Remarkable - Barry Allen

Chapter 3

Earth-2

10 Years Ago...

"Come on, Freddy!" Iris yelled, shimmying up to her younger sister.

Freddy just smiled and rolled her eyes, tapping her foot along to the beat.

"Look, even Danny's having some fun." the 16 year old told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the center of their school's gym, which acted as a dance floor.

The 13 year old glanced at her best friend, who was talking to another boy from their class, one that Freddy knew he had a crush on. She shook her head, but still swayed along to the beat of the song, "Just one dance."

In response, Iris twirled her and the two laughed, enjoying the moment. Once it was over, Iris let Freddy go back to the edges of the room and went to go find her other friends.

Freddy listened to the music switch between numerous genres, feeling a little lonely once the songs became slower and all the couples gathered.

Despite how she felt, Freddy was okay on her own, she didn't need anyone to make her happy. Yet, that didn't stop a certain boy, who'd been watching her, from trying to keep her company.

She decided to leave the room and walked down the empty school hallways, save for a few others. As she made her way towards the school's exit for fresh air, she heard the doors behind her swing open.

"Uh, hey, Freddy..."

"Barry!" she grinned, turning to look at the brown haired boy, who approached her. She slid towards the lockers, not wanting to be in anyone's way.

He pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat, attempting to find the words, "So, uh... it's a.... it's quite a delightful evening, is it not?"

"Yes, yes it is." she giggled, trying to keep her voice down, "Is there a reason why you're talking... like that?"

"I... you..." he coughed, adjusting his position, "You look pretty."

Freddy looked down and blushed, "Oh, um... thanks, Barry. You don't look so bad yourself."

Barry moved to lean his back against the lockers beside her and glanced down to see her watching the door that led back into the gymnasium.

"You... uh, wanna dance?" Barry said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm actually kind of tired."

"Oh, tha- that's okay. Perfect, actually. I-I'm not much of a dancer, anyways."

Freddy placed a hand on his arm, a flutter in her chest as they made contact, "Not because I don't want to dance with you. Of course, I'd love to, but I just don't really have the energy."

"Yeah, that's... it's fine," he said, waving it off.

They both went quiet, a tornado of thoughts silently racing through their heads. Freddy felt her heart beating faster the more she stood there, her foot becoming restless. As she shifted positions, her hand brushed against his, causing him to look back down at her.

She bit the inside of her mouth, the edges of her lips curling up and her shoulders raising nervously.

"So... why aren't you hanging out with your classmates? It's probably more fun than just standing around with me." she rubbed her forearm and turned to her left to see Iris laughing through the windows of the gym's entrance.

"Because I want to." he replied, a gentle smile on his face.

Freddy frowned. Barry was supposed to be having fun, "Yeah, are you sure about that? Cause you definitely don't have to feel bad for me. I'm totally okay over here, I can have fun just watching."