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AN:

Thank you for all the lovely reviews, I'm so glad there's such interest in this story! I'm afraid updates won't be as regular as my other fic but they will always be forthcoming (unless I say a fic is on hiatus I will always continue with it but I have this story planned out so that's unlikely to happen with this fic). Enjoy and let me know what you think!

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Somehow Barry managed to get through the lesson and do a fairly good job on his research project. If anyone had asked him a direct question though – and powers forbid it be Dr Wells – Barry wasn't sure he could had said anything intelligible, let alone related to what he'd just been working on. He was too aware of the girl sitting behind them. And of Cisco pretty much vibrating in his seat next to him.

"We have to talk to her," Cisco hissed as Wells started motioning for everybody to start packing up.

"We can't just ambush her," Barry replied. "She looks like she'll freak."

"It's not an ambush. Just a friendly welcome from people who are fated to be her friends."

"Right because that'll totally work as an introduction."

"Barry's right," Felicity chimed in. "She seems pretty nervous. You go in their all vibes blazing and you'll scare her off."

Cisco huffed. "Well, what should we do then? We need to be friends with her; that much I know for certain. I felt it during the vibe. Then the rest of it, what happens from then on is a bit fuzzy…"

"And all this from one vibe when you didn't even really see her."

"Yes," said Cisco adamantly, conviction ringing in his tone.

"I'll go," Felicity said. "Girl to girl might be easier."

And with that she hopped off her stool and walked over to the new girl, Caitlin Snow, giving her a beaming smile in welcome.

"I envy her confidence sometimes," Cisco said.

Barry nodded and continued to pack away his things, aware of his classmates and Dr Wells at the front but his attention most definitely behind him, focused on where Felicity was talking with Caitlin. Or talking at might be more accurate. Felicity was definitely holding a one-sided conversation as Caitlin was barely nodding in response to her words, let alone replying.

"I think maybe Felicity's confidence might be working against us here," he muttered to Cisco.

"Dude what should we do?" Cisco hissed.

The sound of a wheelchair coming closer quickly shut off their conversation and both boys bolted upright in their seats. Sometimes Barry wondered if Dr Wells had his own power - calling attention as he neared people perhaps – because he couldn't help but sit up straighter and be more alert every time the Head teacher came close.

"Good work today boys," Dr Wells said. "I was coming to ask a favor of you but it seems Miss Smoak has already taken it upon herself to greet Miss Snow."

"You want us to meet Caitlin?" Barry asked. "Be her friends?"

"Friendship is a wonderful and complicated relationship Mr Allen and I would never prescribe or suppose that choice on anyone. However, as the three of you are a lab group and they can extend to four, I was going to ask if you would allow Miss Snow to work with you," Dr Wells replied. "If that leads to friendship it will be entirely of your own choosing."

"No problem Dr Wells," Cisco chirped. "We'd be happy to."

Dr Wells nodded as he wheeled himself off. "My thanks."

"Maybe that's why I vibed her," Cisco whispered. "Maybe in our lab group, the four of us will change the world together. Through an experiment or invention or something. Although I think my vibe had some flashing lights and fighting in it…"

"You're going to have to explain everything from your vibe sometime soon," Barry said. "Come on, we've got a legitimate non-scary reason to talk to her now. Let's go rescue our new group mate from Felicity."

He got up off his stool and walked to the lab bench behind them, separated enough from the rest of the class that it was mostly used by older students to observe the lesson. Barry hoped it didn't say too much about Caitlin that she went straight to it; she'd have to have some extrovert attributes if she was going to keep up with Cisco and Felicity.

"-and so the showers on the third corridor can totally get stuck sometimes, so you've got to watch out for that or you'll end up a walking ice cube. I'm not joking, they can go that cold-"

"Hey Felicity," Barry said loudly. He knew he was interrupting but Caitlin had just flinched at the mention of ice and he knew Felicity would have just kept talking.

"Hi there," Cisco said reaching out a hand around Felicity as she turned to them. "I'm Cisco. Dr Wells just said that you'd be ok to join our group. Thought we'd come over and say hi. You must know all about Felicity by now."

"Hey! I was just telling her some useful living facts about the girls' bathrooms-"

"Which you need to know in the middle of a physics lesson."

"Which you need to know at any time for-"

"For what? You might have a hair emergency?"

"If any of us ever had a hair emergency Cisco it would so be you."

"Well excuse me for nearly always having my conditioner game on point-"

"Sorry about them," Barry said softly, sidling up to the lab bench. "They can get a bit carried away and excitable at times. I'm Barry by the way."

"Caitlin," she answered shortly, her eyes briefly flicking up to him before looking back at Cisco and Felicity. She was holding herself back, her shoulders stiffly hunched and her arms wrapped protectively around her bag in front of her chest. But Barry saw the look in her eyes as she watched his friends; it was barely concealed longing.

"So Cisco was right when he said you can join our group, in fact I think Dr Wells has pretty much planned it."

"Right," She said softly. "Because I always have to be looked after."

"Err, I don't think that's why," Barry replied, wondering at her use of words and why she was now looking down and away. "We're pretty far ahead in our project so it's probably because you'd be able to join us and still contribute but not have to do loads of work. Dr Wells is kind of a fair teacher like that."

Caitlin nodded but her attention was now determinedly fixed on her fingers picking at her bag.

"And maybe he hopes someone new could help me corral these two," Barry motioned behind him to where Cisco and Felicity were still arguing – and still about hair products of all things.

A small smile tugged at Caitlin's lips as she glanced back up at the animated pair.

"You'll do that more around us too," Barry forged on, grinning at her. "It seems like you don't smile a lot but we'll give you plenty of reasons to."

Caitlin's face blanked immediately. "I have very good reasons for my blank expression, thanks," she said hurriedly and before Barry could say anything else she had jumped to her feet and rushed out of the room.

"Barry, what just happened?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah man what did you say to her?" Cisco added, staring after where Caitlin had raced out of the room.

"I just talked about her smiling," Barry said, completely nonplussed and uncomfortable. He'd meant it as a good thing, something that they all did that indicated happiness but obviously Caitlin interpreted it as something else. And that something else was very personal to her.

"O-o-kay, mental note," Cisco said. "Don't talk to new girl about any facial expressions she may have."

Felicity elbowed him. "Come on," she said. "We'll have to figure it out later or we're all going to be late to next class."

Barry grabbed his stuff and headed out into the bustling corridor, worrying about what he'd said the entire time. He was glad she had smiled, small though it was. It changed the shape of her face and lit her up a little. And that was a way too poetic a thought to be having about a girl he'd just met.

He shook his head and pushed all thoughts of Caitlin from his mind.

Next up he had history and it was two flights of stairs up from where he was and powers were not allowed to be used so he was going to be late. Luckily most of the teachers knew this about him so he was generally unofficially allowed to be a few minutes behind everyone else.

Barry said goodbye to his friends as they both had Geography next and headed off. He got to class and sat down just as Professor Hunter started talking and he quickly pushed all his attention onto what was being said. Over the next hour he learnt about the importance of scientific recordings through history, most notably how ancient astronomers' records of eclipses had helped current day scientists to measure the earth's axel rotation and help date important events of ancient calendars.

It was all very interesting and Barry's natural curiosity was piqued over and over, especially with how science had helped shape and improve the lives of those who lived so long ago and had no great technology or abilities to help them further their knowledge of the world around him. It made him feel like anything was possible, the next scientific discovery was just waiting round the next corner.

With that thought he was pulled back to what Cisco said earlier and his aim of not thinking of Caitlin for the hour of the lesson was shot. Why was Cisco so sure she was important to them? And important as a friend, like he suggested, or as a fellow Meta or avid scientist in training?

Barry decided that tonight, no matter what Cisco was telling him and Felicity everything about his vibe, in as much detail as possible.

The lesson ended and Barry grabbed his things to go, happy to think that it was lunch next and what meals he might like to eat. He had to eat a large amount of calories to keep up with his higher metabolism but he was trying a new nutritional angle where he ate as many different protein sources as he could. He figured it was the least he could do for other speedsters out there to try and figure out what was the best way to eat as much as they could possibly could. Or that could have been just the hungry teenager in him.

He was so preoccupied with thoughts of food as he came down the stairs that he took the last corner too fast and barreled into someone.

Barry's arms shot as, his reflexes lightning quick as he caught the falling body that was bouncing away from the impact against him. He quickly realized the motion was the wrong angle and twisted his body so she fell against him instead. This all happened within a second, far too quick for Caitlin to understand how she'd gone from being upright to now on the floor cradled against Barry's chest.

"Are you ok?" he asked quickly.

"What happened?" she gasped, her hands clutching against his upper arms.

"We bumped into each other and to stop you from falling down I brought you down on top of me instead. I had to speed to do it. Do you feel ok?"

"Speed?" she asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"My power," Barry explained. "I have superspeed."

She nodded and Barry realized she hadn't answered his questions. He also realized just how close he was holding her and that neither of them had made a move to get up. He couldn't help but look at her closely, noticing the different colors of brown in her hair and how her skin was a pale cream that looked smoothly flawless.

"Hey! What happened to you guys?!"

Cisco's voice broke through Barry's internal focus and he looked up to see his friend come rushing towards them.

"Here let me help you guys."

He reached out to take a hand each from Barry and Caitlin but the second eh touched both their skin Cisco jerked, his body tensing upright and his eyes almost rolling back into his head.

"Cisco!" Barry yelled, grabbing at his friend as he jerked again.

Cisco came back around and ripped his hands away from them as he stumbled away, his feet losing their traction with the floor as he scuttled and he landed heavily on his behind, just a few feet from where Caitlin and Barry were still sprawled.

"Did you just vibe? What did you see?" Barry demanded.

"What's going on?" Caitlin asked, an edge of panic in her voice.

"I saw…" Cisco muttered. "I think I saw the future… And holy McFly but I am not going back to it."

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