Falling Slowly [Barry Allen]

Chapter 14

"Okay, what about... Marshallen?" Iris was sitting on my bed, helping me pick out an outfit for my date with Barry tonight.

"Iris, what in the world are you talking about?" I asked, holding up a red blouse, examining it.

"Your ship name with Barry! You need to have a cute couple name," she responded. "And I think you should save the red for a later, sexier date."

"I think you're right," I said, hanging the blouse back up in my closet. I sighed, exasperated. "And Marshallen just reminds me of marshmallows.... Iris, help me. Please. I'm apparently incapable of dressing myself."

Iris laughed and peered into my closet. "I like blue on you," she said. "It brings out your hazel weird-colored eyes, and blue looks super good with blond hair."

"Hey! My eyes are not weird!" I defended myself.

"You're right, wrong word choice. They're just... different. What color would you say they are then?"

I walked up close to the mirror, leaning in so my nose was almost touching the glass. "Um, I guess they're a little bit of everything? Blue rims, greenish in the middle, with a few gold flecks in them. So I just call them hazel," I said matter-of-factly, turning back around to face my best friend. She was holding a slightly low-cut light blue, long sleeved shirt that she'd pulled from my closet.

"This.... Is perfect," she said, grinning. She held it out for me, and I flipped my shirt off quickly before sliding into the new one.

Iris went to work on my closet then, throwing out a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and a pair of ballet flats. I put them on while she ran over to my jewelry box on my dresser, pulling out a simple pair of small diamond stud earrings, and a thin silver necklace.

I put the earrings in while Iris clasped the necklace around my neck, and I turned to face the mirror again.

My outfit looked good. Like, way better than I could've done on my own. I turned on the curling iron, applying light makeup to my eyes.

Iris picked up the curling iron once it was done heating, and began to curl a piece of my hair.

"Are you totally excited for tonight?!" Iris asked.

"Yeah, I really am. But I'm kind of nervous... This is my first date with Barry. For real, anyway. I don't know what to do, or say."

Iris giggled. "Barry is a very laid back kind of guy, Kate. And he likes you a heck of a lot. I'm sure whatever you do and say will be perfect, to him."

"Iris, do I.... Should I kiss him? Is it too early for that?" I played with my hands in my lap, not looking at her.

"If you want my honest opinion, I wouldn't make the first move if I was you. Let him come to you. Now, do I think it's too early for a first kiss? Absolutely not. If he leans in, girl, you better be kissing him back. But let Barry make the first move. Guys like that kind of thing."

I mulled that over as Iris finished my hair. She was right, Barry did need to make the first move. But I knew that I had wanted to kiss him back at the lab.

I glanced at the clock. 5:56. I had four minutes until Barry would be here.

"Am I ready?" I asked Iris, twirling in a circle for her to examine her finished product.

"I think you're... Wait! One last touch," she said, grabbing a tube of light pink lip gloss off of the dresser and handing it to me. "Barry will go nuts with this. All guys think shiny lips are super sexy."

I smiled and quickly applied a light layer to my lips, so it still looked natural.

"Perfect," Iris approved. "I am totally shipping Karry right now."