Title – A Beautiful Mind

Author – This is my first fanfiction. So please be gentle. Even if you don't like the content or my style of writing, I would be honoured to deal with any criticism from you guys. I DO ship Sheldon and Penny, or as they say Shenny. We all know its never going to happen. But this is an effort on my part to pair these 2 characters together. Enjoy and please review.

Chapter 1

Penny was happy. Or she thought she was. Her job as a waitress in the cheesecake factory paid her bills and she had the best of times with her friends eating take outs and playing halo. Being 27, she still had her goals set – To make a mark in an acting career. Ever since she came down to Pasadena, she wanted to become an actress. But Life really doesn't plan out the way we think, does it. Audition after audition, she never really got going and this was hurting her. She had to turn to waitressing to pay her bills. Kurt, her partner for 4 years who came to Pasadena with her cheated on her with her one of her colleague within a week. Penny was devastated. Any girl would be. She was all alone in a city she didn't knew. Didn't belong, maybe.

Little did she know she would meet two of her best friends in a week. Leonard and Sheldon were friends, best friends and had been roommates for quite some time now. Sheldon, being a Theoretical Physicist worked at Caltech along with Leonard, who was an Experimental Physicist.

Sheldon wasn't your normal guy's guy. He was a nerd, watched sci fi shows, played video games and read comic book. He wasn't the best at expressing his feeling but he meant well. They both were friends with Raj and Howard, also working at Caltech. Not surprisingly, none of them had any girlfriends or any female pals for that matter.

When Penny moved across the apartment from them, Leonard was in a different world altogether. He had his eyes set on Penny. Love was the word used although Sheldon suspected some lust on Leonard's part. This was new for him. Being friends with Penny. She was a woman after all, a beautiful one at that. He wasn't sure how to be friends with her. What did friendship with her entail? Penny although knew Leonard's intentions befriended both of them. This was new for her too. She felt happy. Who knows what Pasadena had in store for her, but for the time being she didn't care. She had Sheldon to pay attention to. She knew he felt awkward. She knew he wanted to be friends with her. She needed one. A true friend. He was so much smarter than her, than any person she knew. He was a Beautiful Mind's guy indeed.

Penny's POV
'SHELDON !' – she yelled at the top of her voice. He had changed the wifi password again.

'Penny, please be quick, I am getting late for work. I don't want to go by bus. Leonard's waiting for me in the car.' Sheldon replied in his usual voice.

'Sheldon, please give me the wifi password. I really want to check for auditions. And I will make you spaghetti with hot dogs later to repay you. Just please, please tell me the password.' Penny practically pleaded.

Sheldon had a secret. He had a weakness. And it was penny. No one knew but he had feelings for her. And he couldn't do anything about it. He never considered going after her. She would definitely laugh at his face. He wasn't her type. He never had a chance. Never. And he didn't want to lose the friendship. It was priceless to him. Not because she did things for him. Because, she cared for him like no one did. She cared for him when he got sick. She even sang soft kitty to him. He could not, will not disclose his feelings for her. There was too much at stake. Also, Leonard wanted penny so that's that. A year had passed by and Leonard was still trying. Its weird when u have feelings for a girl, who your roommate wants to Marry at some point in his life.

'This is the last time penny' he said in a stern voice and gave her the password. Then something unusual happened. She hugged him. Not unusual for her but definitely for Sheldon. He practically ran down the stairs. The feelings were becoming difficult to control now. He needed some time. He needed to stop thinking about her. His work should take precedence. Penny was his friend and he wasn't gonna ruin it by doing something stupid. He wasn't content with just friendship but he knew that he wasn't going to get shit. He vowed never to tell anyone but he needed someone to share his grief. This was all very new for him. His friend, Leonard sounded a bad idea because that would make things super awkward and might strain his friendship with him. He wasn't stupid, he will keep his emotions bottled up. He had done so for last 20 years. He wasn't beneath this.

Little did he know that he would pour his heart down to Penny in a matter of days.

Next Up : Sheldon's Assistant : Alex