Silence. Darkness. No sound. No light. Just focus on the wind in your hair...the brush of it against your face. Nothing could ever prepare Monique for entering that place. No amount of mental or emotional preparation could hold her up the entire day. That's just not the way things worked in her world, sadly.

Monique opened her eyes and turned off the shower. She dried herself and dressed quickly before heading into the kitchen. It was already well past seven-thirty so she couldn't spend much time on breakfast. A cup of yogurt and a bagel was designated breakfast for that morning. She rushed out the door and to her car. Monique began her morning commute rather nervously today. It was a fair thirty minute drive to her workplace and she wished it was longer today. She had a horrible feeling about this work day. Something was going to go wrong.

She took a moment before getting out of her car to steady her nerves. A full two years had not adjusted her to the busy office life. Anyone who knew her could easily say that it was an odd choice to work for a newspaper when one had social anxiety. Hers was almost debilitating. It had been worse in high school and college, but she had gotten much better in her own opinion.

She took pictures for the newspaper. It kept her out of the office a bit but she had to talk to so many strangers.

"Do we have a picture from the scene?" the editor asked during a meeting.

Monique raised her hand without a word and he pointed to her. "Show me what you've got and we'll see what we can work with from there."

She nodded. As long as she didn't have to speak she usually felt a little better about interactions. That also usually kept interactions with her short. The reason for her unease went unsatisfied because her office hours went flawlessly- not a single issue. She recieved requests for more pictures others had a hard time getting just before leaving for the afternoon. As she made her way out to her car she couldn't help glancing about.

What was this feeling? Nothing had happened at work and she was hoping nothing would happen outside of it either. It was one of those days. She knew her next destination. Her car rang as her boyfriend's number came up on the face of her radio. She answerd it as she rolled up to a stop light.

"Hey, baby. What's going on?" she said.

"I'm just calling in to check on you," Terrence replied. "I just want to make sure you're doing okay today."

Monique smiled. What did I do to deserve to find this man, she thought. "I'm fine, thank you. Today was one of the good days."

"Are you heading home?"

"No, I have a few pictures to grab and some researching to do for an assignment. I won't be back in until later this evening."

"Alright. I'll call you when I get done here. Maybe we can have a late dinner."

"I'd like that."

"Good. I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you later tonight, baby."

"Bye."

Monique sighed heavily and pulled into a parking space. The Philadelphia Zoo was a place where she could forget about her troubles for a few hours. It wasn't necessarily the quietest place or the most personal, not like the library or a parking lot, but she always felt more confident after a visit. At least once a month she came to visit when she was feeling really stressed about things. She walked in after purchasing a ticket and turned in happy circles before running further inside.

Of course she calmed herself and stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket. Truthfully, watching those majestic animals stalk about in their habitats gave her a little confidence. It was sad seeing them in there but she could draw strength just from watching their powerful paws and claws strut about and their keen eyes keeping watch from their perches and hills. The sounds of happy children and chatter all around made her a little nervous but they were still the sounds of her happy place.

As Monique walked about the zoo she spotted a few employees in tan shirts. She loved her job at the newspaper despite what she went through physically just going in the first place, but she couldn't help wondering what it would be like to work near those gorgeous animals everyday. Monique couldn't help feeling a little jealous. She let herself wonder and gaze for about two hours, snapping a few pictures of the animals for leisure, before deciding it best to head out for work related photos.

The reason she was asked to get photos for other's articles wasn't because they were difficult to get, but because she was so good at it. She was aware of that as well and kept her head down all the more for it. As she walked about the city she stopped to take photos of the buildings. A few tasks called for business visits. Monique was reading one of the photo descriptions as she walked in search of the specified spot, completely ignoring her surroundings and strolled right through a slew of turned over trash. One of her purposeful steps went astray and she was sent backwards, throwing papers over her head as she hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Her camera slammed into her chest as she fell and she struggled to catch her breath as she slowly sat up. A person, apparently a man leaned into her line of sight. She couldn't have been more embarrassed if she tried. He was saying something but she was too busy trying to wish away the pain in her body.

"Can you hear me? You okay?" he asked again.

Monique couldn't look him in the eyes. "Y-yeah, I'm okay."

He offered a hand to help her up and she hesitantly took it. "That was nasty a fall," he said, a smile evident in his voice. "You sure you okay? Nothing's broken or-"

"I'm fine," Monique said as she knocked the trash from her clothes. Now she would smell like trash going into the business. She didn't have extra clothes nor time to go find any. Monique looked up at him then and tried to keep the frown from her face. Simply reflexive.

He had a nice face, soft features, to her eyes, and his eyes were lovely shade of blue. At least he didn't seem like a jerk. "I'm sorry, um, thank you." She took the papers he offered back to her and put them in her pocket.

"It's no problem," he said with a smile.

"I-I didn't mean to be so...you know..."

"Ah, no, no it's fine," he said with a chuckle. "As long as you're okay."

"Thank you."

"Yeah. I gotta go but you be careful. Keep a look out for trash cans."

Monique laughed nervously and nodded. He walked off in the direction she had come from and she sighed heavily before looking up at the building she was standing in front of. She took a second look at the paper once again and walked up the stairs. A few photos of one Dr. Fletcher and a comment on her work. As Monique ascended the staircase she realized that maybe tripping was the bad thing that was goind to happen that day. Her day was pretty much settled and she'd be heading home after the short interview so not much else worst could happen at that point.

Monique carefully pushed the rod of her earring into her pierced lobe then switched to the other. She was getting ready for dinner with Terrence. He had chosen an upscale place, which Monique was not a fan of. With all those people around and her nerves... Something was likely to go so wrong. She pinned her hair up and checked her dress over once more before walking back to her room to put on her heels.

There was a knock on her door and she rushed to answer it, checking herself just one more time before opening it. Terrence grinned down at her, as he had a whole two feet on her. "No matter what you wear it looks phenominal on you but that is the best thing I've seen you in yet," he said as he took her hand and placed a kiss gently to the back of it.

Monique invited him inside as she finished getting ready. "I just have to put my heels on and we can go," she said as she rushed back to her room.

Terrence sat on the couch and looked about the room. It just screamed Monique: landscape pictures on the far wall, some of her own pictures from around the city mingled between them, one large recliner and footrest and then the homely couch on which he sat. It was sadly basic but he knew that's the kind of woman Monique was. She did her best to put on a face outside but home was her safe place. The space was catered just for her and no one else. When she emerged with her purse over her shoulder he stood and walked her out.

The restaurant was just as crowded as she had imagined and she wasn't enjoying herself as much as she would have been if it were just the two of them, but she sucked it up. Terrence looked at her over the top of his wine glass. He did that alot, just watch her and smile.

"So, how was your day," he asked, placing his glass back on the table. "Did you get the photos you were after?"

Monique nodded. "It wasn't a problem." She wiped at the corners of her mouth. "On my way to get one of the photos I ended up falling in a pile of trash."

Terrence looked taken aback. "Are you okay? You didn't break anything or-"

"I'm fine," she said waving off his concern. "I'm not usually like that but I was distracted I guess."

"I know you, you jump at shadows," he commented before taking another sip of wine.

Monique rolled her eyes. It was annoying but she couldn't argue that point. She was easily frightened and has jumped at her own shadow more than once. How she survived this long without having a heartattack was beyond her.

After dinner they went for a light stroll. Monique leaned her head onto Terrence's arm as they walked. They walked past the zoo's gates, neither one paying much attention to it. On their way back, about thirty minutes later, there was someone there leaning against the bars of the gate shaking his head. Terrence pulled her close but she wouldn't let him move.

"Wait..." she squeezed his arm.

"Come on Mo', before something bad happens," he whispered, pulling her along. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

As they walked around the distressed individual, he turned his head and Monique got a clear view of his face. She recognized him from earlier that day. The trash can. Yeah. I gotta go but you be careful, keep a look out for trash cans. Something within her pulled hard at her chest and sent her stomach into knotts. He had helped her just earlier that day but she was going to leave him there to suffer alone. He could have been hurt.

She was silent for the remainder of the night until Terrence dropped her off at home. "Why do you look so worried?" he asked with a smile. "Everything's fine."

"The man at the zoo... He helped me today." She looked up at him as if for reassurance.

He sighed. "I'm sure he's fine- probably just had a rough night. Get some rest and forget about it. He's probably at home by now anyhow."

She nodded. They shared a kiss then parted ways. Monique closed the door behind herself and just stood for a few minutes. When she heard Terrence's departure she took a deep breath and went to her room. She changed out of her dress into a more manueverable outfit and went back out.

Monique hated to go outside after dark- under no circumstances other than a date would she even consider it- but tonight she was running as fast as her legs would take her back to the zoo. The only thing in her mind was to not stop running no matter what. She almost ran into the zoo gates while trying to stop. Whether she was relieved or troubled, the guy wasn't there. "Maybe he did go home," she thought aloud. She rested herself a few minutes before walking back home and falling into bed.

A/N: Hello and thank you for reading this first chapter. This chapter is more of an introduction to the OC but there will be more Barry as the story progresses. This is not my first fanfiction, but it is my first live-action based fanfiction. I usually stick to anime so please do let me know if something reads weird or not. Comments are always appreciated and hopefully you'll be hanging out with me for my first movie fiction.