The Beacon of Light ~ Barry Allen

13. Sweet 16

Disclaimer, I do not own Barry Allen or any other characters from the tv show The Flash, which this is based off of. I only own Mara and any others that may be made later on.

*years earlier*

I felt myself begin to wake up as I rubbed my eyes sleepily. As I began to wake more though, I realized what today was. A grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat stretched across my face as I squealed loudly and jumped out of bed, throwing the covers off. 

I got dressed as quickly as humanly possible and raced down the stairs at lightening speed. "Joe Joe Joe Joe Joe Joe Joe Jo-" I got to the bottom of the stairs expecting to see him sipping on his third cup of coffee, but he was nowhere to be found. My smile faltered a bit as I did a 360 to see if I missed him. 

Today was my 16th birthday, (and a Saturday thank god) and Joe promised he would take me to the junkyard to get my first car that I'd been saving for forever. It was my dream car. there was no way I would've been able to afford it, but with the 3 jobs I was juggling and my amazing negotiation skills with Rob, the yards owner, I managed to get just enough.

I plopped on the couch and huffed in annoyance. I sat up quickly though realizing Iris and Barry were probably upstairs and might know where Joe was. Yet again, I raced up the stairs as quickly as I could and went back and forth between their doors knocking rapidly. 

My frown sunk further along with my brows in disappointment. Where the hell were they? I would think Barry would at least be here, he sleeps till freaking noon on the weekends. 

After 30 minutes of this, I decided I can't wait anymore. I went to my room and lifted the mattress on my bed to grab the money for the car. After I placed it in my bag, I sent a text to our group chat. 

Mara:  'hey guys! I'm going to the junkyard to pick up the car, got too impatient to wait sorry :) wanna meet up there?'

I made my way down the stairs and before I reached the door, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and smiled as I saw it was a text from Barry.

Barry: 'or, you could just come outside ;)' 

My eyebrows knit together in confusion as I breathed out a laugh and reached for the door handle, puzzled. I opened it and gasped. Barry, Iris and Joe hopped out of the bushes and stood in front of the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, my dream car. "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" 

my hand flew up to my mouth and I began to grin from ear to ear. "Oh my god, you didn't! Joe!" He laughed and walked up with a large smile as well, " I can't take all the credit, Barry and Iris helped pay too." I tilted my head to the side feeling slightly guilty, "Joe you know I can't take this without paying you! You know I saved the money-" 

He stopped me short, raising a finger, " You can and you will. I'm a detective you know, did you think I wouldn't notice you paying for a few of the bills recently? Besides, you're family Mara, and I know how bad you wanted this. It's all yours, no buts." 

Happy tears brimmed the corners of my eyes and I tackled him in a hug. "Thank you thank you thank you Joe!" He chuckled and returned the hug. 

After I stepped out of our hug Iris ran up to me squealing, "Congrats birthday girl! Happy sweet 16th!" She hugs me tightly and I returned it, thanking her a million times as well. 

 "Wanna take it for a spin?" 

I pull away from Iris and turned on my heel to see Barry standing there with a grin on his face. 

I walked up to Barry giggling and I tilted my head as I tried to contain the smile on my face. He grabbed my hand and placed the keys in it, closing his and my hand around them. "Happy Birthday Mara." he whispered. "Thank you" I whispered back through a smile. 

"So? Are we going for a drive or not?" Barry asked excitedly. 

I drew my lip back between my teeth before going back to the ecstatic smile, " Actually, I was thinking...What about a road trip instead? and we can come back tomorrow night!" 

I turned to face Iris and her features fell a little, " Ughhh I wish! My first day of work is tonight though. That coffee shop finally hired me! If I miss my first night they definitely won't keep me.-" Iris's face lit up after a moment with realization, "-You and Barry should go though! just you guys. it'll be fun." She winks at us and my brows furrowed a little but I ignored it. A road trip with Bear would be fun. 

I turned to face Barry, seeing him death glaring Iris. I decided to ignore that too as he looked down at me raising his brows clearly trying to hide his previous actions. "What do you think Bear? Road trip with Mara? Sound fun?" I wiggle my eyebrows at him and he bursts into laughter but ends up beaming back at me. 

"Sounds amazing. When do we leave?" 

"Now!" I Shout and race to the house. I call over my shoulder before I'm too far into the house "Go pack a bag for tonight! Last one back to the car is a rotten egg!" 

It was only a few seconds before I heard the pounding of Barry's footsteps behind me. 

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I buckle my seatbelt while Joe finishes giving Barry and I a safety lecture. "-And Barry you protect her under all circumstances, got it? look out for each other." 

Before Barry could respond I interrupted "Protect me? I don't need protection. I can certainly protect myself."

Joe rolled his eyes and continued, "Alright, just be safe. Love you both, call me soon." 

After telling Joe bye, I looked over at Barry, "Are you ready for the most legendary road trip ever?" 

He gave his signature smirk and fastened his seatbelt, "ready as I'll ever be."

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 A/N

Part two to the flash back will be up soon :) decided to switch it up with a memory part.