Those Summer Nights

Chapter One

The summer before sophomore year...

"Why can't we just stay in tonight? You know your mom is throwing this cookout just to embarrass you" Caitlin said as she watched Felicity rummage through the closet for something decent to wear.

The sun beat down on their young faces as it streamed through Felicity's bedroom window, but Caitlin thought to block the  incoming rays with a hardbound copy of Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist. Unlike your typical teenage girl, Felicity's walls were made over with chalkboard paint; dusted in quadratic equations, formulas and algorithms that still needed names. However, there was also the occasional picture of Super Man taped to the center.

"I know. That's why we're only going to hang around for an hour and then make our great escape. Which dress?" Felicity asked, standing in front of the closet with two summer dresses in hand. On the left, a navy blue dress with a white and blue chevron skirt. On the right, a simple pale pink cotton dress.

"Definitely left" Caitlin said as she looked up from her book and marked her page. She furrows her brows in confusion as she thought about Felicity's plan. "Where are we escaping to exactly?"

"Ah, for you see this may be my birthday but I want to give you a gift, and it's a surprise" Felicity answered excitedly.

Caitlin could only roll her eyes and laugh. Unless it was related to some sort of emergency, the bespectacled blonde was usually a master at keeping secrets, so Caitlin thought it was best not to pry. However, she could tell by the eager look in her best friend's eyes that she could not stand to keep this one.

"Do you remember my friend Barry Allen?" Felicity began.

Caitlin nodded, intrigued as to where this was going.

"Well, he's actually on the train from Central City and he's meeting us at the fairgrounds" Felicity revealed.

Caitlin's eyes widened in shock. Her face grew crimson with blush as she nervously bit down on her lower lip. She had seen pictures of him before and Felicity had told her many tales about him. Caitlin thought he was kind of cute but in a never meet your heroes kind of way. She never anticipated that she would actually meet him one day.

"Wh- why would he come here?" Caitlin asked, twirling her hair nervously. Her heart began to race and her palms grew sticky with sweat.

"I know I should have asked you first, but I've seen the way you light up when I say his name. You're just too nervous to talk to him yourself. I just thought this could be your night" Felicity said.

"I couldn't do that to you. It's your birthday" Caitlin replied, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand then smoothing out the creases on her white cami dress; which had a light pink rose pattern.

"It's fine. Besides, I've got Ray to keep me company" Felicty said, referring to her quarterback boyfriend, Ray Palmer.

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder how he landed a spot on any of the school's sports teams. Yes, he was built for it but he also seemed like he belonged with her in the chem lab or on the scholastic decathlon. Plus, the way he stumbled on his words or babbled made her feel a little less like an outsider in this world of status symbols and cliques.

"Okay, fine. But if your plan fails, you have only yourself to blame" Caitlin responded, more so for the sake of not getting her hopes up too high.

"Trust me, you'll be thanking me later in the form of appointing me maid of honor or naming your first daughter after me. Not that I think I'm going to die soon or anything like that. Just something to think about" Felicity said proudly.