requested ficlet: medschool!House for dr_hair
Through Rose Tinted Glasses [784 words]
East Lansing, MI -- August, 1982
"Come on, Greg. Do it."
"Yeah, Greg. We know you can sing it."
"Yeah, man. Just do it."
Three faces are staring at him over bottles of beer, and House just shakes his head and takes another sip of his own. "No way in hell."
"Not even if we pay you?"
"Yeah, man. We'll pay you."
"We will?"
House looks at his three best friends -- and bandmates -- and just laughs. "You've got to be shitting me. You think you're serious."
Crandall smirks. "We are serious. C'mon, it'll be like...one last hurrah. You get up there and front."
"Uh, I play keys. You sing and play guitar." House points his bottle at the other two young men at the table. "And you play drums, and you play bass. I do not sing."
"You can though," His drummer pipes up. "C'mon, Greg. One song. You're the only one who can pull it off."
"You mean I'm the only one with the balls to do it." He snorts and runs his hand up into his shaggy mop of dark hair. "Not happening. There are actually attractive girls here, tonight, in case you were all too busy drooling over the girl taking tickets." House eyes the crowd, watching the other warm up band working through a set. "I'm not going to make an ass of myself."
There's a look between all the other men, and a few minutes later, three hundred dollars is set on the table in front of their keyboarder. "C'mon, Greg."
"You can do it, man."
"The ladies will love it."
House protests with a growl and then snatches the money up before they can take it away. "We'll see."
+++
A little over two hours later, House takes in a deep breath as he leaves his spot behind his trusty keyboard, shooting daggers at his friends with his eyes as he reaches for his jacket and removes it, tossing it aside. That gets him a cheer from the ladies in the crowd and he just shakes his head and chuckles, tapping against the mic.
He covers it and then looks behind him at his friends. They're all grinning like fools and he knows why, so he just rolls his eyes, mutters 'what the fuck' under his breath, and then turns his back to the crowd and nods, closing his eyes.
The opening strain of the guitar makes him cringe but he doesn't falter, just slips on a pair of rose colored sunglasses and turns around, grabbing the mic and launching into the words of the song.
I was justified, when I was five
Raisin' cane, I spit in your eye
Times are changin', now the poor get fat
But the fever's gonna catch you
When the bitch gets back
Oh, oh, oh
Eat meat on Friday, that's all right
Even like steak on a Saturday night
I can bitch the best at your social do's
I get high in the evening
Sniffing pots of glue
Oh, oh, oh
House was mentally cringing at this point. The girls were giggling at his impression of Elton John, even though it was a fairly good one. The guys behind them were attempting to refrain from laughing as he reached down and yanked his shirt off over his head and tossed it into the crowd, managing to grab the mic for the chorus -- and in his opinion, the worst part -- of the song.
I'm a bitch,
I'm a bitch
Oh, the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch,
I can bitch
'Cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move
The things that I do
The crowd was loving it. House was hating it, but he didn't let that stop him from running his hand down his chest and leaning down to the edge of the stage to sing to the hot redhead and her cute brunette of a friend. He took the time to wink and run a hand through his hair, before he got back up and continued on.
I entertain by picking brains
Sell my soul by dropping names
I don't like those! My God, what's that!
Oh, it's full of nasty habits
When the bitch gets back.
I'm a bitch,
I'm a bitch
Oh, the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch,
I can bitch
'Cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move
The things that I do
He would never admit later to having shaken his hips during the ending chorus, and would only admit -- with chagrin -- that he actually enjoyed himself when he was up there. This was going to be the last show they ever played at the small club in the college town and when he really thought about it, he didn't care.
Rockstars were always supposed to go out in their prime, anyways.
Bitch, bitch
The bitch is back
Bitch, bitch
The bitch is back
Bitch, bitch,
The bitch is back...
East Lansing, MI -- August, 1982
"Come on, Greg. Do it."
"Yeah, Greg. We know you can sing it."
"Yeah, man. Just do it."
Three faces are staring at him over bottles of beer, and House just shakes his head and takes another sip of his own. "No way in hell."
"Not even if we pay you?"
"Yeah, man. We'll pay you."
"We will?"
House looks at his three best friends -- and bandmates -- and just laughs. "You've got to be shitting me. You think you're serious."
Crandall smirks. "We are serious. C'mon, it'll be like...one last hurrah. You get up there and front."
"Uh, I play keys. You sing and play guitar." House points his bottle at the other two young men at the table. "And you play drums, and you play bass. I do not sing."
"You can though," His drummer pipes up. "C'mon, Greg. One song. You're the only one who can pull it off."
"You mean I'm the only one with the balls to do it." He snorts and runs his hand up into his shaggy mop of dark hair. "Not happening. There are actually attractive girls here, tonight, in case you were all too busy drooling over the girl taking tickets." House eyes the crowd, watching the other warm up band working through a set. "I'm not going to make an ass of myself."
There's a look between all the other men, and a few minutes later, three hundred dollars is set on the table in front of their keyboarder. "C'mon, Greg."
"You can do it, man."
"The ladies will love it."
House protests with a growl and then snatches the money up before they can take it away. "We'll see."
+++
A little over two hours later, House takes in a deep breath as he leaves his spot behind his trusty keyboard, shooting daggers at his friends with his eyes as he reaches for his jacket and removes it, tossing it aside. That gets him a cheer from the ladies in the crowd and he just shakes his head and chuckles, tapping against the mic.
He covers it and then looks behind him at his friends. They're all grinning like fools and he knows why, so he just rolls his eyes, mutters 'what the fuck' under his breath, and then turns his back to the crowd and nods, closing his eyes.
The opening strain of the guitar makes him cringe but he doesn't falter, just slips on a pair of rose colored sunglasses and turns around, grabbing the mic and launching into the words of the song.
I was justified, when I was five
Raisin' cane, I spit in your eye
Times are changin', now the poor get fat
But the fever's gonna catch you
When the bitch gets back
Oh, oh, oh
Eat meat on Friday, that's all right
Even like steak on a Saturday night
I can bitch the best at your social do's
I get high in the evening
Sniffing pots of glue
Oh, oh, oh
House was mentally cringing at this point. The girls were giggling at his impression of Elton John, even though it was a fairly good one. The guys behind them were attempting to refrain from laughing as he reached down and yanked his shirt off over his head and tossed it into the crowd, managing to grab the mic for the chorus -- and in his opinion, the worst part -- of the song.
I'm a bitch,
I'm a bitch
Oh, the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch,
I can bitch
'Cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move
The things that I do
The crowd was loving it. House was hating it, but he didn't let that stop him from running his hand down his chest and leaning down to the edge of the stage to sing to the hot redhead and her cute brunette of a friend. He took the time to wink and run a hand through his hair, before he got back up and continued on.
I entertain by picking brains
Sell my soul by dropping names
I don't like those! My God, what's that!
Oh, it's full of nasty habits
When the bitch gets back.
I'm a bitch,
I'm a bitch
Oh, the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch,
I can bitch
'Cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move
The things that I do
He would never admit later to having shaken his hips during the ending chorus, and would only admit -- with chagrin -- that he actually enjoyed himself when he was up there. This was going to be the last show they ever played at the small club in the college town and when he really thought about it, he didn't care.
Rockstars were always supposed to go out in their prime, anyways.
Bitch, bitch
The bitch is back
Bitch, bitch
The bitch is back
Bitch, bitch,
The bitch is back...