Alright, I caved. I was going to save this for later, but it's midnight here and I'm going to go ahead and post this short chapter before bed. The next chapter is already in progress and will hopefully be much longer. The moments I write are moments that I would've liked to see on the show. I hope you enjoy!

Forgot to mention it in Chapter 1, but: I don't own Big Bang Theory. Surprise surprise.

And thanks for the reviews!

Chapter 2: The Cohabitation Formulation.

Penny slammed the break room door behind her, before flinging herself down into the nearest chair. She finally let out the breath she had been holding since walking away from their table. Her head fell to rest on the table in front of her.

Really? He is dating someone else now?

Penny sighed. Just a short number of weeks before, he had been in her apartment, so close to her. At that moment, she could've sworn they were going to kiss. She could see it in his eyes, she could feel it in her heart. She had wanted to. But life got in the way. The past few weeks had been no different. Her job got in the way, his job got in the way, and, of course, Sheldon got in the way. They had had few moments alone together, with their schedules conflicting. Sure they had had dinner in the guy's apartment together since then, but she didn't even know how to begin to get him alone to talk..or what to say if she did. So, instead, she sat in her seat next to Amy those nights, listening to Sheldon ramble on and on about something sciencey, while she snuck glimpses at the bespeckled nerd across from her.

And now? Now he was sitting at that table, with his friends and some new woman, who was laughing and hanging onto every word he said.

Penny sighed once again and banged her head against the table, regretting the movement instantly. "Ow," she murmured, with a frown.

Her head shot up at the sound of the door opening. The last person she wanted to see at the moment and yet, the person who still made her heart beat a little faster at his mere presence, walked in.

"Leonard, what are you doing in here?" She asked, frowning.

"I told the gang I had to go to the bathroom, but I wanted to check on you. Are you..okay?" He asked, unsure how she would take the question.

No. Instead of answering, she tried a different approach, "Leonard, you're not supposed to be back here." She pointed to a sign on the door, reading 'Employees Only' to prove her point.

Leonard just gave her an exasperated look," Penny..are you?"

Penny finally forced a smile, knowing he wouldn't give up,and said, a bit too loud," Am I okay? Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She stood and walked to the mirror on the wall nearest her, needing something to focus on beside staring into his eyes. She pretended to be fixing her hair, trying to ignore Leonard walking closer, to ignore the familiar scent of his cologne.

Leonard stood directly behind her, making it even harder for her to focus on ignoring the effect his presence was having on her. He continued, "Because..I don't know, because I'm dating again and we used to date?"

Penny swung around to face him, "Exactly. We used to date." She ignored the pain in her heart at her statement and continued," We've been broken up for awhile now Leonard. You have nothing to worry about." She smiled as best as she could at the moment. "I'm fine."

Leonard nodded, covering up his frown quickly with a small smile. "Good," He whispered, before speaking louder," Good. I'm glad." His eyes found hers again .

Penny found herself falling even more. Damn his eyes. She shook her head and cleared her throat, bringing them both from the moment and back to reality.

Leonard cleared his throat as well. Penny could tell he was nervous. "Well, I should..I should be getting back."

Penny nodded," Yeah, and my break is almost up so I should probably get back to my oh so wonderful job," she replied, sarcastically.

Leonard chuckled," I'll see you out there I guess." At Penny's smile and nod, Leonard turned and left.

The moment the door shut behind him, Penny walked back over to the table and sat down. She closed her eyes, willing the tears to stay in, begging her heart to just give her a break.