Sheldon x Penny

Chapter 5: The Elephant In The Room

{Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. 2 days after the events of the previous chapter.}

"Sheldon, have you seen Penny ?" asked Leonard from behind the kitchen counter, unpacking a bag of takeaway food. "I haven't seen her in a couple of days and it's Chinese night."

"How am I to know? You invited this woman into our lives, ergo her whereabouts are exclusively your concern, not mine." Sheldon rose from his spot on the couch in a reluctant sigh and ambled into the kitchen. He picked up each container, inspecting its contents before arranging them into an orderly line from that descended from largest to smallest.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Leonard, his furrowed brow casting a shadow over the the thick black rims of his glasses that balanced upon the bridge of his nose.

"Well, due to your ongoing 'on again/off again' carnal entanglement-"

"You know there's nothing going on between Penny and I anymore. We tried dating, it got weird so we mutually decided it was best for the both of us that we just stay friends". His lips curled into a smile but his eyes possessed a solemn countenance that swallowed up the artificial joy from his face.

"Did you get my orange chicken?" Sheldon enquired abruptly, in a somewhat desperate attempt to steer the topic of discourse in a direction that wouldn't cause him inordinate discomfort.

"yes"

"white rice steamed, not fried?"

"yes"

" extra peanut sauce?"

"you can have mine" he uttered with a sigh of disinclination.

They gathered the containers and brought them over to the coffee table, leaving Penny's on the kitchen counter in anticipation of her arrival - but she never came. Sheldon prodded at his food with his chopsticks absentmindedly. His eyes followed the characters upon the television screen but his thoughts remained someplace else.

Leonard watched his roommate's reflection, perplexed by his behaviour. Sheldon had always been moderately eccentric and strange behaviour was often expected, however, this was different. It was evident that something had been troubling him.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Whats up with you?" Snapped Sheldon, his tone sharp and accusatory.

"Okaayy?....I'm gonna go see if Penny wants to join us for Dinner."

Sheldon said nothing.

He watched Leonard leave the apartment, his eyes following him until he disappeared through the door and out into the hall. Curiously, he listened for the knocking that would inevitably be followed by a polite exchange between his best friend and the woman he couldn't stop thinking about. A small part of him hoped that she would reject the invite.

As he braced himself for her arrival, he played out each and every possible scenario in his head, attempting to find a viable solution to the issue afoot. What was the correct social protocol for this particular situation? Could Leonard ever forgive him? Did Leonard even still feel romantically drawn to Penny? Why could he not stop thinking about her? His mind spiralled, disorientated by the thoughts that haunted him like ghostly tenants, impossible to evict. Before that night, the ability to suppress had come so easy to him and he often found himself to be blissfully ignorant to his and other peoples emotions, but it was different now. He had opened Pandora's box and was now bombarded by each and every feeling he had inadvertently allowed himself to feel on that one night.

"She'll be over in a minute " announced Leonard as he walked back through the open door - The sound of his voice pulling Sheldon back into a temporary rational state of mind.

His eyes diverted to the clock that hung above the television. The arms seemed to move in slow motion as he counted down the seconds until she would arrive.

"Sorry I'm late. I picked up a few extra hours at the Cheesecake Factory" Penny apologised as she she hurried into their apartment, closing the door behind her. She appeared dishevelled, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, parts of it escaping her hairband and falling in soft curls at the sides of her face.

"Food's on the counter" said Leonard, gesturing to the kitchen with a mouth full of noodles.

"Oh, thanks Leonard. Hi Sheldon". She walked across the living room, dragging her feet as she retrieved her food and collapsed in a heap on the couch, leaving a space between herself and the man she had spent the night with just two days prior.

"Hello" He replied, making brief and polite eye contact with her before staring back down at his chopsticks that balanced delicately between his narrow fingers.

Penny watched him, still wondering if what had happened between them had been real. Did he remember ? If so, why was he acting like he didn't - like they hadn't?

"How comes you picked up the extra hours ?" Leonard asked, his words muffled by the residual food pocketed in his cheeks. This was usually when Sheldon would scold him for speaking with food in his mouth and then proceed to lecture him on an entirely unrelated topic he deemed to be "interesting". Instead he said nothing.

"Well iv had no luck finding any acting jobs, I was barely able to scrape together enough money to pay my rent this month and iv been eating your food ever since I moved into the building. So until I get a part in a movie or a commercial i'm gonna need to start working more shifts which sucks." Penny rolled her eyes as she sank further into the couch, exhausted.

"Don't worry about the food." Sheldon interjected. His face was inexpressive but his eyes lit up like sapphire orbs as they met with Penny's. She gazed into them, desperately searching for a hint of acknowledgement regarding what had happened between them, but found none.

"Anyways what's new with you guys?"

"Well actually iv been seeing this girl, Alice. We met in the comic book store. It's a funny story actually. So she wanted this Hell-boy comic but I had already put it to the side so she asked if we could trade and I was like yeah-"

"Leonard sweetie, that's not a funny story" Said Penny with a hint of condescension. Sheldon smirked, amused by her comment. "But, Im very happy for you." Her lips curled into a smile. "So when will we be meeting this, Alice then?"

"Well hold on a minute" Sheldon spluttered "We know nothing about this woman. What if she's a criminal or is using her relationship with you as a way to gain access to our organs. Oh no, what if she tries to harvest my brain?" He held his hands to his face, bearing a striking resemblance to Edvard Munch's 'The Scream'.

"Don't be silly Sheldon thats highly unlikely."

"A lot of highly unlikely incidents can occur - For example: A woman is interested in Leonard."

"Hey!" He whined, offended by Sheldon's remark. "Penny was interested in me." His frown warped into a smug grin as he lifted his head and folded his arms in triumph. "weren't you Penny?"

She ignored him and instead looked to Sheldon who was already gazing at her with intense eyes, the same way he had on the night that he made love to her like no man ever could. Her heart raced as she began to recall each and every detail before sinking once more, shot down by disappointment and resentment. How could he have left after she had poured her heart out to him? Why had he been avoiding her? Sheldon had always been a complicated man but for that one night, Penny had felt a part of his world. What had changed the next morning?

"So will she be coming here?" She asked, avoiding Leonards question all together.

"If things continue to go well then yeah, hopefully. Maybe we could have everyone over for-"

"Section 8, Subsection C, Paragraph 4 - Roommates shall give 12-hour notice of impending coitus or if they wish to have a house guest over. So be sure to notify me within the given time parameter. If she's anything like Penny, i'll be needing to put my noise cancelling headphones to good use again."

She scowled at him truculently with gritted teeth. She couldn't quite identify wether he had intended to insult her or perhaps it was a cryptic acknowledgment of their night together. The more likely explanation however was that it was just Sheldon being Sheldon - Speaking his mind without considering the consequences.

"Don't worry Sheldon you'll have plenty of notice."