Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Okay For Now

Wanting to escape Oliver's silence, Felicity gathered the remaining members of the teams and brought them up the stairs, into the night club. 

The five grabbed a table for four. Parker shoved a stool from another table in between Cisco and Caitlin. They sat in silence, everyone too caught in their own thoughts to acknowledge one another.

Thea Queen approached the table. Her starting smile docked down a few notches when she registered the varying degrees of despair on each face.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked Felicity and Roy.

"Are you the waitress?" Parker cut in. "I need a beer. Please."

Thea nodded. "Uh, yes, what can I get you all?"

The group went around the table, ordering their drinks. Roy briefly thanked Thea for the night off and she nodded, promising to return with their drinks quickly.

"Who was that hottie?" Cisco wondered, his eyes wide with admiration.

"Oliver's sister," Felicity tiredly stated at the same time as Roy said, "My ex-girlfriend."

"So, stay away, is what you're saying," Cisco said.

Thea returned with the drinks. The second Parker had her drink in her hand, she tilted her head back and drowned it.

"Um.." Caitlin mumbled.

"I needed that," Parker defended. "I won't become an alcoholic, don't worry."

"No, Park, " Cisco said. His hand laid on her back, the other gently prying her hands away from her cup.

A faint red tint was stained onto the glass.

Startled, Parker accidentally dropped the glass. It didn't completely break, but a jagged line ran through one side. 

She climbed down from the stool and held her hands close to her chest, careful not to touch anything but her own shirt as she fled from the table.

Parker shoved her way through sweaty teenagers and boys looking for.. uh, you know.. She kept her head held high. As soon as she pushed through the door to the bathroom, she let out a sigh of relief.

She poured a handful of soap into her palm. It only took a few seconds before the clear soap had been stained red. She rinsed her hands under the cold water. Her hands were slightly pink, but better than before.

Parker pried the end of her shirt up, turning on her side to fully see the ink soaked into her skin. She may have been totally hammered when she received her tattoo, but she had enough sense to pick a damn good one.

"Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over," she sang quietly. Her fingers ran over the ink, her cold hands sending a chill through her body.

Underneath cursive lettering of the words, don't dream it's over, four symbols were drawn. From left to right, a rewind button, a pause button, play button, and fast forward.

Parker paused her feelings of grief. 

She hovered over the rewind button, reviewing what had happened, reminding herself she couldn't have helped anymore besides what she did to stop the bleeding.

Her finger tapped the play button, ridding any 'what if' thoughts.

All she was able to do was wait for news of Lyla's conditions.

 "Nice tattoo."

Parker shouted a profanity. Her shirt fell back over her hips in the midst of her flapping her hands around in defense. With her tailbone pressed against the bathroom sink (the farthest she could have gone), she faced the intruder.