Chapter Text
It shouldn’t have made her jealous. By all accounts, there was nothing to be jealous of. Sheldon had very assuredly used past tense when talking about the crush, and she and Sheldon were just friends. Of course, Karen wanted to be more than that, but that simply was not their situation.
But nonetheless, when Sheldon casually let out a “Oh yeah, I had a crush on Eugene in high school. Glad that died out.” jealousy was the only word to describe how she felt. Luckily for Karen, she was able to cover up that jealousy quite well, especially given how casually it had slipped off his tongue, and how easily he segued into the next part of the story he was telling. If he could tell that she wasn’t quite hanging onto every precious syllable like she usually did, he did a very good job of not letting on.
Her jealousy was harder to hide, however, a few days later, when she, Sheldon, and Eugene all ended up getting dinner together. They sat in their usual arrangement - Sheldon and Eugene next to each other, and Karen on the other side, across from Sheldon. Though she never questioned it before, Karen was starting to feel as though she might be third wheeling.
Now, Eugene and Karen never did quite get along. They both tried, for Sheldon’s sake, but they never did quite click. Eugene found Karen bossy and dry. Karen found Eugene boisterous and self centered. Sheldon knew they didn’t get along, but tried so, so hard to force his friends into enjoying each other’s company.
But today, Karen’s usual attempts at playing nice were discarded in favor of glaring, stabbing her meal hall food with a fork repetitively as Sheldon and Eugene talked and laughed while recounting something that had happened back in high school. Her glares and bad mood only intensified as Sheldon turned his body away from hers, facing Eugene, a hand falling on the redhead’s shoulder as they continued to guffaw.
Forcing a forkful of food into her mouth, Karen’s eyes narrowed as she chewed, swallowed and then spoke, in more of a monotone than usual “I think it’s time I head back to my dorm.”
Almost immediately, Sheldon’s demeanor changed. No longer laughing, cheeks paling from the red they’d been moments before, a very serious look took over his features as his eye bounced back and forth between Karen and her seemingly still full plate. “Are you sure? You’ve barely touched your food.”
“Yeah.” she deadpanned, eyes fluttering back down to her plate as she confessed, passive aggressively as possible “I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Instantly, Sheldon stood up. “Well, here, let’s box these up and I can walk you back.” His cheeks flushed a bit, as he added “Make sure you get back safe, and all that. I don’t want you walking back alone if you’re not feeling well.”
“You sure you want to leave Eugene here by himself?” her words carried a bitterness that Eugene had picked up on, but Sheldon sure had not.
“He’ll be fine!” Sheldon answered for him, waving a hand and arm dismissively. And then, with a sudden sternness and clenched jaw, his head snapped back to his roommate as he questioned a very pointed “Right?”
Eugene, of course, picked up what Sheldon was putting down. Unlike Karen, he knew he was a third wheel. “Oh, uh, right!”
Already having maneuvered to the other side of the table, Sheldon put one hand in the small of Karen’s back as the other lifted her tray. “C’mon,” his voice was quieter, more gentle than she was used to hearing “Let’s get you home.”
Without a word from Karen, Sheldon boxed up both of their leftovers, and ushered them out of the meal hall and into the cool, starry night of the university campus at 7PM on a weeknight in November. They walked for about two minutes before either of them spoke, Sheldon being the one to break the silence, offering an “Oh!” and then unzipping his hoodie and draping it around Karen’s shoulders without asking. “Don’t want you catching cold if you already can’t eat.”
A part of Karen felt very smug. Sheldon wasn’t letting Eugene wear his sweater, now, was he? Another, larger part of her though, just felt warm. Partially from the newly added layer, but also just from the idea of wearing Sheldon’s sweater. It was intimate, and, if she was being entirely honest, kind of sexy. “Thanks.”
Another quick moment of silence, this one only 20-30 seconds, before Sheldon questioned. “Is everything alright? I mean, I know, clearly not, you said you didn’t feel like eating, but you weren’t saying much either and you’re not saying much now and I’m just concerned that-”
“Well it’s hard to for me to talk much with all your rambling.” though the words were harsh, they were said with a smile, and an eye roll, and an elbow playfully nudging his. She was teasing, that’s all. And she was comfortable enough with him to assume that he knew that.
“Alright, alright, I guess I’ll just never talk again…”
“I’d love to see you try.” she continued to tease.
“Ah, see, now there’s my Karen!” though he rolled his eye, he was also beaming.
And then, the smile faltered.
Karen was concerned, until he started rambling once again. “Not that, I uh…you’re your own person, of course! And uh…women aren’t property…and it’s not even like…we’re…that’s to say….ughh none of this is coming out right…”
“Hey. Sheldon.” she walked into front of him, her hands, covered by the sleeves of his sweater, grabbed his forearms. “It’s fine.”