Chapter 1

The annual CCPD fundraiser was coming up and Barry was not looking forward to it. Forced to go in a full black tie suite, and talk to a bunch of rich people who wonder what to do about their money, was not his cup of tea. The invitation highlighted that this was a bowtie and gloves occasion.

Iris was excited because for the first time, she gets to be someone other than her father's date.

The days leading up to the party, Barry complained so much that Joe offered to invite Barry's friends from Star labs just so he could have some company.

Yes, the thought of inviting Felicity crossed Barry's mind but she had already told him about another fundraiser that she was to attend in Starling City that same night. So Barry took Iris's dad up on his offer and invited Cisco and Caitlyn.

At the party, Barry strolled around with his two friends, wishing the night to be over. It seemed to go on for hours and hours and each time Barry checked his watch only five minutes had passed. It did not take long for him to remove his gloves and shove them in his pocket.

Barry's attention pulled away from Caitlyn and Cisco's discussion when a young woman in a light blue dress descended the stairs. She looked absolutely beautiful but what struck him the most was that she looked the way he felt: uncomfortable. The woman looked up and saw Barry staring. She quickly looked away and continued on her way. Cisco and Caitlyn saw what Barry was staring at and encouraged him to go chat to the girl. After a few empty threats and strange encouragement, Barry walked up to the bar where the lady in blue sat.

"Hi. Is there any possibility in this universe or the next that I could buy you a drink?" Barry asked once her attention was on him.

"No." she said blatantly. "It's open bar."

Barry felt a blush creep up his neck. "Of course. Now I feel stupid. I used the most basic pick up line, and I screwed it up. I'm going to put my head in an oven. Please excuse me." Barry turned to leave but twirled around again. "You know, you could slap me, or throw your drink in my face, which I'm happy to refund…" he rambled on.

"Open bar." She reminded him sternly, but a smile started curling on her lips.

"That would be a waste of a perfectly good drink." She said.

"You can yell at me too, or storm off. Just so that my friends can get off my back." Barry knew that Cisco would insist that he should try again only to be shot down again.

"You're perfectly old enough to get them off your back yourself." She raised her eyebrows and walked away. As she turned, a waiter was about to crash into her, so Barry moved really quickly and pulled her out of the waiter's way. He touched her open back just to steady her and returned to his original position as if nothing had happened. She snapped her head up at him and stared for a long time, confused about what had just happened. She frowned and continued.

Barry returned to his seat and told them the basics of what had happened. After a few more minutes that felt like hours, the master of ceremonies asked everyone to take his or her seats. He went through a list of thank you's, he announced the arrival of the VIP guest.

"Please welcome, Doctor Alice-Sarah Hart."

Caitlyn grabbed Barry's arm as she excitedly told him what she knew about Doctor Hart. "She's the richest woman in the tri-state area and the youngest Neurologist this side of the world. I've never seen her but I've read her articles. She's a genius."

To Barry's surprise, the pretty girl in the light blue dress stepped up to the podium. She looked more uncomfortable than before but poised as she placed her note cards on the podium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Good evening. I am here tonight, in honor of and representing the Angel Investors Group. AIG has funded the CCPD for years, as it is a family tradition. This we do gladly. This year," she paused. She locked eyes with Barry and frowned again, looking down at her notes, "there has been talk of a red streak saving lives in Central City. He is known as the Flash. The AIG would like to extend our thanks to this hero, and there is a fund put together to pay him for his efforts. However," she laughed, "no one seems to know who he is or how to find him – or her. So this payment will be added to the fund that goes to the CCPD." Everyone laughed. Caitlyn and Cisco stared at Barry, not knowing what to say.

After Alice-Sarah's speech, dinner was served. The time started going by faster and Barry was pleased to find desert on his plate.

Time stood still when Eddie went down on his knee and asked Iris to marry him. Barry felt faint and insisted that they leave. They were out of the great hall before Iris could start looking for him. His two friends accompanied him down the street, but said nothing.

"You look like you're about to pass out, Barry," Caitlyn noted, "Lets get some sugar in you."

They walked across the street and into the diner. They sat down and ordered milkshakes.

"Oh my gosh." Cisco whispered as he stared across the diner. Alice-Sarah sat at a bar stool, still in her pretty blue dress, waiting for her order.

"She looks lonely." Caitlyn whispered.

Barry stood without thinking and walked over to her. "Hi. Again." He started.

"Are you stalking me?" she asked.

"No. Sorry. We just saw that you were alone and wanted to know if you'd like to join us?" Barry motioned over his shoulder and both Cisco and Caitlyn stopped staring immediately.

"What's you're name?" she asked, taking off her gloves.

"I'm Barry Allen." He held his hand out for a handshake. She smiled and took his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Barry Allen." She held on to his hand and locked eyes with him. "But please don't take any offence, I want to be alone."

"I'm sorry Dr. Hart. If you change your mind, we'll be right over there."

Barry tried to pull his hand away, but she gripped tighter, tilting her head as she frowned at him. Her face softened and she finally let go. Barry turned to his friends and turned back. "It was nice seeing you again."

"Hey Barry." She stopped him. "You can buy me a drink now, if you still want to."

Barry smiled.

They talked for the rest of the night. Cisco and Caitlyn was so busy debating a new idea that they barely noticed Barry wasn't with them. When they saw him happily chatting to Alice-Sarah, they let them be.

"What do your friends call you?" Barry asked at some point. "Alice-Sarah? Or split? Alice? Sarah? Allie?"

"The important people I grew up with calls me Alice-Sarah. The people I work with call me Doctor. The few friends that I have, they chose. One friend even called me Ace."

"I want to call you Allie."

"No one calls me Allie." She smiled. "I like it."

The cook handed them a plate of fries, which they had ordered. Allie reached for the salt and bumped hands with the guy sitting on her other side. He apologized but grabbed the salt when she stood frozen.

"We have to go." She said urgently to Barry. "Now."