August’s brow folds in, and he casts his gaze around. Then, “Fuck.”
“What the hell?”
The elevator doors open on pitch black, B3 lit up on the control panel, the musty smell and cool air hitting me again, and we both stumble out.
“What the fuck is this?” he half whispers.
Faster this time, he steps away, pushes the light on, and his hand’s in his pocket. He unlocks the door, throws it open, andding! We come to a stop. The elevator doors open.
“Hmm,” he mumbles deeply.
“Hmm?” I ask.
“Hmm,” he reiterates.
But he steps out, so I follow him. And we’re in the dark, and he steps away from me. The whole thing repeats itself. This time, when the light of the elevator is on us again, when the stomach crunch of the landing passes, he says, “Time loop.”
“What do you mean ‘time loop?’” Is this different from a time slip? Does this last as long as a time slip? Because I think I’ll go mad if I have five or six hours of this. Unless we can find a good way to pass the time…
We step out into the dark, and thank goodness, because this stupid blush of mine is heating my face.
But his reply is brisk as he walks away once again for the light. “I don’t know. I don’t know. But it probably won’t go on too long.” This last part sounds like added-on reassurance. A little empty, a lot harried. When he finds the key in his pocket, he doesn’t look up. “I’m sorry. For all of this.”
He opens the door. We’re in the elevator. We step out. It’s dark. “I don’t mind. I told you last night.”
“I know.” He pushes the light on, sharp movements and panic rising in his voice. “But it’s more than that. What’s happening around us, it’s… This shouldn’t be happening to you. It’s for me, it’s not for you.” His hand’s deep in his pocket, his arm tense.
“August, Iamyou. It must be for me. We’re the same person.”
“We’re not the same person, August.”
Key in the lock, door open, my stomach drops. “Wait.”
We’re out, we’re in the dark, and he steps away, but this time I grab him. “What is it? Why are you so worried?”
His eyes meet mine for the briefest moment before the elevator doors shut, plunging us back into darkness. I think it might be the first time I’ve seen him look scared. But then there’s nothing, not even the soft glow of the control panel. Just us and cold dark and a silence thicker than the stale air. “You should be worried.”
“Why should I be? You said we’re fine.”
“August, you’re… You’re caught in a time loop. We’re literally reliving the same moment over and over. And you’re totally okay with this?”
“You said it wouldn’t last.”
There’s a soft tsk of his tongue, preceding his harsh speech. “And last night, it barely even bothered you that we went back almost two hundred years.”
He can’t see my shrug, but it happens anyway, some half-defensive movement. “You told me not to be worried. And it worked out fine.”
“Why do you trust me so much? It’s normal to be upset by these things. It’s…”
I can’t help but interject with, “You seem more upset than I am.”
“Iammore upset than you are,” he virtually shouts back. When the sound ricochets off the concrete walls, it must seep into him like it has me, and he lowers his voice. “I don’t want you to deal with this. With what happens when you’re with me. August, look…” Quiet again, his breath and his body so close to mine. I can’t see him, but if I could, I’m sure I’d see that same sadness in his expression.
More than anything, I don’t think I want him to finish his sentence, so I get in before he can. “I like you.”
“What?” It’s a half gasp, like he can’t believe I’ve said it any more than I can.
“I don’t know. I just… I have fun with you. And that figures, doesn’t it? It’s only natural, since we have so much in common.”
