Barry Allen

The next time he saw Alec, was during a hostage situation at the NYPD precinct. He was up in the lab at the time, pouring over evidence from his most recent case when he heard the gunshots. Barry, still not used to the fact that here he was just a normal person--and not the Flash--found it hard not to use his speed to fight the criminals.

Barry ended up hiding behind his desk when he heard heavy steps coming up the stairs toward his lab. He held his mouth shut and waited in silence. He pulled his phone out and sent an SOS text to Zayn.

"They said he'd be up here. Search the entire lab for this CSI!" A man said. "He's in here somewhere."

Barry closed his eyes, knowing he may not have a choice in using his speed. What these men wanted from him he had no idea but he wasn't about to find out. He counted to five before opening his eyes, shooting out from his crouched position behind the desk, making a run for the stairs.

"Stop him! He's our payday!" A man shouted behind him.

Barry heard them give chase after him and he rounded a corner sharply, relieved that he hadn't lost his footing as clumsy as he was when he wasn't using his speed. He risked a glance over his shoulder, hazel eyes widening. One of the men chasing him was a foot away from catching him. He was too close and Barry tried to run faster, rounding another corner sharply almost tripping over his feet.

Right as he reached the stairs, the man chasing him lunged at him from behind, knocking him off balance and sending him plunging down the flight of stairs head first. Barry toppled down the stairs, every part of his body slamming into a stair and he felt his head hit one more than once. It seemed like forever before he finally landed at the bottom, the back of his head cracking against the marble flooring.

"Barry!" He heard Luke shouting his name from somewhere off to his left.

He felt pressure building up inside his skull, giving him a horrible headache. He felt sick and had to blink a few times to clear his vision, which only clouded over again within seconds. Self-assessing, Barry knew he had a concussion. Probably a bad one if the heavy disorientation was anything to go by. Barry couldn't move. He heard Luke say his name again and he slowly rolled his head to look in his direction. His eyes were uneven, unfocused, and dilated. His right pupil was larger than his left, speaking of a stage 3 concussion.

Luke was saying something but Barry wasn't understanding him, in fact he couldn't even hear him. Barry felt himself starting to lose consciousness and closing his eyes slower than a blink, he found someone kneeling over him. It was one of the men holding the people in the precinct hostage. He was saying something to him.

".....kid can you hear me?"

Barry felt his fingers twitch on his hand and he tried to speak, but found it difficult and way too exhausting. He frowned at the man leaning over him, feeling the speed force humming throughout his veins, begging to be set free. He felt his eyes closing again and he knew that once they closed, he wouldn't be opening them again for quite some time.

"...kid..." The man was now looking up, his face a mask of anger. Barry thought he must be talking to the guy that pushed him. The bits and pieces that filtered in and out of his ears, confirmed it. "...are you...killed him!...boss is...kill you!"

Barry turned his head to look at Luke, eyes heavylidded and he mentally frowned when he saw a shadow dart by the desk Luke's back was against. He thought he caught a glimpse of black and blond hair but his disoriented brain was probably playing tricks on him.

"...Help me get him up!"

All of a sudden, Barry felt an arm slide behind his knees and another under his upper back in a bridal style carry position. The feeling of being lifted off of the ground made his stomach flip and his head throb painfully. A moan of pain escaped his lips and his head rolled onto the man's shoulder. It was so strange because Barry should be healed by now because of his speed but it didn't seem to be working.

He must have lost track of time because the next thing he knew, they were out in an alley, the man running towards a white van. Except the man never made it. The light quiet sound of a string snapping back and something whistling through the air, to make contact with the man's back, made sure of that.

Barry knew who it was the moment he had heard the string. Alec was rescuing him yet again. Not that he minded much. If Alec was here though, that meant that Barry could finally close his eyes and let go. He could drift off into nothingness... and that's exactly what he did.

~¤~

When Barry came to, he wasn't in his bed back at home or even at a hospital. He was lying on a bed inside of what passed for an infirmary and Alec was sitting in the chair by the bed.  The man was asleep of course but he was there nonetheless. To be honest, Barry didn't understand why he was here, when in the beginning he made it clear that they were to never see each other again. And now, here Alec was saving his life left and right. When he tried to sit up, the faint pulsing pain in his head that he felt when he first woke up intensified, causing him to gasp. The sound woke Alec up and he was instantly by Barry's side.

"You shouldn't be trying to sit up, Barry. You hit your head hard." Alec was saying, as he helped Barry to lay back down. 

Barry's hazel eyes scanned over the Shadowhunter as he complied and didn't put up a fight. "Where am I? And where's Zayn?"

Alec didn't respond for a few moments, observing the speedster before he said, "You're at the Institute, home of the New York City Shadowhunters." He paused. "As for Zayn, he can't enter sacred hollowed ground without special permission."

Barry stared at him for a few moments while he contemplated what Alec just told him. He didn't care about what grudge the boy had against all or any vampires, Zayn wasn't a threat and Barry wanted him here just like he wanted Blaine here and that meant that he would leave if he had to. Zayn was his friend and nothing would change that.

"What about Blaine? I want both of them here, Zayn's my friend." Barry told him.

Alec sighed and sat back down in his chair. "I know, they'll both be here in a little bit but Barry, I need to know who Ricardo Johnson is."

Barry inhaled sharply and tensed up, his hands starting to tremble slightly. How does he know that name? "Why do you want to know?"

"Because the men who tried to grab you, work for him." Luke said as he entered the room, with Jace, Isabelle and Clary following behind.

Barry glanced up to meet the looks and gazes he was getting, before looking away unable to hide the glint of fear in his eyes. This was not something he wanted to talk about, not now and not ever again. Blaine was the only one he ever told, the only one who knew about this and having to think about it now, was like a slap to the face. It was too much to think about right now, too much to even talk about. Feeling his head start to hurt more, he raked his fingers through his hair in an almost panicked manner, mussing it up.

"I can't talk about him." The words come out strained and forced. "I can't--you can't make me talk about him."

"No one's going to make you do anything you don't want to," Isabelle reassures him.

"But if we're going to be able to keep you safe, we have to know who he is and why he's after you." Jace says.

Barry shakes his head rapidly, hands gripping the sheets of the bed tightly as he looks down and avoids eye-contact. "You don't understand, I can't talk about him. I won't talk about him and nothing you say is going to make me want to."

I won't do it.

Nothing will make me talk about what happened.

"Barry, we're trying to help you!" Alec exclaims angrily. "Just tell us so we can! Why are you hiding this from us?!"

"Because you won't understand!" Barry shouted, his head snapping up and his eyes blazing with lightning. He knows the moment they notice the lightning crackling in his eyes because they step back from the bed. "You barely know me and I barely know you. Since I've been here, I've only seen and spoken with you once or twice."

"Barry...." Clary starts.

"Ricardo Johnson isn't someone to mess with. I learned that the hard way." Barry could feel his hands trembling still, a habit he needed to get under control. This only happened when he spoke about that man. To this day, Barry was still terrified of him and no matter what anyone told him, he'd never be completely free of him.

"You want the truth?" Barry sighs. "Fine, but none of you will like it."