"So, tomorrow's the big night," Raj said as soon as they were all settled in the living room of apartment 4A. "Are you nervous?"

Penny reached for her Chinese food and sighed. "Yeah. I'm always nervous during premiere nights," she replied.

Bernadette cocked her head to the side. "Aww, you'll be fine! And we'll be there by the sidelines, cheering you on."

"Thanks, you guys," Penny replied. "But you're VIPs, so you get special seats."

Howard, Raj and Bernadette seemed delighted by the prospect, but Sheldon did not say anything. "You okay, sweetie?"

He shrugged. "There will be so many people there I doubt I will feel comfortable."

"Well..." Penny took a bite out of her dumpling. "You'll be fine, I promise. And if you're too uncomfortable, I'll let you leave."

Sheldon nodded. "Well, I won't leave."

"What?" Penny asked.

They were all silent as they waited for Sheldon's reply. "It's the premiere night of Penny's movie, and although I know that I will be uncomfortable for the duration of the night, I wouldn't leave."

Penny, who was sitting beside Sheldon, gave him a pat on the thigh. "Thanks." Howard, Raj and Bernadette looked at each other condescendingly.

"It's settled, then. You people will carpool to LA and I'll meet you there before the actual event. Alright?" Penny looked at them and was met with nods.

They all ate in silence until there was no food left. Sheldon stood up to collect their garbage and throw them in the kitchen. "Hey, Sheldon?" Penny suddenly called him from the couch.

"Yes?" He replied, sanitizing his hands again and again.

"You know, if you really want to be in a place with less people than you'd be comfortable with tomorrow, there's one task I can ask you to do." She replied.

Sheldon turned to face her. "What is it?" He asked.

"You could be my date and stay beside me all night. Other people won't be allowed on the red carpet, and all you have to do is smile for pictures, like you did when you won the Nobel prize." Penny replied.

Sheldon contemplated this for a moment, then eventually acquiesced. "Alright."

"Ooooooh," Howard, Bernadette and Raj chanted all at the same time.

Bernadette, Raj, Howard and Sheldon paid Penny a visit in her dressing room when they arrived. "You look gorgeous, Penny!" Bernadette exclaimed.

Penny grinned. "So do you, Bernie! And you three look dashing," she said, pointing at the men.

"Your assistant said we only had like 5 minutes to spend with you here before we have to go, so we're just going to drop Sheldon off here and be on our way." Howard spoke with a huge smile on his face.

Raj nodded. "You both look amazing. I'm so excited!"

"Thanks, guys," Penny replied, giving all of them-Sheldon included-a hug.

They heard a knock on the door, followed by a woman's voice. "It's time, Penny!"

Penny took a deep breath. "Alright. See you later, you guys." She opened the door for them and watched as her assistant led them away. "You ready, sweetie?"

Sheldon shrugged. "As you said, 'I'll be fine.'" He looked at Penny from head to toe. "You really do look beautiful."

Penny looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a bright red gown that went down to her toes. She wore her blonde hair down, and it went just past her shoulders. Every curve of her body was highlighted by the gown, and to Sheldon, she looked like the most beautiful woman in the world tonight. Okay, not only looked like. To him, she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

"You compliment me too much," Penny replied, and she looped her arm through Sheldon's. "We should go. It's starting."

"That wasn't a compliment; I just merely stated a fact," Sheldon replied in his serious, science-y way.

Sheldon and Penny walked the red carpet arm in arm, looking and smiling at the cameras and at her fans but secretly just thinking about one another. Penny knew that the audience knew who Sheldon was-after all, he's really famous now. She also knew that the people were talking about why she wasn't with Leonard. I should have told everyone about the divorce, she thought.

Sheldon did his best to look as if he was completely comfortable with the crowd, with the bright lights, and with the noise. People were cheering so loudly he couldn't hear anything else. But he was with Penny, so somehow, he didn't feel as bad as he thought he would.

They reached the end of the red carpet where there were celebrity reporters everywhere, and they were all asking Penny questions. "Why are you with Nobel prize winner Dr. Sheldon Cooper?" and "Where's Leonard?" and "What's your relationship with Dr. Cooper?"

"He's my best friend," she answered, but the reporters didn't buy it. "Why would you bring your best friend if you had Leonard?"

Penny clutched Sheldon's arm tighter. She was tired of answering the same questions for a dozen different people, and she wanted to find a way out. "Sheldon," she whispered. "I'm going to do something really inappropriate, so this early on, I'm gonna say 'I'm sorry,' alright?"

Before Sheldon could reply, Penny mustered up all her courage and kissed him square on the lips, in front of thousands of people. Millions, if the kiss somehow made its way to the viewers at home. She pulled away, smiled at the crowd, then led Sheldon to the theater.

AN: I tried so hard to make this really romantic so I really hoped it work! (I'm not too good at romance stuff, so...) I was listening to 90s love songs while typing this chapter, so I guess I was pretty inspired. Hope you guys like it! Reviews are very much appreciated. :-)

I don't own anything!