A/N: Sorry it took so long for an update, guys. I couldn't think of anywhere to take this story. And I know that some of it is AU. Please bare with me on this. : I hope this was worth the wait. Review and tell me what you think about it.

Grounded again. But for much longer this time. Not that it was a record or anything. Three months. He was to stay in his room unless, again, he was going to the bathroom. Under no circumstance was he allowed to talk on the phone or watch television. His food was to be brought to him in his room, and all entertainment sources besides books had been taken out of his room and locked in the garage. Oh, fun. Luckily he had a very impressive collection of novels in his room ranging from medical mysteries to complete fantasy.

Greg's door had been slammed and locked about two hours ago, and the teen was now pacing around his room. He knew that his father, he refused to call that man 'dad,' even in his own thoughts, was being transfered soon. Within a month, possibly. You see, John House was a military man who was always moving his family. That was why the House family was in France at the current moment. He knew that the punishment would carry over, there was no doubt about that, but it was possible that he could claim that he needed to see where the teachers were in their teaching, learn some new stuff, and possibly even learn the layout of the school after it was over. Once they moved, of course.

They were going to the United States this time. New Jersey, to be exact. Greg had been there quite a few times and it was easily his favorite of all the countries he had been to. It was better to live in, in his opinion. Both of his parents had been born and raised in America. He, on the other hand, had been born in Italy, though he wasn't one bit Italian. The family had moved four months later.

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House had been right when he had guessed about a month until the move. How did he celebrate his last day at his French school? He had skipped the whole day, without being caught, and gone to sit by a deserted lake, just thinking; clearing his head. He had walked home lone, as he always did, to find the few things in his room had been packed up. That was the first time in quite a while that the boy had been welcome to join his parents for dinner, which was take out. They were on a plane that night for New Jersey.

Greg had 'somehow' managed to be about five rows away from his parents on the plane. Actually, he had found someone who was on the same flight as he was who was traveling alone and asked to switch tickets. They had agreed easily enough, not really asking any questions. Even though John had been pissed, he had chosen to let the subject slide for once in his life.

Greg took his seat, finally glad to be out from under the hawk-like eyes of his father. He asked the flight attendant for coke, and he was given a glass bottle. He took a drink, not really paying attention to who was sitting next to him. The seats were three wide, two isles of them. He was currently seated in the middle, and there was no one to the right of him. This being so, he scooted himself over a seat, the middle seat left open for more spare space for both passengers in the row.

When the 'fasten seatbelts' signal came on, Greg took his first real observant look at his surroundings. He had been expecting someone much older to be sitting next to him. Most of the time when he traveled to different countries and was in a different row than his parents, or just on the other isle, he was always next to someone who was at least thirty five years old. To his surprise, it was somebody very close to his own age. The boy had somewhat short, brown hair that fell a little passed his eyebrows, which were a tad thick. He was reading a pretty large book, which Greg saw was on a medical topic. "Cancer? We're on an extremely long plane ride, and you brought a book on cancer?" House questioned the boy he didn't know. It may have sounded a bit harsh, but that was the way Greg House was.

The boy looked up, looking into his bright blue orbs with his own brown ones. He gave him a look that showed he really hadn't noticed him before, and then his glance moved downward. "My mother recently died from it, and I'm looking into it for a career, possibly. Or at least something medical related." He explained, not making eye contact with Greg. House kind of felt bad for bring it up now, but he didn't show it. He had learned long ago to hide his emotions when it came to other people.

Half an hour into the trip the boy had put the book down and began humming a tin. A tune that House himself recognized. "It don't mean a thing..." House muttered under his breath alone with the humming. The boy turned his head to look at him, clearly surprised. Most teens their age only knew of songs by The Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix. It was rare to find someone who knew any swing tunes. House listened to all kinds of music, though. Pretty much anything he could get his hands on, he would listen to it. Music had been his escape many times while sitting in his room.

"I'm James." the boy introduced himself, deciding that it would be a much more enjoyable plane ride if there was someone to talk to, even if the guy could have been something of a jerk, it seemed. James had been around jerks quite a few times, and had learned to deal with them.

Greg looked the kid over, as if deciding whether he should tell this James his name or not. "Jimmy it is. The name's Greg..."