A/N: I wrote this imagine a while ago so it's not one of my best works, but I feel like it's pretty cute so I hope you guys like it! 💖

You sat in your room, headphones on and music on at full volume. Much to your dismay, the blaring music didn't completely drown out the sound of your mom and stepdad. You could still hear their screaming match going on downstairs. They'd been arguing a lot lately and quite frankly, you were sick of it.

Eventually, you had enough and decided the only way to deal with this was to escape it. You removed your headphones, threw on a thick hoodie since it was almost 10:00 at night and cold outside, and slipped on your white Converse. You went downstairs, planning to sneak out the back door, but as you passed the living room, you heard your stepdad say some horrible things to your mum and then you heard a thump. You couldn't just ignore it, so you peered into the living room to see your mother on the floor, terrified, and your stepfather towered over her, about to hit her again.

"Y/SD/N, what are you doing?!" You shouted, running in to intervene.

"Y/N, stay out of this." Your mum told you, scared that your stepdad would turn on you as well.

"No!" You protested.

"Listen to your mother, Y/N. Get lost." Your stepdad pushed you away forcefully before kicking your mum repeatedly.

"Y/SD/N, stop! Why are you doing this?!" You shrieked, jumping between them so he couldn't hurt your mum again.

"I told you to get lost, you little bitch!" Your stepdad yelled, slapping you hard across the face and pushing you again, this time a lot harder. You fell into the coffee table as he did and your front teeth slammed into your lip, no doubt causing it to pour blood.

"Y/SD/N!" Your mum yelled at him, horrified he would do that to his stepdaughter. You, however, scrambled to your feet and ran out the front door before he could hurt you again. You ran through the streets of Portland until you arrived at the only place you could think of; Barry's RV. As soon as you arrived, you banged desperately on the door, praying that he was in. Luckily, the door swung open to reveal Barry's surprised face, which contorted into pure concern when he saw your bruising and tearstained face.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this, I-I didn't know where else to go." You stammered, trying to hold in your tears.

"Don't worry about that. Get in here." He commanded gently. You obliged and stepped into the Winnebago.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." He said, grabbing his first aid kit. He told you to sit on the table so you did as he got out an ice pack.

"To help the swelling go down." He said. You thanked him and put the pack on your sore cheek while Barry took out a wipe for your lip. He gently held your face with one hand and began to dab your bloody lip with the other, only for you to hiss and pull away.

"It stings." You whimpered. It didn't even hurt that much and you were acting like a bit of a baby, but after tonight's events, the littlest thing could set you off.

"I'm sorry, I'll be careful." Barry spoke softly as he tentatively dabbed your lip again. He soon finished and put the first aid things away as you got down from the table. The events from the night replayed in your head and you soon found yourself on the verge of tears again.

"Who did this to you, Y/N?" Barry asked you softly.

"M-my stepdad." You choked on a sob, not being able to hold back anymore. Barry's expression was a mixture of anger and shock but he didn't say anything when you broke down, he just pulled you into his embrace and wrapped his arms around you, making you feel safe. Barry claims he's not good at reading or handling emotions, but he seemed to be doing a pretty good job right now.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Barry asked you, his voice soothing. You pulled away from him, figuring he had a right to know what happened.

"He and my mom... They've been arguing a lot lately. It's usually about stupid things like money or whatever, but tonight it was a lot worse. I wanted to sneak out of the house, get away from the shouting, but then I passed the living room and I saw my stepdad hit my mum... I don't know what was going through his head, maybe he was drunk or something, but I tried to stop him from hurting her and, well... He hurt me instead." You explained, your voice cracking as you were ready to cry again.

"Do you want to stay at my place for the time being? I'm guessing you don't want to go home." Barry offered.

"I don't, but I'd hate to barge in or cause a fuss." You said.

"You won't, my parents won't mind. They'll let you stay for as long as you want." He insisted. You didn't reply. You were too busy thinking about what had happened and trying not to burst into tears again.

"Come here." Barry invited you into his open arms for a second time. You wrapped your arms around your 5"6 best friend's torso, clutching onto his blue hoodie as another collection of sobs ripped through you. "It's okay, you don't have to go back there. He won't hurt you again." He whispered to you. You both stood there, in the middle of Barry's RV for about ten minutes until you finally calmed down.

"Thank you, Barry. You know, for someone who claims they're not good at detecting or dealing with emotion, you dealt with me pretty well." You said.

"Well, what did you expect me to do? I wasn't just going to stand here like a potato doing nothing when you obviously needed comforting. I love you, Y/N, I'm always gonna be here when you need me." He replied.

"I love you too, Barry." You smiled weakly.

"No, you don't understand. I don't just love you as a friend. I'm in love with you. I have been since 6th grade. I'm sorry for springing this on you so unexpectedly, but I can't hide how I feel anymore." He rambled. As a response, you stood on your tiptoes and placed your lips upon his, your hands resting on his biceps to help you keep your balance. Barry's hand cupped your face as he kissed back.

"Oh shuds..." Barry mumbled after you pulled away, "Please tell that means you feel the same way."

"Yes, you dork. I feel the same way." You giggled.