Barry opened the unlocked door and walked into the cool, air conditioned grump office, Red and Dan right behind him. "Well, this is it. The magical place that is the office." He said, laughing. Red looked around and struggled to take it all in. She felt like she was at Disney World, it felt like a dream, but it was all too real. On one side of the room was a collection of desks and computers, with little collectibles and gifts scattered about. Next to them was the giant shelf of games. It looked as if it went on forever, with different colors and types of games organized on their respective section. A kitchen was opposite the desks, with little grump face magnets and other fan art scattered on the fridge. On Red's left was a collection of bean bag chairs and two couches.
She snapped out of her thoughts, however, when an unknown yet familiar voice spoke. "Hey, guys. Who do we have here? Did you guys get a girlfriend?" They said, walking up from the couch to shake her hand and introduce themselves.
"Red, this is Arin. You probably knew that, though. Arin, this is Rachel, but she goes by Red. She's, a friend of mine, and I thought I would bring her to work with me." He said, smiling softly. "B, I didn't know you were a ladies man!" Arin said jokingly, but quite surprised.
Barry took his words as a challenge, to which he accepted. He took Reds hand and spun her out like a dancer, and spun her back into his arms, slightly dipping her. "I didn't know either," he replied, kissing the back of Red's hand. Everyone in the office gave a standing ovation. The two bowed jokingly in response.
"Hey, I'd love to be that guy, but we gotta record Pokemon Art Academy," Ross said, getting up from this desk and starting towards the recording room. Barry told Red that he'd be out in a few hours, and she nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Red!" Ross shouted as they both went inside to record one of her favorite series of all time.
~
Barry turned off the capture and audio and sat back on the faux leather couch. "Ross, can I talk to you about something?" He asked, twiddling his thumbs again. It was a nervous habit of his. "Yeah, fire away." Ross replied. Barry held his breath, trying to find the words to say.
"I really like Red. But I don't know if I should tell her, or if we shou-" Ross cut him off and took his hand in comfort, stopping his habit. "If you like her, tell her. That's how I got with Holly. I mean, she may hate you, she may love you. She may not even react. But at least you told her the truth." He said, looking straight at Barry. He had never seem Ross so calm and caring in a while. He nodded. Barry thanked him for the advice and they both left the recording room. Red looked up from her phone on one of the couches, smiling like a child on Christmas.
"Hey, you. Why so giddy?" Barry asked, taking a seat next to his crush. "Oh, nothing." She lied. He shrugged it off, but what he didn't know was that the door was cracked open before they exited the recording room, and she had heard every word.