New chapter! :D I found myself thoroughly amused by the comments left in the reviews about Claire. Because, well... you'll find out! ;D

It was the weekends again, and Penny hadn't noticed how fast time has gone with all that has been going through her mind. Leonard's cousin Claire especially, what Claire had told her the day before was bothering her a little. In fact, a little is a bit too much of an understatement. When she hears Claire's voice in her head, she would start to get goose bumps forming on her arms, and they were still in the summer. Sometimes she would involuntarily shiver from the thought. Never had she known or seen someone that…insane and twisted. Penny wouldn't even want to consider the thought that she might be a potential love rival. Yet, once again, she found herself in front of Leonard's front door, knocking on it this time instead of pressing the doorbell on the side.

Claire appeared a few seconds later, a joyful look on her face. But upon seeing Penny, her face dropped and instantly turned cold, obviously looking annoyed.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have to go to school?" She questioned with rudeness etched into her voice.

" Umm…it's Saturday." Penny replied, trying to ignore her attitude.

"What do you want? Leonard's not here." Claire stated, and Penny thought she might have seen her rolling her eyes slightly.

"Umm actually…I want to talk to you."

Claire lifted one of her eyebrows.

"Have you…" This was difficult for Penny to do. "Have you ever told Leonard about how you feel?"

"What?" Claire looked at her, her expression now of shock. "What? No. No, of course not." Her eyes were now looking away, everywhere else except at Penny.

"Why not?"

"It's just not something I can say to him easily. Who knows what will happen? What if he stops talking to me?" Claire started rambling.

"You should." Penny smiled at her, even though it hurt that she was telling someone else to admit their feelings to Leonard, when she still cannot bring herself to do it.

Claire's expression turned quickly from worry to a smile. However, it was more of a smile of approval, rather than one of joy. Penny was completely lost in the situation; Claire seemed to have turned into a completely different person.

"What?" Penny asked, confusion written all over her face.

"Congratulations. Come here." Claire spread her arms out, inviting Penny in for a hug.

"Okay…" Penny stepped forward and hugged her, patting her back a few times.

"Congratulations for…?" Penny questioned when she stepped back.

"Passing my test. If you had told me to back off because Leonard is yours, or did something bitchy that usually girls will do, I wouldn't have approved of you as Leonard's mate."

Penny's face went red instantly. "Mate? Wha-No, we're no-"

"Oh, look at you all embarrassed. You are so cute, I like you even more." Claire gave off a laugh seeing as Penny still looked befuddled. "Come in, let's talk." She headed towards the living room leaving the door open for Penny to come in. Penny stood rooted to the ground for a few seconds before she realised Claire had just invited her in. She closed the door behind her and followed quickly behind Claire.

Claire slumped onto the sofa, and Penny sat down next to her, not knowing where else to sit.

"I still don't…"

"The whole thing was an act, Penny. It was to determine if you would be suitable for Leonard."

"Suitable?" Penny asked, pretending to be unaware of what she was talking about.

"Don't deny it. I know. Anyone can tell just by looking at the two of you."

"So the whole thing with you being in love with Leonard was an act?" Penny asked, trying to catch up with Claire's thoughts.

"Yeah, pretty good, aren't I?" She said beaming at Penny. "Plus, I have a boyfriend."

"Oh. I should have caught that." Penny said, looking away.

"Okay, let's get down to business."

"Umm…okay."

"It's obvious that the two of you feel something for each other."

Claire hadn't finished before Penny cut her off. "It-it is?"

"Yeah of course. Perhaps not to him, or to you. Man, I swear you two are such idiots. Have you said anything to him about it?"

"No…what if he doesn't feel the same way?" Penny asked.

"I just told you it's obvious the two of you feel something for each other." Claire paused and looked at her. "You know what I've been listening to the past week? It was the first time we have seen each other in a long time, and all he would talk about was you. I've never seen him talk about anyone else with so much passion and excitement. I didn't have to come here you know? I could have just stayed at home by myself, and I would have been fine. But I wanted to meet you, and know what is it about you that he is so fascinated about."

"Really?" was all Penny could get out.

"Yeah. Next time, observe how he looks at you. His face just lights up instantly."

"Alright…I'm still not sure about this though. The other day, you asked me, whether I can swear that I will never cause him any sort of unhappiness. I know that I don't want to, but even if I don't, some things are not really in my control. What if, I somehow do manage to hurt him? That is the last thing that I would want to do. If we are already happy enough as best friends, why not just keep it at that and not risk anything?"

"Listen to how you are talking about him. Do you not think that he is not worth the risk?"

"No…I'm not saying that. It's just…" Penny struggled to get her words out.

"Some things are worth taking the risk, Penny. Where else are you going to find someone as perfect for you as Leonard? Think about how much you will regret if you don't take this chance with him. Do you really want that? I'm sure you know this by now, but Leonard would make a hell of a boyfriend. Even though this will be his first time."

Penny started to say something, but Claire stopped her before she could. "Take your own advice Penny, you should."

Many times she's had her own words thrown back at her, but this was the first time that it might help in her current situation. "Alright, I'll do it." Penny stated firmly.

Claire gave her a smile, "You guys are going to be great together." She still found Claire strange to be so excited for someone else's relationship, although it was a different kind of strange from the previous day.

At that moment she heard the key turn the lock in the door, and Leonard stepped in with a few bags in his hand. He saw Claire first, smiled at her and greeted her with a casual "hey". Then, his eyes drifted towards her, and Penny immediately noticed what Claire was talking about, she saw his face light up the instant his eyes met hers, and he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, still smiling at her.

"Just hanging with Claire here." Hanging?

"Hanging?" His voice echoed her thoughts, and he gave a little laugh.

She smiled back at him and looked towards Claire. "Did you see it?"

"See what?" Leonard asked, clueless of the situation.

"Yeah. Yeah I did." Penny grinned, nodding at the same time at Claire.

"So…"

"Yeah, I'll do it. Soon." Claire seemed to be slightly annoyed at the word she had added to the end of the sentence, but she knew Penny needed time to prepare, and this was neither the right time nor place to do it.

"What?" Leonard was looking as clueless as Penny did before, looking from Claire to Penny, and then from Penny to Claire.

"Nothing." Penny said, pulling him down to sit beside her.

She wanted to pull him closer towards her and just press her lips on his, getting more and more curious as to what it tastes like, but she knew she had to hold it in. Just a little longer. Soon, you might be able to do that. Soon.