Falling Slowly [Barry Allen]

Chapter 1

I exited the train labeled "Central City" only to be attacked by my best friend, Iris West.

"Hey! Oh my gosh, it's so nice to see you again, Katie! What have you been up to?" Yep, she was the same Iris that I met in college.

"Well, after we graduated, I started working in an office building over in Starling City. It was an okay job, but I just wasn't enjoying it, Iris. That's why I called you. I got bored with sitting in an office all day."

Halfway through my story, Iris got this crazy little glint in her eye. And I know my best friend well enough to know that whatever idea just popped into her head, she wasn't going to quit until she'd accomplished whatever she'd just planned out in her mind.

I smiled and said, "Whatever you're planning, Iris, there are two questions you need to ask yourself. One, is it legal? And two, what would your father say?"

She laughed and said, "Now that's the Katie I became best friends with! I've missed you so much. Yes, it's very legal. And I think my dad would say it's a great idea. Let's go."

She drove us both to a very large building that was labeled "Central City Police Department." It looked fairly new, and the inside was no exception. It was bustling with people, and I bumped into a few officers in uniform as soon as I walked in the door. I quickly apologized to them, Iris laughing at me under her breath.

She leaned over to me. "You haven't changed at all, have you?" she whispered.

"Shut up." She laughed her cute Iris laugh, and I rolled my eyes. She knows me all too well.

Iris took my hand and basically led me through the crowd of people until we reached an office right off the lobby. My smile immediately returned.

"Mr. West! How are you doing? You work with the Central City Police Department now?"

"I've upgraded since the last time I saw you, Katie." He pulled me into a big Joe-bear-hug. "I'm a detective now. Solving mysteries and putting away bad guys, that's the usual for me now." He smiled, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. I hadn't realized how much I missed Iris and Joe until they were standing right in front of me.

And then, suddenly, I was crying. I mean, not really crying, but.... okay, I was crying. Joe and Iris pulled me into a three-way hug, and I held them both tightly. These two were my family in college. My parents passed away in a car accident when I was little, and I was the only one that survived. I was too little to remember either of them very well, let alone understand what happened to them. So I grew up with my grandparents, and they were the ones that took care of everything for me. They helped me with my homework, went to all of my concerts, sent me to college, and supported my decision to move to Central City. They were the best grandparents and parents anyone could've asked for. But a short while after meeting Iris, she took me in and brought me home with her a few times. Joe became my "adopted" father, and I could tell where Iris got her outgoing and friendly personality.

What I liked best about Joe and Iris was that they didn't feel sorry for me. When they first found out about my backstory, they sympathized with me, sure. But they treated me like a person, not like I was this beaten and bruised little girl that didn't know which way was up. That was how most people treated me my entire life, and I've grown to hate it. But the logical side of me knows that there are always people with worse situations than mine, and that's always kept me humble and warm-hearted towards those people. But I don't treat those people any differently than I would treat myself.

Iris interrupted my reverie by speaking. "We just stopped by to say hi, Dad. I've got to get to work, so we'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Alright hun. Katie, don't be a stranger, okay? Our door is always open for you. Drop by anytime." And all of a sudden, it was just like old times again.

"I definitely will. Thanks, Mr. West."

He chuckled lightly. "I've told you before, call me Joe. I think we're on a first name basis by now."

I smiled back at him. "Of course. See you later, Joe!" I offered a quick wave before I was whisked away by Iris once again. Her driving habits hadn't changed, either. She wove in and out of traffic, almost killing us twice, before we pulled into the back parking lot of a coffee shop.

"Remind me to drive next time we go anywhere," I said.

She scoffed and waved her hand in dismissal in my direction. We walked in through the back door, and she pulled on an apron. The shop was small and, admittedly, very cute. It was also very empty.

"Thursdays are always super slow. We're lucky if we get ten people in here all afternoon," Iris informed me. "But that's okay, because now we have a chance to really catch up! How's your love life?"

I practically choked on my surprise. "Uhh.... none?" was all I managed to say.

"Now I know you better than that, and you know it. Spill. What happened?"

"Okay, well.... I guess I've only had three relationships before, and you witnessed two of them, right?" She nodded. "Well, obviously the third one didn't turn out any better than the last two..."

"You wanna talk about it? I'm always here, you know."

"Yeah, might as well. It's been a while since we broke up anyway. Turns out he was just in it for the.... physical aspect of the relationship."

Iris's eyes widened. "Wait, but you didn't....?"

I laughed at her expression. "NO, Iris! That never happened. But he wanted it to. As soon as he tried to take it too far, I stopped him. Told him I didn't want that to be the focal point of the relationship. He got angry, like really angry, and just left. I never really saw him again until he was walking up the stairs at a college party with another girl."

I saw Iris's eyes start to look sad, so I quickly added, "But it was totally fine. I'm over it now." I smiled at her.

Iris could tell I was making it not a big deal, but she decided not to push it. "Well," she said, "you just haven't had very much luck in the boy department, have you?"

"What else is new?" I retorted.

"Well, it's a new city, you're a new woman! So maybe we can change your luck a little. We need to get you a man. It's a whole new life for you, girl. Anything can happen for you, especially now."

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for reading. I know I'm just getting started, so stay with me! Hopefully I'll be updating a lot, especially over Christmas break. Let me know what you think of the story so far, and if you have any suggestions! Thanks so much you guys! :)