Things discovered And things imagined.

Another chapter for these confused kids... tat I don't own.

Leonard's evening had happened just as he had expected. It was Friday and he easily could have left the assignments he had missed while in detention to be done over the weekend. He knew that just about everyone would be at the game tonight. He wanted to go if only to see Penny and the other cheer leaders do their routines. He also had learned that Timmy was going to be the replacement Quarterback for T.J.. That particular fact was one of the reasons that Leonard wasn't sure that showing up at the game would be such a good idea. Knowing how things got around by word of mouth and by assuming that there would be some type of erosion of facts… he was pretty sure that just about everyone would be blaming him for getting T.J. in trouble for cheating… Like it was him that was stealing T.J.'s work or something.

The assignments weren't particularly hard. It was work that he had been reading ahead on anyway. Before long, Leonard had caught up on the assignments and had all the work ready to be turned in on Monday. The only thing left was for his Father to be called and have to take some time off from wherever it was that he was these days. Honestly, he had seen more of Uncle Floyd than his own father the whole term. Trying to explain how this would have happened would not be a pleasant conversation.

Kathy turned round to see a group of students staring at her… led by Anna and Tammy. The other kids with Penny's "Generals" were a bunch of the fringe group that aspired to be part of the popular group and showed up at all the right functions just to be part of the crowd. One of the boys present was Brad. He had been in line to be one of the popular guys and then had his falling out with Penny. He was still somewhat of a "legend" for bedding her… at least that was HIS story… and he certainly was playing that card for all he could.

Brad took Kathy by the arms and picked her up Kicking and Screaming, helped by T.J. who was banned from any contact with the team. He was now in a bunch of hot water and his story was it was her fault because she didn't get Leonard's papers back to him in time. Fortunately for this particular group of kids, the cheering of the visiting parents overwhelmed her calls for help. A few of the kids… helped get Kathy in the back of Brad's beat up car. They drove out to a corn field and stopped in front of a tree that happened to be by the side of a road. Kathy kept screaming as they took her out of the car until one of the girls picked up a corn cob and broke it in half and handed it to Brad. He took the corn cob and stuck it in Kathy's mouth and then the tied a strip of cloth around her head keeping the corn cob in place. They then tied Kathy to the tree and then all laughed as she was left there in the cool evening. Anna and Tammy were the last to get into the car thanking Kathy for ruining the game and getting T.J. and Leonard into trouble.

Penny had been milling around… there weren't going to be any more cheers… the game had mercifully ended. The second half wasn't so bad… the defense came through… not giving up any more points and scoring two touchdowns. One when Jimmy Speckerman fell on a ball in the endzone after another lineman caused a fumble on the other teams two yard line and another scored when Kurt blocked a field goal attempt and ran back a touchdown. All the other cheer leaders mobbed him, led by Valerie… Penny was sure that if they were at an away game… Val would have let Kurt take her right there in the "ENE ZONE". The offense perked up a bit and scored three touchdowns of their own so they only lost 42-35… respectful considering they weren't supposed to have any chance at all. Penny just wanted to go home… it was a cool night and they cheered their asses off.

Walking around looking for Timmy, Penny was grabbed from behind. She turned quickly to see that it was Timmy that had her by the waist. She let out a sigh and hugged him asking to go home. Timmy was a little riled up from what had been going on with Lisa as well as ALL KINDS of feeling guilty… and took Penny into the side door of the gym. He knew that the other guys were going to be using the showers in the boy's locker room, so he coaxed Penny into the girl's locker room. Penny was surprised by his suggestions but was egged on by his nibbling at her neck. That had become a very sensitive spot for her and she always had to be wary when he went there. Timmy brought them to one of the benches and they sat looking at each other. Penny wasn't sure she really wanted to do this right now and turned her back to Timmy, they were straddling the bench. Timmy rubbed Penny's shoulders and then leaned in and kissed her in the crook of her shoulder and neck. Penny took a deep breath as she felt a shiver go up her spine. She closed her eyes as Timmy continued to kiss and nibble on her neck and earlobe while rubbing his hands up Penny's sides and caressing her breasts. Penny leaned back and kissed him as Timmy unzipped Penny's uniform back. She let out a sigh as Timmy cupped each breast when Penny shook her shoulders shedding her uniform top. Timmy pulled his shirt over his head and could feel himself becoming excited as Penny leaned back into his now naked chest. Penny turned and pushed Timmy's shirt off the bench so she could lay down.

Penny heard a metallic clink as the shirt hit the floor. Timmy now was standing and unbuckling his pants. Penny reached down and picked up a pin. She looked at it and immediately pushed back as Timmy tried to lay her down on the bench. "Knock it off… Tim!"

Timmy stopped and stood up, standing in his boxer shorts and socks. "What's wrong?"

Penny held out her hand and showed him the pin… it was a cheer leading participation pin that was given to all the girls that made it onto the squad. Penny never wore hers because they could come loose while doing some of the tumbles. The pin backs weren't all that good and they would fall off sometimes. Actually, none of the first line cheer girls wore them at all. Penny's pin was back at home pinned on Liam… her pink bear. "Where did you get this?"

Timmy looked on wide eyed… "That's not mine…"

Penny… stripped to the waist… looked on. "I should hope not!" Each of the pins was engraved with the initials of the cheer leader they were given to and the year. Penny turned the pin over and saw the initials LP. She looked up at Timmy who was now sweating just a bit. "Lisa Peterson?"

Timmy looked at Penny. He couldn't help but be excited by the half-naked girl in front of him so he covered his crotch with one hand. "It's not like that…"

Penny looked down at Timmy's hand covering his crotch then threw the pin at Timmy and slapped him across the face. "You're a PIG!"

Just then, Curtis… who had been looking for Valerie came around the corner of that row of lockers. "Val? Are you in here?. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Penny… naked from the waist up on one side of a bench… and Timmy standing in nothing but his boxer shorts and socks on the other. "WOAH!" He quickly turned. "Sorry guys… just looking for Val… you haven't seen her have ya?"

Penny rolled her eyes. "UGH!... NO!" She bent over and picked up her uniform top and fiddled with it… it was bad enough she was in the locker room almost going to do "it" with Timmy… now she was standing half naked in front of Val's boyfriend CURTIS!"

Timmy stepped over and put a hand on her shoulder as she fiddled with the zipper of her uniform. "Penny…. I…"

Penny turned and shoved him back with both hands… knocking him into the lockers and causing a loud clatter as the doors swung open and closed. "Shut UP!... I hate you!" Penny then turned and walked toward the door. She passed Curtis still fiddling with the zipper of her uniform top.

Curtis kept his head down. "Sorry… I didn't…"

Penny stopped as she got to Curtis. She didn't know if she was madder at Timmy or herself for falling for another loser… and now Curtis saw her half naked and Timmy in his boxers. It was pretty easy to figure out what they were going to be doing… Penny stopped and grabbed the sides of Curtis's face and pulled him in and shoved his face into her chest right between her boobs. "THERE! get a real GOOD look! Make sure you tell VAL… I'm sure that she will want to spread this all over school…!" She let go of Curtis and then ran out of the locker room.

Little did anyone know, but just around the corner in the girl's shower… Valerie had had one of her hands over her mouth and her other over the mouth of a very naked Kurt… while he held her by her equally naked hips.

Leonard had made his way to game to find that it was already over. He had come in the rather weak hopes of finding Karen in the off chance she had come to see Tammy cheer. By the time he got there, Leonard could see that the game had ended and everyone was leaving to go home. He looked quickly around for either Tammy or Karen but saw neither of them. He was just about to get back into his car when he saw Penny run out of the side door of the Gym. She was pulling up the zipper on the back of her uniform. Leonard watched as Penny leaned back on the wall of the building and put her face into her hands.

Leonard walked over and stood behind her, quietly speaking. "Penny… what's wrong"?

Penny turned quickly at hearing the voice of her best friend. She buried her head in Leonard's shoulder holding back the tears. She was mad and she didn't want Leonard to see her cry. Penny picked up her head and looked into Leonard's eyes. She really liked his eyes. "Could we maybe go for some ice cream?"

Leonard was surprised by her actions. Obviously something was bothering her. He held her by the shoulders. "Ummm… sure…"

Leonard drove Penny to the ice cream shop and they sat in a booth. Penny had ordered a double chocolate fudge sundae. She looked at Leonard. "Aren't you gonna have any?"

Leonard smiled Penny and then the waitress. "Ummm.. I'll have some Apple Cobbler… no ice cream…" The waitress smiled and left.

Penny looked at Leonard. "No ice cream? Really?"

Leonard shrugged. He had never told Penny about his lactose intolerance. It wasn't something he liked to talk about because he didn't let out just how it affected him. "No… not one of my favorite things!"

Penny looked on in confusion. How could anyone not like ice cream. She smiled back. "Sure…sure…" They sat in silence for a bit when she let out a huge sigh. Leonard looked like he was going to ask a question when the waitress brought them their desserts.

Penny took a few rather large scoops of ice cream and then asked. "Am I stupid?"

Leonard was about to take a bite of his cobbler but put down the spoon. "What? NOooo!"

Penny looked at him. "Well then why do I keep picking Losers to be my boyfriend? Either I can't tell that they just want to go out with me because I'm pretty or popular… OR… I'm some kind of a friggin IDIOT… Which is it?"

Leonard actually started to sweat a bit. "It… umm… might be better if I had some context."

Penny chuckled. "Well... Brad was just interested in getting some…" Leonard raised a brow at that remark. He knew that Brad had been Penny's boyfriend, he just didn't know the details of why they broke up. Penny continued. "And then Timmy… he goes and fools around with Lisa Peterson! I thought he would be different… you know him… he was such a nice guy…"

Leonard looked surprised. "Timmy and Lisa?"

Penny took another scoop. "Yup… I just found him with her cheer leading pin… We all get one for being on the squad… none of us usually wear them because they fall off a lot."

Leonard cocked his head. "Well… just because he had her pin doesn't mean he was cheating on you… especially if they indiscriminately 'FALL OFF' as you say."

Penny looked up from her ice cream. "Do you think I over reacted?"

Leonard shrugged. "Maybe".

Penny put her spoon down. "You're right… that slut might just have been trying to get back at me for dry humping her boyfriend… Timmy might not have done anything!"

Leonard looked at Penny. "OR… he could have cheated on you… that's pretty bad."

Penny smiled as she took another scoop. "No… you're right… He loves me… I just never gave him a chance to explain… Thank you Leonard… you're the best… I have to talk to Timmy at school Monday."

Leonard just sighed. He messed up and got them back together. The two friends ate their disserts and then Leonard drove Penny back to her house.

After dropping Penny at the farm and on the way back to his house, Leonard passed the School. As he went up one road, he saw something that looked like someone standing real close to a tree and just sort of wiggling. As he got closer, he could see that they were tied to the tree. Leonard quickly stopped his car and ran over to the person. When he got there… he could see that it was Kathy Geiger… He quickly untied her from the tree and untied her hands. "Oh my GOD… Kathy… what happened?"

Kathy Geiger untied the strip of cloth that was around her mouth and spit out the corn cob. "That PRISSY girlfriend of yours had me TIED to this tree… that's what! He ex-boyfriend Brad and her two idiot minions Tammy and Anna thought it would be some kind of joke to leave me here all night so someone would find me here tomorrow morning when they came to school! That's WHAT!"

Leonard was really confused. "Penny? She's not my girlfriend... Why would she do something like this?"

Kathy knew exactly why she was tied to the tree… but she wasn't about to tell Leonard… everyone knew both Leonard and T.J. were in detention and that was just the tip of the iceberg. "How should I know… She's a BITCH and that's all I know!"

Leonard helped Kathy and they got into his car and he drove her home.

When Leonard finally made it to his house he was actually met at the door by his Uncle Floyd. Considering Floyd rarely held to and kind of social conventions this was somewhat disturbing. "Whats wrong… did something happen to Father? My sister? Michael? Mother?

Floyd stood while slapping an envelope into the palm of his hand. "NO… but the two of us had better discuss the contents of this letter and the ramifications of it…"

Leonard and Floyd sat in the den. Floyd insisted that the have a calm discussion while drinking tea. Leonard thought that it was a nice way to make him feel less uncomfortable. Floyd was always keen to pick up on things that affected others. It was one of the more endearing qualities he had and Leonard loved him more for it. Uncle Floyd was one of the nicest people on the planet and Leonard was thankful that he was part of his extended family… because it showed Leonard that the relationships he had with his own nuclear family weren't necessarily how people should act toward one another.

After the conversation,… Floyd stood and collected the teacups. "Well, it says that you are scheduled to meet with the Principal and this Mr. Miller on Monday… Considering your Father is still indisposed, and I doubt that he would think this high enough on his priority list of things that might distract him… I will accompany you to the meeting. I am… after all your emergency contact on all their forms… However, I am afraid that you will be grounded until the outcome of this meeting is realized… Now… please relinquish your keys to the car… and you are grounded for the duration of the weekend. No friends, or calls."

Leonard went to his room and lay on his bed with his hands behind his head. He kicked off his sneakers and just gazed at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and thought of Penny…. What would become of the relationship between her and Timmy? Did he really cheat on her? If he did… how would that affect their friendship? Could he still be friends with someone that hurt Penny? And Penny… would there be the slightest chance that Penny would now be free to go out with him? She was after all, confused about which of the two of them to go out with when he basically gave her to Timmy to preserve the three of them as friends… But what was this about Kathy? Could Penny really be involved in something like that? Could he really be interested in furthering his relationship with someone that could tie someone else to a tree? Just to get some fun out of their embarrassment?

Penny climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. What was she going to say to Timmy when she met him on Monday? Would he really cheat on her? He was the one that pursued her through her friends at the mall. He was the one that was always with her when Leonard wasn't. He was always so nice to her and always wanted to do things with her. Although, recently the things he wanted to do with her were more like the things he wanted to do TO her. She almost let him do it to her tonight. She was willing to get it on with him right there in the girl's locker room. She felt ready to try it again… he had been pushing a little lately and she knew that he wanted to have sex with her… and she always found a way around it... like the hand job she gave him the last time they were under the bleachers. But tonight… on that bench… it just felt right. And then there was that thing with Curtis… what if he had walked in a few minutes later… he would have seen WAY more than her boobs… Her boobs… why did she do that exactly? She was going to pay dearly for that little stunt. Val would be ALL over that one… It's too bad… because Curtis was actually a really nice guy at heart. Before all the stuff with Brad happened, when Val was still her friend, Penny and Val actually fought over Brad and Curtis. It was something like Penny's fight with Rosie in the first grade… only with REAL guys… Penny was just thankful that Val took Curtis… not that Penny would have been all that disappointed with Curtis… he was cute and real funny… But geesh… did she really have to give him a face full of boobs?