Chapter 6

A few weeks after the incident, Leonard and Priya was entering the building when they ran into Penny getting her mail.

"Hi Penny!" Priya said.

"Hi!" she said as they started to walk up the stairs. Priya and Penny were walking side by side while Leonard followed closely from behind.

"Penny I'd like to apologize for what I said before….it was totally uncalled for….I hope you can forgive me?" Priya said.

"It's alright Priya….you don't have to apologize." Penny said.

"I really do….I didn't know what happened and I assumed….since you and Leonard were you know?…." Priya added. "It's terrible what happened and if Leonard wasn't there, we don't know what that guy could have done to you." she said.

"Well it's over now…." Penny said. She was beginning to feel awkward from this conversation.

"Hey we're having dinner with the other guys….you should join us." Priya said.

"I don't want to impose." Penny answered her.

"No it's fine….right Leonard?" Priya said.

"Yeah sure." Leonard said.

"Are you sure it won't be awkward?" Penny asked.

"No….Amy and Bernadette are there already." Priya said.

"Okay if you insist. I'll just put my mail in my place then I'll come over." Penny said as they arrive at the fourth floor hallway. Leonard entered apartment 4A while Penny put her mail in 4B and followed them. The gang looked at the three as they entered the apartment.

"We ran into Penny on our way here and invited her to dinner….I hope it's alright with everybody?" Priya said.

"Sure….we have plenty of food for everyone." Bernadette said. Sheldon tried to protest but was met with stares from the rest of the guys. Penny sat at the chair beside Amy while Leonard and Priya sat at the couch beside Bernadette and Sheldon. They started to eat while making small talk about work and movies.

"Do you have any new acting jobs Penny?" Priya asked her.

"Not at the moment….I went to two casting auditions but it didn't pan out." Penny said absently.

"Well good luck, I hope you get your big break soon." Priya smiled at her.

"Thanks." Penny said.

They ate as they exchanged stories about work and what's happening in each other's lives. Howard was telling them the story of how his mother reacted to meeting Bernadette. Apparently, Mrs' Wolowitz was relieved that her son finally has a girlfriend he can bring home as opposed to Raj. Amy told them about her addiction experiment with monkeys. Raj was telling them about his research when his phone rang. He looked at his phone and showed the screen to his sister.

"Cover for me." Priya told him as Raj stood up to take the call out in the hall.

Leonard became curious. "What is he covering you for?" he asked.

Priya tried to change the subject. "Nothing….just some stuff with my parents….I'm sorry Amy you were telling us about your addiction study?" she faced Amy. Amy was about to respond when Leonard spoke.

"What is it Priya?…..is everything okay back home?" he asked.

"I told you it's nothing to worry about." Priya told him and gave him a weak smile.

"Wait…..your parents know that we're dating right?" he turned to face her.

Priya slightly flinched. "Of course honey." she tried to hide her discomfort.

Leonard looked at her and put his food on the table. "You haven't told your parents we're dating?" he asked her. The rest of the gang sat there quietly. Priya didn't answer him. Leonard sighed. "Can I talk to you in private?" he said as he stood up and motioned her to follow him to his bedroom. Priya stood up and followed him. The rest of the gang sat there quietly when Raj came back inside.

"Where's Leonard and Priya?" he asked Howard.

"Raj….does your parents know that your sister is dating Leonard?" Bernadette asked him.

Raj hesitated. "Well…." he didn't continued and looked at Howard.

"Don't look at me….it's none of my business…." Howard said.

All of them could hear the argument between Leonard and Priya. Apparently, Priya haven't told her parents that she is seeing Leonard as they are against their daughter dating a non-Indian man. Her parents want their daughter to keep to their tradition and marry an Indian man. The gang could hear Leonard getting angry and hurt as he felt that Priya was embarrassed of him. He expected her to at least defend him against her parents but Priya would rather 'hide' their relationship from them. The couple were quiet for a while until the gang heard the bedroom door open and saw Priya crying, walking hurriedly towards the door. She opened it and went out without even saying goodbye to the others. Leonard soon followed and sat at the couch, looking visibly upset.

Raj immediately came to his sister's defense. "What did you do to my sister!?" he demanded Leonard.

"I broke up with her." He said as he picked up his food from the table. The whole gang was surprised.

"What is wrong with you!?" Raj asked him.

"Why don't you ask your sister?…..she's the one embarrassed to tell your parents we were dating…" he said to Raj. "You should probably follow her." he added.

Raj stood up. "You should apologize to her Leonard!" Raj demanded.

Leonard faced him. "Really? And say what?….If my memory serves me right, you're not really supportive of my relationship with your sister…..and I'm not the one embarrassed about her…." he said.

"That's not the point!….the point is you made my sister cry and you should apologize to her right now!" Raj said.

"Make me!" Leonard looked at him. Raj didn't react. "Look Raj, how would you feel if you're dating a girl and she didn't even bother mentioning you to her parents?" he looked at Raj. "Your sister is a grown woman and I'm sure she can handle it." he added.

Raj sat back down. "That's easy for you to say, it's not your sister that got defiled by one of your friends." he pouted.

"I didn't defile your sister….we were in a relationship and now that relationship has ended." Leonard said calmly. "I'm not happy about it but it was the right thing to do." he said.

"Wow Leonard….I think you're the first of us to ever dump a girl." Howard said smiling.

Bernadette nudged him. "Howie!?" she said.

"Hey that is still Raj's sister…..can we please just let it go?" Leonard said. Howard didn't answer.

They continued eating in silence, still processing the events that transpired in the past hour. Penny kept to herself the whole time. She looked at Leonard and saw a different person. The Leonard she knew would slink back to his room and feel sorry for himself after a breakup like this. But this Leonard is different, he didn't even displayed regret or self pity that she saw in him before. Seeing Leonard this confident only made Penny even want him more.

The gang finished eating and went their separate ways. Leonard went straight to his room to turn in for the night. Amy and Bernadette followed Penny back to her apartment. Penny offered them some wine as they sat on the couch to have some 'girl talk' as it is still early in the night.

"I can't believe Leonard did that?" Bernadette said.

"I know but if you ask me, I think she had it coming….imagine not telling her parents about Leonard…" Amy said. "If she really cared about Leonard, she should at least stand up to them for Leonard's sake." she added.

Penny didn't say anything.

"So Penny, are you gonna ask him out?" Bernadette asked.

Penny was surprised and didn't answer her.

"You said you wanted him back….now's your chance." Bernadette said.

"Yeah, but he might not want to go out with me again." Penny said.

"How would you know if you don't try?" Amy said.

"She's right….do you still want him?" Bernadette asked.

"I do, but what if he doesn't want me back?…..what if he's still hurt from what I did to him?" Penny said. "Can we just talk of something else other than Leonard?" she told the two girls. They agreed and changed the topic. They continued talking until around eleven when Amy and Bernadette decided to call it a night. Penny went to her bathroom to get changed before going to sleep. She got under the covers and stared at the ceiling. She still can't get Leonard out of her mind.