Don stared up at the dark, weathered, wooden ceiling that made up most of his rickety house. His head was pounding and he was tangled in the yellow quilt of his bedsheets. The elf screwed his eyes shut and registered where he was, trying to remember what the hell happened. His pajamas were drenched in sweat, the cold, wooden floor was jabbing his skin with splinters, and his heart was pounding.
Ah, yes, he'd fallen off his bed. Why? Probably a nightmare. Who needs an alarm clock when you got that?
Speaking of which, Don heard his alarm go off. After all, he can never tell when his body will yeet him off the side of his bed to wake him up or force him to undergo the unusual cruelty of his night terrors until the blaring jingle-jangle of his phone blasted in his ears to wake him up. Don groaned exasperatedly and unraveled himself from his quilt and sheets, crawling to the bedside table and reaching up to turn his phone off, but this only resulted in the device falling off the table and hitting him atop the head. His ears were straining at the unpleasant jingling of his alarm, and he made a note to change the alarm tune later (spoiler: he never does and never will).
When the unsavory chaos of the circumstances he awakened in subsided, Don was able to look out the window his bed was situated under, seeing the small glimpses of pink daylight peeking over the horizon through the dark. The young man rubbed his eyes and huffed, standing up off the floor finally and getting ready for the day.
Towards the end of his morning routine (it was nothing special, just shower, brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, water plants, out the door, wait you forgot your phone dumbass, back out the door, shit you didn't turn off the sink, back out the door, remember to lock it, okay you're ready... unless...?), when he was watering a small pot of yellow cosmos, the horrid nightmare he had endured hit him like a punch to the face, and he reeled back, spilling water all over the floor as he tripped and landed on his ass.
Holy shit, he thought to himself, shaking. What the fuck is wrong with me? Whether he was thinking about the nightmare or the clumsiness of what he'd just done, we'll never know. Either way, he made sure to clean up his mess quickly and get out the house as soon as possible so he could spill what he went through at Dashlie so he wouldn't forget.
The morning air was crisp with the onset of autumn, though Halloween had passed a week or so ago. It was chilly, and Don snuggled into his sweater for warmth as he walked down the gravel road across the field. He always left before daybreak with Dashlie, as it took forever to get into town and he didn't own a car. Richard, his neighbor, would be a better choice since they both had the same job, but Dick was rather unpredictable when it came to timing. He wasn't exactly reliable; in fact, no one could tell if he'd arrive way too early to work or way too late — not even Richard himself.
Don kicked a gravel rock absentmindedly and looked up when he heard the soft, distant humming of a Ford Fussion 2012. Of course, Don doesn't know what type of car it is, he only knows it's small and silver, but Don isn't the narrator here, so cope. The headlights of Dashlie's vehicle split through the early morning darkness, and the little light the rising sun was providing illuminated Dashlie's form leaning against her car door, waiting.
"Took you long enough, asshat!" she laughed, popping open her door and sliding inside. Don rolled his eyes and headed for the passenger seat.
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, heaving a sigh.
"Wanna listen to something?" she asked as Don shut the door behind him. He said no, so she just switched to her own music and pulled out.
"WATCH FOR THE FENCE!" Don warned, sitting up in his seat as Dashlie backed up at unruly speeds into the road, the transition from gravel to asphalt making the car rattle and shake.
"It's fine," assured Dashlie as she was able to shift into Drive and head off into town. "Next time we can just meet in my driveway if it bothers you so much, you baby."
Don leaned his head against the cool glass of the window, watching as planes and fields rolled past, the sun rising in the east and turning the sky into watercolors of orange, yellow, and pink. The elf had been so immersed in the scenery and idea that he was in a music video that he hadn't realized Dashlie started talking. When she looked at him, he blinked tiredly at her. "D—Uh... yes..." he mumbled, guilt creeping in over how he hadn't paid attention.
Dashlie laughed loudly, nearly swerving. They were lucky literally no one was out on the long, endless road. "I knew you weren't listening!" she said.
"Well, what did you say?"
She shook her head, her smile unwavering as she turned back to the road. "Oh, nothing..." She giggled to herself, as if the funniest thing had just happened.
Suddenly, Don remembered to tell her his dream. "I had a weird dream last night," he started, and Dashlie jumped in her seat and raised her eyebrows.
"I had a weird dream, too! You and Dickhead were there, except you were Pikachu for some reason and I was, like, a mermaid. Dickhead kinda looked like a drawing if I'm honest, and he was just angry the entire time. We were apparently supposed to be..."
Don tuned her out, as rude as that sounds. I personally love listening to people's dreams, I don't know about you. But Don's friends obviously didn't; Dashlie especially loved to hear herself talk for someone who claimed to be antisocial.
Don instead took to looking out the window and dreading the blandness of uneventibility that would come with work, but he needed the money. His dumbass grocer job didn't do much to pay the bills, and if I'm being completely honest and open with you, all he had for breakfast this morning was one (1) poptart (he kept the other poptart in a plastic bag for tomorrow's breakfast). Part of him wished the minimum wage was enough to live off of, but that would never happen. He applied to so many stores, but pretty much all of them rejected him. It wouldn't help either way, as most jobs in his town don't appreciate job hunting while working at an establishment. He was just lucky his bills were so low since his house was pretty much made out of 2,000-year-old whale scrotum.
He blinked after that thought, and suddenly they were in the parking lot and Dashlie was heading out the door for her job. Don followed after her, both of them parting ways as he entered the grocery store. Immediately, the beeping of the checkout line and soft mingling of voices was heard from the early risers. Indeed, though Don awoke each morning very early and left early, by the time Don arrived to work it was already around 8:30AM, but that's the price to pay when living in the country.
The elf clocked in. That's a sentence you never expected to read, but probably one you've heard before. He carried out the day like usual: stocking shelves, walking into the backroom when asked if there was more of a product in the back and just standing there for five minutes before returning with the answer no, and filling in for any missing baggers that failed to show up that morning. When he suddenly found that he had nothing to do, he decided to look busy and roam the grocery store.
Something about the quiet hum of the freezers and chill of the supermarket air conditioning forced Don to dissociate. The LED lights and the endless expanses of the grocery aisles seemed to reflect the inner workings of his mind, all the way down to the cockroach he was staring at blankly right now. He watched the bug flick its antenna at him and chew on a dusty-ass crumb before it scuttled away from view. The elf stood there, object permanence melting away as he assumed the cockroach disappeared from existence, much like he and his friends would one day. He wondered: would the cockroach become stardust? or would it be gone completely, as if it was never there to begin with?
These existential thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard banging coming from an aisle or so over. He prayed it wasn't some weirdos having sex in the grocery store, but the sound was much more closely related to someone mashing their head against a freezer door. Don went to investigate, and low and behold, people weren't having sex in the frozen desert aisle of the supermarket. It was just Richard, whose only phallic relationship to Don's theory beforehand would be the shortening of his name.
"What... are you doing, bud?" Don questioned as he walked up, and as soon as he started talking, Richard whirled around to face him. The elf was startled a bit, but all he did was take a step back and hesitate before continuing to approach. "You okay?"
Dick stared at Don with unblinking eyes, and the shorter male was able to take in his friend's appearance more. The bags under Richard's eyes were darker than usual, his hair was a bit more stringy, and he appeared to be even paler than he typically was. Don assumed he had a rough night sleeping, but that wasn't exactly correct.
"I'm fine," Richard breathed exasperatedly, jaw clenching. Don took a step back at his hostile behavior, glancing him up and down to watch his movement.
"You don't—"
"—seem fine, I know. I know I don't." Don blinked and rocked on his heels.
"Okay... Well, uh..."
"You wanna tell me about your stupid dream last night. Go ahead."
Don stopped, his brain short-circuiting as he looked up at Richard. Surely he had heard him wrong. "What?"
"You had a dream last night? It was really graphic and gory? You were in the middle of watering your plants when you remembered it? Go ahead."
The elf blinked, his brain hurting as he performed mental gymnastics to get around the question of how the hell Dick would've known any of that. "I— Uh— What?" When Dick didn't say anything, Don just shook his head. "Uh... okay. Well, I had a dream last night that I died, basically. I was, like..." Don's voice trailed off as he looked up at Dick, still distracted by how he was able to tell what Don was going to say.
"...You were stabbed. Yeah, I know. You said it felt real, you were sure of it." Don glanced away as Dick continued to talk, still trying to understand what was happening. "You couldn't breathe, you couldn't stop convulsing, it was like you were forced to stay awake even after dying until you fell off your bed in real life and woke up. If that hadn't woken you up, you don't know what else you would've seen."
Don felt his heart racing as Richard talked slow yet so matter-of-factly, as if he was 100% sure of what he was saying was truth. But that wasn't what bothered Don. What bothered him was that Dick was right. Though he had asked it before, the elf looked back up to the human, confusion reflecting in his face as he questioned, "How did you know that? I haven't seen you at all since last night when we all watched Groundhog Day."
At that, Richard's eyes widened and his face somehow brightened. Whatever Don had said, it was as if he had just handed Dick a key that could unlock any safe or door. Richard mouthed something to himself as he glanced away for a second, letting out a soft exhale before snapping his attention to Don. The elf flinched as Dick reached forward and dragged them both around the aisle to the one where the freezers were broken and buzzed a little too loudly.
"I— Bro, dude, what's goin' on?" Don asked, yanking his hand away and rubbing his wrist. Dick stared at him intently, making Don uncomfortable and forcing the elf to look away. When Richard leaned down and put a hand on his shoulder, Don's skin cried out to be left alone.
"Okay, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound insane," he said.
"As if what you've already said isn't," scoffed Don, rolling his eyes. Dick didn't laugh, seriousness remaining stiff as his expression. Don blinked and raised his hands. "But go ahead, I'm all ears." Richard hummed softly as Don's ear twitched.
"Alright, so... I think— no, I know... I'm..." Dick stared at Don, as if trying to choose his words carefully even though there was no light way to say it.
"You're what?" egged Don, raising an eyebrow. Dick glanced away and inhaled deeply before exhaling. Don thought he was being a bit dramatic, but he certainly wasn't.
"I'm... I'm living this entire fucking day on loop." Don stared at Richard, waiting for the punchline. But Dick was never good at telling jokes.
"Okay."
"—And again, I know it sounds crazy, but I promise you I—Did you just say fucking 'okay'????"
Dick stared at Don, wide eyed, and he shook his head as Don shrugged. "I mean, yeah, I believe you. We saw Groundhog Day. Even if you're messing with me, I don't really care, it makes the day a whole lot more interesting. You say you're livin' in a loop? Boom. You're livin' in a loop. What can we do to fix it?"
Richard was speechless. He just stared at Don with his mouth open in the cold grocery aisle as the buzzing of the freezers filled the silence. Don's ears twitched, that sound starting to bother him.
"Why are you on loop, though? It isn't Groundhog Day," continued Don, and this seemed to snap Dick out of his daze.
"I know! It's November! What, am I being cursed by the fuckin' uhhhhhh... Daylight Savings?"
"That was, like, a week ago or somethin'," reminded Don.
"ThEn I dOn'T fUcKiNg KnOw, iS iT 'cUs I tHrEw ThAt CaN aT dAsHliE lAsT nIgHt???"
"We need to find an anomaly, I guess. Something you're doin' wrong."
Dick looked around. "Well, we can't really do that here, so we should leave, obviously."
"Okay."
Richard opened and closed his mouth, still giving Don a surprised look. "Uh— Yeah, sure. Okay."
"Yep." The two stared at each other a bit before Don looked away. "We should get going."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
+++
Dick and Don walked along the sidewalk of the shopping district, the wind buffeting their clothes and hair as the sun beamed down through the fresh, autumn air. Don made mental notes as Dick gave the quick rundown of his day:
"I wake up, usual stuff happens, go to work, and eventually you come up to me and we talk until you tell me about your dream. Then I skip work, as we are doing right now, and I go to bother Dashlie at the pet store and look at the animals. A bird cage usually falls and I get out in the middle of the chaos and then head to the café. Eventually I do some window shopping until I run into you and we both go eat lunch at Sammy's Subs—"
"Oh, I love Sammy's Subs!" commented Don. Richard had a tired, exasperated look in his eyes.
"I k n o w," he breathed before clearing his throat and continuing: "Then we'd chat for a bit before you leave and ask if I want to come back to work. I always say no because I don't wanna be another cog in the system. Then we'd just comment sarcastic things about 'society' until we walk away, and I'd head home listening to 'Telephone Line' by ELO, which used to be my favorite song and now it makes me wanna pull a Van Goh on both ears. Then I'd just chill at home until I clean out the basement... and I found this dumbass old radio."
"Wait you didn't say anything about that before."
"Because it—!" Dick stopped himself and sighed, stopping in his tracks and turning to sit down at a nearby bench. Don joined him. "I found this old radio in my basement. Maybe moving it the first night wasn't a good idea, but I didn't touch it for a few loops and it still happened, nothing changed."
"You said you didn't know what caused the loop, now you're saying it's the radio?"
Richard cried into his hands. "I don't know! The radio may be part of it! Maybe I did something to someone and so it decided 'you're paying for it' and now I'm here! Again! And again! And again!" The young man pulled at his hair and smacked Don's hand away when the elf tried to put a hand on his shoulder. "But it's fine, I'm fine. That dumbass radio is probably half the reason, but I've tried getting rid of it time and time again, it just doesn't go away. I can't do anything about it."
"Okay, well... we could... just live out the day? And if we wake up again the next loop, just let me know what's happened and update me on what we've done so we can work it out."
Richard was keeled over his legs and hammering his converse.
"You good?"
"I'M FINE!!!" he answered, shooting straight up and grabbing Don by the front of his overalls. "LET'S GO FUCK WITH DASHLIE!!!"
+++
Dashlie let out a sigh, the chattering of exotic animals filling the pet store's silence. Beams of light cut through the large windows at the front of the store, making the place feel like home. Heaving a big box up to her side, the woman made her way to the front of the store and restocked, passing by her teenage coworker as she did so. "Morning, Dashlie!" he greeted cheerfully.
"You've said that six times already, Gerald," sniffed the human, glancing at the blonde half-elf as he frowned. "But morning."
"You doing anything for Thanksgiving?" Gerald inquired, trying to strike up a friendly conversation. The half-elf was very extroverted and always made conversation with anyone who could talk, which was why Dashlie avoided him most of the time. She hated people who talked too much. That, and teenagers freaked her out, even if they were friendly.
"Not really. It's not until a while, too. If my mom hosts any sort of family party or whatever, I'll probably just stay in my room," Dashlie sighed. The fifteen-year-old ooh-ed.
"My grandparents always host family reunions. I think they're great. Aunt Becky makes one hell of a cheesecake, and I gotta be honest, that's really the only thing I eat there. The turkey is always dry, and I just don't like the other food. Two years ago my great uncle skinny dipped in the pool— Hey where ya goin'?"
Dashlie walked away as fast as she could after hanging up the leashes, and she decided to go check on any animal that could get her away from Gerald. As she passed the front door, the overhead bell rang and she recited the usual notice as mechanically as possible: "Welcome to Larry's Pet Store! Please take off your hat, the spice masoons will pounce at the opportunity to grab them."
And then came the voices of the two people other than Gerald that she really didn't feel like conversing with right now:
"...no, that's what I'm sayin', you should— Oh look, there she is!"
"Wait, what? What were you gonna say?"
Dashlie stopped and turned around to see Dick squinting at Don and Don locking eyes with Dashlie. The woman furrowed her eyebrows in a scowl as she approached them. "What are you two doing here, shouldn't you be at work?" the human inquired. Don shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Well, I was fine, but Dick here wanted to come see you sooooo badly," scoffed Don as Dick opened his mouth to defend himself. "He was all like: 'LET'S GO FUCK DASHLIE!'"
Dick reached over and wrapped his arms around the elf's head, aggressively covering Don's mouth. "STOP! SHUT UP! NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID YOU BASTARD! ARGH!!!" Dashlie gave Dick a look, unsure if his face was turning red from embarrassment or pure unbridled rage. By the way he gnashed is teeth and scowled, it was probably the latter, but Dashlie saw an opportunity.
"Awww, Dick, why didn't you just say you had a crush on me?? All this time together... why didn't I see it before?" she said, great emphasis and influxuation in her words. Richard shot his gaze up at her, his crimson eyes scathing as he fixated a caustic glare.
"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! NO!! I HATE YOU! WE CAME HERE TO FUCK WITH YOU— FUCK!!!!!!" Dick shook, grinding his teeth and breathing out harshly through his nose. Don was hitting Richard's arm, trying to tear out of his grasp. Dashlie glanced down at the elf and winced when she saw his face turning darker and his eyes watering.
"HEY! DICKHEAD! Stop screaming for a second and stop suffocating Don!!!" Dashlie shouted. All this loud yelling was causing the surrounding animals to be disturbed. Dick's gaze flickered from spleen, to vexation, and finally panic when he looked down and saw he had yet to let go of Don. Swiftly, the taller man released his grip, and the elf collapsed to the floor gasping and wheezing.
When he finally caught his breath, Don looked up at Richard and shakily raised his arm. "F—Fuck you," the younger man hissed, turning his hand to flick Richard off.
"Well! This has been a lovely interaction, but I must be off to do my job now!" Dashlie finally spoke, turning and waving at the boys one final time.
Unfortunately, her departed was short lived as Dick, the absolute feral being that he is, rushed forward and dove at her legs, swooping her off balance as he screamed, "WAIT!!!"
Dashlie yelled and tumbled over him, landing on the hard, tiled floor and groaning. She heard Don exasperatedly question, "What was the end goal of that???"
The woman scrunched her nose up as Dick's stupid face appeared over her, his eyes wide. She had been done with his shit a million years ago, but now she was over it. Sudden anger coursing through her, she kicked her leg up and hit Dick right in his dick, making him cry out and reel back, falling to the floor and crumpling up into a ball. Dashlie got up and turned to face Don, raising her fists. "You wanna go next, goblin boy?" she said. Her eyes darted over Don's shoulders momentarily at Gerald at the cash register, who was watching the scene with his eyes wide and his face pale. She wondered how much he saw.
Don raised his hands. "Ah... aye... N...No," he whispered, face as phlegmatic as always despite his eyes reflecting his startlement. Dashlie nodded and turned back to Richard, who raised one of his hands to block any more attacks from the woman.
"STOP! Nooo... How will fighting customers look on security cams?" Dick whined.
"One, we have no security cameras. Two, you attacked me first, this is in self defense. Three, I have two eye witnesses: Don and Gerald."
"Wh—Who the fuck is Gerald???" Richard flinched when Dashlie stepped towards him, but just then, the sound of the metal framing of a fenced cage crashing against the tiled floor was heard an aisle over, followed by the startled shouting of her coworkers. Dashlie groaned and switched out of her fighting stance, stepping over Richard and turning back to face the two boys finally for the final time.
"You guys are safe... for now," she warned before spinning back around and heading off.
Adversaries could wait — the pet shop couldn't.
+++
A passing pedestrian moved out the way as a human and an elf hurriedly rushed out the pet store, but they paid the two no mind. Don and Dick however, had a lot to think through for themselves. Richard was limping so Don sat him down on a nearby bench, where the crisp breeze was undetermined as helpful or harmful.
"Well, that was a mistake," sighed Don, looking out across the parking lot, his eyes constricting against the glare of sunlight bouncing off car windows.
"N—No kidding!" breathed Dick, keeled over. Don glanced at him as he coughed. "That's never happened before..."
"What do you mean? Dashlie's kicked you in the nuts several times when you guys fought in the past."
"No, I mean in this loop. I've never had that happen before." Richard winced as he fixed his posture a little. "Not sure if that's a good or bad thing."
Don slipped his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. "Well, we still have a fair bit of the day left over..." His eyes darted over to Richard. "You ready to go get some coffee now?"
"NOOOOO—"
+++
Stratus clouds curled against the bright blue sky overhead as Richard pulled into the café parking lot. Though it was located on the other side of town, it didn't take long to get there. Don made a move to open the door as Richard parked, but he paused when he noticed Richard hadn't moved. The man was staring blankly at the steering wheel, and Don wondered what he was thinking about.
"Hey, Dick? You good?" the elf said, patting Richard's shoulder to get his attention. Dick blinked and looked up suddenly, seeming to come back to his senses. The human paused for a moment before looking at Don.
"Uh—Yeah, I guess. Let's go," he said, proceeding to turn and get out of the car. Don watched him for a moment, a little concerned, before stepping out and following his... neighbor to the café.
"Hey, why did you dive at Dashlie's legs? Like, what was the point?" Don curiously inquired. Dick glanced at him but didn't answer. Instead, he just walked into the café. Don hummed, taking a moment to glance at the HELP WANTED sign posted to the side of the door. He entertained the idea of submitting a resume, but he had yet to get an understanding from his boss if it would be ok to get another job other than the supermarket one. The elf shook the thoughts from his head and quickly walked inside.
There were not many people in the café, save for the few high school students having set up a study group and the office workers catching up on missing paperwork. Don hadn't been to the café in quite a while, as he never had a need to: he hated the taste of coffee. However, the quiet murmuring of voices under the grinding of the coffee makers really set the studious and cozy atmosphere. Don caught sight of Dick waiting in the small line at the counter, and he quickly joined.
"Hey, Dickhead, you didn't answer me," the elf said as he walked up. Richard glanced at him before turning his head back to the line.
"We'll talk about it later," he said. "Now's not the time." Don felt his insides flare up, agitation crawling along his bones. He often forgot how much Richard annoyed him. The elf had a few choice words to spill at the human, but he bit his tongue and huffed his way to a spot at a table.
Don pulled out his phone and slumped over the table, resting his head on his arm as he attempted to look busy. As he stared at the No New Notifications screen, he made an effort to quell his riled thoughts. Part of him was relieved he had an unusual talent when it came to hiding how he felt behind a blank face, but what he made up for composure on the outside was what he lacked the moment he opened his mouth. He knew as soon as Richard joined him at the table and started talking, he'd explode, so the elf took a moment to calm down.
He wasn't quite sure why he was so annoyed at Richard's avoiding attitude, and he was sure the young man had a reason for it, but Don just couldn't help his frustration. A few minutes later, though, Dick eventually found his way to the table and took the seat across from Don. "Took you long enough," Don muttered, putting up his phone and straightening up.
Dick nodded, looking back at the counter. Don assumed he was just waiting for when his drink would be called, but that was when the elf noticed a paper in the man's hand. He cocked his head to one side curiously.
"What's that?"
Richard looked back at Don and then down at the paper. "Oh—uh—The manager asked me if I wanted to work here so she— er, excuse me, they gave me a—a thing to... uh... fill out. Two things, actually. They saw me with you so—yeah..." he said before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath.
"Well, we can't, can we? Why didn't you say no?"
"I didn't say anything!" Dick defended, eyes widening as he clenched and unclenched his hands.
"W....? Why?"
"I was too focused on rehearsing my order in my head that it caught me off guard and I had no clue what to say! I just froze! And then when they asked for my order, I messed that up too 'cus I was completely thrown off!" Don noticed Richard's face was turning red and he was wringing his hands, and it seemed as though he was struggling to control his breathing.
Don, with his previous anger slowly melting away by the minute, reached a hand over and caught Dick's eyes. "Hey—are you okay?" he asked, but Richard yanked his hand away from Don's.
"Yes, I'm fine," Dick hissed, sounding out of breath. Just then, he heard his name being called, and he quickly got up to retrieve his drink. Don followed him with his gaze until Richard returned with two drinks, slamming one down in front of Don before taking a seat.
"Uh—I don't like coffee—"
"I know, it's hot chocolate," Richard huffed, taking a sudden sip of his own coffee with such focus in his eyes it seemed that was the only thing he perceived at the moment.
Don blinked, surprised, and slowly reached for the cup, lifting it to his lips and discovering it was, in fact, hot chocolate. The elf made an attempt to catch Dick's eyes and silently thank him, but the human was too focused on the polished wood of the table. Don took a moment and watched as Richard finished drinking his coffee and slammed it on the table, gasping as if he had just taken a shot. Dick reached up with shaky hands towards his heart, muttering something about a "mistake" and quickly getting up.
"I—uh—where are you going?" Don asked, startled as Dick walked past him.
"Bathroom," he quickly answered before disappearing. Don stared at the door he had gone through, confusion and concern swishing around in his brain. Eventually, he turned back and took a sip of his hot chocolate again, rolling his eyes.
"What a weirdo," he murmured. He sat back in his seat, waiting for Dick to return, but it wouldn't be for a good few minutes. Don felt his previous frustration slowly rising, as he hadn't even gotten a chance to ask Dick his question from before they entered the café. Was this just another attempt to avoid Don? Surely not...
Eventually, Richard did return... fifteen minutes later. Don quarreled with the decisions between asking if Dick was okay or just jumping to the point so he wouldn't get interrupted again. He figured Dick would just respond with "I'm fine" if Don asked... but he did anyways: "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Dick said unsurprisingly, sounding like he had just finished running a marathon. The human rubbed at his eyes, scewing his glasses. It was obvious he wasn't okay, but Don genuinely didn't know how to help him out. So, he just let it slide.
"Okay... Well, will you finally answer my question?" Don said, and Dick looked up at him. Don took this as a sign to go ahead. "Why did you dive at Dashlie's legs? Like, what was the point in that? You shouldn't have been surprised when she kicked you."
Dick screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. "I had to," he said. "I didn't know what else to do. She isn't supposed to leave that early."
Don paused, a bit confused. "What do you mean by that?"
Richard opened his eyes once more and gazed seriously at Don. "Each time when something has happened too late or too early, something really bad happens. In all the cases when Dashlie left before the bird cage fell, she was crushed and hit her head on the floor."
The elf went silent at that grim discovery of information. "Oh..." was all he said, and Dick nodded. The human took a sip of his coffee before putting it down and sighing.
"I'm getting really tired of drinking this. I think I hate coffee now."
"Oh."
"Yeah... Wanna get out of here? You can bring your hot cocoa," invited Dick, standing up to trash his coffee. Don checked the time to see about half the day had gone by.
"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," he said. As Dick nodded and turned to leave, Don glanced at the paperwork the older male had left behind, and he quickly grabbed and pocketed it.
+++
Don followed Richard out of his 2002 Lexus ES300. Once again, the elf had absolutely no clue what those words and numbers together meant to describe a car — all he knew was that it was gray and not as well-put-together as Dashlie's car was. The wind blew harshly against Don's skin, knocking his paper-clip earring back and forth in the breeze and causing a small pain in his ear.
The two reached the sidewalk and began window shopping, not really planning to buy anything in the end. Don found himself struggling to keep up with Dick, as the man was several inches taller than him and had some pretty long legs. The elf practically had to speed-walk faster than he did in the city in order to keep up with Dick's Bigfoot-like gait. Despite his discomfort, though, Don found entertainment in silently making fun of Richard's height and walking patterns. He looked like a swamp monster or a really tall newborn deer.
"Yo, can you slow down a bit?" Don finally said, his feet starting to ache with the extra steps he had to put in to keep up with Dick. Richard stopped in his tracks and looked at him, confused.
"I'm walking normally?" he said, but Don shook his head.
"Go even slower, then. I can't keep running to match your pace." Richard stared blankly at Don for a moment before breaking out laughing. With the harsh chuckles the man was letting out, Don knew his coworker was laughing at him specifically.
"Okay, small-pint!" Dick snickered. "I'll slow down..."
"I'm not short — don't call me small-pint," Don huffed. Dick raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, but you are. Little boy. Goblin child. Tiny baby boy. Little small baby man—"
"5'6 IS AN AVERAGE HEIGHT FOR MALES!"
Richard laughed hysterically at that. "SHORT!"
"I'M NOT SHORT! I'M LITERALLY AVERAGE! YOU'RE JUST FREAKISHLY TALL!"
"I'm not even 6'0, I'm 5'12."
"THEN YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S SHORT!"
Dick couldn't stop laughing. "Why are you so worked up over this? You're short, that's it."
"NO! I'M NOT!"
"Why are you so angry, dude? Is it cus you're just closer to Hell?"
Don threw his hands up into the air, letting out an angry yell and storming off, his blood boiling.
"Oh, so now you can keep up?" Richard teased.
"SHUT UP! LOOK, THEY HAVE LEATHER JACKETS ON SALE AT THE THRIFT STORE!"
"W—W—Why are you still yelling?" Dick questioned, struggling to stifle his laughter.
"I'M NOT YELLING!!!!"
+++
After some more yelling on Don's end, the two made their way around the shopping district and to the road Sammy's Subs was located on. Don had calmed down finally, much to the relief of Richard. Dick had found Don's anger amusing until it wasn't and people started looking at them. When Richard asked him to stop, that he's embarrassing himself, Don just yelled that he didn't care and it was Richard who was embarrassed, so that would be Dick's punishment for making fun of Don.
"I'm hungry. Are we there yet?" Don asked, to which Dick responded by stammering his steps.
"Uh—W—What? Yes, we are. You can literally see it from here," said Dick, and Don nodded. Richard stared at him for a small bit before shaking his head and continuing walking.
When they entered the restaurant, the smell of salad, bread, and roasted ham filled the air, curling around with the warm heating system to shield customers from the cold weather outside. Don felt a smile tug at the sides of his mouth, but he kept a straight face and snuggled into his sweater, thankful the place at least had the sense to use heating instead of air conditioning.
Don joined Richard in the short line, and when it was their time to order, Dick surprisingly took control: "Uh— two waters... uh—and an Italian sub: olive oil and twelve-inch. No onions or pickles." Don raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew in previous loops him and Richard ate lunch together, but he didn't think Dick had actually taken the time to memorize the order. When Don glanced up at Dick, Richard met his gaze and smiled, giving a knowing wink. Don felt his face flush at that, and he quickly looked away.
"I'll go get a table, then," he murmured before swiftly turning and leaving Richard at the counter.
Don plopped down at a table, the long legs of his chair making him feel taller as he put his face in his hands and rubbed his freckled cheeks. He had no idea why he had gotten flustered all of a sudden, but he brushed it off as being surprised by Richard's sudden display of friendliness. Don and Dick, despite being neighbors, rarely ever hung out like this. It was a nice change, Don had to admit, and he wished the two could hang out more. While they did hang out at Dashlie's place every once in a while, they were never doing something together.
A few minutes later, Richard returned with their waters and Don's sub sandwich. Don had finished his hot chocolate a while back, so the sudden change from the warm beverage to the ice water was a great juxtaposition. The elf munched on his sandwich while Dick looked around, sipping on his water. "Man, can't wait to not go here for another few months," Richard chuckled to himself.
"That's oddly optimistic of you," Don commented, and Richard rolled his eyes.
"I mean... the loop hasn't been entirely Hell. There were a few that were actually fun." Dick laughed, a smile growing on his face. "There was one run where I just skipped the entire day and went to the amusement park."
Don choked on his food and quickly got a swig of water. "That's like, not for miles, man! You drove all that way?"
"I mean, yeah. I had the time."
The elf groaned and shook his head at that, and Dick snickered. Don blinked and asked, "Wait, you went alone?" Richard paused before nodding, and Don snorted. "That's weird of ya. Don't you think people were lookin' at ya funny? You don't like that. The guy alone at an amusement park would've been somethin' to gain attention."
"I mean, I had no other choice, really. What, should I have asked you? You're afraid of rollercoasters, dude. Would you have even wanted to come?"
Don chewed on his sandwich a bit before inhaling and shrugging. "I mean, I probably woulda gone if you had just asked me. I dunno."
Dick sat back and pondered on that a short minute before thinking of other runs he had done. "There was one where I terrorized Dashlie all day, which was amusing. She kept kicking me out but I kept coming back in disguises from the thrift store. She tried turning me down every time, but I was technically a different person." Don cracked a smile at that as Richard laughed.
"Was there ever a run where you terrorized me?" the elf asked curiously.
Richard's laughter faded away, and his smile turned a bit awkward as he glanced away and sucked on the straw of his water. "What's next after this? We just go home?"
"Dick, you're avoidin' the question, man," Don noticed, and Richard refused to meet his eyes.
"You know, ever since you've joined me, a lot of new stuff has happened, which I honestly didn't really expect."
"Richard."
He looked at Don, an indescribable emotion tracing his face. Don wasn't sure if it was hate, anger, frustration, or worry. The human shook his head and sipped his water, looking around the restaurant absentmindedly as Don waited for him to answer.
"If I'm being honest," Dick finally started, a hint of agitation behind his voice, "I've been here so many times already that it's starting to annoy me." Dick glanced at the younger man across from him. "No offense to you, but hearing you talk about the same thing over and over and over again really started to piss me off. In one loop I got so tired I just got up and left."
Don paused, unsure how to respond to that. "Oh," was all he said.
"You really got on my nerves, man. You wouldn't go away. I punched you in the face in one loop, another I made you cry, there was actually one where—"
"Wait, I cried?" Don said, making sure he heard that clearly. Dick took a sip of his water and nodded.
"Yeah, you cried. I felt really guilty the next few loops, but I was just so mad I couldn't help it."
The elf blinked, trying to gauge what would make himself cry. "What did you do?"
Richard shrugged and leaned back in his seat, visibly uncomfortable but trying not to show it. Don wondered if this was what Dick had avoided telling him. "To be honest, I don't really remember what I said. I do remember shoving you to the ground, though. And I remember you crying. You tried to hide it but... yeah, it didn't work out."
Don opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say. "Uh... what?" Richard seemed confused by those words and the tone of voice carried in them, so he questioned Don about it. Don just shook his head, surprised. "I've never cried in my entire life. I didn't even cry when I was born, according to my momma and auntie. I usually just... you know, bottle it up and scream... Even when—" Don cut himself off and took a sip of water, just shaking his head and furrowing his eyebrows.
Dick blinked. "Oh... huh... Yeah, come to think of it, that's the only time I've ever seen you cry since I've known you..." A short silence fell between the two. Don ate his sandwich and Richard drank his water until his straw cried. "I feel like I should apologize."
But Don shook his head, wanting to drop the subject already. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't me."
"But it was," sighed Dick, resting his chin in his hand and scratching his beard. "I always forget that, too. Even if it wasn't... this timeline, it was still you. I made you cry in one of those timelines, I've punched you in one of those timelines, I've hurt you in multiple timelines... While I haven't hurt you in front of me, I still hurt... you." Don sniffed and cleared his throat.
"D—Uh, don't get all sappy on me, man," the elf stated with a forced laugh. The sudden shift in the atmosphere was making him extremely uncomfortable, and Richard nodded in agreement.
"Yeah— my bad. It's fine. Uh... Change the subject? Uh—" With that awkward segway, the subject was changed and the two continued their lunch until the time came to head back home. Don wondered if skipping work the entire day would have consequences, but since Dick did it all the time, he assumed it would be fine.
Don sat back in Richard's Lexus, watching the town buildings turn to dry grasslands, trees, open fields, valleys, and vast expanses that stretched on to the end of the universe. The sky tinted a blueish-orange with the approaching sunset, and all plant life danced in the breeze. Richard had the radio on, which played oldies and nostalgic tunes. Don glanced up and leaned away as the window rolled down halfway, welcoming the wind into the car. Don's gaze averted to Dick, who merely glanced at him and gave a slack smile. The elf turned away, feeling an unknown emotion rising in his stomach. He just wanted to enjoy the scenery, so he shoved the feeling down to make it go away.
Then, suddenly, the telephone startup intro of "Telephone Line" by ELO turned on, and Richard let out a loud groan that broke the peace. "This is why I wish I downloaded Spotify! Then I could at least skip this song!" Dick lamented, and Don furrowed his eyebrows.
The elf took out his phone and reached over to turn off the radio. Richard glanced between his actions and the road as the elf went to his music and picked a song, a new tune playing. Dick hummed and tapped his finger against the steering wheel. "I like this, what is it?" he inquired.
The elf shrugged and flashed a smile as the lyrics finally played. "A cover of 'Telephone Line' by ELO," he answered.
Without missing a beat, Richard hit Don upside the head. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!"
"THIS IS DOUBLE PAYBACK FOR CALLING ME SHORT, DICKHEAD!!!!!!"
+++
The sun drifted lazily towards the horizon as Dick's car pulled onto the gravel road leading up to his and Don's houses. When he reached the top of the slanted hill, he parked and got out of the car, Don following him. Don had only ever been in Richard's house once, when they were moving in and his stuff got mixed up with Dick's. So, when the two stepped inside, he took a moment to take it all in.
The layout of the house was just as weird as he vaguely remembered. As weird as the structure was, however, Don couldn't help but feel envious of the condition it was in. Unlike his own home, which was made purely of wood and could catch fire in a split second if you did so much as light a candle inside, Dick's house had wallpaper and hardwood flooring. Richard led him down the hall to the living room, which was cluttered yet cozy. Don couldn't help but notice an old radio sitting on a side table, and Dick glowered at it as if it had just insulted his mother.
"Is this the fucker?" Don clarified, addressing the radio, and Dick narrowed his eyes, nodding.
"Yep," he hissed.
Don hummed before reaching forward and turning it on. Immediately, loud, static music emanated from the radio, causing Don to jump and flinch as he quickly covered his ears, the sound hammering his skull. Richard noticed the elf's discomfort and quickly turned it off, giving a half-assed apology and sighing. "Again, I've tried everything with this," he said. "It turns up everywhere when I get back from the day. My bedroom, the basement, the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen. Ugh..."
Don's ears were ringing slightly from the loud noise, and at that moment he yearned for the poor hearing of a human. When the pain subsided, though, he looked back to Dick. "Well, there's nothin' we can really do then, huh?" Richard walked over and took a seat on the couch, grunting as he did so. "What do you usually do when you get home in the loop?"
Dick groaned and leaned back, tracing a chipped fingernail against the bottom of a shelf. "Not much. I usually mess around with the radio to figure something out or I just... like... watch TV or lay on the floor face-down until I fall asleep."
Don hummed, knowing if Dashlie were here she'd make a joke about him doing that every night regardless. But luckily for Dick, Don was more gracious and bit his tongue. He instead walked over to the TV, which was an old box television set up on a crooked TV stand. The young man crouched down and searched through the movie collection before one caught his eye. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," he read, catching Dick's attention.
The human gave a half-chuckle. "Oh, I remember watching that in junior year," he reminiscenced. Don quirked an eyebrow, turning back to face him.
"You watched this in college?" he said. At that Dick's face turned a slight shade of red, and he awkwardly traced the seams of the cloth couch.
"Uh—no, high school..." the older man corrected, clearing his throat. "I, uh... never went to college. I actually dropped out of highschool junior year."
Don hummed curiously. "I never knew that," he said, taking out the movie and standing up, looking at the cover. "Is there any reason?"
Don didn't get a chance to see Richard's face when he asked that, he only heard a silence before he got a hesitant reply: "...It just wasn't for me."
The elf nodded. "That's understandable, I guess," he said before taking the movie out of its case and glancing up at Richard. "Got any popcorn?"
+++
Don and Dick sat curled up on the couch, a fortress of blankets and pillows around them as the light outside the window turned to darkness. Don looked away from the television to cover his smile as the soothsayer was blown up by his own hesitation. Though it had been a while since he, too, had seen the movie, it still made him amused. He noticed, however, that Richard had stopped making sarcastic comments like he had been doing throughout the movie, so the short male glanced over at him to find the taller man staring at his hands as he picked at his cuticles.
"Hey, you good?" Don questioned, turning down the volume even though he fully expected an "I'm fine" from Dick. However, to his surprise, Richard took in a nervous and hesitant breath before giving an actual answer.
"I'm... I'm scared... Don," he said, voice quiet, and Don paused the movie at this to listen. "What if... I wake up and I'm still in the loop?" Richard's shoulders shook as he smothered his dread and sorrow. "What if I never get out? What if this is just my life... forever? What if it never stops?"
Don watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he would say anything more, but he didn't. Unsure of how to respond, he just reached over to give a side hug and say what felt right: "Then... I'll be here, I guess. We'll work together until it's broken. And if not...Well, I'm not sure what then, but... uh... yeah, I'll still be here." He knew full well that was a terrible reply, but it was the best he could muster. For being absolute shit at comforting people, he felt a small ounce of pride and relief when Richard sighed and nodded.
"You're right... I guess..." He looked up and wiped at his eyes, letting out a shaky breath. "You can... unpause the movie." It took a minute until Don finally turned the movie back on, and it took another two minutes for him to realize he was still holding onto Richard. He profusely apologized, but Dick just laughed at him and told him it was fine.
Some time later, when the movie was over and they decided to start up another one, Don offered to stay the night so Dick would know if he was still in the loop when he woke up and Don was gone. The two kicked off their shoes and slid onto the floor surrounded by pillows and blankets, watching Groundhog Day again for the irony until the bantering of Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell faded from their ears and sleep welcomed them with open arms...
+++
Richard awoke, his eyes still closed. His heart started to pound, and that familiar panic rose swiftly up his throat as it urged him to both stay asleep and wake up to see what was going to happen. Before he did get his hopes up, though, he took a moment to feel with other senses than sight.
A blanket and a pillow: nothing that gives much hope. The hard floor: promising, but he could've fallen off his bed. The smell of cinnamon and flaxseed: confusing. The light breathing of someone else other than him: alarming. The weight of someone nestled beside him: unwavering relief.
He finally opened his eyes to the ceiling and glanced around. His neck and back ached from sleeping on the floor, but the sudden rush of joy he felt overpowered the pain. Dick looked over at Don still sleeping beside him. Normally, he'd shove the elf away and yell at him for unknowingly holding onto him, but now he welcomed it, engulfing Don in a sudden hug and letting out a cry of happiness that woke the younger male up.
"Huh? Dw—w—what? Huh?" stammered Don, groggy and perplexed. Dick just squeezed him, shaking him back and forth.
"WE DID IT! HOLY SHIT! IT WORKED!" Dick yelled, making Don wince at the volume. Richard pulled away and grabbed Don by the sides of his head, bringing him in suddenly to plant a kiss on his forehead. "DON, YOU BEAUTIFUL GENIUS! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS THAT WE DID, BUT IT WORKED!"
Don blinked, overwhelmed by literally everything going on at the moment. First, he registered Dick hugging him, and felt his lungs craving oxygen. Then, he registered Dick kissing him on the forehead, which made his face heat up in embarrassment. Finally, he caught the last few sentences of what Dick yelled.
"Hm?" he finally said after processing everything.
Dick got up, stumbling a bit as he blacked out for a split second from his blood rushing to his head. He hurried to the window and face-planted against the freezing glass, never having felt such relief in his entire life.
"How is this even possible?" Richard finally questioned as he turned around to search for his glasses. "Why did whatever we do suddenly break the cycle?"
"I don't know why you think I have the answer to that," scoffed Don, rubbing his eyes. It was still dark outside, but his internal clock told him it was the early morning. "Maybe it's because you actually asked for help for once, I dunno."
Richard plopped down on the sofa and slipped his glasses on, contemplating that thought for a moment as Don got up and brushed the wrinkles out of his clothes. Dick slumped down against the couch cushions, letting out a sigh. "I'm still exhausted," he complained.
"Then take the day off," Don said with a small laugh. He adjusted his beanie and turned back to Richard. "You deserve it, dude. After everything you've been through."
"I mean... I don't have work today anyways, soooo..."
Don shrugged as he backed out. "Then sleep in. You aren't time's bitch anymore." Don called back as he disappeared down the hall to the front door: "Make time YOUR bitch and care for yourself!"
Dick narrowed his eyes, as that didn't entirely make any sense, but he got the gist of it. And so, his eyes still burning and body still aching from everything he went through, Richard stumbled his way back to his bedroom to collapse on his bed and sleep.
Don walked out into the cool morning air, jumping down the porch stairs and traversing the gravel ground to his house, the rising sun turning the clouds a soft pink and the autumn trees into dark silhouettes. A soft breeze, more comforting than the wind yesterday, brushed gingerly against the elf's skin. What would today bring?
That was a question only time could tell.
*****
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
FIRST CHAPTER DONE
I'M SO MUCH MORE PROUD OF IT THAN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE PREVIOUS STORY MY GODDDDDD
the first chapter wasn't even a chapter in that one, it was just an introduction. How did it catch anyone's attention? It was boring
Anyways
Word count: 9570 words
THATS A LOT
didn't think it would turn out this great, wow
I'm happy with it honestly
What did you guys think?
Oh also here are the character designs and the blueprints of each house
I'm very happy with all of this
With the blueprints you can see the rapid decline in quality cus I just wanted to get it over with lol
By the way if you didn't know why Don's dialogue is written the way it is, it's because he has a northern accent. I don't really have a way to portray the others' accents
Hope you enjoyed, gays— I mean guys