Penny groaned as she opened the door and shuffled into her apartment. She slipped off her work uniform and tossed it carelessly onto the couch. God, what a horrible day. Being yelled at by a fat asshole for adding ONE extra ice cube in his drink, plus not getting that raise she had been promised was not Penny's idea of a fun shift. Then again, she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually enjoyed working at the Cheesecake Factory. For a second, she wondered why she worked there in the first place. But she knew why. It was because working there was the only way to keep herself alive while she still tried to make the prospect of being an actress something more than a simple dream. She knew she could do it. She knew she had the talent. She'd been in several productions growing up in Omaha. The problem was, she was just one in a million. Nobody cared how badly she wanted to star in Hollywood films or be the sexy lingerie model in a Victoria's secret commercial. Even her looks couldn't get her far in show business.

Truthfully, the glitz and glamour wasn't all that Penny craved as part of her acting career. Sure, it would be pretty sweet to get to sign autographs every day and have billions of followers on Twitter and everything … but she also wanted to prove that she was good at something. That she wasn't just a pretty waitress. Especially to a certain physicist who seemed to equate her intelligence to that of a chimp's.

Penny walked into the bathroom for a much needed piss. Her shift had been so busy that day that she hadn't been rewarded with any breaks. As soon as she had expelled the fluids from her body, she walked over to the sink to wash her hands. She hated to admit it, but a few years ago, she wouldn't have bothered washing her hands after using the bathroom. It just seemed pointless to her. But ever since moving in, she started hearing Sheldon's voice preaching on about hygiene and germs and whatnot, and well, it had sort of rubbed off on her. A lot of Sheldon's quirks had, actually. Not that she cared to admit it to anyone.

Three knocks infiltrated her ears as she dried her hands. "Penny. Penny. Penny."

"Speak of the devil," Penny muttered. She slipped off her hair tie to let loose her silky blonde hair and went to open the door.

"What is it, Sheldon?" she asked.

"Would you like to join us for dinner? It's Chinese night."

"Gee sweetie, I don't think I'm in the mood tonight."

"Strange, I've recorded your menstrual cycles and you're not due for another week."

Penny's eyes widened slightly, before she shook her head, reminding herself that it was Sheldon. "Um, no. That's not it."

"Are you on a diet? If you are, then might I recommend-"

"You know what, never mind. I'll join you guys." Penny quickly shut the door and walked over to the opposite apartment.

"Oh, wonderful!"

Well, he seems happy about it, Penny thought to herself before entering the home of her robotic friend.

—

"Hey guys!" Penny greeted as she stepped inside. Leonard, Howard and Raj were already seated in the apartment, and the three men looked up and smiled at her (Leonard in particular.)

Penny sat down in the couch, of course away from Sheldon's precious spot, and grabbed a bowl of chicken.

"Penny, may I say you look particularly enchanting this evening," Howard flirted, tossing her a corny smile.

Penny rolled her eyes and scooted away from him; she didn't even wish to know what Raj had whispered in his creepy friend's ear.

"Yeah, well, get your own pick up lines!" Howard snapped to the Indian. Raj silently resumed eating his food.

Right at that moment, Sheldon entered the apartment. He sat down right beside Penny, closer than she thought would be comfortable for him, and as he reached over to grab his food, his elbow brushed against hers. For a nanosecond, Penny could have sworn she saw a faint blush on his cheeks.

Wait, who am I kidding? It's Sheldon, he can't blush!

Leonard cleared his throat and broke the silence. "So Penny, how was work?"

Penny shrugged. "Same old. Some stupid jerk started bitching at me because apparently it makes a HUGE difference if I add one stupid little ice cube into his drink." She stabbed her fork into her chicken and shoved it in her mouth.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure he means well," Leonard said quietly. Sheldon breathed out his signature weird laugh, and everyone turned towards him.

"What's so funny?" Penny asked, narrowing her eyes.

Sheldon was still smiling when he spoke, and Penny tried to ignore the way his crystal blue eyes sparkled as if he was in a train store. Seriously, they're just eyes! "I simply find it amusing that while Leonard clearly has no interest in hearing about your tedious anecdotes, he believes that by engaging you in trivial chitchat, "buttering you up" if you will, you will find him more desirable to copulate with."

Leonard glared at his roommate. "Sheldon, what are you talking about? I was just making conversation!"

"Forgive me, Leonard, but did you not tell me last night that you wish to have sexual intercourse with Penny whether she likes it or not?"

"Sheldon!"

"What? It's the simple facts, Leonard. And people tell me I'm not a good liar."

Raj put on his best poker face.

"Why do you have to make everything so hard for me?" Leonard demanded, exasperated.

Howard snickered. "That's what she said."

"Um, hello?" Penny refocused their attention back towards her.

Sheldon smiled. "Hello, Penny."

Leonard sighed.

—

Penny laid wide awake in bed. For some reason she just couldn't stop thinking about Sheldon. She'd been having a lot of Sheldon-related thoughts lately. And it baffled her.

Sure, he was a little odd when you first met him, but Penny felt like she'd grown a lot closer to him over the duration of time they'd been living across from each other. In a way, she was much closer to Sheldon than she could ever hope to be with Leonard.

Why was that? What attracted her to this puzzling human being? After all, we're talking about a guy who planned his bowel movements, a guy who smiled like the Joker, a guy who according to Leonard, was "one lab accident away from being a super villain".

So why was she so attracted to him?

Maybe attracted wasn't the right word. It was more like, intrigued. Fascinated. She felt like Leonard and her had already explored everything there was to explore. Sure, he was a nice guy and okay, he was pretty cute, but Leonard was just … Leonard. Sheldon, on the other hand, was a whole different story. She felt like she could spend years with him and she wouldn't even learn half of what there was to learn about him. He was like a galaxy. Seemingly endless. He would never cease to attrac- no, why do I keep using that word?- intrigue her. She wanted to dive in and explore all his "constellations".

Penny smiled as she remembered their earlier encounter.

"You know what, never mind. I'll join you guys."

"Oh, wonderful!"

Could I be in love with Sheldon?

"What the hell?" she asked herself, shocked that she could even consider such a thing. She sighed, and shook her head.

It really had been a long day.