Saturday came around, bringing with it the rare chance to sleep in. There was no sunrise yoga on Saturday. As Caitlin slowly began to wake up, she started noticing little things. Firstly, the way the sun filtered in through her blinds. Secondly, the way her roommate was singing, quite off key at that. Not that she was any better, she supposed. Laughing a little, Caitlin sat up, stretching, before standing out of her bed. The fall mornings were slowly growing crisper, so she received a slight shock when her bare feet touched her floor.
Caitlin walked over to her desk chair and put on her favorite sweatshirt over her pajamas. It had been her dad's when he was at school and to this day, Caitlin still loved wrapping herself up in it. A quick detour to the bathroom brought a face wash and brushed hair and teeth. Eventually, she deemed herself suitable enough to go out and see her roommate.
"Morning, Licity," Caitlin greeted her friend. Felicity turned around, smiling.
"Morning, Caitlin," she replied with a tilt of her head to the left of her. "There's fresh coffee."
Caitlin hummed appreciatively before grabbing a coffee mug and pouring herself a cup. After adding her typical mix of soy milk and sugar, Caitlin sat down at their bar, taking sips of her coffee.
"What're you up to today?" Caitlin asked her roommate. She knew Felicity typically liked to lounge around on the weekends, with the occasional party thrown in by Oliver. Felicity shrugged a shoulder.
"I'll probably just get some reading for classes done today and tonight, Ollie is taking me on a date," Felicity grinned.
"That's great, Licity," Caitlin mirrored her grin. Caitlin knew Oliver tried to plan romantic nights for the couple frequently. He absolutely adored Felicity and for that, Caitlin absolutely adored him. It made their friendship a lot easier to have a commonality through Felicity.
"He's taking me to dinner at that Italian restaurant, then we're walking over to the fair that's in town," she explained, and Caitlin nodded. It was the annual fall fair that came to Central City every year. She made a mental note to ask if Hartley or Cisco wanted to go. The two girls fell into comfortable silence as they drank their coffees.
When their coffees had been finished and they cleaned up the mess, Caitlin headed to the armchair by their fireplace, grabbing her copy of Sylvia Plath's collected poems. She still wasn't ready to face the outside world yet and what better way to take some time for yourself than with reading? Caitlin read for a solid hour before her phone went off. Opening her texts curiously, Caitlin smiled hesitantly.
Fancy breakfast? I'm thinking French toast or are you a vegan today? -Barry
I'm in vegan mode, but I know this great café that serves both dairy and non-dairy breakfasts. You can get your French Toast and I can get something for me. -Caitlin
Caitlin set her phone back down and went back to the current poem she was on. As she read, her phone dinged again not even two minutes later. Shaking her head with a laugh, Caitlin opened the text.
Well aren't you just the cool one, Caitlin? Knowing all the hidden cafes that accommodate animal lovers. Text me the address and I can meet you there in an hour? -Barry
Smiling, Caitlin sent him the address. Luckily, the café was only about ten minutes away from their campus. She had found it on a particularly stressful day; needless to say, she had been hunting down some comfort food. After making sure the text had sent, she looked over to Felicity.
"That was Barry," she commented, and Felicity looked up from her laptop.
"Allen?" Felicity asked.
"How many other Barry's do you know, Licity?" Caitlin asked amusedly, and Felicity rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. What's he up to?" Felicity asked.
"He just invited me out to breakfast. We're going to that café I frequent a lot during finals," Caitlin said, before standing up.
"Ooh, is this another date?" Felicity asked excitedly, and Caitlin resisted the temptation to roll her eyes at her best friend.
"No, Licity, this is not a date. This is two people going out for breakfast because they're learning more about each other. Nothing more, nothing less," Caitlin said pointedly. Felicity didn't even bother to attempt to hide her disappointment.
"Caitlin," Felicity groaned. "This is the time to be dating; to have fun. You're only young once. Honestly, when's the last time you've gone a date that you actually enjoyed?"
Caitlin thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I'll get back to you. But for now, I got to get ready. Bye."
XXX
After Caitlin left Felicity to her groaning, she hurried to get ready. Slipping into her pair of most comfortable jeans, Caitlin added a baseball t-shirt she had and put her hair up into a bun. Applying a bit of makeup, and Caitlin was ready. Snagging her keys off her desk, she walked out of her room, calling out a goodbye to Felicity who, it appeared, had decided to get herself another cup of coffee.
"Tell me all about this non-date," Felicity said and Caitlin just shook her head exasperatedly.
"Bye, Felicity," Caitlin replied sweetly, before walking out of the apartment and towards the entrance of the building.
XXX
Caitlin pulled up the café with ten minutes to spare, so sent Barry a text telling him she'd wait for him outside. He showed up not too much longer.
"Hey, Caitlin," he greeted her, and she smiled.
"Hello, Barry," she replied. They walked into the café, where they were told to seat themselves wherever they wanted. Sitting at a booth close to the center of the room, the looked over the menus for a moment, before ordering coffee and placing their breakfast orders as well. When the waitress had walked off, Caitlin looked at Barry.
"Not that I don't love food as much as the next girl, but twice in one week? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Caitlin asked curiously, lips tugging upwards. Barry shrugged.
"I did tell you that you were an enigma," he replied, smirking. It seemed like Caitlin would have to be the one to figure out what he meant by that because he didn't seem to want to elaborate any further on his comment. She nodded.
"Alright," she said simply, returning his smirk. When their coffees were delivered, Caitlin fixed hers' the way she liked it while Barry watched.
"Is soy milk actually good?" Barry asked, incredulous.
"Only if you have the taste buds for it," Caitlin admitted honestly, before taking a sip. "Something tells me you don't have the taste buds."
"Yeah, me too," Barry laughed.
"No twenty questions?" Caitlin teased and Barry laughed.
"Oh, I have them. However, they're more aimed towards your college experience," he replied. Caitlin nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.
"I'm ready."
"Why Political Science?" Barry asked curiously, and Caitlin thought about it.
"Honestly, it started out as just something to do to make my mother mad. She wanted me to be a Chemist like her but I had absolutely no desire to do that. However, after my first two semesters of the subject I realized I had fallen in love with it, so stuck with my decision for it as my major. Now I can't see myself doing anything other than that," Caitlin said.
"And, why languages?" Barry asked.
"They're beautiful," Caitlin summarized.
"Which one are you taking?"
"Italian," Caitlin said, smiling.
After asking her about her major and minor, Barry moved onto her next love: photography.
"So, I've gathered that you like photography simply from interning with Lacey Chamberlain," Barry commented.
"Guilty," Caitlin laughed. "There's just something so rewarding to be able to see the world through another viewpoint."
"Do you ever travel for photography?" Barry asked.
"Funny you should ask that, but I'm going to England this summer as part of the internship and will have a chance to for some photography while there," Caitlin said, and Barry grinned.
"You'll love it there," he assured and she smiled.
"Here's to hoping so."
Plates were brought to their table just then and they busied themselves with setting up their syrups and other condiments they wanted. Caitlin cut into her vegan pancakes as she looked back at Barry.
"How's Iris and that guy you were forced to play body guard with?" Caitlin asked, before taking her forkful of food. Barry laughed.
"Oh, Eddie? They're good. They're actually spending the day together," Barry replied. "I swear, every time she gets a boyfriend I move down a couple of notches on the priority ladder."
Caitlin's frown must've been more pronounced across her features than she originally thought because he was chuckling a moment later.
"I assure you, it's alright. I'm still her main guy to go to with whatever problems she's facing," he added. Caitlin nodded, deciding to accept that answer for what it was worth. After all, she knew what it was like to become second best in favor of a boyfriend.
"My roommate is a bit like that, too," she assured.
"Oh, you mean my new best friend, Felicity?" Barry asked, and Caitlin laughed.
"Yes, her. She's with Oliver and whenever he's around, he becomes her main priority. However, he treats her with the respect she deserves so I understand," Caitlin replied, before taking another sip of her coffee. They fell into comfortable silence as they ate, and Caitlin found herself in absolutely no rush to fill it. It was nice, just sitting here. She wasn't sure if they were friends at this point but she was eager to keep having these little moments help develop a blossoming friendship between them.
By the time they finished breakfast, Caitlin handed her card off to the waitress before Barry even saw the bill.
"Caitlin," he began, but she shook her head.
"You paid for dinner. It's my turn," she stated. After assessing her for a moment, he eventually admitted defeat
"Thank you," he replied appreciatively.
When the waitress came back with her card and a to go latte, Caitlin stood up.
"Care for a walk? There's a really cool strip of thrift stores that line the street and they've got everything from vintage records to limited edition books," Caitlin said, not quite ready for the morning to be over. Barry nodded.
"Lead the way," he grinned. She did just that.
XXX
As they browsed her favorite record store, Caitlin sipped out of her latte intermittently while flicking through records. So far, she had found a couple she wanted to add to her collection. Glancing up, she spotted Barry looking through the movies they had, so made her way towards him.
"Find anything?" Caitlin asked.
"Yeah, your favorite," he grinned, holding up a copy of Dead Poets Society. Caitlin stared at the cover before looking at him, soft smile adorning her face.
"You remembered," she said, and he nodded.
"Yes," was all he said. Caitlin nodded once and began to look through the movies too, before eventually going to the books. She picked up another copy of her favorite book, making it the fourth copy she owned. By the time they paid for their purchases, Caitlin was content with the way the morning had gone. She sipped the remaining bit of her latte before looking at Barry, debating.
"There's a fall festival in town," she said, and Barry nodded.
"Yeah, I go every year," he said. Caitlin nodded.
"Would you, you know, uh, l-like...," she trailed off, unsure of why she was suddenly nervous about asking him to go with her. Barry grinned.
"I'd love to go with you. If this isn't too forward, can I pick you up tonight at seven?" Barry asked.
She bit her lip, before a slow grin stretched itself across her lips.
"That sounds perfect," she agreed.
"Until tonight, then."
Author's notes: So, I know I have another college story out right now and I DO plan on getting back to that one. I just really like this one, too and have ideas for it. So any feedback is welcomed and I hope you enjoy their "getting to know each other" chapters. Xxx