A/N: So this is my first TBBT fic, so go easy. If you wish to make commentary, don't be mean please. This is just fiction after all. I will try and be as accurate as I can when pertaining to characters from the show. Remember to review, review, review!! I can't do much with direction of the story if I don't know how it's being perceived. Now for the disclaimer: I own nothing of TBBT or anything related to the show (characters, storyline,etc.) but I do own Lilly Benson and any characters I create for the story.
Now that I'm done ranting, please enjoy the story and remember to review at the end of the chapters.
-Laurel Rhyse
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The Weaver Effect
Lilly huffed as she pulled at the cardboard box lodged in her car, but much to her agitation, it remained stuck between the frames of the car. How in the hell did I get it in, but now I can't get it out?
Releasing the flimsy folds of the box, Lilly breathed heavily against the open door. Her sweaty face rested against the crook of her elbow as she wiped her forehead on her elbow-length sleeve. She had been on the road for nearly two days to get to her new apartment, which she couldn't find for hours, and now she couldn't even get a stupid box out of her car.
Raising her head, Lilly sighed and noticed the sun was beginning to set, the sky turning a pinkish gold hue. Looking down at her watch, she groaned as she saw it was already seven-fifteen. Stepping back from the car, Lilly stared at the protruding nuisance with annoyance before she began kicking it harshly.
"Damn…stupid …box!"
As she cursed between kicks, she didn't notice a pretty blond walk up behind her towards the front door of the apartment building. The woman wore a white and yellow blouse and a blue skirt, which together resembled a uniform. The woman looked amused as Lilly took her frustration out on the box holding her pots and pans.
"Having trouble?"
"Gah!" Lilly screamed as she turned around on her heels to see the blond for the first time. Holding a hand to her chest, Lilly's heart raced out of surprise.
The woman held out her hands to show she meant no harm and stepped forward, "Haha, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Did you need some help with, um?"
Lilly turned to the deformed box in her car, blushing as she closed the car door and locked the doors with the remote on her keychain, a loud beep emitting from the vehicle. Turning back to the blond, Lilly saw her with an amused look on her face.
"I'll get it later…"
"So, you're new to the building?"
Lilly nodded and offered her hand, "Yeah, I'm Lilly, Lilly Weaver"
The blond shook Lilly's hand and said, "I'm Penny. Welcome to the building, I guess."
"Thanks, um, so about the elevator…"
Penny shook her head quickly, "Yeah, I wouldn't use it if I were you."
***
Some time later, Lilly was able to unload her car with Penny's help. She was surprised that the pretty blond was so nice. Normally girls with her looks were little Ms. Prisses with the same name of Bitch.
But Penny was sweet, if not a bit ditzy, but sweet none the less. She had helped her for the last hour, hauling things out of Lilly's car and was currently unpacking and decorating her bathroom.
She was an aspiring actress who worked at the Cheesecake Factory until she made it big. She had lived in the building for about two years and claimed she was writing a screenplay about a girl quite similar to herself.
"Lilly, you don't have a shower curtain!"
Standing on her tip-toes to shove her pots and pans into the cupboard above the stove, Lilly looked over her shoulder towards Penny's voice. "What?"
Penny appeared around the corner of the hallway and leaned against the refrigerator, "You don't a shower curtain."
Lilly's brain clicked and she groaned, she had left her shower curtain behind, along with a number of needed bathroom products.
"Damn, I le-"
Bang!
Lilly covered her head and ducked for cover as a number of pots crashed to the ground around her. The loud crash caused Penny jump and cover her mouth in shock as she witnessed the petite woman dodge falling kitchenware.
Lilly's face was beat red as she turned to Penny and pinched her fingers together, "oops."
Penny stepped over a large pot and rested her hand on Lilly's arm, "Are you okay, sweetie?"
Laughing, Lilly waved her hand in dismissal, "Oh, I'm fine. Stuff like that happens all the time; I'm just very clumsy… and an accident magnet."
After helping pick up the pots and insisting that she store the pots, Penny offered to show Lilly where she could get some nice bathroom decorum. Lilly, wanting to get out of her new, but rundown apartment, happily agreed, and grabbed her hobo bag.
As they walked down the stairwells, Lilly thought about how she had been fooled into believing the apartment building was in good condition. Stupid of me to belief a picture, should have known such cheap rent had a catch.
Living on the fifth floor was going to get old real quick for her.
They took Penny's car, much to Lilly's dismay as the car was rather small; Lilly did not like small, confined spaces.
Sitting rigidly in the passenger seat, Lilly tried to maintain her cool and focused on something else, like the bright engine light. "Hey Penny…you know your engine light is on, right?"
Penny rolled her eyes, as if she heard that question way too many times before. "Yeah, that's always been on."
Clutching the door, Lilly cleared her throat, "Really? You should get that checked out."
The blond gave Lilly a look that said to shut up or get out; Lilly opted for the first and made a zipping motion over her lips. "Shutting up."
****
"So, what brings you to Pasadena?"
Penny walked beside Lilly as she glided the buggy along slowly, looking at the aisle signs overhead.
Turning to Penny, Lilly shrugged, "Just felt like a change from tiny Cameron, Texas. Plus, my brother lives out here; he's a chef."
Turning down the aisle with bathroom accessories, the two women began searching for things for Lilly's unfinished bathroom.
"So, what are you looking for exactly? What colors?" asked Penny as she picked up a red soap dish.
Lilly looked at the shower curtains hanging before her and said, "I think something bright would do nicely. Maybe yellow?"
"Oh, that would cute. Oh here,"
Penny bent down and pulled a bright yellow towel from the bottom shelf. Lilly nodded and ran her fingers over it, "It's soft too. This is perfect."
Tossing a couple of towels of the same color into the basket, Lilly chose a green shower curtain to offset the yellow Penny picked out.
The girls talked as they ventured around the store, both surprised that they were getting along so well after only knowing one another for a short period of time.
"A chemist huh?"
Lilly gave Penny a look of disbelief as she laid a couple of candles in the buggy, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
Penny crossed her arms and said, "Well, he's sorta a chemist."
Lilly faced her and gave her a pointed look before shaking her head and pushed the buggy further down the aisle. Penny ran after her, "What?"
Lilly only laughed and turned down the next aisle.
While looking at curtains for the living room, Penny ventured off to search for the restroom. It wouldn't have been a big deal if Penny had not been gone for so long. Concerned, Lilly began searching for the restroom to check on the pretty blond.
The restroom was easy to find, but Penny wasn't. She wasn't in the restroom when Lilly walked in and called out to her. Instead, as Lilly walked out of the lavatory, she saw Penny standing next to the buggy.
"Hey, where'd you go?"
Penny held out a large plastic bag and said, "I found this when I walked out of the bathroom. Consider it a welcome gift."
Lilly took the bag and looked inside. Snapping her head up, a smile was formed on her lips, "This is wonderful Penny, thank you."
Lilly pulled out a large, multi-picture frame that was made of wood and had golden trim around the frame edges. "This is sweet of you Penny."
Penny shrugged, "No big deal, just wanted to officially welcome you to the building, it's nice to have a girl around. I'm surrounded by boys most of the time."
The girls made their way to checkout so that they could get back to the building; apparently Penny had a date with her boyfriend, Leonard, and didn't want to be late. Lilly apologized profusely, but Penny stopped her, "Stop it, its fine really. There's plenty of time to get back to your apartment. Leonard said dinner isn't until nine, so it's good."
Lilly looked down at her watch and chuckled nervously, "Uh, Penny, it's five past nine right now."
Penny looked at Lilly for a full minute before cursing, "Crap on a cracker!"
***
Once they arrived back at the apartment, Penny apologized and ran into the building to talk to her boyfriend, who apparently lived across the hall from her. As Lilly closed the trunk after removing her new things, she noticed a pair of keys lying on the ground.
Penny dropped her keys
Awkwardly, Lilly managed to pick up the keys without dropping her stuff and made her way into the building and up the stairs, nearly tripping as she stumbled over the top of the second flight of steps.
She quickly laid her things down before returning downstairs to give Penny her keys. Once on the fourth floor, Lilly stopped. She didn't know which apartment Penny lived in.
Crap.
Standing there for a moment, Lilly decided it didn't matter which door she knocked on as Penny's boyfriend was also her neighbor. Knocking on 4A, Lilly waited for the door to open.
After a moment the door opened to reveal a brown-skinned man who was Indian, and who seemed to have become frozen when he saw her. She smiled awkwardly, feeling slightly uncomfortable as he stared at her with his mouth hanging open slightly.
"Hi, is Penny here?"
The man said nothing and slowly turned around and left her standing there with the door open. He seemed to be too frightened to say anything, which made her feel even more awkward standing in the doorway.
"Hey,"
The silent man sat down on the brown leather couch while another, rather…brightly dressed man, seemed to move at light speed to get to the door. Leaning against it, he gave her what she thought he thought was a charming smile.
"Well, hello there…"
Lilly raised her hand and gave a little wave, unsure if she liked this guy so close in her bubble. Clearing her throat, she asked him if Penny was there.
"Penny? Oh,"
The man's face dropped and turned around to sit beside the silent Indian watching what appeared to be Star Trek.
Her face lit up and she barged into the apartment, shutting the door behind her, "Is that episode one of season two, Amok Time; where Spock is overcome with pon farr, the mating urge of Vulcans, and must venture home in order to prevent his death by mating with T'Pring, but is refused by her because she has the hots for another Vulcan, so Spock has to fight for her, and T'Pring chooses Kirk, who Spock thinks he kills and is literally shocked out of pon farr, but really doesn't and then returns to the Enterprise and resumes their galactic adventures?"
Both men slowly turned their heads to look at her in shock, two sets of mouths open as they looked at her with disbelieve. The Indian turned to his friend and whispered in his ear, resulting in the vibrantly dressed, brown-haired man to verbalize, "Yes, a hot chick just talked about Star Trek, I am sitting here, you know."
Lilly blushed as she didn't consider herself "hot" in the least. She had bright orange-red hair that had a life of its' own half the time, somewhat pale, almost milky skin, and a tiny bit of tummy pudge that she never was able to get rid of. She was remarkably short, only coming up to 5'1 feet, and had a knack of being uncoordinated.
In a split second, she found her hands being held in the short man's hands as he arched an eyebrow, as if trying to look suave…but sucked at it.
"Heureux de vous rencontrer, I'm Howard Wolowitz."
He gave a smile and brought her right hand to his lips, only to have Lilly pull her hand away and pat his shoulder, "Nice to meet you, Howard."
She turned to his silent friend and stuck out her hand as she walked around a pouting Howard, "Hi, I'm Lilly."
He simply stared at her outstretched hand before standing and moving away rigidly towards the kitchen area where he opened the freezer and hid behind the door. Lilly cocked her head and turned to Howard, who shook his head and said, "That's Raj, he can't talk to pretty girls."
Lilly blushed again and laughed nervously, "Um, okay…."
Looking down at her converse covered feet, Lilly noticed a video game case resting on the table. She picked it up and squealed, "Oh frak! It's the new Final Fantasy! I've been waiting to play this!"
From behind the freezer, Raj poked his head out and stared at her in shock, as Howard took the case from Lilly's hand and asked, "You play video games too?"
Lilly nodded excitedly and said, "Yeah. Hey can I play it till Penny gets back from her date with Leonard?"
Howard laughed in disbelief, "Sure, but I get next game when you die."
Lilly took the controller and sat down in the middle of the leather couch and slid to the far left, facing the television, "Just put the game in and prepare to watch me rock this, Howie"
Howard looked up from where he knelled on the ground with an uncomfortable look on his face as she slid across the coach, but said nothing before turning to the TV and did as she said.
He kept looking at where she sat, but she just ignored him as her attention focused completely on the game.
***
"No! Damn you, damn you!"
Howard and Raj sat on the floor as Lily stood in a combat position as she pressed the buttons of the controller rapidly. They sat on either side of her, Howard verbally cheering her on while Raj gave her a thumbs up.
When "Game Over" popped on the screen, Lilly flopped back on the coach and curled up her legs under her, crossed her arms, and pouted as Howard took the controller in triumph and began where she left off before her demise.
After a few minutes, Lilly stood and asked if she could use the bathroom. Focused on the game, Howard mumbled, "Yeah, yeah just down the hall…"
She danced down the hall, leaving the two men without a word.
Raj's face suddenly broke into a smile, "She's totally hot, dude."
The sound of a ringtone that resembled the X-men theme song echoed from Howard's pocket. Raj stole the controller as Howard pulled his cell phone out, "Hello?"
His face fell and an annoyed look came over it as he looked down at the ground, "Yes Ma…I'm at Leonard's….but Ma…Ma..Can't you do that yourself?...Ma! No, I will not wax…"
He turned sharply behind him to look at Raj, who was staring at him curiously before turning around again and mumbling into the phone, "I'm not waxing your…I do to have a life…yes I am with Raj…for the last time Ma, WE ARE JUST FRIENDS, GET OFF MY BACK! YEAH, YEAH I'M COMING HOME!"
He shut his phone with a snap and calmly looked down at Raj, "Come on Raj, Ma's making brisket."
Raj stood and left the controller on the coffee table and followed the angry Howard out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
The apartment was silent, minus the music coming from the TV screen and the flush of a toilet. Lilly walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, only to stop and look around the apartment for Howard and Raj. "Howard? Raj? Hello?"
Peering into the kitchen, she saw no one. She walked back to the coach and looked down at the controller and then the TV screen. A wicked smirk formed on her lips and she sat back down on the left of the coach and took the controller in her hands, "Might as well enjoy it, my cable won't be hooked up till tomorrow anyway."
***
It had been two hours and still, Penny had not shown up. It was now eleven and she didn't want to seem, well, weird by sitting in someone else's apartment. Standing, she shut the TV off and pulled her hobo bag on her lap and dig for her notepad-sized sticky notes. Once finding it in her bottomless pit of a bag, she wrote that she had found Penny's key and walked over to the front door and placed Penny's key on the table by the door. She stuck the note on the door, but it was being difficult.
She leaned closer and rubbed her finger along the paper, forcing it against the door. That was when the door opened and banged against her face. "Oof!"
Falling to the ground, Lilly hit the back of her head on the wooden floor of the apartment, passing out as she made contact with the floorboards.
Standing above her stood a tall, lanky, dark-haired man wearing a corduroy jacket and Thai takeout in his hands. Looking down at the strange, unconscious woman on his living room floor, Sheldon Cooper looked around awkwardly before back at the woman.
"Oh dear…"
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I would like everyone to tell me what they think about my story so far, so hit the REVIEW BUTTOM BELOW!!! I will write a few more chapters and then make the decision of continuing or not, so please REVIEW.