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Linda doesn't seem too bothered by her rowdy friends as her eyes are captivated by the laptop screen in front of her. She's long blocked out the voices of her friends with her headphones blaring Janelle Monae.
It was a Friday night and she along with Iris, Cisco, Cynthia and Barry were all gathered at Wally's apartment for a fun night of movies and games. The former group knew Linda had a deadline to finish up for the paper before they started so they tried not to disturb her.
Wally however was not aware of this as he stood in front of her with a glass of red wine grabbing her attention. Thankfully she had finished her deadline whilst he was in the kitchen preparing food.
"What are you reading?"
This grabbed the attention of the other four who were chatting away on the floor like a group of middle schoolers, sat around in a small circle. Iris almost wished Wally good luck with a meant-to-fail attempt at getting Linda's attention with a laugh. But much to their surprise Linda looked up at him and pulled out an earbud.
She took the glass of wine and made room on the couch for him to sit. "I'm just browsing some scientific studies. You know the type you'd find on Jubilee or something."
"Since when do you read scientific studies?" Iris asked with a furrow.
"Well, it's not technically scientific. It's just a social experiment. It claims that if two or more people sit together and answer 36 personal questions as honest as they can for an hour, they'll fall in love with each other."
Linda saw the oldest boy and youngest scoff. "Is there a problem?" She asked Wally and Barry.
"No offence, but that sounds like a load of bull." Wally said.
"Thank you," Barry added. "I'm sorry but there's just no way someone will fall in love with someone through random questions on the internet. Science and love do not interfere with each other."
Linda stared at them. From what she knew Barry has been single since sophomore year of college [according to Iris] and the only intimate feeling Wally knew was hidden deep in the night and under mountains of bed sheets and moans. She wasn't surprised they didn't believe the study.
"Um, Life is about learning - and technically the only way to understand feelings of love and other emotion is through scientific experiment." Cisco said as a matter of fact. "I'm on Linda's side with this one."
Linda gave him a soft smile of gratitude. Cisco was simply the sweetest boy she's ever met and she envies how smart, loving and sweet he is and how lucky he is to have found love so quickly in his life. Cynthia had a tough exterior and played very hard to obtain but when you really get to know her she's almost as soft as Cisco.
Their love was something Linda wanted for herself one day.
"Sounds like fun to me." Iris said excitedly.
Barry looked at his best friend like she was crazy. "Come on, there is no way you can actually fall in love with someone in an hour!"
Linda pursed her lips. "I don't know Barr, sounds pretty legit to me."
"Yeah, why don't you try it?" Cynthia challenged Barry. "In fact you both should do it. Wally, when was the last time you've actually been in a relationship?"
Wally opened his mouth to reply but stopped himself to think on it with a furrow in his eyebrows.
"See? Exactly my point. I fear if you don't actually commit to someone soon, you'll end up alone forever."
Wally stayed quiet. He didn't know how to answer that.
"Even if we do do this, who are we going to do it with?" Barry raised an eyebrow.
"I can do it with you!"
Surprised, everyone turned towards Iris who was radiating with excitement - cheeks flushed pink.
"You? With me?-"
"Well, obviously I'm not doing it with my brother." Iris chuckled.
"Why would you want to do that with me?" Barry looked genuinely confused and it pained Linda at how oblivious her friend was.
"I don't know. It sounds fun and maybe we can learn more stuff about each other."
Barry scoffed. "Iris, we've been best friends since we were 9 years old. There's nothing you don't know about me that will make you fall in love with me. Trust me." He mumbled the last bit, the tone in his voice dipping slightly.
Iris shrugged, "I'm cool with either out come."
"What if it works?" Cynthia asked.
"It won't." Barry and Wally said in union. Wally continued. "I'm not going to fall in love with a random stranger.
Linda nudged him. "I'll do it with you."
Wally turned to her with a smirk. "Well, if you wanted me Linda, you could've just said so." He placed his elbow on the back of the couch and rested his head on his fist as he looked her seductively.
Linda rolled her eyes and looked back at her laptop. "Never mind."
"Okay, you guys need to do this in an isolated room. You have to sit opposite each other, answer as honestly as you can, get comfortable and when the answers are all done you have to sit there and look into each other's eyes for 4 minutes."
Barry looked at Iris reluctantly. "We're actually going to do this?"
"Yeah, come on it'll be fun Barry." Iris got up and pulled him along with her. "Send me the link Lin."
"You kids have fun."
"But not too much, if you know what I mean." Cisco and Cynthia teased.
Barry rolled his eyes as he followed Iris into Wally's study room without much thought.
The four that were left in the living room stared at each other as the quiet increased. "This is going to be fun." Linda said grabbing the bowl of popcorn from the table.
"Or it could go completely sideways." Wally mumbled.
"Not if one of them have feelings for each other."
"I don't know, it's hard to tell with Barry but Iris could possibly have a thing for him."
Cisco shrugged. "I think Iris has a thing for everyone, and everyone loves her. We can't actually know."
Wally turned to Linda with suspicious eyes. "You know something don't you?"
"I haven't a clue what you're talking about."
Barry watched Iris place the phone on the table in between them. They sat on the cushions and faced each other. "Okay, let's start. You can see right?"
Barry nodded.
"Please, be as honest as you can." She added with a pleading smile. It made Barry smile a little, calming his nerves. He hoped she didn't notice how nervous he was about the challenge. Of course he still had doubts that a bunch of questions is going to make Iris fall for him but if it does work... he couldn't even think about it - his nerves too severe to handle the hope.
"First question. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say and why?" When Iris finished reading the question she looked at him.
Barry pursed his lips. He didn't really need to think about it. He did that almost all the time. He has learned to do it when he was around 11 years old, with the encouragement of his mother of course.
"Yeah. And I guess it helps to know what I'm going to say before I say it. Or else I'd be a stuttering mess."
Iris smiled at his half-true-half-joke. "Yeah, you used to stutter over the phone a lot as a kid. I remember whenever we talked you would, for whatever reason, be so nervous and it made me nervous sometimes too." They laughed. - "I don't exactly rehearse for every phone call but the important ones I guess."
Barry nodded understandingly. He refrained from asking if he was ever part of the important phone calls and shook his head.
"Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common."
"We both have great sense of style that's for sure."
Barry chuckled. "I'm sure that's just you... - We both ... are very into other cultural foods."
"That's true. We also like Drake." Iris looked back at the phone with a smile. "For what in your life do you feel most grateful?"
"You." They both answer in union. Barry flushed deeply and looked down, feeling touched. As if a scorching wave of warmth swarms his chest, sending small and fluttering butterflies pulsating through him.
Iris cupped his hand with her own to grab his attention. "I mean it you know? You're my best friend and I'm grateful for you because unlike most things in life I choose you - to be my best friend."
Barry nodded. "I know, that's how I feel too. I guess by default I'm grateful for my family but by choice - it's you."
Iris placed a hand on her heart and awed. Barry can see her melanin skin glow red as she blushed. It was a beautiful sight to see her blush and smile radiantly, - it made his heart flutter. Another thing he was grateful for, though he doesn't tell her.
"If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?"
"I think... I'd like to have your ability to see the good in people, and both the beauty and ugly in the world. To me you seem to have a good head on your shoulders and you seem more aware in things than me." Barry told her.
Iris felt extremely touched. She could see the genuine honesty in his eyes as he said that. She has always known Barry sort of looked up to her ever since middle school but it felt oddly warm hearing him say that.
"Thank you Barr." She said softly. "I think an ability I'd like would be to be as determined in everything as you. I've always envied how hard you worked for things."
Barry frowned. "But you're determined too. Sometimes I would give up after a few tries but what I've noticed in you is that you almost give up right at the beginning but the more you work on something you don't drop it until you've hit jackpot."
The two carried on taking their time to listen to each other speak through the rest of the questions, not having noticed it was closing to two hours. They had moved to the couch for more comfort as they finished off the questions.
Iris listened to Barry tell his most treasured and worst memories, which she's experienced with him. They laughed as they told each other funny memories and cried as they talked about what hurts them the most.
Iris wanted to say she felt the same way as the moment she walked into the room with Barry but she can't lie. The more they talk, the more she looks at him - she feels the already there warmth in the pit of her stomach increase.
Barry answered questions with such care and softness, it didn't surprise Iris but it sure did captivate her.
"I think we've finished the questions." Iris whispered as she gazed at him. She had her head rested against her fist supported by the head of the couch. She sat there with him a short moment after hearing his answer on the 36th question, taking in the feelings they're meant to feel by now.
"I guess now we just gaze into each other's eyes, right?" Barry looked up at her through his eyelashes.
"Ooh, 'gaze'. Stop it now you romantic beast." Iris joked as she set up the timer on her phone. Barry laughed.
They turned to each other and with the start of the timer they began to gaze into each other's eyes.
Seconds passed, turning into moments. They sat there in the comfortable silence. Iris began to dive into his pooled eyes. It was almost ironic that the colours of his irises were like a pool. It was almost hypnotizing - beautiful, in fact.
"This was nice." Barry whispered.
"I don't think we're supposed to talk, Barr."
"Oh,.. I'm sorry." Iris smiled.
"It was nice. I really liked it."
"I thought we aren't supposed to talk..."
Iris grinned.
Barry wasn't safe from falling into the depths of her dark nut-brown eyes as well. He's done it so many times before but this time just made it feel different. It felt mutual that they were sitting there, staring at each other and they both loved it.
The timer rang, and neither of them could look away from each other to stop it. But finally Iris shut it off and looked back at him, expectantly.
"How do you feel?"
Barry gulped. He ran his hand through his hair and let out a breath. "I honestly... - I don't think anything has changed."
Iris tried not to look too hurt, as she stared at him. His eyes were adverting and looking at anything but her. It was a tail she learned about him so she knew he was hiding something.
Or maybe she just hoped too much.
"Yeah - same."
"Really? So you're not..."
"I still feel the same as I did when I walked in here." She told him. There's truth hidden behind that.
- "I still feel the same way because I didn't need to ask your 36 questions to fall in love with you, Barr. I already am." She whispered.
That put a pause into the atmosphere and Iris almost thought he was in flashtime but she realised it wasn't possible for her to even think that if he was. He was just frozen with shock.
"You - you were in love with me?" He finally questioned.
Were, she thought bitterly. No dumbass, she wanted to say, I still am. "Ever since the night you had to stay over because your parents were in the hospital."
Barry was shocked. Ghosted. His eyes were wide as a doe caught in headlights. "We were 11 then. --- you've been in love with me for 13 years?"
Iris nodded. She felt bad for springing this up on him but it felt liberating to have it off her chest.
"Iris -..." Barry faced her, his hands raising to touch her face then hold her cheeks. "Gosh, I wish you had told me this sooner."
"Hh?"
"I can't even remember the moment I fell in love with you." Barry shook his head. "Actually I do, the exact moment, the day and hour I realised I love you is forever imprinted in my brain."
Iris' breath hitched in her throat. She never thought she'd hear those words coming from his mouth. She's imagined them, how'd they make her feel, she dreamed about what she'd do if he ever uttered them. She always wanted to kiss him. To feel his soft pink lips against her own. To endure it, devour his sweetness.
"Iris?"
She realised, with a shake of her head, that she's been sitting there speechless for a good moment.
"Please, stop talking." She whispered to him before grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling him into a deep well anticipated kiss.
It felt like a warm wave of pleasure built a force between them, keeping them secure against each other as they locked lips. They kissed hungrily, making up for the years they've been in love, the many kisses they've missed because they kept that to themselves.
Barry had initially expected to leave the room after their failed experiment hating himself for never having the courage to tell his best friend how he really felt about her. What he wasn't expecting was to be on that couch making out with the girl he's been so desperately and hopelessly in love with since before he knew what love even meant.
The study may or may not have worked but there's no way to know, it won't work on them. Barry and Iris have always loved each other.
Maybe it'll work on Wally, he thought.