Adorkable - Barry Allen

Chapter 13

Two Weeks Later...

Winnie was sitting at a table with Cisco and Caitlin watching Iris and Eddie play a game of darts. She took a sip of her lemonade, relishing the sweet tanginess of the drink and glanced at Barry, who was sitting all alone, smiling.

She followed his line of sight to find Iris cheering at her perfect shot landing in the bullseye. Winnie sighed and placed her drink back on the table, absentmindedly tapping the wood with her fingers.

"I told you, you should have gotten some alcohol, Winnie. Let loose a little." Cisco said nudging her with his elbow.

"And I told you, I don't drink. It's not that I'm uptight or anything. I just... I don't have a lot of great experiences with liquor." Winnie said a frown forming on her face.

Cisco understood that he shouldn't push the topic any further. Instead, he threw his arm around Winnie and said, "Well, at least I know who my permanent designated driver is.

Winnie smiled, shrugging him off, "Yeah, yeah. Just don't call me at 2 in the morning to pick you up from a ditch or something."

"I can't make any promises." Cisco grinned making Winnie and Caitlin laugh, "Anyways, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to go to the Harry Potter convention in October. We've just been really busy with everything and-"

"It's fine, Cisco. We can just go another time." She waved off. Cisco smiled at her and nodded his head, when Caitlin brought up a different topic.

The two scientists began talking about some project they needed to start working on and Winnie didn't understand much of what it was so, she looked up again to see Barry and Iris talking and taking a shot. Seeing them together, she could feel that ever-present pit in her stomach. 

It's not that Winnie didn't want Iris and Barry to get along and be friends, it was the fact that Barry liked Iris. No, he loved her despite Iris already having Eddie and here Winnie was free to be with whomever she wished, yet no one quite compared to Barry.

"Hey, you alright?" Winnie whipped around to see Eddie looking at her, his concern evident on his face.

"Oh...uh, yeah. I was... I was just daydreaming. Drifting off into my thoughts." She tried to say conviction.

"Alright. You just looked a little out of it." He said.

"Well, no need to worry. Really, Eddie. I'm fine." 

He placed a hand on her upper arm and tilted his head forward slightly, "I know I'm only your sister's boyfriend and your dad's co-worker but, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here."

Winnie looked into his eyes seeing the sincerity of his words, "Of course."

Hearing her words, he let go of her and went to go play some more darts with Iris who had finished her chat with Barry. As he went to put his hand on Iris's back, he turned his head around and gave Winnie a reassuring wink, to which she smiled back in return.

Barry was still sitting at the bar as he watched the small exchange between Eddie and Winnie. He could feel something drop in his stomach at the sight and felt a burning in his chest. However rather than addressing these feelings, Barry took another shot.

Blinking a few times, he stared at the glass realizing something was wrong. So, he got up with a tray of shot glasses and made his way over to his friends.

Barry made it to the table and leaned his head in to whisper, "Guys. I have a problem."

Cisco lowered his beer from his face and stared at Eddie, "We all do when guys like him exist."