Chapter 3
"Ah! Dr Wilson and Dr House, I presume? My name's Claire Holden"
A tall girl was standing in wait for them. She held out a perfectly manicured hand as they approached. The girl quickly looked furtively over her shoulder before meeting their eyes. Wilson looked longingly into the depths of those sparkling pools of chocolate. Her ebony hair blew back in a fairytale way as the wind picked up.
Wilson shook her hand politely but House just ignored it and leant more heavily on his cane. The girl looked embarrassed as she appeared to decide it was because of his disability. Wilson knew better than that.
House was an open book to him. His moods were always pretty easy to read but only Wilson could tell what had triggered what mood. He was secretly honoured to be the only one who could read House that way. Right now House's mood was wary. House was rarely wary which meant there was something wrong that House couldn't yet put his finger on.
"Nice hair clip" Wilson commented nervously in an attempt to diffuse the tension
"Thank you. It's a lily, it was my birthday yesterday and my friend got it for me"
She blushed leading them up a path. She was as agile as a cat with every movement as lithe and fluid as a running stream. Her eyes deliberately avoiding Wilson's now. However, House still spotted the misty eyes she was now trying to hide between curtains of dark curls.
He wasn't surprised to see the expression of intrigue passing over Wilson's eyes. House watched as Wilson briefly analysed her obviously beautiful asthetics. A slight smile crept over his saintly face. In truth, despite Wilson's angelic features, he was not as innocent as he would have most believe. Women like Claire cued up because they fell for his Prince Charming act. House had never been fooled by it.
"You can stop eyeing what's-her-name up. She's got a boyfriend" House hissed in his ear
Wilson nearly jumped. He wasn't startled by House's gruff voice anymore but he would always be startled by how House could read his every thought. It made summoning up indignation a hell of a lot harder.
"I was not eyeing her up" he snapped
"Yeah and I'm Britney Spears" House replied sarcastically
"What makes you think she's got a boyfriend, anyway?" Wilson glanced at him suspiciously
"Did you look at the hairclip or did you just start complimenting it?" House rolled his eyes
"It's a lily hairclip, House, what more is there to notice?" Wilson rubbed his forehead
"The engraved L.D & C.H Forever with the added bonus of a massive heart around it" House grinned
"She said she got it from a friend. It could mean friends forever" Wilson replied defensively
"She told you that because she's already won over by your womanizing ways. That and the person she's dating isn't someone she wants everyone to know about. Nobody gets forever engraved if it's just for a friend. If it was a friend it would be a friendship bracelet"
The sad truth was that House was probably right. Regardless of whether her lover was a secret or not, Wilson wouldn't go there. She was about five years younger than him. Early twenties, maybe? She was undeniably very attractive. Despite her flirtatious eyes Wilson agreed that it was impossible for someone as beautiful as Claire Holden to be unattached.
