Parker, in simple terms, wallowed. By being indecisive about her feelings towards Barry, she was starting small feuds between her friends. It frustrated her to no end. 

She spent the entire weekend shoveling ice cream into her mouth. She watched soppy love stories, desperate for one of them to send her a sign about what to do. At long last, Parker wished her Prince Charming would just pop up and tell her they were meant to be. She wanted love to be that easy. 

Parker tried avoiding Iris for as long as possible. She didn't want to bother her friend, especially when she knew Eddie and Iris were going to be together the whole weekend. Droning on about her problems seemed petty. 

The feeling remained, until Parker ordered pizza and they delivered the wrong order to her house, prompting her to wait another hour while the place made the pizza she originally ordered. That crossed the line. She broke down and called Iris. 

"Did you honestly call me to cry about pizza?" asked Iris. 

"Well, yes, but I also called about Barry."

"Eddie, get away from me this instant, it's time for girl talk!" screamed Iris. "Talk, Parker, talk like you've never talked before!"

So, she did. Parker went onto explain the Barry dilemma. 

"But what if Barry's your Prince Charming? Love doesn't come to you with every relationship. You learn through trial and error. There's going to be heart break," Iris told her.

Parker groaned. "Forget boys. I'm getting an animal. Animals won't break my heart."

"Don't turn into that cat lady. Look, I have faith in this. Maybe it'll be rocky and bumpy at the beginning, but I think it's worth a chance. You never know unless you try."

"I know you're right, but I don't wanna agree," she sighed.

Iris laughed. "Park, listen, I can talk to him, if you want me to. Pry his eyes open, give him an informational course for women."

"He ran to you, Iris. I don't know if it's better for me to ask about it, or you," said Parker.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Eddie's being incredibly needy right now. I have to go, but, listen, if you need me, I'll blow off Eddie, okay?"

"Really?" 

"Probably not. Depends on the situation. Love you, bye!"

××××

Monday. Everyone hates Mondays. The period to rest is over; the preparation for the new week begins. 

Parker shuffled along the usual route to S.T.A.R. Labs. She was clad in a pair of black sweatpants and a grey pullover with 'Keystone' boldly shining across the chest. Her mood showed in the steep decline from what she normally wore.

Girls didn't turn her way to gaze after her outfit; boys didn't give her a second glance. She fell into the crowd, completely unnoticed. She probably came off as a careless youngster. In that time, that pretty much summed her up.

Parker was wiggling through the doors of the S.T.A.R. Labs lobby when her phone rang. It was an unknown number. 

"Hello?" asked Parker cautiously. 

"Hey, Parker, it's Eddie."

"Eddie who?"

"Uh... Thawne."

"Well, first off, I don't remember giving you my number," she said. 

"Yeah, I asked Iris for it. I was the first to arrive here at the new crime scene. Thought we could use your expertise. It was a gang killing. Gas spread throughout the entire building and killed everyone."

"They are all dead. Dead, as in, I can't communicate with them, unless its through a Ouija board."

"You believe in those?"

"There's quite a bit I believe in these days, Eddie Thawne," sighed Parker. "So, did you talk to witnesses? Anyone see anything?"

"No, they didn't see anything suspicious."

Parker came to a stop in the middle of the road, at a loss of words. "Then, I can't draw anything, Eddie. Mind using common sense before you call me again?"

"Fine. What I really wanted to do was ask you something about Iris..."

"Being in a relationship means doing that yourself, doesn't it?" wondered Parker. 

"Oh, well, yeah, I guess... Sorry for bothering you."

Parker muttered a quiet farewell into the phone when she stepped into the Cortex. She found the usual gang, including Joe West. All eyes fell on her.

"We were waiting for you to start," said Barry.

"I'm here now," muttered Parker, falling into her seat at the computer desk. "What's going on with my favorite nerds today?"

"A meta-human that can manipulate poisonous gas," introduced Dr. Wells. 

Cisco scurried from the conjoined lab, asking excitedly, "Is it just gas, or can he control all aerated substances?" 

"And how is he able to formulate the connection?" asked Caitlin, circling the desk to peer at the computer. "Is it physiological or psychological?"

"This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances," informed Dr. Wells.

"You mean connect with gasses on a molecular level?" gasped Cisco. 

"Yes!"

"That is ridiculously cool..."

Barry looked at Joe. "They get really excited about this stuff," he defended. 

"The only thing I'm excited about is putting criminals behind bars. Except, Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle meta-human's," declared Joe. 

"Then I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer than with us," said Dr. Wells.

"Unless we plan on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses need to come up with someone else to hold them," explained Joe. 

"A meta-human prison," said Cisco, eyes filled with wonder, "Sweet."

"Until we can figure out a way to remove their powers," assured Dr. Wells."

Cisco tilted his head. "There might be a place to hold them..."

Automatically, Caitlin whipped around, understanding exactly what Cisco was implying. "You can't be serious," she breathed. "I mean, we haven't been down there since the... It's cordoned off!"

"Cisco is right, it could be modified to be used as a makeshift prison," said Dr. Wells. 

"I doubt it's dangerous anymore. Maybe a little charred from the actual explosion," offered Parker. 

Barry caught her eye. He lingered on her, waiting for her to avert her gaze. She hadn't. Her shy eyes stayed locked with his. Triumphantly, he smiled. It meant she was open to a talk, in the near future. Things between them weren't as bad as he previously thought. 

"What are you talking about, now?" asked Barry. 

"The Particle Accelerator," said Dr. Wells. 

"I'll go down with you," said Cisco. 

"Caitlin, did you want to... Caitlin? Caitlin?" asked Dr. Wells. 

The woman, lost deep in her own mind, flinched when he said her name a bit more fiercely on the last time. She blinked rapidly. 

"Actually, Dr. Wells," said Barry. "I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas."

Dr. Wells nodded. 

"If that's okay with you?" asked Barry softy. 

"Let's go," agreed Caitlin. 

"And where are you going?" 

Movements, mainly the sounds of footsteps, came to a halt. Parker didn't hear anyone respond to the question. She raised her head to see who it was targeted for. Again, all eyes were on her. 

"Oh! Oh, uh, I'm kind of hungry. I'll go to the mall. I'm in the mood for Big Belly Burger. Maybe I'll stop by there," she said. 

"You want a ride?" asked Joe. 

"No, that's fine. I'll walk. Find a cab when my legs stop working, you know. Just need some time for myself to think," decided Parker. Purposely, she let her eyes linger on Barry quickly. 

Barry tried hard to keep his victory grin to himself, but when his eyes had left hers to speak with Caitlin, Parker successfully sneaked a glance and caught it.