itinere | Closed | I'll be loungin' on the couch just chillin' in my snuggie

Closed | I'll be loungin' on the couch just chillin' in my snuggie

Words cannot describe how it feels to have Allison back in one piece. Lydia was positive that she would never see Allison again and she had no reason to think otherwise. While she’d been worried and anxious that first night — especially after hearing that Allison had needed saving by The Flash (whoever that is) on her way to the apartments — but now, she’s feeling like they’re right back where they started and she’s never been more happy to regress. Sure, it’s a nightmare outside but, for a change, she and Allison don’t have to run into the fray. They’ve been hunkering down in the apartment, going outside pretty much only to let Prada do his business — and always in a pair, never alone — and they’d spent several days catching up before delving into the wonders of having all the time in the world and a free Netflix account to dig their heels into.

Prada’s laying on the floor between the couch and the front door while Lydia emerges from her bedroom in her pajamas with her hair pulled back into a fishtail braid that draws her freshly showered hair over her shoulder. Before settling on the couch for a movie night — every night is movie night, now — Lydia makes her way into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine — she’s not telling how she got it, either, thank you very much — and a brushing chew from the jar of them she keeps on the far edge of the counter. “Allison, I’m making popcorn, you want Red Hot on yours or should I make two bags?” she calls ahead of herself as she moves out to the living room. Lydia sets the wine down on the coffee table and holds up the chew, her voice changing to something more perky and excitable to get her dog’s attention.

“Prada, you wanna brush your teeth? Come here, my love. Time to brush your teeth,” she says, crouching to scratch the top of his head before giving him his chew. “That’s my good boy,” she adds affectionately before getting back to her feet. Before heading back to the kitchen to make the popcorn, she turns her attention to Allison. “…did you find something or are we going to blind scroll and random stop to pick?” she asks with a little grin, nodding toward the television.

She might have forgotten, in her excitement to have Allison alive again, that tonight is typically Netflix and Chill with Barry night…

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As much as Allison is still tempted to go back out and hunt the vampire that had greeted her that first night, being reunited with Lydia after what had happened back home has changed her stance on it. For now, anyway. It's hard to remind herself that she doesn't owe this place anything, that she doesn't have the same obligation to the code that she did in Beacon Hills, but by now it's so tied to her DNA that there are moments where she feels guilt tugging at her heart. About being safe indoors while others aren't; about not doing more.

Being with Lydia and just enjoying time with each others has been good, though, and that's what has helped ease that guilt. Breaking the news to Lydia that she had been in danger literally moments after ~~dying back home~~ arriving had been hard enough, so...she's just enjoying this. Being home, relaxing in her pajamas. Staying with Lydia and Prada, and enjoying a peaceful sort of life that she had started to forget could exist considering the last few years in Beacon Hills.

Lounging on the couch, a throw pillow tucked under her arm as she scrolls through the Netflix menu, Allison turns to the direction of the kitchen as Lydia calls out for her and she can't help but grin at the offer of Red Hot in her popcorn. "The one bag is good. I can't believe you actually got me to like it like that." It's a teasing accusation, although really, only Lydia could talk her into even trying Red Hot on her popcorn.

"...blind scroll might be better. I keep changing my mind the more I scroll."

Lydia laughs a little and nods. "Okay, well then...stop scrolling, sweetie. I'll be back in two minutes. Three. However long it takes to pop this bag of popcorn without either burning it or leaving behind a ton of kernels," she says as she makes her way back toward the kitchen.

There are a few things she and Allison have talked one another into, over the course of their friendship. Simple, stupid things — things like Red Hot on popcorn or liquid eyeliner as opposed to a pencil — that Lydia thinks have really cemented their friendship a lot more than one would think. Allison is the first real friend Lydia ever had. She'd been one of the most popular girls in school but popularity was a funny thing in high school...it didn't necessarily mean that anyone actually liked you. It just meant that everyone wanted to be you.

She's thinking to herself as she's waiting for the popcorn to finish that she and Allison have shared so much more than she's ever shared with anyone. Even Jackson who, prior to Allison, is the on person Lydia could say probably knew her better than anyone else did. It hasn't escaped her notice how much more easily "I love you" flows from her lips when Allison is the one on the receiving end because she really means it. Allison is the reason Lydia is so strong. Allison is the reason Lydia can keep going when things get too damn hard.

Having her back makes Lydia think that she needs to appreciate Allison more than she did before. It's so easy to take someone for granted when they're right in front of you but when they're gone... Lydia has regrets.

The microwave beeps and Lydia pulls the bag out, opening it and shaking a little bit of Red Hot liquid out of its bottle and into the bag before she shakes the bag to mix it in. Finally, she pours the whole bag into a huge plastic bowl, grabs a couple of wine glasses, and makes her way back to the living room. Lydia flops down beside Allison and sets the bowl and glasses down on the table. "Okay," she says, taking the remote. "I'll scroll; you say when."

Setting the remote down as Lydia continues making popcorn in the kitchen, Allison leans back against the couch before she reaches for the PDA that she had arrived to Itinere with. It would be a lie to say that she hasn't been tempted to call back home even if it's just to listen to her dad one last time, or hear that Scott and Isaac are okay, but she knows she can't. Not only that, but she knows that, even if she could, she probably shouldn't. Her life in Beacon Hills is over and done with, and maybe that's another reason why it has been so easy to adjust to life here. There's not much for her to go back to, so this is her new life. This is her new reality.

And, honestly, it's not bad at all. It doesn't even feel like settling at all. Sure, she will miss her father. She will miss Scott, Isaac, and Stiles. But she has Lydia, and having her in her life has helped to not even feel homesick at all. Lydia isn't the only one that hadn't had a real friendship until they met - Allison hadn't had much luck with that, either. Between moving and changing schools all her life, having an actual bond with someone was impossible. Keeping it was even harder. With Lydia, it's impossible to even imagine her life without her friend, and she's glad she doesn't have to. Being here with one of the boys would have been much harder and, as confusing as it had been to show up in Itinere, she's just glad that her best friend is here as well.

As Lydia walks back into the room, Allison sits up and reaches for one of the wine glasses. No, she's definitely not going to ask how she got it; actually, she's enjoying this freedom a little too much to even raise the fact that they're not old enough to be legally drinking.

"Sounds good." She takes a sip of her wine, and looks away as if that way it won't 'affect' her decision on where to stop - really, she's trying to not be biased in her decision, because movie night is serious business obviously. "If it lands on another romantic movie, though, we get a do-over, okay? I don't..." She trails off when the door suddenly opens, and...a guy walks in. Allison blinks over in surprise, and she glances over at Lydia as if to make sure that this isn't just someone breaking in or something, before she turns back to him. "Uh. Hi."

Barry isn't good at complicated. Complicated situations never have a good outcome and when it comes to Barry, he always ends up either hurting himself or making the wrong decision in the end. All in all, complicated is bad.

Lydia is not complicated.

As a person she is. She's remarkably complex, Barry doesn't have to be a scientist to see that, but despite the several levels of who she is her intentions are always clear on the surface and although it sometimes intimidates him, Barry can't help but find her refreshing. He doesn't wonder what this is between them, because she's told him; it's fun, nothing more and nothing less. He isn't supposed to expect anything out of her beyond that and he doesn't, in return of her not expecting more out of him. He was never the friends with benefits type, he gets too emotionally attached, and he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't already a little too attached to Lydia than he should be. However, Barry knows what happens to the people who he gets close to and he knows now that keeping his secret from a significant other is impossible, but it eats him up on the inside. So this is the best for both of them. The nights that he visits are simple in their intention and he likes that, because he knows that he'll have at least one night a week where he doesn't have to think or be The Flash. He can just be Barry.

Their nights together had evolved into something a little more than 'just sex', not in an uncomfortable way but in a way where it's been impossible for it to not have evolved. If you put two people who are passionate about science and documentaries in the same room they're going to talk and share a friendship-like bond. And have sex, apparently. Barry is cool with his kind of friendship.

He grabs the bottle of wine he picked up earlier off of his counter before he walks out of his room and moves down the hall to Lydia's door, and he didn't bother to change his shirt and sweatpants because Lydia has already told him in the past that there's really no point in doing so. She's also told him that he can just walk in as long as it's their designated night because she's already going to be waiting for him, and she certainly hasn't been wrong in the past. When he opens her door he can see the dull glow of the television on in the living room down past the short hall, and he's already grinning as he approaches.

"Are we actually going to watch something this time or are you leading me on aga-" Barry stops so abruptly when he enters the living room that he almost trips over his own momentum, the arm holding the wine bottle swinging a little to regain his balance. That doesn't fix the dumbfounded look on his face, however, when he sees her - the girl, the girl he saved - sitting on the couch next to Lydia, and his eyes snap to the redhead quickly to see if she looks annoyed before he looks back at the newcomer. Did Lydia text him? No, he would have saw it, wouldn't he? It takes Barry a couple of seconds to realize that he's just staring before he finds his voice and croaks out a quick and confused, "hello...!"

Is new girl living with Lydia now? He dropped her off here but he didn't think that she was staying, Lydia never really spoke about her home life and Barry didn't speak about his. That wasn't really what they did. He regains his footing, standing straight after a few seconds, and he moves slowly as if he was uncertain as to whether or not they would strike. Why does he feel like he would if he ran into a bear in the wild? "Um, I'm Barry. Allen, Barry Allen, I was just-" he looks back at Lydia with desperation this time because he doesn't know what's going on, but he holds up the bottle in his hand and finishes, with all of the confidence he can possibly muster, "dropping off wine...?"

Lydia rolls her eyes a little, but she smiles all the same. "Fine, no rom coms," she agrees, "I'll just have to make Gracie my rom com buddy just like she's my makeup shopping buddy. You have to meet her still," she says, "you'll love her, she's so cu—"

She stops when Allison trails off and looks over her should when Allison looks past her toward the door and Prada starts barking excitably, having completely abandoned his chew in favor of greeting the newcomer.

"Oh God, it's Saturday!" Lydia blurts out before clapping a hand over her mouth. She looks back at Barry apologetically because what is she supposed to say? Sorry, I forgot it's Fuck Buddy Night because my dead best friend is alive again? She really doubts that would go over well.

She gets to her feet and shushes Prada before moving to Barry. "I'm so sorry, I totally lost track of what day of the week...this is Allison," she says, gesturing back and turning her head to give Allison a smile. "My best friend from home. Allison, this is Barry," she adds, looking back again to give Allison a look that says hey, remember that hot guy I was telling you about, with the hook ups? This is that guy loud and clear. Lydia looks back at Barry and gives him another apologetic glance. "I really totally lost track of the day...but you can stay! We're actually Netflixing tonight," she offers. "Come on, come stay. It'll be fun."

Watching Barry fumble and stumble through his introduction earns a small sympathetic smile from Allison, her mind already getting stuck on oh no, he's cute. Dropping off wine, huh? Her eyes wander to the sweatpants and t-shirt, clearly not believing the excuse, but then Lydia speaks and Allison purses her lips as she tries not to laugh when realization seems to hit her that yes, it is indeed Saturday.

"Hi, Barry," she greets with a grin, catching Lydia's look. And, okay, her grin may grow a little because of it, but she gives him a little wave. "Nice to meet you."

From the little she has seen of Barry so far, Allison has already decided that she likes the guy. He's hot and adorable all mixed into one, and unlike the other hot guys that Lydia has dated in the past, at least this one doesn't have that 'I'm a dick' vibe. Which is good. Really good, because otherwise Allison would already be looking for ways to make the guy uncomfortable right about now. She's about to offer to leave them alone, but Lydia is inviting Barry to join them and Allison tosses one of the pillows on the ground so that she can make room for him between the two of them. "Yeah, join us! I just got her to agree to no rom coms, so you lucked out. Here, let me go get you a glass of wine, too."

Before either of them can protest, she gets up so she can take the wine bottle from him and take it to the kitchen. "Nice shirt, by the way," she adds with another grin before going to the kitchen to get him some wine.

"Oh! No, no, that's not - no it's fine-" Barry starts to protest the moment Lydia offers to let him stay, because this is, to him, very clear line between 'fuck buddies' and 'buddies' that he's been working hard at not crossing. Particularly because he's going to be spending time not just with Lydia, but Lydia's friend, both of which are attractive women wearing sleep shorts that are really short and sleep shirts that are really thin and there's at least ten reasons he can think of, in that second, that explain why this is a bad idea. "-no no no, it's really okay-!" He continues to protest when Allison offers to get up and get him wine, his hand stretching out from where he's standing as if too stop her, but it's too late - she's taking his bottle of wine and his face is burning from her compliment.

"Um - oh, yeah, this - it isn't mine, it's a friends shirt, I just borrowed it from him and I just lied, it's my shirt, I have no idea why I lied about that," it all falls out in a stream of consciousness and Barry silences himself by running his hand down his face, glancing at the back of Allison's head to see her disappearing into the kitchen before he quickly looks back at Lydia. "I can really go, this isn't - if you forgot that's fine, you can hang out with your friend, you really don't have to let me stay, I don't want to make things weird." Despite his words he's walking to where Lydia is standing next to the couch, and he rubs the back of his neck in discomfort before he slowly lowers himself to sit down. She's getting him wine, what is he going to do, disappear? Obviously Allison is a friend of Lydia's and, fuck buddy or not, he doesn't want to seem like a total dick to her friend by just disappearing before she returns.

As soon as he takes a seat Prada is bounding up to him and Barry sighs, lifting the small dog in his hands and pulling him close to his chest to cradle him and scratch his belly. "Looks like the golden rule still proves true, Prada. She gets what she wants." He looks back up at Lydia nervously with a weak smile. "I'll go after I finish the wine, seriously, you can just text me when you're free or something..." he looks up as he trails off to see Allison returning, and he stretches his hand out to take the glass from her. "Thanks. Lydia uh - she picked out white last time, I would have brought a red too if I knew that... you know, you'd be here, I hope you like it."

How the fuck is he here right now?

That look of amusement on Allison's face gets her a wrinkled nose of disapproval in response from Lydia, but she doesn't say anything. Allison has seen the kinds of guys that Lydia usually takes up with, so it isn't surprising that she already likes Barry more than the others. Back then, Lydia had a very specific type and it never really served her well beyond the fact that it kept her a little higher on the social ladder. Even after falling from grace, Aiden had given her some points in popularity.

She fully expects for Barry to decide to back out on the offer, because that's not what their relationship is about. It isn't about hanging out, it's about talking science and having a lot of sex. This can potentially muddy the waters and she doesn't really blame him for wanting out, but Allison is apparently having none of it. She can't help the little smirk of amusement that overtakes her face for a moment when the discussion revolving around his shirt devolves into him babbling awkwardly before changing the subject when Allison departs to get him a glass.

"Sweetie, it's really okay. I just haven't seen her in a really long time and I lost track of the days of the week because it's such a nightmare out there that we haven't actually left the apartment. You don't have to stay if you don't want to, but it could be fun, right? I'd like it if you did," she tells him sincerely.

Muddy waters. Maybe she kind of likes this guy...

She's surprisingly relieved when he takes a seat and she smiles a little as Prada starts jumping at his legs for attention only to be scooped up as usual.

"You don't have to," she assures him when he offers to go after his glass of wine. "Stay for a while unless you really want to go. Seriously, I like having you here and you'll like Allison, she's really sweet. She's not a nightmare like me," she says playfully, looking up as Allison starts back into the room. "Oh, honey, we like all the wine," Lydia says loftily, leaning to pour herself a glass, as well, since her glass is already on the coffee table. "Don't we, Allison?"

Allison should probably feel bad for being a brat but, well, she really doesn't. Partly because, as far as she's concerned, t's part of the whole meeting a guy that her best friend is seeing, and Barry is adorable. Although, really, she would have totally left them alone if Lydia wanted a night alone with Barry. Allison wouldn't mind or take it personally. She's even ready to offer that again as she walks back into the living room with Barry's glass of wine, but she gets a little sidetrack by getting pulled into the conversation.

"Oh yeah, totally, we're not picky at all." Before she plops back in her spot, she picks up the pillow she had been laying on and sets it on her lap once she's sitting down. "If anything, thank you for replenishing the supply before we have to figure out how to go out there for more."

Or for Lydia to get it from her source, whatever that is. Unless Barry is her source of wine? Hm. Taking her glass from the side table, she takes a sip. "So, Barry, do you have any preference on the movie? We were going to choose at random, but if you have a preference, you can choose."

He looks at Lydia with hesitance, uncertain as if she really means that she wants him to stay or if she's just saying it to be polite, but Barry quickly reminds himself that this is Lydia. She doesn't say things like that just to be nice, it's one of the reasons he likes her.

Likes being around her. There's a difference. He reminds himself of that too.

He cracks a smile at her last comment and Barry looks down at Prada, scratching behind his ears. "I don't think you're a nightmare. ...the best sleep I ever get is with you." The stark honest confession comes so easily that Barry doesn't realize that it could be viewed as more personal than what he should express, because it's true and that's all he can think about in that moment. It isn't until he takes his glass from Allison and they both reassure him that Barry chances a little smile, looking sheepish when she sits beside him and taking a sip of his wine before setting it down. He's never wished that alcohol worked for him more than he does right now.

"No. No way," he begins with a grin, shifting Prada in his arms. "Because if I suggest something and you both end up hating it then I'm the guy who ruined movie night. Don't worry about the wine, I can get you more." He doesn't realize how it sounds until he says it and he looks up at them quickly, his hold loosening until Prada jumps out of his arms. "I mean, I have a lot of bottles back in my apartment. So you - so none of us have to go outside in this crazy mess, you know. I like documentaries." He tacks on the last part quickly in an effort to move the conversation forward from how he obtains his wine while there's a near apocalypse going on outside.

"I'm assuming that movie night isn't for documentaries though, right? I'm actually starting to think that you don't even watch them," his tone turns accusatory as he looks at Lydia with narrowed eyes before his smile returns, his attention moving to the television. "I don't know what you're both interested in, Cisco - he's my best friend - he and I usually watch really bad movies on purpose so we know not to go in with any expectations and we can make fun of it, but that might not be... you know, what you guys do..."

Speaking of Cisco, Barry can just see his face when he gets around to telling him about this. He may never find out because of it, actually. "Allison, you're new? I haven't really seen you around this place." Translation: I've never walked into Lydia's apartment ready to get lucky only to be derailed by Supermodel University Student #2.

Lydia's a little bit taken aback by Barry's confession, but that's mostly because the same is true for her. She sleeps better when she isn't alone and Sunday mornings are the mornings she feels most rested. That's because Barry stays the night after they hook up, which is probably muddying the waters already, now that she thinks about it. So really, how much worse can an actual movie night be? She opens her mouth to respond but closes it again when Allison comes in.

Instead, a little grin crosses her lips when he says that he'd rather not choose, citing the fact that he's worried he'd ruin movie night if he did. Lydia can't help laughing a little. "I promise you won't ruin movie night," she assures him as she takes a sip of her wine. Her eyes shift over Barry and toward Allison as she moves to curl herself more comfortably at Barry's side. "Eh, I like documentaries, but I don't know how into them Allison is..." She realizes when she says it that she's never actually asked Allison to watch one with her before. Huh.

She looks surprised again when Barry mentions his best friend. She's learning more about Barry in the past several minutes in Allison's presence than she ever learned leading up to this point. Lydia can't help wondering what that says about her. "I'm not that picky, I don't care. Allison's the one being choosy tonight, Ms. 'No More Rom Coms' over here, but she's also being indecisive as hell," she points out with feigned disapproval as she looks over at her best friend and smirks. "How about this? We can all give our hard no's and then from there we can do a scroll and stop, does that work for everybody?"

Oh, Barry. It's probably a good thing that Allison hadn't been drinking anything when he starts explaining what he meant about obtaining wine for them, because otherwise that could have been embarrassing. As it is, she at least manages to just smile, as if to assure him it's okay, she knows what he meant.

"I don't mind documentaries, actually. Just no rom coms," she points out, narrowing her eyes playfully at Lydia even if she's smirking as she says so. And really, it's not that she hates them, but she has a limit to how many she can take in a month. If she watches anything else that Nicholas Sparks has made, she might just choose to take Prada and hang out in her room so the lovebirds can be alone.

At Barry's question, she turns back to him. "Yeah, I am. Just got here a few days ago, actually. Haven't gotten a chance to really get to know the place considering the...monster infestation, but hopefully I'll get to do that soon. I know Lydia's going to show me around, but I'm open for tips of places that I should check out once we get the all-clear to wander outside."

She almost even suggests that he should go out with them when Lydia shows her around Itinere, but considering she doesn't know how serious this is between them...she manages to keep that idea to herself. Instead, she takes a sip of her wine, giving Lydia a look and a smirk of her own when she voices her 'disapproval' for her vote in movies, but nods at the proposal. "Yeah, I can agree to that."

Barry is almost positive that this is one of the worst situations that he's ever found himself in, and he's fought the literal interpretation of a manshark before. Everything about this is a bad idea, the fact that he's even there is a bad idea. Staying for movie night is breaking a whole set of rules when it comes to friends with benefits, and now Lydia is leaning against his side in a way that's very not sexual and that's more than a little concerning, because he's enjoying himself.

It would be easier if he hadn't found Allison when she first arrived but he did, and he flirted with her, which makes him feel guilty despite the fact that he has nothing to feel guilty about because he and Lydia are nothing more than physical. Still, he can't even lie to himself and say that Allison isn't that attractive because she is, and she's sitting on the other side of Barry with a smile that makes his face burn. He came here to get lucky and he's now sitting with two very attractive ladies and zero chance in hell. How do these things happen?

"Oh yeah, no rom com. Sorry, but I think I have to side with Allison on that one. And no tearjerkers." The last thing that he needs is to embarrass himself any further than he's already managing to do. "Anything else I'm good with though." He shifts a little to get more comfortable, his arms stretching across the back of the couch while also trying to keep a respectful distance from both Allison and Lydia at the same time. "Lydia probably knows better places to go than I do." His smile turns sheepish. "The only places I've really gone since I got here were work and the beach, it doesn't take a lot to make me happy. Hopefully everything will start to calm down she can get you out of this apartment complex without having to worry about your safety. It's been crazy out there..."

When both of them attack her second favorite genre, Lydia lifts both hands defensively. "Okay, okay, I get the point," she laughs. "No rom coms, no tear jerkers," she adds, tacking Barry's no genre on, "and no horror. I think there's plenty enough of that right outside, we don't need to be watching it, too." Not to mention that she and Allison basically lived in a horror movie for a couple of years and Lydia still another after that. Enough is enough."

Lydia can't help noticing that he's put a little space between them and she takes that as a hint that she's crossing a line. So Lydia sits up again and shakes her head a bit. "I didn't get to check out a whole lot before it turned into a monsters' playground out there, so I guess we'll just have to wing it," she says with a shrug, giving Allison a little smile before lifting her glass to take a sip. "I haven't been to the beach though, so there's something we could do," she adds cheerfully.

As she starts to scroll through the movies rapidly, Lydia gives Barry her attention again. "Yeah, it's pretty crazy out there, but it's nothing we're not kind of used to anyway. Besides, apparently there's this dashing hero out there saving people," she says with a playful loftiness meant very pointedly to tease Allison about The Flash, because yes, Allison told her about that and yes, Lydia thinks it's cute. "Isn't there, Allison?"

"Agreed, no horror." Allison has never really been a huge fan of the genre, but after the last few years she and Lydia have had in Beacon Hills, and her recent encounter with a vampire, she's more than happy to avoid those type of movies.

If Allison notices the way Lydia and Barry have set a safe distance between each other, she doesn't show it. Instead, she just takes another sip of her wine, settling back against the couch but the mention of the beach makes her perk up. "Oh, I think a beach trip is definitely in order. Maybe a bonfire, too?" Maybe she shouldn't be so excited about it, but she definitely is. It's the result of not having a proper vacation in years, and, even if Beacon Hills is in California, it hadn't been close enough for them to truly spend a lot of time by the beach. The idea that she can actually go to the beach here and enjoy herself, without the old concerns from back home, is liberating. She feels guilty about it almost at once, but...they have deserved it, haven't they?

Her focus almost shifts back to the television, but it doesn't last long. The mention of the 'dashing hero' is enough to grab her attention again, and Allison can't quite hide the smile that grows on her lips even if she tries to roll her eyes at Lydia. It had been a little hard to admit that she had actually needed help, considering her self imposed expectation to not need anyone, but... Well, maybe she had gushed a little while explaining to Lydia what had happened after arriving. She blames that guy with the great smile, and superpowers that had left her a little in awe.

Still, she tries to play it cool. "Oh. Uh, yeah. He just kind of zoomed in - literally - and fought a vampire off that I kind of...pissed off. But he was great. The Flash, I mean. He knocked the vampire out and got me here before anything horrible could happen." Okay, maybe that whole playing it cool thing isn't working, but she's only retelling the story for Barry. Yes, that's it.

When Barry feels Lydia moving off of him he has to make a conscious effort not to frown, instead making sure that his eyes don’t move from the television as he wets his lips nervously. He has no idea how to proceed with the rest of this night and all he wants to do is sneak away to text Cisco about what the hell he should do. However, that would mean that Barry would have to admit that he’s in way over his head and he knows Cisco; he’d never let him live it down. Either that or he’d get moody and tell Barry that he’s not looking at the big picture, and that he should just try to figure out how to bring Allison into the situation that he and Lydia have before complaining for a solid fifteen minutes about how ‘these things never happen to me’.

He should just let it go; act distant to keep everything in check, but he doesn’t like how she moved away. He can’t stop himself from reaching out suddenly to place his hand over hers and the remote. “Oh, wait, go back,” he presses the button while his hand is still on hers to scroll back up – the scroll is a lot slower to him than it is to them, it’s the default speed that he searches through Netflix when he’s alone – and he lets it land on a decent Sci-Fi film. He gives her a shy smile before he lets his hand fall away. “Come on, you know you want to watch it. You don’t have to hide, Lydia, Allison will accept you for who you are.” His tone is lightly teasing and he leans back, allowing her to decide for herself as he returns his attention to the television to keep himself from slipping into a dangerous zone deeper than he already has.

“The beaches here are great. The water is beautiful, although I might be a little biased.” He glances at Lydia sheepishly with a little shrug, eyes diverting once again down to his lap before he passes the glance to Allison. “I’m from Missouri, the biggest body of water I’ve ever seen was a lake, so… seeing the ocean – yeah. I’m biased.” He moves the arm on the couch behind Allison to awkwardly rub the back of his neck before he leans forward, grabbing his wine glass and taking another sip. Maybe he can pretend that it still effects him. “I’d say that it might be safer to go out during the day but even then, there’s some crazy stuff going on out there. As soon as it stops, though, you two should check it out. I work at uh,” he makes a vague gesture with his hand toward the window in the direction of his lab, “S.T.A.R Labs, it’s really close to the water and it’s just a great view. I get to see it every day. Before, I mean,” he tacks on the last part quickly. “Obviously not now since I can’t go outside.” He sips his wine again to shut himself up.

Barry can’t help but smile to himself around the rim of his glass as the girls seem to get excited about the idea of going to the beach and, apparently, having a bonfire; it’s endearing in some strange way, despite the fact that he doesn’t know either of them remarkably well. Lydia is always so confident and reserved, so to see her in such a relaxed setting is almost as warming as the way Allison’s voice picks up when mentioning a bonfire. It calms him just enough to help him stop himself from choking on his wine when Lydia suddenly mentions a ‘dashing hero’.

Oh god, no…

He clears his throat a little as he places his wine glass back down as Allison starts to explain to him what he had done when he saved her, and he can already feel the heat rising to his face when she says that he was great. Maybe he can blame it on the wine. “Yeah, I’ve heard of that guy,” he replies as casually as he can, and Barry can’t help but smile a little at the tone that she’s using. “I think Cisco has seen him around once or twice, I’m… you know, glad to hear that he got to you in time.” He leans back against the couch, and then he says it; because Barry Allen truly can’t stop himself when it comes to being around pretty girls. “I heard that he can run faster than the speed of sound. Pretty cool.”

Lydia thinks little of Barry putting his hand over hers to reach for the remote, but she does have to admit that she likes it probably more than she should. It's been a while, all right? Sometimes sex solves problems and sometimes it makes her miss having a deeper relationship and it's always a crap shoot which one she'll get when she goes into a friends with benefits sort of thing with a guy. She blames herself for inviting him to sleep over when he comes for hookup night. ...probably something she should discuss with Allison and get some advice on; Allison's always been better at actual relationships. Lydia's only ever been in relationships with total assholes, so this is new territory for her because it neither falls into a relationship nor simply a fuck buddy scenario because it's too busy straddling the two. Lydia makes a mental note to pick Allison's brain at the end of the night.

Her face lights up when Allison mentions a bonfire. "Oh man, I haven't been to a bonfire since sophomore year in high school!" she exclaims and she's careful to tack on high school to keep up the facade that she isn't still technically in high school. "Before you came to Beacon Hills, the lacrosse team used to do one at homecoming until sophomore year when freaking Greenburg knocked a varsity player like literally into the fire. Coach Finstock called it done after that, but they used to be so fun. Jackson said they did them forever; of course Greenburg ruined a perfectly good tradition." She wrinkles her nose and rolls her eyes. "We absolutely need to do one when this junk clears up," she agrees and then she turns her attention to Barry. "You and Cisco should totally come, it'll be fun. I'll invite Gracie and maybe Peter and his girlfriend and a few others. It'll be awesome."

Lydia smirks a little when the conversation has turned to the Flash and she leans back against the couch cushions, tilting her head in Allison's direction. "Allison never needs a hero, she's always done everything awesome all by herself. I think now she's in love," she teases. Then she gives a facial shrug. "I'd be in love if a hot guy saved my life, anyway." She shrugs her shoulders to go with it before pressing play on the movie that Barry had picked, finally backtracking to address his comment. "I am not ashamed of being amused by terrible sci-fi," she says playfully, but the look she gives him lets him know that she's joking and she's willing to at least concede that that film doesn't look like a terrible one.

"Ooh, Missouri," she comments to Barry when he mentions where he's from, and why he's fond of the beach here. "I lived there for a little while. I just remember how...quiet it was." Boring. The word is boring, but she doesn't want to be rude. "Well, at least you have a good view of it now. That's awesome that you're so close by to it. We'll definitely have to check it out."

Lydia's 'clarification' about high school makes Allison pause, but it's very brief before she masks it with a sip of her wine. Which is a bit of a bad idea, because she barely has time to swallow the swig she took before she's laughing under her breath. "Ugh, of course it got ruined before I got there. I always meant to coordinate something for all of us back home, but... You know." Beacon Hills had a thing for breaking up plans, and throwing new ones that never allowed for bonfires at the beach. Maybe they would have better luck here. "We'll make up for it now."

At the teasing about her fascination with The Flash, Allison rolls her eyes but she can't quite hide the smile that tugs at her lips. "Okay, I like the guy, but love might be taking it too far. He's just really ... cool." She says the word as casually as possible, but there's a glint in her eyes as she says it that say otherwise. She can't help it - The Flash intrigues her. Apparently she has a thing for guys with superhuman abilities; her dad would already be rolling his eyes right about now, but at least it's not a werewolf anymore.

Barry's and Lydia's teasing about the sci-fi movie makes Allison snicker, and she smiles at her friend. Not because she's judging her, but in that silent 'you guys are cute' way that friends do when meeting the boyfriend. Has she mentioned how glad she is that Lydia hadn't found the resident jackass in this town to hook up with? Because, seriously, Allison is really enjoying meeting Barry despite of how awkward the night had begun for him. Not having a problem with the genre of choice for the night, she settles back against the couch with her glass of wine and a content smile on her face.

Barry looks at Lydia with a surprised quirk of his eyebrow when she says that she hasn't been to a bonfire since Sophomore year of high school. "Seriously? It's been that long? What have you been doing with yourself this whole time, that's... I mean, I don't want to say that it's atrocious but you're not giving me much room here, Lydia." He gives her a playful nudge with his leg and a small poke to her side, paired with a teasing smile. "And Greenburg sounds like an idiot."

He tries hard not to smile wider when Lydia says that Allison is in love with The Flash now, but he can't help the small smirk that tugs at the corner of his mouth. What can he say, it's flattering, even if the girls don't know that he's the one who's being flattered by it. He's about to respond until Lydia comments about 'terrible sci-fi', and he looks at her as if aghast by the mere suggestion with a slack jaw. "Terrible??" The stare that he has on her lasts for only a second or two more before Barry puts his hands up and he physically turns, tilting his body so that he's partially facing away from Lydia to, quite literally, give her the cold shoulder. Instead, he faces Allison.

"Sorry, I was distracted by our terrible friend." In reality, Barry wants to make sure that Allison isn't feeling particularly left out. This certainly wasn't his plan for the night, but he knows better than anyone what it feels like to be a third wheel. Allison is a good friend for dealing with Lydia's FWB buddy showing up, and Barry doesn't want to make anyone uncomfortable because of it. "Tell me more about - hold on," he grabs the bottle of wine when Allison takes a sip from her glass and he fills it for her, probably more than necessary. "There we go. Okay." He sets the bottle back down on the table.

"Tell me more about your superhero boyfriend who you're in love with, do you think you can get me an autograph?" It's not stroking his ego if they don't know it's him, right?

"Yeaaah," Lydia sighs after letting the two of them sort of bond over living in a state she's never even visited. "Greenburg sucks, of course he ruined a good thing, that's just like him." Her grin broadens a little when Allison tries to play off her interest in the Flash casually.

Lydia knows Allison maybe better than she knows herself and she imagines that goes both ways. Seeing that look in her eye and knowing damn well that it contradicts the cool words and tone her friend is sharing with Barry, Lydia can't help being amused. She'll let it drop, but only because it'll be fun to tease her a little more later when Barry's not there and she can get away with it more. "Uh huh, all right Allison," she says loftily.

She can't help being amused and laughing when Barry attempts to shut her out upon hearing the comment about terrible sci-fi. "I'm not even sorry, it is what it is. Call a spade a spade, sweetie," she says with a playful grin as Barry refills Allison's glass and Lydia takes a sip of her own. Barry brings up the Flash again and Lydia hums her amusement, holding her hands up defensively before Allison can complain that the subject hasn't dropped. This one is on Barry entirely, Lydia didn't goad that one at all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Closed | I'll be loungin' on the couch just chillin' in my snuggie

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