A/N: Here's the second chapter guys. Enjoy!

I will repost again for any errors, but I wanted to give you all a nice weekend present. :)

Many thanks to those of you who reviewed, they were lovely and appreciated!

"So how did you guys become friends?"

Copper exchanged an impish smile with Penny as she popped a fried wonton in her mouth.

"You tell them."

Penny scooted forward with a giggle, tucking her feet and sitting cross-legged on the edge of the couch. Copper was just beside her, while Sheldon sat in his spot, chewing his food quietly. She had rather quickly been given a heads up by Penny that no one was to sit on the farthest left of the couch lest they wished for a strike on their records. It was a quick and dirty run-down of the strike system, but she had a rudimentary understanding that, basically, one knuckled under to Sheldon if one wanted life to continue to be pleasant. Copper naturally asked Penny what possible reason she could have to comply to that kind of system. Penny had just shrugged and told her that it saved her laundry.

"We were in junior rodeo together. Copper here was a barrel racer and a pretty good one too," she shot her friend a wide grin and patted her leg.

"Hmph, you're still faster than me where it counts. I never could get off those damned broncos before eight seconds was up."

"You're accent is not native to Nebraska," Sheldon interjected and Copper bit her tongue to keep from making a flippant remark.

He had rubbed her the wrong way almost as soon as she had run into him. Still, best not to make enemies before one had acclimated to a new enviroment, as her grandfather had liked to say.

"Right," she agreed with a tight smile, "I'm originally from North Carolina. My family moved to Nebraska when I was thirteen."

There, she could talk to him without being a smartass.

"I thought as much. When you speak you stress your long vowels in a manner that makes it seem as though you are placing unnecessary length to your words. The fact that you relocated at such a late age explains your unusual speech pattern. "

Then again.

Copper clenched her jaw so hard she was sure it was going to crack. There really should be some kind of 'Sheldon Cooper Tolerance' clause in her lease. Taking a deep breath, she slowly blinked and looked over to her left.

"Really, Sheldon? I was unaware of that."

"Well, of course you were, I-"

There was a deafening silence as she watched his face, almost able to see the gears in his head turning. No one moved, barely breathed, absolutely certain that this was going to end badly.

"Sarcasm?" he asked finally.

She sucked on her teeth a moment, before turning to Penny with a wry expression.

"It takes a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious," she said dryly and Penny snorted, covering her mouth with a hand.

"To spell out the obvious is often to call it into question, such as your inability to appreciate genius when its quite apparently in front of you," Sheldon fired back with a glare and she turned to meet his fuming gaze.

Copper licked her lips, her eys glittering as she shifted in her seat and she heard Penny utter a very quiet, "uh-oh".

"You know," Copper spoke in a soft voice, her tone edged with steel, "Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely-read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely. Thus, I think that I can safely assume that perhaps some of us were educated beyond our intelligence."

Copper heard Sheldon squawk indignantly, her direct, narrowed gaze an unspoken challenge.

This was followed by a further, tenser silence as they attempted to stare one another down.

"I can do this all evening," he said evenly, his eyes steadily boring into hers.

"Hey, Copper, do you ever watch-"

She held up a finger towards Leonard.

"Leonard, doll, I realize you're trying to diffuse the situation, but I believe the gauntlet has been thrown," she explained, her grey eyes never leaving the cobalt blue of Sheldon's.

Minutes ticked by. She could feel the corners of her own eyes prickling. Copper understood that her options were limited. She could either admit defeat or she could go to sleep tonight with the headache from hell. Then there was the third option, she noted with a tiny smile. She carefully shifted her position on the couch, pulling her legs up until she was kneeling in front of him. His eyes had wavered briefly, but ultimately held her gaze. Several heartbeats passed with no one speaking. Copper knew she had only seconds left before her eyes quit on her.

"Physics," she stated with a confident and lazy smile, "is imagination in a straight jacket."

"The study of literature is for those humans unable to create happiness within their own lives."

Checkmate, she thought.

"Really? Because I've found it to be true that if it's green or wriggles, it's biology, if it stinks, it's chemistry and if it doesn't work...it's physics."

Sheldon blinked as he processed what she had said and he scowled at her fiercely, opening his mouth to retort. Grinning, she resettled on the couch as she watched comprehension dawn on his features and the others snorted into their drinks. Sheldon shot them all a dirty look.

"That was an underhanded tactic!"

"Kobayashi Maru," was all she said as she took a long swig of her Coke.

She frowned when everyone in the room, besides Sheldon, sucked in a breath.

"Ah. I can see what you mean. Very well, I can accept that, considering that I in essence, win."

"Excuse me?"

He looked at her with a condescending expression and Copper's fist tightened around the bottle in her hand.

"I hardly see how I could have made that any simpler, Dr. McIntyre. By circumventing the rules of engagement, you have, by default, admitted defeat. Ergo, I am the victor, as usual."

"That is not the result of the Kobayashi Maru, Dr. Cooper," she protested smoothly, placing her drink gently on the table before turning her body towards his.

"Captain Kirk was declared the winner," she continued, "You are purposefully twisting the circumstances in your favor, otherwise you have to admit defeat. Which, considering the amount of ego you possess, not only indicates compensation for, what I would guess, a lack of confidence in your verbal combat skills, it also suggests that you are very aware that you have, in fact, lost."

He blinked at her and she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, leaning back into the cushions of the couch with an expression that was clearly meant to provoke a response. Copper was daring him to refute her and the entire room knew it. The tables had been turned. He now had to either admit his defeat, swiftly find a way to counter her argument, or, as she had done, cheat. Taking into account his larger than life arrogance and the unlikelihood that he would be able to cheat in a verbal spar, that left him with really only one option. She resisted the urge to smile, though she couldn't quite control the twitching at the corner of her lips. There was that tic in his cheek again and she bit her lip to keep it still as she waited for his riposte.

"Nostach be Orch gaer," the words seemed to burst from him and she raised an eyebrow at the amount of venom he had managed to inject into the words considering the evenness of his tone.

It was a defeat that he was not going to admit, it seemed.

"You're going for Elvish insults? Really? Gahr-eekh ee thole goal oh orkh," she pronounced the words fluidly, rolling them off her tongue as if they were as natural to her as breathing.

Penny glanced between the two of them, completely lost. Leonard and Raj just looked at one another, while Howard looked as if his eyes were going to fall out of his head. Sheldon merely crossed his arms with another scowl, turning his head to intently stare at the television screen. Apparently, he was going to ignore her.

"Can someone translate for me?" Penny asked with a raised hand, her lips pursed.

"He told her she smelled like orcs and she said that his head was as hollow as one," Howard murmured in awe, "Where did you learn that and where have you been all my life?"

"My mother read Tolkien to me from a very young age until I started reading him when I was nine. I started learning Elvish for fun when I was fourteen," she spoke quietly, ignoring the second half of the question as her gaze fixed on Sheldon's stiff profile.

Penny made a stifled, giggling sound and it caught Copper's attention.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a grin.

"You just always amaze me, sweetie," Penny replied with a laugh.

"Sie ist herzlich willkommen, mich zu überraschen, wann immer sie will," Howard muttered under his breath and Copper's eyes flashed momentarily as she fixed him with a cool glance.

"I think I ought to teach Bernadette German. Naturally, being a linguist, I'd be more than happy to do so. Du könntest ihr ein kompliment, ohne dass jemand zu wissen, Howard," she spoke with an innocent expression and he blushed.

"Duly noted, mi'lady."

Sheldon heard the conversation taking place around him, but he refused to acknowledge any of it. His mind was utterly occupied with the problem before him. Dr. Copper McIntyre was an enigma. He had clearly underestimated his opponent and he had paid the price for that mistake. Frankly, nothing this humbling had happened to him since he had lost his prized 'Flash' comicbook to Wolowitz. She understood the principle of the Kobayashi Maru, she was able to not only speak Elvish, but also utilize it against him, and she had gotten the upper hand in a verbal debate. It was worthy of a certain amount of grudging respect, but it was still an unforgivable offense.

There was also a tingling tightness in his gut. It was unsettling and he concluded that it could be attributed to a feeling of being challenged in a manner that had suggested stimulation both mentally and emotionally. He haltingly admitted to himself that he had felt flashes of annoyance, anger, and resentment as they had parried back and forth. She had successfully gotten him to rise to her bait and he had shamefully fallen for the ploy. His arrogance had hindered him, he could see that now.

The question, in turn, was what exactly he was going to do about it.

His fingers tapped against his plaid-covered knee in a steady three beat rhythm while his mind methodically processed his options. He truly doubted that he could fall back on the epic battle of wills between himself and Penny. No, Copper McIntyre was much too intelligent and far less temperamental. In addition, the risk of another encounter such as the one this evening was simply too high. The childish prodding that had so easily goaded Penny were not going to be effective here either. He needed information, data, now just where would he-

"That's not a bad idea, Leonard! I'd love it if you guys came down next Thursday evening for Rock Band. Just keep in mind I'm always bass. I'll even have the pizza hot and waiting for you when you get there. Just let me know what everyone likes."

And the universe provides a solution, he thought with an internal smirk.

"That does sound like a lovely idea. We always eat from Giacomo's, make sure the pizza comes with sausage, mushrooms and light olives."

Everyone turned to look at him with varying degrees of surprise, though Copper's features suggested a certain amount of suspicion. He smiled at her easily, ignoring the protest of his facial muscles at the unnatural action. Perhaps he was simply trying to read her expression too hard. Choosing to ignore the myriad of stares, he quickly rose from his spot on the couch and loped to the fridge, bending over to pick a can of diet coke. As he cracked the can open his brilliant mind was already formulating a plan of attack. He was going to have to pump Penny for some additional intel, but he doubted that was going to be challenging.

Humans were creatures of habit, though few reveled in the comfort of having a set schedule as he did. Copper would surely establish a routine within the next few days.

"Has anyone ever mentioned how closely your names are related?" Leonard asked with a grin, causing Sheldon to tune back into the conversation.

"Constantly, starting with our mothers," Copper answered with a cynical grin.

"So, uh, how did she, uh, come up with such a unique name?"

"It was my dad's idea. He firmly believed that a child's name was a herald of their nature when they fully matured. Of course, he also believed that we were descendants of Julius Ceasar, so," Copper let the implication hang unspoken in the air with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, your dad was a pistol. Do you remember that time he tried to influence your chances of winning first place by taping agates to your saddle?" Penny asked with a grin and Copper groaned, holding her head in her hands.

"God, what a nightmare that was. When I only placed third, my dad dragged me to the judges' stand to confront them about 'ignoring the clear signals the agate stones had been sending them'."

"Your mom didn't object to that kind of...innovation?" Leonard asked carefully, though he didn't bother to hide his amused grin.

"She was very, very tolerant of my dad's eccentricities. It was the one hole in her highly logical mode of thinking."

Well, that was interesting. Sheldon tucked the little tidbits away in his vast memory for potential use at a future date. He returned to his cherished spot on the couch, his mind spinning various scenarios before allowing them to pitter out before they fully developed. Then a truly wicked thought struck him and he supressed the urge to laugh evilly. It was beautiful in its simplicity, diabolical in its maliciousness, and the best part was that she would have to come to him and apologize for her transgressions if she wanted him to reverse the punishment.

In order for this to work, however, he was going to have to completely throw the good doctor off her game. She needed to be unbalanced and looking in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to come into closer social contact than he would normally care for. The result, however, would far outweigh any discomfort on his part.

She would learn to appreciate genius after he was done with her.

Copper did not like the look in Dr. Sheldon Cooper's eyes. No sir, not one bit.

Her week had been quiet, productive and thankfully Sheldon-free until this evening. She turned her attention back to the television, munching on her slice of pizza as she watched Leonard and Howard massacre 'Flirtin' with Disaster'. Her first day of classes had gone well and there was nothing to grade or have prepared until next weekend. It had given her the free time to pick up pizzas and finish placing all of her belongings where she liked.

Her lips pulled into a frown as she glanced over at Sheldon again from the corner of her eye. Penny was talking animatedly with the other guys, stringing tale after tale from their younger days, but it seemed that Sheldon was too deep in his own mind to listen. It was getting late, though, and Copper began to gather the empty pizza boxes to throw into the garbage. With a smile, she excused herself in front of the guys, darting past them towards the kitchen.

"I'll help you, Copper."

Copper turned, clearly surprised as she regarded the tall lanky physicist who had volunteered to assist her. She tilted her neck back in order to meet his eyes. To say she was suspicious was a severe understatement. All of the alarm bells in her head her going off simultainously and she forced herself not to take a step back out of reflex. Her gaze slid past his shoulder, but no one else was paying attention.

Her mind worked frantically and although she knew that he was up to something, there was no reasonable excuse she could give to refuse him. He would insist, she could tell. Letting out a sigh, she forced a smile.

"Alright, Sheldon, thank you."

"You know, Copper," she heard him speak behind her as she turned the corner of the island, "it is the cooperation between the humanities and science that provides the keys to a deeper understanding of the universe."

"I could agree with that premise, Sheldon," she replied coolly, stopping at her sink and turning around with a hard look, "but considering your disdain for chitchat, I think that you've presented it in order to put me at ease. Now what's the real reason for walking with me over here?"

She was calling his bluff but he seemed unruffled by her sharp rebuke. Instead, he casually placed his empty can of diet coke on the counter, then his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels with a shrug of his shoulders. Sheldon looked down a moment, shaking his head before letting out a dramatic sigh.

"I had thought you possessed keener deduction skills than that, Dr. McIntyre. Surely we both know why I volunteered my assistance this evening."

Copper crossed her arms loosely across her stomach, placing her weight on one leg.

"You want me to apologize for my, in your opinion, unwarranted attack on science last week."

"Yes."

And if I refuse?"

Sheldon gave her look that clearly indicated what she could expect. Letting out a deep breath, she ran a hand through her russet curls. He looked at her expectantly.

"No." Her reply was punctuated by the dull thud of her palm hitting the counter top.

It was his smirk that made her realize that she had reacted exactly how he had wanted her to. Copper regarded him for a moment in silence. That had been deliberate on his part. He was showing his hand and that was what made Copper the most wary.

"Very well, but you cannot say that you were not warned."

Copper raised a brow at him, but he turned on his heel and strode back to the couch, the left side having been chosen as his preferred spot in her living room. There was an uneasy itch between her shoulder blades that told her she was going to regret not bowing to his wishes, but she shook it off. There was nothing that he could do that would make her apologize to him when he was the one who had been asinine in the first place.

Instead, she finished cleaning up and returned to the living area, slinging the strap of the second guitar over her shoulder. The rest of the evening was uneventful and Copper soon put her discussion with Sheldon out of her mind.

The next morning, however, it was brought back to the fore. She stepped out of the shower and rubbed a towel through her hair. Padding to the sink, she looked down to grab her brush to begin the tedious and painful chore of unknotting her thick curls. It was the reflection that was in the mirror when she raised her head that stopped her cold.

Her hair had turned a bright, hideous shade of orange. The kind of orange one saw on construction signs or associated with a burnt grilled cheese sandwich. She gingerly touched a hand to her head, mutual sensations of shock and horror. How? When? Copper whipped around and grabbed her bottle of shampoo. She had thought it smelled a bit different, but she had dismissed it. Apparently her sense of smell had been more acute than she had given it credit for. Looking inside the bottle, she could see the telltale orange tint to the soap.

Copper let out a growl.

"You realize of course, Dr. Cooper, that this means war."