The Red Matter Paradigm By Joslyn DJ


Soundtrack: "Everything Is Everything" Phoenix - "Walkie Talkie Man" Steriogram


Chapter 3

The Disruption of Habitual Behavior

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He wasn't going to act like he was ok with this...

The next day...
Sheldon sat in his spot on the couch, watching some Star Trek as his mind whirred with thoughts. What a fine mess he had been dragged into… He sighed, resting his elbow on the arm of the couch, chin gently cradled atop his palm. He didn't blame Leonard for not wanting to tell him about his friend, Aaron-oh how he despised that man's existence (more on that later)-but what he did blame his roommate for was trying so hard to hide the fact he would be going out of town and his cousin would be staying in his place.

'It's not like I'm unreasonable…' Sheldon thought, pausing before the most subtle trace of a smirk tugged at his lips. 'Heh… Bazinga.' He thought. 'He completely violated the roommate agreement!' The thought made his quirk in his lip turn upside down into a small frown. Maybe that was why he ran out of state…

Sienna poked her head around the corner, glancing at the TV, then to it's viewer…

'I love Star Trek…' She thought, frowning slightly. She wished she knew how to talk to this guy. Leonard had made it sound like they'd get along alright, but they sure didn't start off on the right foot.

"If you're trying to be inconspicuous, I would suggest being lower to the ground when peering around the corner. Your current methodology is not recommended as it is quite obvious." Sheldon said calmly and resolutely, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, before back to the TV.

Yup… Definitely the wrong foot.

"Thanks for the update…" She mumbled, stepping out of the hall with a sigh, glancing at the television as she walked over and sat in the middle of the couch beside him, feeling awkward and stiff, trying to maintain a 'Cooper Forcefield' around the physicist. "StarTrek: The Next Generation, season 2 episode 7, huh?"

Sheldon glanced at her nonchalantly, looking back to the screen, before doing a double take. "Impressive…" He murmured, the corners of his mouth peaking ever so slightly. Sienna gave him a crooked smirk, shrugging before looking back to the show. "I love the series. This episode… Unnatural Selection… I found it rather interesting. The concept of a disease killing you by not killing you, but merely speeding up your body's natural process of aging, it's such an interesting paradox…"

Sheldon took a quick inhale as he began to respond, suddenly very interested in carrying out a conversation with the person next to him. "I always thought so!" He smiled as his mind churned with thoughts of the series. "You know, I always found it intriguing how LeVar Burton had such contrasting roles on TV, the Reading Rainbow and then this…"

Sienna laughed, nodding as she thought of that show. "I used to LOVE that show when I was young!" She pulled her feet up, sitting Indian-style on the couch. "I'd always sing along to the beginning song at the top of my lungs, and be so into the show, my parents could have full on conversations with me and I'd carry them out just fine, but my eyes would never leave the screen." Her eyes danced with her giggled words, a gasping laugh coming from Sheldon. "What a strange child you must have been." He mused, almost wincing after he spoke. He was used to Penny reacting harshly to such a comment, but he was surprised when Sienna only laughed and waved her hand in a 'oh don't I know it' sort of gesture.

·

Hmm… It seemed as though they might get along splendidly.

· ¤ ·

"There is a detailed list posted right beneath the apartment flag specifying the rules for placement and organization within the refrigerator!" Sheldon near-shouted, pulling the paper off the fridge and walking over to her, the short girl crossing her arms and puffing up a bit, standing on her tiptoes. "This! Can you see this? Or has your fascination with all your fandoms impaired your cognitive abilities?"

"Excuse me!" Sienna hissed, her icy eyes sparking at him in frustration. "Do not attempt to douse my intelligence with your petty jabs at my personal interests and hobbies!" She could surprisingly keep her own in a debacle with the physicist. "While your system was understandably well organized, it was so bland and completely uninspired! Your abuse of the amazing device that is a label maker is catastrophic. Any aesthetic qualities were completely ignored and overridden in a disastrous layout that would even shame those of robotic composition!"

Sheldon gaped at her, gasping in shock. "How dare you make such a claim! I am well acquainted with aesthetic qualities in layouts and organizational methods, however I simply know their place is not before that of practicality! Anyone with any common sense understands that order of relevance. It would serve you well to commit such structure to your inferior memory!" His eye twitched with his words, the heat of the argument agitating his sensitivity to fighting.

"Ugh!" Sienna threw up her hands in frustration, pushing past him and marching over to the fridge. She picked up the magnet off the fridge door, turned it upside down, and slapped it back on the appliance. "Leonard was right about you!" She said, marching back over to him, finger pointing in his face.

"What is THAT supposed to mean!" Sheldon asked quizzically, a flame of frustration burning in his eyes. "What has Leonard said about me?" His voice almost wavered with a note of vulnerability, but the man held his composure well.

"Woah woah woah!" Penny rushed into the apartment, seeing Sienna up in Sheldon's face with an angrily pointed finger, while the tall physicist loomed over her ominously, arms crossed haughtily. "What is going on in here?" She asked in concern, quickly stepping towards them and pushing some space between them.

"This… This woman… attempted to destroy any system of structure to my organizational method in the fridge when adding her groceries to the mix! I will have to label, categorize, and alphabetize everything ALL over again! Then recalculate the chronological order!" Sheldon's voice expressed his high-strung state, the mahogany-and-fawn colored hair of his debate opponent glinting in the apartment light as she flicked it out of her face in annoyance. "I was just trying to make it look less like a grocery store freezer aisle and more like a fridge owned by a human being!" She defended, eyes pleading with Penny.

The blond sighed, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Listen kids…" She said in a mothering tone. "You are going to have to learn how to get along. You both live under the same roof, and are very different yes, but you also have a lot in common. Right?" She said gently, the two looking at each other in frustration and a near-pout, like children caught in a tussle.

"But she started it…" Sheldon mumbled, his eyes meeting Sienna's at an angle that seemed to cause a spark in their blue depths. She huffed a sigh. "Sorry for trying to help." "No one asked you to."

"Hey.. HEY! What did I just say?" Penny said in a warning tone, before laughing slightly. "Oh, that rhymed!"

The two rolled their eyes at her. Oh boy… Maybe this was a lethal combination. Penny sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Look, all I'm saying is, you might as well try to make your experience of becoming friends and sharing living quarters a pleasant one. Because either way, you're stuck for now." She shrugged.

Sienna looked at Penny, mulling over the girl's words. She had a point… "Alright, look." Sienna sighed and looked back to Sheldon. "It was pretty stupid of me not to acquaint myself with your system of organizing the fridge before adding to it." "Well, obviously." Sheldon grumbled, arms still crossed, the female quirking her eyebrows at him in mild annoyance. 'So juvenile…' She thought, before continuing.

"But you have to give me credit, I did commit your methods of sorting your cupboards and drawers to mind." She said, eyes hopeful as she tried a smile. Penny smirked, finding the expression on her new friend held a young and cute appeal, and hey, figuring out his organization of their kitchenware? That was more than she ever did! 'I usually just fished around and left whatever I used in the sink…' Penny puckered her lips in an 'oh well' frown of thought. She looked to Sheldon for his reaction.

Swallowing, Sheldon's eyes seemed to soften. He had to admit, no guest in his and Leonard's apartment had ever bothered to do such a thing. It was a gesture that he did appreciate. "This is true…" He murmured, slowly lowering his arms.

Relief came over the girl as she looked down, shrugging as she spoke. "I know how I feel if people invade my room or my space I've got laid out a certain way. It's no fun. Sorry for putting you in such a position." She said, Sheldon nodding. "Alright. Apology accepted." He murmured, before looking at Penny with a bland expression.

"Penny, why are you still here? Don't you work?" She rolled her eyes. "Ok gosh, excuse me, not like I was helping or anything…" She just shook her head and smirked to herself, turning to leave. How could anyone focus when they were making such a racket across the hall?

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The two were back to being peas in a pod by the time Penny came back from her shift. It seemed they had reverted to watching Star Trek as it was a mutual point of agreement. The two babbled on about factoids and actors, scenes and outtakes. It was a nerd-fest for sure.

The waitress was pleased with the result when she checked in on them, deciding it was fine to go back to her apartment and catch up on some of her favorite chick flic-

"What do you MEAN you prefer the actor from the new Star Trek film over Leonard Nimoy?" Sheldon's high-pitched shriek reached her ears. She sighed and dropped her head in her hands.

·

Oh boy… This was going to be a very VERY long week...


[A/N]

Sorry for the short filler chapter. :/ I've got a mid-term exam coming up next week and I am just feeling the weight of it bearing on my mind. Please stay tuned though! I may take a while to update, but I have plots planned. ;)

[edit] The Phoenix song is mainly fitting because of the relaxed feel of the song, and it's opening lyrics fit the beginning of the chapter to a T. :) Haha, oh and I could think of no song better fitting a wordy and heated argument between those two than Walkie Talkie Man. XD I love that song.