Caitlin's first day of classes after the holidays weren't nearly as tiresome and difficult as she expected. She had a suspicion coffee played a huge factor into that. Sure, she felt lightheaded the majority of the day but it didn't interfere with her ability to focus. Especially in Dr. Wells' class. The only thing she did notice? The fact that she kept catching Barry watching her out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but she never asked.

Speaking of Barry, it was also the day that she was supposed to give him a tour of the campus and that turned out to be surprisingly easier than she thought it would be. It was mainly because he had been there for a few days and had already walked around the majority of the campus so all she had to do was show him where his classes were. Turned out that they had three more classes together and she was rather happy about that. Would be nice to be able to know someone in her classes.

As they day drew to a close, Caitlin smiled softly, feeling tired but very pleased with how the day turned out.

"I don't know about you, but all of that walking has made me hungry. Care to go get a bite to eat?" Barry drew her from her thoughts and she blinked up at him.

"Oh, I was hungry earlier and got a bite to eat while you were in your afternoon class. Hope you don't mind," she frowned and he shook his head.

"Nah, that's alright. Glad you got something to eat. You haven't really been coming to meals with Cisco and myself, so I wasn't sure when you were actually eating," Barry murmured and that made Caitlin's heart thump harshly against her ribcage.

"Trust me, I've been eating. I can just usually last on a several cups of coffee before I need to eat," she lied and Barry nodded his head.

"I've noticed," he laughed and Caitlin felt her cheeks warm.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about!" Barry hastened to add. "I just want to make sure you are actually eating from time to time. You can't actually survive on coffee alone."

Caitlin chuckled as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I know."

The conversation was left there for a moment and Caitlin took the opportunity to yawn into her hand, her early morning finally catching up with her.

"You look like you could use a nap," Barry commented and she laughed slightly.

"I probably could but instead, I'm going to get some coffee and retire to the library to work on the assignment Dr. Wells gave us," she replied softly and Barry nodded his head.

"Of course you are," he replied fondly and his tone warmed Caitlin from head to toe.

"Well, I am me," she teased and Barry chuckled.

He walked with her to the coffee shop and to make it look like she actually did eat, she ordered a bagel to go along with her coffee and caught him smiling softly out of the corner of her eye. Instead of commenting on it, she made her way out of line and back towards the front door once she had her food and drink.

"Well, I suppose this is where I leave you," Barry murmured and she nodded her head.

"I suppose so," she agreed and he looked at her for a moment before hesitantly brushing some of her hair back behind her shoulder. She watched him as he did so before a smile took over his face.

"Have fun studying," he murmured, "who knows, maybe I'll join you sometime later this evening."

She nodded her head.

"I'd like that," she replied softly. Barry smiled at her one more time before they went their separate ways. Once Caitlin reached the library, she made her way to her favorite table and secured it with a smile. As she pulled out her books, she realized she still had the bagel in her hand. Looking at it for a moment, she got up and tossed it in the nearest trashcan before returning back to her table and began working on her studies, sipping periodically from her coffee. She still wasn't sure at which point she fell asleep.

Feeling someone shaking her shoulder softly is what tugged Caitlin back awake.

"Cait. Hey, Caitlin, wake up," a soft voice murmured in her ear.

"Hmm?" Caitlin asked as she blinked her eyes open. Her back felt incredibly stiff and sore from the position she fell asleep in and she looked around, trying to locate the person who was speaking to her. She noticed Barry and Cisco crouched down on either side of her and she stared at them.

"W-what time is it?" Caitlin mumbled sleepily and Barry laughed quietly.

"About eight. Why don't you go back to your dorm and call it a night?" Barry asked softly but she shook her head.

"I can't, I have to finish studying," she replied. Cisco shook his head.

"You fell asleep at the table. That's never happened before. You're obviously exhausted so I am hereby banning you from studying anymore tonight," he stated quietly and Caitlin frown unhappily.

"But Dr. Wells assignment…" she trailed off.

"Will still be there tomorrow. And it's not even due for three more weeks. You've got plenty of time," Cisco replied gently and Caitlin rubbed her eyes tiredly. She couldn't believe she fell asleep. That wasn't like her at all.

"Alright," she muttered as she began piling all of her books back into her bag. She glanced at her coffee but realized it would be ice cold by now and sighed.

Cisco followed her line of sight and shook his head. "No more coffee for you tonight."

He then proceeded to throw it away in the same trashcan she had tossed her bagel into hours before. She frowned.

"Such a waste of a perfectly good cup of coffee," she mumbled and both Barry and Cisco chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll survive," Barry said and Caitlin rolled her eyes.

"Hopefully," she muttered before standing up and stretching, not aware that her shirt was rising up while she did so.

"Oh my god, Cait," Cisco said and she frowned at him.

"What?" Caitlin asked softly.

"Since when are your ribs that pronounced?" Cisco demanded and Caitlin looked at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Cisco?" Caitlin asked sleepily then held up a hand.

"You know what, never mind. I'm too tired to even ask," she laughed and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"And I doubt they're as "pronounced" as you claim. They've always shown," she added. Cisco looked like he wanted to say something but she beat him to it.

"Thanks for waking me up, guys. I really should go sleep in a proper bed. See you tomorrow," she said softly and walked off without another word. The quietness behind her clued her into the fact that neither one of them had followed her, and she was relieved about that. Once she made it to her dorm and had gotten ready for bed, she looked curiously at her mirror before lifting up her shirt. She saw three of her ribs showing and smiled slightly before crawling into bed and letting sleep overcome her.