So we all want to see jealous Penny trying to win Leonard back, right? Well, here's my attempt to bring that to you! "Jealous" won't be the best adjective to describe Penny in the first chapter, but I'm just attempting to set the stage-we'll get it later!

I don't own squat.

Penny marched into 4A and slammed the door. "Sheldon!"

The theoretical physicist appeared in the hallway. "Hello, Penny."

"I need your help," Penny said, stopping a few feet from him and crossing her arms. "Something…very weird happened today."

Penny came around the corner with her laundry basket, stopping when she saw Leonard at the mailbox. A smile came over her face. There he was.

"Hey, Leonard," she said, coming up to him and resting the laundry basket on the desk. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well, actually," Leonard said, looking at her and smiling. "Pretty well."

"That's good," Penny said. "Heading upstairs?"

"Yeah, yeah, just…just got my mail." He held it up.

"What did you get?" She asked. "Anything particularly science-y?" When Leonard shook his head and grinned at her, Penny fought down the urge to kiss him right then and there, he was so adorable.

They reached the fourth floor, and Leonard turned to unlock the apartment door. Penny stood next to him. "So, I've been thinking," she said. "I've made some pretty dumb mistakes in my life. I mean, some of them were downright stupid. But you know what the biggest mistake I ever made was?"

"I'm sorry," Sheldon interjected. "I've tried my best but I fail to see the point of this story."

Penny sighed. "He didn't let me finish. He gave me this…odd soliloquy."

Sheldon waited for a moment, and then tipped his head. "About…?"

Penny shook her head. "I'm not sure. It didn't really make sense."

"…and I'm glad we're still friends. But it would get way too complicated if we hooked up again."

"Hookup?" Penny was confused. She wasn't going to say anything about a mere hookup.

"Yeah, it would be a mistake."

Penny wondered if he used the word mistake by chance or by choice. Her pondering was so intense that she wasn't able to formulate a sentence that truly expressed her thoughts. All she could come up with was, "So it's a no?"

"Yes," he said. "It's a no."

"Then I'm pretty sure he mumbled 'find your drunken hookup partners somewhere else,' but I'm not totally sure." Penny put her face in her hands.

Sheldon leaned back and crossed a leg over the other, raising a finger to thoughtfully touch his chin. "So…you're distressed?"

Penny gave an exasperated sigh, dropping her hands to hit her legs. "Of course, Sheldon! I've been here for like half a year trying to get over him, and once I realize I can't and I'm ready to go back, he just…just brushes me off like lint!" She shook her head, lowering her voice. "I hadn't expected that at all, I just…I was so sure that he'd want me back."

"Not to bring up a sore subject, but he's said that he was so sure that you'd love him back."

Penny sighed, looking away and folding her arms. "I do. I was going to tell him." Sheldon raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so I wasn't going to tell him," she said, "yet. But I was going to ask him to be a couple again, and…I was going to tell him soon." She looked back at her friend.

"Penny," Sheldon said, "apparently there's something Leonard hasn't told you."

Penny frowned. "Like what?"

Sheldon shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know that I'm supposed to say."

"Oh, come on, please?" Penny was suddenly feeling anxious to know. "It'll be our little secret."

"I already have that deal with Wolowitz. And Stuart."

Penny sighed in frustration. "What is it? Why did he act that way? Dammit, Sheldon, why?"

Sheldon shifted again. "Leonard has a girlfriend."

"Oh…okay." Penny stepped back, surprised. "Okay, that's fine, yeah, no big deal. I was just…saying."

"Thank you, though." Leonard said awkwardly.

"Yeah." Penny said, nodding and playing with her hands. "Well, I'd better get back to my…you know…" she gave an awkward laugh, "apartment."

"Yeah, me too."

"See you at dinner?"

"Oh," Leonard said, looking uncomfortable, "I can't make it tonight. I'm…working."

"Working, my ass!" Penny said, her jaw dropping again.

Sheldon looked confused. "What?"

"He said he was working tonight. He's going to be with her!" Penny's eyes flashed angrily. "What's her name? Why didn't Leonard tell her about me?"

"He hasn't brought her here or introduced her to any of us," Sheldon said. "Except Wolowitz. He met her the day Leonard did. That's my verification that she actually exists. Leonard told me a little about her, of course..."

Penny sank down on the arm of the couch. "I can't believe it. Leonard has a girlfriend…" She shook her head in shock. She'd never expected this. She'd always thought that she and Leonard would get back together eventually, once she was ready. She'd expected the earlier conversation to go differently, where she'd tell him that she wanted to be with him again and they'd kiss in the hallway under the dim light. Now, she found herself not only rejected but learning that there was another person in Leonard's life. A woman. A woman who, according to Sheldon's rambling descriptions of her 'faults' sounded absolutely perfect.

Hope the beginning wasn't too rough. I'll try and edit this weekend if I have a lot of grammar mistakes-it's pretty late now and I fear I'm not thinking correctly. But anyway, let me know what you think of the idea, and if you have any suggestions on what Penny could do to win him back, or qualities you think the new girl should have, hit me with a PM, because while I have some ideas of my own, I love hearing other ones!