Chapter 45 - Nerd Gang, Blog, Gentleman!

Support me on pat_reon.com/kapur69 (Delete "_") and read for 31 chapter ahead or more.

Disclaimer, i own nothing but my own idea, and i will update on monday, Wednesday & Friday on my Patreon and only update Saturday and sunday here.

-----------------

3rd POV - Future

"So? Did you get the part?" Leonard asked Penny, who was eating her Chinese food.

"What?" Penny looked up at Leonard, confused.

"The acting part." Leonard clarified.

"Oh, yeah... No." Penny replied, then turned her gaze to Sheldon.

"Why are you looking at me?" Sheldon asked, adding, "My sister already told you she'd only help introduce you to the director, and she did just that."

"...Then why didn't I get the job?" Penny asked with an exhausted look.

"I don't know. All I know is that my sister already spoke to them about you." Sheldon answered matter-of-factly.

"...Sheldon." Leonard interjected, "Penny's asking why she didn't get the role, even after your sister helped. Isn't Hollywood all about connections? Heck, I know that connections are everything in this industry."

"Are your sister's connections not strong enough?" Howard chimed in, directing the question at Sheldon.

"That's not it." Penny interjected, "When I arrived at the studio for the audition, the staff immediately called my name for the casting... So, am I just not good enough?" she admitted sadly.

"Penny. This is not about whether you are good enough or not, this is about your dedication regarding the career you want. The goal you want." Sheldon said, putting down his food. "My brother once told me: 'That's not the end of the world. Sometimes you're on top, sometimes you're at the bottom. You just have to keep moving to reach the top. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. The world spins at 1,670 kilometers per hour and orbits the sun at 107,800 kilometers per hour—it's not waiting for you.'"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I added the last part." Sheldon clarified after the long silence.

Raj leaned toward Howard and whispered, "Where's the insult?" Howard repeated the question aloud.

"Yeah… Are you really the Sheldon we know?" Penny asked, looking at Sheldon suspiciously.

"I'm just stating facts." Sheldon replied. "My sister gave you a chance, and you didn't get it. Don't blame others."

"I'm sorry." Penny said, guilt in her voice. Howard and Leonard also apologized, while Raj stayed silent since he hadn't said anything.

"It's okay." Sheldon said and resumed eating his dinner. What they didn't realize was the unease in Sheldon's mind.

The memory of his sister's visit and her last words lingered. Sheldon had already checked the apartment for bugs or any surveillance devices, yet he still felt uneasy. He didn't want his friends to say anything negative about his sister—or his brother, for that matter.

"Oops, I gotta go. I have a date tonight." Penny announced as she stood up. "Thanks for dinner, guys."

"Bye." Leonard replied with a forced smile, disappointed to hear Penny mention her date.

Once Penny had left apartment 4A, Raj finally broke the silence. "Oh my God, Sheldon, you just gave wise advice. Did your sister's visit change you?"

"Yeah, I didn't know you were capable of saying something like that. I thought all you could do was insult people and be condescending." Howard added.

"Not really." Sheldon responded. "I just said what came to mind. Those words popped into my head, so I said them."

"Can you tell us the truth, though?" Leonard asked, eyeing Sheldon suspiciously.

"What? What do you want to know, Leonard?" Sheldon asked back.

"Why didn't Penny get the role? And why were you acting like that earlier?" Leonard pressed on, sensing Sheldon was hiding something. Wise advice? That was about as believable as an iceberg melting in Antarctica in one second.

"What? That's the truth. Penny just wasn't good enough for the role." Sheldon answered bluntly. "If she wants to become a big star, she needs to work harder. She doesn't have the talent yet and has to outwork everyone else."

"And he's back." Howard said, slumping his shoulders.

"No, no! Why didn't you just say that in front of Penny?" Raj reiterated Leonard's earlier question.

"My dear friend, I'm a gentleman." Sheldon said with faux dignity, which Leonard quickly countered with, "And Mr. Spock is real." leaving Sheldon speechless.

"Just tell us!" Raj insisted.

"But I already told you the truth!" Sheldon exclaimed. "Now, I have something important to do. Who wants to teach me Mandarin so I can correctly order orange chicken at Szechuan Palace?"

"..."

Everyone realized Sheldon wasn't going to tell them anything else, so they moved on. Howard volunteered to teach him Mandarin, likely so he could brag about it later. Meanwhile, Raj and Leonard resumed playing Halo. They were all immersed in their respective activities until Penny's voice echoed through the hallway.

"DROP DEAD, YOU SON OF A B*TCH!!" Penny screamed at someone outside their apartment.

"What happened?" The group paused, glancing at each other before peeking out of the door.

BAM

The sound of Penny's door slamming shut filled the hallway. The gang stepped out but found no one else in the hallway. Penny's door was firmly shut.

"Should I go there?" Leonard asked, looking at Howard and Raj.

"No... I wouldn't recommend it, Leonard. She's in a very unstable condition right now." Sheldon replied.

Just as they were talking, the door to apartment 4B swung open, and Penny stormed toward them. "Excuse me, guys, I need to use your window." Penny said quickly, and the nerd gang stepped aside to let her pass.

They watched as Penny approached the window, her face twisted in frustration. She threw open the window and yelled, "HEY JERK FACE! YOU FORGOT YOUR IPOD!!!" She threw the iPod she was holding out the window.

Leonard couldn't hold it any longer and asked, still surprised by Penny's anger, "What's going on?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what's going on!" Penny said, glaring at the Nerd Gang one by one. "That selfish jerk wrote about our sex life on his blog!!!" She spat the words with venom before storming off.

A silence fell over apartment 4A until Sheldon glanced back at his Chinese-English dictionary. "Okay, where were we?"

Howard and Raj ignored Sheldon, "Not now, we need to find that blog." They moved toward Leonard's laptop.

"Please don't do that. Her sex life is already all over the internet, and you want to look at it too? Are you even her friend?" The words didn't come from Leonard but from Sheldon, who was still reading his book.

Everyone stared at Sheldon, who was oblivious to their looks. "What?"

"Dude, you're doing it again!" Raj exclaimed at Sheldon.

"Do what? It's embarrassing enough, and imagine how her close ones would feel if they found out too. My brother once told me a quote from an Englishman: 'A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.' Maybe for us Americans, it's more like 'A gentleman doesn't have sex and brag about it'?" Sheldon said nonchalantly.

"…I'm going to talk to Penny." Leonard said, walking off, feeling unsettled by Sheldon's behavior, but knowing there was a bigger issue at hand. Maybe he could get closer to Penny this time.

"Good luck." Sheldon simply said, continuing to read his book while waiting for Leonard's return. It didn't take long for Leonard to return from 4B.

"She doesn't want to talk." Leonard said flatly.

"Of course." Sheldon replied, unbothered.

"I couldn't find it!" Howard said, still staring at the laptop.

"Knock it off, Howard. Be a good friend, just once, please." Sheldon said, but Howard didn't respond.

"What am I supposed to do?" Leonard asked, looking at Sheldon. "Why are you staring at me?"

"…Never mind… I'm going to talk to her again. I'm her friend." Leonard said, walking toward 4B again.

Sheldon sighed, watching him leave. "Dude, what are you doing?" Raj asked as he saw Sheldon stand up and walk toward the door.

"I'm just going to stand in the hall and see what kind of mess my friend makes." Sheldon replied, grabbing his book and leaving the room.

"Oh, okay." Raj said, watching Howard still engrossed in finding Penny's ex-boyfriend's blog, uninterested in waiting for Leonard in the hallway.

Sheldon left apartment 4A and saw the door to 4B was closed with no sign of Leonard in the hallway, which meant Leonard was inside.

Sheldon waited a few minutes, and sure enough, Penny came out of her apartment, this time smiling. "I'm going to Mike's place! Thank you so much, Leonard!" Penny's voice reached Sheldon, who was still reading his book.

"…What are you doing, Penny?" Sheldon muttered as Penny closed the door behind her. Penny spotted Sheldon standing by the elevator.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm waiting for you." Sheldon replied, finally putting down his book. "I knew he'd make a mess again. What did he say this time?"

"Who? Leonard? He just told me I was overreacting. What a good friend he is." Penny said, receiving an exasperated look from Sheldon.

"...You do realize you're being stupid again, right?" Sheldon didn't hold back.

"…What?" Penny said, slightly shocked by Sheldon's words but open to hearing him out.

"You heard me." Sheldon said, but before Penny could respond, he continued, "So, you're just going to go to your ex-boyfriend's place and apologize to him? Penny, Penny, Penny." Sheldon shook his head.

"What do you mean by that?" Penny asked, challenging him to explain further.

"You're not the one in the wrong here. Your ex-boyfriend is. You see, even my brother wouldn't act like your ex, even with women approaching him. To him, what happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom." Sheldon said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"…So, you're saying what he did was wrong?" Penny asked, her face softening a little, possibly even... relaxed?.

"Of course. I know this isn't my problem, but you're my friend. Do you want me to come with you to beat up your ex and make him delete his blog?" Sheldon said, ruffling Penny's hair.

Penny couldn't help but laugh. The Sheldon she knew had completely changed. Gone was the germaphobe whackadoodle—standing in front of her now was a confident Texan cowboy. "Haha, thanks, sweetie! I think I'm good right now."

"Are you sure?" Sheldon asked again, concern in his voice.

"Yes!" Penny said, but wanted to hug him, though she didn't want to spoil the moment. She simply grinned at Sheldon.

"Good. Like my brother says, 'Nobody disrespects my friend or family, or I'll beat your ass.' Such a barbarian..." Sheldon said, though it made Penny laugh, even though he had just threatened want to beat someone.

"He said that?" Penny asked, surprised. Sheldon nodded.

"…I'm his fan, remember…" Penny said, grinning at Sheldon.

"…You know what I mean… I just twisted it up for ya" Sheldon said with a bit of a southern accent slipping through his words.

"…Thanks, sweetie." Penny replied.

"…Now I need hand sanitizer…" Sheldon said, running back to his apartment.

"What happened?" Leonard asked, coming out of Penny's apartment, seeing Sheldon rush back to 4A.

"Just had a chat with my cowboy from Texas!" Penny said with a grin on her face as she walked back to her apartment, passing Leonard and closing the door behind her.

Leonard stood there, baffled, still trying to process what Penny had said. "Owh… what?"