-Chapter Seven-

"You're Just Imagining Things"

"Would you hurry up?" Averey asked, turning around on her heels, walking backwards to face Casey. "I'm going to be late for work. I don't want them to think I'm skiving."

Casey used a breath of air to move her hair out of her face. She paused to pull her purse strap up her shoulder, pushing the square box she was holding into her chest. "This is heavier than it looks," Casey explained. "I knew I shouldn't have worn heels today." She let out a breath of air. "Thanks for coming to the post office with me, anyway."

"It's on my way," Averey replied with a shrug. "So, what's in Kansas you keep getting mail from?" She stopped walking, waiting for Casey to catch up with her.

"Why are you so interested in my mail?" Casey asked, pulling the square box in her hands closer to her chest.

"I just don't see why you had to pick this up from the post office, when the others have all been delivered to the house," Averey replied. "They're all coming from the same place. That's all."

Casey's eyes narrowed just slightly as she looked over at Averey. An odd feeling flowed through Averey's body, settling in her stomach. It was the same look Casey had given her when she first mentioned wanting a job at Mercury Labs. It was the same look Gavin and Brent shared with Casey whenever they received these types of packages in the mail. The looks were always followed by whispers and hushed conversations, and quick subject changes.

"I have some friends in Metropolis," she finally said after a moment of silence—the sound of her heels clacking on the sidewalk filling up the space. "They're helping me with a project for work." She snapped her fingers. "I forgot to tell you. If you're free tomorrow, I have a block during work where I'm not doing anything if you'd like a tour of Mercury Labs. You know, meet some people, my boss, and see about a job."

"Far out." Averey lifted a hand and brushed her hair back behind her ear, tucking the lock under the arm band of her sunglasses. "I have off tomorrow anyway so that—oof!"

"Hey!"

Averey and Casey were knocked away from each other as a man in a brown jacket barreled through them, walking a strong steady pace. Trying to catch her balance, Averey bumped into something at waist level before grabbing onto a mail drop box to try and hold herself up.

"Hey!" Averey shouted, righting herself. She massaged her hip, trying to rub away the throbbing pain from where she hit the mailbox.

"Watch where you're going!" Casey glared up at him as she picked up her spilled mail.

The man turned around to face them, lifting his dark, round sunglasses from his nose. "My apologies," he said in a cool, low tone. "I didn't see you." An odd purple glow appeared in his eyes, glowing brighter and brighter as the seconds passed. "I'll keep an eye out next time."

"Yeah, you better—"

The purple glow intensified; become a vibrant hue. Every object, every person, every piece of trash in Averey's line of vision was tinged purple in different hues. Blinking seemed to make it disappear little by little and as it did so, a dull ache throbbed at the top of her eyes.

Hearing a metal clang, Averey quickly scrambled to grab her sunglasses that threatened to drop to the pavement. Her knees started to grow weak; she felt her feet sliding out from underneath her as she slowly slid closer and closer to the pavement. With a slightly shaking hand, she hurried to put her sunglasses on, nearly sticking herself in the eye with the arm.

A low groan rumbled in Averey's throat. Her stomach gently swayed this way and that as she waited for her strength to return. The pounding above her eyes faded and the world regained their normal colors. That was close. She narrowed her eyes into a glare at the man as he slid his own sunglasses on his face, continuing his path down the street as if nothing had gotten in his way.

"—You bloody knob—"Averey immediately stopped talking as she spotted the little boy lying on the ground. He frowned, rubbing his hands together to dislodge the bits of gravel stuck to him. "Ay, I'm sorry." She hurried over to the little boy and put her hands under his arms, helping him to his feet. "You ok?"

"Yeah," the boy replied, looking up at her with hazel eyes. "I hurt my hands."

"Brady, I told you not to get in anybody's way," an Asian woman said, hurrying over to the boy, carrying a paper bag with one arm.

"My hands hurt," Brady repeated, shoving his palms into his mom's face. She glanced at his hands before she clicked her tongue, running her hand over his hair.

"Aww, you're ok, buddy," she said before reaching into the bag, pulling out a small Styrofoam container. "Nothing a brownie can't fix, right?" A wide smile blossomed on Brady's face before he grabbed the treat out of his mother's hands. "I'm sorry if he got in your way."

"It wasn't his fault," Casey explained, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder. "Some idiot pushed past us, and she bumped into him." The woman blinked, her eyebrows lifting.

"No worries," Averey added, waving her hand in the air, side stepping the mother and son. "I just hope I didn't hurt him."

"He's going to be ok," the woman said with a laugh as she watched Brady take a large bite of the brownie. She put her hand on his shoulder, starting to guide him down the street. "We better get going. Thank you for helping him."

"Bye," Brady said around a mouthful of food, waving his small hand in the air.

"Bye, sweetie," Averey replied, giving a finger wave. She chuckled as she heard Brady say excitedly, "She called me sweetie" as he headed down the street in the opposite direction. "And people say Aussie's are rude. You'd think he was in a scrum or something."

"English please?" Casey asked.

Averey gave a sweet smile. "I was speaking English," she replied with a wink as they came up to a crosswalk. "I'll see you back at home, yeah? You sure you can make it all the way to work carrying that."

"Oh yeah, it'll be a good work out," Casey replied, adjusting the box in her arms. "As soon as I get in, I'll make sure to set up a meeting for you with Tina McGee, and the human resources director, Karla Davis, and I'll see if Gavin and Brent have any free time to meet up for lunch, too."

"Now I'll get to see what you do," Averey commented with as light a tone as she could. She held back a snort. And remember it, too.

All the whispers, hushed conversations, and changed subjects did get frustrating to deal with. Not that she didn't understand why it occurred. Her roommates were all scientists, working in a scientific field, there had to be plenty of things that she, and Mercury Labs, had to keep a tight seal on.

But this just gave her an odd feeling.

Even Cisco, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells at STAR Labs seemed more open to sharing with her their thoughts and ideas and what they could do to help her. For the first time in a while, she's met people who wanted to try and answer her questions and to understand what was going on in her life. It was exciting, but she was also worried about what they could figure out.

She wondered if they even knew the extent of the affects of the release of the dark matter and everything expelled into the air from the accident. Furthermore, if a run down, blacklisted laboratory could be that open to doing everything they could to help her, who knew what Mercury Labs could do with their technology?

"Yeah," Casey agreed with a nod of her head, "I guess you will." Her gaze shifted towards the street lights and she cleared her throat. "Let's hope the place is as interesting to you as you are in it." Her eyebrows twitched upwards just slightly. "And STAR Labs for that matter. What's gotten you so interested in them, anyway?"

Averey shrugged. "I just want to know more about what happened that night," she replied.

Casey huffed. "We already told you what happened," she said, adjusting the box under her arm, putting her free hand on her hip. "You were found knocked out on the side of the road and taken to the hospital. You had to stay for a week after you woke up to make sure you didn't have a concussion or anything else wrong. Then you answered our ad in the paper looking for a roommate and you moved in." She threw her hand in the air. "Anything else you'd like to know?"

"What's got your knickers in a knot?" Averey asked, taken aback at the sudden change in her friend's demeanor.

Casey pressed her lips together into a tight line for a moment before she relaxed them. "Sorry," she apologized, albeit stiffly. "It's just that they're Mercury Labs' competition." She put an apologetic smile to her face. "I haven't had any coffee this morning so I'm a bit cranky."

"I'd deliver some to you," Averey said, shifting her gaze to the building behind her roommate. She focused her vision onto the large clock face sitting on the side of the building. 9:27. "But, I'm already going to be late enough as it is."

She and Casey bid each other farewell before splitting off in two directions, heading towards their respective jobs. Averey flew through the doors of Jitters, the bell overhead chiming, signaling her appearance.

"You're late," Iris said as she hurried around the counter. Averey quickly clocked herself in and reached for her apron from the line of hooks hanging on the wall. In its place, she folded up her sunglasses and carefully set them down on the hook before tying her apron around her waist. "Tracey covered your shift so far. We had a big breakfast rush. It wasn't a pretty sight."

"And I'm sure I'm going to get an earful of it later," Averey muttered, her upper lip curling just slightly as she thought about it. "It's creepy how she can admonish you with a smile." She shuddered just slightly. "It's like my mum."

"Tracey's not that bad," Iris said with a laugh as she handed a customer their change before pushing a plate holding a scone towards them. She then wiped the palms of her hands off on her apron before giving Averey a smile. "Here I thought Barry was the only one who was capable of being late."

"Barry couldn't be on time even if you super glued a giant clock to his arm." Averey looked over at the young woman she just noticed was sitting at the end of the counter, one leg crossed over the other. She looked up from her cell phone, tossing her light blonde hair over her shoulder, contrasting with her light brown skin. "Heck, glue one to both arms and maybe he could catch flight and fly faster."

"Ah, Caramel Macchiato," Averey said, nodding in the girl's direction before moving to create her usual drink. "Pleasure seeing you again."

"I prefer Sage, actually," the girl replied, giving Averey a smile over her shoulder as she shopped down off the counter, sliding her phone into her back pocket. She rested her arms on the counter, with a smile.

"I don't think I've introduced you," Iris said, motioning towards the girl. "This is my cousin, Sage." Iris angled her head in Averey's direction. "This is Averey."

"The blogger," Sage said with a nod of her head. "Great article on Jitters; it certainly sticks to its name."

"This coming from your…what is it? Three coffee a day habit?" Iris asked with a snort.

"Only when I have exams," Sage protested. "Otherwise, it's two." Averey set her freshly made drink down onto the counter before grabbing the bottle of caramel, squeezing a patterned design on top of the white foam. "A little more, please."

"Any more and you'll really get Jitters," Eddie commented with a deep laugh as he stepped up behind Iris's cousin. Averey pressed the top of Sage's to-go cup on, sealing it, before pushing it towards her as Eddie leaned over the counter to give Iris a quick kiss in greeting.

Averey blinked in surprise at the sign of affection, looking back and forth between the two of them. "It's gross, right?" Sage asked, grasping her coffee. "In a nice way, of course. They're so sweet together. Should've seen Uncle Joe's reaction when he found out she was dating Detective Pretty Boy."

"Detective Joe West?" Averey repeated, her eyes widening. Eddie and Iris glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes as if silently prompting the other to speak. Averey got a good look at Iris. "I can see the resemblance."

"Could you put more caramel on this, actually?" Sage asked, lifting an eyebrow as she reached for her wallet. She tossed her cousin a sweet smile. "The extra sugar could get me out of here faster than the Flash."

"Speaking of which," Averey said, quickly jumping on to the topic, setting her attention on Iris as she took Sage's money. She moved towards the cash register, tapping her fingers against the touch screen buttons. "Iris, it seems like a lot more people have been sending in sightings of the Flash."

"It's nice to know some people believe in him," Iris said with a tight smile, her gaze shifting over towards Eddie.

Eddie let out a sigh through his nose. "I just don't think we're getting all the answers about this guy as we can," he explained. "We don't know what he's capable of. Black coffee with a spoonful of sugar, please?" Iris gave a nod of her head before going to make his drink.

"Are you trying to get him arrested too?" Averey asked, giving Eddie a pointed look. She handed Sage her change before setting her hands down onto the counter, taping her fingers on the top. "Isn't it normally protocol for cops to have all the details first?"

"For the thousandth time, I'm sorry," Eddie said. Averey watched his jaw tighten, a muscle in his side twitching, hidden under the stubble on his jaw. "I was just doing my job and following what I had been trained to do."

"You were actually arrested?" Sage asked, smacking her lips after she had taken a sip of her coffee. Her hazel eyes widened as she leaned forward across the counter. Averey leaned back just as far. "Were you put in jail? Fingerprinted? Mug shot?" She gasped. "Dude...do you have any tattoos?"

"Sage!" Iris said, setting Eddie's coffee down onto the counter. He grasped it with one hand, reaching for his ringing cell phone for the other.

Sage put her hands up defensively, straightening her posture. "I have to get going or I'm going to miss the bus to my first class," she announced. She lifted her coffee cup into the air as she headed towards the door. "Worth the wait."

Eddie reached for his phone as it rang. After a quick conversation, he hung up, a serious look crossing his face. "Gotta go," Eddie said with a sigh, sliding his phone back into his pocket. He quickly paid for his drink."Duty calls; bank robbery." He gave Iris a gentle smile. "Thank you. We'll talk later?"

"Of course," Iris replied, giving him a smile in return. "Be careful, ok?"

"I will." Eddie gave a nod in farewell before hurrying out the door.

Iris bowed her head for a moment. "I don't understand why he thinks the Flash could have ulterior motives," she said quietly. "He's helping us, helping the city."

"People are afraid of what they don't understand," Averey replied with a shrug. Iris swung her head around to face her, lifting her eyebrows in a "Are you taking his side?" kind of way. Averey briefly closed her eyes. "He just wants answers. You can't blame him for that and it's not asking for much." How many times had she said those same words to her own mom?

"I guess," Iris muttered.

Averey grasped the abandoned bottle of caramel, setting it in the basket with the whipped cream and chocolate syrup. A bright yellow light bouncing off of the shiny metal espresso machine caught her attention. Reflected in the shiny surface was a shimmering figure with glowing red eyes standing out against crackling lighting of a deep red color.

With a gasp, she quickly turned around…to face the patrons of the coffee shop. Nothing out of the ordinary. She looked back at the espresso machine, but nothing was there. The soft sunlight reflected a warm glow, but nothing red.

"Hey, are you ok?" Iris asked, stepping up beside her. Her lips were pulled downwards into a frown of concern. "You look a little pale." Averey nodded her head, pushing forward the best smile she could muster. "Maybe you should go sit down for a minute. You really don't look well."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Averey gave a nod of her head before making her way to the break room in the back. She dropped down into an empty chair and ran her hands over her face. It was just the sunlight. That's all. Averey sat with her hands over her face for a moment before dropping them into her lap, trying to get herself to relax.

She certainly wasn't the only one on edge today. That gave her a small sense of comfort, but what were the odds of everyone being off, or short with each other, on the same day? In fact, she hadn't ever really seen Casey short tempered until that morning. Sure, Averey could admit that perhaps she was pressing the subject of her roommate's mail and work life more than she should. But, not enough to warrant a half-answer. If she could even call it that.

Averey glanced back at the door before removing her cell phone from her pocket. "Now that I have some time," she said to herself, quickly unlocking her phone. Tapping the Google search bar, it opened and she quickly typed in 23rd Magnolia Street, Metropolis, Kansas. A list of results instantly popped up and Averey pulled her phone closer to her face, narrowing her eyes slightly. They all pointed her to one place.

"Belllly Reeevay?" she quietly asked, holding out the words as she tried to correctly pronounce the syllables. She switched over to Google translate and typed in the words, and the page loaded quickly indicating that it was French. "Wish I learned another language." She tapped her thumb to hear the pronunciation. Belle Reve?

"Averey."

A low humming sound filled the air, surrounding the harsh whisper of her name. A shiver rolled down Averey's spine, goosebumps lifting on her arms. She slowly lifted her gaze from the phone, and nearly knocked her chair over in her haste to scramble away from the glowing red eyes hovering in front of her. Her hair was suddenly whipped around her face as it moved with a blur of red lightning to the corner of the break room.

"Averey."

Averey's lips trembled, her breaths coming out shaky. Her phone dropped to the floor as she clutched the arm rests of the chair. "You're not here." Averey swallowed thickly, shaking her head back and forth. "You're not here." She slapped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut, pulling her knees up to her chest. "You're not here."

"Where is he?"

Averey flinched, as the harsh voice, and the low hum surrounded her, pressing on her ears from all sides. And then it stopped. Averey slowly lowered her hands, lifting her head. The break room was empty; she was the only one in the room. She slowly lowered her feet to the floor, looking into every corner of the room. A long sigh, rushed past her lips as she slumped in her seat.

"You're just imagining things, Ave," she said to herself, running her hands over her face. "Just like mum always said. There's nothing there."

A/N: And the start of the Flarrow episodes. It's back to the STAR Labs team real soon. Sorry for the wait. Thank you for checking out my story.