Raven glanced outside her window, helplessly thinking about what it would be like to meet a vampire. Ever since vampires "came out of the coffin" she'd always wanted to see one in real life. Sure, vampires had appeared on national television to make the announcement , but seeing a pasty, thin, attractive middle aged looking vampire on screen wasn't nearly as exciting. So, she just stared at the rain, letting her imagination run wild.

She was never one for particular details, so the hair and eye color of said vampire, or vampires, wasn't really determined. She just really wanted to meet an attractive vampire, and with her being bisexual, that wouldn't be too hard. She felt like she could express her sexuality more openly around vampires. After all, they weren't the conservative hicks she currently lived with. Raven cursed herself mentally. She'd been living in Bon Tomp, Louisiana for approximately three weeks with her brother Christien, while their father, the only living parent, was stationed in northern Iraq. Chris was a road worker, and he made enough money to support himself, but now that she was here, she needed to find a job to help out. Wonderful. Raven was fresh out of high school, a tender age of nineteen, and she wasn't even given a chance to go to the college she wanted. No, she had to look for a job, here, in a town with a small population of 2,000 something people. Raven was a little less than thrilled. She was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, so she was used to the liberal, east coast, city folk who sipped Starbucks and pierced every inch of their body like there was no tomorrow. She was used to the nonjudgmental the people in school and on the streets gave her back home. Here, she couldn't even go the corner store without being stared at. Raven had natural, curly, pitch black hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. She was naturally fair skinned, though now, she had a bit of a tan from walking around town, and her eyes were a piercing bright grey. But, what actually made people do a double take, was her style; she was what people would call 'Gothic Chic'. She wouldn't dare put on a single thing with the label 'Tripp'. Black, deep red, emerald, and midnight blue were her comfort colors and she wasn't afraid to be daring with them. For example, she was currently sporting a crimson corset over a black tank top, a long black skirt, and was wearing a ring on each finger and some on her toes. She wasn't exactly a nice, southern belle. No, she stuck out like a sore thumb and she loved it. Christien wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes, but he was a bit different like his little sister.

Raven was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. She sat from her chair and left her room, peering down the stair. Chris and a tall, blond man that she didn't recognize were chatting in the living room. Chris noticed her.
"Rave, come down and say 'hi'." Christien called, motioning with his hand.
Semi-reluctantly, she made her way down the stairs, her bangles jingling as she did so. She smiled at the blond, extending her hand. It seemed like the proper thing to do, when introduced to someone from the south.
"Hi, I'm Raven Saintclaire."
He took her hand and gave it a nice, firm shake. "Hiya. I'm Jason Stackhouse. It's nice to meet ya."
"Likewise."
"Jason works with me, Rave, and he happens to know that there's a position open at his sister's work. He says that the restaurant is short staffed and they need a new waitress," explained Chris.
"Yeah. The place is called Merlotte's. My sister, Sookie, she said that she'd be more than happy to escort ya to the place to meet the boss." Jason said, "Here's my sister's number. Giver her a call tonight to let her know if you're interested."
She took the piece of paper from him and slipped it down her shirt, the gesture making Jason gulp. She smiled to herself at how one tracked his mind was. Chris cleared his throat, getting Jason to snap out of his trance. He shot her a warning glance as he said his good byes to Jason. She'd be getting a talk later. Chris closed and locked the front door and turned to face her. His face was serious, but she could in his eyes that he was amused.
"What have I told you about messing with the locals?"
"Well, it's not my fault that you picked his place to move to after college. Seriously, Chris, what were you thinking? You graduated from NYU to go here? You have yet to explain this to me." "My choices don't give you a right to be a tease."
"I'm not a tease. These people just cannot take a joke." Oops. "
'These people?'" Christien repeated, shocked. "Did our parents teach you to be this judgmental? Or do you just enjoy being close minded and believing stereotypes?"
Her conscience grabbed a hold of her heart strings making her wince. Chris looked down at her, his ice blue eyes staring through her. His short, even, black spikes making him look a tidbit menacing.
"No sir." Raven replied. "Pardon me."
Chris' face softened. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her forehead.
"Haven't I told you to stop calling me that?" he chuckled. "I know this is hard on you, Rave, but please try to make this your new home. Call Miss Sookie, get the job, it'll give you something to do while I'm not around."
Raven pouted. "I have stuff to do," she said, motioning to her freshly painted nails.
"I hardly believe that giving yourself a manicure will keep you occupied everyday."
"You'd be surprised, Chris."
"Rave, just do this for me. Please?" He looked down at her, pouting his lips and batting his eyes lashes. Raven rolled her eyes and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Alright, you big baby."
He smirked. "Go on. You have a phone call to make."
Raven stuck her pierced tongue at him and dashed up the stairs. She closed her door behind her and jumped on her bed. She took the piece of paper out from in between her breasts, punched the numbers into her cell phone, and clicked 'send'. It rang.
"Hello?" said a bright, female voice.
"Good evening. I'm Raven Saintclaire. My brother, Christien, works with Jason. Jason said to call you if I was interested in the job opening at Merlotte's," I quickly noticed a mistake. "This is Sookie Stackhouse, correct?"
"Yup!" beamed Sookie. "The one and only. That's so great that you're interested, Raven. I'll pick you up at around 4:00 tomorrow, so that you can work my shift with me. What's your address?"
"42 Sunnydew Drive."
"Great. I'll pick up tomorrow."
"Alright, thank you."
Raven hung up and placed her phone on her dresser. She slipped out of her clothes and dashed to her bathroom. She pulled her nightshirt over her head and brushed her teeth. She walked back to her room, saying goodnight to Chris before shutting her door. She shut off the lights and slipped under the covers. Raven listened to the gentle pitter patter of the rain, the melody of the storm outside made her drift into a deep sleep.