Chapter 4

House sat patiently waiting on the couch. His eyes were closed, an evil little smirk on his face. He checked his watch again; it had already been 25 minutes. What was taking her so long? Just then, there was a knock at the door.

House made his way to door to answer it. He walked surely, but slowly, still sore from the surgery. He opened the door to find Cameron, looking concerned and somewhat annoyed at the same time. It was face House had often seen from her, usually pointed in his direction.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Your neighbor called to say you fell, and she wanted me to check in on you. Are you okay? Is it your leg? The ketamine isn't wearing off already, is it?" She questioned him, searching his face for a clue to how he was feeling.

"My neighbor?" House made his way back to the couch, hoping Cameron would follow. She did. House smirked to himself; she was so predictable, he thought. "What neighbor would that be dear?" House asked, feigning the voice of an older British woman. "I didn't think any of Dr. House's neighbors would care if something happened to him?" He turned around, his eyes full of childish glee.

Cameron looked stunned. She couldn't believe she fell for that. How gullible can you get, she thought. And what's worse, he knew he could get me. How am I ever going to get through these next few weeks, she wondered to herself.

Cameron turned and gave him her best dirty look. She should be disgusted with him, but somehow, all she could see were those gorgeous blue eyes, looking directly at her. It was so hard to stay mad when he looked her right in the eye like that, she just couldn't help herself.

"House, you ruined my date. How can you be so, so…" she searched for the right word, all the while trying to maintain her anger under his piercing blue gaze.

"Clever?" House offered.

"Mean," she said softly. She wasn't really angry with House anymore, she was angry with herself. Once again, she'd let him suck her in. She'd spent the last year trying so hard to get over him, and with just three phone calls she was dumping her date and rushing over to his apartment to make sure he was okay. Why did she let him have so much power over her?

House looked at her carefully. She seemed genuinely upset. That wasn't exactly what he was going for. He hadn't wanted her to get angry, he just wanted her to be thinking about him. He'd hurt her feelings, again, and now he wasn't sure what to say.

"What can I say, that's just the type of guy I am." He shot at her. He didn't want her to know he was second guessing himself now that she was really upset. Better to let her think he really was a jerk, through and through. If she got the sense he actually had any feelings at all, she'd never give up and let him go.

Cameron hung her head, defeated. She was beginning to suspect he was telling the truth, and there really was no other side to Dr. Gregory House. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she didn't want him to have the satisfaction of watching her cry over him again. She turned, but not quickly enough. He saw her eyes glistening with tears, and turned away. This wasn't how this was supposed to go at all. He was just bored, and needed something to occupy his mind. Now she was crying. Maybe he really had lost all ability to relate to other people. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn't make the words come out. She spoke first.

"If you're really fine, I'll just go home. Torture Wilson the next time you're bored." She walked out, not once looking back.