Kaitlyn looked over the newcomer. He stood only a little bit taller than her, though his broad shoulders and confidence made him appear much larger. His slicked-back blonde hair and leather jacket gave off a clearly rebellious impression, one that was only reinforced by the spark of mischief in his deep blue eyes. As their gazes met, he shot her a cocky grin.

"Hey, Vinny."

His expression immediately dropped into a scowl ."The fuck do you know my name?"

"Come on. This is your house, isn't it?" Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't be that surprised when people know you."

Vinny grumbled, but didn't contradict her. He took a swig from the brown bottle perched at his elbow, then gestured toward her cup. "What're you drinkin'?"

"Water."

He snorted. "Seriously? What, you driving or somethin'?"

"No. I've got a ride. It's just not a good idea for me to drink."

"The fuck?" He gave her a scrutinizing look. "What's that supposed to mean? Aren't you kinda young to be an alcoholic?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "An alcoholic? Me? As if. If either one of us's got drinking problems, it's you."

"Hey now," his voice lowered into a warning growl. "Just cuz you know my name doesn't mean you know shit about me. Don't go actin' like you do."

"I mean, it's not like it's a big stretch." She waved around the patio. "You guys host parties like this pretty much every night. And if you're drinking for all of them, isn't that kinda the definition of an alcoholic?"

It crossed her mind that she was being a bit forward and even aggressive, especially considering that Vinny was someone she'd "just met." But to be fair, Vinny came on pretty strong himself. And besides, she was far past the point of really worrying about how Vinny saw her.

I'm not looking for any kind of ending with him right now. Heck, this is probably the only time I'll talk to him all loop. Why should I care if he gets offended or something?

If anything, the questions could only help her. Maybe taking the conversation in a new direction would help her get some more info for his endings in the future.

"Just cuz I know how to let loose and hold my booze doesn't mean I'm a fuckin' alcoholic," Vinny pointed out, taking another swig of beer. "'Sides, the fuck else you do at a party? Things are just shitty if you don't drink."

Kaitlyn shrugged. "Eh. I'm still having fun."

"Yeah, you'd be having way more if you got that stick outta your ass."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah? You don't know me, either. For all you know, I could be a walking disaster once I've got a couple shots in me."

A devious grin spread across his face. "So? Doesn't mean you ain't havin' fun. 'Sides, who cares? It's a party. People always get shitfaced."

She shook her head, trying and failing to suppress a smile of her own. It was an incredibly "Vinny" opinion to have. Regardless, it didn't change her own stance on the matter. She'd had enough regrettable experiences that she didn't particularly want to risk repeating them. "No thanks. I'll stick with water."

"Suit yourself. Don't blame me when you get bored as fuck."

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Why are you out here, anyway? Shouldn't you be in there, enjoying yourself and playing beer pong or something?"

Vinny shrugged. "It's my place. I go where I want."

"Sure, but that doesn't answer my question," she pointed out. "I mean, there's a whole crowd of people here. Why are you talking to some sober girl you don't even know?"

He'd made the same choice in previous loops, of course, but usually she could understand the reason. Whether she was upset, lonely, or even having a full-on breakdown, Vinny usually appeared when she needed some sort of help. This was the first time she remembered him approaching her when she was just feeling normal.

Then again, I guess I haven't really come out here for a "normal" break like this before. Maybe he'd always approach me, even if I was having the best day of my life? That still begs the question of why, though…

"What, you think I'm tryin' to hit on you or somethin'?" A wicked grin spread across his face at the idea. "Don't flatter yourself, girlie. You may be cute, but you ain't that cute."

Kaitlyn reeled back as though struck.

What the… he thinks I'm cute?!

Vinny's grin just widened at her reaction. "Damn. You really thought I was tryin' to get in your pants, huh? Someone's awfully confident."

"N-no! That's not—!" Her cheeks flushed at the suggestion. "I didn't think that! At all!"

"Uh-huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

She took a deep breath to collect herself, shooting Vinny a venomous glare as she did. He'd caught her off guard, all right, although for an entirely different reason. She distinctly remembered him saying that she wasn't his type, at all. Had something changed, or had he been lying?

I really don't think he was lying. So… maybe I'm just overthinking things? I mean, he did say I'm not THAT cute, so I'm probably overthinking it. Or maybe something really has changed? But what?

It could have been any number of factors. To be fair, he'd made the comment after an entire loop of living with a very depressed and heartbroken Kaitlyn. She couldn't imagine that anyone would've found her cute or attractive after that. So maybe it was just the lack of baggage that was helping her?

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Still… I didn't think he'd find me physically attractive at all. Male lead or not, Vinny's always struck me as pretty different. It feels really weird for him to call me "cute" at all.

Kaitlyn recovered her wits, taking a sip of water before setting her cup back on the railing. "Geez. You really are an ass, you know that?"

"Ooh, what? You salty about getting rejected?"

"Bold of you to assume I was even interested. And you're saying I'm the overconfident one."

Vinny smirked, combing a hand through his hair. "It ain't overconfidence if it's the truth. Who wouldn't want a piece of this?"

"Makes it even more weird that you're here instead of in there talking to other girls."

"Eh. I've got time."

Kaitlyn sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever. None of my business, I guess. I just wanted to know why you came over, that's all. I didn't know if I had a sign on my back that says 'come talk to me' or something."

"The fuck you on about? I just wanted to talk, that's all. Quit bein' such a fuckin' weirdo about it."

They fell into silence for a moment, each sipping their drinks as the dull thrum of conversation drifted up from the yard below. The night sky above twinkled with a scattering of stars, the majority washed out by the bright lights of civilization below.

Well, this was informative. Kind of. I learned something, at least, but… I feel like I should be taking better advantage of this opportunity. What else can I ask?

As she debated her options, trying to decide on a useful direction to take the conversation, Kaitlyn heard the door open behind them once again. People had been going in and out all evening, so she didn't pay it much mind. Not until she heard a new voice call out.

"Kate?"

Kaitlyn blinked. Looking over her shoulder, it seemed that another familiar face had joined them on the patio, the door slowly closing behind him. Long ginger hair hung loose about his shoulders, his usual flannel tied about his waist for the moment. Emerald green eyes went wide in a surprised expression that mirrored her own.

Vinny followed her gaze, then grinned. "Ooh, lookit little miss popular over here. Who's that? Your boyfriend?"

Kaitlyn's face flushed. "No. He's my labmate."

"Labmate? Damn, a fuckin weirdo and a nerd." Vinny pushed off the railing, swiping up his beer as he did so. "Whatever. I've got better things to do. See ya."

Without so much as another word, Vinny brushed past Elliot and headed inside the house. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving the two to stare at each other in silence.

Elliot was the first to break the ice. "Who was that? Friend of yours?"

She opened her mouth to answer, then hesitated. I mean, technically yes? But also no. Depends on when you ask…

After a short internal debate, she simply shrugged. "Not really. Just one of the hosts."

"Huh. Seemed like an ass."

Kaitlyn couldn't help but chuckle. "My thoughts exactly."

"Mind if I join you?"

She gestured toward Vinny's newly-vacated spot at the railing. "Be my guest."

Elliot walked over to stand next to her, setting down a partially-filled red cup of his own. As he neared, Kaitlyn noticed that his normally light skin was just the slightest bit flushed. "Thanks. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to see another familiar face at this thing. How'd you end up here?"

"Me? I mean, I got invited by a friend. The whole cross country team is here celebrating now that Nationals is over."

"Cross country?" Elliot quirked an eyebrow "You're a runner?"

"Kind of? More of a jogger, really. I'm not any good at it."

It only made sense that he didn't know. It wasn't like they'd talked much over the course of this loop. Still, that just made the current situation feel even more strange.

Kaitlyn turned to face him more fully. "What about you? How did you end up at this party?"

"Ah, I'm here with friends." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and pointed inside. "They drag me along to a lot more of these things than I'd like, if I'm being honest. But it's all good. I don't get out enough otherwise."

Kaitlyn knew the friends he was talking about. One of them, at least. Elliot always came to this party with the lead singer of his band, the Dream Lizards. She hadn't had much reason or desire to talk to that guy, if she was being honest. The only interaction they'd really had was when she'd tripped over him, triggering a fight where Vinny had broken his hand on the singer's forehead. But even given the little she knew about Elliot's bandmate, he seemed like he was a much more natural fit for the party scene.

"As for why I'm out here…" Elliot continued. "Well, I needed some fresh air, honestly. My nose was itching like mad in there."

Her brow furrowed. "Your nose? Why?"

"Allergies, probably." Elliot rubbed at his face a few times. "I've got what I call a 'furball-detector'. If there's a cat anywhere in the building, I'm able to tell. Unfortunately."

A small smile tried to push its way onto Kaitlyn's face. "Yeah? That makes sense. It's probably hiding upstairs or something."

"I guess. You'd think that the sheer number of people would, I dunno, dilute it or something. No such luck…" With a sigh, Elliot took another swig of his drink. "Ah, well. Anyway, how've you been? I haven't seen you around lab as much lately. Classes got you busy?"

The loop's almost over. I guess there's no harm in talking to him.

"Eh a little bit. It's mostly work, though. I just got a new job and it's really been sucking up all of my time."

"Oh really? Where're you working? Anywhere I'd know?"

"Probably not. It's a software company called Fink…"

They talked for a little while, Ellliot taking far more interest in both her work and her recent activities than expected. It was even more strange considering the intentional distance that Kaitlyn had kept up during the loop. She suspected it had a bit more to do with the drink he sipped on than anything else. It would certainly explain why he seemed more relaxed and open than usual.

That, and he really doesn't seem that enthusiastic about the party itself. He's probably relieved to get out of it a bit.

Eventually, though, her time at the party drew to a close. Irene peeked her head onto the patio and called over. "Kat! We're heading out in a few. That ok with you?"

"Sure! Be there in a minute." Turning to Elliot one last time, she pushed away from the railing. "Sounds like I've gotta go. Well, thanks for hanging out with me."

Elliot nodded. "No problem. I'll stay out here for a bit longer. My nose still needs a bit of time to quit panicking. See you in lab?"

"Maybe. I've been coming in at pretty weird times lately, so maybe not." She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Ah, right. Well, see you around then." He raised his drink in farewell. "Good to see you."

Irene herded their group together and managed to shepherd them all toward her parked car, shivering in the night air as they walked. As they headed home, Kaitlyn gazed out the window, replaying the loop in her head once again. There were still a few weeks to go, of course. A few weeks was a lot of time to get stuff done. Still, as this particular encounter came to a close, it felt like she'd finally stepped off the edge and into the future.

The next few loops feel like they'll look pretty different from what I'm used to, especially if my plan works out. Now I just have to put it into action.

"Ced? You ok?" Rachel's concerned voice called out above the bassy thrum of the car's radio. Cedric responded with an uncomfortable-sounding groan.

"I swear, Cedric," Irene complained, "I will kick you out if you get carsick now."

"Just a few more minutes! You'd better not puke on me!"

Kaitlyn couldn't help herself. She giggled a little bit

***

Cycle 35 Complete!

Ending: Under the Radar

Total Endings Unlocked: 11