neighbors | barry allen//the flash

twelve | directions

"Cisco really liked your cookies," Barry announced as they were riding the elevator down in the morning a few days later. Clara wasn't running late for once, and she happened to leave the same time as Barry. She might have to leave on time a little more often. 

"Oh, that's nice," Clara answered quietly. Did Barry not like them? Did he give them to Cisco because he didn't like them? 

"I brought a few of them in my lunch, and he ended up stopping by the office," Barry explained. "And then he stole the cookies for himself." 

"Well, I'm glad Cisco liked them," Clara laughed nervously. Was he just making excuses?

"I'm not," Barry shrugged.

"Oh."

"Because I loved them, and now he's a threat."

Clara giggled for real this time. Well, it started out as a giggle, but then she pictured Barry solemnly guarding his cookies from Cisco, and it escalated into a full on fit of laughter. 

"I can make more, if you really want me to," she said when her laughter finally smiled. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and they walked out.

"I probably should decline your offer, I gotta keep up my figure," Barry smirked, holding his stomach, which was, of course, completely flat. 

"Barry, I can smell the pizza coming from your apartment almost every night, I don't think you worry that much." Clara rolled her eyes, smiling from ear to ear. 

"You think so?" Barry raised his eyebrows. Clara shot him a playful glare. "Well, in that case, if you ever just happen to have some cookies laying around that you don't really feel like eating yourself, I would be happy to take them off your hands." 

"I don't know, Barry," Clara mused. "It seems like you don't really appreciate my art enough, if you just want the leftovers." 

"That's where you, Clara, are completely wrong. When it comes to those cookies, even the mere crumbs are a blessing." 

"I'm flattered," Clara laughed, but she felt heat flush her cheeks. "Will you always compliment me like this if I give you cookies?" 

"Always." 

"Then I probably should keep my recipe a secret. Then I'll have you under my thumb." Barry opened the door for her as they walked outside.

"Its not like I would actually be able to make them turn out as good as yours anyway."

"Well, I haven't heard smoke alarms in a while." 

"Yeah, thank god," Barry was laughing now. Clara noticed his cheeks were red, too. Or was it just because they walked out into the cold? "Do you want to take a cab with me?"

"Uh, no thank you," Clara shook her head. "I have a bus pass, finally." 

"Oh, okay." 

Was Clara just imagining that he looked disappointed? 

"See you later, Barry," Clara waved as he got in the taxi.

"Bye, Clara," he waved back, shut the door, then was gone. 

The bus came a few minutes later. Clara got on and found a seat in the back. Her cheeks were still warmer than normal. Clara almost laughed out loud at her own situation. Her neighbor was undeniably cute, and funny, and definitely a nerd. She felt like a stupid middle schooler with a huge crush. But talking to him was so easy. It made her forget about her stress, her problems, her losses. He wasn't here right now, however, so she remembered those things. She remembered all of them, sitting there alone. She didn't want to drag anyone into that. She was a college graduate trying to make a place for herself in the real world. She wasn't going to let anything or anyone distract her. Settling down wasn't really her thing anyways, she already knew that. 

She walked into the lab determined not to let Dr. Parker get to her today. Even when Dr. Parker made her get another coffee, or told her to organize the stockroom again, or even dust her office. Maybe the compliments from Barry fueled her brave energy, but she felt focused and confident. She was going to show Dr. Parker that she was capable of being much more than just a lab tech to be ordered around. Clara did everything with a smile, and tried not to let Alice's pitying looks drag her down. But at the end of the day, Clara was more exhausted and usual and hadn't earned as much as a smile from Dr. Parker. 

Back at her apartment, Clara sat down at her desk and started flipping through more articles about the Flash. The sooner she found him, the sooner she got paid. She halfway considered tracking down her own robbers, too. Andrew thought she was smart enough to find the Flash, why couldn't she find some normal humans? However, the police were on that case, they weren't on the Flash, and she needed to stay focused. She was in the middle of trying to concentrate on a super dry article when she heard rattling from Barry's apartment, and then it sounded like a few things fell on the floor. She frowned at the distraction. She wondered if he had some kind of mischievous pet that liked to run around knocking things down. 

Clara wasn't having any luck tracking down the Flash though online articles. Since looking at the sample of people he helped wasn't getting her anywhere, she needed a new approach. She thought a few ideas over, turning them around in the brain, trying to see if they were actually plausible and practical. Finally, she came up with a solid plan to track him down herself. She started with locating the fire he had been at the week she arrived. With a list of people who had been there, a list of people he had saved, she went to the building for answers. 

"Hello, Mrs. Murphy?" Clara asked as a woman opened the first door she knocked on. 

"Yes, how can I help you?" The woman asked. She was middle-aged with blonde hair, definitely dyed. She was rather short, and a little round, but her face was sweet. 

"I'm doing an investigation about the fire the occurred here," Clara lied smoothly. "I saw that you were there at the time, and I just wanted to double check some facts." 

"Oh, of course," the woman nodded. "Would you like to come in?"

"It's really not necessary, I just have a few quick questions," Clara gave her a reassuring smile. "The fire originated on the floor above you, right?" 

"Yes, it did." Clara pretended to jot down a meaningful note on the notepad she pulled out of her purse.

"And everyone was able to be evacuated safely?"

"Yes, the Flash saved us all." 

Clara grinned. This was going much easier than she expected. The woman didn't doubt her intentions, and brought up the Flash all on her own. 

"That's so great to hear. Did you happen to see which direction he went when he left?" 

"Oh, um, yes, he went south on this street, Seventeenth Street." 

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Murphy," Clara beamed, actually writing down this information. "That's all I needed." 

"Have a good day," Mrs. Murphy smiled.

"You too," Clara waved goodbye. 

Back at her apartment, she pulled out a rather large map of Central City. She found the location of the apartment, then drew in an arrow pointing south on Seventeenth Street. 

AN: ayyye two updates in one day. nice. clever clara hmmmm.