Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvp2JbZ6sT0
— 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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2cvc1sGIC
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBikhmu9Uc
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSodjdGpHs
This was different.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFW9JY01RiM
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvOm5WrN9S
The time was right.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNbNp2Hm0j
But the man was wrong.
He was young.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35Sm2EEoFa
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpG3paBVM6A
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkNCpeONGr
It was too new.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeMCcsKRDA
Too “present.”57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOkMYI1hds
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwL3i6jOLiG
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEFdxuQFud
“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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1Gob2rHgh
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzk6TTP9Y9
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXARa1iQIS0
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2ynNt0R7S
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7690rFK36E
And yes.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGRH9yfGbX
That shot.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXymn3vukE
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuin0I7Mlg
Didn’t snort like Kyle.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3H4bCdmfSQ
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgZPnp2j2w
Silent.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAesxdf4YRe
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlw2V65zL4C
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHjuM3hCN1
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkI7009zWbf
Didn’t ask.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwC0JHaOjU
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7fYmMBbPs
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2inVqbixE
“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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cJXGlDJZ2
Just once.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJl7kAgJyCH
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzPZZ7QOI2
Didn’t offer a sigh.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfa5xAYxkpr
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpy00i831g
But because she said it so effortlessly.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3EEYnoKP4
So plainly.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvh7ICoDrh
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLqBm29Alg
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3isAZ9Yop
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoqIt9cyZH
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUIBvabARL
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEX98OcRUO
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvjdIwoYpE
So she’d memorize them instead.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRAAW8a9Rh
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9EEwqjre1
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBywUKPDl2F
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ELB6ClEtD
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2ExmPjMVp
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0v7LsUZrJ
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvlKkDLhvb
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcclt7F5ke
The city didn’t teach you that.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58YqHUG5lY
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIxvMXsIWt
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGF0vAQ5Ptb
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMRb0yjN6F
The clock said 11:00 PM.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVBZua3I4p
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMWTBVzoTn
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiUK7iOOus
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7TwB80zcV
Like a declaration:57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKLYM1BHY0
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5y3o6pOJ3
Midnight? Three in the morning?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEo7Ja8exx
Maybe the second she fell asleep?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgPZaWaNGG
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZl5D9AMuw
Time always hit reset in the dark.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5JCG98kzl
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQlpoT0VQE
Then came a sound.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5W6bQiWoDW
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjpr5svkUv
Just a soft “thunk.”57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWtYmY7w00
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshiJgHAKeZ
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3KphpLk7l
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZAWyW9X4s
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMkeYecGxW
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6eCZ5IfSq
The twin batons.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRbjxoanQU
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSVzvQkd6D
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGtgJW9Bb2
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZ8VnJSMVd
Just leapt.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4tVYAd55p
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgcy7jYCoc
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99vnK4cEUx
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.”57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4jRbJuZkF
He’d been here.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlijsrOvc3
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?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLmHVtDIbe
A rest stop?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreGRlE0I1b
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tqrkaskrF
But not now.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYxBvBUSHI
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwYysj7nRr
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zz2ZjZvDK
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMzXG4sYhf
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjGlWMBX1h
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqLTjbmRez
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dtGMyUmjn
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06DumhyVzh
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpBdfJorAl
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgoqZHZWac
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpO7PlrAua
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?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5aSHBFsH2
Was today not even part of the loop?57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2EvlerSmw
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vANxoPNkW
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqXxunXKQW
A new paper.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCz10cHwY8
A new customer.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRL09adefBd
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6WwqpV59c
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ5YSCBqIf
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bgmf0h4v4
She couldn’t fall asleep.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvFwmzLdTu
She’d made it from ten to four.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaN58u2r4K
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslJxXD6D6o
— Just for a second.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3vvSDMIBX
Her eyelids were dry.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYzzTTQazA
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQP8BBrbL2P
In bed.
Her head buzzed.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aadayHny4
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B295pfntz
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqddIzLlMD
Same damn voice.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpdwlrHLTZ
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7GxxmNXZY
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZelLwXM1n
and then Add to home screen.