Chapter 1 The Speed and the Speechless
Alright so I've quickly fallen in love with the new CW Flash show so I figured I'd attempt a fanfiction for it. Hope you enjoy!
"Barry! There's an armed robbery on thirty-second street! Central City Bank!" Cisco's voice was in Barry's ear, making the speedster turn and race down a street toward the bank.
"How many robbers?" The Flash raced toward the building, a mere blur to anyone that may glance at him.
Caitlyn's voice sounded. "There's six, Barry. They have hostages too."
"Mr. Allen." The stern Dr. Wells spoke over Caitlyn. "Be aware that these men are armed with powerful firearms, not just run of the mill pistols."
Barry rolled his eyes with a grin. "C'mon...I thought we all learned I could outrun a bullet."
The female scientist of the group chimed back in with some stern reason. "If you're prepared, Barry. If someone shot you when you weren't ready, you could get seriously hurt. Don't get a big head..."
"You're right, Caitlyn. I'll be careful." Barry Allen rocketed past the police cars outside and through the front doors, knocking out two robbers as he stopped in the middle of the lobby. Three men leveled their guns at him. Two seemed fairly nervous from his dramatic entrance, while the third just glared fiercely at him. He had to give the guy credit for not looking as scared as his companions.
The young metahuman glanced behind him to see the hostages, so he could keep track of them if chaos broke out. There were eight hostages total: two workers, a young man and a woman who looked ready to cry about this awful shift, a teenage boy with a gothic look, an Asian couple that looked around Joe's age holding each other, a grandmother with a small wide-eyed girl clutched fiercely in her aged hands, and in front of her sat a teen girl with black hair and a blue streak to the side looking almost protective of the grandmother and child. Eight hostages would be a lot to rescue if the men decided to just start shooting, but he'd manage it. He had to.
"Drop your weapons and surrender to the police and things will be a lot easier for you. I'm beat, so can we just do this the easy way today?" He tried to give off a bored air, but inside he was nervous. These guys looked scared and scared criminals either immediately gave up or did something stupid and to do something stupid with eight civilians nearby was likely not to end well.
The two nervous men glanced at their fallen comrades, then at each other, seeming ready to take the speedy hero up on his offer. The last man tightened his grip on his gun. "Like hell, streak, flash, whatever they're calling you nowadays."
"Fine. Don't say I didn't give you a chance." In less than ten seconds, Barry had the guns and dropped them on the ground, followed by the tinkling of bullets on linoleum as he poured the bullets on to the ground. "Guess we're done here." Behind him, Barry heard a thump and what sounded like a gasp, but he was used to having all kinds of reactions at his speed.
"Yeah." The lead goon grinned at the Flash, a pile of money beside him, the source of the noise. "We are." Then Barry heard the distinctive click of a gun.
He had forgotten about the sixth robber...
Barry started to turn, but even with all his speed as the man squeezed the trigger of the gun he knew he was too late. The man was firing from a distance, but Barry just wasn't prepared.
"Look out!" He heard the scream as something heavy collided with him a second before he heard the double bang of the gun firing from behind him. As Barry hit the ground, his cheek cut from the impact and he turned to see the black and blue haired girl laying beside him. She groaned and he saw a trickle of blood run down the side of her head and the material of her sweatshirt slowly turning crimson. The girl must have been hit when she pushed him down. Idiot! Caitlyn was right! He had gotten cocky and this girl had gotten hurt because of it...
Barry grit his teeth and ran, grabbing the gun and emptying its bullets. The next thing the criminals knew, they were all piled in the back of the police cars outside. He raced back in to where the girl lay, scooping her up in his arms. She was probably average height standing, but she was very slender and seemed terribly small and helpless as she lay bleeding in his arms, though at a glance she looked around twenty or so right now she just seemed like a very weak and very small girl.
"Come on! I'm taking you to the hospital. Hang in there..."
"...n...no..." He looked down in surprise as she bit her lip. "...na hospil..." Her words were sluggish, but he understood.
"Guys! One of the hostages got shot, but she's saying she can't go to the hospital."
"If she's shot, she needs to go to the hospital, Barry!" Caitlyn's panic rang clear through the headpiece, but Harrison Wells's always calm voice spoke up.
"Mr. Allen. You of all people should understand not wanting to go to a hospital. Bring her here. We will take care of her."
Barry glanced at the rest of the hostages. The grandmother looked at the girl in his arms then at him. The cut on his cheek was already healing, but one stray drop slid down his skin to his jawline. "Thank you...now go save her, young man..." The drop dangled before falling, landing on the girl's panting lips. Barry nodded at the grandmother and was gone.
It only took Barry a few moments before he was standing in S.T.A.R. Labs, clutching the injured girl. His teammates hurried to him, assorted looks of concern and worry on their faces.
"Bring her in here. I'll look at the wound." Caitlyn ran into one of the adjoining rooms as Barry ran in and set the girl down. Her eyes were closed and her breathing seemed ragged. Cisco and Dr. Wells were close behind, quickly joining them at the table. "Cisco help me cut off her sweatshirt so we can see better. Dr. Wells, can you attach the heart monitor?" The team hurried to help the poor girl as Barry raced and changed back into his street clothes before appearing back in the room. Naturally, he was always protective of his secret identity. Now he stood and watched his friends at work. Usually he was the heart of their operation, but here he got to see his team in action without him.
Her head had only been scraped and Cisco was able to wipe away the blood from the cut, although it was already stopping. The tricky part was the bullet in her side.
"Guys, we don't have any anesthesia since Barry is immune to it..." Everyone turned to Cisco in slowly dawning dread.
"You can't mean..." Caitlyn looked horrified.
Dr. Wells swallowed and ran a hand over his face. "Yes. We will have to remove the bullet and close the wound without it. She's fortunate that the bullet didn't deeply penetrate her, so there shouldn't be any internal damage at least."
Her eyelids fluttered and slowly opened halfway. They scanned the room with the haze of someone in pain before finding and latching on to Barry. Everyone seemed surprised, but Dr. Wells repeated himself to her. "It will be very painful... But it has to be done." She nodded and reached a hand toward Barry. He stepped close and took it carefully in his. Her hand was so small in the two of his and it seemed terribly cold as if confirming already that removing the bullet wouldn't work. "Very well...Dr. Snow. Cisco. Let's begin."
It took them a while, but Barry kept his gaze steadily on the girl's the whole time. She silently stared at him, making a silent face of agony as they removed the bullet, a soft clink as it fell into a metal tray. Barry was fast, but that ability was useless here. All he could do was keep her attention as little as possible on her makeshift surgery. Her hand squeezed his tight, but she didn't make a sound the whole time the bullet was being removed. "Where...flash...?" Her voice was raspy and soft.
Barry didn't waver. "He dropped you off here, but he had to go help someone." Well, it wasn't entirely a lie...
She nodded weakly, but seemed disappointed.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, there was the soft snip as Caitlyn cut the thread on the stitching. "There. Done..." The girl smiled at Barry tiredly before closing her eyes.
Instantly, the speedster got nervous. "Hey, is she...?"
"She's fine, Mr. Allen." The good doctor took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. "Just exhausted I imagine. We'll let her sleep and rest, but during that time I suggest we decide what to do with her when she awakens."
The group filed out and Dr. Wells closed the door, locking it after they had all left.
Caitlyn looked at him in surprise. "Is that really necessary, Dr. Wells?"
They all turned to Dr. Wells. "We have had too many close calls. Yes, she was injured, but we know nothing about her. She could be working with the bank robbers Barry took care of for all we know. This is a necessary precaution."
"Well, we don't exactly know nothing about her..." Now everyone turned to Cisco, who was holding the remains of the girl's sweatshirt in one hand. In the other hand, he was holding a navy wallet with the silhouette of a howling wolf on the front. "Her name is Vivian Balsa, twenty-one years old, brown eyes, five foot six, and a licensed driver." He waved the wallet at the group to show them.
There was the soft hum of Harrison's wheelchair as he rolled over to Cisco. "Did you say Vivian Balsa?"
"Yeah, why?" Cisco looked at the doctor confused as he passed him the wallet.
The man stared at the picture with what almost seemed to be fondness. "I almost thought she looked familiar, but it's been so long..." He set the wallet on his lap, taking off his glasses and cleaning them on his shirt. "In college, I had had a very close companion by the name of Avery Balsa. I learned that he had a daughter shortly after I contacted him on help for a project. He came to the lab I was working at at the time and brought her along. She must have only been around ten at the time, but was exceptionally polite and mature. I could also tell she had a very close relationship to her father."
Barry glanced through the window at the slumbering girl. She stirred, but remained asleep. "So, she should be fine, right? We don't have to keep her locked up?"
"She could have changed Mr. Allen. You see..." He sighed and slid his glasses back on. "A year ago when the particle accelerator incident occurred...it also killed her father."
"What...?" Caitlyn glanced with widened eyes at the girl with a look of sadness. She knew better than anyone the pain of losing a loved one from the fateful night.
"Yes. I told you once I knew all the names of the people my particle accelerator killed...Avery Balsa was on that very list. From what I understand, he had been in a car accident with Vivian. She had been hurt and needed time to rest in the hospital, but his situation was more dire. When the power fluctuated, it stopped the machines keeping him alive..." He trailed off, allowing the group to process this.
Cisco rubbed the back of his head, a deep frown on his usually cheerful face. "Man...I feel so bad for her... What about her mom?"
"To the best of my knowledge, Avery wasn't married. I always assumed she wasn't in their lives anymore, but I never asked. I wanted to keep our personal lives out of our business relationship as much as possible."
"So she has no one..." Barry's voice was quiet because his mind had traveled back fifteen years to a time where he had just lost a mother and his father was going to jail and all seemed lost to him. He had felt like his whole world had ended...but he had Joe and Iris. He had been okay because of them, but if he hadn't had them...
The group's engineer walked over to the computer and began typing for a moment. "As far as I can find, she doesn't have any family. She lives alone in an apartment near the water." He frowned. "Strange..."
Caitlyn walked over to join him at the console. "What is it, Cisco?"
"Well, I ran her picture through our database to see for criminal records and stuff, ya know?"
"Yeah? Does she have a record, Cisco?"
"No..." His eyes scanned the screen. "But it came up with a partial match to a weird article." Barry and Dr. Wells came over to look at what he was reading. It was an article in the Central City Picture News that explained how a small boy had fallen off his family's boat and the water had washed him up on the deck "as if by magic." There was a picture of the family posing, the small boy wrapped in a towel. Nearby, there was a large crows smiling at the family and in the photo the girl's reflection was in a window in the background. It wouldn't be noticeable unless you were looking for it, though.
Barry stared at her face in the photo. Something about her expression looked very...relieved. "This doesn't mean anything. She was just randomly in some article's picture in the background."
"Dude, don't hate on the software." The two men grinned at each other as there was a soft noise.
"It would appear the object of our conversation is awake." Dr. Wells rode over to gaze in at the girl. She sat up on the table, holding her head. Vivian moved as if to get down, but made a face of pain and grasped her side. The movement threw off her balance and she fell back on the table. Her small body moved as if she was taking in ragged breaths. She slid up her tank top to study the wound and slid her fingertips over the threads on her wound. Suddenly, she started tugging at the stitching.
"Oh no!" Caitlyn ran to the door and opened it, running inside. "Don't do that! You need to heal." Vivian looked up startled as the four members of team flash came in. The stitching hung in her hand, the wound from the bullet already closed, a small scar in its place. "How...?"
Vivian scurried back and looked at them with wide, fearful eyes. The heart rate monitor started to pick up, her heart racing. She looked at it closely and it slowed with an impossible quickness. The girl seemed slightly calmer, but when she looked at them again her eyes still had fear in them.
Everyone paused at her terrified expression. Cisco spoke up softly. "Uhhh...why does she look so scared of us?"
"Miss Balsa. Do you remember me?" Dr. Wells moved closer and her chest moved fast with scared breaths, so he stopped. "Something's wrong."
Her eyes darted around, as if looking for an exit, before settling on Barry. He stepped forward and she didn't flinch. Barry moved closer, slowly, and reached out a hand. "We're not going to hurt you...you're safe." He stood only a couple feet from the table, hand outstretched. After a long pause, she reached out and took his hand. Her eyes still seemed fearful, but the girl no longer looked terrified. "Your name is Vivian?" She nodded. "My name is Barry. That's Caitlyn, Cisco, and Dr. Wells." He gestured to his teammates in turn and each offered a friendly smile. Vivian looked at them each in turn then gave a small smile and a timid wave. The girl looked down and gestured to her bloody tank top. "Sure. I'm sure we have something for you. Caitlyn will help you. Wait...you can't talk...?" Vivian opened her mouth then closed it and shook her head. "Alright. Caitlyn?"
"I'll take care of her. I don't live far from here so I can get her fresh clothes and clean her up. Come on." Caitlyn helped her down and they slowly walked off.
"That's really weird..." Barry crossed his arms, brow furrowed.
"What is?" Cisco turned to his friend, curious.
"At the bank, she had said she didn't want to go to the hospital and on the table she had asked about the flash. She spoke. Now she can't? And her wound...it healed so fast..."
Dr. Wells cleared his throat. "I believe...that we have a metahuman on our hands, but we still don't know much about her, nor her intentions so we should still continue with caution." The boys looked at each other, but reluctantly nodded.
It was a little while later and Cisco and Barry were still hanging out in S.T.A.R. Labs. Dr. Wells had gone off somewhere so the two boys were left alone. Cisco looked up from the console he was at. Barry was just wandering around and killing time it seemed. He pulled out his phone, fiddling with it. "Hey, why don't you go home? I'm sure Vivian's fine. We can get her home or whatever..." He trailed off with a frown, wondering if she could go home or if they'd have to keep her down with all the other metahumans...all the criminals.
"Thanks, Cisco, but I wanna make sure she's alright."
As if on cue, Caitlyn wandered into the room. "Hey, guys. We're back."
Both boys looked up. "How is she?" Barry looked at her anxiously.
She smiled at him. "She's doing really well. I thought I could give her something of mine to wear, but she's not quite my size. A little too small. She also seemed to favor my pants, but this will have to do for now."
Caitlyn moved aside as the girl peeked around her. Both boys' eyes widened. "Wow..." Vivian's clothes had been torn and bloody, her hair a frizzy mess with some dirt and blood in it, all in all a complete mess. Now she stood in front of them looking much, much better. She still wore her scuffy sneakers, but with a low cut black t-shirt and navy skirt. The shirt was rather fitted and it showed that the girl certainly had curves. The skirt flared out a bit ending a little past her knees. Vivian's hair was now fluffy and clean, pulled back in a navy headband and now showed that it choppily ended at her shoulders. Around her neck hung a small pendant that looked like a water droplet.
She smiled at the boys' reactions and grinned at Caitlyn. The woman laughed. "Wow, guys..." Both of them looked away, faces reddening. "By the way, she told me she likes to be called Vivian or Vivvy. Whichever we prefer."
Cisco looked up, serious now. "She talked to you?"
"Well, not exactly. She wrote it on some paper for me." Vivian nodded eagerly, agreeing. "Where's Dr. Wells? I thought after we went over a couple things she could go home?"
"I disagree, Dr. Snow." Dr. Wells rode in and looked at Vivian. "I heard you come in and thought I'd offer my input. This young lady has abilities we do not yet know. I propose we keep her here for now."
Vivian narrowed her eyes at him and snorted. Caitlyn spoke up, seeming protective. "Dr. Wells, that really isn't necessary..."
Vivian nodded in irritation. She strode over to Barry and pointed at his phone. "Uhh...sure." He offered it to her and she typed, holding it up to him. "She says she won't be a prisoner here."
"Miss Balsa. Under the circumstances, I was hesitant to even allow Dr. Snow to leave the premises with you. So you will stay here for everyone's safety." He smiled at her as if trying to counteract his demand. "I believe this is fair."
She typed again and Barry read. "I think this is more fair. I'll stay long enough for you to run a few tests, noninvasive and not painful, to see what you can learn about my supposed powers. Then I'm going home. If you need me, I'll come, but I won't stay as a prisoner here." As Barry read, Vivian stared fiercely at the doctor.
"You drive a hard bargain, but very well." He offered his hand and the girl shook his hand, a determined look still on her face.
She turned and typed on Barry's phone. He looked at the screen and read. 'Thank you for everything. I hope this isn't the last I'll see you?'
He grinned at her. "Of course not." She smiled back at him, before handing his phone back. "Later guys!" He strolled out since she didn't know of his alter-ego and once he rounded the corner he was gone in a blur.
It was a beautiful day and all the doors and windows were open to let in the breeze and sunshine, so Barry jogged into the CCPN building with ease and a smile on his face as he scanned the newspaper's staff for his girlfriend. Somehow Linda was always faster at spotting him than he was at spotting her, but he liked to beat her on occasion. He had a reputation of speed to live up to after all.
"Hey, Barry." He turned and smiled at his childhood friend.
"Hey, Iris. Have you seen Linda anywhere?"
A feminine voice spoke up behind him. "She's closer than you think, handsome."
Barry turned and grinned at his girlfriend. "That's good. Makes it easier for me to find her."
"If my memory serves me correctly, and as a reporter it usually does, I'm the one always finding you, Mr. Allen." She gave a flirtatious smile that made Iris frown. "Let me just wrap up something." The woman strode over to her desk and began to type on her computer.
Barry followed and leaned over her shoulder. "I didn't know you wrote adventure stories."
"I don't. A friend of mine does and needs some help because she's stuck on the plot..." She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "This isn't my kind of thing. I write sports, statistics and facts. Creating some story isn't my specialty."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out." He leaned down and placed an affectionate kiss on her temple, making the girl smile.
"Help!" A cry came from the open doors by the front of the building, making the group look up. Iris, Linda, and Barry hurried to the sidewalk and saw a woman fighting a man for her purse. A small boy was watching beside her with fascination. With a final tug, he ripped the purse free and ran. "Someone help! It has my son's medication in it!"
Barry's eyes darted to the horrified women beside him before he broke into a run. It'd be easy to catch the man if he used his superspeed, but that'd definitely give away his alter-ego. The problem was this guy was fast, really fast. If Barry only ran at an average pace he wouldn't be able to catch him. He wasn't sure what...
Suddenly, a figure darted out of a side alley and brought up a leg, connecting squarely with the man's chest and knocking him on his back. The man slammed into the sidewalk with a grunt and tried to climb back to his feet when a sneaker slammed down on his shirt. He looked up into a smiling female face. She held out a hand expectantly. He looked at her angrily, but she ground her shoe into his chest, making him grimace. With a huff, the man thrust the purse into her hands and she removed her foot, still smiling. He stood and staggered off, a hand to his chest.
Vivian waved then hurried back to the woman and handed her the purse back. The woman grasped her hands and Barry could tell she was thanking her with enthusiasm. He noticed the boy hug her and she smiled, rubbing the boy's head. The woman was talking and he saw Vivian tapping on a phone and show the woman. After a moment, the woman took a candy bar out of her purse and gave it the her. Vivvy smiled and accepted, slipping the gift into her own small bag that was secure across her body. Then her eyes must have seen him because she smiled and ran down the sidewalk to greet him.
"Hey, there." He grinned. "So, you're a hero I see..."
Vivvy nodded happily and tapped on her phone.'The woman insisted on giving me a reward so she gave me a candy bar. I didn't want a reward, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings.'
Barry smiled at the girl. "It was nice you accepted. Probably made her feel good to be able to thank you for a good deed."
Vivvy nodded and typed some more on her phone. 'Kind of...I may have bruised a few of his ribs."
"Yikes. Remind me not to get on your bad side." He laughed and Vivvy grinned as the girls approached them and Linda looked at the phone. "Ya know I'm the sports section, but I don't see why we couldn't have an article about your little act of heroism. You think you'd be up to the task, Iris?"
She grinned back at her. "I think I can fit it in my schedule. Can you come in for a second so I can get some information?" Vivian nodded and followed the girls back into the building, Barry trailing behind.
Iris looked at Vivian. "Let me get my laptop and I'll be right back." The shorter girl nodded and Iris ran off. She looked around before wandering over to Linda who was now sitting at her desk.
Linda muttered to herself in frustration. "I'm never going to get this..."
Vivvy tapped her shoulder and held out her phone. 'Can I help?'
She snorted. "Not unless you can figure out a dramatic entrance for the villain..." Vivvy leaned down, reading the email. She gestured to take the keyboard and Linda pushed it toward her. "All yours..." The girl smiled and began to type away, slender fingers flying across the keys.
Barry and Linda watched and after a moment Vivian slid it back to her. The couple read the screen, Barry speaking up first. "Wow! That's really good!"
"That's amazing!" Linda looked at her in shock. "Where'd you come up with that?" Vivvy shrugged, smiling. "That just saved me a ton of time. Thanks."
The girls smiled as Iris approached with her laptop. She scanned the group, a playful twinkle in her eyes. "Well, something good just happened."
"Yeah, she figured out the plot twist I was stuck on."
Iris leaned over and scanned the screen. "Wow! That is incredible." Her face lit up in an appreciative smile and Barry couldn't help but feel his heart give a little stutter at seeing it.
"What's so incredible?" The group turned as an elderly man steadily scanned the faces.
"Sorry, Mr. Larkin. I just needed some help with a personal project." Linda smiled sweetly at the man.
"Oh? That right?" The man leaned down, reading the screen. "Hmmm...I must say that is some rather fine story telling there, Linda."
The girl stood and put an arm around Vivian's shoulders. "It's actually not my writing, sir. My new friend, Vivian, wrote it."
Vivvy smiled at the man shyly and held out her phone. 'Pleased to meet you, sir.'
He looked at her and his face broke into a warm grin. "Well, young lady, you certainly have a knack for writing fiction. Say." He scratched his chin in contemplation. "The boss has been saying we need to reel in more female readers. What would you say to a weekly story piece? It'd be like a soap opera continuing each week. You'll get paid of course and if you can write besides fiction maybe you can have other roles here. What do you say, young lady?"
Vivian looked between Iris and Linda, unsure. She tapped on her phone and held it so both could see. 'I don't want to step on your turf or anything...'
Both girls laughed, but it was a kind laugh at a silly question. Iris shook her head. "I wouldn't mind not being the new kid anymore. Besides it'll be nice having a friendly face."
Linda nodded in agreement. "Girl, should you take the job? Hell to the yeah! We need more girl power around here."
The smaller girl nodded and typed before showing Mr. Larkin. 'I'll be happy to join your team, sir. Thank you for this opportunity.' She held out her hand and the elderly man shook it firmly.
"No thanks are necessary. Just make sure you deliver each week." Vivian nodded like a bobblehead and the man laughed. "Well, from what I gather you are mute?" Again the girl nodded, but more subdued this time. "Nothing wrong with that, dear. I'm sure Miss Park and Miss West will both help you if you need it, but you seem very capable, so I'm sure you'll be fine." Vivian gave a polite curtsy of acknowledgment. The man gave a hearty laugh and gave her shoulder a pat. "I can tell you'll liven things up around here. Can you stop by on Friday for your official orientation?" Vivvy gave him a smile and a nod. "See you then." He walked off and Vivian turned back to her trio of friends looking rather dazed.
Barry grinned. "Congratulations on the new job."
"Welcome aboard." Iris held out her laptop. "I have some work to do so if I can just get some quick info for the article you can go out with some friends and celebrate?"
The girl's face fell and hesitantly she tapped on her phone. 'I...don't have any friends...'
A saddened silence fell over the group, but Iris touched the girl's arm gently. "Well, I'm your friend now. I'm sure Linda and Barry feel the same so you can go celebrate with them."
"Actually..." They turned to Linda who looked rather embarrassed. "I have to head out and get an interview so I can't, but Iris is right. You definitely have a friend in me too, girl." She spun and faced Barry. "As your girlfriend, I am begging for you to take this poor girl out for some junk food or something so she can celebrate her new job."
"Your wish is my command." Barry grinned and the couple leaned in to share a kiss. Vivvy looked away shyly and noticed the wistful look on Iris's face with curiosity.
"Come on. We don't want Barry waiting for you for too long." Iris headed off, but it seemed like the pep had gone out of her step. They sat at a spare table and Iris asked Vivian some questions, but it seemed like Iris just wasn't into it.
Vivvy rested a hand on her hers. Iris looked up and Vivvy showed her her phone. 'You okay?'
"I'm fine..." Vivian gave her a look of frustration. "Okay, okay. I don't know. Barry and I have always been best friends. It's a long story, but it's just so strange seeing him with someone."
She tapped the phone. 'Because you like him?'
Iris looked at her startled. "I have a boyfriend. We just moved in together."
Again, Vivian showed her the phone. 'So?'
"So?" Iris's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "So I'm in a committed relationship and I don't have feelings for anyone beside Eddie."
Vivian looked thoughtful before responding. 'That isn't always true. Relationships aren't always permanent. Feelings change. My ex-girlfriend and I had been together over two years before we broke up.'
"So, you're...ummm..."
'Gay? I'm actually bisexual. My point is feelings change and adapt. I'm not putting down your current relationship or Barry's, but just because you guys are in separate relationships doesn't mean you guys haven't had feelings in the past or won't in the future.' Iris looked at the screen, considering the words as if it held what the future had in store for her on its screen. She lifted her eyes and looked past Vivian to where Linda and Barry stood closely talking to each other. Her heart gave a painful twist, but then she saw her friend smile. He hadn't smiled a true smile like that in a very long time.
"Thank you." The girls smiled and moved to get up. As Iris, started to stand, her heel slid and she staggered. The young woman quickly grabbed th edge of the desk, but in the process lost the grip on her phone. It clattered to the ground and Vivian bent to pick up the smartphone. As her slender fingers wrapped around the device, one finger brushed the screen, opening an app. The screen suddenly flickered and filled with a few categories of pictures. Vivian noticed one had a thumbnail of the flash and tapped on it. The picture obediently enlarged and she was staring at the man who had saved her after she had been shot. She stared at the picture with widened eyes. Something about the flash seemed...familiar... Iris looked at her, worry etched in her lovely features. "Are you alright?"
Vivvy shook her head to clear her mind and tapped on her phone. 'Yes. The flash had saved me and some other hostages during a bank robbery. They had guns. I owe this man my life...'
"Oh wow... Well, I've met him on a few occasions and if I still know him like I think I do then he wouldn't want you to just look for him to repay some debt. He'd just want you to enjoy your life." Vivvy nodded and the girls headed back over to where Linda and Barry were talking.
Barry smiled at them as they approached. "Ready to go, Vivvy?" She nodded, but something about her seemed off. "Later, Iris. Text ya later?" He smiled even more as his girlfriend nodded and stole a kiss before turning to the smaller girl. "Let's go."
Barry hadn't exactly been sure what to do to congratulate Vivvy that didn't seem too much like a date. He felt awkward enough when it came to being on a date with his girlfriend, let alone being on a non-date with a girl that was his friend. In the end, her stomach had started making noises similar to an angry bear, so they decided to get food. They had been walking along main street and he had given her the choice of where to eat. She had chosen a small diner and they had sat and had a meal. It was relaxing and he was amused at her lip syncing with the songs on the radio. When she had caught him watching, a playful twinkle in his eyes, she had stopped and looked down shyly, a faint pink blooming in her cheeks.
After Barry had paid for their food, he headed outside to meet Vivian who was staring wide eyed into an ice cream shop. He chuckled and she looked over as she heard a tinkling. Barry stood, holding the door open for her. "Come on. Let's get you some dessert." With a huge smile, she darted inside. It was interesting how she could be so fierce and determined, yet could also be innocent like a child.
They each got a cone, Vivian got vanilla and Barry got a swirl, and they started to walk. There was a park nearby so they sat on a bench and ate their ice cream. It was a warm day out, causing the ice cream to be persistent on dripping everywhere. The pair of friends sat in silence, while they ate until finally they were crunching on the last of their cones. There was a nice breeze and they sat, enjoying the day. Vivian leaned her head back and closed her eyes, the wind blowing her hair all over. Barry watched the black and blue strands sway every which way when her phone was thrust in his face. 'Thanks for today. How much do I owe you?'
He rolled his eyes. "It was my treat." Her eyelids slid open and she turned her chocolate colored eyes on him. They were a gentle color, but her gaze was determined. Her fingers began to dance across the screen, but he put his hand over hers, making her stop. "I'm beat, so can we just do this the easy way today?"
The words were just a sentence to Barry, but to Vivian it was a crack in this peaceful reality. Her phone slid from her hands and fell on her lap with a soft thud and her eyes widened. That phrase...the picture from earlier and how it had looked so familiar..
Barry looked at her with worry and an edge of panic. "Vivvy! What's wrong?" He grasped her shoulders, trying to search her eyes, but she was staring at some point past him with a vacant stare.
"..." Her lips moved, but he couldn't make out the words.
"What is it, Vivvy?"
"...flash..."
"Huh?" Barry froze as he heard her utter the word. Slowly, her gaze turned towards him and she latched her eyes on to his. Her voice came out as a whisper, but it may as well have been a scream.
"...you're the flash..."
Those three words made Barry's heart skip a beat. He frantically tried not to believe them. "That's crazy. How could I be..."
"We both know its true, Barry..." Her voice was so soft, so gentle as she looked up at him. "You're the flash..."
There's chapter 1! Let me know what ya think. Oh and right now I'm not planning on Vivian being a love interest, just a good friend and possibly a bit of a flirt. That isn't set in stone and if I get enough feedback for her to be a love interest for Barry or Cisco etc I'm open to it. Anyways! Read and review! Thank you! Till next time!