Obligatory disclaimer: I don't own TBBT or the characters.

Chapter 1: The Party

Penny stared at the entrance Leonard and his friends had just made. It was supposed to be a nice, typical party for her friends at Sheila's place. Some music, (quite) a few drinks, a promise of a good time – but at the last minute she'd decided to invite the guys across the hall. Why she'd done that she wasn't sure. Or, she was sure but she didn't quite want to acknowledge what these residual romantic feelings were.

But she hadn't expected this. Leonard turning up, with his friends, but also with another girl. Not a particularly pretty girl, but not ugly either, and she was staring at him like he'd hung the stars. Ouch.

It had been just that afternoon when she'd run into the four of them on the apartment stairs. She'd been in a good mood after hauling in some decent tips. The guys had been in the middle of an argument over whether to make plans that evening to play Klingon Boggle, or drag out Dungeons and Dragons, and on impulse she'd invited them to the party instead. Their faces lit up – Leonard's especially.

They were always so pleased to be invited to things like this. She wondered if they realized how pathetically boring these parties really were. Everyone faking a good time, drinking themselves into a stupor, pretending to be young and hip and free when really no one was getting anywhere in life – snide remarks thinly veiled, drunken pawing, brittle laughter. But this was still the thing to do in California on a Friday night, and Penny knew she'd feel like a loser if she weren't here.

She'd known the guys would enjoy being invited, even if they didn't really enjoy the party itself. Hopefully none of her jerk, loser, ex-boyfriends would rub their nerdiness into their faces again tonight.

But this. She hadn't expected this. Was that girl just a friend, or Leonard's colleague, or – And why have he invited her?

She'd been thinking about opening up, mentioning to him at some point she almost wanted to try again. But every thought of that was evaporating now, like water in the noonday sun.

She'd always had a sneaking suspicion he was moving on faster than her, and now it looked like it was confirmed. Sure, he was ready to fall into her arms if she looked ready to relent, but he was ready to fall into anyone else's arms too.

Her lips twisted as she rested her chin in her hands with her elbows on the table, and stared at the amber liquid in the bottle she was clutching. It was at times like this that she wondered what she was doing with her life. She was supposed to be living the high life right now – not trying to convince herself that mounting piles of unpaid bills, endless trips to fruitless auditions, and the drudgery of waiting tables was really better than life back in Nebraska.

And through it all Leonard had been her neighbour across the hall. Her proverbial "boy-next-door." The guy who didn't cheat on her, didn't post details of their relationship online on his blog, didn't make lewd comments at every opportunity and slap her ass – she'd been wishing she'd been able to tell him that she loved him, that fear didn't make the words stick in her throat. She'd been frantically ignoring the fact that he was ready to move on with other women mere weeks after their relationship ended. That to him, maybe, having a relationship was more important than who he had a relationship with.

She realized Sheldon was now standing beside her, towering over her, lean and lanky.

"Does social protocol dictate gargantuan quantities of alcohol be consumed at events such this?" he asked, staring at a totally sloshed Sheila, who was retching into a plant.

"Not social protocol," she replied. "Reality. It's called escape." She took a swig from her bottle. "Sheldon, who's that girls with Leonard?"

Sheldon blinked and looked over. "With Leonard? Why, I believe that's Marcia, the new lab assistant in the experimental physics department. She expressed a desire at lunch today to be 'shown around the town.' I strongly advised against her accompanying us tonight, but Leonard insisted – "

His forehead wrinkled. He probably couldn't comprehend why someone wouldn't take any excuse they could to escape a social event like this. He'd be far more comfortable at home, happily in his element in front of his laptop, headphones blocking out the world, content inside himself.

Penny swore under her breath. "Oh." Lab assistant, huh? That meant the girl could probably go on about all that science stuff for hours – never running out of things to talk to Leonard about. Penny felt that horrible, sick feeling of inferiority sweep over her again…

"She is admirably similar to a cocker spaniel," Sheldon went on, watching Marcia follow Leonard over to the drinks. "She follows him around the lab too."

Penny let out a snort of laughter. Sometimes Sheldon's tactlessness was incredibly endearing. "Thanks for that, Sheldon."

His eyes widened as he looked at her. "You aren't – disturbed by these developments, are you? After all, you and Leonard have not engaged in sexual contact for over –"

Penny clamped her hands over he ears. "That's enough, Sheldon." Then she grabbed her bottle and downed the last of it. She really needed another drink.

He looked pleased. "Well, I am perceptive."

Howard and Raj were still standing near the centre of the room, in the spot they had installed themselves when they'd come in. Staring at the crowd milling around them, with their usual goofy grins on their faces. Once or twice Howard would attempt to intercept a passer-by, and back-off with the inevitable rejection. Penny shook her head. Sometimes the guys were so socially awkward – but they were a much easier group to hang out with on a regular basis than most of the high maintenance crowd here tonight. But socially awkward.

Take Sheldon, for instance. He was still hovering over her left shoulder, unable to stake out a suitable "spot" in the rapidly changing environment (chairs over-turned, gyrating bodies everywhere, crowd spilling in every direction…), and unwilling to touch anything unhygienic. Probably sticking to her to prevent having to talk to anyone else. She sighed.

Leonard, on the other hand, seemed to be having a great time. No one was saying much to him, or Marcia either, but the two of them looked like they were jabbering back and forth non-stop – probably about lasers, or quantum mechanics or – Klingon boggle, or something. Penny's face twisted.

It didn't seem to matter which group of people she hung out with, she could never quite measure up.

Leonard hadn't even mentioned bring Marcia to the party to her. Hadn't dropped a hint that he had a new co-worker in the lab – not that he owed Penny an explanation for anything anymore. But a heads-up would've been, she didn't know, decent? And the fact that he hadn't said anything seemed to add to the horribly bitter, warped feeling in her chest.

She needed another drink. Another whole raft of drinks, if she was going to survive this evening.

"This was a truly terrible disruption to our Friday night routine," Sheldon said to her, once she'd found another beer. He'd had to fend off one of the girls who'd drunkenly staggered into him, and now was wiping his hands with antibacterial wipes. "Really, Penny, this is all your fault."

If he kept on like this, she was going to wallop him.

Now Leonard and Marcia were dancing. Another stab of jealousy. If there was anything Penny could do better than Marcia, it was dancing. But Leonard wasn't tearing his eyes away from his partner for even a second, and Penny knew if she stepped out on that floor she'd probably be groped by an overeager male. Possibly even Raj or Howard, who seemed to have taken over one corner of it –

Her head whipped sideways to study Sheldon. He was standing there practically hugging himself to avoid brushing anyone, and looked more like a praying mantis than ever. Plus, he was way taller than her, and she was pretty sure he hated dancing. But he is Leonard's roommate, and she knows there'd been a slightly worried tone in Leonard's voice when he'd found out Sheldon had been locked out of their apartment, and spent the night in hers. A tone that said he'd have been more worried if it had been any other guy but Sheldon.

She'd never get Sheldon onto the dance floor. But Leonard and Marcia are dancing closer and closer, in a way that makes Penny's blood boil, and she suddenly she wants to get Leonard's attention, force him to see her, force him and make him sorry. She is going to have to do something jaw-droppingly drastic…

She grabbed Sheldon by the arm, ignoring his squirm.

"Sheldon," she said, "I want to show you something." And dragged him into the centre of the room. "Don't move. Don't breathe. Just think of this as a science experiment – "

And she kissed him in front of the whole room. With every ounce of skill she could muster.

...

Everyone noticed, all right. Howard and Raj looked at each other.

"What the – "

" – was that kiss?" finished Raj.