Woo Hoo! Chapter Eight! I have no idea how long this story is going to take, but I do actually know the way it'll end. Reviews are, of course, always appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the boys, or Kaley Kuoco. If I owned Jim Parsons, he'd be in Canada with me.
"I'm sorry; a GIRL is coming here?" Penny asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Sheldon invited her." Leonard nodded.
"A girl. Who's interested in Sheldon is coming to this apartment to watch Star Trek and eat Chinese food?" Penny seemed unable to understand. Her perfect brow was adorably furrowed.
"Yes, she's a professor at UCLA. Her name is Layla."
"And I didn't invite her, we all invited her." Sheldon clarified from the kitchen.
"Okay..." Penny smiled, winking at Leonard.
"Hey everybody," Howard said, strutting into the apartment like he owned the place. Raj followed at a more sedate and humble pace. "So, is everyone ready for two hours of Kirk vs. Khan goodness?"
"Plus commercials," Sheldon corrected.
"Where's the food?" the engineer asked, deciding to go on as though Sheldon hadn't spoken.
"We can't start yet!" Penny cried, crossing her arms over the brown bags full of food. "We have to wait for Layla!"
"Layla? Layla is coming here? I knew she was interested in me. I could feel it that day in the coffee shop—the undeniable attraction of the beautiful young protoge to the older, more experienced, quirky man of the world." He got a faraway look on his face; none of the assembled wanted to know what his mind's eye was looking at.
"She's not that young, you know." Leonard interjected.
"How do you know?" Penny asked.
"I looked her father up on the internet; it outlined when his children were born. Layla was born in 1983, making her twenty seven."
"One year younger than Sheldon." Penny observed, looking toward the man in question.
"Why should we care how old she is in relation to Sheldon? NO!" Howard gasped. "That day in the coffee shop, she called you Sheldon, and you called her Layla. That meant something—it's all coming back to me now."
Right on cue, the buzzer beside the front door made an unattractive 'errr' sound. Three men and a woman made a mad dash for the button, Leonard reaching it first.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Layla," an uncertain voice said.
"Hi Layla, one second!" he said, turning to his roommate and pressing his back against the door. "Be nice."
"Why should I go and get her?" Sheldon asked, looking thoroughly offended.
"Because you invited her!"
"I did not, we ALL invited her!"
"Both of you shut up, I'll go and fetch the damsel in distress." Howard made to move Leonard from his post of blocking the door knob.
"Not a chance." Penny interrupted. "None of you are getting anywhere near this girl before I've prepared her. Trust me, if she's going to spend three hours here, she'll need it." And with that the blonde elbowed her boyfriend out of the way and headed for the stairs.
Layla took one step back from the intercom and looked down at herself. She'd decided not to dress up nor wear makeup, so she looked basically as she always did; dark jeans and a white military blouse, complete with double buttons along the front. She'd opted, however, to leave her thick brown hair waving around her shoulders, a look none of the boys had seen thus far in their friendship. She stared nervously at her black flats and striped socks as she waited for someone form the apartment upstairs to come fetch her.
Come on, you can do this. You can be cool in front of male geeks for once in your life. You can say hello and eat and not be a complete freak.
Finally, the front door opened and a petite blonde stepped into her view. "Hi!" she bubbled. "I'm Penny."
So, this is Penny, the neighbour. Layla thought, covertly looking the woman up and down. Pink sundress, matching wedge flip flops, and a sweet smile. Perhaps not a threat for Sheldon's affections, if in fact Sheldon Cooper does have affections, but she`s cute enough I suppose.
"Hello, I'm Layla Nicholas." She shook the blonde's hand.
"I know. Leonard told me all about you." Penny gave her a wink and gestured for Layla to precede her up the green- carpeted stairwell.
"What's with the wink?" she asked in confusion.
"Well, Leonard told me you sort of had a thing for Sheldon. I was showing some geek- lover solidarity."
Layla blushed. "I admit, I do admire Sheldon greatly, and if an intimate relationship were to present itself, I'm sure I would enjoy it, but Sheldon doesn't really seem the type, and frankly, neither am I."
"You mean you don't date?" the two women rounded the first landing and continued upwards.
"Not if I can help it. My mother occasionally sets me up with boors from her social circle, but usually they're just older buffoons who want someone under thirty on their arm to impress all their friends. Apparently they like to make everyone believe they're getting laid."
Penny laughed and nodded. "I hear that. I'm from a really small town in Nebraska, so by about age sixteen you realize that the guys that are there are the ONLY ones you're ever going to get. You make your own fun from there. Oh, here we are."
The two entered apartment 4A and were immediately accosted by Howard.
"Well bon soir; if it isn't my two favourite girls."
"No we're not." Penny replied, barely looking at the engineer. Layla smiled politely and shook her head, moving to sit beside Sheldon. The theoretical physicist had already stationed himself in his 'spot', knowing that as a newcomer, Layla would be unfamiliar with the rules.
"Hi Sheldon." She smiled, sitting next to him at a respectful distance.
"Good evening Layla."
"Are you excited for 'The Wrath of Khan'?"
"I suppose," Sheldon answered. "Although I have seen this film over two dozen times."
"You're kidding! So have I!" Layla laughed. "I held the record at my high school in Boston. I made the school newspaper, much to my dismay."
"Hi Layla, you went to high school in Boston?" Leonard asked, breaking into the conversation.
"Hey Leonard. And yeah, when I was a teenager my father still taught at Harvard, so we lived in Boston until his term ended and my mother cajoled him into moving to California."
"Intriguing." Howard waggled his eyebrows.
"Is it time for the movie yet?" Layla asked, leaning mere millimetres closer to Sheldon.
"Yeah, almost." Leonard said, pushing Penny to sit with him on the remaining sofa space, so Howard was forced to keep a distance from Layla.
Silence fell as the opening titles rolled. After Kirstie Alley's Kobayashi Maru practice drill, Layla sighed in disappointment. Sheldon looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.
"What? I just always get disappointed when I see everyone calling him 'Admiral Kirk'. If he could have denied that promotion, he should have."
"Why? He earned it through many years of dedicated service." Sheldon argued.
"Perhaps so, but by promoting him Starfleet Command has divided their most successful team and possibly endangering the galaxy and leaving Earth open to attack. Also, on what planet does 'Admiral Kirk' sound better than 'Captain Kirk'?
"Your second point is not valid." He grumbled.
"Congratulations, you've just found the world's thinnest argument." Howard joked, obviously enjoying himself.
"We all know you're only agreeing with her because you're thinking with your penis." Sheldon sniped. "However, I will accept that by promoting Captain Kirk, Starfleet was making the classic mistake of separating a crack team from its leader."
"Thank you for acknowledging my line of reasoning." Layla nodded, turning round again to face the television.
"Thank you very much, Sheldon, Leonard." Layla smiled when the film was over and they were all left stretching and yawning as the end titles ran. "I appreciate you inviting me into your home."
"It was no trouble; the more the merrier, right Sheldon?" Leonard looked to his roommate.
"That would depend entirely on the emotional state and stability of the 'more', and you call them, and their own group dynamics, including the preconception of friendship—"
"Just say yes, Sheldon."
Layla laughed and shook her head. "Well, thank you anyway. Now, I think I must be going."
"Already?" Howard asked, rushing to stand and block her path to the door.
"Yes; it's nearly ten thirty, and I have to teach a class tomorrow morning. Goodnight, Sheldon," she smiled, shyly, patting his hand.
"Good night." He replied, moving the hand she'd touched from his knee to rest in his lap.
Layla mentally berated herself. He doesn't like to be touched, you dolt, she reminded herself too late. Standing, she turned to the other woman present.
"Penny, would you mind walking me out?"
"Sure." The blonde replied, disentangling herself from the couch and Leonard, who'd placed one arm around her shoulders and acted like a pillow at some point during the film. The two left the apartment and began to descend the stairs. They'd reached the third floor before Penny spoke.
"You gave Sheldon a run for his money."
"Hardly," Layla scoffed. "Discussing the pros and cons of Starfleet promotion is a laughable subject when conversing with someone who possesses Sheldon's mind."
"Huh?"
"He's really smart, and our little argument was hardly a challenge for him."
"Oh. I like you—you can break down geek talk." Penny giggled. "Maybe now you should invite him somewhere."
"Pardon?"
"You know, he invited you here, now you should wait a couple days then call him for lunch or something."
"Sheldon would see right through that!" Layla argued. They were now approaching the first floor.
"You'd be surprised," Penny disagreed. "We have to warn him when we're going to use sarcasm; someone like that will not realize you're making a stealth date."
"Well... I'll think about it." The professor nodded, reaching out to open the front door. "Thanks Penny."
"Hey, sometimes it gets a little annoying being the only girl around here," Penny shrugged. "I could use some female company."
