Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Extra: 2

In which Parker can't shake her dancing groves off while Barry tries to sleep.

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Barry and a girl named Parker.

The two were halves of a whole; he was the cheese to her cracker; she was the beer to his pong.

He always said he knew Parker loved him, but he never believed she loved him more than he did her.

What he didn't love about Parker was her sleeplessness when it came to the rain that plagued Central City.

Rain was falling diagonally against her window; the echoing smack bringing Parker a rough time to fall asleep.

To cure her, she plugged her ears with buds, using music to block the rain.

Barry was comfortable, almost sleeping, when Parker decided she needed to dance.

It wasn't a true dance-- just a little shaking of her torso to whatever the beat may have been.

However, it was keeping Barry awake, and unlike Parker, he needed to be at work at nine in the morning.

Rolling from his side and bringing his head on her chest, he tugged out an earbud, fully gaining her attention.

"Honey, please," Barry pleaded.

"I can't stop," Parker said.

"Why?"

"I promised myself I'd sleep after the Disney Channel version of A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes, then Gwen Stefani came on, and I couldn't stop the rhythm in my bones."

Barry pushed himself on to his elbows. He glared into the darkness that he pegged as her face.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop dancing, but I just--"

"Restart the song and put it on speaker," Barry gave in, "One last dance party, and we're going to bed."

Sitting up, Parker ripped out her headphones from her cell phone and tossed them across the room. While turning the volume to its extent, she pressed her the play button.

"Uh, huh, this my shit," Barry started, lowering his back on the bed.

"All the girls stomp your feet like this," Parker sang, moving her head to the beat, "Few times I've been around that track, and it's not just gonna happen like that 'cuz I ain't no hollaback girl, I ain't no hollaback girl."

Barry remembered how he kept her up the other night by his own restlessness. He thought for a second this was her payback.

"I heard that you were talking shit and you didn't think that I would hear it, people hear you talking like that getting everybody fired up--"

"Are you done?" Barry asked.

As though a record needle had scratched to stop the music, Parker's head snapped to him in the darkness.

"Barry!" she snapped, "I wasn't done rapping my verse."

Thankfully, both couldn't see in the darkness, which Barry was thankful for, because he was grinning larger than he wanted to admit.

"You just ruined the whole vibe," Parker said in a whiny voice, " I was getting my Stefani on."

"And I was getting my sleep on."

"You disgust me."

"I know," Barry said, grabbing her arm and pulling her down.

Comfortable with Parker being the big spoon in their cuddle, she whispered his name.

"Yeah, Park?"

"You know you don't really disgust me, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. 'cause you, like, do the opposite of that."

"I think what you're trying to say is that you love me."

"Yeah, that too."