Cheerio!

I've been avoiding this fic like the plague, I must adimt. My bad. I have like (roughly) 255645956 fic ideas that I want to write down but I never do cause I feel guilty about SBM and then I just end up resenting it.

I'm human.

I bajilion thanks to partypantscuddy who tortures herself, willingly, in a god forsaken way just so I can post this little story for your reading "pleasure".

I wrote this at 3am.

Alons-y, Alonzo!

Arriving at the place where she had once been practicing for cheering squad gave her the most pathetic nostalgia feeling ever.

Lisa Cuddy wasn't one of those women who just stood in front of the mirror pointing out every single flaw they thought blemished them before their eyes; no, she was a woman who knew how attractive she was, a woman who felt confident in her own shoes, confident enough to squash any man who dared stand between her and her goals. Just ask Dr. Ramsey, the poor unfortunate soul who had the misfortune of being her only competition for her current job.

But this was high school.

This was acne and puberty. Sneak outs and make outs. Jocks and dorks. All over again.

Ugh.

As she walked across the lobby, the flashes from years ago kept rushing through her eyes, making it difficult not to stumble forward and fall flat faced on the floor. How she wished that it was just one of the hospital's fundraisers, it would be so much easier to deal with horny little old men than it was with people you were once obliged to spend the most awkward years of your life with.

She was so not in the mood for this.

UGH.

An what was up with the décor? Now seriously, mixing purple and red is never a good idea. Never. And if you had glitter to the mix, you have yourself the worse possible combination in the world.

Speaking of horrible combinations, Cuddy was reminded of her high school nemesis, Lisa Cashmore. Now Lisa was the tackiest, trashiest version of Dolly Parton she'd ever had the delight to meet, and that was saying something. You know how sometimes you come across someone who's just the tiniest bit jealous of you and tries to obsessively beat you at everything you do? Well, multiply that for one hundred and you got yourself your own Lisa Cashmore. Seriously, Cuddy didn't consider herself to be a person that held a grudge against someone else, or to be vindictive for that matter, but if there was anyone in this world she'd like to smash their teeth in with a stapler, it was Cashmore.

…and the bitch just had to have a similar name to hers.

Ugh.

Cuddy had to admit that at some point in her life, she had actually thought she was one of her best friends.

Cringe.

How deluded was she back then? She thanked God every day she had matured enough to realize that leaving under Lisa Cashmore's radar was insane and possibly mentally damaging.

Ugh.

There she was, standing next to a rather handsome and successful doctor with ravishing blue eyes, looking rather dashing in a designer dress herself, but still feeling like an awkward teenager walking into high school for the first time.

"You ready, mistress?" House spoke, in his best Sean Connery impersonation.

"Yeah…" Cuddy didn't really want to push the doors open, oh no. It was like walking into a slaughter house willingly! And who the hell, in their right mind, would walk themselves into a slaughter house wearing Valentino for heaven's sake?

UGH.

As the two doors slid open and House and Cuddy stepped inside the gym, every head turned to them.

"This is going to be fun" House commented, amused by the reaction they were getting from people; he'd promised Cuddy he'd be on his best behavior but that didn't mean he couldn't at least have some fun.

Cuddy was trying to look as confident as possible, scanning the room for familiar faces. She looked around and immediately spotted one of the few people that made it worth putting up with this reunion altogether.

Silvia Facinelli.

If anyone knew any embarrassing stories about her it was Silvia. They used to be best friends in high school and they still got along pretty well afterwards. Cuddy didn't have that many friends now, she used to be quite the popular girl back then, but now, she realized that she was okay with having just a few people in her life that she knew she could always count on. Thinking back to all those times in her life when she was in need of support, Silvia would always be there for her, even if they hadn't called for months or hadn't actually seen each other in years, she'd always come.

"Woah, that was quite an entrance!" Silvia spoke as she joined House and Cuddy.

"It's so good to see you!" Cuddy was genuinely happy to see her friend, the last time they'd spoken to each other, Silvia called saying she was moving to Paris and that was 6 months ago.

"It's good to see you too, Lisa" Silvia reciprocated the hug, shifting her attention towards House, she said "And I see you brought Limpy McGrumpy with you!" she winked "How nice!"

"Oh, go hump a tree, Silvia!"

House and Silvia would rather chop something off than admit that they actually liked each other. They would always be at each other's throats, no matter the situation, and they both enjoy every minute of their school yard fights.

Silvia had always been very passionate about the things she believed and stood for. She was a vegetarian ever since Cuddy could remember (hence the hump a tree comment), she loved music, art and could quote Shakespeare by heart. She was different from everybody and that's what made her special.

"Always so nice, Dr. House."

"Part of my charm."

They were both smirking at each other and Cuddy didn't know if she was annoyed or amused by the two "adults" in front of her.

"Anyway.." Silvia started making her way to the bar, with Cuddy and House following willingly after her ".. is this place the epitome of shabby or what? I can't say I'm surprised Cashmore was the one who came up with this."

Oh yes, Silvia hated Lisa Cashmore too.

"I didn't know she'd be the one organizing the reunion."

"C'mon Lisa, her ego needs stroking every once in a while" Silvia grinned.

"Oh God, is it girl trash talk time?" House asked with the usual whiney voice "If I knew this was going to happen I would have brought Wilson…"

"Missing the boyfriend already, Greggy?"

House shuddered, looking at Silvia with a murderous stare, sometimes, Cuddy didn't know how she got away with the stuff she said to him.

"First of all…" House started "… say Greggy again and I'll beat you. I don't usually hit women but I'll make an exception just for you. Secondly, I don't think I'm the one missing Jimmy here…"

Oh yes, Cuddy thought, Silvia and Wilson had had a thing going on between them when she was still living in Jersey, they didn't go out for long but they really seem to like each other. Unfortunately, they broke up once Silvia got the change to work for a Theatre Company in London, leaving a puppy eyed Wilson and a $50 poorer House behind.

Lost within her mind, Cuddy quickly tuned off the pointless argument happening between the world's most childish adults. Seriously, once those two were at it, you were in for at least thirty minutes of unbearable ennui.

Looking around, trying to guess who was who, Cuddy spotted Lisa Cashmore gracing the room with her presence, arm in arm with…

GEORGE SMITH?!

She probably said that out loud cause House and Silvia both looked at her like she was some kind of a psycho.

"Woah there, Cuddy!" House moved towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Holy shit! Is that Lisa Cashmore and George Smith?!" This time it was Silvia's turn to get dazed by the, apparent, hit couple of the night.

"Seriously you need to stop-"

House scrunched his face and closed his eyes as Silvia's screechy voice rang inside his head.

"Can you believe the nerve of that creature? Lisa, if you want to repeatedly stab her in the eye, I'll gladly provide with an alibi. And a fork."

House was stunned to silence , for reals! Gregory House was out of words. He was caught up in the dark side of the feminine world with absolutely no idea how to get out of that scary and bottomless pit of doom.

"Omg, Lisa Cuddy is that really you?"

It took every bit of self control in Cuddy for her not to punch that woman in the face, everything about her annoyed the crap outta her, even her breathing did a number on her.

With the best smile she could come up with, Cuddy let herself be embraced by the person she was mentally murdering inside her head.

"It's really me…" Cuddy said with a sigh, looking at her, trying to find something she could compliment on without feeling like she was insulting her own personal taste "Lisa Cashmore… wow… nice… to see you."

Who the hell was she kidding? There was absolutely nothing on that woman she could possibly compliment, and even if there was, Cuddy's inner teenager was reminding her of the girl code to high school survival: Rule no. 87 - 'Anything your enemy ( slash girl who's being a bitch to you and that you absolutely hate) is wearing or doing is hideous. You see that girl sporting the purse you were eyeing at the mall? Now you hate it.' It was childish to think that way but Cuddy just couldn't help it.

"Oh, it's Lisa Cashmore-Smith now…"

Oh Lord, she hyphened her name. Who does that?!

"… George and I got married after college…"

She went to college? Now there's something shocking.

"… we just couldn't live without each other! Oh and who's this…?" Lisa's attention was drawn to House, who was now standing next to Cuddy, observing the interaction between the two women.

"Gregory House, Dr." He introduced himself, shaking Lisa's hand.

Cashmore, or should I say Cashmore-Smith, seemed legitimately impressed by the blue eyed man, something that gave Cuddy that awesome sense of pride you get from someone else's jealousy.

"Nice to meet you, doctor." She grinned at Cuddy "Now I know why you were so keen on going to med school."

Breath in, breath out Lisa… you can do this.

Long story short: Cuddy and George dated in high school, he was the captain of the football team, who believed he'd someday provide for his stay at home wife and kids, she was the ambitious cheerleader who wanted a career and a life. Needless to say they broke up once Cuddy went to med school, but rumor has it Lisa had long since spoiled George's ideas with rumors about Cuddy, we'll get to that later. So, yeah, you get the picture.

"Oh hey Lisa Cuddy, I never thought you'd come back" George finally made his appearance after re-bonding with the two cronies that used to follow him around like idiots.

"Now dear, it's Lisa House now…" She grinned, looking at her husband and trying to fix a few messy locks of his hair, clearly showing a bit too much intimacy just to piss Cuddy off.

"Actually, we're not married, it's still just Lisa Cuddy… Dr. Lisa Cuddy." She corrected.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just deduced you were married… "

House was still just a bystander, admiring Cuddy's self-control over Cashmore-Smith's jabs. He finally stepped up, after deciding that bailing Cuddy out of jail wasn't something he'd look forward to.

He extended his arm to George, not before putting his arm around Cuddy's waist.

Who knew he'd be the one being polite tonight? Oh the things you do for love… and gratitude sex…

"Dr. Gregory House, pleased to meet you." Not only did he put a little too much strength into the handshake, he also added an intsy bitsy touch of sarcasm to his voice.

"George Smith, the ex-boyfriend."

House could swear Cuddy was on the verge of a stroke, he could feel all her muscles tense under his palm.

Thankfully Silvia, who had been watching from afar, joined the group, and not being someone who particularly enjoyed formalities, stepped in the conversation.

"So Lisa, I see you're still the bitch I knew and loved. How's life treating you?" she sipped on her lemon vodka.

Cashmore rolled her eyes, she obviously wasn't amused by Silvia's comment .

"Silvia, how wonderful you're here. Too bad you didn't change since last time." glares were exchanged and then she added "Well, George honey, we should get to the other guests.. I'll see you later."

The couple excused themselves, leaving the trio behind.

"Geroge, honey…" Silvia mocked with her best snotty house wife voice "we should get to the other guests…" She snorted "Acting like this is her personal ball or something…"

Cuddy and House looked at each other amused, thankful for Silvia's not so cheerful personality.

"… I'll tell where she can shove her ego…"

Cuddy took Silvia by the hand, leading her to their table "C'mon..."

This was supposed to be wa(aaaaaa)y longer but I took pity on you. Next chapter, who is halfway written btw, (leave it to my muse to grace me with her presence AFTER school starts) I'll give away a very good hint about Cuddy's secret. Any guesses?

Oh and, 4 reviews on the last chapter? stawp it u guise ur overwhelming me with luv.

Ps: cookies for the people that guess how much of my high school experience in in this. Hint: I really, really hate a certain someone's parents for having an impeccable good taste in names.