Hey, thank you all so much for the reviews! They really motivate me a lot, so please keep them coming, and I'll keep the chapters coming... Also, I'm relying on you guys to call me up on any discrepancies and tell me what you like / don't like, so please do (but not in a mean way). Enjoy this one y'all xxx

Luckyhai5 XD

Penny was kicking herself. Why had she invited Sheldon over? It was such a stupid, spur-of-the-moment decision; she wished she could take it back, but decided against it. That would be weirder, as it would imply that something was wrong; she hated to admit it to herself, let alone Sheldon, who wasn't particularly perceptive, but would doubtless notice such an obvious deviation from her usual behaviour. No, it was better to have him for dinner as a friend, than to freak out and escalate the issue. Maybe Sheldon hadn't even spoken to Leonard about it.

Doubtful.

She turned her attention instead to the pair of red shoes poised on her couch. They were gorgeous. Sighing, she put them back in the box, stapling the receipt to the top. A bill leered at her from where it lay, fat and bulging, on the kitchen counter. She would take the shoes back tomorrow.

Penny returned to the spaghetti, stirring in the chunks of hot dog. Quite unknowingly, she smiled.

Knock knock knock. "Penny."

Knock knock knock. "Penny."

Knock knock knock. "Penny."

Sheldon could see her shadow under the door. As a man of logic, he disliked performing such an unnecessary ritual, but he found it oddly comforting: three knocks, three times, three chances to say her name. It was a sort of talisman; one of the small rituals his life revolved around, the minute regulations he imposed in order to quantify and control his own existence.

The door opened. He had always remarked how, despite her limited intelligence and prospects, Penny seemed to have an unfailing capacity to smile. He reflected detachedly that it became her.

"Hey Sheldon, come in." Sheldon also reflected that, had he any faith in his reading of people, Penny's smile seemed less enthusiastic tonight. He dismissed the thought; it was impossible to tell.

"Penny. How was your day?" The customary greeting appropriate for both the setting and their level of acquaintance.

Penny replied suitably. "Good, how was yours?"

Sheldon responded honestly. "Average, bordering on mundane. My research into space time geometry in higher-spin gravity has taken a new turn." He took his seat on his sofa, shifting a shoe box as he did so. The receipt was stapled to the top. Sheldon looked at it sceptically. Penny's behaviour was, at times, confounding.

She took it upon herself to explain, which he considered rather unwarranted. "I'm taking them back to the store tomorrow."
It would be polite to continue the line of conversation; social convention dictated it. "Is there a manufacturing fault?"

Penny had a strange expression on her face, almost pained or embarrassed. "No, sweetie, I just can't pay them off at the moment."

Unsure of the correct response to that statement, Sheldon opted for tact, a novel concept he was eager to explore. "Dinner smells good."

Penny smiled again, this time bigger. "It's nearly ready. Wanna sit at the table?"

Sheldon did so, after a brief evaluation of the relative conditions of each seat; draught, temperature, firmness of cushion, etc.

When Penny brought the food over, he ate in near-silence, occasionally speaking up to withhold his responsibilities towards their conversation appropriately. This was his favourite.

Penny always cooked his favourite, which he did appreciate. That was why he loved Penny.

No.

That was why he liked Penny.

He felt a blush rising, which irked him; deliberately not making eye contact, he finished up quickly, thanking Penny and leaving without fuss.

Penny stared at the door, bemused and strangely unsatisfied. As it was still quite early, she went to take the shoes back to the store. When she got home, she was restless, unsettled and unsure who to call. She considered Leonard, but the idea didn't resonate; there was really only one person she felt like speaking to.

Instead, she poured herself something strong and fell asleep on the couch, two bowls of spaghetti with chopped-up hot dogs congealing on the table behind her.

Penny awoke to the silence of an apartment that is waiting for something. Looking around, she couldn't identify the reason for the strange atmosphere. Shaking it off and blaming the tequila, she went to see if there was any cereal left.

A shape by the door caught her attention. In the shadows behind a chair was a square-shaped object. Penny crept over, slowly, pulling it out.

It was a shoe box, and tied around it was a pink ribbon. Opening it with bated breath, Penny jolted as she saw the red shoes inside. They seemed to be glittering with promise and potential. She shivered.

Penny, just for a moment, allowed her mind to slip away and hope for something new.