For Caitlin Snow, she always tried to go through life with a plan at hand. That's not to say that things happened beyond her control at all, because that certainly did occur more than once in her life. All her live, despite being so young, she always knew what she wanted to do, in no small part due to her parents influence...well, mostly her Mum's as the two rarely got on with each other when not in the presence of her Dad. She wanted to study hard, be a model student, get the best grades possible, get her dream job as a scientist and bio-engineering, or just one or the other, have a great career, find the right person and have a happy life. That was the plan anyway, but she had no idea how much her life would change.

Needless to say that her well-thought-out plans for life were met with curb stomps along the way, and her choice in both career and life left little room for a social life and friends. Most of the time she was so caught up in her studies and her work that she didn't spend time trying to make friends, play with others or socialize. She did have a couple of friends, but they were an elite few indeed consisting of an over-eager and over-exited kid named Cisco Ramon that she became friends in little school, after he managed to crawl into her good books with his knowledge of science and engineering, despite being rather young like her, and another one of her friends was a young man named Ronnie Raymond who was only a year or two older than her and Cisco at the time.

And although she didn't want to admit it to herself at first, ever since the day she met Ronnie and ever since he came into her life she had developed a major crush on him, which at first could have been describe as merely child infatuations on her part at that age, due to him getting her to try new things and open up, learn to have more fun more often. As time went on, she found herself falling for Ronnie more and more, way past what could have been simple child infatuations...into full on unrequited love for him, and he felt the same way back for her...it's just a shame that the day she found out...was also the day she would lose him to the impossible...

They had been walking back home from a day at the park together, which had been Ronnie's idea of getting Caitlin away from her books for a few hours, which to his credit had worked: the two were taking a small brisk walk down the street to Caitlin's house so that her parents wouldn't worry about her. As they reached the place however, Ronnie and Caitlin smiled to each other and Caitlin said "I had a really great day." Ronnie smiled as he said "Same here, Cait. It was all the more better that I got to spend it with you."

They smiled at each other, and Caitlin found herself slowly moving towards Ronnie, and vice-versa...but then suddenly they heard something approaching, seeing 2 blurry lights speeding towards the two of them at speeds they have never seen before, both lights being different colors to one another: one light being yellow, the other red! Caitlin's began to run towards this as he saw what occurred, but suddenly both lights began to encircle around both Caitlin and Ronnie, both trying to reach out to each as Caitlin called out to Ronnie...and then it happened...

For the briefest of seconds, she saw 2 people running within the lights in spandex super-hero like costumes: one in red with long brown hair and one in yellow who was impossible to describe as his features were blurred; but as soon as she did, she immediately wished she could take back what she saw...as she saw the man in yellow stab Ronnie right through the chest right in front of her, causing her to scream out in heart-breaking sorrow "NO!!!" She screamed...and then the person in red grabbed Caitlin and sped her towards the house into her fathers arms before chasing after the man in yellow...both were now gone and out of sight...leaving only the dying body of Ronnie on the ground...

"RONNIE!" Caitlin screamed out and ran over to him, her dad calling for both the police and an ambulance immediately, before Caitlin got to Ronnie's side and she began to beg him to stay with her, tears escaping her eyes as they slowly fell down her face onto Ronnie as he coughed up blood. "Stay with me, Ronnie...please, stay with me...!" she barely was able to say, grabbing onto his hand as he lost a lot of blood...the words "I love you" escaping both of their lips right before Ronnie let out his final breath...and with that, he was gone, cruelly taken from the word and from Caitlin on the same night that they had confessed their love for one another...but their stolen happiness and stolen future at the hands of the man in yellow, was not the only thing that had been taken that night...and not just from Caitlin...

For you see, Caitlin Snow was not the only one to have lost somebody she had cared about that night, as a young boy about the same age as her, maybe a little older perhaps, had lost people he had cared about to on the exact same day minutes after the event: that boys name was Barry Allen...and he had seen the man in yellow kill someone too...his parents Henry Allen and Nora Allen!

Barry Allen, unlike Caitlin Snow, never had a plan when it came to life. He just lived life as it went in his own way, never too worried about what the day may bring or how things could turn out. He just went through his life with a smile one step at a time, always running head first into whatever challenges awaited him...even though he was also known for being rather late to things in the process. It wasn't as if he wasn't similar to Caitlin at all, because truth be told he was similar to her in a lot of ways: he had a love for science as she did, he was, admittedly, a bit of a nerd like her, he studied hard, and he had a very selective group of friends as well.

However despite these similarities, he was also a number of differences to Caitlin as well that made him stand out, even if they hadn't met yet: he was kind, funny, selfless and considerate to the point were he put other peoples feelings and well-beings before his own, he always seemed to make things seem light and carefree for people around him just by being in their presence and smiling his signature smile at people regardless if he was having problems or if something was off, he could be quite protective and serious when it called for it or when his friends weren't being treated fairly or nicely, and a number of other things as well. True, he was seen as the geek and nerd among most people at school, which often led him to getting into scrapes and beat-downs by bullies, but among his friends he was known as a "lovable geek" for all the right reasons.

He wasn't perfect, and he knew that, but that's what people seemed to like about him, and his tutors didn't mind his tardiness as much as they should have done as he had a genuine interest to learn in the lessons and he always completed his work on time, and he got all the best grades as well...mind you, that's also probably why he got beaten up a lot on reflection. Also, to him, he was even more happier when he got home and got to spend time with his parents, or whenever his dad was around as he was a busy man being that he was a doctor of his own medical practice.

He had a few friends named Iris West, her brother Wally West, and Eddie Thawne, even though the latter was a fair bit older then them, and Iris was by far his best friend out of the trio as they knew each other since they were little. His family was also friends with Iris's and Wally's father, Detective Joe West, and he actually considered Joe like a second father most of the time as well. However, just like with Caitlin...Barry had his heart broken and torn apart into thousands of pieces on the same night that Ronnie died...

Barry had been asleep at the time, the 11 year old however was woken up from his sleep when he heard strange noises downstairs...when he reached downstairs however, he got the shock of his young life when he saw his mum being surrounded by 2 strange lights spiraling around her at speeds that seemed impossible: one red and one yellow, each looking like they were trying to fight one another. He called out to his terrified mum, Barry being equally terrified if not more, and his dad soon arrived trying to get Barry out of the room...when suddenly Barry saw what looked like a person in red hit a man in yellow briefly within the 2 lights before grabbing Barry and racing him halfway across the streets to safety before vanishing back to the house...

When Barry got back however, he saw something that no child ever should see...both of his parents were laying down on the floor lifeless, covered in blood! After that day, both Caitlin's and Barry's lives began to change dramatically by that single day: both became more distant, more quiet, each carrying the pain of what they witnessed on that day with them forever. For Caitlin, she became more guarded then ever, more cold and icy and more reserved. Only Cisco still stuck around after Ronnie's death, and only Cisco was able to get her to fully shut herself out and managed to make her laugh at times.

For Barry however, he was taken in by the West's and became a second brother to Iris and Wally, but he also became more distant to the world for many years after his parents deaths, and despite his foster family not believing Barry whenever he tried to convince them that a man in yellow was the one who killed his parents...unfortunately, nobody believed him, or at least not for many years. During these years, neither Barry nor Caitlin encountered one another...that was until they reached High School.

When the two did meet one another, it was when the two started in High School, in the same school as each other as well. Both were nervous as hell and not sure how things would turn out for them. It was actually a lot by chance as to the circumstances of them meeting: Barry, as per usual, was running late though in this case not too late, and was running through the corridors looking for where he had to go for his lesson. Caitlin herself was walking timidly with Cisco through the opposite corridor towards the same classroom, Caitlin trying to avoid anyone other than Cisco at the time as they had agreed to stick with each other to find their class.

When they did meet, it was when their biology teacher paired Caitlin and Cisco up with Barry for a group project. Needless to say they were surprised a little and Caitlin was rather reluctant at first...but after Caitlin and Cisco got to know Barry, and heard his opinions on what they should try, surprised by the numerous, if complicated, descriptions he gave on his ideas for the project and how into it he seemed to be. Needless to say Caitlin had been impressed, and both Cisco and Barry began to bond almost instantly when he asked him about what his favorite films and if he had seen certain things that Cisco had. Caitlin knew that day that Cisco had made a really great friend that day.

She was even more surprised by how Barry tried to get her involved in the conversations as well, and how he tried to help her feel comfortable. It made her respect Barry a lot more, though she couldn't help but notice that his eyes, whilst colorful with fun and brimming with excitement and confidence also tried to conceal a sense of pain and hurt, similar to if not like hers. She was also rather surprised by his sense of loyalty and protectiveness when it came to people picking on them or bullying them.

One of those days was actually on the day when they met: Cisco had invited Barry to join them for lunch, much to Caitlin's hesitance at the time, but Barry agreed. When it came to lunch time however, Cisco was being ganged up by a number of thugs, bullies who were trying to intimidate Cisco into giving them his lunch money whilst picking on him for being a "nerd". Caitlin knew the feeling all to well, but before she could go over to help Cisco, she saw Barry go over from the over side of the room "Hey, back off!" Barry shouted at them, causing them some of the bullies to look over at him with an amused smirk "What was that?"

Most people would probably have backed up at that, or that's what most people in the room thought when they turned to watch this, thinking that a fight was about to brew. Barry however did not back down and even got right in front of them as he said "I said back off! Leave my friend alone, or you'll have me to deal with!" Most were surprised that Barry stood up for Cisco, Caitlin especially especially considering they hadn't long met that day, most assumed Barry had a death wish. The bullies just merely laughed, one of them said to try and scare Barry off. "Why don't you go back to your mummy whilst you have a chance shrimp."

That had done it, as soon as he had mentioned Barry's mum, Caitlin noticed that Barry's face and even his eyes flared up with a look of rage and anger, as if the bully had brought up bad memories of a time Barry had been trying to forget. It shocked her yet also felt very...familiar...almost like he shared a pain that rivaled her own. The bullies soon stopped their laughing however upon the leader of the group getting hit with a right hook punch straight in the jaw from Barry before he charged at the bully in rage and began to rapidly punch the guy...only for the rest of the bullies to gang up on Barry and pull him apart so the leader of the group could start laying his punches into Barry in retaliation, completely forgetting about Cisco.

The fight was quickly put to a stop when the teachers came in to pull them apart, and the two were separated from one another. Cisco and Caitlin explained what had happened from their perspectives when the tutors were about to ask what had happened. Needless to say the bullies were suspended, and a friendship had been formed that day between Barry, Cisco and Caitlin. After school had ended, Cisco and Caitlin came over to Barry as he was leaving, his face bruised but otherwise he was fine. "Barry?" He heard, soon turning a bit and seeing Caitlin and Cisco coming over, Cisco soon said "Just wanna say, thanks a bunch for helping me out earlier. You didn't need to do that for a complete stranger."

Barry simply smiled a bit as he waved his hand a bit saying "Nah, it's fine. What are friends for. Besides, I've had a lot worse than that." He sounded genuine as he said that, and Caitlin could see the hurt in his eyes as he said that. Caitlin gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder as she said with a small smile. "Well, thanks for helping out Cisco, regardless." She felt an unusual feeling at his genuine kindness and her at her own actions. She didn't know it then...but she was beginning to fall for Barry, despite it being the first day that they had met.

As time went on, the trio spent most of time with each other both in High School and outside of it: Barry would bring them coffee, they would spend the day talking about anything and everything they could think of under the sun, Barry would learn things about Cisco and Caitlin, and Caitlin felt relaxed in his presence as well, and in turn Cisco and Caitlin would learn things from Barry that he hadn't shared...though whenever they would attempt to ask about his parents, Barry's normally cheery demeanor would falter or fall and he would brush the subject away almost immediately.

Cisco was confused at that at first, but Caitlin felt she understood more then he'd know but she also respected his privacy. However it didn't take long before Barry would reveal his reluctance to Caitlin...albeit it would take Cisco being ill to do so. It was a few months after the trio had met one another, and currently Barry and Caitlin were enjoying the peace and quiet outside as they ate in quiet, something that had become sort of their ritual whenever Cisco wasn't around. They enjoyed the silence and the peace that came with it. Neither knew that it helped the other to come to terms at times with the fact their respective love ones were gone.

Caitlin was the first to break the silence, soon asking slowly "Hey, Barry? Can I ask you something that...that you don't have to answer?" Barry chuckled a bit at her choice of words, as Barry had learnt in the last few months that those kind of questions were the type she liked the least. "Sure, go ahead." He responded. She was getting cold feet a bit at the question in her head...but soon she slowly asked the dreaded question on her mind. "Your parents...you don't mention them or talk about them much. Did something happen to them?" at the mere mention of his parents, she could see his normally cheerful side crumble into a painful look...what she didn't expect was for him to answer her after a minute, and after briefly looking away.

"They...were killed when I was 11...right in front of me." Caitlin was shocked by that, looking to Barry as he continued to talk, and Caitlin listened to everything he said. "I had been woken up from my sleep by a noise downstairs, and I found my Mum being surrounded by these...these speeding flashes of light were surrounding her...and they both had someone in the lights: a man in yellow, and a person in red...the one in red got me to safety...but the one in yellow killed both of my parents...I never saw either again..." To say that Caitlin was left speechless at hearing about the man in yellow, the same person who killed Ronnie, was the reason Barry's parents were no longer among the world of the living.

"When word got out about it people thought I had gone made or was suffering trauma from that night...but I know what I saw, even if nobody ever believed me..." Barry said, slowly lowering his head down to his lap. Caitlin bit her lower lip a bit, feeling the pain that Barry had felt in more ways than one...and soon she responded "I do." That caused Barry to look up to her with a surprised look on his face, and Caitlin explained more as she looked away "My best friend, Ronnie Raymond...who I had a massive crush on at the time...he was killed right in front of me by a man in yellow as well...and a person in red got me to safety just before Ronnie died."

Barry was surprised, placing a hand gently on hers as he saw tears threatening to escape her eyes. Neither said a word, not needing to. Caitlin leaned her head into Barry's shoulder briefly before Barry wrapped an arm around her and hugged her gently...Barry saying, to Caitlin's surprise. "Thank you..." She knew why he was saying that, and she smiled a bit before saying "You're welcome." They smiled slightly at each other, and although neither knew it, they had found in each other someone they wanted to protect with their lives...something that would be put to the test many years in the future...

They got closer as time went on, as friends and maybe more, and eventually they told Cisco about the whole thing, and Cisco was immediately understanding. Eventually Cisco and Caitlin were introduced to Iris, Wally and Eddie whenever they visited, and the although it took some time in Cait's case, they 5 of them became fast friends and would occasionally go out with each other on a night out. Joe was also introduced to Cisco and Caitlin when Cisco suggested that the 3 of them start doing movie nights with each other, and Joe was accepting of them instantly, in small part due to the fact that they brought a smile and joy back to Barry that the Wests had feared Barry had lost forever.

The trio would always shift to each others places for movie night whenever it was that time of the week, but the rest of the time they either spent time at arcades, doing their homework or projects together, or even going out for drinks on rare occasions when they didn't have to worry about going to classes the next day. Barry even surprised Caitlin and Cisco when they found out he joined to High Schools singing club...and even more so when they found out that he was a superb singer as well! The more they thought they knew about Barry, the more he surprised them with something new.

They were inseparable by that point, and Caitlin was, no doubt about it, tied for Barry's biggest fan whenever he sang, always cheering the loudest during his performances and going to all of them along with Cisco and their friends, even on days when they had classes the next day just to support their best friend. The other person who tied her for the biggest and loudest fan or supporter was Barry's foster sister Iris West, but that was kind of obvious since they were good friends and practically family. However, things slowly went downwards when High School was coming to an end...and when they were preparing to go to university...and unfortunately it was a night that they would all remember well over the next few years...and one that Caitlin would regret for a long time...

The night itself was of the disco for both the end of the year, and for those who were leaving that year. Barry and a his singing group, which also involved Eddie, did a couple of performances for the disco singing and dancing to their own versions to "Want You Back" by Jackson Five and "Glad You Came". Everyone was having a great night at the time, and when Barry, Eddie and their singing buddies weren't performing on the stage then they were hanging out with their friends...but Barry noticed that Caitlin was looking upset and was struggling with something.

As it got later in the evening, Barry found Caitlin standing outside alone looking up to the sky. He soon said slowly "Caitlin? Are you okay?" She jumped a little at that, soon turning to him and smiling weakly before saying. "Hey Barry..." Barry could immediately tell something wasn't right with her and asked slowly "Are you okay?" She slowly says "I...I got accepted into the university I dreamed of going. It means though that...that I might not be able to talk to you as much or see you as much, if at all."

Barry was surprised by that a bit, but slowly goes to her saying "I...got accepted into Star City's university, or one of them anyway. But...I'll always make time for you and Cisco. Especially you." He wished he hadn't said that, as Caitlin looked to him shocked by that and slowly "Why...especially me?" Barry closes his eyes a bit briefly, before sighing a little and said "I...I care for you Cait...more than, just a friend...I have done for a while." Caitlin was surprised by that, and backed up a bit as she said slowly "Barry...I...I can't..." Barry saw this and says "Cait, I can't change the way I feel about you. I know that...after Ronnie you're scared of falling in love or losing someone you care about..."

He was unable to finish his defense, as Caitlin shouted to Barry scared with tears threatening to spill in her eyes "No, Barry, you don't know! You didn't lose the one you loved right in front of your eyes when you were a kid! You didn't watch the one you cared about the most bleed out and get stabbed by the impossible! And you can't predict that what happened to Ronnie won't happen again if I let myself fall in love for someone else...especially someone I saw as a friend..." Barry was left speechless...but what Caitlin didn't know was that in saying those words, she had opened up a world of pain for the both of them, and only succeeding in breaking them both...and Barry had no idea that Cait had said such words because she cared about him in the same way too...

The damage had already been done though, and unbeknownst to the two of them the rest of their friends had somehow managed to hear them despite the loud music. Barry slowly looked down for a bit as he felt his own tears threatening to spill out...before looking to Caitlin and saying "You're right...I don't know that what happened to Ronnie could happen to someone else..." He looked up to Caitlin, and for the first time in their friendship together: Caitlin felt regret and fear rush over her at the same time like never before. Barry looked angry...and worst of all, hurt and betrayed.

"But you know what Caitlin? You're also wrong! I know what's it like to lose someone you love and to see it happen in front of your own eyes! My parents were killed Caitlin by the exact same thing, and I have never been the same since till I met you!" Caitlin felt tears overwhelm her, wishing she could take back her words "Barry..." But it was too late, as Barry soon turned away and left...dropping something on the floor without noticing before he left: and no matter how much the others tried to stop Barry from leaving, they were not successful as he just left, getting in his car and driving off.

It was only after he had left that Caitlin saw what Barry had dropped: a locket-like necklace in the shape of a snowflake...and inside of it was a picture of her and Barry that Cisco had taken during one of their movie nights, both smiling and hugging whilst Barry did a peace gesture with his fingers. Caitlin placed her free hand over her mouth as tears flowed down her face, only then realizing the terrible mistake that she had made...and unfortunately, worse was to come as time went on...

As time went on, Caitlin became more and more distant after her fight with Barry at the party. She still had some of her friends like Cisco, who stayed with her regardless, and she remained in contact with the West family and Eddie...but she and Barry never spoke after that night, and it wasn't from a lack of trying. Caitlin had tried to contact Barry on numerous occasions after the fight to apologize with no success, and she blamed only herself for that even if it was neither parties fault in reality, just circumstances and the man in yellow screwing up their lives. Barry had, in fairness, tried the same with equal success, as Cait had either been asleep or in classes during this time.

However a few years after they had each finished university, Caitlin had been accepted into a dream job at S.T.A.R. Labs alongside Cisco, though each with different jobs, and both working with the infamous Dr. Harrison Wells, despite being so young. They were both really good at their new jobs, Caitlin especially known for getting stuck into her work like no other, always being early or on time and always focusing on the job(s) at hand. Cisco managed to get her to lighten up at times, and even despite Barry leaving they still managed to either go out or do movie nights...but unfortunately it never felt the same without Barry, and they both knew it.

It was whilst working at S.T.A.R. Labs however when they learnt and heard of the worst news in their lives...news that would shake them to their core: the day that Joe told Cisco and Caitlin that Barry...had died! The news came so suddenly: Caitlin and Cisco were at Cisco's place watching a movie for movie night when Joe made the call...and when he told them that Barry had been killed in a car crash on his way to Central City by a drunk driver, the 2 friends hearts stopped dead in their tracks...Caitlin's especially, and at hearing the news her heart broke even more, far more worse than when Ronnie died years previous.

The worst part about it was they never got to say "goodbye" to Barry either...or in Caitlin's case, say how she truly felt about him...as they found out that, when they arrived at the morgue to see Barry's body, the body had gone missing and was presumably stolen! This event sent Caitlin spiraling into a world of emotional turmoil and pain. For Cisco it was like losing a brother...for Iris and Wally it was the exact definition of losing a brother, even if he was their foster brother...for Caitlin however, it was like losing her soul. Barry's body was never found, and the CCPD dropped the case after a while, much to the despair of Joe, Caitlin and the rest of the others. They held a private funeral for Barry a few months later, and it was one of the hardest days for them all, and it was a day were Caitlin wished she could have told Barry how sorry she was and how much she wanted to tell him that she loved him...nobody knew however that, on that day, they were being watched from a distance by a strange figure out of sight...

As the years went by, Caitlin and Cisco found it harder and harder to enjoy their work without their best friend in their lives. Cisco put on a brave face and continued to be the same lovable joke making tech guy that he was, but everyone knew that inside he was hurting at losing a guy he saw as a second brother to him. Caitlin was excellent at blanking out her emotions and focusing on her work, getting dubbed as the "Ice Queen" in the process, but only those close to her knew that she was hurting on the inside and on the outside out of her work.

Work became her vice, her means of a stress relief, and there wasn't much that anyone could do to pull her away. She rarely even took the car to work most days anymore as well, often running to work in similar fashion to Barry in times past, even despite wearing heels most of the times...and then one day, it happened! The night the Particle Accelerator went off!

During the time it went off, S.T.A.R. Labs and the CCPD occasionally did joint partnership work at times when it came to the forensic side of things or tech to help with difficult cases, and during that night Caitlin had been helping them with some forensic work in one of their labs. She had wanted to be around when the Particle Accelerator was being activated, however she had promised Joe that she would finish the analyse tests by the next day and had decided to work through the night to get them done. From what she had found out when the partnership began...the lab she was working in was originally supposed to have been Barry's before he died...

However, being at the lab also meant that she saw the cataclysmic event of the Particle Accelerator explosion from the lab windows, causing the power the short out throughout the entire Central City. The sky light of the lab at the time was left open, and against her better judgement she tried to close it via a chain that doubled as a secondary means of opening and closing the sky light roof...but at that moment, she saw something very familiar yet very shocking heading her way...yellow lightning that had been scene from S.T.A.R. Labs...and in a matter of seconds, it hit the building, the chains...and eventually even her, all in quick succession, and sent Caitlin shooting straight towards a couple of shelves full of different chemical beakers, smashing into all of them before falling unconscious...blood dripping from her hands and body...and lightning trickling from her fingers every-so-often...

Although Caitlin hadn't known it yet at the time, nor did Central City: a hero had been born that day...though that was only the beginning...

Authors Side-Note: Don't worry, Barry won't be gone for long, and the fight was, whilst extremely painful for me to write truthfully, a part of the story and the build-up to when they do eventually get together. I can't promise that I can regularly update the story, as I have other stories as well I want to focus on, as well as my other Flash/Snowbarry story "The Flash - Frozen Speed", but I promise I will continue to work on the story when I can so please be patient with me and bare with me. Also, I hope you enjoy the story and hope you enjoyed the intro and chapter 1.