Faster Than A Speeding Arrow (Sequel to Love and Secrets)

Chapter 4

Jasmine

I walk down the street, heading to the local coffee shop, headphones in and a smile on my face. I pull out my phone and scroll through my music, hitting skip on about four songs. A familiar beat starts to play and I put my phone back into my pocket.

You know, I've been taking some time
And I've been keeping to myself
I had my eyes up on the prize
Ain't watching anybody else  

The songs starts to play, and my mind takes me back to Verdant with Oliver, Felicity, and Tommy.

Felicity and I are sitting and laughing at the bar, the number of drinks we had lost on us, and we pound back three shots.

"I win again!" I scream over the loud music, laughing as Felicity's face flushes red. 

"I.. I need to pee." She yells over the music, slurring her words, and she pushes herself off the bar and makes her way through all the people and I turn towards the bar.

"Can I have a rum and coke?" I ask the bartender, and he nods, pouring me my drink.

"Fancy a dance?" A voice behind catches my attention, and I turn around to be face to face with Tommy. I laugh and nod my head, and he pulls me towards the dance floor and the mosh pit of people grinding on each other.

You know, I love it, when the music's loud
But c'mon, strip that down for me, baby
Now there's a lot of people in the crowd
But only you can dance with me  

I sing along to the music and start dancing with Tommy, the alcohol running through my system, blinding lights and loud music thumping in my veins. I close my eyes and dance, as Tommy laughs and dances as well, grabbing onto me and we dance closer together, part not to lose each other, part the adrenaline, chemistry, and the alcohol vibrating through the club pulling us together.

I shake the memory from my head as the song plays, and walk into the coffee shop. Tommy's face, that night. That night was nothing more than that, it was all adrenaline and alcohol in our systems. I take my ear buds, the song playing super quietly through, and I realize just how loud I had the music once they come out.

"Three coffees please, one black, one a latte and one with cream and sugar. I tell the barista and pay. I make my way to one of the tables, and scroll through my photos, putting one earbud back in and turning the volume down by half. Photo's of me and Iris on trivia night, photos of Felicity and myself when we were able to see each other, selfies at different places in Central city, landscape photos I transferred from my computer to my phone I took on my camera on the trip here, the group photo of Oliver, Felicity, Tommy, Diggle, and myself I have on the nightstand in my room back at the apartment, me and Oliver, Tommy and Oliver, Tommy and I, Tommy, Oliver and I, and a bunch of blurry photos of dancing from Verdant. I sigh and smile, though my smile fades when I see Tommy's smiling face. 

Tommy, I miss him a lot, Oliver misses him, Felicity misses him. 

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when the coffee tray is placed in front of me, and I look up smiling. 

"Thank you," I say, and pass the barista who brought the coffees a five dollar bill as a tip, and make my way outside. I see Iris and Barry talking in the cafe across the street, and I keep walking down the street, earbuds in. My phone buzzes as I wait for the light to change.

Felicity: When can I come back and visit? You never talk to me anymore :(

I sigh and shoot back a quick text as I cross at the light.

Soon. I have a bunch of work to finish up. I'll call you tonight if they don't need me to stay late okay?

Lying through my teeth, I can't tell her what's going on, for the same reason she didn't tell me about Oliver being the Hood. We don't know what's happening to Barry, and we don't know if he could end up being dangerous, or if he could die from whatever made the machines think his heart kept stopping.

Felicity: What to you even do now? After the Particle Excellorator exploded, I would have thought he shut the lab down, and you would be at a coffee shop.

Truth be told, I did bartend every couple nights, and I haven't told her that either, though I really should, if I did she would get suspicious about all this work I'm doing with Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells with very little money coming in, to begin with, the bartending is a lot of fun and I picked it up about a month after starting at Star Labs, thanks to Iris. I pull up my schedule when I feel a body collide with mine.

"Oh god I'm so sorry!" I exclaim as I pull out my headphones and make eye contact with a very startled Barry Allen. "Oh Barry, hi."

"Uh, hi." He responds slightly confused.

"It's me, Jasmine... From the lab?" I say, trying to jog his memory. He looks distant as he nods, looking paler than normal.

"Barry?" I say and he's gone. I blink and look around, no sign of him anywhere within a few blocks radius. I text Cisco and Caitlin.

Guys, something is up with Barry...

A/N

Yes I am aware that all of this happened before Strip That Down For Me (Liam Payne) came out, but it was the one song that came up and inspired this chapter, and that memory, along with Prongs46 (Whom the chapter is dedicated to), who suggested that, since everyone loves Tommy (right?), he shows up in flashbacks or memories, which inspired a good portion of this chapter. 

This is kind of a filler chapter, but we do keep the main characters of the series in here as well, even if it's only for a little bit. Hope you love the chapter, and I know it's still considered short, but I'm getting into more of a groove for writing and they'll be a little more regular. I'm still not done season one yet, but I'm working on it I promise!

Thank you for sticking by me and I love you all!

-Allie