"Omigosh, Kate! Are you busy?"

Kaitlyn looked up from playing her keyboard, popping a headphone out of one ear at her roommate's sudden appearance. "Hey. Not really, no. Just practicing a bit. Why?"

Heather's crystalline eyes glittered with excitement. "You wanna come to the basketball game with me? I've got a little group going, we're gonna cheer on some of the people we know on the team! It's gonna be awesome."

The blonde began to rattle off the names of the people who would be going. Most of them Kaitlyn recognized, though a surprising number seemed entirely unfamiliar. It spoke to the sheer vastness of the girl's social web that, even now, she had yet to completely map the thing.

"Ah… I'm not sure. I've got a lot to do tonight." She winced, shooting Heather an apologetic smile. "Maybe next time?"

Ever since she'd returned from her hospital stay, Heather had been acting differently. She made more frequent appearances around the dorm, for one, usually with some suggested outing or activity for them to do together. Just last week she'd been invited to a concert, a soccer game, a sorority bake sale, and some girl's birthday get-together. She'd gone to the bake sale, but the rest she'd had to decline.

It was as though the girl had made it her personal mission to get Kaitlyn involved in campus life, way more than ever before. Between that and the constant offers of assistance with anything and everything, she felt like she was rooming with an overprotective mother hen.

She wouldn't have minded much if it weren't for her own obligations. Between Kate's Kitchen, lab, and her latest high-end software engineering job, Kaitlyn was starting to feel as though she was spread a bit too thin. Her once malleable schedule had solidified into a dense mass of one thing after another. It was all she could do to fit in cross country practice and study sessions with Elliot and Esme.

I seriously might need to consider dropping something. Maybe I don't need to practice keyboard so much? Not like I've really used it too much so far, even if I hope that changes…

"You like, don't have to stay the whole time, y'know?" Heather was saying. "But c'mon, girl. It feels like you're always so busy! I know you've, like, got a job and all that, but still! You gotta make time to relax!"

"Hmmm…" Kaitlyn frowned at the eerie echoing of her own thoughts. "Maybe, I might need to bring my laptop though. When does it start?"

"In like an hour," the girl flopped into the comfortable plush chair near her desk. "We were gonna all meet at Cappy's before we headed over. You should totally come for that, at least. You're so tiny you could use the food!"

"Like you're one to talk," she shot back. "I'm pretty sure you're even thinner than me, Heather."

"Pshhh, no way!" The blonde pinched her nonexistent belly. "I like, totally need to lose a few pounds. You're so skinny you still look like you got straight out of the hospital, Kate!"

"Do not! And besides, I'm nowhere near that pale anymore!"

"Uh, sure, whatever. You still need to eat, girl!"

She muttered under her breath. "Alright, mom, geez…"

"Hmmm?"

"Nothing," Kaitlyn said quickly. "By the way, how's the advertising for Kate's Kitchen going?"

"Omigosh, it's doing awesome!" Heather bounded over excitedly, pulling out her phone as she did. "Wanna see? The stats on the latest post are like, totally bonkers."

The pair began looking over the numbers together. In the past, Kaitlyn had studiously avoided this side of the business as much as possible. It had never really interested her, not nearly as much as the cooking itself. But during Ian's romance ending, she'd taken a bit more of an active role in the marketing side of things, if only to make sure that Heather's vision didn't run roughshod over what Ian was comfortable with. That peek behind the curtain had given her a newfound appreciation for her roommate's skills.

"...We've got another three posts scheduled for the rest of the week, two at primetime and another in the evening just to test the waters. I wanna check out if these recipe suggestions keep pulling the same numbers that they did last time. If they do, then I'll totally be bugging you for more of 'em. Otherwise, we can totally stick to more 'work in progress' and 'coming soon' image posts like we've been doing!"

"Awesome. I already have some more recipes lined up, so just let me know if you need them. I'll probably do more dessert testing this weekend, too, if you want pictures of those?"

"Uh, duh!" The girl winked. "And maybe a taste test while we're at it. Oh, lemme know when you wanna do it ASAP though. I'm gonna be totally swamped all weekend…"

Kaitlyn shook her head. "You always are. Seriously, when do you have time to do all of this? In class?"

"Of course not!" Heather shot her an almost offended look. "I'm a good student, Kate! I totally listen during lecture. Well, except in Jazz History…"

"Ok, still. It seems like even your 'downtime' is spent going to events or doing something even more productive. Do you just have extra hours in the day or something?"

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"Ugh, I wish. Nope! I just get a lotta stuff done when walking to classes, before I go to bed… y'know, stuff like that!"

Kaitlyn just shook her head in wonder. It was one thing for her to pack each day chock full of activities. But for Heather? The fact that she was usually out and about made it easy to forget the sheer amount of stuff the blonde did. She'd known that her roommate was an absolute juggernaut of productivity for a long time now, but the sheer drive of the girl still caught her off guard sometimes.

"Well, I appreciate it. Really. You let me know if you ever need anything, ok?"

"Psssh, I've totally got this, Kate!" Heather shot her a beaming smile and a thumbs up. "No worries at all!"

Geez. If Heather was the one with a time loop… well, maybe world domination wouldn't seem so far-fetched after all.

***

"Great to meet you both. If you have resumes, I'd be happy to take them. And make sure to grab a pen!"

Kaitlyn and Elliot took turns shaking the Theranuc recruiter's hand. With a small nod that wasn't entirely meant for the other man, she readied herself.

Alright. Here we go.

After weeks of planning, it was finally time. The underlying strangeness of this loop's timeline had meant the career fair encounter had almost snuck up on her. But that didn't mean she'd allowed herself to be caught unprepared.

She ran through the plan one more time in her head, paying only partial attention as they handed in their resumes and Ray commented on Elliot's last name. The interaction was pretty formulaic. Besides, even without committing the words to memory, she knew exactly what was being communicated.

After taking a brief moment to collect their spoils—a pair of cute pens that resembled miniature pipettes—they waded back into the dense crush of bodies populating the Bara Ballroom. They got a bit of distance from the stand before Kaitlyn took a deep breath and spoke.

"So… Ambrose, huh?"

Elliot twirled his pen between his fingers. At her implied question, his eyes flicked over, then turned back to the crowd before them to continue dodging other students. His expression remained neutral. "Yup. You don't seem surprised."

She nodded. "Yeah. I kind of knew already."

He sighed tiredly. "Someone told you? Or you just happened to connect the dots yourself?"

"Eh… someone told me. I did some digging afterwards, though. Sorry if that seems a little weird."

"It's fine. I'd probably do the same if your last name was on the big ol' hospital around the corner." The ginger shook his head.

"Yeah… it's really not doing you any favors, to be honest."

He chuckled in agreement. "Well, thanks for being polite about not bringing it up. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate if you don't go telling other people."

Kaitlyn frowned. "Sure, but… is it really that much of a problem? I mean, your dad's rich, but he's not famous famous. Just… normal famous, I guess? That's the impression I got, at least."

"You're not wrong. It's not like he's a full-on celebrity, though between the hospital and me being involved in bio, it's easier to make the connection than you'd think. Either way, though, the less people who know the better." He slipped the pen into his pocket, then laced his fingers behind his head as they walked. "People kind of treat you different when they know—or even think— you're rich."

Right. I remember him mentioning that… I guess people trying to take advantage of him must really be an issue. Still, if he's got a problem with that kind of thing, then being in a band is a seriously odd decision.

Instead of speaking the thought aloud, she nodded. "No problem. I won't tell a soul. Or start asking you for loans, either."

He snorted at that. "Oh, you don't know how much I wish you were joking… Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, any burning questions you want to ask? Anything you've just been dying to know since you found out?"

Kaitlyn thought about it for a moment. Despite the amount of stuff she wanted to know about Elliot, not too many of the questions were particularly pressing. Besides, she wasn't quite sure if now was the time for any of it. Looking at the guy's face, he seemed pretty resigned, almost tired. His question seemed like one more out of obligation than anything. She didn't doubt he'd answer, of course, but it didn't feel like something she wanted to take him up on.

"Not right now. Although…" An idea sparked in her head. "I think I met your mom, actually."

That got Elliot's attention. He looked over, eyebrows shooting up his forehead. "Really? Were you at the hospital or something?"

"Yeah. I told you how I got sick before the semester started, right? A Dr. Ambrose was taking care of me. She mentioned she had a son going here, so I kind of assumed…"

She trailed off as Elliot's face began to turn nearly the same shade of his hair. "Oh, no. Tell me she didn't do anything weird."

"Weird? What do you mean?"

He fixed her with an intense look. "She didn't try to tell you any stories? Share embarrassing pictures? Anything?"

Where the heck is this coming from? She seemed like a completely normal person to me!

Kaitlyn raised her hands defensively at his sudden shift in his attitude. "No! Nothing like that. I mean, she did gush about you a bit, but…"

Elliot groaned, running a hand down his face. "Figures. Well, if it was just that, then I guess I should count myself lucky… She's usually a lot worse, especially with her coworkers. I can't even begin to tell you how embarrassing it is. I'm pretty sure the entire hospital knows the dumb things I did as a kid better than I do."

Despite his words, Kaitlyn couldn't help but notice a bit of fondness creeping into Elliot's expression. He obviously minded the attention and embarrassment, of course. But it didn't seem like he was resentful.

Maybe he doesn't mind quite as much as he lets on.

The thought of her own parents sent a brief shock of longing through her. It had been a while since she'd thought about them, long enough that the sting had mostly faded. But every once in a while, the loneliness still managed to catch her off guard.

"...Anyway. If you were getting treated by her, then you're definitely lucky. She's one of the best on staff, in my unbiased opinion."

Kaitlyn chuckled at that. "Right. Completely unbiased, I'm sure."

"Of course. I strive to always be impartial. Except for when it comes to music taste. Oh!" Elliot checked his phone. "Looks like Esme just got out of class."

"Great! Want to meet her at the front?"

"Nah. Let's get in one of those longer lines, save her a place while we wait. Unless she's really slow. Then we'll just be getting another booth under our belts without her."

As the pair headed for one of the sinuous lines in question, Kaitlyn let out a sigh of relief. The loop was going well so far. She felt like she had a better idea of where to go with the Elliot situation, enough to start making a real plan. But there still felt like there were a few gaps in her understanding. Gaps she'd need to fill before really settling on an approach. And she knew just who to ask.

Maybe I need to see about having some girl time with Esme, one-on-one. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to find out if they're dating.