A/N: Back with another! Hoping to have chaps for this one up faster from here on out. Enjoy!

*Many thanks to sendtherain for beta'ing.

Chapter 8 -

The timer on Iris' phone went off at 5:50pm that evening. She groaned and looked at Linda, who was folding a glimmering shirt filled with sequins and setting it on a pile of identical ones on the table in the middle of the room.

"It's time?"

"Do I have to go? Can't I stay with you?"

Linda chuckled. "I'd take you in a heartbeat, Iris West. I told you as much earlier today."

Iris sighed and let her head fall into her arms on the counter.

"No, I should go. I don't want to have to make up an excuse to Henry and Nora."

"Oh, Henry and Nora, huh?" Linda asked, amused.

Iris frowned. "Yeah…"

"Not just the Allens anymore," she grinned.

Iris cringed. "I guess not. They're just so friendly and casual and laid back, and I'm pretty sure they've decided I'd make a great mother to their grandchildren."

Linda laughed. "They were like that with me too. Don't worry about it. They'll get over it when you leave."

Iris got up. "Do they still like you, or do they hate that you and Barry broke up?"

"Oh, they still like me well enough. They're not as over the top friendly now that they know I won't be bearing their future grandchildren, but they're still nice people."

"I…see."

"You wonder if their kindness to you is genuine, is that it?"

Iris shrugged. "Barry accused me of being fake with them, of being so nice when I wasn't to him. But I was just nice to them because they were nice to me. Or so I thought."

"Hey, don't misjudge Henry and Nora. They're as genuine and as sweet as they come across, and they'll remember you just as you think they see you now. After you leave, they'll miss you. And if you come back-"

"I'm not coming back."

"If you do, they'll be happy to see you. I promise."

Iris forced a smile. "Okay, thanks."

Linda glanced at the clock. 5:55pm.

"Come on, I'll walk you back."

Iris rolled her eyes but got up and headed for the front of the store.

"Yes, God forbid I be late to his majesty's pick-up truck."

Linda chuckled. "It won't be that bad…" Iris shot her a look. "I hope."

"After what happened this afternoon, you really think-"

Linda sighed. "I don't know. That was so out of character for him. I know you told me the first impression both of you got of each other wasn't great, but for him to flip his switch and hold it against you for so long. Well, I guess it's not that long. It's only been a day and a half." She contemplated that. "Still, though."

Iris stepped outside the shop and waited for Linda to lock up.

"I'm glad to see the outfit you decided to go with by the way."

Iris glanced down.

"Yeah, I really like it."

"Trying to impress somebody?" She smirked.

"If you're suggesting Barry, not in the slightest. Maybe Nora… Though I don't know if she could appreciate this style."

"Oh, she does. Barry picks up something from my shop for her every Mother's Day."

Iris' eyes widened.

"It's true," Linda said. "Even Nora has a bit of bling in her wardrobe."

The girls laughed and continued down the block.

"Oh, puppies," Iris cooed as they passed the pet shop.

Linda chuckled. "You want one?"

"Please. I wouldn't know the first step in taking care of a dog. But there's no harm in petting a puppy, is there?"

"I've got one at home. So does Barry, for that matter. I bet he'll bring him to the festival on Wednesday. He likes to show him off in public."

"Does he now…"

"It's a retriever, if you were wondering," Linda said, and the most adorable look crossed Iris' face.

Linda laughed. "You'll have to ask him about him in your ride back to Henry and Nora's tonight."

Iris sighed. "No, thank you. There's just no point in talking to that man unless you want to get into a fight."

Linda looked at her sympathetically. "You're going to sit in silence the whole way?"

"Don't you think he'll do the same thing?"

Linda shook her head.

"After this afternoon, I just don't know. But I hope you two can work things out. You don't want to leave this town with a chip on your shoulder, especially since you already showed up with one, am I right?"

Iris tensed, then realized Linda must've been referring to her anger at Barry the second she arrived.

"Right. Yeah. I don't know. It's only Monday. Can't I hold onto my grudge a little longer? Especially since Barry is doing nothing to make amends either?"

"Nothing? He hasn't apologized or anything?"

"He thinks I'm in the wrong. It hasn't even occurred to him that he might be to blame."

"And you?"

Iris scoffed. "I didn't do anything wrong. If he had just-"

"I know. I know. You told me."

She sighed. "He is cute, though." Linda's eyes widened. "And I absolutely hate him for it."

Linda was about to say something, but they rounded the last block and nearly bumped into Cisco who was closing up his shop for the night.

"Oh! Excuse me, Linda." His eyes shifted away. "Iris."

"You're closing up now?" Iris scoffed, and Linda shot a look at her, which she naturally ignored. "What about if people need a ride in the middle of the night?"

"People don't usually," he said cautiously. "Everything's pretty much in walking distance and everyone helps each other out if someone is stranded. It's the neighborly thing to do."

"So why have a cab business at all? Did you not excel at anything else?"

Cisco's jaw dropped and so did Linda's.

"Iris."

Suddenly aware of the line she'd crossed, Iris cleared her throat and took a step back. But she didn't apologize.

"Is Barry still in the auto shop?"

Cisco nodded hesitantly.

"Great." She turned to face Linda. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah…sure."

"Great." She took a deep breath and headed across the street. "Here goes nothing."

…

Barry took a different route to his parents' house than Cisco had taken the night before. There were still a few bumps, but overall it wasn't bad. He didn't turn on some Godawful country music either, and the windows were down instead of the AC being on, which Iris preferred. She liked her hair blowing in the wind. Her bag tucked between her leg and the console; the ride was almost stress free.

Until Barry Allen decided to open his mouth.

"So…" His fingers clenched on the steering wheel, making Iris stiffen beside him. "How was the rest of your day?"

Better since you weren't in it, she wanted to say, but she held her tongue and offered a shrug instead.

"Fine."

"Did you spend it with Linda?"

"I did."

"Have fun reliving our go-to spots when we were dating?" he asked, sounding very high and mighty.

She pursed her lips tightly.

"Not as much fun as you had yelling at me about it this afternoon."

He glanced over at her and scoffed.

"I did not yell."

"You were disrespectful and rude, and you know it."

He scoffed, about to speak again but she cut him off.

"Even Linda was upset. She said it wasn't like you at all. But maybe it's exactly like you, and you've just been pretending with every person in this town that you've met."

His jaw clenched.

"You seem to know a lot about me."

She rolled her eyes and set her arm on the windowsill.

"I just know what I see, and you're as two-faced as you claim I am."

"I am nothing like you. Don't even start comparing the two of us, because-"

"Why do I bother you so much?" she spat. "I'm doing literally nothing, and I'm only upset because you think I have some devious plan to deceive your parents or that I won't apologize for something you got me upset over."

His jaw dropped.

"This can't be just about what happened yesterday afternoon."

"It is."

"You weren't listening to me worth a damn."

"And you thought I didn't know anything just because I was a girl driving a fancy car in fancy shoes in the middle of nowhere."

He shot her a look.

"Well, you were wrong."

"You did know what was wrong with your car?" he asked dubiously.

"Of course not, but you didn't have to get all judgy just because-"

"I was not judgy." He held up his hand. "Okay, you know what? Forget it. We're obviously not going to get along ever. So let's just be civil with my parents and try to deal with each other the best we can at the festival."

"You don't have to worry about the festival anymore."

"Oh, yeah? Why not? You're going to change into an entirely different person?"

For some reason, Iris felt tears starting to surface.

"No," she ground out.

"Then what?" he demanded.

"I'm going with Linda. You won't have to see me at all."

"I come over for dinner every night. Therefore, I have to see you every day."

"Will you just stop? You know, just because you hate me doesn't mean I like hearing about it."

"How could I hate you? I don't even know you!"

"I don't know you either, but somehow we manage it!"

He let out a harsh exhale and ran his hand over his face.

"Why don't we just stay quiet the rest of the drive."

She laughed humorlessly. "Sounds like an excellent idea to me."

So, the drive continued for another 20 minutes in silence. Iris looked out her window and Barry looked straight ahead through the windshield. In another 10 minutes, they'd be at the bed and breakfast and rid of each other. Barry had relaxed somewhat during the silence, but Iris had only gotten more tense.

"Pull over," she said suddenly.

"What?" He looked over at her.

"Pull over. I'm walking from here."

He snickered. "In those shoes? And that outfit? You'll fall over in seconds and be eaten alive by mosquitoes."

"Just pull over!" she demanded.

Reluctantly, he did what she asked but made sure to lock the doors. Iris didn't even try to open her door when she heard the click.

"You want to talk again?" he asked sarcastically, but his face suddenly dropped when he saw the tears in her eyes as she turned to look at him.

"No," she said. "I don't want to talk."

He didn't know what to say. He didn't know she was capable of any truly emotion, but here it looked like he'd made her cry. Unless this was just another trick to possibly turn his parents against him. Maybe that was just her next move.

"Please unlock the door, Barry."

Her voice was soft, gentle, vulnerable.

He did as she requested.

"Thank you," she muttered and pushed her door open.

"Wait," he said, just as she was about to step out.

She sighed, wiped away one tear and forced herself to face him.

"What?"

Taking a breath, he met her eyes steadily.

"I'm sorry."

She blinked, not having expected that. She frowned, and then as quickly as the tears had come they dried up. Her lips parted, and he thought maybe she'd apologize too. Maybe they could put this all behind them. It was exhausting to say the least, and it was so unlike him to hold a first impression against anyone.

But he never could have expected what happened next.

Iris lunged forward, gripped the sides of his face, and kissed him. His instincts went into overdrive, and he kissed her back, deepening the kiss almost immediately, sifting his fingers through her hair and pulling her closer.

Then suddenly she pulled back, breathing heavily just as he was.

"What…What was that?" Barry asked.

She swallowed.

"I just…wanted to know what it was like to…to kiss you."

His eyes widened. "And?"

"I…"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

He crossed the threshold and brought her back to him, kissing passionately and wildly, and Iris moaned, overwhelmed by the sensation of his lips on hers and his fingers in her hair. And God, she had never felt so alive.

That was until their shifting around brought Barry's elbow hard on the steering wheel and the horn went off loudly.

They broke apart, and reality came crashing down.

They looked at the wheel that had gotten the pressure lifted off of it immediately, and then each other, and took in how hard they were breathing.

"Iris…"

She turned away to see that where they'd pulled over was just in sight of his parents' place.

"I should go. We should go."

She stumbled out of the car with her bag and strutted towards the house.

"Iris, wait!"

He opened his door and ran after her.

"Iris!"

"What? We have to meet your parents for dinner, and – actually, you know, I'm not feeling well anymore. I think I'll skip out."

"What? Why? Because we kissed?" He looked exasperated when she spared him a glance, running his hand through his hair and looking unbearably cute.

She stopped, and he stopped with her, looking at her as if she was the reason science made sense, and she couldn't understand how one kiss had completely changed his outlook on her.

She licked her lips.

"Drive your truck up, Barry. You don't want it to be parked so far back when you leave."

He looked at her confused, then looked back at his truck, and when he went to look at her again, she was already going up the steps to his parents' house and looked to be apologizing for her imminent absence from the dinner table. His mother looked concerned and to be assuring her that it was fine.

Grudgingly, Barry went back to his truck, drove it up to the house and put it in park.

"Hello, darling," Nora said when she greeted him at the door.

"Mom," he returned, leaning down so she could kiss his cheek. "Do you know what's wrong with-"

"Iris? She said she had an upset stomach and was going to bed early. Do you know why?"

He sighed and looked inside the house to where Iris was disappearing up the stairs.

"I have no idea."