At the bar, George casually took a swig of his beer and wrapped an arm around the blonde girl sat next to him.
Raj looked uncomfortable as her brunette friend draped herself over him.
Both girls were incredibly drunk and very unaware of their actions or surroundings. George decided to take this to his advantage.
Attracting women had always been his forte but there was one particular woman he would prefer to attract.
"Is she looking at me?" George whispered to Raj.
"Who?" he replied, looking cautiously at the girl George's arm was wrapped around.
"Amy!" George hissed and gestured towards the others with his head.
Raj's confusion grew as he rotated his head to look for his friends.
The rest of the group was sat around their table laughing happily.
George decided to sneak a look, hoping that Amy was wistfully watching, wishing she was here.
However, he could see from the angle he was sitting that Sheldon's hand was resting on Amy's thigh. His thumb gently stroked back and forth across her smooth skin. She laughed and bumped her head into his shoulder endearingly.
George felt his cheeks redden. Whether it was fury or jealousy or arousal, he could not tell.
Brushing away the drunk woman who was still clinging to him, George sighed.
He would have to take a different angle to this.
"So what is it with you and Amy?"
Raj had managed to repel the attractions of his female friend and was now watching George curiously.
For the last 10 minutes, he had been glancing over to the other table before looking back again as if he had never been watching. Raj had noticed how George was overly-attached to Amy but there did not seem to be a reason why. He almost appeared smitten.
"What do you mean?" George looked at his beer bottle and picked at the label, not making eye contact with Raj.
"Dude, you've hardly kept your eyes off her all evening. What is it?"
Raj was concerned. He did not know George well enough to be able to judge him but from the stories Sheldon had told countless times, his brother appeared to be a womanizing drunk who always seemed to find himself in trouble.
Tonight seemed different though. George was not conforming to his descriptions. Something was wrong. Raj could see how unsettled he was.
George shrugged in response to Raj's question.
"I dunno man. I guess I just kinda like her" he looked away.
Raj gasped and stuttered, "You like her? Like, like her like her?"
George rolled his eyes, "You sound like a teenage girl"
Raj did not know how to respond. Amy was definitely not the type of girl he imagined George going for. She was sophisticated and intelligent. She would never touch him with a barge pole. There was no way anything would ever happen. Sheldon and Amy had been in a relationship for over 6 years, nothing was going to break that. However, the determination in George's eyes unsettled Raj. This was not a man to play games with.
"But-but-Amy is Sheldon's girlfriend. You can't like her!"
On some level, Raj could sympathise. He knew what it was like to be attracted to someone you could never have. The only way he could ever be with someone like that would be through his fantasies. However, this was not a fantasy. George was completely certain.
"I can't help it man! She's just awesome, Sheldon doesn't deserve her" George hiccuped and leaned over the bar to order another drink.
"You can't just steal Amy because you think she's awesome! Sheldon will kill you"
"Have you seen that weed? I'd beat him to the ground with one touch and then Amy would be mine" a sly smile slapped across George's lips as he took another sip of his drink.
Raj's eyes opened wide. Amy would never step a foot near this fool. She would kill him before he had a chance to kill Sheldon.
Something had to be done to fix this. There was no way he was going to allow George to ruin Sheldon and Amy's relationship.
Suddenly, the lights in the room dimmed and a microphone was set up on a small stage in the corner of the bar. Music rippled through the air as the two women from earlier jumped up to sing karaoke.
Raj giggled as they stumbled over one another and turned back to George on his bar stool to persuade him that this was wrong.
However, George was gone.
Staggering back towards their table with a half-empty beer bottle in his hand, George approached Amy.