The first thing Barry Allen heard when he walked into the choir room on September 4th, 2012, was; "They said Rachel Berry was the group's undisputed star, so, really, the only question is: Which one of you is the new Rachel?" Which was answered with three 'I am's' from Blaine, Tina, and Brittany, who were behind Artie. Jacob Ben Israel, the kid who asked the question, looked at the camera awkwardly before turning to Barry and Finn, who had just entered the room.

He walked up to the two, and positioned the microphone in front of Barry. "Is it true that you, sophomore Barry Allen, are co-captaining the New Directions alongside alumni Finn Hudson during Mr. Schuester's absence?" Jacob asked.

"WHAT?!" Tina exclaimed. "WHY IS HE THE CO-CAPTAIN?!"

"I mean, it's kind of obvious Tina," Blaine said.

"Thank you Blaine," Barry said before giving Tina a hurt look. He turned to Jacob. "Yes. It is true that I will be co-captaining the Glee Club alongside Finn. Mr. Schue's eight month absence will be a first for the club, but Finn and I are sure we'll make it to Nationals again this year," Barry said. "No further questions," Jacob sighed, before guiding the camera man out of the room.

"Congratulations," Blaine said as he shook Barry's hand. "Can't wait to see ya at tryouts,"

"Same," Barry said as the three seniors left the room, leaving Barry and Finn to themselves just as the bell rang. "I got lunch, see you for auditions," Barry said before sprinting out of the room.

He made his way into the cafeteria, finding himself staring directly at a table beside one containing Artie, Tina, Blaine, Unique Adams, Sugar, Kitty Wilde, and two football players. At this table was one person. Marley Rose. He approached from behind her, conjuring a rose behind his back as he peered over her shoulder. He grinned excitedly as he saw her draw over a dozen blue lightning bolts in her notebook. Apparently saving her made a huge impact.

"Marley Rose?" He asked. She stood still, as if not hearing him, before looking up. He then called for her again. She turned around, facing him directly.

"Umm...hello?" Marley asked.

"I wanted to give you this," Barry said, holding out the rose as he motioned towards the seat. She carefully took it, slightly blushing as she nodded. "I see you're a fan of the Flash,"

"Y-Yeah. He saved me last night," Marley said. "Umm...are you here to make fun of me? Or…"

"No. No. I just saw you across the room, and thought. 'Wow, she's beautiful'. I thought I might come over and introduce myself," Barry said.

"Y-You think I'm b-beautiful?" asked Marley.

"Y -" Barry was interrupted by Blaine, who called him over to the table they were sitting at. "Barry! Come over here!"

"Umm, I don't mean to be that guy, but...I'm gonna see what they want and I'll be back," Barry said as he made his way over to the 'popular' table. "What's up Blaine?"

"Why don't you sit with us?"

"Because he's not a National champion, Blaine," Tina said.

Barry grimaced, his hands resting on the table as he bombarded Tina's mind with his memories of being continuously beaten by Darkseid. "You know EXACTLY where I was while you guys were at Nationals," Barry said as Tina winced in pain and sadness. "So don't act like I was doing jack shit,"

"Where were you Barry Allen?" Kitty asked. "Cause you sure as hell weren't holding the trophy,"

"Leave him alone Kitty," Blaine said.

"No. This cheeseball has the audacity to come to my table, and talk back to Trina," Kitty said.

"Tina," Tina corrected.

"Whatever. So, where were you Barry Allen?" Kitty asked.

"He was visiting his dad, who's in prison," Blaine lied. "His dad can only see visitors once a month, and Barry could only go during Nationals,"

"What did he do?" Kitty asked.

"Killed his wife," One of the football players said. "Apparently stabbed her in the chest,"

"HE DIDN'T DO IT!" Barry shouted, startling the New Direction's kids while the three jocks remained unphased.

"Sure looked like it," The other football player said. "Looked like your dad shoved that knife pretty deep,"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Barry shouted, picking the football player up by the collar, raising him up into the air. He contemplated phasing his hand through the bastards heart, but knew otherwise. "Barry!" The crimson comet turned to see Finn standing at the front doors, his hand outstretched in warning.

Barry dropped the kid, running out of the cafeteria before entering the choir room. He grabbed a chair, and threw it across the room, just narrowly hitting Marley, who had apparently followed him.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I should be asking you that," Marley said. "Are you ok?"

"Yes...No...Maybe," Barry growled as he kicked another chair across the room. "It just pissed me off. They don't know what they're talking about,"

"What happened to your mom and dad?" Marley asked.

"It doesn't matter," Barry said as he made for the door, only for Marley to grab his wrist. He sighed, "It was a long night. My mom had sent me to bed, and the next thing I know, the water in my fish tank suddenly levitated into the air. I heard my mom scream, so I ran downstairs to find my mom encircled in this ring of red and yellow lightning,"

"A speedster?"

"Two. One was a man in yellow, and I guess the other was fighting him," Barry said. "My dad tried to tell me to run, but suddenly I was twenty-three blocks away. By the time I got back, the man in yellow had killed my mom, and my dad was sent to jail for it,"

"Where did you go?"

"With my best friend Iris and her dad Joe. After three years, I moved here to Lima," said Barry.

"You're only a freshman?"

"Sophomore,"

"Dang. You look like a senior," Marley said, poking his muscular bicep before immediately folding her arms. "Well...what class do you have next?"

"Criminology,"

"Isn't that a class for seniors?" Marley asked.

"It is, but seeing as I'm a sophomore that took fifteen finals last year, and have 26 high school credits, I can graduate at the end of the year. I'm staying for electives, and the New Directions," Barry said. "I'm taking Criminology, Business Management, Culinary Arts, Trigonometry, and Forensic Science,"

"You're a jack of all traits aren't you?" Marley asked. "Wait, criminology and forensic science? Do you want to be a CSI?"

"That's the plan yeah,"

"And you said New Directions. Are you a member? I've been waiting for auditions all day," Marley said.

"In fact I am," Barry said as the bell once again. "Well, that's the bell. I guess I'll see you after school Marley Rose," Barry said, giving her another conjured rose before dashing out of the room.

Seventh Period

Barry, Finn, and Mr. Schue took a seat at the observation desk located in the seats of the auditorium, discussing the amount of people signing up, when a guy named Stoner Brett approached the stage. "This is going to be a long day," Barry whispered to Finn, who nodded.

After thirty auditions, Jake (Puckerman) entered the stage, singing a very good rendition of 'Never Say Never', which was cut short by Mr. Schue, much to Barry's annoyance.

Joe Hart auditioned as well, leaving the stage that was quickly filled in by Marley Rose. Who, because of the glaring spotlight, couldn't see Barry across the room. She sang a perfect rendition of 'New York State of Mind', which had Barry and Finn cheering and clapping.

At the end of the auditions, Mr. Schue sighed, before turning to Barry and Finn. "I think we should go with Joe and that Marley Rose,"

"I think Jake should be given a shot," Barry said. "I mean, he obviously has a short temper, but so did Puck, and even you Finn. And his song was really good,"

"I agree. I think we should go with him, Marley and Joe," Finn agreed.

"Ok, you guys are the bosses," Mr. Schue said as he circled Jake, Marley, and Joe's names. Barry typed up a list of names. Artie Abrams, Wade 'Unique' Adams, Blaine Anderson, Tina Cohen-Chang, Sam Evans, Sugar Motta, Brittany Pierce, Joe Hart, Jake Puckerman, and Marley Rose. He printed out the paper, and moved to the bulletin board, where he could see Marley and Jake were waiting.

He flashed the two of them a smile, before pinning up the paper. He then stepped back, grinning as Marley nearly ran into the board, searching for her name. When she saw it at the bottom, she smiled excitedly and ran off. Jake pushed passed Barry smugly, checking the list. "I got in," Barry heard Jake say, before the young man turned to Barry. "Umm...thanks. I saw you were up there. So…" Jake shook Barry's outstretched hand before walking off.

EIGHT PERIOD

Barry excitedly walked into the McKinley High School kitchen, patiently waiting for Millie Rose, his favorite teacher in the school already, to begin his culinary class. Sure, he was the only student, but that only meant he was able to have more in-depth training when it came to the art of cooking. He carefully set his bag down on the floor before hearing a loud shriek coming from the back room.

He made his way over to the doorway, grinning at the sight of Millie hugging Marley in excitement. No doubt Marley broke the news of getting into the New Directions. "Hmhm," Barry coughed, grinning happily as he leaned against the doorframe.

Marley turned, seperating from the hug as she gained a flustered look. "B-Barry?"

"Barry Allen," Barry told Millie, who nodded. Marley shook her head, gathering herself before she asked. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I'm in your mother's only culinary class," Barry said as he flipped a knife before catching it and pointing it at Marley. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh...I was telling my mom about me getting into glee club," Marley said. "Why were you the one to hang up the names? Why not Mr. Schuester or that Finn guy?"

"Because he's the co-captain Marley," Millie said.

"Co-Captain?!" Marley exclaimed. "How? You're only a sophomore! And...is that the only reason I got in?"

"What? No. No. Mr. Schue circled your name before Finn or I could say anything. You got in with pure talent. As for why I'm a co-captain...well. Mr. Schue is leaving for Washington D.C in two weeks, and he'll be staying for eight months, so he needed someone to take over. His first choice was Finn, and seeing as I majorly helped the team last year with organization and Mr. Schue's clear lack of respect for other people's talent, I was his second. He says he couldn't pick, so he made us co-captains, but I know he needed me to keep an eye on Finn," said Barry.

"But isn't Finn 19?" Marley asked.

"Yeah, but he feels like he doesn't have a purpose. So, my job is to make the next eight months an eye opener for him, and get the New Directions another Nationals win," Barry said.

"Ok...so...can you give me a hint what next week's lesson is?" Marley asked.

"Nope, what would be the fun in that?" Barry asked. "Oh, and because Figgins acts like I'm a god, I have the permission, as a 'teacher', I can give out detentions," Barry winked at Marley, who sighed before hugging Millie.

"See you around Barry," Marley called out as she waved goodbye. Barry waved back, before turning back to Mille, who was grinning.

"So, you gave her two roses," Millie said.

"Yes, I did," Barry responded.

"Why?"

"Because I like your daughter," Barry said. "She believed me," He then pulled out a list of supplies, and began working with Millie on making a cake.