A/N: I'm back! Sorry it's been a while...I'm pretty busy… Anyway, please leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter!
Barry stared back at her, trying to process what he was seeing. Her hair...the white strands gleamed in stark contrast against her chestnut locks. And white hair could only mean one thing…
"It's not what you think," Caitlin gasped out, bending down to reach her lost towel and cover her dripping hair from his view. The movement briefly distracted Barry from his thoughts - her movement highlighted her long legs, only covered to mid-thigh by her fuzzy robe. "I, uh, tried to dye it!"
Barry blinked twice, trying to regain his focus. "Dye it?" he finally asked incredulously. He had always know that Caitlin was a lousy liar, but this just proved it.
Nodding, she refused to meet his eyes. "Yep. Blonde. But I left the dye on too long and then, well," she smiled nervously and gestured towards her towel-covered hair. "You'd think, being a scientist and all, I'd know how to work some simple chemicals!"
Barry rolled his eyes. "Come on, Cait. You can tell me the truth. Trust me." He stepped forward and placed one hand on her shoulder, pulling her close to him in a comforting embrace. HIs lips against her hair, he breathed in her scent - she smelled like fresh snow mingled with a light floral aroma. "What happened?" he muttered, his lips brushing her hair.
"I...I don't know," she mumbled against his chest.
"When did it start?"
"A few months ago, I...I think," she replied, pulling away a bit. He could see lines of moisture on her cheek, but decided it was a good idea not to mention them. "I keep hoping that…" she trailed off, pulling away from him completely and moving to sit on her couch. He sat down beside her and took her hand in his. It was freezing, but he forced himself not to flinch at the cold.
"I know," he drew soothing circles on the palm of her hand with his thumb. "It's going to be okay. I promise."
"How can you promise that?" she asked him, her lips trembling slightly as she tried to keep her emotions under control. It killed him to see her like this, so vulnerable and hopeless. She pulled her hand from his and folded her arms, her posture shutting him out.
He looked down and sighed. "Cait, I don't know how things are going to work out," he admitted heavily, but I know that you're one of my best friends and we're going to figure things out. I'm not going to abandon you."
Sniffing quietly, Caitlin forced a small smile as she met his eyes again. "I'm lucky," she whispered, "to have a friend like you, especially with...everything."
As he stared into Caitlin's eyes, Barry felt something stir inside of himself, something foreign and deep. Something that scared him slightly, but also sparked this need - a need for her. Her eyes were so beautiful, and deep, and so full of sadness that it tore at his heart. All he wanted, more than anything else, was to help her forget that pain. Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned in towards her, slowly… Her eyes drifted closed and she didn't pull away as his lips hovered so close to hers that he could feel her exhaled breath, like an invitation for him to close the rest of the distance.
His phone rang, startlingly loud in the silence, breaking the moment. Both of them jerked back instantly. Caitlin's eyes shot open, and Barry could read the confusion written across their beautiful depths. Her breath was uneven and a blush was forming across her cheeks as she shifted away from him, again tugging at her robe to stop it from exposing much more of her leg.
"You...you should get that," she advised, running a nervous hand through her hair.
Barry cleared his throat, trying to shake off whatever that moment of insanity was that had nearly caused him to kiss Caitlin. He finally almost had some sort of a relationship with Iris, and though they weren't exclusive, he didn't want to shut that door before he gave it a shot - or did he? With a rough shake of his head, he cut off his thoughts and answered his phone after a quick glance at the caller ID. "Cisco, what is it?"
He listened intently for a moment, acutely aware of Caitlin's gaze on him the whole time. Finally he hung up. "Meta. Downtown, at a jewelry store."
"Go," she said immediately.
Hesitatingly, Barry stroked back a lock of the white hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. "I'll be back," he promised. "As soon as I've dealt with the meta."
She didn't meet his eyes as she replied, "I have to be getting to the lab anyways. Do my part to keep Central City safe."
"I'll be back," he repeated, ignoring her attempts to avoid his promise. Then, before she could say anything else, he sped off to find the criminal meta.
…
"Talk to us, Barry," Cisco's voice came through the coms, sounding slightly frantic at Barry's lack of response.
Panting, Barry leaned forward and glanced around the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of the meta. "I'm fine, guys," he responded quietly, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. "I just can't get anywhere near him!"
Caitlin's voice took over the coms. "As far as I can tell, he's emitting a force field of some sort of pure energy."
"Then how am I supposed to bring him in?"
"Distract him?" she suggested. "Obviously, he can control the energy enough that he's not repelling everything around him, so if you can distract him enough that he forgets to concentrate, it is possible that maybe the energy might dissipate."
"Well, that was a whole lot of confidence," Barry muttered, preparing himself to go at the meta again. At least the meta seemed to have no offensive powers and no real desire to hurt anyone - while he had a gun, he'd done little more than wave it around to scare the employees into opening the jewelry vaults.
Glancing around the corner again, Barry determined that the coast was clear, and that maybe he could sneak up from behind. Maybe he could get into the store through a window or something before the meta realized he was there.
Barry neared the back of the jewelry store at full speed, glancing around to see if there was a convenient entryway. The back door was locked - he tried it as he sped by, and his only other option was to use the window in the side. He hurtled through it, his speed and quick healing allowing him to ignore any minor scrapes from the impact.
There was no sign of the meta. Barry looked around wildly, but all he could see was broken glass and a couple terrified employees cowering on the floor amidst the wrecked remains of the window. "Sorry," he apologized to everyone. "Did you see which way he…?"
A women to his left shook her head.
"Uh, thanks anyway." Shaking his head, Barry sped back to the lab.
…
Caitlin sat, alone in the dark, wishing that the numbness would leave, even just for a little bit. Wishing that she could feel something again.
Earlier, when Barry had almost kissed her, she had thought that she'd felt a whisper of something, but then his phone had rung and the moment had shattered. She'd probably imagined everything, though - he was probably just going to kiss her on the cheek. They were friends, nothing more. Even if a sliver of her wished that they could be something more, something that would warm up her what had frozen inside her.
Then, dealing with the meta had almost sparked a bit of her former passion and dedication to her work, but the incident was over before it had really began. The meta had vanished without a trace, and so had Caitlin's hopes of a distraction from her problems.
With a sigh, she pulled off the hat she was wearing, overtop of the simple bun she had twisted her hair into, and allowed her hair to fall free. She hadn't wanted anyone else asking questions at the lab, and so she had hidden the white streaks. If she was quieter than usual, no one had noticed, thankfully.
A hand touched her shoulder.
Caitlin screamed, and ice sprayed in all directions as her powers reacted to her fear Distantly, she heard the sound of things falling as her blast toppled various decorations off her shelves and coffee table.
"Caitlin, stop," Barry's shout penetrated her panic, and she felt him speed to her and put his arms around her. "It's just me, Cait."
Slowly, she relaxed into him, the temperature in the room rising as she took deep, gulping breaths. Tears leaked from her eyes, but she didn't bother to brush them away, instead focusing on calming down. "Haven't you...heard of knocking?" she finally asked.
"I did, he muttered, his breath hot against her ear. "And then I was worried when there was no response, so I let myself in."
"So you decided to give me a heart attack?" She forced some humour into her voice.
He chuckled. "I did call your name, twice, trying to get your attention, but you were really out of it."
"Sorry. And sorry for…"
"Blasting me with ice? It's fine. I can vibrate my particles fast enough that I don't stay cold long."
Despite herself, Caitlin smiled. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you'd be trying to track the new meta."
"That can wait," he responded. "I promised you that I'd come back."
Caitlin still stood there, letting herself be held, and allowed the faintest spark of hope to glow next to her frozen heart.
Please review and let me know what you think! Also, if anyone has any ideas for what Cisco should name the meta in this chapter, I'm open to suggestions.