Barry Allen weaved his way through the crowd, his best friend, Iris West, and younger brother, Sebastian Smythe, with him. They were there to watch the particle accelerator activate. This was a rare occasion for the brothers, because Sebastian's foster family lived in Paris, making it difficult for the two to see each other. It was nearly Christmas break for Sebastian, who was still in school, but managed to convince his parents to let him leave school a week early. If he still lived in America, he'd be in 8th grade.
The brothers had lost their parents when they were young. Sebastian had been three, and Barry had been ten. Barry had been lucky enough to be fostered by his best friend's dad, but they weren't allowed to foster Sebastian too, for whatever dumb reason had been given, and he was adopted by the Smythe's, a wealthy family.
Sebastian tuned out Barry and Iris, as it had become incredibly awkward, because Barry had a crush on Iris, and Sebastian knew it, but Iris was insanely oblivious, and now she was talking about how Barry talking to her about girls shouldn't be awkward. It just made it even more awkward.
He watched as Harrison Wells walked onto the stage. Everybody around him began clapping. Sebastian glanced at Barry, who seemed nothing but excited.
"Thank you. My name is Harrison Wells." Dr. Wells said. "Tonight, the future begins. The works my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics. We'll bring about advancements in power, advancements in medicine, and trust me, that future will be here faster than you think."
The crowd began clapping again, and over it, Sebastian could hear Iris say, "Hey, my laptop! It's got my dissertation!"
He followed Barry and Iris as they chased the man who had taken Iris's laptop. He got separated from them as they ran through the people. Being shorted made it harder to get around people, apparently. By the time he found the two, another cop that Barry worked with had gotten the laptop back. Barry had received a bloody nose, and was attempting to stop the blood flow, but was a futile attempt in that moment.
Thunder crackled outside as Sebastian sat in the CCPD with Iris. Barry had disappeared for whatever reason he had given that Sebastian didn't listen to. Sebastian watched water trickle down the windows and his eyes were drawn to the occasional lightning strike.
Minutes later, the lights went out. Sebastian turned to see only silhouettes of the people in the room, a few taking out phones or flashlights. His attention turned back to the window as he heard another rumble, just in time to watch S.T.A.R. Labs explode.
"Whoa." he said, his eyes going wide. He was sure that was not what was meant to happen. What if people were hurt? Sebastian looked at Iris, who's attention had also been caught by the events outside. Barely seconds later, a loud clap of thunder shook the building.
"You can't be in here!"
"We're family!" Iris yelled as the nurse prevented her and Sebastian from reaching Barry. Tears fell down his face. What if he lost Barry? "Barry!"
Sebastian was unable to stay until Barry woke up, he had to go back to Paris. Iris had promised to keep him updated on any changes with Barry.
He returned over spring break, to see Barry. He'd been in a coma nearly four months.
Sebastian walked into S.T.A.R. Labs by himself. Iris would have gone with if she didn't have class. He got lost easily. After getting lost eight times, he was getting very annoyed. had he gone to the right floor? There were so many.
He was about to give up, when he heard a voice.
"Cisco, what did you do?"
"I did nothing!"
"Cisco!"
"What? I didn't do anything!"
Sebastian followed the voices to find a man and a woman arguing in the hallway. The man had his back turned to Sebastian, the other didn't notice him.
"Um...excuse me?" he said, not wanting to disrupt what seemed to be possibly important. The man jumped.
"Oh, my Jesus- do not do that!" he said, turning to look at Sebastian. He gave him a look of suspicion. "Who're you?"
"I'm here to see Barry." Sebastian said.
"He's in there." the woman said. "I'll show you."
"Thank you." Sebastian said. The woman led him into the room she'd referred to, then left, probably to finish the argument that'd been occurring moments before. "Hey, Barry..."