The Blossom Offering
"Hello," Penny greeted him with a shy smile as she took a seat on the bench on the opposite side of the table. "So…Shelly, is it?"
He licked his lips and his eyes darted around the room before landing on his sister and her friends who were all now staring at him with wide mouths.
"Sheldon. Sheldon Cooper. I eat alone," he stated simply, turning back to his macaroni.
"Because you want to?" she asked quietly.
He glanced up and slowly his blue met her green. "Please, just go." He shook his head and dabbed his napkin at the corners of his mouth.
"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "For yesterday. Missy told me about your…germ…thingy."
Sheldon raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Mysophobia," he corrected, "but what would Missy know, her intelligence equals that of inebriated squirrel." He let out a small breathy laugh at his own remark, causing Penny to giggle as well. Sheldon continued to hold a small smile on his face and simply watched as she laughed at the expense of his sister.
"You are an odd duck, Sheldon Cooper," she grinned.
Sheldon folded his hands together and leaned forward slightly. "Are you aware, Penny, that when ducks breed that there is often one hatchling in the nest that is in fact differential in coloring than the rest. Making said duckling unique in its own way. So I suppose thanks are in order." He smiled smugly.
"You're welcome," she drew out, not sure if she had exactly meant her comment as a complement but if that is how he wanted to take it than who was she to judge?
"You really shouldn't sit here," he said in a quiet voice after a small amount of silence.
"And why's that?"
"No one will want to be your friend if you sit with me. You look like the kind of girl who should have lots of friends." There was a slight flush in his cheeks and he idly twisted his hands together under the table.
"Well…what if I want to be your friend?" Penny watched him with a light smile as he shyly blinked up to meet her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but was quick to shut it again. He looked down to his feet and in a voice small as a whisper he spoke,
"I don't have friends."
Penny pulled a small package of cookies out of her lunch bag and pushed them across the table with a smile. Once again his timid blue eyes met hers.
"Now you do. And look, not even opened."
"Thank you, Penny." His smile was soft and sincere and he tentatively took the package of cookies and placed them carefully in his lunch box.
Across the lunch room Missy watched with smiling eyes as her quirky brother finally made some progress at making a friend instead of having another kid dump their milk over his head. She honestly whished it wasn't so hard for him, but he was just so danged…weird.
"Alert the press, Smelly Shelly's not alone anymore," her friend Jessica remarked.
"Be nice, Jess, he's still my brother."
"And an odd ball," the girl replied dryly.
"Yep, but he's my odd ball," Missy grinned.
It turned out that Penny didn't mind going to school so much after that first day. Yeah, it still pretty much sucked, but she got to eat lunch with Sheldon and that was always interesting. She quickly learned that he was smart. Like super smart, too smart for his own good kind of smart. Kids didn't like it when other kids told them they were wrong all the time. They also didn't like being called stupid. Of course he didn't say this outright, but they knew when they were being belittled by the great mind of Sheldon Lee Cooper. So they did what they knew how to do best and tracked him down after school and dealt with him in the usual manner most bullies do. A push here, a shove there, swirlies in the boy's room; and all she could do was sit there and listen to the stories of pain he had to share. Because it wasn't as if she was ever around to do anything.
Now Mrs. Cooper drove her children home after school, this was common knowledge as Penny knew how Sheldon would never dare to sit on one of those germ infested bus seats. Not without an extra pair of pants anyway. Bus pants, she laughed at the thought. So Penny was quite surprised when she found a flustered Sheldon pacing nervously in front of her school bus when school let out.
"Sheldon? You okay?"
He shook his head and continued on, mumbling all the while. "Maybe I could walk. It's approximately eight point two miles to my house from here; I could make it home before dark. Assuming I don't get mugged first."
"Sheldon-" Penny carefully placed a hand on his shoulder and he stopped rigid in his tracks, locking wide eyes with her.
"Penny, I cannot ride the bus," he whispered with a shake of the head.
"Well…I'll walk with you if you'd like-"
"We'll be robbed!" he shrieked.
"By who, the milkman?" she smirked with an eye roll. "Or you could just get on. I have a sweatshirt in my bag you could sit on," she offered with a small shrug.
Sheldon licked his lips, taking turns looking between Penny, the bus, and the long road home. He bounced on his heels in place and was wringing his hands together over and over again, his breathing becoming heavy. One of the bus windows flew open and Missy's head appeared.
"Sheldon Lee Cooper, get your behind on this bus right now or you'll have to be the one explainin' to momma why her toaster oven don't work anymore!"
Sheldon scowled at his sister and glanced back at Penny.
"Can I share a seat with you?" he asked timidly.
"Of course!" she beamed.
"Then I will take you up on your sweatshirt offer."
Sheldon didn't want to sit next to the window, dare he come into contact with the countless amount of bacteria that lie within the walls of the bus its self, but the aisle seat provided little alternative. For then he would be forced to come into contact with every person that would enter and then exit the bus until it was their time to get off. They came to an odd sort of compromise with Penny sitting as close to the edge of the aisle as she could so Sheldon could sit somewhat in the middle of the seat without touching the side of the bus. She even went as far as to grab the crook of his elbow when rounding corners to prevent him from teetering over. He would go stiff each time her hand came into contact with him but considering his options he would much rather have Penny touching him than the disgusting disease ridden interior of the bus.
"So why did you have to ride the bus anyway, where's your mom?" Penny eventually asked.
"Prayer group. Daddy's in a way again and left, MeeMaw called the school and informed them to tell us we had to take the bus home," he whispered, almost ashamedly.
"Oh," was all Penny said, folding her hands in her lap and keeping quiet until they reached their street. Neither Sheldon or Missy ever talked much about their father, and she had yet to meet their older brother. All she knew was that he got loud and angry, but she knew that much before she became friends with Sheldon.
The bus came to a halt and Missy ran ahead with her friends, quickly darting off in the other direction and leaving the two of them with a few boys on the street corner.
"Looky here, Smelly Cooper's got himself a girlfriend!" one of the boys scoffed.
Sheldon drew in his bottom lip and chewed nervously. "Penny is my friend who is a girl, not my girlfriend," he reiterated.
"Let's go, Sheldon," Penny urged, "You can help me with my math homework."
She didn't fail to pick up on the little flicker of a smile in his eyes, while he found helping Penny with her school work exhausting he did quite enjoy it.
"She's even got him doing her home work for her," the older boy jested.
At this Sheldon turned around and dared to puff up if only just a little. "Well now, excuse me, Penny is fully capable of doing her own work, she only has to learn to apply herself. Unlike you barbarians who will be taking remedial classes well into your college years."
"Sheldon," Penny groaned and tugged on his backpack trying to get him to back away.
The boy was starting to form a wry grin on his face.
"Not now Penny," Sheldon scolded. "Now, perhaps if you fools studied more instead of partaking in whatever ridiculous activities you find amusing, you too just might pass the fifth grade this year. Or once more you could be left behind just as you were last year."
The boy's smirk grew into a scowl and he took a step toward Sheldon and shoved his shoulders sending him down on the sidewalk. Penny was quick to sandwich herself between them, she didn't place in Junior Rodeo for nothing and this boy didn't have anything on a young colt.
"That's enough!" She stamped her foot and jabbed her finger in the boy's chest. "I may not be good at math, but can hog tie you quicker than you can spell Mississippi."
"Really, Penny, knowing his education skills I seriously doubt-"
Penny shot Sheldon a look, "Shut your hole, Sheldon!" she snapped and then turned back to the boy and went up on tip toe to take his chin between her finger and thumb. "Now turn around and leave me and my friend alone."
"My friend and I," Sheldon uttered under his breath.
"Sheldon I said shut up!"
The boy smirked, obviously doubting Penny's abilities and went to step around her. Big mistake, she made good on her promise and had him on his back despite his size within the minute with her straddling his chest.
"I'm sorry, did you misunderstand me?" Penny smiled sweetly, digging her heels into his midsection.
The boy mumbled uttered a 'no' from underneath her and she pressed the back of his head into the dirt for good measure before standing up.
She dusted off her hands and extended one to Sheldon who expectedly declined but appreciated the gesture none the less and got up on his own.
"You two deserve each other," the boy grunted once he rejoined the others and they began to meander down the other side of the street.
"Penny, you shouldn't have interfered," Sheldon offered up quietly, awkwardly shuffling his feet.
"Oh, stuff it, Cooper, I wasn't about to let him beat the tar out of you! Stick up for yourself, Sheldon!" she huffed.
"My mom says to fight with your words not your fists."
"Yeah…that's gotten you real far!" she growled starting to stomp away.
"I'm smartest at our school! Smarter even than most of them at the high school!" he argued, his small fists balled up at his sides as he strode to keep up with her, his face reddening.
"That's great, Sheldon, maybe you can beat them up with your brain." She paused when they reached the front of his house. His MeeMaw was sitting on the front porch in her rocker, always smiling when her grandson came into the picture. She gave a little wave to the pair of them and it made Penny's stomach clench. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sheldon."
She didn't bother to give him time to respond, she just tightened her grip on bag and rushed off to her house and ran all the way upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. Stubborn Sheldon Lee Cooper and his big brain was going to get her into a lot of trouble.
A knock came at her bedroom door after dinner, and her father entered with a raised brow. "Penny, there's a boy at the door for you."
She sighed and rolled off her bed, trudging down the stairs as slowly as she could. Sheldon stood there with is hands behind his back rocking back on his heels, his blue eyes scanning her living room.
"What do you want?"
"Oh…well…I..uh…" he pulled his hands from behind his back and produced a little white flower with red stamens. "Here." He shifted uncomfortably and took a step forward placing the bud behind her ear with a shaking hand. "They grow on the tree in the backyard, MeeMaw says it's called a pear blossom…that they are a symbol of friendship," he added quietly. "Are you still my friend, Penny? I'd hate to lose my only one after such a short time."
She gently touched the petals that were resting in her hair; still taken aback that he had actually initiated some sort of semi contact. She smiled up at him and nodded.
"Yes, you big ole' whack-a-doodle, I'm still your friend," she laughed, "I just wish you wouldn't let them other kids push you around."
Sheldon shrugged, "I'm used to it."
"You're better than them, Sheldon Cooper," she said with a small frown.
"I know." He gave her a quick forced smile and a wave of his hand. "Goodnight, Penny."
A/N:Hey...I see all you people following...yeah you...and adding this to your favorites...how about you add something in that lovely little box on your way out this time? HmmmHmmm? It takes just a second and it makes my Shenny heart happy! Big big super love to the response I have gotten though. Thanks to you lovely reviewers :D You guys made me so happy with my short little first chapter. I hope this one was a little more felt out and a bit more enjoyable. Let me know won't you?
Shelly
