#jade4813

She laughed, brushing her hair back off her face. “I’d love to do anything with Barry Allen…Oh, God. You’re recording, aren’t you?”

“They really were recording?” Iris yelped, sitting bolt upright in bed. “The light wasn’t on! I hoped they didn’t catch that!”

Linda laughed. “Oh, they caught it, all right. You’re trending on Twitter this morning. People can’t stop talking about how cute you and Barry would be together.”

“I am? They are? Oh, my god.”

“Anyway, your personal humiliation is fun, but it’s not the only reason I’m here. Come on, sleepyhead. Get up. We have work to do.”

Iris groaned, throwing the pillow back over her face. “No. Never. I’m never getting out of bed. I’m too humiliated. Just let me die here.”

Linda snorted. Unperturbed by her friend’s dramatics, she replied, “All right, then I’ll just talk business with your corpse. I think I know which project you should do next.”

Tossing back her pillow again, Iris accepted that she wouldn’t be allowed to die in peace and sat up once more. “You know, you are my best friend. A little sympathy wouldn’t kill you,” she grumbled.

“I’m sympathetic!” At Iris’s skeptical look, she offered sheepishly, “My laughter is…totally…sympathetic!”

Rolling her eyes, Iris grabbed for the script Linda had placed on the mattress next to her. “Uh huh. So what is this project you think I should do?” Seeing the title, she lifted her eyebrows. “Lin, I thought we said I shouldn’t do any more romcoms for a while. I’m on the verge of being typecast as it is!”

Linda nodded, “I know, but you’re going to want to be in this one. You’ll be playing a woman who asks her friend to pretend to be a date at her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. But your character ends up going with his brother instead. And she doesn’t know it, but he’s had a crush on your character for years.”

Wrinkling her nose with a skeptical grimace, Iris started flipping through the script. “I don’t know, Lin. Doesn’t this just sound like every other romantic comedy? What’s so great about it?”

Linda threw her an innocent smile. “Well, did you happen to catch any late night talk shows after the show?” Rolling her eyes, Iris shook her head. “Then you’re going to want to watch this.”

As Iris stared at her, she pulled up a video on her phone and then turned the screen so that Iris could watch. “They taped last week sometime, but it wasn’t aired until last night.” Barry Allen was talking to a talk show host who was known for his boyish charm and the games he played with his guests.

Iris watched as a clip of the two of them playing a variation of Truth or Dare began to play. Linda had skipped through the first minute or so of the game, so Iris didn’t see how Barry ended up with egg in his hair, his pants drenched with water. But she watched as the final round began to play.

“So, you lost the last round. That means it’s time for a Truth Card,” the host – who wasn’t in any better shape than Barry – prompted. “You’re not nervous, are you?” he asked.

Barry laughed. “A little. I know what kinds of questions you’ve asked before.” But he gamely walked up to a giant board with envelopes pinned to it, chose one at random, and handed it to the host.

The host opened the envelope. “There are three questions on this card, and you have five seconds to answer them. First question: Your celebrity crush?”

“Iris West,” he replied, blushing red.

The host’s next words were drowned out by Iris’s gasp, and Linda paused the video. With a huge grin, she rewound a few seconds and hit play again.

“-stion: Your celebrity crush?”

“Iris West.”

“Aw, look. He’s so adorable. He’s blushing when he says your name and everything! Now do you see why everyone is talking about you guys today?” Iris was still staring at the paused screen, unable to believe it. Barry Allen had a crush on her? The way he’d blushed when he’d admitted it, too! She just wanted to bask in this moment.

But Linda continued, “The fact that your slip and this interview aired on the same night? No wonder the Internet is losing it. And not just them. Apparently, the director of this movie already thought the two of you would be perfect for his picture. Last night just sealed the deal for him; he’s determined to capitalize on all this buzz and cast Iris West and Barry Allen opposite each other in their first romantic movie together.”

“I see,” Iris mused, giving the script a considering look. “Well, if he’s that determined to cast me, I’d hate to let him down.”

With a sly smile, Linda remarked, “You know, I thought you might say that.”

A couple of months later, Iris was trying to project an air of confidence as she walked towards the set. This was it; the first day of filming. It was also the day she was going to meet her costar for the first time. A chemistry test had been scheduled for a few weeks before, but problems on another project forced the director and producers to cancel at the last minute. Known for his preference for ad-libbing and changing things on the fly, the director had then decided that he wanted to capture their first scenes together as strangers, hoping it would add something to the shoot. Iris just hoped she actually would have chemistry with Barry and that it would shine through.

Well, that and she hoped he wasn’t a huge jerk. She’d had a little crush on him, herself, ever since she’d seen him in his breakthrough role as the prince in the modern fairytale Glass Slippers. Though she’d die before she admitted as much to him. Still, in her business, she knew it wasn’t unusual to admire someone from afar, only to find out they were an arrogant narcissist behind the scenes. It would break her heart if she found out Barry Allen was the same.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Barry’s assistant, Gretchen, until she was almost upon her. “Hey,” the other woman greeted her warmly. “Um, I was just looking for you. The director wants to do something different this morning. He wants to start with the ad-lib shoot.”

Though Iris hadn’t worked with the director before, he was known for having a very particular style. He liked to shoot each scene two to three times. The first time, he would always shoot the scene word-for-word according to the script. His actors were not allowed to deviate from the page at all. The second take, he would incorporate his own changes to the script – tweaking lines he didn’t think worked the first time, for example. But he would also always do a third take, in which he asked the actors to ad-lib and have fun with it. To play through the scene as they saw fit. He would then choose the take that he liked best for the final cut.

It was unusual that he would choose to do the ad-lib first, but Iris suspected she understood what was behind it. “I take it we’re not supposed to meet before we start?” He had said he wanted to capture the genuineness of their response to each other.

Gretchen nodded. “You got it,” she said with a small chuckle. “But the thing is, Barry has a thought for something he wants to try for the scene. He wanted me to make sure it would be okay with you first, though.” With a shrug, she explained, “He won’t tell me what it is, but he said it pushes the envelope.”

Surprised and intrigued, she shrugged. “Tell him I said to go for it. I’m curious to know what he has in mind.”

An hour later, Barry sucked in a deep breath as the director called places. It was the scene in which Iris’s character was to show up at her friend’s apartment to pick him up for the wedding only to find that he had left town, claiming an emergency. Upon finding that he’d been asked to join her instead, the two were supposed to argue in the living room until, realizing she had no other choice, Iris’s character begrudgingly agreed to let him join her.

For this take, however, Barry had something else in mind. He’d come up with the idea when he remembered that his character was supposed to be in love with her, though she was oblivious to that fact. He was certainly nervous enough to pull it off. But this being their first meeting in real life, he could only hope that he didn’t completely alienate her.

The director called for action, and he hid behind the corner as he heard Iris enter the set. She called out his character’s brother’s name – Travis. After waiting another second, he strolled nonchalantly around the corner onto the set. Though his smile was a little nervous at first, it became more genuine when he saw her for the first time. It transformed into a wide grin when she turned and saw him for the first time.

Oh my god. Iris turned and caught sight of Barry for the first time, and those three words were the last coherent thought she would have for several seconds. Her higher mental function seemed to abandon her completely as soon as she realized three distinct things: First, he was dressed in nothing but a pair of blue jeans, which hung intriguingly low on his hips. Second, his chest was beaded with droplets of water, like he’d just stepped out of the shower. And third, Barry Allen was even more gorgeous in person than he was on screen.

“Hey, beautiful. Good to see you again,” he greeted her with a sexy grin.

His greeting finally kicked her mind back into gear, reminding her that she was a professional, damn it. “Oh, god!” she blurted, trying and failing to tear her eyes away from his chest (seriously, she was dying to know his workout routine – for as lean as he was, he had amazing abs). “What are you doing shirtless? I mean here?” she babbled, wishing she could get a hold of herself. It was a good thing her character was supposed to be surprised and a little discomfited by him, or this would be downright humiliating.

“Travis is my brother, remember? And this is his place…”

“Yes, of course I know that,” she interrupted him. “But where is he? He’s supposed to be my date to this wedding…?”

He shrugged. “He said he had some sort of emergency. Something to do with work. I was in town visiting anyway, so he asked me to take his place.”

She shook her head. “Oh, no. I can’t – you can’t be my date. You’re not…you’re not even dressed.”

Barry laughed and looked down, as though realizing his lack of shirt for the first time. “I do have clothes, you know.”

Remembering that their characters were supposed to be at odds at first, she snapped, “Well, then, can you go put them on?” as she turned to walk away. However, she was so rattled that she’d forgotten the placement of furniture on the set and banged against the island separating the living room from the kitchen.

“Why?” he asked, his voice all innocence. “Does this bother you?”

She snorted and kept her face averted to hide her blush as she darted around the island, trying to put some distance between them. “No, of course not,” she lied. “It’s just that this isn’t going to work, you know. Nobody will believe we’re dating. We’ve argued every time we’ve spent more than five minutes together. We don’t even like each other!”

As she’d known he would, Barry followed. She could feel him behind her, and when he stepped close to her, Iris turned and caught her breath. She was captivated by the flecks of gold in his eyes, and she had to clutch the edge of the island behind her to stop herself from reaching out to see if he felt as good as he looked. With that smile that had captured her heart the first time she’d seen it on screen, he leaned down and murmured, “Well, I hate to tell you this, but beautiful, it’s too late. Travis left hours ago. If you’re determined to take a date to this wedding to show up Billy the Weasel, it’s me or nothing.”

Then, reaching out, he gently captured a lock of hair, sliding it between two fingers. “So how about it? Still want a date to this thing? I can pretend to be desperately in love with you if you can.”

Iris’s eyes fell to his lips, and she felt herself lean almost imperceptibly towards him as she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Before she could forget herself (and a good fifty pages of script) and give in to temptation, the director yelled cut.

She startled, and Barry jumped away from her, his smile turning sheepish and a little shy. Iris looked to the cameras and crew to find that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were just staring at them. More than one mouth was even agape. “Um…was that okay?” she asked as she straightened, pretending it had all been an act.

The director stared at the two of them, and then a slow smile spread across his face. “Are you kidding? Honey, that was magic.”

“Hey,” he greeted her with a warm smile when she joined him at the craft table between takes. “Listen. About this morning. I hope I didn’t go too far?” He had to force himself to tear his gaze away from her face; it was hard to believe that she could be even more beautiful in person than she was on his screen. It was enough to take his breath away. If he wasn’t careful, he was afraid he’d make a fool of himself.

She grinned up at him, seemingly not noticing his response to her. “No, it was great,” she acknowledged. “But just so you know, I’ll be getting you back for that one of these days.” He laughed and pretended to occupy himself with picking out the perfect muffin as he wracked his brain for something to say. He wanted to keep talking to her, to get to know her better, but she made him feel nervous and tongue-tied.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Iris added some cream and sugar to her cup of coffee. To forestall her walking away, he blurted, “So, um…” But no further words came to mind, so his attempt at conversation faded into nothingness.

But when Iris turned to face him, he could see the blush staining her cheeks. “So, listen. You didn’t – uh – you didn’t see my interview, did you?”

He didn’t have to ask which interview, and he’d only watched it a dozen times or so. But he threw her a sheepish grin. “Not if you didn’t see mine.”

Iris laughed; it was the most beautiful sound in the world. “It’s a deal. Anyway, it’s all so silly, when you think about it. Imagine being nervous about…I mean, it was a joke, right? It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh, right,” he agreed a shade too quickly, unsure if she meant his interview or her own. “Definitely.”

But before their conversation could continue, they were called back to set.

The next morning, when Iris came to set, she found Barry there waiting for her. He was holding two cups of coffee, and he held one out to her. “Five am shoots. Gotta love ‘em, right?” he joked as they headed to their places.

Iris groaned as she took a giant swig of her drink. It would take several more minutes for her brain to wake up enough to realize that he’d made it just the way she liked it.

Handsome, sexy, and conscientious of the people around him? Iris really was in trouble.

“So, you’ve got a thing for my daughter, huh?”

Barry spun around to see Iris’s dad in the doorway of his trailer. They had never officially met, but he’d seen the older man on set several times before. “What?” he breathed.

Joe chuckled. “It’s pretty obvious,” he pointed out. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

“Well, s-sure,” he stammered. “I mean, we’re acting, right? That’s what we do. We act.”

Throwing him a level look, Iris’s dad pointed out, “Son, nobody is that good of an actor. Not even her.”

“Wait, what? It’s that obvious? I mean, you think I – that she – are you saying she –” Joe just chuckled and shook his head as he walked away.

“All right, places, please! Places!”

Iris and Barry put aside the script pages they had been studying for the next day’s shoot and headed for the set. We’re ad-libbing this one, right?” Barry asked as they fell into step next to each other.

Iris nodded. “Yeah. Actually, I have an idea for what to do this time. You okay with going with me on this one?” It was an early scene in the film. Their characters had just checked in at the bed and breakfast with the rest of the wedding party, and they were awkwardly trying to get used to their pretend relationship. The scene in the script was sweet, a little touching, and a little humorous but Iris felt like there was something missing.

Without a second’s hesitation, Barry nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed.

They took a moment to establish where they wanted to start the scene, and then they took their places as the cameras began to roll. “All right, so, if we’re going to pretend to be in a relationship, we should get our stories straight. How did we meet?” she asked as they busied themselves by unpacking.

“Why not stick to the truth? I’m your friend’s brother, and we first met a couple years ago when I came into town for a visit. We’ve seen each other a few times since, and recently, we realized there was something more between us.”

She nodded. “I suppose that works. So you asked me out, and –”

He grinned over at her. “Oh, no. You definitely asked me out.”

Pausing in her task, she turned on him with an indignant look. “What? No! Why would I ask you out? If anyone is going to believe we’re together at all, they’ll only believe you asked me out first.” Throwing him a smug smile, she added, “In fact, I made you work for it.”

He snorted, dropping his clothes on the bed and scooting around the side to stand in front of her. “Look at me. You know you can’t get enough of this. You asked me out.”

His grin made it clear he was teasing, but Iris refused to give ground. Smiling up at him sweetly, she shot back, “You asked me out. I finally accepted. Mostly out of pity.”

He laughed and bent down until their faces were only an inch part. “Oh, yeah? Well, I think –”

He was so close; he couldn’t have set up the moment any better if he’d known what she was going to do. “I think we should kiss,” she blurted.

Even though he knew this was all an act – they were filming, after all, Barry still jumped at her suggestion. He took a hasty step backwards, bumping into the bed he’d forgotten was there, and had to recover his balance before he could continue. “Wh-what?” he responded, his shock and confusion genuine. “I mean…now? Here? Now? Why?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she cocked her head to the side and tried not to laugh at his reaction. “Because of what just happened. We’re supposed to be in love, after all. How are we going to pull off the charade when the time comes if you act like the thought of kissing me had never crossed your mind before?”

Oh, it had crossed his mind. Several times. But his character wouldn’t tell her that at this part of the story, and he certainly wasn’t going to admit to it, either. Iris seemed to be enjoying letting her character have the upper hand for the moment, because she stepped close to him and slid her hand down the line of buttons on his shirt. “What’s the matter? You’re not going to chicken out on our agreement, are you?”

Before he could second-guess himself, Barry turned and grabbed her around the waist. Iris had put her purse on a small side table in front of the window, but it fell to the ground when he walked her backwards until she bumped up against its edge. Almost belatedly, he remembered not to block the view of the camera as he lifted her easily and rested her on the table’s edge. However, all thoughts of work fled from his mind when he heard her catch her breath as he stepped between her legs and pulled her in close.

“No,” he growled, giving himself over to the assertiveness in his character that he would never dare risk in real life. “But if this is going to be our first kiss, I want to make it memorable. That way, if you’re ever asked about this moment, you’ll have a story that’s worth telling.”

Perched on the table, she was taller than him, so she rested her hand on the cheek that was away from the camera. Then, tilting her head so her hair would form a curtain to frame the moment, Iris bent and pulled him in for a kiss.

Barry lost himself in the moment and the feel of her lips against his. He was so wrapped up in the taste of her kiss that he almost didn’t hear the director yelling cut. At the sound of his voice, however, Iris broke off the kiss, but she didn’t pull away right away. In fact, they didn’t break apart until the director cleared his throat loudly. “Uh, you guys…we’re done with the scene, you know. You don’t have to keep staring at each other like that.”

Before Barry could step back, Iris grinned at him and whispered, “Got you back.”

“Oh my god. I thought this morning’s shoot would never end. I can’t wait to get back into my own clothes. I just want to go home and crash,” Iris moaned, rubbing her neck with one hand. When she saw Barry’s face fall, she dropped her hand and asked, “What? Did you have something else in mind?”

Running a hand through his hair, he suggested, “I thought we could grab a cup of coffee together. Maybe do some Christmas shopping? I haven’t had a chance to go yet, and I thought maybe we could…”

Her exhaustion melting away, Iris straightened. “You know what? That’s a great idea. Give me ten minutes; let me get changed and we can go.”

When she returned several minutes later, Barry was already there, waiting for her. Smiling, she looped her arm in his and headed to the car. “So, Barry Allen. Where to first?” she asked.

“First we get that cup of coffee. I know just the spot,” he said, pulling into traffic.

But things didn’t go as planned. Everywhere they went, they drew attention to themselves. People whispered when they spotted them together at the coffee house. Others openly gawked when they ducked into a store to do some shopping.

“You know, you would think I’d have gotten used to this by now. Never a private moment, huh?” Barry asked wryly.

“It’s all right,” she mused, linking her fingers in his. “Let them stare. At least we’re together.”

“Hey, you two! Come over here! There’s someone I want you to meet!” Filming had just wrapped through the end of the year, and Iris and Barry were attending a Christmas party at the producer’s house. Forcing smiles, they headed towards where the producer was talking to a beautiful blonde in a red dress.

“Iris, Barry. This is Cheryl. I’ve been telling her about your new project. She’s eager to do a piece on the two of you. I think it’ll make good press. Make sure to carve out a few minutes to give her an interview in the new year, okay?”

From the producer of their film, it wasn’t a request. Barry and Iris dutifully nodded and exchanged greetings as he walked away. Before they could make excuses and escape, however, Cheryl fell into step next to them and asked, “So, everyone’s been saying the two of you have incredible chemistry. Where does that come from, do you think?”

They exchanged a glance, bother blushing as they chuckled nervously. “Oh, you know. We just…I guess it comes from just being really good friends. I feel like I’ve known Iris forever,” he offered.

“So what do you –” Cheryl began, but her question was interrupted by a party guest’s shout.

“Hey, guys! Look! You’re standing under mistletoe!” Iris looked up to find they’d wandered under the mistletoe hung in the doorway.

Giving them both a sly smile, Cheryl pointed out, “You know what that means, don’t you? Come on; it’s tradition.”

“Oh, ah…” Barry stammered. “Th-that’s not…I mean, we don’t have to –”

“Don’t be silly,” Iris murmured, throwing her arms around his neck. “It’s Christmas.” Drawing him toward her, she ignored the cheers of the crowd. In fact, she forgot about everyone around them as she drew him in for a kiss, tilting her head back and leaning into the warmth of his body.

When they finally broke apart, she shivered at the caress of his warm breath against her cheek. “Barry, there’s something I should tell you,” she whispered, pulling him aside. “I –” But standing close to him like this, lost in his green eyes and the warmth of his smile, she lost her nerve. “I just…do you ever…I wish we could have met each other sooner. We could have spent our entire lives together.”

He smiled down at her. “You know, we still can.”

~~~

This could be their lives, the voice in her mind promised as Nora watched her parents fall in love all over again. Like something out of a movie. No fear. No pain. No Flash. All you have to do is make a wish, and this can be theirs.

But Nora remembered her mother’s words in the dream – “I wish we could have met each other sooner. We could have spent our entire lives together.” She thought about how her parents’ faces lit up every time they talked about the lives they’d shared together. As hectic, terrifying, and incredible as their life together could be, Nora knew without a doubt they’d never trade it for anything.

Nora wished they never had to face potentially losing each other, but she couldn’t take away the memories of the life they had built together. With only a tiny stab of regret, she responded to the voice whispering in her mind.