A New Run (ARROW+FLASH+GLEE) *COMPLETED*

Prologue

"Hey, loser!" Thomas yelled. Barry turned around. Ugh, not him again! And his friends are here, too. "Your dad's on janitorial staff. Shame he couldn't have used those mopping skills to clean up your mother's blood off the wall." Thomas started laughing at his own joke, and his friends joined in.

"It's not even funny!" Barry retorted. "And it wasn't him! It was the man in the yellow lightning!" But the bullies continued laughing. So Barry ran. Like he did on the night his mother died. Except it was harder with a broken arm from last time. But that's another story, for a different time.

"Hey, get back here!" Barry could hear the boys sprinting after him, so he ran faster.

Today was the last day of middle school, but he knew high school would be just as terrible. Barry wished his father wasn't in jail. He wished people would believe him, and maybe his father would come back home one day.

Barry ran to the nurse's office, and shut the door. The nurse jumped, then she smiled. "Barry! It's the last day of school! Shouldn't you be celebrating or something?"

Barry shook his head. "I don't feel well." The nurse sighed.

"Almost everyday you come here saying you don't feel well. But I don't send you home. Why? Because I want you to get out of this school! If I send you home, you'd miss important tests and your grade would drop. Then you'd get held back!"

"At least I'd have one year without all the bullies." Barry mumbled.

"No, Barry. There will always be bullies that know about your father, and they'll torture you. But you need to stand up to them," the nurse said.

Barry thought about this. "At least let me go home just this once! It's the last day of school!"

"Fine. I'm calling Joe to pick you up." the nurse sighed again. Barry can be annoying, but he's her favorite. He's kind, and he loves his father even though he's in jail.

Barry smiled. "Yes! Thank you!"

~

"Joe's here, Barry." Barry shot out of his chair. He ran outside and to his foster father's car.

"Joe!" Barry said. He was happy that he could spend his last day of middle school in peace.

"Barry, you're not really sick, are you?" Joe asked. Barry sighed.

"I don't want to go to high school." Barry complained. "It'll just be four more years of bullying! And it won't get any better."

"I've tried to get you out of it, Barry. So yes, I agree with you about that. But you need to stop! People are making fun of you not just because of what your father did, but also because of what you think you saw." Joe said.

That was it. Barry couldn't handle it anymore.

"You don't understand! The man in the yellow lightning is real!" Barry yelled.

There was a long silence. The only sounds were the wheels on the road, and the radio broadcast Joe had turned on.

"I've been thinking about this, you know." Joe finally said.

"W-what do you mean?" Barry stuttered.

"I got you into Dalton high, in Westerville Ohio. You can start a new life! But you're coming back for college." Joe said.

Barry smiled. "So, I can leave?"

"Yes Barry. Yes."

~

Barry had been sitting around until 4:00. That's when the bus gets to Joe's house.

He heard the door unlock, and Iris was at the door.

"Barry! Are you okay? Dad said you were sick." Iris yelled. She ran to Barry, and hugged him.

"Yeah! I'm fine." Barry said.

But Iris wasn't stupid. She knew something happened- and it had nothing to do with being sick.

"No Barry, what happened?" Iris asked.

Barry sighed. He didn't want to have to tell Iris. She doesn't know about the bullies.

"I wanted one day without any bullies." Barry confessed.

Iris gasped. "Who? I will hunt them down, and murder them in their own house at night!" She stopped. "I'm sorry."

Barry sighed. His mother was murdered at night while Barry was sleeping. "It's okay. Thomas and his friends have been bullying me since 6th grade."

"Barry, if you told me, I could've dealt with it! And in high school I'll-"

"Iris, I'm not going to that high school!" Barry blurted.

"Oh." said Iris.

Barry knew she wouldn't like this news. They were best friends, after all.

"I'm going to a high school near your uncle's apartment. It's a private all boys school in Westerville, Ohio. I'll leave after summer break." Barry said.

Iris just stood there. Then, she hugged Barry. "At least we'll have another summer. And you'll come back after high school, right?"

"Of course."

~

After summer break

Barry was packed and ready for Dalton. Well, he wasn't ready to go. He wanted to stay, but leave at the same time. Joe already said goodbye, and Iris was walking with him to the cab.

"Bye, Barry!" Iris yelled. She ran to him, and gave him one last hug. Barry hopped into the cab, and he was on his way to Dalton.

~

Barry finally got to Joe's brother's house. Joe thought it was cheaper to take a cab than flighting there in an airplane, so it took longer. Barry decided it would be easier to call Joe's brother Uncle Frank, because technically, he is Barry's uncle. His name was Frank Smythe, for reasons involving divorce.

Somehow, he convinced Barry to take the last name Smythe, and make up a new first name. And Barry knew the perfect name.

~

"Hello Dalton! Welcome back! As tradition, we'll meet the new freshmen!

After many people are named...

And... Sebastian Smythe!"

Only Joe's brother knows about Barry's secret name.

For now...