To Flash and Beyond (The Flash)

Chapter 3

Barry really wished to get out of the car and reach CC Jitters in a matter of few seconds. But he knew that he couldn't give himself away to Tony. They were stuck in a traffic for about ten minutes or so.

"Motherfuckin' shit! I'm already an hour late an' now I gotta wait for this shit to clear!" Tony shouted and banged his fist on the wheel of the car. In a minute the traffic cleared.

" You just need a little patience," Barry said.

"Whatava!"

They reached CC Jitters. It hadn't changed a bit in this timeline and looked as cheery and happy as before. They entered the shop.

"Damn fuck!" Tony exclaimed.

"Stop swearing Tony!" Barry scowled. He had a reputation in this place and didn't want it to get ruined because of some uncivilized animal. But this was an alternate timeline, and probably he was the bully.

" Wont you fuckin' swear when you find yo date kissin' someone?" Tony asked, which was more of a rhetorical question. Barry looked in the direction Tony was looking in. He saw a couple kissing each other.

Barry recounted events from the past timeline. He was in a coma for nine months and the next thing he knew that his crush was "taken" and kissing another unknown guy.

"I feel you bro," Barry said, meaning it.

"Let's go Allen, this coffee shop sucks. You never fancied it anyway! Joe's expecting us to solve that case too!" Tony said and turned to leave.

" I'll have a drink, perhaps The Flash! It's my favourite," Barry said.

" Dude what's up with your obsession with The Flash? There's no such drink. You stay if you want to. I gotta attend my work." Tony said, rather curtly and went away, cross with Barry.

Barry really didn't care. He always hated Tony.

Barry approached the counter. Everything slowed down. And Barry knew it wasn't because of his powers. He saw a similar face, the face of the woman he loved, Iris West. Barry was really nervous. Things were different now. Anything could be possible in this timeline. She could hate him, would hate him.

Barry tapped her shoulder. Despite the biting cold, beads of perspiration formed on his forehead. She turned around.

IT WAS HER!

She had that same pretty smile on her face.

"Hey!" Barry said enthusiastically.

"Hi... do I-"

"Barry Allen!" Barry introduced himself. He expected Iris to hate him. He expected her to shout at him, slap him, but, as a horror of surprises, she didn't seem to recall his name.

"Bar-" Iris muttered,still smiling, and didn't seem to recall the name.

They both giggled. Barry couldn't bear the fact that this was the girl he had spent his childhood with and now she didn't even know who he was. They were best friends in the other timeline.

"Yeah... I guess we studied together in primary school...'' Barry stated doubtfully, himself unsure.

"Barry? BARRY ALLEN OF COURSE IF IT WASN'T YOU!" Iris shrieked with joy. She caught everyone's attention. They all stared at them.

"Sorry!" Iris apologized to everyone.

Barry was even more confused now. Wasn't she supposed to hate him?

"Um Yeah I am-"

" And I still do not agree with you about what you saw that night!" Iris said, rather crossly.

"Wha-"

"Now don't say that you don't remember any of it!" Iris said.

"Well I-"

"As expected!" Iris said tartly. " You told me that you saw swirls of red and yellow circling your mother and that a face emerged out of it and a yellow hand tried to catch hold of you. Then...then you told me that in a matter of few seconds you reached the streets. Had all this been true, you surely would have remembered all this!"

"What happened after that?" Barry asked curiously. He was really eager to know what followed because technically he never lived that life.

" Nothing HAPPENED after that! It was all just a figment of your vivid imagination. But according to what you told me, your parents told you that it was a dream and that you were sleep-walking. Disappointed, you went and slept in your room. In the middle of the night the biting cold wind swished and woke you up. You saw a man in black and he giggled. He told you that you'll meet after fifteen years and until then he'll wait patiently. He vanished in a fraction of a second. You went towards your mirror and saw something written in bold letters:- Doctor Alchemy."

"And then why did you stop talking to me?" Barry asked.

"We disagreed on this, and still do, so you became angry. We didn't talk to each other for a while and then you became friends with Tony Woodward and forgot all about me. I tried to talk to you... but you started ignoring me. It ended there. We never talked. I almost forgot about you.." Iris explained.

Barry trusted Iris the most. " But we are cool now. Right?" Barry asked.

"Yeah...let's meet up sometime." Iris suggested.

"Let's go for a walk, we have A LOT to catch up," Barry said.

They both smiled at each other.

"Sure!" Iris replied.

Barry had made up his mind to tell Iris about everything. They did have a lot to catch up on.