"Can I help you?"
"Yes, please! Where would I be able to find Mr. Allen?"
"Upstairs, take a left."
"Oh, great! Thank you very much!"
Jessica hurried up the nearby staircase in search of the man just mentioned.
"Look Joe, I wasn't expecting Iris to find someone while I was in a coma for 9 months. And now, I can't do anything, or I'd be ruining her happiness. And I don't want to be that guy." Nearing the slightly opened door labeled, "Forensic Analyst: Barry Allen" she heard two distinct male voices coming from inside.
"All I'm saying is that if you don't tell her soon, you might just lose your chance forever." The other voice warned, sympathetically.
"I know, I know. I just don't think this is the right time, when they're planning to move in together." The first voice reasoned.
Taking a deep breath, Jessica knocked on the door three times, to alert them of her presence. "Hello? I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She spoke peeking her head into the doorway.
Inside, she saw two men; one sitting down in a chair, with his face buried in his hands, and the other leaning against the table. They both turned to stare at the new voice in the room.
"Can I help you miss?" The older of the two asked. The other just stared blankly at the her.
"Actually, yes! I'm looking for Mr. Allen? I was supposed to meet him today at 11, but if I'm too early, I can always come back later. I just didn't want to be late for my first day at my new job and I really wanted to make a good impression. And I really didn't mean to intrude on your conversation, I am really sorry if I did…" Jessica could not stop her rambling, her anxiety and nervousness taking control. "I can just wait outside in the hallway if y'all aren't done with your-"
"Woah, calm down and take a deep breath," the older man recommended, in amusement. She heaved a big breath in and out, before focusing back on the current situation.
"Sorry about that," she apologized. "I didn't mean to freak out like that, I'm just really nervous and really excited to start my new position here." She was practically bouncing in her spot. Anxiety and excitement was not a good combination, she noted.
"Don't worry about it." With a chuckle, the older man step forward and held out a hand. "I'm Joe West. I work as a detective here at the CCPD; my office is downstairs."
"Very nice to meet you, sir! I'm Jessica Rose. I just moved here from Starling City." She replied, shaking his hand.
"Starling, really?" Joe asked, the surprise evident on his face.
"Yeah, it's not such a bad city if you get past the bad guys and all that," she shrugged, making it seem like no big deal. "I'm mean sure it's not really safe to walk around at night, and the crime rate is really high. And everyone walks around with pepper spray. Or a taser if you really want to splurge." Both the men's eyes widened. "Oh, but it's a lot better now because of the Arrow and the other crime-fighting vigilantes/heroes." She assured them.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Ms. Rose."
"Oh please sir, call me Jessica, or anything else. Ms. Rose makes me sound so old."
"Then, in that case, call me Joe and you got a deal." The two nodded in agreement and Joe continued, "If you need anything you can find me downstairs." Nodding to the younger man, Joe left the room closing the door behind him.
The remaining two stared at the door, lost in their own world and thoughts. The man chose to break the silence first.
"I'm Barry, by the way. Nice to meet you Jessica."
She shook his hand eagerly. "Oh, Mr. Allen! I'm Jessica Rose! But you already knew that, of course. I'm so sorry to intrude into your room like this, I just was really excited to meet you. And, I normally don't ramble this much, or maybe I do, but I'll try to control it the best I can if it bothers you too much-"
"Breathe Jessica. And don't worry about it. I tend to ramble a lot too." He smiled warmly. "And call me Barry. Mr. Allen makes me feel old too, and we seem like we're the same age."
"If you say so Mr. Al-," Barry rose his brow. "I mean Barry," she corrected herself. "Well, it's so nice to meet you! I know that you must be really busy, so let me know what you want me to do and I'll be out of your way!"
"Actually, it's been a slow day today since we don't have any cases in investigation at the moment. How 'bout I give you a tour of the station instead?" he suggested, "I mean, if you haven't seen all of it yet."
Jessica's eyes lit up at the suggestion, "That would be great! By the way, do you know a good coffee shop near here? I haven't been able to go searching for one with all the moving and chaos."
Barry shot her a smile, while gathering his things. "You know, I was just about to head out, myself, for a cup. I know just the place,"
—
(Jitters)
"Could I get an Americano in the biggest size you have?" Jessica could see Barry's amused face from her peripheral, "What? I haven't had coffee in, literally, three days."
Barry raised his arms in surrender, "I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, but you thought it."
Barry laughed while she shifted through her purse for her wallet.
"I got this." He assured her, when he saw her take out her card.
"No, I'll buy it, you were the one to show me around."
"Nope. I already got it." He said, handing over his card to the worker.
She sighed in defeat. "Fine, you win this round. But expect an extra large cup of hazelnut mocha on your desk on Monday." Jessica forewarned him.
Both smiling, they moved to a nearby table waiting for their order. And before they knew it, their coffees were placed in front of them by a petite woman with a big smile on her face.
"Barry, who's this?"
"Iris! Umm, this is Jessica, my new forensic analyst partner. Jessica, this is Iris, my best friend and Joe's daughter." Barry introduced the two. Jessica could see the Barry's face light up at the woman in front of her.
"Nice to meet you Jessica! Are you new to the city? I haven't seen you around before, and I never forget a face."
"I just moved here from Starling a few days ago, actually. The boss has been showing me around the city before we came here." She threw Barry a smile.
"By the way, I'm sorry if I'm being nosy, but are you a model? You look really pretty, which makes me not want to stand next to you." She asked with a sincere look on her face.
"Me? Ha ha, I'm really flattered but sadly no, I'm not. I actually work at the Central City Times and am a part-timer here when free." Iris turned to Barry with a grin. "I like her!"
"Since your new to the city, do you want to hang out sometime, just us girls? I love Barry and all, but I am in dire need of a close girlfriend to talk with. I'll show you around the best places."
"Of course! You literally read my mind!" Jessica nodded enthusiastically. "I have a feeling this is the start of a wonderful friendship!"
During their conversation, she learned about Barry's relationship with the West family and his recent wake from his 9-month coma. She had only heard of the effects of the particle accelerator explosion from the paper, since no one in Starling was directly affected. And Iris shared about her relationship with Eddie and more about her job at the paper. Eventually, she had to go back to work and gave Jessica a friendly hug before returning behind the counter.
"Let me guess. You like her and she doesn't you can't tell her because she's already in love with this Eddie guy, and you don't want to ruin your friendship?" Jessica's question snapped Barry out of his lingering stare at Iris working, and he looked at her, embarrassed.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Eh, kind of. I'm good at noticing things. And I kind of heard the last part of your conversation with Joe earlier when I was about to knock on your door."
He sighed. "I've tried telling her multiple times but she always finds a way to change the conversation into one about being like brother and sister and how I should be comfortable with telling her about girls and my nonexistent love life." She could see the sadness in his eyes as he let out another sigh.
Jessica leaned over and patted his back in sympathy. "Well, I say it's never too late until she says "I do", so I think you still have time. But man, you were sibling-zoned by her. That's even worse than the friend-zone."
"Well, I think you're wrong." He shook his head in disagreement. "It is too late. I've tried every way to tell her, dropping hints and what not, but she doesn't even have a clue. And even if she did, she hasn't said anything about it. She doesn't think of me anymore than a brother."
"Well, I wish I could help you, friend. But unfortunately, I'm not Cupid." She looked at him with pity in her eyes.
Suddenly, Barry turned to her, his eyes widening by the second. Seeing his reaction she thought of the worst. "Is it too soon? Should I have said acquaintance instead of friend? Sorry if I got a little ahead of myself."
Barry interrupted her with enthusiasm, "No, that's not it. Of course we're friends. I was reacting to the part about you wanting to help me."
"It's just a figure of speech, I don't really think I should get into the middle of your love life situ-"
"Please?" Barry pleaded. "You're a girl."
"Yes, Barry, I think we've already established that I am a girl. I'm kinda hurt you thought otherwise. I mean, sure I'm not as pretty as Iris, but I don't think I'm that unattractive to be mistaken for a guy." She continued her stream of consciousness, rambling on. "I mean, Iris is a pretty high standard to meet, but not everyone is pretty like her, Barry. And I'm glad you figured out my gender now before later in the future, or we could've had a pretty awkward situation. I thought having longer hair would be an good indicator of my-"
"Jessica, stop. You really do really ramble a lot." He grinned. "What I meant was, that you have a mind of a girl, and so you could help me confess to Iris, or at least help her to figure out my feelings for her." He explained, trying to prevent her from rambling again.
"Oh, ha ha ha. I knew that."
"…"
"Okay I didn't, but fine. I'll help you with your unrequited love life since we are friends and because I've been in your shoes. But whatever happens, I refuse to take the blame for it and you better not be mad at me if things don't turn out the way you want."
"Of course." Barry smiled with relief, succeeding in persuading her to help him.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, but I should go home and finish unpacking my stuff. I'll see you Monday, with an extra large cup of hazelnut mocha in hand," she said, getting up from her seat.
"Yeah, sure. See you around partner."
"Bye, partner-in-crime. Ha, get it? Because we help solve crimes. Which is the opposite of what it normally means."
Barry just shook his head in amusement, as she walked away.
"Jessica." Barry called out as she reached for the door.
Turning back, she raised her brow at her new friend..
"By the way, you're pretty too. And whoever that guy was, was an idiot for not liking you back."
—
A/N: I ramble a lot too. So I really connect with Jessica lol. Also, the timeline for this story isn't going to follow the series exactly. Thanks for reading!
