Caitlin was half way through her first semester of college. To the outside world, she probably came off as shy and timid. Something that was whole heartedly true, thank you very much. Her idea of a fun Friday night was in the library, completing assignments early, or sipping a double shot espresso. She probably deserved a plaque in her name for how many times she frequented the coffee shop on campus. She deserved a week's worth of free coffee at the least. When Caitlin wasn't in the library with her friends, she and Felicity were often in her dorm, working on one project or another. Well, Caitlin was working on one project or another; Felicity, on the other hand, was busy gushing about their school's lead quarter back, Oliver Queen. In fact, that's how she found herself one Saturday afternoon, listening to Felicity talk endlessly about him.
"I mean, did you see him make that touchdown last night?" Felicity asked, and Caitlin sighed, before shaking her head.
"No, I was in the library, remember? You were the one at the game," Caitlin reminded her, flipping a page in her text book. She found the passage she was searching, and poised her pen above her notepad, reading the passage thoroughly, before taking down a summary.
"Yeah, and it was one hell of a game, Cait," Felicity enthused. Caitlin couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend; trust Licity to be the one to get swept up into the sporty side of their school.
"Oliver invited us to the party tonight," Felicity dropped in casually, and Caitlin paused, shifting her eyes from her notepad to her friend.
"A party? Us?" Caitlin asked incredulously, and Felicity tsked.
"You said you wanted to try more things, Cait," she reminded her.
"Yeah, I meant two double shot espressos in one day; not a party with the entire football team," Caitlin said, voice oddly high pitched.
"Okay, one, you're talking to the point only dogs will be able to hear you, and two, no one should drink two double shots of espresso in one day," Felicity argued, and Caitlin sighed.
"Regardless of that, I'm not going to a party with jocks and frats," she stated, nose scrunching up in displeasure.
"Uh, yes, you are," Felicity said, folding her arms.
"Uh, no, I'm not," Caitlin argued back.
"Luckily for me, I already told Oliver we'd make an appearance, and you and I both know how much you hate letting people down," Felicity sang.
"Felicity!" Caitlin yelled.
"Oops," was the only reply, and it wasn't worth much.
XXXX
Caitlin couldn't believe she was leaning against the wall at some frat house party. What her mother would think was beyond her. She had lost Felicity within moments of getting to the house, and now found herself hiding out in the corner, sipping soda.
She kept stealing glances at her watch, counting down the seconds until she was back in her dorm, in bed. She knew that she could afford to take one night off from studying completely, so decided she'd spend the night binging The Walking Dead. She just had to wait it out until that point.
"Don't you look as out of place as teacher at a rock concert," came a voice, and Caitlin blinked, startled. She glanced around, and spotted a tall, brunette guy with striking green eyes smirking at her.
"Uh," she trailed off, unsure as what to say to such commentary.
"Word to the wise, don't stand in the corner at a frat party by yourself, sipping soda. You're practically screaming 'I don't belong here'," he continued, smirk still firmly intact.
"Noted," she muttered, slurping her drink just to irk him. He seemed fascinated by her attitude.
"I'm Barry," he said smoothly, and she shrugged.
"Again, noted," she replied, bored of the conversation already.
"Usually, it's polite to give one's name back," Barry said.
"Lesson in etiquette one oh one at a frat party? Fascinating, where do I sign up?" Caitlin asked, and he laughed.
"How about I get you a real drink, nameless girl?" Barry asked, but she shook her head.
"No, thank you," she replied stiffly. "I'm about to leave, anyways."
Just then, Felicity bounced her way up to them.
"There you are, Caitlin," she said, and Caitlin winced.
"Caitlin?" Barry repeated, smiling.
"The one and only," Caitlin muttered, before looking at her friend.
"You ready to go, Licity?" Caitlin asked hopefully, and the blonde girl nodded.
"Yeah, let's go," she replied. Caitlin pushed herself up from the wall, and walked passed Barry, who still wore that same smirk.
"I'll be seeing you around, Caitlin," he called, but she simply ignored him, and made her way out of the house and towards a street that didn't smell like stale alcohol.
XXX
A few weeks later found Caitlin back in the library late at night, studying for an upcoming biology test. She felt fairly confident about the material, but doing one more check wouldn't hurt. She was just starting to think longingly of a cup of coffee when one was pushed under her nose.
"You know coffee is not allowed in the library, Cisco," she murmured for the hundredth time.
"I don't know who this Cisco is, but I won't tell if you won't," came the reply, and Caitlin blinked She knew that voice. Looking up, she spotted Barry with his signature smirk. She sighed.
"Cisco is not you, and you're not him," she replied, scooting away from him a bit; Barry just took it in his stride and sat down at the table without an invitation.
"I'm trying to study," Caitlin hissed, affronted. Barry chuckled.
"One break surely wouldn't kill you, Cait," he said, and she narrowed her eyes.
"One, it's Caitlin. Two, we're not friends. Three, there's a rule against coffee in the library," she replied pointedly.
"One, I always give my friends nicknames. Two, I want us to be friends. Three, live a little," Barry smiled, and she rolled her eyes.
"Was there something I could help you with, then?" Caitlin asked, breathing deeply through her nose. It looked like the idiot wasn't going to go away on his own, and if she sped the process a long by acting like she was interested in whatever he wanted, then who was the wiser?
"I told you, I want us to be friends," he remarked, kicking his feet up on the table, and leaning his head into his hands. She hastily moved away the coffee before it spilled all over her books.
"I'm not in the market for new friends," she murmured, looking back at her book once more.
"You wound me, Cait," Barry chided, and she grit her teeth. Perhaps he sensed she was close to her breaking point, because he had the decency to stand up.
"First one's free," he said, before walking away.
It would be a few weeks before the second one wasn't.
XXXX
One wintry evening found Caitlin in line at the coffee shop with a terrible cold. She kept sneezing into her elbow, and her eyes were watery and itchy. Cisco had implored that she take a break from studying that evening, but she was anything if not stubborn. She was refilling on coffee to take back to her empty dorm, since Felicity had now started taking to going to Oliver's dorm.
"You're going to rub your nose off if you keep swiping at it with those tissues," Barry said, and Caitlin jumped; she hadn't even noticed him behind her in line.
"I'll live," she muttered.
"I don't know. Voldemort didn't have a nose and look what happened to him," Barry said. A surprised chuckle escaped Caitlin before she could catch it.
"You've read Harry Potter?" Caitlin asked through a thick head of snot.
"Watched the movies once or twice," came the reply.
"S'not the same thing," Caitlin mumbled, rubbing her nose with her crumpled-up tissue. It was finally her turn to order. When she had paid and got her coffee, she looked at Barry.
"Well, bye," she murmured, but he stilled her with a hand to her shoulder.
"I told you, the first one was free," he murmured, and she rolled her eyes.
"Let me just pay you back for the damn cup, then," she sighed, but he chuckled and shook his head.
"I'd much rather us just spend the evening together," he replied.
"Are you always so stubborn?" Caitlin demanded, taking a sip of her coffee.
"It's part of my charm." Barry had the audacity to wink.
"Or, part of your inflated ego. One of the two," Caitlin smiled.
"Again, you wound me, Cait," Barry said, clutching his heart. Caitlin smiled slightly.
"I've got to get back to studying," she murmured, rubbing at her nose yet again with her tissue.
"C'mon Cait, one night won't kill you. Live a little," he whispered, and Caitlin hesitated.
"What the hell," she muttered, before going to sit down at one of the tables. He sat down a few minutes later with his own coffee, and they spent the rest of the night, and well passed sunrise, just talking. Caitlin didn't think about her studies once.
XXX
Barry Allen became a constant in her life. When she pushed herself too hard with her studies, to the point that she got sick, he'd point blank prohibit her from studying anymore, and he'd show up to her dorm with take out, stating she got to choose what they watched on Netflix, if it wasn't another documentary.
When game night came by every Friday night, he coaxed her into going with him and Felicity, something she never thought she'd enjoy, but ended up liking. He encouraged her to go and get a normal sleep schedule, instead of living off coffee, stating it wasn't healthy for her heart or kidneys. She felt oddly touched that he looked out for her. She had never thought it, but he had slowly wormed his way into her life, and now, she couldn't imagine not being friends with him.
XXXXX
One night, after a particularly draining day of studying and irate professors, Caitlin was back in the coffee shop. Her bag was slung over her shoulder, and she had a pounding headache. She wasn't even sure if she was going to make it to the counter, she was so exhausted.
"Take a seat, I'll get your coffee," came his voice, and Caitlin didn't even jump; she was half expecting him to show up right about now. She nodded gratefully and went to a table, and sat down.
He came over a moment later with two steaming cups of coffee, and she took hers' with a word of thanks.
"What do you have to study tonight?" Barry asked softly, and she sighed.
"Can…can we just stay here instead?" Caitlin asked hopefully.
"Why, is Caitlin Snow actually the one asking to skip a night of studying? I must've corrupted you," he teased, and she smiled warmly.
"Something like that," she mouthed, hesitantly tracing her fingers against the back of his palm. He smiled, and flipped his hand over, before interlocking their fingers together. She smiled hesitantly at him, and he returned it.
"Knew you couldn't resist my charm for long," he said knowingly.
"Or, your ego. One of the two," she countered with a chuckle.
They shared a chuckle, and just spent the night talking, studies far from mind. And, Caitlin would be the first to admit that not everything about college had to revolve around her studies. And, she owed that all to Barry and his determination to be her friend. It was simply easy being his friend. She was good at it. And, that was enough to keep her moving forward for a long time to come.
Author's note: Prompt I got about one of them corrupting the other. This was my take on it. Hope you like it. Prompts accepted in the comments. XOXO