Barry found out very quickly how fast their perfect world could come crashing down.

The news that devastated Barry's entire world was the same news Caitlin had just discovered for herself that same day.

It was a Tuesday. Barry remembers that Caitlin had been studying for this Chemistry Exam for the past three weeks. She had a habit of bringing her school back to his meets. Though she never opened it. She was too busy cheering him on. But Barry hadn't seen her all day. Not only was it strange for Caitlin to miss a day and mark her perfect flawless record, she would never miss a test and must retake it with the detention students. Barry knew she was secretly scared of them. He was beginning to get worried. He checked is phone every ten seconds to see if he had missed a text or a call from her but his messages were empty.

The moment the last bell rang he dashed out of the building as fast as his legs would take him. He ran straight to Caitlin's house. From previous experiences of misplaced bags and forgotten keychains; both Barry and Caitlin had a key to each other's houses. They would use them for one of their late-night rendezvous. Which mostly included Barry bringing Caitlin her favorite ice cream when she wasn't feeling well or Barry being locked out of his house because he forgot his key in his other pants. But Barry had never been so happy to have the key than he did now.

Rushing through the door he slid his shoes off and placed them neatly on the shoe rack, out of habit from being yelled at by Carla more than once. He threw his bookbag on the table before running up the stairs heading straight for Caitlin's door.

"Cait!" He screamed searching. "Caitlin!"

He heard sobbing coming from the other side of her bedroom door. Barry didn't hate a lot of things, but he hated Caitlin crying. All forms of Caitlin and tears set Barry off. He became overly caring and overly concerned. Though Caitlin never complained when Barry held her and comforted her. He always held her a little too close to just be best friends.

"Cait?" Barry heard muffled sobbing and small sniffles.

"Caitlin open the door." He gently asks.

She silenced her sobbing enough to open the door for him. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, comforting her in the best way he knew how. He picked her up and carried her to her bed and sat down cradling her in his lap. Barry was in no way a twig of a kid. He had muscles but he wasn't bulky. He was slim. He swept Caitlin off her feet with ease because it was so natural to him. He had done it so often. He ran his fingers through her hair murmuring sweet nothings, calming her down until he was almost certain she stopped crying. He lifted her face and just looked at her, taking in the beautiful young woman in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. They were used to these intimate nothings. Yes, Barry Allen was in love with Caitlin Snow. But that never changed their relationship. They were always and forever best friends before anything.
She held him close. Her lips brushing against his ear as he strained to hear what she was going to say.

"Come with me Barry." He jerked her away.

"What's going on Cait?" His voice straining. He knew; he knew something had happened. And it was serious.

"Barry, my parents are getting a divorce. I'm leaving with my father." And with that last sentence Barry's world came crashing down.

Her parents decided they would wait until the school year was over for Caitlin to move to the new city. That only left Barry with three months to spend with Caitlin. She would have the entire summer to make friends and familiarize herself with the city. Caitlin didn't want to leave. She spent so many night in tears and only Barry's arms would soothe her.

School became a bit of an annoyance. Barry and Caitlin figured they could spend their last month's together doing amazing things rather than sitting through lectures and taking exams. But they both struggled through it and they both spent more time together at school. Caitlin would come to Barry's practices cheering him on instead of just hi track meets. Barry spent time sitting in the Biology Lab after school studying with Caitlin rather than playing video games at home.

Students began to notice the little things between them though and started to wonder if they were officially going out now. It was rare to see Barry without Caitlin and Caitlin without Barry. Barry would hold Caitlin's hand while walking down the hall or he would brush away a strand of her hair that had fallen in her face when she was concentrating on a problem. Caitlin would absentmindedly run her fingers through his hair when she was helping Barry study on the bleachers after his practice ended. They both did little things that stepped a little too close to that line that deterred on the edge of friends and lovers.

Of course, neither of them thought anything of it. They were just worried about letting go of each other now; because they knew that soon they wouldn't be able to hold hands or give each other hugs or anything physical. She would be 600 miles away. That's 600 miles too far away from Barry. He didn't want to let her go. He wanted her close. He wanted her to stay with him and never leave. He knew the pain of separation would be too much to handle. It would kill him. But that didn't matter to him, he was just scared what it would do to Caitlin.

It became normal for Caitlin to spend the night at his place. Before they found out she was leaving, she would often have movie nights ending in both teens cuddled up on his bed or on the couch. The Allen's never had the heart to kick Caitlin out so she would end up staying on the couch when Barry would head to bed. Once they got a little older, the two got smarter. Caitlin would leave only to sneak through his window. Barry would get kicked out by Caitlin's mom late in the night only for her father to purposefully remind him to check the back door for him before he left to make sure no burglars came during the night. No matter what they always found their way back to each other. Both sets of parents knew about it. Both sets played the reprimanding adults, but both also knew it was harmless and pointless to keep the two away from each other.

Back in grade school, the two of them would have sleepovers almost every weekend. Things changed a bit when they were both in high school. They both still crashed at each other's place but only when they fell asleep watching a movie or studying. It became less planned. It wasn't like they were pushing the other away, but they were older and hormones played a big role in the way they acted towards each other in the early days of high school. Now that Caitlin was leaving, Nora and Henry Allen saw Caitlin at their house a lot more.

Nora and Caitlin had grown very close since their meeting in the park. She had taken Caitlin in as a daughter she never had. As a mom, she made teasing remarks towards the two kids about marriage between the two and grandbabies with brown curly brown hair and Barry's green eyes. It always made Caitlin blush and hide her face but Barry took it in stride. He would laugh it off or throw his dad a look. But when Nora found out about Caitlin leaving, she cried almost as much as Caitlin did.

Some mornings when Caitlin would spend the night and Barry would wake up alone in bed, he would head downstairs to find Caitlin and his mom making breakfast.

"You will keep in touch, won't you dear?" Nora had asked her once they were making eggs. Barry didn't mean to eavesdrop but he wanted to know.

"Of course, I will. I'll write as often as I can. And I'll call Barry every day."

Sometimes they would be sitting there at the kitchen table going through old photo albums. It made Barry's heart both swell and break. He knew the day was getting closer when he would have to say goodbye. And it would hurt everyone.

One night when they were watching an old movie, one of Barry's favorites, she was cuddled up in his arms laying on his bed. He asked her the same question he asked at least once a week.

"Are you sure you can't stay with your mom?" He rubbed her arms. "I mean she is a bit of a witch but at least you'll be here. With me."

She would groan into his skin never looking him in the eyes. She almost never could look him in the eye now. Just knowing that she would be breaking his heart when she would leave with her father. Her heart would break too.

"Barry…" She would whisper his name. And he would whimper in response, nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck.

Because he needed to be comforted too. He was falling apart too. And it killed her inside to be responsible.

"I can't do it Cait." His words were so broken and the sadness inside them leaked from his soul. "I can't be here when you are miles away in another City. Let me come with you."

"Barry Allen, you belong here in Central City. This is your city. Nora would never forgive me if I took her only son away from her." Her fingers were running through his hair as he looked at her with a serious expression.

"I'm serious, Cait. You asked me to come with you and I'm telling you, I will." She began to cry again.

"Oh Barry!" She wrapped her arms around his neck the same way she has done almost every day for the past two months. They cried with each other falling asleep in a tangled mess of limbs and tissues.

The next night Barry was lying on his back staring at the ceiling in his room. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder. His thoughts were running around at super speed but all about her. He thought about her and his feelings for her. He wanted nothing more than to admit them before she left. But he knew doing that would make her feel worse for leaving him behind. He knew she didn't want to leave. At moments like this he would look down at the young woman lying on his chest, press a small kiss to her hair or her forehead and just hold her closer to him.

Sometimes she would mumble in her sleep and curl up towards him even more than she already was. She would have quiet dreams of what if's and might have been's if she was honest about how she felt towards Barry. Sometimes she would end up waking up before him and simply watch him sleep. For hours or minutes, she didn't know, nor did she care. She knew that she wanted Barry Allen to remain in her life.

The day she left was agonizing. She woke up first the morning and took a few moments to watch him sleep. She felt the familiar burn in her eyes but she refused to cry. Instead she kissed his exposed collar bone and slowly disentangled his limbs from her. She slowly exited his bed as she would his life soon. She went home to finish packing and fighting the tears that they both promised wouldn't fall today.

He woke up alone and in a panic. He was used to waking up with her in his arms. He had hastily thrown on clothes before rushing over to her house and released a sigh when he saw her father's truck still in the driveway. He took a moment to breathe before knocking on the door.

Carla Snow, soon to be Tannhauser again, opened the door for Barry. "Barry. What a surprise." She had always been a bit cold toward him and anyone really, but today she just gave him a watery chuckle. "You are more than welcome to come in. I don't understand why you still knock." She said mostly to herself. "Caitlin is upstairs. You can wait in her room."

He trudged his way upstairs. It felt like time was moving fast for him but the world was moving in slow motion. He was laying on her bed while she was in the shower. He closed his eyes trying to relax; he drifted off in thought.

"Don't open your eyes." She whispered in his ear. He obeyed.
She slipped on some jeans and a T shirt with Barry's favorite team on it. She grabbed one of the many hoodies he left at her house and threw it on.

"Move over." Again, he obeyed. She fell onto the bed with him. His arm automatically going around her back, rubbing soothing circles. His eyes never opened and she closed hers. "Are you going to steal all my hoodies?"
"No." She mumbled back against his neck, "Just the ones I've already claimed as my own." He let out a real, genuine laugh. She leaned up to look over him and he finally opened his eyes.

"Beautiful." He whispered. She just looked at him. Her hair, still wet from her shower fell around her face.

"Barry, I love you."

His breath hitched and he is sure his heart stopped beating.

"You do know that, right?" She was caressing his face now. "You are my best friend, remember." He only nodded. He couldn't speak. She left him speechless. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on his cheek, at the corner of his mouth, his nose, his forehead, even his chin. Before stopping and leaning her forehead against his.

"And you are mine." He whispered back. Before grabbing her face and kissing her full on the lips and she responded in kind. It was amazing. It was incredible. It was an instant fire running up and down their bodies. It was warm and loving.

It was bittersweet. She pulled away to catch a breath because he was the athlete not her.

"I love you too, Cait." He told her. And she smiled for the first time in a long time.

They were both standing outside her father's car. She was leaving in a few minutes. They were told to say their final goodbyes.

"I don't want you to forget me. So here." She gave him her bracelet. She made it at the beginning of the school year for his birthday but she wasn't going to be in town for it this year. She made matching ones. A 'B' on his red one, and a 'C' on her blue one. She took hers off and gave it to him.

"If you wear it, you can't possibly forget about me, right?" They promised no tears.

"I could never forget about you, Cait." He took his red one off and gave it to her. He put it on her right wrist and tied it carefully. He pulled her close, engulfing her in his arms. Placing gentle kisses wherever his lips could reach.

"I'll call you when I get to Star City."

"And every day after?" She smiled up at him.

"And every day after." She nodded.

Then he let her go. She took a few steps away before stopping and turning around. "Don't wait for me, Barry. Be happy. I want you to be happy. Find love with someone who isn't miles away in another city." She stepped towards him again. "Promise me?"

He was hesitant to accept her wish. (Her last wish was for him to move on from her? He never could. He never would.) But he gave her the smile she wanted to see. "I'll try."

She smiled back, tears in her eyes but she didn't let them fall.

"Bye, Barry."

"Goodbye, Caitlin."

Barry watched the truck drive away. And even after it was out of sight he didn't move from his spot. There was a pain in his chest. His hand rested over his heart, trying to soothe the pain. Caitlin had taken his heart with her to Star City.

Barry didn't know that while he rubbed his chest in pain, Caitlin's hand rested over her heart as well.

Sadness clung to them for months. But their lives continued even if their hearts were miles away in another city.

Barry met Iris West the next year in school and became immediate friends. Caitlin had trouble adjusting to a new school but soon met Felicity Smoak and the two were soon very close friends. Barry and Caitlin kept in touch every day for a half the year but the spring semester came around. New events and experiences cluttered their schedules.

Caitlin had met Oliver Queen at the coffee shop near her school and he got her and Felicity part-time jobs working at Queen Consolidated. Caitlin and Oliver became close friends very quickly with a hint of something more. But she had never forgotten about Barry. Barry was worrying about College. He had applied to four colleges; three of them in Central City, one in Star City. He knew he would never leave Central City but it couldn't hurt. But he had kept his promise to Caitlin and asked Iris out on a date, only to prom, but it was a start. He was beginning to move on. Life became too difficult to maneuver around different schedules.

So, calls between them became less and less. Text messages were replied to hours and hours later. They fell apart. The distance had done its job. It tore a friendship meant to last a lifetime apart in a single year. They still thought about each other often. Never forgetting the perfect kiss and the promise that came with it.

But they lived two different lives now.