Author's Note: I finally managed to finsih this chapter and post it, so please enjoy. It's a bit humorous, but the story will get darker in coming chapters, if you haven't been able to gather that from the foreshadowing. Please, read and leave me a review, and keep an eye out for the next chapter.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They are merely my pawns, to be played with when I so wish in the world of fan fiction.
The next day, clouds hung low in the sky, and fog crept up the streets, bringing with them the reminder of what I had agreed to last night. That damn Game...utter stupidity. I chided myself for agreeing to play, resigned myself to the fact that I couldn't change what was already done, and headed for work. Upon arriving at the office, I was greeted by the sight of Cameron and Chase in a lip lock atop the table, and an immediate wave of nausea. God knows what had led to this, and I was perfectly content to leave it that way. I felt horrible breaking up their make-out session, but I took a deep breath and opened the door, entering as noisily as possible.
"Morning," I greeted them, getting no response. I rolled my eyes and pushed Chase's foot out of the way of an empty chair, dropping my stuff into it. "Good morning," I said more loudly, prodding Chase in the back this time for effect.
Neither of them seemed to care much that I was there, if they even noticed my existence at all. It took me another moment to realize why: the Game. The entire point, as Cameron had so kindly pointed out the night before, was to make people nervous, uncomfortable. If one of them gave up, he or she would lose, giving the winner bragging rights. I sighed. Utter stupidity.
I had to end this. As much as I hated to do it, I prodded Chase again, then began to rub his back, cringing the entire time, slowly moving into a shoulder massage. But hey, it worked. A moment later, Chase leaped from the table and sputtered, "What the hell are you doing?"
I shrugged, muttering something about how it was the only way I could get their attention, while Cameron just laughed and smiled. "That, my dear, is how you play the Nervous Game. Oh, and you just lost round one."
Chase's mouth dropped open, and he looked about to argue (or, maybe, ask for a rematch), but Cameron just laughed and flounced off to her seat. I followed her lead and took the seat next to her, while Chase slunk to the counter to get himself a cup of coffee. House entered a moment later, and the work day began. Unfortunately, I couldn't concentrate during the differential because Cameron's hand never left my knee. Finally, I shoved it off, only to feel her fingers trailing up my thigh not a second later. Oh jeez. I pushed her away again, and this time, she slid a note my way: You lose. Apparently, Cameron loved to win.
But I retaliated at lunchtime. We all headed down to the cafeteria for some food, and I found myself on line behind Cameron, waiting for food. I saw my opportunity as we came up to the dessert portion, and I leaned across her to grab a bowl, so my eyes were right at her chest. She didn't say anything, though, which I had expected. She remained silent, at least until I slapped her butt and said something about how great she looked in her outfit, or something to that effect. Now that got a response. A hard slap across the face, to be exact.
Only a few weeks later, this moment would seem trivial, but at the second, it hurt like hell. My cheek stung, and I bore the red mark of Cameron's wrath for the rest of the day, but it was worth it. I had obviously won this round.
And for the rest of the day, the none-too-subtle remarks and caresses continued. A "Hey, baby," here, a smart-assed, "Come here often?" there, and the Game got into full swing. Chase and I even got into a fake argument about who would get to fondle Cameron next...weird, I know. But what can I say? That's the Nervous Game for you.
Compared to the lunchtime "fun," however, the rest of the day passed relatively calmly. It wasn't until Chase and I swapped stories two days later that I found out about his run-in with Cameron in the lab. Honestly, it had began when she and I were in there running tests on the patient. I assumed the Game wouldn't get in the way of our work; I was wrong.
I was checking out the patient's blood under a microscope, on a hunch that the computer had screwed up the results. I don't remember what I found, but I do remember the feeling of Cameron's fingers being drawn across my shoulders. I shivered involuntarily and shook my head, but said nothing. I left a few minutes later, and the look on Cameron's face was priceless: a mix of frustration and near-rage. I didn't know she'd get that upset if she made an attempt and it was blatantly ignored.
Well, anyway, I wandered off, passing Chase in the hall. "You know where Cameron is?" he asked
I pointed in the direction I'd come from and replied, "In the lab. But I warn you: she's in a playful mood."
My response was met with a large grin as Chase took off for the lab. "That's the best mood to be in to play the Nervous Game."
Now, from here on out, I'm merely rewriting what was described to me. I apologize in advance if it gets too crude, but Chase was in quite an...interesting mood when he told me about the little encounter between him and Cameron. Apparently, after I spoke to him in the hall, Chase made his way to the lab. As he drew nearer to it, he could make out the first few strains of a song, and soon identified it as The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince's "Kiss." You know, "You don't have to be beautiful/to turn me on," and all that. Anyway, as he drew closer, the music grew louder, and he peered through the glass wall of the lab. His eyes widened.
Cameron had shed her lab coat and, staring into a microscope with her glasses still perched on her nose, she was bouncing along to the beat of the music, her hair swaying gently behind her. Then, she stepped away from the microscope to collect the results of one test or another from the printer across the room, dancing her way over. That was then she really let go, twirling and leaping and just having fun, for once in her life. That was also when Chase decided to make his grand entrance.
He opened the door and slid in, the music surprisingly loud once one had actually entered the room. He strolled over to Cameron, noting that what he assumed was her iPod was hooked up to a nearby computer, blasting Prince out of the small speakers. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she whirled in surprise, then smiled as he bowed formally and asked, "May I have this dance?"
She nodded, and they began to dance, both planning their respective next moves. Cameron put her plan of attack into action first, dancing closer and closer, pressing her body against his, and leaning in to kiss him. He gladly met her halfway, leaning down so their lips met. They continued swaying to the music, and laughed quietly as the kiss ended, both finding some unknown fact amusing. Perhaps they found the idea of them together funny, maybe the absurdity of the Nervous Game itself had finally dawned on them; the world will never know.
Whatever the case was, they stood together another moment, still locked in an embrace that any who passed the lab would notice. The song changed to something with a more demanding bass line and a quicker beat, and in Cameron's moment of hesitation, Chase grabbed the opportunity presented to him, bringing her to him again for another kiss and pinning her against the counter. Cameron was a bit stunned by the move, but she pushed his lab coat off his shoulders, and they kissed, and kissed, and kissed...and kissed. I apologize for the lack of detail, but I'd really rather not write more than is necessary for you to understand what was going on, if you catch the drift. But, moving on, after they more or less made out on the lab counter for a good five minutes or so, and neither seemed ready to give in, Chase decided to up the ante. And then, okay, well...he put his hand up her shirt. He says it was just to get one step closer to winning the Game, but honestly, he looked pretty damn excited as he told me this little tidbit of information.
But I digress. After numerous attempts at feeling her up, Chase was getting the feeling he had a chance of winning this round of the Game. Finally, as he fumbled with her bra, Cameron pushed Chase off her and readjusted her shirt. "I'm sorry, I just can't..."
Chase smirked at her. "Oh, but, my dear, that's how you play the Nervous Game," he replied, throwing her words back in her face. With one last kiss on the forehead, he strode out of the lab, leaving Cameron not angered, but smiling slightly. She was happy, not pissed, because we were finally getting the hang of the Game she loved.
Other than those few events, nothing very exciting happened the following day, as we continued to discreetly take part in our new favorite pastime. The Game seemed like fun, especially when all those included knew what they were doing and how to play well, and we continued this way for the entirety of Wednesday. But Wednesday evening, everything changed once more, and the Game transformed from a fun way of killing down time at work and screwing with each other, and became a much more fierce, emotionally-charged competition.