Chapter 1

SPOV

It's the day of my seventeenth birthday, and I am in the car with my family, driving away from my life here in Michigan. My dad had gotten a new job out of state, so here we are moving to the muggy, swampy state of Louisiana. I cry through much of the long car ride. Happy birthday indeed.

I wasn't going to fit in here, I just knew it. My older brother, Jason, however was ecstatic about the possibility of making new friends. He was always the social butterfly. We couldn't be more different from one another. We are only a year apart, but are polar opposites in almost every way. While I have always been the quiet loner, having my nose constantly stuck in a book, Jason was ever the popular one, constantly surrounded by hordes of friends and adoring girls.

We drive up to the towering house, and I am surprised at its huge size. It's in need of some paint and some of the boards on the porch could use replacing, but it looks surprisingly homey. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought. My mom tells me I can pick out my room first, since it's my birthday and I gleefully run into the house, turning to stick out my tongue at my whining big brother. Childish, I know.

I run up the squeaking, wooden steps and begin exploring. I walk into the first room and take in the soft blue walls with dainty flower patterns. There is a window seat across the way, and I can already picture myself spending hours sitting there reading my trashy romance novels. The thought brings a small smile to my lips. This is definitely my new room.

"Sookie!" my dad calls up the stairs, "Come help your mom bring in these boxes!"

"Coming, Dad!" I call down, as I make my way back down the noisy steps. Dad is lugging in huge boxes, while Mom is busy scolding Jason for fiddling around with his massive collection of sports equipment instead of helping with the unpacking. I snort at his antics. Typical Jason, always screwing around.

I run to the van, and scout out my own boxes and begin the long process of carting them up to my new room. Once all the boxes are finally filling my new space, I begin unpacking them, finding room in the large closet to store my rather plain wardrobe. Jason enters my room as I am busy organizing my things.

"You're room is bigger than mine! No fair, Sook! I'm the oldest, this one should be mine!" he whines to me. I roll my eyes at his childish pout.

"Mom told me I could pick whichever room I wanted; it is my birthday, Jase. Suck it up, pretty boy," I retort snottily.

"Psh, fine, whatever, at least my room doesn't have stupid flower wallpaper, you can have it," he answers. Whatever, like he was really gonna be able to take this room from me anyways. I'll just let him think he won. He turns then, and heads back into the hall, and what I assume is his new room. He can be an obnoxious big brother, but when we were yonger, if other kids ever picked on me or called me names, he was always quick to defend me and had gotten in several scrapes in my defense. He can be pretty cool when he wants to be.

I continue setting up my new room, when I hear strange voices coming from the yard. I made my way over to the window to peek out. Jason is standing out in the yard, football in hand, laughing and joking with two boys that looked to be around our age. Of course, we've been here a whole three hours and my brother is already making new friends, it figures.

I look to the two boys talking with my brother. The one is tall, at least a full head taller than Jason, with flaxen blonde hair. He is muscular and quite handsome, I definitely appreciate the view. I look to the second boy, he is shorter than the other two, with wavy brown locks and he is well built and really good looking. Damn! They sure now how to make 'em here in Louisiana! This may not be the end of the world after all.

I'm still gawking at our gorgeous new neighbors, when the tall blonde boy looks up at me, catching my obvious ogling of his physique. I instantly flush at being caught staring at them, he gives me a wicked smirk and raises an eyebrow at me. Damn! I duck out of view quickly, my hear racing. I can't believe I've already managed to make a fool of myself. I slap my forehead. Good job, Sookie, way to look like a total dork in front of the hottie neighbors!

"Sookie!" calls my mom, "Come down and meet the neighbors, honey!" Oh, my God! My heart is racing and I am desperately praying I don't embarrass myself any further, as I make my way down to the front yard.

"Hey, Sook," calls Jason as I enter the yard, "This here's Eric and Godric, they live right down the road from us. Guys, this is my little sister, Sookie."

"Hey, Sookie," purrs the tall blonde boy, "I'm Eric, and this is my friend, Godric, it's nice to meet you," he says holding out a large hand in greeting. I reach to return his handshake and as our skin makes contact a small bolt of electricity shoots through me at the small touch. My brows rise in surprise, and I look up to see a similar expression on his handsome face, weird.

"Hi, Eric, it's nice to make your acquaintance," I say softly. The boy I now know to be Godric steps towards us then, extending his own hand to me.

"Nice to meet you, we don't get a lot of new neighbors around here. You going to be going to Bon Temps High?" he asks, shaking my hand. Once more I feel a shocking tingle as our skin makes contact and we share the same surprised expression.

"Um, yeah, we are. It's nice to meet you too, Godric. It's nice knowing we will at least know a couple friendly faces when school starts." He gives me a small, sweet smile that sends a wave of warmth through me, making me flush slightly.

"Your brother here says he is trying out for the football team, are you a cheerleader, Sookie?" Eric asks me with a wink and a smirk.

"Ha! Not even! Sook here is too busy with her nose stuck in those books of hers to care about football games," says Jason to the guys. "Cheerleader," he whispers, shaking his head and laughing. Thanks a lot, big brother.

Eric steps forward then, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I would love if you came to cheer me on at the games, Sookie. We have a pretty decent team, so the games shouldn't be too boring for you." He wants me to come cheer him on? I am gushing on the inside at his small attentions. I have never had a boyfriend, in fact guys have always avoided me like the plague, labeling me a nerdy bookworm. That this handsome boy, with his beautiful blue eyes is treating me so kindly makes me melt inside.

Godric steps forward, placing his hand on my opposite shoulder. "I could keep you company in the stands, Sookie. Football really isn't my thing, but I never miss one of Eric's games, he's actually pretty good," he explains. I stand speechless for a second, lost in the gaze of their beautiful eyes, one a bright green, and one ocean blue, both equally beautiful. What a strange pull I feel to both of them I think in wonderment.

"Um, sure, that sounds nice, Godric. Thank you," I tell him shyly, and he gives me a beaming grin. He is beautiful, and his smile makes him more so. Jason breaks up our moment.

"So, what position do you play, I was the QB back in Michigan," he tells Eric proudly. The two begin animatedly begin talking football, while Godric places his hand at the small of my back and starts guiding me down the driveway.

"Where are we going?" I ask him softly. He gives me a grin.

"I thought we could go for a walk, Sookie. There's a really pretty pond not far from here, would you care to join me?" he asks softly. My heart is pounding in my chest and my palms are sweaty. How is this boy able to affect me like this? Calm down, Sookie! It's just a walk, it's not like he's not asking you to prom, get a grip!

"Sure, that sounds nice," I tell him, giving him a small smile. He reaches for my hand, and once again, I feel that electric tingle shoot through me at his touch. Oh my God! He is holding my hand! Butterflies are fluttering wildly in my stomach, and I take a deep calming breath to steady my nerves as we start walking down the battered dirt road. I glance back and see Eric watching us, he has an angry look on his face. What's that all about? Whatever, I'll worry about it later. I turn back and focus my attention on the beautiful green eyed boy holding my hand.

We continue walking down the road as Godric starts, "So tell me about yourself, Sookie. What do you like to do?"

"Well I enjoy reading, and hanging out with my friends, well, I did," I sigh, "I'm really gonna miss my friends back home. I have a hard time meeting new people," I admit, surprising myself by how comfortable I feel telling him this.

"You just moved here today, and you've already met Eric and I, I'd say your off to a pretty good start." I smile up at him.

"Maybe you're right. So what's the story with you two? Are you pretty close?"

"Eric's parents died in a car wreck when he was three. He didn't have any other family to speak of, and my parents were really close to his. It was written up in his parent's living will that my folks were to be granted custody of Eric should anything happen to them. We took him in, and he's been with us ever since. He's like a brother to me," he explains. I can see the hurt on his face as he recalls the sad story. I see the love he has for his friend and consider Eric lucky to have such a caring person in his life.

"That's so sad. It was really great of your parents to step up like that, taking in a toddler when they already had one of their own. Not a lot of people would be so kind." He nods.

"Like I said, our parents were really close, they already considered Eric family. Plus, it was great getting a brother. We did everything together growing up, well, until recently. He's more of a jock, and I've never really been interested in sports. I like reading too, we have that in common," he tells me with a smile, which I return.

We arrive at a gorgeous pond. The clear water is glistening in the Louisiana sun. I smile, raising my face to the warm rays of sunshine. I think I am gonna like it here in the south. "It really is beautiful here, Godric. Thank you for showing me this place."

He nods, leading me to a small bench at the side of the pond. He sits, and I drop down next to him. He takes my hand in his once more and I lean against him with a comfortable sigh. We sit just taking in the beautiful scene around us, basking in the warm heat of summer. I don't know how fate brought this beautiful boy into my life, but I'm thankful for it all the same. This birthday has certainly taken a turn for the better.