The Juxtapose Accentuation

Forces of Distraction

"...I suppose, but most of my time has been devoted to studying." He said, smiling at Vanessa who was sitting across the table from him.

She chose a small restaurant near her apartment that serves southern cuisine. They ordered one plate of buffalo chicken and another of spareribs barbecue. Sheldon haven't had either for a while now. He told Vanessa it was so cliché of her for her choices, but she just dismissed him by saying "Oh, you know you like it."

"So are you saying that, given the chance, you would've played football at your school?" She asked while cutting some chicken meat carefully, in case it slides off her porcelain plate.

"Well, it wouldn't be a matter of me wanting it as much as my father actually forcing me to join a team."

They've been talking about random things and somehow got to a discussion about football which led to her asking a bit about his childhood in Texas. He found out that she attended two years of her time in elementary in the same school where he and Missy went to.

"I can totally see you being a quarter back, you know."

"How so? Do you have any supporting evidence that I would be well suited for that position? Granted, I excel in almost everything that I do, it is unclear how you arrived at that conclusion." Sheldon finished, earning him a bemused look from the woman across him.

"Okay, Dr. I-over-analyze-everything! I was merely voicing out my opinion. Must you over think, like, all the time?"

"I highly doubt my questions were due to over thinking. I was trying to... Oh. Was that a rhetorical question?" He asked, noticing that her eyebrows were now raised.

Vanessa laughed and Sheldon found himself smiling. Usually he feels perplexed when someone laughs at him for unknown (to him at least) reasons. They continued talking for another hour over some pies. It wasn't until Vanessa checked her phone that he remembered about his own, that wouldn't power on earlier. Following that thought was... "Oh boy..."

"What's wrong, Dr. Cooper?" She asked, seeing the worried look on his face.

"My friends were supposed to pick me up at the train store hours ago. I was meaning to call them before we left for lunch but, well, I was distracted." He finished quietly. "I can imagine Leonard getting worried, and Penny getting frustrated. They might even think I ran away again."

"Again? You've ran away before?" She asks, with pure concern. She felt confused about why his statement concerned her more than it should.

"Well, technically, yes. Although, they did find me before I boarded the train. I just asked them to let me go because at the time, I really wanted to be left alone." His eyes were thoughtful as he recalls his month long journey. Riding train after train. "You know, I really like trains. They're my favorite mode of transportation. There was this one--"

"Dr. Cooper, your friends?" Vanessa reminded him and cutting him off.

"Oh, right. See, I'm getting distracted again!" Exclaims Sheldon with a little irritation. He's normally immune to distractions and rarely does he get his thoughts derailed. Could it be because of Vanessa? He doesn't know and now is hardly the right time to figure that puzzle out. He needs to let his friends know he's okay. "I need to go home."

"I can drive you home if you want," she offered. It was partly her fault too, that he's not with his friends right now.

"Is that offer for real?"

"Of course. Why not? Besides, I already know where you live. It's not that far from here."

"Very well, then. Let's go." He dismissed and got up. He dropped some money on the table and started walking out of the restaurant. Vanessa just smiled after him and followed. He's different alright... but in a nice way.

They were walking back to her apartment to get the car. They both fell in a comfortable kind of silence. Vanessa was curious about him running away, though. "So... Running away... mind if I ask why you did it?"

"It was a combination of things that built this dam and that day, the wall preventing the spill just went crumbling down. It was too much for me to handle so I decided to stay away from everyone I know for a while."

"I didn't know you could be mellow dramatic." She told him.

He looks down at her, trying to decipher her reaction but fails. "Sarcasm?"

She looked up at his question, confused, "Wha- no! Of course not."

"Oh. Alright. I apologize. I have the tendency to confirm that every once in a while. I don't have a good grasp on sarcasm or irony. I can't always tell when people are being serious or not."

"Well don't worry. I wasn't being sarcastic." She approached a CR-Z and went around to the driver's side. She unlocked the doors and motioned for Sheldon to get in.

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"Got anything?" Leonard asks with panic in his voice. He was talking on the phone with Raj who was driving around town with Howard. "Alright. Call me when you know something." He hung up, rubbing his temple with his fore finger and thumb. Damn Sheldon! Where did you go this time? He thought. He was getting more and more worried about his roommate's whereabouts. The last time he went missing, he went on a train journey for more than a month. Knowing how much Sheldon must be hurting right now wasn't helping his imagination.

Just then Penny burst in 4A, "Any news? I just called Amy. He's not with her but she's on her way here, says she'll help look for him."

Penny was as worried as Leonard. Sure, Sheldon was still annoying as hell, but he's become like their child since they got married and whether they like it or not, they care too much for him to be mad at him for doing things like this. Right now, she just wants to know he's okay. She knows how much emotional pain he's in and not knowing what happened that night when he went out to propose to Amy just adds up to the endless possibilities of him doing something crazy. She didn't even want to start thinking about it.

"Nothing from Raj and Howard. I still get voice-mail when I dial his number. I'm really pissed at him right now! Why would he even leave the store?"

Penny knew how worried his husband was. She walked over to the armchair sat beside him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I know," was all that she can say.

"I feel useless. I can't even help my own bestfriend." Leonard felt defeated. He wanted to help his friend. He knew Sheldon wasn't capable of handling too many emotions at the same time. Normally, he can comfort the man, even if he sometimes had to ask Penny's assistance, at least they can get to him. Of course, it doesn't help that lately, Sheldon's been unusually quiet and avoids being engaged in any kind of conversation.

"I'm sure he's okay. It's not your fault, honey." Penny was trying to comfort him even though she felt the same way. Sheldon's like a brother to him. Hell, more like a son, even. It breaks her to see the guy so sad, he doesn't even want to let anyone in anymore. It's like he's reverting to his old self. Keeping his thoughts to himself unless it's related to things like Physics or science fiction.

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"Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up!" Amy was practically yelling at her phone. She's been trying to call Sheldon since she left her apartment. She was driving as fast as the traffic rules will permit.

"Where on earth are you Sheldon..." her words came out as a whisper. She felt guilty. If Penny was right about him running away, she couldn't think of another reason other than the pain she's put him through after their breakup. This isn't fair! I'm hurting too! But you don't see me running away like that!

There were two cars in front of the building when she got there. One was Penny's, but the other was an unfamiliar vehicle. She went out. She headed for the door and saw a tall, blonde woman going out of the building.

"Hold the door, please!" Amy yelled at the blonde, seconds before she can let go of the glass door. She was half running towards the apartment building. Walking past Vanessa, she muttered a quick, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Vanessa told Amy with a smile and she continued walking towards her car.