPs7VcWZ9BW
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hLS4LmGff
She couldn’t fall asleep.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FwiFdV4Qk
She’d made it from ten to four.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuLM0U13ig
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCwV4I6NiI
— Just for a second.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9sR5NWcO5
Her eyelids were dry.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCuyaiwmLc
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNO6MikRErN
In bed.
Her head buzzed.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LLI0pTGuF
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX6V73iGwn
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBi1E1Nq2mg
Same damn voice.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDs4fFVVtBH
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHjwdQfNtm
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGzGbBw6ox
and then Add to home screen.