"Sheldon, Tommy Bradshaw is here and wants know if you want to come outside and play."
Sheldon looks up from his computer screen and eyes his twin warily. They both know that Thomas isn't a friend of Sheldon's. After that incident with Ms. Clarke's chicken, Sheldon would have to be incredibly stupid to assume friendship with Thomas.
"What do you want Missy?"
Before Missy can reply, their mother appears behind Missy with an expectant look. Missy rolls her eyes, conveying in that special way that twins can why exactly she asked.
Oh.
Once again, his mother futilely attempts at urging Sheldon to bond with the neighborhood kids. Never mind that the thought of being around Tommy and the kids like him makes Sheldon feel less than enthusiastic.
"Shelly?" his mom prompts.
He shakes his head with finality. Mary sighs but says nothing more. With a resigned nod to Missy, she watches her daughter leave before fixing her gaze on her youngest son. It worries her that he constantly holes himself up in his room with his comic books and science experiments.
She notices his shoulder's tense up. "Mother," he begins irritably.
"Dinner will be ready soon," she says before leaving.
Sheldon nods and continues his work.
Sheldon works uninterrupted for a good hour and half before his neck begins to hurt. He clicks the save button at least twice (last time Missy had been in a vindictive mode and he had lost several hours worth of notes. Maybe using her Easy Bake Oven hadn't been such a good idea).
Looking up from the screen, he gazes out the window, startled to discover he's being stared at. She does not appear to be guilty at being caught. He looks at her in annoyance. She gives him a smile and has the nerve to wave at him.
He doesn't wave back but stares her down.
When he starts to realize that staring her down isn't having any effect on her, she moves away from his line of sight. Huh? Maybe it did work.
He's shutting off his computer when the door bell rings.
He heads down the stairs, pausing when he hears his name.
"Sheldon?"
"Oh, is that his name? I was wondering if maybe he'd like to play? We just moved here and it's kinda boring at home."
He slowly makes his way downstairs, still trying to process the thought that someone actually wants to play with him. Granted, she's new to the neighborhood but that detail doesn't really concern him. Someone specifically asked about Sheldon.
"Mom?"
Mary whirls around and makes what would appear to be an attempt at getting her son to agree to play with this new girl.
"Okay." He says before walking past his mother.
He doesn't notice the smile on his mother's face as she closes the door.
They're standing right in the middle of the imaginary line that separates his front yard from hers.
"I'm Penny."
"I'm Sheldon."
He awkwardly looks at his feet. He's not sure of what he should say now.
"Why me?" he blurts out.
Her nose scrunches up. "What?"
He swallows before answering. "Why did you ask to play with me?"
She shrugs. "You seemed lonely."
He opens his mouth to tell her that he was not lonely before reconsidering that answer. Hmm. Maybe he was lonely after all.
She shows him her tree house in the back yard.
He eyes it critically.
Those branches did not look like they would support the weight of that tree house and their combined weights.
"You wanna go up?"
"No."
She looks confused. She thought that all boys loved tree houses.
"Why not?"
He crosses his arms. "Well, for one thing it doesn't look sturdy at all."
"Sure it is."
He shakes his head.
"Please?"
Her face is all scrunched up and he doesn't like the sound of that 'please'."
He sighs. "Very well."
She grins and reaches for his hand. He flinches and she drops it.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't like people touching me." He waits for the mean laugh and the words 'you're a freak' to happen but surprisingly, they don't. She's just standing there, regarding him in a curious way.
"Oh, well that's fine. Come on!"
And she races towards the ladder.
"Come on Sheldon!" she yells with a smile.
He races towards her with a small smile of her own.
AN: So, I am in love with the idea of an AU Sheldon/Penny fic. So, that's what inspired me to write this. I don't know how many chapters it'll be.
This wasn't beta'd either so all those unnecessary or needed comma's are my mistakes.
Let me know your thoughts.
FYI, Sheldon is ten and Penny is eight.
