A/N: This is what a typical chapter will be like. I don't care for long chapters, tbh. I'm hoping to update a few times a week but I'm not making any promises. If this even gets reviews, lol. If not, I'll drop it.

Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood or anything affiliated with it.

-MalRev

Sunshine & Freedom

2: Night On The Town

The door groaning open awoke me some time later. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while, not quite willing to fall asleep. Sookie and I had a lot of catching up to do. She could pull it all from my mind with her weird telepathy trick, but I hoped she wouldn't. It was nice having someone to talk to besides myself. Or my old cat. I rolled my eyes at how pathetic my life was and swung my legs over the side of the bed to get up and see Sookie before she went to bed.

But she was upstairs and in my doorway just as I rose to my feet. I quickly sat back down and she shut the door gently behind her to give us privacy. Not that it mattered. We were alone in the house and as far as I knew, no one lived nearby. Sookie sat at the foot of my bed and patted the sheets as an invitation for me to sit beside her. The moment I did, she pulled me into another hug. She felt sweaty and smelled vaguely of beer and hamburgers. It wasn't exactly a good scent.

"I know we haven't spoken in forever," I said when we broke apart, "but I didn't know where else to go. You and I are still sisters and I figured now is as good a time as any to reconnect. How have you been, though? I see you're still working over at Merlotte's."

"Probably will be the rest of my life. Bon Temps isn't exactly the safe haven you were looking for, I think. Things have been… hectic for the past few years. But everything seems to have settled down and we're hoping to keep it that way. We've got humans and werewolves and werepanthers. Of course there's tons of vampires ever since they came out of the coffin."

My mouth went dry. "V-vampires?"

"Oh, yes. That reminds me!" Sookie held out her left hand to display a beautiful diamond engagement ring on her finger. "You have to meet my fiancé, Bill. He's very nice. Almost 200 years old but he still acts like a gentleman. Would you like to go to Fangtasia with us on Friday night?"

"Fang…what? Why are you marrying a vampire, Sook?"

"Fangtasia. It's a really popular vampire bar Bill and I occasionally visit. You haven't met any vampires yet, have you? Well we'll have to change that! They're wonderful people for the most part. The ones I know wouldn't hurt a fly. Unless the fly tried to hurt them."

"Sookie, he could kill you!" I said, putting my hands on her shoulders so she was facing me. "They can barely contain themselves around humans."

To my surprise, Sookie simply smiled and gestured for us to move elsewhere in the house. I couldn't believe it—my family was intermingling with the undead. Sookie had always been a very generous, caring person, but loving and marrying a vampire was taking it a little too far. She would be old and decrepit while he still looked perfect and young years from now. Then when she died, he would move on and love another woman the same way he loved her. He would never meet her in death.

We walked in the kitchen and I took a seat at the table while she put on a pot of boiling water for tea. It made sense why she was so perky late at night. That was when he beau was awake and active. Not that he had a choice in the matter. Sunlight would make him burst into flames while just being awake during the day caused them to bleed from different orifices. Being a vampire didn't sound as glamorous as movies and books portrayed it. Their lives were downright miserable.

Sookie placed a plate of cookies in the middle of the table and I snatched one up to nibble on while she explained herself. The North was well known for being more accepting of supes than the South, but even we had difficulty granting them the same rights as humans. Werewolves were having more luck getting their rights and they hadn't been trying for nearly as long. I took a few bites from my cookie and Sookie took a steadying breath. She knew I had to be converted to her way of thinking.

"You'll never convince me," I said.

She rested her elbows on the table and cradled her head. "Tell me about it. It's a good thing Bill isn't coming over tonight or you would've been in for a real surprise. You know they had nothing to do with the death of your mother. You can't blame them for something a group of cruel teenagers did."

"The only reason they would even hesitate to show a body is when vampires are involved. I know they're afraid of people being against their silly rights movement." I finished my cookies and picked up a new one off the tray. "Maybe yours is nice but I don't like them as a general rule."

"That's it. We're having our tea and going to Fangtasia. Tonight."

"Hell no!" I said, giving her a dirty look. "You can be involved with vampires and I'll put up with Bill as long as I'm here, but there is no way I'm going to some seedy vampire bar. What if one of them tries to… you know. Bite me against my will?"

"You've gotta be more understanding, Feebs." Sookie raised her head when the bubbling water caught her attention and rose to make us some tea. "A night out with the undead will do you some good. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet a nice vampire and learn what all the fuss is about."

It was hard to keep arguing after I had a few sips of tea. Maybe she was right. I'd been cooped up in the house too long. I was young and vibrant; I should be living my life instead of dreading waking up each day. When we finished our drinks and were heading upstairs to get ready, I realized there was a big hitch in our plan. If we were going to a bar, I wouldn't be able to tag along.

"Sook, aren't you forgetting something?" I asked while she pulled her ponytail out.

"I don't know, am I?"

"I'm not 21. That means I can't go into any bars, regardless of who they serve. If the owner finds out an underage person is there he'll be pissed. You can have Bill come over here if you want."

A mischievous grin spread across Sookie's face and she stopped on the stairs to face me. "Don't you worry about that. I know the bar owner personally and I don't think he'll give you any grief about being in there. Just make sure you stick with me and don't buy any alcohol."

We separated on the top floor and I hurried into my room to start getting ready. I picked out a plain black sundress that had a crisscrossing back and pulled my thick brown hair into a ponytail. Makeup was something I only used on special occasions. My glasses tended to fill out my face well enough. But I put on some pink lip gloss, spritzed on perfume, and stepped into a pair of pink flats. I twirled in the mirror and was happy with the results. Hopefully I looked presentable for a vampire bar.

My heart was pounding with a mix of excitement and fear as I waited for Sookie near the door. I was going to break the law and enter a bar underage. This bar was swarming with vampires, who I had sworn to have hated a while ago. I still felt as though they had been the ones who murdered my mother. Perhaps spending the night around them would help me gain closure. Or I could study them and figure out if they really could have been the killers.

I paced nervously and the clicking of my shoes on the floors echoed throughout the house. Was it a bad idea for me to be involved in law-breaking activities when I hadn't even bought my own place in Bon Temps yet? I tried not to think of the massive amount of money in my bank account because it tempted me to spend it all on something frivolous. Sookie would probably let me live with her if worst came to worse. God, I had just arrived eight hours ago and I was already feeling more alive than I had in months.

When Sookie came down the stairs I felt more confident about my choice in clothing. She was wearing a sundress, too, but hers was decorated with flowers and very vibrant. It matched her personality. We were about to step out the door when she suddenly stopped and closed her eyes.

I raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"No, I'm just calling Bill. He'll probably want to tag along."

"Oh God, my first vampire. Is he gonna try to eat me?"

My sister opened her eyes and looked a bit concerned, but said nothing.

We moved out to the porch and a blur of black raced across Sookie's lawn to stop dead in front of her. It took me a few seconds to realize the insanely fast mass had been Bill, the vampire who was marrying in to my family. He was slightly taller than me which made him average height, and he had black hair paired with brown eyes. I didn't need an introduction to know he was from an age long lost when he took Sookie's hand in his and gently kissed it.

Bill turned his attention to me a few seconds later and politely inclined his head. "Nice to meet you, Miss Phoebe. Do you and Sookie share the same surname?"

"We do," I said, awkwardly bowing back.

I had to admit that I could see why Sookie liked her vampire so much. He wasn't too tough on the eyes and apparently had a good personality to match. Of course, I had only met him minutes ago and couldn't make a good judgment yet. He and Sookie kissed then we headed off toward her beaten up yellow Honda at the end of the driveway. Bill opened the passenger door for her and opened the backseat door for me in a flash. His speed was shocking to see in person.

Once we were settled in and driving off toward Fangtasia, Bill broke the silence. "Sookie and I discussed you earlier at Merlotte's. That's how I know your name." He turned to smile at me and somehow kept driving perfectly straight. "I hear you're from New York. Very busy place. Bon Temps is quiet, for the most part. There's the occasional supernatural issue, but they're all very hospitable."

"Phoebe is actually looking for a house," Sookie said, contributing to the one-sided conversation. "Realtors run late-night showings if you want to go tomorrow."

Apparently everything had to involve her undead fiancé. I nodded and smiled like I was happy with the idea of wandering around in the middle of the night to look at houses when I could barely see them. What the hell was the point? Sookie had a strange attachment to Bill and the longer I watched them talk, the more curious I became. It wasn't normal. Not sickening or eerie, just… foreign.

Vampires were kind of uncommon up North so I knew very little about them. I leaned my head against the cool window and closed my eyes while the lovers conversed up front. Being in a bar full of the undead would teach me more than I needed to know. I was halfway hoping it would douse the flickering interest I had in vampires so I didn't have to deal with their strange lifestyles. Nothing would be worse than worrying about my boyfriend bursting into flames from going outside.

Just when I began to dream about transforming into a vampire, someone reached back to shake my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see a glowing sign across the parking lot reading "Fangtasia." It looked less than welcoming. A woman was standing outside with her hands on her hips, appearing less than pleased with the patrons entering the bar. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as Bill and Sookie got out of the car.

"How do you do it?" I muttered as Sookie helped me out. "You're up all day, work all night, then really late you're with your fiancé. I'd be fucking exhausted."

"You get used to it." She dusted off my dress and took Bill's hand. "Now, remember what I said. Stick with me, no matter what. Pam shouldn't give us any trouble with you coming in, but I don't trust all the vampires in there. You're young and they all like that kind of thing."

Dread crept into my gut as we walked toward Fangtasia. Was I making a mistake?