"So what happens now?"
"Good question."
I wished Barry and I had shared that conversation. But sadly, I was only having it with Lauren at Asterion.
A man carrying a large plank was about to hit me over the head.
"Careful!" Lauren cried to her employee, who excused himself with a blush.
I was helping Lauren clear the Great Hall of Dr. Kirsch's exhibition. A couple of days had passed since Turbulent Bull & Co were defeated (more or less) and almost everyone have calmed down by now. Barry was surprisingly cool with Kirsch, Harper and Odylon joining the team at S.T.A.R. Labs (I thought he would dislike them as much as that Dr. Wells, but he volunteered to guide their tour of the place and made bad jokes all the way!) Caitlin is still a little sceptic, Ronnie too, but Cisco was enthusiastic and welcomed them with a high-pitched "Sweet!"
"I guess, as soon as Dr. Kirsch and Harper come back from Amsterdam, they'll start working with the others at the lab."
My fairy godmother frowned.
"So they really went to Amsterdam!" she exclaimed. "On vacation?"
"Or like their one thousand and sixth honeymoon."
We giggled and Lauren shrugged her shoulders.
"Life can be pretty surprising, can't it?"
I am living proof! In just a few months of my life myths have shown to be true, villains have turned nice and feelings have appeared were they shouldn't… And to think it all began when I was struck by an explosive light and was saved by a flaming bonfire!
"You took the words right out of my mouth."
I cleared off the stall in front of me with a cloth and Lauren signed some papers. I couldn't help feeling observed by Lauren's chestnut-brown eyes.
"And what about you and Barry?" she inquired, making my jaw tense.
"Well, Barry's still a faloisti… foliumistic…" (How's it possible to forget that word all the time?)
"Forensic." Lauren corrected, grinning.
I chuckled.
"Yeah, he's still helping Detective West solve crimes. And you already know about me!" I tried to act as cheerful as ever. "Fall term begins on September the 1st."
I'd got the summoning letter from CCMA (Central City Musical Academy) the day before. It will be my last year there and I have no idea what comes after.
"It'll be nice for you to be creative again." Lauren said, pretending to believe my carefree disposition.
"And to see Eric." I smiled, meaning every word. "I think I'll give him another chance, like you wanted."
This made her chin drop and she paused to see if I was joking.
"I never said…"
"Oh, no, but you modesty implied that you liked the idea." I teased.
"That was a long time ago!"
"Only like a month."
"But one vital thing is different now that you and Barry…"
"Everything's happened so fast." I interrupted, trying to save myself from hurting.
Lauren grabbed a hold of my arms and forced me to look at her.
"Olivia... You love him."
Hearing her say it made the inside of my chest warm. Her gaze went from my face to the small light in my chest.
"I know you do." she concluded. "Have you talked to him since that night?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, but not about… you know… the kiss or anything."
"And you're just going to force your attention to Eric?"
She raised one disliking eyebrow.
"Barry's still with Iris as far as I'm aware!" I exclaimed. "Whenever I see him it feels like we're both pretending that nothing happened!"
"Maybe he's waiting for the right moment?"
I snorted.
"Then he's sure taking his time..." (for a man with supernatural speed)
I woke up after the weekend and realized it was my birthday! Adam, Lauren and dad sang to me while Lammy was constantly licking my face.
"What's the plan?" Adam asked, putting an entire chocolate brownie in his mouth.
I made a face before smiling.
"I'd like to stay home and just laze around all day!"
"You're not having an early age crisis, are you?" dad teased. "I wouldn't want you to steal my thunder!"
"Don't worry." I giggled and rested my back against the wall. "Since my hands have been full for a while now, I think I'm allowed one day to relax."
They all agreed by giving me another round of hugs.
"Plus I've got my period!" I added.
Lauren laughed when Adam shook his head.
"Too much information, sis."
During a tasty breakfast (with newly pressed orange juice and homemade scones) I picked up my phone. There was a text from Eric, sent at 00:04, wishing me a happy birthday with lots of grinning and winking smileys. I smiled to myself and sent him a green heart back.
"This also came for you." dad said, handing me a blue package.
Lauren frowned, reflecting how she could've missed it.
"Who from?"
"No idea. A new postman delivered it this morning."
I first thought of Barry, but since my dad knows him he would've recognized him if that was the case. I started opening the present and inside the wrapping paper was… a cooling blanket.
"There's a card here." Adam pointed out.
CARD: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEART. JUST SOMETHING TO HELP YOU CHILL.
An amused laugh slipped out of me as the light inside my chest started shining. This gift is proof that Leonard Snart (AKA Captain Cold) is my newest friend! (Not that I really needed proof, cause he and I hit it off immediately once he showed his better side.)
After lunch, my pals from S.T.A.R. Labs got in touch one by one. After I'd talked to Cisco, Caitlin, Ronnie and Iris - I got a call from my mom, as well! She sounded more interested than usual and I actually enjoyed those scarce 10 minutes of communication. Lammy and I spent our alone-hours in between by watching my favorite films, eating chocolate chips (Lammy chewed on a bone of her own) and laughing my butt off to funny videos!
"Wow, your birthday sounds really sad." Barry teased over the phone as the afternoon sneaked in.
I snorted with a smile, sitting comfortably on the couch.
"Like you'd expected me to go and party all my sense away!"
He chuckled through the phone.
"No, never." he said. "But I still thought you'd want to do something."
"I am doing something! I'm watching AFV."
"You want company?"
"Sure! But I don't think John Boyega's available."
Barry's giggle tingled my ear (if that's possible?)
"Seriously, Oz."
"Fine." I agreed. "You may come over, but I should probably warn you: I'm about to scare Adam away, cause there will be a lot of yammering due to female biology."
"I can relate to that, actually."
I gave away a laugh.
"That's true!"
Barry knocked on the door at half past five. Adam had been home from work about an hour.
"Happy birthday, Oz."
As I let him inside, my gaze froze on the beautiful bouquet of white daisies and pink roses in his hand. Barry grinned as he gave me a quick hug.
"Barry, I…"
"Flowers don't count as a present, Oz." he informed, raising his arms in defence. "I have a florist who can back me up on that."
I think I blushed, holding the flowers up to smell them (or more truthfully, to cover my cheeks).
"Thank you."
Adam joined us in the kitchen and Barry frowned at the sight of him.
"I thought she'd scare you away?"
Adam shook his head, handing him a beer.
"I'm used to this chocolate-eating monster, by now."
"It's just my powers he's not really comfortable with jet." I smirked. "He still sleeps with the fire extinguisher!"
Barry laughed as I fetched a saucepan and poured some oil and dried corns in it. Then I conjured a flame in my palm and put it inside, quickly placing the lid on. Violent popping began in a quarter of a second!
"Nice trick!" Adam commended as he returned to the living room.
I served the popcorn in large bowls and went back to the kitchen to pour myself some non-alcoholic cider.
"I got a present from Snart." I told Barry.
Barry's eyebrows climbed up on his forehead.
"No way!"
"Way!"
"I need to see this..."
I showed him the cooling blanket and he chuckled.
"Clearly, he doesn't want you to forget him."
"I must've made a great first impression!"
As we both had our hands on the blanket, they happened to touch. I didn't dare to look up and tried to act normal, but the light in my chest gave me away (as always).
"He seemed pretty taken by you." Barry said. "I don't blame him."
Adam called me back to reality and I snapped out of the temporary enchantment. For a couple of hours, the four of us watched TV and played video games. When we were out of popcorn, I got up to make some more. Barry followed me.
"Look, Oz. I didn't come here just to watch parents fall over their kids..." Barry clocked Adam with a knowing smile before looking back at me. "I actually wanted to steal you away for a while."
The suggestion caught me off guard, leaving butterflies swirling inside my stomach. I met his gaze and tried to determine what he was after.
"What for?"
Barry snorted with a laugh.
"It's your birthday, Oz!" he answered, secretively. "But just tell me if you don't want to go."
Adam shifted on the couch.
"This is why you'll never be a good crook, Barry." he sighed. "You're too much of a gentleman."
Barry glanced at him before looking determinedly at me.
"Point taken."
He speeded to my side, wrapped his arms around me and in milliseconds I found myself in a noisy blur of lights and sounds as he took us through Central City!
Barry let me down on what had to be a green hill, but then and there it was too dark to tell. My bare feet felt grass under them, though, as I looked out at a pitch black horizon decorated with an uncountable amount of sparkling lights! Silvery stars of different sizes and clarity were dancing next to the moon, just like fairies. Everything solid seemed to fall away as I gazed into the universe.
"When you wish upon a star…" Barry managed to sing before his own laugh interrupted him.
I grinned.
"You remembered."
He put his hands inside his pants pockets.
"I just figured, now that my wish to free my dad has become true, you should also be granted one."
"It's so much better than what I've been imagining..."
Our eyes locked. The stars reflected in his Earth-colored eyes.
"This is really sweet, Bear."
We lay down next to each other on the grass, losing ourselves in the view. I had a feeling that if I stared long enough at one star, I would somehow transport myself to its location. After a while, Barry sighed.
"I think I've figured out what Dr. Wells knew I hate."
"You have?"
He nodded.
"I hate that nothing lasts. Not even stars. Sooner or later their light goes out."
"What a depressing thought!"
I tried to tease him, but he wasn't in the mood.
"It's the same with people." he philosophised on. "Not every friendship is meant to last a lifetime. What does last forever is the pain when that person is gone."
I turned to the side to face him.
"But the pain only lasts a few generations, cause after that you're gone too." I pointed out. "No one will be remembered forever."
He scowled at me, which made me giggle (and that only made him stare at me more!)
"That's not funny. How can you say something so sad?"
"It's not just sad!" I exclaimed. "It's beautiful! It means every relationship, every meeting, is completely unique. One of a kind! The beauty of it is that it's rare and doesn't last forever."
He paused for a second.
"When you put it that way..." he mumbled.
I reached out and grabbed Barry's hand.
"Thank you for everything, Bear."
But the peace was gone the moment I touched him. He responded quickly by standing up. He turned to me with a look of desperation, his hands on his hips and with the starry sky in the background.
"I have to be honest with you, Oz."
I got curious.
"Shoot."
"I love Iris." he blurted out. "I've always known that! She was the first person I connected with after everything with my parents… Every path I've chosen in my life has always been leading to her. It's clear to me now that I've overlooked possibilities of ever being happy with somebody else… cause I knew she's the one."
He stopped, almost looking scared.
"You're not her, Oz."
The words stung like the sharp claws of a cat. An angry cat, taking out its aggressions on my all-too-thin heart. I felt myself trembling as the heat rose to my head and the light in my chest gave me away again.
"No." What else could I say? "No, I'm not."
I avoided his gaze and that next minute of silence couldn't end fast enough.
"But I can't overlook you."
I met his face, frowning.
"Huh?"
He smiled, cheekily.
"Your light is too strong."
I almost felt out of breath.
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'm telling the truth!"
Barry took my arm and with a leap I was on my feet, only inches away from him. Our fingers entwined. He swallowed.
"I don't want to be the kind of guy who's with the girl because he needs her." he continued, looking into my eyes. "I want to be one who's with her because he wants her. And I want you…"
He flashed a wide smile when he noticed my stunned face (I was starting to believe him).
"Olivia Zoe." he continued. "With your way-too-impulsive mind and childish sense of humor!"
"Hey!" I pretended to be offended. "There's nothing wrong with being like that."
He giggled as he lowered his gaze. It fell on my mouth and suddenly his hand reached up, gently stroking my jawline.
"No, there isn't."
Our heads moved closer and I could feel the brush of his breath against my cheek. I ran my fingers through his short hair and smiled when his mouth met mine. Eyes closed, we were illuminated by the light beaming out of me! It felt so right. Magical, to say the least! I pressed myself against him, forcefully, not wanting to let go of this moment and it made him fumble slightly. We laughed.
"The best… birthday… ever." I said in between kisses.
We paused to breathe and smiled at each other. Then Barry closed the space between us with another, lingering kiss.
"Olivia."
"Yeah?"
"I..."
A loud noise rumbled across the field and I turned to spot one of the brightest stars moving in the darkness above!
"A shooting star." I guessed (I didn't have a clue, to tell the truth). The light was traveling rather slowly across The Wagon.
"It's growing bigger?" Barry wondered out loud. "Watch out!"
The supposed-to-be-a-star flew straight over our heads and hit the ground on the meadow with a large crash!
"What the fudge!" I exclaimed.
Together we hurried down the hill and entered the dusty, grey mist. We both coughed, unpleasantly.
"Can you do something about this?" I asked, my voice sounding wheezy.
Barry nodded and used his super-speed to circle his arms, creating a wind that dispersed the mist. As the vision cleared, we were standing in front of what looked like a small submarine...
"A spaceship!" I jumped to it, my curiosity boosting. It was no Millennium Falcon, but the thought struck me that there has to be life in a galaxy far, far away...
Barry was too lost in his thoughts to hear me.
"There's someone in there."
Without words, I burnt the door off and Barry tucked it aside. We leaned closer to the passenger seat, expecting a red martian, but found a young man. He looked human enough, peaceful in his unconscious state, but it turned out he's not from this planet. His name is Mon-El of Daxam.
Olivia Zoe
10th of August 2015
This chapter ends with a cliffhanger, even though I'd planned this to be the final one. Olivia's grown just like I wanted her to and so has Barry :)
I imagine the story goes on, but I'm afraid my ideas have run out as to what the next part should be about. I think Mon-El (from Supergirl) would be a good tribute to the Little Heart Team, that's why I've written him in.
If you have any suggestions on what might follow or just want me to continue, let me know!
Until next time! :)
INSPIRATION SONGS THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN THE STORY:
Little Heart: "Live it up" (Colbie Caillat), "Weightless" (Natasha Bedingfield), "Something just like this" (The Chainsmokers feat. Coldplay)
Olivia's love: "2/14" (The Band CAMINO), "Put your arms around me" (Natasha Bedingfield)
Leonard Snart: "New Romantics" (Taylor Swift)
Barry & Olivia: "Go" (Cody Fry)