UPON A DROP of Blood

Disclaimer: I do not own Southern Vampire Mysteries or its characters, but I do own the characters that are obviously not in the books.

By: psychoblue13 Inc.

Louisiana, "The Land of Louis". The first thing I think about when I hear Louisiana is New Orleans, the largest city in the state and the home of Mardi Gras. My mother sat behind the steering wheel, her blue eyes concentrating on the empty rode before us. She had mentioned to me that she would one day want to live here, but I never took her comment seriously, until now. We were headed towards the quaint little town of Bon Temps. After the vampires had come out of the coffin, my barely there father began mixing in with a bad crowd, my mother, who wanted to protect me from those men packed up our truck and left. Vampires, sometimes when I was younger, I would write stories about them, along with Shape shifters and werewolves. I bet they're all real. My brothers, back home in North Carolina, hate vampires. They think they're nothing but trash and should be treated as such, another reason why we left.

I watched as the sun began to slowly hide itself behind the few trees we passed. "How much farther do you think we have to go until we reach Bon Temps?" My mother gave a reassuring smile, trying to cover up the unsure look in her eyes. "I would think another half hour?" She noticed a small bar and grill off of the highway and decided that was where we would eat dinner. ~Merlotte's Bar and Grill, sounds nice to me~ The truck gave a slight jerk as we stopped, my mother running into the restaurant before her bladder exploded. I slowly followed her in, sketchbook and pencil in hand. The cool breeze that swept past me as I opened the door felt soothing compared to the muggy air outside. I soon found my mother; she was speaking with one of the waitresses, who was wearing an outfit that reminded me of Hooters. Taking my eyes off of them, I began to scan the place. It was rather home-like in atmosphere, but I quickly learned that it was a lot like home.

A pair of women were talking about the vampire awakening and they didn't sound pleased. "Hello, I'm Sookie Stackhouse and I will be y'alls waitress tonight." The woman was a beautiful blond who was rather tan, but it fit her nicely. "Hi, I'm Nicole. Nice to meet you." Sookie quickly took our drink order and zoomed off. I watched as she took the order of a rather pale man, who seemed to liven up at her appearance. ~Vampire..~ They were so easy to notice, at least this one was. He seemed old fashioned and more of a gentleman then the vampires I had encountered. "So where are you headed?" I didn't bother to answer, knowing that my mother would. "We are moving to Bon Temps from North Carolina." The woman's eyes brightened. "Well welcome to Bon Temps. What house are you moving into?" My mother seemed so happy to finally meet someone nice for a change. "An old, two story, Victorian house with a wraparound porch on both levels." I smiled. "That's right down the road from my house! We'll be neighbors."

She and my mother continued to talk every chance they got. The bar had grown busier after the sun went down. Our plates were soon emptied and our receipt waited to be paid. Mother went to pay at the register while I walked towards the door. A large collie sat beside the entrance, his tongue lolling out of his mouth lazily. I stretched out a hand, waiting for him to accept my peace offering. His wet nose ran over my hand, before his tongue took its place. "Aren't you a sweet boy?" I continued to stoke his head, occasionally rubbing his ear. "Excuse me young miss." I quickly turned to apologize for blocking the entrance. The tall, dark-haired man from before was standing behind me, his eyes gentle. "I'm so sorry for blocking your way." I could sense that he was curious about something. "I heard that you will be Sookie's new neighbors. I live across the street from her, so we will also be neighbors." I smiled up at him, he was a gentleman. "Bill, I see you've meant Nicole. Would you like to help me help them move in?" He smiled lovingly towards Sookie, but for some reason it didn't seem genuine.

Thankfully, following Sookie to her house, we quickly found our own as well. It was surrounded by willow trees. I could tell that the house needed some work, but all in all it was beautiful. "What do you think?" My mother stood next to me in the drive, a smile adorning her youthful face. "I love it. I bet it has a great history behind it." She laughed at my statement, not surprised that history would be the first thing I thought about. "Your room is upstairs on the right. You can start bringing in your clothes and things. "I made a b-line to my room, skipping two steps at a time just to get there faster. The room was huge compared to my old apartment bedroom. It had a massive window that overlooked the large backyard. An equally big bathroom connected to my room, a claw foot tub in the center. I found a secret compartment within my closet, hidden away by an old mirror. I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of our door bell ringing.

Sookie, Bill, and another man stood in the entry way talking with my mother. Bill, being a vampire, was the first to notice my presence. He gave a warm smile, gently nudging Sookie. "Nicole, there you are." I smiled nervously at them all, never being one to enjoy a lot of attention. "This is Bill, my boyfriend and Sam, he owns Merlotte's Bar and Grill." I smiled towards Bill, before facing Sam. "It's nice to meet you Sam." His hand was oddly warm, but I didn't mind. It felt soothing to my naturally cold ones. As the adults began talking, I found my chance to escape back to my room. I hadn't noticed Bill's absence downstairs so finding him in my room was a shock. "Thank you for coming over and helping us move in." I gained his full attention."Of course." He bowed respectfully. Yep he was defiantly old fashioned. "So when were you turned?" I wanted to know what kind of vampire I was dealing with, just in case. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I've lived with vampires, don't worry." He relaxed somewhat at my remark. "I was turned during the Civil war. Why do you ask?"

I studied him briefly before answering his question. By the way he crossed his arms I could tell he felt uncomfortable with my sudden probing. I've known older vampires, lots of them sharing the same household as me. They gave off an air of normality, but Bill on the other hand seemed a bit off. His eyes were his weak point. They revealed his true intentions and emotions. "I just wanted to know what type of vampire I would be living near. Having grown up in a vampire infested home I like to keep on my toes." Nodding in understanding he turned to leave. "You are quite the interesting human. Goodbye Miss Nicole." After making sure that he was far enough away I finally released the breath I had so desperately been holding. ~Note to self: Keep an eye on Bill~. Soon the house was filled with our junk, officially making it our own. Sam was the last to leave, wanting to make sure that we were safe for the night.

Authors note: Sorry this was short. This story is told through my character nikki's POV. please review :)