Repeat Until You Love Me - DreamNotFound

~6~

George stepped outside. He hadn't interacted with anyone besides Clay since this whole thing started, so his first idea was to see if anyone outside could help him, or at least give him a hint as to what goal he was supposed to accomplish.

The streets were mostly quiet, aside from a few cars passing by occasionally. He didn't see any other pedestrians.

He frowned. When someone did eventually come along, what would he do? Would he just go up and introduce himself? Would he tell them about what he was experiencing? The chances that whoever he spoke to would know anything about his situation were very slim.

He spotted someone approaching and decided that he might as well try. "Hello, I'm George," he said, stepping up to them.

The stranger took a step backward, surprised by the sudden approach. "Uh... hi, I'm Jay," they said awkwardly.

"I'm stuck in a time loop, do you know any way I could get out?" George asked, cringing internally at how crazy he sounded.

Jay apparently also thought he was crazy, considering the way their eyes widened slightly and their feet shifted in preparation to run at any minute. "Seriously? You're joking. You're crazy or you're joking."

"I know I sound crazy! Just, for one minute, believe me, okay? Do you know any way to help me?"

"No, I'm not a time travel expert. I think I might've read a story on this at some point, but that's it."

George sighed. "Well... what did they do to get out?"

Jay frowned. "Uh... if I recall correctly, the main character had to assemble some kind of key. It was heavily magic-based, so I doubt that helps you."

George's face fell. "No, thanks anyway."

George continued to try talking to people, loop after loop, to no avail. None of them had useful advice; they all just assumed he was crazy. At one point, he did meet a kid with a time travel obsession, but unfortunately they weren't able to help him either.

It was really draining, getting told over and over again that he was crazy, that there was no way to help him. Before long, any motivation to troubleshoot further had vanished. Maybe it would be best if he were to go to sleep and never wake up.

...Not a bad idea, actually.