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[December 16th - Day 17]
"Today is the seventeenth day of this living nightmare," Rose said to herself as she let her head drop into the middle of her hands. Ever since she realized she has been reliving the same day, she has worked hard on figuring out how to break the time loop. "Literally nothing has been going my way yet, and despite my efforts, these escape attempts have done nothing. I want my life back because this is stressing me out." Sitting on the edge of her bed, she stared at the paper on her nightstand. While thinking of a way out, she has discovered that her sickness cannot affect her (nor do anything) in this time loop, but she’s worried about it continuing afterwards if the loop stops. Rose sighs in annoyance, and after a minute, angrily runs her pale hands through her blonde hair at the harsh situation. Almost as if the loop is taunting her every time she wakes back up, and she knows that it will slowly deprive her of her energy in a sense, so she cannot waste any time for now.
Attempt after attempt for the last few days in this loop has amounted to zero results, and while Rose is stressed, she still wonders if she will ever get out. Rose let herself rest on the bed, staring at the moonlight shining through her window. "I believe I left something on my nightstand that I didn’t get to finish before the loop started, and the only thing it says is 'I wish' on the paper, which is right next to a cake with candles sticking out of it that was left lit. It must have mysteriously appeared a few days ago, because I do not remember buying a cake, and for whatever reason, it stays. Maybe it’ll be useful, but if nothing else works, I will save that for last."
[December 16th - Day 33]
"Losing sleep for however long was finally worth it. I did it, I actually did it. One of these tests actually did something, I don’t believe it! After studying for hours straight into high-level akumatized powers—or just time-related powers—that breach normal space-time, attempts of theoretically forcing a pocket dimension into use has been successful," Rose exclaimed in surprise, being proud of herself. A nervous laugh escaped the fragile bars of her lungs as she continued, "Not to mention that the pocket dimension exists outside of time. Making use of this will bring my phone with me into the next loop…"
On her pink smartphone, she ran her free hand down her medium-length blonde hair as she swiped and tapped at the screen a few times. The brilliant idea of recording videos of herself during the incident gave her hope, and she went through with it because what other choice did she have, especially if people make her out to be a liar. The realization of being in a loop has not amused Rose in the slightest; she is annoyed by the fact that she has not found a way out of this yet, and it has been seventeen days, regardless of her desperate actions. Before pressing the record button, she sighed as she stared into space. "Even if no one else believes me about any of this, I want to save any information of this incident that I know of, so that nobody I know might think I’m making this up." With that, she started recording.
"My name is Rose Lavillant, and the day December 16th keeps repeating, which is the day right before my birthday. If there even is an end to this time loop, or any accessible exit, it is still unknown. The one thing I DO know is that time for the rest of the world resets every single night, and every morning I wake up. It does not matter who I talk to, because I retain my memories of the previous loops each and every time, but no one else in Paris remembers. I cannot stay up any later than 11:59 at night; as soon as the full moon appears, I black out, and no amount of power can stop it. The loop begins the same way everyday: Juleka calls me on the phone every afternoon, Marinette and her family can be seen baking cakes with Adrien, etcetera. It turns out that whenever I injure myself, I wake back up in the morning with no fresh wounds or scars. It took me a few days of trial and error before knowing how to prevent objects from being reset at the start of a new loop… Well, maybe without using a Miraculous. With it obviously being winter time since it is December and everything, Collège Françoise Dupont is closed because of an early winter break. Regardless, I will do anything if it means leaving this time loop and being with Juleka again. I want to be in her arms, shut my eyes, and never let go. I miss her so much; she has been my light in the dark, especially before this happened, and I will try like hell to get out of this and be with her again."
Ending the video and taking her phone with her, she stares at the paper for a moment before deciding to give herself a break. Just one more break. Putting on her fluffy pink coat from the wardrobe of hers, she went to hang out with Juleka, which would give her something to do for a while. It might not hurt to see her again while in this state, even though Juleka will not remember any of it after the next reset. Wondering if things will ever change, she gets back to work as she gathers materials, supplies, and other items. The longer she tries keeping it together, the more and more she starts to drift, to which she sings as a distraction. Most of the time, it calms her. It is not everyday that Juleka gets the chance to call Rose this many times, but she appreciates hearing her sweet voice, which is one of the only things keeping her going.
[December 16th - Day 34]
Rose woke back up in her bedroom in the apartment after another reset, and when the girl noticed how nothing major had changed, she hissed through gritted teeth in annoyance. The moment Rose dared to check the date, there was a part of her that foolishly hoped she would finally be wrong, only for it to show December 16th again, which did nothing but confirm that she was still in the loop. An unamused frown appeared on her face as she watched the snowfall that never stopped, and it made her wonder why it was only her memory remaining intact, seeing as everyone else never remembers. "It took an intricate amount of time and practice for this to succeed, and if the pocket dimension ever became unstable, any information regarding this time loop will never return. Maybe not unless it was found in the original state of the final loop and not the very beginning."
With a choked sob, she stood up and stepped towards the window. Rose looked down at the areas covered in piles of snow, feeling an indescribable sadness at the sight of it. She could not let this drive her insane, and she wanted to keep being cheerful, just not in this insufferable loop. "Attempts of breaking the time loop forever have continued to fail. What am I doing wrong? More theories have pointed to the possibility that if I die while the time loop is still active, I will just wake up again. However, I might not try that because I want to try being hopeful."
Leaning on the glass, Rose stared outside and watched the snow continuously fall, letting a sour expression slide right onto her face as if it were an everyday mask. "The idea that I’m imagining all of this has crossed my mind way too many times now. On second thought, the success of these videos saving on my phone throughout resets might remove any doubt I may have had. Wait a minute… If the loop repeats the previous loop instead of the original day, then maybe the way out is much easier than I imagined." Whatever plan she wanted to carry out was not going to happen if she just gave up on everything, and she thought about the possibility of celebrating her birthday with those she knew, so she pushed forward.
[December 16th - Day 37]
"Unfortunately, I am met with yet another failure in my plan. After keeping a worn-out diary with a few scribbles on it in the same method as the smartphone for what felt like a few loops, then letting it be reset, I found out that the loop is the original day, and not the previous loop." Nothing major has happened for Rose. Days of studying have passed, yet no successful results have shown on either end of the scale, and better knowledge of quantum physics has done nothing. Showing some of her friends recordings of herself as an attempt to 'make them self aware of the loop' (all while the time loop is still active) has done absolutely nothing, but she should have known better than to try something like that when the time loop has not been broken. Nearly every time she tried that idea, she would be given disgusting stares, and sometimes even death threats from people she didn’t even know. Currently, Rose was having an emotional breakdown in her room solely because of the looping, and it did not matter if she was heard because by the time this was over, no one else would remember after the reset anyways.
The blonde stomped around her bedroom in an irritated way, and she contemplated overdosing in order to get out. "I cannot believe this is still happening to me. These constant failures have been infuriating me for days now," Rose complained with an irritated expression, laying on the mattress of her bed with her arms crossed. She knows that she has not been this angry in a long time, which says a lot about her considering how often she does her best to be kind, but that does not mean she is not human. "Nothing has been working out. What I have been trying has been leading to the exact same outcome. The same time. The same day. The same exhaustion. The same stress. I snap at the most unimportant things now. My birthday is always a day away from happening, yet it does not begin, and I’m tired of it. This is nothing but a living hell, and I want it to end before I lose my mind, because what I want is everything back to normal!"
Tears welled up in her eyes once more. The never-ending burden of loneliness in this time loop was driving her mad, and she did not dare entertain the foolish idea of living in it forever, because that would be equivalent to making a deal with the Devil. "Maybe Marinette and Adrien can do something; I doubt Marinette would be any help. While the two of them may LOOK cute standing beside each other, they are becoming so infuriating to even be around, although neither know I think of them that way themselves."
[December 16th - Day 42]
Rose recorded several monotonous tests. The first concluded with using her own powers to escape, which did not do her any favors and led to her waking back up. The second test led to her conjuring the gift box, but she found it useless against the time loop. But the third time, she tried something different, and mysteriously suffered blood loss (physically) as a result of overstimulating her powers. It seems that the time loop is more cruel to her than she thought it would be. Her current hypothesis is that the more complex it is to transfer herself from one plane to the next, the harder it is to find a better solution.
The mysterious bleeding she suffered as a consequence was surprising enough; she expected the third time to be the charm. When she opened the pocket dimension in one of the recordings, there was nothing but her belongings. After running a few tests, she confirmed that, while outside of time, the smartphone itself does not physically age. It’s as if her smartphone has become somewhat of a constant. Despite this, Rose is somewhat sure that the secret to freedom might lie somewhere in the methods used to keep these recordings and whatnot safe.
[December 16th - Day 43]
Outside with Adrien and the others at the cafe, Rose gave up an entire day to be with her friends. She still loved them, so she decided to gather them for a day out. Luka and Alix had to be convinced first, but after an eventual agreement, it was more than worth it. Rose has to remember that she’s not alone, no matter how painfully isolating her situation is. Her friends will always be there for her, even though they will not remember what’s been happening to her. It's been many loops since the blonde had done anything with them, and when Adrien asked her something, she couldn’t even give him an answer without stammering.
Her friends were very concerned about her during one of their afternoon hangouts; Rose, Juleka, and the rest agreed on doing something funny together, which resulted in them cosplaying as Mario Bros. while doing regular stuff. Their reactions and concerns were not surprising to her; it's been the same day for over a month. Somehow, Rose still convinced them there was nothing to worry about, despite Marinette bitching worrying the most, and was able to thoroughly enjoy their company. From here on out, she would make it a priority to spend time with them every tenth of a loop.
[December 16th - Day 52]
Rose still had no successful results on getting out. The more she thought about it, the less sense she made of it; a very tedious amount of time went into yet another attempt, which failed when she tried sending something through. If it were at all possible to somehow contain, it might be possible to make it through. The various complications with such a method weighed heavily on the girl, but since the best idea she had for now…
Rose could only restart and figure something out. Again.
[December 16th - Day 59]
Some limited success result wise from Rose’s most recent idea; it seems as though anything living is unaffected. It MIGHT have something to do with an altered affect of the outcome, similar to the well-known Uncertainty Principle. Though that usually refers to the quantum scale. The Uncertainty Principle states that the act of observing a sufficiently small particle will always affect it, no matter how delicate someone is. She’ll have to do some more research; physics was never her strongest point, and more so singing, but she’s no stranger to it.
Rose is still working on a power that might induce an effect strong enough to force a "rift" in-between reality and the loop; theoretically, she might be able to leave that way, even if it does not make any sense whatsoever.
[December 16th - Day 61]
"I really must start keeping track with a calendar," Rose muttered, swishing her bare legs back and forth as she sat idle on the white mattress of her bed. "The thought never occurred to me, seeing as it’s always the same day repeating over and over and over again, but only now do I realize that I missed my hangout. Well, being late never hurt anything—seeing as it’s the same to them—but I’d really like to keep procrastination to a minimum. It’s too late to do anything about it now, though. Tomorrow, I’ll have to have Marinette gather the girls for me. She’s much better at making them go than I am. Am I undeniably useless?"
Smacking herself in the face with her palm, she shook her head and told herself to remove such thoughts. "Stop that, Rose. It’ll be swell hanging out with them again."
[December 16th - Day 75]
The Uncertainty Principle is a dead-end angle. Studying more and more of quantum mechanics gave her knowledge in return, but it would never give her any useful answers on how to leave a time loop, practical or theoretical. Nothing except ideas and formulas and theories. Literally nothing actionable. While the phenomena she is still experiencing is similar, a way around it cannot be found in physics. That just leaves her with more continually failing attempts at transfer than necessary. The closest she made it is nearly (if not literally) rendering something unconscious. While this did reduce the approximate variance, it was still way too much; another test of hers has failed. Rose felt dreadful, ice cold chills go down her spine.
Unpleasant as that thought is, she has not let it allow it deter her in the slightest, despite more and more failures, her perseverance remains. There’s hardly anything she can even hold on to; save for the hope of finding a way out.
[December 16th - Day 129]
Not too late at night, Rose decided that this time would be a bit different, and she went over to Juleka’s. Heading inside, she noticed Juleka asleep, which prompted her to smile. While on break, she made herself something to eat and drink while she waited for Juleka to wake up. Keeping it easy for herself, she would only bother making the usual pancakes and sausages, and adding syrup on top of them. Afterwards, the blonde sat down next to Juleka and ate, complaining about the situation in-between bites.
"Failure after failure after failure. Every attempt, every theory, every action only leads to the exact same outcome. It has now been almost five months of the same day. EVERY DAY. In the morning, I wake up. Juleka calls me on the phone. Marinette bakes cakes and pastries and always puts in too much cake batter and the day restarts before I can refuse. The mental exhaustion is catching up to me. I’m starting to get MIGRAINES now, and I notice that whenever I conjure the gift box, my grip on it has been slipping away from me as if it were oil. Just minor things; my powers will be fatal on occasion, or I’ll unintentionally kill someone when I mean to save him or her. I need a vacation. Maybe my friends would like to get away. Just for the rest of the day."
[December 16th - Day 131]
Rose was laying down on her stomach, her legs whooshing back and forth behind her as she talked to herself about the recent reset. Even though she was getting nowhere with her escape plan, the rest was a nice stress reliever. It’s a reminder that there’ll always be somewhere to rest, even when things hurt like hell.
"I’m back on track with my research, this time with a fresh mind; I let Adrien visit me since he was so insistent on helping me today. It took a ton of convincing, but after a whole hour, I managed to convince my friends to go on a vacation to England with me for a couple days. Well, I told them it would be a couple days. I fell asleep in the nicest hotel in the country, and woke up back in my bed in Paris, like always. Still, the break was nice, and it was a change of pace from the devil that is this time loop. I think I’ll get some rest, and tomorrow I’ll jump back into my studies and such with a renewed vigor. Do not give up, Rose. No matter what. You will be with her again."
[December 16th - Day 297]
The calls from Juleka repeat over and over every afternoon. Whether Rose chooses to answer or not is her choice; by now, she usually does it just to get it over with. It is so monotonous and tiresome and infuriating to go through everyday life with the same day repeating over and over and over again. When the evening arrived, Rose finally convinced a few of her friends to go to the bakery, where Marinette and her family are serving cakes and pastries, which is fun when it isn’t the same cake being made every single time. The bakery hung up holiday lights you would see at stores, and new decorations were being hung up on the building by Sabine and Tom.
"I’ll spend another day with my friends again. It’s been… I don’t know how long. Too long. I need to stay focused, but they’ve always been there whenever I needed them the most…" Rose told herself as she entered the bakery. Soon enough, the rest of her friends were having fun and bantering with one another, but Rose stayed irritated. None of these hangouts will ever change the fact that she has not broken the time loop. "I still hate this loop," Rose muttered, eating her cake as she glared at Marinette and Chloe arguing with each other, and the blonde was going on and on about how 'utterly ridiculous' this was. Rolling her eyes, Rose continued to mind her own business and finish her dessert with a heavy heart and an overworked mind. "What’s the point? The only thing that changes around here are the actions I make in each loop. Maybe they can help me again because they want to get rid of me want me to be happy. Maybe they can do it again, and I hope they won’t be so fucking prideful and irritable worried sick about me too much. I don’t know if they can help me this time…"
[December 16th - Day 365]
Rose regained consciousness in her bed. Again. As her tired, blue eyes blinked at the sunlight shining through the window of her bedroom, she saw the snow continue its constant fall. Realizing there is still no sign of the time loop breaking, even after tiresome weeks of the same tedious routine, her breaking point reached. She threw over drawers with a loud bang, ripping pages out of anything unimportant, etcetera. Every time she tried again and again, whether or not it was power-based tests or social interactions, nothing changed. "I CAN’T GO HOME!!!"
An entire year of Rose being trapped in a time loop. The time loop caused her mental health to worsen over time, and how it has taken a toll on her, which may explain why she has been losing more and more of her patience. "I feel like shit. I can’t even begin to think about what just happened. When I snapped at Chloe after making sure we were alone, she tried making fun of me, but then she just broke down crying. It was as if…" Rose stopped herself by clearing her throat, not wanting to think about what else Chloe’s mother might have rightfully done to her, and she tried to sleep it off.
Tossing and turning, she acknowledged what has been happening for a year now, and she has reached her limit with this loop. If this were to go on for any longer… "None of this can be real. Please me this is all a dream. One year of the same day over and over again." Telling herself this under the covers of her bed did not do anything, and she fell asleep before she could angrily scream at the fact she has been stuck for a year.
[December 16th - Day 401]
Rose did not even try to sleep. Horrible dreams during the afternoon kept her up until she blacked out again. At this rate, Rose did not know if she would ever find a way out of the time loop and restore what was once her happy ending. Day after day after day after day after day. The same monotonous loop after loop after loop after loop after loop. Every reset. Every time. Every day repeating the same day. It was driving her mad.
No amount of begging and crying will change anything.
"I’m a failure. I don’t even know if I can get out. Will I be here until I die? Will I EVER leave?"
[December 16th - Day 456]
Outside for the rest of the evening, not even daring to go back to her bedroom for the night, Rose felt as if she was going to kill herself. Staring down at the grass, she looked at her own hands and shuddered at the thought of what happened hours prior. Many times she considered turning back, but her anger got the better of her.
"I-I c-can’t even th-think about it without gagging. I yelled at them, even Chloe, and she looked at me with that hurt expression again… I didn’t even realize I was still hitting her but she was SO ANNOYING until the other girls restrained me." Rose cried out, her voice shaking. "There was so much blood. So much blood. I need to stop. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry."
[December 16th - Day 457]
In the bathroom, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her blonde hair was a disheveled mess, her dull blue eyes having bags underneath, and her pink-and-white clothes were messy and ruined. Rose was disgusted with herself, her hands resting on the counter as she began recounting the events of the previous loop.
"I spent today hugging Chloe. I woke up and ran to her house and… Chloe was there, making fun of me like always. I hugged her and I faked my tears sobbed, begging her to forgive me. I think I made her uncomfortable, but I can still see it. Her face. The blood. There was so much screaming that day. When I close my eyes, it’s all there is. Marinette shouting angrily at me, Adrien being horrified. It must have been thousands of seconds I spent with her, sobbing into her chest. I just needed to know she was still alive. That I hadn’t… hadn’t…"
[December 16th - Day 462]
Sleep is in the past for Rose. After what happened last time, she cannot bare to close those beautiful blue eyes of hers. By now, she is almost suicidal. With her face in the pillow, Rose talks to herself again.
"Despite my worsening thoughts, I still want to get out. If I hear Marinette bragging ONE MORE TIME, she’s dead. NO. No. Rose, give yourself a break, get away for the day. My research. My studies. My friends. I’m so tired of Chloe bragging. I just need to get away. I’m going to shove poison down BOTH of their throats if I hear one more complaint about me. I have to be back before I black out."
[December 16th - Day 500]
Another failure for Rose.
This really is a living hell.
[December 16th - Day 572]
Rose wished she could just stop waking up. Every day is just loop after loop, and once again, she overworked herself. It seemed like no matter many times she tried fighting back, her constant failures would send her thousands of spaces back, as if she were a chess piece on an enormous chessboard. The queen (that being Juleka) was captured and taken away from her by this malicious king for a time loop, and Rose herself was just a knight who must save her (in a sense) in this game of deceit.
Not waking up again and again is what one side of her craved. If that happened, she would not have to suffer and would not have to worry about anything else. If this never happened to her, she would probably be with Juleka on vacation; Hawaii. This insanity is driving her to the edge, and if she does not use the brakes in time, she just might end up falling into an endless cycle of nothing except despair. An endless cycle of suffering and agony no one would ever ask for, and if such a thing was real, Rose was not going to be the first.
[December 16th - Day 609]
Rose had thrown up in the toilet after having another nightmare in her sleep. She had been begging for this to stop for the past thirty-seven days, and it has been stressing her out without an end in sight. After crawling back into her bed, she began to groan in pain. Surely enough, Rose was annoyed with Chloe ashamed of herself. "Please make it stop. When Marinette invited me to the bakery, and I tasted the cake, I just… It was like Chloe all over again. Speaking of Chloe, I found her standing near my apartment at night, and my only guess is that she was being a pathetic, motherless ho like usual just outside for fresh air. Now this may sound unusual for me regarding her, but I made the unconscious decision to hug her. For some reason, Chloe did not respond, but she did hug me back. As soon as I started talking about her mother, Chloe began to sob. While she is still human like the rest of us, immediate insults apologies spilled out of my mouth like gunfire, even though she would be back after I murdered her 153 days ago tomorrow- I mean… TODAY."
Later, Rose gave herself a long break; she let herself wallow in grief and pain, desperately wanting and silently crying for the warmth and comfort that she missed. Nothing has been working out, and if she cannot get back to Juleka, then she’ll try harder. Rose did not feel like giving up anytime soon; she wanted her life back, and if that happens, she figures she’ll be with her again.
[December 16th - Day 651]
Rose sat down on her bed, staring at the words she had written in the dim light emerging from the glowing pink lamp in her room. Reading the letter one last time, she started crying and complaining. Rose was losing motivation to find a way out.
"I JUST WANT TO LEAVE. Except I don’t age in the loop. Dying does not work here, specifically because I’ll just wake back up again, right here in this living hell. I want to be back. I want to leave NOW. Except I can’t leave. I might be trapped here forever."
Sincerely, Rose Lavillant
[December 16th - Day 723]
Rose made one last video of herself. Unlike many others, she was sorrowful in this one, not able to see the light at the end anymore. It was as if all of her efforts went to waste and never surfaced from the waters of this insufferable place. With little to no motivation left, she recorded what was intended to be her goodbye.
I’m sorry, Juleka. If you ever see this, I’m so sorry. There is no way out. I can’t age here. I can’t die on my own, not here. I’ll never leave. I’ll never get to be with you again, and while it hurts like hell, maybe this is it for me. It’s the only way to tell you that… I’m saying goodbye. I hope everyone sees this video if not all of them, so you can under why I made this. What I went though. Why I attempted suicide.
Everyone dear to me, it was all of you who kept me sane for as long as possible. It is because of your real smiles, your happiness, your love, and your kindness that I have made it this far at all. I ask you not to judge me for my actions; please understand that this life is not a life worth living. Not the trauma, the stress, the pain, the suffering...
I’m sorry. I love you.
[December 16th - Day 733]
Rose woke up again. This time, she did not waste any time checking the date, and she stared at it with disgust once she saw that it was the exact same date again. Rose saw red, screaming in a fit of rage and breaking anything in her room, hot tears streaming down her face after realizing that this did nothing for her. "I CAN’T GO HOME!!" She was unable to see why the time loop had not broken at all, even after everything. Everything she tried. Every attempt, every assist, every action. Did all of her hope amount to nothing like a drug? Did it get her nowhere at all? Was this all there is? Nothing had been going her way except for that damn pocket dimension, and even then, she had to figure a way out, but how? So many questions, and yet Rose was still seeing red, like a real rose.
Will her friends ever see her again. What about Juleka? How she loved being with her, spending many hours with her, and now she cannot even have that anymore. This entire ordeal has made her livid, being trapped for two years straight, and somehow she still failed in finding a way out. Eventually, Rose let her anger simmer, and she fell onto the floor as she broke down sobbing. Her hands were shaking as she tried to get a hold of herself. "What did I do to go through this living hell?" Rose asked, crying out loud as she buried her face in her hands. "I can’t take this. I have to try repeating it again."
[December 16th - Day 734]
Rose woke up.
[December 16th - Day 735]
Rose woke up.
[December 16th - Day 736]
Rose woke up.
[December 16th - Day 737]
Rose woke up.
[December 16th - Day 738]
Rose woke up.
[December 16th - Day 739]
Rose woke up.
[December 16th - Day 740]
Rose woke up. This time, though…
She made her wish and blew out the candles.
Then, she went to bed and fell asleep.
Suddenly, everything went white.
[December 17th - Happy Birthday]
Her alarm rang. Rose nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard how loud it was, and she must have forgotten all about the volume, but that didn’t matter right now. Blinking exhaustion away from her eyes, she checked the time, and this time it read 12:00 A.M. on her phone. Rose was genuinely surprised, her mouth agape as she stared at the numbers, hands shaking as she let herself sob. "Am I free?" Rose asked herself, having expected the same result. Except it did not repeat this time. Rose did not wake back up in the loop. It broke. She didn’t even realize how it happened herself for a second, laying in bed with some relief etched on her stricken face, but then she turned to face the empty nightstand where the cake used to be, and that’s when it hit her. The wish. "I’m free... I’M FINALLY FREE!!!"
Throwing herself out of bed, she threw on something causal and rushed out of her apartment room, her white sneakers smacking against the wooden floor of the long hallway throughout the entire adrenaline rush. The feeling of being free was so comforting that it brought her to tears, arms pumping back and forth as she ran. A gut feeling sparked within her; it told her to go downstairs to the apartment lobby where a surprise would be. Whatever the anticipation was for, Rose immediately took it as a sign that something had happened, and she dashed down the several flights of stairs whilst wanting to find out who or what might be waiting for her.
Closer and closer towards the bottom of the apartment, Rose anticipated the reunion as if it were sparks of fireworks exploding. Breathing in and out as she walked to down the last flight of stairs beneath her, Rose stumbled over to the metal door lying in front of her, and hastily swung open the pull door. That was when she was surprised. Truly surprised. Amber-red eyes, long black-and-purple hair, a black shirt, and purple pants are what she saw face-to-face, right in her front of her. The unexpected visit caught her so off guard that it felt as if time temporarily stopped. Rose missed her with all of her heart, and wanted to be with her again, but she did not expect an in-person visit from Juleka instead of the other way around.
"Happy birthday, Rose!" Juleka cheered, giving the blonde a welcoming smile, and Rose eyed a pink cake in the grocery bag around Juleka’s arm. With how much of a surprise this was, Rose stared at her as she zoned out. The nightmare was finally over, and she was right about one thing; the way out was much easier than she imagined it would be. She was finally free; free from the chains of the time loop and back in the France she knows. A bit concerned about her, Juleka set the bag down and gently shook her by the shoulder, snapping Rose out of it. "Rose? Are you okay?"
Rose stayed silent for a while, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling with surprise, and then she started happily sobbing. Throwing herself into her arms, the goth girl caught Rose with hardly any struggle, and she hugged Rose while smiling with furrowed eyebrows. Rose opened her eyes again, and after confirming that she was back in reality, she let out a relieved wail. It was a good thing they were by themselves. Once her breathing steadied, she smiled at those red eyes and pecked her on the lips, which made Juleka blush crimson. "Yes, I’m okay. It was just a nightmare I had," Rose said, smiling back at her in awe. While it might have been a white lie, Rose would tell her what really happened tomorrow. She just did not want to risk scaring the shit out of her right away. Grabbing the shopping bag with the cake in it, and walking up the flight of stairs with the birthday girl, Juleka did not wait very long before kissing her. Rose reciprocated it, and so did Juleka, happily kissing and holding each other.
As the two of them resumed their long walk upstairs to Rose’s room, Rose let out a happy laugh. This must have been the real surprise waiting for her all along.