Winter

Chapter 2: Harrison Wells

"You're the one who made the Particle Accelerator go 'boom', aren't you?"

He nodded and chuckled softly. "The very same."

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard for you." She felt bad for him. Seeing his dreams go up in smoke literally, must have been the worst.

"It's fine. Good things came from it, so it's not all bad."

"Do you still work there?" She paused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"Yes, I still work there. I have a team that helps protect the city. Have you heard of The Flash?" She nodded. "He and I work together, along with two others."

"That's good...I'm sorry for asking so many questions. I don't get out much." She said shyly.

He laughed. "You said that already."

"Right." She mentally slapped herself. She felt stupid for repeating herself. Truth was, he made her nervous. He's a powerful former CEO and well-known scientist. "Well, I'd better go." She walked away, but turned back to face him. "Thank you again for helping me."

"Are you going to think about my offer?" He sounded hopeful.

She sighed. "Yes, I'll think about it. But I can't promise anything."

"Good." He smiled. "Would you like my number? That way, when you make a decision you can give me a call."

"Um, sure." She handed him her phone and he typed in his number, then handed her back her phone. "Thanks. I should probably go now." She replied.

"Ok." He smiled. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

"No, that's ok. That you though." Elena walked away, not sure if she should take him up on his offer or not. He seemed nice enough, but she didn't know anything about him except that he's the one that built the particle accelerator. But, she felt drawn to him for some unknown reason. She did promise to think about it, and she would.

Her phone buzzed. "Hey. I have your groceries. Do you want me to let myself in and put them away?"

"If you don't mind. I need to run to the bookstore and pick up some new ones. I'm getting bored reading the same thing over and over."

"K." There was a long paused. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Well, no. I got robbed, almost. But I'm ok, I promise."

"Oh my gosh...I'm glad you weren't hurt. Did you stop him?"

"Yeah. Unintentionally. You know how I get when I'm scared. But, everything's ok now. Hey, I'm at the bookstore now. I'll talk to you later."

"Ok. Bye Elena."

"Bye Keely." Elena hung up the phone and went inside the bookstore, not looking for anything in particular. Since she rarely went out, she lived vicariously through books.

The store was quite large. Housing everything from fiction and non-fiction, to nature and celebrities. She meandered down an aisle and something caught her eye. It was an autobiography. She picked it up and saw the front cover; it was about Harrison Wells.

Opening the book and reading the first page, she decided that this would be a good way to get to know him without actually talking to him. Holding the book close to her, she continued to walk down the aisles to find something else she liked.

She found a nature book about lightning, which fascinated her. Then she found a crossword puzzle book and some bookmarks.

The minute she got home, she read Harrison Well's autobiography. It was interesting. He was looked upon as the new face for technology, then it all came crashing down when the Particle Accelerator exploded.

Elena closed the book halfway through and took out her laptop. She searched anything on Harrison Wells and found a YouTube video of him confessing to something.

He talked about how he had been warned about the Particle Accelerator and that it might explode, but that it was only a slight chance and he had decided to go ahead to turn it on anyway. He said he felt guilty and that he would never again in his life build another one.

She continued to search his name and found nothing more than what the book already said. Elena sighed and closed her laptop. The only way she'd get to know him is if she allowed him into her life.

Could she do that? Could she let someone in? She wasn't sure.

Elena went about her day trying to figure out what to do. She was so used to staying inside that she didn't want to go outside and be near anyone. In truth, she did have some control. But it still had a mind of its own.

She got out a glass and turned on the faucet. Water poured in and created ice cubes to put inside it. Instantly the water became cold. Her parents were still afraid of her, that's why she moved out. She couldn't deal with it anymore.

She knew they loved her, they just didn't know what to do. They didn't know how to help her. She thought that if she moved out and lived by herself, she could focus on controlling it. But all it did was keep her more isolated.

It got late, and Elena grew tired, so she went to her room and got ready for bed. Deciding that she'd at least give it a try, she vowed to callnhim in the morning. Maybe Harrison could help her understand her powers better. Sighing, Elena cut out all the lights, and went to bed. She'd call him first thing in the morning.