AN: This is my first ever FF. Please be gentle...and a sincere thank you to Briniava for kicking me in the a$$ to make me release it to ya'll
Chapter 1
Eric walked out of his apartment with a sigh. The paparazzi were stalking his home now. Running is hand through his hair, he made his way down the stairs, not quite ready to face the public but knowing he had no choice.
He'd rented the apartment on the fourth floor hoping to keep his location a secret. The building had some security, but since his TV show had become so popular he was giving the security guards a run for their money.
He avoided the open lobby and made his way to the parking garage and his car silently; surprised no one had seen him.
Making his way through the California traffic, he pulled into the studio parking lot parking his car and heading through the doors to the set. Saying hello's to everyone as he made his way to his make-up trailer, he flopped into his seat and closed his eyes for a moment.
'I like my job….I just don't know about this area…why on earth are these people stalking me?' he thought to himself as he waited for his make-up artist.
His TV show had been renewed for a 5th and 6th season, as they'd found out yesterday, and everyone was riding the high from it. He played a vampire on the hit show Blood Bites.
The door to the trailer opened then, breaking him out of his daze.
"Hey Eric, script changes" a voice told him, forcing him to open his eyes. He smiled at Daphne and took the latest script from her.
"Thank you" he said
"I think the writers were bored last night, you have a bunch of new lines" she told him walking away.
Eric opened his script and started reading.
It was a good 10 hours before he was able to drive himself home avoiding the cameras waiting to capture him.
He made his way up to his apartment and crawled into bed, not even stopping to turn on the TV. He did manage to pull his clothes off and a pair of blue pajama pants on. It took him only moments to close his eyes and fall asleep.
Eric woke the next morning to his cell phone ringing. With a groan he reached over to his nightstand and opened the nuisance.
"Yeah?" he answered, his voice still full of sleep
"Turn on the TV" a female voice told him
"Pam? What's wrong?" he asked, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it.
"Just turn it on" she told him, before hanging up.
Eric groaned for a moment, and got up, walking into his living room to turn on his TV. It was on Enews and his face was plastered on the screen.
"Shit" he moaned until he heard he caption
"We just heard today, that Kelly Boatsworth had ended her relationship with Eric Northman. That's right Ladies, Eric Northman, start of Blood Bites is back on the market again. We've heard from different sources that Kelly was cheating on Eric over the weekend and that now it is over"
Eric's phone rang again.
"What?" he said opening it again.
"Did you see it?" Pam said
"Yep" he answered
"I told you she was a loser Eric, she is going to do her best now to make you look like a schmuck"
"It doesn't matter Pam" Eric replied as he sat down on his couch.
"It does to me" she told him.
"I'll call you later" he said closing his phone.
Eric laid down on the couch and closed his eyes again. The exhaustion taking him over as he laid there. He woke up several hours later to the sound of someone in his kitchen.
Pam appeared then, holding a cup of steaming coffee that she set in front of him on the coffee table.
"Another 10 hour day?" she asked sitting in the chair across from him.
Eric just nodded.
"You fly home tomorrow don't you?" she asked staring at him
Again he just nodded, taking a sip of his coffee in an attempt to wake up.
"I'll drop you at the airport" she said "When are you going to take some time off? You look like shit"
"After this movie is done" he told her. He was flying to Sweden tomorrow to start on a movie, it would take about 4 weeks and then he would have 2 weeks off. He was hoping that the time in Sweden would allow him to relax. No cameras in his face, no psycho stalker paparazzi, just some much needed time away.
Looking around his apartment he was trying to decide what to do with the rest of his night. He had no desire to go out, but he didn't relish the thought of being stuck in his home either.
"What do you want to do about the press and HER?" Pam asked
"Nothing, my private life is private" he said quietly "Kelly and I ended things weeks ago. I'm glad she has moved on, I wish her the best. It was never anything permanent anyway."
"But Eric-"
"No comment Pam" he told her, standing up he made his way to the bathroom, stripped down and jumped in his shower. He dried off and pulled on a pair of dark gray boxer briefs, black jeans and a plain black tshirt.
Walking back into the living room, he was pulling a comb through his wet hair when he spoke again "Call the airline, let's try to go tonight" he told Pam.
Pam grinned at him evilly, "I already did, you're also packed, I took care of it while you were in the shower"
They managed to get down the stairs to her car without setting off the paparazzi and got to the airport. Eric was shocked as nobody caught him walking through the airport. He squeezed Pam's hand as they felt the plane take off.
Sookie walked through the front door of the apartment carrying a box, holding the door with her foot for Amelia to walk past her.
"I am never moving again" Sookie said as she set her box in the kitchen.
"I am never climbing stairs again" Amelia replied
"Next time, we are hiring movers" Sookie said walking towards her room
"We had movers this time, but you insisted the only move the heavy stuff and that you and I would handle the boxes" Amelia argued
"Since when do you listen to me?" Sookie asked as she grabbed some towels out of a box and headed for her bathroom.
Excited at the thought of no longer sharing a bathroom, Sookie turned on the water in her shower and stripped down. It was well after 10 p.m. and all they wanted to do was shower and veg in front of the tv. Tray, Amelia's boyfriend had dropped off some Chinese Food for them. The plan was to shower, eat and sleep in front of the TV.
Sookie quickly washed her long blonde hair, soaped up, conditioned and rinsed off. She didn't even bother to blow dry her hair, just wrapped it in a towel while she hunted for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. Smoothing some lotion on her elbows, hands and knees, she was on her way to the kitchen before Amelia.
Sookie was pouring the broccoli chicken onto a plate when Amelia walked out in a long t-shirt, her brown hair still wet but brushed back on her head.
"Wine, soda or water?" she asked Sookie
"Water, anything else will delay my sleep" Sookie said, pouring Amelia's Orange chicken onto a plate for her.
The pair made their way to the living room, Tray had hooked up the TV when he'd dropped off the food for them before leaving.
"What do you wanna watch?" Amelia asked as they flopped on the sofa
"A movie, no TV" Sookie said as she set the plates down on the coffee table and grabbed the blankets beside the couch, handing one to Amelia and cover herself with the other as Amelia flipped through the On Demand movie selections.
"How about How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? We've seen it plenty of times and we won't be pissed when we fall asleep during it?" Amelia asked
"Works for me" Sookie said, pulling her plate onto her lap. Getting comfortable, she started eating as Amelia picked the movie and turned the TV up.
They didn't make it through half the movie before they fell asleep, the exhaustion of the day catching up to them as they finished eating and fell asleep at opposite ends of the large sofa.
They spent most of Sunday unpacking and sorting things, so that Monday, they would be able to go to work with no problems. Amelia made chicken tortilla soup for them to eat for lunch for the week while Sookie did the laundry.
They managed to sleep in their own beds Sunday night, having unpacked and gotten things settled. Monday morning rolled around with both girls heading out at the same time and separating when they left the garage.
Amelia was a partner in a law firm. Sookie was Finance Lead for a government contractor. They'd met when they were in middle school, Amelia having moved to Sookie's hometown of Bon Temps Louisiana.
Amelia's mother had passed away right after Amelia had been born and her father, Copley, had moved to Bon Temps hoping a small town would help Amelia since she had no mother.
Amelia had walked into Sookie's 1st period English class and the rest was history. Copley ended up leaving Amelia for frequent business trips and Gran had always been happy to take her in, she had become the sister Sookie had always wanted.
Sookie's parents had been killed in an auto accident when she was 7. Gran had taken her in after that, Sookie lived with her until she passed with Sookie was 22. That was almost 5 years ago. She'd left Sookie the farmhouse they'd lived in, but Sookie had felt a pull to move to Los Angeles and when she was 23, she convinced Amelia to go with her. Amelia finished her law degree in California, the girls had shared a small efficiency until moving into the large apartment they had now.
Sookie had kept the farmhouse, only closing it so that if something happened they'd be able to return to it whenever they needed. Her friend Sam looked in on it for her frequently; making sure nothing went wrong while they were gone.
Sookie made it through her day at the office and was home before 6pm. Dropping her lunch dish into the sink on the way to her room, she changed into her pajamas before starting dinner.
They managed to fall into a quiet, comfortable routine over the next few weeks, meeting a few of their neighbors, and making friends with folks in their building. There were only two apartments on their floor, theirs and an empty one.
Sookie developed a habit of going to the exercise room at night, after work with her ipod and running on the treadmill. The security in the building made sure nobody was ever in danger and she slowly began to recognize faces.
As they celebrated their first month in the apartment, Sookie began working longer hours. They'd moved in September, October was the beginning of the fiscal year for the government and it was a crazy time for Sookie. Her schedule was blown to bits, instead of working 7:30 – 4:30, she began working 11a – 11p in an effort to close project books and reconcile accounts. Only year end was crazier and that was fast approaching.
It was one night, a Wednesday night, that she got home late, around 1am having been kept up because of a particular reconciliation issue when she made her way up the stairs, her laptop case on her shoulder, her purse strap and keys in her right hand and her shoes in her left. She hated walking through the hall in her heels late at night, she'd always worried that it would echo in the apartments. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head with a clip and her blouse was untucked from her skirt. She was desperately hoping she wouldn't run into anyone as she made her way through the hall.
Making her way up the last flight of stairs, she was almost at her door when she heard a voice behind her "My my my, what do we have here?"
Sookie hearing the voice turned around, and found a tall slender woman with blonde hair staring at her from the empty apartment across the hall.
"Hello" Sookie said with a pained smile and a nod of her head. Turning back to her door, she managed to get her keys into the door lock before her purse strap broke spilling the contents of her purse into the hall.
"Crap" Sookie said under her breath. Setting down her laptop case, and shoes, she managed to get the door open, before turning around to pick up her purse and the spilled contents.
"Need a hand?" asked the blonde that had watched the whole thing
"No thank you" Sookie said with a sigh, trying to smile "I've had a very long day and this just adds to it"
"I'm Pam" the blonde said, "I met Amelia a few days ago, she said she had a roommate, I was beginning to think she was teasing since I'd never seen you"
"Its been very crazy at work, it's the end of the government fiscal year, and I've been burning the candle at both ends" Sookie explained with a yawn "Did ya'll just move in?"
"Oh..no…we've been here for a while"
Sookie managed to grab her things and stuff them into her purse, while holding her door open. Pulling her laptop into the apartment and dropping her shoes on the carpet, she looked at the other woman.
"Well it was nice to meet you" she said smiling "I'm sorry I'm not at my best, its been a long day for me, and I'm facing another one tomorrow"
"PAM!" hollered a male voice from inside the other apartment.
"I'll see you another time" Sookie said, closing the door quietly, and locking it behind her. She had just enough energy to make it to her room and collapse on her bed, still fully clothed.
Pam watched her new neighbor shut the door and heard the lock click in place. She smiled shutting her own door before answering Eric.
"WHAT?" she yelled back
"What are you doing?" he asked walking towards her "Its almost 1 in the morning, why were you standing there with the door open?"
Pam smiled "I was meeting our other neighbor, she was walking into her apartment and I opened the door to say hi"
"Oh, neighbors" Eric mumbled under his breath
"I don't think you'll mind these two. I met the other one a few days ago, she's very outgoing a little brunette. This one I met tonight, was quite a bit more reserved, she's a blonde. We should take something over tomorrow to be nice"
"I have no desire to meet neighbors, you know how they are" Eric said rolling his eyes "Besides, this isn't even where you live"
"I'm here more than I'm at home Eric, get over it, I think we should be nice to these two"
"Uh-huh, which one are you hot for?" Eric smirked at her
"The brunette, the blonde is not my style, so suck it up and be nice, I'll cook and we'll take something over tomorrow, and YOU WILL BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR" Pam growled at him.
"As long as they don't go all Fan Girl on me, we'll be fine" Eric replied walking away, he flopped on his couch and turned on his TV.
"Are you ever gonna snap out of this funk? Kelly was a dumbass and you weren't even in love with her Eric"
"Its not easy being publicly dumped Pam, just back off, I may not have been in love with her, but I don't enjoy my business being tabloid gossip"
"You are off to where ever for your next film Eric, lets just make these two weeks here as pleasant as possible, besides, I am sure nobody remembers the two of you anyway"
Pam spent the better part of the afternoon cooking a chicken casserole to take over to their new neighbors, while Eric rehearsed his lines for his upcoming movie.
It was close to 6pm when they heard Amelia fumbling with her keys and shut the door across the hall. Pam smiled at Eric as she sat on the couch.
"Lets get this over with" Eric said
"Wait, the other one isn't home yet, and Amelia just walked in. Give them a bit longer, I was thinking maybe 8ish we could go over" she smirked at him
"I'm going to use the treadmill then, I need to get out of here for a while"