Sunlight peeked through from behind Kaitlyn’s closed eyelids. The brightness pulled her out of the supernaturally restful sleep of a reset cycle and into consciousness. After taking a brief moment to appreciate the warmth of her blankets, she opened her eyes and pushed herself up to a sitting position.

The last loop had been a good one. She'd learned key information about Elliot and Ian both, not to mention the improvements she made in all of her other ventures. But more importantly than any of those, she'd somehow managed to make progress. Real progress.

I got a new ending. Somehow.

Closing her eyes, she pulled up her Progress Report.

Progress Report

Current Cycle:

Cycle 32 (Week 1)

Endings (9/18):

Alex (3/3 - Complete!)

Dinner Date

Comfort Food

Rotten to the Core

Ian (1/3)

???

A Winding Path

???

Philip (2/3)

Family Matters

Distant Relations

???

Vinny (1/3)

???

???

Party Crasher

Elliot (1/3)

???

Fertile Ground

???

Other (1/3)

???

Under the Radar

???

Achievements (9):

The First of Many - Unlock your first ending

What Friends are For - Unlock a friendly ending for any male lead

Walking Red Flag - Unlock a bad ending for any male lead

Happily Ever After - Unlock a romance ending for any male lead

From Every Angle - Unlock all endings for a single male lead

Wingman - Complete the “Rachel and Cedric” easter egg

A Solid Start - Unlock 5 unique endings

Dean’s List - Ace all five classes

Social Butterfly - Unlock one ending for each male lead

So it was an Elliot ending… she considered that for a moment. That's surprising.

To be honest, she'd thought she was on track for another Ian friendship ending this time. Sure, she'd made lots of progress talking to and learning about the ginger, but Ian had shown her his game. She knew for a fact that meant she'd qualified for his ending. Since things had gone differently…

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Maybe I qualified for both? There could be some sort of tiebreaker mechanic that I'm not aware of if I get multiple. Though it's not like I would have realized it before. A smile quirked her lips. It's been hard enough for me to handle one ending, much less two or more.

Something like this was a first for her, but it made a lot of sense. The game probably didn't want to throw her five endings at once if she made friend with every male lead in one loop. That wasn't how dating sims usually worked, anyway.

Well, whatever happened, at least it gave me the new one, she thought with a stretch. That's pretty good to know. Maybe it'll be biased towards endings I haven't gotten yet. The achievement is also nice. I guess that means I've finally had real interactions with all the male leads, huh?

As Kaitlyn got up to get ready for the day, she reviewed her progress in the last loop. She really had learned a lot about both Ian and Elliot, more than she'd expected. Elliot was the son of some rich pharmacy mogul, while Ian had awful grades. Those were each big revelations in themselves. But she also felt like she understood each better on a personal level, too.

Elliot is a pretty cool guy. He legitimately likes music, has a pretty good sense of humor, and apparently has the most boring food tastes I've ever seen. Despite having a rich dad, he doesn't seem to act like it or flaunt it. He actually seems to like his privacy. He's also way too perceptive. And quiet when he walks.

Ian, on the other hand… She pulled a clean shirt and her hoodie over her head. I already knew a lot about him. I've talked to the guy way more. So I know he's introverted, excitable about his passions, and super good at dialing in when he chooses to focus on something. But the whole "grades" thing is interesting. It's not just that he has bad grades – that I can totally understand. He feels bad about it. Because he knows he could do better if he didn't procrastinate so much.

It wasn't exactly the problem she had. Ian obviously had more innate talent and knowledge to start out with than Kaitlyn ever did. Which just made it more strange that he didn't apply himself a little more.

It can't be that much extra effort, right? Some of those assignments couldn't take him more than an hour, tops. If he'd just try…

Kaitlyn took a deep breath and refocused. The fact was, she'd gained a lot of information last loop. Good information. Information that she could make use of.

And that meant she had a decision to make.

Where do I go from here?

According to the Progress Report, she'd unlocked half of the possible endings. There was one more friendship ending for her to get – Vinny's. Other than that, it was all romance and bad endings from here on out.

She pushed the three remaining bad endings to the back of her mind. Maybe there were four, if the last "Other" ending mirrored the other categories like she suspected. Still, she didn't think she could bring herself to actively pursue them. Not a chance. Even if she could, it was hard to imagine where she'd start for any of them.

For Elliot, maybe I'd have to tell the lab about his band? Or actually stalk him? She shuddered. I… really don't want to do that. In the slightest. I don't even want to think about Philip's or Ian's, either. Or whatever the "other" one is.

For now, she'd hold out hope that the game didn't require all of those endings. If it did… well, that was a problem she'd happily leave for future Kaitlyn to deal with.

Settling that matter left her with two other options. She could either go after Vinny's friendship ending or try for another romance ending.

She mulled the choice over for a few minutes. There were pros and cons to both. The friendship ending would theoretically be easier to take care of. All of the other ones had been, at least. However…

I think I can do it. She nodded to herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. I'm ready. I can tackle another romance ending.

With the revelation that she could actually help people by making progress, Kaitlyn felt more motivated than ever. It filled her with fiery determination to take the game by the horns, and sooner rather than later. The idea of actually doing something permanent was a sudden beacon of hope in the endlessly looping cycles of Heartthrob University.

Then the real question is… which one do I go for? Vinny, Elliot, or Ian?

Elliot and Ian were the obvious options. On top of Vinny's prickly nature promising to be a unique challenge in itself, she'd just learned important info about the pair. But which to choose?

It only took her a moment to decide. In the end, it came down to the lessons she'd taken from previous romance endings. With both Alex and Philip, it hadn't been a simple matter of making them fall for her. It had been a matter of helping them.

I don't know what Elliot needs. Not yet. But I do know that I can help Ian.

It was as simple as that. She'd shoot for Ian's romance ending next.

I'll keep going to lab, of course, she reasoned. I'll be really making progress on research now, so I'm bound to run into him a bunch there. Plus, it might take me a few loops to actually figure out Ian's ending. Maybe I'll learn more about Elliot while I'm at it.

Those were the reasons she told herself, at least. In reality, she realized it was more than that. Both of the guys were just fun to be around. Each had been friendly and nice to hang out with in their own ways. Why wouldn't she keep talking to them?

Alright. It's settled. Kaitlyn gave a resolute nod. I've got a goal for the loop. On top of my usual ones, at least. Music, cooking, lab, programming… it feels like the list gets longer every time.

Rather than let herself feel overwhelmed, she took a moment to run through a mental schedule of the coming loop. Given what she was going for, there was every possibility it would change soon enough. But for now, organizing her activities allowed her to plan ahead and compartmentalize things as needed.

Right. Kaitlyn stepped out of the restroom and into the hallway. I've got to order some supplies while I wait for Heather. I'll help her move in, then go to brunch with her and her parents. Once we get back, it'll be time to meet the suitemates and look into class schedules for auditing, write up the proposal for Professor Adams's lab, and maybe swing by the campus general store to grab cookie ingredients. That's today. Then tomorrow…

Her plans began to solidify as she returned to her room. Settling in at her desk, Kaitlyn pulled out her phone and began combing through the used and resale item listings. It was better to get her initial loop preparations done as soon as possible.

When Heather's familiar knock came at the door, Kaitlyn had already unpacked her start-of-loop gifts and ordered her keyboard and first set of cooking equipment. Only $1.15 remained in her bank account, but she wasn't worried. She'd make it all back by the end of the week. That and more.

Standing from her chair, Kaitlyn crossed to the door. It was time for the loop to truly begin.