Apologies in advance, I suck at editing...so mind the mistakes, please :)

The song for this chapter is Rhodes - Worry

IRIS' POV:

I woke with a scratchy throat and a groan. Last night played over in my mind. Central City definitely had a guardian angel. I just hoped the police saw it that way. I yawned, my eyes found the clock. Holy crap I slept until eleven.

With a mug of tea and my purse, I headed out the door. I pulled my hair up into a high bun. Not expecting to see a sweaty shirtless Barry playing soccer in his driveway I gawked from afar. Well, my porch. Who knew how long I stood there picturing Barry in that Bod soccer commercial before he noticed.

He ran over with the ball in his strong hands. "Where are you headed?" His eyes ran over my body, that manly musk followed him.

"What's it to you?"

He gave a half grin. "We were making such progress yesterday. Don't ruin it, Flower."

Deciding not to argue with him I started down the driveway. "Just heading to the station. I wanted to talk to my dad."

"About what?"

"Nothing that concerns Barry Allen."

He tugged me along towards his truck. "I'll give you a ride."

I was too stunned by the feel of his strong grip on my forearm. My gaze lingered on the rippled muscles in his back as beads of sweat slid down and eventually I focused on his taut little butt in those blue gym shorts.

He opened the door for me. "Unless you want to argue with me today."

My head shook slightly, I felt dazed. "No, I would appreciate it actually."

Taking me by surprise, his strong hands grabbed my hips and put me in the seat like the last two days. I couldn't say that it didn't invoke a tiny bit of lust because let's face it, Barry being shirtless was like finding a chocolate on your pillow at hotels. You didn't expect it, but you were glad you got it.

Our eyes locked as he buckled me in. I was the one looking down at him and I felt an odd sense of power. "You don't have to do that every time you take me somewhere."

"You don't have to be such a tease, yet here we are."

My mouth widened as I leaned down to get in his face. "I am not a tease out of the two of us, Barry Allen."

His bicep rippled as he brought himself up and hovered over me, his eyes on my mouth. "That's the thing about you, Iris. You don't know how sexy you really are." His thumb pulled my bottom lip free from my teeth. "Like you biting this lip will drive a man crazy." His eyes landed on mine as his thumb caressed the side of my mouth.

A small moan escaped me and he smirked, letting me know he was messing with me.

"You're an ass."

I couldn't lie to myself that I found Barry attractive, but I could damn sure lie to him. "Besides, your not even my type."

He leaned into me so close I thought he was going to try and kiss me, but he just closed the door. Having him practically sitting on me like that, I couldn't help but take him in. Tan skin pulled tight over muscles, strong legs that held him up. Thank God I wore a padded bra instead of a sports bra because the outline of his you know what was on display and I couldn't stop staring at it as crawled across me effortlessly. You'd think someone so tall would have trouble moving around in a truck, but not Barry. If I had known I'd have this reaction from him I would've fought harder to remain nonsociable neighbors.

The truck roared to life and I the sudden vibrations made my legs squeeze.

"I thought you didn't have a type. Isn't that what you told me yesterday?"

I did. "Don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked defensively.

He could sense my irritation and said, "I'm not serious, Flower. Take a joke."

Even though Barry Allen hadn't mattered in my life for a decade and I was still skeptical of his trying to extend an olive branch his rejection stung. He liked everything and although I didn't want to be with him at all, least of all in that way...it still stung because it reminded me of after his mom died. He didn't want anything to do with me. My eyes went to the window as I blinked back the blossoming of tears.

"Iris," He started, his voice low.

"No, I'm fine." I waved it off too abruptly.

A few minutes later he dropped me off in front of CCPD.

"I can swing back around and pick you up if you give me a call," He offered.

Embarrassed, I jumped out the truck. "I can use the exercise." I headed up the steps. The last thing I needed was Barry Allen's pity. It's a good thing he put me in check because crushing on him was the last thing I needed.

As I walked up the steps the last person I expected to see was Eddie heading out in a suit. He looked really nice like he was going to an expensive dinner and I was dressed in yoga pants and an oversized thin sweatshirt. Fuck me.

"Iris," He stopped in the step in front of me, his hands in his pants pockets. "What are you doing here? Turning yourself in?" He half grinned.

I thought about it, thought about what Barry said. There was nothing to turn myself in for, no one thing that I'd ever done that would warrant an arrest. While I was proud of that and so was my dad, but now I was questioning myself. I shook my head, ashamed that I was feeling self-conscious because Barry Allen said I was a bore.

My gaze went back to Eddie's. "My dad's a detective here."

He stared at me with brand new eyes. "Oh. West. Joe West is your dad?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I pointed behind him. "I was just coming to see him." Now I was wondering why Eddie was here. "Did you turn yourself in?"

He laughed. "Nothing to admit to. I came down to finalize my paperwork. I'm going to be working here."

"Wow, Eddie. That's great." I smiled. "I know you're excited. You work your butt off."

"Well, I don't know about that. I just do my work." He looked over my shoulder and his forehead creased. "Are you waiting on your friend?"

I turned briefly to find Barry's truck still parked in the same spot with him leaning out the window. I gave him a look to back off before turning back to Eddie.

"No, he's just overzealous."

He nodded. "Or he thinks I'm stepping in on his territory, for lack of better term." He gave an apologetic grin.

My head shook. "He'll deal."

"What, you're not into him like that?"

I couldn't hide the disgust from my face as I gestured back at the truck that I prayed had left by now. "Barry and I aren't even friends. We used to be, but..." Sharing that information with Eddie was really personal and I actually didn't know him very well in the course of our two year barista relationship. "We're not friends."

He nodded. "He seems to think so."

My eyes couldn't roll hard enough. "He has a girlfriend. He just feels obligated to drive me around because my asked him to. My car's in the shop."

"Gotcha. Well, I guess we'll be seeing more of each other. I have to get going, but it was nice to see you. Again." He touched my arm.

I laughed. "Yeah, you too."

I watched him leave and Barry finally pull off. What was his problem?

The department was a madhouse like usual, but I found my dad at his desk with his partner, Chyre. He looked up at me with surprised eyes. "Hey, sweetie. What are you doing here?"

"We haven't seen each other a lot in the last few days I thought I would check in with you."

Chyre rose from his perch on the desk and patted me on the shoulder. "Nice to see you, Iris."

I grinned at him. "You, too." I turned back to my dad. "I need to ask you something about last night."

He sighed. "I wondered when you ask. I've seen the streak guy on footage. Everyone's talking about what happened last night. I can't discuss Clyde Mardon with you."

"He was the guy that robbed the bank, right dad?"

He gave me a look. "What did I just say?" He rose.

"I know, but what about The Red Streak? Is he in trouble? I mean, he saved the city last night."

He grabbed his blazer and tugged me along by the arm. "Iris, this is not your concern. We'll take care of it."

"But-"

"No, buts." He gave me a warning look. "Let me check in with captain Singh and then we can go get some lunch."

I quickly pulled out my tablet from my purse and checked my forum. I couldn't believe how many posts there were, it would take me a good chunk of time to go through them all. The first one that caught my eye had a pictures from last night's event. Not going to deny that they looked pretty cool.

GratefulCitizen wrote: He swooped in and gave me the knife my mugger was trying to use on me. I'm grateful that my kids still have a mom.

My lips pulled into a smile. I was proud of the speedster, I just wish the police force felt the same. Even thinking it, I knew it was unlikely.

"You ready?" My dad asked.

"Sure." I stored my tablet and we headed out.

BARRY'S POV:

I rode around for a bit, buying time until I'd check on Iris. Maybe I was being overcautious, but after what happened last night I just wanted her to be safe. When I saw her there all I could think was she saw me kill Clyde. She saw the streak kill someone. I didn't want anyone taking anymore pictures of us, but I had to get her out of there and away from the chaos that was my fault.

My phone rang, Cisco's face popped up on my screen. Needing something else to think about besides Iris and her college crush I answered.

"Yeah?"

"We need to go to STAR Labs. Now."

We pulled in front of the most hated building in Central City. Cisco and I shared a look.

"I have a feeling this isn't about our summer internship applications." He added as we rode the elevator up.

I sighed. "Yeah, I don't either."

We could potentially be walking into a trap, Harrison Wells could be onto us, but if we didn't check it out it could come back to bite us in the ass. Besides, it could be nothing. He did seem impressed with our minds after he gave his speech about the particle accelerator. I just didn't think that warranted him to call us up here.

The elevator doors opened. My heart pounded in my chest as we walked out.

"Woah," Cisco and I said simultaneously as we took in the huge lab. Multiple monitors hung on the walls, grey walls gave it a dark atmosphere. Or maybe that was the weight of what had happened here almost a month ago.

"Mr. Allen. Mr. Ramon. Pleased you could make it."

We turned to see Dr. Wells riding towards us in an electric wheelchair. I'd seen him on the news apologizing for the explosion from the accelerator, he was already paralyzed, but seeing him in person was almost sad. His work had cost him his legs.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you two up here," He gave a professional grin. "I have a proposal for the both of you."

Cisco and I shared a look.

"Okay."

"I'm aware of your academic successes and I'd like to offer you jobs here."

Warning bells went off in my head.

"You want to hire us? To do what?"

Although I was good at science and math, I was nowhere near the level Cisco was on. If anything Cisco should be offended that I was offered a job.

He looked at Cisco. "Mr. Ramon has remarkable skills in biomechanics and engineering. I'm also aware of your hacking skills."

Cisco flushed.

Wells turned to me. "And you have quite the need for speed yourself, Mr. Allen." He fixed his glasses. "I would like to assist you in your missions of cleaning up the city."

Cisco grabbed my arm, his grip tight. "Dude,"

I glanced at him before taking in Dr. Wells' proposal. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He rolled closer to us. "Mr. Allen, I may be a lot of things, but a fool is not one of them. You were affected by the particle accelerator explosion. It's remarkable that you're not in a coma right now, your cells must be regenerating at high speeds."

We guessed that the explosion had something to do with my abilities, but we didn't know for sure. "How do you know this?"

"That night I checked on as many people as I could that were admitted to the hospital because of me. You were by far the most interesting."

I looked to Cisco, he was at a loss. "How is that, Dr. Wells?"

"You were struck by lightning and you survived. I wanted to make sure you were okay, so I kept an eye on you and what I saw was fascinating. Then the streak started saving people. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. I haven't told anyone, if that's your concern."

"So you think we need your help on this? No offense, Dr. Wells, but we've been doing fine on our own."

He nodded. "I'm impressed with your work. I'm also worried that you're not being careful enough." He looked between the both of us. "You have to be monitored, Mr. Allen. You don't know enough about your condition. Cisco and I can help you with that."

Cisco was practically jumping up and down with excitement, but it wasn't his life that was on the line.

I shook my head. "Thanks for the offer, Dr. Wells, but we'll have to decline. I'd appreciate it if you kept my secret to yourself." I started for the door with a bummed Cisco in tow.

"How are you going to handle the metahumans?"

We stopped in our tracks and turned to look at him.

He rode towards us. "Metahumans. Like you and Mr. Mardon. There's more out there, in theory. You two couldn't have been the only two affected by the explosion. Once they learn what they're capable of how do you think they'll use their abilities? I'm betting there will be more Mr. Mardon's than you, Barry."

Well, that was food for thought. But I didn't trust Dr. Wells, I didn't know him. Hell, he almost blew up the city.

"Like you said, Cisco and I have handled it just fine so far."

Cisco pressed the elevator button, the doors opened and he stepped inside.

"What happened last night will keep happening. You are not equipped to handle criminals. You're not a killer, Mr. Allen and if the streak keeps it up people will start to fear you and the police will hunt you down like they did the Arrow."

With that in mind I stepped inside the elevator.

"The offer still stands, gentlemen."

The doors closed and Cisco relaxed.

"That was intense. In my eighteen years I didn't expect Harrison Wells to offer me a job out of high school. Let alone because my best friend's a superhero."

Wells was right. We were in over our heads, but we couldn't bring anyone else into this. I was already worried about Iris and Cisco, I couldn't afford to bring anyone else in.

"Barry,"

I turned to Cisco. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Was I? I didn't know. Last night kept playing in my mind on repeat. Kicking the ball around earlier helped, but having Wells bring it back up kind of killed my spirits.

"We need to be more careful, he was right about that."

He nodded. "So, you don't want to rethink his offer?"

I gave him a look. "So we can have someone to report back to? Why do you think he wants to help us? I don't buy that he's trying to help right his wrongs. What if he wants to experiment on me?"

"Well, what if he really just wants to help us?"

"I don't know, but I'm not willing to take that chance, are you?"

He thought about it and shook his head.

We stopped to get a few pizzas on the way home. All we had planned was a night of Movies, well Cisco called it research, more planning. In theory, I should be knocking on Linda's door and making up my wrongs. I knew I was an awful boyfriend and that Linda really liked me, but I couldn't deal with that right now.

"Hey, is that Iris?" Cisco asked.

My eyes immediately found her walking with her attention on her tablet. She really needed to be more careful.

"Are you going to stop?" He asked.

I gave him a look. "She hates me."

"What else is new?"

I rolled my eyes. "If I ask to give her one more car ride she'll report me for stalking and sexual harassment."

He grinned. "I like her already." He hopped in the back.

I narrowed my eyes at him before pulling up beside her. "Hey, you want to walk or what?"

She looked up, surprised to see me. Disappointment clear on her flawless face. "I could use a ride." She hopped in and buckled up. "Although, I have to question how you're always around to offer me rides?"

My eyes met Cisco's in the mirror. "I just have good timing."

She turned around and looked at Cisco in the back. "Oh, hi." She extended a hand. "I'm Iris."

"Cisco Ramon and I know, Barry talks about you all the time."

I would kill him when we were alone.

"No, I don't."

"You have enough pizza? Are you having a party or something?"

"Just a movie night. Barry has an appetite out of this world. You're welcome to hang."

I turned a corner. "No, she's busy."

She burned holes into my face. "How do you know what I've got going on tonight?"

A tiny grin crept to my lips. "Because you've got to knit your sweaters and plant some flowers."

Her hand flashed out and smacked my arm. "Actually, I will join you. I can be fun." She looked back at Cisco. "I can be fun."

He nodded. "I'm sure."

She giggled.

IRIS' POV:

I can't believe I was actually walking into the Allen house. Ten years later and everything was the same. Lost time and yearning tugged at my heart. Cisco flew by me with the pizzas and crashed on the middle of the couch. Barry gave a weak grin at his antics as he turned on the TV. He disappeared to what I guessed was the kitchen to get us drinks.

I plopped down beside Cisco, I gave a shy grin. "Thanks for inviting me."

He grinned around a mouthful of pepperoni pizza. "Barry didn't have the balls to do it so it was up to me."

I chuckled. "Right." Barry definitely had the balls, but he did seem a bit glum from this morning. "Is he alright?" I didn't know why I was concerned, but I was and being back in this house brought back old memories.

He nodded. "He will be."

Barry came back with sodas and fell on the other side of Cisco. "What are we watching?"

"There's a Star Wars marathon on." Cisco answered hesitantly.

I laughed heartedly at the embarrassed expression on both their faces. "I've seen Star Wars. You can geek out. I won't be weirded out."

They shared a look.

"Let's do this."

Throughout the movie, I kept finding myself glancing at Barry out of the corner of my eye. He seemed very sullen, not his usual cocky self. His attention was elsewhere, I wondered if something happened with Linda. I hoped she didn't think anything was going on between us. I mean, there wasn't.

He was on his his third box of pizza. Was he stress eating?

"How are you not fat, Allen?"

He looked over at me with guarded eyes. "Huh?"

"You've put away like twenty slices by yourself."

He shrugged. "I have a fast metabolism." He turned back to the movie, but I knew he wasn't really paying attention.

Cisco gave me a weak half smile.

Star Wars was interrupted by a breaking news announcement. Captain Singh stood in front of the CCPD giving a statement. The headline read: Vigilante Wanted. Pictures and brief footage from last night displayed on the screen in intervals.

I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees as I grabbed the remote as Barry was about to change it. I turned up the volume as Captain Singh spoke.

"We are all aware of the events of last night involving Clyde Mardon and our very own vigilante. We acknowledge that vigilante saved many lives, but he also took one, and that is not up for him to decide. We are asking that he come forward in peace. Central City Police Department will take it from here." He gave a curt nod before heading up the stairs.

I couldn't be surprised, but what they hell were they thinking?

The news reporter popped on screen. "That's all Captain Singh is willing to release at the moment. Central City is up in arms about the vigilante. Some are already calling him a superhero. With that kind of power how could we really be sure the nature of his actions? Central City Police Department believes they don't need any help putting the bad guys behind bars."

"Yes, they do." I insisted at the tv. Both Cisco and Barry stared at me in disbelief. "What, you don't think so?"

Barry shook his head. "He killed someone, Iris."

"The world's not black and white, Barry."

He looked surprised. "You're defending him?"

Annoyance rose. Everyone just needed to back off of him. "You weren't there. You didn't see it happen. There was no way that weather wizard was going to surrender."

"Weather Wizard." Cisco nodded. "I like it."

Barry ignored him. "There could've been another way."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you're right or maybe you're wrong. All I'm saying is we need someone like him. The police can't defend Central City on their own and if The Streak wants to give himself over then he'd be doing more harm than good." I'm not the only one who would think so. Almost everyone that commented on my forum would agree. "He save my life, he's one of the good guys." I insisted.

His green eyes disbelieving. "You don't know him."

Beyond irritated, I rose. "Thanks for the movie and pizza. It's was nice to meet you Cisco."

He gave a weak grin. "You, too."

I walked out the door. This was a mistake. Why didn't I stick to my gut and stay away? Maybe I wanted to believe we could get along again. High school was almost over for me and I didn't have one person I would call my friend. Well, there was Caitlin, but she was more of my boss than a friend.

"Iris, wait." Barry grabbed my arm as I made it to my porch. He turned me around to face him. "I didn't mean to question your faith in this streak guy. I'm sorry." His eyes honest.

I pulled my arm away. "It's fine." I reached for my key.

"No, it's not. You're mad at me."

I gave a sour laugh. "You say that like we're friends."

He tried to hide the hurt look that crossed his face, but I saw it. "What do you call what we've been doing the last few days?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Barry. You keep trying to push everything under the rug like it never happened, like I'm supposed to forgive so easily because you're a flirt. Well, I can't."

His jaw hardened. "You want to talk about forgiveness?" His voice cold. "You. Left. Me." He got into my face. "When the person I needed you the most couldn't be bothered, I didn't know how to deal."

"You pushed me away." My finger poked him in his chest. I ignored how much I hurt my finger as tears formed in my eyes. "I didn't give up on you. You shut me out!"

"I was angry. I had a right to be!"

"But not at me. I was your best friend, Barry!" The stupid hot tears rolled down my face. I prayed that I wouldn't ugly sob in front of him. "I didn't think I'd have to lose my mom and my best friend." I wiped at my cheeks.

He stared at me with sad, distant eyes, as if he was understanding me now. "I'm sorry." He muttered, his voice soft.

My head shook. "That's not good enough. You bullied me for the last ten years. Sorry isn't going to cut it."

I opened the door and shut it in his face before he could see me crumble. I let the silent sobs take me over as I cried for my lost mom and best friend. Things could never be the same. We could never go back. And I didn't want to. I just wanted to hate Barry Allen and move on with my life.