Chapter 10

Okay you wouldn't have this chapter today if it wasn't thanks to my incredible neighbor for letting me use her internet for an hour. Thank you for these amazing reviews… I just want to hug each and every one of you! Anyway here comes the start of the break up… Enjoy!

Every time she saw Leonard it was getting harder and harder to pretend to be in love with him. She was well aware of his insecurities, but this time around in their relationship they seemed to get worse. Or maybe they only seemed worse, since she had finally realized just how wrong they were for each other. Not long after her confrontation with Leonard, Sheldon text her. She looked over to his table but he wasn't there.

Sheldon: Good evening Penny. Perhaps we should reschedule. I don't want to be the cause of Leonard becoming hostile to live with. He will of course already be intolerable when we arrive home. I shall go by myself.

Penny's stomach flipped and knotted as Sheldon suggested her not going to the museum with him on Thursday. She panicked and her eyes desperately scanned the restaurant, looking for him. She wanted to spend as much time with Sheldon as he would allow.

Penny: NO! I told you that I was taking you and that's final! It's not your fault Leonard has a bee up his ass about it. Besides I warned him not to try and start with you didn't I? If he knows me at all, he knows I don't make empty threats. Anyway I want to go and see this old 4-4-0 locomotive from the 19th century ;) where did you disappear to?

She couldn't wait for his response, to her knowing what it was they would be looking at. After they arranged their 'date' on Monday night, she had made a point of doing some research into trains. She didn't see the appeal of trains, but it was important to Sheldon, so it was important to her.

Sheldon: Very well, if you insist. However if Leonard turns violent and kills me, you are going to have to call my mom and explain. Very good penny. I was unaware you knew anything at all about trains. I'm in the bathroom.

Penny: Great! If Leonard kills u, he'll have to deal with me, ur mom and Missy goin all Texan and Nebraskan on his ass. Haha… makin a habit of texting girls frm bathrooms huh? LOL :P

Sheldon: I've only texted you and Amy from the bathroom. Its hardly common practice. I wish you wouldn't use 'text talk'. The English language is a beautiful construction, which has undergone years of evolution and should be used in its correct form. I should return to my table or they may become suspicious as I have exceeded my allotted bathroom time for public restrooms.

Penny rarely used text talk unless she was feeling lazy or angry, but she deliberately made her next text as text-y as possible.

Penny: Whteva u say. If L gves u a hard tme 2nite ur wlcm 2 com 2 mine. LOL ROFL xoxo. C ya l8r shelbot. She couldn't help but giggle at his one worded reply.

Sheldon: Droll

She looked in the direction of the bathrooms and saw Sheldon making his way to his table with a secret smile on his lips. 10 minuets later Raj called her over to pay for the meal. She handed them the check and smiled at all of them but Leonard. As she walked away she heard Raj say to Leonard "Oh boy. You are defiantly in the dog house." She smiled as she walked over to another table to take their order and continue with her work. The remaining hour of her shift dragged as the place slowly emptied, until there were only 3 tables that were still eating.

The ride home was insufferable; Howard kept looking at him like he was crazy, which he knew he wasn't, as he had told him many times that his mother had, had him tested. Raj was looking at him with an expression he struggled to identify, but could only compare it to his own koala face. Leonard was angry, he knew that expression immediately. Normally Sheldon would relish the quiet, but tonight with this strange mix of emotions, figuratively bouncing around the car, he felt as though he was being crushed by hyper gravity.

"Why don't we all play a car ga-" He started.

"Sheldon, I told Penny I wouldn't be mean to you. But if I hear your voice right now, the likelihood of you having to sleep in the stairwell tonight will increase significantly." Leonard looked and sounded positively murderous, so Sheldon decided to, as Penny would say; shut his hole. Leonard dropped him off first, before taking Raj and Howard to their respective abodes. He went straight to his room and put on his Tuesday pajamas and climbed into bed, cocooning himself to his specific requirements. He turned on his IPad and looked at the train museum website. It had a count down clock for the opening of the new exhibit, only 36 hours to go. He was ecstatic to be showing Penny something that he was so found of.

He wondered if penny would be home yet. He wasn't sure if it would be prudent for him to not be present in the apartment, when Leonard arrived home or if going to Penny's would only aggravate him further. Sheldon was stumped, he'd usually ask Leonard for this type of advice, but the threat of being forced out in to the stairwell to sleep kept him form calling Leonard.

Penny left the cheesecake factory, a ball of mixed emotions. She was furious at Leonard, she was mad at herself and she was excited at spending Thursday with Sheldon. She climbed into her car and drove home at a pace that would have met Sheldon's approval. She climbed the stairs of 2311 North Los Robles slowly, her tired feet dragging along as she climbed to the fourth floor. She wanted to check on Sheldon to make sure Leonard had done anything to hurt him, so she quickly unlocked her door and flicked on the light, intending to change into her pajamas and head over. In the middle of her couch was Leonard; he'd been sat in her dark apartment for at least at hour and penny felt kind of violated at the thought he'd let himself in and sat there alone in the dark, like some crazy stalker.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded quickly.

"I wanted to talk to you… sort out this big misunderstanding. Look I forgive you, it's not your fault that you have to chaperon Sheldon around town when you clearly don't want to. I thought maybe you could talk to him and tell him to make other arrangements for Thursday, since I know you don't really want to look at dusty old trains." He calmly explained in the most patronizing tone she had ever heard, from anyone other than Sheldon Cooper. What the actual crap. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He tried to talk again, but Penny started first.

"You forgive me?! What is it that I'm being forgiven for, since I haven't done anything wrong? And when have I ever done anything with Sheldon that I haven't wanted to? If I don't want to go somewhere with him I don't go." She took a breath, knowing that the last sentence was a lie. She'd never been able to successfully say no to Sheldon and she didn't know why. Maybe he was using some kind of mind control, from one of those science fiction movies he loved so much.

"You know what? I'm tired of justifying my self to you. You constantly put me down and tell me I'm stupid for trying to be an actress. I'm tired of being your little play thing to show off at the university or the comic book store. I can't do this. Leonard I don't want to be with you anymore." The huge weight that had been resting on her chest was gone and she wanted to laugh at how amazing it felt. She felt more like her old self, not the Penny that drowned herself in nearly 3 bottles of wine a week, just to keep pretending to be in love. She took a deep breath and looked up at Leonard to show him the door. He was looking at her like she had just killed a puppy and sold its organs on the black market. Oh boy, here come the tears.

I have the lump of the break up coming up next… it may get a little nasty, but what break up isn't. Leonard's anger will be present for a few more chapters after the next one, but will go away only to come back. However the fun begins from here… oh and for the person who said Sheldon seems a little to accepting of the random touches (sorry I'm hopeless at remembering names) I had already got that sorted out and something will happen to make him realize he's been a little too lenient with her.