Tricks of Fate

Prologue

[Barry]

I stared down at the soup of letters on my desk, my head beginning to give into the oh so familiar pounding. "I give up." I said to myself before I plugged in my headphones, turned off the lights and made my way to my bed.
"Guess it's you and me West." I announced, speaking to no one in particular. Well, not no one in particular.... I was speaking to her. The person who's voice had lulled me to sleep almost every night for six years. I stumbled upon her while I was looking for an audio book during my first year in high school. The first time I heard her voice I was struck with awe. Each word she uttered made my heart flutter and every breath sent shivers down my spine. She sounded nothing short of perfect.
"I'm going crazy." I told my self, and it was true. She was driving me crazy. My emotions towards her were nothing short of a full fledged crush... And the only thing I knew about her was that she went by the name West and read some of my favourite books.

Placing my headphones over my head, I made myself comfortable in bed, it was a winter night and the weather outside was like something out of a horror movie. The hail, like a drummer, pounded away at the roof; melting away the tension in my body and replacing it with a tidal wave of calm. I turned my volume up all the way and let myself go as she consumed my heart and soul with every syllable...

[Iris]

*"Baylor watched her turn around, the world seemed to stop and all the lights in the room dimmed in comparison to her smile. Her eyes were unlike anything he had ever scene before, they were a window to the glow that resided within her. The more he looked at them, the brighter it became and the deeper he fell."*

H. R. sliced his throat with his hand, telling me that, that was a rap. I took of the headset and closed my copy of *Johnny's Hill* before stepping out of the recording booth.
"Sensational. Nothing short of perfect, as always." he told me. I smiled at him and said,
"You have to say that, you're my agent." As dramatically as only he can be, he placed his hand on his heart and pretended to be hurt.
"The man speaks the truth. That was amazing Iris." Cisco backed him up.
"Thanks Cisco." I smiled
"Well I have to go. Holidays are over and I hear that the second year of university might just be tougher than the first."
"We won't keep you here any longer then, because you, my dear, are history in the making." H. R. proclaimed before moving towards me and hugging me.
"Thanks H. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

I walked out of the studio and made my way to my car. A fierce storm seemed to be brewing and I didn't want to be caught in the midst of it all. Unfortunately the rain started as I drove home, gigantic droplets of water spattered on my wind screen, robbing me of my vision. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I made it back home safely. Taking the elevator to my third floor, one bedroom, flat; I pictured my self relaxing in a steaming tub, letting the aromatherapy-oil-infused water take away every bit of negative energy I had from the day. The lift rang as it stopped on my floor and I made my way to the door. As I was trying to unlock it the door next to mine opened and out walked Eddie, in all his shirtless, blonde glory. I chuckled, the man never seemed to feel cold.
"Ms. West." he greeted with a nod of his head, droplets of water bouncing off from a shower he no doubt just had.
"Good evening Mr. Thawne. It's a little chilli tonight, you might consider a sweater. Or at least a shirt." I warned.
"I have a better plan to keep me warm." he said and I could feel his gaze burning through me as he looked me up and down. I cleared my throat, ignoring the sudden rise in temperature and asked "Can I help you with anything? Or did you find out about my secret fetish for shirtless hellos?"
I could see him smiling from the corner of my eye before he answered
"I just wanted to get the paper."

*Yeah right, you couldn't have gotten it when you came in from work? * I thought. The door unlocked and for the first time since we started having this conversation, (besides when I stole little glimpses of him, cause you know, I'm not blind), I turned to face him.
"Well I hope you enjoy your evening read, be a dear and clip me some coupons." I said before winking and moving on inside.

[Barry]

A bright flash of lightning woke me up from a nightmare. The last thing I remembered was a horrible scream. Drenched in sweat and with my heart still aching, I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. I got a glass of water and took small, calming sips while I stared blankly out the window. Without warning, the clouds broke apart with a blinding yellow light. It was unlike any explosion I'd ever scene and without thinking I ran outside to see what was happening.

The light seemed to be moving closer, getting brighter the closer it got. I was paralysed in that rain, mesmerised by the light. It got too bright to bare and I closed my eyes. A sence of total calm came over me and I passed out. When I woke up the next morning I was on a hospital bed and my mom was crying in my dad's arms.
"Barry, thank heavens." she sobbed when she noticed I was awake.
"I thought I'd lost you, my beautiful boy." she sat on the bed next to me and, stroked my cheek gently.
"Mom, dad, what happened? Why am I here?" I asked feeling very confused.
"We were hoping you could tell us Barry." my dad answered.
"Your mom found you outside, unconscious and soaking wet on the floor."

"I... I... I don't remember what happened." I answered.

[Iris]

The rain had turned to hail and the wind grew wilder by the minute. The apartment was freezing so I turned on the heat and made my way to the bathroom for a quick shower. As tired as I was I ran the risk of falling asleep in the tub. I sat on the window seat by my bedroom while I dried my hair and looked onto the orange lit street. The rain made everything outside look like a painting on water and my eyes struggled to focus on any single aspect of the street for too long. I watched as the rain drops made patterns on my window and without realising it I drifted off to sleep.

I was awakened by a bright flash of light followed by an ear piercing scream and a loud crash. I looked out the window, my heart racing and noticed something on the floor. I opened the window to get a better look and realised that it was a person. A little person. My chest tightened suddenly and I felt a tug at my heart. I felt drawn to who ever it was.

Without thinking I stormed out of the flat and ran down the stairs. The poor thing wouldn't last the night out there. Not caring that I was getting soaked through, I ran across the street and kneeled in front of the poor unconscious child. She had been knocked out cold and blood ran with the rain from her head.
"You poor baby. Let's get you warm," I said placing my arm slowly underneath her head and readying myself to carry her.

"Here, let me help." came Eddie's voice from behind me. He must have heard me dashing out of my apartment. He held an umbrella over us, which I took from him so that he could help me carry the little girl upstairs.
He placed her on my sofa then checked to see if we needed anything else before leaving. I thanked him, hurriedly at the door before turning my attention back onto the child. I looked down at her as I cleaned her head wound, she was the most beautiful little girl I'd ever laid eyes on.
"Don't worry my angel, I'll take care of you." I whispered.