A/N- So this chapter has been about two months overdue, and I sincerely apologize for the wait. I've been so busy with school and college prep and...well, other things....that I haven't had the time to type this up. Well, I did now! :D I just hope that you guys are happy with this chapter and think that it was worth the wait. Believe me, I worked HARD on this chapter to make up for the hiatus I had to put you guys through :/ So here it is! Chapter Seven in its completion!!! :D

*For those of you who care: The little bit of lyrics in the middle is to Carrie Underwood's "Wasted" :)

When you drive in silence, your mind tends to wander. Actually, it's probably safe to say that anything done in silence allows your mind to be set free. Now, when you're a man in that position, it isn't necessarily a good thing.

As Chase drove, his mind did just that. He found himself in an alternate world, where House was inviting him out not because he needed to vent....but because he wanted to be with him. He imagined what could have happened between them, had Wilson not woken up delusional from that surgery.

But...who was to say that House would be happier with Chase? What if it would've been the same--or worse?

It didn't matter. House was in love with Wilson, there was no doubt in his mind. It was his heart that refused to accept it.

He pulled up in front of the familiar building for the second time that day, significantly more confused and frustrated with himself than he'd been the first time. He held his phone, ready to text House and let him know he was there, when his heart gave him an idea that made his cheeks glow with embarrassment. It was a smart plan, he had to admit. Definitely something that could be done. The question was: was Chase the kind of man that could pull it off?

A rapping sound on his window shook him out of his trance. He unlocked the door and watched House climb in quickly and slam the door shut. "You okay?" he asked worriedly, not surprised at all when House shot him a dirty look. "Sorry, standard question."

"Just drive," he answered, sounding much angrier than he'd been not even twenty minutes ago.

Chase knew better than to push the issue. He put his car in drive and pulled away slowly. Perhaps it was his guilt at falling in love with a man who loved another, or maybe his fantasy world was beginning to leak into his reality, but he could've sworn a very depressed Wilson had run out of the lobby with tears in his eyes.

He hated himself for doing it, but he sped up and got out of there as quickly as his car would let him. He hated himself even more when his heart jumped with excitement at the realization that he had House, not Wilson. For once in his life, House wanted to be with him.

Wait a second....

"I thought you said Wilson had gone to the hospital to do surgery." He spoke the words as delicately as he could. House looked ready to either break into hysterical tears or to throw a tantrum.

"I know what I said!" he snapped. He took a deep breath and it seemed to the blonde man that he was fighting back tears. "He...got one of his underlings to do it for him. Said that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be so...he could come home."

It broke his already shattered heart to ask, but he had to know. "Why?"

"He could tell I was going to do something," he said after a moment of quiet meditation. "He felt bad for running out on me...."

"So...why did he seem like he was crying? What happened?"

"We got into a fight. He didn't want me to see you, I didn't want to see him...It was..." He sighed, clearly struggling to speak.

"It's okay," Chase said softly. His whole body was screaming. He wanted to hold him close and tell him that it was going to be alright. He longed to kiss away those tears on his face, even to hold his hand. Anything to take his pain away.

Just as he was thinking this, House's cellphone began to ring, and the broken-hearted diagnostician did something that Chase would never forget. He rolled the window down and threw it into a bush.

"Wha-!!"

"Don't worry, it'll be there when we come back," House assured him quietly. He leaned his head back against the seat and sighed. "So what are we going to eat?"

"Do you know what you want?" he asked, already with an idea in mind. He was still a bit shocked that he had really thrown his phone away like that, but he knew better than to let it show.

"Not pasta." He rubbed his eyes. "I could go for a drink, though."

Chase laughed. "I was thinking burgers."

"Mmm....a nice juicy cheeseburger with a tall beer?" He smiled at the thought. "I like the way you think."

Chase smiled happily. That had to be the most beautiful smile in the world....

"How can you drive in silence?" House asked suddenly. "Is your radio broken or something?"

The younger man laughed again. "No, it isn't broken." He pressed a button on the steering wheel and the radio came to life.

I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting
To wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by wasted
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin', missin'
The still of the morning, the color of the night
I ain't spending no more time wasted

Chase's heart began to race. It was almost as if it was telling him this was yet another reason to follow through with the idea. He certainly didn't want to let all of this time be wasted...but House was still in love with another! What could he possibly do, if he really wanted to?

He could feel his heart protesting, but it just had to accept that House could never be his! It was obvious he was meant for Wilson, as badly as that hurt him. He wished he hadn't let those chances he'd had go to waste, but it wasn't like he could go back and do it over.

"You planning on getting out?" House grinned, knocking on Chase's window from the other side, breaking him from another trance.

"Oh yeah." He smiled as he turned the car off and got out. "This is one of my favorite places to eat."

"Greeeeeat," he teased, making his way to the door.

Chase found himself smiling warmly. It was crazy to think that the man he had hated for so long would end up being the person he so desperately needed, yet here they were, and he needed him more than anyone knew.

"There's a club attached to this place?" House asked, pointing at the sign that said: "EVERY NIGHT! 9PM-2AM! BRING A PARTNER! DANCE 'TILL YOU DROP!!"

Chase laughed. "No. It's....well, see for yourself!"

The two walked inside and were met by a tall, tattooed girl with a brilliant smile. "Welcome to Joni's Grill and Groove Diner! I'm Allison and I'll be your waitress for this evening. Would you like to eat or get your groove on first?"

House was grinning. "I like it here already."

"We'll eat first." Chase smiled at House.

"Okay, will you two be drinking tonight?"

"Yes!" House answered quickly.

Allison smiled. "Great!" She put blue neon wristbands around their wrists and picked up two menus. "Follow me, please."

Once they were seated, first round of drinks in hand, Allison handed them their menus and smiled again. "I'll be back shortly for your order."

House downed half of his mug. "Ah, that's good stuff. So!" He leaned forward on his elbows and smiled at him.

"What?" Chase smiled back, trying to hide how nervous the man was making him.

"Are we going to dance later? Because it would be a real shame to come here and not take advantage of everything that's available."

There was something in House's piercing blue eyes that made Chase's heart race like mad. "I-I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Damn, Chase was in deep trouble. His mind had gone on a rampage, while his heart remained calm, almost as if it knew something that the rest of him didn't.... He wasn't going to ask why--it was the only thing that kept him from losing his cool.

Before long, they had ordered their food and House was working on his second drink. Chase's remained untouched as he stared off, travelling to his fantasy world while he listened to his boss' rambling. He nodded in all the right places, but he honestly wasn't paying much attention.

"Do you want to dance?"

Chase blinked, immediately being pulled back from his daydream. Had that been in his head, or did House really just ask him to dance? "What?"

"We have some time before the food comes." House stood up and smiled softly. "Come on, it's better than having to pretend you're listening," he added sarcastically.

Chase blushed a little. "Okay."

What was the worst that could happen? It was just dancing. Besides, this place had never played anything but fast-paced dance music, so he had nothing to lose. Even if his heart was racing....

As luck would have it, the moment the two stepped onto the dance floor, the intercom came on. "Hey, everyone!" Allison's voice rang through the air. "We're going to slow things down a bit. Today, for those of you who don't know, is Joni and Lexa's fifteen-year anniversary! So they're going to share a very special dance and invite all of you couples to join them!"

"...Lexa sounds like-"

"Yeah, she's a female. They're lesbians." Chase paused, then took a step back.

"Getting cold feet?" House teased.

We aren't a couple. The young man blushed hotly, then shook his head. "No. I just...wasn't sure if..."

"I may as well get used to the attention." He smiled and led his partner out onto the dance floor. He gently held Chase's waist and smiled a bit awkwardly. "This isn't so bad."

"That's because I'm so far away from you." He smiled nervously as he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around his neck. "I should be here."

Now it was House's turn to blush. "Oh..."

As they danced, Chase realized something that made his heart leap. Either House was seriously wasted already (which was unlikely--he'd only had two drinks, and this was House), or...he really did like being with him.

He mustered every ounce of confidence he had, as he'd done earlier, and kissed him tenderly on the lips. To his surprise, House didn't pull away. In fact...he kissed him back!

Chase was smiling when he pulled away. "Your heart is racing," he said softly.

House smiled back. "So is yours."

Wilson had never hurt this badly because of House. When he wasn't crying, he was cleaning everything so that he wouldn't cry. It hurt him that they'd been so awful to each other. He hated seeing that vulnerable broken spirit within House's eyes. But most of all...he hated watching Chase drive away with his man.

Since when had those two been so close, anyway? Didn't they hate each other?

"I must be crazy about him," Wilson said, laughing sadly as he laid down on the couch again. "I'm getting jealous...of Chase! Of all people...why him?"

Unfortunately, no amount of convincing from his brain would stop his frightened heart from racing, nor the tears that fell from his already red eyes...

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Chase smiled as they climbed back into the car.

"Actually, yes. The food was definitely worth the wait."

Chase couldn't help but laugh. "Just the food? That's all you liked?"

"Well, no." House grinned. "I can't believe you actually had the guts to take me to a gay bar!" As he said that, he burst into laughter. "And I actually enjoyed myself too! I don't know which one is worse!"

The adorable blonde man laughed harder. "You needed to loosen up. I didn't want you so upset anymore." He smiled as he started the car. "I wanted to help."

House stopped laughing, but he still had a soft smile. "I knew you would. I think Wilson did too, that's why he let me go."

Chase's hands tightened around the steering wheel. Him again. He felt his heart crumbling to pieces as he pulled away, feeling his dreams and fantasy being torn from him and left behind.

What was it about Wilson that had House so hung up on him anyway? What did Wilson have that he didn't? Boyish charm? Chase had that in surplus! Age? So what? Chase was taller, smarter, more interesting.....and come on, he didn't need some surgery to awaken his hidden feelings! So what the hell?

There was no doubt in his mind that he was the better kisser of the two as well. Plus he had a sexy accent! Did Wilson have a sexy accent? Of course not!

Chase looked at House when they'd reached the bush that concealed his phone and he smiled. House had totally passed out.

His mind was made up. After retrieving his phone, not surprised at all to find twelve missed calls from Wilson, Chase stuck it in his coat pocked and sped off once more.

He was smiling like crazy when they stopped again, this time with no intention of leaving for the night. He turned off the car and looked at the man beside him. This time, his head was screaming at his heart, telling thim that his heart was tricking him, playing him for a fool! This would ruin everything he had worked so hard to create! Besides, House loved Wilson! It could never work, and Chase SOOO wasn't the kind of man that could pull it off! He was too damn nice!!!

For the first time ever, his heart remained calm. It's better than having him go back to Wilson and having another screaming match, or hurting more because of him. He chose to be with him tonight, to avoid that pain. He chose not to be with the man he was in love with! That had to count for something, right?

He got out and carefully opened House's door. "House," he said softly. No response. "...Greg." He gently shook the sleeping man.

"Huh?" He sat up straight, blinking hard to try to wake himself up.

"We're here."

Chase slowly helped him to the door. Once there, he took out his key and unlocked it.

House staggered inside, then paused as he took in his surroundings. "Wait...this isn't my place."

Chase closed the door gently and locked it. "It is tonight." He walked slowly towards House, giving him plenty of time to run if he wanted to.

He didn't.

The blonde smiled almost seductively as his arms snaked around his waist. As both of their hearts began to race, Chase moved closer and, feeling much more confident than before, kissed House passionately.

Another first happened at that moment. Both men, as different as they were, had the same thought: This was going to change everything.

And the night...had only just begun.

A/N- Just curious, how many of you made the connection when they commented on their racing hearts? If you didn't, go back to Chapter 5 :) I thought it would be cute to add that in again, but it's no fun if no one notices...haha.

Next time: Now, it doesn't take a psychic to figure out what the next chapter will consist of. What you don't know, however, is the drama that occurs as a result, or how said...activity...affects everyone involved in this little love triangle of mine.

I hope to have the next chapter up soon!! :D Plus, with circumstances as juicy as these, who would want to wait? ;P