"Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one."

-Hans Selye

Sheldon suffered from fitful sleep last night, and he was incredibly drowsy as he munched on his cereal during breakfast. He tossed and turned in bed, with burning questions flying around his mind. His optimal eight hours of sleep was cut down to merely five, and his eyelids were becoming too heavy to keep them open.

In order to rebuild their friendship, Leonard offered to take Sheldon to work this time. He swore on everything he lived for to never come after Penny, and it hurt him a little inside knowing he can't purse her anymore. But Sheldon was right as usual. He only chased after the blonde only because of her looks. He didn't even know her last name for god sakes!

As Sheldon turned on the shower, he let out a quiet squeal to himself when the hot water made contact with his bare back. For minutes, Sheldon stood motionless under the water spraying from the shower head. He couldn't concentrate on one thing, and when he did, it always reverted back to Penny. Sheldon understood that he wasn't the best at interpreting other people's emotions, and what Penny did the night before baffled him immensely.

He sent her a text before entering the shower, asking her if she was fine. Penny replied seconds later answering that she was, but did not take their current conversation any further. Sheldon mused that he probably upset her because he wasn't saying what was on his mind.

His mind was complicated, a dark maze and uneasy to unravel. It mainly consisted of mathematical equations and theories about the universe, along with the memories and encounters he had at that point. Deeply lodged within it was a small area for his feelings, which Sheldon was both scared and unsure of dealing with.

Leonard knocked on the door, alerting Sheldon that he needed to hurry up if they wanted to get to the university in time. In a flash, Sheldon lathered and rinsed his hair, scrubbing his skin afterwards with a bar of soap. He quickly got dressed for work, but before he walked out of the apartment, he checked his phone one last time, hoping there was a message from Penny.

There wasn't. Sheldon sighed and placed his phone in his back pocket before following Leonard out of the building.

Not now. Certainly, this cannot be happening right now.

The gears inside Sheldon's brain kept turning as he stared at the clustered of numbers in front of him. He had the answer on the tips of his fingers, but he still couldn't pinpoint what it is. Earlier in the day, he worked diligently and without any problems. An hour after that, Sheldon found himself stuck at an equation. He was so close to making a breakthrough with his work, and this was his roadblock preventing him from doing so.

His legs were shaking from having to stand in front of the whiteboard for a long period of time. Sheldon leaned beside his desk slightly, his left hand gripping on the edge. As he examined every inch of the board, Sheldon recalled the last time he was stuck on a problem. It was about four years ago, and he was trying to figure out why electrons behave as if they have no mass when traveling through a graphene sheet. He became obsessed with coming up an answer for the question that he acted unusual for a couple of days.

Bernadette suggested that he should work at the Cheesecake Factory for a day when Sheldon asked what menial job he should take. After dropping and shattering plates down on the floor, Sheldon finally had gotten the answer he was looking for.

He was sure that this time that broken glass on the floor wouldn't help him with this problem.

Sheldon heard footsteps approaching and before seeing who it was, Raj had entered his office. "Sheldon, it's past your normal lunch time. Are you okay there?"

His eyes were still glued onto the board. "I can't find the answer. It's right here and I can't find it!"

Raj listened as Sheldon began rambling on a bunch of complex mathematical equations. Raj managed to grab Sheldon's attention by moving the board away from him. "You're thinking too much, buddy. That's the reason why it was hard for you to come up with the answer the previous time this happened."

Sheldon pushed Raj out of his way and rushed to the whiteboard. He picked up the whiteboard marker and wrote more notes down on the side. Raj was getting worried, knowing what could happen if Sheldon doesn't stop.

Sheldon was too occupied to notice that Raj had dug into his messenger bag for his phone.

"Where is he?" Penny walked down the corridors of the university with Raj on her side. When Raj informed her that Sheldon wasn't acting like himself, it worried her so much that she drove down to Caltech after receiving the phone call. The two stopped in front of Sheldon's office, hearing the sound of paper being torn apart on the other side of the door.

Penny reached out and twisted the doorknob, slowly peeking her head in to see Sheldon sitting on the carpeted floor, tearing papers in half. It wasn't until she touched his shoulder when he realized that someone was in the room with him. She coaxed Sheldon to stand on his two feet, helping him up as he did. She brought her hand up to his hair and fixed it for him, but secretly thought how cute it looked like when it's a bit messy.

"Penny, what are you doing here?" Sheldon asked as Penny straightened his t-shirt.

"I don't have work today and Raj told me how you're stuck on a problem," Penny replied, putting the mess Sheldon made into the trash can.

Sheldon went up to the board again and stared at it. He squinted and then lifted both of his hands up to his face, using them as a telescope, looking through it with his right eye. Penny opened her mouth before Sheldon answered the question she was about to ask. "I'm isolating the terms of the formula and examining them individually."

"Sweetie, I'm worried. You haven't eaten anything for lunch and it's bad for you."

She didn't get a response from him. He barely acknowledged her after that. Penny sighed, and grasped Sheldon's arm, tugging him away from the whiteboard. He resisted, but Penny was too strong for him.

"Where are we going? I'm not finished with my work!" Sheldon said as Penny dragged him out of his office.

Penny led him to the entrance of the university. Sheldon was still clueless in what she was trying to do.

"I'm gonna show you, sweetie, how to loosen up."

Sheldon tensed up, before following Penny to her car parked outside. He climbed into the passenger side, but muttered the equations he had on the whiteboard. Penny tried to change the subject, only to be rewarded by a list of numbers from Sheldon.

Penny parked her car in front of Carney's in Studio City. She glanced over to her left to see Sheldon in awe. Once she drove into the parking lot of the restaurant, Sheldon had stopped talking as he stared in silence. He couldn't believe that Penny was actually taking him to Carney's! Not only did he enjoy their burgers, he also appreciated the fact that it was converted into a yellow Union Pacific rail car.

Sheldon had suggested Raj to take his sister Priya to this establishment but she decided to stay in Pasadena with Leonard. Her loss, he thought as he exited the vehicle along with Penny.

"Surprise!" Penny cheered, uplifting Sheldon's current mood.

Sheldon could smell the faint smell of hot dogs outside. "Why did you take me here?"

"You were stressed out and you need to relieve it by having a train day with me," Penny grabbed his hand and they entered the restaurant.

They were situated at a table next to the window before the waiter gave the two their menus. As they looked over their choices, Penny explained their itinerary for the day. After finishing their meal at Carney's, their next stop would be Travel Town, an outdoor museum featuring 43 railroad engines, cars and other rolling stock from the 1880s to the 1930s. Finally, Penny was going to take them to the Hollywood Carney's. Sheldon couldn't help but smile as he listened to the perfect day that she planned on having with him.

Sheldon ordered his usual Carney's hotdog, while Penny picked the grilled tuna melt. Their food arrived shortly as well as their drinks, and Sheldon thanked Penny for taking him out to Carney's. He was glad that his terrible migraine had subsided and was now munching on one of the best hot dogs he had ever tasted.

"How's your food?" Penny asked.

He gave her two thumbs up. "Absolutely delicious."

A few seconds passed before Penny was able to speak. "We need to talk about last night."

Sheldon's smile was slowly wiped away from his face. "I'd rather not."

"Sheldon, please tell me if you have feelings for me or not. I'm not going to judge or make fun of you."

He wouldn't look up at her eyes. "I'm scared that it will cause you to leave my life."

Penny reached out to put her hand on top of Sheldon's. She was surprised when he didn't flinch this time. "I'm not going to leave you, Sheldon."

He knew that this was it. Now or never. He was willing to take the risk in order to get it out of his system. Penny deserved to know, and it may bring something good to the two of them. "Ever since I met you, I've never felt happier in life. Though I don't remember all but a handful, I know that I have never felt this way before. You make me laugh and I'm always comfortable around you. My mind may be complex, but you try your best to understand me. Your touches, I've never objected to them. You make me the happiest when you choose to spend time with me. The night we watched the Spider Man movie, I studied your features. You are a beautiful woman, inside and out. You care for me and take interest in what I do. I was hoping that there's something more between us."

Penny opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. She was too stunned to hear all of those from Sheldon. "Sheldon, trust me when I say that what you just said is the sweetest thing a person has ever told me. I've never realized that you felt all of this, and I thank you for revealing them all to me."

"What do you think then?"

"Sweetie, I love you, but as a friend. I-I can't risk such a good friendship with you by being in a relationship. It takes commitment to have a long lasting one," Penny said.

"I'm willing to commit to anything as long as you give me a chance."

Penny sighed. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now, Sheldon. It can't be all about relationships for me. I'm happy the way things are right now and I don't wish to change anything."

Sheldon felt his heart break. "Am I, to use your words, not your type?"

She quickly shook her head. "That's not why. Sheldon, you're handsome and smart. Any woman is lucky to have you. Don't be insecure, sweetie. With the job at the Cheesecake Factory plus auditions scheduled in the future, I don't have the time to be in one."

"You're often hanging out with me. What will be different after we start one?"

"Friends and lovers aren't the same thing, Sheldon. Here's what I'll tell you. If things work out, as in my acting career, I'll see if we can take a chance. I'm afraid, Sheldon. Being a relationship, there's some risks. I only see you as a friend, and hopefully it might change."

Sheldon clasped his hands together. "I want you to be happy."

"I'm already am."

"Okay." Sheldon finally knew what it felt like to be rejected. But his hopes went up when he remembered that Penny could give him a chance in the future. "Shall we continue eating?"

"Of course."

The day continued with no additional talk or mention about Sheldon and his feelings. When Penny dropped Sheldon off in front of his apartment, he knew that he was lucky enough to still have Penny. Whether it'd be friends or lovers, he was delighted to have her in his life.

Before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, Sheldon mumbled under his breath about finally figuring out how to solve the equation he got stuck on.

He silently reminded himself to thank Penny tomorrow.

A/N:

Poor Shelly. Rejection is the most painful feeling. At least there's a chance that they'll be together. That's coming up soon ;)

Again, I do apologize for any errors. I'm uploading this at a Starbucks since I'm on the road.