I don't own the show, or House, Cuddy or Wilson. Wish I did. I'd even take Taub.
It's AU. Yeah it has been done before but I want to give it a shot. This will be a series of one shots depicting House, Cuddy, and Wilson in high school. It will be in no particular order.
High School, Sophomore Year...
Lisa Cuddy was seated in front of her mirror trying to brush out her hair. Like most nights, her hair refused to cooperate. It was unruly, curly and thick.
She hated it.
Her mother always shouted at her for threatening to cut it. 'Complete strangers always come up to you and compliment your curls, why would you cut them off?' Cuddy could hear her mother's controlling voice perfectly in her mind. 'I wonder how long I'd be grounded if I cut it?'
Her thoughts were interrupted by a small knock on her windowpane. Putting her comb down, she knew who it was before she opened the window.
"What's wrong Greg?" Cuddy asked him, unable to completely hide the worry in her voice. When he came knocking at her window it was never a good sign.
Greg House climbed through her window with ease, like he had done so many times before. "My damn father kicked me out again." He grumbled.
He moved to her bed and made himself comfortable while she closed the window.
"He didn't…hit you, did he?" Cuddy asked, afraid of what the answer would be.
"No Cuddy, I'm fine. I got home after curfew again and he told me I'm not allowed in. I didn't feel like sleeping in the yard when there is a perfectly good bed right here." He patted the mattress, and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Not at all amused at the situation, she shook her head.
"Oh no. You're sleeping on the floor." She said as if scolding a child.
"But Cuddy." House whined, "I'm a guest."
"An uninvited guest. Now move and be quiet." Cuddy whispered harshly. "If my parents hear you, we're both dead." House moved off the bed sitting in the chair Cuddy had recently vacated.
"Don't worry, I'm sly as a fox." House winked at her.
"With those big feet you're more like an elephant." She grinned back.
"You know what big feet mean…" He quipped.
"Oh, why does every conversation go straight down the gutter with you?" Cuddy asked annoyed.
House just shrugged. "It's part of my charm."
Cuddy sighed and threw one of her many pillows at him. "Go to sleep." She whispered as she lay down and turned her lamp off.
"I'm not tired Cuddy." She heard from the darkness.
She shook her head with a smile. He never knew when to shut up, but she wouldn't want him any other way. They'd been friends since junior high; one day he sat next to her in biology and he hasn't stopped bothering her since. His nightly visits have become something of a routine for them. Mostly he came because his father wouldn't let him in the house, but every now and then he came over with a black eye, or a bloody nose. Those were the only nights Greg kept quiet. Thankfully tonight wasn't one of them.
"Well I'm tired, so go to sleep."
"I need a blanket." He whispered from the floor.
"Go and get one, you know where they are." Cuddy answered without opening her eyes.
Her eyes shot open when she felt her own blanket being tugged off of her.
"Greg!" She said a little louder than she should have, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She listened intently for any sign that her parents, or worse, her sister had heard her. When she heard nothing she breathed out a sigh of relief.
"God Cuddy, you worry too much."
"And you don't worry enough." She said pulling the blanket out of his grasp and tucking it under herself.
House groaned as he lifted himself off the floor. He tip toed to her closet and grabbed an extra blanket.
"You are so lazy." Cuddy admonished, smiling at him in the dark.
"Hey, I had to walk all the way here from my house." House said pretending to be offended.
"Yeah, all two blocks." Cuddy giggled, unable to hold it in.
House lay back down on the floor next to her bed and tried to get comfortable. Cuddy propped herself up on one elbow and looked over the side. She could barely make out his lanky frame, but she could see the moonlight shine in his beautiful blue eyes. Cuddy couldn't help but get lost in those blue orbs sometimes.
"Don't you think you should tell someone…about your father?" She asked gently, knowing he wouldn't appreciate the question.
"Forget about it. I'm fine." House said quickly, wanting this conversation to end.
"This is abuse, Greg. He could get arrested."
"It's not abuse, he just…likes things the way he likes them." He reasoned.
"Kicking your son out of the house to sleep outside? Giving him a black eye? None of those things are abusive?" Cuddy felt her anger rise at the thought of House's father. She knew he didn't tell her everything that went on and she could only imagine the sort of things Greg had to put up with.
"It doesn't happen that often. And what would I accomplish by telling someone? Either I tell and everyone thinks I'm lying, or I tell and he goes to jail and I break my mother's heart. Neither of those scenarios sound appealing to me." House said somberly, leaving Cuddy no room for argument.
"Besides," He added lightly. "If he stopped kicking me out, I'd have no excuse to come bother you."
"You don't need an excuse to bother me, you know that." Cuddy said without hesitation.
"Thanks Cuddy." He smiled.
To House, Cuddy's house felt more like home than his own. He'd probably go crazy if he didn't have her house to hideout in while the old man was home from assignment. Wilson lived too far to walk to in the middle of the night, so she was all he had.
Cuddy smiled into her pillow happy she could offer him a safe place to stay, knowing he appreciated it more then he admitted. She lay down and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her. Suddenly the blanket she was snuggled under gently slid out of her loose grip toward the floor. Her eyes flew open once more.
"Greg!"