The Generation Hypothesis: Chapter One:
There they were: the kids of the next generation. Halley and Michael Wolowitz, Stephen and Arthur ("Arty") Cooper-Fowler, and Aden Hofstadter. Halley was the oldest, at sixteen. Michael was a year younger, and Stephen and Aden were a year younger than that. Arty was yet another year younger, in eighth grade.
They were all playing at Howard and Bernadette's large house, as Howard and Sheldon were showing them yet another way of blowing things up. Arty was sitting on his own with a sketchbook and colored pencils. His father, Sheldon Cooper, had protested in letting him buy it, but his mother, Amy Farrah Fowler, had agreed to buy it for him. Aden was sulking, and Michael showed little interest and was staying with his mother.
Really, the only perfect kids were Stephen and Halley. Michael, or Mike as he liked to be called, had never really enjoyed spending time with his father. Yes, he enjoyed building rockets and such, but ever since Howard had asked when he was going to get a girlfriend, no matter how jokingly Howard claimed it was, Mike had refused to spend time around his father.
Aden was a different matter. He spent as much time as he could sulking alone in his room. He refused to do anything with his father, Leonard, or with his mother, Penny.
And Arty showed no interest in science whatsoever. At first, Sheldon stubbornly believed it was a phase, but as the boy had turned thirteen, and all he wanted to do was draw, Sheldon became increasingly worried.
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Arty's ears popped as Sheldon and Howard sent the rocket high into the air. Howard made a joke about how he'd gone to space (and he'd never let anyone forget it) and Arty rolled his eyes. Stupid Howard and stupid Sheldon and his stupid perfect brother. He didn't so much think Halley was stupid; she had gotten him his first set of pencils.
"Can we go home?" he begged his mother.
"Arthur, these are our friends," Amy told him. "We're going to stay here for a bit longer. Besides, Stephen is having a good time, you don't want him to miss out, do you?"
"I don't care if he misses out," Arty declared. "He's stupid and perfect, he'll get over it."
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Mike watched as Arty pleaded with his mother. He shook his head. He wished he could just say what he wanted to say to his parents.
But it wasn't so easy. Not for him.
Mike grabbed his phone out of his pocket and looked at Bernadette. "I'm going to the library, okay?"
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here with our friends?" Bernadette asked.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mom."
Mike called an Uber and headed off to the library.
When he arrived, he headed straight to the YA section. He did a quick internet search and scanned the shelves for the title he was looking for. There it was. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Then he picked up a couple other books. Openly Straight and Stranger than Fanfiction. All the books his best friend Zach had recommended.
"Mike!" Mike turned around and saw the very person he'd been thinking about.
"Zach!" Mike gave Zach a hug, then berated himself. Don't make the hug too long, he told himself.
"I see you found the books I told you about," Zach said, gesturing to the books in Mike's hand.
"Yep," Mike nodded. "The best gay books you've read all year, huh?"
"And I read a lot of gay books," Zach grinned. Mike's heart skipped a beat.
Mike knew he was gay, and he wasn't ashamed of it, more of the fact that his father was a legend for making gross and inappropriate jokes. Hell, he'd made them to Mike since he was six years old. What would the legendary Howard Wolowitz say when he found out his son was gay?
He won't find out, Mike thought. Mom might, but he won't.
"See you, Zach," Mike said, and he left to go back to his house.
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Aden lay on the couch in the Wolowitz house. All he could think about was how hopeless everything was. He wasn't as attractive as his mother, he'd never find a girlfriend. He wasn't as smart as his dad, he'd never get a job. He often wondered how everyone put up with these thoughts, or if they did.
He looked outside at Halley Wolowitz. She was the prettiest girl he'd ever known, but she was two years older than him. And you're not smart enough or attractive enough to ever make her like you. Stop kidding yourself.
Yeah, he'd never be good enough for a girl like her.
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Halley and Stephen were, as mentioned before, the perfect children. They were both at least moderately attractive, incredibly smart, and perfect children for their parents. They always made things look so easy. Howard couldn't have asked for a better daughter, and Sheldon could probably have asked for a better son, but he didn't seem to mind Stephen. Leonard and Penny watched the children from the side, occasionally glancing back at their own son.
"I wonder what's wrong with him," Leonard told Penny.
"He always seems so…depressed," Penny observed.
"Maybe we should send him to some sort of therapist or something," Leonard suggested.
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"Hey, Michael," Howard said as he plopped himself down in Mike's room. "I think we should talk."
"Is it about how I have to get a girlfriend so I can be the son of the legendary Howard Wolowitz? Who went to space? Who makes dirty jokes too often to keep count?" Mike's voice was so bitter Howard winced.
"Look, I know you're upset about that. I just don't understand why," Howard confessed. "You're going to get a girlfriend eventually, but you're fifteen and I know for a fact that a lot of the girls at your school would love to date you. Why aren't you dating?"
"Why do you care so much?" Mike shot back.
"Because you're my son, and you act like a girl!" Howard snapped. As soon as the words were out, he covered his mouth, but Mike just stared at him with too much hate for a gaze to hold.
"Fuck you, Dad," Mike told him finally, and then left.
Howard sucked in a deep breath, knowing he'd gotten himself in pretty deep this time.
A/N: Thanks for reading! A note: I did not take this idea from anyone else, but I'm sure that there are fanfictions with this same general idea. Please review/favorite/follow! Another note: If you'd like to see anything in particular, just ask in reviews!