Hi there, this is my first SVM fic so please tell me if I'm doing something completely wrong!

I love Sookie and Eric and hope you all enjoy this story. It's AU and all human with obviously a Sookie and Eric pairing. I've read a lot of fics where Bill is a creep or a bit of a dick but i'm trying not to go that way here.

Disclaimer – I do not own any of these characters, I just like to play with them ;-)

This chapter is all in Sookie's POV.

X

Mistaken Identity

Chapter 1 – Dream On.

X

"Deep breathes," I said to myself, taking a big inhale of air, "You can do this." Running a hand over my short black hair, I looked past the curtain and saw the patrons sitting in front of the stage. "Tonight's the last night, tomorrow will be a new day." Taking another deep intake of oxygen and quickly ran over to a mirror, checking my hair and makeup for the final time before I heard Bill call for me. I plastered on a big fake smile and looked over at him.

"Sookie, it's your spot." Bill was in his early thirties, his dark hair and eyes only made his pale skin stand out more. He was a nice man, good at his job and was always respectful to me even when I felt I didn't deserve it. I had always wondered how he got into a business like this but now wasn't the time to think about things like that.

"Thanks!" And with that word the lights outside went down and the audience hushed knowing that the act was about to start. Some people called her a stripper or exotic dancer. Some just called her a hooker. I choose not to listen to them. This was just a dancing job to pay the bills whilst waiting for my dream job to come about. Don't get me wrong, Sookie Stackhouse loves dancing and what I did here wasn't kinky or demeaning, Bill never asked the girls to get naked or sell themselves, I just danced. I enjoyed it. The money was great and the people were nice, the hours were unsocialable but I don't have much of a life anyway. "Bill, remember I can only stay til midnight tonight. I have that interview tomorrow."

"I know Sook, any chance I can convince you to stay?" Bill joked, offering a friendly hand on my shoulder.

I laughed. "I haven't got the job. Yet!" Flashing a bright smile then stepped up to the curtain just as my stage name was being called over the speakers.

I took a final deep breath in then out, relaxed my face and set my mouth into a slight pout. I heard a women, probably Tara or Arlene, yell "Knock 'em dead Raven!" I shook my head slightly before throwing the thick material out of my way and steping onto the stage.

X

Two hours later and I was standing in front of a dressing table mirror with a facial tissue taking the last traces of dark makeup from my eyes. The lack of sleep and anxiety about tomorrow was creeping up on me, making me fell more tired than usual; I had to do double the amount of numbers then I was suppose to as Dawn, one of the other girls was running late. It was just after twelve and I reached up to start taking the pins out of the dark wig I wore. I hated it, it caused my head to sweat was always so itchy but it gave me some kind of disguise up there and helped me be Raven, sexy and mysterious, rather than Sookie, boring and broke. I heard Bill clear his throat behind me and turned around.

"Sookie..." Bill looked down at his feet. His hands shoved lightly in his pocket, he looked up through his eye lashes and tilted his head to the side slightly.

'Oh no' I recognised that look. Sighing, I put down one of the hair pins that kept my wig in place. "No Bill, I said I couldn't work past midnight!"

"Dawn's in hospital."

"Oh my God, what happened? Is she okay?" Me and Dawn were never close but I still considered myself friends with the other woman, even though she took it out on me whenever Jason blanked her. We were around the same age but the only thing we had in common, with the exception of our job, was Jason. Dawn had always had an on and off relationship with my older brother. At the moment I wasn't sure if they were currently together or not but I still gave a quick pray and hoped that Dawn was okay.

"Her appendix burst. She was rushed into surgery this afternoon. She only just woke up from all the drugs to call us. She's okay now. Just needs to recover, its gunna take a week or two." Bill sounded angry at the situation he had but tried not to let it show, he couldn't blame Dawn for this happening and neither could I, that didn't stop me from being slightly annoyed at the next question I asked.

"Okay. Do you need me to stay?" I knew when not to argue and my friendship with Bill and the other girls made it impossible for me to take off when they were a person short.

"If you can. I'll try and get you home as soon as it dies down." Bill had taken his hands out of his pockets and ran them through his hair. He took a step towards me and casually placed his hand over mine that was currently resting on the table behind me. "I'll pay you double for tonight." I smiled lightly and glanced down at his big pale hand resting on my small tan one. I always knew Bill had a soft spot for me. Always giving me the best tables to dance at and making sure I had a ride home. I took advantage of his feelings once or twice but I never led him on, or did I? I suddenly began to question myself looking at our touching hands.

"Thank you Bill." I said trying to keep my voice soft and gentle as I tried to wriggle my hand out from under his. "Just let me know what routine you want me to do. It'll take about five minutes for me to get ready again." Moving away from the tight space had all of a sudden found myself in between Bill and the dressing table.

Bill looked down at the new distance between his hand and mine, his gaze suddenly turned hard, though it was difficult to tell in the dim room. He let out what I could only make out to be a growl before turning away and running a hand into his hair again. Maybe I should say something? Maybe he's just having a stressful night. I decided to leave and shut my mouth before I reach up and securely put my foot in it.

"Ten minutes. Do the Aerosmith mix. That always gets the boys going and a stag do just came in so they'll enjoy that."

Nodding and picked up an eye liner from the dressing table which lay neatly next to the rest of my make up, I looked slyly in mirror, following Bill's form as he walked away in the reflection. I took a deep breath in, trying to stop the tears from welling up. "Okay, everything's gunna be fine. I'll get out of here by two, in bed by half two, up at seven. You've coped with a lot less sleep then that, Sookie." And I had. There were nights when Gran was sick so I took care of her during the day, then went to work in the evenings only to come home and find Jason drunk on the doorstep having lost his keys. That happened constantly for three weeks until Gran got better and Jason stopped drowning his fear of losing another family member. I looked into my own eyes in the mirror. That was a tough time, but luckily things worked out and I didn't have to be the glue that held our little dysfunctional family together.

Tara ran by wearing a chocolate coloured bikini that was the exact same colour as her skin, she was carrying her shoes in her right hand and was covered in a slight sheen of sweat so I could tell she had just finished her dance.

"Hey Sook, it's crazy busy tonight, I have no idea why, I mean it's been awhile since I worked a normal job but last time I checked, I'm pretty sure people worked Tuesday's and didn't come out on Monday nights!" Tara was my closest friend, in this job and outside in the 'Real World' as we jokingly called it.

"I know, but what can we do? I'm staying later now, Dawn is in hospital." I told her whilst putting on a thin layer of blush to my cheeks.

"I heard. She's gunna be alright though, which is good. Can't be losing her as well as you now, can we?" Tara joked, grabbing a towel and quickly running it over her body. "Bill needs to get more girls, I can't even remember the last time I had a Saturday night off."

"Bill's a good manager. He keeps the scum out and he's careful about who he lets in. That's hard to find in this line of work. I'm surprised we don't have more people wanting to work here." I often did think myself lucky working at Area 6, the name of Bill's club. Bill had a very strict set of rules and if you broke one you were out. He built up a good reputation for himself, the club and the girls who worked there.

Tara laughed. "You think he's picky about who he lets in as a guest, you should she how picky he is about who he lets work here. He asked me if I knew anyone from D-Light that would be looking for work and gave me a huge do and do not's list." D-Light was the closest place like Area 6 in LA. Only they were a bit more down and dirty then Bill's place was, I once got offered a job there but turned it down as soon as they asked me what my 'hourly rate' was. Confused by this statement, it quickly dawned on me that this wasn't what I was looking for and I wasn't what they wanted either.

"Tara, I probably won't be leaving, with my lack of sleep and the fact I have no work experience except this," I said gesturing down at my small green bikini and high heeled shoes, "They'll probably look at me and laugh me out of the interview." I felt the tears build up again and pushed down the shame and fear that caused me to bow my head to the ground.

Tara walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, I laughed to myself, even with my heels on and Tara barefoot, we were only just the same height. "Listen here Miss Stackhouse. You are a smart, beautiful and creative person. I've seen your work. As soon as they see your photos they'll be begging you not to leave until you've accepted a job there. I mean they gave you an interview! That's gotta be a good sign."

"I only got the interview because Lafayette pulled some strings." I had always wanted to be a lawyer, if you asked me when I was five years old up until I was seventeen what I wanted to do then the response was always 'lawyer'. That was until Mom and Dad died, my face instantly frowned at the memory. All my dreams shattered and I had to put a complete stop on my life, dropping out of school to work, supporting Gran and my brother. It was only when I turned nineteen and Gran brought me a camera for my birthday that I even thought about photography. I had gone to visit my parents' graves and taken my first photo of their head rests, surrounded by flowers and grass. The light had brushed through the trees and the beauty of the still image, so full of sadness and love... The same photo made Jason cry and Gran had pushed me into trying to take more photos. It was only supposed to be an artistic outlet while I worked in a boring job in a local fast food franchise, but I soon fell in love with it and began building up a portfolio. It had been four years since I had taken that first photo and I still had no luck finding work. After all, who wanted an uneducated girl with no experience?

I looked up at Tara who was putting a tight t-shirt on top of her bikini. I had known Tara for years, having gone to high school with her though we didn't really spend much time together until after I dropped out. Tara dropped out the year before me, having to take care of her mother full time because she was too drunk to take care of herself. We often saw each other working odd jobs and politely stopped and exchanged 'hello's' and 'how are you's'. Then we decided to have lunch together once, well it wasn't really decided, we just had our lunch at the same time and there were no other free chairs in the cafe so I excused myself and asked if we could share. We got pretty close then and never have been far away since. I had also always known about Lafayette, Tara's cousin, who worked for a well known fashion magazine but never went into too much detail as I thought it was rude. But last month when I met Lafayette for the first time and he offered to put in a good word for me when a job came up, I smiled gratefully, thinking he was only being polite but secretly screaming for joy. Only last week, I received a phone call from a strange woman, asking if I was available on Tuesday for an interview as her boss loved my photos. I asked how they had seen my work and the woman quickly said Lafayette had given them some prints. I nearly cried out with delight but remained calm over the phone as the other women didn't sound like the type to appreciate my excitement.

Tara's laugh brought me out of my thoughts just in time for me to see Bill walk through the door at the other end of the room. "Sook, if you're photo's were rubbish they would have kicked Lafayette out but they didn't! You'll get that job. I can just feel it!"

I smiled and hugged my best friend. "Thanks Tara."

"Sookie, change of plan. The stag party just hired out the private suite, can you dance in there instead? It'll be less people and will probably finish up before the rest of us do so you can go home early and get some beauty sleep." Bill threw a smile at me and glanced over at Tara who was running off to change her shoes, flashing me a last smiled before disappearing behind a door. "Not that you need it."

I grinned widely and gave Bill a hug. "Thanks Bill, that'd be great. Let me just get dressed and I'll be right there." I loosened my arms around him but he lingered a bit too long before releasing me, causing me to panic about just how friendly I was with my boss.

"I'm sorry about this Sook, I promise this won't happen again. You always go that extra mile to help support the team here. I'll be sad when you leave." Bill caught my gaze and he smiled lightly as he brushed away a loose strand of black hair from my wig.

My heart paused for a moment, not knowing quite what was about to happen. I blinked a couple of times, looking at him, not sure what to do, so I sucked in a deep breath between my teeth and spoke. "You all know I love it here, I'll miss ya'll too. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's get tonight over with so I can forget about it and sleep, then go into that interview tomorrow with my head held high and no bags under my eyes! Yawning in front of your potentially new boss is never a good thing."

Bill laughed, and all of a sudden the tension in the room vanished. "Brilliant, you've got around five minutes whilst the party in there settles down. They seem like a nice bunch, your usual business men type. Well, men and one woman."

I raised an eyebrow at the last comment. We didn't ban women from coming in, we just didn't get a huge number wanting to enter in the first place. "Alright, is it Sam bartending in the private area tonight?"

"Yeah, he wasn't happy I let them have it so last minute but they paid double upfront."

I smiled kindly, "I'm sure he'll understand. How could you say no? The room would just have been sat there empty if you didn't agree."

"Exactly, that's why I like you Sookie, you've always had brains and beauty."

"And that's why you're paying me double. Can Tara, Holly, Daph and Arlene cover the main stage alright on their own?" I asked, suddenly worried about the other girls, Tara had just finished her set, Arlene and Daphne were serving drinks all night in the audience and Holly had just taken to the stage.

"They'll be fine, now hurry up and get ready!" Bill said before swiftly leaving.

Apologizing and running over to a rail of outfits, I quickly took off my heels and began to change out of my previous bikini into one of a different colour and then pop a pair of blue cut off denim shorts and a button up checked shirt, grabbing a hat and a pair of cowgirl boots, I jogged over to a set of stairs in the corner that led to the private area. With a new burst of energy I whispered to myself that this will all be forgotten in the morning and I'll be amazing in my interview.

As I slipped on the boots, I began to go over my portfolio mentally, reminding myself to put that latest picture in there before I went to sleep. Who knew, maybe it would be the photo of Sam cleaning the bar when the club was all closed that got me the job.

I stood up and turned, waiting for the music to get going before I walked out, hopefully this crowd only wanted a couple of dances, a bit of a strip tease, then a lap dance for the groom to be and I would be free to leave. Sighing, before plastering on a big smile, I thought to myself at least the tips were good.

I did a couple of dances on stage which went down very well with the boys and when I was only wearing the usual bikini top and underwear I walked down the edge of the stage and smiled brightly at the gentlemen closest to me. There was a tall brunette man who was standing to the side, he was cheering the loudest during the routine so you could guess he was the 'ring leader' of the group.

Walking slowly over to him, I pouted slightly and raised up a hand, delicately motioning for him to come over, which he was more than happy to oblige. As he bent down towards me I grabbed the top of his collar and ran a hand over his stubble.

"Hi there," My smile only broadened when I saw him blush, how sweet, this boy was a charmer. "I was just wondering who the special man here tonight is, I thought I would give him a little..." I carefully paused over the next word, taking my time to get this man excited and nervous all at once. "Treat."

The man laughed slightly and looked down, either at his feet or at my obvious cleavage. "Well, that would be me." I was taken aback by this comment and raised an eyebrow curiously. Usually the groom to be was in the middle of the crowd, acting nervous but enjoying himself quietly, if this was the man that they were all here for why was he standing at the edge of the group?

"Really now? Well isn't it lucky I found you." I said in a sugary voice, trying turn the situation around.

"Not really, I'd love to enjoy the traditional lap dance but I thought, being my party and all, if you could help loosen up a good friend of mine who needs it a whole lot more than me?" The man spoke softly, like he had planned this whole evening. Even more curious, I thought, contemplating kicking up a little fuss and making sure it was the groom who got the dance, but decided to go along with it, hell, I always liked stirring things up and it seemed as if this was the man's plan all along.

"Well, who am I to deny the groom to be?" Both of us laughed, aware that all the men in the room were now watching the man and me very closely. "Who is this man that needs to relax a bit."

The dark haired man's eyes flickered up briefly to sort out where his friend was, then came back to meet mine. "The blonde man, longish hair, looks like he has a stick up his ass. He's currently sitting at the bar with a scotch and soda. Probably wondering why he let himself get dragged here." He flashed a warm, knowing smile then placed his hand lightly behind my shoulder before guiding me in the right direction. "I promise they'll be a huge tip in it for you. He's my boss and has been riding us all for months."

"And who might you be?"

"Alcide. Nice to meet you Raven. I greatly enjoyed the show, you are very beautiful." I couldn't help but giggle at his politeness and even using my stage name.

I laughed lightly, thanking and winking up at the groom before walking over in the blonde man's direction. My initial thoughts as I walked up to him were that he was very handsome but seriously did need that stick removed from his ass. He was dressed in a full suit, tie and all whilst the other men, though dressed in shirts, all had smart jeans on at least to make them look more casual. He was sitting at the bar, chatting, or more like arguing with a woman, who I could only assumed this was the female member of their party Bill mentioned earlier. The woman caught my eye and instantly guessed what my plan was, her eyes lit up and a very crafty smirk appeared on her face. The man must have noticed and followed her gaze. His eyes caught mine, all my cockiness left me as I nearly tripped up on my own feet. I was suddenly struck with just how stunning this man was. His blonde hair framed a strong, movie star face, his eyes were such a beautiful light blue that I almost stopped. But his brow was crinkled up and his mouth was set in a tight line. He was not happy with this little plan at all. I realised how tall he was as he stood up from his stool and looked as if he was about to leave. I suddenly noticed how all the chatter in the room had died down and everyone was looking between me and him.

Who was this strange man that had the rest of his party so on edge? He never broke my stare and I began to worry about what I was doing. I glanced down quickly and spotted there was no wedding ring on his finger, but then maybe that woman was his girlfriend. Was I about to get pounced on by another woman? I looked back up at him only to find he had taken a step towards me and I took a sharp breath in.

Who was he? And why was my heart beating so powerfully in my chest?

X

Hope you liked it! Please review and give me any ideas or comments, I'm not great at spelling so please let me know if anything is wrong or i've missed out words.

Also if someone would like to beta me then please let me know, i'm not really sure how that stuff works though.

I'm looking at posting one chapter a week, but reviews do encourage and inspire me as i'm sure most of you know ;-)

Thanks for reading!