Chapter 4

Hell on Earth

As I was coming up from a fretful sleep, which included dreams of Gregory House harassing me, I felt as if someone was in my bedroom. So when I opened my eyes, I sat straight up and looked around. Sitting at the bottom of my bed was Gregory House with a piece of cake on a plate. Susan's friend, Matilda, had brought the intricately decorated devil's food cake over for dessert.

"Jesus Christ!" I instinctively put my arms over my breasts.

"You do know that you're fully dressed? Although I must admit the cleavage is a nice touch."

"What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"Sitting on your bed eating a piece of cake."

"You know full well what I'm talking about."

"I just came in to get away from that Matilda Kosinsky." He pretended to shudder. "Brrrr. She's a big flirt. Normally I like that in a woman, but she's too intense to really appreciate my delicate nature. I figured no one will bother to look for me in here."

"But there's only six people out there. Aren't they bound to notice that the great Gregory House is missing?" I don't know why I didn't just scream or throw him out right away, but I was curious as to what could possibly be his logic for leaving a small dinner party to come and sit on my bed.

He shrugged as if he didn't care and then used his fork to cut off a bite, offering it to me. I was struck by how handsome he was, more handsome than when I was a resident despite the fact that he was definitely older with wrinkles around his eyes and even deeper wrinkles on his forehead. His gorgeous brown hair had thinned into a dark gray and silver with just a hint of the old brown that used to grace his head in his youth. He had a long face with a nose that fit perfectly, but had been broken near the bridge at some point in his life, giving him a slightly flat spot and a questionable reputation. Everyone always commented on his gorgeous eyes; they were big, blue and capable of piercing your very soul. On the other hand, his eyes were also cold and spiteful. I wasn't as impressed with his eyes as I was with his body. It was long, lanky and even with the awkward limp, somewhat graceful. I had to admit that if it weren't attached to Gregory House's brain, it would be just my type.

"I wouldn't eat anything off the same fork as you if you offered me a night with George Clooney."

"George Clooney? Well you're no Jennifer Lopez, are you?"

"Would you leave?"

"Sure. I just wanted to see if the brat had matured into a bitch. Looks like she did."

"Fuck off. Just get out of here."

"There's the spirit! I knew the bitch would come out if I encouraged her. Didn't take much, did it?"

I clenched my teeth and was about to scream when all of a sudden he jumped up and hobbled out. Around eleven I heard the last of the voices leave and within minutes Susan was sitting where Gregory House had been.

"He's quite a character, isn't he?" She said with an almost teenage glee.

I sat up and stared at her soberly. "He's a dangerous jerk. A real pig. Don't go getting any ideas about him. Do you understand?"

She grimaced. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. What happened was ages ago. You have to admit that men change."

"Not that one." I stopped and watched her smile to herself. "Oh my God! You like him?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to putting us in the same sentence together, but he's the most interesting person I've met so far in Princeton. He's supposed to be some medical Sherlock Holmes, a real genius—absolutely brilliant."

"I don't care if he's Einstein; you can't get involved with him. You'll regret it. I'll regret it." I could see that my warnings were like pissing in the wind-she wasn't listening. I realized that I had walked into my own version of hell. Not only was I going to work with this man, but he lived two floors below me and more than likely he was going to be sniffing around my best friend. I was screwed.

"Tell me about him."

"I just did. He's the devil incarnate." I kept shaking my head, hoping that by doing so my warning would get through.

"Oh you do exaggerate. What did you think of James?"

"Handsome. Nice. Too nice for you to be interested in him."

Susan gave me one of her naughty grins and then flopped herself down on the bed, head on the pillow. "I was thinking that James might be up your alley."

"I kinda fancied Michael."

We both started rolling with laughter.