Sheldon x Penny

Chapter 9: The 'Check-Engine' Light Dilemma

{After helping her get ready, Sheldon is taking Penny to the hospital.}

The inky sky grew heavy above their heads as they raced to Penny's car. With shaky hands, Sheldon opened the door, helping her into the seat. Careful not to hurt her, he leaned across and strapped her in, her sweet scent dancing its way into his nostrils. He lingered in the moment, fastening her seatbelt  across her chest with delicate fingers, positioning it in a way that would be most comfortable. As he closed the door, he could hear the first flecks of rain beating down on the car roof like the tapping of impatient finger tips. He hurried around the car and into the drivers seat, patting his hands on his thighs as he checked his mirrors, his eyes darting frantically from one mirror to the next. 

The car jerked forward as he attempted and failed to start the engine. His cheeks burned scarlet under the immense pressure. 

"Sheldon hurry. I really need to get to the emergency room." 

"I am trying!" he snapped, turning to face her with angry eyes, his pupils were dark and intense. It wasn't often that Sheldon would lose his temper but right now, he was overwhelmed. Everything about this situation made him feel vulnerable. "You know how I feel about driving Penny and id appreciate it a great deal if you were patient while I re-familiarise myself with the mechanics." He took a deep breath, repositioned his hands on the wheel and restarted the engine, this time successfully. 

They set off, driving at a steady pace along the vast highway. Neither of them had said anything for what seemed like an eternity. Silence. Nothing but the sound of the rain spattering onto the windshield and the back and forth swish and squeak of the windscreen wipers. Penny directed her eyes out of the window as she watched the street lamps transform into luminescent streaks of white that followed alongside the car. Everything looked so different to the way it had looked a few months ago. California had been drained of all its colour and now the once-bustling streets looked bleak and lacklustre under the sky that continued to swell, growing an ominous shade of grey. 

"Penny" 

Suddenly her attention was drawn back to Sheldon, who's eyes were fixed to the 'check-engine light'. She could feel the car begin to slow down as she heard the churning of the engine and the subsequent ticking of the indicator as Sheldon pulled over. 'Not now' she thought to herself, desperately hoping that by some miracle the problem would fix itself. 

"Penny, I know we don't do this anymore but for the sake of nostalgia: Your check engine light is on." Sheldon stated, pointing out the blatantly obvious.

"Oh god oh god. What do we do? I can't afford this right now." She whimpered, hanging her head in defeat. "Sheldon, do you know anything about fixing cars?" She asked, turning to him with hopeful eyes. 

"Of course Penny, I know a lot about a lot of things" 

"Well will you?" She snapped impatiently. 

"I never said I could fix one myself. Besides we wouldn't be in this position if you hadn't ignored your check engine light on the numerous occasions that I had pointed it out to you" he stated with a hint of I-told-you-so. 

"Fine. Whatever. You were right. You're always right! And i'm just stupid, naive Penny who always gets it wrong." Her words sounded broken as they stumbled over the lump in her throat. She faced away from him, directing her eyes back out of the window as she slumped, deflated in the passenger seat. 

Sheldon didn't say anything. Instead he took a deep breath through his nose, rolled up his sleeves and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Confused, Penny followed after him.  

He was hunched over the hood of the car, his broad shoulders and back facing her. She stood stationary behind him, watching. She observed as he lifted the bonnet, his exposed forearms laced with prominent blue veins that glistened under the film of rain coating his porcelain skin. 

"Sheldo-" she began, approaching him cautiously.

"Not now Penny!" he hissed, his back still to her as he studied the engine, desperate to find a solution to their problem. 

All of a sudden, the sky erupted, torn apart by a purple streak of lightening followed by the inevitable deep murmurs of thunder that rippled through the air.

She watched as the rain fell mercilessly onto his shoulders and into his soft brown hair. His rib cage moved gently in and out with the rhythm of his breath. 

"why did you leave?" she whispered through gritted teeth, her words barely audible against the slashing of the rain on the ground.

He straightened his back, standing upright before slowly turning to face her. She looked different. Her bouncy blonde waves had turned dark, separating off into segments. Her usual Penny smile had vanished and was instead replaced by a look of despair, her cherry lips downturned, her jaw clenched. Her eyes were blurry, the green of her irises lit up like emerald orbs behind a film of tears that swelled and streamed from her face along with the rain. 

"Penny, why are you crying?" he asked, puzzled. 

"You left without saying a word." She choked, taking a step closer to him. "Yuno, i thought id imagined it. For so long I couldn't tell if it was just this crazy fantasy id conjured up because you said nothing. Acted as if nothing had happened. At all. Like nothing I said or did that night mattered." 

She took another step towards him, consumed by the pain and resentment she had concealed for so long. Her clothes clung to her pretty frame as the sky continued to pour. 

"But now I know. It was real. It all finally adds up. You hiding away when I came over, you running away in the laundry room, you running away AGAIN that day we all met Alice. All of this strange behaviour, and I mean strange even for you... Is this all because I'm not good enough for you? Because i'm a stupid waitress? Is that it? is it because i'm not like YOU?" Her words were swallowed by the crashing of rain on the pavements.

Sheldon stood still, paralysed by her words. 

"What's wrong? Does the genius not have an answer? That's a first." she sneered, storming directly towards him with a clenched fist, the other arm clutched to her shoulder. Frightened, he took a step backwards, his body now lodged between the open hood of the car and a furious Penny. His body folded inwards but his head remained high, his face just inches away from hers. He studied her features that shimmered in the headlights. He watched each droplet that left her lips, her cheeks, the tip of her nose fall to the ground.

"You're a coward" She whispered, staring deep into his eyes that ignited like icy rings of fire. 

"How could you tell me Penny? How could you say all those things and ruin everything?!" He snapped into action, leaning inwards, the tips of their noses almost touching. 

"Not only did you put me in a difficult position regarding my friendship with Leonard but you completely altered the paradigm of our friendship. Did you ever for a second consider the consequences of your actions and how they might affect me? How they might affect my life? My job? I haven't been able to think straight since that night. I haven't been able to sleep properly. Things were perfect before you destroyed it all. Everything has changed because of you. How could you be so selfish? how could you-" He yelled until there was no air left in his lungs. He took a slow breath in through his nose, the air was ripe with the bitter scent of pertichor. 

"Sometimes, I wish you'd just move away" his eyes and tone softened, his lips still centimetres away from hers. "Penny my feelings for you are so intense. I can barely be in the same room as you without feeling like I'm choking on my own heart. It's unbearable. When you told me that you felt the same it all become so real. It was just too much." His words were raspy and broken as he fought back his tears. 

"Im sorry that I left. I Just get so overwhelmed and-"

"its Fine" she said abruptly, taking a step backwards. "Come on, I'll call someone to come and get us".