Chapter Twelve

"Thank you for still coming with me," Sheldon said as soon as he stepped into Amy's car.

"Of course. I promised, remember?"

He did remember. Amy said a few days ago that she would not be opposed to meeting his friends on Friday, over Chinese dinner and Vintage Video Game night. What she wasn't prepared for was the fact that Sheldon just proposed to her the other night. And now, Sheldon's practically courting her to be his wife. He said, wife. Wife? Aren't you supposed to court someone to be your girlfriend? Well, what he wanted was a wife. He can fantasize about that idea. As if she would give in to his charms that fast and relinquish was she has. Amy would make him beg on his knees if she had to.

After their night together, Amy drove Sheldon home, despite her rejection of his proposal, around 10 pm. It was a hushed journey where no one said a word. As Amy observed from her window, Sheldon was greeted by a rattled couple who happened to be Leonard and Penny. They scoured the entire downtown Pasadena in hopes of finding him since they weren't able to reach him. He had shut off his phone to prevent any distraction to his walk and subsequent proposal to Amy.

Before they parted, Sheldon insisted they should talk more, hoping Amy would give in, but his tactic wasn't lost on Amy. She suggested that they discuss it on Saturday so that they would have the time to themselves and not worry about anything that might distract them.

Amy thought she would have at least a day by herself to contemplate about Sheldon's proposal. Maybe drown herself with rat brains in her lab and let her thoughts about Sheldon elude her.

Instead, what welcomed her as she woke up was a text from Sheldon. She thought it was nice of him to check on her, make sure what happened was real. What bummed her was the content of his text: "Good morning, Amy. What would you like for dinner? Leonard's picking up Chinese food later. I'll see you after work!"

Of course, the dinner thing! Just as she thought she'll have some alone time to herself, Sheldon decided to parade her to his friends! Just the right timing.

She had no other options and refusing Sheldon's invitation would make her petty. What if he assumed that she would not want to come just because of his thoughtless actions? That would break him for sure. She would not want to appear disrespectful to his friends, and amidst her internal turmoil, and agreed to come.

"I hope they don't do something that might irritate you," Sheldon said as glanced at her.

Puzzled, Amy furrowed her brow and said, "Why would you assume that they will?" She backed out of her parking spot and drove out of the lot.

"Well, for starters, we both have similar thought patterns, and we're basically a tier above mankind, which is basically their stratum," he explained.

Amy snickered, "Really? You and me... above mankind?"

He nodded quickly. "Yes, we are highly evolved… And my friends are total snoop and wants to know everything about you." He gestured his hand when he said everything. The term 'everything' frightened Amy more than words. She hoped she would pass the test and be accepted as part of his clan.

"Oh, Lord! Now it's you who's making me nervous, Sheldon," she confessed, feeling the acidic taste of anxiety rising from her stomach.

"I'll be there with you, Amy," he assured as he fixed his gaze at Amy. Amy didn't return his stare, but she can feel that she is being watched. His gaze bore through her cardigan that she can feel a tingling feeling on her arm. That's odd.

"I'm still your suitor, after all, right?" Sheldon sought her approval. He hoped that he would still be, and Amy didn't magically forget about their compromise.

"Yes, Sheldon, you're still my suitor," she concurred, sighing inwardly at Sheldon's apprehension.

"Your only suitor, right?" His eyebrows were held high as he waited for Amy's answer.

"Hmm…" Amy smiled coyly as she turned the corner.

"Amy?!" he said, affronted by Amy's teasing.

"Of course, of course. You're my only suitor," she assured him, caressing and patting his shoulder, while her eyes were still on the road.

As they made a stop in front of Sheldon's apartment, Sheldon was instantly out of the door. She thought he left her to fend off for herself and find her way through his building. A survival game, perhaps. Her second thought was maybe Sheldon was really excited to meet his friends. Now that she can think of it, it was only 5:30, and he informed her that his friends wouldn't be arriving until 6. Still odd...

Instead, Sheldon rushed out and around the front of the car. The spectacle was hilarious for Amy, seeing Sheldon's facial reaction across the dashboard, gnawing on his lips as his hands flailed around. The car engine wasn't even turned off yet as he clutched the driver's door. He halted for a second and tapped his finger persistently on her window, asking for Amy to unlock it.

Upon peering at the man outside her car, Amy gazed at him in disbelief. If he was doing what she believed he was doing, this was the first time for her. Of all the years she had known and drove Sheldon around, it was highly unlikely for him to break the barrier of being a gentleman. She wasn't bad-mouthing Sheldon per se, he just was not a gentleman to this degree.

She sighed and unlocked the door. Sheldon flung it open and stomped his feet back and forth like a dog delighted to see its owner. "What are you doing?" Amy asked as if she didn't know what his agenda was.

"Opening the door for you."

"Okaaaayyy…" she let the word drag, looking at Sheldon oddly. "Umm, thanks?"

"Aww, no worries."

"Is this gonna be a daily thing now?" Amy watched as Sheldon closed the door behind her. The thud slightly startled her, yet she knew she would need to learn to live with it. Looks like Sheldon isn't going anywhere.

"Unless if you're gonna drive me to work every day."

"No, I meant the door holding thing."

"Oh… should I not be doing it? Is it against the rules?" Sheldon rattled worriedly. Was it too much? Or was it not enough? Oh boy, it's not enough!

Amy noticed how Sheldon's demeanor shifted immediately from his elated state to almost having a breakdown. Before letting him combust in distress, Amy soothed him.

"No, no! I have no problem with you holding the door. I find it sweet of you to do it." Amy rubbed his back as they were entering the premises. "And there are no rules, Sheldon."

"Oh, I thought there were some regarding courting rituals…" He mindlessly grabbed Amy's hand as she went straight to the elevator.

Noticing that it was cordoned off using a striking yellow tape with 'CAUTION' written in bold writing, Amy decided just to follow Sheldon. She recalled once that Sheldon mentioned their elevator was not working. But it was just a quick thought that she opted not to ask any questions further.

"Well, we can make some if you want," she suggested as they made the first landing.

"Oooh, you know I like making rules." Sheldon beamed at her, excited about the prospect of devising another one of his classic agreements. He just hoped Amy would approve of it.

"If you want," she gazed at Sheldon with forethought, "you can prepare it tomorrow."

"Sheldon, dinner's here!" Leonard's voice resonated across the living room.

Sheldon looked at him quizzically as Leonard carried three paper bags on one hand and his spare key on the other. The shouting was not necessary; Leonard could just have emerged from the door and what he's bringing would give it away. Of course, he knew Leonard would bring dinner. He always did, in fact. Sometimes, Leonard's stating of the obvious got fairly frequent that single-mindedly ignoring it would be a chore—a tedious one he ought not to be doing.

"Great!" Sheldon replied sarcastically from the kitchen.

Leonard was late. And along with that, all his friends were late, too! Where have they gone? Didn't they have a watch to have a reference to? He should have gone with his instincts and sync all of his friends' watches. All of them.

It was already fifteen minutes past six, and what he got in his apartment was an ex-roommate whom he had since accepted as an 'ex' and a woman who he's been pursuing for almost 24 hours now. And from the looks of her, perched on his couch with one of his physics journals, Amy didn't look pursued at all.

As Leonard strutted from the door to the island, his eyes caught a glimpse of a figure by the couch. He halted mid-stride and slowly turned his head to the couch. Sitting in the middle was a bespectacled woman, around their age, occupied with a magazine.

"Umm, hi?" Leonard greeted hesitantly as he shifted his look at Amy and Sheldon. If his eyes could speak, it would be screaming: "SHELDON, IT'S HER!"

Remarking Leonard's reaction as confusion, Sheldon instantly stood beside his best friend. "Oh, Leonard," he started, "you remember Amy…"

Leonard still threw Sheldon an incredulous stare. Sheldon noted how his wonky eyebrows got even wonkier.

"Ah, y-yes, Amy nice to see you again," he composedly greeted, no hint of confusion at bay. Leonard passed the bags to Sheldon as he pocketed his keys before offering his hand to Amy.

Amy took his hand and greeted him back with a smile, "And you must be Leonard, right?"

"Yes. Nice to finally see you," he concurred, shaking Amy's hand heedlessly as Sheldon watched in disbelief. "We saw you this week, right? At lunch… with Sheldon… "

Before Leonard could tear off his visitor's hand, Sheldon intervened, "Leonard, a moment." He walked to the counter with bags cradled in his arms.

"Woah, it's Amy!" Leonard whispered aggressively as he dipped down with his hands shaking in amazement.

Sheldon set down the bags on the island. "I'm aware, Leonard. I just introduce you to her to you," he replied.

"I know, I know, but it's just… I don't know… weird. To have Amy around here. You never brought her in one of our gatherings," Leonard hinted as he unpacked their food.

"Why are you stating the obvious again? Of course, I hadn't bought her yet because she was occupied with her work," Sheldon explained haughtily.

He crossed his arms and held his head high as if he shared Amy's achievements. Sheldon felt the need to uphold Amy even though she wasn't being challenged by Leonard or whatsoever. Leonard was merely wondering why Sheldon hadn't brought Amy in the first place, not impose on her.

"You should've given us a heads up. Well, at least me," Leonard implied. "I bought dinner and wasn't aware of an additional company."

Sheldon leaned in. "I didn't tell you, but I asked you to add another order of tangerine chicken and dumplings."

Leonard stared at him quizzically. "I thought you were just craving for Chinese food."

Sheldon shook his head at the ridiculous assumption made by his best friend. A thought came to him as to why he waited for Leonard in the kitchen: It only came to him right when Leonard mentioned Chinese food.

"You picked up the good hot mustard?" Sheldon prodded.

"Yes!" Leonard answered instantly as he raised a bottle of the bright red-orange condiment. Remembering Sheldon's next tirade, Leonard held his finger up to Sheldon's agape mouth.

"And before you say it, I bought the low sodium soy sauce, too!"

"Good, good." Sheldon looked behind Leonard to check on Amy. She told him a few minutes ago that she was nervous. But now, she looked confident as if she wasn't about to meet the raucous group Sheldon has ever encountered.

"Why did you decide to finally introduce your ladylove?"

"Hush, Leonard! She isn't my ladylove," Sheldon growled and moved his back to Amy to lecture Leonard's brash statement. "I asked her if she wanted to meet you guys. She was hesitant at first—who wouldn't be, right?—but I encouraged her that you would want to meet her, too."

"Sheldon, I—"

"Heyo, nerdmigos!" Howard barged into the door, raising his arms up like a superstar. His voice bellowed loudly, alarming everyone in the room. It's like he's back in his astronaut phase again: pompous and overconfident astronaut self.

Bernadette and Raj tailed just behind Howard. Engrossed in their own conversation, they didn't notice Howard's abrupt stop and stunned look, which caused Raj to bump into Howard's back. Bernadette furrowed her brows in confusion and peeked at her husband. And then to what he was gawking at.

She squinted her eyes. "Hey," squinting some more to identify the mysterious person on Sheldon's couch. "A-Amy?" Bernadette acknowledged in awe as she traipsed carefully to her. Once Amy lifted her head, Bernadette gasped in excitement, so did Howard and Raj in the background

"Hello, Bernadette," Amy greeted with warmth in her chest. Despite the years of their not seeing each other, Amy still felt admiration toward Bernadette and their short-lived friendship at UCLA. She felt connected to Howard and Raj, too, because of Sheldon's accounts of their friendship.

"Oh, nice to see you again! How are you?" Bernadette embraced Amy warmly, which the woman returned wholeheartedly.

"Oh, boy. Sheldon finally brought his girlfriend," Howard whispered to Raj as he witnessed his wife envelope Amy like she was one of her girlfriends.

Doe-eyed, Raj replied,"I know right! I can feel the love flowing through the room. This is so exciting!" Raj practically bounced in delight. The ever so romantic among the group, he finds every relationship his friends had as something magical, even if it ends in breakups

The chattering between Howard and Raj was interrupted by a pat on their shoulders. "Hey, guys!" Penny emerged from the door. She looked past the boys, saw Bernadette holding Amy at arm's-length, both of them looked genuinely happy "Who's she?"

Howard leaned in and murmured, "Sheldon's girlfriend…" He then motioned his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"He has one?" Mouth agape and eyes wide, Penny pushed Howard and Raj's shoulders away and stepped a little closer to the spectacle

The boys followed suit, bobbing their head yes. Raj then used his hand to cover his mouth and confided near Penny's left ear, "His word of mouth: Amy Farrah Fowler."

"Ooohh, Amy Farrah Fowler!" That came out pretty loud. Penny lightened up, throwing Sheldon a cocky look, and then back to Amy with an amused look.

Judging from the looks of his newly arrived friends, Sheldon knew they were in complete shock and awe. Who wouldn't be? He should have brought Amy years ago if his friends would look at him this way.

He passed between Amy and Bernadette, squeezing his way in just to get Amy attention. "Everyone, this is Amy," he started as he held Amy's arm lightly."Amy, you know Leonard and Bernadette…" Both of them beamed at her once again. "Howard and Raj…" Both peeked from behind Penny and waved their hand. "...and of course Penny." She repressed a tiny squeal and stomped her feet as she advanced toward Amy and squeezed her in a tight hug.

In between their meal, the group got engrossed in their conversation, but mostly engrossed in Amy. Spanning from Amy's life story which included: where she grew up, where she attended university, her parents, how Sheldon treated her and if he treats her like how he treats everybody, and maybe if she and Sheldon are in a relationship.

The last one garnered an offended look from Sheldon and resulted to Amy flushing profusely. Sheldon relentlessly diverted the topic whenever any mention of his relationship with Amy ensued. Even though they haven't even discussed their status, Sheldon had an inkling that Amy would be opposed to him babbling about his proposal and what happened next.

Instead, when the talk about their relationship arose, Sheldon would divert the topic of Amy. He bragged about her starting college at 15. How she became the youngest Neuroscience representative for Harvard on an international convention when she was only 16. How she'd done research in various facilities across America. Indeed, Raj was right; Amy was his word of mouth, and, clearly, from the eagerness of his friends, Amy was sold.

Time flew easily and before they were aware of it, it was almost 8 in the evening—an hour of Vintage Video Games had been wasted and the game of 1984 Duck Hunt could wait for them to finish. As if the ducks would fly away and the derisive laughter of the dog, whenever they fail at shooting, would be any different. Truth be told, Sheldon couldn't be more frustrated. He enjoyed every bit of spending dinner with Amy that getting angry was just pointless.

Since dinner was done, and Sheldon knew that Amy would like to go home, he excused himself and Amy.

"Alright, Amy are you going?" He shot her a look amidst the movement in the kitchen and living room—cleaning up the plates and leftovers. Due to what happened last night, he thought maybe Amy would want to spend the rest of the night by herself.

Before Amy could answer, Bernadette jumped into her and begged, "Oh, Amy can you stay for a while? We have so much to talk about!" she squeaked as she eyed Sheldon to appeal. "We're having a Girl's night." She glanced back to Penny, who was nodding in agreement.

Sheldon peered at her in worry. "Would you like that, Amy?" he muttered under his breath.

Amy smiled at the girls and replied, "Why not?" Sheldon shrugged and stared at the ladies as they exited his apartment.

Sheldon was surprised but not atrociously. He was surprised that Penny and Bernadette would want Amy in their group, and Amy was more than willing to be part of them.

He just wished Amy would want to be with them for a lifetime. Brighten up his lousy friends. Invigorate his life. Maybe Amy was the missing piece—the piece that would bring balance to their group. He never thought it at that time, but as he spent more and more time with Amy, she was the missing piece to his life. Being a missing piece to his group was just the cherry on top.

"Sheldon…" A knock from the outside interrupted their game. Sheldon shot up from his seat, tossing his zapper to Leonard. The guys threw each other knowing looks. Sheldon would be dominated by this woman, they thought to themselves as Sheldon wasn't even hesitant to go out.

Swinging the door open, Amy said, "I should get going, Sheldon."

"Just a second!" He turned his back to Amy. "Beat them, Leonard!" he bellowed, motioning his hand as though he was punching something. Amy was stunned, but she found Sheldon's vigor to be adorable.

Sheldon shut the door and smiled back at Amy. "Come on, I'll walk you to your car." He leaned over to Amy and whispered, "I don't trust Pasadena at night."

"How come you don't?" Amy gazed at him in disbelief. "You've lived here for almost twenty years now."

"Time has changed, Amy." Amy thought he was kidding around when he grinned at her. "The last time I walked around Pasadena at night was when I went to Ralph's at 11:30 to pick up my next day cereal which I inadvertently have forgotten from my biweekly grocery run," he revealed as they reached the second floor landing.

"What's so bad about that?" She clutched the sling of her bag.

"I saw the man restocking the cereal aisle. And as I was getting my Cracklin Oat Bran, he handed me the box directly and called me Stretch!"

"Oh, that must be infuriating," she replied sarcastically, but immediately regretting it when he saw how genuine Sheldon was.

What Bernadette and Penny said to her was true: Sheldon was sensitive yet he seemed to be deflecting his emotions aside even if it was affecting him inside. She also knew that Sheldon had been secretive for the past two weeks and rarely spoken to them since arriving from his train trip. She'd heard about that… trip but Penny didn't go into detail. Sheldon didn't either.

"Indeed, it was." He sighed. Arriving at the lobby, he swiped past Amy and held the door for her.

"Why are we talking about this?" She fumbled for her keys.

"It's an explanation as to why shopping at night is horrible, and I guess, it goes for walking at night, too."

"Oh, you're a shrewd man." Amy unlocked her car and turned to Sheldon. "Thank you for tonight, Sheldon." It was genuine: Amy's wide, gleaming smile.

"You're welcome… and thank you for staying, too." Sheldon returned a grin. Amy thought he was turning crimson but couldn't see any better because of the lack of proper lighting at the parking lot.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He turned his back to Amy.

She reached for his shoulder, noticing how it tensed up at her touch but promptly softened as Sheldon realized that it was just Amy "Wait… Sheldon…"

"Yes?"

"Aren't you forgetting something." Amy flashed him a coy smirk, which Sheldon easily spotted.

"Uh…" He looked around the lot and fidget with the hem of Green Lantern shirt.

"A kiss, perhaps." Amy leaned in a little, her face a few inches away from his'.

Sheldon was undeterred. He matched Amy's intrepid actions and leaned further, causing Amy to back away to her car. "Was it penned in the official rules of courting?" he asked.

"I suppose we could include it tomorrow," Amy muttered under her breath and grasped Sheldon's arm tightly, not knowing if he would attack or surrender.

"Okay, come here." He did attack. He gently held Amy's waist, leaned in, and was about to taste her lips when, "Wait, wait…" Amy pushed him slightly on his left shoulder.

"What?" It came out bitingly, but not because of Amy. Sheldon chided himself, wanting to run and escape from his rash actions.

"I was just fooling around, Sheldon." Amy chuckled awkwardly. She felt his touch slowly slipped away from her and noticed the emptiness.

"Oh, I thought you were serious." His voice manifested embarrassment. Fighting himself, he almost cried in shame but decided not to. Amy would be disappointed if he did.

"Do you think you're ready for that… the physical aspect, I mean?"

"No."

"Then why are you willing to kiss me?" Amy cocked her head and furrowed her brows in curiosity.

"I'm winning your trust and declining a kiss would I mean that I would lose points." He took a step back, detaching himself from her personal space and acquiring back his own. It wasn't intentional, he just hoped Amy would forgive him for not being a gentleman.

"You know that's not how relationships works, right?" Amy assured. She patted his cheek, and it did wonders to him. His tensed body relaxed and damaging thoughts disintegrated as Amy's words shot them down

"I'm inexperienced, Amy…" he revealed with a stab in his heart. "I am clueless." It wasn't easy. This wasn't easy, yet somehow, he didn't feel burdened at all. He could thank Amy for that.

"That's alright." How come Amy was smiling? Not the foolish, teasing kind. She was offering him a kind, compassionate one. He wasn't used to seeing someone treat him like this other than his family. It was unusual.

"Did I lose some points for being a neophyte?"

"No, Sheldon."

"Oh, okay. I'm making a fool out of myself. I apologize." He dropped his head in shame.

Amy held his chin and tilted his head. She gazed at him in empathy. "Save your apology when you really messed up, alright?"

"Okay. I'm sorry," he apologized once again. Amy smirked in disbelief. He really was relentless. At least in apologizing, that is.

"You know a hug wouldn't hurt," Amy suggested, mindlessly opening her arm for him. Judging from how Sheldon's expression changed, he seemed pleased about the offer.

Amy was supposed to pull her arms in when Sheldon took a while to answer but was halted when she felt his heat combine with her body.

Sheldon tightly grasped Amy by the waist, hunching his back so his face was on her neck, indulging her smell. Amy took seconds, but didn't think twice and enveloped her hands around his neck, dragging her fingers along his nape.

Sheldon took a deep inhale of her and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry…" while tightening his hold on her.

Amy chuckled lightly and whispered back, "Oh boy, you've got a lot to learn about, Sheldon."

One of my weaknesses: writing group scenes. I hope I gave justice to this :)