AN: Thanks to AReiss215, Eliley, Guest, ShanouNash, and shorty1773 for reviewing!
Barry is proud of himself.
He managed to talk Cisco from 6:30 AM all the way to 7:00 PM.
"Why should we wake up early? It's spring break."
"The faster we get there the better."
"What is the beach gonna do? Disappear if we don't get there fast enough?"
"Maybe!"
It took a lot of argumentation, but eventually Barry convinced him. Provided, of course, he bring gummy worms.
"Five bags."
"One."
"Six bags."
"One."
"Three bags."
"Two."
"Deal."
So here they stand, a little before 7:00, in Cisco's driveway. Cisco's chewing is loud and obnoxious as he scarfs down two or three gummy worms at a time. Barry tries to ignore it, instead focusing on the sun's slow descent over the horizon. It's pretty. Barry hopes it's some kind of good omen.
"Uuuugh, where's Caaaaaaaaaitliiiiin?" Cisco whines between bites.
"It's not even 7:00 yet."
"Yeah, but you know her. Always five minutes early to everything."
"Maybe she made the wise decision to bail on the trip," Barry snarks. She had yet to contact either of them to confirm or deny whether she was coming. Cisco, however, still holds out hope. "I should've done that."
Cisco groans.
"You're really killing the vibe here, man."
"What vibe? There's no vibe. It's 7:00 PM and we're standing in your driveway waiting to go on a stupid, waste-of-time-and-money trip."
"6:57, actually. Weren't you the one who just told me it's not even 7:00?" Barry is filled with the urge to backhand him. "And hey, you're already here. Might as well make the most of it."
Barry grumbles something incoherent before a thought crosses his mind.
"Cisco, did you book the hotel?"
He scoffs.
"Of course, what do you take me f—"
"No, I mean when did you get us a room?"
He thinks about it for a few seconds.
"Like a month ago? Maybe two? Always good to get in early."
Barry stares at him in confusion.
"I didn't agree to come until last week."
Cisco rolls his eyes.
"Like there was ever a chance you would say no."
"Y'know, every time you open your mouth I'm tempted to grab my bags and drive home."
"Too late! We shook on it!"
Before their rapport can continue, Caitlin's baby blue sedan pulls into the driveway next to them. Cisco jumps out and down in jubilation, flailing his arms instead of waving. Caitlin offers a half-smile as she steps out of her car.
"See, I told him you would wise up!" He wraps his arms around her so tightly she looks like she's struggling to breathe.
"Cisco — ow — personal space," she says tightly. He lets her go with a goofy grin.
"I'll get your luggage."
Barry steps over and a smile spreads across both of their faces.
"I see you've come to watch the show," he teases.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Thank you for telling me about the time change. I would have rather not shown up here at 6:30 in the morning for no reason."
"Of course. Thank you for not leaving me to rot in the sun all by myself."
"Well I can always type my essays on the beach."
Barry gasps.
"Okay, first off, using any electronic devices on the beach should be, like, a Class A felony. Do you want sand rattling around in there forever?" She chuckles. "And second off, you're planning to do academic work on the beach trip?"
"What's wrong with multitasking?"
"Everything if the tasks are incompatible."
"Hey, you should be glad I'm coming at all."
His grin turns honest.
"I am."
There's a beat and then they lean in for a hug. Theirs is less aggressive than Cisco's, and more meaningful. When they pull away Barry notices dark circles under her eyes. He does his best to mask his worry.
"Did you sleep okay?"
She shrugs, eyes darting away.
"Not particularly."
He can't hold back his frown.
"Alright, just waiting for one more passenger!" Cisco exclaims, apparently having jumped out of thin air. He throws his arms around them and Barry hopes Caitlin didn't hear the manly squeak he just let out.
"Jesus," Barry breathes.
"Some warning would be appreciated next time," Caitlin adds, holding a hand over her heart.
"What, you couldn't hear my—oh, there she is!"
And just as quickly as he appeared he's gone. He jogs down the driveway towards a newly-arrived black truck and Barry and Caitlin share a look of confusion.
"One more passenger?" she asks. He shrugs. Cisco hadn't mentioned another passenger. Then again this whole trip was sort of a last-minute, impromptu affair to begin with.
And then Barry's eyes widen, because out of the car appears Cynthia.
"What the hell?"
The man did it.
Barry can hardly believe it but Cisco managed to convince Cynthia to come to the beach with him. IN HIS CAR.
Insane. Unprecedented. Impossible. Although when has Cisco ever not been those things?
His romantic history is frankly unfair. While Barry was busy getting the shit kicked out of him by Snart and Rory, Cisco and Lisa were making out in the science room. And when Carter was threatening to stab Barry to death, where was Cisco? Oh right, bringing flowers and heart-shaped chocolates to Kendra's house.
And now he's convinced the scariest, tough-as-nails-est girl in their entire school to take a four-hour drive to the beach with him? How in the hell does he keep getting so lucky? Is he some kind of wizard?
Not to be mean, but let's be real, Cisco isn't necessarily the archetypical ladies' man.
Barry groans, however, at the realization that he no longer has shotgun. This also means he won't be in control of the music, which leaves them with three likely outcomes:
A: Cisco attempts to play what he thinks is 'cool people music' in some vain attempt to impress Cynthia.
B: Cisco gives Cynthia control of the aux cord, leaving her to play whatever-the-hell kind of music she listens to. Likely death metal.
C: Cisco foregoes playing music at all, and instead tries to flirt with Cynthia the entire ride. This has its own separate sub-outcomes:
1: Cynthia gets sick of his incessant chattering and forces him to drop her off at a bus stop. This is the ideal sub-outcome.
2: Cynthia gets sick of his incessant chattering and eventually puts in headphones to drown him out. Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin are left in uneasy silence for the next three and a half hours.
3: Cynthia gets sick of his incessant chattering and grabs the steering wheel, swerving them into oncoming traffic to end their collective suffering.
Any outcome/sub-outcome will be uncomfortable and/or cringey, and Barry is regretting being here more and more with each passing second.
Caitlin brings him out of his thoughts.
"How awkward do you think the next four hours are going to be?"
"On a scale from one to ten?"
She nods. He's tempted to say eleven, but the optimist within him wins out.
"A solid eight."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Only eight?"
"Maybe it'll be entertaining."
They share a smirk as Cisco and Cynthia approach. He's scrambling to keep up with her as she stomps toward the car.
Alright, maybe that is just how she walks.
"Hey guys," Cisco says, clearly trying not to sound nervous.
(He's failing.)
"You know Cynthia, right?"
"Hey Caitlin," Cynthia says, much to Barry's surprise. He didn't think they were friends. Or that they even knew each other. It's not like they walk in the same social circles.
Actually, as far as Barry knows, Cynthia doesn't walk in any social circles.
Cailin offers a smile.
"Hey Cynthia."
"Hi," Barry says with a little wave. She nods at him.
"Alright!" Cisco claps his hands together as Cynthia loads her luggage into the trunk. "Who's ready for the beach?"
HIs excitement is not at all reciprocated.
"I'll take your lack of reaction to mean yes. Let's go!"
They load into the car, he and Cynthia in the front and Barry and Caitlin in the back as predicted. The car starts and pulls out of the driveway and Barry waits in uneasy silence for Cisco to make his move. He frankly doesn't know which of the outcomes (or sub-outcomes) would be worse.
"So, Cynthia," Cisco says, "you wanna be the jam master?"
Barry slumps into his seat and sighs. Perhaps not as bad as dying in a fiery crash, but still annoying.
Cynthia stares blankly at him. "What?"
"Music. You, uh, wanna pick the music?"
"Alright." She pulls out her phone. "Where's the aux cord?"
Barry reaches for it. Despite his reluctance to hear Cynthia's music, he's not above being a little helpful. Evidently Caitlin shares the same sentiment, as they both end up grabbing the other's hand instead of the cord. They share an awkward, apologetic look.
"Uh, I—"
"I'll just—"
Barry wonders if her face is heating up as much as his.
They both pull their hands away and lean back into their respective seats. Cisco gives Barry a pointed look in the rearview.
"Uh, Barry? Aux cord?" His voice is tight. This time Barry is the only one to move, grabbing it from its position between the seats and placing it in Cynthia's outstretched hand.
"Thanks," she murmurs. Barry hums a 'you're welcome' and an uneasy silence fills the car.
Evidently those few seconds of awkward are too much for Cisco, who tries to engage the passengers in some small talk.
"You guys ready for Mr. Wells' mega essay?"
"Seriously?" Cynthia asks. "We're on our way to the beach and you're talking about essays.
Cisco looks panickedly at Barry in the mirror, and he shrugs. Cisco takes a deep breath.
"Well, in my defense, he assigned it over spring break."
Cynthia looks up from her phone.
"I thought teachers weren't supposed to do that."
"They're not. But he kinda found a way around it."
She raises an eyebrow and Barry smirks.
Way to go, man. Just converse. Be normal. Don't say anything stupid.
He hopes Cisco is receiving the brain waves he's sending.
"He told us there's a massive test due next Tuesday and he gave us all the guidelines and requirements and the rubric and stuff. He said he can't tell us to start working until Monday but it would" —Cisco does his best snooty, scientific, Harrison Wells voice—"'behoove you all to get started ahead of time, lest you risk dropping an entire letter grade because of an ill-prepared assignment.' Or something."
Cynthia chuckles. "That old man is such a hardass. When I had him for chem he gave me detention like ten times."
"Didn't you set something on fire?"
"Several somethings, actually."
"Damn, girl, I know you're hot but that's a little excessive."
Barry almost facepalms. It was going so well and Cisco just had to drop that bomb of corny, awkward, and unfunny right into the middle of the conversation.
But Cynthia laughs — genuinely laughs — at it. Cisco glances at him in the mirror and Barry just kind of blinks. He's definitely a wizard.
Cynthia finally picks out a song and, to Barry's surprise, it's not death metal. Nor is it something hardcore or scary or stompy. Soft 50s diner pop begins playing through the speakers.
He and Caitlin exchange a surprised expression and Cisco gives Cynthia a look.
"Problem with my music?"
"Not at all. Just not what I expected."
She smirks.
"I'm full of surprises."
The song continues and Cynthia begins singing along. She has a surprisingly-pleasant voice, too.
"Wow girl, you've got hella pipes."
She stops singing, giving him a look.
"Keep it in your pants, Cisco."
"If you insist."
Barry's not sure whether to be proud of him for keeping his cool or if he should feel sick, because wow that interaction was vomit-inducing.
"Barry?" Caitlin asks.
"What's up?"
"You wouldn't happen to have a pair of earbuds, would you?"
He digs through his hoodie pocket, pulling out a tangled mess of black and red.
"Is 50s pop not your jam?" he asks as he untangles it. She shakes her head.
"Not particularly." He hands over the ear buds. "I would also not like to hear that conversation progress any further."
They share a look of disdain.
"You and me both."
She plugs in one headphone and hits play, nodding her head back and forth a little.
"So what is your jam?"
She quirks an eyebrow.
"You said you don't like 50s music. What does Caitlin Snow listen to? The press demands to know!"
She chuckles.
"Music." Her tone isn't snarky or harsh. If anything it's timid.
"Oh, really?" he teases. "Care to share?"
A blush slowly creeps across her features.
"Promise you won't laugh?"
Oh now he's curious.
"Pinky promise." He extends his pinky and she, after a few moments of trepidation, loops hers in it. She moves over to the middle seat, as the cord isn't long enough for them to comfortably share from too far away. Barry puts in an earbud and leans closer to her.
Of all the things he expected Caitlin to listen to, disco wasn't even on the list. He expected something surprising, like maybe gangster rap, or awful country music, or tribal music, or some other random-ass genre. Just not disco. Honest, legit, deader-than-a-day-old-mayfly disco. Barry can't help his massive grin.
Caitlin's blush burns brighter and she looks embarrassed.
"Hey, I'm not laughing," he says, poking her good-naturedly. She looks down, pursing her lips, and he feels a twinge of guilt. "Come on, this is no time for pouting. How can you pout with this playing?"
She doesn't look up and he starts snapping to the rhythm and bobbing his head. She raises an eyebrow and he starts swaying, knocking against her shoulder every other beat. She bites her lip to suppress a smile and he starts headbanging like he's listening to death metal.
"Oh yeah, this is my jam!"
His groove is only interrupted when she bursts into a fit of giggles.
"Oh my god," she says between laughs. He feigns hurt.
"I thought we pinky promised! No laughing!"
"If I recall correctly, you were the only one to make that promise." He feigns a glare now. "And you broke that." She prods him playfully.
"Ow, I didn't even"—she keeps poking him—"okay, fine, I'm sorry. Are we even now?"
"I suppose." A teasing smile graces her features.
The song fades and switches and Barry puts his groove to rest.
"So, what's your 'jam,' then?" she asks. He shrugs.
"I like a little bit of everything, I guess. Don't have a favorite genre, really."
"Eclectic," she says. He hesitates before nodding, not 100% sure he knows the word's meaning. "It's nice to have a wide variety of music to listen to." He nods again, this time confidently. "Would you like to be the… 'jam master?'"
There's a pause as both of their faces scrunch up.
"Wow, that's a cringy phrase," he says.
"Agreed. My sincerest apologies."
"Apologies accepted. And are you sure?" He resumes his groove. "I'm diggin' this vibe."
She chuckles again before unplugging the headphones.
"It only seems fair. Your headphones, your music."
He pulls his phone out and plugs them in, scrolling through his playlist. His thumb hovers over the play button.
"So, uh, are we done laughing at each other's taste in music?"
"Why do you ask?"
His expression goes serious.
"Yes or no, Caitlin?"
"Yes. Why?"
He hits play and a drumline starts, followed by arguably the most famous saxophone line in recorded history. Or at least internet meme culture history.
She blinks at him.
"Barry."
"Yes?"
"Really?"
"Yep."
She shakes her head, smiling bemusedly.
And so they listen to Careless Whisper, along with all the other good, bad, and ugly songs on Barry's list. Call Me Maybe plays as the sun sets. They boost the volume of Africa when Cisco and Cynthia get progressively flirtier. They even forego the only bathroom stop to finish rocking out to Bohemian Rhapsody.
They're finishing You Belong With Me as Cisco pulls into the hotel parking lot.
"Wow," Barry says. "That was a lot shorter than I expected."
"Time flies when you're having fun," Caitlin says, smiling as she removes the earbud. Barry puts his phone down and unbuckles his seatbelt.
"Yes it does."
"Alright my friends, let's get wild!" Cisco jumps out of the car and runs around back to open the trunk. Barry and Caitlin share a look of confusion.
"Get wild?" she asks.
"It's like 11:30. This is not wild time."
"Any time is wild time if you try hard enough," Cynthia says with a wink, jumping out of the car and following in Cisco's footsteps.
"Can we just stay in here?" Barry asks. Caitlin shrugs.
"He'll probably physically drag us if we don't get out in the next few seconds."
They exit into the nighttime heat of the beach town. Barry fans himself, already feeling his palms sweating. He slips out of his hoodie and stuffs it in his bag.
"Goddamn, it's hot here," Cynthia mutters, holding a travel bag in her hands.
"Yeah, because it's totally not that leather jacket you refuse to take off," Cisco snarks.
She raises an eyebrow.
"You trying to get me to strip for you, Ramon?"
He smirks.
"What if I was?"
Barry's nose scrunches up in disgust.
Cynthia shrugs, unzipping the jacket and throwing it over her shoulder. She gives Cisco a pointed look before strutting off towards the hotel. Barry's fairly confident the strutting is purposeful.
"I think I'm in love," Cisco says as soon as she's out of earshot. Barry slaps him on the back of the head. "Ow, come on!"
"No, you come on."
"No, you come on!"
"No, you—"
Caitlin rolls her eyes, walking off with her own bags in hand. Cisco and Barry follow in tow, still bickering like 5-year-olds. They only stop when the automatic doors slide open and they're slapped in the face by the hotel's beautiful air conditioning.
Check-in happens without a hitch. Barry and Cisco get their room a short walk from the lobby. Caitlin, having booked late, ends up on the third floor. Cynthia refuses to tell anyone where she's staying. Or, rather, refuses to tell Cisco. Not like Barry or Caitlin were asking.
Barry drops his bags on the floor, taking the bed closest to the window. He basks in the A/C a little because Cynthia's right, this town is town is hot.
"I'm freaking out!" Cisco exclaims, pacing in a U around Barry's bed.
"Why are you shouting?"
"She's so scary!" He rakes his hands through his hair roughly.
"I'm pretty sure we've known that for a while now."
"I feel like she's gonna kill me in my sleep and I dunno I'm kinda into that but I dunno if she's into me but I wanna make out with her so frickin' bad and god if she's into me I can't even tell you the things I would do to—"
"Yeah, no, you're right, you can't tell me so please don't." Barry shakes his head. "What are you talking about? She's obviously into you. You were disgustingly smooth." Cisco stops pacing for a moment. "To clarify, I mean disgustingly as in it made me want to vomit. But for real, you did good."
"I was just going on impulse! I was feeling the vibe, y'know?"
Barry stares at him blankly and he groans in exasperation.
"Okay so you know when you're tryna make the moves on a hottie and she's vibing with it and you just get into this zone and you don't know what you're saying but you get all confident?"
"Be honest with me, what do you think the answer to that question is going to be?"
"Okay, whatever, but even if I'm doing good what if she's not into it? What if she's just having fun?"
"Isn't that what you wanted?'
Cisco takes a seat on the bed, sighing.
"I mean, yeah… yeah?"
Barry gives him a look.
"Cisco."
"Yes," he says confidently. "I wanna have a good spring break." He sighs. "I just don't wanna mess it up, y'know? It's the only one we've got."
Barry sits up and puts a hand on Cisco's shoulder.
"Then just keep feeling that vibe, man. You were doing great."
Cisco looks at him hopefully.
"You really think so?"
"Of course. You've got this. Just keep being smooth."
"Got it. Don't be myself."
"What? No, be yourself. Just be smooth."
Cisco looks at him sideways.
"How can I be both things? You're asking me to be Schroedinger's Cisco, here."
Barry hits him lightly.
"Stop hitting me!"
"Just don't overthink it. Do your thing." Barry chuckles. "Your gross, disgusting, totally-not-PG thing. Caitlin and I will be laughing and/or vomiting from the shadows."
Cisco gives him a look he can't really place.
"What?"
He chuckles.
"Nothing."
"Alright then."
They return to unpacking in silence. Barry lays his clothes out on the table opposite the beds, while Cisco sprawls most of his stuff on his bed haphazardly.
"Hey, I think I'm gonna go for a swim with Gypsy. Wanna come?"
"This late? You're gonna, like, disappear into the sea forever."
"No, in the hotel pool."
Barry raises an eyebrow.
"There's a pool?"
"Seriously? Dude, did you read any of the stuff I sent you?"
"I skimmed it."
Cisco rolls his eyes.
"Whatever. Do you wanna come?"
"Not really." Barry gives him a questioning look. "Does Cynthia even want to come?"
He shrugs.
"I dunno. Gonna find out when I knock on her door."
"You could just call her."
"Haven't snagged the digits yet."
Cisco digs through the pile on his bed before pulling out his trunks and a towel.
"Hold on, you don't have her room number either." He shrugs again. Barry looks at him like a disapproving parent. "Cisco, no."
"Cisco yes."
"You're not gonna knock on every door in the hotel until you find her. That's what a stalker would do."
Cisco scoffs.
"Of course I'm not!" Barry breathes a sigh of relief. "I saw her go into the stairwell, so I only have to check the other three floors."
"Cisco—"
"See you later, crocogator!"
The door shuts behind him. Barry knows that, as his wingman it's his responsibility to try and stop him. Cynthia will — rightfully — think Cisco's completely insane if he runs around the entire hotel to try and find out where she's sleeping. Then any semblance of attraction she might have had for him will be totally gone. And then Cisco's spring break will be ruined and he'll be heartbroken.
On the other hand, the fifty bucks will be his.
Barry's head sinks into the pillow as he balances the pros and cons of going after Cisco.
Pro: He would be fulfilling his moral obligation as Cisco's wingman.
Con: Cisco could outrun him pretty easily if he wanted to.
Pro: It would increase Cisco's chances with Cynthia.
Con: It would increase Cisco's chances with Cynthia, ergo reducing the chances of getting fifty bucks.
Pro: He could finally sit Cisco down and have a frank discussion with him about boundaries.
Con: It would be a lot of effort.
Pro: Even ignoring his wingman-ly duties, Barry owes it to him as his friend to not let him do stupid shit like that.
Con: Cisco would probably have a hell of a story to tell if he ended up going through the whole hotel looking for her.
Pro: Cynthia would be less likely to kill either of them if Cisco wasn't stalking around looking for her.
Con: If Cisco loops him into helping him out, Cynthia will kill both of them.
Pro: Probably the right thing to do.
Con: Very tired.
Very, very tired.
Barry yawns, finagling his way under the covers. Evidently all that sitting around doing nothing the whole day really took it out of him. As he rolls onto his side and turns off the lamp, he decides he'll figure it out in the morning.