The Birthday Bash Reconciliation - Chapter 3

Sheldon lay awake, facing the ceiling. He felt restless. He wouldn’t turn on the light and read. After all, there was no book that was boring to him – well, maybe there were some (aka Fifty Shades of Grey, Sheldon got chills from thinking about that infernal book) and watching TV or playing a video game would be counterintuitive, as it would increase his brain activity instead of decreasing it. Penny had promised him a plan tomorrow. But he was worried nevertheless. He wasn’t used to asking people for help. Leonard didn’t count, as they were longtime roommates. Perhaps he should go check on her…. He slipped out of bed, and put on his slippers. He pulled on his robe, which he had carefully hung on the hook on the back of his door. He grasped the knob under his fingers, and felt the cold metal warming under his touch. He gently turned the handle, and the door slipped open. Sheldon carefully stepped out into the hallway. He didn’t bother to shut his door. He crept into the living room, his padded feet making swish swish sounds on the hardwood floor. He pushed open the front door and stepped out into the hallway between 4A and 4B. No need to creep now. He strode confidently over to Penny’s door, and knocked.
“Penny. Penny. Penny.” No answer. Should he knock again? He raised his hand to knock, but the door banged open before he could get there.
“What, Sheldon?” Penny’s hair was messy. She was wearing pajamas and had an irritated look on her face. Sheldon was offended.
“Is that any way to greet somebody when they knock on your door?”
“You don’t greet people politely, Sheldon, when you knock on their door at 1:30 AM!”
Sheldon was taken aback. “At least I knocked! I’ve seen Leonard barging in here without knocking countless times! And you don’t even yell at him!.”
Penny gritted her teeth. “What is it, Sheldon?”
Sheldon cleared his throat. “Do you have any ideas for Amy’s party? I’ve spent the whole night worrying. I just can’t seem to come up with any ideas for Amy’s party without it being Star Wars, Star Trek, or Spock!”
Penny sighed with resignation. “Come in, Sheldon. We need to talk.”
Sheldon stared blankly at her. “Does that mean that you have ideas?”
They sat on Penny’s couch, Sheldon with his legs awkwardly crossed, and Penny with a fresh glass of Pinot Grigio. It was a cheap wine, that, as Sheldon watched, left small red stains on the sides of the glass. Penny had just told him her ideas for Amy’s party. Sheldon wasn’t willing to admit how much he’d liked them, so he’d grunted and made a comment along the lines of ‘that is very good, especially considering here community college education, etc…’. He checked the wall clock. It was 2:45 am, and, as the stress of what he was about to pull of the next day – sorry, that day – left him, he began to feel tired. He glanced over again at Penny, who now had her head back and was snoring, the empty glass of wine held precariously in her left hand. Sheldon carefully stood up – he didn’t want to wake her, Penny was an absolute monster when she woke up – and made his way across the room to the door. He carefully exited the apartment, closing the door behind him. He tiptoed to the other apartment, where he found that he had accidentally left the door ajar. After closing the door and sneaking back to his room, he removed his robe and collapsed on the bed, too tired to think. As he closed his eyes, he wondered, ‘how am I thinking this if I am too tired to think?’
Sheldon was dreaming. He was in his favorite place in the whole world – the physics lab. He was standing at his board, his brow furrowed and his mouth clenched. He was trying to solve a physics problem. In the dream, he didn’t know what he was solving, only that he was solving it. There was a knock on the door. Sheldon looked up from his work. Before he could see who it was, the dream changed. They were back at Prom Night, on the rooftop. Sheldon was smiling, and not because it was social protocol – it was because he was so relieved and so in love. Sheldon would have never described himself like that in the past, but he was in love, and he was happy. He was standing by the punch bowl, grinning like crazy, because he’d just spiked it with his pomegranate juice. Amy was talking to Penny in the corner. Occasionally, Sheldon would steal glances at her, just to make sure she was there and as beautiful as she always was. He was surprised he’d admitted it to her. Just then, Raj put on a slow song – was this ‘I won’t Give up’? He looked over at Amy, and she was looking back this time, expectantly. He walked over, carefully picking his way across the rooftop and trying to not to trip or step on any dirty hosiery. He’d learned from the last time. He wasn’t going to let that happen again. He offered his hand to Amy. “In observance of prom night traditions – would you care to dance?” She didn’t respond, but smiled and took his hand. Sheldon led her carefully to their own little spot on which Raj had designated the dance floor, and looked at her. He’d never slow danced before. He glanced over to where Leonard and Penny were dancing, and saw that Leonard had his hands on Penny’s waist. Sheldon awkwardly placed his hands on Amy’s waist. She put hers on his shoulders, and they began to awkwardly sway to the music. Sheldon kept his gaze firmly focused on his feet, because he didn’t want to step on Amy’s feet. Also, she knew him too well. He didn’t want her to figure out what was going on in his head. He felt the little rush of blood to his head again, like when he first saw Amy in her prom dress. He didn’t like these emotions. They were too new, and they made him scared. Sheldon wasn’t used to feeling this way. As the dance ended, he looked at her, and found that she was staring at her feet too. Maybe she felt the same way Sheldon did? Their eyes locked, and they exchanged a smile. He let go of her waist, and stepped away. The music changed to a funky beat, and the dream faded…