Adorkable - Barry Allen

Chapter 23

Extra long chapter! Enjoy!

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"I deserve some hot chocolate right now." Winnie announced as she walked into Jitters with Caitlin. 

"Long day?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah. I'll tell you all about it after we talk to this guy, Jason..." She trailied off, waiting for Caitlin to finish as Winnie couldn't remember the guy's last name.

"Rush. After, then." She nodded, "Why don't you go ahead and get our orders, I'll talk to Jason."

"Alright, the usual?"

"Yes, please." Caitlin responded, already walking away to talk to the man.

Winnie absentmindedly played with the drawstrings of her yellow pullover hoodie as she found a spot in line. It wasn't too long before she found herself in front of the counter, looking directly into the eyes of the barista taking orders.

"Hi, you're Iris's sister right?" The young woman asked.

"Yes, I am. You're..." Winnie said, focusing on the nametag the other was wearing. "Julie. Right, Iris has mentioned you a few times."

"Really? That's nice. She talks about you a lot. Should I assume that you're getting a hot chocolate, extra whipped cream?" Julie asked, smiling politely.

"Yes, and a coffee for my friend." Winnie added as she took out her wallet.

"Alright, that'll be $4.98." Julie said. 

Winnie looked through the wallet and pulled out a $5 bill, handing it over to the barista and smiling, "Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome." Julie said, walking off to get the order ready.

Once Winnie was finished, she searched the shop for Caitlin until she found her friend at a table for three in a corner with the man, Winnie could only assume was Jason Rush.

"Hi." Winnie said, smiling as she approached the two at the table.

"This is my friend, Winnie." Caitlin said, introducing her to Jason. "She came along for some support."

"Nice to meet you." Winnie said, eagerly shaking his hand as she took a seat.

"You too." He said, "I'm Jason."

"Yes, I know." Winnie stated, "...Because, Caitlin told me that we were going to be meeting with you."

"That makes sense." He said, nodding his head. "So, where were we?"

"The team skipped to stage three." Caitlin told him, "Which was?"

All of a sudden, his smile was wiped off his face as he glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. "We melted a concrete wall. But, the university threatened to shut us down. So, Professor Stein published the paper without them giving permission, and they went nuts. So, he went to talk to a friend of his to secure private backing."

"And who was that?" Caitlin asked leaning forward. Winnie was so caught up in the story that she didn't speak a word, though this was partially due to the fact that she didn't know that much about science and didn't want to interrupt. 

"He didn't say. He just said he'd call me later. And no one has seen or heard from Professor Stein since."

"What do you think happened to him?"

"All I know is that the army showed up the next day and confiscated all of our research. So tell me Dr. Snow, do you think I'm being too paranoid, or not paranoid enough?"