I.

He exhaled deeply, the grey smoke floating above his head in a simple O-ring from the joint resting between his fingers. He sat on the leather sofa, his head resting against the cold leather, and jean clad legs spread wide. He got released a week ago, and it seemed like his life was at a standstill. A few years ago, if you were to tell him he would go to jail for drug trafficking and gun related charges he would laugh. He was careful, he was always careful. Though, he didn't take into account the rat that ran within his tight circle of acquaintances. His eyes narrowed; he would need to exterminate him immediately.

He inhaled a deep draw, feeling the smoke in his lungs, before exhaling through his nose. After being released, he was lucky to get his apartment back, apparently nobody wanted it because it wasn't in the greatest part of town. Though, without any means of income, he had to begrudgingly look for a roommate. It took many tries, and he even thought about having a female as a roommate, but that would only serve as a distraction. Instead, he went for a guy who was the complete opposite of him. Short, glasses, all around nerd. They didn't exchange words, and generally minded his own business. He thought it was only because he was scared of him. It was better that way. He barely saw the him anyway, he worked at some fancy university a few blocks away. They had a good system, when he would wake up his roommate would already be gone for the day. When his roommate would get home, he would be gone for the night. It was better that way for the both of them.

He was quickly drawn from his thoughts when loud shouting ensued. His eyes closed tightly in anger when he heard loud shouting and banging coming from the apartment across the hall from his.

Fucking hell!

He thought by the time he got out of jail his neighbor would get her shit together. He put out his joint and stood to his feet, angrily throwing open his door he crossed the hall in two wide steps. He needed some peace and quiet, he didn't want to hear their constant fighting.

"God damn it, Kurt! How fucking hard is it for you to keep it in your pants?!" He heard an angry female voice.

There was a loud bang and then a booming voice, "Don't you fuckin' talk to me that way! If you'd start appreciatin' me like a good woman, I wouldn't have to look other places!"

The tall man rolled his eyes before he banged on the door. He heard quiet curses followed by heavy footsteps fading away, a few seconds passed before he heard smaller footsteps approach then the door unlocking before it was jerked open roughly, and his neighbor exposed herself. She stood in short jean cut-offs and a white tank top. Her hair was longer than he remembered, but he was gone for six months, and it was darkening at the roots. He tactlessly let his eyes roam her body before it settled onto her face.

She narrowed her eyes at him, her face cold, "Well look what the damn cat dragged back in, how was your little vacation stint?"

He could hear the teasing in her voice, so he leaned against her doorframe, one leg propped up, and both arms folded across his chest, "Missed me, Kitten?" He smirked, just as much teasing in his voice.

"Hardly, what the hell do you want, Sheldon?"

"I want you and your cheating boyfriend to keep the noise level down. Not everyone in the damn building wants to hear your business," he fixed her with a glare. She only scoffed before folding her arms under her chest, his eyes followed the movement, "If you didn't want to hear anything, you should've moved into a different building. Whatever the hell I do behind this door isn't your business," she explained to him roughly.

About to speak, the door was whipped open roughly and behind her stood Kurt, the man in question, with a cigarette in his mouth. He was bulky and tall, but not as tall as Sheldon. He fixed Sheldon with his own glare before looking down at Penny then back at him, "What do you want, jailbird?" He questioned gruffly, blowing smoke in his direction.

Pushing off the doorframe, he shoved one clenched fist into his pocket, "I already explained to your woman what I want," his accent started to come out as he spoke.

He always made it a point to not get involved with other people's business but living across the hall from Penny for so many years, he learned quite a bit about her life. Kurt wasn't always a part of it, he was a new boyfriend that came around a year ago, the first time he cheated was when Sheldon was just getting locked up. He didn't expect the meathead to still be here when he got back. But he wasn't surprised, Penny was the type of person who felt like she needed someone to survive. He turned on his heel.

As he walked towards his door, he felt both of their eyes on his back, "Hey!" Kurt called out, "Don't come 'round here anymore," he commanded. Sheldon turned slightly to look at the other man, "Then keep the fucking noise down and I won't have to," and he slammed his own door shut.

The door to 4A opened, and instantly the air got tense. They've been able to avoid each other for the past few days, but neither knew the other would be home on this particular Friday night. The shorter male was more surprised than either, because his roommate seemed like the type who enjoyed the nightlife a lot more than he himself did. He closed the door behind him slowly, and hesitated all the while fidgeting with his fingers.

"Hey Sheldon," he finally decided on.

The taller man nodded his head in acknowledgement. No, he didn't know the man but they were roommates and he wasn't going to just blatantly disrespect him. However, he did turn back to the television and continue flicking through the channels, deadest on finding something to watch. He was vaguely aware that the shorter man was still standing there awkwardly. He sighed slightly, "Something you need?"

He scratched the back of his hand and his eyes went into a squint, "Yeah, well, I didn't know you were going to be home tonight. I just thought you were the type to be out on a Friday night," he gestured wildly to Sheldon's outfit of jeans and a black t-shirt, "You just seemed the type, no offense," he explained, "So, I invited two of my friends over."

Sheldon got the hint and nodded his head, "I don't mind. I'll be doing my own thing anyways," he reassured.

Finally, the short one nodded his head with an exhale and started to walk towards the bedrooms. But before he got too far, Sheldon called out to him again, "What was your name again, man?"

"Leonard."

Sheldon nodded his head and then Leonard's bedroom door shut. Sheldon flopped against the couch in defeat, annoyed that there wasn't anything good on TV. He figured he could go out like Leonard suggested, but he wasn't ready to face his boys yet. He didn't have a plan in place, and a large part of him didn't like to do things without knowing what was going to happen. He enjoyed being in charge of the situation.

About to pull out his phone to combat his boredom, there was a rapid knock on his door. He didn't realize Leonard exited his bedroom until he saw the short man beelining for the door, "It's probably my friends, Howard and Raj, they're great guys," he said as he opened the door. But it wasn't two men, it was their blonde neighbor from 4B.

Sheldon smirked once he saw her and gestured for her to come in, automatically knowing she was there for him and not Leonard. He strongly doubted they had even met yet. He watched as Leonard watched her with wide puppy eyes, like someone who was just struck by Cupid's arrow. Penny didn't notice, or if she did, she didn't say anything, she just smiled politely before walking towards him and sitting on the couch.

"Hi, I'm Leonard," he smiled once he closed the door.

Penny looked up at the shorter man who was standing in front of her now, "Hi Leonard, I'm Penny from 4B. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you sooner; I've just been busy." He waved her off as if it were ok, "That's fine, I understand life gets in the way of things sometimes. Are you here to stay? I have some friends coming over, we were going to watch a movie."

She shook her head, "No thank you, I'm just here to speak to Sheldon if that's alright."

There was confusion on Leonard's face, clear that he was curious and confused as to why a woman like Penny would ever want to speak to a guy like Sheldon. Leonard was aware Sheldon was recently released from prison, but he didn't know for what. All Sheldon told him was ("I didn't fucking murder anybody, and that's all you need to know about it."). That calmed him down some, because if Sheldon was a murderer he wouldn't have been released.

Leonard just nodded and watched as the two neighbors walked towards the balcony of their apartment. The shorter roommate just sat on the sofa, awaiting his friend's arrival.

"Didn't expect you to come looking for me this quickly," Sheldon teased as he hunched over the rusting steel railings, looking over the darkening city. It was easy to hear the police sirens and the distinct sound of crime, but if you listened closely you could hear the bustling nightlife and the laughter of drunken club patrons. If you asked him, he wouldn't rather live anywhere else, Pasadena was home.

There was a sound beside him, and he noticed the blonde was pulling up one of the dirty old lawn chairs he kept on the balcony. She raised her feet and tucked them underneath her, she looked small in that position, and he couldn't help but wonder why she was with an asshole like Kurt. Immediately he looked away from her and willed himself to stop thinking about her, he wasn't one to be moved by emotions or the wellbeing of others, much less a woman who he wasn't related to.

"Yeah well, shit happens, you know that more than anybody," she said with a tone of annoyance, she fumbled with her lighter before sparking her cigarette and sighing. He didn't speak, because he didn't need to.

She was silent for a few moments before finally collecting her thoughts, "I think Kurt's in some kind of trouble."

"And what does that have to do with me?" He didn't hesitate to ask. He's learned a long time ago to not get involved in people's business, and he wasn't going to start now. Especially not the business of a guy he couldn't stand to be around for two seconds. He heard her huff and then he glanced back at her, "What kind of trouble?" He tried again.

"I don't fucking know…" she trailed off and ran a trembling hand through her hair, effectively messing it up. The shaking of her hand caught his attention and he turned his back to the view and propped himself against the railing, giving her all of his attention, "Some weird guys been following me is all I know," she took a long draw from her cigarette, "They come into the restaurant and order the bare minimum, they don't leave until my shift is done and I seen them park 'round the corner of the building," she avoided eye contact.

"And did you bring this up to Kurt?" His voice was clipped.

He and Penny weren't friends. They were neighbors who got on each other's nerves whenever they could, and in-between boyfriends and one-night stands they flirted with each other. Did he care about her wellbeing? Not really, but did he want her to be harmed? No.

"He said I was being stupid and overreacting," she rolled her eyes, "But I know damn well what I see, and I ain't in no shady business so if they're watching me it must be 'cause Kurt!" She stated firmly, "Besides, he's always going to that damn casino every Friday night, trying to gamble my paycheck away. That's where his grimy ass is now. Maybe he's in some sort of debt shit," she tried to deduce.

Sheldon scoffed at what she said, not surprised that Kurt was that kind of guy. "I'll look into it," he said shortly.

"I don't want you to get into any more trouble than you are, Sheldon."

He raised an eyebrow, "Then why did you come to me?"

She was silent. She didn't have an answer.

They stood there for a few more minutes in silence, each finishing their own cigarette, buried in their own thoughts. The noise from the television brought them out of their own thoughts and both made their way back into the living room. For the first time they came face to face with Leonard's friends, Howard and Raj.

The three men looked surprised to see them, and immediately Howard stood to his feet and approached Penny. She sidestepped him quickly with a scowl on her face, Leonard quickly grabbed Howard's arm, "Sorry about him, he's a bit of a pervert."

She didn't reply.

"Um," he stuttered, "Sheldon, Penny, this is Howard and Raj," he pointed to each guy, "And you guys, this is my roommate Sheldon, and our neighbor Penny."

Raj nodded his head, "Nice to meet you both," he smiled.

Sheldon only nodded and Penny offered him a smile. The blonde looked at the television screen and frowned, "What's this?"

Leonard blushed, "Uh, Star Trek," he paused the movie, "We can change it if you like?"

Sheldon couldn't help the chuckle that came from his throat at how desperate Leonard was for Penny's attention, it was amusing especially knowing the poor guy wouldn't get the chance he so desperately wanted.

He watched as the female took the remote and shut the screen off, "How about instead of spending a perfectly good Friday night indoors, watching," she gestured to the TV," whatever you call that. Let's go dancing," she smiled, "I know a great place where we can all enjoy."

Howard, Leonard, and Raj were quick to agree. Penny looked over her shoulder at the tall man who was leering at her, "That includes you too, Sheldon," she informed. Normally, he would decline because he didn't dance, nor did he go anywhere in groups. Especially a group where there were more men than women. But he was eager to see how these guys reacted around a room filled with beautiful and willing women.

He pushed off the counter and gave a lopsided smirk, "Anything for you, Kitten."