Author's note: Yes, I know this is a bizarre and strange couple that will never happen in a million years. But I was simply curious because on some level, I feel like this would have been a very interesting couple. Amy's characterisation here will be a mix of her more 'Sheldon-like' persona to her current character. Also for those who are curious, the episode where Amy meets Zac is in Season 4 Episode 10 'The Alien Parasite Hypothesis.'
Amy was always a woman that enjoyed her own comfort zone and to her this meant watching Little House on the Prairie at home or playing her harp. Ever since she met Penny, this started to change. She admired the blonde's adventurous spirit and charming smile, it had a way of making her feel at ease when Penny would take her to a place she wasn't familiar with. Today was one of those nights. She sat in a bar with Penny and Bernadette, observing them as they made conversation that she listened to quietly but could barely understand. Amy watched and sipped on her sparkling water as Penny complimented Bernadette's necklace, the pair had been talking about several topics for a few hours as Amy began to reconnect with the night time atmosphere around her. The animated murmur of other patrons in the background, speaking of their own personal experience to their peers. The sound of alcohol being poured in glasses by the bartender's. The constant dragging of wood against wood as people came and went. It was something that felt both alien and familiar to her, immersing herself in a crowded place yet being isolated in her own zone of comfort. The only difference was that she was not alone and with her friends.
"Did you know that the iconic Valentine's heart is not based on the shape of a human heart, but rather on the shape of the buttocks of a female bending over?" It was the first topic that came to mind as her attention was drawn to the pendant, she decided to join her friends in their discussion but wondered if she made a fatal error as the other pair looked at her with mild confusion. Penny had replied briefly to her comment, which gave her a sense of relief, yet she was unable to focus as a tall blur of blue shuffled past her. The people who walked in and out of the bar would always rouse her curiosity but there was something different about this person, they didn't keep going and stopped once reaching her table. Amy stiffened. She wondered if the person had noticed her staring and in her discomfort she quickly eyed the figure. Tall, dark and certainly handsome. She couldn't help but stare at the way the baby blue shirt rested against his well-defined body, or the dark curly hair that reminded her of 'Superman' from one of Sheldon's many comics. She took a moment to memorise his dark brown eyes, when she noticed that he was not paying attention to her, nor Bernadette but most predictably Penny. It wasn't something that Amy would have gotten upset about, but yet something about the way that they stared at one another in an unspoken familiar intimacy made her deflate. All of a sudden she felt her comfort zone shrink around her and she clasped her hands together and placed them in her lap, sitting up straight as if it would make her comfortable. Nobody appeared to be paying attention to her though, which for once she was thankful for.
"-Uh Zac, these are my friend's Bernadette and Amy" She briefly heard Penny mention, while it made something inside her shudder she continued to remain stone faced, not wanting to make a fool of herself.
"Hey." The deep voice of his threw her off, it didn't help that he was now staring directly at herself and Bernadette.
"Hi." Bernadette replied kindly and Amy knew it was now her turn to exchange pleasantries, yet this man had made her feel uneasy.
"Hoo…" She furrowed her brows as the high pitched noise exited her mouth and mentally sighed. So much for not making a fool of herself. Bernadette and Penny appeared to notice this erratic behaviour but Amy tried to redeem herself, assuming the indifferent face that she had earlier. She was thankful that Zac didn't seem to notice. Yet, as he walked away she felt that sinking feeling return. Beautiful people were scary.
The conversation naturally shifted to Zac, which Amy wished it hadn't. She took another sip of her sparkling water as she began to feel flushed and tried to avoid staring at the general direction of Penny's friend. She returned back to the conversation between Bernadette and Penny, yet again the words that they exchanged were foreign to her.
"I'm often flummoxed by current slang, does 'went out' mean 'had intercourse'?" She asked with curious intent, though she had a brief idea of the answer based on the way that Zac and Penny had acted earlier. She took a moment to envision the pair as a couple and she couldn't imagine a more fitting match, one beautiful person with another. Penny had given the answer she had been expecting and at this point Amy felt herself drift away from Penny and Bernadette's exchange of words, her attention unforgivingly on a certain male in the background as he bent over.
"Hoo…" The noise came out again and Amy frowned, she noted that her friends stopped to stare at her so she quickly came up with an explanation. "I'm suddenly feeling flushed, my heart rate is elevated, my palms are clammy, my mouth is dry." At this point, Amy took the opportunity to take another sip of her water. "In addition… I keep involuntarily saying 'hoo'…" The words left her mouth as her eyes drifted towards Zac and to Amy's discomfort Penny followed her line of sight.
"Ohh, we all know what's causing that, don't we?" The blonde smiled teasingly, staring at Amy with a mischievous glance.
Amy couldn't understand it, how Penny could casually tease a friend about attraction to her ex-boyfriend. It was there that Amy made herself painfully aware of something, Zac used to date Penny and as she stated before they were visually a perfect couple. Her attraction to him was likely to be a fleeting anomaly and she could go back to focusing herself on things that she was comfortable with, such as observation and science. She assured herself that there was no way a woman like her would be suitable for a man like Zac. This wasn't attraction. It wasn't.
"It's no mystery." She blurted out as Bernadette and Penny looked at her, she kept her head high but Amy focused her gaze to the rim of the wooden table as she uttered out a complete lie. "I obviously have the flu, coupled with Tourette's syndrome." She repeated continuously in her head, that this attraction was an anomaly, yet her flushed cheeks betrayed her thoughts. She noticed the smiles of Penny and Bernadette fall to confusion and to this she relaxed slightly. She took another sip of her water and hastily stood wanting a moment to cool her mind and also to get away from the source of her discomfort.
"Excuse me. I'm going to the bathroom." She said as monotonously as possible, trying to appear like normal, though as she passed that blur of blue she felt her steps quicken. Once she arrived at the bathroom she took a moment to eye her reflection, luckily in her expression betrayed her thoughts and feelings. She steadied her breath and made a move to wash her hands as she heard the familiar creak of the bathroom door indicating someone had walked in. When she felt her heartbeat finally relax she walked out of the bathroom to re-join her friends. She suddenly felt the futility of her time in the bathroom as she hesitantly walked back to her table, during her short time in the bathroom she had decided that fate was playing a cruel trick on her, because as she returned she was greeted with her smiling friends as they drank champagne and a third member. Zac, in his unforgettable blue shirt was sitting in between her previously abandoned chair and Penny's place at the table. As she took a seat beside him, she tried to remain impassive and not be affected by how close he was. The scientist inside of her was urging her to observe him more closely than she had before, this time she decided to ignore it as she looked to both Penny and Bernadette for an explanation.
"Zac said his shift just finished and he wanted to stay for a few drinks!" Penny exclaimed, Amy didn't miss the mischievous glint in her eye that betrayed her intentions.
"I hope that's okay with you." The voice to her left said, her heartbeat instantly fluttered as she turned to face him, giving the male a nod as she tried to find words.
"That's fine." Another complete lie, it wasn't fine. She was beyond distressed. "I'm always willing to talk to a friend of Penny's." This wasn't a lie, but Amy could feel herself eating the words as he gave her a polite smile.
"So… We were just telling Zac about what you and Bernadette do for a living."
"Yeah, pretty much. I think Penny said something about you being a new ro…." He trailed off and had a quizzical expression on his face, for the first time that evening Amy managed a faint smile. The way that he tried to say the word reminded her of Penny when she was often confused with scientific terms, it was something she found oddly endearing.
"Neurobiologist." She said briefly and by now she had expected him to turn his attention back to Penny, so she was about to busy herself with observing her surroundings and trying to appear as she usually did. Trying to ignore the rapid heartbeat in her chest. To her surprise Zac was still facing her, a look of interest in his eyes as the word rolled off her tongue so naturally.
"That sounds really awesome! Penny and Bernadette said it had to do with the brain?" She raised an eyebrow at his behaviour and her breath hitched as she saw his expression light up, she nodded.
He began to ask her more questions of what she did and she answered them honestly. From her observation she noted that he wasn't exactly the sharpest pencil in the box, as he failed to grasp some of the concepts that she spoke of. This would normally have put her off if it wasn't for the sheer interest he expressed with her words, it wasn't like all the times that Penny and Bernadette would raise a quizzical eyebrow at her quirky phrases. Zac was thoroughly absorbed and the feeling was almost euphoric to Amy. The two had become engrossed in conversation that she had almost missed the way that Penny and Bernadette nudged each other with a smile and she was brought back to crippling reality. This was an anomaly. It shouldn't be happening. Amy, as a scientist should treat it as an anomaly and only that. She tried to look for an escape, what was happening now was wonderful and bizarre but she knew it wouldn't last. Zac noticed the sudden change in her behaviour.
"What's wrong?" She continued to peer into the distance and finally she found her excuse, on the wall the large clock told her that it was eleven. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's getting really late…" The words were mainly directed at Zac, but she turned to the other two. "I have to wake up early tomorrow… I have some observations to do in the morning." She stood up and took her bag, not really taking into account Penny and Bernadette's gentle pleas for her to stay longer.
"Well, it was really cool meeting you." His deep voice stopped her from leaving abruptly and she took a moment to engage in more pleasantries before she left.
"Likewise Zac." She wanted to keep this exchange brief to stop her from wanting to stay.
"See you again, maybe?" He tilted his head slightly and Amy had to stop herself from nodding, giving in and continue to seat herself at the table. She slung her bag around her shoulder, uttering what she hoped were her final words for the evening. Her final words to this attractive Superman.
"Perhaps, should we meet in the future by chance." She turned to her friends. "Goodbye Penny. Bernadette. Thank you for inviting me out today" Before they could reply Amy was already walking to the exit and towards her car. As she reached her home she lay heavily on her couch and berated herself for her earlier actions.
There was no way that she would allow herself to give in to the impossible.