Sunlight peeked through from behind Kaitlyn's closed eyelids. Beneath her, the slightly-too-firm surface of the dorm mattress pressed into her back. In the brief period between sleep and wakefulness, she imagined that the warm blankets enveloping her were instead Elliot's arms. The comparison wasn't too far off. But there was only so much her imagination could do.

  Squeezing her eyes shut for a little longer, Kaitlyn lay motionless for a few minutes. The sudden shift from kissing someone to waking up in bed felt just as disorienting as ever. As much as the game tried to make it a seamless transition, there was only so much that could be done.

  I really wish it would give me more time before resetting. It's just so jarring mentally. Not to mention emotionally…

  It was over. Elliot was gone. After all that—his confession, their moment of mutual understanding, and her own personal revelations—she was right back at the start. Just like always. That moment of deep connection she'd felt had evaporated once again, now nothing more than a memory in her own consciousness.

  Rather than dwelling on the issue, she summoned her Progress Report.

  Progress Report

  Current Cycle:

  Cycle 43 (Week 1)

  Endings (14/18):

  Alex (3/3 – Complete!)

  Dinner Date

  Comfort Food

  Rotten to the Core

  Ian (3/3 – Complete!)

  The Road Less Traveled

  A Winding Path

  The Road to Hell

  Philip (3/3 – Complete!)

  Family Matters

  Distant Relations

  Homewrecker

  Vinny (1/3)

  ???

  ???

  Party Crasher

  Elliot (3/3 – Complete!)

  Growing Together

  Fertile Ground

  By the Root

  Other (1/3)

  ???

  Under the Radar

  ???

  Achievements (15):

  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

  The Spice of Life—Unlock 10 unique endings

  Team Player—Win first place at the Bara Bash doubles tournament

  Winner Winner—Win first place at a singles tournament

  Chicken Dinner—Win first place at the Bara Bash singles tournament

  Cheater, Cheater—Trigger an essential reboot or game crash

  Certified Techbro—Become an employee at a top-level tech company.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  Miss Moneybags—Earn $200,000 or more in a single playthrough

  …That's it, then. Another ending down.

  The name seemed appropriately fitting. Looking down the list, she'd managed to pick up a couple of new achievements as well—both of them related to her obscenely lucrative job. The first even served as concrete reassurance that working at John Avenue Capital was a game-approved course of action, as she'd hoped.

  Guess I found the "official" way to make tons of money, then. So I won't have to worry about pissing off the game by working there.

  After reading through the text, she finally let out a sigh and opened her eyes. The familiar sight of the start-of-loop dorm greeted her with its customarily sparse furnishings and complete lack of personalization. Aside from the corkboard hanging by her desk, of course.

  Glancing over, she saw that a new trinket had joined the others pinned there. A little pipette pen on a keychain hung next to the painting, sock bunny, and Grail cover art. She couldn't help but smile a little at the sight.

  He always did like that pen… I never saw him use it in lab, though. I wonder if he was afraid it would get lost?

  Considering the amount of her own sharpies that had mysteriously disappeared there, she wouldn't blame him. She never did end up figuring out where they'd gotten to. It was one of those mysteries she'd never quite gotten around to investigating.

  It took another moment for her to work up the energy to get out of bed. As she did, she lamented the suddenness of the reset one more time. She really had wanted to go to that party with Elliot and his family. It would have been interesting to finally meet his dad. And to see his mom, of course, especially if it was under better circumstances than their first encounter. But it simply wasn't meant to be. Which meant there was no use complaining about it.

  …What's wrong with me?

  She stopped partway through getting dressed. Here she was, fresh off of Elliot's loss, and that was what she was concerned about? Missing a party? Why was that her main concern?

  Slowly, she pulled on her hoodie, mulling over the implications. It wasn't that she felt nothing. There was a knot of tightness that persisted in her chest, one that she'd come to associate so closely with romance endings. That sense of loss was there, too. Yet instead of a sharp knife in her gut, it felt more like an old bruise now. One that was merely being prodded at.

  …I think I really am getting numb to all of this.

  On one hand, maybe it was a good thing. The thought of reliving the kind of breakdown she'd experienced after Alex… having to go through something like that over and over very likely would have driven her insane by now. But on the other hand…

  …I guess I understood Elliot even more than I realized. These walls don't feel like they're coming down anytime soon. Not at this rate.

  Straightening, Kaitlyn turned to look out the window. Lush oak trees shaded the paths below, their dappled greens contrasting with the red brick buildings that towered over them. For a moment, she simply stared out across the landscape, considering. Then, she bowed her head.

  Thank you, Elliot. For everything. You helped me more than you could ever know. And even though I have to move on now, I wish I could tell you just how much your company meant to me. I… I really didn't deserve you. So thanks.

  She sent a silent word of thanks to the ginger that she'd left behind. It was the very least she could do. There was no physical memorial she could make—not one that would last, at least. In fact, aside from the items the game gave her, preserving her memories of the guy was the best way she could think to honor him. It still didn't feel like enough. But at least this way, by taking a moment to truly reflect, she could make sure that she didn't take what he'd done for granted.

  And so, she remembered. Kaitlyn reminisced, tucking away the times they'd had into a little box in her mind. The major ones, of course, like the confession and the party. But also the small things. The way he grinned when he knew he was about to press her buttons. The reassuring feel of his hand on her arm. Even the sparkle in his eyes when he'd first seen her wearing her dress. All of it, she packed away neatly where she'd be sure to find it again.

  Then, a few minutes later, she opened her eyes.

  Alright, Kaitlyn. Now… what's next?

  Regardless of how she felt about it, the fact remained—she'd finished another romance ending. That meant she'd completed four of the five, not including the "Other" endings that still taunted her mysteriously. Now, only one more remained: Vinny's.

  Well, judging by the errors I saw during that game crash, I probably need to get all eighteen endings to actually get out of here. So really, I might have four endings left. Two "Others", Vinny's friend ending, and Vinny's romance ending.

  Either way, the completion of Elliot's route meant that she'd managed to wrap up everything directly related to the other male leads. Which meant…

  …I guess it only makes sense to focus on Vinny now, doesn't it?

  It was the obvious play. She had no idea what those other endings could be, so starting with the known options was a given. Plus, based on how the game had gone so far, it was entirely possible that working on Vinny's endings might help her to figure out the others. Maybe she'd pick up some achievements or other boons that would shed some light on their requirements.

  Yeah. I think it's pretty obvious what I've gotta do next. Now, the real question… when do I start?

  Kaitlyn looked down at her hands, flexing them gently. She could take another rest loop. She had just finished a romance ending, after all. It was tradition. Only…

  The last loop was supposed to be restful, too, and look how that turned out. She snorted. Not that I'm complaining. It all turned out for the better. But still…

  Maybe it was because the loss of Elliot hadn't really set in yet. Maybe it was the numbness talking, telling her that she was fine and there was no need to stop. But honestly? At this point, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to rest.

  I kind of just want to… get it over with. Keep moving forward. If loss comes and sucker-punches me a bit later on, then I can always abandon ship and take a break. But for now… I'm just too antsy. I'm anxious to move on.

  Some small corner of her mind warned that it was a dangerous mindset to have—worse even than the "I can fix him" mentality that Elliot had warned her about. But she also didn't see how forcing herself to take a rest loop would do anything about it.

  I don't want to stop now. Not with the end so close. I feel like I'd rather just… try to push through and get it over with. Besides, I don't even know what I'd do. I could take some time and pick up some new skill, but… how many more things do I really have it in me to master? I’m already feeling pretty streched thin.

  Kaitlyn opened her door, bending down to pick up the small pile of boxes that lay waiting on the other side. To her surprise, the stack hadn't grown at all. There were still only three packages.

  She frowned. Huh. Where's the fourth? Did I not get anything for Elliot's ending?

  It was only after she hefted the boxes that she spotted it. A tiny cube of cardboard, maybe three inches long on each side, hiding in the shadow of the others. Curiously, she knelt down to pick it up. The box was as light as its size suggested, something inside jingling ever so slightly as she inspected it.

  …What in the world?

  She stacked it on top and transferred the entire pile to her bed. Grabbing a pair of scissors from the desk, Kaitlyn didn't hesitate to open up her new prize first. The blade sliced through the tape with ease to reveal a glint of something shiny inside.

  Kaitlyn dumped the contents of the box onto her palm. A single key glinted back at her, the shiny silver glinting in the dorm's light. It had been threaded onto a small metal ring along with a sleek black key fob.

  …No way.