The Girl In 3A (A Sheldon Cooper Fanfic)

How Confusing It Is to Be Human

Andy rubbed her eyes and stretched a bit, realizing she had fallen asleep on her couch after Leonard left. The Doctor Who theme was still playing on the TV...no wonder she had dreamt of running from Daleks all night, she thought. Her eyes burned, so she closed them again as she blindly reached around to find her phone.

She squinted...

3 Texts. 2 Missed Calls. 1 New Voicemail.

She pushed away the hope that it was Sheldon who was so eager to contact her, but if she knew him at all, she knew he would have just come to visit if he needed her.

Two texts from mom - I'll call her later, she thought. One text from Leonard.

**Hey Andy, thanks for last night. I needed it. Penny and I are better now. But I kind of spilled the beans about you and Sheldon...she swears not to bring it up though. We're having Chinese for dinner tonight, so come on over! :)**

Her stomach knotted a bit...hoping she could trust the both of them. Besides, she really had no choice but to tell him why she was sneaking around their apartment at night. She smiled to herself, thinking of seeing them all together tonight. She sure hoped it wouldn't be weird if she showed up.

She checked her voicemail, surprised to hear that it wasn't her mom again.

"Hey, this is Dexter from Game XChange...we got your application and we wanted to see if you'd like to come in for an interview today at some point. So yeah...just drop by whenever."

Andy jumped up with excitement and ran to the shower. Finally! A call-back! She thought, as she grabbed a towel, clumsily tripping over her feet.

~

Upstairs, Sheldon was standing in the kitchen, finishing up breakfast in time to disinfect the apartment. His thoughts had been wondering all morning...all week, really...and he knew exactly why. He felt ashamed to admit it to himself, but he felt like he was missing something, and he was afraid to say what. He felt it so much, in fact, that he found himself wishing he woke up beside her. And that was so unlike himself.

Leonard walked through the door, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Where have you been?"

"Sheldon, if I didn't stay here last night, there's only one other place I would be and you know that."

"I thought Penny was angry at you."

"Well...she was..." Suddenly, Leonard remembered that this is the first time he'd seen Sheldon since he found out the big news. He held back a smile.

"What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Nothing...just noticed you're looking a bit more happy and relaxed than usual. Don't you think?"

Sheldon squirmed, but decided he would rather die than talk about something so personal...even to his best friend. "I'm unsure what you mean, Leonard. I apologize, but I must be getting back to my morning duties."

As much as Leonard knew he should leave it alone, he just couldn't. He was going to have too much fun with this, he thought.

"It's just...you look like you are having a really...long, hard...morning, Sheldon." He held back a smile and received no reply from Sheldon, except for a noticable twitch he was beginning to hide.

"Oh, and if you're wondering where to put that collectable coffee cup of mine...it'll go in the corner cabinet...just be careful and...put it in slowly."

Sheldon tripped up a bit and dropped his plate into the sink.

"For heaven's sake, Leonard," he said quite nervously, "May I ask what is wrong with you this morning? I don't understand why you are acting so odd."

"Come on, Sheldon." Leonard automatically responded, then snickered noticing that he was really on a roll with the sex references this morning. Of course, he figured they had all just been wasted with Sheldon, no doubt. If only I would have saved them for when Penny was here, he thought...he knew she would have been in stitches.

Sheldon was still staring at him, attempting to control his nose from twitching. He was terrible at pretending that nothing had changed about him.

"Ugh, I told her I wouldn't say anything," Leonard mumbled with a sigh, "But I know your secret." He walked to the kitchen and took a seat at the counter. Sheldon mindlessly poured a cup of coffee for the two of them. "You know what?" he asked, still attempting to be innocent.

"You know...your most recent conquest...with Andy? I'm happy for you buddy!" Leonard said, happy as always, patting Sheldon a bit too heartily on the back.

Sheldon pulled away and made himself busy with the dishes, trying to supress the twinge of betrayal that swept over him.

"Oh, she...she told you?" His voice was a bit more shakey than he would have preferred. He felt embarrassed. He felt like running to his room and staying there all day, like he used to do as a child and sometimes still did. But he knew he wasn't a child. He had to go to work. And he had to deal with things like beautiful girls who practically made him engage in coitus and then sold him out to his roommate.

How confusing it is to be human, he thought.

~

Andy finished drying her hair and pulled on her favorite black trousers and a sheer patterned blouse. She applied some mascara and red lipstick before slipping on her barely-worn black pumps and grabbing her handbag. She figured she didn't need to dress up for Game XChange, but it was an interview, so she assumed it was better safe than sorry.

Her thoughts wondered to scenarios of running into Sheldon on his way to work, much like they always had since she had moved in. Maybe she could give him a ride and they would have some time to talk.

She opened the door and much to her surprise she did bump into someone, but it was Penny, carrying a basket of laundry downstairs.

"Oh, hey you!" Penny said happily, "Looking good. Where are you off to?"

"Just a job interview at a game store!" Andy said back, smiling, "So..."

"Leonard and I are back to normal...if that's what you were going to ask. I ran into him on his way back to bed this morning. He kind of said he found you sneaking out of the apartment last night..."

"Oh...right. Yeah, we watched some Doctor Who and just talked. He's really crazy about you...you should feel lucky."

"I know...I do...he's my best friend. And by the way, I cannot believe what he told me...I think he's lying."

Andy knew where this was going, and she tried to hide her cringe.

Penny whispered excitedly, "Did you really take Sheldon's virginity? Like...SERIOUSLY I AM SO HAPPY. I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD EVER HAPPEN!"

Andy couldn't help but giggle, even though she didn't want to talk about it, for Sheldon's sake. "I don't know. I really like him...a lot. I think I'm falling a bit too fast."

And with that, she left Los Robles with a funny feeling in her heart. How confusing it is to be human, she thought.