𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐄 ━━ 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩

⠀⠀𝟰𝟰. ❛ EVERLASTING DAMNATION ❜

     So, why was she blocking him out this time? What happened?

     "She could just be having a hard time right now. Director Warren did say that after Aureolin, she hadn't been the same. We know that she hasn't. We've seen it. Right now, she could just be feeling many different things and not want to reach out." Detective West suggested, scratching his forehead.

     Rather than thinking over what Joe had suggested, Barry quickly shook his head in disagreement. "I know Piper. I know how she thinks and works, and never has she once blocked me out like this. Not to this extreme. If she was hurting and not feeling okay, she wouldn't be leaving a room once I walked in or backing away every time I got close to her. Instead, she would hold onto me and trust that I wouldn't leave her side. She would acknowledge my existence," he breathed; there was a sense of urgency behind his words.

     Noticing the desperate and distressed look covering the features of the brown-haired man's face, Joe rubbed his forehead, a troubling frown crossing his lips.

     Barry wasn't wrong. He knew he wasn't.

     If anyone could get through to Piper and get her to let down those walls, it was him, and the fact that he couldn't right now said something.

     "Honestly, son," Joe started, uncrossing his arms. "I would find a way to get her alone and talk to her. Ask what's going on. Tell her how you feel."

     Barry furrowed his brows, leaning forward. "How I feel? Joe, she knows how I feel. She already knows that I'm waiting for her, however long that takes," he said, puzzled by what he meant.

     "Yeah, she does, but she doesn't know how much of a love-sick fool you are for her and how much it hurts you to see her like this. She doesn't know that your feelings go beyond just liking her a lot. Bar, I've watched you fall in love with this girl since the moment we met her." Joe spoke softly, giving his son a knowing look.

     Barry sighed, glancing away for a brief second. "She doesn't need to know. Not right now, at least," he whispered, shaking his head.

     The detective huffed, shooting the speedster a look of dumbfounded disbelief. "She doesn't need to know? Barry, her knowing could be the one thing that gives her hope right now. It could be the exact news she needs to not break. After everything that has happened, she deserves to know that you love her, and you deserve to have that love reciprocated."

     "Yeah, but what if she doesn't feel the same way?" Barry asked exasperatedly, his face falling at the thought. Joe frowned, speechless that the boy in front of him couldn't see what everyone else could see and had been seeing for over a year now.

     Piper Lita had fallen in love with the scarlet speedster long ago, and everyone knew it. Even if she hadn't admitted it to anyone, they knew.

     It was all in the way she looked at him with gleaming eyes that were dusted with sparkles of light that offered a beacon of hope to whoever was lucky enough to notice them. It was a look of complete, utter, raw, innocent, pure, and corporeal love. It was a look every person dreamed of receiving.

     "She feels the same way, Bar. She's felt the same way for a very long time, it's just taken you a while to realize it." Joe spoke gently, giving his son a small smile. Noticing the confused expression beginning to emerge, the man sighed. "It's up to you whether or not you want to take the chance to tell her."

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     THE CORRIDORS OF S.T.A.R. LABS WERE SILENT AS THE SETTING SUN OUTSIDE HAD BEGUN TO DISAPPEAR FROM VIEW. Not a voice could be heard through the silence as Barry walked towards the Cortex, praying that the redhead was in there with Caitlin and Cisco.