I am so sorry for the wait! Chapters should be coming in a little faster now. However, they still won't be often. :(

Chapter Eight

Jude Law.

The male lead was Jude Law!

Penny nearly froze in the doorway, script slowly crumpling in her hands. Fortunately, the A-list actor had his back to the blonde and hadn't watched her gaping fish routine. The read through might have been over before it even began.

"You have to remember this is your job, Penny. You have to be professional. They will not want an actress who is just going to faun over the male lead." Sheldon's words echoed through Penny's head.

Closing her mouth, taking a deep breath and unclenching the booklet in her hand, Penny walked confidently the rest of the way into the room. The two people sitting at the table looked up causing Jude Law (!) to turn around.

"Good afternoon," she greeted. Her voice didn't shake once. Not even when Jude Law focused his entire attention on her, or when he stuck out a hand.

"Good afternoon. I'm Jude."

Penny resisted the urge to say 'I already know that' and to not swoon over the sexy British accent. "Penny. Nice to meet you." Penny had said that phrase so many times throughout her life. Most of the time, she didn't mean it. This time, she did. She definitely did.

"Thank you for coming early, Penny," Angela, the one who had called a few days prior said.

"It was no problem." After all, she hadn't slept much the night before and had been up at the crack of dawn doing her makeup and rehearsing the scene over and over (and over and over).

"All right. If you are both ready,"Angela addressed the two of them. "We would like you to over the scene we discussed earlier."

Penny took a deep breath.

Showtime.

Penny felt like she was floating on cloud nine as she walked out of the room. Behind her, the two directors and Jude were talking quietly and Penny knew it was all good things about her. Never before had she nailed an audition so well.

So lost in her thoughts, she bumped into the next girl going in for her audition. Glancing up, she quickly apologized. The woman gave her a tight-lipped smile, said it was okay and walked into the room.

The blonde woman had looked familiar.

Penny sent off a quick text to Leonard. Who was that actress in that 1 movie we watched last week? The one with Loki and that giant monkey. Cuz I think I literally just bumped into her.

For some reason, Penny's optimism didn't die, even though an actual actress was auditioning for her part. If she did lose out the part to her, at least it would be to someone who had starred in multiple movies and not someone trying to make a name for herself, like she was.

When Penny returned to her building, she found that the boys were all waiting in Sheldon and Leonard's apartment to hear about her audition. That made her tear up a bit. However, when they saw the tears, they all thought the worst.

Howard went for the tissues, Sheldon the hot beverage, Leonard patted the empty spot beside him and Raj silently let her know that he was there and willing to listen. This only made Penny cry even harder. At time, she could harsh on the boys but they always came through for her.

"Here you go," Sheldon said softly and handed her a steaming cup of her favorite tea.

"Thank you, sweetie."

Howard placed a box of tissues on the table and took a seat on the floor beside the chair Raj was sitting. Penny placed her tea down to grab a few tissues and wipe her eyes. "Thank you, guys. Really. But I'm not sad."

"Then, why were you crying?" Sheldon asked. The three other men must have all had the same question because they turned her way and waited for an answer.

"I'm really happy. I didn't think you all would be here to listen to me talk about my audition."

"Well, Penny, you said it was important to you," Leonard spoke up.

"And you've always been around when he spoke about our achievements," Howard added with Raj nodding in affirmation.

"You guys are the best." Penny had to swallow back more tears before she really started freaking them out.

"So, how did the audition go?" Once again, Sheldon asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to.

"I think it went great," she said excitedly. "And I'm not saying that because I know that's what you all want to hear. They brought in the male lead today and I totally didn't freak out when I saw him."

"Who was it?" Howard asked.

"Can't tell you. Knowing you guys, you'll know the movie once I say his name and I want it to be a surprise for if I get the part."

"You mean when," Leonard added with a smile.

"Yes, Penny," Sheldon said. "It seems we are all in agreement in thinking that you will get this part."

For the second time in the span of twenty minutes, Penny burst into tears.

Penny knew that she would not hear from the casting directors for a few days. so she immersed herself in online shopping. She still had no idea what she was going to wear to the premiere.

"I wish I knew if I got the part or not," she muttered to herself as she scrolled through page after page of dresses. The cart icon in the corner indicated over a dozen dresses waiting to be purchased. "If I got the job, I'd have enough money to get all of them."

The premiere was in two weeks. If she got the part in the movie, then filming would start in a month and sometime next year, the movie would be released. There was a possibility that she would have a red carpet event of her own and people would try to win tickets to be there.

Penny squealed and shut her laptop. Now, she was hyped up. She wanted to do something, she wanted to get out of this small apartment and do something. What, she didn't know yet. So, she rushed across the hall to 4A and practically threw open the door.

Sheldon glared at her from his spot, remote in his hand to pause whatever he was watching. From what Penny saw, he was the only one in the apartment. "Where's Leonard?" She asked.

"With Howard and Raj. They didn't tell me what they were doing. Most-likely something I wouldn't approve of."

"So, it's just you?"

"Do I have another roommate that I am not aware of?"

Penny smiled at his use of sarcasm. "Let's go do something, then."

"What would you like to do?"

Shrugging, she collapsed onto the couch. "I don't know. I just want to get out of my cramped apartment."

"Well, you're now in my apartment, which is not cramped," Sheldon said. Penny knew he was trying to be helpful, but this wasn't what she wanted to do when she came over her.

"I know. Maybe we can do something outside."

Sheldon blanched at the idea. The only time he didn't mind going outside is when he played paintball and then, he was so layered in protective clothing that the sun or bugs couldn't get to him.

"Oh! There's a new restaurant that just opened down the street and they have outside seating. Let's go."

Sheldon fixed her with a look. "There are several things in that sentence I do not agree with. Should I list them?" He didn't wait for Penny to answer. "One, you said it's a new restaurant, meaning I know nothing about it. What kind of food do they serve? What is the state of their kitchen? Do the cooks wear gloves? And the list goes on. Two, you said down the street, which implies we will walk. And three, you wish to sit outside. I do not like the outside."

"Sheldon," she begged. "Please." She even went as far as to pout. "Who knows how much time I'll have to spend time with you if I get this part." She was laying it on thick, but the more she talked about thought about the new restaurant the more she wanted to go. The more she wanted to go with Sheldon.

Seconds ticked by as they stared at one another. Penny still pointed and Sheldon glared. Then, finally, Sheldon sighed. "All right, Penny. But please allow me to finish my movie before we go."

"Of course!" Penny made herself comfortable on the couch and tried not to look too smug.

"I don't understand why it seems to be hard to say no to you, Penny," Sheldon said as he pressed play on the remote.

Maybe it's because you like me. One could hope, anyway. Though, Penny had to admit, Sheldon did have an obvious soft spot for her. With that bit of knowledge, Penny allowed herself to look even more smug as she snuggled deeper into the couch.

An hour later, Penny was happily telling a waitress what she would like to order as she and Sheldon sat outside, covered by a bright red umbrella. The weather was nice, the food looked appealing and Sheldon didn't look irritated.

"Isn't this nice?" She asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"Do you want me to lie or tell you the truth?" Sheldon's shoulders were hunched a little and he kept eyeing a seagull that was eating from trash can across the street.

"Oh, come on, sweetie. It's not that bad."

"Very well, it's not." No twitch. "The choice of food seemed good and my water doesn't taste like it came straight from the tap."

Realizing that was the best Penny was going to get from Sheldon, she patted his hand and smiled. "I'm really glad you came. I like hanging with you, just the two of us. We're going to have so much fun at the premiere."

"Yes, I am quite looking forward to it, as well."

"Especially since you get to be with me," Penny teased.

"No, especially since I'll get to meet Stan Lee." There was a ghost of a smile on Sheldon's face as he took a sip of his water. "And maybe a little of it is because I will be with you."

Penny gave him a bright smile. He was getting better at teasing. It no longer seemed like he was just looking down at her. "You know, this could possibly be a practice run for future red carpet events."

"You're right. When I finally win the Nobel Prize, I'm sure there will be a red carpet."

Penny couldn't argue that. "Yes, there's that and if I get this part, there will be a red carpet for that, as well."

"Will Stan Lee be at that red carpet?" Sheldon was fishing for information, but Penny wasn't going to fold. Not until she got that call.

"I don't know," she answered and took a sip of her water.

Sheldon looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but their food came and he focused all of his attention on making sure that every bit of his order was correct.

It was. And when they left, he even mentioned going there again. Penny smiled at her success in getting him to try something new.

After they departed ways on the fourth floor. Penny went to her laptop on the living room table and decided to resume her online shopping. Her email icon blinked with a new message and she quickly clicked on it when she saw it was from Angela.

Good evening, Penny, it started.

Friday evening, we will be finalizing our decision on who will get the part for our movie. We like to tell all who auditioned when they might get a call so that we can remind you of the contract we had you sign. If word leaks out to the press about the movie or any actors involved, you will be held accountable for legal actions.

We recommend that you be alone when we call. We understand that a movie of this magnitude is a huge deal to those who may receive parts and will be quite hard to keep to oneself. I stress again that if any information leaks to the public, you will be held accountable. That does not mean you are completely forbidden to speak about it. We understand that significant others or close friends will wish to know where you will be spending an incredible amount of time. We ask that you bring those you wish to tell in to sign an NDA agreement. This way all fault will not fall on you if information is leaked.

Good luck, Angela Hawthorne

Penny's heart pounded as she finished reading. It didn't mean that she had the part, but it was becoming more real that she could be. She only had to wait three more days. She could do this.

Captain Marvel is the one Marvel movie I have not seen and honestly may not see (not a huge fan of Brie Larson. Sorry!). So, I'm going to be kind of making up things as I go. If this bothers anyone, I apologize.

Also, I am not fully aware of how an NDA works so if I sound crazy in that email. Sorry.

Oh, can any guess what movie I was talking about when Penny texted Leonard? ;)

Thank you for reading!