Chapter 21

Each day passed slowly, and though Sheldon did continually try speaking to Leonard, it seemed as though his friend just didn't want to hear it. He supposed that he had to wait until he was ready to listen to reason. Until that time, he would have to stay at Penny's. His girlfriend's. He found the reclassification to be quite odd, as she was now not only his friend, but his girlfriend as well. He would definitely have to remember this if he was to introduce her to other people he knew. It appeared that this reclassification held great significance to Penny, if her excitedly reporting the results of their experiment to her sister and her mother over the phone told him anything.

On Wednesday, when he finished with his work day, he gathered his things together, and waited for Penny to pick him up. He missed the car rides with Leonard, as Penny didn't really seem as though she enjoyed the same car games that he and Leonard did. This was another reason he wanted to fix things between Leonard and himself, since as much as he liked Penny, she lacked interest in the games he played to strengthen his mind in a time that would otherwise be idly wasted.

When Penny finally came, he bit his lip as his eyes centered in on her check engine light. He knew that the discussion would lead to nothing but the possibility of getting punched in the throat, given the frequency he had brought it up in the past, but it was still a top priority in his mind to get resolved, since he wasn't one to lay down when there was a problem to be solved.

He then just took a breath and said instead, "Penny, I'll need you to take me to the comic book store this evening at 5 o'clock."

She laughed and said, "Something new and interesting coming out this time?"

"The next issue of Flash is coming out. I'm most eager to learn how Wally West will deal with the problem that he found himself in at the end of the last issue." Sheldon replied with a small smile, genuinely looking forward to getting the issue.

"Well, I hope you have fun with that, honey." she said with another chuckle, then adding, "So you'd like me to come get you at 6 as usual?"

"This time I'd like you to come at 6:30 to give me time to eat ice cream." Sheldon said, removing his seat belt as Penny pulled her car into her spot at their apartment complex.

When she got out of the car and they began to walk up to their apartment, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Why do you have to eat the ice cream there? Why can't you just bring it back with you?"

"That would certainly be rude to Martha, who is meeting me at the comic book store to also get the newest issue of Flash." Sheldon replied a matter of factly.

Both of Penny's eyebrows shot up at this and her tone turned suspicious, "Who's Martha?"

"I met her last week in the food court on the east side of campus, as I was attempting to avoid a confrontation with Leonard in the usual food court I eat at on the west side." Sheldon said with a nod, not understanding why she wanted so many details about this.

It was common for the both of them to talk to many people over the course of their days and then never mention them to each other, so he wondered why this one was of consequence to Penny, whose eyebrow was now twitching in a way that he learned implied jealousy.

"Let me get this straight." Her voice was tight and strained as she spoke now, "You are meeting this Martha to look at comic books together and then you're getting ice cream with her?"

"It was she who suggested we pick up the issue together, but it was I who suggested the ice cream. You know Leonard can't go there, so it was very seldom that we got to visit. I believed it would be best to 'kill two birds with one stone,' as one might say." Sheldon said, eyeing her slightly warily as she fixed a glare on him, still not sure what was setting her off.

Penny then opened her apartment door for Sheldon and then ushered him inside and then replied to what he said, giving him a look of absolute disbelief, "You agreed to go on a date with her, Sheldon!"

It was Sheldon's turn for his eyebrows to shoot up as he spoke in a scandalized tone, "I did no such thing! It's hardly a 'date' just based solely on the fact that two individuals with similar interests are doing an activity together that they both enjoy."

She put her hand on her hips, and he realized that he was in big trouble. That was the stance his mother always took when he was about to get a talking to, and so he braced himself for the obvious fallout that was to follow, getting ready to cover his ears in case there was yelling.

"What about the ice cream part then?" Penny said in an angry tone, tapping her foot in impatience.

"I intended to visit alone, but as Martha would be with me at the comic book store, I just invited her to join me." Sheldon explained softly, drawing into himself just a slight bit, sure she would start yelling at any second, from the look on her face.

"Inviting her to join you to eat anything is considered a date." Her voice got more quiet and dangerous as his reply was obviously not the right thing to say.

"I've invited Leonard, Raj, and Howard to eat with me before, and you've never told me that was a date." Sheldon asked slowly, thinking if he said too much, he might set Penny off.

Her glare on him intensified just slightly and she added as she counted each thing she mentioned off on her fingers, "When there is a male, a female, and ice cream all involved, it is a date, trust me."

Sheldon eyed her suspiciously himself, waiting for the blow out, but when it didn't come, he relaxed slightly. If there was one thing he hated most in the world, it was yelling. Penny appeared to be taking breaths to calm herself, and Sheldon took this opportunity to say, "I did not know this before. I will take note of this fact for the future."

She raised an eyebrow at that and said, "You'd better. And I'll be coming along with you for this so called 'date.' No woman is going to move in on my man!"

She stepped forward to poke lightly at his chest and added, "Even if he is a doofus about social situations sometimes."

This caused Sheldon to pout and say, "I am not a doofus. Not knowing is too often equated with not understanding and I do not appreciate you implying the later about me."

Penny shook her head and just let out another sigh, saying, "Sweetie, you can tell yourself whatever will help you sleep at night."

Sheldon just huffed at her and crossed his arms for a moment, before deciding there was no way he would win an argument when Penny had already made up her mind. He then decided to approach a problem he was doing earlier at work on his white board. He was glad that he had extras at work, so he was able to bring one back with him to work on while at Penny's.

This was working for the time being, but he really wanted to work on the board that was specifically for problems he worked on at home. He really just wanted to make up with Leonard and go home.