The song for this chapter is Wolf Alice - Blush

IRIS' POV:

"Iris,"

My eyes peeled open then closed again. A grin found my lips. I was comfy. Warm. I burrowed my head in the hard surface.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. The sound of a heartbeat lulled me into sleep.

"Iris," The faint voice asked again.

With a sigh I looked up to find Barry's hazel eyes fluttering open. My first thought was what the hell? My second thought that almost became my first thought was damn boy looks good in the mornings. A little scruff came in overnight and I couldn't stop staring at it.

His brow rose as he smirked at me. "Morning, Flower."

Oh, right. I was mad at him. Where the hell was I?

"Iris!"

I jumped back to see Eddie standing in Barry's backyard, his arms folded across his chest. He wore a pissed off scowl. Well, shit. I disentangled from Barry only to fall on the ground.

"I'm okay." I muttered.

"Eddie?" I could hear my dad call from nearby.

"Yeah," Eddie called. "She's back here."

The glass sliding door opened, Henry rushed out, his eyes frantic until he found Barry on the couch.

"There you are." He relaxed.

My dad busted around the corner with angry eyes.

"Iris, what the hell were you thinking? I couldn't find you." He looked at Barry.

My face flushed as I realized what this must've looked like. My eyes went to Barry's for an explanation. I had no part in this. If he was going down he wasn't taking me with him. My ass was already walking a fine line with my dad, he knew I was hiding things from him. Namely, Eddie.

I rose with a sigh. "We must've lost track of time."

"What she said." Barry rose. He looked down at me, his eyes scanned my face.

That damn stubble only added to his hotness. This was a problem.

"So you both just fell asleep outside in the cold?" My dad asked, drawing my attention away from Barry's jaw.

We nodded.

"You could've gotten sick." Eddie argued.

I cut my eye at him. If one more person got worried about me getting sick I would roundhouse kick someone's ass into the nearest tree. And yes, I can do that now.

"I appreciate your concern, Eddie, but I'm not a little girl anymore and I'm not a kid. So could everyone just back off? We weren't doing anything." My eyes went to my dad's.

Would he believe me?

"Alright, go to your room."

My eyes widened. "Are you grounding me?" In front of Barry, Henry, and Eddie.

"You need some time to think about your actions, young lady."

My mouth opened in shock. Really?

"You, too." Henry patted Barry's shoulder.

It was all I could do not to laugh at Barry's amused expression at Henry's sudden hands on parenting. He held my gaze before walking inside.

Henry apologized again before following him inside.

Now I was alone with my dad and Eddie. Not good. Before they could start up with anymore bullshit I stalked to my room. I needed time to think about my actions? I didn't fucking do anything! I went there last night because I was so used to sleeping in Barry's bed, near his things, and now that he was back and I was mad at him that wasn't really a possibility. And shit like this happens when we fall asleep next to each other and people thinking we're screwing. So I went lay on the couch. We had a few moments on it before he disappeared.

After I got out the shower I pulled my hair into a topnot and dressed for relaxation. I was definitely sore from yesterday's MMA workout. Spencer and Toby hit practically every muscle in my body and sleeping on that old couch didn't help. I tried not to think about how well I slept last night, all because Barry was there. I walked out to find my dad sitting on my bed.

I huffed. "What? You want to embarrass me some more?"

"I wasn't trying to embarrass you, honey. I think you know how that looked."

I threw my dirty clothes in the hamper in the closet. "You know me, dad. And you know Barry. Do you really think we would disrespect you and Henry by having sex in the backyard?"

He rose from my bed. "Look, I know you're friends and you both have changed since you were last close so that could put a strain on the relationship."

I made a face. "Dad?"

He looked uncomfortable. "It's clear as day that you two are attracted to each other. And I trust you and Barry, but can you see how it's hard for me to leave you two alone?"

My face flushed. "We're not going to jump each other's bones while you're gone, if that's what you're worried about. Besides, I'm with-" I shut my mouth.

He gave me an expectant look. "Go ahead and finish that sentence."

I balled my mouth up and flopped face down on my bed with a scream into the bed.

"Bye, Iris."

Upset, I stayed like that for a while and let my mind wonder.

"What are you doing?" Barry asked.

I groaned into the mattress. "Go away." It came out muffled.

"Huh?"

I rolled over so my eyes were to the ceiling. I huffed. "I said go away."

He came to lay beside me. "I'm bored. My dad's never grounded me before."

Mine either. It's not like I ever did anything that required grounding.

"Sorry, I got you in trouble with Joe."

My eyes rolled. "I covered for you. This is the the thanks I get."

He turned his head towards me. "What were you doing there anyway?"

"I don't know."

He burned holes in the side of my face, so I had no choice but to look at him. God, he had the scruff.

"My dad told me you stayed the night in my room a lot." His eyes sad.

I almost felt bad for being mad at him.

I bit my bottom lip nervously and I realized I hadn't done that like at all since Barry was gone. His eyes went to my mouth and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Pathetic, I know." I turned away from him.

"Not pathetic."

His strong rough hand turned my face to his. My breath caught in my throat. How was it that he came back even more attractive? Those hazel eyes that stared at me like they could see into my soul. It wasn't fair. My body reacted to him when my mind didn't want to.

"I'm sorry, I left you. I didn't want to, but I had to. To keep you safe."

"From what?"

His eyes left mine.

I pulled away. He wasn't going to tell me anything.

"You know, I stuck by you for the longest, even when you push me away. And now when I need you to trust me you can't even do that? I don't get you, Barry. Why do you even want to be friends with me? You never tell me anything about you." I pushed off the bed.

He followed. "You honestly think I don't want to let you in, Iris? I can't and it's killing me to have you think that I don't trust you. But I'd rather have you hate me then the alternative."

"That's not your choice to make. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

"So that's why you you slept in my bed every night and wore my clothes? Because you can handle it?"

My eyes widened. He hadn't spoken to me like, not since before we started talking again.

"You're trying to hurt me to push me away? Is that it?"

His jaw hardened as his eyes held a glint of something moody. "I'm just stating the facts. Like how you're using Eddie as a placeholder, a distraction."

Frustration had simmered over the side of the pan and I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"And why do you think that is?" I threw my hands up. "I thought I lost you again, Barry. We didn't hear from you for months. There was nothing to go on to find you. I thought you were dead." My eyes clouded. Nice to see I could produce tears again in Barry's presence. "This whole time you were okay and you couldn't be bothered to pick up a phone and let me know you were okay! So yeah, I did what I had to so I could keep going."

He nodded, but his eyes said something else. "So now that I'm back are you going to dump Eddie? Throw him away like he didn't mean anything."

"You don't get to judge me, Barry. Besides, why do you care? One minute you want to be with him then the next you're flirting with me in front of him. What do you want?"

He closed the distance between us. "I want you to be with me. Not him."

My heart picked up.

His eyes held mine. "But I can't."

My jaw hardened as I exhaled. I didn't want to do this, but I refused to be treated this way. "You and your mixed signals need to leave me alone."

"I hope you're happy with Eddie." He stormed out.

It was all I could do not to fall over. I paced the room, geared up. My hands kept fidgeting. I needed to hit something. Spencer and Toby flashed into my mind. I grabbed my gear and ran for the gym.

I showed my membership card that Linda hooked me up with yesterday and headed for the power house that was Spencer and Toby with a purpose.

They took me in with questioning brows.

"Are we going to start or what?"

"Alright," Toby answered. He pulled me towards the punching bag. "Let it out." He held the bag in place, his thick muscles flexed.

I looked to Spencer.

"Go ahead."

I pulled on the gloves and hesitantly threw the first punch. It felt good so I kept at it. Screw Barry. He put me through hell and back. I was in love with a complete idiot and it was my own fault. I let him treat me that way. Not anymore. I punched harder. A few grunts and groans left me as I took it out on the bag until I was panting and hanging onto the bag.

"You feel better?" Toby asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Spencer gloved up and neared me. I backed up with wide eyes. She laughed. "Relax, I'm going to show you what you're doing wrong."

"Oh." I relaxed and held my hands how she had hers.

"Swing from the hips and shoulders. It engages your abs. Watch my feet. I'm moving them with my hips. You don't want to crack an ankle over bad footing."

She punched the bag a few times, demonstrating for me perfectly.

I couldn't help but notice how Toby looked at her with pride and yearning.

"Now you try," Spencer instructed.

I tried to mimic her but I could tell I hadn't quite got the hang of it. I gave a disencouraged face.

"Try again." She grinned. "We all had to start somewhere."

After I finished up at the gym I called Cisco and asked if he wanted to hang out. He said he was busy, but didn't really give me many details, which meant he was with Linda. Again. So I called Caitlin and asked if she wanted to go get some food. I was starving and I could really use some Mongolian Barbeque. She agreed.

I didn't expect to see Ronnie sitting in the passenger seat when she picked me up. Who was I kidding? They were just as bad as Cisco and Linda. Only there really wasn't anything romantic going on there. After all, Caitlin had a girlfriend. She was very nice. Although every time she looked at me she made me nervous. Not going to lie she was kind of hot. Thankfully, she was absent tonight.

"Hurry up, West. My ass is hungry." Ronnie grinned through the open window as I descended the drive way.

Yeah, he was hot, too.

I climbed into the back with a small laugh. "I'm famished."

"What are we eating?" He asked.

"Mongolian Barbeque." Caitlin and I said simultaneously.

Ronnie looked between us as Caitlin started driving. "That was kind of hot."

My hand smacked the back of his head.

"Hey," He grinned. "You gotta buy me dinner first before you smack me around."

Caitlin gave him a look. "Shut up and turn around."

"Hey, now. You're a lezzy, I need to draw my attention elsewhere." He joked.

She rolled her eyes.

I laughed at them. There was an attraction there, I could tell, but I honestly think they became almost like siblings with the bickering and teasing. Granted, at first when Ronnie didn't know Caitlin was a lesbian he wanted to sleep with her. Her rejection lead to a very questionable friendship. Maybe if I became a lesbian I could get over Barry and our friendship would be so much better. I wouldn't have to overthink everything.

Speaking of, Eddie texted me: We need to talk about what happened earlier. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Lunch tomorrow? I wrote back

He responded quickly. Sure, he wrote.

I stowed my phone.

After dinner we walked around downtown. My black peacoat was life right now.

Caitlin had hooked her arm around mine as she grinned at me sadly.

"Why are you looking at me like I just dropped my ice cream?"

We should get ice cream.

"I heard Barry's back."

My eyes narrowed. "Who told you?" I glared at Ronnie.

He held his hands up in surrender.

"Cisco actually stopped by earlier. He thought I knew. So why didn't you tell me?"

I shrugged. "I don't know." I muttered. "Things aren't the same as before. He's different. I'm different." I sighed. "He's keeping everything bottled up, like he's protecting me from something."

She nodded. "Maybe he is."

I made a face. "You don't get to take his side. You're my friend."

"I'm just saying, things aren't always black and white. Maybe he's doing the best he can."

I took that into account. What if he was? Still, that didn't give him the right to be a world class jackass to me. If his goal was to push me away it worked. I didn't want to see him or talk to him. I just wanted some space.

"Have you two ever, you know?" Ronnie asked with genuine intrigue.

Caitlin and I looked at each other.

"Well, there was that one time in the break room." She teased.

He stopped walking. "Really?"

"No," We said together.

"You do not play with a guy's emotions like that."

I laughed at his antics. He really was a nice guy, a little rough around the edges and a lot horny, but nice nonetheless.

My hair flew into my face with a great wind as I saw a red blur fly by.

"Woah," Caitlin steadied us.

"Guess who's back." Ronnie added.

My phone beeped. I ignored the calls from my dad and went to my news alert. Some disturbance not too far from here.

"Come on," I tugged them along.

"What? We're running towards danger?" Caitlin demanded.

"Aren't black people the first to go in scary movies? Are you sure you want to test that?" Ronnie asked.

I gave him a look before running in the direction The Flash went.

"This doesn't feel like a good idea."

"Would you just come on?" I yelled from behind me.

"I didn't sign up for this." Ronnie complained.