**A/N: thank you a million times for all the people who have reviewed. It keeps me going. And I forgot yesterday, but Charlaine Harris owns the characters; I'm just playing dress up with them. Please don't sue me.
Chapter 2
Sookie and Eric drove back to their duplex in Shreveport. Sookie had bought it with part of her inheritance after Gran had died. She lived on one side, Eric on the other. This gave each other the privacy the needed and the closeness they craved.
Since high school, Sookie and Eric had come to rely on each other. Eric could be his true, introspective and serious self with Sookie. Being the super-jock, playing the cliched Big Man on Campus bored him most of the time. When Sookie was with him, she could lower the badass shields she carried, but never put them down completely. They were too much of herself, and she never left herself defenseless. As Eric unlocked his door and turned on his hall lights, he remembered one of the few times she had let her defenses down and it had almost broken her.
February 2002
Fall had faded into winter, although northern Louisiana was milder then other parts of the country. Eric made his transition from football to basketball. If Sookie couldn't find anything to do, she came to hang out in the gym while the basketball team practiced.
The day arrived when a new student showed up to try out for the team. He was tall, only and inch or two shorter then Eric and more stocky and muscular then was usually seen on the basketball court. He had olive skin and a shaved head. The coach put him through the warm up drills and played him in a scrimmage. After deeming him fit for play, the coach called his team to the bleachers.
"Guys, this is John Quinn. Sorry, just Quinn. He just transferred from Memphis. He played for his school there, so he knows the game. I expect you guys to make him feel at home, show him around, help him out."
Eric eyed his new teammate. He looked like decent enough guy. But he noticed that Quinn wasn't looking at his new team. His eyes were studying the blonde laying on her stomach on the top row reading. Eric felt jealously and possessiveness wash over him. He knew he had no claim on Sookie, but he felt it regardless. As they headed to the showers, he struggled against disliking this person he had never met.
Sookie met him at his car, waiting for him to drive her home. It was a pattern they had fallen into when Jason had taken to following his pursuit of tail rather then taking care of his little sister. He had left her, abandoned, at the school more then once. Eric had found her when she came into the gym to escape a rain storm and offered to drive her home whenever she wanted. Eric had an old beater that his mom had bought off a guy she worked with. It was reliable enough to get to school and back, but not much else.
Quinn headed toward his own vehicle, a souped up pickup, which was the norm for the area if you had money to burn. Eric could tell at a glance that the truck had every bell and whistle that it could have; options the he could only dream of. He noticed Quinn veer of and start heading for Eric's car... and Sookie.
"So how was practice?" Sookie asked when she heard footsteps approach her. She was leaning against Eric's car, still reading. When she was absorbed in a book, not many things could cause her to tear her attention away from the pages. Eric loved to watch her read. Her face would register her emotions and her eyes flew over the text. Eric watched her a lot, if she wouldn't catch him doing it
"You were there. Weren't you paying attention?" Quinn's voice was unexpected enough to pull Sookie's eyes from her book.
"I never pay attention. I'm not really a 'sports' kind of gal," Sookie replied, marking her page with a scrap of paper, then stuffing it in her backpack. "Who are you?"
"John Quinn. I just moved here from Memphis. No one calls me John, though. Coach already covered this. You really were in your own little world there, weren't you?" Quinn flashed her a cocky grin. Eric rolled his eyes to himself and started to dislike him even more.
Sookie met his grin with a cool gaze and a raised eyebrow. "You assume you should warrant more of my attention the Rhett and Scarlett? You do think highly of yourself, don't you, Mr. Quinn? Eric, Gran's making chili and cornbread for supper. You're always invited, if you want a home cooked meal."
Adele Hale married wealthy Mitchell Stackhouse, but she grew up learning how to cook from her own grandmother. Her dream before marriage had been to open her own restaurant. That dream changed when she started raising children and then her grandchildren. She still cooked like a demon and her meals were amazing.
She also adored Eric. She saw the gentle young man that he was. He had the right temperament to calm her fiery Sookie. Adele could tell her granddaughter struggled against what she wanted to do and accomplish and the small town mores that prohibited it.
Eric jumped at the offer of home cooking at the Stackhouse's. Along with an incredible meal, he could avoid the dark and empty house that was so lonely when his mom worked the second shift. Those nights he choked down a cold cut sandwich and struggled through his homework, easily distracted by the traffic sounds outside and his own rambling thoughts.
At Sookie's house, he used the study to complete his assignments while Sookie did the same, both with full and satisfied stomachs. Adele always made a plate for him to take home to his mom. She respected any woman that worked herself to the bone to take care of her child and felt the least the woman deserved was a good meal.
Eric sprawled on the floor of the study, his usual spot, to work on his homework, while Sookie sat at her desk. She flipped the stereo remote to Eric. Her rule was that classical music had to play in the background while she studied and did her work. She said it helped her concentrate and focus. "No Beethoven tonight. It's too heavy. I'm in the mood for a little Vivaldi," she said.
Eric scanned to the appropriate disc and hit play. To his surprise, Sookie didn't launch into her work as usual. She spun around in her chair and looked at Eric. "What do you think the deal was with that Quinn guy today?" she asked.
He thought, frowning. "I don't know," he said. "He was awfully cocky for a new guy who doesn't know anyone."
"Maybe that's how he handles feeling awkward. I cuss, you get silent... well, silenter, Jason said the first dumbass thing that comes out of his mouth. Maybe Quinn acts cocky. He probably doesn't realize he comes off as a total douche." She grinned.
Eric shrugged. "I don't know. It kinda seemed like his personality was 'cocky douche'. I don't think we'll be hanging out a lot off the court."
He had said "we" as in he and Sookie together. He had assumed that she wouldn't like anyone he didn't. His assumption was wrong.
"I don't know. It takes guts to approach a total stranger and try to start a conversation. I remember starting school here. The only person I knew was Jason." Her gran had home schooled her until she insisted she be able to go to school with her brother so she could take advanced courses. She had been incredibly sheltered as a result of staying at home with her grandmother all day, every day, and she had no friends her own age. "Look," she continued, "I can tell you don't like him and he may end up being a cocky asshole. But I'm going to give him a chance, and you should too."
"Come on, let's get to work," Eric grumbled. What had started as admiration and a little lust for his teammate's little sister had exploded into full on love as he spent more and more time with her. He loved her drive, her imagination, her sense of humor, and even occasionally, her foul mouth. That foul mouth had starred in more then one of his private fantasies doing many other things then talking. He didn't want any third party cutting into his time.
The next day, Sookie was good to her word. She hunted down Quinn when she got to school. She shook his hand, smiling up a storm. Sookie could be more charming the Jason on his best day, if she wanted to be. She normally didn't care enough about what other people thought to put forth the effort. She offered to show Quinn around and laughed at even his stupidest jokes convincingly. Eric stopped tagging around after third period. He didn't like feeling like a third wheel. He should have stayed.
Eric winked at Sookie when she showed up in the bleachers. She smiled and waved. He smiled back until he saw Quinn run up to greet her. His smile dissolved completely when she didn't even acknowledge his greeting. She actually watched the practice today and flagged Eric over as the team was heading to the locker room.
"Uuum... I told Quinn he could drive me home tonight. He wants me to show him around. I thought I's show him a few of the hot spots. You know, Sonic, the quarry, the cemetery. The swinging night life of Bon Temps!" She grinned.
Eric nodded. "That's okay. I should probably head home and get some stuff done for mom. She's always dead on her feet when she gets home from work. I don't feel I've been doing my share lately." Not even a lie, since he had been spending nearly every evening with Sookie.
He took off for home. When he got to the duplex, he became even more depressed then he already was. The sight of the rusty screens and the front door with the peeling paint always brought him low. It just made the sick feeling in his stomach worse. He just knew he was going to lose Sookie.
Eric miserably went into the dark house feeling almost unbearable lonely. This routine was nothing new; he'd been a latchkey kid all his life. But since meeting Sookie, the loneliness had become bearable. She had given him something more then a vague future to dream of. He felt lost.
Over the following weeks and months, his old routine returned. He still tutored Sookie on the weekends, but the time the spent hanging out was gone. She was always running off to see Quinn, to do something with Quinn, to be with Quinn. He had taken over her life, leaving nothing for Eric.
He refocused his efforts on his games and his studies. He had gotten acceptance letters from both Tulane and LSU. He was holding out to see which one came up with the best scholarship. There was really nothing more tying him to Bon Temps.
Basketball season ended and his gym shoes were traded for cleats when baseball season started. He reconnected with Jason, who was also playing his final season. Eric went to class, went to practice, went home, went to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. He had been offered a full baseball scholarship to LSU, a full ride for football at Tulane, and a random offer from Texas A&M for basketball. He cornered his mom on one of her rare afternoons off and asked for her help in deciding where to go. Sophie was overcome by what her son had accomplished, she couldn't speak for sobbing for an hour. She wished she could rub that shit Andre's face in the fact that his son was going to do so much more then he had ever been able to accomplish.
After doing the research, Eric and Sophie decided on accepting Tulane's offer. Tulane was further away, in New Orleans, but it also had a highly respected pre-law program. Even in his misery, he had never lost sight of his ultimate goal. It did feel strange not to go to Sookie with the news, but she had chosen the companionship of Quinn over friendship. He would let that be her cross to bear. Because he still loved her, albeit bitterly.
He had seen the signs going up at school that the prom was coming up. He didn't care. The only person he would have wanted to ask already had a date.
That Saturday was nothing different. He went for a jog in the morning, enjoying the air before the heat made it think and humid. He showered when he got home and started some laundry. He picked up around the tiny house while his mom worked. As both he and Sophie were fairly neat, he didn't have a lot to do. He saw a shopping list on the refrigerator with some money pinned to it. Eric knew how to take a hint. He added a few things to the list for reminder's sake, put it and the money in his pocket, and headed to Walmart.
As he was driving, he saw girls in cars with closed windows and had hair in ridiculously complicated up-dos It was the only thing that had reminded him that the prom was tonight. He resolved to relax and decided to splurge on a few rental movies to keep him company.
He was halfway through The Fast and the Furious when his front door burst open. He ran into the kitchen and saw Sookie, her elaborately done hair in shambles. He makeup was smeared with tear streaks. She was barefoot. Her blue dress completed the look of ruined perfection. One of the spaghetti straps had snapped and tulle was drooping unevenly from under her skirt. She gasped catching her breath and her eyes were crazed Eric stood, stunned speechless, staring at her.
He unfroze and moved to her, but when he tried to put his arm around her, she flinched away from him. "Sook, what happened at prom? Where's Quinn?"
At his name, she started crying so hard she couldn't move. Eric managed to lead her to the couch without really touching her and supplied her with tissues and sips of ice water as needed.
He got her as calm as he thought he was able. She started to tell her story. He had an idea of what had happened, but he needed to hear it from her. "You have to tell me, Sook. Tell me so I can help you."
She took a long sip of water before saying, "I will, if you promise me that you will not run out of here like a crazy person until I tell you everything. You're still my best friend, even though I've been a shitty friend for months. I know it and you can punish me how ever you see fit tomorrow. I need my friend tonight."
Eric nodded, agreeing to anything she requested. He hoped he wasn't going to hear what he thought he was.
"Quinn and I had been getting really serious. And you know I'm not... experienced... with guys. Quinn had this idea... you know... prom night... you know..."
As smart as she was, as confident as she acted, to Eric, she had never sounded more like a scared 14 year old girl then she did right then. The way she carried herself made you forget how young she really was.
She continued, "I was all excited. A freshman, going to prom! I thought I loved Quinn. He made all these plans. He and Jason decided to share a limo. He came and picked us up, then we went to pick up Dawn. We went and we danced and it was so fun. Then we all went to the limo and it took us to the Howard Johnson. They checked in and Jason went in one direction with Dawn and Quinn led me in another. We went in the room and I knew. I knew that I wasn't ready for this.
"I tried to tell Quinn. I thought he'd understand. He got..." her voice dropped to a choked whisper, "... really mad. He pushed me down and said that I'd promised him and why the hell would he put up with my bullshit if he wasn't going to get anything out of it."
She had no way of knowing that every word was like a knife in Eric's heart. To know that she had planned... with him. He tried to keep his face calm.
"I kept trying to stand up, to talk to him, to calm him down. He wouldn't let me up. He kept pushing me back down. He seemed... I don't know. I can't remember seeing anyone act like that. He said that he put up with my shit and had turned down better offers to get me there and he was going to make sure I kept my promise."
Eric felt rage boiling his blood. He had just known that it was going to be something like this when he saw her. He gathered all his self-control to stop the impulse to beat the hell out of Quinn, to make him feel like a scared little girl. But that could wait. This couldn't.
"He... this is the hard part so bear with me." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She kept her eyes closed as she continued. "He got on top of me and held me down with his arm on my chest. It was really hard to breathe. He kept yelling at me, but I was getting dizzy, so I don't really remember what he was saying. He reached up my skirt and pulled, but he only tore my dress." She gasped a little, but continued. "That just seemed to make him madder. When he went to try again, I brought my knee up as hard as I could. Jason told me if I ever needed to bring a guy down, that would do it. He rolled off me screaming and I took off running. I called a cab from the hotel office. The night guy gave me fare since I left my purse in the room and I was not going back there. I came here. I can't go home yet. Gran would take one look at me and call Sheriff Dearborn. I don't want to tell anyone about this. I don't want Gran or Jason to know. I only trust you.
"I know I've been a bitch to you. I don't even know why. I was obsessed with Quinn. Maybe I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. All I heard about in the halls and between classes was who was dating who, who liked who, who dumped who. It seemed like I was missing something. I don't know why I picked Quinn. Maybe because he was new. Everything here was fresh to him. But I couldn't be me. Just the girl who doesn't give a shit about anything but getting out. I had to be perky, preppy, perfect. I'm not any of those things, but that was what Quinn wanted. So I played the part. And look where it got me."
Sookie covered her face and started crying in earnest. Eric couldn't help but try to comfort a girl in pain. She allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She sank into his chest and before too long, the bobs gave way to steady, deep breathing as she cried herself to sleep.
He laid her gently on the couch and covered her with an old quilt. Then he began pacing like a caged lion. He wanted to rip something, destroy something, kill someone. The feelings were strange to him. He wasn't prone to violent emotions. He prided himself on his cool head and mellow personality. He liked to plan a course of action and try to see it three moves into the future. It was what made him so valuable and dangerous on the playing fields. But he was unable to be cool and mellow when everything was covered in a red pulsing haze. He had already hated Quinn before tonight,but felt it burgeoning into full blown, murderous rage. He continued to pace and tried to corral his thoughts, oblivious to the time. The jangle of keys told him his mom had gotten home. He met her in the kitchen with a finger to his lips and pointed in the direction of the tiny living room.
Sophie peeked in the room and saw Sookie asleep on the couch. He weary eyes took in the disheveled hair, the tear stained face, and the ripped strap of the dress. She led her son to her room and closed the door. "Tell me," she said quietly. She had been distracted, as she always was from working the kind of hours she did, but even she had seen the frustration and pain that that girl had put her baby through.
Eric, though he trusted his mom implicitly, struggled. Sookie hadn't wanted anyone to know what had happened. It wasn't his secret to tell.
"Eric, she is asleep on my couch, under my roof. Tell me why I shouldn't tell her to take her flighty ass back to her own house."
"Damn it, Mom! Quinn tried to rape her tonight! She didn't know where to go. So she came here. To me." Eric anxiously ran his hands through his hair. "She knew her gran would sic Bud on Quinn and she doesn't want to go through that. She just wants to forget it. She cried herself to sleep a few hours ago."
Sophie's eyes narrowed. "He what? He did what to that little girl? She's a baby. I guess the good lord forgot that when he gave her that body." Sophie's irritation and Sookie's fickle friendship was set aside as fierce mama-bear style protective instincts kicked in. "Okay, she doesn't want to press charges. I get that. It would be a he said-she said nightmare. And she knows that. Adele would press charges anyway because she's like that and Sookie is a minor. Surprisingly, I agree with Sookie. Keep this close. I would love to see that prick pay for what he did, but a trial would hurt her more, My question for you is, what do you plan on doing about it?"
Eric rubbed his eyes before responding tiredly, "What do you mean, Mom?" The high emotions of the evening had drained him.
"Eric, you are my son. I know a lot. I know you love that girl still, for reasons that are a mystery to me. I know that she has been through hell tonight and she is damn lucky to have had you here to help her. And I know that you are looking like you want to kill someone for what has been done to her. I understand. But you are my child. My main concern is for you. You are going to Tulane in four months and I will chain you to the wall if you so much as hint at doing anything that will jeopardize your scholarship, you hear me?"
Eric knew better then to doubt her word. He could hear the links clink already. And as much as he loved Sookie, it had cooled to the point where he would not risk his future to defend her honor. He told his mother as much. She raised her eyebrow skeptically, but nodded. She went to her dresser and pulled out an old pair of jeans and a tank top, and pulled out some flip-flops from her closet.
"Leave these by the couch. They should fit her and it won't look like she's doing a walk of shame heading home. I'm turning in. I would ask if you were, but I'd be wasting my breath. Good night."
He sat in the living room watching over Sookie as she slept. He dozed off himself and had woken up to an empty couch. The loaned clothes were gone and the ruined dress was in a ball in the corner of the room. He never found out what story Sookie had given her gran about the missing prom dress or the sudden break-up with Quinn, but whatever it was, it was apparently believable. He also knew without a doubt, the he was the only one that Sookie had told about the events of that night.
For one, Quinn was still walking, and walking free. Jason, dim bulb that he was, was very protective of his baby sister, and would have put a big hurt on anyone who tried to take advantage of her. Adele would have filed sexual assault charges before the sun had risen, had she known.
Sookie didn't act like a whipped puppy either. At school, she ignored the leers and whispers with her head held high. The only noticeable change was she was quieter and more withdrawn then usual. She didn't have to go out of her way to avoid Quinn; their classes were in different buildings. Eric didn't have that luxury. He resisted the impulse daily to rip the throat out of the jackass for the lies he was spreading.
Eric had heard a few different versions, but the most popular story was that Quinn had made a bet that he'd screw "that Stackhouse girl" by prom. Afterward, he'd told her it was fun and kicked her out of the hotel room, deflowered and humiliated.
But, no, Quinn hadn't broken her. But she was wounded, and she learned that if someone wasn't willing to take her the way she was,they weren't worth her time.
Now...
Eric kicked back in his recliner and popped a beer. He flipped on his stereo and the heavy notes of Beethoven washed over him. For the past 10 years, any classical music calmed and centered him, but Beethoven was his favorite. The music expressed a passion that spoke to him. He knew the tale of Immortal Beloved, the unnamed woman that Beethoven had loved and left everything to when he had died. The knowledge that someone else had known his kind of love comforted him also.
**A/N – If you don't know the story of Immortal Beloved, it's here at . It is also a movie with the incredible, amazing Gary Oldman. Highly, highly recommended! As always, please please please review. I am not too proud to beg.
