(Barry)
"You got this, Bare," Barry whispered to himself as he sized up his new school. Central City Private College, or CCPC for short. His foster father, Joe, had been overly excited when he had learned about Barry's rare college acceptance into this prestigious school "where dreams could become reality", or so said the acceptance letter. Barry wasn't even sure if he wanted to attend this school, until his best friend and foster sister, Iris, convinced him to do so.
"Bare, you're talking to yourself again," a voice whispered, and Barry jumped. He heard a snort of laughter and glared at Iris as she walked around him. She was wearing stylish light brown ankle boots, acid-washed skinny jeans, and a purple blouse. "Relax, you'll be fine. I mean, what's the worst that could happen on the…"
"Don't even finish that sentence or we'll all be cursed," Barry interrupted, and Iris rolled her eyes. Growing up with Barry, she had gotten used to his superstitious mind. "Remind me again how you convinced Joe, of all people, to let us room here?"
"Well, it took some talking, pleading, begging, and bribing, but he finally let us go. I think he believes that it will help us 'grow into the new world'," she finished with air quotes. "Honestly, he's a bit paranoid about the whole idea."
"He's a cop. Aren't they all paranoid?" Barry snorted, and Iris laughed along with him. "Hey, where's the office? Joe forgot to give me my…" Iris held a finger up and dug around her backpack for her purse. Once that was found, she dug around in there until she produced a small, neatly folded white piece of paper. "You are a lifesaver, Iris."
"Daughter of a cop, remember?" she laughed, tapping the side of her head. "Now, come on! I can't wait to see what class we have first!" Barry grabbed the schedule from her and quickly scanned it over, committing each class and time to heart. "Whatcha got?"
"Intro to Forensics," he said. "You?" She grabbed her own schedule and squinted at it.
"Intro to Journalism," she replied. "Hey, how about at lunch, we get together, maybe explore the campus?"
"Sure," Barry agreed, and they shook on it. "Well, I have to go this way. See you in a few hours!"
"Adios, partner!" Iris teased, and Barry walked away with a small smile on his face. Once he was far enough away from Iris, he let his smile drop. He opened up his schedule again and read the first class.
1st Period
Therapy
:/:\:
(Cisco)
"I'm just saying, Cait," Cisco groaned as the two of them stepped out of their tiny Sudan. "I just don't want you to get hurt by Ronnie…"
"Francisco," moaned the redhead, and Cisco mentally slapped himself. She never used his full name unless she was pissed. "I understand your discomfort with Ronnie…"
"That's a nice way of putting it," Cisco muttered under his breath. Caitlin glared at him and he shut up.
"I understand your discomfort with Ronnie," she began again. "You've never been exactly friends with the football team members in high school (who are now the football team members today at this school, might I add), and I know they weren't exactly nice to you that one time…"
"Not nice to me?" growled Cisco. "They laughed when I told them my brother was in the hospital because some idiot had burned him with dry ice!"
"Cisco," Caitlin finished firmly, flipping around to face him. "Ronnie is my boyfriend. You are going to have to get use to that." Cisco grumbled and folded his arms across his chest.
"Fine," he mumbled. "Can we just get on with this stupid college program thingy?"
"How is this stupid?" Caitlin chuckled slightly. "Star Labs High gave us an amazing opportunity of a lifetime to come here." Cisco tried to hold onto his frown, but it was failing. "See? Say it….say it…"
"You're right," Cisco answered, and Caitlin did a mini fist-pump. "CCPC does look pretty snazzy. Wonder if we'll meet any other geeks."
"We can only hope and pray," Caitlin answered.
:/:\:
(Barry)
"Mr. Allen, come on in," a pretty blond woman said as she opened her door. Barry bolted up and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. The receptionist lady gave him a warm smile before he darted into the small room which was about the size of a cubicle. "First off, let me be the first to say welcome and congratulations on getting into CCPC." Barry gave a weak smile and immediately headed over to a recliner. Subconsciously, he sat down and folded his legs up onto the chair with him. The woman strolled in and sat across from him.
"Barry...can I call you Barry…?" Barry nodded. "Alright, Barry, my name is Ms. Patty Spivot, but you can call me Patty, ok?" Another nod. "Excellent! To start off our session, I'm just going to ask you some simple questions, alright?"
Barry braced himself. They were always about his reactions to the horrible night his mother was...murdered. Every shrink and psychiatrist he had ever been to wanted to know what it was like watching his father kill his mother, and every time he argued with them and said, "No, he didn't kill her! It was the man in yellow!" No one ever believed him.
"Ok, here it goes…" Patty began, biting her lower lip. "Favorite song?" Barry nearly burst out laughing from surprise and relief. Was she joking? Favorite song? "Seriously Barry, I need you to answer these."
"Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson," Barry answered. The rest of the session went on like this, Patty asking irrelevant questions and Barry answering them gleefully, ecstatic that she hadn't asked about that night.
"Thank you, Barry, for your cooperation," Patty said, smiling just as the bell went off. She opened the door and Barry hopped to his feet. "I'll see you tomorrow morning for our next session."
"Why didn't you ask about my mom?" Barry blurted out, turning to face the confused looking doctor. "Every therapy session I've had since I was eleven, everyone wants me to describe that night...so why not you?"
"Of course I want to know what happened," Patty exclaimed. "But Barry, you watched a horrific thing that night. You watched your mother die. Whether that is from your father or from some other force the police don't know about. All I know is that I am not going to pry into something until you are ready to tell me about it." Barry felt a little tickle by his eyes, and he quickly swiped away any unformed tears.
"T-Thank you, Patty," Barry whispered, a genuine smile forming on his lips. "I...Y-You don't know how much that means to me."
"Trust me, Barry," Patty responded in a quiet voice. She gently patted him on the shoulder. "I think I do."
:/:\:
(Jay)
The day had sped by in a flash. Before he knew it, Jay was at his dorm, staring at the door with a bit of fear. It was bad enough he had been forced to move halfway across the country because of the threat from his father, but having to go to some snotty preppy college instead of a quiet, community one made it even worse. Jay took a few steps forward and read the names listed on the door.
102
Allen, Bartholomew
Garrick, Jason
Queen, Oliver
Ramon, Francisco
West, Walter
This was his room. He reached forward, gripped the handle, and shoved it open. It was completely empty, save for the furniture and an African-American boy typing rapidly on a Chromebook. Jay took a few hesitant steps in, and the boy's eyes flung up.
"Which one are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Jay stared at him, confused. "Which one of the other boys are you?" Jay's eyes widen as he realized what he was talking about.
"Jason Garrick, but I like people to call me Jay," he explained. "Which one are you?"
"Walter West, but please, Wally," he said, a small knowing smile appearing on his face. "You're bunking above the Queen, Oliver dude." Jay nodded and found the bunk bed with his name on it. He threw his stuff up onto it and decided he would unpack later. "What's your major, Mr. Garrick?" Jay turned and narrowed his eyes at Wally, who had gone back to typing.
"Chemistry," he answered gruffly. "And you?
"Auto-mechanics," Wally replied. He flipped his computer over. Jay's eyes widen with surprise. He hadn't been typing. He had been revising. Jay crept a little closer as his eyes flicked back and forth, taking in all the information on the screen. "This is the first project of the semester and they gave it to us on the first day."
"When's it due?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. Wally shrugged.
"Doesn't really matter," Wally told him. "I'm almost done with it anyhow. Have you seen any of the other guys?" As if on cue, the door burst open and in walked a shorter Latino boy, his black hair swept out of his face. "Guess they're almost here."
"Ok, which of the four other guys are you two?" asked the Latino, narrowing his eyes. "Wait! Let me guess." He pointed towards Wally. "You are...Bartholomew Allen, and you are…" He turned towards Jay and pointed to him. "Oliver Queen." Wally and Jay made eye contact and snorted.
"Nope," Jay said, shaking his head. "I'm Jason Garrick and that's Walter West. Though seriously, call us Jay and Wally."
"I'm Francisco Ramon!" the Latino boy announced as he tossed his stuff up above Wally. "Also known as Cisco."
"So now all we need is Oliver Queen and Bartholomew Allen," Wally said, glancing at the door. "Wonder where they are at?"
:/:\:
(Oliver)
It's not very often that Oliver Queen, son of Robert Queen, gets lost. But if he does, he does it with flare.
Oliver glanced down, grumbling to himself as he scanned his school map. He couldn't seem to find where his dorm was at, no matter how hard he tried.
"You just had to leave Star City to come here, huh," he grumbled angrily to himself, checking his watch. He needed to unpack before his next class started. "Good job, Ollie."
"You're talking to yourself," a voice interrupted, and Oliver jumped in surprise. A darker skinned girl walked out from behind him and gave him a warm smile. "Sorry, but I thought someone should tell you."
"I appreciate it, actually," Oliver told her. He held his hand out. "Oliver Queen."
"Iris West," she responded, grabbing his hand and shaking it firmly. "So, a Star City kid in Central...how is it?"
"Very wet," he answered and Iris laughed. "The people are nice, I guess. Coffee's fantastic. You wouldn't happen to know how to get to the guys' dorms, do you?" Iris nodded.
"My foster brother is here too, so I learned where he was in case I needed to reach him," she told Oliver. "Follow me." Oliver followed his newfound friend all the way to the other side of the campus, where a large red-brick dorm awaited them. "What's your major, Ollie?" Oliver barely cringed as he heard her say his self-given nickname. Some kid from Star City had insisted he get himself a nickname so he had, but it didn't mean he enjoyed it. However, hearing Iris say it was almost calming.
"Economics," he responded. "Dad wants me to follow in his footsteps and take over his job once he's old enough to retire. What about you, Ms. Central City? What's your major?"
"Journalism," she answered. "Some funky things have been happening around Central, and I want to be the first person on the scene." She gestured towards the dorm. "Here you are. Have fun and don't die."
"Reassuring words," Oliver mumbled underneath his breath. Iris smiled and laughed before patting Oliver on the shoulder. "Again, thank you." She just smiled and nodded before strutting off. Oliver quickly found his room and introduced himself to his roommates, Jay, Wally, and Cisco. It seemed this Bartholomew fellow was still missing. Just as Oliver finished up putting his clothes into his trunk, a kid came skidding into the room.
"SosorryI'mlate," the kid rushed his words, quickly placing his things into a large central bed. "Iforgottrackoftimeanddidn'tknowwherethedormswere…"
"Chillax, dude," snorted Wally, raising an eyebrow. "You're just a little late. Classes don't start for another half hour." He gave the kid a once-over. "You must be Bartholomew." The kid cringed.
"I prefer the name Barry," he muttered, fixing his stuff a little slower.
"Name's Oliver," Oliver said, walking over, holding a hand out. "I'm from Star City." Barry shook his hand firmly and smiled.
"Central," he said. "Born and raised."
"Same," Wally and Cisco said at the same time. The other guy, Jay, kind of shuffled awkwardly.
"Salem, Oregon," he said. "Moved here."
"Why d'ja move?" Wally asked, but Jay seemed to busy himself doing something above Oliver. "Hey, sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"It's kind of personal," Jay began, running his fingers through his hair. "I would rather not say." They all nodded and went about their little ways quietly.