The song for this chapter is Hozier - Arsonist's Lullaby

BARRY'S POV:

"Alright," My dad sighed as he paced the kitchen. "I'm only doing this because I need to." He nervously met my eyes. "What were you thinking? Joe's pretty lenient with you and Iris, but that was kind of pushing it, Barry. I mean, I get it. You love her. You always have."

My face scrunched up while I leaned on the counter. "How do you know?"

He gave me a look. "Despite popular belief, I pay attention to my son. You've never looked at anyone the way you looked at Iris. Not Linda. Not Becky Cooper. No one."

My face reddened as I ran my hands through my hair. "Is it that obvious?"

He grinned. "You're my son. You don't think I know how you love her?"

I sighed. "I'm too late. She's with someone else."

His brow rose as he came closer, his hand on my shoulder. "I know love. I know infatuation. And I know distraction. Iris wasn't sleeping in Eddie's bed every night, curled up in his clothes."

My heart stopped as I stared at him. "She did that?"

He nodded.

My head hung with a sigh. Fuck. Guilt ebbed in me. I hated how I had to treat Iris. I wanted her to know everything single thing about me. I wanted her to accept me at my worst and my best. But it wasn't in the cards to let that happen. Iris was too important of a person, of a friend in my life. I wanted her to stay that way. But I didn't know how to protect her and let her be close at the same time. I'm sure she could handle herself fine, but I wasn't risking it. I know what I had to do.

Who knows maybe she'll be happier without me. All I seemed to do all our lives was cause her suffering and heartache.

I looked to my dad. "So, am I really grounded?"

He chuckled. "No, just make Joe think I dropped the hammer down on you. Okay?" He patted my shoulder before opening the fridge.

"Dad, did you think I ran away earlier? When you came outside you looked really scared."

He pulled out a pack of bacon and eggs. I hadn't seen him cook in like half my life. On holidays, we ordered takeout but he usually was always called in to work at the hospital. That's what happens when your dad is the head surgeon of the hospital.

He met my eyes. "I was terrified, Barry."

I didn't want to admit it, but my dad had lost a lot of weight. His eyes were eternally tired and puffy. I don't think he shaved in a month. He was pulling a Rick Grimes.

"I'm sorry I left. I needed to figure some things out. Things that would help the people around me in the long run and I know I went about it the wrong way, but it was good for me. I needed it."

He nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're back. But the next time you run away I don't know how I'll be able to handle it." His eyes got shiny. "I really missed you, slugger. I didn't realize how terrible a job I was doing until you didn't come back for four months. So thank you for opening up my eyes, Barry. I never wanted you to feel unloved or like I didn't care about you. I just threw myself into work. I figured if I couldn't save your mom then I had to save as many other people as possible. I didn't mean for our relationship to take the back burner. I'm sorry."

Tears ran down my face. This was the talk we needed to have ten years ago. He pulled me into a tight hug as I crumbled. It sucked not feeling like you mattered. I realized my dad and I were the same. When I got my speed I knew that it could be used to make a difference because I was tired of sleepwalking through life.

"I love you, son."

"I love you, too." I hugged him tighter.

After we disentangled we made a quick breakfast together, full of laughs and stories.

As I checked to see if Joe's car was gone I walked over to see iris. I dreaded what I had to do, but I didn't go through four months of hell for nothing. Everyone had to be kept safe.

IRIS' POV:

As we arrived to the scene all I could think was who let the dogs out? Everyone was fighting it was like Wrestlemania.

"What the hell is going on?" Ronnie asked as they caught up. He tucked Caitlin to his side protectively.

The Flash zoomed through the crowd, knocking down people.

"Why is he hurting people?" Caitlin looked to be as if I was The Flash expert. "I thought he was the good guy."

He is.

I looked closer. "They're all dressed the same. They must have organized this attack."

A guy swung out at Ronnie. Caitlin backed up and tripped to the ground. I started to help her up when one of the black dressed baddies flung himself at me.

My eyes widened.

His foot flashed out and kicked my side.

I clutched my side only to have him punch me in the face. I could taste blood in my mouth as my lip split open. He punched me in the head. My head throbbed.

I put my hands in the self-defense position and throwed a punch that had no power as it hit his shoulder. Fear spiked in me as I watched his arm move back, ready to knock me out.

Caitlin screamed in the background. I squeezed my eyes right, braced for the pain.

Then all of a sudden I was on a rooftop. That feeling that crackled in the air was ever present. I looked up to find The Flash in front of me.

"Stay here," He begged. "We need to talk," He flashed away.

As I contemplated leaving I sat on the ground. My eyes scanned the rooftop. I'd only been up here a few times, but I was sure this rooftop belonged to the CCPD. There was an airplane landing spot. I inched away from it.

I couldn't stop thinking about how I got my ass handed to me. The guy in the black didn't care that I was a girl. The world didn't care either. Toby and Spencer would be ashamed. They'd know how to hold their own in any situation. In fact, they could be helping people like The Flash was if they really wanted to. I'd seen them go head to head in demonstrations, they definitely had the chops.

My hand went to my busted lip. I spit out a wad of blood and saliva. I tried to stand, but my side ached. Disappointed, I sat there against the wall for who knows how long. Sirens rang in the distance. Echoes of the chaos reached my ears even from up here.

Caitlin and Ronnie! I had to go back. What if something happened to them and I could've helped.

I mustered up all the strength I had to stand. My head ached as a groan escaped me. I made my way to the door when I heard everything stop. I turned back around and headed for the front of the roof. Bodies dressed in black littered the ground around everyone. The cops were arresting the only one left standing. I didn't understand. I backed up from the sight. What happened to the rest? Were they dead? Did The Flash kill them only to leave one left alive to pay the price? No, he wasn't a killer. He was a hero. Right?

My hair ruffled in my face. I turned around. My heart jumped in my chest.

"What did you do?"

He stepped forward, his face hid in the shadows. "Danton Black. He was a metahuman. He had to be stopped."

I stepped back, my stomach uneasy. "A what? You killed all those people?"

"What?" He stood his ground. "No, the metahuman-"

"I don't know what that is."

He nodded. "He's like me. He could multiply himself. Those bodies down there, they're not real people. They're empty shells. The real Danton Black is in custody. I didn't kill anyone, Iris. I promise." He held his hands up cautiously.

I huffed. "How are they going to stop him from multiplying again and escaping?" I neared him. I made sure to listen carefully to his voice, for any signs of recognition.

"He's too weak right now. He'll need to recover for a few hours, maybe longer. In that time, the police will decide what to do with him." He circled me as I circled him. "What were you thinking? You could've really gotten hurt?"

My fists tightened at my sides. "I can handle myself." Even as I said it, I knew it wasn't exactly true. But soon enough it will be. "How'd you know I was there? There was literally hundreds of people in that crowd."

He tilted his head as if he was checking me out. "You'll always stand out, even in a crowd."

I stared at him, not expecting a flirty comment. But this was something more. I blushed. The suit was mesmerizing to look at it. The way he moved in it with such grace and confidence...it definitely reminded me of Barry. Still, I could be going completely crazy and The Flash could be some schmoe named Terrence or Billy.

"I guess, I should apologize. The other night, I was out of line. You don't owe me or anybody anything."

"You were worried about your friend. I can understand that."

I nodded. "He's back now."

"Why don't you sound happier about it? Aren't you glad he's okay?"

I tried to find his eyes, but he was too far away. "He's not him. Or he's not who I thought he was. Who I wanted him to be." I bit down on my lip and winced as the cut stung.

He flashed in front of me, his face vibrated. His gloved hand gingerly ran over my busted lip as he leaned down to inspect it.

My head throbbed as he moved it up. More importantly, I gasped at the contact. Totally embarrassing. All I could do was stare up at him, my mouth open a bit.

He leaned down, his face stopped moving so rapidly. It wasn't until his mouth was on mine and his hands grabbed my waist to pull me closer to him that I realized I was kissing The fucking Flash! Even with a busted lip he made it feel good. Small amounts of electricity zapped our mouths as they moved together. My hands went around his neck as he picked me up, my legs wrapped around his waist. He pushed us into the roof door with a thud. I could feel him harden against me. His hands slammed mine into the door, holding my wrists in place as he ground his hips into mine. His skillful lips moved to my neck as he sucked and kissed up and down the smooth plane. My skin felt alive where he touched.

I let out a moan. My eyes closed and I pictured Barry's face and Barry's hands on me. And Barry's you know what pushed against me. The pleasure intensified.

His lips trailed back up to mine, capturing them roughly. His tongue slipped into my mouth, controlling me. I had never been kissed like that. Honestly, Eddie couldn't kiss worth a damn.

My eyes flew open as I realized I was a cheater. I recoiled, not that I wanted to, but I had to. This wasn't right. For whoever was behind that mask, for Eddie, for me, or for Barry.

He pulled back and set me down when he realized I wasn't into it anymore.

"I'm sorry," My face flushed. "I have a boyfriend." A really good boyfriend who deserved more than what I was giving him.

I put some space between us. "I should go. My friend's are probably worried."

Worry set in. What if they weren't even alive.

I faced him. "Were any civilians killed?"

He looked down, as if any casualty was his fault. "A lot of people were hurt. A few were killed."

My hand flashed to my jeans pocket. I pulled out my phone only to realize I had a few missed calls from both Caitlin and Ronnie. I relaxed a little.

"I need to go." I headed for the door.

He grabbed me and the next thing I know we were zooming down the side of the building. Everything was in hyperspeed, I barely had time to process it. The wind in my face, excitement filled me. The funny thing was I wasn't even afraid of falling. He held me close to his chest, my hands wrapped around his neck as we raced to what I assumed was my house. He set me down on my porch all too quickly.

I grinned up at him, amazed at the rush I felt. The safeness. "That was amazing!"

He chuckled and it sounded nice, calming. "I'm glad you think so."

I blushed as I bit into my lip again. I gestured towards the door. "I should head inside, call my friends to make sure I'm okay."

He leaned against the banister. "Are you going to put this one your blog?"

My brow rose. "Do you want me to?" I half grinned.

"I'd rather you not. It's still dangerous..."

"But?" I had a feeling there was something he wanted to say.

"But if you do," He flashed in front of me, his face insanely close that I couldn't make out any details. "Don't kiss and tell. I wouldn't want your boyfriend to get jealous."

My lips pulled into a smile. "He definitely needs to be jealous."

Shit. I shouldn't have said that. Bad Iris.

He surprised me by kissing my cheek before disappearing.

Dumbfounded, I stumbled inside. In a daze, I brought my phone to my ear.

"Iris, where the hell are you?!" Caitlin demanded. "We've been looking everywhere for you! I can't promote you if you died!"

Wait.

"You were going to promote me?"

"That's not that point. Where are you? Are you okay? You were there one second then gone the next."

I sighed as a grin took over my face. "The Flash took me away."

"Come again?"

"What's she saying?" Ronnie asked from the background. "Is she okay?"

Appreciation filled my heart. I finally had people in my life that I could call friends and if not friends than acquaintances. People that cared about me and wanted to hang out with me. That was the one thing I wanted before I graduated high school and even though it was a byproduct of Barry being missing I couldn't be more grateful to have them.

"I put you on speakerphone, you better say something worry of being on speakerphone."

"I'm sorry, I worried you guys."

"That's all we get?" Ronnie asked, amused nonetheless. "Are you okay, Iris?"

I nodded even though they couldn't see it. "I'm a little banged up, but I'm alive. What about you guys?"

"I brought Cait to the hospital. She has a broken arm and bruised eye. You missed it. That was mad creepy. One second there were all fighting everybody and then they just dropped. The Flash took that guy out. The police have him now. Where are you, anyway?"

My eyes scanned the house, I made my way up the stairs. "I'm at home. I'm going to shower and then I'm coming to the hospital."

"No," Caitlin protested. "I'm fine. I'm just waiting in the ER. You better get some rest, young lady."

I grinned as I headed into the bathroom. "You think I'm scared by your tactics."

"You should be." Ronnie joked. "You should see the look she's giving me."

"In my defense, he just smacked my ass."

I couldn't help but laugh. They were something else. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?" I undressed.

"Very sure. We'll be fine here. Granted, we'll be here all day. I swear everyone in Central City was there because this place is packed."

I put my phone on speaker as I tied my hair up into a bun and put my shower cap on. My hand turned on the shower knob.

"Well, we're going to let you go. I'll keep you up to date even though you'll probably be asleep when we leave."

"Or just waking up." Ronnie added. "Bye, Iris."

I heard them bickering about something as the phone disconnected.

With a sigh I washed my body to the best of my ability. My side was really sore. I didn't know if my ribs were cracked again, but the pain was in the exact same spot as last time.

My mind was running a mile a minute. I can't believe I kissed The Flash, I cheated on Eddie. Tonight only proved to bring about a few revelations. I didn't need a relationship right now, even though kissing The Flash was amazing times ten, I needed to focus on me. Besides, Eddie and I both knew I was not even close to being all in this relationship. Getting my ass kicked by that Danton Black clone only went to show that I needed to be prepared to protect myself no matter what. I needed to push myself. I needed to be in beast mode like now, but I knew that would take some time.

I shut off the water and got dressed. I went through my closet and threw what I needed into the small overnight bag I had under my bed. I stowed my phone in my coat pocket after checking the time and headed over next door.

Barry opened the door just as I prepared to knock. Our eyes met in the darkness and I stilled. So did my heart.

He stared at me in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Damn. I forgot he had stubble now. Attraction level raised by like ten.

"I, uh, wanted to give you these back." I shoved the bag at him.

He grabbed it, his brow rose. He looked inside to find a few of his clothes. I couldn't quite read his expression, but I think it was safe to say it was a mixture of guilt and sadness. He looked back down at me.

"You should keep them."

Not the answer I was expecting.

I gave a wry grin. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Trust and believe I would wear them to bed every night. That wasn't going to help me do well on this Barry cleanse and faster. My eyes went to his mouth as I tried to figure out if those were the culprits from earlier. Damn those lips either way.

They moved to a smirk.

"Do you want to come inside?"

My eyes scanned him. I noticed his cheek was scratched. My hand touched his face only to be shocked at the contact.

He offered a weak smile. "Static shock."

I stepped forward. "Are you okay?"

He backed into the house. "I'm surprised you care."

That was like punch in the cunt. How dare he!

"Excuse me? I have done nothing but care about, Barry." I pulled his arm to turn him back around. "I may not be very happy with you right now, but I still care. That's not going away."

He stared at me for too long and it made me nervous.

"You can't look at me like that."

"I can't help it." He grinned.

My eyes slipped to the floor as I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You're too late. I'm not in a position to be with anybody right now."

"Are you breaking up with Eddie?" He sounded a little too happy.

I gave him a look as I nodded. "You could be a little less enthusiastic about it." I huffed as my hands took down my hair to tie it in a braid.

He went to stand behind me, his body close to mine. He took my hair in his hands and I almost moaned at how good it felt. It all felt too Fifty Shades of Grey for me, which wasn't a bad thing, but in this point and time it was the worst.

"You were right." I closed my eyes as I relaxed.

I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. Damn, I was getting some action tonight. I almost grinned as I thought, I'm a slut.

"About what?" His mouth seemed to be hovered over my neck.

I could just lean back and I would be against him. As if on instinct, I leaned my neck a little the side only to have him come closer.

No! Barry cleanse. Boy cleanse. Me cleanse.

I turned around quickly and put some distance between us. "It's not fair to Eddie when I'm not totally committed to him."

He smirked. "Because you're committed to me?"

"Don't get cocky, Allen. I'm committed to me. That means no boys."

His smirk fell. "What? Since when?"

I rolled my eyes. "Since you came home an even bigger dick."

He stepped closer, his green eyes gazing into mine, knowing they made me weak in the knees. "You like me either way, Flower."

A smile broke through my demeanor. "Don't flirt with me. I'm still mad at you."

His eyes focused on my lips before he went in for the kill.

My hand stopped in front of his face. "Really, love Jones?"

He laughed against my hand before he pulled away.

I headed for the door. "Goodnight, Barry."

He surprised me by pulling me back to him. His arms wrapped around me, holding me close to him. When I relaxed I accepted the warmth. My eyes drifted shut. His heart thumped against my ear like this morning. There was something about hearing a person's heartbeat that made you care about them even more. Damn Barry and his heart beat. This wasn't helping the Barry cleanse at all.

"I'm lucky to have you in my life, Iris." He muttered, his chin rested on the top of my head.

I squeezed him back. "Yeah, you are."

He laughed deeply.

BARRY'S POV:

I thought long and hard about this. If last night proved anything, I needed more help.

The elevator doors opened. I stepped out. The place was amazing and I used to dream about coming here before the explosion.

"Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells greeted.

I looked down at him. "Dr. Wells, I've-"

Cisco walked from somewhere and saw me. His eyes hopeful.

"I wanted to see if the offer was still open?" I looked back to Dr. Wells. "I tried it my way. I need a team." Like Oliver and Felicity.

He grinned, his hand held out. "Let's get to work."

Yall, I was writing the kiss scene and I thought how funny would it be if Iris tries to kiss The Flash and his face is vibrating and his head knocks her out lmfao! Anyone else thought about that?

A/N: Someone asked how to know when I update this fic and the simple answer is make a fanfiction or archive of our own account - because I upload on both now under the same username - and follow the story. That's more for the guest commenters because I'm assuming you don't have accounts already. Thanks for the support and comments yall! Every one makes me happy and encourages me to keep going. I have a habit of writing fics and stopping after awhile. I'm hoping to get this one finished and finish the others at some point.