Disclaimer: The lovely Charlaine Harris owns these characters, I am simply borrowing them. I forgot to mention that in the first chapter.

Chapter 2

Sex was the big issue between Bill and I, no matter how much he had weakened my once overflowing self-esteem or cut me off from my friends there was one thing he could not get me to cave into. I was a virgin and I had every intention of staying that way until the day I got married. He tried and tried to get me to give in and sleep with him, but I would not bend on that one no matter how much Bill railed against it.

For that first semester he seemed ok with it, not happy but he accepted it. I suppose he figured that he could eventually get me to give in. In the months we were together he chipped away at my self esteem and group of friends, until the only person I felt that I had in the world was him.

I didn't really notice how much I had changed until I went back to my gran's for Christmas break. Much to Gran's disappointment I had spent Thanksgiving with Bill's family in Texas, but she was so excited that I had found myself a 'nice young man' that she said it was fine as long as she had me for Christmas.

When I got home to that tired looking but still beautiful old farmhouse I had already started to figure out that there was something about my relationship with Bill that was off. I'd seen how Jason was with his myriad of girlfriends in high school, while he'd never been with any one girl for more than a couple of months he had treated every single one of them like a lady. It had started to click that there was something off about the way Bill was treating me, more like I was a piece of furniture and not a person.

Then I walked into my house and heard my grandmother shout, "Sakes alive girl! Where have you gone? Don't they feed you at that fancy school of yours?"

"Of course they do gran. Why on earth would you think they didn't?"

"Because you're skin and bones Sookie, dear. Well, we'll just have to pack some meat back on with some good low cooking. Come on iinto the kitchen I've got some grits from this morning, that'll warm you right up." I followed Gran into the kitchen, I couldn't bring myself to tell her that Bill had started making comments about my body, less than kind comments. The kind that make a girl start cutting calories and start hitting the gym. In the last two months I'd lost nearly 20 pounds. I'd gone from a curvy southern belle to a woman who could pass for a young boy. My once generous cleavage now hardly required a bra.

I hear a car pull into the drive, a car door slam quickly followed by a shout of "Gran! Sookie! Where are you?"

"Kitchen." I shout back, smiling, excited to see my big brother again, he's a junior a Duke University in North Carolina and I hadn't seen him since my high school graduation at the beginning of the summer since he'd been taking summer classes and I'd been with Bill on Thanksgiving. I hear him murmur something to someone. "Gran, did you say Jason could bring one of his floozys home? On Christmas?"

"No, Sook she didn't. Lord knows I tried though." I look at him and he's got a smile on his face and in his eyes.

"Jason," I squeal jumping into his arms like a little girl while he twirls me around in a circle. "I missed you! You can never leave me ever again, I mean really, who needs college degrees, we can just start a band or something."

"Sure thing, just as soon as one of us looses that charming inability to sing." I laugh. We've had this conversation every break since he left for Duke three years earlier. He really wanted me to go there so we could be together again, but I know that if I'd gone there college would have been just like high school, I would have spent the next four years being 'little Stackhouse'. I'd wanted my own identity so that and the fact that Vandy had given me a huge academic scholarship had sealed the deal on where I was going to school.

"Well then who were you talking to?"

"That would be me." I hear a slightly accented voice say behind me. I turn around to face the speaker and my heart literally stops. Standing before me is the single most beautiful man I've ever seen. He is at least 6'5, and with just enough muscle to look intimidating but not so much that it was gross. His hair is short and blonde and his eyes are blue, they're the kind of eyes that look straight through you and see you soul.

"Sookie, this is Eric Northman." I hear Jason say, he sounds far away. But I pull myself together before I make myself look completely ridiculous and hold out my hand to our guest.

"It's nice to meet you, Eric." I say with a smile. He take's my hand with a smile that I swear could melt stone.

"You too," he says, "Nice to finally meet the girl Jason's been talking about nonstop since I meet him."

"Oh, Jason, you didn't." I say blushing. Ever since we were little kids Jason has always told his friends about how great I am, how smart and pretty and funny and generally wonderful I am. 'So they have something to aspire to' he always told me. Jason always says that if he could find a girl like me he would have no problem settling down. As it is, well he seems to have no problem sleeping his way through girls who are nothing like me until she comes along.

"And why wouldn't I tell my friends about the most wonderful sister in the whole wide world? Although I might need to get some new pictures of you, when did you get so skinny kiddo?"

"Oh, college, you know, it's really stressful. Finals especially."

"Mmmhmm." I can tell that he doesn't believe me.

I look over to see Eric talking to my Gran, "Thank you for welcoming me into your home Mrs. Stackhouse, particularly at this time of the year."

"Oh, nonsense, no one should be alone at Christmas ." My Gran is always the best hostess. "I am so sorry for your loss dear." She says patting him on the hand in a comforting way.

Now I understand, Jason had mentioned that he'd recently befriended a boy who had just lost his parents recently and that he was worried because the boy had no where to go on christmas break. I suppose this is the solution that he came up with. Just when you're totally convinced that my brother is little more than a heartless idiot who bounces from bed to bed (caring very little for those in the beds) he goes and does something like this. This boy, whom Jason has known for a mere four months, had nowhere to go for the holidays so what does Jason do? He brings him home with him. Moments like these make me proud to be his sister.

While I was thinking about all of this a slightly awkward silence has descended upon the kitchen. "So," I say, just a little to loudly, "Eric, how do you feel about grits?"

He shoots me a look that clearly says 'thank you'. "Honestly, I've never had them."

"Well, you haven't LIVED until you've tried Gran's. Gran, do we have anymore?"

"Oh, sweetheart, you've been away to long. I always make plenty extra when my babies come home." She says kissing me on the top of my head.

The whole holiday passed in this manner, lots of Stackhouse (plus a Northman) family time and activities. Eric was great, I was so glad that Jason had finally found someone to be his best friend. In high school it was Hoyt but he goes to the University of Lousiana it's hard for them to keep up a friendship when they're so far apart. Him finding Eric was great, Jason had plenty of friends from the football team but had lacked someone who would be there in the long term. The pair of them had meet in the gym at the beginning of the semester and had been completely inseperable ever since. I liked him, he seemed really nice and seemed to keep Jason grounded in reality. It was a comfort for me to know that Jason had someone like this in his life, although if someone had told me then what a huge impact Eric would end up having on both of our lives I never would have believed them.

A/N: Second chapter done... and about twice as long as chapter 1! yay! Thank you to everyone who favorited my story and left me encouraging reviews. I was so nervous posting this so those really helped! Review please, it makes me feel validated.