Sheldon looked at his reflection on his mirror in his bedroom's closet. He glanced at his whole figure, studying every single detail of the suit he was wearing.
The black shiny tie perfectly matched with his white shirt he meticulously buttoned up to his throat, the black satin jacket and the pants of the same colour took shape of his thin body.
After mirroring for the last time, he got out from the room and headed to the living room of his apartment.
That was a special day, and for he hated special days, this time he was forced to join it.
Leonard ran to the livingroom, holding with both his hands an untied bowtie and a tie and placed himself in front of his friend, showing them to him.
"Which one's better? Tie or bowtie?" He asked.
"I don't know... your choice. It's not my fault if you're still uncertain about what wearing on your wedding day."
"God Sheldon, not now. It's not time for sarcasm. Help me, damn it!"
The theoretical physicist rolled his eyes and looked at the two accessories he was holding, pointing at the bowtie.
"Put that on, I'm already wearing the tie. You don't want other people to pay less attention to me in your wedding day!"
Leonard sighed and nodded, thanking his friend.
"Rather, tell me why you have to act indifferent even on the most important day of my life."
Leonard ran to his room to settle his bowtie and rose his voice so Sheldon could hear him.
"I thought the most important day of your life was when you met me... but it's okay. " Sheldon and his ego left the apartment right in the moment when Leonard walked back in to reply to what he said. He quit the room slamming the door, without any apparent reason.
Sheldon sat down on the fourth floor stairs with his head into his hands and a vacuous, absent minded glance. He didn't even know why he was there all alone, without inform Leonard about where he was going.
However Leonard wouldn't have gone after him, knowing he couldn't have been that far: he couldn't drive, he was well dressed and he wouldn't have let his special occasion shoes get dirty, even more so in that moment when the rain was pouring down since the night before.
In the meanwhile, Sheldon's mind travelled at the speed of light, thinking about all the most important moments he had lived is his perfect scheduled life, without any exception.
This wedding would surely have messed things up: he wasn't ready and he probably wouldn't have ever been.
When he knew about Leonard and Penny's wedding he ran away from home. He travelled all around the States by train, without having a proper destination. He only needed to take his own way and think through.
Though this time was different. He promised Leonard he was going to take part to his wedding and not to disappear, like he did the year before.
The physicist got up and decided to go to Penny's apartment.
He could've been sincere with her - or he could've just tried.
He always struggled with his emotions and hated talking about those with other people, though this seemed the only thing to do.
Knock, knock, knock "Penny"
Knock, knock, knock "Penny"
Knock, knock, knock "Penny"
Penny was getting mad over her bridal dress so, exhausted, she opened the door and greeted Sheldon with the most annoyed voice.
"Hi. What's up?"
Sheldon, on the other side of the door, glanced at the girl and studied her in her bridal white dress. "Oh hello! First of all, social conventions dictate that I have to congratulate for your dress' choice, so: you're really nice! Second, can I come in? I need to talk to you."
Hearing Sheldon's worried voice tone she foresaw someting bad, so she completely opened the door letting him in.
"Is everything alright?" She closed the door and she saw Sheldon entering her apartment.
Before restarting to speak, she rapidely shook her head, leading her hand on the forehead.
"God, I almost forgot! Girls this is Sheldon. Sheldon these are Amy and Bernadette."
Penny's friends stood frozen behind the kitchen island, staring at the whole scene. Sheldon rose his head and focused on the two girls.
The first one, a blondie, wearing rectangular red glasses and a short fuchsia dress, smiled at Sheldon and greeted him with a feeble voice.
The second one strangely left Sheldon speechless: an averagely tall woman, with straight dark brown hair leaning down her shoulders, rectangular glasses and a long bordeaux dress which made her green eyes look brighter.
The woman gazed back and smirked at him, greeting as Bernadette did.
Sheldon didn't say anything for a while, under Penny's dazed glance who now stood up in front of the door pleasingly watching the scene.
As she soon noticed Sheldon's interest towards the two girls, she was tempted to leave the room, so she could've been able to give them some privacy.
After a long awkward silence, the physicist went on talking "Doctor Sheldon Cooper, theoretical physicist at Caltech, specialized in the string theory field." The guy approached the kitched island as he waited for them both to meet him and reached his hand out to shake the brunette's one, completely ignoring the other one who coldly glanced at him.
"Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler, neurobiologist." She said, as professionally as he did.
She shook his and as she came across his gaze, trying to conceal the smirk she forced when she saw him enter the room.
The blondie, thinking it was her turn to talk, opened her mouth to introduce herself "Bernadette Rostenkowski-"
"Pleasure." He coldly answered, without even look at her.
He didn't actually know what was happening, he only figured out all his worries were gone and now he was all alone, facing a new big problem: why was he behaving in such an unusual way? He suddenly felt a strange connection with that woman, since the first moment he walked in. Though he was really scared of admitting it, the woman aroused in him a certain interest. Maybe that was because of her firm way of behaving, or because of her incisive glance...or just because she seemed interested too.
Or maybe she was just pretending. That had to be how it worked for women: they acted like they cared about you, but suddenly waited for you to show up all of your weaknesses to attack you. His mother was right - love affairs were a big deal.
But he was sure, on the bottom of his hidden heart, that he wanted to know better the woman opposite him. That was maybe because she was a scientist like him - that had to be a sign for him to make the first move.
But no, Sheldon wasn't like that. Maybe all he had to do is getting to know her as a friend and share with her all his acknowledge in physics field.
Penny was the one who broke the awkward silence in the room, clearing her throat and approaching them all. "So Sheldon...what did you want to tell me?"
"Why haven't you ever told me about Doctor Fowler?" he said, turning around and ignoring her question.
"Well, 'cause, as a matter of fact, I am not supposed to introduce all of my friends. Anyway...what do you want?" she insisted once again.
Sheldon finally looked at Penny, as if he had just awaken from his trance. What was happening? Why were everybody looking at him in that way? Was he oddly behaving? Too many questions, so few answers.
"Oh...right. I wanted to talk privately but, as I can see, you're not alone. So, let's postpone our talk to when you're already married and it will be too late." He went on, heading to the door to open it.
Penny arched her eyebrows and stopped him, grabbing his arm so he was forced to face her.
"W-wait! Where are you going? We could always go in my bedroom and talk, sweetie." she tried to find a solution but he seemed so determined in quitting the apartment.
"Don't worry." after saying this, he opened the door and left the house.
10.30 a.m. Two hour left to the ceremony and Penny was ready, sitting on her couch and staring at the white wall opposite her.
Sheldon was gone without saying anything, and she couldn't feel more upset. The wedding, Sheldon's strange behavior, Sheldon who seemed interested in social meetings...of all the weird things that could ever happen in her life, she was quite sure this one was the oddest.
Why are you worried? Come on, this has to be one of the same old Sheldon's excuses to talk about something stupid.
She kept repeating this in her mind, trying to pull bad thoughts away.
Amy and Bernadette reached her on the couch, sitting next to her, careful not to crease her bulky bridal dress.
"Hey, are you okay?" the brunette asked and, worried, she put her hand behind her back.
"Don't say you've changed your mind..." Bernadette added.
Penny smiled, shaking her head. "No girls, I promise. I still want to marry Leonard. I'm just so nervous. Some time ago I was the glee jovial Penny who chased after cute guys, and now I'm here stuck in my living room wearing a wedding dress. Guess I've found the cute one to chase after for the rest of my life. That's strange." she laughed, watching her friends.
"Strange, yes, but in a positive way. You are beautiful. Leonard really cares about you. It's normal to be nervous so don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine."
"Bernadette's right, and anyway we'll be there for you - as we're your bridesmaids." Amy squeaked, pointing at her tiara she gently put on her hair.
Penny rolled over to look at her and sighed. "Oh...you put it! Great..." Penny tried several times to take that tiara away from her, but she was so obstinate in keeping it.
"See, this is the first time someone chooses me to be her bridesmaid, so I can wear everything I want to." she replied, rising from the couch and holding with both her hands the tiara she was so proud of.
"And Penny...but...what about Sheldon?" she bit her lip as she reached the fridge to take a bottle of water.
"Oh well...Sheldon." she rolled her eyes, forcing a fake smile and nodding to her friend.
"Yes, Sheldon." Bernadette added, in a bothered way.
"Come on girls...Have you noticed how he shook my hand? And how he introduced himself?" she euphorically went on.
"Uh yeah, how he shook your hand...yeah..." Penny joined Amy in the kitchen, pretending to be interested in that strange conversation.
"I don't like that weirdo. You saw...he knocked three times. Why did he knock three times?" Bernadette said, twisting her lips.
"Oh, that is my last problem. Anyway I'm mad at Penny for not having introduced him to me. I mean, a guy like that has been living opposite you for three years and you didn't tell me anything?"
"Yeah." Penny sarcastically answered, filling a whole glass of wine.
Amy turned around to face her, arching her eyebrows and shaking her head. "I'm sorry but...wine? Now?"
"I'm gonna need it. This is gonna be a long day."
"Can you explain me why the hell you left before? Should I worry?"
Leonard gazed at Sheldon enter their apartment, while he was sitting on the sofa lacing his shoes.
"I needed time for thinking." he firmly answered, aiming to his spot, without adding anything else.
"Did it work?"
"Not at all. Though I knew a woman in Penny's house."
"Oh, so you needed time to think through all alone and you got to Penny's, yeah." This time Sheldon got the sarcasm in Leonard's voice tone, so he tried to avoid any kind of inappropriate comment. "Anyway...Penny said something about one of her friends from Nebraska coming over for the ceremony and moving to Pasadena. Maybe one of her bridesmaids. Well...How did she seem to you?"
"Not that tall, dark straight hair, green eyes...a classical woman, you know." Sheldon raised his eyes to meet Leonard's and nodded, waiting for him to metabolize what he just said.
He didn't exactly know why, but it seemed like he was describing a sort of divinity.
Sheldon Cooper did not think about women that way, but this time it was unacceptable for him to move her to the background and compare her to all the other women.
She was different, and a part of him hoped that Leonard would notice.
But he didn't seem to understand since he got up and sighed, looking at Sheldon with one of his you are the same old weirdo glances.
"Howard and Raj are on their way. We should get there before Penny does." Leonard then said.
"Oh, it won't be a problem. We all know delay isn't a big deal for her."
The physicist smiled at Sheldon's words, starting to go back and forth anxiously across the room, trying to let off some steam.
"Why do you do that?" Sheldon naively asked while observing him.
"Well, I'm nervous. How do you cool down?"
"I'm never tense. I don't care what people think about what I do or how I feel. At the end of the day it's your wedding and unless you do something to mess things up, it will be right."
"Thanks bud." Leonard smiled at Sheldon's attempt to reassure him, so she bent over him to give him a friendly pat on his back.
So it was happening for real. Leonard and Penny were about to get married and Sheldon would've ended up living all alone in the middle of nowhere in Pasadena, or - so much worse - he would've come back to Texas.
Though there was something, something brand new which diverted his attention somewhere else. Something about Amy Farrah Fowler, the girl he met before.
Why her? Sheldon was good at so many things, but he felt like he wasn't able to explain what he experienced a couple of minutes before.
However he was certain he would've gone after this problem, because nothing could confuse his mind; his brain was fully functional and fully able to solve any kind of dilemma.
Well...maybe any kind but that.
