Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTDhgRpw3H
— 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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOkBe40g3m
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHSs0rYVeU
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFrabeC7or
This was different.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgldO71an4
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsi7AH8UO2q
The time was right.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44ceuHRJF9
But the man was wrong.
He was young.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrm21LaUO2n
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCbXr0IueS
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVf0ydMUJCj
It was too new.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQowJxiYwO
Too “present.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzcezrcbjC
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIOi7Q6tH8
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyn2qK3rkk
“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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLHl0743MT
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkhQfUgvlk
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5kxoaSiDYd
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErAJU7OtTP
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIgtpM56L5
And yes.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcAvRz08Fh
That shot.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbG3dsc2Vos
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJMNVyfacl
Didn’t snort like Kyle.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ewd1mxBSx
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiObB72TQYQ
Silent.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaA5MU60xE
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjqSji5kfC
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuj5E2Af973
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡve0XR0iVm0
Didn’t ask.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡip3OcoFOKp
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGt1145p5FJ
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqQXz8dswK
“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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecUEoOOqmf
Just once.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfGtU2uEXc
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhUuhJZf4I
Didn’t offer a sigh.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOx2W0PBfC
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPQ0bJlFXv
But because she said it so effortlessly.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjW0LVaMjmo
So plainly.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGzbhbXYOl
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JiydBxR3r
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pcQZhsJCq
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQvRiAnbB4
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4437EfqaQ
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjYdWb1eUA
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Zn5kr2Buz
So she’d memorize them instead.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9HhD0tVxh
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOoUAXKAz6
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5ZHYS3nkV
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vDBo7G73s
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2dilQp9Xt
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOu8Fldkl9
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdWmYnkci4
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtCljTBwLU
The city didn’t teach you that.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHgwdTbN2p
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHN3dfSQluR
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuubj78seKy
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnThfETtXs
The clock said 11:00 PM.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob1ElEXC6W
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbiDQEjKI8
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ysJ2maEMD
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAhq3A8zRO
Like a declaration:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntbnRWXnvX
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlg7F3K1LUx
Midnight? Three in the morning?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3lzOyQhs0
Maybe the second she fell asleep?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzXYw0ELIZ
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcEKPDVYNp
Time always hit reset in the dark.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiz3bMQCbpr
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOaaA3yw9r
Then came a sound.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LIZiIOa2H
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHVC7AF0V9
Just a soft “thunk.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprnNQonpU5
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78FOyATFBh
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC2nwMH4Xz
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0QhThnuKW
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5QlqQDOWf
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWsMrWgaAC
The twin batons.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qHuD1WAev
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIC1C7dNtJ
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXGQDAIa9B
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6h4VHDWvpL
Just leapt.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EgKMywKdz
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSnNnUmYR9
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBGIWQB1Kd
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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHRZCpHgm7
He’d been here.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6EJK6lZvb
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?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86rCtnF1Pw
A rest stop?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ4g1ZlDUV
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIadC59D61
But not now.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfbnEabV8s
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiZWfJRd1W
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XDnQ5S3qX
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhj9jRLI9ht
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeno0HHOVS
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoc2uacin4
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDImbxd7VxA
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrG7b6KWyZe
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBUVm1dfBJ
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWbHVc16lh
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitHubXYOVF
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?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8ZFeeL4Cc
Was today not even part of the loop?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw3DEXiPXp
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoJ4MJkgzN
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRNLskaxvk
A new paper.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZ4FIaUSIL
A new customer.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgIX63RGda
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUH94gFCMIR
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafoh6Cw3Ir
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrm3QJO7g1U
She couldn’t fall asleep.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQn6zhtsXTy
She’d made it from ten to four.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuDIIbICFS
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JAXpnthP7
— Just for a second.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSRqlk5jQ8
Her eyelids were dry.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqvwcYwaJW
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IVivOPkTu
In bed.
Her head buzzed.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxYl0kVxoK
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61Kob3EV5T
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpMRJ3cXbP
Same damn voice.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdthoxLxH8
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKwn7CiEuV
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjLi5TQJZB
