Chapter 13: Midtown High

"Hah... ha... finally!"

Barry exclaimed in relief as he stood before the door to his assigned classroom, having arrived just in time and without wasting a moment, he entered the classroom.

Upon entering, Barry encountered both familiar and unfamiliar faces occupying their respective seats.

Most of the faces belonged to individuals who had been his classmates in elementary and middle school, but there were also some entirely new faces among the students.

"Hmm..."

Scanning the room, Barry's eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar chubby teenager waving at him with a big smile from the back of the classroom.

"Ned!"

Barry beamed and walked towards Ned before taking the seat beside the empty chair on his right.

"We're classmates!"

"Hell yeah!"

The two skillfully executed a complicated series of handshakes, punctuated by laughter and smiles exchanged between them as they paid no mind to the curious stares from their surroundings.

"Dude, did you hear about Tony Woodward?"

Upon hearing a familiar name, Barry's mood soured, flooded with memories of the numerous disputes he had with that person during middle school.

The numerous times they found themselves in the principal's office due to their brawls seemed to outnumber the Chitauri soldiers that invaded New York.

While it might be an exaggeration, the frequency of their fights still spoke volumes about the contentious relationship they shared.

"I heard that he didn't manage to get in"

"...really?"

Barry's mood instantly lifted, and a sense of curiosity prompted him to ask again, wanting to confirm if what Ned said was indeed true.

"Yeah... It was like the talk of our class, dude. Didn't you check the group chat?"

Barry raised his right eyebrow inquisitively and checked his phone out of curiosity.

Skimming through the messages sent in the group chat, Barry finally believed Ned's statement, and a wave of immense happiness washed over him.

"Thank god!"

Both Barry and Ned found themselves overcome with laughter, almost on the brink of tears, as the prospect of finally having some peace in their school life sank in.

Despite Flash Thompson being in their class this year, the two didn't mind. Over the years, it appeared that he had mellowed out, and the prospect of conflict seemed less likely.

Perhaps Flash had witnessed Barry's fearless confrontation with Woodward over the past three years, leading him to realize that Barry was no longer the timid boy he once knew as this realization might have contributed to Flash ceasing to bother them anymore.

If that were the case, then Barry couldn't help but feel a momentary sense of gratitude towards Woodward. However, the feeling quickly dissipated as he reverted to despising him once again.

"Hey..."

While the two were engrossed in conversation, a young man with long, curly hair sitting in front of them suddenly interjected, diverting their attention toward him.

"Couldn't help but overhear your conversation, but who's Woodward"

"Hm?"

"Ah! My bad, my name's Cisco Ramon. I'm new here"

Cisco beamed a smile, waving his hand in greeting, and the two reciprocated with the same friendly gesture.

And it was Ned himself who took the initiative to explain who Woodward was and how much he had made everyone miserable back in middle school.

"Sounds like a real dick"

"Dude, exactly"

Ned and Cisco hit it off immediately, forming a fast friendship as they started engaging in conversation, while Barry just observed them with a smile.

And he chose not to interfere, recognizing that it was rare for Ned to befriend someone beside him as they often found themselves labeled as nerds or dorks, making such connections infrequent.

However, Barry acknowledged that it was partly their own doing for being labeled as such since their discussions often revolved around topics that others deemed as dorky, contributing to the perception that they were nerds which they weren't wrong.

Although Barry didn't really concern himself with the notion of being outcasts.

His philosophy was straightforward: if others liked them, that was great, and if they didn't, that was fine too. It was as simple as that for him.

"Luke, I am your father!"

"No..."

"Yes, Luke... come to the dark side. We have video games here"

"Pfft~"

Listening to Ned and Cisco's banter, Barry couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as they attempted to imitate a famous scene with little to no practice in acting at all.

It appeared that high school wouldn't be as boring as Barry had initially thought, especially since they had already made a friend on the first day.

And Barry found himself looking forward to the upcoming days with a sense of excitement and anticipation.

"Caitlin! Here!"

Barry's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Cisco's sudden shout, prompting him to turn his head in the direction of Cisco's exclamation.

There, he saw a somewhat tall and slim girl with long golden-brown hair, nearly matching Barry's height. Her eyes exuded a slightly cold demeanor, and she carried an aura that emitted a "don't talk to me" vibe.

And Barry's initial impression of her was that she was the type to not initiate a convo first judging by her expression which was soon confirmed when she sat down next to Cisco and remained quiet, seemingly uninterested in talking as she ignored the three of them.

"Haha, sorry about her. She's not exactly the talkative type"

"I noticed"

Cisco let out a dry laugh and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, expressing a sense of helplessness in the face of his friend's apparent disinterest.

"She used to be quite cheerful"

"..."

"In the past, we had a friend"

"Had?"

Barry caught onto the keyword "had" in Cisco's words and could already guess what he was about to say, especially from the expression he was making.

"Ronnie..."

"..."

"He was my best friend and was very close to Caitlin but some stuff happened and.."

Cisco cast a quiet glance at Caitlin, who remained silent in the corner of his eyes. A sense of tragedy washed over him as he recalled the last moments he had shared with his friend, Ronnie.

"Well, as you can see. She became like this, so I hope you won't take any offense to her actions"

Cisco chose not to continue with the story, as it seemed too painful for him which Ned and Barry noticed and respected his decision, opting not to press further.

"It's fine"

Barry gave a soft nod and waved his hand nonchalantly at Cisco, expressing understanding, as he could sympathize with Caitlin, having gone through a similar experience after his mother's death.

He speculated that she probably thought it was pointless to form any connections since it would only lead to pain when they inevitably parted ways.

In hindsight, Barry understood the perspective, but he also knew it was a misguided mindset. After spending four years with Ben and May, he had come to love them, and he felt the loneliness and sadness in his heart gradually subside after the initial tragedy.

Perhaps, he could help her?

Having experienced a similar loss, Barry knew all too well the pain that accompanied the passing of a loved one.

And Barry considered that it wouldn't be a bad idea to help her move on, breaking through that cold facade she seemed to have and strangely enough, he wanted to see her smile.

Ding~ Dong~

The school bell rang, signaling the students, including Barry, to return to their seats and await the arrival of the teacher.

And the class didn't have to wait long, as their scheduled teacher soon walked into the room wearing glasses and holding a book in his hands.

"Good morning, class"

The man smiled kindly and greeted the class, receiving reciprocal greetings from the students as he gently placed the book on his desk.

"As you can guess, I'll be your history teacher for the entire level"

"..."

"So, better memorize my handsome face since you'll be seeing this until you graduate, got that?"

Most of the class laughed and chuckled at the man's quip, creating a positive impression of him among the students, including Barry.

"Now then..."

The man tidied his clothes, straightened his back, and then turned around to grab a marker and he proceeded to write his name on the whiteboard.

"My name is Eobard Thawne..."

"..."

"I'm pleased to meet you, everyone"