Reciprocal Altruism || Snowbarry College AU

The Evolution of Grandma Kisses VII

The day had finally arrived. The dreaded exam date. Caitlin lay paralyzed in her bed. Afraid to get up and face the lecture hall. The stiff blue seats. The ticking clock.

She tried to pull an all-nighter like she had for her previous exams, but Barry would not have it.

"If you pulled an all-nighter for the other exams and bombed, why would you think it'll work this time?" he argued. "Trust me. You need sleep." And he stayed outside her window, just like their first study date, to make sure she was really going to bed.

Caitlin went to sleep after much tossing and turning, but now she couldn't get up. She considered faking sick and skipping. Then she realized Stein had prepared an even more difficult exam for people who skipped. She would not want to take that exam.

Sighing, she pulled herself out of bed and got ready, making sure to eat a healthy breakfast as Barry had constantly reminded her to do the day before.

When she finally reached the building she was going to take her exam in, she was met with the crowd of her classmates standing outside the locked door doing as much last minute cramming as possible before the doors opened. There were open textbooks, open notes, and open quizlets as each student used their own method to study. There was also the sound of hyperventilating, something Caitlin could relate with on a spiritual level. She tried looking around to find Barry, but he was lost in the crowd. Caitlin did however see Ronnie, who she had tried to avoid until this point. Ronnie did not agree with her sentiment.

He approached her with all his fit and beautiful glory. "Nervous about the exam?" he asked casually.

We dated for years, Caitlin thought to herself. What do you think?

"Just a little," she replied.

"You'll be fine. Stein said as long as we prepared, the exam should reflect what we've learned."

"Did he now?" Caitlin muttered.

Ronnie breathed deeply and Caitlin watched his chest rise and fall. "So I heard you're dating Allen."

Caitlin shut her eyes. "Can we not talk about this now?"

"You know he does track and he's part of a bunch of extracurriculars. You broke up with me for having a life outside of yours, so I don't understand why dating him would make much of a difference."

"That is not why I broke up with you and you know it," Caitlin seethed. "How dare you make it seem like I was preventing you from having a life. I just wanted to be a part of it. I just wanted a part and you clearly didn't want that."

"Stein and I were—"

"Attached at the hip. You were so invested in your work and your project, you literally didn't notice anything else. Anything that was happening to me. Anything I was going through—"

"What were you going through, hmm?" Ronnie asked.

Caitlin was startled by Ronnie's forwardness, but she came to her senses pretty quickly afterwards. "It's a little too late for that, isn't it?" she responded coldly.

"Caitlin!" At the sound of her name, Caitlin was greeted by the body of her lovely fake boyfriend. He jogged up to her with a great grin on his face, a bright contrast to the panicking and petrified looks on the faces of his classmates. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, Barry continued talking. "Nervous about the exam?" Without even waiting for her to answer he went on, "Course you're not, because Caitlin Snow is going to KILL IT!" he announced that statement loudly and proudly to everyone.

Despite her argument with Ronnie, Caitlin still smiled softly at Barry's antics.

"The doors opened." He noticed as he looked at her. "Ready to go in?"

Caitlin gave a firm nod. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Barry gave a nod to Ronnie as he and Caitlin walked into the lecture hall. Caitlin gave no such indication that acknowledged her ex-boyfriend. "What was that all about?" Barry whispered in her ear once they were out of Ronnie's field of vision.

"Later," Caitlin whispered, still painfully aware of Barry's arm still around her.