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3rd Person POV
"Missy!" Sheldon called his twin sister in a panic. The alarm on his phone had gone off—the kind of alarm he only programmed for world-altering events. Not just a casual reminder, but the kind that warned of potential global chaos.
He'd designed it that way—an early warning system for major events: the collapse of a massive corporation, the emergence of an unknown disease, a new virus variant, zombies—anything that could shake the world.
It was his way of staying informed ever since he left the company and no longer had access to internal updates. The alarm was coded to trigger only if something significant was brewing. Not just in America—worldwide.
"What the hell happened?" Sheldon asked urgently, waiting for Missy's voice.
"...I know I'm no longer with the company..." he said again, more impatient this time. "Don't tell me it's classified!" he snapped.
"...Is that why he planted bugs in my apartment?" Sheldon suddenly remembered Georgie's secret—something he had confessed earlier. That classified agenda? It might very well be related to what's happening now.
"What the hell, Missy!" Sheldon yelled. "I know, I'm sorry for cursing!" he added with a frustrated sigh.
"….Yes, I know the protocol," he said, sounding more and more helpless.
He listened as Missy finally spoke, her voice making him even more uneasy. "….Should I be worried about this?" he asked.
"...It's your voice that's making me more worried!" Sheldon said, his tone rising again. "...I'm sorry," he muttered, lowering his voice and apologizing.
"Alright then..." he ended the call and quickly dialed another number.
He waited for someone to pick up. No answer. He sighed heavily and got up.
Without saying a word to the others, Sheldon walked straight to his laptop. Leonard and the rest of the gang were still waiting for him to say something, but he ignored them.
"Sheldon!" Leonard stood up from the couch, confused. Sheldon just waved him off and sat down in front of his computer.
"What is going on?" Leonard asked, walking over and standing behind him.
Penny, Howard, and Raj followed, gathering around Sheldon's desk, curious about what could make him more serious than solving string theory or planning a 24-hour movie marathon.
"No time for talking." Sheldon muttered, eyes glued to the news websites he was scrolling through.
The others leaned in to read the headlines, but nothing made sense to them.
"I don't understand any of this," Penny said after skimming a few titles, "Wait... does this mean my credit card debt is just gonna disappear?" she joked.
"No," Sheldon said without looking at her. He was still absorbing the headlines and reading the content. "Economic crisis," he muttered, switching tabs. "That's what's bothering me right now."
Leonard's face turned serious. "You mean... like, banks collapsing?" he asked, half-joking.
"Yes." Sheldon nodded. He hadn't confirmed it yet, but his calculations pointed toward a major collapse. And if he had to guess, it was likely Lehman Brothers.
Howard was beginning to understand what was going on, but still didn't get why Sheldon was so concerned. "Wait, do you have a huge mortgage on your Marvel figurine collection or something?" he chuckled.
"No," Sheldon said flatly, offering no further context.
Everyone grew more frustrated with his vague responses until Penny snapped. "Sheldon! What the hell is happening?!"
Sheldon finally looked up from the screen, scanning each of their faces. "The global economy is about to collapse." he said solemnly.
"What do you mean global economy? Isn't it just America?" Leonard asked, puzzled.
"No," Sheldon replied, locking eyes with him. "I'm fairly certain this is going to be a worldwide economic crisis."
They all stared at him, taken aback by how serious he was.
"After reading all this, it's inevitable. People are defaulting on their loans," he said, casting a glance at Penny, who quickly looked away. "There's another bubble, and it's already popping."
"So?" Howard asked, still not seeing the full picture. "Why are you so invested in this?"
"You don't understand," Sheldon said. "People are going to be homeless. Millions will lose their jobs and remain unemployed for a long time."
They looked at him, alarmed.
"...Then why are you smiling right now?" Leonard asked, irritated. "Are you really this detached again?"
"What?" Sheldon quickly wiped the smile off his face. "I'm not!" He stood up. "I need to make another call."
He walked toward his room, phone already pressed to his ear.
"Who do you think he's calling?" Penny asked, but she already guessing the answer—Georgie.
"I bet it's his brother," Howard said, sitting down at Sheldon's laptop to read the open tabs. "Sheldon's right. People can't pay their mortgages. Delinquency rates are skyrocketing."
"Yeah... a lot of people are about to end up homeless in America." he added grimly.
"What about this apartment?" Penny asked, suddenly concerned. "This place is dirt cheap compared to everything else around here. Is this building going to be affected?"
"I don't think so," Leonard said quietly. "Worst-case scenario, rent might go up."
"No!!!" Penny screamed, grabbing Leonard's shirt. "Take it back! Apologize for what you just said!!"
"What?! I was just—" Leonard tried to free himself, but Penny wouldn't let go. "It's only a probable impact! Not my fault! I'm sorry!!"
She finally let him go and glared at Howard and Raj, who wisely kept their distance and said nothing.
Penny didn't linger—she stormed toward Sheldon's room, determined to find out if Leonard was right. As Penny approaches Sheldon's room, a scream from Sheldon makes her stop immediately.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Sheldon's voice boomed from inside the room. "THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY, BROTHER!!"
Penny couldn't understand the conversation, but she wasn't about to miss out on the drama. So she started eavesdropping.
Without Penny realizing, Leonard was following her and was standing behind her. "What are you doing?" Leonard whispered behind her, just as curious.
Penny was a little surprised by Leonard's whisper, but quickly returned her focus to the sound from Sheldon's room, "Shh!" Penny hissed, motioning him to be quiet.
"I'll call you later, brother," Sheldon's voice said from inside. "There's a cat snooping around, listening to other people's conversations."
Penny froze. She heard footsteps approaching the door. She looked at Leonard, panicking. Wondering why was she even doing this right now? What was she thinking?.
Here's what she's doing in the moment of panic, she turned and grabbed Leonard's shirt again.
"No, no—wait!" he whispered.
Too late.
Penny kissed him and shoved him against the wall in a passionate make-out session.
Just as Sheldon opened his door to catch her in the act, he was met with the sight of Penny and Leonard locked in a steamy kiss right outside his room.
He froze.
He didn't say a word.
He simply turned around, shut his door, and walked away, leaving the two of them there in silence.
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Third Person POV
Penny pulled away from Leonard, staring at him, her face just as confused as his.
"He's gone…" she murmured, glancing toward the end of the hallway. "Where is he going now?" she added, turning back to Leonard.
Leonard, meanwhile, was completely lost. First, Penny kissed him. Then she hugged him. And then—he swore—there was a bit of tongue.
Now she was acting like none of it meant anything?.
Was something wrong with her? Penny seemed more concerned about whatever Sheldon was doing than the fact that she had just kissed Leonard—with tongue!.
"I'm sorry, Penny, but… what was that?" Leonard finally asked, unable to hold it in any longer.
Penny looked at him, her expression sheepish. "I panicked," she admitted with a guilty glance.
"Oh. No, it's okay," Leonard said, though his tone betrayed his disappointment. He hesitated, then asked, "Just tell me… were you panicking because Sheldon caught you eavesdropping, or… because of Sheldon himself?"
Penny blinked at him, confused. "What do you mean? Of course it was because we got caught eavesdropping on Sheldon and Georgie's conversation!"
Without giving Leonard a second thought, she walked toward the living room and addressed Howard and Raj.
"Where's Sheldon going?" she asked—more directly to Howard, since Raj couldn't speak to her.
"I don't know," Howard replied with a shrug, raising an eyebrow. "How about you and I go look for him together? Maybe he went to a hotel or something. Could be fun."
Penny rolled her eyes, "Not even with a thousand condoms, Howard." she shot back before heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Leonard asked, watching her leave apartment 4A. "Sheldon's probably gone to the university. He's an adult, Penny. You don't need to go chasing after him."
"I know. I just wanna go home." she said, pulling out her phone.
"Oh. Okay," Leonard replied, a little hurt, though she ignored it and dialed a number.
"Hey, sis," she said into the phone, then stepped out.
Leonard let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples as he slumped into the couch.
"Dude, are you okay?" Raj finally spoke.
"She kissed me," Leonard said, still stunned.
Howard stared at him, annoyed, "You're telling me a girl kissed you and you're acting like it's a bad thing?"
"It's not that I didn't like it! I just don't understand why she did it. She said it was because Sheldon caught her spying! That's... weird, right?"
He didn't want to admit it out loud, but Leonard felt like he was nothing more than a backup plan. A distraction. An escape route for Penny.
"Did she use tongue?" Howard asked, ignoring everything Leonard had just said.
Leonard pouted at first, but then his lips curled into a grin at the memory, "…I felt a little tongue," he said with a soft chuckle.
To hell with being the backup plan, he thought.
Howard and Raj exchanged a look.
"Dude, you really are hopeless." Raj said, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, in Apartment 4B, Penny froze at the sight before her—Sheldon was sitting on her couch, deep in conversation on his phone.
"Nevermind. I found him," Penny said to her 'sister', then hung up. "What are you doing here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sheldon held up a finger, signaling her to wait.
"So? What are you going to do?" he asked the person on the line. "…What should I do?" Sheldon said again, fully focused on the call.
Penny, seeing that he was still busy, walked to the fridge and grabbed a drink.
"All right then… but I want you to buy me a mainframe for my university research…" Sheldon said, grinning and briefly glancing at Penny.
She had no idea what he meant or say, and just gave him a thumbs-up with a smile.
"Yes! Okay, then…" Sheldon continued, stealing another glance at Penny. "…No, I'm with someone here—it's embarrassing!"
Penny didn't interrupt. She just stood there, watching him talk. But with interest creeping on her.
"No! I'm hanging up now!" Sheldon said again, catching Penny's raised brow. "…I love you, brother…" he whispered into the phone.
Penny's eyebrows shot up even higher at that.
Sheldon's lips trembled. "I'm not gay! I hate you!" he snapped and abruptly ended the call.
"Don't look at me like that." he muttered, noticing Penny struggling to hold back a laugh.
"What? I'm just enjoying my drink," Penny replied, grinning widely and lifting her glass. "You want some?"
Sheldon said nothing, leaning back against the couch.
"What happened?" Penny asked, walking over and sitting beside him.
"My brother… he won big this time," Sheldon said heavily. "But it came with a price."
Penny frowned, not understanding. She waited for him to elaborate.
"Penny." Sheldon turned to her, his face serious.
"What? If you expect me to understand what you're talking about, don't get your hopes up." she replied, raising her hands.
"That's not it. I know you won't understand what I'm saying."
That irritated her more.
"No, I don't mean you're dumb," Sheldon added quickly. "And I'm not being sarcastic. I just haven't explained anything about what my brother's been doing."
"Then what?" Penny asked, exasperated, taking a gulp of wine.
"You know I'm not a virgin, right?" Sheldon said, completely out of nowhere.
Penny choked on her drink, eyes wide. "Wh-What?" she stammered.
"You heard me," he said, inching closer.
"So… so what? What are you doing!?" she asked, getting up, backing away.
"I'm just… really happy right now. My brother won big. I'm getting a new computer for my research," Sheldon said, also rising to his feet.
"Stay right there, Sheldon!" Penny warned, retreating toward the door.
"This day was supposed to be ruined after that Renaissance Fair. But now I'm happy," Sheldon said, continuing toward her.
"What are you doing!?" Penny asked again, voice rising.
"I'm going to kiss you now… if you want me to," he said, stepping closer. "Slap me if you don't."
Smack!
Penny slapped him hard across the face, making Sheldon froze and leaving a bright red mark.
He sighed, and looking back at Penny's face, "Thought so," Sheldon said, still facing her. "Now move. I need to ice my cheek."
Penny stood frozen, not fully processing what had just happened. She stepped aside, allowing Sheldon to leave.
He walked out of Apartment 4B with his cheek burning red. Once outside, he touched it gently, tears welling in his eyes.
"It hurts so much… I hate you, brother!" he mumbled softly, then turned away and descended the stairs, leaving the apartment building behind.