Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 7: Acting Normal

I woke up around five later that evening still feeling a bit groggy. Even then, the drowsiness wasn't enough to deter me from wanting to go out tonight.

I sat up in the bed and looked around the room. Caitlin was working diligently at the computers, her eyes scanning the screen intently. Cisco wasn't in my line of sight, but I assumed he was in one of the side rooms working on something. I wasn't sure where Dr. Wells was, but, these days, he always seemed to be missing. Barry was here, however, and he was sitting in a seat beside my bed. His eyes were closed and his head was tipped back a bit, so I assumed he was napping. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, and I couldn't help the small smile that formed as I looked onto him.

"He's pretty cute when he sleeps, isn't he?"

I turned and saw Caitlin standing beside my mattress. I hadn't even heard her making her way over, and I could feel the heat rising to my face for being oblivious to my surroundings because I'd been so entranced by Barry napping. I fumbled to get the words out of my mouth and deny the comment she'd made.

"I wasn't... Uh, watching him," I stuttered. My cheeks got even hotter as Caitlin gave me a look that let me know she'd clearly noticed what I'd been doing. I sighed and looked back at Barry. "Fine, fine. Maybe I was watching him... He is kinda adorable."

The girl let out a triumphant grunt as she folded her arms across her chest, a pleased smirk on her face.

"You totally like him," she whispered, her voice barely containing her enthusiasm. I knew she probably wanted to scream those words out loud, but I was thankful she had kept it quiet for only our ears to hear.

I spun around, my eyes wide as I stared at her. "I do not!"

"Mhm. Keep telling yourself that," she teased. "You can't deny that you both have a lot in common. It's only natural for you to like him." She patted me on the shoulder and walked away with a certain confidence in her stride. I stared after her with my jaw slightly agape and her words still spinning through my mind. But I didn't like Barry... Right?

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Everyone had agreed to still going out tonight, and I was practically bouncing down the stairs as we left Caitlin's apartment. She had insisted on getting ready together, probably because she knew I didn't have the clothes or makeup I would need to prepare for the night. She'd offered me a dress and helped me to do my hair and makeup. In a way, she reminded me of the sister I had never had the chance to have.

Although there were many simpler dresses in her closet, Caitlin forced me into something I was sure was way too fancy for what we were going to be doing. At least it was better than wearing the ragged clothing I would have worn in place of it.

"Are you sure this isn't too flashy?" I asked one last time as we got in her car. It had been a while since I'd sat in a car, mainly because I hadn't had a particular need to use one when I could move faster than the machine ever could.

"Trust me, you look amazing," Caitlin assured me as she briefly glanced over and flashed me a genuine smile. "You'll have guys drooling over you all night."

"Ah, so now I'll have glitter and drool all over me. Sounds like a good combination," I jested with a half smile. She laughed at my joke until we both fell into a comfortable silence, the radio providing a soft background noise so the space wasn't too still. I took the moment to resurvey myself.

Caitlin had played around with my hair for a while until she'd managed to form these beautiful, large loose curls. The tips fell to around mid-torso and reached just a little farther in the back. The dress she'd chosen out for me was tight and black with a type of glitter that shimmered brilliantly in the light covering every inch of the fabric. The ends of the sleeves stretched just past my elbows, and the top portion fell off my shoulders a bit with both sides meeting in the middle in a very mild v. Everything about this dress seemed to radiate sexy, including the short hem which only hardly managed to make it to mid thigh, and I wondered if Caitlin had been planning this all along.