12 I Love You

Penelope made it through to her other self's sophomore year of high school when Roman texted again. Apparently he was on his lunch break.

She frowned at the words on the screen. He really was a doting husband, wasn't he? Why did he spent all of his free time during the work day talking to her when she couldn't even get a text back from most of her dates?!

Unfair. This was so unfair. The other Penelope had such a wonderful life all because one archaeological dig from nearly two decades ago went a little differently.

If only Jack Nielsen, the coworker she had been crushing on ever since he started working next to her in the call center, was a fraction as attentive as Roman. He was fun to talk to and they always cracked each other up when both of them were on hold or between calls but she never saw him outside of work.

She had been too chicken to say something and make things awkward if she got rejected. Sharing a cubicle with someone you felt awkward with would be unbearable.

He had never made a move either though she knew he was single based on the way he jokingly complained about not having a social life. Of course a decent, funny guy wouldn't be interested in her.

Weren't redheads supposed to be considered exotic and in demand? Penelope got plenty of first dates but almost no second ones. What exactly was wrong with her that nobody wanted to stick around?

It couldn't be entirely her fault—Roman obviously loved her from a young age and never stopped. He saw something good in her and their personalities seemed to be almost identical.

'What do you think of having Thai takeout for dinner? I've been daydreaming about curry all day' Roman texted, startling her out of her thoughts.

Penelope could never afford takeout. She was a huge fan of Pad Thai but the best she could do was the cheap freezer meal version that was a poor substitution for the real thing. She usually had it once a week, dreaming idly of non-reheated noodles.

'That sounds amazing! Pad Thai for me please' she sent over with a smiley face.

'Like you ever get anything else. Want any appetizers?'

She couldn't afford appetizers either so she had no idea what sort of things they even offered. 'Surprise me' she replied.

'Hmm…what if I get something really, really spicy? That would surprise you' Roman teased.

'Don't you dare! I'm a patient; I probably shouldn't have spicy things anyway'

'I kid, I kid. I don't want to end up on your bad side. You're scary when you're mad'

Penelope scowled. It was true that she had a bit of a temper but that was a redhead thing! Her mom was the same way. Percy was on his own plane of existence so he didn't fit into the stereotype.

She sent over the tongue emoji again to show her displeasure and he merely laughed it off. Or at least sent three laughing emojis back without any words.

Talking to him was actually pretty fun when it wasn't psyching her out. She had the same easy rapport with him that she did with either Missy or Percy. Probably because Roman and his Penelope had known each other so long.

He had to get back to work after that so she awkwardly returned his 'love you bye' text and returned to her task.

Penelope's daily worries at age sixteen primarily centered around grades, volleyball, drama with her school friends, and the fact that everyone around her was dating but she wasn't. That was when thoughts of Roman seemed to creep in.

'Dear Diary, everyone on the volleyball team has a boyfriend or at least a guy they're flirting with and I somehow feel left behind. And that conversation between Roman and Harry that I overhead a while back keeps echoing in my head.

'Harry said he was hung up on someone…does that mean he likes her? For how long? Why hasn't he told me any of this? I thought we were close but I guess not since he told a friend his age about it but not me.

'He probably thinks I'm just a little kid. I don't see him very often anymore either…I think he's busy with midterms and all but I still miss him. I may have to resort to camping out on my front porch to get him to say hi to me. I'm pathetic.'

Penelope snorted. That was such a teenage girl way of thinking. When she used to ride her bike to school, she purposely took the long way so she could ride past her crush's house.

Totally stupid and stalkery but she was like fifteen. Fifteen-year-olds weren't always rational when it came to romance.

She yawned, suddenly tired. It would probably be better to eat something and take a nap now than fall asleep later when it would throw off her sleep schedule. She could always come back to this later depending on how long her nap went.

But she didn't know how long it would go for sure so she might want to put these away to be on the safe side. It would be bad if Roman somehow figured out what she was up to.

Penelope headed downstairs and munched on a banana before curling up on the couch with the same baseball game recording from last night. That ought to knock her out real quick. The TV should be on an automatic shut-off timer after a certain period of inactivity so she could let it be.

She woke up to the sound of the door opening and the delicious scent of Thai food wafting in. It was a very, very good thing she put those journals away earlier.

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and the blanket she was using slipped onto the ground. Roman chuckled. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. How long have you been out?"

Penelope glanced at the clock and cursed under her breath. "…four and a half hours."

He shook his head indulgently. "At least you woke up when you did. You should still be able to fall asleep around ten. I got your Pad Thai and some egg rolls to split."

Egg rolls. How long had it been since she last had egg rolls?

"I love you," she moaned appreciatively before catching what she said and freezing.