Chapter 11

*Present time*

Penny slipped on her fluorescent yellow shoes and grabbed her purple handbag off the couch. She exited her apartment and locked the front door, before checking the time on her phone: seven thirty. Penny had agreed to go dancing with Bernadette at a local bar that was holding a karaoke night. In the past, she would have been there for the seemingly endless night of free drinks and muscular guys who she would inevitably have brought home, but over the past few years, Leonard had helped to rein her down, tame her from a wild horse to one with a great deal more self control and self esteem. This had manifested itself in penny cutting down her excessive nights of drinking and dancing from several times a week to a few rare nights in a single month. She had rejected the last couple of times that Bernadette had offered the proposal of going out in both fear of experiencing a vestigial sense of what her rowdy, reckless past self used to be like as she worried it could revert her back to the way she used to be and she had started to just enjoy life in general more. She felt healthier and happier than ever.

Tonight though, when Bernadette had asked her if she was willing to go with her, Penny had wholeheartedly agreed. She had been angry for the past eleven days and it was all down to her boyfriend's stupid roommate.

"No," she thought, "stupid isn't the right word."

Inconsiderate. Yep, one hundred percent inconsiderate. He had insulted and torn down Leonard and though he had tried to put a wall up, she could see in his eyes that his pride had been wounded, perhaps irreparably so. She was also equally seething at Amy who had tried to shift the blame subtly onto Leonard. Penny could understand the socially inept lunatic that was Sheldon not being able to comprehend how he hurt Leonard, but Amy? She should have known better. Penny just needed to vent at the minute. As great as Leonard was, he wasn't the harshest of people and so he was not the ideal candidate. Bernadette, on the other hand, was feisty and usually gave decent advice, which Penny would probably gladly take on board, especially after the encouragement of a few glasses of red wine…

"Limit yourself to three glasses," Penny sternly informed herself.

And then earlier today, Leonard had come over, joking how Sheldon had apologised profusely and how he had forgiven him and that all was well and good between them. Penny scoffed. As if Leonard was foolish enough to forgive Sheldon. Granted, his genuine demeanour and nervous expression had almost made her fall for it; then she remembered that it was the first of April and she quickly caught her mistake. Still though, her gut instinct felt strange. But Leonard hadn't corrected her when she pointed out that she knew it was a trick at the end, so he was joking, right?

Penny shook these thoughts from her head and continued down the stairwell. She glanced across at the broken elevator. She had lost count of how man years it hadn't been fixed for. Then her memory suddenly jogged back. She was conversing with Leonard in her apartment after yet another dispute with Sheldon, over such a small matter as altering the thermostat by a few degrees.

Leonard had said that when he was panicking, holding his model rocket in the elevator to take outside, which unbeknownst to him had been designed with the wrong calculations, it was Sheldon, who had calmly plucked it out of his hand, placed it on the lift's floor, and then pulled Leonard outside whilst the interior of the lift apparently exploded. He had saved Leonard and not even requested anything. He had even gone as far as to not tell the landlord or have Leonard ejected out of his property. The memory brought a small smile to her lips as she remembered some of the iconic moments of Leonard and Sheldon's friendship. It truly was one of a kind.

But wasn't Penny supposed to be fuming? Feeling sparks of anger flying off her in the direction of "Shamy"? She felt more confused than angry now; that humorous anecdote had diffused her anger.

She hurried down the stairs and suddenly; another specific memory came back to her. At her Halloween party, just a few weeks after first meeting the residents of 4A, all those years ago. The nostalgia flooded her blood and she wrinkled her nose as she compared her clingy, desperate, poor self, compared to her more professional, proud, current personality. Sheldon had stuck by Leonard as he tried to stand off against Kurt. Ugh, Kurt. Anyway, Sheldon had bravely stood by Leonard, despite rendering himself useless in the form of physical engagements. She felt a pang of guilt towards how she had been treating Sheldon. She had always rolled her eyes and mocked his idiosyncratic ways and rituals, even when he had told her that not abiding by them sometimes severely affected him. Maybe, if Leonard had forgiven him , it was the right thing to do.

Penny clambered into her car and sped off into the inky blackness of night.

But then more recent, vivid memories of the last ten days came back and she started to feel unsure. Torn between two choices. Penny's confusion was only escalating but she hoped to have sorted out her feelings by the end of tonight, through the power of the truth drug known as alcohol and the aid and encouragement of a good friend. She still wasn't sure about Amy though. Penny still maintained that Amy was in the wrong but a creeping sense of doubt amplified itself in her body. She may be ready to forgive Sheldon, but she wasn't sure about Amy.

Penny hopped out of her car and quickly walked to the bar. She saw Bernadette, sitting at a bar stool, her feet not able to touch the ground, in conversation with a person with their hair to the back of her. Penny gave a smile and waved to Bernadette.

Bernadette's attention was piqued and she grinned, waving back to her friend. Penny was relived. For the first time in a while, she was able to be free, drink, and dance. And hopefully, by the end of it all, Bernadette would have helped her to get her problems straight with Sheldon. She would deal with her Amy predicament another day, another time. Penny walked over to Bernadette and greeted her warmly, before turning to the other person. Then, her eyes widened in shock as she instantly recognised the person.

"Amy?!"