Disclaimer: I'm borrowing characters and ideas from everyone I can lol. I don't own anything but my twists and the words you see below. This one has a bit of a crossover with Glee. If you haven't seen those episodes, don't worry about it. Neither have I really, but I became slightly addicted to Barry Allen is Sebastian Smythe fanfics. Not knowing the characters from Glee doesn't really influence the storyline of the chapter. It only gives extra back history to their experiences and inter-character interactions.
Chapter 3
Barry sighed as he continued to run on the treadmill. On the treadmill he could let his mind clear and his thoughts drift. If he was just running then he wasn't thinking, wasn't really feeling. The last week trying at best. After Hunter Clarington in high school (who he'd burried the hatchet with ages ago and still occasionally talked with), fanatical military types had never been high on Barry's list and General Eiling made Hunt look like a newborn puppy. It was even more apparent that he had to keep his identity hidden.
If it had just been that, Barry probably would have been fine. He always knew that becoming a lab rat or a military weapon was a possibility with his abilities if what he could do became public knowledge. Now he had an actual face for that worry that had been scratching at the back of his brain since he woke up and discovered his speed. No, to Barry it seemed like the hits just kept coming the last couple of days. Between not being able to save Bet, Joes knowing about his feelings, the fallout of the Iris blog thing, finding out there were still things he didn't know about his body/condition such as his inability to get drunk... Barry was ready to crawl under a rock and not come out until the world straightened itself out.
But that wasn't really an option when Star Labs wanted to run more tests on his metabolism and speed. (He couldn't get drunk, but he could run on water. Really? His life...) Since he couldn't become a hermit, the next best thing was the repetitive motions and relative freedom of running. Hence the Ciscofied treadmill. Well, that and Caitlyn could be a bit vindictive with her "testing" when she was hung over. It was like she personally blamed him and Cisco for not stopping her from drinking and, after their toasts to Plastique and the sunglasses Caitlyn was sporting when she came into the lab, it was almost a guarantee that it was going to be another one of those days.
Still though, dealing with a vampiric Caitlyn was preferable than thinking about Iris at this point. It was one of the best feelings ever when Iris looked at him with so much open admiration and wonder after he had run up and down the side of the building to save the window washer. But, almost as soon as he brought that picture of her face up in his mind the emotions on it would morph into the shocked, defiant,face she had worn to hide the hurt she felt when he told her that they shouldn't see each other for a while. He had always been able to read her better than she thought. When she was trying to hide her emotions he could see right through her.
So, Barry decided if Iris wasn't going to stop, then he would distance himself from her. God, he never wanted a drink more in his life than he did after that fiasco and now he couldn't even drown his sorrows because he couldn't get drunk! It would kill him to not be able to be around her, to see her smile and tell her about his day, but it would hurt him a lot less than if Iris died because of him. Oliver was right. Distance was good. Distance was safe.
...But her face...
And suddenly Barry was falling forward and thrown off the treadmill into the wall. Oww! The padding they put up really wasn't enough to cushion a fall at whatever speed he was running at.
Cisco and Caitlyn rushed into the room with Doctor Wells not far behind them. "Dude," Cisco said around the lollipop in his mouth, "That spill was awesome!"
Caitlyn just pushed the excitable man out of the way and started to fuss. "Not awesome! Are you alright? Does anything hurt? Is there any pain? Of course there is pain. What was I thinking? You were just flung off a treadmill at 624mph after tripping. What were you thinking!?"
Barry gave a wry smile and a shake of his head before deciding that shaking his head was a bad idea. He answered as soon as Caitlyn took a breath. "I'm relatively ok. I probably have a mild concussion and I think I broke my wrist again because moving it is not fun at the moment. Yes. Ow! It hurts (more so with you poking at it like that!) 624? Cool. I wasn't thinking. I tripped when the speed changed." He wasn't going to admit to them that he got distracted from thinking about Iris...again.
"Barry! That isn't good. One of these days you are going to be racing around the city and trip in your clumsiness. You'll get yourself hurt and not be able to get yourself back here. Or worse! You might be going so fast that running into something causes too much damage in an instant for even your super metabolism to heal! There is still a lot we don't know about the extent that your abilities can be pushed to." Caitlyn stated firmly.
"Barry, Caitlyn's right." Wells agreed with a nod in her direction. "There are a vast number of things that we don't know about your situation. You need to be more careful. You are too important to loose to your own carelessness and clumsiness."
Barry looked over at Cisco to see if he shared the same opinion, but he gave a commiserating shrug. "You do fall off of the treadmill more often than you step off of it."
Barry sighed and ruffled his hair using his good hand. "Thanks, Cisco," he replied sarcastically. With Cisco's help he got up and started to make his way to the medical bay. The rest of the team trailing behind.
Caitlyn started to make sure all the bones in Barry's arm were ok."Well it seems like it is just a bad sprain now even if it was broken before. Keep it wrapped tightly for at least another hour or two and try not to use it." She hesitated, but decided speak up again anyway. "I might have an idea to help with Barry's clumsiness factor." All heads turned to the lone female on the team in interest though Barry also seemed to have a sense of impending doom. He was right. "Barry should learn how to dance."
Cisco immediately burst out laughing while Barry looked horrified. Doctor Wells looked intrigued and gestured Caitlyn to explain further. Caitlyn shot an affronted look to Cisco before continuing. "No really! Specifically tap dancing. There is a lot of quick and intricate foot and ankle work and you have to concentrate on balance and shifting your weight distribution. My cousin took tap. She always tells me that I have no clue the amount of times she would have fallen down or tripped on uneven surfaces, but was able to save herself because of her awareness of her body and the relation of her feet to the ground. All of that she attributes to dancing."
Wells thought about it and then nodded in acceptance. "It couldn't hurt. Barry, on the days that we work your multitasking and concentration levels you are also going to learn to dance."
Caitlyn smiled a bit too smugly for Barry's tastes. "My cousin taught me way back when. I don't remember much, but I can start you on the basics for now."
Barry gave a deadpan look that screamed 'You have got to be kidding me' but knew better than to try and argue. There was very little he could do to change either of the doctor's minds after they had been made up. Cisco took one look at his face and started to crack up again after he was so close to getting back into control.
"Guys," Barry tried to argue anyway, "I can dance just fine and I was just distracted. It won't happen in the field. I actually have to pay attention because of the obstacles in the way..."
"Barry," Wells cut off his protest, "Caitlyn means more than an awkward two step shuffle you used at prom."
Barry turned to him insulted. "I didn't two step shuffle at prom!"
"Dude, that's rough but ok. I didn't get invited to prom either. Us nerds got to stick together." Cisco said throwing an arm over Barry's shoulder.
Barry groaned in frustration. "Guys really. I think you perspective on my high school years is a bit skewed. I wasn't that unpopular. Actually, my first two years I kinda was and in one of my last two I was kinda an ass. But seriously, yes, I did go to my prom. With. A. Date" he said forcefully as he saw the beginnings of pity in Caitlyn's eyes, "and I can dance just fine.
Seeing the incredulous looks they were still sending his way Barry gave up. "Fine, whatever. I can't convince you of my former status of one of the tops of the high school food chain," Barry said while reaching for his phone that had just started ringing behind him, "But 'dance class' can't start today. A couple of my friends from high school are flying in today and want to be shown around. After that I'm helping my old roommate with part of his work."
Wells nodded with acceptance and rolled away to do... whatever Wells did when he wasn't playing babysitter to the fledgling "super hero" team. Cisco and Caitlyn were going to walk away themselves to continue their experiments when they saw the look Barry gave his phone when he saw the caller ID. It was some cross between an exasperated eye roll and a smirk. They had never seen Barry look like that before. Curiosity got the better of them when they saw Barry's smirk deepen when he accepted the call and put the phone up to his ear.
"Satan! I knew you loved me, I mean who couldn't when there is so much handsome in one package, but really. Calling twice in one day? You're making me blush." Barry said with clear amusement in his voice and a chuckle.
Caitlyn's and Cisco's jaws dropped and their heads whipped to look at each other for confirmation that they weren't seeing/hearing things. Who was this and what happened to their awkward self-conscious Barry Allen?
From the other side of the line they heard a female voice say, "Get over yourself Fievel. It's your own fault for irritating everyone so much that even lightning decided to take a go at you. And to not tell me and Brit when you woke up... I needed to find out from the Sunshine Warbler. You don't do that to Snixx. You're lucky I don't go all Lima Heights on your ass!"
Barry winced briefly and started to make his way to the door. "Sorry I worried you San. I'm still picking up my favorite bitch at the airport at 5, right?... What!... Damn it, now I'm going to be late. I'll be right there." With that he was gone in gone in a flash.
"So, please tell me I'm not the only one that found that freaky!" Cisco exclaimed. Caitlyn sighed and picked up her clipboard. "Anyway, we should go out tonight." Caitlyn turned and glared at him. She was still feeling the effects of their tribute last night. She was swearing off alcohol for at least a month.
Cisco held his hands up in mock surrender and started to quickly defend himself. "Not to drink! I don't want to look at shots... like ever again. But Barry's off tonight and I want to kind of apologize for looking into the Firestorm thing when you told me to drop it. There is a bar/lounge reopening tonight. It's over by the College for the Arts. They have contests and open mikes all the time. The entertainment is supposed to be really good because that's where all the arts students hang. It's called The Roost I think...?"
Caitlyn felt her glare soften although her arms remained crossed. "It's local name is the Nest but I think it's called Wandering Finch's Tavern." Caitlyn only held out a couple more seconds under Cisco's pleading pout then said, "Fine! But only because you wanted to say sorry and I've been kinda curious about the place. It is suppose to have great food."
"Yes!" Shouted Cisco. "You won't regret it Cait!"
"I kinda already am." Muttered Caitlyn to herself before asking Cisco in a louder voice, "So we will meet there for 7:30ish?"
"Yea. see you then Cait!" With that Cisco scurried off to play with his lasted invention before he had to leave. Caitlyn smiled to herself. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. At least her cousin couldn't really accuse her of not having a social life anymore. Her, Caitlyn Snow, in bars two nights in a row. 'The scandal!' she thought as she chuckled to herself.
The Nest was definitely was going to be one of the hidden hot spots of Central City if it wasn't already. It wasn't set up like a typical bar club with the loud dance music and strobe lights. It was more of a lounge with open space and comfortable seating. The lighting was soft but not too dark. If she didn't know the time of day or take note of the type of outfits people were wearing, Caitlyn would have assumed she walked into a kinda posh coffee bar rather than a college night life hang out.
Caitlyn had a feeling she was going to like it here. There wasn't that many people inside and it looked clean which was always a plus in her book. The people scattered about were mostly college students, but it seemed being from the arts field made them a touch less obnoxious than when she was in school.
Caitlyn set herself up with a table to the side that had a clear view of both the open mike stage and the dance floor and waited for Cisco to show up. And, speak of the devil, there he was looking for her by the door. She gave a casual wave to grab his attention. Cisco perked up when he noticed her and made his way over practically bouncing.
"Isn't this place awesome!?" he said with a huge grin spreading over his face. It was times like this where Cisco reminded her of an over excited puppy, all full of optimism and energy. She was sure if he had a tail it would be wagging furiously. Cisco continued to speak not noticing Caitlyn shake herself from her mental tangent. "...though you can barely see the bar from here."
Caitlyn shook her head with a slight smile playing at the corner of her lips. "I'm sure you'll manage just fine. Plus, I was more interested in the entertainment and there seems to be plenty of waitresses walking around," She gestured to the stage where a man was playing a Spanish guitar.
"Fine, fine. You check out the menu and order some snacking goodness and I'll grab the first round." Cisco said already pulling away from the table. Caitlyn nodded in agreement pulling the menu from the stand in the center of the table.
The food did look good or at least interesting. She was trying to decide between the gorganzola pear fried rice balls, duck confit nachos and the apricot jalapeno fajitas. Caitlyn gave up and figured she would ask Cisco for his input when he finally pushed his way back to their table. She relaxed for the first time in what felt like ages and let the music wash over her.
"Did you notice how hot the women are here?" Cisco said startling Caitlyn out of her thoughts. "There was a blonde by the bar that was totally checking me out. She seemed a little dazed, but she could probably tell how awesome I am."
Caitlyn didn't bother responding beyond raising an eyebrow at Cisco in incredulousness.
"Seriously, she was looking right at me!" He tried to defend himself. She just chuckled at him slightly and passed the menu over.
"What do you think? I was looking at the appetizers, but couldn't choose..."
Before Cisco could answer though, the guitarist finished his song and the room offered polite applause. Then the mc for the night grabbed the mike and started to introduce the next act. "Good evening everyone! How are you all doing tonight? ...Good, good. In case you are new here and don't know, my name is Thad. I am one of the four owners of this fine establishment and would like to welcome you to the Wandering Finch!"
More applause and shouts were called out from the crowd causing Thad's smile to grow even wider. "It looks like we have a great crowd this evening which is good because we have something extra special in store for you tonight! Along with an assortment of singers and musicians from our local arts college we have some new blood in the pool. A couple of old friend's of mine have agreed," (someone near the dance floor yelled 'have been bribed!' but Thad smirked and continued through the laughing as though he hadn't heard anything) "to perform two dance numbers for us. One tap and the other Argentine tango, so if you fine folks can clear the dance floor for just a little bit... Thanks!
"And Bas?" Thad called out to the area of the dance floor the protest came from earlier, "If you didn't want to be blackmailed, you should have done a better job of finding all the photo copies of drag night at Scandals."
Even from across the room, indignant sputtering could be heard. Caitlyn and Cisco looked at each other and laughed at the interaction between the mc and his friend along with much of the rest of the room. They didn't have a doubt they would be a riot to get to know together.
Once the room calmed down a little and the floor was clear, he finished his introduction. "Without any further to do, give a warm welcome to Sebastian Smythe and Santana Lopez!"
The lights dimmed down further and a spotlight hit the couple on the side of the dance floor. The band on stage started to play a charming quick-paced piece of music quietly and the two started to tap. It was apparent to everyone that they were quite good. The rhythms they created were complex, but they made them seem simple.
The entire room was drawn into the dancers world entranced, Cisco and Caitlyn included. And it wasn't just because the woman (Santana, Caitlyn corrected in her mind) was attractive. She was truly stunning and the man was handsome from what Caitlyn could make out in the lighting, but it was the way they danced too. It was like the two were playfully flirting with each other through the song and, even though the male's face was mostly covered by the shadow of the fedora he wore, the movements themselves were extremely expressive.
They would dance separately then draw closer together before one would teasingly dance away from the other before they ever touched. It was a musical game of cat and mouse that didn't seem like it would have a winner.
But then the music transitioned into something different when the man final caught the woman and they began to tango. It was like the difference between day and night. Their movements were still flirty, but of a different sort. In their tap routine their movements lighter, more playful and innoscent. Caitlyn thought that their tango had a different feel to it. It was darker, more mature, seductive and almost angry at times with the leg flicks.
They were really, really good. Caitlyn was the most comfortable in her life when she was behind her machines or with Ronnie, but even she was staring and wanting to be the one that Sebastian was dancing with. The dance was... it was like the rest of the room was intruding on their special moment. Then in one movement Santana grabbed Sebastian's fedora and threw it into the crowd.
Cisco promptly choked on the drink he just took a sip of. Caitlyn herself was glad she hadn't been eating or drinking at the time because she was pretty sure that she would have done the same... or spray the drink out of her mouth. She couldn't really decide what she would have done as she was too busy trying to process. Because under the hat wasn't some attractive stranger named Sebastian, but their friend Barry Allen.
Caitlyn and Cisco looked at each other in shock before eyeing the dancers again and back to one another again trying to confirm that they were seeing the same thing. Cisco even pinched himself to make sure that this wasn't a weird dream or a meta-human trick.
The music came to the close and Seb-...Barry ended the dance with Santana in an intimate hold and deep dip. The crowd roared their approval to the act but Cisco and Caitlyn were still to thrown to move let alone clap or join the standing ovation. Santana and Barry bowed to the crowd then smiled and waved before disappearing into the backroom of the bar.
Slowly Cisco turned to Caitlyn. "Soooo... that just happened." Caitlyn nodded looking a little lost and both ignoring Thad who was calling the next act to the stage. "Are we thinking evil meta-twin? I'm thinking evil twin or clone. Clone is also a possibility too. They both seem as plausible as Barry being able to do...that." Cisco rambled on.
Finally, Caitlyn was able to shake herself out of her stupor. "No, we are not thinking evil twin or clone for that matter. I guess I don't have to show him any basics on Monday then...I think I'm gonna call it a night. I didn't really think our world could get any stranger..." Cisco agreed with a nod.
They paid their bill and collected their things in relative silence. As they reached the exit, Caitlyn got a perplexed look on her face. Cisco gave her a questioning look until she answered his unspoken question. "If he can do all...that," she said with a vague gesture back to the center of the tavern, "why the hell does he keep tripping and can't stay upright on the treadmill!?"
AN: Sorry it took so long to write a new chapter. You have no clue what a mess the past couple of weeks have been over here. Thank you so much everyone who reviews my story! You have no clue how much it brightens my day that my ficlets have been so well received and well liked. Let me know if there is something in particular you would like to see in this series and I may try to work it in. Please continue to let me know your thoughts. Thanks again!