(Barry)
"Why couldn't any of you have majored in forensics?" moaned Barry as he rubbed his forehead. Each of the boys were sitting in their respective beds just as midnight hit, each of them with the same throbbing headache from trying to finish their homework. "Then I wouldn't be alone in this pain."
"Hey dude," Cisco said, leaning down from his bunk. He chucked a tiny paper wad at Barry. "Met this chick at Jitters today. Name's Lisa Snart. Super bad girl, if you know what I mean. Anyways, she's majoring in criminology but minoring in forensics. Maybe she could tutor you or something."
"I'll shoot her a text and find out," Barry responded, unfolding the paper.
"It's almost 1am," commented Oliver from where he was lying on his side, squinting at his paper. "Shouldn't she be asleep?"
"Does anyone sleep at this college with this amount of homework?" Jay fired back, yawning. The rest of the boys muttered their agreements and Barry grabbed his phone.
Barry Allen
Hey! Is this Lisa Snart?
Lisa Snart
yeah, who the heck is this?!
Barry Allen
Whoops, sorry bout that. I'm Barry Allen. I'm Cisco Ramon's roommate. He told me you were minoring in forensics and I was wondering if sometime you would be willing to help me study for it. My homework's killing me.
Lisa Snart
LOL. Sure. Meet me at lunch in Jitters. I'll be able to help you with your homework then.
Barry Allen
THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are a lifesaver, Lisa.
Lisa Snart
No prob ;p. now go to bed! Xp
Barry shook his head, but a small smile was on his lips.
"Well, what did she say?" Cisco asked, his eyes wide with anticipation.
"She agreed to do it at lunch tomorrow," Barry said, yawning. "Someone remind me to text Iris in the morning that I can't eat lunch with her for a while."
"Iris, as in Iris West?" Oliver asked, glancing up at Barry. Barry nodded uneasily. "She's the one who helped me find the dorm."
"Mine was a girl named Jesse Wells," Barry told him. "Jay, meet any female friends this last few days?"
"I met this nice girl at Jitters earlier today," he said. "Said her name's Caitlin. She was having an argument with her friend." Cisco coughed and looked a bit uncomfortable. "Anyways, I gave her some advice and hopefully she follows it."
"What about you, Mr. Walter?" Cisco asked, hanging over the edge of his bed. "Meet any lady friends?" He then wiggled his eyebrows.
"Nope," Wally replied, shaking his head. "I've been too focused on Auto club to even think about girls." Cisco sighed and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Just go to bed, man."
"Relax," Cisco said, flopping back down onto his bed. "Just go with the flow."
:/:\:
(Wally)
The boys were more functional the next morning, Wally included. Each of them got up around 6:30am ish, and were starting their day.
"Got to go see if my friend is actually at Jitters," grumbled Cisco, grabbing his backpack. He finished his waffle that Jay had skillfully cooked for them. "See you all later."
"Wait!" Jay called, grabbing his things and quickly running after Cisco. Soon, it was just Oliver, Barry, and Wally left in the room. Barry was fidgeting on his seat, biting his lower lip.
"Can you guys keep a secret?" Barry asked suddenly, causing Wally and Oliver to look at him with confusion. "I mean from Jay and Cisco?" Oliver nodded immediately, and Wally nodded a bit more slowly. "Ok...I'm in therapy." Oliver's eyes widen in shock.
"What kind of therapy?" he asked slowly. Barry shifted awkwardly.
"Emotional and mental therapy," he explained quietly. "When I was eleven years old, someone broke into our house. I-I came downstairs from my room and saw a man completely dressed in yellow and red. He looked at me and I tried to run, but I hit my head. When I came back inside, my mom was dead." Wally felt his face go slack in disbelief. "Everyone claimed that I made the man in yellow up to cope with the fact that my father had been the one to kill her. He's been in prison ever since then, accused of something he didn't do."
"T-That's what you want us to keep away from the other two?" stammered Oliver, trying to recompose himself.
"N-No...well, yes, but there's a-another thing," Barry stuttered. "When I was coming out of my appointment, I saw Jay there. He was visiting the same doctor I was."
"Funky," whispered Wally. "So something traumatic must have happened to Jay…"
"I shouldn't have told you guys this," moaned Barry, putting his head in his hands. "Just forget I said anything about it!"
"Calm down, Barry," Oliver said, gently but firmly. "Having something like that happen is beyond difficult. Tell other people about it? More so. If you ever need to talk to anybody, we'll be here." He turned and narrowed his eyes at Wally. "Right?"
"Right," Wally gulped, suddenly intimidated.
:/:\:
(Cisco)
"Wait!" Cisco heard Jay's voice cry out. Cisco paused briefly outside of their room and waited for Jay to catch up with him. "You said you were meeting someone at Jitters? Before breakfast?"
"I said I was meeting someone, yes, but you must have clued in the rest," Cisco answered quietly. Jay gripped the straps on his backpack tighter.
"You're the friend who fought with Caitlin," Jay said, nodding his head slowly. "The reason she was sad." Cisco fought off a sigh. He hated making Caitlin feel bad, but she was to blame for that incident. "So what happened, coming from your side?"
"Alright, here's the brief version of the story," Cisco said. "Caitlin's boyfriend, Ronnie, and I do not get along with each other. He's a part of the football team and the robotics team, sadly. I've tried being friendly to him and his friends for Cait's sake, but they humiliate me at every possible turn. The coffees before breakfasts, or coffee pre-breaks as I like to call them, have been a tradition Caitlin and I started back when we were freshmen in high school together. Then, after four years of doing it steadily, she blows it off because she was with 'Ronnie'."
"Shouldn't you let her explain and apologize?" Jay questioned, suddenly defensive.
"Whoa, cool your jets," Cisco said, holding up his hands in defense. "I try to be tolerant of Ronnie, but slowly he's changing her from the fun-loving, kind Caitlin I grew up with. Now she's just some play toy to him and she doesn't even see that. I don't want her to get hurt." Jay was silent and Cisco relished the quiet air between them. He knew he should apologize to Caitlin. In fact, he was planning on it, but he also needed time to relax and figure out what to do with Ronnie.
"I'm on the football team," Jay said, breaking the silence. "Auditioned yesterday and got QB."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Cisco said, flipping so he was facing Jay. His eyebrow slightly raised. "You got QB?" Jay nodded. "No joke, absolutely QB?" Jay nodded again. "Dude, thank you so much!"
"For what?" Jay asked, running to catch up to Cisco as he bounded down the hallway in happiness.
"First, it means I have a friend on the football team, and second, Ronnie's always gotten QB in the four years we've gone to school together," Cisco chuckled. "What part did he get?"
"Last name?"
"Raymond." Jay was silent for a second before he answered, "I think he's on offensive, but I can't seem to remember." Cisco seemed to squeal with glee, though of course he denied it. He came to Jitters and was surprised to see not only Caitlin, but also Lisa.
"Hey girls," Cisco said, and the two of them looked up, smiling.
"Hey guys!" they called out, waving to them. Cisco and Jay ordered their drinks before taking a seat across from them.
"Cisco, I hope that you don't mind, but I brought Lisa here," Caitlin said, sipping her coffee nervously. "I was rushing out of the dorm and she just ran after me saying I forgot my homework, and…"
"Cait, it's totally cool," Cisco interrupted her. "Lisa and I met yesterday while you were with Ronnie." He gestured to Jay. "I hope you don't mind that I brought Jay today." She shook her head, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. Cisco smirked and so did Lisa. "So, you two are roommates?"
"Yep," Lisa answered. "We also got these three other girls: Felicity Smoak, Iris West, and Jesse Wells." The four of them had a great time with each other, just chatting and learning about each other. Finally, there was a slight ringing. "Sorry guys, I gotta jet. I have criminology with Mr. Singh."
"I have to leave as well," Jay said, glancing at the clock. "Otherwise I'm going to be late." Cisco made eye contact with Caitlin, who was suddenly interested in her coffee cup's lid.
"We'll leave in a second," Cisco put in, and Jay nodded, walking with Lisa out of the coffee shop. "Cait, admit it."
"What?" she asked, startled.
"Admit it that you're beginning to crush on Jay!" Cisco whispered underneath his breath.
"I can't!" she hissed back. "I'm dating Ronnie." She bit her lip. "I got to go." She gathered her things and she quickly left, leaving Cisco smirking.
:/:\:
(Barry)
"A what?" Barry asked in disbelief. Jesse, the girl who had helped him find his dorm, nodded excitedly.
"A dance!" she giggled excitedly. "Isn't that cool? And, what's even better is it's called an 'awkward' dance."
"What's so cool about an 'awkward' dance?" Barry asked, still confused.
"An 'awkward' dance is where the couples are people who don't know each other very well," Jesse explained. "So, it would be like you asking me to it, because we don't know each other that well. The only bummer is that it is absolutely mandatory, so everyone needs to find a partner."
"When is the deadline due for a date?" Barry questioned. Jesse was quiet for a moment as she racked her brain for an answer.
"I think two weeks," she said. "But you better find someone quick. Who knows who might be left when those two weeks are gone." She flipped around and stalked off, leaving Barry clueless. He whipped his phone out.
Barry Allen
Did you know about this whole 'awkward' dance?
Lisa Snart
Jesse girl told us earlier. Haven't given it much thought.
Barry Allen
Even though it's mandatory?
Lisa Snart
When have I ever followed the rules? ;p
Barry Allen
Well, I personally don't want to get kicked out of the school, thank you very much. So how about it?
Lisa Snart
How about what?
Barry Allen
Will you be my date for the 'awkward' dance?
Lisa Snart
You certainly know how to charm a girl, Allen, I'll give you that. Are you sure I'm the girl you want to be asking? My BF might be upset to know I went with somebody else.
Barry Allen
I'm used to being bullied. I can handle it.
Lisa Snart
Then yes, Mr. Allen. I wouldn't mind being your date.
:/:\:
(Oliver)
"A what?" Oliver gasped. Iris nodded, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Since Barry was meeting up with Lisa for tutoring, Oliver had volunteered to take his place and be with Iris.
"I know, right?" Iris said, rolling her eyes. "Jesse said it's called an 'awkward' dance. It's probably some lame attempt to get the kids to socialize with each other more, as if we don't already."
"Adults," Oliver muttered under his breath. Iris caught it, though, and snorted. She gently punched Oliver's arm.
"We're technically adults," she said, smiling. "Anyways, I don't want some weirdo to ask me! I mean, if it was someone I kind of knew…"
"Has any weirdos asked you?" Oliver asked, not really curious but not wanting to talk.
"Three," she moaned, resting her forehead on the table. "And each one of them I denied because they were weirdos. Like, Class A, worse than your roommate, Cisco, weirdos."
"You lie," Oliver said, digging into his salad. "There are no bigger weirdos than Cisco." Iris laughed and Oliver suddenly felt his hands go sweaty. "Hey, you said you wanted to go to this dance with someone you kind of knew, right?" Iris nodded, coming back up to dig into her sandwich. "Would you be willing to go with me?" She paused and looked at him with astonishment.
"You?" she said, almost accusingly. Oliver flinched. "Sorry, that came out a lot meaner than I meant." She looked at Oliver. "Why should I say yes?"
"I'll figure out your favorite flowers and chocolates."
"Deal," she said, laughing. "I am now actually taken by one Mr. Oliver Queen." Oliver laughed and shook his head.
"I thought you were dating someone," Oliver said, tilting his head slightly.
"Yeah, that's Detective Eddie Thawne," Iris explained. "He's my dad's partner. He said he's going to come to CCPC soon to get a higher degree in criminology!"
"Cool," Oliver said, just as his phone pinged. He glanced down at it as the name Barry Allen flashed. "One sec." He put his phone to his ear and stepped away from Iris. "Allen, you have to answer two questions: one, how did you get my number and two, what do you want?"
"Answer one, I met your tutor, Felicity, and she helped me figure out your phone number by hacking into the school's computer database. Answer two, you heard about that whole dance thing?"
Oliver nodded, then realized he was on the phone, and answered, "Yeah."
"Anyways, I just wanted to see if you got a date yet. Right now, I'm going to go with Lisa Snart, the girl Cisco met at Jitters and my forensics' tutor," Barry said through the phone. "What about you?"
"I'm going with your friend, Iris West," Oliver responded. "Although I'm going to need to learn her favorite flowers and chocolates and soon."
"I got you, bro," Barry told him. "Text Jay and Wally. Cisco just walked into Jitters so I'll see what he's going to do."
"Gotcha." Oliver hung up and walked back to the table, where Iris was looking at him suspiciously.
"What was that about?" she demanded. "I heard my name mentioned." Oliver tried to give her his best innocent look.
"Why would it be anything to concern yourself with?" he asked very politely. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Might I remind you, Mr. Queen, that my dad and my boyfriend are cops and detectives," she whispered. "I know for a fact that you mentioned my name."
"Barry called and asked if I had gotten a date for this whole 'awkward' dance thing yet," he explained. "So, I said yes and asked him to help me figure out the flowers and chocolate thing."
"Cheater!" she laughed and Oliver just returned with a playful grin.