An intro chapter to explore Sheldon's thoughts. Credits for this go to CTR69.
It had been a hard few weeks for Sheldon. He couldn't pick up any work, causing him to drift aimlessly through life. A lot of changes had happened around him recently, which made him feel worried. Howard was about to have a second baby, Raj had moved to a different apartment... and then there was Amy, who wasn't much of a help either.
They were too much alike to make him do or suggest anything different or fun to try. She became nothing more than a friend with an occasional fresh perspective.
The more he tried to escape, the powerful the nagging question pounded in his mind. Constant work kept these thoughts suppressed, but when that ran out and dried, he lashed out on others.
First it was Leonard and now Amy, with much harsher words. He told her to get out of his apartment and leave him alone, which was a bit strange to her.
He never lashed out on her this way, but it was nothing she concerned about.
With some quiet time, he looked around the familiar place, this time with different memories. This wasn't his place at all. 4B was always Penny's apartment.
His place was the one across the hall, that's how things are supposed be! This felt all wrong.
Sheldon looked around, at the spot where an intricate blonde next door was unpacking her things, when they first caught their eyes for a moment.
It was more than ten years before, but he can remember every moment like it was happening right now.
How messy the whole place was, before he cleaned it up for the first time.
Her TV media center which they dragged it up four flights of stairs and planned to watercool it.
The green two-seater where he once made Penny Blossoms but there was no way he'd sleep in it. "There was a tall man from Cornwall whose length exceeded his bed. 'My body fits on it. But barely upon it. There's no room for my big Cornish head!"
Her green single-seat, where they pretended to be an old married couple.
The wooden chair where she first time made drinks for all of his friends. "I'll have a virgin Cuba Libre." He smiled to himself.
A little desk where she made him his favourite dinner. Spaghetti with little cut-up hot dogs in it.
The bed where he spent the night in this apartment for the first time.
The bathroom from where he rescued his damsel in distress. Adhesive ducks still stuck in place on the bottom of the tub.
He finally picked up his black marker and began working different things, whatever popped in his mind.
At this time, there was only one person who would be allowed to enter their apartment.
He never had the courage to tell her his feelings, now it might be already too late. She's married to his best friend and he's engaged to her supposed "bestie".
He was thinking about wasted time and opportunities through the years, now running out of time. He needed to think about something else, so he started to randomly draw parallelograms on the border, until...
"Knock knock knock, Sheldon? Knock knock knock, Sheldon? Knock knock knock, Sheldon?"
Soundtrack: Keane - Everybody's Changing