Author's Note: Ahhhh I just spent the last, like, 15 minutes reading back over my AV High writing. It's really a dangerous thing to do. I could spend hours re-reading this thing XD
Sara, Iris, Thea, Laurel and Alex, also known as the Basketball Squad, were ready. It was the third game of the season, and they had about three more tricks and seven more maneuvers to try out than last game.
The past two games, the AV High Metahumans had dominated the competition. Just last game, they had scored 53 points. The "Basketball Squad" alone had gotten 48 of those aforementioned 53 points.
Today, they were playing against the Prometheus High School Savages. They didn't look all that savage to Laurel, the Meta's team captain, but they were certainly tall.
"Alright, Team!" Coach Marlise DeVoe called out. She had led the Metahumans to win the championship for the past three years, and she wasn't about to stop now. "Gather around, girls."
Her team tossed their practice basketballs away and walked over to her to hear their pre-game pep talk.
"Third game, ladies," Marlise said, looking hard at all off them. "Be ready, be prepared, and don't let the last two games wins make you cocky. Keep your focus." Then she smiled. "And have fun."
The girls grinned. Sara fist-bumped Laurel.
"What team are we?!" she yelled.
"Metahumans!" the other girls echoed.
"What team are we?!"
"Metahumans!"
"And what are we gonna do?!"
"Play some basketball!"
The girls let out loud cheers and ran onto the basketball court.
After the national anthem, sung by a member of the Meta's (a girl named Siobhan Smythe, who was also playing Mrs. Potts in the Beauty and the Beast production in a couple of weeks), both teams ran through the high-fives and started the game.
The Metas were up five and triumphant when one of the Savages got the ball. She quickly tossed it to her team mate, who jumped up in the air to grab it and then brought it down.
Straight down on Iris' head.
"Iris!" Thea gasped, turning from where she was blocking another girl as Iris collapsed against the ground.
Another voice, much louder, also cried Iris' name. "IRIS!" Barry Allen yelled, shooting to his feet. People sitting around him in the bleachers turned to stare for a moment, then looked back at the court.
The whistle blew. Sara ran over from defense and crouched beside her friend. "Iris?"
Iris groaned, rubbing her head. The sports medic hurried from the sidelines and onto the court. "Are you alright, young lady?" he asked seriously, helping Iris sit up with a hand on her back.
"She got hit in the head pretty hard," Sara said nervously.
"Why don't we go get you checked out," the medic said calmly, helping Iris to her feet. She followed him dazedly as he helped her off of the court and into the practice room.
Barry, still on his feet, made eye contact with Thea. She looked at him worriedly, and he leaned down grabbing his coat. He wished Joe was here. He had been called into a case about seven minutes before they were set to leave for Iris' game. Barry had still come, of course. He came to every game, and would continued to do so even if Iris tried out and got into a Varsity team next year and would have to travel all over to play.
By the time he made it to the bottom of the bleachers, the basketball game had restarted. Barry ignored the basket made by the other team, then the rebound by the Metas, and soon reached the hallway to the medic's office.
Dr. Palmer (who happened to be Ray Palmer's, a kid at AV High, dad) looked up.
"Um... hi," Barry said awkwardly, eyes on Iris. "I'm Barry Allen, Iris' boyfriend. Is she okay?"
"She will be fine, Mr. Allen," Dr. Palmer replied, handing Iris an icepack. "Unfortunately, however, Ms. West has a mild concussion and will not be able to play the rest of the season."
Iris' eyes went wide and she let out a gasp. "What? No- I have to play! I only do one season of sports- Please, Dr. Palmer..."
"I'm sorry, Ms. West," Dr. Palmer sighed. "But I'm afraid that it could be very dangerous for you to continue playing basketball this season. What if you got hit in the head again? That could risk a worse concussion or even brain damage."
Iris slumped, icepack dropping from her forehead.
Dr. Palmer turned to Barry. "Is Iris' father here?"
Barry shook his head. "Detective Joe West got called into the police department to deal with a new case just before the game. But I can easily take home any information and give it to him, and I can take Iris home."
Dr. Palmer hesitated, then nodded. "Alright then, Mr. Allen. Ms. West is not allowed to go to school or have any screen time for a week. If she is still getting headaches after that week, the period will go longer. She should be in a dark room most of the time, and not do anything too strenuous for her brain." The medic turned and grabbed a piece of paper. "I'm going to write this all down for you, as well as a prescribed medicine to help with her headaches, alright?"
Barry nodded, and he and Iris waited as Dr. Palmer wrote down all the information he had just given them.
A couple minutes later, Iris was taking her icepack and Barry's arm and they were walking out of the small doctor's office together. Thea and Laurel, who had been switched out for a few minutes for a water break, ran up to them. "Iris!" Thea gasped. "Are you okay?"
"I have a mild concussion," Iris muttered. "And I won't be able to play the rest of the season."
Thea's face fell dramatically, but Laurel just nodded. "Don't you worry, Iris," she said with a smile. "This happened to another girl last year, and she became the Team Manager. She still got to come to all the games and be apart of the team."
"She just couldn't play," Iris finished with a long sigh. "Thanks, Laurel, but I think I'm just going to go home for now."
She gave Thea a tight hug. "Tell Sara I say bye, okay? I'm not going to be seeing you guys for a week and I can't text."
Thea looked horrified. "Okay," she murmured. "We'll miss you, Iris."
Iris nodded let Barry herd her out of the basketball court. They arrived at Barry's car without bumping into anyone, and the second Iris' door closed, she burst into tears.
Barry unbuckled, got back out of the car and pulled Iris into a hug. Headache added to disappointment and she was inconsolable for a good five minutes. Barry held her tightly and kissed the top of her head over and over again, stroking her hair.
After she calmed down a little, Barry got her a tissue and she blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Then they loaded back into the car, and Barry drove them both home. He led Iris inside and got her another ice-pack for her head, before texting Joe. In a couple of minutes, Joe and Iris were on the phone and Iris had started crying again.
Joe told her he was on his way home before hanging up. Iris sniffled and wiped her eyes, and Barry sat down on the couch next to her. She buried into his chest and let out a sigh.
"Maybe you can play a spring sport?" Barry suggested softly. "Don't Thea and Sara do lacrosse?"
"I wouldn't make the team," Iris sniffled. "I'm not any good at lacrosse."
"Well, then, you and I will just have to go on runs together," Barry suggested. He did cross country and track (at different times of the year, of course), and was training to run a half-marathon that summer.
Iris tilted her head back, giving him a look. He took the hint and shut up.
Joe came home later and set Iris up with everything she would need for the next week. She wasn't looking forward to being cooped up in her room with nothing to do at all, but the meds she was given for her headache made her drowsy and she would probably just sleep most of the time.
By the time Barry got to school the next day, somehow word had managed to spread throughout almost the entire building that Iris West had a concussion. In some places, the details were morbidly out of proportion (with elements like brain damage and being permanently stuck at home), but that's what happens with rumors.
When Barry went to get books from his locker, he felt a bit like he was being swarmed by sharks. Thea and Sara came charging up to him. "Barry!" Sara all but yelled. "How is Iris? Is she okay? Is she going to be at school after her week is up? She doesn't have brain damage, does she? I heard that she has brain damage."
"She doesn't have brain damage, Sara," Thea said, rolling her eyes. "I told you that a million times."
Barry nodded awkwardly in agreement. "Yeah, she's- she's fine. I mean, she's disappointed, obviously. But she'll be okay. No brain damage."
Thea and Sara nodded vigorously, looking relieved. Barry swallowed, gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. "Am I... free to go, now?"
"Yes," Thea allowed. Barry hurried off with his books to go greet Caitlin, Cisco and Julian.
Thea sighed, exchanging mournful looks with Sara. AV High without Iris was going to be a boring place indeed.
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"Alright, girls, you've been uncomfortably skirting around each other all week, and it's starting to get on my nerves."
Both Maggie and Alex looked up, looked at each other, then quickly looked away. Laurel rolled her eyes. "What happened on Sunday? And, yes, Maggie, I know about Sunday. And, no, Maggie, I'm not offended that you didn't invite me."
Maggie Sawyer shut her mouth.
"Laurel, can you just drop it?" Alex muttered. She hadn't told anyone exactly what happened last Sunday with Maggie, except the brief details given to her mom. "I told you that nothing happened."
Maggie raised her eyebrows. Alex looked away.
"Like that! Right there!" Laurel exclaimed. The librarian looked over and raised her eyebrows, and Laurel groaned softly and lowered her voice. "You guys used to be so much fun to hang around with. Yes, we all knew there was the possibility that you would end up dating because you both like each other, but what happened?"
"No, Laurel, we don't," Alex snapped, spine straightening. "We don't both like each other. Just because we are two gay girls doesn't mean we have to like each other."
"I didn't say-"
"No, you didn't," Maggie said calmly. "But as I said to Alex on Sunday, I see our relationship as purely platonic. I just moved here, and I just ended a year and a half long relationship that I had with my girlfriend. What I'm looking for is friends, like you and Alex are."
Laurel's eyes widened. She looked at Alex, opened her mouth, and then shut it again. "Oh," she said softly, understand dawning. "I, um... yeah. Of course. I apologize if we didn't respect those wishes, Maggie."
Alex abruptly stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom," she muttered, hurrying out of the room and down the hall.
As she went, she banged into none other that Winn Schott.
"Hey, Alex," he greeted with one of his trademark grins. "What's up?"
Alex shrugged, shifting awkwardly on her toes. She wanted to get her bags and get out of the building before Laurel or Maggie came to look for her, and Winn was in her way.
Winn tilted his head. "Are you alright? Where are Laurel and Maggie?"
"Where are Kara and Cisco?" Alex shot back, drumming her fingers on her jeans. Maybe she could hurt Winn's feelings so badly that he would move and let her by.
Even as she thought that, she knew she couldn't. Winn was way too nice of a guy to hurt for no reason, and he also probably wouldn't even take anything she would say to hurt his feeling seriously. Unless she started talking about his father, of course, which she would never do.
"Erm..." Winn glanced over his shoulder and shrugged. "I dunno. I think they were going to hang out with Barry? He's been a little down without Iris around."
"Um, yeah, that's too bad," Alex said. "We're really going to miss her on the team this year."
Winn nodded and started to say something, but a voice made him look away from Alex and past her shoulder.
"Alex?" Laurel called, her voice echoing down the corridor.
Alex bit back a curse, looked around, and dragged Winn into an empty classroom. Laurel walked past, but she didn't see them and was soon disappearing around another corner.
Winn's eyebrows scrunched. He looked halfway in between confused and bemused, and leveled Alex with a look. "Trust me, you're not the only girl to drag me into an empty classroom, but I'm getting the feeling that you aren't looking to make out."
Alex pulled a face, wincing in disgust. "I would like nothing less, no offense."
"Offense taken."
"Which girls have pulled you into empty classrooms?" Alex questioned, trying to keep the subject off of why she had done just so long enough for her to make her escape.
Winn frowned thoughtfully. "Mmm... a girl named Lyra did, back when I was a Freshman," he said. "She was a senior. It was actually a little bit alarming. But!" He turned his gaze back to Alex and tried to stare her down. "Don't change the subject."
Alex sighed, sitting down on one of the desks. "Guilty," she admitted. "Look, I was just trying to get out of the building before Laurel or Maggie came to talk with me."
"Why?"
Alex groaned. "Are you always this nosy?"
When Winn only shrugged and gave her a half-smile, she realized that he wasn't taking the hint that she didn't want to talk.
So she did. She opened her mouth and she told Winn all of it. She hadn't realized she was basically unburdening all of her romantic drama on him until she found herself going back to the beginning of the year and explaining why Homecoming had made her think Maggie liked her. Winn listened quietly for the whole thing, even as Alex started crying (again), when she began telling him about that past Sunday.
"I was so embarrassed," she blubbered, putting her face in her hands and speaking through her fingertips. "If I had never said anything, it would have been a really great day. But I had to go and open my stupid mouth and now Maggie knows I like her and everything is all weird. And today Laurel picked up on it and asked and I just really didn't want to talk to her about all of this. And I definitely didn't want to talk to Maggie. Winn, I've ruined everything."
Winn patted her on the back. He had moved to sit next to her on top of the desk, and they were squished together so neither of them would fall off.
"I don't think you made a mistake, Alex," he said with a shrug. "You have to tell people how you feel. I learned that the really really really really hard way after I spent like half of my life falling in love with your sister."
He shrugged again, dropping his hand to his lap. " 'Cause there's, like, always a chance, you know? Maggie might have felt the same. You could have been right. And if you had never told her how you felt you would have lived every day knowing that you could have had more of a relationship. Regret isn't something you want to live with, ever."
"I'd rather that than a broken heart," Alex muttered disconsolately.
Winn shook his head. "No you wouldn't," he said softly. "Trust me; I tried. For, like, eight years."
Now it was Alex patting Winn on the shoulder. "Hey, you did the right thing, telling Kara how you felt..."
She trailed off, and realized what she had said. Winn raised his eyebrows. "And you didn't?"
Alex sighed, then gave him a half-hearted glare. "You're pretty good at this," she mumbled.
Winn laughed, and they switched shoulder patting roles one more time before he hopped off the desk. "I'm going to head home, okay?" he said, smiling at Alex. "Have a wonderful afternoon."
"Thanks, Winn," Alex replied, shaking her head. Just before he left the room, she called out. "Hey- you will find someone, you know that, right? Just keep doing what your doing. Some girl will come along eventually."
Winn shrugged. "Yeah," he sighed. "Same goes for you."
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Thea was surprised to see Roy Harper walking over to her table. He seemed to be very uncomfortable in his usual red hoody and jeans, stuffing his hands in his pockets and then crossing his arms and then running his fingers his hair before shoving his hands back in his pockets and starting all over again.
"Hi, Roy," Thea greeted with a bright smile. Sara was nudging her very obviously, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows before sending Roy an innocent smile. "What's up?"
"Look, so, um..." Roy cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. "I know it's been a pretty long time since you suggested that whole double-date thing with us and Leonard and Sara, but, um... My answer has changed."
Both Thea and Sara's eyebrows went up. Sara spoke first. "Wait, really? Oof, I'm going to have to tell Leonard that the double-date is back on again. All this change might blow his brains to bits."
Thea raised her eyebrow. "At lunch, Sara, really? Gross."
Roy smirked. "Yeah, well, take it or leave it. But if you guys want to go on a double date I'm not going to be the reason you don't."
Thea leapt to her feet, threw her arms around him, and pecked his cheek. "You, Roy Harper, are literally the best boyfriend ever."
Roy turned as red as his sweatshirt. "Um... um..."
"Take it while you can get it, man," Sara spoke up, smirking at the display. "One second she's going to be glorifying the ground you walk on, the next she'll be making you shine her shoes. Ooh, that was good."
Thea glared at her, and Roy made his escape. Once Thea sat back down, the rest of the table (which included Caitlin, Felicity and Kara, who had been siting with Iris, Thea and Sara more and more often after their sleepover) all leaned forward.
"Giiiiirl..." Kara murmured. "I am very impressed. It does not seem like it would be easy for you two convince either of them to go on dates."
"Leonard and I have been going on dates since before Thanksgiving break," Sara said casually, shrugging. The entire table gaped at her. "What? I didn't need to spread the news to the entire school. I don't care if people want to know or not, and I don't need everyone's opinions on our relationship."
"You could have told me!" Thea gasped, looking pained. "I'm your best friend."
"Best non-related friend," Sara corrected. "Laurel comes first. And she knew, by the way. My father, however... well, he doesn't, exactly? He knows we're hanging out, but... he doesn't know we're dating."
Thea gave her a hurt look, and Caitlin quickly intervened before things could escalate. "So, when are you going to tell him about the double date?"
Sara shrugged again. "Mm, maybe if I catch him after school today? He was pretty chill when I asked him last time. He basically just shrugged and agreed. Actually, that was when I asked him out. Or we kind of asked each other out?" She grinned. "Maybe a story for the next sleepover."
Felicity grinned widely. "I am down."
Thea still looked affronted. "I don't think I can wait until the next sleepover," she huffed. "Considering you've been covering up these very important details since before Thanksgiving Break!"
Sara laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "It really wasn't that exciting, Thea. We basically danced around each other for a good three minutes before he finally got up the nerve to actually ask me out. See? Wasn't exciting."
Thea huffed again. "I'm still offended," she proclaimed. "So offended, in fact, that I may just move tables."
Sara snorted, and a grin cracked Thea's face. Kara, Felicity and Caitlin exchanged relieved looks, glad that Thea wasn't actually mad anymore.
After school, as planned, Sara located Leonard. "Heeeey, dude," she greeted.
Leonard smiled and gave her a quick hug. "Hey yourself, Assassin. How was your day?"
She shrugged, and they walked together across the black top in front of AV High, towards the parking lot. It was a Wednesday, and neither of them had sports practice. "It was okay, I guess. A Wednesday. How was your day?"
"Pretty normal," Leonard agreed.
"Okay, so, get this," Sara said, glancing up at him. "Roy came up to Thea and Caitlin and Felicity and Kara and I today when we were sitting eating lunch together. Apparently, he's changed his mind about the double date."
Leonard pulled a face. "Oh, joy."
Sara looked up at him seriously. "You don't have to come. Just because you said yes before doesn't mean you have to say yes, now. It'd be good for Thea and Roy to have some alone couple time. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."
"Naw," Leonard shrugged. "I told you before: I'll go with you as long as I don't have to wear a suit. One: I don't own a suit. Two... I don't own a suit."
She raised her eyebrow. "Um... that's only one reason."
"But it's a solid reason," Leonard countered. "Anyway, tell Thea I'm in. It'll be good for my to get my butt out of the house some weekend and pretend to be a social person."
Sara nodded, smiling. "Alright, I'll give her a call tonight. I hope you like groupchats, because I am so starting one."
Shaking his head, Leonard watched Sara dart across the pavement and towards Laurel's waiting car.
Author's Note: AWWW I JUST LOVE WRITING COLDCANARY!
Also Winnnnn :D :D Okay lowkey this is such a perfect time to post this chapter considering what's been going on with Supergirl!