Leonard sighed to himself. It was weird sitting alone at 11pm at night in the apartment without Sheldon in the building. He had chosen to ignore the phone call from Priya earlier in hopes that if he had no contact with her, his chances of getting Penny back were higher.
Penny.
Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny.
That was the only name that crossed his mind and he was finding it difficult not to think about her. He got up out of his chair and started pacing about the apartment. He had to find some way of talking to her or showing her that he loved her and was truly sorry. He knew that Penny was a sucker for romance, so he racked his brain for inspiration to no avail. Moving into his bedroom and sitting on the bed, he looked around asking God for a sign but nothing. That was until he laid his eyes on his cello case. Perhaps a song would make her see sense, but he was no good at writing music and wasn't the best of players. Sheldon, on the other hand, was an amazing pianist and Leonard knew he wrote music. It was his hidden hobby and Leonard couldn't recall the number of times he had walked into the apartment and heard Sheldon playing on his keyboard when he thought he was alone. As much as he hated to admit to another one of Sheldon's talents, he had to give him credit as Sheldon did have an ear for music and the piano. Following this, Leonard made his way to Sheldon's room and slowly opened the door. Sure enough, his Keyboard was tucked away in the corner and there were sheets of music on the table beside it along with CDs of home recordings that Sheldon had made.
Taking one labelled "Amor Perdidos" out of the case, Leonard popped the CD into the player and listened. The music was sad yet calming and it somehow made Leonard forget his problems. The track lasted about 5 minutes and those 5 minutes were the most 5 tranquil minutes of Leonard's day and he was thankful for that. Sheldon's music had helped him come up with a plan too: Sheldon would write a piece of music for him and he would learn it and then play it to Penny! It was fool proof.
'I am a genius!' Leonard said gleefully to himself. Making sure to pop everything back where it was, Leonard made his way to bed. Operation Win Back Penny would begin officially tomorrow once Sheldon returned back to the apartment.
Amy awoke the next morning to an empty bed.
'Sheldon?' she called out.
'Out here Amy!' he called back from her lounge. Getting out of bed and putting her dressing gown and glasses on, she walked into the living area to see Sheldon fully dressed and hunched over his charts. 'Good morning Amy,' he smiled.
'Good morning? What's got you such in a good mood?' she asked suspiciously and Sheldon shrugged.
'Look…I'm plotting data… it's so exciting!' Sheldon said gleefully, like a kid at Christmas. Amy raised her eyebrows.
'So what is the outcome of your experiment?'
'Well, I believe more analysing needs to be done but last night was enjoyable.' Sheldon said and Amy nodded.
'Even though we fought?'
'We? No Amy, I believe you were the one trying to pick and fight and totally overreacting, not I. I simply stated the facts but that's the trouble with you women, you're hormones go all stir crazy but I'll forgive you.' Sheldon stated, taking a sip of orange juice from his glass. Amy found that she couldn't be bothered to argue with him, it would only ruin her day and she was already tense enough.
'Whatever Sheldon, I'm getting up now. Why don't you just go home?' Amy sighed and Sheldon frowned.
'How will I get home if you aren't there to drive me?'
'Sheldon, I don't care… I have to do some work today so I need you out of my apartment!' Amy said, her patience wearing thin.
'Amy, I sense that you are angry with me? Have I said something improper or to upset you?' he asked.
'You really don't understand do you? Look Sheldon, please just leave. You're fully dressed and ready to go, I would appreciate it if you left.' Amy sighed, rubbing her eyes and Sheldon nodded.
'Alright, I shall telephone you later to check in on you.' Sheldon said and he walked up to her and slowly leaned towards her before very quickly and very awkwardly kissing her cheek. Turning on his heel, he picked up his mobile and called Leonard, 'Hello Leonard, I need to ask a favour of you. Will you please pick me up from Amy's apartment? No I did not engage in coitus with her… well if you must know I was carrying out an experiment. All of this is irrelevant though, please pick me up. Alright, I shall see you in 10 minutes.' Sheldon hung up and packed all his research away. 'I shall see you later Amy,' Sheldon smiled before opening the front door and exiting the apartment.
As soon as the door shut, Amy let out the breath she had been holding. She couldn't deny her shock when Sheldon kissed her on the cheek but somehow it seemed less meaningful now. Opening her own phone, she saw that she had a response from Burt.
Hello Amy,
Would love to go for lunch. When shall we go? My treat.
Love Burt xxx
Amy bit her lip in worry before deciding to call her bestie. It was nearly 10 o clock and she was sure Penny wouldn't mind. She punched in Penny's number and pressed call; after three rings she was greeted with Penny's beautiful voice.
'Hey Bestie,' Amy said.
'Hey Amy, what's up?'
'I need to speak with you… could you come over? I don't want to run the risk of running into Sheldon.'
'Has something happened between you guys?
'No, not yet but I need to have a serious chat with you about him.'
'Alright, I'm on my way.'
'Ok, thanks Penny,' Amy smiled before hanging up. Penny would know what to do.
Sheldon walked into the apartment with Leonard and placed his overnight bag back in his room. Observing his surroundings, he frowned.
'Leonard, have you been in my bedroom?' He asked and Leonard sighed and just decided to admit the truth.
'Yes, I have,' he sighed, 'how did you know?'
'My CD rack is about 10 degrees more to the left in comparison to how I left it. Why were you in my bedroom?' Sheldon asked.
'OK, well I'd best come straight out with it. I know you play the piano extraordinarily well because I've heard you. I wanted to listen to some of your stuff… and I thought maybe you could help me compose a piece of music for Penny? Y'know… to help me win her back.' Leonard shuffled his feet and Sheldon glared at him. The music he wrote and performed was his way of disconnecting himself from the genius physicist that everyone knew him as. He was almost a different person, a better person; in fact he was a person far more in touch with their emotions when he was around his music and piano. To have Leonard rummage through his personal belongings and actually listen to a composition he had written angered him.
'You listened to my personal recordings? That is a total invasion of my privacy Leonard; my recordings are for my ears only. I can't believe you barged into my bedroom when you knew I would be absent from the apartment and then proceeded to listen to something I make for myself, something that I like to keep private from everyone else, something I can call my own in this Godforsaken world.'
'Sheldon, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…'
'No, this has crossed the line! It's one thing that you engage in coitus with that awful woman and cheat on my Penny but it's a whole other thing to disrespect me. These are my personal tapes and I don't want anyone to listen to them and so help me if you ever enter my bedroom again without my express permission, I will terminate the roommate agreement. So in answer to your request, I will politely decline to help you. I'm not sure you deserve to have Penny back Leonard. I lost respect for you the second I came home to see you and Priya running around like headless chickens. Do you know what I think; I think you should leave Penny alone and get on with your life. She no longer wants you and she will never take you back; Priya is probably at her hotel waiting for you so why don't you go and be with her. That's where she wants you to be, that's where Penny wants you to be, that's where I want you to be and that's where you want to be.' Sheldon growled and Leonard was speechless. He knew Sheldon was a private person, but not to this degree. Sheldon had never spoken to him like that before and Leonard respected him for it. He took in his points and saw their validity; so he nodded before retreating out of Sheldon's room.
'You're right, I'm er… going to head out. I'll be back in the evening,' Leonard said softly and Sheldon frowned, looking at the clock.
'It's only 10.30, what are you going to do for the duration of the day?'
'Comic book store, go and do some work in the lab, see Priya? I'll see you later.' Leonard sighed before grabbing his jacket and leaving the apartment. When Sheldon saw the coast was clear, he went over to Penny's apartment.
Knock knock knock
'Penny.'
Knock knock knock
'Penny'
Knock knock knock
'Penny.'
Sheldon stood there waiting before he came to the conclusion that Penny was out. Or maybe she was asleep, it was before 11 and oh God, if he woke her his head would be on the chopping board! Running back to his apartment he slammed the door shut behind him, breathing heavily.
'And Sheldon Cooper manages to escape, his throat still intact. Stealth mode was a roaring success!' Sheldon fist pumped the air before going to his room, getting out his manuscript paper and sitting at his keyboard. He decided to compose a piece for Penny so at the top of the paper, he wrote in his elegant calligraphic writing "Penny's Song". He tried to think of an inspirational memory that he could use to write to but somehow his eidetic memory failed to come up with one until he saw an old picture of himself, Penny, Leonard, Raj and Wolowitz sitting on his windowsill. He picked up the picture and smiled and decided this was the memory to use. He thought back on the memory, letting it flow: it was before he had met Amy, before Howard had Bernadette, it was back when everyone was friends and there was no care in the world. He memorised Penny playing in the sandy beach; she wasn't wearing a sexy bikini but a white tank top and shorts and she and Leonard were laughing whilst playing in the sea. He removed Leonard from the picture and focused on Penny's face, her features, her smile, the way her hair blew in the wind and framed her face, the odd wisps of hair blowing into her mouth. Her eyes were sparkling with happiness as she played volleyball in the sea, and he could remember hearing her laughter ring through the air as she waved to him. As Sheldon pictured her beauty and carefreeness on that day, he felt his heart flutter slightly and his pulse speed up. Surely he wasn't sick, was he? Sheldon put the photo down and frowned… perhaps this rush of giddiness wasn't the result of a viral infection. Perhaps it was because the woman he had known and grown to care for for the past 6 years was having this impact on him? Amy had changed his perception on people and made him more open to the idea of intimacy and he was, in his own kind of weird way, grateful for that. Penny irritated him and drove him up the wall but he enjoyed it, the banter matches they had, and the connection they shared. Sheldon couldn't begin to imagine what his life would be like without Penny; it would be empty and lifeless… boring. She and him were polar opposites but were so much better matched in comparison to Penny and Leonard.
Sheldon scolded himself for a moment. He was in a relationship with a woman who he deeply cared for and that was who he would stay with; Penny would have to be his in his dreams. Amy was his girlfriend and he also didn't know what he would do without her. She was a great joy to have in his life so much so that he could tolerate her trying to push for more and more intimacy. He was so confused, he had feelings for both Amy and Penny but for now it was Penny on his mind. And with that… he began to compose.
Hope you guys liked it :] If you want to listen to the piece of music I had Leonard listen to the link to add to the youtube website address is: [forward slash] watch?v=zRvhQ5Rf6-U It's a lovely piece of music and I could imagine Sheldon playing it to be honest. Now to find a piece of music that will fit the bill for Penny's song :D Let me know what you think of the chapter and I shall love you forever and keep the updates quick and swift xx