Ooh, they had to choose partners. Benji decided it wasn't worth the risk to ask. He would just assume he and Penny were partners. If he did it fast enough, nobody else would try to claim her. They were sitting next to each other anyway. It was only logical, right? BAM. Problem solver!

(An imagined problem, but still. Anyone with half a brain knew that Penny probably wanted to be his partner anyway, but our sweet boy just doesn't get it yet. He'll have a lightbulb moment eventually... We hope.)

Turning to her, he smiled his most winning smile and said, "Do you want to go first, or do you want me to?" ...Theeeeen he lost his nerve: "If you want to be my partner, that is. You're not, like... obligated to or anything." He fell into the old habit of rubbing the back of his neck when he got nervous. What if she told him to get lost?! He really hoped she wouldn't. WHY HADN'T HE JUST GONE WITH HIS ORIGINAL PLAN OF ASSUMING?! Now he had to wait for an answer, and he was going to FREAK OUT if she didn't say they could be partners soon. He really didn't want to have to look for a different partner if she said no... But more than that, he really didn't want to be partners with anybody but her.

Then he had the sudden realization that this activity would likely involve touching, and he remembered that the few times he and Penny had touched (like when she'd nudged him with her shoulder on the first day they'd met), he felt all tingly and couldn't concentrate. Upon remembering that, his cheeks began to color slightly, and he maaaaay have secretly chanted Please don't be able to read minds in his head a few times. How embarrassing.