Again, I tried to ignore the events that had happened at Fangtasia. I didn't think it was right for Sookie to have to serve some volatile vampire like Eric but I was also aware that she didn't really have a choice. Bill had said as much and like it or not, his was the only word we had to go on. But still, I had tried to hide from the both of them that Eric had insinuated I wasn't exactly normal. I understood the sentiment, given I felt the same way about myself, but what did it mean? Now some crazy vampire, who had already commandeered my time once, was thinking that my intuition was something supernatural.
I pushed those thoughts out of my head for the next few days until I was forced to remember them one day at work.
Tara was manning the bar and I was trying to wait a few tables. There had been a scare a few days ago about some vampires that Bill had been friends with before moving back to town. Some uncouth rednecks thought it would be a good idea to try to kill them and they succeeded. Sookie had been under the impression that Bill was with them at the time, therefore, dead as a doornail too. Luckily, he hadn't been. Still, the rednecks were proud of their accomplishments and were yelling about it in Merlotte's that night.
I very rarely rolled my eyes but I was close to it when I waiting on them to finish their order. I almost started tapping my foot but I resisted the impulse due to the fact that I was holding a tray too. I wrote down their order (which consisted of, unsurprisingly, a pitcher of beer and not much else) and vaguely heard the door to Merlotte's open. Who was on hostess duty tonight? Certainly not me or Sookie.
"I'll put that in for you," I said, turning to walk towards the kitchen. The minute I turned my back, one of the men slapped me on the rear. I snapped my head over my shoulder, outraged. I heard a thump and I dropped my tray along with my notepad when I saw what had caused it. Eric had snapped the man's arm onto the table, holding him there. I gasped.
"Now, that's no way to treat a lady," Eric said in that glib way he had. I stumbled to pick up my tray and duck away from everyone's stares. Bill and Pam had come in with Eric. Bill seemed slightly concerned about me and Pam looked like she was disgusted to be in Merlotte's at all.
I stood back up, arms wrapped my tray like it would shield me, and whispered to Eric, "Thank you." I quickly dodged him and almost ran to dive behind the bar. Tara gave me a weird look when Bill moved to walk into Sam's office. He gave me an almost imperceptible nod before vanishing down the back hallway.
I dropped my tray again when I made to look back at Tara. Eric was standing beside the bar like he was wanting to come behind it. He picked up my tray and handed it to me, moving a little bit behind the bar. I looked around for Sam, even though I knew he was talking to Bill. No one was going to save me from this situation. Eric was clearly interested in me and my above-average intuition. I was going to have to handle it.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I heard Tara mutter her usual, "WTF?" from behind me. I glanced around the bar quickly and noticed that everyone seemed to be staring at us, Sookie included. At the wave of Eric's hand, Pam launched into a spiel about Fangtasia, handing out fliers and just generally chatting away about it.
"I should say, you might be glad I'm here but the real reason I'm here is for Bill. He wanted to say goodbye to you and Sookie," he responded. I widened my eyes. What was he talking about?
"Where- Where is he going?" I asked. "He can't just leave." I wasn't about to let that happen. Sookie was his girlfriend and I was his… Well, I was his best friend.
"It was a crime for him to kill another vampire," Eric whispered down at me. "He has to be punished for it." I was almost certain that Eric was telling me more than he should have. I wanted to clamp my mouth shut because of that but I couldn't resist.
"But he did it to help Sookie. She would have been killed otherwise." Eric only shrugged. I grew cold at that. Her life meant nothing to him. She was a tool for him to use whenever he wanted. All he saw when he looked at her was a mindreader. That made me dislike him even more. "Will- Will Bill be killed?"
"I don't know," he responded. For a moment there, I almost thought he would laugh.
"Can you make sure he doesn't?" I knew I sounded pathetic because what was I to this vampire? I was meaningless and weak and still practically a stranger to him. But Eric gave me a knowing look and nodded.
"I'll try."
With that, Bill emerged from Sam's office, looking between me and Eric before gesturing that we should go outside. Bill grabbed Sookie and left first. I followed behind Eric and felt a little triumphant when he told the men behind killing those vampires that he was onto them. When he nodded, I followed him and Pam outside.
Sookie was crying so I figured Bill must've explained what was going on to her. I made to go to her but Bill cut me off when he arrived in front of me. I let him pull me into a hug and I gripped at his back. I was almost sick to my stomach with worry for him. When I finally pulled away from him, Bill kissed me on the forehead and only made me promise to stay safe. I nodded.
The next couple of days passed and I heard nothing from either Eric or Bill. Sookie had called me once since they'd left and it was only to tell me something rather weird.
"You know how you've always had this feeling about Sam?" she'd asked, her voice hushed.
"Sure," I responded.
"Well, you were right. That's all I can say but I just wanted you to know you were right, Dallas." The conversation ended a little while after that when I finally gave up on asking her questions.
I actively kept an eye on Bill's house. I pretended I was only going over to water his plants but I just wanted to see whether he had snuck back into town without telling anyone (which I highly doubted).
After getting off work one night and arriving home at 1am, I was more than ready for sleep. I threw on one of my nightgowns (it was a little more low cut than I usually liked but it was floral and I was a sucker for floral) and settled into bed. The minute I laid my head back onto my pillow, I heard a knock at my front door. I shot up, my heartbeat quickening. An intruder wouldn't knock on my front door, would he? Was it those jerks from Merlotte's the other day, still angry that Eric had showed them up?
Nonetheless, I crawled out of bed, bare feet tiptoeing toward the stairs. My eyes fixed on the door and the windows beside it. I caught a glimpse of hair as dark as mine and I took off down the stairs, throwing open my front door. "Bill," I said breathlessly. "Are you okay?" I moved out onto the porch when he looked reluctant to come inside. He nodded at me before giving me a once over. "If I'd have known you were coming, I'd have stayed dressed," I said, crossing my arms, more than a little embarrassed.
"It's perfectly fine," he responded. "I should have realized you'd be in bed." I shook my head.
"Nope, not yet. Would you wanna come in?" He half-smiled and nodded at me.
I led Bill into my living room, which was littered with vintage furniture. I was loathe to rid myself of it. Besides, my parents saw value in those types of things and they had instilled that in me.
I took a seat beside him on my couch and prompted him to tell me what had happened. Bill had only shrugged, looking slightly upset about whatever it was. I nodded at him.
"They made me make a new vampire to replace the one I killed," he said, turning away from me for a moment. I leaned over and placed my hand on his shoulder. I wasn't exactly sure how to comfort him and I wasn't exactly sure why he'd chosen me to come to first. It was clear he hadn't talked to Sookie, most likely, not to worry her.
"Gosh, that's terrible," I replied. "But at least, they didn't execute you." He nodded.
"But I've never been a maker… and she was so terrified. I've taken her away from her family forever. She was so… innocent." He cut his eyes over at me before continuing. "Now she's impetuous and I can tell she loathes me." I shook my head.
"She'll come around," I said, without knowing whether she actually would. "She's basically like a child of yours, right?" He nodded in response. "Then of course, she will."
"I know that you are not vampire and that you may not wish to do this but I think she needs a friend." I nodded immediately.
"Of course," I responded. "I can come over and visit ya'll," I said, assuming the girl would live with Bill. "Sookie might be into the idea too." He nodded again.
"I have not spoken with her about this because it is a hard thing to explain." I wasn't sure what the ritual was that vampires had to go through to get turned but obviously, it was questionable and definitely not something you wanted to talk to your human girlfriend about. That still only made me wonder why he had come to me at all. Bill knew I was skittish and that I scare easily.
"Well, I won't tell her if you don't want me to."
"Dallas," he said in that weirdly sensual voice he had, "I did not mean to burden you with this. I just feel as though you are a true friend to me."
"I feel the same way." That made me feel incredibly good. I had never had very many friends in Bon Temps, other than Sookie and Jason and even then, Sookie was a couple of years older than me and Jason was years older than her. Tara and Lafayette were nice to me but we'd never been close. Maybe this was a sign that things were looking up in my life. I had a new best friend. "Did they do anything to Eric?" I asked as an afterthought.
"No. They understood the vampire had been embezzling and he would have been punished more severely than I was. It is what got me a lesser sentence. I have to say, Eric did go out of his way to stand up for me when he never has before." Had Eric actually listened to me? A vampire who didn't seem to listen to anyone had actually done what I'd asked him to? This was unbelievable.
After that, Bill did a lot of explaining vampire politics to me. The vampires had split sections of the country and had rulers in every section. Eric was sheriff of Area 5 but Louisana, as a state, had a king. It was hard to wrap my mind around, especially when I was exhausted, but I was glad Bill told me. He left before the sun came up and I went back to bed.
The next few days were pretty eventful and luckily, didn't really involve me. Sookie figured out who had been killing those women and he had come for her next. After she was beaten to a bloody pulp, Rene Lenier had been killed. I tried to sit with her for a few days after and help her heal.
Well, season one is officially done. I am glad I can finally move on to some more eventful seasons because there isn't much Eric to work with in the first season. But anyway, please tell me what you're thinking! Hopefully, it won't take me so long to update again.
