Howard Wolowitz, aged only nine-years-old, was currently allowed out at the woods by his grandmothers house. It was only a matter of time though until his own mother didn't allow him out anymore.
He had always been interested in space and astronomy, but he did find something intriguing about the diameter of the sticks that you could find incredibly easy in this wooded area, and how they altered between one to another.
Being outside also escaped him from the real world, where he would come home to find his parents fighting over little things.
Howard quickly lifted his head from the giant pile of sticks he was carrying in his tiny arms, which were always called 'weak' from the bullies at school. He tried to ignore the noise, as he thought it was older kids messing around behind the trees. Until he heard it again.
He cautiously walked around from the back of one of the trees, trying not to be seen. He noticed these four incredibly tall boys, that could of been anywhere from the sixth to the ninth grade, holding up a pink backpack, above of a much smaller girl.
"Give it back!" The little girl screamed, with a very high-pitched voice, whilst jumping as high as her little legs would allow her to.
The four mischievous boys continued to laugh, whilst passing the bag to each other.
Howard had experienced this before at school but had to deal with it alone. And he wasn't one just to walk away. On the other hand, he usually had his mother with him.
He took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the boys, and the 'damsel in distress'. His father had used that expression before to describe when he met his mother. He always said, "She was a damsel in distress as someone had stolen her sandwich. I was there to help."
"Give it back to her." Howard shouted at the top of his voice, but because he was scared, it all came out mumbled.
"What was that?" The oldest asked, before being handed the bag.
"You heard me, give it back to her." He spoke up, clenching his fists to stop them from shaking.
"It looks like the little breadhead wants us to give back the bag to the little leprechaun." Another said, obviously making fun of the girl's height and his haircut.
Howard continued to yell at the boys, as his confidence built up. Suddenly, the one holding the bag, crouched down and let go. The young girl quickly snatched it back and began running. Howard stood there awkwardly, looking at the boys, and then down the way the mysterious girl ran.
"Now there's no one to stop us from kicking your ass." The oldest threatened, still on the floor.
Howard then was faced with a fight-or-flight situation. He chose his preferred favorite, flight.
He quickly ran past all the trees, using the same path that the girl had used. He kept going as fast as he could, in case the large boys chose to follow him. He peered his head around and stopped running, but continued at a jogging pace.
"Hey, over here." A high-pitched voice came from behind the trees which made him stop in his tracks.
Howard slowly joined the tiny girl behind one of the trees. She told him to keep low for a moment. He did what he was told and knelt down next to her.
A few moments later, the large steps of the four boys quickly came closer and closer. The girl put her finger up against his lips to stop him from screaming out. They both remained silent as the sound of the boys running faded away.
The young girl quietly got Howard to his feet and slowly lead him away from the path.
"Thank you." She smiled, as Howard was catching his breath, as that was the furthest he had ever ran in his life.
"You're welcome." He answered back, with a giant grin on his face. "I'm Howard, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Howard. I'm Bernadette." She introduced.
Howard smiled over at her. Bernadette wrapped her fingers around his arm and gently pulled him to the side, making sure no one could see them, especially those boys.
"I don't think those boys knew what they were talking about when they called you a leprechaun." Howard grinned, trying to make her feel better.
"Thanks, but you don't need to disagree with them. I've been called that since my first day of kindergarten. It isn't a big deal anymore." She lied, knowing deep down that it did bother her.
"Oh." Howard sighed, "That was my first time being called 'breadhead', but it wasn't my first time being chased." He added, using his hands as air quotes.
Bernadette laughed silently before shaking her head, "Me neither."
Howard took Bernadette's hand and slowly walked through the woods, avoiding the boys in the best way they could. He kept leading her until they got to the opening. Bernadette looked around and asked what he was doing.
"We couldn't stay in there forever." Howard replied, looking around for any adults. "How did you get here?" He asked.
"I snuck out. I live just down the road. What about you?"
"Oh, my grandmother's sick, so my parents and I are visiting her."
"I only leave because I can't stand being around my siblings. It's a way to get as far away to the chaos as possible." She sighed, looking around.
"You're lucky, having brothers and sisters. I don't have any."
"If anyone's lucky, it's you. I hate my siblings, they're so annoying."
Howard laughed at Bernadette's exasperated sigh.
"HOWARD!" A large, deep voice came from down by the houses.
Howard looked down at his feet as Bernadette looked over in confusion.
"Is that your dad calling you?" Bernadette wondered as Howard continued to stare at the concrete ground.
"No, it's my mom." He sighed.
Bernadette snorted quietly and tried her hardest not to laugh. "I'm sorry, your mom?"
Howard didn't answer. He just nodded. Bernadette apologized again, feeling bad that she had made fun of his mother's voice.
"If you're leaving, I might have to as well." She sighed, before looking up at the road up a small hill.
Howard remained quiet. He looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back before she ran ahead. Howard looked down again, waiting for his parents to catch up with him.
He heard footsteps again, before he looked up. He only just saw Bernadette's sweet smile as the sun behind her was shining brighter that it had ever done before.
"Thank you for distracting them." Bernadette whispered, before giving him a small peck on his cheek. "You're a real hero."
Howard watched Bernadette run up the small hill, as he still felt her soft lips against his blushing cheeks. He had never felt this way towards anyone before.