Chapter 8

Thanks again to ShAmy4evr for as always!

Blondie Neighbor Angst! It's on like Alderaan!

The next morning, Amy picked Sheldon up at the usual time. She was thankful she did not run into Sheldon's love interest that morning. His apartment seemed to be swarming with beautiful women who appeared to be both catty and bubbly and Amy was in no mood to play match maker for him this morning.

She had reconfirmed her date with Stuart, who for some odd reason was thrilled that she wanted to go to a chick flick. He had texted her back saying it was good therapy or some such thing. Amy wasn't interested enough in his reasons to reply.

Amy joined the guys for lunch and noticed that Sheldon was becoming more comfortable with the group. His eye contact was good, and his use of less foul language was also noticed by Amy. Perhaps he was working on his charm and social graces for his romancing of Penny? One thing that Amy did regret, his accent had faded slightly and she missed his drawl.

"So, Amy…. Any plans this weekend?" Raj blinked his eyes a few times, gave a sheepish grin to Amy and then smiled at Sheldon. Before she could answer, Sheldon chimed in the conversation and answered for her.

"Yes! We are going to buy a couch."

Howard rolled his eyes, "Thrilling and very domestic... But I have a better idea! Star War Marathon!"

Amy rolled her eyes, "Ugh… Howard.. I told you. I hate space games. Besides, on Saturday I have that damn…" Sheldon cut her off again as he almost jumped out of his seat.

"I haven't had a Star Wars marathon in years."

"Great! You have to join us! We need a fourth! Since Amy seems to be too good for us!" Raj grinned wickedly at Amy who just glared at him. Raj knew why she couldn't do a marathon, but he had been told to keep his mouth shut.

"Oh boy! Do you watch Movies or play the video games? Or board games? Or trading card games? Or Lego's? Or dress up? Or comic books? Or dramatic readings of novelizations?" All of this ran through Sheldon's mind and was what he wanted to ask, but his shyness kept him silent. However Amy could tell that the idea excited him by the rapid bouncing of his knee that shook the table and that the only way he could hold back a smile was by pulling in his thin lips. Amy had to hide her own smile over seeing him so happy.

"We are doing the online game. All weekend! Sleeping bags, junk food, and Howard, turn that darn phone off so your mom doesn't call this time!" Leonard gave Howard a good natured glare over his glasses, and Howard saluted him.

"Done! No phones."

Raj was bouncing with excitement, "It's on like Alderaan. Sheldon are you in?"

Sheldon was still trying to hold back his excitement, but he just couldn't contain it. He hadn't had a group of friends to watch Stars War with… ever! Let alone play the online game. However, he hadn't been in someone else's house in over 20 years, and that had ended in disaster when Sheldon had started to use their mom's computer to hack the NSA site for a better satellite link. He had certainly never had sleep over.

Then he remembered that he had made arrangements to go shopping with Amy and that they had tentative arrangements to go to the zoo on Sunday for a session to get over his social anxiety of crowds. Amy had referred to it as a session, but Sheldon thought of it as a date and there was no way he wanted to cancel their date.

"Oh… I had plans with Amy…" Sheldon slumped down, tormented by the worst dilemma in his life.

Sheldon was still mulling it over when he felt Amy's hand on his for a moment before she pulled it away. He looked over and saw her smiling face.

As much as Amy didn't want to encourage Sheldon to play a juvenile intergalactic space game, she knew he wanted to go more than anything. She thought it was just his social anxiety that was causing the dilemma.

She whispered to him, "Sheldon, you should go. It's just these guys, and you seem to get along fine. Besides, it will be a good way to interact in a group session and we can go the zoo the next weekend, if you like... It won't be so crowded then anyway..." This way, Sheldon could have fun, and Amy could get the date over and done with. She thought it was genius, but Sheldon still hesitated.

"But we need a couch, Amy. We need a place to sit… and stuff…" Sheldon swallowed hard the lump in his throat.

Amy shrugged her shoulders, "Buy it online, you know what you want. And then next weekend, I'll help you get some pillows to help update those armchairs of yours that have seen better days!" Amy nudged him playfully, "If you are really bold… get a coffee table!"

"Really Amy! Oh that would be so great! I have some ideas what kind I would like to get. It has to be sturdy enough to hold up 300 pounds." Sheldon smirked and shot a look to Amy, with a blush.

Raj nearly choked on his food, "Dude! What are you planning on doing on this table?"

Sheldon turned his head to Raj and said with a snicker, "Never you mind, you nosey nelly." Sheldon looked back to Amy with coy grin, but she just looked confused, yet again.

Leonard interrupted Sheldon's failed attempt at flirting and asked again, "So you in? Sleep over, game marathon, junk food?"

Sheldon took a deep swallow to assuage his fears. He felt Amy lightly brush his hand again, holding his for an instant to get his attention. She leaned over and nodded to the group, with her kind face. Her confidence built up his, and he said with a toothy grin that was so wide it hurt his face, "YES TO ALL!"

Howard had to laugh, "Let me see if I got this right… she is letting you out of your date and telling you to spend the weekend with a bunch of guys to play video games? Boy you are the luckiest guy ever. I wish I had a girlfriend like that…OUCH!" Howard got a swift kick under the table from a fuming Amy Farrah Fowler that was definitely going to leave a scar.

"IT WASN'T A DATE, HOWARD!" Amy was mortified.

Amy glimpsed anxiously at Sheldon, but he just smiled and said, "Howard's right. I am lucky." Without another word, he dove into his food while Amy just bit her lip and looked down at her lunch. For the rest of the meal she held her breath and watched a childlike joy start to emerge from Sheldon that had not been present when she had first met him.

She melted each time he would catch her eye and stare at her with his boyish grin, but then would harden her resolve to not give in to feelings that would make her weak.

The bullying taunts of her childhood had helped to sculpt her and she now embraced her bluestocking personae, even though her mother thought the term meant frumpy old maid, as opposed to the scholarly women Amy admired. She had her mind, and it never failed her. She had closed herself off to love and dove into science. She didn't care enough to cater to a man's needs because she was too busy pursuing her own. Anyway there was no point in dating a man since she couldn't offer him everything that he might want. She didn't need a man, or any silly romance. A man was nothing but a distraction.

Though Amy had only known Sheldon for a little more than a week, she was already drawn to him as kindred spirit. She would never risk her new friendship on the chance of love. She could not delude herself, there had been an attraction there, and if she were completely honest perhaps a little hope. However, it was obvious now that Sheldon had his eyes on the waitress. Why would he ever look at her, when he had that flaxen haired goddess? No Amy would never waste time on romance. The only family Amy could ever have would be her work. Being friends was a much simpler proposition and one Amy was willing to accept gladly. She smiled when she thought she had squashed the hope just in time. "Just in time" She thought. She was fooling herself.

Sheldon informed the group that he needed to pack and do his laundry early on Friday night in preparation for the gaming weekend. His normal laundry night was Saturday, but the change to his routine was a small price to pay for Star Wars fun. Leonard was to pick him up at 800 pm.

Amy agreed to drop him off at home, and let him get started while she procured some Chinese food for them. Sheldon felt as spoiled as a Saudi Prince. Not only was he going to be able to spend some time alone with her before Leonard picked him up, but he would also be having a weekend of gaming with a group of friends. He thought he had hit the lottery and that finally his life was turning out as he had always dreamed.

One thing he had felt in that room with all those Sheldons was envy of the life they had. He knew he could not have all that they had had, but perhaps if he was lucky, he could have the best of it: Amy.

He was so elated and pleased, he didn't even notice someone had entered the laundry room and had taken up the dryer next to him.

"Hello Neighbor, fancy seeing you here today. Not your usual day, is it?" She was wearing spaghetti strapped tank top that was three sizes too small, either that or she enjoyed showing her bra, Sheldon was not sure which. Her shorts were riding on her hips, showing off her flat belly.

"Nope… today is special." Sheldon grinned and sucked in his lower lip.

"I see…" She moved closer to Sheldon and twisted her hair as she watched his muscles flex when he folded his shirts. "I've been meaning to ask you… have your shirts shrunk? Whatever you're wearing looks so tight, I can see all you muscles. Do you work out?"

"I exercise yes… Excuse me." Sheldon tried to push past her to get his clothes, but she blocked the path.

"We should work out together sometime. I do yoga. It's sooo good for you. Watch this move I learned in Yoga today."

She arched her back and stretched out her arms behind her so her breasts were practically in his face, "I'm VERY flexible."

"Good for you, but you're over extending and will probably injure your rotator cuff. Not to mention, that asana is not on the approved list of Yoga postures…" Sheldon looked back at his folding board uninterested in her comments or postures.

"I think you're right… I did feel something funny today…" She rolled her shoulders and faked pain, "Oh perhaps you could massage it for me… I really could use some tender hands on me."

Sheldon shrugged his shoulders, "Well… Amy taught me this one thing. Here…" Sheldon placed one finger on the spot on her shoulder where Amy had touched him.

"Oh my god, you are just amazing. Oh this feels so good. How can you do that? I'm in heaven. If you can do that with one finger, what can the rest of you do…." Sheldon rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away.

That was the only part of the conversation that Amy overheard before she walked back up to the foyer to catch her breath. She had come in search of him but had stopped short when she heard a voice she recognized speaking to Sheldon.

Amy knew that she shouldn't be upset, but she was. She had no right to be jealous, but she was. She shouldn't care, but she did and it was more than she wanted to admit. She wanted to throw the food she had brought in the trash, where Sheldon had obviously picked up this woman moaning like a cat in heat. Amy's fists clenched around the bag of take out in a vice like grip and she breathed heavily through her nose. It was then that the elevator opened and Penny stepped out to find Amy standing looking at the ground by the mail boxes.

"Oh, Dr. Cooper's friend… oh dear… what's wrong sweetie?" Penny walked over to Amy and tilted her head to see Amy's face which was beet red.

Amy attempted to compose herself around Penny. She was the last person Amy wanted to see at that moment. "It's nothing. It's stupid…" Amy nearly growled the reply.

Penny was no fool and could see the deep hurt that Amy was trying to hide with her anger. It was something that she had experienced herself too many times. She rushed over and put her arm around Amy who stiffened up on the contact.

Though she didn't want to be coddled, Penny's warm embrace was comforting. "God I am so angry… hell I don't… It's just… Sheldon is in the laundry room with that blond neighbor...I should have known…"

"Alicia? That skanky bitch! Is she flirting with him? She can't keep it in her pants can she? She screwed her way through the CSI production staff, and now she's hitting on your boyfriend? She's just doing it for SPORT! I wish she had never moved in upstairs!"

"He's not my boyfriend." Amy looked up to Penny with piercing eyes, "Frankly, I think he's interested in you." Amy thought if being a good friend meant setting Sheldon up with Penny, then that was she was going to do. Although, it seemed he didn't need any help bearing in mind what she had just heard.

"Me? I doubt it. He never talks to me… Except last night after I got home from work he came over, and starting asking me weird questions..."

Amy just shook her head thinking Sheldon was working on one blond, while feeling up another. What a cad. It was too bad she hadn't scanned his brain to see if she could identify lecherous traits. Sheldon must have tried to chat up Penny last night after he had finished texting Amy. At least, she thought, he was good at following advice. Keeping dinner dates seemed too hard for him, however.

Amy stood up straight and forced a smile, "Well I would have said you should give him a chance, but I think the other one beat you to it." Amy looked down at the food she had brought for them, chastising herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. She had sat and listened to him rattle off some ridiculous order that she had made sure was correct, and he had returned the favor by wasting his time, and hers, with some woman instead of doing of his laundry. "Do me a favor. Give him this food. Tell him…I don't feel well."

"Okay… I'm sorry, what's your name?" Penny looked at Amy who was taking deep breaths between speaking. Her jaw looked like it ached from how tight she had it clenched.

"Amy…" Amy straightened up and brushed off her sweater. "Maybe you can have dinner with him. I'm sure he would like that, after he's done with the other one…" Amy shoved the bag of Chinese into Penny's hand and strode off to her car.

Just as she was out of sight, Alicia came running out of the laundry room crying.

Penny wanted to hit Alicia in the face right there, "Alicia! You skank! What are you doing to that poor professor guy! Leave him alone. He's not for you!"

Alicia wiped off her tears and screamed back, "Poor professor guy? That guy just ripped me a new asshole because I suggested we go on a date! He called me bitter bitch because I dared to say one thing about his precious little mousey friend. He told me I was a useless vacant tramp who gets by on superficial looks that I got out of bottle!"

Penny let out a snort, "I knew he was smart!"

Alicia sniffled and yelled back, "You don't get it. He was vicious, Penny. I've never been spoken to like that in my life. He said that he knew what my kind of woman does, trap men, destroy families and ruin lives. He called me a home wrecking whore! Did you tell him about the married guy I was seeing?"

"No, I never talk to him, but I bet he can smell a skank a mile away. You leave him alone! He's in love with that lady scientist. Anyone who sees them together can tell that, you idiot. There is no way you'll get your hooks in him. You deserved everything he told you, bitch!" Penny took off to laundry room to find Sheldon pacing back and forth.

Sheldon looked up to see Penny at the door. She couldn't get a word out before Sheldon ripped into her.

"What do you want? Come to make some crass statement like your friend out there. The nerve of that woman saying that my Amy wasn't good enough for me! How dare she speak about Amy! She is the best thing that ever happened to me! She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Far better than some bottled blond bimbo would ever be!"

Penny just stood there and let him rant. Finally when it seemed he had calmed down, she told him, "Amy left this for you. She was said she wasn't feeling well." Penny handed him the bag with a heavy heart. She wished she knew this Amy's number. She'd call her up and tell her that the man she thought was sleeping with half the building only had eyes for her. It was a terrible misunderstanding and one that Penny could have fixed with just one phone call.

"Um… you should call her later. Make sure she is okay, ya know. Check on her."

Sheldon looked insulted again, "I know that! Don't you think I would do that? God, ya'all are idiots.

Penny narrowed her eyes at him. She had had enough of his insults. He had come over to her apartment the previous night and asked her what she thought of his friend Leonard. Penny didn't know what to think of him, she had only just met him. She was just glad Leonard was not that creepy guy with the turtle neck who couldn't stop staring at her boobs. Sheldon made a few comments like she would be wasting her time with other men or some such thing and over 35 men was enough to sleep with in one life time. Penny nearly slammed the door in his face.

"Who is you all? I'm not like Alicia! Just because we have the same hair and we are actresses doesn't mean I am a slut or an idiot pal!"

Sheldon braced his palms against the folding table and dropped his head down between his shoulders. She was right and Sheldon was just lashing out.

Sheldon remembered how the other Sheldon's spoke with such fondness over Penny. Maybe she was a good friend after all and a good match for Leonard. Sheldon had to chew on the words before they left his mouth, "I… am… sorry."

Penny let out a sigh, "It's okay. That bitch would make anyone mad. Look, here's your food. Go have some dinner, and forget about her. If you can, tell Amy to call me. Here's my number."

Penny wrote her number on the Take out menu, and handed it to Sheldon, "Why do you want Amy to call you?"

"I don't know… She seems nice … Perhaps if you gave me her number, maybe we could go shopping or something…"

Sheldon looked over Penny's outfit, "I doubt it, but okay." He scribbled Amy's number and gave it to Penny.

Penny turned to leave, but then swiveled around and said, "Ya know… This is most you have spoken to me in the 8 years since I moved in here."

Sheldon chuckled, "In an alternate universe, we'd talk every day."

Penny laughed, "Hey pal, in different universe, we'd be married with 6 kids living in Encino."

Sheldon tilted his head down and glared at her, "Never. There's not a universe in existence that I am not with Amy. I know that for a fact."

Penny smiled at her love sick neighbor, "Good! I hate Encino! Talk to you soon, neighbor!"

Sheldon quickly grabbed his laundry, and rushed upstairs to pack and call Amy. She finally answered on the 5th ring.

"Hello?" Amy had spent the car ride home calming her self-inflicted fury. She was livid at herself over her reaction. There was no reason she should have run off with no explanation. She didn't know who she was upset with: Sheldon for wasting her time or herself for her reaction. At the moment, she was in no mood to speak to him, and answered the phone with as much enthusiasm as getting the call that your root canal was scheduled.

Sheldon's voice was frantic, "Amy! It's Sheldon. Are you ill? Do you need me to cancel and come take care of you? I can have Leonard stop off at CVS and get some Vapo rub or something..."

"No, Sheldon, I would NEVER waste your time like that!"

"It's no problem Amy, I just want to make sure you are okay."

"I'm fine... It's just my… um…stomach, but I have had a cup of hot tea and I'm going to turn in early. I'll be fine." Amy held the phone a little closer to her face, and asked quietly, "Did you um… have dinner with Penny?"

"No, but interestingly she asked me to tell you to call her. I will text her number. She wants to go shopping or some such girly nonsense."

"Really? Wow… Okay… That's new…" Amy couldn't understand why that girl would want to spend any time with her.

"Hold on a second," He texted Amy the number and got back on the line, "I hope you don't mind, I gave her your number."

"That's fine, Sheldon, whatever..." Amy said her herself, I wonder if he wants me to help fix him up with her as well. He seemed to be doing fine on his own, Amy groused.

Sheldon was oblivious to her disdain for him at the moment, "She seems tolerable, Amy if not on the abrasive side. Perhaps you can be friends if you can get past her lack of understanding of basic statistics theory. After she starts dating Leonard, we should be seeing much more of her."

Amy nearly dropped the phone, "Leonard?"

"Yes… My attempts at matchmaking at the Cheesecake Factory were for naught, but you said persistence is key. Leonard might have resort to begging."

Amy said in almost a whisper, "I thought you were interested in her?"

Sheldon let out a laugh, "ME? Lord no! Are ya crazy woman…" Sheldon added in a low tone, "I only have eyes for one…" She couldn't see his smile on the other end of the line.

Amy said with a cracking voice, "I understand." She couldn't get the sound of that blond neighbor out of her mind, but at least he wasn't working on two women at once and she didn't have another Howard or Raj on her hands.

Sheldon cut her off, "Oh! That's Leonard… Gotta go!"

Amy let out a huge sigh, and said quietly, "Have fun this weekend."

Sheldon rushed to the door and greet his new friend, wondering if he could he call him that yet?

He took a couple deep breathes and then answered the door calmly, "Hello Leonard, please come in." Sheldon opened the door for Leonard who looked around the apartment with a big smile on his face.

"Wow Sheldon! This is nice! WOW! You live here by yourself?" Leonard walked around the room, and noticed how sparse the space was, thinking that two could live in the space comfortably.

"Yes… I um… hope that might change sometime in the future." Sheldon smiled as he looked over at the Chinese food.

"Oh man, I wish I had met you 8 years ago when I was looking for a roommate. I have been living with Raj, and let me tell ya, I am getting fat with how much he cooks." Leonard tapped his belly, and smiled until he looked at Sheldon's flat stomach, and then closed his jacket. "Anyway, I'm working on it…"

"Well, I don't really cook. Order out, that's my thing. Here… Eat this. Amy and I were supposed to eat, but I'm not hungry now." Sheldon masked his disappointment with a fake smile.

Leonard looked over the bag of food and noticed the scribbled number, "Whose number is this, do you need it?"

Sheldon licked his lips and smirked, "Oh… that's Penny's and she wanted me to give it to so you can call her for a date."

"PPP Penny…. The waitress?" Leonard almost dropped the Chinese Food.

"Yeah, she lives next door."

Leonard really did drop the Chinese food. His eyes lit up and he glanced toward the door, "So, um… Sheldon… Ever think you'd like a roommate? I'm available… If you want… I mean… Like this week, if you have the room."

Sheldon grabbed the bag off the floor, and a fork for Leonard, trying to hide his grin. He knew exactly why Leonard wanted to move in, "Well, that's a big step."

Leonard looked around, "It's a big apartment…" Then he looked at Sheldon with pleading eyes.

"Correct." Sheldon grabbed his bag and his sleeping bag and as he headed toward the door, he said to Leonard. "I'll have to think about it."

As they waited for the elevator, Leonard said, "Nice that they have an elevator."

Sheldon remembered the stories about rocket fuel from the other Sheldons, paused and narrowed his eyes at him, "I really have to think about it…"

As part of his preparation for the sleep over, Sheldon had worked on changing his routine slightly. He had been sleeping on the floor, to get used the sleeping bag. He had played annoying TMZ banter about celebrities that he knew nothing about in anticipation of Raj's conversation topics and he had watched numerous videos on insults concerning coitus just in case Howard got too nosey. He felt he was prepared, but still in the car ride over he held his bag with a sweaty grip.

At Leonard and Raj's apartment the first hour was nerve wracking for both Sheldon and his new friends. First he had to scope out the best spot in the room, moving Wolowitz aside while doing so. Then he needed to hear all the rules for the game before hand, and finally he refused to go in battle without a strategy.

However once they had started to play, Sheldon's strategy gave their team the first victory in as long as they could remember. The gang of guys worked out their differences and praised Sheldon's stellar leadership skills, albeit only to themselves as he didn't need any more help in inflating his ego.

Friday night passed and Sheldon heard a rare sound: His own laughter. Not a snicker or a giggle, but a genuine hearty laugh that shook his belly and warmed his face. The group had far too much fun, to the point that at 2:00AM, the cops arrived at the behest of Mrs. Yamaguchi and asked them to keep it down.

"Busted! BEST WEEKEND EVER!" Leonard whispered to the group who all cheered out: HERE HERE!"

Mrs. Yamaguchi hit the wall again, and yelled out, "SHUT UP!"

Sheldon laughed so hard, he fell over the couch.

A/N: Okay be honest, how many of you thought the catty Blond neighbor was Penny? I know I did! LOL. Sorry to trick you, but a lot of you caught it was Alicia from Season 2.

Next up, Stuart's date! Oh my!