Hey guys, thanks as always for the wonderful reviews; you truly warm my heart! :)

Here's a little shoutout to a guest reviewer who wondered if Sheldon and Missy's relationship is as close in the show as it is in my story. I'm so glad you thought about this, because that's the whole reason why I'm writing this! I wanted to explore how much Sheldon and Amy's personalities and their relationships would change, if they had met much earlier than in the show. After all, a wise woman (ehem, Penny) once said that Amy really did soften Sheldon's life, so it was clear to me that he would have a more trusting, loving relationship with his twin sister, too. Because of Amy's influence. And vice versa Amy isn't as unconfident and socially inept, because of Sheldon's and Missy's respective influence on her. :)

AU stories are fascinating, aren't they? ;)


-Chapter 14-

The little coffee shop became their favorite spot in town.

Whenever Amy and Sheldon wanted to meet in private without anyone giving them funny looks then they would go there.

Since the last time, Amy hadn't brought up the topic of them becoming more than friends. She was reassured enough by Sheldon's admission that she was special to him and she knew that it was a difficult and probably frightening subject.

It was to her at least.

So, she kept quiet for months, just happy and content to be in Sheldon's presence again after such long years of solitude in Boston. Finally, she could watch him work, watch him devise incredible, brilliant ideas that made her respect for him grow every day. If he went on like this, the desired Nobel Prize wouldn't be that far away from him anymore.

Sheldon seemed to be comfortable, too. Sometimes he sneaked into the neurobiology lab when he knew she would be there alone and then he would watch her work. He told her that even though he still regarded biology as a squishy and frankly also very yucky science, it helped him to shift his focus on something else entirely when he's stuck with his equations.

The only person who seemed to go mad over the lack of progress in their relationship was Missy. She couldn't understand how two people, who clearly fell for each other, managed to be together all day without being all over each other. Those were her exact words.

But, as a matter of fact, Amy's resolve was indeed slowly breaking.

Sheldon held the door for her when they entered said coffee shop. He was very excited about an equation he just solved. Clutching his notebook tightly to his chest like a precious gold treasure, he followed Amy, blubbering the whole way to the counter, while Amy made their usual orders, while they were paying and, eventually, as they were sitting down in their usual spots.

"This breakthrough will surely earn me a prize of some kind." Sheldon just said. "Or…" he emphasized with an upheld finger. "At the very least, a cover story in a big science magazine. I'm thinking… 'Physics Today' or 'Science'."

As he listed different important journals, Amy just smirked while sipping from her tea. She knew it was no use to interrupt him when he was this excited. He wouldn't be able to listen to anything she was saying anyway.

Eventually, Sheldon began showing her his findings in his textbook. He browsed back a few pages, pointing at some numbers and figures. "You see that? This is the thought I originally started with. I was beginning to think it would get me nowhere, but when we talked through that lecture for the class the other day and you asked all those intelligent, brilliant questions that my below average group of students never cared to ask, it made me realize that I was looking at it the wrong way."

Amy grinned proudly. She was leaning over Sheldon's notes, too, trying to follow where he was pointing and how those facts and figures were relating to his theory. "I'm glad I could be of assistance." Amy beamed. "I tell you, I wasn't even entirely sure what I was talking about."

"Oh, don't sell yourself short, Amy." Sheldon argued and nudged her shoulder a bit with his. "It seems like you knew exactly what you were talking about. I just wish I could return the favor, but you know that watching you dissect small animals or cut open brains makes me feel queasy."

Amy chuckled. He was right; he could barely watch her do that. Whereas, she was extremely excited that her professor finally allowed her to get her hands on actual human brains. Dead brains, obviously, but still. "And nonetheless, you are there with me even if you're getting a little green in the face every time I pick up a scalpel." Amy grinningly said to Sheldon. "By the way, I think you shouldn't be too hard on your students."

Sheldon rolled his eyes dismissively.

"Hey, I'm serious." Amy casually touched his wrist. "I'm flattered that you think I helped this much, but in the end, it was all you who came up with the math."

"Well, yeah…" Sheldon agreed, raising his head from his notes to look at her. "But you had been the spark that lit the flame."

Amy looked up, too, suddenly, very much aware of how close they were sitting. She blushed.

"You are a great source of inspiration to me, Amy Farrah Fowler." Sheldon added quietly.

He might as well could've whispered. Their faces were so close together that she would've been able to hear him. "Thanks." Amy uttered breathlessly.

Their eyes were locked from that moment on. Blue gazed into green and vice versa.

The busy sound of the coffee shop merged to a faint buzz of noise in the background, coming from far away. Amy felt her heart arrhythmia coming back strong and it brought a lot of questions with it that bombarded her mind.

Questions like what was she supposed to do now? Sheldon seemed as mesmerized by her closeness as she was by his. Does that mean he was ready now? For what exactly? How should she proceed?

Amy's breath grew short. Involuntarily, she must have leaned in a bit because, all of a sudden, she could actually feel Sheldon's warm puffs of air on her skin. A zing of excitement rushed through her at this pleasant sensation. Could this become her very first kiss?

Oh lord, did he just move in, too?

Amy blinked rapidly. His face was too close now to keep focusing on his eyes. So, she closed her eyes, puckering her lips in expectation of a feather-light touch…

That never came.

She opened her eyes again to see that Sheldon's were squeezed shut and retreating from her.

"A-Amy… I can't." he whispered softly.

She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of that sentence that seemed so utterly incomprehensible to her. "W-What?" she asked meekly. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

"It's not you… it's…" Sheldon finally dared to open his eyes. "I-It's me." he admitted ashamed, getting flustered. "I'm… I feel… overwhelmed. All of my senses are overstimulated by you."

"So, it is my fault?" Amy interpreted. Crushing pain and sadness dominated her mind.

"N-No." Sheldon objected, becoming slightly desperate to make her understand. "I feel like I'm… like I'm losing control. It's like… when dad died, and I needed to… get away from everything to be able to think clearly again."

Anger got back into the mix with Amy's swirl of emotions. "Well, that's a comparison that is really insensitive, Sheldon. Trying to kiss you makes you want to run away?!" She knew it wasn't fair to jump to conclusions like that, but Amy found that she, too, wasn't able to think logically anymore.

"No! I… Amy, I-I don't know what to say." Sheldon stuttered, clearly upset now. "Amy, please…" he reached out to put a hand on her arm when she moved to pull her chair back and stand up. "Please stay."

Amy struggled with herself. Seeing his anxious, despaired face made her hesitate for a second. Then she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sheldon. I… I can't." she unintentionally repeated his words from moments ago. "This is just… too hurtful and confusing. I-I need some time to think."

Reluctantly, Sheldon let go of her arm. "I'm sorry." he pressed out, cheeks red with sadness.

"I know." Amy said. "Me, too."


Amy hid in her room for the rest of the week, preferring to study on her own rather than facing Sheldon or anyone else for that matter.

She was embarrassed that she had been crying as much as she did after she fled from the coffee shop. Part of her wondered what else she had been expecting from Sheldon. Of course, he didn't want her in a romantic way; for most of the time that she knew him, Amy was certain that she didn't need him like that, either.

So, where did this heavy, all-consuming sadness come from all of a sudden? Although she recently admitted to herself that she fell for Sheldon, she couldn't comprehend that this rejection could hurt her this much. They weren't even a couple; Sheldon shouldn't be able to affect her so much that she felt the urge to hide from the world and never interact with humans again?

Amy rubbed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the report she was supposed to write for her biology class. It was already late and there wasn't any light in her room except for the lamp on her desk. The submission date for the report was tomorrow morning, but she had been so distracted the whole week that she couldn't finish it, which forced her to work 'til way past her usual bedtime.

But even now she caught herself having stray thoughts. Oh, how she wished it wouldn't be this awkward between herself and Sheldon. Then she could have shown him her paper for proof-reading.

He's driving me mad, Amy reasoned in annoyance. That's why he always knew it wouldn't work out. Romance is a distraction!

She barely finished this thought when there was a timid, quiet triple-knock on her door followed by an even quieter call of her name.

"Amy."

She inhaled sharply. Sheldon?

It knocked again. Three times. "Amy."

Why would he be at my door at this time of night? What if someone sees him? She jumped up to answer hurriedly when it knocked again. Same pattern, followed by her name.

"Amy."

She paused for a moment, waiting if the knocking would be repeated, but it remained silent. Carefully, she closed her hand around the doorknob and turned, opening the door only so much that she could look through the crack. "Sheldon? What are you doing here?" she whispered urgently. "Someone could see you."

"I know." he whispered back. "Which is why I'm asking you to let me in. I… I need to talk to you… privately." he added in case she was still wondering.

Amy could practically hear her mother's stern voice in her head, loud and clear as a church bell. She was not supposed to do that: 'Under no circumstances you will let any boys into your room at night, do you hear me, Amy!'

But at the same moment, Amy already dismissed that voice. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She could make her own decisions.

"Fine." Amy answered, opening the door further and ushering Sheldon in. She quickly scanned the hallway behind him, but there was no one spying on them. They were safe. She closed the door, turning around to face him. "What do you want?"

Her tone must have sounded a bit harsher than she intended, because Sheldon instantly stopped looking around, stood straight and blinked at her a little startled.

"I, uhm… we…" Sheldon hemmed and hawed, hiding his hands behind his back and refusing to make eye contact. "We haven't resolved this… issue from last time we've seen each other and… it caused me a great deal of stress."

"Oh, you had been stressed?" Amy repeated sarcastically. "How do you think I felt?"

"I-I don't know." Sheldon mumbled insecurely, completely missing that she was asking a rhetorical question. "That's why I've been wanting to talk to you, but I couldn't find you anywhere." Sheldon paused to swallow. "I began to worry that you… left."

Amy's angry lines vanished instantly from her face and her tone was getting softer. "Sheldon… I wouldn't leave you." He continued to look at the ground without saying a word. "I wouldn't. I've told you this before and I still mean it." she repeated earnestly.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze. "But can you understand now? Why I was overwhelmed?" he added to clarify.

"Because you thought I would leave you?" Amy wondered.

Sheldon nodded slightly. "Because if it didn't work out… I wouldn't only lose you as… a partner. I would also lose you as a friend. I don't want that to happen."

Amy sighed, stepping closer to Sheldon, but in the last moment stopping herself from touching him. "You wouldn't lose me as a friend. We've always been friends, I… I wouldn't even know what to do without you as my intellectual equal. I wouldn't throw that away, no matter what happens."

"Where were you then this week?" Sheldon crossed his arms; not in anger but challenging, nonetheless.

Stubbornly, Amy mimicked his posture. "I was hurt. I admit that." she stressed. "But I'm actually glad that we talked now. Before that... I just needed some time to figure out how to go on from here."

"And have you come to a conclusion?" Sheldon immediately wanted to know.

A little lost, Amy stared into his vibrant, blue eyes; his intelligence clearly sparkled beneath them. And as she felt how she was drawn in by him again, everything else seemed to be unimportant all of a sudden. She couldn't resist the pull.

I have to give romance a try. No matter the costs. I have to try with him, because no one else makes me feel that way.

"Yes." Amy said firmly. "I think I have."

"Well?" Sheldon inquired curiously, but Amy shook her head.

"First, you need to figure out what you want." she said.

"What? But Amy—"

"I think you should go now." Without waiting for him to answer, she turned around to open the door for him.

Sheldon's mouth opened and closed a few times in puzzlement. Mechanically, he started leaving just as she asked him to. "Are you mad at me?" he questioned her before stepping outside.

Amy smiled softly. "No. I'm just waiting for you." She stepped closer, standing on her tiptoes to peck his cheek, much to his utter surprise. "Will I see you tomorrow after class?"

Sheldon nodded amusingly confused.

"Good." she smiled and quietly closed the door in his flabbergasted face.


Please leave reviews, dear readers! As it often is, the final readthrough left me wondering if this chapter is any good at all, *nervous laugh* ;)

Thanks in advance...