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06. Welcome Back to the Land of the Living

"Are you ready to go Thea?" I asked my sister. She was upstairs gathering a few extra things before we were about to leave for Central City. I glanced around the empty house, thinking about all the memories we've made here. A faint smile snuck up on my face.

"What're are you smiling about? I'd expect you to be sobbing your eyes out Miss Cries-A-Lot," she smirked as she walked down the stairs.

"I don't cry a lot!" I gasped, defending myself.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, "What about Hachiko?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting all her weight onto her right leg.

"In my defense, that was a really sad movie," I said, sassily. Hachiko is such a sad movie. How could you not cry after watching that? Before she could say anything else, the sound of her phone ringing echoed through the house.

"Aren't you gonna pick that up?" I asked, tilting my head to the left.

"No, It's just Walter. He's probably going to remind me to call him before we leave this messed up city," she muttered the last past, barely audible. I nodded, not asking any more questions. I saw she was staring at her phone screen with a blank expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She looked up at me with a glum expression.

"Nothing. It's just Roy. He started acting weird before we broke up then he nearly shot an arrow through my chest and don't judge me but I still want to know if he's okay." she whispered the last part but enough for me to comprehend.

"I know exactly what's going on with you but we have to go now so I'll tell you what I think when we get there. Yeah?" I propositioned.

"Okay," she agreed before opening the door and walking out. I walked over to the light switch that controlled the foyer lights, switched it off and walked over to the door before quickly turning around and sighing.

"I'll see you soon," I whispered before closing the door shut.

✦✦✦✦

"No, I totally disagree. I think that Stiles and Lydia should end up together." I said to Thea as we walked into the Train Station.

"I think Stiles and Erica would be cute even if she is a bit of a bitch," she said completely convinced that she is right.

"Ew. Stydia all the way!" I said, pumping my right fist into the air.

"I'll let you win this one." she sighed in defeat.

"Do you smell that?" I questioned.

"Smell what?" she replied.

"The smell of victory!" I said, smiling devilishly.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, "What time does our train leave?"

"Let me check," I opened my bag and searched for our tickets, "Our train leaves at 20:45 and it is currently 20:15. so we should actually sign in now." I said while looking up from my watch.

"Let's get this show on the road," she said sarcastically.

"That's the spirit!" I replied with enthusiasm. She rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Don't roll your eyes, they'll fall-" I stopped thinking about Barry.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerningly.

"I just thought of Barry. Barry Allen, remember him? Yeah well, he's still in a coma." I said, smiling weakly.

"Why don't you call Iris maybe she has some good news," she said trying to cheer me up, "I'll go check us in," she said before taking the tickets out of my hand and walking to the check-in point. I unlocked my phone and searched for Iris' contact.

"Hello?" Iris' voice said after she picked up on the third ring.

"Iris, hey it's Dani. How's Barry doing?" I asked, hopefully.

"Daniella Tamsin Queen! Why have I not heard from you for about a week now?" she shouted from the other side.

"I know, I left without warning but something tragic happened that made me came as soon as I heard," I explained, trying to calm her down.

"What could be so important that you had to leave your best friend who is in a coma for?" she snapped angrily.

"Iris, my mom died," I whispered, feeling the tears slowly build up. She stayed silent for about two minutes.

"Oh my God Daniella, I am so sorry. I feel like such a horrible person. Holy shit, I am so sorry." she apologized very sincerely.

"Iris, you had no idea. It's fine honestly." I said trying to convince her but my voice started to crack.

"When you get back we are going to have a girls day and basically eat our problems away, Okay?" she said trying to cheer me up and frankly she did.

"Okay Iris, I'll see you soon, bye," I said while slightly giggling.

"Bye sweetie, see you soon," she responded before ending the call. I looked up and saw Thea marching over to me.

"Why are we in economy class?" Thea asked furiously.

"Well since Queen's Consolidated isn't ours anymore, I had to tap into my own money and pay for our tickets. Business class would have new really expensive." I explained calmly. She nodded understandingly before sitting down next to me.

"Hey, have you gotten any calls or messages from Ollie?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together.

"Nope." she said before placing the other earphone in her ear. I scrolled through my phone a little while before a scream interrupted the silence.

"What the hell?" I whispered in shock.

To our left, a man snapped the neck of a policeman. I watched in horror.

"Thea let's go!" I cried out but she wouldn't move. She sat there frozen.

"Thea!" I screamed her name. Instead of catching her attention, it caught the attention of the murderer. He looked directly into my eyes and gave me a sickening smile and slowly walk toward us.

"Hello, Ms. Queen, I'm sorry to inform you but your train is delayed."

✦✦✦✦

7 months later

It's been a pretty calm 7 months well if you call my mother passing away, my brother going AWOL, my best friend is still in a coma and my sister and I nearly getting murdered, calm. With the last minute change of plans, Thea decided to stay in Starling. I guess I didn't argue with her because we both knew it was the best decision.

"Let's hope I get a good one," I said while getting up from the chair I was sitting on. I'm currently at one of the highest building in Central City to get a good overview of the City for work.

I lifted my Nikon D5000 up to my face and placed my right eye on the viewfinder. Taking a deep breath I lifted my right hand's index finger onto the shutter button and snapped the picture. After taking another 3 shots, I switched off my camera and made my way to the elevator.

Ding

I felt my phone vibrate in my jean pocket.

From: Iris West
1 new message

Hey, do u mind coming over to Jitters?

RECEIVED 2:30 PM

On My Way!

SENT 2:31 PM

I quickly replied before placing my camera bag into the back seat, closing the door and jumping into the driver's seat. After 5 minutes of driving, I arrived.

"Iris!" I called while sitting down at a table. She looked up and gave a huge grin.

"Hey Dani, Did you get the photo you wanted?" she asked with a little bit of attitude. Iris has always wanted to work for Central City Picture News since she could remember and now that I work there she becomes a little bit hostile about it.

"It went good but let's not talk about work. We should talk about your new lover," I smiled and wiggled my eyebrows up and down.

"We just started dating and my dad doesn't know," she laughed.

"You really like this guy if your dad has no clue," the smile on my face dropped and I realized the seriousness of the situation.

"I don't know yet. I think he's the only guy that I've actually dated and kept it a secret to my dad," she said barely audible.

"What! You two are dating!" I screamed, causing the whole café to look at our table. I looked down at my lap while blushing furiously.

"Scream it to the whole world why don't you," she sarcastically spat.

"Hey! I'm the sarcastic one," I replied bluntly. She got a little scared and that's when I took the opportunity to let her know I was joking by laughing.

"You totally fell for it," I cheered while clapping my hands in success.

"Whatever anyway what would you like?" she asked while pulling out her mini notebook and pen from her apron pocket.

"I'll just have some coffee," I responded, pulling out my phone.

"Coffee coming up," she quickly scribbled it down and walked to the kitchen. I unlocked my phone and went to Instagram. After double-tapping a few pictures in my timeline, I heard the bells chiming indicating that someone has walked in.

"Oh my God, you're awake!"

My heart dropped. I slowly turned around to see a tall lanky brown-haired, green-eyed idiot. He usually goes by the name of Barry Allen.

"Barry?" I asked, briskly walking over to him. Once Iris left his arms, I practically jumped into his arms.

"Welcome back to the land of the living my friend," I whispered in his ear while grinning ear to ear. His laugh was almost angelic and I really miss that.

"Why didn't S.T.A.R Labs call us?" Iris asked when we stopped hugging.

"I just woke up," he grinned and casually placed his hands in his pockets.

"Should you even be on your feet?" she questioned shockingly. I nodded in agreement, still in his arms.

"Iris, Daniella. I'm okay," he tried to reassure us but the dazed look on his face said otherwise.

My face dropped, "We watched you die, Barry."

"Yeah, you kept dying. Your heart kept stopping," Iris said sincerely.

"It's still beating," he grinned, placing my hand over his heart.

"Feels really fast," I almost laughed. One of his arms supported my back while the other was on his heart. I looked up into his eyes while he did the same.

"Okay lovebirds, not in front of me," Iris fake scoffed but we remained in the same position.

"Oops," I heard before a series of glass shattering occurred. I turned around to see Tracy, one of the baristas at CC Jitters, the floor with broken plates and cups.

"Are you okay Tracey?" Iris asked from Barry's side.

"Yeah I got it," she responded, cleaning the floor with a towel.

"My dad is going to be so happy to see you," Iris smiled with glee, "Let us just get our stuff, okay?" He nodded.

"Be right back," I briskly walked to my table and grab my coffee. I was smiling from ear to ear. I can't believe Barry is back.

✦✦✦✦

He's awake. Finally...
I'm so sorry I took forever and a day to update.
Can we just take a moment to look how boss Cara looks?! I mean, look at the gif.
Anyway.
Thank you for all the support you have given me, I really appreciate it.
Feel free to vote,comment and follow me. X

Ore Adesanmi x