OUT OF TIME , barry allen✔️

8. Not so innocent

Barry's POV:

"Zoe's not answering her phone, and the alarms didn't go off when Echo escaped." Cisco said and I looked confused to the man. "She was in the pipeline. Her powers shouldn't work in there." I said and Cisco nodded. "Maybe- maybe it's just her powers. Maybe she can just do it." He said and I sighed. "I'll check Zoe's apartment. Maybe she's there." I said and then sped to the suit, changed into it and then sped through the city to Zoe's apartment.

I phased through the door and searched the apartment. "She's not here. Cisco, try to vibe her jacket. I'll keep looking." I said through the comms and then went to search for Zoe. "Found her! She's at the old Johnson building that almost burned down a few years ago." Cisco said and before I sped off he added, "Thawne's got her. We'll-" "No, stay at Star Labs. We'll be back soon." I said and sped off to the building.

I heard voices when I stopped and leaned against a wall to hear better. "God, what's your deal anyway? Barry will come and beat you. There is no denying it. The bad guys lose." She said and Thawne answered, "And sometimes they win." He said and I sped into the room. "Let her go, she's innocent." I said and Thawne turned around to me. Not a second later Zoe got into a crouching position, freed herself from the shackles around her wrists and held out one hand directed at Echo who immediately got slammed against the wall. "Not so innocent after all, it seems." Thawne said and Storm took over. "What did she tell you? Oh right, the bad guys lose!" She spat into Thawne's direction and quickly got onto her feet.

I looked at her for a moment, saw a few bruises on her face before I felt my expression changing. "You'll pay for hurting her." I said and suddenly the red lightning appearing. Then Thawne sped away and I gave Zoe one last look before I sped after him.

-

Zoe's POV:

I arrived back in Star Labs after a short hand to hand combat with Echo. I stumbled around until Iris took me to Caitlin's lab and I sat down. "Hey, are you okay?" Iris asked and got me water and I quickly chugged it down. "Yeah, yeah. I'm- I'm fine." I said after I drank. "We were so worried when my dad called and said that you weren't home anymore." She said. Caitlin came into the room and when she saw that I didn't heal she quickly took care of the few bruises and scratches on my face and wrists. "Thank you." I whispered and looked down on the ground.

I got off the chair and went into the cortex and looked at the Team. "What did Thawne say?" Cisco asked. "He said Barry's lost without me and laughed at the fact that I said Barry and I are friends. So we can say he's pretty delusional right?" I said and Cisco sighed. "Wait! Where is Barry?" I asked. Cisco looked down on the screens and then I also looked on one of them. "That's Barry." I whispered. "And that's Thawne. Barry's chasing him through the city." Cisco explained and I sighed. Then it looked like they stopped.

Suddenly an orange streak of lightning came in the middle of the room and Barry came to a halt infront of us. He took off his mask and directly looked down to me. "Are you okay?" He asked and I smiled at Barry. "I am now." I said. "I'm going to the lounge. I- I need to think about something." I said and then looked at the team before  leaving the cortex. I heard talking behind me but didn't bother to listen to it.

An hour later I sat on the couch with a cup of tea in my hands, trying to calm down. Just as Barry entered the lounge I sighed and somehow finally managed to calm down. "How are you?" He asked and sat down beside me. "Better. Listen, I- ... Thank you for saving me." I said instead of all the things I wanted to say. "Of course, Zoe. Um, did- did Thawne said something to you? Anything?" He asked and I let out a shakily breath. "Not really. It didn't make any sense. He was laughing that we were friends. Like I said, it didn't make any sense." I answered and sighed.

"I never wanted you to get dragged into all this. That's the reason I never told you I was The Flash. Because I wanted to protect you." I smiled for a moment and then turned my head to the side to look at Barry. "I know. And I understand it now. What happened to me today was not your fault, Barry. I- I hope you know that." Barry nodded and I leaned against his shoulder while he took my hand. "It's gonna be okay." He whispered and I nodded slowly. "I hope so." I whispered.

-

Third POV:

Zoe was working late at CC Jitters two days later. The shop had barely any customers that evening and Zoe was grateful for it. A young woman now entered the almost empty Jitters and went straight to the register and when Zoe looked up to the woman she had tingling feeling in her palms,  but still asked, "Hi, what can I get you?" The green-eyed woman chuckled, eyed the list with the drinks and sighed when she said, "I'll, um, I'll just have one The Flash to-go." The woman said and Zoe smiled to herself before making the drink. As Zoe handed her the drink, two things happened. One, the woman gave her the money for the drink and two, the door opened and Barry and Iris walked in. The two women exchanged goodbyes as the Jitters was became emptier and Zoe put down the apron she was wearing around her hips and sighed. "Ready to go?" Iris asked and Zoe smiled and nodded at her two friends. "Sure, yeah." She answered and closed up the Jitters before she felt that tingling feeling again when she brushed Barry's arm. For a moment, Zoe stopped in her tracks but shook the feeling off before walking home with her best friends.