It took Penny two hours to walk home. Two hours of the blinding sun, the hot pavement, horns honking at her, and random men in cars staring. Her feet were killing her, her skin was beyond red, and she was close to tears. Between the pain, and everything that had happened in the past few days, it was hitting her. Hard. Of course there were a few guys that had pulled over to offer her a ride, but she wasn't that desperate. She wouldn't hitchhike, either. Too many horror movies started that way. Yeah, and pornos.

Walking into the apartment building at two, she stopped in her tracks for a moment. Sheldon and Leonard were coming down the stairs. They stared at her, obviously confused by how she looked. "...Penny?" Sheldon asked, his hands clutching his messenger bag. "What on Earth happened to you?" He continued, stepping closer.

"Where's Amy?" Penny asked, trying to change the subject. She was slowly making her way around the two guys to the stairs.

Too bad Sheldon was too smart for that. "She went home to change, she'll return for dinner." He told her simply. His eyes locked on hers for a moment, determined to get to the root of the problem. Penny was his friend, and although he could read her emotions now, he still couldn't tell why. It bothered him. "Now, what happened?" He insisted, taking in the state of her skin, her hair, the puffy look of her eyes. It would eat at him until the normally put together blonde opened up to him.

"Nothing, Sheldon. I really don't want to talk about it. I really don't." Penny choked out, running up the stairs. Her tears were finally hitting her. Wiping her face, she winced. Work was going to be hell come Tuesday. Grabbing her keys out of her pocket, she rushed to her door. With her luck, one of the guys would come to check on her. They were sweethearts, although one of them had a funny way of showing it. Once in the safety of her home, the first thing she did was head into her room. As she carefully removed her clothes, she bit her lip. Moving hurt, and she knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep for a few days, and that she would need to get some aloe in the morning.

Once she was down to nothing, she stood in front of the fan for a few minutes. Sighing, she closed her eyes, trying to force herself to take a luke-warm shower. Penny could feel the sweat dripping down her back, which was not helping her mood any. When she finally pulled herself away from the fan, a shiver ran down her spine. "Damn it." Even that hurt. Leaving her bathroom door open, she turned on the water, doing her best not to bend too much. The water didn't take long to get to the right temperature. Letting out a small sigh, she stepped in, carefully. "Ow...ow...ow..." She mumbled, letting the water hit her shoulders.

Fifteen minutes later, Penny stepped out, feeling far less gross. Gently wrapping a towel around herself, she moved into the living room. The air was cool compared to her bathroom, which was amplified by the heat of her skin. Her mind wandered back to the events of that morning. Nothing seemed to be going right. She'd hurt Sheldon, she was dumb enough to go out with an ex, almost slept with him, walked the two hours home, and then nearly broke down in front of the two people that she didn't want to see her cry. Yeah, her day was going fabulous.

Sitting on the couch, she lost it. Once again, the tears came, and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing was going right in her life. Hell, she couldn't even land a decent acting job. Her agent tried to stay encouraging, but it was hard. Part of her wanted to go home, just go back to what she knew. But, she knew she couldn't. The guys were a big part of her life, and she could never leave them like that. Even Howard, and all the creepy stuff that he used to say to her meant something to her. He was a nice guy, once you got past the creepy candy coating. She'd only spoken to Raj a handful of times, and they had that 'one beautiful night' together, but she cared for him, too. His sister was an entirely different story. They'd gotten along for a whole, what, day? She couldn't recall. Raj's sister was something else. She was gorgeous, successful, and talented. Everything Penny wasn't. Penny didn't think she was ugly, but she was nothing to the beautiful Indian lawyer.

Ignoring the pain, she curled up, resting her head on the small pillow. "What am I supposed to do?" Penny asked herself, knowing she was alone. She realized it was more then just literally alone. Sheldon had Amy. Howard had Bernadette. Leonard was bound to get a girlfriend soon. Even Raj was getting better at being around women. Sighing, she stared at the blank television, imaging what the guys would say if she told them she was even thinking about leaving. 'Penny, do you know how much work it was to incorporate you into my social group to begin with?' 'What, and have Leonard pine over some other woman for the next four years?' Closing her eyes, she was jerked away from her daydream by what she really didn't want to hear.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Groaning, she didn't bother to open her eyes, which stung from crying. "Damn it Sheldon! Go away. I don't want to see anyone right now!" She yelled towards the door.

"Fine, then close your eyes. I am not leaving until you have told me what's bothering you, Penny. I have plans later, and do not wish to cancel them. As we both know, you'll end up giving in, so just do us both a favor and skip the arguing." Sheldon pointed out, through the door. She knew he was right. She'd eventually give in, and then she'd get lectured about cutting into his routine. Which was not something she needed.

Sitting up, she sniffled. "Come in." Penny said just loud enough for him to hear. She didn't care that she was sitting in her towel, she was covered. As he walked in, he paused for a moment, looking around. "Don't. Even. Start." She told him, half attempting to sound like her usual self.

"Penny, I wish to help you through whatever it is you're going through, but I cannot with this mess. If you'll permit me, I'll clean while I listen to your problems." He asked, shutting the door behind him. Ever since he used the emergency key to clean her apartment, he didn't dare without her permission.

Waving her hand, she nodded. "Yeah, whatever." Penny wasn't in the mood to clean, and Sheldon did an excellent job.

"Good. Now, why did you walk in sun burnt earlier, and so... disheveled?" He asked, carefully picking up the leftovers from the night before.

Crossing her arms, she instantly regretted it and moved them. "I walked home." Penny shrugged. It was the truth, just the short version. Apparently, it didn't amuse him any. Standing up straight, he eyed her, silently saying that's not what he meant. "Fine!" She snapped. "After...I said I was sorry, I texted my ex, Seth." The word 'ex' earned an annoyed sigh from Sheldon. "I know, I know...I'm not done, though." Licking her lips, she watched the clean freak from across the hall quickly move. "We went out for breakfast, had a good time. He was charming. I couldn't remember why I broke up with him, until we got back to his place. We started making out, and right before anything more could happen, I stopped him. He got really mad, and kicked me out. That's why I walked home. It took me two hours. That's why I looked like crap." There were a few silent tears running again.

"Penny, the fact that he is an ex should have been a dead give away that you don't want to associate yourself with him anymore." Sheldon said matter-of-factly. "Although, I must commend you for not making a huge mistake by engaging in sexual intercourse with this 'Seth'." Having him bring up her sex life made her blush, not that you could tell. As he threw away what he had in his hands, he continued. "I am surprised that you didn't simply call Leonard. He would have rushed to pick you up."

As he moved closer, she grabbed his hand and made him sit down. Him moving around made her feel bad. "Sheldon, sweetie, I'll clean later." She reassured him. "The reason I didn't sleep with him was because of you." She admitted, causing him to stare at her. "I could only imagine what you would have said if you had seen me in that position, and none of it was good. I care about you to much." Penny continued.

Their hands were still together, and neither made an attempt to move. "I had guessed that you would put your feelings behind you, seeing as I am with Amy." Sheldon said, although flattered that he was the reason she hadn't slept with her ex-boyfriend. "I guessed wrong, it seems."

"No, sweetie. That's not what I meant. I meant I care about you as a person, that's why I stopped. Whether it's as a good friend, or whatever, it matters to me what you think. I wouldn't want to add to the many reasons you have to look down on me." She sighed, looking away. "That being said, I need to re-evaluate my life. I haven't gotten many acting jobs since I've been out here. I had that commercial, and nothing since. I don't know whether I should leave, but I can't imagine leaving you guys. I don't know if I should stay, but be stuck at the Cheesecake Factory for years..." Both options sucked to her.

Sighing, Sheldon made her look at him. "Penny, you are a good friend, and I trust you. Losing you as part of our social group would be devastating. We would all miss you dearly, for one. Aren't there other means of showing of your talent? You could look into voice acting, you'd be good at that, for one. You are classically beautiful, you could model. There are many options here, Penny. Just because one doesn't work out, doesn't mean you should rule out everything." He told her with a shrug.

Before she knew it, she leaned forward and kissed him, just for a moment. Realizing what she was doing, she pulled away, eyes wide. "Oh, Sheldon, I'm so sorry..." Her hand covered her mouth. Sheldon was speechless. Which was a change. "Say something?" Penny asked him weakly. Even him lecturing her on germs would do. Anything was better then the silence that lingered between them.

"I-I'm at a loss for words. On the one hand, I'm shocked. Not only because I am in a relationship, but I am in a relationship with your best friend. On the other, it was pleasant, and if it wasn't for my relationship, and germs, I'd wish to repeat it." Sheldon told her, his cheeks a light pink. It was Penny's turn to be speechless. Sheldon Lee Cooper, liked kissing her? Even only for a moment? Holy crap on a cracker.