Penny has been targeted for yet again. The pranks are starting to feel very personal.
(All In)
The next evening Penny heard the door open but she continued to stare at the wall. The bed dipped beside her and she looked at Sheldon. "Please tell me you have an idea who this guy is."
Sheldon sighed and shook his head. "I am sorry."
Penny laid her head on his shoulder and slipped a hand into his. "He also ruined my date the other night. This guy I met at an audition asked me out. I haven't had a date in a while so I said yes. I just wanted a pleasant night of dancing and conversation. When the guy showed up my phone rang. I let the machine get it. It was a fake message from a made up clinic about how my test came back positive and they wanted me to come in and figure out when I was due."
Sheldon frowned. "Due for what?"
Penny sniffled. "They were implying I was pregnant, Sheldon. The guy sprinted away so fast, he left a dust cloud. No one even saw this guy move my furniture back into my apartment."
Sheldon was out of his comfort zone. Something was happening that he didn't understand and couldn't control. It seemed as though ever since their prankster had appeared it had been driving him and Penny closer to each other.
It had started when he felt compelled to give her that second, more sincere apology. Then the hug from her when she thought they had rescued her car had increased this new paradigm. When the others had suspected him after the Bazinga at the immigration office, she hadn't. She had not believed he had done it. The day Leonard had gotten pranked, they had been watching tv on the couch and it had been …pleasant. She had been leaning against him and he hadn't minded.
Mini golf had been fun. They had teased and laughed and it had been relaxing. He realized with a bit of surprise that he usually felt like that with Penny. Even when they argued or fought, he was more relaxed with her than with anyone else. Last night he had felt so protective of her. The impotent anger in her eyes had been distressing to him.
Sheldon's eyes grew wide. Sweet jesus, he liked Penny! Not just liked, but liked-liked Penny. How had that happened? What was he going to do about this? He looked down at her head on his shoulder and the tension building inside him faded away. He slipped an arm around her back and offered her comfort. Penny needed him. He would worry about his feelings later.
Penny sighed as Sheldon's warmth seeped into her. She was tired and alarmed. Someone had entered her apartment. They had walked in, taken everything she owned out of it, and then put it all back the next day. Someone had her phone number, a copy of her keys and access to her and her property.
Penny sniffled and relaxed as Sheldon put his arm around her. She would never admit it aloud, but she needed him. She loved him. But it was a hopeless dream. In the 2½ years she had known the guys, it had always been Sheldon that drew her across the hall. He was handsome, sure, but he was appealing in other ways, too. He was so intelligent that he talked circles around her on a daily basis. But he was also funny and sweet. He challenged her, like during their own prank war. And sometimes, he needed her. Like when he was sick, or when something social happened that he didn't understand. He annoyed her also, and she knew he was often angry or irritated with her. That didn't change the fact that she cared for him more than any other man she had ever known.
She curled up against him and let his strength and comfort sooth her frazzled nerves. He was her best friend, her secret love, and most of all, he was Sheldor the Conqueror. He would never abandon a friend, not even her.
Everything is in place on my end.
I am almost ready. I need one week.
Shall we plan on next weekend then, for springing the trap?
That works for me. I have to say, dancing on the edge of a knife has been quite fun.
Best of luck to us all.
We're going to need it. Even if we succeed, we're not out of the woods.
Let's hope you are right about it being easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
