NO HERO · BARRY ALLEN | ✘

Four: Back to Mr. Nice Guy

Heads up. The Flash attacked one of the police tonight. - Larkin

I groan and turn sideways on my bed. It's midnight, but for some reason, I'm more tired than usual. I choose to ignore the other dozens of texts from Larkin. Then one from Barry.

Hey, can we talk?

As soon as I'm about to shut my phone off, a call comes from him.

No. I'm not going to answer that. I send him straight to voice mail.

Layla enters my room and screams, "Come downstairs now!" She proceeds to march out my room.

"What's going on, Layla?" I ask as I head downstairs half-asleep.

"I'm still really mad at you for abandoning me and making me relocate to sports. However, you're my best friend and my roommate. It's time we had a little girl talk." She lets a plate with a slice of chocolate cake slide across the counter to my side and we take our seats.

"Um, Layla, how old's this cake?"

"A couple weeks, but who cares?"

Okay then. I dive into the cake. "What did you want to talk about?"

She takes her own slice of cake from the fridge. "Anyone cute."

"Weren't you dating someone from the CCPD?"

"Ha, not anymore. He told me he works for the Picture News's competitor. We decided to call it quits after our second date. I don't feel those butterflies, you know?"

"Sure," I reply, taking another bite. No, actually, I don't know. "No wonder I didn't find you and another man halfway between the couch and the floor."

She ignores my snide comment. "So... how about you?"

"Me?"

"No, Casper the Friendly Ghost. Yes, you! Anyone you find cute?"

"No, depressingly."

"Liar. You spent yesterday checking your phone every five minutes when you got home. So who is he?"

I swallow the mouthful of cake I'd been chewing. "He's a forensic scientist in the police station and I'm going to be working-kinda- with him on orders of Larkin in his lab."

"Oh! For once Larkin does something beneficial to you!"

"Yes, because the decent pay is obviously not beneficial to us at all," I say sarcastically.

"What's his name?"

"He called me a bitch today."

The happiness she expressed becomes extreme anger. "WHAT? Oh hell no, I'm gonna kill him!"

I push her back from her seat. "Apparently it's just bad medication. He texted me, and... I think left me a message, but I don't want to listen to it."

"Aw. Such true love."

I roll my eyes and walk over to the sink. "Not like I'm totally used to the dating scene, unlike someone I know."

Layla flips her hair over her shoulder effortlessly. "I know honey. Maybe I could hook you up with someone. A couple blind dates to prep you."

"Prep me? I'm not studying for the SATs, Layla."

"Okay, but don't be surprised if a few guys knock on our door looking for you!"

"The least I could do is slam the door in their faces."

She dumps her plate in the sink, muttering something like, "And this is why she's still single."

~*~