A/N: So I saw that most of you were like very happy to see Cisco come into the picture! I haven't planned to let him stay long (the guy has a job to get back to, unlike Caitlin) but I'll see what I can do. And it means a lot that you also like Charlie, considering he's a creation of my imagination :)

To everyone who wondered if the picture I described in the previous chapter was the one from Grant and Danielle on set: Yup, that's the one! It's so cute, I just had to put it in there (it's also on the cover of this fanfic).

I'm also very glad to see fellow One Tree Hill fans in my reviews, I love it! :D

I don't own anything ;)

Chapter 7. Long Live

"I said remember this feeling
I pass the pictures around
Of all the years that we stood there
On the side-lines wishing for right now
We are the Kings and the Queens
You traded your baseball cap for a crown
When they gave us our trophies
And we held them up for our town
And the cynics were outraged
Screaming, "This is absurd!"

Cause for a moment a band of thieves
In ripped up jeans got to rule the world"

"Long Live – Taylor Swift"

[10 Years Ago]

Caitlin picked up her phone as it rang for the third time. "Hello?"

"Hey Cait, sorry for bothering you," Barry's panicked voice replied, "I know you wanted to study but I really need your help right now."

"Barry? What's going on?" Caitlin asked, suddenly very worried for her boyfriend, dropping the pen she had in her hand on her desk.

"What colour is your prom dress?" He inquired very seriously.

"Wh… What?" Caitlin stuttered.

Barry let out a small huff of annoyance. "Your dress. For our prom. What colour is it?"

"Hum… Why?" She frowned.

"Well, because we need to match, silly." He chirped, his anxiety momentarily disappearing. Not for long though as he continued speaking with a strained voice. "I'm at the store right now to pick out a suit and I have no idea what you're going to wear."

"Oh because we're going together, are we now?" Caitlin asked playfully, raising her right eyebrow even though he couldn't see her.

There was a long pause on the other side of the line. "Damn it!" Barry suddenly swore and she could hear him face-palming himself. "I forgot to ask you, didn't I?"

Caitlin giggled and rolled her eyes. "Yup."

"Arrg, I'm so dumb! How could I forget?" He berated himself. "Well I think it's pretty obvious that I want to go with you, since you're my girlfriend and all of that…"

Caitlin's heart swelled, at the sound of him calling her his girlfriend. Sure they had reached their 2 years anniversary, but it still did funny things to her heart. And she wouldn't give anything to make it stop

"But I still wanted to ask you in a special way…" Barry continued. "I guess I just got caught up with high school and the track team and…"

"Barry." Caitlin softly cut him off. "Don't worry. Of course I'll go with you. Now I really need to go back to my chemistry protocol."

"Yeah sure, I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot." Barry mumbled.

"True." Caitlin admitted and heard him groan. "But you're my idiot and I love you."

She heard him sigh in contentment – as if he was relieved to hear her say that – and her heart fluttered again.

"Oh and by the way, my dress is dark blue." She added with a huge grin on her lips.

Barry glanced at the dark blue suit he had picked up before calling her and a matching grin appeared on his lips. "Cool, thanks Cait. I love you too. Good luck with chemistry."

"Thanks. See you later, knucklehead."

"Wow, your high school is awesome!" Cisco gasped as soon as they stepped inside the building.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if you forget all about puberty, cheerleaders, jocks, nerds and bullying…" The young doctor groaned. "High school is such a messy time when everyone is looking for themselves and, most of the time, it's not very pretty."

Cisco frowned. "I thought your experience wasn't that bad…"

"Well, I was the biggest nerd ever, always studying, always sitting in the front row, never missing a single class…" Caitlin shrugged, while soothing away a few creases from her red dress. "But I had my few friends with me so I guess it was okay."

"Not to mention, but you were dating a guy from the track team." Cisco commented with a grin.

A small smile crept up on Caitlin's lips. "True, but that didn't make me popular either. Barry was a nerd too."

"Seriously?" The young engineer sounded surprised.

"Uh-huh." Caitlin nodded, her smile still in place. "Less than me, of course, but still… It's not because you're an athlete that you become popular right away and get rid of your dorky side. He did get me out of my books more often, though."

Cisco chuckled but didn't add anything. Caitlin had never shared much about her childhood and her teenage years, but he had known the basic stuff like where she grew up and the name of the guy she had dated. She had been pretty cold and distant ever since she had lost Ronnie. It felt good to discover more about her, to see that she was willingly sharing all of this with him. He couldn't help but think it was the first step towards healing.

They walked along the corridors, following the red and white balloons, hanging on the walls and on the lockers, representing the colours of Ryker Neve High School. Soon, they stepped through doubled doors and arrived where the welcome committee was. Caitlin recognised some of the people and immediately groaned when she saw who was sitting at the welcome table.

"Well well, if it isn't Caitlin Snow?" Said the woman at the table.

Caitlin plastered her best fake smile on her face and greeted the woman back. "Hi Lexie. This is my plus one." She gestured towards Cisco, waiting for their nametags.

Lexie LaRoche had been Caitlin's childhood nemesis. She had turned Caitlin's elementary school years into hell, always putting gum in Caitlin's hair just for fun. Lexie had lost interest in Caitlin as soon as they had gone to middle school and then high school, to Caitlin's utter relief. Lexie had always been attracted to popularity and boys. And seeing her there, at the welcome table from their high school reunion, didn't really surprise Caitlin. That girl probably never managed to move on from her teenage years, not finding the same fame in the real world.

Lexie eyed Cisco from head to toes and raised a smug eyebrow accompanied by a smirk on her lips. Everything about her behaviour was judgemental. Slowly, she took two nametags from her table and handed them towards the two scientists.

She looked at Caitlin with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "You know, I didn't get any wedding invitation. I'm wounded, Caitlin." She put a hand to her chest in fake hurt.

Caitlin flinched. She had always hated Lexie, but she had never thought she would stoop so low so many years later. It was obvious she knew about Ronnie's death or she wouldn't have mentioned the wedding. Caitlin clenched her teeth, trying to think of something smart to say, but she came up empty. How could her childhood nemesis still have that power over her? It made her sick.

Cisco saw how the comment was slowly destroying the courage Caitlin had gathered to come to the reunion. He wasn't going to let some mean teenage girl in a woman's body ruin it. "That's because she didn't want to see your face at her wedding. It would have been unfortunate to see the other guests feeling nauseated at the sight of you." He spat out, grabbing the nametags Lexie was handing them. He took Caitlin by the arm and guided her away from the table.

Caitlin burst out laughing as soon as she realised what had just happened. The bewildered look on Lexie's face had been simply priceless. "You didn't have to do that, you know?" She told Cisco, but she was wearing a grateful smile on her lips.

"Of course I did!" Cisco retorted, almost offended by her suggestion. "She was being a bitch to my best friend and I don't tolerated that." He continued and sent her a wink.

Caitlin chuckled and they went to the main room. Stepping in it was like entering a time machine for the young doctor. Everything looked like their prom night. The people just looked older. But the atmosphere was exactly the same and Caitlin wasn't sure if she liked it. It just made the flow of memories stronger.

"Hey Caity, your boyfriend's here." Charlie popped his head inside her room with a smile.

Caitlin glanced at her brother's reflection in the mirror in front of her. "How do I look?" She asked nervously, her lower lip trapped between her teeth.

Charlie smiled softly and entered her room. He was just 2 years younger than her and – unlike most of brothers and sisters their age – they had a great relationship.

"You look really good, sis, don't worry." He came to stand next to her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, that guy downstairs is crazy about you." He sent her a wink and Caitlin felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

She took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."

At the bottom of her stairs, she found a fidgety Barry speaking with her father. Both men already knew each other and there wasn't any reason for Barry to be nervous, but it still made her heart swell to see him like that. Though it was nothing compared to what her heart did when Barry looked up to her. His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide instantly.

She didn't think anyone had ever looked at her that way. And she found herself wishing he would be the only one to ever look at her that way for the rest of her life.

"Hi." Barry croaked as she joined them. Her father smiled at the young couple before leaving them alone.

Barry was at a loss for words and was grateful when she went on her tiptoes, softly pressing her lips to his, giving him an excuse not to say anything. Because he couldn't find the right words that would do her justice right now.

"Let's go." Barry said when they pulled apart. And together, they went to prom. And it was pretty much perfect.

"Caitlin!" Someone called out to her and the young doctor turned to see Iris making her way towards her with a bright smile. "I heard you were back in town! It's so good to see you again!" Her old friend cheered before gathering Caitlin into a hug.

"Iris, hi!" Caitlin smiled back, happy to see her friend again. Iris had been Barry's best friend ever since they were little kids. In high school, she had become close friend with Catlin too. But after the break up, the two women had kind of lost touch with each other, a small email here, another text there, the mandatory birthday wishes, but never more.

"It's been a while. I hoped to see you tonight!" Caitlin continued with a wink. "I heard you were a very busy woman."

Iris chuckled. "It is quite a challenge being a journalist, a café owner, a wife and a mother. But it's worth it, believe me."

"I can imagine." Caitlin nodded. "I met your little girl. She's really precious."

Iris beamed at her friend proudly. "That she is! Thank you by the way. Eddie told me what you did."

Caitlin waved her comment away with her hand. "Oh it was nothing."

"Hey, isn't that the dress we bought together just before senior year?" Iris suddenly pointed out.

Caitlin glanced down at her red dress with a smile. "It is! I was surprised it still fit. I had to do some adjustments though, the straps were too loose and I wanted it to fit a little tighter at the waistline." She explained, gesturing to the thin black belt around her waist highlighting her silhouette.

The two friends continued catching up for a few minutes while Cisco listened silently next to them, eager to hear some juicy story from Caitlin's past, to the young doctor's despair. A few moments later, Iris excused herself as her phone rang.

"I'm surprised that so many people actually came to this thing." Caitlin commented as she and Cisco found a quiet place to stand. "I'm pretty sure if I hadn't been back in town, I wouldn't have travelled here just for that."

Cisco chuckled. "That's because you didn't live your high school years like some of them here."

"Hey!" Caitlin protested and playfully nudged him in the ribs.

"Ouch," Cisco lifted his hands in defence, trying to stop her, "I never said it was a bad thing! It actually shows that your life after high school is better and that you don't feel the need to come back here."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow at her best friend. What he had said seemed true and kind of comforting. Well at least concerning her life until the particle explosion. Because in the end, she had still felt the need to come back to her hometown and it felt like some kind of failure to her.

Cisco didn't seem to realise that. "Okay, I have to go see what the DJ has in his collection. I'll be back." He added with a low voice, quoting Terminator, and Caitlin rolled her eyes at her best friend's antics.

The young woman watched him walk away and she decided to go grab a drink. Caitlin was at the bar waiting for her glass when he appeared out of nowhere. She didn't even know he was already here in the first place and she hadn't heard him coming.

"So you don't want to hang out with me because you need to mourn your fiancé and you don't have time to be friends, but here you are with some random guy? Seems to me like you just don't want to hang out with me."

She almost jumped when he stood behind her, saying those words in her ear. She felt a slight shiver run up her spine at the feeling of his breath hot on her skin. She mentally cursed herself for still being affected like this. It had been a little over a week since their little blow up in his car. They hadn't talked since.

She huffed in annoyance to hide her shiver and turned to face Barry, a frown hovering on her forehead at his icy voice. She took a second to observe him. He was wearing a black tailored three-piece suit with a bright red tie. She couldn't help notice they were matching. "What are you talking about?" She asked with an equal tone.

Barry looked unimpressed and showed Cisco, standing next to the DJ, with a head movement. "You seem pretty okay with having fun with that guy." He said bitterly. "I have to admit, he's not really your type."

Caitlin crossed her arms on her chest in a defensive pose. "And what is that supposed to mean?" She hissed. She had been about to correct him, tell him that Cisco was her best friend, but that comment had hit a nerve.

Barry seemed to notice her transition from confused to really mad and looked down bashfully to his feet. "Sorry, that's not what I meant…"

"I do hope so!" Caitlin retorted. She didn't recognise that Barry Allen, and that made her heart twist. She wondered if she knew him at all. "He's my best friend from Central City. He's here for a few days to see how I'm doing."

Barry let out a breath and looked up apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk…"

"Well you were!" She cut him off. "So, please, stop it and let me be!"

Barry was about to protest when two people interrupted them. Patty came up to greet Caitlin before snuggling up to her boyfriend, and a few seconds later, Cisco came to join them with a huge smile on his face, probably satisfied by the DJ's music collection.

There was a small moment of awkward silence after the introductions were made – Barry seemed to want to say something to Caitlin though the young doctor kept avoiding his eyes and Cisco opted to stare at Barry with a suspicious glare while Patty seemed completely oblivious to the strained atmosphere – but the tension was relieved when a woman came up on the stage and interrupted the music for an announcement.

"Hi people! I'm so glad all of you could make it tonight! It's so good to see you all again! And now it's time for my favourite game: 'Most Likely To'." She said eagerly, showing a bunch of flash cards in her right hand. "So we wrote these just before graduation. We made our little predictions as to where all of you would be in 10 years. Let's see if any of these actually became true."

"Oh this is going to be fun!" Cisco squealed in excitement.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "You don't even know any of these guys."

"Still!" He shushed her. "Don't ruin this for me, Snow."

Caitlin chuckled. It felt good to have Cisco with her tonight. A few days ago she had been happy to have Barry to take her mind off Ronnie and Dr. Wells, but now she needed someone to take her mind off Barry too. So Cisco's surprise visit was more than appreciated.

"Most likely to stay in High School: Marc Brown."

A shared laugh took hold of the crowd and Marc lifted his arms proudly in the air. Caitlin chuckled. Marc had always been a show off and the class' clown. Being the reason to make all these people laugh was probably the highlight of his evening. Surprisingly enough, that guy had become the vice principle of their Ryker Neve High School. So technically, the prediction wasn't completely wrong.

"Most likely to win a Nobel Prize: our dear valedictorian, Caitlin Snow!"

Everybody clapped and Caitlin blushed furiously. She hated when attention was brought to her, especially since she hadn't exactly won a Nobel Prize.

Cisco nudged her playfully. "You go girl!" He teased and Caitlin glared affectionately at him.

"Most likely to be mayor: Tiffany Robbins."

And it went on and on. Most likely to become famous. Most likely to travel the world. Most likely to become senator. Most likely to become a rock star, Most likely to still be living at home…

Caitlin just listened with one ear, her attention stolen by Barry and Patty. They were still standing next to her and Cisco. Barry had his arm around Patty's shoulders and was whispering things in her ear, making the blonde woman laugh. Caitlin tore her eyes away from the couple to take a gulp of her drink; oblivious to the curious stare her best friend was giving her.

"Most likely to get married before their 30's."

Caitlin's heart sank and she almost choked on her drink. She had a bad feeling about this one. She didn't know why, but as soon as she heard those words, she felt dread creeping up her back.

"Our dearest favourite couple: Caitlin Snow and Barry Allen!" The woman on the stage shouted.

Caitlin froze. Right in front of her, Barry had had the exact same reaction, locking eyes with her. This prediction wasn't welcomed with clapping or laughter this time, but only by silence. The stare of every single person in the room had travelled to Barry and Caitlin.

Everybody here that had gone to high school with them had known about their relationship. Barry and Caitlin hadn't been the IT couple, or the prom queen and king or anything of that kind, really. They were just the couple that everyone had looked up to.

The valedictorian and the track-race-champion. Two kids in love without all the drama that was often present in high school. They had been stable. They had been what any teenager had been looking for at that time.

But, like everyone knew about their relationship, everyone also knew about their break up after graduation. It had been part of the realisation that high school wasn't all there was to life. Once out there, everything could change. Once out there, their couple couldn't hold anymore.

The news about Caitlin's dead fiancé had also travelled quickly across the room a few minutes after she had stepped foot into it. That had made her realise she didn't miss high school. At all.

"Well," the woman on stage broke the awkward silence, "I guess we couldn't be right on every prediction. Besides, they still have two years before they're actually 30, so they still have time, right?"

A low chuckle spread across the room and the attention was lifted off Caitlin and Barry as their old classmate continued her list of "Most Likely To". Caitlin could feel her cheeks still warm from the unwanted attention and the last comment.

"Wait… You two dated?"

Caitlin wrenched her eyes away from Barry's to look at his girlfriend who had suddenly spoken. The blonde woman was gaping at them, the cheeky smile gone from her features, her eyes jumping from one to the other, waiting for an answer.

Caitlin's stare went back to Barry. He was the one supposed to answer because he was the one who hadn't told his girlfriend in the first place.

"Hum… Kind of…" He croaked, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck.

'Kind of?! Really Barry? That's what you're going with? The other day you said you thought I had been the love of your life and now you're saying kind of?!' Caitlin mentally cursed him. She wanted to shout at him, to punch him, to show him how it 'kind of' hurt what he had just said. Why did he insist on being a jerk tonight?!

But she stayed silent, waiting to see what would happen, perfectly hiding the storm inside her head.

"Yeah right!" She heard Cisco grumble next to her and she sent him a grateful look. No matter what, her best friend would always be by her side.

But she wasn't the only one who had heard Cisco's comment. Patty looked at them with a frown, clearly not understanding what was going on. But she wasn't dumb; she obviously knew there was more to the story. Why else would their couple be mentioned as the 'Most likely to get married before their 30's'?

So she glared at her boyfriend, turned around and left the room, heading directly outside. Barry watched her walk away before turning back to Caitlin. He opened and closed his mouth half a dozen times before huffing in annoyance. "I'll better go explain." He finally said. He gave Caitlin one last apologetic glance before going after his girlfriend.

The 'Most Likely To' game came to an end and she music started again.

"Hey, so…" Cisco tried to break the tension after a long silence, "I know I'm practically your brother and I'm like half the size of the type of guys you're usually interested in, but… hum…" He took a deep breath and offered her his hand. "You wanna dance?"

Caitlin smiled softly at her best friend and took his hand. "Sure."

"Let's go." Cisco led her to the dance floor as they tried to forget what had just happened.

Thank god Cisco was here.

A/N: So, still okay with the timeline and everything? Let me know, your feedbacks help me to improve my writing! Also, I'm French so I have actually no real knowledge about US high school and reunions, and things like that, other than what I can see on TV... So I apologise if there are any inconsistencies ;)

Also, the small bit about Barry forgetting to ask Caitlin to prom was inspired by a post on Tumblr and I thought of Barry as soon as I read it!