Here's my flashfic for TheBucketWoman. I was so, so happy to see this prompt. I'm not all that confident in writing Sheldon, so I was excited to really dig in and try him out.
This can probably be considered AU Shemily-wise for the episodes past Make No Prom-ises. Enjoy!
--Brandi
Disclaimer: I own only that which I have purchased and/or received as a gift. No one has decided to wrap Sheldon Schlepper up and send him to me, so I guess you know what that means.
Lost and Foundland
Sheldon stared glumly out the window of his family's station wagon as they thundered up the driveway. It had taken them two days to drive the 3,000 kilometers to their new house in a suburb of St. John's, Newfoundland. He actually kind of liked the house; his parents had flown out a month ago and brought back pictures. It was right on the water, and was about three times the size of their home in London. That was the keyword, though. Home. His home was London, not St. John's.
In the four months since he'd learned of the move, Sheldon had often wondered whether he would be as upset about it, if there was no Emily. Emily, the love of his life, had refused his half-baked marriage proposal and suggested they were better off as friends. Before, he had thought that people who talked about broken hearts were exaggerating. But now, oh, boy, now, he was sure that his heart had officially cracked in two. There was the half that stayed back in London with Em, and the other half that was slowly adjusting to the idea of a new school, and a new city. But it still hurt like hell.
He had the chance to reinvent himself. He no longer had to be known as Sheldon the Spaz, or on a good day, "that guy who plays the piano like Billy Joel." He could be whomever he chose in Newfoundland. In fact, the first thing he was going to work on was learning not to be so clumsy. By the first day of school, he was going to be smooth, suave, and as Derek-like as possible. Not that he idolized Derek or anything, but he sure did envy the guy's charisma. Sheldon had been told that he had charisma, but by people like aunts and his eighty-five year old grandma. They didn't count.
There were exactly two and a half weeks to move into the new house and get ready for school. At least he had been able to spend one last glorious summer with Emily before he embarked on the adventure of his life. They had gone swimming in her pool, played tennis (she had creamed him every time), hung around with Derek and Casey (he wasn't all that close to either of them, but they were okay enough), and even spent the weekend at his older brother's cabin.
His parents had actually suggested it. Sheldon didn't know what had come over them. He figured that they were just feeling guilty about making him move. Sheldon had kind of expected something to happen, all alone in the woods sitting in front of a roaring fire and roasting marshmallows (how much more romantic does it get?). Emily had even brought along condoms, but he just didn't want to rush into things. If he hadn't been moving, he strongly suspected that the sex issue would not have come up for a very, very long time. But they were both feeling a little scared of the future, and besides, that would have been the perfect way to spend the weekend. But he had chickened out.
It had actually happened the night before he left. They went out to dinner, and when they got back to Emily's house, she began sobbing. She clung to him as they hugged silently on her front porch, and he couldn't bring himself to send her inside. So they walked to a nearby park and made love under the stars at midnight.
It was awkward and over too quickly, and they stared at each other for a long time afterward, trying to make sense of their feelings. Sheldon broke the silence by apologizing, but Emily had put a finger to his lips and shaken her head. She insisted that this had been absolutely perfect, and that she would never forget their time together. Then she let the other shoe drop—she suggested they try to keep in contact…as friends.
Sheldon knew she was right; maintaining a long-distance relationship was crazy. But he had always been a romantic, and Emily wasn't. She was actually very practical, and he had gone along with her without question.
He gave her his new phone number, but they both knew that realistically, she was not going to call. A clean break would be best. That's what her eyes said, even if her mouth was saying the opposite. Sheldon was sure that that was the right thing to do.
But as he leaned against the car window, moments away from his new life, he realized that he would go on loving Emily for a very, very long time.
SESESE
A week in, Sheldon was enjoying himself immensely. Shawna had claimed the big bedroom, which left Sheldon to take the medium-sized one, but he loved it. It had a great view of their property, with its orchard and grassy meadow. There was even a little brook that wound around the side of the house. His dad had his own office, so instead of spreading his paperwork all over the kitchen like in London, he could work without disturbing anyone else, and vice versa. Shawna and Sheldon turned one of the living rooms into a home gym, and even though Sheldon figured he would probably never use it, the treadmill sure did look good sitting there. There were definitely perks to having your dad move across the country and get a big raise.
Everyone in his family was getting along, which was great. Sheldon figured it was because the house was big, and everyone had their own little areas of privacy, so there was no reason to get snippy. (He wasn't pointing any fingers, but boy was he glad Shawna had picked the big bedroom. It was like a mile away from his room, which meant they didn't have to see each other for days if they didn't want to.)
Shawn stopped by to visit and see the house, and he and Sheldon spent a day together just exploring the town. The local multiplex had six more screens than the one in London, and the mall was a whole story higher. His school looked inviting, and there was even a cute little restaurant that reminded him of Smelly Nelly's. He would never have thought of that, but Shawn had made the comparison. So of course Sheldon thought of home, which made him think of Emily, which made him think of losing Emily. He became quite well-acquainted with the men's room of the place when he left to splash some water on his face to stop the tears.
When he came back, Shawn patted him on the back and gave him a sympathetic smile. Shawn was even further from London; he was at university in the States. Sheldon was glad to have someone around who understood his pain. Shawna never talked to him about it. She was heading into her freshman year at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, so she would have had to leave her London friends that fall anyway. The move hadn't bothered her in the least.
The day before the first day of school came, and Sheldon stood in front of his closet, tapping his foot. He never really paid much attention to his clothes, since his mother bought them for him. But tomorrow was very important. What he wore would determine how he would be seen for the next two years.
He switched on the local classic rock station and gazed into the expanse of closet. Hmm.
He pulled out a black turtleneck and black jeans. Drama Club Sheldon.
Nah. He hadn't acted at all in London, and didn't really want to.
He found an old pair of Shawn's jeans that he had somehow inherited, and slipped them on. They were extremely baggy. He pulled a white undershirt over his head and threw on a backwards baseball cap. Homeboy Sheldon. Fo' shizzle.
Nope. There was no freaking way he could be that.
An old jersey from a Maple Leafs game his dad had taken him to was crumpled on the floor. He had wanted to throw it out when they'd moved, but he just couldn't. Anything that had any reminder of home, he had to keep.
With the jersey and Shawn's jeans, he was Jock Sheldon.
Hell, no. He was still trying his best not to fall over his own feet. Forget catching a ball.
Corporate Sheldon, wearing a business suit, just looked like he was trying too hard.
Revenge of the Nerds Sheldon, wearing suspenders and a bow tie, was just not him.
He put on some leggings that probably belonged to Shawna and had gotten mixed in with his things during the move. Then he found a colorful top with ruffles, left over from a Halloween clown costume. Dancing Queen Sheldon?
He was laughing before he even got the top all the way on.
Well, now what? He didn't want to just wear his usual costume of khakis and a collared shirt. That was London Sheldon. He needed to be Newfoundland Sheldon.
After digging in his closet for a few more minutes (and deciding that he had been really stupid not to clean out all this junk before the move), he came upon a jean jacket. His eyes filled with tears instantly as he realized that it had been Emily's. Was still Emily's.
"No," he told himself aloud, effectively stopping the tears from falling, though he still felt sick inside. He was severely tempted to just throw it in the trash. But he dismissed the thought just as quickly as it had come. There was nothing wrong with keeping it a little while longer, right?
SESESE
Apparently Newfoundland Sheldon wore women's clothes. He knew no one could tell; a jean jacket was a jean jacket. But it still smelled like her. And it had a little flower pin that he'd had to remove. But overall, he was happy he had decided to wear it. It gave him a strange sense of confidence. It was like Emily was with him in spirit, even if her body and her mind weren't.
He didn't trip, slip, stumble, fall, knock things over, or do anything remotely mortifying all day. He signed up for student government first thing, and answered a band's ad on a bulletin board looking for a lead singer. He got the gig before the school day was over, after auditioning during lunch in the choir room, and they began rehearsals that night. Sadly, the school had no fellow pan flute players, but in the grand scheme of things, that was no big deal.
Yes, sir, it was a whole new Sheldon Schlepper. He had managed to still pursue his interests, without looking like a dork. He considered the day a huge success.
So why was he still so melancholy? Oh, yeah. He wasn't with her.
When he took off Emily's jacket that night, he shivered. But it wasn't from the cold. He put it back on and instantly felt better. But this was crazy. He couldn't just wear Emily's jacket every day. That would peg him as a social outcast quicker than anything he did on his own.
He hung it neatly in the closet and looked around his room, trying to find something that would remind him of Emily. He could always just keep a picture of them in his locker, he reasoned. Yeah, that would work.
After a week, he had some friends to sit with at lunch, his bandmates to hang with in study hall, and student government and rehearsals to keep him busy after school. (He had even found a couple of girls who would make perfect Schleppettes, should he run for student body president. Old habits die hard.) But of course, he thought of Emily every day.
On Saturday, he woke up and decided to count how many times he thought of Emily that day. Because he had been almost unable to stop thinking about her the day before.
Telling himself this was time number one. And he hadn't even gotten out of bed yet.
By lunchtime, he was up to forty-seven. This was getting ridiculous.
It was official. He needed a girlfriend. Okay, he needed a girl to go out with on the weekends. Not necessarily a girlfriend, just…oh, who was he kidding? It was time to move on…right?
Too bad just about every girl he had ever asked out had said no, Emily being the major exception. And she had only said yes out of loneliness—it wasn't until later that she realized how much she really did care about him. He had known her motive for agreeing, and it hadn't really bothered him; a date was a date, and Emily was hot. In fact, she was the hottest girl ever to even talk to him up to that point (Casey didn't count). So he had waited, patiently, for her to come around. And by a few months in, they both knew it was love. And Casey's cool points were going up, which in turn made Emily's go up, so Sheldon became cool by association. At least, the popular kids had learned his first name, and gave him the nod when they passed in the hall. It had been nice.
At this school, he was starting from scratch. The people he had befriended so far were not exactly Maxes or Kendras.
But he could do this. He was Sheldon Schlepper. The guy who faked confidence until he really had it, and didn't care what other people thought. People generally liked him, even if he annoyed them sometimes. He could do this.
Monday morning, it was time to find himself a date. On Sunday he only thought of Emily twenty-six times.
SESESE
Jesse, lead guitarist in the band, reported to Sheldon during study hall with a list of possible girls.
He's like the Dr. Em of this school, Sheldon thought. Oops. That was thought number three of the day.
"Here," he said, pointing to the first girl. "Start with her. She's kinda quiet, and not all that popular, but she's available."
She was pretty enough. He could give her a try.
"The next girl is that girl that sits next to you in math. She keeps staring at you."
"She does?" Sheldon was surprised. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed.
"Yeah. Though I don't really know why. She might like you, or she might just be grossed out by the way you chew on the tops of your pens."
Sheldon blinked at Jesse, not sure how to respond. "Um, okay. Moving on!"
They ran through the list, and by the fifteenth girl, Sheldon was exhausted. Picking the perfect date was hard work.
He worked up the courage to approach Girl #1 after school. Leaning against her locker in what he hoped was an enticing manner, he smiled when she approached.
"Heyyy," he greeted, and she searched his face, presumably to figure out if she knew him.
Sheldon felt like an idiot. He had already come off like a creep.
"I'm Sheldon Schlepper, New Kid on the Block." He busted a nineties-era dance move and the girl stepped back a few feet.
Emily would have laughed. This girl just looked scared.
Dang it, that was thought number four.
Sheldon held out his hand to shake hers. "I'm new," he explained.
The girl took his hand tentatively. "Emily Collins."
Sheldon dropped her hand quickly. Fate was cruel.
"Nice to meet you, Emily," he managed to reply.
"You too," she said, still looking wary. He didn't blame her—he was all twitchy.
Best to just get it over with.
"So, there's this dance on Friday night," he began, and her face brightened. Maybe she was another lonely Emily who would take a chance on a Schlepper. "You wanna…you wanna go with me?"
Emily shifted her weight onto her other foot and put a hand on her hip. "I might have plans," she replied airily.
This girl was not going to make it easy on him. Time for the Schlepper Shtick—guilt trip her.
"It's just," he put on the saddest expression he could muster. "I'm new here, and I don't know many people yet…and I saw you and thought maybe you'd take pity on me…"
She was looking at him with such big eyes that he knew he had her. "Okay. I'll go with you." She took a step forward and gestured toward her locker. "Can I get my books now?"
"What? Oh, sorry!" Sheldon jumped away from his spot and let her open her locker. "So…I'll meet you there at seven?"
"Fine." She gathered her things and turned to give him a genuine smile. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too." He smiled back. She had really white teeth. He was about to ask what kind of product she used to get them that hue, but she was already walking away. So she didn't do small talk. That was fine with him.
SESESE
Sheldon somehow made it to Friday. He had no idea a person could get this nervous. He hadn't even thought about his Emily (much) because he was too busy planning the perfect evening. He had written out a list of things they could talk about (that was a Casey trick, but it worked for him), he had made his mother teach him how to foxtrot (hey, he didn't know how kids kicked it in St. John's), and he had bought a new tie. This date had to go well; if she said no to a second one, he didn't really have any more suitable prospects.
The date was a disaster. They met by the door, shared one fast dance, and then Emily spent the rest of the evening gossiping in the corner with her friends. Sheldon hovered around the punch bowl. Jesse found him after awhile and dragged him out to the dance floor.
It was then that Sheldon decided he needed to be London Sheldon again for a little while. He knew he wasn't a great dancer, but it was time to let loose.
His new friends were pretty tolerant; he would give them that. They didn't make fun of him at all. Instead, they each danced nearby, ignoring the fact that he looked like an idiot. As he flailed wildly around, using the dance moves that had earned him quite a reputation back at Thompson, he willingly allowed himself to think of Emily. He remembered how much fun they had had dancing spastically together, whether in the privacy of her living room or at the school dances. It had taken her awhile to warm up to it, but once he had helped her realize that it didn't really matter what other people thought, she had embraced the art of Schlepper-dancing.
When the song ended, Sheldon was ready to leave. He strode over to Bad Emily, and tapped her on the shoulder. She flinched.
"Oh, hi Sheldon."
"Oh, hi? Oh, bye!" Sheldon couldn't help himself. "You know what? You are the worst date ever. I was just coming over to tell you I'm leaving, and that you won't be hearing from me again."
Bad Emily obviously thought this was joyous news. "Yeah, uh, bye." She turned back to her friends and they began talking again, as though they hadn't just been interrupted.
He stormed off towards the exit. Sitting down on a nearby bench, he called his mom for a ride home.
That's it, he thought, light bulb going on in his head. I'll get a job, save up for a car, and go visit Emily. That had been his original intention, when he'd first told her he was moving. But it wasn't that simple anymore. She hadn't called him, so she had obviously moved on. She was probably crushing on that James Burton kid she'd always thought was so cute. Maybe they were already dating. The thought made his stomach churn.
So much for moving on himself. He was right back where he started.
Why fight it? He pulled out his cell phone again, and dialed Emily. This was going to cost a lot in roaming charges, but she was worth it.
Voicemail. Fate still hated him, apparently.
"Hi, Em, it's me. I mean, it's Shel…don. Schlepper…" Oh, man. She only knew one Sheldon. And it had only been a month since he'd left. Could he be any dumber? "…I just wanted to call to say..." Say what? Say what? He should have practiced this first! "…that, um, I hope you're doing okay without me…" How pompous did that sound? He amazed himself sometimes. "…I mean, ha ha, I was kidding. I um, I miss you. Okay, well, bye." He hung up and crushed the phone into his forehead. Stupid, stupid. He should have left that message as Newfoundland Sheldon, the guy who almost had charisma. Not as doofy London Sheldon, who tripped going up the steps. And obsessed over a girl who didn't love him anymore.
SESESE
He didn't really remember going to bed, but in the morning he woke up in his pajamas. At least he was still able to dress himself. The rest of him, however, was on autopilot.
"Morning," his dad called from the breakfast nook, as Sheldon made his way into the kitchen. Sheldon answered, but he had no idea what he said. It was apparently English, because his father went back to his newspaper as though nothing was out of the ordinary.
He poured himself a bowl of something that looked like cereal, but it tasted like glue. Nothing would go down. He spit it in the sink.
"You okay, son?"
Sheldon must have said yes. Then his feet took him upstairs and his body laid itself on the couch. He felt around for the phone.
Have to call her, he thought. Have to tell her how I really feel.
His finger was halfway to the first number button when the phone rang. Sheldon's body stiffened as he stared at the phone. It couldn't be…
It wasn't. It was Casey. Wait, Casey McDonald?
It had to be her. The Caller ID said Casey McDonald.
And then the voice said, "Hi, it's Casey. Sheldon?"
Somehow, Sheldon's brain began to function in synch with his body again.
"Casey?"
"Hi, Sheldon."
"Hi." He didn't trust himself to refrain from pouring out all his feelings about Emily, so he figured he'd let her do the talking.
"Look, I need to tell you something." Her voice had that tone that people used when they were giving bad news.
He sat straight up on the couch, heart pounding rapidly.
"Oh my God, is Em okay? What happened?"
"No, no, everything's fine. Well, no, it's not. She uh, she came over last night and replayed your message about three hundred times."
"What?"
"She was practically in hysterics. And you know it has to be bad for Emily to get hysterical like I do. I'm talking, unable to breathe, she was crying so hard."
"What!?"
"She misses you so much, Sheldon. But she wanted a clean break, and you didn't call, and neither did she, so she figured you guys were done. But last night, I guess she realized that she still loves you, and that breaking up was a big mistake."
"What??" Sheldon's vocabulary apparently consisted of that one word at the moment. He tried again. "Did she tell you this?"
"Over and over. And she replayed your message. Over and over. We didn't sleep at all."
"She really misses me." He had meant for it to be a question, but it came out more like a proclamation.
"Yeah, she does. And I know you miss her."
"You do?"
"You said it in your message."
"Oh. Right." Sheldon put his head in his hands, almost dropping the phone in the process. "Can I…talk to her?"
Casey sighed. "She's asleep. I'd wake her, but then I'd be subjected to more crying than I care to take on, on no sleep."
"Drama queen gets a taste of her own medicine, huh?" Sheldon knew she wouldn't find it funny, but he couldn't resist.
"Because my best friend loves you, I'm not going to answer that. I'm just letting you know that I'm going to force her to call you when she wakes up. So stay by the phone."
"What, you think I have nothing better to do than to wait for Emily's call?" They both knew he didn't, so Casey stayed quiet.
Something occurred to him. "Wait, what do you mean 'force her'? She doesn't want to talk to me?"
"She's scared to, Sheldon. She's afraid of how much she cares about you. Having contact with you again will open everything back up, and…" she paused. She seemed to decide that he understood what she was trying to say. "You know?"
"I get it." He hated to hear how miserable Emily was, but he also realized something. Neither of them was going to be happy until they finally let go. What he said next made him double over in pain, but he had to say it. "Casey, tell her not to call me. It's better for both of us if we just stop. There's no use pretending we can be together now. It's over. I won't call her again."
He hadn't been able to say that aloud before, let alone think it. It's really over. So final. But he knew he was doing the right thing. This way, Emily could find some guy to make her happy, and he could start looking for a Newfoundland girl that was actually worth his time. You know, if there were any.
"Are you sure about that, Sheldon?"
He shoved his fist into his mouth for a moment to stop himself from screaming "No!"
"Yes, I'm sure. Tell her I love her, but it's time to let go."
"If that's what you really want." Casey sounded doubtful.
"Thank you for calling, Casey, but missing each other is making us both too unhappy. And I want Em to be happy."
"Okay." She paused, obviously sad for them both. "Goodbye, Sheldon. Good luck."
"Thanks. Goodbye, Casey."
He hadn't cried at all that morning, and strangely enough, he didn't feel like he needed to now. In fact, he felt a little light-headed. Maybe now that he knew for sure that it was over for both of them, he could finally throw himself into becoming Newfoundland Sheldon for good.
He spent the day cleaning out his room. Everything he had haphazardly thrown into boxes during the move was now spread across his floor, and he was going to get rid of everything he no longer needed. The jean jacket went straight to the top of the trash heap.
SESESE
The house had been quiet all weekend. Shawna was away at school, his father was golfing with some work buddies, and his mom had been staying out of his way. When Sheldon went on a cleaning spree, she knew he wanted to be by himself.
By dinnertime on Sunday, he was exhausted. He had spent a lot of time thinking about Newfoundland Sheldon, and if he was someone Sheldon really could be. He made a list of all of his best qualities.
Friendly. Competitive. Musical. Driven. Creative. Romantic. Smart. Funny. That last one was up for debate; not very many people besides Emily got his jokes. He realized that he liked himself best when he was with her. While he was generally a good guy, she made him want to be better.
He had to learn how to be the best version of himself without her. That was going to take some time.
Newfoundland Sheldon was also not clumsy, well-liked (except by Bad Emily, of course), and…single.
Sheldon's mom had left him a bowl of chili in the microwave. He had no idea where she had gone, but apparently she was still avoiding him. He pressed a few buttons and watched his dinner spin around and around.
Tomorrow morning, he would shake himself out of this funk, and be happy, peppy, Newfoundland Sheldon. He could do it.
A thunderclap sounded in the distance and rain began to pour down. He couldn't have planned it better himself—fate wanted him to wallow a little more, it seemed. Rain beat at the windows and lightning flashed as Sheldon ate his solitary dinner.
He had just finished his chili when the doorbell rang. He placed his bowl in the sink and went to see who could possibly be visiting in the middle of this horrible storm.
"Emily?!" he stared at the girl in front of him. She nodded unnecessarily, and Sheldon instantly pulled her into a tight hug, though she was drenched from head to toe. "Let's get you inside," he said, muttering soothing things to her as she clung to him, shivering, obviously too bedraggled to speak at the moment. He found her some clean towels and she stripped down to her underwear. He ran her clothes to the dryer as she bundled herself in the towels. He came back over to stand in front of her, rubbing his hands over her shoulders and arms to warm her up.
"How…? What…?" He was too overcome with emotion to say much of anything, and looking her, he saw she felt the same.
"Train, bus, ferry, taxi, walking," she managed to get out, and he held her close, breathing her in.
"You…walked?" he was still a little dazed.
"Your driveway was a lot longer than I thought it would be," she said, and Sheldon made a strangled sort of laughing sound.
"Let's sit," he offered, leading her into the living room. They curled up on the couch, and looked at each other, neither one wanting to break the spell that had come over them as soon as they were in each other's presence again.
But Emily had to tell him the truth. "I know you talked to Casey yesterday. She told me that you think it's best if we just forget about each other. Is that what you really want?"
Sheldon grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Of course not. But Casey told me how sad you were, so I wanted to make sure you'd have the chance to be happy again."
"Even though allowing me that chance would make us both even sadder?"
Sheldon sighed. "I don't know what to do. I'm so happy you're here. But at the same time, it's not real. You'll have to go back to London eventually."
"I know. But when I heard about your conversation with Casey, I knew I couldn't leave it like this. I had to see you one last time." She bowed her head and tears began slipping down her cheeks. She wiped them away before he could even reach his hand towards her. "God, I hate myself for being like this. I don't know what I was thinking."
"What do you mean?" Sheldon had begun crying as well. He got each of them a tissue from the side table by the couch.
"I thought that we could just stop thinking about each other. That we'd have a great summer together, you would go, and I'd find someone else. I guess I didn't acknowledge the fact that I love you too much to let you go that easily."
"It makes me sick to picture you with someone else. I thought maybe you'd be dating Burton."
Emily managed a chuckle. "Burton? Never. I thought you'd have a bunch of girls flocking around you. There's nothing like a new guy."
"Ha. A lot you know. I had one date my friend Jesse set me up with. Her name was Emily. And she ignored me the whole night."
Emily chuckled again, this time looking genuinely amused. "Oh, Sheldon." She leaned into him and kissed his neck lightly. He reluctantly pushed her off.
"No, Em. We have to talk about this first."
She frowned. "What are we going to do? Try the 'friends' thing?"
"I don't know about you, but I can't live with that."
"Me either."
"We could stay together." He knew in his heart that this was the only option for him. As long as she agreed.
"But—"
"You came all this way to visit me without a car. It's expensive, but if we take turns going back and forth…we could see each other maybe every other month. And talk on the phone or email in between. What do you think about that?"
Emily considered this. "I think we need to try. I'm sorry I didn't even suggest it before you left. I just got scared, and I couldn't picture my life without you in it, so I tried to shut you out completely so I wouldn't have to deal with everything."
"Hey, it's okay. As long as we both agree to give us another chance."
"I agree completely."
"Good." Sheldon breathed a sigh of relief. Why hadn't they talked this out before? They had been so afraid of a long-distance relationship; they hadn't even considered trying it. But now they both knew the even more scary and miserable alternative.
Emily trailed her finger across his bottom lip. "Can I kiss you now?"
Sheldon nodded. He leaned in closer. "Hey Em?"
"Mm?"
"Thank you for coming. I'm so glad you're here."
"Me, too."
SESESE
They enjoyed each other's company for quite awhile, until Mrs. Schlepper came down and they had to explain why Emily was there and why she was wearing a towel. She was of course invited to stay the night, and she accompanied Sheldon to school the next day. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face. Emily was all smiles, too.
Jesse and Emily liked each other right away, and Jesse pounded Sheldon on the back and gave him a look that clearly said how much cooler Sheldon had become by having a girlfriend like Emily.
He was excited to show her around his new home, and after school they ate at the St. John's version of Smelly Nelly's.
When they got back to his house, though, Sheldon's parents insisted that Emily couldn't miss any more school, and paid for her return trip to London. They even offered to help out with the travel expenses when they would do their bi-monthly visiting plan.
Sheldon was amazed at how simple it all was. Why hadn't he just asked his parents before the move if they would help him with visits? He had been too wrapped up in his own world to think that maybe his parents understood his pain a little. After all, they had left friends behind, too.
He and Emily both knew that while it was going to be great to get to see each other, it was going to be far from easy to keep up with each other. But Sheldon knew in his heart that they could do it. They just had to last two more years apart, and then they could go to the same college, and be together all the time. He told Emily this, and for once she eschewed practicality and agreed that they'd be together forever. This had made him so happy that he'd proposed again, but Emily had just rolled her eyes, kissed him, and told him that when he had a car, she'd think about saying yes. That was good enough for Sheldon.
Best of all, he found that he could be Newfoundland Sheldon and London Sheldon at the same time when he had Emily—after all, they were really the same guy, just a few thousand kilometers apart. It was the same with their relationship. It was just physical distance. They could still be as close as ever. Sheldon was determined to make it happen. And when a Schlepper puts his mind to something…
The End!
The first thing I thought of when I read this prompt was Topanga standing in the rain at Cory's door on Boy Meets World. So the whole fic was basically inspired by A Long Walk to Pittsburgh. Sheldon was a bit more angsty than I'd intended, but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it! Here's the prompt:
I wanna see Sheldon in Newfoundland. Is he miserable or does he have a
chance to reinvent himself? Does he still talk to Emily? Maybe Emily visits?