You untied your apron from your waist and hung it in the back room, your boss peeking his head into the room.

"Heading home for the day Y/N?" He asked. You nodded.

"I hope you don't mind." You said.

"Not at all, you've been here all week, take the rest of the day for yourself, just remember to clock out. Is the new trainee ready to work on his own yet?" He asked, saying a million things at once. You shook your head with wide eyes.

"I think for now, he should be supervised." You said, not wanting to throw your coworker completely under the bus. Your manager nodded.

"Alright, well then have a nice weekend Y/N." He said before walking out.

----Time Skip----

You rushed through the cold air to Jitters, the early November days, beating down on your body. You stepped around the puddles of water that were from this mornings rain, to the door of Jitters, pulling it open. You accepted the coffee shop's warmth as soon as it hit you and made your way over to where Barry sat, talking to Iris.

"Hey Bear!" You said happy to see your best friend. Barry looked over at you and smiled. He stood up and walked over to you, pulling you into a hug.

"Hey Y/N! It's felt like forever since we've hung out." Barry said.

"Tell me about it." You said, sitting down across from Barry and Iris.

"Hey Y/N..." Iris mumbled from across the table.

"Hi." You said, acknowledging her.

"So Y/N, what have you been up to?" Barry asked eagerly. You shrugged.

"Nothing really, just finishing up school and working over at the cafe across the street." You said. Barry nodded.

"Why don't you just work here?" Iris asked. "I mean they have a barista position open since I left."

You smiled and shook your head. "I originally applied here but the one across the way got back to me sooner, plus the boss is really nice over there." You said.

"Okay, understandable." Iris said. "Hey, did you want any coffee?" Iris asked. You looked down at your empty hands and laughed.

"I honestly forgot about it, I thought I ordered already...But yeah, if you don't mind." You said. Iris shook her head and took the money from you to pay for your drink. When she left, Barry looked over at you.

"So Y/N, what do you think about me and Iris?" He asked. You looked at him shocked and pointed between him and Iris.

"Oh, are you two a thing?" You asked uneasily. Barry shook his head.

"No, but I'm working on it." He said smiling. You nodded and pursed your lips, but before Barry could ask what was wrong, Iris came back.

"Thanks Iris." You said, accepting your coffee. She smiled and handed you your change.

"Alright well I have to get back to work, I'll see you later Y/N." She said. You nodded. Barry looked at you and then at Iris.

"Hey Iris wait-Is it okay if I walk with you there?" He asked. Iris turned towards him and nodded.

"Of course, as long as Y/N is okay with us leaving her." Iris said sympathetically. You smiled weakly.

"It's fine, go ahead, I was planning on heading home anyways." You said. Iris nodded and left with Barry. You turned back to your coffee, the smell suddenly making you sick. You returned the cup to the counter and headed out towards your apartment.

----Time Skip----

You opened the door and walked in, closing the door and leaning on it. You brushed your hand across your face. God, how could you be so stupid? Barry is obviously in love with Iris and not you. He probably sees you as that high school friend who is too clingy to let go. You thought. You walked farther into your house and to your bedroom where you collapsed onto your bed. You shed a few tears, but wiped them away and grabbed your binder off of the nightstand, having a ton of homework to finish by Monday.

You grabbed out all of the essentials to accomplish your work and began to work on it in the next moment. Soon enough, you tiredly stared down at your assignment for English, not having the energy to write an eight page essay. You groaned and fell into your pillow, pushing your laptop aside. All that was left was this essay, yet you couldn't bring yourself to do it. You stood up and began pacing, trying to come up with ideas for this paper, but you kept drawing blanks. You finally gave up and collapsed onto your bed, crying into your pillow from all of the stress. You grabbed your phone off the bed and dialed your sister's phone number.

"Hey sis, I need help." You said stressed.

"With what?" She asked concerned.

"I don't have any ideas for this essay assignment and it's due in two days." You replied.

"Well that's odd, you generally always have ideas for your essays...Is something else on your mind?" She asked. You shrugged.

"Maybe, but there's nothing I can do about it." You said.

"Tell me what it is, maybe I can help." She said sympathetically.

"I like Barry..."

"Well obviously." She said, laughing. You rolled your eyes and continued.

"I like Barry, but I can't tell him because he's in love with Iris." You said sadly. Your sister sighed.

"Of course he is...Look Y/N, if you want my opinion then I'll give it to you. Go to Barry and tell him how you feel and if he rejects you then so be it, either way it'll help you get this essay done, it's just that one end has better results." She said.

"But I don't want to ruin our friendship." You countered.

"But lying to him is going to, just tell him the truth and if he can't handle it, move on." She said. You gulped.

"Okay..." You mumbled.

"Great, now I have to go before I strangle my kids, call me once you've talked to him." She said. You nodded and hung up. You then called Barry.

"Hey Bear, can we meet up somewhere, I have something to tell you..." You asked uneasily.

"Yeah of course, how about at the park in ten minutes, by our high school spot, you still remember right?" He asked.

"How could I forget?" You asked chuckling. Barry laughed too.

"Alright see you then." He said and hung up. You cleaned your blotchy face up and headed out.

----Time Skip----

You walked over to where Barry was standing, your hands tucked into your pockets to keep you from nervously picking at them. Barry waved at you as you grew closer.

"I hope it's not too late, I just needed to get something off my chest." You said.

"Not at all, I'm not even tired." Barry said chuckling. You smiled at him and exhaled.

"Barry...I-I..." You began but stopped yourself. "I can't do this, sorry." You said, walking over to a bench and burying your head in your hands. Confused, Barry walked over to you and rested his hand on your shoulder.

"You can tell me Y/N, I won't judge you." He said. You looked up at him, meeting his eyes. At that moment, your whole body wanted to run in the opposite direction, but your brain told it to stay, captured by Barry's glistening eyes.

"Barry, I have feelings for you, feelings that are stronger than the bond of any friendship." You said. Barry stared at you.

"What are you saying Y/N?" He asked.

"I'm saying that I'm in love with you and have been since our 8th grade year." You said.

"You've liked me that long?" He asked. You nodded and bit at your lip nervously.

"Y/N I-" He began, but you cut him off.

"It's okay Barry, I'm glad I got that off my chest and I understand that you like Iris." You said smiling. You stood up and Barry followed suit.

"No matter who you choose to love Barry, I'll be there for you. Goodnight Bear." You said and turned on your heel to walk away.

"No wait-Y/N!" He said, reaching for your arm. You stopped in your tracks and turned around.

"Barry-" You started, but were cut off by Barry closing the distance between the two of you and pressing his lips into yours. You were surprised at first, but accepted the kiss, your heart melting every second it lasted, his soft lips leaving you wanting more when you pulled back.

"Y/N, I-I'm in love with you too." He said. You stared at your best friend wide-eyed.

"What?" You mumbled. "What about Iris?"

"Iris...Well, I did like Iris, but I can't deny my feelings for you. Seeing you yesterday since months of not talking, brought the butterflies back up into my stomach and it was stupid of me to leave you at Jitters." He said. You continued to look at him with a shocked facial expression.

"So what does this mean?" You asked Barry. Barry smiled at you.

"I mean, a new title wouldn't hurt." He said. You eyed him suspiciously.

"What are you suggesting?" You asked.

"Just instead of the title, 'BFF's' we change that to 'Boyfriend and Girlfriend.'" He said. You bit your lip and broke out into a smirk.

"I'd love that Bear." You said. Barry smiled at you and pulled you in for another kiss.