A/N: Okay, you guys asked for it, so here you go! I'm so glad y'all liked this story. I've loved reading every single one of your reviews. When I say your reviews inspire me to keep writing, I'm not joking. I actually screen shot them on my phone and go back an look at them on days when I'm feeling down and look at them to cheer myself up. So thank you for all of the love and positive reviews. I hope you like this chapter just as much as you did the last one.
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She walked back to her dorm room with a smile on her face that afternoon. The day had started out rough, but it had quickly turned around once she met Barry. Talking to him had instantly lifted her mood and she had genuinely enjoyed her French class, which she found surprising.
"Bonjour!" Iris said as she swung the door to her dorm room open, greeting her room mate with a bright smile.
"Hey!" Linda said, glancing at Iris over her English textbook. "I take it somebody liked her French class."
"Yea, I did." She laughed, shutting the door behind her. "Though I might be saying something entirely different by the time the semester is over with."
Iris's best friend and room mate was laying on top of her bed, flipping through the pages of her book as she studied. "I take it Calculus and Chemistry were boring as hell though, right?"
"Calculus was a nightmare." The girl agreed as she threw her bag down at the foot of her bed before plopping down on the mattress. "Chemistry was, surprisingly, not so bad actually."
"Please tell me that you did not discover some new found love of science." Linda said flatly.
"If by 'new found love of science' you mean do I have a crush on my adorable new lab partner, then yes. I do have a new found love of science."
At the words "adorable" and "lab partner" her room mates interest seemed to increase by ten fold. Iris loved her best friend, but she had always been just a bit crazy when it came to boys—she was always willing to put herself out there to meet someone and she had no trouble with flirting mercilessly at parties.
Linda slammed her text book closed and shot straight up, giving Iris her full attention. "Adorable how? What's his name? What does he look like? And do you know his major? Because these are all crucial things that you should be considering right now."
The girl laughed at her friends enthusiasm and seriousness as she answered her questions. "Just, adorable. His name is Barry Allen. He's really tall, like 6'1'' or 6'2'' I think. And he's kind of thin and lanky, messy brown hair, beautiful green eyes—insanely cute smile. And, he is—get this—a Forensic Science major."
"So another words, he's adorable in a nerdy way, and he's smart." The girl sitting across from her summarized.
"I guess you could call it a nerdy cute." Iris laughed. "Hey, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about we get some lunch."
"Sure, yea. Sounds good." Linda said, standing and grabbing her purse with a smirk. "And maybe while we eat you can tell me even more about the adorable nerd that is Mr. Barry Allen."
...
"Man I am telling you, this GenEd science class is gonna be the bomb!" Cisco said while pulling a ten dollar bill from his wallet. "I mean, if you're into engineering and programming anyway."
Barry laughed at his best friends enthusiasm. The two room mates stood in the student union, waiting in line to get their food. "What's so great about it?" He asked, only half paying attention to the conversation. His mind was still focused on his new lab partner, Iris West.
"Well for starters, we get to learn how to take a freaking mother board from a computer apart and then rebuild it. How awesome is that?" He said reaching the front of the line. Cisco ordered three chicken strips with curly fries and a pop before paying and stepping out of line and waiting for his order to be called.
"I guess that's pretty cool, if you're into that kind of stuff." Barry told his friend. He ordered his food as well—the same as Cisco's—and paid for the meal before following Cisco over to wait for his order.
"Uh, yea! Its ridiculously cool." His best friend laughed. "We're going to learn how to program a little bit too. Which is so dope!"
"That sounds like it'll be a great class for you then dude."
"I know, its perfect right?" The boy with long hair laughed. "What about your classes so far? What did you have again today? Chemistry and Philosophy?"
"What ever you do, do not ever take a Philosophy class. I was barely able to keep my eyes open. And I'm pretty sure that the kid behind me actually started snoring."
His friend actually snorted mid laugh. "Noted. And the Chem. class?"
"Chemistry was a good class." Barry answered, not able to keep himself from smiling at the memory of the beautiful girl he had sat next to. "The professor seems okay so far, and my lab partner that I got paired with seems nice. As of right now, I think I'm really going to like this class."
What he didn't tell his friend was that his lab partner was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and that she was the real reason he was going to enjoy the class so much. Not to say that the subject didn't interest him, because he was incredibly interested in chemistry and all other sciences. But being able to get to spend more time with Iris and get to know her better was going to be even more enjoyable. When Barry first saw her he thought that he didn't have a snowballs chance in hell at even getting her to talk to him, and then when he realized the last available seat was next to her he figured he was totally screwed. How was he suppose to focus on anything when she was sitting so close to him, and he was so nervous due to her close proximity.
But then she had actually started talking to him. She initiated a conversation, and once the conversation got started he felt himself immediately begin to relax. As beautiful as Iris was, she was still just a person—an incredibly nice person with the cutest smile and laugh in the whole world. As class continued he relaxed even more, little by little. Then the teacher had told them they would be lab partners and he couldn't help the jolt of excitement that ran through him at the idea of getting to spend more time with her outside of class. Talking to her was easy, and it didn't take long for him to begin joking with her, and soon enough he somehow found himself telling her about how he had always been labeled as the weird kid in school. Barry had regretted telling her that part of his past as soon as the words were out, but she quickly had reassured him by telling him that she liked him and thought that it was cool he was into science—she had even said that she thought his full on nerd ramblings were adorable. What person, let alone a beautiful girl like Iris, would ever say something like that? Now he was finding it nearly impossible to stop thinking about her.
...
Closing her car door Iris hit the lock button before jogging towards the buildings glass door. She was in dire need of coffee. Nine in the morning was ridiculously early to have a class, but at least it was an English class—College Writing, to be specific—so at the very least it was a class that she would excel in. As she pushed open the door to the coffee shop she saw a familiar tall and slender figure standing in the back of the line. Smiling, she made her way over to stand behind him. "Hey stranger."
Barry turned around, his lips curving up into a dazzling smile. "Hey Iris. And stranger? Really, come on. What's it been? A whole day?"
"Something like that." She laughed. He wasn't wrong, it was only yesterday that she had first met the science nerd in their chemistry class. "Hey, by the way, how did that philosophy class go yesterday?"
"Let's just say that if I'm ever not able to sleep, I'll call my professor and have him give me a lecture on Aristotle and Socrates. I would be in dream land in no time."
"That bad?" The journalism major asked with a laugh.
"You have no idea." He responded, laughing with her. "What about your French class?"
"Très bien." Iris answered. He raised his brows in question so she translated for him. "Very well. My French class went very well. I actually really enjoyed it, though I might be feeling differently by the time midterms roll around."
"Well at least one of us liked our class." Barry laughed. "And hopefully you'll still like it after midterms."
They moved up in the line, and after a brief pause in the conversation he spoke again. "I take it you have a class this morning?" He asked her. "Or do you always wake up and stop for coffee at 8 am?"
"College Writing at nine." She replied. "You?"
He looked at her skeptically as he responded. "College Writing at nine. You don't have Professor Robert Clark do you?"
"Actually, yea, I do." She replied. "Are we in the same class again?"
"I think so." The tall young man laughed. "I swear, I'm not planning this."
"Chemistry class, this morning's meeting here, and now a College Writing class." Iris said laughing. "I am officially convinced that the universe really wants us to be friends."
"Seems that way." He said, smiling. As Barry reached the front of the line he stepped behind her to let Iris go a head of him. "Uh, you can order first."
"You sure?" She asked him, and at his nod she placed her order. "Large Americano, double shot of expresso, and a blueberry muffin."
"Name?" The barista asked as he grabbed the large coffee cup and a sharpie marker.
"Iris." She answered as she opened up her purse and began digging for her wallet.
She was just about to pull out her card and ask for a total when she heard Barry's voice come from behind her as he placed his own order. As she looked up he was telling the barista his name and passing his credit card over the counter to pay.
"Barry Allen, what do you think you're doing?" Iris asked him.
"Buying my new friend a cup of coffee and some breakfast." He replied slowly as he tucked his card back into his wallet before putting it away.
"I'm paying you back later." She informed her lab partner.
"Nope."
"Fine." Iris said stepping aside to wait for her order, "But I'm buying the next time. And don't even try to argue me on this."
The tall young man gave her a crooked smile, letting a soft laugh emanate from his lips. "Okay, Iris West, it's a deal."
She returned his smile, and the pair fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for their orders. All around them the shop was filled with the chatter of customers, dishes clanking, and the grinding of the coffee machines. Iris checked the time on her phone and saw that they still had plenty of time. Taking a deep breath she could smell the coffee beans and the baked goods in the air, and with in a few minutes she heard her name being called. After collecting her order she decided to wait for Barry since she had the time so that they could walk out together. She really did love talking to him.
"Wow." He said laughing, the sound of his voice pulling her from her thoughts. "That is a really big cup and a lot of caffeine for such a small girl."
"So I might have a slight caffeine addiction." She told him, giving him her best innocent and playful smile.
"Might?" He repeated, a teasing tone evident in his voice. "And slight?"
"Okay, fine." She amended, "I definitely have a major caffeine addiction."
"There you go." Barry laughed in agreement as his name was called.
He picked up his order and headed towards the front door, Iris walking along side of him. He pushed the glass door opened and stepped outside into the sunlight.
"So where are you parked?" She asked with the intent of walking him to his car. Anything to squeeze in a few extra minutes with Barry Allen.
"Uh, I'm not really parked anywhere." The green eyed man informed her. "I don't actually have a car."
The journalism major nodded, flicking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "So you were just planning to walk to the Language building then?"
"Yea." He said slowly, nodding in conformation of his answer.
"Nope." Iris replied, digging out her car keys. "Follow me."
"Hu? Why?" Barry appeared to be baffled.
She simply laughed as she walked in the direction of her royal blue car. "You know, for someone who's such a genius, you're really not all that smart are you? I'm giving you a ride, you big dork."
"And what if I don't want a ride?" He challenged, following her to the car anyway. "Maybe I like walking. Its good exercise you know."
"You are my friend." She told him as she reached the vehicle, stopping and spinning around to face him. "You just bought me coffee and a blueberry muffin." She paused to hit the unlock button.
"And we are both going to the exact same class in the exact same building at the exact same time. We might as well car pool. So you, Bartholomew Allen are going to get your little ass in this car and accept the ride whether you like it or not."
She opened the passenger door and gestured for him to get in, laughing. "In you go."
"Somebody's bossy in the mornings." He teased her, returning her laugh as he got in the passenger seat of the car.
"I haven't had my morning coffee yet." Iris shot back with a grin, closing the door and walking around to the drivers side. Getting inside herself, she buckled up and put the keys in the ignition to start the car and began driving the two of them to class, the new friends making small talk along the way.
...
A/N: So yea. I know this chapter is shorter than the last one, and I'm sorry for that. I'm probably going to be slow with updating this for a while because of classes and work, but I do plan for there to be more. I'd love to hear from you guys, so send me some reviews and love. Mwah!
XOXO,
Wallflower.