-Reckless- [Endless Summer]

- IV | The Loop -

"Alrighty then." You said to yourself, moving away from the hologram. "First things first. I've gotta find the source of the time loop. I can do this. I'm smart. Ish. Not really. But could I use that to my advantage?.... no. No I can't. And yet another example of how I'm not smart."

You frowned to yourself, leaning against a tree and staring down at the river. "If it's a time loop, it means that this moment is going to play over and over again. So if I live it first, see what happens, and then when it repeats itself I can start looking, and I'll know roughly what's going to happen. That seems smart. Then I'll start looking for what could be causing the loop..."

You were pulled away from your thoughts of how the hell you were going to pull this off by yourself by Estella's voice, and you glanced over to see her pointing to something further down the river. "Over here, guys. There's a fallen tree going all the way across. We can use it as a bridge."

You made your way over to them and Jake fell into step beside you, nudging your arm with his. "You alright there, Princess? Lost you for a second up there." He tapped your temple, and you smiled.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just can't believe we're gonna get him back. Seems surreal."

Jake nodded and turned to stare down at you. "Don't you go worrying, now. Pop Culture Petey's gonna be just fine, darlin', and when we've got him back we're gonna find a way off this hell of an island and get you back home. I promise."

You nodded and leant up to kiss his cheek once before joining the group to line up single-file to cross the river over the moss-covered log. It admittedly didn't look the safest, but it would have to do. You lined up beside Michelle, and she easily danced across to the other side with little to no difficulty.

Until the very end.

"Agh! Dammit, I just lost a contact lens!" She shrieked, spinning around on the spot with her eyes narrowed at the ground.

"Want me to help you look?" You asked, easily making your way across the log. Those years of walking across the high beam at gymnastics rehearsals had really done your poise and balance some good. Michelle sized you up for a moment before nodding.

"Ugh, fine. So long as you agree that I never asked for help."

You smiled at her response and got on your hands and knees beside Michelle, the two of you combing through the high grass. "This is impossible." The blonde beauty groaned, sighing in resignation as she leant back onto the balls of her feet.

Your fingers shifted through yet another tuft of emerald grass, and brought with it a small, perfectly clear round disk. "Wait, hold on - I found it! Here!"

"Elena, you don't even understand how much you just saved my life." Michelle sighed happily, but then frowned at the dirt and chlorophyll stains on the lens. "Eugh - well, that cant go back in my eye. Great."

"Here, hold on." You reaches inside your backpack and removed a bottle of saline solution, which you handed to her to with a smile.

Michelle paused, dubious. "... and you just happen to carry a bottle of this... why?"

You shrugged. "I used to need glasses before I got surgery but I had to have contact lenses because of my gymnastics. After I got laser eye surgery I had a bunch of these bottles lying around so I brought one with me in case anyone sustained any injuries. This thing works like a charm for cleaning wounds."