Chapter 2
*4 years earlier*
Penelope Elm's whole body ached as she climbed up the stairs to reach her apartment, she really needed a vacation to get her mind off slimy customers who would slip money into her waitress apron and state there's more where that came from or the ones who complained that she was not smiling, who would be when you're working for 9hrs straight on minimum wage that doesn't nearly cover half the bills.
What can she do, she has blown every audition and the only callbacks are from her dad to come back home and take over the family business, she wants to be somebody, have her name up in lights and be seen for who she truly is not a replacement for her drugged out disappearing brother.
as she makes it up the flight of stairs she reach's in her bag and pulls out her keys to open her front door all what's on her mind is to slip out that grimy cheesecake factory uniform and take along hot bath to wash the pain away, She was so focus on entering her apartment that she didn't hear the door across the hall open her ex-boyfriend / next door neighbor was now behind her calling out her name with Howard and Raj behind him
"Hey penny I see your back from work" he said with a smile, turning around she gave a brief nod and wave to the others before Leonard could finish his sentence
"So it's anything-can-happen-Thursday I was wondering if you wanted to come join us" he said a nervous tone.
penny declined like she always done and made her way into her home locking her door she stripped off her uniform and made her way to the bathroom, clogging the drain with the plug she turned on the hot water adding vanilla and coconut bubble bath her favorite mixture's from the gift baskets Sheldon had given to her for Christmas, slipping in she felt all her problems melt away.
Penny emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later making her way to her dresser she pulled out a grey sweatshirt and matching sweat pants she put them on and walks into her living room the silences in the apartment is unbearable.
She puts on her pink fuzzy slippers and cross the hall to a place where she won't feel so alone.
X
Penny enters with out knocking like she has done for the past two years the door is always open and inviting, her eyes spot DR. Sheldon Lee Cooper sitting at his computer desk typing away on his laptop not looking up he acknowledges her presences with a witty comment about knocking and how its rude to enter ones home without being invited in. Her rebuttal is he never locks the door so he shouldn't complain who comes in and out the twitch in his jaw line indicates that she has won.
He shuts his laptop and makes his way over to the couch where she is seated and sits in his spot next to hers; he stares at her for a moment before speaking
"so what is the reason you are here in my company tonight?" he says giving her a hard look, before she can think of an excuse the words slips out her mouth "I'm alone" she say inaudible but his Vulcan hearing catches it.
instead of carrying on the conversation he switches it "penny as you know we have started a new month which is September I would like for you to make me some hot cocoa apparently you make it better then Leonard"
she smiles and heads to the kitchen where he puts in the iron man DVD a movie he knows she enjoys .
She joins him back on the couch with two mugs of not hot but warm cocoa so he won't burn his tongue she adds an extra ingredient he's going to be pissed in the morning but that's the way things should be as the night progress they drink through the fifth mug the warm cocoa disappears and is replace with vodka he is to drunk to notice, chattering away on his experiments and anything in his view this rambling is better then the silences when the movie is done and she feels a lot more better.
x
The next morning she awakes with a headache on the couch apparently Sheldon creature of habit relocated himself to his room she try's to get up but the pounding in her head makes it a hard task Sheldon walks in the living room in his plaid robe with matching pajama bottom, suffering from a bad case of puffy eyes and disheveled hair he makes his way to her with a cross look protruding from his face all he can manage to say is "strike"
Leonard enters the room looking at both of them "seems like you two had a rough night and I was the one who went out clubbing with the guys" he said adding a chuckle at the end
"Well you deliberately drank down those toxins on your own accord while I was mislead into thinking I was drinking hot cocoa by this reprobate" Sheldon said bitterly.
Penny apologized for what she did and was getting up to leave when Leonard spoke up out of the blue
"Penny would you accompany me to the Caltech science achievement ball not as a date or anything just as friends" he said in a nervous tone he gave a puppy dog pout to seal the deal.