neighbors | barry allen//the flash

thirteen | curse

"So, do you have any more of those cookies?" Cisco asked as Barry walked into STAR Labs later that day. 

"Unfortunately for you, that's a negative," Barry beamed.

"Hey, a smile! Magic!" Cisco declared. Barry shook his head, his cheeks flushed. "The Bummed Barry curse has been lifted! May I ask who I should send my thanks to?" 

"The girl that made the cookies," Barry said weakly, knowing full well he was about be scrutinized. 

"She's really something," Cisco smirked. "Phenomenal cookies and can drag you out of a bad mood. Are we sure she's not a meta?"

"No." Caitlin interjected. "We aren't sure." 

"Really, Caitlin?" Barry sighed.

"Oh, so you're allowed to be suspicious of an abandoned ten year old boy, but I can't be suspicious of the girl that just showed up and suddenly you're so infatuated with?" Caitlin shot back. 

"I'm not infatuated with her," Barry rolled his eyes. "And we know he's actually a meta for sure."

"And the Bummed Barry curse is back," Cisco muttered. "Do you have that girl's number? I want her on speed dial for more cookies any time we happen to need them." 

"No one even uses speed dial anymore, Cisco," Caitlin groaned. 

"It's just a saying," Cisco raised his hands in surrender.

"What kind of powers do you even think she has, Caitlin?" Barry asked. "Like, she's Cupid or something? She can look at someone and make them go all heart-eyes?" 

"Realistically, she could have drugged the cookies," Cisco commented. Barry and Caitlin both glared at him. "But I haven't felt any side effects, so I guess that's off the table." 

"I'm just saying, I don't trust her." Caitlin stated. "But whatever. It's your life, Barry." 

"Where is Luke?" Barry questioned.

"At school." Caitlin responded curtly. 

"Oh." Barry nodded.

"I have to pick him up at five thirty," Caitlin explained. "He's been approved to stay with me until family services can figure something safe out for him. I've let them know he has some, uh, conditions, that only STAR Labs can take care of." 

"You told them he was a meta?" Barry asked, exasperated. If people outside their team and small circle of trust found out STAR Labs was doing more than just developing a few technologies to help catch metas and instead actually helping them, his days saving the city could be over. 

"No, I told them he has an unique and unidentified condition that only we have the technology to help." Caitlin said firmly. She wasn't letting this one go. 

"Hey guys," Cisco interrupted awkwardly. "I'm getting reports about weird power outages at that fancy hotel on Fifth." 

"I'm on it," Barry said. In just a matter of seconds, he was in his suit and running towards the hotel. He stopped in front of where it should have been and frowned. Instead of a building, in its place was a black abyss. Barry looked harder, trying to figure out some explanation for what he was seeing. It was almost as if the building was absorbing one hundred percent of the light that hit it, leaving nothing to be reflected back, and thus seen. Barry walked up to the darkness and put his hand forward. His hand hit the solid darkness. His suspicion was confirmed. The building was still there. 

However, almost in response to his touch, the shadow that blanketed the building began to retract. In an instant, the abyss was gone, and the building was back in view. Out of the corner of his eye, Barry saw shadows flicker in the alleyway next to the building. He flashed over there, but whatever he had seen was gone. Barry ran around the building, frantically searching for something, some kind of clue that would lead him to the meta. There was nothing. In defeat, he ran back to STAR Labs. 

"What happened?" Cisco asked.

"I think the meta can absorb light," Barry explained. "You know that Vantablack material that absorbs like 99% of visual light and people say they just see and endless abyss when they look at it? That's what its like. I could see the edges of the building, but no other details. It was all black." 

"That's super creepy," Cisco shivered. 

"Tell me about it," Barry shook his head. "I saw some shadows moving after the darkness started to disappear. I don't know what that was about."

"Maybe this guy can also like, travel by shadow," Cisco suggested. "Or the absence of light, whatever you want to call it." 

"Yeah, well I didn't get a change to look at it," Barry shrugged. "Whatever it was, it was gone before I got to it." 

"Barry, is there something else?" Caitlin pried, in the nicest way possible that only she could seem to manage.

"Its just, I have no idea how to fight this," Barry admitted. "How is my speed going to do anything if I can't see the target, if I can't even see where I'm going?" 

"Barry, we'll find something, I promise." Caitlin reassured him. Whatever issues they were going through with trusting outsiders, her words assured them that he could always depend on her to have his back. Even if they didn't see eye to eye on every situation, they were a team, and they had the same goal. 

"Yeah," Barry muttered. "I think I'm gonna head home for the night."

"Bring some cookies tomorrow?" Cisco asked hopefully. 

Barry just shrugged and walked out. He hailed a taxi, suddenly too exhausted and overwhelmed to try walking, or running, home. He stared out the window, watching the city lights pass by him. Every sliver of a shadow caught his attention and sent shivers up his spine. This meta, this thing, whatever he was up against now, it terrified him, because he wasn't sure they would actually be able to come up with a plan. He wasn't even sure what it was up to. Why was it at the hotel? The cab ride was over quicker than Barry realized, snapping him out of his internal crisis. 

He paid the driver and walked into the building. On the news, he could hear the reporting talking about the strange power outages at the hotel. They said when the Flash showed up, the light returned, and he had once again saved the day. Barry grimaced at the undeserved credit. He didn't do anything. He didn't save the day, not today. 

He tried to distract himself on the elevator ride up by thinking about how to talk to Clara. He did want more cookies, because they were fabulous. Then again, he didn't want her to think he was just using her. Should he offer to help sometime? Maybe he should actually have some guts and ask her on a date. Did that time at Jitters count as a date? Did she think it was a date? Did she want it to be a date? These thoughts swirled around his head as he stepped off the elevator, turned to walk down the hall, and saw a tall, blonde stranger standing in front of Clara's open door, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist, her hands in his hair, their lips pressed together. 

AN: yes, i am trying to create my own villain. sorry if it sucks. also whatever you do don't google search vantablack because that stuff is seriously scary af idk why i'm doing this to myself i'm probably not sleeping tonight. also... does anyone have any ship names for Clara and Barry? Clarry? Bara? or you could like not ship them. but that might make me sad.

ps. i might not be able to update for a couple days. i'm really sorry, life and classes and clubs are getting really involved now ):