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MARCH, 2024. Eugene, Oregon.
Hal squinted against the sun in his eyes, wishing he hadn’t left his sunglasses on the counter in his hotel room. He reached a hand up to wipe the sweat from his forehead as he made his way over to the set of benches just off to the side of the massive green mat. A dry towel hit him in the face before he could react to catch it, and after he grabbed it, he threw it back towards Oliver with a glare. The bearded blond was easily his favorite yet undeniably most annoying teammate. The other laughed and handed him a water bottle while Hal finished wiping the sweat from his face.
“I don’t know man, I don’t think you’re going to get it.” He said, only partially joking, earning him an eye roll.
“Gee, thanks for the pep talk, Ollie. Glad to have your support.” Hal replied sarcastically. He couldn’t deny it though - the blond may have a point. Hal hadn’t even come close to clearing the bar in the days leading up to the trials, and he was running out of time and patience.
Tomorrow, he will join Oliver Queen and a handful of other Olympic hopefuls and compete for the chance to represent his country at the 2024 games in Paris, France. Hal was different from his teammates - He hasn’t been training for this moment since he could walk like Ollie had. In fact, he didn’t even know pole vault was a thing until he reached high school and decided to join the track team to keep in shape. Turns out Coast City High hadn’t had a pole vaulter in years, so he decided to try it out.
He was a natural, it was like he was meant to be ten, eleven, fifteen, and now over nineteen feet off the ground. He was meant to fly. The next thing he knew, he was attending University in Star City on a full athletic scholarship and rooming with a local rich kid, Oliver Queen.
He’s always believed his feet were meant to be off the ground. His father was a pilot, and he loved going up in his plane with him whenever he could. When he was just ten years old, his father lost control of his aircraft and Hal never saw him alive again. He wanted to follow in his father’s foot steps, but his mother begged him not to become a pilot. She couldn’t go through that again. He agreed, he’d never want to upset her and she had enough to worry about being a single mother to three young boys. So, he pushed all thoughts of flying out of his head for as long as he could, but now, two years after his mother’s death, he was considering switching his studies to aeronautical sciences. He had an extra year of athletic eligibility from the pandemic, might as well use it and actually get a degree he wants to use.
“I’m just saying, man.” Ollie at least had the decency to look sheepish saying it, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “You haven’t even cleared 18’11 today and you’re supposed to hit 19’5 tomorrow? I don’t know.” Ollie didn’t seem happy about saying it, but Hal had to admit he had a point. What Hal hates most of all, is the pitying look Oliver is giving him.
“I’ll hit it.” Hal said stubbornly, maybe to himself more than Ollie. To be honest, he wasn’t sure where he was going to pull the extra half-foot from, but he would. That is what his biggest competition here can hit, and he wants to be the number one vaulter at the games. Guy Gardner, a redhead from the east coast, Baltimore or something like that, had edged him out of a spot on the olympic team four years ago. Hal had only been nineteen years old then, He’s come back stronger, faster, and more determined to beat out that prick than ever. The redhead hadn’t even shown up to training today, or yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that....you get the point.
“You keep saying that like you can just will yourself over the bar. Do you know something I don’t? Because I’ve been doing this way longer than you and if I’m doing something wrong, I’d like to be enlightened, please.”
“You’re not doing anything wrong, buddy. You just aren’t very good.” Hal jokes, earning him a punch in the arm. Oliver was getting ready to retort when a loud noise rang out from the far end of the stadium near the track. They both turned to watch as eight incredibly fit women in spandex shorts started running down the straight away of the track - He’d nearly forgotten that some of the trials started today. Ollie hadn’t, seeing as one of the runners, specifically the blonde one currently in the middle of the pack, was his girlfriend of nearly 5 years. The girls were the best America had to offer, and it was clear as they flew by, clearing hurdle after hurdle over without breaking their strides. One stutter step and they’d fall behind, and this was not the race they wanted that to happen. One girl’s foot grazed the top of the fifth hurdle, slowing her just a millisecond, but enough for the blonde to pull ahead of her and into third place. Dinah Lance always stood out when she competed, mostly because she never failed to wear fishnets under her spandex. Apparently, it was a confidence thing - Hal thinks it’s more likely an attempt to psych out her competition. Nobody could argue with results - Dinah had led the women’s track team at Star City U to back to back National Championships.
“Come on, baby…” Hal heard Oliver whisper under his breath. Dinah was gaining on the next girl, and by the time the finish line was crossed, she was just a step behind the leader. He heard Oliver yell “Yes!” and clap, knowing she’d been the clear 2nd finisher. That should be enough to get her onto the team for the women’s 100m hurdles event.
The vaulters were situated only about 20 yards from the finish line, and it wasn’t long before Dinah was sprinting over and running into Oliver’s arms. He picked her up and spun her around, giving her a kiss as he set her down and congratulated her. Dinah was still working on catching her breath when she parted from Oliver, and Hal pulled her into a congratulatory hug as well.
“Incredible, I have no notes.” He said with a warm smile.
“Thanks, Flyboy. I have one for you though,” She said, smirking, and Hal had a feeling he was about to get roasted. “Maybe try to get over the bar at some point today.” She said, and Hal playfully pushed her away and rolled his eyes. Oliver didn’t even try to hide his chuckle.
“Damn, ouch, okay, noted.” Hal replied, laughing with a hand over his heart as if he was actually hurt by the dig. They’d been on the same team long enough that they were used to this from each other. It’s part of what made them all work so well together - They weren’t afraid to call each other out when they needed to make adjustments or something wasn’t working.
“Oh, shoot, hold on!” Dinah said before sprinting back toward the starting line - not nearly as quickly as she’d been running just a minute or two earlier, but fast enough to make quick work of the hundred or so meters. A crew had already taken the hurdles down, getting ready for the Men’s 100m event that was next. Hal never did understand the order the running events went in. Today was a bit weird, as only the women’s hurdles and men’s sprinting events would be completing their trials in the morning, with long jump and shot put in the afternoon. Tomorrow the running events will swap, with men’s hurdles and women’s sprints in the morning, and high jump and pole vault in the afternoon, and so on for the rest of the week.
The two vaulters watched as Dinah ran right up to a tall guy with blond hair, just a bit shorter than Hal’s own. He was wearing tight red running shorts that went about halfway down his thighs, leaving very little to the imagination. His red shirt was a bit looser, but lacked sleeves. They were too far away to make out what his shirt said, but it definitely had something written on it.
“Who the hell is that?” Oliver asked, mostly to himself, watching as the new guy placed something in his girlfriend’s hand. She wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug, pulling back but keeping her hands on his shoulder. To Hal, it looked like she was giving the other a pep talk, but Oliver always was the jealous type. Maybe that comes with the territory when you are dating someone way out of your league. A whistle was blown and the new guy motioned vaguely towards the starting line, and Dinah tapped him on the nose before turning and jogging back towards them. When she got back, she handed Oliver her necklace and stood in front of him while he took the hint and reached around to clasp it back around her neck. That must’ve been what the mystery guy had handed her.
“Why did that guy have your necklace?” Oliver asked, clearly annoyed. Dinah was used to this, but that didn’t make it any less annoying.
“That guy is Barry, and he’s a total sweetie. He offered to hold it for me when I realized I'd forgotten to take it off before my race. It was nice.” She replied, saving the eye roll till the end, while she and Hal shared a look that clearly said “this again?”. Luckily, Ollie was behind her and missed it all.
“Barry?” Hal asked, intrigued. He should probably try to change the subject before Oliver had a chance to dwell on this guy, but he couldn’t help it, he wanted to know a little bit more about this guy. He usually didn’t pay attention to many of the other events, so it wasn’t a surprise that he’d never seen this guy before. He wondered if they’d ever competed at the same event before.
“Barry Allen. He’s a total stud, but he went to a little school in Missouri or Kansas or something, I can’t remember. From what I've seen, he could’ve gone anywhere he wanted, but he wanted to stay close to home so he could visit his dad in prison. That’s what the reporters say, anyway. Sounds like that’s the only family he has.”
Oliver was clearly stuck on the “total stud” comment, but Hal was more concerned about the last part. The media loved an “overcoming adversity” story, and they’d expose whatever they wanted for a story. It was exhausting sometimes, and Hal remembers when his story had first broken in the track and field world. However, he couldn’t help but want to know more about this new guy. He tried to listen as Dinah gave them the run down on Barry, but he started zoning her out while he watched Barry jump in place. He was in lane three, trying his best to keep his muscles loose before crouching down along with the other seven runners, setting his feet on the blocks with his hands on the ground. He wasn’t sure if it was the loud bang of the starting gun or Dinah’s latest that startled him and pulled him out of his trance, but his head snapped towards her.
“I’m sorry, what?!” He exclaimed, head and eyes swiveling back and forth between the runner and her. Not even ten meters in and Barry was already a step of two in front of everyone else. Damn.
“Crazy, right? He just woke up, like, three months ago. He was already, like, crazy fast, but they say it was like it woke something up in him, because even after weeks in a coma, he was beating his own records pretty consistently. His coach was mind-blown!”
“He was struck by lightning?!” Hal exclaimed, still stuck on that. How was he even alive? Let alone currently leaving the fastest runners the country of America had to offer in his dust? Hal couldn’t take his eyes off him, the long, toned legs and focused eyes. Even Oliver had to admit it, this guy was fast.
“Should he even be racing?” The blond said, skeptically. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he didn’t want to like this guy. Maybe it was the way he could smell the midwest on him from here, maybe it was the easy way he’d been talking to Dinah, he didn’t know. All he knew was, he didn’t like it.
“What, do you think the lightning gave him superspeed or something?” Hal jokes, and it was Ollie’s silence that finally got him to peel his eyes away from the runner as he was approaching the finish line with several seconds between him and the next closest runner.
“Be real”, Dinah laughed, rolling her eyes, “though, I don’t think the committee would care as long as he can pass a drug test.” The three watched as the blond slowed to a stop, much more abruptly than the others did, almost like he didn’t feel totally in control of the speed his legs were moving.
“Barry!” Dinah shouted, and next thing Hal knew, the new guy was jogging their way. As he approached, he could finally make out the Central City State Track and Field logo printed on his shirt. Ah, Hal thought. That must have been the school he went to.
“That was insane! You’re going to be a favorite to win gold, Barry!” Dinah gushed, causing Barry to blush and duck his head. He mumbled a thank you and finally looked back up sheepishly, seeing the other two men.
“Uh, is this Oliver? Nice to meet you, I’m Barry Allen. Dinah’s told me a lot about you.” He said politely, holding a hand out for Oliver to shake. Oliver eyed the hand, giving a skeptical look to Dinah but finally taking the hand and maybe gripping it just enough to hurt. He wasn’t sure what is was about this guy - maybe the fact that he could smell the midwest on him, maybe that his girlfriend seemed to be so fond of him, maybe it was a hint of jealousy that the guy was doing to well while he himself wasn’t even sure he’d be making the olympic team - whichever it was, Ollie could tell he was going to be this guy’s biggest hater.
Barry winced at the pain in his hand, but didn’t say anything on account of his manners. He turned to Hal, who’d offered a hand to shake as well. Barry eyed it and seemed to hesitate a bit before taking the other’s, much less hostile hand in his own. Hal was about to say something when he finally made eye contact with the newcomer, and he felt all the air leave his lungs. His eyes were so blue. He’d never seen anything like it. He was mesmerized. It was like looking deep into deep blue hot springs at Yellowstone National Park that his parents had taken him and his brothers to see as children. He felt a nudge in the side and didn’t need to look to know it was Dinah. Barry was looking at him expectantly with just a bit of concern.
“Oh, uh, sorry. Hal, I’m Hal Jordan.” He said, finally releasing the blond’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you two,” Barry said with a kind smile. Oliver was overcome with the desire to punch him in his perfect teeth, while Hal was already coming up with ways to get this guy alone. He was just about to ask if he had any other events today or if he was finished when he they all heard his name being called. They turned to see an older man in a matching tracksuit and a hat that hadn’t been in style since the 50s approaching, and he clapped a hand on Barry’s shoulder as he reached them, just slightly out of breath.
“Way to go, Kid!” He praised, clapping the runner hard on the shoulder. “Next stop, Paris!” Barry smiled sheepishly, trying and failing to hide his excitement. Hal had a feeling he’d never left the states before, and this was his ticket to world exploration. He was in the same boat himself, it’d be nice to get out of California for something other than a collegiate sporting event. Ollie and him had taken a road trip last summer, but they’d spent so much time arguing with each other that it hadn’t been the trip he’d been hoping for.
“I hate to pull you away from your friends, but you’ve got some, uh, post-race formalities to take care of,” Jay said with a strong hint of an apology. He knew more than anyone that after that performance, Barry was going to be subjected to an overkill of medical tests and drug screens. Barry grimaced, but nodded at his coach.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second, Jay.” He said, accepting his fate. Dinah pulled Barry into another hug, congratulating each other once more and finishing with a quick “I’ll see you soon!” and “good luck tomorrow!” directed at first Dinah and then the other two men. Hal watched him recede for as long as he could before he disappeared into the tunnel towards the showers and locker rooms, before turning to the blondes.
“Dinah, I need to see him again.”
“He’s such a prick.”
There was a pause, where Oliver, Hal, and Dinah all looked at one another incredulously.
“What’s your problem, man?” Hal exclaimed, looking between the two.
“My problem?! What, do you have a crush on him or something?” Luckily for everyone, Dinah cut in before this could turn into one of their infamous arguments, grabbing each by the arm to demand their attention.
“Ollie, you’re jealous because he’s fast and kind and beautiful, but you have nothing to be worried about, so chill out and be nicer to him next time” She said firmly, but placed a kiss on his cheek which seemed to calm him down a bit. Then, she turned to Hal.
“I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of each other as long as you do well tomorrow. Use him as motivation or whatever you need to do to get your ass over that bar and get yourself to Paris. I’ll talk you up at practice.” She said firmly, and Oliver’s calm facade dropped to look just a bit disappointed at his friend’s choices. For what it's worth, Hal felt more motivated than ever.
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JULY 2024. Paris, France.
The stadium was silent, despite the tens of thousands of people in attendance. Hal stood at the ready, vaulting pole in position in his hands. This was his last attempt, it was now or never. He couldn’t afford another fault, or to hold anything back. He spared a single glance out of his peripheral vision, and caught a glimpse of Barry. In his team USA sweatsuit that matched Dinah’s at his side, his two gold medals hanging proudly around his neck. His hand had a death grip on Dinah’s as they watched on anxiously. Despite the mounting pressure, Hal felt fully at peace. He’d won something worlds greater than any hunk of metal. With a deep breath, he took off.
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Hal opened his eyes. He’s not sure how long he’d simply laid on the mat that had broken his fall, but it had to have been a few seconds at this point. The sound around him was muffled, and the sights in his peripherals were blurred. He could see the drone flying above him, taking video of the stadium and events from above. He’s sure it could make out the calm smile on his face. When he finally sat up, it was like a bubble of calm around him popped.
The roar of the crowd screaming was deafening, and he was nearly blinded by the cameras flashing all around him. He could make out his coach, Alan, and Ollie hugging and celebrating, shouting out in excitement. He jumped up off the mat, and made a beeline to the stands, ignoring cameras and reporters that tried to intercept him on the way. He climbed over the barrier between himself and the first row of the stands, the only thing between them, and grabbed the blond in a fierce embrace. Tears pricked in both their eyes, as Hal whispered “I did it,” and at the same time Barry said “I knew you could do it!” They pulled back, beaming, and Hal couldn’t help himself - he reached a hand behind Barry’s head and pulled his face towards himself, pressing his lips to his.
This wasn’t the first time they’d done this since meeting on the fateful day at the trials, but it was the first in the eyes of the public. Neither of them seemed to care too much. Barry reciprocated right away, and when Hal pulled back, they let their foreheads rest against one anothers with record-breaking smiles on their faces. The cameras were still flashing, and Hal was sure this would be in the news the next day back in the states. If that was the case, well, Hal wasn’t sure he cared that much.