⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
go ahead and watch my heart burn

⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

AFTER THE EVENTS of what happened at the football field, Barry had made it his personal mission to keep Juliet in his sight. He had claimed that the man in the yellow suit could show up any moment and he was not going to allow him to take her again. Juliet had insisted that she could handle herself, but when Barry Allen had his mind set on something, he didn't let anyone stop him. She had agreed to let him sleep on the couch in her apartment.

The next morning, the two went back to S.T.A.R. Labs, telling Joe to meet them there. They stood in the cortex in front of Dr. Wells and Joe, explaining everything that had happened. Juliet stood close to Barry, leaning against a desk with her arms crossed across her chest.

"He acted like he knew me, like we'd done this before," Barry stated.

"He was antagonizing you, Barr," Joe replied.

"I — I would get close, and he'd just pull away. He even dodged J's energy blast. I mean, this was just some sick game to him."

"You'll catch him," Dr. Wells reassured Barry. "We'll help."

"No, you don't get it, all right?" Barry argued. "His speed, it is — it's beyond me. I'm not the fastest man alive. He is. I couldn't even stop him from taking Juliet again. So how do we catch somebody that even I can't keep up with?"

"The beautiful thing about force fields, Mr. Allen, is they're impervious to speed. Now, we're almost finished fabricating the trap, and all that remains is for Detective West to procure the bait."

"I'm on it," Joe responded. Barry immediately followed after him. "Barry, why don't you stay here with Jules?"

"No, Joe, today is not the day to tell me to stay behind," Barry said. "J, come on, let's go."

Juliet pushed herself off of the desk. She looked at Joe with wide-eyes before following Barry into the hallway. Barry was staring straight ahead. Juliet could tell every thought that was running through his head.

"It's going to be okay, Barry," she voiced softly as they reached the elevator. "We'll catch him."

Barry hesitated for a moment. "He . . . he took you so fast, J. I can't let that happen again."

Juliet stared up at him, her heart beating against her chest, before she reached down and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "I'll be okay."

They returned to the CCPD. All of the Christmas decorations should've brightened Juliet's spirits, but she kept imagining the man in the yellow suit's arm around her waist, and it dimmed. Dr. McGee came into the precinct to talk about the tachyon prototype. Joe had given her a warrant for them to get the prototype, but Dr. McGee clearly was not having any of it.

"If Judge Hankerson was gonna sign this, he would have done so already," Dr. McGee protested.

Joe took the warrant back. "Look, I'm sure you don't want this investigation to get any more public than it's already been, do you, Doctor?"

"This has Harrison Wells written all over it in big, black letters. I am not giving you my tachyon prototype."

"It was quite the tour of your facility, Doctor," Barry cut in. "You were fine to let us dumb cops walk around, but Juliet and I majored in physics and chemistry, and we saw a whole lot of stuff that Science Showcase Magazine would love to hear about. So should I call their editors directly or just leave a few posts on their website?"

Juliet blinked and looked up at Barry in shock. Well, damn.

Dr. McGee stared at Barry. "You'll have the tachyon device within the hour. I see why Harrison holds you in such esteem, Mr. Allen. You're very much alike."

Joe smiled at Barry as Dr. McGee walked away. "Nicely done."

However, Barry didn't say anything. He kept a blank expression on his face and went upstairs to the lab. Juliet shared a look with Joe before sighing, ultimately following Barry up the stairs. She frowned upon noticing how Barry collapsed into his chair at his desk and just stared ahead.

"You don't have to keep looking at me like that, Juliet," Barry told her.

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like I'm going to snap any second."

"But you are about to snap any second." Juliet slowly approached his desk and sat on top of it, making him look up at her. "And it's okay to be like that."

Barry placed his face in his hands. "I don't understand why now. He's been gone for years, and suddenly, he just comes back out of nowhere? What the hell is up with that?"

"I don't have an answer," Juliet replied. "None of us do. But we know what he is, and we have something to stop him. He's not going to hurt anyone else anymore. Not Iris, not Noelle . . ." her voice lowered. "Not me."

"J, if he gets you, Iris, or Noelle, I — I think I'll go insane. When he took you two times, I just felt so . . . helpless. I wasn't able to stop him then, and I wasn't able to stop him last night. How am I able to stop him now."

"But that's the thing about us." Juliet tapped his shoulder, making Barry look up at her. She offered him a gentle smile. "Not only are we the Flash and Scarlet, but we're Barry and Juliet. We've always been a force to be reckoned with, but now that we have superpowers, that guy's not gonna know what hit him."

Barry stared at her. "Promise?"

Juliet nodded. "Promise."

He then exhaled and rolled towards her in his chair. Barry instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head against her stomach. Juliet grinned softly to herself and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in closer to her.

As long as they were still Barry and Juliet, everything would be fine.

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

THE NEXT DAY, Juliet and Barry were called back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Now that they had the bait, Cisco had finished building the trap for the man in the yellow suit. Juliet, Barry, Cisco, Dr. Wells, and Joe all gathered in the cortex, staring down at the screens that showed the trap and the tachyon device that was situated downstairs.

"The tachyon device is in place," Cisco announced.

"You think it'll work?" Barry asked.

Cisco started to walk out of the cortex. "It'll work."

"So, how do we tell the man in the yellow suit that the prototype is here?" Juliet questioned.

"We'll take care of that," Dr. Wells responded.

Juliet then looked in between Dr. Wells and Joe. They seemed to be acting strange around Barry.

Barry picked up on it too. "What's the problem?"

Joe glanced at Dr. Wells for a moment. "Look, Barry . . . me and Dr. Wells have spoken, and . . . we think it would be best if you weren't here for this."

Juliet quickly looked at Barry in concern. He did not look happy.

"What are you talking about?" Barry demanded.

"You're too close to this," Joe insisted.

"Or maybe you're not close enough. If you hadn't been too scared and warned me and Juliet than he was here weeks ago, I could have — we could have been prepared for this."

"I think we can all appreciate Joe's concern for Iris and Noelle, Barry," Dr. Wells interrupted.

"That's why I have to be here!" Barry exclaimed. "And Juliet too! We're the best chance at catching this guy!"

"Not right now," Joe stated. "Not in this state."

Barry let out a sigh. "This man stabbed my mother through the heart and sent my father to prison for it. This is my fight."

Joe shook his head. "Not today, son."

Barry looked down at Juliet. "J?"

Juliet said nothing. She knew that Barry wanted to be there and help, but she was also afraid that he was going to absolutely lose his mind if he saw the man in the yellow suit again.

After a moment of silence, Barry shook his head in disbelief. He snatched up his jacket and stormed out of the cortex. Juliet sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. God, this was such a mess.

Juliet decided to go back to her apartment with the intent of getting some Advil for her headache. She smiled softly at the vase of red flowers from Oliver on the counter before heading over to the cabinet. Juliet got two Advils and a glass of water before taking them.

Knowing it would take some time to kick in, she walked over to her TV and put in The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD that Barry had gotten her for Christmas. Juliet sat down on the couch and put a blanket over her lap, getting immersed in the movie.

She was almost done with it when she got a text from Iris, asking her to come over. Juliet's eyebrows immediately concerned when she noticed the Please. Iris never used the please with the period unless something was wrong. She instantly stood up from the couch, pausing the movie and brushing the blanket off of her.

Juliet closed her eyes and teleported to the side of Joe's house, where the shadows would cover her. She walked around to the front and opened up the door, not even bothering to knock because it was practically her home at this point. Juliet was instantly met with the sight of Iris silently crying on the couch.

"'Ris?" Juliet inquired in concern, rushing up to the girl and sitting beside her, putting her arms around her comfortingly. "Oh my God, Iris, what happened?"

"Barry," Iris let out, snaking her arms around Juliet's waist and resting her head on Juliet's chest. "Barry, he . . . he told me he loved me."

Juliet immediately froze. She felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach and her mind start to spin. Sure, she had known all along that Barry loved Iris, that was why she was in this whole stupid situation, but somehow, hearing that he actually admitted it to her out loud felt like a smack to the face.

"Oh," Juliet whispered. "Oh."

Iris sniffled. "Did you know?"

"I'm pretty sure anyone with eyes could see it, Iris," Juliet responded. "But it wasn't our secret to tell."

"God, I'm so sorry," Iris voiced, and Juliet could feel tears sink into her shirt. "I — I know how much you like him, and now this — God, Jules, I had no idea."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Iris."

"But . . . but I always thought that you and Barry were meant to be. I've seen the way he looks at you."

"If we were meant to be, we would've been by now," Juliet said. "And Barry doesn't like me like that."

Iris sobbed. "I don't — I don't know what to do. This is all so confusing."

"You know, I told him to stop confusing you because you were with Eddie. I was sure he was going to tell you someday, but this is just awful timing."

Iris let out a laugh that was sort of choked up. She picked her head up to look at Juliet. Juliet gave her a sad smile and reached up, wiping away her tears.

"Let me get us some ice cream," Juliet told her. "We can eat and you can cry your little heart out over how Barry is a dumbass."

Iris wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "Barry is a dumbass for not pursuing you instead of me all these years. I — I mean, I never liked Barry like that. It was always you."

Juliet shrugged. "The universe always has a way of stabbing people in the back. Besides, I think I have another person . . . kind of pursuing me?"

Iris' eyes widened. "Oh my God, who?"

"Oliver Queen," Juliet revealed with a sheepish smile.

Iris slapped her shoulder. "Dude, I knew it! You better go get that ice cream and tell me everything."

The two best friends then sat on the couch, doing nothing but eating ice cream. Juliet had told her all about her and Oliver, while Iris often let herself cry again over Barry's impeccable timing with his confession. Each time Iris talked about it, Juliet felt another sharp pain in her heart. But Iris needed to talk about it, and Juliet would always be there to listen, no matter how much it hurt her.

Suddenly, Juliet got a text on her phone. She put her spoon back in the bowl of ice cream and looked down at it. All it was was a text from Caitlin, saying S.O.S. Juliet's eyes widened. This definitely had something to do with the man in the yellow suit.

"I'm so sorry, 'Ris, but I gotta go," Juliet rushed out, placing her bowl down and getting up from the couch. "I love you, I'll see you later."

"Uh, okay," Iris responded, confused by her sudden panic. "I love you too."

Juliet gave her a rushed smile before running out of the house. She quickly teleported into the cortex of S.T.A.R. Labs to get into her suit before teleporting downstairs. The trap was there, and so was the man in the yellow suit. Eddie was down on the ground surrounded by multiple unconscious members of the SWAT team. Meanwhile, the man in the yellow suit was holding Joe up against the trap.

Her eyes narrowed. Juliet held out her hand and focused on the man in the yellow suit, trapping him in place. Red energy traveled up and down her arm as well as surrounded him. With all of her might, she threw her hand to the side, making the man in the yellow suit go flying. He crashed into the wall and crumpled onto the floor.

Suddenly, a flash of yellow lightning — Barry — ran in and ran out. The man in the yellow suit was no longer there. Juliet's eyes widened and she teleported outside, only to see flashes of yellow and red lightning mix together in a blur. There was the shattering of glass, and Juliet gasped as Barry was thrown against the windshield of the car.

Feeling just as helpless as she did on the football field, Juliet watched as the man in the yellow suit continued to beat up Barry. She barely had time to blink before they were in a new spot. All she did was stand helplessly, her arms outstretched like she was ready to help, but her eyes couldn't register the super speed.

The man in the yellow suit ripped off Barry's mask and stood on top of him. Juliet felt energy travel down to her hands and she went to strike, but she was interrupted by fire completely blasting the man in the yellow suit away. Juliet stood there in shock as the flames died down. The source of them was a man with long hair. Juliet tilted her head curiously at him.

"Our race is not yet done," the man in the yellow suit told Barry. "See you soon, Flash." He then sped right in front of Juliet, making her stumble slightly backwards. "Scarlet."

"Fuck you," she responded.

With that, the man in the yellow suit completely sped away. Juliet sprinted forwards and ran straight towards Barry. He held his arms out to her when she got close, and Juliet took his forearms in her hands, pulling him up. Barry let out a deep breath and put an arm around her shoulders. She replied by putting an arm around his waist, the two of them leaning against each other.

They watched as the man with the long hair burst into flames again and shot into the sky, flying away with a trail of fire and smoke after him. Juliet stared at him in confusion. She didn't understand.

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

THE LAB WAS stuck in a tense silence. Juliet sat by her desk, and Barry sat by his. Maybe it was what happened with the man in the yellow suit, or maybe it was because Barry knew that Iris told Juliet what happened, or maybe it was a combination of both. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was basically suffocating Juliet.

Juliet stood up from her desk, walking over to Barry's. She saw him holding a snow globe from London, one that belonged to his mother. Juliet slightly smiled at it and stood behind him, placing her hands on the back of his chair.

"You want to talk about it?" Juliet asked quietly.

Barry turned the snow globe over in his hand. "About what? The man in the yellow suit or Iris?"

"Take your pick."

"Hey, Barr," Joe began, interrupting their conversation. "Hey, Jules."

"Hi, Joe," Juliet responded.

"You know my mom traveled around the world twice?" Barry announced. "She spent a semester abroad in Spain, and she loved it so much that after she graduated, she went to Europe. Didn't stop till she'd been to a few dozen other cities." Barry put the snow globe down. "She always wanted to go back, but she never got a chance."

"I offered to send both of you abroad when you were in college," Joe said, pulling up a stool to sit.

"Yeah, I know. I remember. I . . . I couldn't take off. I mean, the truth is I'm stuck here . . . in Central City. Fear has kept me in that living room for fourteen years." He looked up at Juliet. "You?"

Juliet shrugged. "I promised you I would always stick by your side. So here I am, along for the ride. You're really stuck with me."

Barry gave her a gentle smile before looking back to Joe. "Joe, I — I was mad at you for being scared. But I mean, the truth is I was the one that was scared. I've been afraid of the man in yellow for my whole life. That's why I lost."

Juliet frowned. She leaned forwards and draped her arms around his neck, resting her cheek against the top of his head. Barry reached up and held onto her wrists.

Joe scooted closer to them. "When you first moved in with us, I thought it was gonna be too much. I'm already a single dad. Finances were tough. I had two extra children staying at my house all the time. And you were a little boy who just lost his mother. But, man, I was wrong. Within two weeks, you had changed the whole dynamic of the house. Suddenly, the house was filled with this . . . light. This energy. I mean, you brightened up everything. You'd seen more darkness than any man will in a lifetime, and you never let it dim your soul. So there I was, thinking that I'm changing your life by taking you in, but . . . the truth is . . . you changed mine. So don't lose that light now, Barr. The world may need the Flash, but . . . I need my Barry Allen."

Juliet grinned at that, her heart warming. She stood up straight, allowing her arms to fall back to her side. Juliet placed her hands into the back pocket of her jeans and walked over to Joe. He instantly slung an arm around her shoulders.

Joe pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "And I need my Juliet St. James."

Juliet snuggled into his side for a moment, indulging in the comfort. "Sorry to break this up, but I think Noelle and mom and dad are arriving at the house soon, and I kind of really want to see them."

Joe chuckled. "Let's go home."

And Juliet was right. She walked into the door of Joe's house, only to be met with the sight of her parents and Noelle sitting on the couch, along with Iris sitting on Eddie's lap and Cisco and Caitlin in chairs. Juliet flung off her coat and ran up to her little sister, immediately wrapping her up in a tight hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," Noelle breathed out. "I'm sorry I didn't come to visit sooner."

"It's okay, Elle," Juliet responded, the nickname rolling easily off her tongue. She then pulled away from her sister and looked at her parents, the two of them pulling her into a hug. "Hi, mom and dad. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, sweetie," her mother repeated, kissing the side of her head. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Really good. I'm fine, actually."

Her father kissed her cheek. "We're just glad you're all right."

A knock was heard at the door. Juliet glanced back at it for a moment. Seeing as nobody made a move to go answer it, Juliet decided she might as well. She stood up from the couch and walked up to the door. However, she was not expecting who was on the other side when she opened it.

Oliver Queen stood there, the tiniest smiles on his face that only grew a little larger when his eyes set on her. His hands were stuffed into the pocket of his leather jacket, and despite it being cold outside, he seemed perfectly fine. Juliet froze in her tracks and her eyes slightly widened. Uh, what?

"Hi," Oliver greeted.

"Oliver," Juliet breathed out. "What — what are you doing here?"

"Uh, Iris asked Felicity to ask me if I could drop by for a little while. I mean, I can only stay for a couple of minutes, but . . ."

Juliet looked back at Iris. The girl smirked at her, taking a nonchalant sip of her eggnog. Juliet's eyes narrowed at her playfully, and Iris shrugged.

She turned back to Oliver. "Why don't we talk outside for the couple of minutes that you are here?"

Oliver nodded. Juliet reached over and grabbed her jacket again, following Oliver out onto the porch in the cold. She pulled on her jacket and peered into the street. Sitting in front of the house was a black SUV with Diggle in the front seat. Juliet waved to him with a smile, and Diggle waved back to her. She shoved her hands into her pockets and stood facing Oliver, her heart racing.

"You're not cold?" Juliet questioned, looking at Oliver's leather jacket.

"I spent years on a nearly inhospitable island in the north China Sea, Juliet," Oliver replied. "I don't get cold."

"Noted." Juliet laughed slightly. "So you really had Dig drive you all the way to Central City on Christmas for a couple of minutes?"

"I don't think either of us mind. We had some time to kill before our Christmas gathering."

"If you say so." Juliet glanced back at the front door. "Are you sure you both don't want to come inside?"

Oliver shook his head. "We don't want to intrude on your own party. Just stopping by to say hi."

"Well, hi," Juliet voiced, her heart picking up at the way Oliver lightly chuckled at her. "Oh, by the way, thank you for the flowers. If I had known you were going to get me something, I would've gotten you something, too."

"Don't worry about it. I don't need anything."

Juliet tilted her head at him. "Are you sure?"

Oliver nodded. "I'm sure."

Juliet glanced back at the SUV where Diggle was for a quick moment. If Oliver was only here for a couple of minutes, she decided to make the minutes count. She threw every single thought of Barry she had out the window until her mind was only focused on the man in front of her.

She took a step closer to him, so close that her jacket was touching his leather one. Juliet felt a rush of courage flow throughout her and she took her hands out of her pocket. She reached forwards and took his warm hands in her cold ones, holding them gently.

"Oliver," Juliet stated quietly.

He stared down at her. "Juliet."

At the same time, Juliet's head tilted up and Oliver's head leaned down. Their lips met in the middle in a sweet kiss, their lips instantly becoming warm. Juliet pressed up onto her toes in effort to get closer to him. Oliver squeezed her hands a little tighter. Juliet felt her mind spin and all of her nerves ignite.

Finally, after a couple moments, Juliet and Oliver pulled away from each other. Juliet dropped back down onto her flat feet and smiled up at him. Oliver gave her a small grin back. And for someone who basically didn't smile, that was huge.

"Merry Christmas, Ollie," Juliet whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Jules," Oliver said.

And yet neither of them realized Barry Allen was watching them from the window, nothing but a look of hurt flashing across his face.

〖   ϟ   〗

bruh when barry was crying while visiting his dad in prison this episode I was like NO PROTECT HIM STOP IT RN