Flashback (A Road to Redemption follow up story)

Oh, How We've Changed

CHAPTER 3: Oh, how we've changed

NOW:

I blink. "Barry? Barry Allen?"

He gives a big smile. I whip my head over to look at Felicity. I'd heard her say some things about some Barry guy, but my Barry? The Barry I broke up with in High School? After all these years, I meet him here, in Oliver's hideout?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on here?" Dig says, his eyes shifting from Barry to me.

"We knew each other in High School." Barry says, marveling at me, his eyes eating up my appearance as much as I'm eating up his. "Chas, what are you doing here? How do you know Oliver?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" I grin widely and leaving Slade, run to hug him. He wraps me in his arms and I hear him give a little laugh.

As we pull apart I laugh myself. "You're still as skinny as a stick!"

He smiles sweetly. "You look great."

I grin and hope I'm not blushing. "What are you doing here?"

He shakes his head, laughing again. "I asked you first!"

I giggle. "Okay, okay, I work for A.R.G.U.S."

"Wow, A.R.G.U.S?" Barry raises his eyebrows. "I thought you were going to be a beautician or something."

"Well uh..." I clear my throat and look at the ground for a moment. Now is not the time to tell him about Randall. "I changed my mind." I look back up and smile.

"Well, that's great, as long as you're happy."

I nod. "So what about you?"

His grin turns a tad nervous and he glances around at his friends. "Well uh...this might be quite a surprise to you but um...well...I'm the Flash." He looks at me, barely managing to keep his excitement in.

I squint at him. "What? You're...the Flash? Are you kidding me?" I can't help but let my disbelief show through in my voice.

"That's right, he is." Oliver says, his face stoic.

My jaw drops. HUH? Barry, the skinny nerdy goofball, is The Flash? The Guardian of Central City? The Scarlet Speedster? No way! I want to ask a million questions, like, WHAT? And, HOW? And, HUUUUUUH??! But I catch Oliver's look, serious and slightly annoyed, so I swallow back my questions. He called us here for a meeting, Barry and I will catch up later. I nod to Barry. "Okay then."

"Right," Barry says, looking back to Oliver a tiny bit sheepishly. "What was it you were saying Oliver?"