Chapter Text
As Iris opens West’s Books at the regular 10 o’clock that Wednesday morning she ins’t expecting anything out of the extraordinary, which makes the movement on Lily Lane, substantially larger than your usual week day, slid right trough her. It is only after half an hour of absolutely no clients, except for the guy wearing a baseball hat that apparently takes less than two-seconds to become greatly concentrated on her travel books, and a quick peek on the street that she realises that the movement looked suspiciously weird.
She never has the time to dwell on it though before five teenage girls burst in yelling and screaming, just as Iris begins to organise the recommendations display by the door. Teenagers aren’t usually the ideal clients, they can be loud and messy and will hardly ever actually buy anything, but she usually actually gives them the time of the day, after all they are the hope for the (supposedly) dying printed word, but not when they are being obnoxiously loud;
“Hey, hey, guys, this is not the place for screaming! A little bit of respect, please!”
And as they all go on about how someone, whose name Iris doesn’t catch but concludes to be the next teen idol, had just walked into her store, suddenly the traffic (and the photographers) on the street starts making sense.
She can’t tell exactly why she decides to do what she proceeds on doing, maybe she takes pity on the guy, only that once she does decide she gets the girls out of the shop, guaranteeing them no one had walked through those doors, which she locks, and then quickly close the drapers as well and lock the back, all in minutes flash.
The guy keeps frozen behind the same travel stand. Iris can see him hiding through the images of her security cameras, and after a minute or so of staring at his image completely still in place she decides that if he isn’t grateful enough to approach (and thank) her then she should.
“Hi”, she tries, sneaking into his back.
He stumbles into the book shelf in surprise, in an attempt to turn and face her, knocking some very expensive books into the ground with it, and as he kneels to try to grab them, inelegantly, all at once apparently, even though they don’t fit in his hands (however large they are) and he answers;
“Oh, hi — hi. I wasn’t really sure if you knew I was here — I was — I — you know — trying to decide the best way to move out of here without giving you a heart attack, in case you hadn’t seen me.”
He blushes to the roots of his hair, and oh, boy she wishes he hadn’t, gesturing his hands full of books big, like he couldn’t control what he did with them, and Iris smiles at him, looking up from under her eyelashes. Damn it, why did he had to be cute?
Perhaps it is because that’s not how you would expect a movie star to act, but she finds something so completely endearing in it. He is all tall and pale skin and great soft green eyes and long lashes (has she mentioned his long lashes?), and perfectly shaped eyebrows. All he misses is the british accent and a way cooler vibe to be the text book definition of teenage dreams (not hers, who mentioned her teenage dreams, anyway? She is talking about the screaming girls she pushed out of her door).
She manages to keep composed though, as she tells him;
“Oh, I knew you were here. I’ve been watching you fixed in place for the last five minutes through my security cameras.”
“Oh, right, well, yeah.”
And he moves his hands again, almost knocking out a couple more of books and then standing perfectly still once again.
“I saw the paparazzi outside plus the teenage girls and I figured you were the next sparkling vampire or something so I thought I would help you out”, Iris explains.
He raises his eyebrows, kind of dreamily, in a way that makes his eyes all bright, in surprise;
“Thanks, that is very — thanks.”
“So, are you a vampire?”
He places the books back on (the wrong spot of) the shelves, taking his hat off and rubbing the back of his neck. He has nice hair as well, in the state of a mess because of the hat, but it looked all soft and shiny and Iris has a stupid inexplicable urge to comb through it with her fingers (or, you know, mess it up a little more).
He extends his hand to her, introducing himself;
“I’m Barry. Allen. I — thank you, I really appreciate the place to hide, you have no idea —”
He stops himself mid sentence and Iris guesses he probably thought saying she had no idea how difficult it was being a celebrity would probably sound really stuck up giving she was already helping him, but she is actually focused on the fact he is Barry Allen.
Just last Sunday dinner she had her mom and Linda swooning over him, telling Iris she should go watch the new hit movie he was on cause he was so pretty that it made the horrible plot worth it.
Iris laughs trying to imagine their reaction to when she would tell them she got locked up on her store with Barry Allen. If he would leave before Linda arrived for her shift she would have her sister-in-law cursing all the life decisions that had led to her to never being on time on the mornings.
“My mom is a big fan”, Iris explains under his questioningly expression;
“Oh”, he offers her a small smile and continues; “I can’t tell if you are mocking me or…”
“I’m not”, Iris promises, though the smile in her lips is probably leading him to believe otherwise so she adds; “I’m really not.”
“Ok.”
But she can tell he doesn’t fully believes her, so she tries;
“It’s just — I had no idea how you looked like till just now, but my mom was just telling me how I should go see your latest movie, that’s all”, she says, overwhelmed by an awkwardness she has never felt before, putting the books back in place so to occupy herself, growing warm under his attentive gaze.
“Oh, god, no, don’t do that to yourself, really, it’s rubbish.”
She laughs again, at him this time. Iris has always appreciated a self deprecating sense of humour. She kinda likes him, even if it were to be without the pretty eyes.
“I’m Iris West”, she says, realising she hadn’t really introduced herself.
He looks over her head, to the sign she has fixed on the top of the wall, she figures, that reads West’s Book, since 1975, and gets her confirmation when he says;
“From West’s Books, since 1975”, he looks down at her and she notices the way his irises change colours, actually going from blue to green, and there is an intensity on them as he asks, mockingly seriously; “are you a vampire?”
And it is completely surreal to be standing by the travel books on her book shop having a movie star flirting — is he really flirting? — with her, but at the same time, perhaps because she didn’t really know who he was until she actually met him, perhaps because his awkwardness made him more human somehow, it actually feels really real.
“Damn it, you figured my secret”, she tells him. And when he does nothing but smile a little smile, full of shyness and dimples she asks;
“So, how does that work? You hide in here for five minutes and then they leave so you can leave too?”
He gets all pink again and rubs the nape of his neck as he tells her;
“Yeah, last time something like this happened I had to call the police and be escorted out of my hiding place. It wasn’t fun though, so I would really appreciate if you gave me a little more than five minutes.”
Iris walks to the counter so to check on the security cameras that gave her a street view without a word and Barry follows her, very close by, but she barely has a chance to actually check on anything when Linda opens the back door, saying;
“Have you looked outside? I mean you would think the apocalypse was happening. And why the hell are we closed anyways?”, she drops her bag behind the counter and finally looks up from her cell phone to find herself standing right in front on Barry. She gabs Iris’ arm and says;
“Holly shit! That’s Barry Allen. Did you know that Barry Allen is in the shop?”
Iris rolls her eyes. Linda is all cool till something happens, then she gets really hipped about stuff and acts like the celebrity just standing there is deaf. And also probably blind to miss the jaw drop. Oh, she would have fun describing it to Wally.
“He can hear you, Linda.”
Linda composes herself, extending her hand and introducing herself with a bright smile;
“Yeah, of course he can. I’m Linda Park. Park-West actually. We’re sisters in law cause I’m married. She is really single though.”
“Unnecessary”, Iris mutters under her breath as Barry shakes her hand with a tentatively;
“Nice to meet you.”
Then all of what was left of Linda’s coolness washes away when she adds, before letting go of his hand;
“You are very tall.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
He shakes his head and Iris is not so sure if it’s in disbelief in Linda’s comment or his reaction to it, probably the latter.
“So, what’s Barry Allen doing at West’s Books?”
“Hiding from five teenage girls”, Iris offers, bending her head at him a little and screwing up her nose, and he rolls his eyes at her and completes;
“And twenty paparazzi. Iris handled the teenage girls, though.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m so brave!”, she adds, hoping that would mask the shiver that her name on his lips send down her spine.
Linda watches their exchange like she’s watching a tennis match, a knowing smile forming on her lips letting Iris know she wasn’t as sleek as she hoped for.
“Yeah, well, there’s at least thirty paparazzi now and not just teenage girls anymore.”
“Oh, god, I’m really sorry. I can totally refund you for the day’s worth since this is, you know, my fault”, he apologises, pointing to the empty shop as if the this hadn’t been clear enough.
But Iris doesn’t really want him giving her money, it feels too weird to even contemplate, so she jokes;
“Oh, I’m not sure you could afford what we make on a day.”
Linda’s smile grows bigger and she grabs her bag from the floor and says;
“Ok, I have to go then. It was really nice meeting you Barry, I just need one pic”, she says, pointing her cellphone at him; “I mean Francine will kill me otherwise.” She analyses the pic on her phone, walking backwards towards the door; “Very handsome! Thanks! That’s great! Good job on those eyes, by the way.”
Iris follows her, gabbing her arm and asking;
“What do you mean you have to go?”
“I mean since you are closed anyway I could go home and, you know, do laundry.”
“Laundry?”
Linda tries her innocent eyes at her, which might have worked if Iris didn’t know her best friend in the first place, except she did, ever since they were in high school and she used to tell Iris there was no way she would ever fall for Iris’ punk little brother, who she now has the nerve to use as excuse;
“Yeah, Wally stained one of his shirts with god knows what and it’s been no joke trying to get it out, let me tell you. I’m even thinking about inverting our laundry per dishes deal”, then she looks over Iris’ head, to Barry again and adds with a little wave; “Bye, then!”
Iris blocks the door with her arm and asks in a whisper;
“Linda! What the hell are you doing?”
She looks Iris in the eyes, no subterfuges this time, and Iris know exactly what Linda is trying to imply, she’s just terrify of going there as she says, once again;
“Leaving.”
She couldn’t tell where the desperation was coming from, she was fine being alone with him till Linda arrived but now…
“You can’t leave! Remember how much you like him? Hey, here’s your chance to hang out with a movie star.”
“You hang out with him, you guys seem to be getting along just fine,” she replies in a matching tone whisper and Iris refuses to allow her mind to go there;
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s into you”, Linda spells out.
“No, he is not!”
“Oh, he’s totally into you and I was just googling him the other day and he’s single. Like 100% single, he said so in a recent interview, so, you know, you should go for it.”
Iris shakes her head even though minutes ago she was considering herself that he was flirting with her;
“You are delusional.”
“And you like him too.”
“I do not!”, she is honestly offended Linda would actually accuse her of that!
“You do too, cause you were teasing him and you only tease the people you like, and also you were doing that thing you do when you’re trying to be cute, you know, when you crook your head and you play with the hair”, she finishes, supposedly mimicking Iris, crooking her head and playing with her hair and Iris doesn’t know how to respond to it because now that she thinks about she was playing with her hair.
Linda takes the silence as victory, saying;
“Text me after you kiss him”, and closes the door behind her.
Iris turns back to face Barry, pulling her hair in a tieless bun so she would resist the urge to flirt-ly play with it and offering;
“I would kill her but then I would very likely be killing my mom’s only chance of ever becoming a grandmother so she would kill me in turn.”
He laughs this genuine laugh and it fills her lungs with something other than air as he says;
“And we cannot have that.”
She inhales sharply. She has to occupy herself somehow while he’s around or she greatly suspects she’ll do something crazy.
“You know, I live upstairs and I was thinking, do you want to —?” does that sounds like a proposition? It totally sounded like a proposition. She can feel all her blood rushing to her face and she tries that differently; “We could bake brownies.”
He smiles sweetly;
“Yeah. Sure. Brownies sound great.”