a/n One night after devouring many ESN stories, I was lying in bed and I wondered: What if Sookie's relationship with Bill had never happened? Eric is the most powerful vampire in Area 5 – it only makes sense that Sophie-Anne would trust him more with the task of gathering intelligence about the resident telepath. What if Eric was the first vampire Sookie had ever seen? And here we are. This is my first fanfic writing - so please be gentle.
a/n These characters are property of Charlaine Harris. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting! And please don't sue me - I'm a teacher.
a/n Thanks to my beta, Northwoman! You're awesome! She's really given me the confidence to put this up. . . :-)
Chapter 1
Sookie's POV
It had already been a long night at Merlotte's bar and it was only 9:00. I'm a barmaid and I love my job but tonight had been especially hard, considering my disability and the restless atmosphere. I plastered on my fake smile and kept serving up pitchers of Bud Light and baskets of cheesy fries when Lafayette, our rather flamboyant cook, rang the bell for me.
"Sookie!" my brother, Jason, cried from his seat in the corner booth. He had a new girl on his arm – he'd been favoring curvy brunettes for the past few weeks. "Can't we get some more beer over here?"
"Of course, Jason," I replied as I carried over their pitcher. "I don't have any more customers to take care of or anything." I placed their beer on the table. "Anything else?"
"I'll take a piece of that ass," I heard with my extra sense – the disability I've lived with all my life. It took me a moment to realize it had come from the booth behind me – the Ratrays, naturally. Such a fitting name – the Rats. When Jason shook his head, I made sure to keep my smile on – it had taken a long time for me to keep what I heard in my head from affecting my facial expressions too much. Not all people thought nasty things, but they all thought about things I didn't want to know. The time it had taken for me to understand the difference between people's thoughts and what was coming out of their mouths had been long enough to earn me the name Crazy Sookie. Being a telepath had made for a rough childhood and a lonely adulthood so far.
Not that I had anything to complain about - lots of people had it worse than me. I had a roof over my head, a good job, and enough money to make a small but comfortable living. I still lived with my Gran in the Stackhouse family home just outside of Bon Temps. Gran would be ashamed of my ungrateful thoughts - she had raised me better. Remembering that, I turned to the Rats' table. "Can I get y'all something else?"
"Just some more beer, pretty thing," said his mouth while in his head rang, "I can think of plenty things you could do for me."
"Coming right up!" I said as I scurried back to the bar. Thoughts assaulted me on the way - images, words, emotions.
Did I pay the gas bill?
I hope the wife didn't cancel Cinemax - I'm gonna need their late night show tonight.
Look at the tits on that one. I don't care if she's crazy, she looks good.
Am I pregnant? Why else would I be late?
I could usually block them out a little better, but my fatigue from the dinner rush had done me in. There was no shield between me and the thoughts of the bar patrons. I ducked down behind the bar just to catch my breath for a minute and pretended to arrange the kegs under the taps. "How ya doin, cher?" Sam asked me.
Sam is the owner of Merlotte's and he's the best boss I've ever had. His thoughts aren't as transparent as most people's - not that I tried to listen to them, mind you. I'd had to quit too many jobs when I found out what was going on in the head of my superior. He was just a little taller than me and had a halo of strawberry blonde hair. He was also nice to look at - I'd seen his muscles glistening in the sun when he unloaded liquor trucks in the summer without a shirt. I stopped that thought abruptly - he was my boss and had no business in my personal fantasies. "I'm okay, Sam. We've been real busy tonight."
"You take a break if you need it," he said meaningfully. Sam knew about my disability. I could only hide it for so long from those closest to me, and since I had been working for Sam for several years, he had eventually figured it out.
I smiled. "Thanks, Sam." I was thinking about taking him up on his offer when I looked around my section and realized there was no way I'd have time for a break - too many drinks that needed to be refilled. I was halfway through my round when I detected a hole of silence enter the bar. Silence. I had never experienced that before. Breaking off half into a sentence, my curiosity overtook me. I glanced back toward the doorway and saw the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen.
He was tall - so tall. I estimated about 6'3". He had piercing blue eyes and silky blonde hair that brushed his shoulders. He had on a pair of black jeans that hugged all the right places and a black v-neck t shirt that showed off his muscular physique in a subtle way. He was pale but had a slight glow that made him seem a little ethereal. I saw his eyes meet Sam's and watched him nod a little. Then, his blue eyes met mine. I felt trapped there as I basked in his mental silence. It took a couple of seconds for me to come back to reality and look back to my customers - Sheriff Dearborn and Detective Andy Bellefleur. "I'm sorry, y'all. Sheriff, you wanted a Burger Lafayette with fries, and Andy, you wanted onion rings with yours? Sweet tea or Bud tonight, guys?"
They shared a small grin that seemed to say, "Yep, she's crazy all right" before they nodded and ordered their drinks. I wrote it down on my order pad and went to the window to give it to Lafayette. He smiled at me - his white teeth gleaming against his dark chocolate skin - then winked. "Looks like tall, blonde and handsome sat himself in your section, Sookie, you lucky little thing! Maybe he'll give you his phone number, girl!"
I grinned. "I doubt that, Lafayette, but thanks for the vote of confidence." I knew I looked good in my waitress uniform - a white shirt with Merlotte's embroidered on the right breast and a pair of black shorts - but I didn't have any delusions as to my dating prospects - hard to date when you can hear your beau's thoughts. Can you imagine hearing that your date wants to get you in bed while you're ordering popcorn at the theater?
"Lord knows I'd ask for it if I wasn't stuck back here! I know I could show him a good time!"
"No need to talk dirty, Lafayette. Don't forget I'm a lady!" I scolded halfheartedly. Arlene, my fellow barmaid and friend, sidled up beside me, twirling her atomic red hair around a finger.
"Oh my God, Sookie, did you see that man? I wonder where he's from! My panties got wet when he walked in that door!" she said, adding a wink.
"Arlene! What happens in your underwear is your business, not ours! Don't you be talking dirty!" I said sternly. Good grief. You'd think he was the only man she'd ever seen - and he definitely wasn't. Arlene was currently on husband number 4 - her two kids, Coby (from husband #1) and Lisa (from husband #3) were cute as buttons and I'd babysat them more than a few times. She meant well, though, and was as close to a friend as I had besides my childhood friend Tara.
Arlene giggled. "Go see what you can do for him, Sookie!" she urged with a push in his direction.
She and Lafayette exploded into laughter as I pulled my pad out of my apron and approached his table. The thoughts of the other patrons faded away as I got closer to him and I noticed he had a smirk on his face like he'd heard what Arlene had said. How ridiculous. "Hello, sir. My name is Sookie and I'll be your waitress this evening. What can I get for you?"
His eyes met mine and again, it was like time stood still. His silence was so refreshing I wanted to sit down at his table and not move for the rest of my life. The glow of his skin had me wondering again what was different about him when he smiled. "Do you serve TrueBlood here?"
I almost fell over. Merlotte's first vampire! That explained the glow, I guess. Vampires had "come out of the coffin" a few years back and I had just been waiting and waiting to meet one. The political line was that they were victims of a virus that left them allergic to sunlight, garlic, and silver. I wasn't sure how much of that I believed, but I knew it was true they survived only on blood - the invention by a Japanese scientist of artificial blood had allowed them to step into the, er, moonlight. TrueBlood was the first of many brands of bottled, synthetic blood that supposedly provided all of their required nutrition. I wasn't entirely skeptical, but I had read enough about vampires and vampire bars in the newspapers to know that they didn't get all of their diet needs from a bottle.
My crazy smile slipped back on. "I'm sorry, sir, but we bought some a couple years ago and no one ever ordered it so it went bad. Is there anything else I can get you?" I could hear Arlene howling with laughter back by the bar at my question, and a smirk flitted across the blonde vampire's face.
"Are you Sookie Stackhouse?" he asked, to my surprise.
"The one and only," I replied before I could think better of it. How did he know my name?
"Then bring me a glass of red wine, please."
"Right away!" I said as I turned to go back to the bar. Did he make it sound like he only ordered something because I was Sookie Stackhouse? Surely not - I must have been imagining it. While Sam poured the glass for me, I wondered if he would actually drink it.
"Can you believe we've got a vampire in here, Sam?" I asked.
He smiled stiffly. "I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later," he replied as he gave me the glass of wine. "I know you're tired, cher, and it looks like it's calming down so why don't you go on home in a few minutes?"
I put the glass on a tray with a couple of napkins and smiled at Sam. "That's sweet, Sam, but I'm supposed to be here until midnight so that's when I'll leave." I looked around the bar. Maybe it did seem like it was calming down; although how all of the women were entranced with our newest customer could be why. I walked the glass of wine carefully over to the vampire. "Here you go. Let me know if you need anything else."
He dismissed me with a nod of his head. I guess there couldn't be much said about their friendliness. I made my rounds through the rest of my tables and gratefully noticed that the assault of thoughts had diminished. I tried on purpose to listen to the vampire's thoughts but couldn't get a single thing - no emotions, no images, no impressions - nothing. Interesting. We in Merlotte's went on with our business until about closing time when everyone started to trickle out. The vampire sat there the entire time without even touching his glass of wine, but tipped me handsomely when I gave him his check.
I was a little disappointed when he had gone while I was in Sam's office counting out my tips and gathering my purse. We were all tittering excitedly about the possibility of having a vampire in Bon Temps and the probability that the Vampire Rights Act would pass while we cleaned up then walked out to our cars. I said goodbye to everyone and watched as Sam walked up the steps to his trailer then in the doorway. He waved back at me as he shut it and I turned to unlock my door when the vampire materialized next to me.
"Holy crap, mister, you can't just sneak up on people like that!" I berated as I knelt to find the keys I had dropped. "Especially not in the dead of night! Especially single women!"
He dangled my keys in front of me and smirked. "Here you are Miss Stackhouse. Sorry for the fright I gave you."
I jerked them out of his hand. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home."
"Before you go, I just wanted to ask you one question," he said, gazing into my eyes. I felt some kind of pressure in my head - must be a headache coming on. "Won't you come with me?" he asked. "We could have a good time," he leered.
Without even thinking about how stupid it was, I slapped him across the face. "What kind of girl do you think I am?" I exclaimed then got into my car, locked the door, and hurriedly drove away. When I worked up the courage to look in my rearview mirror, he was gone.
Eric's POV
The slap across my face didn't hurt at all. It merely took me by surprise, but not nearly as much as the fact that my glamour didn't work. I cursed in my native language - long dead - and made myself refrain from capturing her in my arms and flying away with her as she took a few, long seconds to get into her car and drive away. It would have been so easy. This young woman was full of surprises, it seemed. I took to the air and followed her to her house. Thinking it best not to push my luck again, I headed back to my bar, Fangtasia, in Shreveport without landing. The flight there would give me a few minutes to reflect on the evening.
When I had walked into the shifter's bar - that's what Sam was, after all, a shapeshifter - on my mission, the moment the blonde barmaid's eyes had locked with mine I wanted her. I knew I would have her - the fact that she turned out to be the object of my mission was simply convenient. I could mix business with pleasure; that was my main goal, actually, as the owner of a popular vampire bar. Give the people a show, and they'd let you suck their blood. Sometimes it was willingly, even. The humans that came always wanted a show and most of them wanted more - fangbangers, I'd heard them called. They were more than willing to donate to the cause and fulfill the needs of a vampire - in more ways than one. And most of them were revolting. Shaking the memories of the one I'd had (twice) last night from my head, I returned my thoughts to the barmaid Sookie. This mission was going to take more finesse that I'd needed in dealing with humans in over 1000 years. I love a challenge.
I'm the Sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana - the area that contains Shreveport and Bon Temps and many other towns for that matter. It's my job to make sure that the vampires in this area are acting "appropriately," which means they're not killing anyone. Vampires had worked hard in the last few years to be somewhat accepted in mainstream society. Those of us in the US had been mostly successful, although there was opposition. Each area of the country (usually states) were governed by a vampire King or Queen, who delegated smaller areas to their Sheriffs.
Most humans had no idea about our own little governing system, and we like to keep it that way. The Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, had recently taken a liking to a buxom blonde named Hadley. Apparently, Hadley had a cousin who was a little strange - Sookie Stackhouse - and it was told that Sookie could read minds. My queen was most curious about this cousin and wanted to know the depth of this talent. When she had requested my presence in New Orleans (that's where she lives, of course), I had gone right away.
My mission was simple. Find Sookie Stackhouse, figure out if she could really read minds, and if so, do whatever necessary to make her work for us. I could see the prospects of having a telepath on hand. Dealings with humans of any kind would benefit. So, now I had accomplished step one. I had found her.
She had been so charming, and had even blushed when her coworkers suggested something lewd about me. I knew she found me attractive, I could tell by the quickening of her heartbeat when she walked by my table. I thought back to her lovely features - she had big blue eyes and long blonde hair. I felt the crotch of my jeans tighten as I thought about her figure - she had luscious breasts and a high, tight ass. She'd be a pleasure to fuck, I was sure. And her scent was enchanting, a mixture of innocence and something more - I would bet she tasted good, too. That didn't help the growing erection in my pants.
I landed in the parking lot behind Fangtasia and entered the back door. Pam, my child and lieutenant, met me in the hallway. "Any results, Master?" she asked, walking with me to my office.
"Some," I said, sitting behind my desk. "I found her at the shifter's bar in Bon Temps, just like we were told."
Pam remained standing in the doorway. "Anything else?" she asked, sounding bored.
"I couldn't glamour her." No sense in hiding the truth.
Only vampire eyes could detect the subtle change in Pam's face, showcasing her alarm and surprise. "What?! She resisted your influence?"
"She's different, Pam," I said - the passion in my voice surprising me. "This is going to take more care than we planned."
"Different how?" Pam asked, her eyes sparkling. "Is she pretty?"
I shot her a warning look. "She is mine," I said before I realized I felt that way. "She is proper. And very pretty." I felt an erection begin again. "And untouched."
Pam laughed. "Did she glamour you?"
"Absolutely not. Bring me a woman, Pam. Blonde. And remember your place." She could be so cheeky.
Pam smirked. "Of course, Master. Right away." She slipped out.
This was going to be a long night.
Sookie's POV
I pulled up behind my Gran's house and parked. I was a little spooked after my late night encounter and therefore hesitant to get out into the dark. He had appeared so quickly! I shook my head, chasing the thought away. I had said my piece and if he had followed me home I would say it again. I got out of the car and straightened my spine, lifting my head high. Couldn't live my life afraid of the dark. Not that it mattered, anyway, because nothing or no one assaulted me in the few steps to the back porch.
Gran had the kitchen light on for me, as usual. I opened the screen door and walked across the porch into the light. I could see her through the glass in the back door - she was sitting at the dining room table, her long gray hair plaited for bed, reading a book. I smiled and walked in. "Hey, Gran."
"Sookie! How was work?" she asked, putting her book aside. I got home late from work, but she liked to stay up on the town gossip.
"It was good, real good. We had a vampire come in, tonight! In Bon Temps! Can you believe it?" I said, laying my purse on the table and sitting beside her.
She gasped. "Did he bite anyone?"
I laughed. "No, he didn't bite anyone. He tried to get me to go with him after we closed, but I put him in his place real quick."
Gran smiled. "Do you think he'll come back? How old do you imagine he was?"
"I don't know, Gran. He was really handsome, though. He could have been a Greek statue. And the way that everyone looked at him, you'd have thought he was the only man in the world." I was having a good time remembering him, even if he had made a risque request. I let my mind wander over him - his broad shoulders and tapered waist, his strong nose and blue eyes. "I couldn't hear him, Gran."
Her eyes widened. "You mean hear, hear him?" I nodded. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I imagine that would be real nice for you, Sook. Silence."
I smiled. "It was."
She got up. "I'm off to bed - glad you're home safe. See you in the morning."
"Good night. I love you." I sat there for a few minutes after she went to her bedroom, relaxing in the peaceful quiet and thankful my headache had never materialized. The vampire's appearance had seemed so random - and his wish to sit with a glass of wine he wouldn't touch, too. Why had he approached me? I had heard many thoughts from many others who would have willingly gone on with him. I mentally shrugged - it beat me. Eventually, I got ready for bed and fell into a deep sleep full of a blonde stranger who ravished me.