Title: Once Upon a December

Summary: At a very young age a vampire attacked Sookie Stackhouse, now she fears all of them, and with good reason. She is a runaway slave, she hopes maybe she's free from all vampires, but then a vampire bar opens up in Shreveport and her best friends drag her there for Arlene's birthday where she meets Eric Northman.

She's terrified and intrigued at the same time, but everything tells her to run except for her heart, her heart keeps pushing her back toward the strangely familiar man, she knows she knows him from somewhere, but where?

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own the Southern Vampire Mysteries series or the characters.

I, naturally, twisted the characters so I guess its kind of AU? But not AH. Characters are the same, but they've got different personalities (some of them anyways) and relationships with Sookie since I twisted around her past and such. Anyways, enjoy. The first few chapters are easing into the story, so there isn't going to be much going on.

Chapter 1-

7:30.

I'd been dreading the numbers ever since Tara called me to tell me where we were going for Arlene's birthday this year. It was a big birthday for her, apparently, and she was excited that we had offered to have a surprise party for her. Then again, she wasn't me. She wouldn't dread walking into that bar, into their nest, right into their territory, right into their fangs.

Fangtasia.

The vampire bar, just the thought of the bar existing made me shake with fear, but the thought that my friends were not letting me out of going? That made my stomach feel like it was about to drop out of my ass. It's not like they knew anything though, they didn't know about my past.

They didn't know about why I feared vampires, or why I really didn't want to go. Tara had suspected something though, because she showed up an hour early, picked out my outfit, did my hair and make-up, and was currently shoving me out the door and into the limo.

"This is so exciting!" Arlene squealed once I was sitting in my place, "I can't wait to see where we're going! Is it a vampire bar? Or a vampire hangout?"

I groaned, why in Hell did everyone find vampires so fascinating? They were just dead corpses that walked around and drank blood and killed people. What was so interesting? I could hear from Lafayette's mind that he agreed with me about vampires being boring. Telepathy could make me feel better sometimes, even if it was a disability that vampires would stake each other to have power over. Best not linger on that little fun fact.

I figured I was relatively safe going to the bar though, for two reasons, one is ever since the Great Revelation, when the Japanese finally succeeded in making synthetic blood so the vampires could come out, they'd been forced to free all held captive. The second was that if I didn't say anything about my telepathy or show them what I was, they wouldn't have a clue.

"Vampires aren't that interesting." Lafayette intoned in that special accent only he could manage, "they're just reanimated corpses." I shot Lafayette a smile, which he returned, as I peered around at the group assembled in the limo.

Dawn was sitting across from me in a short black sleeveless dress that clung to her body like a glove. Her dark hair was hanging down on her shoulders; her dark eyes were lined with black eyeliner and a lot of mascara. Beside her was Tara, who was wearing a more modest blue dress and had her hair, pulled half up half down with minimal makeup and a smile on her face.

Lafayette was sitting beside her in a pair of loose gold pants and a matching gold vest that made his skin seem more like dark chocolate then it usually did. He had a ton of makeup on, mostly gold tones that matched his pants and vest. Arlene herself was in a black dress that hung flatteringly on her; her red hair was freshly dyed and curled around her face. She was going light on her makeup, with only a bit of eyeliner and some mascara.

I looked down at the white dress Tara had shoved me in, it had one shoulder strap and stopped mid-thigh. It was my favorite dress and I thought it was a shame that I was wasting it on something as stupid as a visit to Fangtasia. She had forced me into black stockings and a pair of three inch black pumps and she straightened my hair, lined my blue-grey eyes with black liner, and a lot of mascara.

I already knew what was going to happen when we arrived; I'd stand apart from those fangbangers and draw unneeded, unwarranted, and unwanted attention to myself. I had argued with her for the whole time that I would look like dinner and eventually she won. Because I gave up and told her if one even tried anything on me I'd kill her. She reasoned that all of my other dresses would make me stand out anyways. I didn't own much black or red. But that wasn't even anywhere close to the point in my mind.

I tugged the dress down farther when I stepped out of the limo and made are way into the line of people. Arlene, Tara and Dawn we talking excitedly about the vampires that were probably inside, I rolled my eyes at them and glanced at Lafayette who gave me a look that told me, without me reading his mind, that he thought they were crazy. In my opinion they were the crazy ones, even though they all thought I was crazy, I wasn't excited to meet corpses. I could just read their minds.

The wall I was currently leaning against was steel grey; the door was a brilliant red and the word "Fangtasia" was spelled out in fancy red neon above the door. The line was long and filled with other excited fangbangers and tourists hoping to get a picture of the vampires they all loved, Lafayette and I were already clashing with the crowd. White and gold in a sea of red and black, and we were also the only ones that would rather be anywhere else, and everyone seemed to know it.

A few of the fangbangers in lines gave of looks that would have insulted or offended anyone else, but they just rolled off of us like droplets of water. There minds were angry, and it took most of my willpower not to laugh out loud at some of the thoughts mixed among the most dominant ones about sex.

Lafayette and I had both had run-ins of the really-fucking-bad variety with vampires pre-outing. Lafayette revealed to me, a few days after he picked me up in California, that he had been captured and tortured by vampires when he was younger for selling V on the market from a willing source. The other vampires hadn't liked it too much, a Queen ordered her sheriff to capture him and torture him until he revealed his source. He never gave his source up, but with the out-ing he had to be released and compensated, greatly, to keep him shut up. Lucky him. I still wasn't sure why he wasn't glamoured.

I hadn't told him that night what happened to me, but I eventually told him about the vampire who had abducted me, tortured me, and stolen my childhood from me all for my telepathy and the splash of Fae in my blood. I had escaped when I was 13, which was 11 years ago, after 9 years of his torture. I had only been four when I was captured.

"ID." I shook my head in shock; I'd spaced out and hardly realized we were at the door standing in front of the bouncer.

She was young, in appearance, with that chalky pale complexion vampires had, her eyes were a stunning deep blue that looked so familiar to me I couldn't understand it. She had white blonde hair that hung straight down her back. She was in typical vampire gear. A black dress that clung to her body and pushed her cleavage up and almost out of her dress, it stopped just barely under her butt. If it wasn't for that she would actually look kind of sweet, like a loving mother. Why the hell did she look so familiar?

She gave me a look that I decided was impatience and curiosity while I fished my ID out of my bra where I had stashed it. She watched with open interest as my hand dipped into my cleavage, I held the card out to her between my two fingers. She took it narrowly avoiding brushing my fingers.

"Sookie Stackhouse…" she muttered mostly to herself a weird look passing across her otherwise stoic face. She handed the card back and took Lafayette's before ushering us both through. She didn't card anyone behind us which freaked me out a little, she had my card long enough that she probably knew where I lived now, along with my name my name and my birthday. Now I was concerned. Lafayette placed his hand on my lower back and pushed me toward a table, thinking loudly that it was nothing to worry about and we just looked younger than everyone else. He tried to make his minds thoughts sound happy about it, but didn't do a really good job. Points for him for guessing what I was thinking though.

Once everyone was sat a waitress came by, she was in the shortest skirt ever invented and a skimpy corset like top that her cleavage was falling out of. Her hair was ragged and strawberry blonde, her neck was littered with scars from vampire bites. I grimaced and turned away from her, feeling my stomach tangle into a tighter ball then it had when I stepped out of the house.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked like she could care less, the thought of spitting in our drinks crossed her mind because some of us had captivated some vampire's attention, and by some of us, she meant me and Lafayette.

"I can handle getting us some drinks." I snapped, shooing her away, she huffed and shot me a nasty glare before stalking away, swaying her hips like she was the sexiest thing in this bar. Which she was far from, I was pretty sure I saw a broom on the way in that was sexier then she was.

"What was that about Sookie?" Arlene asked with a frown, "She was just doing her job. Y'don't gotta be so mean."

"She was going to spit in our drinks." I replied with a shrug, earning weird looks from everyone else, "Besides, I don't mind getting our drinks."

The three girls looked at me like I was crazy, they all thought I was because of my disability, but shrugged anyways. They weren't going to argue if they didn't have to get their own drinks.

"I'll go with you. Whatchu girls want?" Lafayette asks sliding out of the booth, they ramble off their drink orders and Lafayette and I walk over to the bar where a vamp was standing filling drink orders. An unstoppable shiver of fear ran through me.

He was American Indian with long coal black hair and dark eyes, his eyes reminded me of my captors, my stomach clenched in a tight knot, "can I get you anything?" he asked in a smooth voice, his fangs running out a little. I forced myself not to jump or scream, or show any real sign of fear, my heart beating rapidly was more then enough of a give away, but perhaps he would assume it was excitement.

I ordered a gin and tonic; Lafayette ordered the same and then placed the girls' orders. I leaned against the bar while we waited and surveyed the occupants. Most fangbangers were dressed in dark clothes, mostly based off of vampire garb they'd seen in movies; all had their necks bare, showing off the scars marring them, and to show they were willing to be someone's dinner. The tourists were easy to spot, they were dressed in typical tourist fashion and had camera around their necks, Fangtasia gift shop bags hung from their wrists.

The walls were painted in the general scheme of grey, red and black, framed pictures of movie vampires lined the walls and in the midst of all of the fangbanger wannabes, waitresses and tourists were the real vampires. I could sense maybe 20 voids, which is what all vampire minds were to me; it chilled me to the bone. The thoughts that flowed from the human brains revolved around sex, everything in the fangbangers minds was sex. Their thoughts dominated the few others I managed to pick out. I quickly slammed my mental shields up to silence them; I could feel the headache forming behind my eyes.

"Here are your drinks." The vampire said with a smile placing them by Lafayette, I grabbed two of the drinks and stalked away as quickly as I could; I set my drink on the table and glanced at the other drink, rum, which I handed to Dawn before I slid into the booth and pressed myself against the wall, shivering as the cold burned up my hot skin.

The others paid no mind to my freaked out behavior, and they continued sending us to the bar to get their drinks, I only had two gin and tonics and then switched to soda, after awhile the girls were pretty intoxicated and dragged me out to dance with them, I didn't want to but three against one was not fair and even drunk they managed to tug me after them.

Why the hell were they so persistent?

The song playing was dark, slow and sensual, fangbangers were grinding up against each other, eyes trained on whichever vampire caught their eye, but the vampires I spotted were more interested in the dirt under their finger nails then the people practically fucking one another on the dance floor.

I paid mind to fangbangers or vampires after I started dancing; I was lost in my own world, nothing but me and the music. Until a pair of hands touched my hips, I spun and almost punched Lafayette in the face, "the girls headed back to the table, come on." He laughs lightly; he had caught my fist right before it would have smashed into his nose.

We're walking back to our table when that stupid waitress from earlier walked right into me and dumped her tray, filled with three TruBlood's, down my dress. Ha, take that bitch. She thought. Before I even gave it a second thought I slapped her across the face, she screamed like someone had stabbed her in the gut and I suddenly wished I had punched her instead. I would have too if Lafayette wasn't on my right side. I was no good at punching with my left.

It was a matter of seconds before vampires surrounded us, I grabbed Lafayette's arm in silent fear as a tall, blonde vampire who was probably from the Viking era, stepped into the circle with the vampire from the door, Pam-thanks to Miss Ditzy waitress for her name, right behind him. Seeing the Viking and Pam together made them both so much more familiar looking to me. I quickly shook that from my mind, focusing on a way of getting out of the ring of vampires and far away to like….Canada. Yeah, Canada might be far enough away.

"Miss Stackhouse, I didn't peg you for a trouble maker." Pam purred with a supposed-to-be-seductive smile in my direction. It made my stomach knot that she remembered my name my name; I knew vampires never forgot things like that, but it was still scary.

"I'm not usually, but your dipshit waitress dumped your vile blood all down my favorite dress." I snarled back, Lafayette's mind screamed at me to shut up as he squeezed my hand in fear; it wasn't really smart to talk like that to a vampire. But I had two defense systems, run in fear, or turn into a bitch that seemed like she didn't give a shit. I usually chose the latter.

The tall Viking vampire looked down at my dress obviously displeased, or at least he looked to be, "Ginger that is coming out of your pay check. You are dismissed for the night. Longshadow make sure she gets home." The bar tender stepped up behind her and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her from the circle and down a back hallway. I knew for a fact that if she made it home at all, she wouldn't remember this incident.

All the vampires watched as they departed and then Viking turned his eyes back to me, "I do apologize for that, was it Miss Stackhouse?" I nod stiffly, "please allow me to get you something to change into and pay to get that cleaned."

"Like this will come out." I grumbled, looking down at my ruined dress with anger and disappointment bubbling in my stomach and mixing with the fear. I felt like I might puke.

"I know a man who can get it out. Pam, please go get her something to change into. I'll let you change in my office. Come." He moves to lead me down the hallway with him, I flinch away from his grasp, grabbing Lafayette's arm tighter and digging my nails into it deeper.

"I'm not leaving my girl alone with you." He said with false bravery, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and puffed his chest out, inside his head was screaming that I owed him for making him be this stupid.

Tall-Blonde-and-Viking chuckled at us like we were some form of entertainment, "very well then." He leads us down the hallway Ginger and the bartender had gone down. He pushes open the second door and motions for us to enter.

I quickly dart past him, jerking Lafayette behind me, a split second later Pam was in the room, holding clothes from the gift shop; I took them and then waited for them to leave. Neither moved, "I'm not changing in front of you." I snapped irritably, Lafayette's mind screaming at mine once more, busting through the barriers I had shoved up.

"Fine. Pam will stay here to take your dress. She will not look. I will wait outside." Viking said stepping out of the room, his words sounded more like a command that better have been directed at Pam. Pam turns her back to me with an annoyed huff assuring me that his words were pointed at her. I sigh and shake my head, trying to shake away my fear.

"Lafayette, can you unzip this?" he nods and unzips the dress so I can slide out of it, once it's off I toss it toward the vampire with a soft here, she catches it without turning around. I quickly tug on the Fangtasia shirt and pair of shorts that have "Bite Me" on the back in white letters, fantastic. Or fangtasic. A pun, I need help. I snigger to myself silently

"I'm dressed." I mutter. Viking pushes open the door, Pam walks out and he walks in, shutting the door behind him. He gestures for us to sit, Lafayette and I don't budge from our standing position by the couch.

"Very well then, I do have to ask that you not say anything about this to anyone. There will be no charges pressed on you by Ginger, and I would like it if this incident didn't stop you from coming here in the future." He said with what he probably hoped to be a charming smile.

I suppose to anyone else it would have been. Pushing past the fact that he was a vampire he was handsome. Tall with golden hair and blue eyes, broad shoulders and he was wearing jeans, boots and a vest. That was it. Had I not noticed the faint glow that told me his was a vampire I might have been attracted to him.

"Trust me, she is not the reason I will never be coming back. If you don't mind I have my friend's birthday party to get back too." I walk to the door and twist the knob, it doesn't open, "why is this door locked?" I growled.

"Safety precaution." He says appearing right beside me, I almost screamed, but I managed to bite it back as he pressed a few buttons. 6, 5, 7, 9. The door opened and I grabbed Lafayette and dragged him quickly out of the room, my heart hammering against my chest. The bar was pretty empty, but my girls were still sitting at a table flirting with Longshadow.

"I'm going to go wait out in the limo." Arlene says after a minute, "Lafayette, will you walk me out?" he glances my way but I shrug, silently offering to stay with the other two. Lafayette places his hand briefly on my shoulder before he walks out with Arlene. I slide into the booth and wait for the other two to finish flirting with Longshadow.

It took an unsurprising amount time and eventually Pam had to come over and get Longshadow to leave us alone so we could leave. I dragged Tara and Dawn behind me quickly across the parking lot and into the back of the limo.

Arlene was passed out already, next to Lafayette, and Dawn and Tara already seemed to be falling asleep as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot. By the time we pulled up at Tara's house both were out cold.

We helped Tara inside; the rest of us went back to Lafayette's house, because it was closest to Tara's so we could get to sleep as quickly as possible. We already had our stuff there, through smart planning.

Lafayette and I managed to carry both girls inside and laid them on his hide-a-bed couch. Once they were inside we paid the limo driver and made sure he was gone before we went inside.