A/N: Hello lovelies! So I'm new here (as far as posting my stuff on FF as well as writing Eric/Sookie) but I decided to bite the bullet and take a shot. So I've never written in first person, nor do I have a beta for this particular story so bear with me! Hopefully it will be worth it. Any and all spelling mistakes are mine, but hopefully there aren't too many. =)
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine; that honor belongs to Ms. Harris.
SPOV
I took notice of the vivid colors at first; the various hues of red, orange, and yellow emerging from the branches providing me with a bit of shade as the sunlight creased through the leaves contrasting with the colors, making them a shade brighter as a soft breeze rustled them; forcing them to sway as it passed them along. I smiled to myself as I inhaled the crisp air that can only belong to the autumn season. And with that new intake of breath, I took in my new surroundings…my new life, my new home.
Closing my eyes for a bit, I allowed myself a moment's peace. Relishing in the sound that was being produced from the earphones I wore, I listened to every note; distinguishing every quarter, eighth, and whole note that fitted together to tell a story of their own and fill the listener with extreme emotion. As the sounds of Bach's Solo Cello from Suite No 1 in G Major caressed and flowed through my ears, I lost myself in the classic work and drifted away as a smile formed on my face, remembering the countless times I've surrendered myself to the song's influence as a child when I was back in my hometown watching a Louisiana sunset.
A small ache in my heart forced my blue eyes open as a breeze played with my hair, hindering my sight a bit. Tucking the stray strand back in its place and pulling my scarf tighter around my neck, I remembered saying goodbye to the only place I had known to be my home. I remembered the way the sunset casted a melodic blend of deep reds and oranges over the landscape I looked upon. I remembered seeing my grandmother's smile as her words of encouragement drifted along, telling me how proud she was. But I could only focus on the fact that I would no longer be in Bon Temps. Of course she looked on the brighter sides of things. She told me I was accomplishing something great; she told me I should be proud of my achievements and should think of all the success I would find, but as she said these things her words slowly muted as I studied her face; afraid that I'd forget her as I moved away. In reality, I was afraid of losing myself. After all, Bon Temps was all I knew. I would no longer be surrounded by my friends and family or the layout of my ancestral home. I was a child going off to New York City. I was petrified, though I smiled and put up a brave face when around my loved ones; though I gathered up some of my trinkets, I wouldn't have all of the familiar things I grew to love.
My only hope lied within the thing that brought me miles away from home…my music. I took another deep breath as I came back to my present situation. Standing across the street from the infamous Lincoln Center that dwelled within the heart of the city, I looked upon the tall buildings that rose into the sky with their classic and geometrical structure. I felt a bit brave and hauled my luggage across the street, after almost being run over by a taxi, onto my new stomping grounds and gazed upon Avery Fisher Hall, The Metropolitan Opera House, Alice Tully Hall, and the New York State and Lincoln Theatres. And for the first time while in this new city I truly smiled; looking towards the future and what it held for me.
I had lost track of time and had somehow found myself in a park that claimed to be 'Damrosch Park' as I noticed that I was late for orientation. I continued to haul my huge suitcase behind me, but the bastard decided to get its wheel caught on a crack in the stone pathway. At that moment my earphones decided to fall out of my ears and onto the floor as someone walked by them, crushing them under their foot.
"Son of a bitch!" I exhaled as I returned my focus to the luggage behind me.
Maybe I did pack too many clothes in this one suitcase as my brother had told me; then again Jason just chalked it up to me being a woman. He had broken up with his girlfriend again and was going through one of his phases, so he once again generalized women and put them all into the same category. I was just glad he had moved on from the whole 'all woman are evil bit' since my Gran didn't like that at all. Speaking of Gran, she wouldn't care for my use of language at the moment either. I inhaled deeply once more as I jerked the handle of the suitcase forward.
Of course in that moment I chose to become freakishly strong and pulled the suitcase right onto myself, forcing me backwards as I slipped on my ruined earphones before hitting my back on something solid that catapulted me straight onto my size 10, size 8 on a good day, ass.
"Ouch!" I instantly muttered as I looked down at my sweater dress-covered rump. "Today is not my day." I whined.
"Says the woman who just bumped into me and spilled my drink." A strong male voice said.
Well I was going to tell him where he could go, after all here I am on the floor in a foreign city and almost certain that I would have a bruise the size of a softball on my fanny by the morning and all he was concerned was with the fact that I had spilled his drink, when I looked up into his face. He was blocking my viewpoint of the sun and casted an ominous shadow around me, somehow making me feel safe but I immediately noticed his stormy blue eyes, his strong jaw line, his blond hair and that chin that I wanted to run my finger over.
I'm pretty sure I attempted to form coherent sentences but none escaped my lips as I continued to stare upon this masterpiece before me. I had once thought musical compositions were incredible, but all would falter compared to him. My breath hitched as he towered over me as I allowed my eyes to roam down his broad chest onto his impeccably longs limbs. His body made me aware of my own and of a certain feeling that was forming down below. Of course that was normal…right? Of course my virginal self wouldn't know. He had caught my gaze and suddenly his irritated façade was replaced with the sexiest smirk I have ever seen.
"Forget it. I'm sorry I bumped into you." He said once more.
I sat there on the floor with my mouth agape as I smiled crazily, causing him to laugh a bit. The sounds he produced were amazing and quickly replaced the sounds that were produced by my instrument as my favorite. As I continued to sit there like an idiot, I quickly became aware of my surroundings and quickly felt the fiery sensation in my cheeks as they started to redden.
"Are you okay?" He asked once more as he raised his left eyebrow; making me aware of it and my intense yearning to simply lick it.
'Where the heck did that thought come from?' I wondered.
"Alright, do you even speak English?" he asked; his amusement clearly present.
"Uh, yes. I'm sorry. I'm just new to this town and I'm a bit late for an engagement." I finally managed to say.
"Really? You seem lost." His voice told me.
I wanted to tell him that I was; just an innocent girl in a big city but instead I gathered my things and tried to hoist myself up. Of course I stopped breathing once he reached out to help me. He grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me straight up, letting me feel his firm hold and his strength as my eyesight stopped just below that chin of his. I smiled to myself a bit before looking up at him and taking him in. He was about half a foot taller than me, about 6'4 or 6'5, and had muscles in all the right places.
"I'm sorry I bumped into you and spilled your drink; I'll pay you back" I offered.
"Well aren't you sweet." He said with a wicked smirk.
"Not really." I snapped as I took my arm out of his grasp.
"So you're lost. Do you need directions?"
"I never said that." I defended myself.
"Well you are new to the city and I guess it can be a bit overwhelming for those that aren't originally from here."
"Are you from here?" I asked, quickly chastising myself.
"Sorry; my mother told me not to talk to strangers." He said with a grin.
"And yet here you are talking to me." I counteracted.
"I'm just offering you some help. You were the one that bumped into me after all."
"I said I was sorry."
"And I asked you if you needed directions." He smiled once more.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just going to Juilliard."
"Oh…let me guess…music."
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Your music notes are strewn all over the ground."
I looked down, and sure enough they had managed to slip out of my purse and onto the ground where they mingled with his spilled coffee. I huffed once more as I went about to pick them up, making sure that my sweater dress didn't reveal anything. I noticed that this time he didn't offer me any help as I wiped away any remains of his coffee off my sheet music with a napkin. Instead he just studied my form. And if I was being honest with myself, I may have liked the interest for once.
"That dress looks nice on you." He stated as I stood up and put my sheet music into my oversized purse.
"Thank you…I'm Sookie by the way. Sookie Stackhouse."
"Sookie." He said as his gaze held mine as the wind rustled his hair a bit.
"Well that's my nickname. It's actually Susannah." I smiled.
"Sookie." He said once more.
"Umm…so you are?"
"A beautiful stranger…just like you."
I bit my bottom lip as my cheeks reddened once more. He was beautiful, and he was a stranger but I guess I hadn't expected him to be so sure of himself, though I couldn't fault him. He was perfect. He quirked up that eyebrow of his once more and looked at me as if he were trying to figure me out. Just then, he looked past me. I followed his gaze onto a blond that was walking our way. She was still shorter than me even though she had on heels that only models on the runway wore, and she had the outfit to accompany them. I hadn't been to Park Avenue or Fifth Avenue yet, but she looked liked she shopped in those designer stores often.
"There you are! I have been looking for you all day!" She all but yelled as she stood by his side and took hold of his arm.
"I got sidetracked." He said as he continued to look at me; not acknowledging her presence, who I assumed was his girlfriend.
I finally took in the picture before me and had to admit that they made a striking pair. Her in all her designer labels that anyone could recognize and him in his sleek jeans, a dark button-down shirt and a blazer that heightened his structure. Of course that blazer just made me want to feel his shoulders.
"I'm sorry for keeping you." I said softly.
"Hurry up. We have a long day ahead of us." The woman quirked.
"Don't remind me." He told her before looking back at me. "So I'm assuming that you're looking for the Juilliard building itself right? Well the entrance is on 65th between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. If you're looking for the dorms they're just a few steps away from the entrance…I believe the building is called the Meredith Willson Residence Hall." He said with a knowing smirk that puzzled me.
"Thanks." I replied, dragging myself out of his trance long enough to talk to him once more.
"Goodbye Sookie."
He was dragged away by the woman and as he left, I got a view of that glorious backside of his and all I could think about was the fact that I wanted to touch it, even if for a second. I regained my focus once more and headed on my way, determined that my encounter with the beautiful stranger was a sign of good things to come.
The first meeting of a week-long orientation came and went and it was all a blur. I had gotten an overview of what was expected of us here at Julliard and the curriculum we had to follow, along with the courses we needed in order to graduate. Of course I had heard of some of the perks, like how students can obtain free or discounted tickets for performances of the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center Theater, and various movie venues. I quickly learned that living in here means having access to the larger cultural scene of theaters and museums, cafes and restaurants, music and all sorts of entertainment locations. Once I looked over my schedule, my meal plan and got my college I.D. I was to meet up with my new roommate.
The fact that I was to have a roommate for the first time in my life both terrified and thrilled me. Since first-time college students are required to live on campus in the Meredith Willson Residence Hall, and are always assigned to a double room I wasn't sure what to expect. I just hoped that the person the school matched me with actually shared some of my interests. I mean, I did fill out that housing contract after-all. I just hoped I was paired up with another musician…or maybe a dancer. I had been given my roommate's name, address, and telephone number so we could meet up before I arrived on campus, but our schedules just didn't work that way. So here I am, waiting in front of the Samuel B. and David Rose buildings to see who I'm going to be paired with for the next year of my life.
"Susannah Stackhouse?"
I heard my full name and cringed. The only person to use my formal first name, besides teachers and such, was my Gran. And she only said my full name when I was in trouble. I turned around and looked at my new roommate. She was shorter than me and had brown hair that contrasted my blond locks that hung past my shoulders and onto my back.
"It's Sookie, but you must be Amelia Broadway. It's very nice to meet you." I said, remembering my manners.
"Likewise. You ready to go?"
"Yep. I can't wait to see our room." I said as I grabbed my suitcase which I had been dragging along all day.
"Yeah about that…I got my dad to get us single rooms in our suite."
"What?"
"Well, my dad always donates a lot to this school and the Lincoln Center in general so I got him to pull a few strings for us."
"Cool." I said. So my new roommate had a rich father. That just made me feel like I didn't belong. Don't get me wrong. It's not like my Gran and I were struggling to get by back home in Louisiana (we lived quite comfortably actually) but after hearing about Amelia's wealth and remembering the beautiful stranger and that woman, I couldn't help but feel homesick. I mentally slapped myself for thinking of such things and remembered my manners as Amelia and I began to talk. She was a dancer, ballet specifically and wanted to travel the world. I liked her immediately.
We entered the residence floors through a securely guarded entry leading to a private bank of elevators used exclusively for the residence hall and past the lobby floor of the residence hall that contained a lounge area with a large-screen television and a pool table, a community kitchen, vending machines, and a laundry room. I took note of the fitness center on the 22nd floor, and a computer lab and study lounge on the 19th floor, and the two soundproof practice rooms.
Amelia and I finally got into our common living room with a panoramic view of the Hudson River and the western horizon. We each set about our own ways and looked at our rooms. I immediately thanked my Gran for having the sense to send out all my bedding and other trinkets earlier, and set out to unpack. I fitted the twin sized bed with bed sheets and threw down my pillow on top of it as I took out my sheet music and all my other books, clothes, jewelry, shoes, trinkets and CD's. And last but not least, I looked at the cello in the corner of the room that stood idly.
"Knock, knock." Amelia said as she entered my room and sat on my bed with me.
"Hey, thanks for setting this up for us. I guess I brought a lot of stuff with me." I told her.
"No problem. I still have to unpack the rest of my stuff and here you are all settled in."
"Yeah well, I want to get this done quickly; maybe make the feeling of being homesick go away."
"Oh yeah, you're from the south right? You don't really have an accent."
"Well my music tutor, who I've known since I was three and have spent hours practicing the cello with, is from here. And I wanted to emulate him so much that I just picked up small things about him; like the way he speaks and all that."
"What's his name?"
"Niall Brigant."
"Your tutor was Niall?" She asked in a high pitched tone of voice.
"Yeah, I know. He's pretty distinguished in the musical world as one of the best cellists and composures."
"That's taking it lightly. I heard he's a really good professor too."
"Yep. I don't know why he spent so much time down in my neck of the woods, but I don't care…I think he had a thing for my Gran or something, but I'm actually meeting with him at the Morse Recital Hall later on. Apparently he wants me to meet one of his students."
"Oh, it's probably Eric Northman."
"Who?"
"Eric Northman; everyone in the music program talks about him because apparently he's some musical prodigy or something and Niall's taken highly to him. But everyone else knows him for other things." She said with a wicked grin.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well…he's a real looker. At a party after one of his recitals last year, I finally got a look at the guy and he's better than the women describe him. He's a Grade-A hunk; he's rich, well spoken, comes from old Scandinavian family and all though he's a bit of a ladies man, he's just all around perfection."
"Wow. Sounds like quite a catch."
"Oh yeah. They should sell replicas of him because ladies would buy those bad-boys in bulk." She said as I laughed.
"So you said he's a ladies man?"
"Well…he has the reputation of a man-whore but I wouldn't hold that against him." She said as I scoffed.
"I don't know how people can take that so lightly…no offence or anything." I said, just incase I had offended her.
"None taken; I think life should be fun and fancy free and I have no problem seeing that my needs are met by either party."
"What do you…oh! You mean…you swing both ways."
"Yep. Don't worry though. I won't come onto you or anything, though you have a hottie's body."
"Thanks…I guess." I said as I blushed.
"What? Aren't privy to getting compliments?"
"I'm not privy to getting anything." I mumbled.
"Oh my god, you're a virgin!" She yelled so loud that I thought the entire campus had heard her.
"What? I'm only a freshman in college and I don't take sex lightly. I mean, it's important to me and I'm not going to give it up to a guy I've only been dating for a few weeks. I have to love him and make sure that in twenty years from now I won't regret that decision."
"Wow."
"I mean, it's not like I'm ashamed. And it's not like I've had the chance to anyway…music is the only boyfriend I've ever had."
"Well, you're in New York City now and there are sexy men on almost every corner so…that cherry will get popped pretty soon." She said as she hopped off my bed.
"Amelia!" I yelled as she closed the door behind her.
After briefly meeting with a girl named Thalia, who was a student resident assistant that was assigned to my floor (and for some reason I got the sense that she didn't like me) I grabbed a bite to eat and headed on my way to meet with Niall. I was a bit nervous of seeing this student that Niall wanted me to learn from. If he was anything like Amelia had described I'm not sure how we would get along. I finally reached my destination and walked past all the stands that held sheet music and into Niall's awaiting arms.
"It's good to see you again." He said.
"It's good to see you. Gran says 'hi' by the way." I said with a smirk.
"Yes, well I did promise her that I'd look after you so I have every intention of doing so. Now, onto why you're here. I know you're always looking to better yourself and that you're already about a year ahead of your peers but I want you to work closely with one of my students. He's marvelous and the best cellist I've ever seen."
"Well if he's that good, and you speak so highly of him, then I can't wait to meet him."
"Good. Ah, there he is!" Niall said.
I turned around with a smile on my face but that smile soon faltered as I looked onto this musical prodigy that Niall was so crazy about. He had taken off his blazer and his button-down shirt and swapped it with a regular white t-shirt, but his form could still make anyone weep with its brilliance. His smirk graced his face once more as he strode up to me with those eyes of his.
"Beautiful stranger?" I muttered and automatically wanted to crawl in a corner and die as he laughed and took my hand in his, placing a soft kiss on the base of my knuckles.
"It's Eric Northman actually, and I look forward to working very closely with you this year. By the way that dress really does look nice on you." He said with a wicked glint in his eyes that make my body react.
Oh. Hell.
A/N: So...yes? No? Any thoughts? I'll go back into hiding now.
