Reciprocal Altruism || Snowbarry College AU

The Evolution of Grandma Kisses X

"Ms. Snow." Caitlin's head jerked up at the sound of her name, her heart involuntarily pounding harshly in her chest. Her whole body chilled and it was like she was suddenly doused with cold water from head to toe.

Barry and Caitlin turned around to greet the voice that announced her name. At the sight, Caitlin felt herself curling into Barry's side more. Her arms gripped his shirt tightly and she could feel her palms sweating.

"Dr. Wells," she said.

"I've missed you in my class," the professor said casually as he wheeled over to the two of them. "I heard you moved to Stein's."

Caitlin cleared her throat, or at least she tried to. "Um, yes. I just... I had to rearrange my schedule for... um, yes."

"Ah." Professor Wells tilted his head to the side. "Is that so?"

She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her right then and there. She wanted to run away and never look back.

"Uh, hi," Barry said. He stretched out his hand for Wells to take. "I'm Barry Allen. I've heard really great things about your class and your work."

"Thank you." He returned the handshake and after a second or two of awkward silence, Wells continued. "I'll see the two of you around campus then. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Allen." He gave Caitlin a nod. "Ms. Snow."

She stared straight ahead, even as Wells's wheelchair moved past her. The scent of his cologne overtook her and she felt as if it was a poisonous gas that was suffocating her. She couldn't breathe it in. She wouldn't. When Wells was finally gone, Caitlin realized how strong a grip she had on Barry's shirt and released her hold on him. Barry fixed his shirt slightly to release the wrinkles, but made no complaints about her death hold.

"That was awkward," Barry commented, scratching the back of his head. "He probably felt insulted that you chose Stein's class over his," he joked.

"Whatever," Caitlin said, her heart rate returning to normal after the whole fiasco, "He's gone now and we're Facebook official!" She turned to look at Barry and grinned. "You know what that means."

"Now my grandma knows we're together!"

"You're gonna get so many grandma kisses the next time you visit her." Caitlin interlocked her arm with Barry's and leaned against his shoulder as they finally made it to their next class's building.

"Oo, I can't wait."

They entered the classroom to find it a lot more empty than usual. Most people had skipped that day to go out and celebrate finally finishing Stein's exam. The rest of the students in the classroom had luckily never had to take a Stein exam before. Iris and the rest of her posse weren't there as they had also taken the day off and Caitlin just realized that Barry chose to come to class with her. She supposed he just didn't like to skip class either.

In this class, Barry usually sat in the back with Iris and the rest of his friends, but since they were all gone that day and Cisco wasn't around either, he decided to plant himself in a desk next to her.

After experiencing Stein hell, Caitlin's mind was completely worn out and she could barely pay attention. She might as well have skipped because she was learning nothing. The same applied to Barry as his head drooped against his desk and his fingers lazily drew doodles on the corner of his notebook.

The hour long class and the boring drone of the professor set the perfect stage for Caitlin's mind to begin to wander. And it just had to wander to the boy who sat beside her.

She remembered what she had accidentally revealed to Felicity about her feelings for Barry being stronger than the feelings he had for her.

While Caitlin's feelings had evolved to view Barry as more than just a tutor, Barry still viewed Caitlin as his ticket to Iris.

Evolution was a normal part of life. Microbes evolved, animals evolved, and even humans evolved. It was important that things didn't stay the same. It was important for survival and natural selection. Everything had to adapt and grow and become a better version of themselves. The fastest gazelle escaped the lion, the tallest giraffe got the food, and the most camouflaged frog resisted being caught.

Humans evolved too. There was macro-evolution, but that's a whole other story. Humans evolved in a micro form every day as they adapted to their surroundings. They evolved everyday as they learned more and more about the people around them. They evolved to love and build deeper connections. They evolved to develop relationships and families.

Evolving emotions simply grew stronger. The more one knew and understood another, the stronger the feelings for that other becomes, whether it be love or hate. There was simply no way to escape the power of evolution.

She had witnessed it with Felicity. Her bond with Felicity grew tenfold in a matter of a weekend and Caitlin had been best friends with her for years before. Felicity and her relationship with Oliver had evolved to the point where the once self-proclaimed playboy had asked the love of his life to take the next step with him and move in together. While Felicity hadn't completely evolved to that point, she still had a deep love for Oliver and was still willing to eventually reach that point, even if she was scared at the moment.

It was scary: evolving. And actualizing the change in feelings. Everything felt different with Barry, even though to him it was all the same.

The world felt brighter now. Whenever Barry grabbed her hand and held her close... whenever he kissed her cheek, even if it was just a façade, Caitlin could feel sparks of electricity fly between them. Her spirit lifted higher and lightning coursed through her veins.

But it didn't mean anything. At least not to the person it needed to matter to.

Caitlin put both her arms on the desk and rested the side of her face against it. Her head turned to watch the boy she had been thinking about slowly rest his pencil on the table, his eyes drooping slowly, his focus going in and out, as he drifted off to sleep.

No, she couldn't think like that. Barry's heart belonged to someone else. It was not fair of her to try and take it.

The sparks she felt weren't real... and they never could be.