Caitlin had already moved on from Jay. She had accepted that she did something terrible and will learn to live with it. She didn't like making mistakes but they were an inevitable part of life. The guilt will always be there. She owed him that much. She was now living in the present and fully accepted that she has feelings for Barry Allen and is determined to control those feelings.

The problem when girls tried to move on from somebody and at the same time not let said somebody know about their feelings while doing so is they do it so abruptly causing said somebody get suspicious and creating messy and awkward situations. This was the last thing that she wanted to happen. It was a Sunday night and Caitlin Snow was making her game plan to prevent her emotions from going crazy and causing something disastrous to happen. She was not a fan of cheesy chick flicks but they were her "educational resource" for her current goal. Well, chick flicks, how love works according to science and her handful of experience with relationships.

She was feeling this way because her brain have somehow decided that Barry is "the one" and releases floods of dopamine and norepinephrine into her system. So, she has to prevent this release of hormones that was making her feel euphoric and elated every time she saw him. She couldn't exactly eliminate Barry Allen out of her life since her job was to help him. The best thing she could do was limit her interaction with Barry but not so drastically that anybody except her would notice. She had to stop liking the things the speedster did for her and ignore the things she found endearing about him.

"There is no way," Caitlin said exasperatedly. "That this is going to work." But what else could she do? She used to be good at suppressing emotions. Even when she had agreed to start dating Ronnie her walls were still in place. It took him months to remove those walls brick by brick. When he died her walls were rebuilt. Her walls were doubled. She surprised herself with how detached she became from her emotions. But Barry was a different story. It was like she had to rebuild her walls every single day because he was tearing through them like they were made of cheap paper. Enough. She couldn't afford to be vulnerable again. She was going to make his work. She wasn't going to lose.

Okay, she had to focus on the details. Details were key to her successfully terminating any non-platonic feelings she had for Barry. What made her love Barry Allen? No, she should use a less powerful word. What made her like Barry Allen? His heart. His ability to always see goodness in others. His selflessness which she also hated at the same time. His eyes that she still wasn't sure what shade of green it was. She didn't also know how green can be that beautiful. "Oh God," exclaimed Caitlin. The way she was thinking about Barry was like high school her having that secret crush on the cute Physics teacher (In her defense, every girl in her class had a crush on him) but worse. Much, much worse. She didn't use profanity often because she believed she knew enough words to express her thoughts and feelings and the way they were used didn't make sense at all. There were certain exceptions though. Right now was a perfect example. She was fucked.

When Caitlin woke up on Monday she had decided that she'll stick to her awful plan because it was as good as any. Plus, plans made her feel relaxed and collected. She had made an outline so that she could recite it as some sort of mantra.

Gradually reduce unnecessary interactions with subject.

Target things that make her attracted to subject and eliminate them.

Make sure subject does not notice.

Learn to lie.

Wow, it really was awful. She was smart and this was all she could come up with. Calling Barry "subject" was weird but it made her think clearer so she'll stick with it. This was making her head throb. Stupid emotions. Stupid her for drinking wine right before going to bed. She needed coffee. Now.

She was just heading for her car and looking forward to her steaming cup of coffee on her desk when she remembered who was to thank for that coffee. It had become a habit of Barry to get her coffee from Jitters and then they would talk about everything and nothing as they enjoyed the cup of caffeinated heaven. She could fix that. That would easily remove thirty minutes of unneeded talk with "subject". Maybe she should just walk to Jitters and then to work. Not to mention her pale skin was in dire need for some sunlight. Not that she could actually get a tan.

Caitlin was sipping her latte (she really wanted a Flash coffee but she thought it won't help with her goal if Barry saw her supporting his unauthorized merchandise) when she entered the Cortex. Barry was already by her desk and her coffee was as expected transferred already to a STAR Labs mug. There goes her hormones. She was looking at his back and couldn't help but smile and feel giddy inside at how she had become a part of his morning. How he would always get at STAR Labs earlier because he didn't like to make her wait for her coffee. Granted, the main reason for his drastic change in habit was because he wanted to take getting faster more seriously but it still pleased Caitlin that somehow she fit somewhere in the equation. Too bad she had to remove herself from that.

"Cait," Barry said. He had turned around. Why was he so comfortable with using that nickname? It was throwing her off. "We need to get you checked."

"What? Why?" Caitlin asked.

"You're getting hooked on coffee," Barry explained with that smirk of his. He looked pointedly at her cup. "You couldn't even wait until you got here to get your fix."

"Oh, about that," Caitlin started. Time to put her nonexistent lying skills to the test. "You don't have to buy me coffee anymore." Only lies have details. She learned that much from Sherlock Holmes.

"What? Why?" Barry asked, repeating her earlier words. Barry was not stupid. Of course he would ask why a perfectly reasonable woman was turning down a free cup of coffee. She needed to come up with an excuse.

"It's stupid," answered Caitlin. "You won't get it."

"Try me," Barry said. His confusion was lost now, replaced with seriousness.

"It's nothing serious," Caitlin said. "Nothing to get riled up about." She still couldn't think of an excuse.

"Cait," Barry's voice was starting to have that authoritative tone. "Tell me."

"Barry, it's just coffee," she said, trying to argue with him.

"Which you love," he countered. "Especially when you get it for free."

This wasn't exactly following the "avoid unnecessary talks with subject" part of her plan. "Fine, it's because I decided that from now on. I will be walking to Jitters and to work. Getting coffee along the way. You know, get a little exercise." That was believable right? She was a woman. Most women were conscious about their bodies.

"Exercise." Said Barry, his tone doubtful. "I would believe that if I didn't know that you got a D in Physical Education and hated that subject. Bullies or no bullies. You loathed every minute of it."

"Well, I changed my mind about physical activities. I want to get a better body, be ready for swimsuit season," Caitlin lied. "I'm even thinking of getting a gym membership."

"I think your current body would look amazing already with a bathing suit on," Barry said. Caitlin's cheeks fired. He just unconsciously gave her a compliment. "Cait, you don't need the gym. What is this really about?"

"I told you the truth, Barry," she said in a more serious and convincing voice. Immediately ending conversations with him would be easier she realized. "I have to work on something in my lab. See you later." Barry was just looking at her with a curious expression.

"Okay, later." He finally said. She gave him a smile. Hopefully that would lessen his suspicions. She really doubted that. God, she couldn't do this. Barry was already getting suspicious. If only he didn't care so much about his friends.

Dr. Caitlin Snow didn't do things without a valid reason and purpose. Getting her body fit was not a valid reason and certainly not a purpose. Barry was determined to make Caitlin tell him what all this nonsense was about. If he couldn't do it by pestering and annoying her well… secretly being The Flash came with its perks.

Author's Note: To anybody that faved, followed or reviewed this story: Thank you so, so much. This being my first story I was anxious about the feedback or if there was going to be any at all. So when I saw that you guys liked what you read it made me so happy. Thank you. Again. :DD

This definitely took a lot longer than it was supposed to. Turns out if you start your story in a pretty serious tone it just didn't feel right to go all fluffy and lighthearted immediately in the next chapter. Especially if you're building a relationship with two stubborn characters. I struggled a little with this chapter and I think it showed. This is definitely a filler chapter but don't worry the next is going to be longer and more will happen. Also, I'm just putting it out there that I'm not a good writer but I do want to become one and this is the main way I'm going to do it. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged.

xx

-bookishanonymous