Catherine pinches at the skin on her hand as she attempts to look over the thick crowd at S.T.A.R. Labs. The Particle Accelerator is soon to be turned on and the green eyed girl has yet to find Iris and Barry. She has been waiting for ten minutes and she's getting anxious. Are they even going to show?

      Then through the crowd Catherine catches Iris' eye. She smiles widely. "Oh! There's your surprise!" She reaches up and when she covers someone's eyes, realization sets in for Catherine. There, standing in the middle of the crowd, is Barry Allen. Catherine suddenly feels like vomiting, but she holds the feeling back as Iris guides a blinded Barry towards her.

      Barry laughs as Iris makes him trip slightly. "Iris, what could be so incredible that-" Iris removes her hand from Barry's eyes and he instantly sees Catherine in front of him. The two of them just stare as Iris shakes with excitement. "Surprise!"

      Catherine and Barry's eyes never part. They just stare until Iris realizes there's nothing going on and, frowning, hits Barry's arm, snapping him out of his daze. Catherine swallows down bile as Barry looks her over. "You-" Barry licks his lips. "You're here." Catherine nods and finally blinks.

      They begin to just stare again, but Iris stops it from happening. "Oh, come on, you two haven't seen each other since we were 15. Speak. Converse. Communicate." Catherine looks away and pinches at her hands. Barry sees this and almost smiles. "You-" His voice fails him so he clears his throat and Catherine looks back to him. "You still do the hand thing." He says, gesturing to her hands.

      Catherine instantly stops pinching and glances at Iris for help. She can't find any words. Iris sighs and grabs both of their arms, guiding them into the building. "You two are hopeless. C'mon, lets watch this Particle something majig-"

      "Particle Accelerator." Barry and Catherine say simultaneously. They glance at each other and instantly look away, both bright red. Iris doesn't see it though as she continues to drag them through the crowd which practically parts for her. "Whatever." Iris brushes it off. "So~" Iris starts, squeezing Catherine's arm as she releases it. "Barry, how was your trip to Starling?" Catherine practically trips over hearing this.

      "Did you find proof of the impossible or did you just make my dad mad for no reason?" Iris asks. Barry smiles and laughs lightly, the noise making Catherine's heart flutter. "Actually, while I was away I had a chance to think about... You know, relationships." Barry says excitedly, looking to Iris. Catherine's heart drops as she frowns. Right, she forgot about that.

      Iris looks at Catherine and raises her eyebrows. "Did you now?" Iris lightly pinches the inside of Catherine's arm. Barry nods, confused by why Catherine suddenly yelps and glares at Iris. He also notes the red in her cheeks. "Yeah, and, well, I'm not in one-" Iris nods and smiles. "Neither is Catherine. Isn't that funny?" Catherine glares at Iris. "How do you know? I could be dating someone-"

      "Cat, we all know you're a single Pringle." Iris says, rolling her eyes. "You don't have that spark in your eyes- That spark that yearns for someone-'' Catherine and Barry share a look, both completely aware of his feelings and how oblivious Iris is to them. They come to a stop in their walking. "Who knows, maybe you'll find someone in Central." Iris says, not-so-subtly nodding her head in Barry's direction.

      It goes unnoticed by him though, because Barry's face lights up as a man steps onto the stage as the crowd whoops and cheers. Catherine shakes her head at Iris. "Unbelievable." She mutters, turning her attention to the stage. Iris smiles at the two of them as they recognize the man to be Harrison Wells: the man with a vision for the future.

      Doctor Wells puts his hand up. "Thank you." The crowd silences. "My name is Harrison Wells." Barry whoops a little and Catherine glances at him. He's clearly excited about this. Catherine may have her PhD in psychology, but she's nowhere as impressive as Harrison Wells. This only makes her frown and begin pinching her hands. Another person she can't amount up to in Barry's eyes.

      "Tonight, the future begins." Catherine swears for a moment that Doctor Wells' eyes meet hers and he smirks at her with malicious intent. "The work my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics. We'll bring about advancements in power, advancements in medicine, and trust me, that future will be here faster than you think."

      Catherine narrows her eyes at Wells, but is shaken from her thoughts as Iris yelps. "No! Hey!" She grabs Barry and points after a man who runs away. "My laptop! He stole my laptop, its got my dissertation!" Barry turns and takes off after him, and, without thinking, Catherine takes off after Barry. She loses him a few times in the crowd, but her trail on him leads her outside the building where she arrives just in time to find Barry getting hit over the head with the laptop bag.

      "Barry!" The thief runs off as Catherine runs to Barry's side. She looks him over and sees that his nose is bleeding. "Are you okay?" She asks him. Barry groans as he wipes at his nose. "Yeah I'm-" He pauses as he realizes something. Barry looks at Catherine and she looks back at him. "You ran after me." He states. Catherine flushes and looks away. She sees a detective pointing his gun at the thief and sighs. "We should leave."

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      At the Central City Police Department Catherine sits with Iris as Barry sits across the desk nursing his bloody nose. Iris groans as she looks at the Detective who stopped the mugger. "Who is that guy, and what is he so proud of?" Catherine hands Barry a fresh tissue and he silently thanks her. "So he caught a mugger. Big deal."

      Barry applies his new tissue and looks over at the Detective. "He's a transfer from Keystone. Started a few weeks ago. Eddie Thawne." Iris scoffs and nods. "Oh~ So that's Detective pretty boy." Barry and Catherine give Iris a look and she shrugs. "That's what my dad calls him." She supplies. "Says he actually keeps score when it comes to arrests." Iris rolls her eyes.

      "He is pretty though." Iris says and Catherine hums, not looking at Eddie, but at Barry. Barry seems to think that both of them are referring to Thawne, so he looks down. After a moment he stands and tosses his tissue in the trash. "I'm going upstairs to my lab. I've got some work to finish." Barry walks away and Catherine frowns watching him go, both saddened by the same reason, but with different people.

      Iris backhands Catherine's arm and scoffs. "Girl, come on." Catherine looks at her and shakes her head, confused. "What?" Iris gestures to where Barry once sat. "Um, hello- You didn't say anything." Catherine looks down and shakes her head. "There's nothing to say, Iris. He feels nothing towards me anymore. We just... drifted apart. It's time I move on." Iris stands and throws her hands out. "Catherine, he hasn't stopped thinking about you." Iris laughs. "He talks about you all the time!"

      Catherine shakes her head. "No, Iris, you don't get it." She looks away and pinches at her hand. "He likes someone else." Iris puts her hands on her hips. "Oh, yeah? Who?" Catherine takes a deep breath and just stares at Iris. "Well?" The dark-skinned girl asks. Catherine only shakes her head.

      "Go talk to him!" Iris demands, shoving Catherine towards the stairs. The brunette looks at Iris conflicted and Iris grabs her arms. "Cat, please, I know you're hurting but whatever happened to you two is in the past. I know you like him-" Catherine looks at Iris shocked and the woman smirks. "What? You think I never noticed? I've seen the way you look at him; like he placed the stars in the sky, like he is the reason the sun rises everyday-"

      "Iris, but he said-'' Iris shakes her head and pushes Catherine again. "It doesn't matter what he said back then. What matters now is that you love him! Go talk to him and I promise you everything will work out." Catherine stares at Iris, her best friend. The person that, even after six years, still knows her like she's her sister. If Iris said things would work out, then they would.

      Catherine nods. "Okay." Iris smiles as Catherine runs up the stairs. "Go get him, girl!" Iris shouts after her, making the girl's cheeks turn red.

      As Catherine walks past a set of windows an explosion sounds in the distance. She looks out, fire reflecting into her brown eyes. Then, like a shockwave, something hits her. A force that tears at her gut, making her stumble backward. She grabs the wall behind her to steady herself, a headache forming. Catherine's eyes begin to burn, her vision turning red for a moment.

      Catherine shakes her head, the pain dissipating. "Weird." She mutters, looking out the window at the building on fire, heart pounding in her chest knowing that something went horribly wrong with the Particle Accelerator. Thunder rumbles overhead and she thanks her lucky stars that she isn't caught out in the rain. A rattling noise comes from Barry's lab and when she turns the corner, she sees him standing there, holding a chain, rain dripping on him.

      Then, dread spreads throughout her whole being. Catherine breathing becomes ragged as she looks at him, unaware of her change in eye color. "Barry?" She whispers.

      All at once, he looks at her. Time freezes as their gazes meet. Their whole lives flashing before their eyes. The moment they met. When they fell for all the right and wrong people. Death. Happiness. Misery. Heartbreaks.

      A single tear slides down Catherine's cheek, then...

      Lightning strikes.

      And everything changes all in one moment.     

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~author's notes~

chapter 2! I'm loving writing this and I can't wait for ya'll to see where Catherine's story takes her