When Amy and Sheldon finally climbed into the limo, Bernadette noticed Amy's new tiara instantly.
"Hey, where'd the tiara come from?"
Amy gushed. "Sheldon just gave it to me."
"Really? That's awesome. It's so sparkly."
"I KNOW!"
Sheldon just took a deep breath, but remained silent.
Penny smiled. "Aw, that's so cute. You're like your own little prom queen."
Raj leaned into Howard to whisper. "Look at Sheldon, he's got Amy's lipstick on him…"
As Howard giggled in response, Bernadette turned to him. "I think it's sweet. Every girl wants to feel like a princess."
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Don't worry m'lady, I plan on treating you like royalty tonight."
Bernadette blushed a bit. "Aw, I look forward to it."
"And then I'll give you some royal treatment at the beach house…"
She playfully hit him on the knee to quiet him down.
Amy sat pressed against Sheldon, who was clearly inspecting the limo for cleanliness. But she didn't care. Prom night was going to be perfect, and nothing anyone could do would take that away from her.
When they got to prom, the boys escorted their dates to the entrance, minus Sheldon. Amy, Sheldon and Raj merely followed the doting couples into the grand ballroom. Amy was flabbergasted by the crystal chandeliers and floral decorations throughout the room.
And to think, I'm just a junior. I get to do this TWICE!
When the gang sat down at their table, Sheldon started to look uncomfortable.
"Amy, there are hard water stains on my spoon. At least I hope that's what they are."
She turned to him. "So?"
"So?! This is unacceptable. For all I know there are germs all over this cutlery."
She rolled her eyes. "You're probably not going to use your spoon. And even so, at least you know it came straight from the dishwasher."
Sheldon picked up his knife and held it up to the light. "Yes well, it only takes one waiter with bad hygiene to spoil an evening."
"Well you don't have to worry about that tonight. It's buffet style."
"Ah yes, why be concerned about one person handling my food when the entire student body can rummage through it first."
Penny shook her head. "Then why don't you just make sure you're up there first."
Sheldon paused. "That's actually a good idea. Thank you, Penny."
She smirked. "You're welcome, Sheldon."
Amy rolled her eyes, trying to ignore his idiosyncrasies. A task easier said than done.
When the dancing portion of the evening commenced, Penny convinced everyone to join her on the dance floor. Everyone except Sheldon.
Amy stood up next to him. "Come on, Sheldon. Dance with us. You don't have to touch anyone, we're all just going to stand in a circle."
"I don't dance."
"Oh that's a bunch of bull and you know it."
He turned and glared at Amy. "Excuse me?"
"I'm dressed up and looking fabulous, the DJ is obviously killing it out there, give me one good reason why you don't want to dance."
Sheldon looked at her derisively. "Only one? Well, you certainly are making this easy."
Amy threw up her hands. "You know what, I don't feel like arguing with you right now. This is my prom and I'm going to have fun with my friends. If you decide to join me, you'll know where to find me."
And with those words, she walked over to the rest of the group to dance.
Sheldon sat awkwardly for a while, adjusting his seated position periodically. Before long, a familiar voice sounded behind him.
"Well well well, if it isn't Coopa sitting awone at his own pwom."
Sheldon immediately flipped around and stood up. "What are you doing here Kripke? Last time I checked, you didn't go to our high school. Unless, of course, you transferred and you're just not intelligent enough to be in any of my classes."
Kripke rolled his eyes. "Oh get ova yourself. One of your fewwow cwassmates invited me."
Sheldon folded his arms. "Who?"
"Sup, dumbass."
Sheldon turned around again to find Leslie in a long black dress. "Oh."
"Don't worry, I'm just as happy to see you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd rather spend my prom doing something more interesting."
He scoffed. "You honestly think talking to Kripke is more interesting?"
"Compared to listening to you? I think geology is more interesting."
Sheldon got offended. "Well you're…. you…" He stuttered while trying to come up with a retaliation.
Kripke laughed. "Wow Coopa, you're weally going to need some awoe vewa for that burn. Come on Weswie."
As Leslie went to walk away, Sheldon leaned toward her ear. "Weswie? Really? You did this just to irritate me, didn't you?"
"Yes, clearly my sole reason for seeking a prom date was to find someone to annoy you." She responded sarcastically.
Sheldon just looked at her. "I knew it."
Kripke reached over and took her hand to pull her away. He then waved to Sheldon. "Bye woser!"
Sheldon marched over to the dance floor and stood next to Amy. She smiled. "Decided to join me finally?"
He folded his arms. "Leslie's here and she brought Kripke."
Penny looked disgusted. "Ugh, that creepy guy from the Academic Bowl? I didn't know she was that desperate."
Leonard chuckled. "Maybe their dislike of Sheldon brought them together."
Sheldon looked irritated. "That's the last thing I need."
Bernadette spoke up. "What do you care? After graduation you won't have to deal with either of them."
Sheldon stood there begrudgingly as the group danced together to a Taylor Swift song. Leonard listened to the lyrics for a bit before speaking to Penny. "You know, this song sort of reminds me of you."
"'You Belong With Me?' I guess that's kinda sweet. I agree, we belong together."
"Yes, that, and also, I can empathize with the main character in her story. I know what it's like to watch someone from afar and think 'they shouldn't be with their currently significant other. They should be with me.'" He explained.
Penny stopped to think about his statement. "What, me? I wasn't with anyone when you met me."
"Well okay, I technically met you this year, but I've known you since middle school. You just didn't know me."
Her eyes softened. "Just how long were you pining over me?"
He shook his head. "It's not important. I'm just glad you and I ended up together."
Howard leaned in to interrupt their conversation. "Not to be a nudge or anything, but to answer your question, Leonard's been pretty darn obsessed with you since… I believe it was Field Day in 7th grade when you almost kicked a soccer ball into his groin."
Penny froze. "Wait, you had a crush on me in middle school? I didn't even know we went to the same middle school until you pointed it out a few months ago."
"I know…" Leonard responded. "I told you, it's not important."
Penny pushed Howard out of the way to continue talking to Leonard. "But… I mean… even when I was a complete and total brat, you had a crush on me? You said I once threw you down a hill."
Leonard sighed. "Alright, if I'm being honest, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd even seen. And you always made your friends really happy. Then one day, I saw you crying after school because of something your boyfriend did, and I hated that. It was the first time I really saw you, and not what those self-absorbed jerks thought of you. I spent the next few years dreaming of what it would be like to be the one making you smile."
Penny looked emotional. "Why didn't you ever try talking to me?"
"I was 5 feet tall with glasses and I played the cello. You guys beat me up for a reason. I wasn't about to make it worse by trying to ask you out."
Penny smiled a bit. "Fair enough. I was kind of a jerk." She said as she put her arms around Leonard's neck and kissed him.
He smirked. "What was that for?"
"For being the reason I smile."
When the music finally slowed down, the girls danced with their boyfriends. Even Amy was able to get Sheldon to cooperate on the premise that he survived dancing with her at Homecoming.
Raj stood there for a minute, scanning the room to see if there was a girl he could ask to dance. He started to walk away from the dance floor when he noticed a girl sitting alone at one of the back tables. She looked a bit familiar, but with her hair and makeup done, Raj was having a difficult time placing her.
Curiosity got the best of him, and he proceeded to walk toward her. As he approached her table, he remembered that she was the girl he met in the hallway recently. The one that crashed into him and ran off, never to be seen again.
Quickly, Raj walked up to her and sat down in the chair beside her. "Hello, do you remember me? We collided in the hallway one day."
The girl looked at Raj with a small smile. "Hi… yeah, I remember."
"Are you here with anyone?"
She shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to come at all, but my friend Margo told me I had to. She's somewhere dancing with her date."
Raj nodded. Before he spoke again, his eyes grew large. It just dawned on him that wasn't speaking to a teacher or parent. He was speaking to a girl his own age, without liquor, mints, or medication.
He panicked and stood up, causing the girl to worry. "It's okay, you don't have to babysit me. I'll be okay on my own. Thanks for saying hi."
Raj took a few deep breaths and resumed his seat. "No, it's alright. I'm just surprised I can talk to you. You see, I usually have trouble talking to women."
She smiled a bit. "Women… that's a term most guys don't use anymore."
"I'm not most guys. But seriously, look, I'm really talking to you!"
"Yeah, you are. So, um, what's your name?"
"Oh, how rude of me. I'm Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali. But you can call me Raj."
"Raj. Okay I can handle that better than the first thing you said. I'm Delaney."
He smiled. "Ooh, Delaney. I like it. It's different."
She shifted nervously. "Different isn't always a good thing."
"Sure it is. People remember you that way."
"Sometimes it's better to just blend in."
Raj could tell that Delaney was rather shy, which explained why she was so evasive in the hallway that day.
Delaney smiled a bit. "Really, you don't have to stay here and talk to me. I'm okay by myself."
"But I like talking to you. And more impressively, I'm able to talk to you."
"Really? Oh, okay then."
"How come I've never seen you before, except for that one day at school?"
She started to fidget. "I tend to keep a low profile. That way no one will make fun of me."
Raj tilted his head. "For what?"
"It's high school, do they need a reason?"
"I understand. I, too, have been on the receiving end of bullying."
She sat up a bit. "Really? But you're friends with all those people…"
"What people?"
"Like… Penny and her friends."
Raj smirked. "Penny's actually really nice. She's going out with my friend Leonard, but that doesn't make us any cooler. She stopped hanging out with all those mean, fake people a long time ago. But the rest of us are just nerds. We've all been beaten up more times than we can count."
Delaney smiled. "Wow, that's awful, but it's reassuring in a way."
Raj turned and looked at all this classmates on the dance floor. "It looks like fun out there. I don't suppose you'd want to dance."
She got nervous again. "Uh… I don't really dance… I'm a terrible dancer."
"That's okay, I won't judge you. But if you're that uncomfortable, we can just talk for a while."
"Thanks." She said with a small smile. "And really, thanks, for being nice to me."
Maybe Howard was right. Maybe school dances really are my thing!
The gang scattered about to take a break from dancing. Leonard promptly returned to the table to use his inhaler while Amy and Bernadette ran off to the bathroom to primp and gossip.
As Penny crossed the room to get a drink, she noticed Sheldon furiously rubbing his hands together near the restroom door.
"Hey, whatcha doing?"
"Sanitizing my hands with Purel. Apparently, someone found it amusing to place a used napkin in my pocket when I wasn't looking. I suspect Kripke."
Penny laughed to herself. "You crack me up sometimes."
"I do not find this particular situation to be a laughing matter. " He replied.
She smiled and looked around the room. "I must say, the whole concept of prom is really magical, isn't it?"
Sheldon raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"Well, look around. Everyone from my grade and your grade is here, having fun together in the same room. It's a good way to round out the year. No one is bullying you, I've actually made some genuine friends…"
"None of this constitutes magical."
"My point is, a lot has happened this year, and it's nice to celebrate it all together. C'mon, this September, did you really think that by prom, you'd have a girlfriend, I'd be Leonard's girlfriend, and you and I would be friends?"
Sheldon shrugged. "I suppose not. Leonard often fails at his endeavors to woo members of the opposite sex."
Penny folded her arms. "Admit it, we both came a long way in a year. You know what, you don't have to admit anything. I just wanted to say thanks for being my friend. I changed a lot this year and I don't regret any of it."
Sheldon became a bit twitchy due to the emotional context of the conversation. "Yes, well, I too enjoy your friendship, despite my initial apprehensions."
"Yeah, I understand that. But I'm glad we were wrong about each other."
"Oh I wasn't wrong. I just didn't have all the facts."
"That means you were wrong."
"I disagree." He replied.
Penny chuckled. "I'm going to miss your stubborn ass next year." She then glanced at the dance floor at all the couples slow dancing together. Amongst the crowd, she saw the very group that regularly beat up her boys. She saw the girls she once believed to be her close friends. Moreso, she saw faces she didn't even recognize. Penny thought about how most of them probably knew her as the pretty girl, once at the top of the social hierarchy. Yet these same people knew Sheldon for being the smartest nutjob in the history of PHS. And now they would know them as friends.
"Come with me." Penny said as she walked toward the center of the room.
"Where are we going?" Sheldon asked.
She grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. Sheldon was initially apprehensive, but his polite upbringing taught him to accept Penny's invitation.
Amy and Bernadette came back in and saw Penny and Sheldon dancing together. Amy smiled. It made her feel good that she was done being jealous of Penny's interactions with Sheldon and started embracing their friendship.
Prior to the song ending, the prom photographer came by and snapped their picture, making Sheldon a bit uncomfortable. The rest of the gang eventually came back together and approached them. Howard and Bernadette looked at Sheldon.
"May we cut in?" Howard asked.
Penny smiled. "Ah sure, why the heck not."
Comically, Bernadette grabbed Penny and began slow dancing with her. When Howard swooped in and took Penny's place, Sheldon put down his arms and looked less than amused.
"Very funny, Howard." Leonard and Raj laughed as Sheldon reached for his hand sanitizer once more.
The slow song ended by transitioning into a well-known beat.
Howard and Amy instantly lit up. "I love this song!" Howard exclaimed.
Amy turned to him. "I love this song too!" And within minutes, the gang stood together in a circle swaying to the music and singing loudly.
SWEET CAROLINE, BUM BUM BUM, GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD…
