Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or Flash. They are property of Detective Comics and the CW. I gain no profit by writing this fictional story.
Summary: One night in 1984 could have gone a number of ways with far reaching consequences. While time sets most things, the ancestors of time travelers are the ones with true freewill. Poor Eobard Thawne, his ancestors are especially bent on free-will and heroics; if only they'd stop fucking with the timeline he knew. Eobard will just have to wait for a chance to make sure his timeline happens, no matter how free-willed his ancestors were.
A/N: Here is the second chapter. Most chapters will follow this pattern of flashback and present day story telling (kind of like how Arrow structures things). Hope you enjoy ~ with love, depressedchildren
Chapter 1: Drunken Nights
2007
Robert Queen watched his eldest daughter skip down the stairs while talking to her best friend, Tommy on the phone. "I am so excited for the frat tour Tommy. So it's Keystone first, Ivy Coast, then Central City, right?" There was a pause as she moved through the foyer. "Man, move-in week is the best!"
Robert sighed and looked at his daughter worriedly. Keystone. That was where the Thawnes lived, and Eddie was still going to school there. What if they met at a party and—Robert shuttered at the thought. No, it was best to keep that from happening. Perhaps he could tell Olivia about Eddie? No…that wouldn't work. Moira had been adamant about keeping that past indiscretion secret. However, part of Robert felt his daughter had a right to know she had a half-brother out there, but then they would need to tell Thea about Tommy and that was just more drama than either cared to admit to.
Robert sighed and looked over at his wife in the sitting area. No, Moira never wanted the children to know about her affair with Malcolm, or his affair with Abagail or Isabel or any of the other women. Robert sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited for Olivia to finish talking with Tommy. At least he only had one illegitimate child, or he might give himself more grey hair worrying about his daughters sleeping with a sibling by accident.
Shaking that thought away, he addressed his eldest, "Olivia." She had finally put her phone into her pocket. The girl perked up and looked over at him.
"Yeah Dad?"
"You'll be safe on your road trip, right? Don't take any drinks you haven't poured yourself—"
"I know Dad," she interrupted. She was rolling her eyes at his lecture. Robert laughed a little. He supposed she did know the lectures well by this point; however, he quickly sobered.
"Listen," he began as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "I heard you're going to Keystone, was it?"
"Yep, that's our first stop," she replied slightly distracted—Tommy had likely texted her something seeing as she had her phone out again.
Robert grimaced, and Olivia raised an eyebrow at that. "Look Olivia…" he trailed off. How did he phrase this? "The Thawnes live there."
"Okay…?" she responded slowly. Of course she would be confused, and he didn't blame her.
"We don't get along with them," Robert stated. "It would be best you avoided Keystone and any Thawnes, okay?" She gave him a skeptical look. He deserved that reaction.
"Yeah, I'll avoid any Thawnes I meet," Olivia replied flippantly. She rolled her eyes now, and Robert's anger got the best of him.
"This is not a joke, Olivia!" Robert snapped and immediately regretted raising his voice because Olivia flinched away from him. Damn it.
Robert sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't want you going to Keystone and partying, okay Olivia? I just—" worry you'll end up sleeping with your brother. God damn it. He sighed again. "I don't want any Thawnes to hurt you and I don't put it past them to try," he lied.
Olivia frowned but slowly nodded her head. "Okay, I'll tell Tommy the change of plans." She started to pull out her phone again, but she looked back up at Robert with a serious expression on her face. "We won't go to Keystone, Dad, I promise," she said. Robert closed his eyes and nodded slowly.
Robert could never keep his daughter from the party scene, no matter how much he sometimes wanted to keep her locked in her room. She was a free-spirit like him, and she would chaff if anyone tried to put limits on her. No, it was best to let Olivia do what she needed to.
Robert's attention was pulled as he heard feet thundering down the stairs and an excited scream break the relative silence of the hallway. Robert's smile grew. Thea… The young brunette raced past him, and Robert gave chase.
He caught up with the twelve-year-old and grabbed her from behind before lifting Thea up and spinning her around. She gave a cry before protesting and demanding he put her down. Chuckling, Robert complied but not before grabbing her in a hug and peppering her cheek with kisses. He loved his baby girl so much, even if she wasn't his biological daughter. God, he loved Thea and Olivia like crazy.
2008
Barry Allen stared at his drink. It was officially one year since…and it still fucking hurt. He knocked the beer back and set the empty can down before picking up another and opening it. He sighed and looked over at his friends who glanced back at him now that he was on his fourth can. God, if Joe could see Barry, he'd probably lecture him about drinking underage, but Barry really did not care. Maybe part of his not caring was also because he was at a friend's apartment. Apparently the guy's older brother had bought him beer and now they needed to finish the case up before Parent's Weekend. Why the guy's parents still wanted to come when he wasn't a freshman baffled all of them.
Barry was momentarily distracted from his thoughts by his friends yelling loudly. He glanced over at them, his vision already blurry and his thinking slowing down. Based on the wild arm flailing, Barry deduced one of them messed up or died in the game they kept trying to get him to play; he just wasn't feeling it tonight.
Barry may have agreed to hangout, but it was more so he could drink. This probably wasn't healthy, he knew that, but autumn just always sucked. It reminded him of everyone he lost: his mother, his father, and the girl—no woman—who made him forget about Iris for even just a little bit. He closed his eyes and sank deeper into the couch. He was getting tired…
…
Barry fidgeted with his plaid button-up shirt as bodies swarmed around him while jumping and writhing to the music. It was almost claustrophobic, and the noise! Everyone was yelling while the music's bass literally reverberated in his chest. It was hot in the room and lit up with black-lights. He could smell pot coming from a closed off side room, and he was pretty sure he just saw someone throw up. Why was he here again?
Oh yeah, move-in weekend and the local frat was throwing a huge party. Since freshmen moved in the week before term started—part of some freshman integration program—most of the other guys on his floor had gone, and he reluctantly went with them. Okay, maybe he wasn't reluctant; he'd always wondered what "house parties" were like. Plus, he was lonely. He missed Joe and Iris, especially now that it was Fall and he was living away from home.
Someone bumped into him and the contents of their red Solo cup splashed onto him. He cringed but kept moving through the sea of people. He finally made his way to the drink area and someone just handed him a cup. He wasn't sure what was in it, but he thought the person told him there was rum in it? He smelled the cup but really only smelled pineapple juice. Barry shrugged and began to drink.
The drink wasn't abrasive or anything, but his stomach kind of warmed from it. He leaned against a wall and watched as people danced in the living room. There was a circle forming around two couples. One featured a dark haired white guy in an expensive looking dress shirt dancing with an Asian-American girl in short-shorts and a halter top. The other couple featured an African-American guy in a shirt showing the school logo while he danced with some blonde white girl in a gold sequenced halter dress.
Barry didn't get why these couples deserved a crowd, but as he got further into his drink, he realized they were having, like, a dance competition. A dirty dance competition. Barry blushed as the blonde dropped down to the floor facing her partner as she raked her hands down the guy's sides until she tugged at his jeans' waistline. Then she shimmied her way back up before turning around and grinding into the guy. Not to be showed up, the other girl did a hair flip as she turned her back to her partner and wrapped an arm around the guy's head before shimmying down his body with her hands trailing over his chest.
Barry quickly took another sip of his drink while looking away, only to realize he was out. Well…another drink wouldn't hurt, right? He went back over to the designated bar area and accepted the next drink. This one did burn. He coughed slightly but eventually made his way back to the dance circle. The blonde girl was making out with her partner while they continued to move to the music, both slotted together. Wow… crazy. Barry turned away from the dancing group and moved further into the house. He found the kitchen where there were boxes of frozen pizza opened with mostly eaten (cooked) pizzas on top. There were also some people making out on a counter. He was going to need to get drunker before he started enjoying this night.
And get drunker he did get. Barry was stumbling by the time he made it back to the dance floor area. Before he knew what was happening, the white girl with the halter dress was grabbing him as he tried to make his way through the area. Surprised, Barry stumbled into her and set his hands on her hips. She gave little excited cry and wrapped her arms around his neck before slotting her body into his. Barry blushed but found himself moving with her and wow…this was kind of fun and…exciting.
Barry didn't know when they started kissing but then they were and then he was being pulled into the kitchen by the girl. The only explanation he got was: "I'm thirsty!" He was thirsty too. Another drink would help—Barry was convinced of that. The girl stumbled into a counter and he followed suit. There were freshly made drinks and they both grabbed them. These were pineapple-y ones again.
"This is soo good!" Barry yelled back to the girl, though his tongue was heavy and the words didn't come out right. The girl laughed a little.
She moved forward, her chest collided with his arm, which he had propped against the counter to help him keep upright. "My name's Ollie!" she yelled, and Barry nodded his head.
"Barry!" he returned, and they gave each other broad smiles.
"Hey, how old are you? Are you like a minor?!" she asked as she leaned a little more heavily into him before taking a sip of her drink.
"What?! No, I'm eighteen!" He then set his cup down and fumbled for his wallet. "S-see!" he slurred as he pulled out his ID.
Ollie held it up to a light and narrowed her gaze as she stared at it. "It looks real," she said after a moment before laughing. "But then, what idiot would get a fake ID under twenty-one!" Barry got the gist of what she was saying and he took his ID back. They both laughed a little, and Barry looked for his cup before picking it back up.
"Hey-hey," Barry began before taking a sip, "D'you know about…umm…the-the—" there were two of Ollie but they both kept smiling at him "—Ky-Kyoto University biology program. They're like…umm…doing these really cool advances in biology."
"Yeah?!" He then proceeded to ramble about STEM Cell research and the girl just kept laughing every now and then, but Barry didn't mind because she was really pretty, and her chest was still touching his arm. She felt nice.
Ollie eventually cut him off, "You're sooo cute!" She brought up her freehand and brushed at some of his hair.
"I'm not cute!" he protested, and she just laughed more.
"Are too!" she shot back before stepping closer to him until their breath was mingling. "You're a virgin right? You're just so cute!"
Barry could only stutter and try to defend himself, only to forget what he was saying when she was kissing him again.
…
"Hey Barry? Barry," someone coaxed as they tried to wake him. Barry opened one eye blearily. "Let's get you back to your apartment, yeah?" It was his friend, and Barry worked to get to his feet. He stumbled a few times and then someone was under his arm and helping him walk.
"I'm fine," he protested a little groggily, and his friend stared at Barry skeptically. Barry sighed and let his friend take him home. He imagined his hangover was going to suck, though he doubted it would beat the one he had after his first house party—err, or was it called a frat party?
…
"Housekeeping!" Oh God, who was pounding on the door and yelling. His head spun and-and—he was going to throw up. Oh shit, where's the trashcan? He blearily looked around and saw that one was under that desk. He crawled across the bed before stumbling over and falling to his knees in front of the trash can. He began retching, but his retching wasn't the only retching in the room.
Wait? Room…what room was this? His dorm room didn't have carpet. There was carpet against his bare knees and someone banging on the door yelling housekeeping…and was he naked?!
Only after everything had left his stomach, did Barry look around. There was the sound of someone spitting and then a groan. Barry froze and his eyes widened. "N-Naked…" he mumbled. There as a naked woman in front of him, well, on the other side of the room over another trash can. The woman, who Barry vaguely remembered was the blonde from the party last night Oil no Olive…no…Ollie! Ollie, that was her name. Barry tried to not stare but he couldn't stop himself.
"You're naked too, kid," she groaned. She then got up from her kneeling position by the other trashcan and began moving around the room while rubbing her head. As soon as she reminded him he was naked, Barry covered himself as best he could and began to blush brightly. Ollie laughed quietly at him and then made a small triumphant noise before picking up...her underwear…yeah okay…
Barry exhaled slightly and looked at the clothes strewn around the bed. He grimaced at the sight of his inside-out jeans. Frowning, he crawled over to it and saw his boxers were still in the jeans. Oh God, his head felt like it was splitting open and he felt sick and-and—
"You were that awkward, nerdy guy from last night, right?" Ollie asked quietly while wincing. She didn't bother putting on more clothes and instead moved toward a suitcase sitting on a couch. "Barry, right?"
Barry groaned and tried to dress himself as quickly as he could. "Yeah…" He didn't know how he felt about the labels she gave him, but he continued speaking, "and you said your name was Ollie?" He got his boxers on without issue, but then he tripped as he tried to quickly put his jeans on. He fell onto the bed. The housekeeper must have left by this point because there was no more torturous yelling or banging.
Ollie laughed a little as he fell onto the bed. She put on a bra and then a loose fitting sweater that ended up hanging off one shoulder and revealing her bra strap. "You're cute, kid," she commented. Barry just closed his eyes in mortification. "Wait…I asked if you were of age right?" Ollie asked suddenly nervous. Barry opened one eye before grimacing at the light peeking through the curtains, so he closed his eye again and just nodded.
Ollie made a noise of some kind and then he heard the sound of a zipper. Barry only opened his eyes again when he felt the bed dip. "You okay, kid?" she asked.
"My name's Barry," he muttered into the comforter before pushing himself onto his slightly shaking arms. He then stood back up and pulled his pants up the rest of the way. Ollie was rolling her eyes, though she looked amused.
"Okay, Barry." There was a pause while Barry searched for his shirt. Ollie sighed and stood up again. "I'm going to get us some Tylenol and water," she announced.
"We should eat something if we have Tylenol," Barry blurted out, and Ollie smiled at him again.
"Okay then. Think of a good breakfast place while I get some Tylenol."
Barry just blinked several times as he watched her head to the ensuite. What did he just get himself into? Barry distractedly found his shirt and began to put it on. Before he could think about leaving the hotel room in shame and embarrassment, Ollie returned with two cups of water and a pill bottle. His mouth was really dry and he could still taste the bile.
She gave him the cup and then set her cup down on the desk so she could open the bottle. She then handed them each two pills. Barry took the pills and downed the water. It would take about thirty minutes to activate and a little longer than that to start feeling ill for taking them on an empty stomach.
Ollie stared at Barry expectantly, and he raised an eyebrow while moving to the facial tissue box. He grabbed one tissue and began to blow his nose to get rid of the bile and food remnants he could feel in his nose. He hated throwing up.
Ollie sighed. "Barry, I don't know this city," she confessed. "My friend and I have been doing a party-circuit through his fraternity, so if you know a good place to eat, ya gotta tell me, kid."
Barry blew his nose a few more times before throwing the tissue away and sighing. "I've never been hungover before, what do you even eat after 'cause I feel like I'm gonna…" he trailed off and closed his eyes.
He felt Ollie's hand on his shoulder and he jumped slightly. She was giving him a sympathetic look. "First hangover sucks, but all of them suck, so…" Ollie trailed off a little awkwardly. Barry closed his eyes and Ollie laughed a little. "Look, we just need a place we can get water, eggs, toast, coffee…"
So…pretty much any diner. Barry groaned but eventually nodded his head.
"Okay, I got one place in mind," he said. Barry then looked over at her again and she was smiling.
"Great. I think Tommy left his sunglasses here, so…" she said. She extended the "so" as she looked for said glasses. She made a triumphant noise and went to the dresser the TV was on. She picked up a pair of sunglasses and handed them to Barry. She then went over to her purse, put it over her shoulder, and fished for her sunglasses.
Barry still felt incredibly awkward, but it was kind of nice having someone who had been through this all before to tell him what to do. Granted, who else would Barry call other than Joe, and that was definitely a no. Could he even be arrested if he wasn't caught with a drink in hand? Barry didn't want to find out, even if Joe wouldn't arrest Barry, his disapproval would be enough recrimination. Although, was this even normal of one-night stands? Was it a one-night stand...?
Barry fidgeted with the hem of his shirt while they rode the elevator down to the lobby. They both grimaced at the light in the lobby, but putting on the sunglasses helped. As they were walking through the lobby, Barry felt stares on him and some whispering. Ollie gave a hiss while wincing.
"We were super obnoxious last night…ugh…" she whispered. Oh…that was why they were staring. Barry picked up his pace and exited the hotel. He paused once outside and oriented himself before turning in the direction of the diner. Ollie looked at him confused but eventually began following him.
"So how far is the dinner?" Ollie asked tiredly. Barry frowned as he thought.
"I don't know, ten-fifteen minutes away?"
It felt like Ollie was going to say something but then eventually agreed to go with him.
"So…You a freshman?" she asked conversationally.
Barry looked over at her and nodded. "Yeah. First semester. What about you? What school are you going to?"
Ollie grimaced slightly. "Credit-wise…I'm probably a freshman too," she said with a sigh. "Can we not talk about my school?"
Barry frowned but nodded eventually. Okay…don't talk about school.
It was quiet between them despite the painfully loud sounds of cars and city-life around them. This was awkward—something needed to break the awkwardness. "So what are you planning to go into?" Ollie asked suddenly—probably feeling the awkwardness too.
"Uh…I want to be in CSI, so I'm going to be taking a lot of science classes with some criminal justice classes too. This school has the best forensics program."
Ollie nodded and smiled slightly. "It's cool you know what you wanna do," she said. Ollie then threw her arms over her head and laced them behind her head. "I'm still kind of trying to figure that out." She laughed self-depreciatingly.
Barry frowned a little at that. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually," he consoled—or attempted to. She actually scoffed and looked around the street they were walking down. Barry frowned more. "Look, it can be really easy. What do you enjoy doing?" he asked.
She raised an eyebrow, which he could barely see over her large glasses. "Partying, drinking…" she trailed off suggestively, and Barry blushed while shaking his head.
"Come on, seriously, what do you enjoy?"
"I told you what I enjoy," she shot back. It was Barry's turn to shoot a skeptical look back at her. She shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, kid. I'm not driven like you… or Laurel," she mumbled the last name to herself.
"Then you just have to find what you're passionate about—something you can be driven about," Barry argued. She gave him a side-long look.
"Well, what about you? Why do you want to be in forensics so bad?" she asked. Barry's steps faltered at the question, and he shoved his hands into his pockets before trudging on.
"Do all one-night stands end in interrogations?" he asked as he picked up his pace, but then what he said registered and he grimaced. "We didn't actually…" he began to ask as he looked back at her. He couldn't really remember anything after going back to the dancefloor with Ollie.
At the addition, Ollie gave him an amused look and hurried to walk beside him. "Well…" she began and leaned in slightly to his personal space, "we did wake up naked in bed together with our clothes everywhere."
"B-but that doesn't mean we…you know…" Barry stuttered out. He was blushing now. Ollie laughed a little and patted him on the back slightly. He flinched a little, suddenly aware of a tender patch of skin along his shoulder blade. The skin felt warm and tight.
"Tell me, Barry, do you have a pet?" she asked and he shook his head. "A girlfriend?" Again, Barry shook his head. "A boyfriend?" Now he was just affronted, and Ollie smirked. She leaned in again and whispered, "I tend to scratch my partners, especially when I'm drunk." Oh… Barry blushed more. When were they going to be at the diner?!
Ollie chuckled a little. "You are just too cute," she said amusedly.
"Can you not call me that," he groaned, and Ollie chuckled again. It was silent for a long moment after that.
Of course, Ollie broke it again, apparently uncomfortable with the silence. "But to answer your question…" she began. "No, one-night stands aren't usually like this." She paused then said, "Though…most guys try to make me breakfast or some shit like that and I just want to get home and shower." Barry was feeling that way right now and nodded his head.
"Granted, the girls I've gone home with are usually the same or they are so embarrassed they try to sneak out. I think that's the more normal reaction," Ollie commented casually. Barry tripped over his own feet and couldn't help but look at Ollie in shock. She gave a short laugh. "Oh…you are so cis," she teased—or at least the way she said the phrase made it seem like she was teasing him.
"Cis?"
Ollie just shook her head at his question and patted his shoulder again. He shifted away from the touch because damn she scratched his shoulder up a lot.
They still kept walking, but Barry couldn't help but throw looks over at her. Ollie sighed after a while and answered his unasked question, "I don't like to label my sexuality, but yeah, I guess I'm bi—maybe pan; if that's that what you want to ask." Barry blushed more, and Ollie actually smirked at him. "You're such a virgin," she teased and threw an arm over his shoulder while pulling him closer to her body. "It's sooo cute!"
"I guess I'm not anymore…" he muttered while covering his face in his hands. Ollie retracted herself from him and stopped walking. Barry went a few more steps before he stopped, brought his hands down, and looked over at her.
Ollie was frowning. Barry shifted uncomfortably. Ollie stepped over toward him. "Sorry…I…don't really remember…" she trailed off and sounded genuinely apologetic.
"I don't either…" Barry confessed. "But it's okay..." he lied. "Uh, the place is just a few more blocks away." Ollie perked up slightly though she still seemed down. The silence remained until they were at the diner and ordered their food. Barry followed Ollie's order and then they sat there in silence for a while longer. Barry began to fidget with his napkin while Ollie just sipped at the water the server left them.
Okay, this was too awkward—Barry needed to break the silence. "So your friend, was it Tommy? When are you supposed to meet up with him?" he asked.
Ollie raised an eyebrow at the question. "Oh, Tommy, yeah that's his name." she replied. "I think I remember him leaving with a few girls so I imagine he's going to be sleeping in later than we did." Damn… Ollie smirked at his impressed expression. "I'm pretty sure the girls were just looking for a guy to cover their same-sex explorations." She winked at Barry before sobering. "We'll probably meet up for dinner or something or go clubbing…" she trailed off, but didn't seem too enthused about her plans with Tommy.
"I thought you said you enjoyed partying and drinking?" Barry shouldn't challenge her or question things more, but he couldn't help it either.
Ollie opened her mouth and then closed it again. Before she could give a proper answer, the server came back with their coffees. Ollie reached over for a packet of sugar and tore it open before pouring it into her coffee. Barry wasn't a huge coffee drinker yet, so he added a few packets of sugar and instant-creamer to his cup.
"Ollie?" Barry prompted after he watched her stir her coffee for almost a minute
She sighed. "I do like partying and all, but sometimes I just…" she wrinkled her nose. Barry frowned. Ollie sighed after a moment and said, "Do you ever feel like you're a walking stereotype? And then you have to meet the expectations of that stereotype?" Barry opened his mouth with his eyebrows raised; he didn't know how to respond.
Ollie just sighed again and stared at her coffee, "My other best friend, Laurel…she's…" Ollie trailed off and shook her head. "She's amazing and so smart and driven. She parties with us but she can be so serious too, and so playful and just…" Ollie set her elbow up on the table and rested her cheek in the palm. Barry recognized the look and tone she was using.
"You love her…" he murmured in realization. Ollie looked up surprised. Barry frowned then at his own cup. "But she probably just thinks of you as her best friend or sibling, right?" He laughed a little and sighed, but the laugh held no amusement.
"And I know she'll never return my feelings for her even though I've loved since..."Ollie trailed off again.
"Grade school?" Barry guessed, and Ollie closed her eyes before nodding into her hand. Barry exhaled in disbelief that someone had the same experience he did. "It sucks," he commented.
"Yeah…" Ollie sighed. "What's her name?" she asked, and Barry grimaced slightly.
"Iris…she's my foster sister and I know she'll never see me as anything other than her best friend." Ollie reached out her other hand and brushed her fingers against his hand curled around the coffee mug.
Barry smiled sadly and looked up at Ollie as something occurred to him. "You don't want to go out tonight because you want to be better for Laurel?" he asked. Ollie retracted her hand and picked up her mug.
She took a sip before responding. "Yes and no. Every time I go out and go home with someone else…" she trailed off, and Barry winced a little. "Well, I'm sure you're feeling it too." If she was talking about the heavy feeling in his stomach, and the utter loneliness because he was never going to be with Iris…then yeah he did know.
Ollie shrugged after a moment. "I don't know. I guess I just feel like I'm in this rut and I don't really like it. I mean—I do like partying" she rushed, and Barry laughed a little, "but I just don't want to be-be…defined by that part of me."
Barry nodded his head slightly. "Then don't let it define you," he stated. He then grabbed some napkins from the dispenser on the table. "Do you have a pen?" Ollie frowned but began rooting through her tote purse. She retrieved a pen and handed it to him.
"What are you going to write?"
"A To-Do list for you," he replied with a smile. He wrote "To-Do List" on the napkin. He then looked back up at Ollie. "So what are you passionate about, and when I say that I mean..."Barry trailed off and thought for a moment. "When you're walking through town what do you want to fix, or change? What makes you feel love or hate or stuff…" he ended lamely. His head still hurt so he wasn't as articulate as he'd like to be.
Ollie stared at him in shock for a moment, but then began thinking about it. "I don't know…I guess I…I..." she trailed off in thought. It was quiet for a moment longer and then Ollie perked up. "The Glades," she announced.
"The what?" Barry asked, but he still wrote it down despite having no clue what it meant.
Ollie grimaced. "It's like the…poor district," she whispered latter part. Barry eventually nodded in understanding.
"Okay, so why are you passionate about the Glades?"
"Well…I just—" Ollie frowned. "Each year there's more homeless and beggars on the street, and once a year you hear about a tenement burning down…" she trailed off again and sighed. "I mean, so many jobs have been leaving Starling lately, and then the workers are unemployed and it sucks. Like—" She seemed to be struggling to find words for what she wanted to say.
"You want to help the Glades," Barry suggested, and Ollie looked surprised before nodding.
"Yeah…I want to help the Glades." She genuinely seemed shocked by this. Barry just smiled and wrote Help beside Glades.
"Okay, so now how can you help the Glades?"
Ollie raised her eyebrows up. "Uh…I don't know… Fundraisers?" she asked. Barry nodded slightly and wrote it down, but it wasn't what he'd have suggested.
"Yeah, sure, but what about volunteering? Or brining in business, or getting into public office. I mean sometimes you gotta start small but…" he trailed off and shrugged. Ollie just stared at him like she had never thought of that before. "Uh…should I write those suggestions down?" he asked, and Ollie nodded her head adamantly. Barry did as he promised and wrote down the suggestions.
"Okay, so now how are you going to accomplish those things, like within school?" Barry asked, and Ollie looked a little overwhelmed. Barry chuckled. "Start small," he reminded her. "Get your gen eds done, then what major do you think you want to go into?"
"I don't know? I've taken so many courses already and they're all so boring." Barry frowned but nodded; school wasn't for everyone.
"Well if you go into business you probably want a business major, then there could be law degrees, or poli-sci," Barry suggested. He wrote down each major and put question marks around them. "Joe—uh that's my foster dad—well, he told me to try different things before I settled into my major, so I'm doing that now." He hated it but he supposed there was some wisdom in it, plus it worked to fill out his gen eds.
Ollie nodded and then pulled the napkin toward her and smiled a little at it. "It almost seems too easy looking at this," she commented. Barry laughed a little and was about to say something when the server came back with their food. Barry then realized how hungry he was. Holy crap!
…
Holy crap his head was killing him! Barry needed food now! And maybe a sports drink—did he have any left? Damn, he couldn't remember now.
Stumbling out of his bed, Barry winced at the light filtering in through his open blinds. He looked down and saw he was still dressed in his clothes from last night. He hated sleeping in his jeans.
Groggily, Barry moved toward the fridge and pulled out a sports drink he began to chug. He then moved to the stove, pulled a pan out, and set it on the burner. Barry put a little oil in the pan before turning on the heat and moving back to the fridge. Just eggs, toast, and coffee. He hadn't really changed the hang-over remedy Ollie showed him that first time; he just added the sports drink to the mix.
With his breakfast ready and his coffee brewing, Barry moved to the couch and turned the TV on but immediately put it on mute as he winced in pain from the loudness. He then blinked and frowned. Galaxy Quest… He introduced Ollie to Sci-Fi through that. He frowned and stared down at his food.
…
Barry stared as the check was brought to their table. While it had been really awkward at first, he was glad he went to the diner with Ollie, but the check meant they'd be parting ways soon. The check also meant an expense he hadn't planned for. However, before he could lament the loss of money, Ollie reached over for the bill while simultaneously pulling out her wallet.
"Whoa, wait!" Barry began. She looked at him with her eyebrow raised, but Barry didn't know if he wanted to finish what he was saying.
"You're a poor college student; I got this bill," she replied abruptly. Barry recognized that expression and blushed but was also relieved; then he began to frown.
"You're a poor college student too," he remarked. Ollie looked up at him in shock before openly laughing.
"You are too cute!" she exclaimed before sobering. "Oh, Barry, it's fine," she reassured before he could take offense at being called cute again. "My parents are already paying for tuition and everything; I've got money to spare." Oh…well then…Barry eased back into the booth.
Ollie was still smiling as she laid the bills down over the check. Neither of them moved afterwards, though. Ollie just settled back and began to stir her third cup of coffee. If that didn't say she didn't want to leave, then Barry was bad at judging things. Though really, he didn't want to part ways yet either.
He had surprisingly a lot of fun with Ollie, despite the awkward and embarrassing beginning to the day. Barry could list the number of people who would indulge him during his science rants on one hand, and Ollie was now among their number. Sure she was amused through it all, but she still asked the occasional question. Then, when Barry took pity on her and offered a change in topic, Ollie enthusiastically began talking about how the various sports teams were doing. Barry talked about that with Joe plenty, so he even had some of his own favorite teams he could talk about.
"So do you have any tests yet?" she asked casually, and Barry began laughing.
"School is starting Monday." Ollie grimaced at the reminder and then began laughing too. There was an awkward silence for a moment longer, which Barry broke.
"Umm…so what are you gonna do until you and Tommy go clubbing?"
Ollie sighed before frowning. "I'm not really sure I even want to go out tonight," she mumbled. Ollie then sipped at her cold coffee—he assumed it was cold given her disgusted expression as she swallowed.
Barry shifted in his seat and looked at his mug—which he might be fidgeting with. "Do you maybe want to hang out?" he asked. This was probably not at all what you were supposed to do after a one-night stand, but it was so nice knowing someone else who knew what he felt. Unrequited love sucked and being able to open up about it just felt so…good.
"Tonight?" she asked in return. Barry shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. He then took a sip of his own cold coffee and made a face. Ugh…coffee should never be cold, unless it was iced.
Ollie smiled a little. "Sure," she agreed. "I'll just need to tell Tommy my change of plans when he wakes up. Speaking of—" Ollie stretched her arms over her head "—I think I need to sleep and shower." Yeah…Barry could still feel the sweat and alcohol on him from the night before.
"Yeah, a shower sounds really good," he agreed and couldn't stop from smiling.
"So where do we meet? What are we gonna do?" Ollie asked, and Barry looked back at her with wide eyes. He was supposed to come up with something? "You are the one going to school here," Ollie pointed out, and Barry gave a little laugh.
"Oh yeah… Uh…" He didn't want Ollie to keep paying for everything. "I know it's kinda lame, but what if we just hung out at my dorm?" Barry suggested.
Ollie perked up. "A dorm. I've never been to a dorm!" She was really excited about the prospect. Oh man, Barry needed to do laundry now. He was going to wait until he went to Joe's next week—it was amazing how much laundry piled up in a week.
Ollie paused in her excitement after a moment. "Your roommate won't mind, right?" she asked. Barry's frantic thoughts about cleaning skidded to a stop and he frowned.
"My roommate requested a change of rooms a few days ago. He's moved to a different floor." Barry had a feeling he creeped the guy out with his spider web of impossible crimes which began with the murder of his mother. Plus his science ramblings…
Ollie frowned but then flashed an almost mischievous smile. "Well, I guess that means you can bring girls—or guys—" she added quickly, "over whenever without having to worry about being interrupted."
Barry couldn't even respond to the "or guys" comment while he blushed at her implications. Ollie laughed and took mercy on him. "I just want to hang out Barry; I was teasing you," she reassured him. Barry relaxed a little and laughed.
They settled back into a comfortable silence and sat there for a moment—neither sure what else to talk about. Ollie then pulled her phone out of her purse. "Why don't you text me the dorm's address and when I should come over?" she suggested before holding her phone out to him. He fumbled for a moment before pulling out his phone and handing it over to her. They entered each other's phone numbers before giving the phones back.
Ollie then got up. "I'll see you later," she stated. Barry watched her leave for a moment before he got up and left too. The walk back to campus was long and refreshing. When he finally got back to his dorm room he froze. When did it get so messy? And did it smell a little musty? It was already three and it would take a while to do laundry. Crap.
Barry tried his best to get everything done quickly, but it was already seven by the time Ollie texted him, and he still hadn't showered—although his room looked clean. Barry pulled the phone out and stared at it for a moment, blinking at the text. How was he supposed to take the text? Why did she want to stay over? Could she stay over? Barry frowned, grabbed his keys, closed the door to his room, and went down to the front desk. There was an attendant looking bored as he stared at the space in front of him.
"Uh…Hi?" Barry greeted with a little wave as he tried to get the guy's attention. Barry's smile fell as the guy gave him a bored look and a raised eyebrow.
"Umm, so a friend wants to spend the night, but they aren't a student from here. Can they?" Barry asked.
"Yeah, your friend can," the guy answered as he nodded his head. "He just needs to sign this sheet—" he gestured to a sheet by his side "—and show me his photo ID." He…did that me no co-ed situations.
"A-and if my friend is a girl?" Barry stuttered. The guy raised both eyebrows and gave Barry an appraising look for a moment before gesturing back to the sheet.
"She still needs to sign it and present her photo ID."
Oh. Wow, that was so much less drama than he thought it would be, but then this wasn't high school. As Barry just nodded a little surprised at the easiness of this, the desk worker caught his attention again.
"This is a dry campus though, so your friend can't bring in alcohol," the front desk person warned. Barry nodded his head and then pulled out his phone as he began to head back toward the stairs.
He pulled up Ollie's contact and pressed send. He waited a few seconds before she picked up. "Hey Barry."
"Hey Ollie," he greeted in return. "So, I checked with the desk person, and you just have to sign in if you are going to spend the night. You'll need a photo ID." She hummed in understanding. "Um…can I ask why you want to spend the night?" he asked, and his nervousness must have been clear because she began to laugh.
"It's not like that Barry. Tommy trashed his room and he wants to use mine when he comes home from the club," Ollie explained. Oh…
"Oh, well okay then. Um, well then when do you want to come over?" Barry asked. Why did he feel so nervous and embarrassed? He didn't even remember being with her last night so why did he feel so awkward?
"I can be there in a bit. Do you want me to pick up some food?"
"Oh you don't have to—"
"—Barry, poor college students don't turn down free food," she interjected. He couldn't refute that logic.
"Okay, whatever sounds good to you," Barry consented. "Um, I'll text you the address, and then just call me when you get here so I can let you in. I think they lock the building after seven or something." He actually didn't know what time it was but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Okay, see you in like thirty minutes."
Barry said his own good bye and quickly texted the address after he had hung up. He was right outside his room, so he fumbled with his keys before rushing to get a shower in before Ollie arrived—Barry was beginning to feel grungy.
By the time he made it back to his room after the shower, his phone was buzzing. Oh shit! He quickly picked it up. "Hello?" he answered.
"Hey Barry, I got here a little early," Ollie said. "The doors were still unlocked but the desk guy told me to wait for you to sign me in as your guest." Oh, so they locked the doors later than he thought.
"Ah yeah! I just—one minute!" Barry hung up without saying good bye, but he heard Ollie laughing before the phone clicked shut. Barry dropped his towel, threw on his boxers, sweatpants and then a shirt. He stumbled into the closet door in his haste, but then he put on his shower flip-flops again and was half-way out the door before realizing he forgot his keys. Shit. He hurried back in before the door closed and automatically locked him out. He grabbed his keys, student ID, and was on his way down to the front desk.
He was practically panting by the time he got down the last of the steps. Ollie was there, in the same outfit from earlier, though with her hair pulled up into a messy bun and still looked damp. She also had a bag with some kind of Chinese characters? Ollie looked amused while the desk guy just stared at her.
"Hey, sorry you had to wait," Barry greeted as he gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his still wet hair.
Ollie just smiled. "It's fine Barry," she assured him. She then pulled out her ID and handed it to the desk guy while Barry handed the guy his student ID. Once they were checked in (and the front desk guy did a double take when he saw Ollie's ID—which was something to think about later), Barry led her to the stairway.
"So what's in the bag?" he asked.
"Sushi. I was feeling sushi tonight," Ollie stated simply.
"I've never had sushi," Barry confessed a little sheepishly; after all, they were on the coast so he should have had some. Joe had never been a fan of it, so no sushi for the Wests. Chinese he liked, yes, because they'd have it once a week at times, but sushi…not so much.
Ollie just looped her arm in his. "Well, let's remedy that," she announced.
Barry got a few stares from the other guys on his floor as they made it to his room. He unlocked it quickly to escape the stares. Ollie immediately dropped the bag of sushi onto his bed while she looked around the tiny room.
"This is so cool!" she exclaimed.
Barry had to laugh at her enthusiasm while she explored the small space. Barry picked up his forgotten towel and changed into his slippers before hanging up the towel. However, when he turned back around, the color drained from his face. Shit, why did he forget to hide the spider web of cases? Ollie had her head cocked slightly to one side as she examined it.
"A-ah, hey, do you want to watch something?" he asked nervously. Ollie blinked and moved over to the bed which was in front of the TV.
"Sure, what do you have in mind?" she asked before unrolling the paper bag containing their sushi. Barry shrugged and grabbed the remote before he sat down next to her. He turned it on and it began to play the last thing he had put in the DVD player.
"Nice set up for a freshman," Ollie commented as she pulled out two containers, and Barry gave her a smile in return.
"I used to do these little repair jobs for an elderly neighbor, and he gave me the TV after graduation. Joe got me the DVD player."
Ollie nodded her head and then held out some chopsticks to Barry.
"You know, despite the fact we'd get takeout once a week, I still can't use chopsticks right," Barry confessed. He laughed a little self-depreciatingly while Galaxy Quest began playing.
"Well," Ollie began as she pulled her own chopsticks out from their paper wrapping, "let me bestow the wisdom of using chopsticks properly." Barry laughed at her exaggeration but paid attention as she instructed him on how to hold the chopsticks. She then opened one of the containers.
"Do you like hot things?" Ollie asked as she poured soy sauce into the lid of the container she balanced on her knees. Barry moved over some on the single-sized bed and gestured for her to set it between them. She did and held out a packet of wasabi. Oh…
"Uh, a little is fine," he replied. Ollie nodded and added some to the soy sauce before mixing it in with the chopsticks.
"Okay, so these are cucumber, you'll eat these as a palate cleanser," Ollie explained as she pointed to the rolls. "These are tempura rolls; it has shrimp fried in tempura batter so newcomers to sushi tend to handle it best. This is tuna on top of these rolls, this one is a spicy crab roll." She then pointed out several more sushi rolls with her chopsticks. "I can probably eat a whole container by myself so…" Ollie trailed off with a smile before she dug in.
Barry smiled and imitated Ollie's movements but started with the tempura roll. It wasn't bad. He moved on to one of the raw fish ones. The texture was a little strange but it was still really good. Ollie's attention eventually turned to the TV and she looked puzzled.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Galaxy Quest," he answered a little surprised. "It's like one of the best Sci-Fi parodies. So basically these aliens saw a Star Trek like show and thought it was real, so they ask the actors to help them out," Barry explained.
"So it's a spoof off of those Star Trek shows?" she asked.
"Yeah, but you don't need to know the shows in order to enjoy the movie," he reassured her with a smile. "Why don't I start it over—it picked up where I had stopped watching last night."
"Okay," Ollie agreed, and Barry opened up scene selection and started the movie over.
"I've never really been into Sci-fi, but this sounds like it will be pretty funny," Ollie admitted, and Barry couldn't help but smile over at his new friend. Well, he thought of her as a friend. It was weird how it came about, but she was definitely his friend.
"Sci-fi's great." Barry paused, "If you want, I have a pretty good collection if you want to watch more after this one."
Ollie gave him a side long look before nodding. "Alright. Will you point out when they are being scientifically inaccurate and ridiculous, please?" she asked.
"Really?" Barry asked. He loved sci-fi but he also loved critiquing it. "Because I won't hold back," he warned.
"Do your worst." Her smile was infectious.
…
Barry was feeling better by the early evening, and he had even begun to clean his apartment—especially since his roommate was too busy to. He had just sat down with a bowl of soup when there was a knock. Frowning, Barry answered the door and blinked in surprise.
"Joe, Iris?" he greeted. Why were they here? They both smiled at Barry as they entered the apartment and hugged him.
"We thought we should surprise you," Iris explained when she pulled away.
"We also brought some take-out from that Chinese restaurant near your campus," Joe added as he gestured to the bags in his hands. Barry smiled a little; somethings never change.
"It's better than soup," Barry admitted. He let them in and began to put his soup in a container—it would be lunch tomorrow.
Joe and Iris were already setting the boxes of takeout out onto the small table in the apartment—he and Joe had found the table and chairs driving around town after the school year ended. Barry grabbed plates and serving spoons for them. It wasn't until he was part way into his food that Joe brought up what Barry really didn't want to talk about.
"How are you doing Bar? It's been a year," he stated.
Barry swallowed his food and sighed. "I know Joe…" he mumbled. Barry moved his food around for a moment. "It's just hard to think she's really dead…"
"We know Barry," Iris added as she set her hand against his; his hand tingled from the touch. "You really wanted to get back together with Queen when…it happened, but there will be other people."
"Iris," Joe began to warn, and Barry just closed his eyes.
Iris pulled back her hand. "Dad, they were dating for like two months—"
"Iris," Joe said with a sigh now. Barry set his chopsticks down and rubbed his face. The reason why he didn't want to move on was because then he would be back to pinning after Iris, and that was worse than mourning someone he had only just started dating.
There was an awkward silence around the table, and Iris sighed. "Sorry Barry, I just don't like seeing you so down. You were so happy when you were seeing Queen, and then just so…I don't know," she shrugged, "when she broke up with you out of the blue."
"I know Iris," he murmured. Barry still didn't like to think about the break-up. "But I can't help but think if maybe we were together still she might not have gone on that boat, you know?" Joe set a hand on Barry's shoulder and squeezed a little.
Iris just looked at her plate and pushed her food around. It was tense for a moment, but Joe broke the silence. "Hey why don't we watch Singing in the Rain?"
Barry looked up at Joe in surprise for a moment. Joe just smiled a little more and Iris touched his hand again. Barry smiled sadly down at his plate of food. Singing in the Rain was his favorite movie to watch when he was feeling down or missing his mom. Of course Iris and Joe would know just what to do to cheer him up.
Autumn would always suck but maybe it would get better, and he could move on past Ollie and Iris.
TBC
A/N: I use laugh a lot in this story... Anyways, I won't be updating until probably mid-October. Hope you enjoyed ~ much love, depressedchildren
