A/N- I know, I suck. I seriously do. I will try to update this as frequently as possible... but be patient with me. = Well after I post this I am off to go running to hopefully inspire more chapters/ideas. THANK YOU for all the reviews and attention. Seriously 200 reviews just warms my heart in ways I didn't know was possible.

Raj was in the zone. Just the right tunes were playing for their meal – the sound of sultry jazz. He set the candles three inches apart from each other, just as Better Homes suggested, and it flickered perfectly around her apartment. The main course he had been working on filled the entire hall with sumptuous scents. He felt like he deserved another cup of wine for his troubles.

Just as he was about to pour it, Amy burst through the door.

"Candles? Really?"

"They create 'ambiance'."

"They create a fire hazard." She took the bag off of her shoulders and put it on the chair.

"I think they look classy."

"Classy for a power outage, maybe. Rajesh, people aren't going to want to talk to each other in the dark." She rushed to the kitchen and started whipping up spinach salad.

"I don't see why not."

"Because we have modern lights?"

"Fine. Point taken, but no more pooping on my party." He went to blow the candles out.

"You know what? Leave them," She put her hands up in surrender. "You made dinner, you get to create your own ambiance."

"Is that what you are going to wear?"

He watched as she looked down at her oversized khaki skirt, and blue sweater. True, her clothes had gotten better fitting and more modern, but she still had a long way to go. A ladies' skirt was supposed to show off her booty, but hers were always too big for her build.

"Yes. I don't see why I need to waste two outfits in one day when we aren't even going out."

"You just came from school. Cosmo says you should always dress down for school and dress up for socializing."

It was her turn to look at his outfit. "You're wearing your windbreaker."

"I didn't come from school." But she did have a point, so he went to her room and took it off, threw it on her bed.

Letting his gaze wander, he noticed her bedroom wall had newly-printed pictures on it. Staring back at him was a picture of the two of them at karaoke night.

Who would have thought she would become his best friend?

She burst through her bedroom and threw her sweater at him. "If I have to change, you have to leave my bedroom."

"What? I'm not allowed to see you naked?"

"No!"

"Haven't I earned that privilege as a friend?"

She smiled slightly, but seemed to catch herself in the act. She then looked at him again and shook her head. He pretended to pout, just to give her a hard time.

"Okay. Do you want to go first on the 'show me yours, I'll show you mine' scheme?"

"It's naked time." He did an awkward dance for her, and it made her laugh.

"I have a strong hypothesis that you will show it to anyone." She started to push him out of the room.

"All it takes is a couple of pills. Or mimosas. Whatever comes first." As he went to go to the kitchen to set the table, the rest of the gang entered.

Sheldon came in last, looking utterly lost and confused.

Good.

But he had agreed to help him. Heaven knows why. Secretly, he loved watching Sheldon deal with consequences of his rash actions. He loved seeing the poor man stew and squirm.

"Why is the apartment lit up like some medieval torture chamber?" Howard handed his coat to his wife.

"Amy doesn't like open flames." Sheldon said, while looking at the mattress still in front of the television. Raj was supposed to move it back to Amy's bedroom but hadn't yet.

"Was there a power outage or something?"

"Forget to pay your cable bill, too, huh?" Penny smiled.

Amy came out from her bedroom, wearing a tight blue pencil skirt and a white quarter-length shirt.

"No, we just thought it would fit in with our meal." She smiled at Raj, and the teams were once again solidified.

It used to be Howard and Raj against the world, but once that ended, Raj had bounced around as the single entity in the group - always alone, always outnumbered, always lonely.

"Yes, we like the candles."

He looked at Sheldon, but Sheldon seemed too busy trying to analyze Amy's outfit to comment.

"Well then, let's eat, I guess." Howard said.

"No, we're still waiting for Arlene." Amy answered, running to the kitchen to get the fruit salad out of the fridge.

Arlene.

She had been nicer to Raj as the weeks past, it was true. She had invited him to her trial kickboxing class with Amy, she sent him pictures of everything Amy tried on during their latest shopping excursion, she had added him on Facebook, and she even limited her insults to only the most clever responses. And honestly, for Raj, she wasn't that bad to be around anymore.

But she threatened his and Amy's friendship, the only thing Raj really had going for him in his life.

Raj helped Amy set out dishes for dinner, and he watched her carefully. He took note of the easygoing smile she had, besides the fact that her ex was only a few feet away from her, the way she was suddenly standing taller, and the way her eyes shone brighter. She was clearly happy.

If she and Arlene became better friends, she might decide to leave his original group of friends. She might choose to spend her nights with Arlene living out her high school fantasies. And the worst part was that he couldn't really blame her.

But if she and Arlene did become better friends, he would go back to being alone. He would go back to being the one whose opinion mattered least because no one would second it. He would go back to feeling left out in his own circle. He wouldn't have anyone to talk to without making fun of him. He would miss Amy's bluntness and her willingness to try new things with him. He would miss her empathy.

He would miss his friend.

Just as his thoughts were about to get deeper, the very thing that was threatening their friendship opened the door to Amy's apartment.

"Hello all! Wow. You're all here and it isn't even six yet. Talk about punctual."

She started to move back to the kitchen towards Amy, but Sheldon stopped her.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

"Seeing as I don't know you, I'm not sure I should allow you to pass. You could be any type of party crasher."

"Didn't Amy tell you I was coming?"

"She said someone named Arlene was coming, but seeing as you never introduced yourself and never knocked how do I know you aren't coming in here with the intentions to rob us blind?"

"Sheldon, my expectations on your reputation proceeds you. I'm Arlene."

"Well, alright. See, if you had just introduced yourself we could have skipped all that."

Raj expected Arlene to say something snarky but her smile seemed genuine and honest. She wasn't hostile towards Sheldon at all. What was she up to?

"Hey, Arlene!" Bernadette walked over to give her a small hug.

"Her Bernie! How was work today? Any good cases for me?" She winked and Bernadette laughed.

"No, no. Nothing like that."

"So, you're a lawyer?" Leonard asked.

"Sorry. I assume you are Leonard? It's nice to meet you. Yes, I am a lawyer."

To this Sheldon made a noise in the back of his throat. When everyone turned to him he stared at Arlene instead.

"Experience has taught me that I don't really like lawyers." Sheldon crossed his arms.

"Really? Well, experience has taught me I'm not the least bit thrilled about my best friends' ex-boyfriends. Glad we are on the same page." Arlene looked up to Amy, who was walking to her couch.

"Interesting." Sheldon said a couple of seconds later.

Oh no. That sentence never lead to something good. The last thing they needed was someone to ask him to elaborate.

"What is?" Everyone in the room groaned.

Penny had known Sheldon for several years, she should have known better than to indulge him. If she had just sat silently, Sheldon would have told them eventually, but to ask the question assured that he would continue in condescension and arrogance, as opposed to whispering it in one breath because he couldn't hold it in.

"Well, Arlene just said that Amy was her best friend," Everyone continued doing what they were doing. "But, I was under the impression that you were her quote 'bestie' unquote."

"You can have more than one best friend Sheldon." Bernadette said.

"By the very definition of the word best you can't. Best means that there is nothing better than it. Thus a best friend is a tier."

Raj was eager to see how this played out. Maybe he could have his very questions answered without having to ask it.

Amy looked uncomfortable, switching from one foot to the other. "That's not true. I have lots of different types of best friends. Bernadette is my best scientist friend. Penny is my best goddess friend. Arlene is my best party friend. Thus because they are all best in their different categories - they are essentially different types of best to me," Raj coughed. "Oh, and Raj is my best boy slash friend."

"Well, excuse me," Sheldon started. "I don't understand how Raj could be your best boy slash friend."

Oh dear.

Raj knew he had competition for Amy's friendship. He and Arlene had fought long and hard, blow by blow, as it were. But Sheldon was not going to enter this ring. If he wanted to fight for Amy's heart, great. But he had lost her friendship the second he asked her to be his girlfriend.

Even Raj, with about as much experience in dating as he had in football, knew you couldn't be friends with your exes. Especially not Sheldon, who had trouble being friends with people, period. He felt a snort rise out of him. Upon hearing it, Sheldon's brows furrowed.

"I don't understand what that snort was for. I will always be her best boy slash friend. Right, Amy?"

Always? Really? The nerves of him to actually think that he thought he could just march back into her life and be the most important person?

"Sheldon, you don't even know Amy."

"If it wasn't for me you wouldn't know her at all. And for your information, I know Amy better than anyone else in this room does."

"Correction: If it weren't for me and Raj, who entered you in that dating site, you wouldn't even know she existed," Sheldon threw Howard a look of pure derision. "Just saying."

"You left! You were already checked out before you left. I bet Cinnamon that I can answer more questions about her correctly than you can."

"I don't want your dog. But I will take your bet."

"Guys, this is a stupid bet." Arlene interjected. But Raj was already irritated and upset. He turned to the irksome blonde.

"You are only saying that because you would lose too. Granted, it might come down to me and you, but still, you are going down."

"What did you just say?" Arlene was fuming.

"Wait, wait!" Penny stood up. "Are you saying that you think you and Arlene are the best friends? I was here first!"

"Doesn't matter! In the top tier it would be me, than Arlene." Raj answered honestly.

"What about me? I'm her 'bestie'? I mean, why not all of us?"

"Really, Penny? You think you could answer questions about Amy correctly?" Raj was clearly skeptical. "What's her favorite television show?"

Penny opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Seconds later she sat down, looking defeated.

"Look, you all can argue on your own time," Sheldon interjected. "But right now, Raj and I need to settle this once and for all."

"Not that I want to join, but honestly, what is going on right now?" Arlene asked.

Vague as it was, Raj understood. This wasn't a battle for who really knew Amy the best. This was a battle about who could claim her in the group.

"Raj and I are going to decide who gets to be paired up with Amy the best way we know how. A good old-fashioned duel." Sheldon answered calmly.

"Wait. Raj? You're trying to date Amy?" Bernadette asked.

"No," He understood what Sheldon meant. "He means that whoever wins gets her as a wing woman."

"Wouldn't she get to deci-" Leonard started, but Howard, on the edge of his seat in anticipation, quickly hushed him.

"I don't want her for a wing woman. I am not demeaning her to such mundane tasks in our friendship. Our group is based on pairs. We pair up for games, for conversations, and for car rides. And seeing as Amy and I are no longer in a pair bonded relationship, she can be paired with less qualified members in the group for such activities."

"And until she brings a boyfriend around, one of us gets to have her as our partner in games and such."

Raj watched Sheldon's face carefully as he stressed the boyfriend part.

"Well, shouldn't Amy have a say?"

Everyone turned to Amy, who was open-mouthed, frozen where she stood.

"Amy? Would you rather us fight for your hand, or you choose?" Sheldon asked.

She blinked. Her mouth was still open. Arlene went to take a step, but she shook her head.

"I want to see," Her voice was raspy. "I want to see who truly knows me better."

"Are you sure?" Arlene whispered.

"Yes. By doing such, I can ensure that I will always have the partner who is most suitable. I will be more likely to win said games, enjoy said car trips, and engage in mutually beneficial conversations. It makes perfect sense."

Raj looked at Sheldon and saw how determined he was.

Good. Let him learn to fight. The game is on.