Running Out of Time {Barry Allen/The Flash}

I turn off my bike as Barry hops off.

"That was fun." He says, unbuckling the helmet. "Let's do it again."

"Okay, yeah." I say as I put my keys in my pocket. "Glad you had fun. Next time though, don't put a chokehold around my waist." I laugh.

"Sorry..." He blushes a bit. I laugh at that too.

"You're fine." I say. "Ladies first." I gesture for him to go into the bar first.

"I'm not a woman." He says. He opens the door for me, and I walk in before him.

"Yeah, well, we'll have to see about that." I mumble, jokingly. "Where's Caitlin?" I ask Barry. 

"No clue- nevermind! Right behind you." He says aloud as I spin around to see Caitlin walking in.

"Hi," She starts. "I don't normally dress like this." She says. "I don't always have to dress like a principal though."

"No, you look fine. I could've dressed up more, actually." I say back to Caitlin.

"You look... good, Katherine." Barry says with a smile.

"Thank you, Barry. I mean, you look alright too, I guess." I say almost loosing my chill. I get up from the chair I just previously sat in and walk to the bar. I wait for the man next to my to finish his order, before the bartender looks to me. "Hey, can I have... a round of shots, and just a plain glass?" I ask. Soon, that's what I get. I quickly twist off the cap on my water bottle, and pour some of the liquid Wells gave me into the glass. I nod a quick thank you to the bartender before walking back to the group. I hand everyone a shot, and I give myself one even though it wont do anything. I set down my glass, and look to everybody at the table.

"This early?" Caitlin asks, almost as if she was nervous.

"Um, yeah." I say like it was obvious. "We have to get the party started!" I cheer before downing mine.

"I can't-" Barry starts but I cut him off.

"Get drunk. I know. That's been mentioned." I say. I turn head to look at Barry, who is sitting in the seat next to me. "It's okay." I say.

"I know, it just kinda sucks." He laughs.

"Well, just drink that." I say gesturing to the shot glass. He pauses for a second before grabbing the glass. Quickly, he brings the glass to his lips, and tilts his head back. I watch as Caitlin walk over to me, already on her third drink, not including her shot she already drank. "You good?"

"Yeah..." She says slowly before she gets distracted again. "Ooh, look at that guy. Cute." She says walking off. I look up at one of the televisions. A smile stays on my face before I see something. 

"The Flash attacks the Green Arrow?" I hear the reporter say. I slowly turn my head to look at Barry. I hit his arm, getting his attention. 

"What?" He asks as he looks up to the television. "Oh, right."

"Reporters got a glimpse at police cameras." The reporter on the tv says. 

"You did what, Allen?" I ask, looking him dead in the eye. 

"It's a long story... There was a metahuman who could control emotions." He shrugs.

"Oh, and you're dealing with metahumans now?" I cross my arms. "How long have you been fighting? They haven't told me anything!" I yell. Anger washing over me.

"I-I mean... for a bit." He says. I just look away from him. "Hey, you'll get there. I heard Wells talking to Caitlin about letting you on a mission with me." Barry smiles, but soon fades as I still keep a straight face. 

"I don't want to be know as The Flash's sidekick." I whine. 

"There are plenty of bad people for you to take care of. They just want to see how you work." 

"I know, it just sucks. I shouldn't have ran away after I woke up." I mumble. "Anyways... Are you on any cases right now?" I ask and he hesitates. "No, really, Barry. You're here on a job?" I ask. 

"No, well yeah." He says rubbing the back of his neck. He looks away from me and back at the karaoke singer. 

"I'm not even going to ask..." I say trailing off. A little bit later I look back at him. "You alright? You look a little bit down..." I ask. 

"It's Iris." He starts, "Every time Iris falls, I race to pick her up thinking that one of these times things are gonna change, but I Things are never gonna change... I am just destined to be just the friend." He says. 

"At least you have real friends. I don't- well not for a long time before I met you guys." I say. 

"What is wrong with us? We're in our twenty's. We should be having fun. We should meet people and go on lots of dates."

"Yeah, well here is to liquid courage." I say before downing my drink. 

"Can't get drunk." Barry says with a smile. 

"I can." I start saying as I point to my personally mixed drink, "Got it from Wells. Like I said, here is to liquid courage." I say grabbing my other drink.  "I'd give you a sip, but I'd probably get in trouble." I say quickly before taking a big sip, and pause before chugging the rest. 

"Uh, that is very fast." He says. "Drank all of it." He concludes. 

"Get me another glass."