Here is Chapter 4. It took a while to get done. I had planned on dragging the before Halloween stuff out a little more and had started the chapter with that in mind, but I had a lot of requests as of lately to get to the post Halloween stuff so I decided to oblige. There should only be one, maybe two more chapters of before Halloween stuff and then we'll be on to what happened after Chapter 1!

I would like y'all to know that I'm not 100% thrilled with how this chapter turned out so I hope you all like it.

Also, thanks for all the wonderful reviews and adds to favorites and alerts! I appreciate each and every one!

These characters belong to Charlaine Harris.

Sookie's POV

Between Hunter and Principal Northman I had found that a good night's sleep was almost impossible to come by. A couple of weeks had passed and I was more tired than ever. I knew I had to do something, but I wasn't sure exactly what I could be done. All I knew was that had become more and more like a walking zombie and it was harder and harder to keep my thoughts under control. The more tired I became the more vivid my daydreams of Principal Northman became and it became more difficult to control them; not to mention being so tired had turned me into a major bitch.

As far as Hunter was concerned, there was really nothing I could change. He was a little boy and he had needs. I could live with the sleep I was losing over him. I could deal with staying up late to make sure he had what he needed to make it through his next day and waking up early to make sure he made it to school. I could also deal with working split shifts, which meant long hours with no time for rest in between, on some days to make sure I could get him home from school and fed dinner, but what I couldn't deal with was when I finally got to rest or sleep I was bombarded with erotic imagery of his principal and that made the few hours of sleep and rest I had time for nearly impossible.

I'm not trying to act like my dreams and fantasies weren't enjoyable, because they were; very much, but at some point I realized they had to stop. So far all they had caused me were unhealthy fatigue and the need for a serious attitude adjustment. Like I said, I had been turned into a major bitch.

Every morning when I took Hunter to school I noticed Principal Northman. Before I'd met him I had never noticed him, but after, I found that if we got there on time I saw him by the buses and if we got there late I saw him when I walked Hunter to his class. I also saw him every day after school when I picked Hunter up. I didn't know how to get around seeing him, but I knew that not seeing him was the key to making the thoughts of him go away. Luckily, my friends Holly and Danielle had come to me with a plan that solved all of my problems and they didn't even know it.

I had been working at Merlotte's on a really bad day. I was so tired that I guess they noticed it. Holly and Danielle approached me and Holly said, "You know Sookie, you look awfully tired. We're not that busy and if you want and it's okay with Sam Danielle and I will split your tables if you want to go home."

I smiled and said, "I'm fine. It's only a couple more hours. These split shifts just wear me out. I get up take Hunter to school then come in to work for a few hours only to leave to pick him up. Then I go home cook dinner and eat then come back to work. It's like I don't have even a minute to rest on these days. I'm glad I only have to do it once or twice a week."

Danielle said, "You know Sookie, Holly and I carpool. If you want we can add you and Hunter to the rotation. That way you'd only have to take him to school and pick him up twice a week max. Then you could probably get out of working those split shifts."

I smiled the biggest smile I had ever managed. "That would be perfect." Oh and it would. I would no longer have to see Principal Northman five days a week. I'd only have to see him once and some weeks twice. Danielle had helped me more than she even knew.

While we weren't busy we worked out the schedule and I talked to Sam about my schedule at Merlotte's. They were right. With me only driving Hunter to school a couple times a week at most I would no longer have to work any split shifts. Sam was willing to switch some of my shifts around so things were definitely starting to look up. I'd have more time to rest and since I wouldn't have to see Principal Northman nearly as much I might actually be able to rest.

Eric's POV

I had met that damn temptress two weeks ago and she still haunted me constantly; while awake and while asleep. Every day I couldn't help but notice her when she brought Hunter to school or picked him up. When I should have been making sure the kids were getting on the correct buses and making sure there were no fights or accidents I was busy staring at her and fantasizing about her. I was behind as hell on all of my work and I spent more time jerking off in the shower than I had spent actually showering. My life was in chaos because of her and even Killer had noticed.

Since I was behind on my work I often found myself staying late at school which significantly decreased the time I had for Killer and our naps together. That made Killer one pissed off little pup. He loved attention and with all the time I found myself spending at school and in the shower, he wasn't getting the attention he craved which really made him unbearable. He was constantly barking and wining at me. Between him and my loss of sleep, due to less naps and haunting dreams, I was becoming a major ass which only pissed him off more because instead of letting him on my lap or allowing him to cuddle with me I dismissed him. It was a vicious cycle and it was all caused by her.

I realized I had to do something. My life was quickly falling out of order and I didn't like it. I also didn't like what I was becoming. I had always been well organized, but also a laid back type of guy and I found myself becoming an uptight prick living in complete disorganization. After lots of thought I finally decided to speak with Sandy, the assistant principal. My plan was to avoid the temptress as much as I could. If I could avoid her, maybe I could avoid thoughts of her and maybe my cock could relax. It had been spending entirely too much time at full salute these past two weeks.

Sandy was more than happy to switch me hall duty for bus duty. I figured that if I was inside there was much less chance of seeing her. I desperately hoped I was right and that not seeing her would allow me to go back to my normal life. Only time would tell if it would actually work.

Sookie's POV

The next two weeks went by and although I was still exhausted and stressed out, since I was the equivalent of a single mom, the dreams and fantasies which had been plaguing me weren't occurring nearly as often and I was able to get a little more sleep. I still had good days and bad days, but I was definitely a little less tired and definitely less bitchy.

Although they had picked up on my change in mood, Tara and Amelia were still just as concerned about me as they had been when I was a walking zombie bitch for the first two weeks of the month. They said even though my mood was better that I was still too tired. They kept insisting that I take some time for myself.

"Sookie, you know Jason and I would be more than happy to watch Hunter anytime," Tara said.

"Sookie, let them watch Hunter and let's go out on Halloween. You need a night to unwind," Amelia told me.

Although they were relentless I refused to give them a definite answer, but had a feeling that they were not going to take no for an answer. I knew I'd end up going out on Halloween and they were probably right. I did need some time to let loose and have some fun.

The car pooling was really paying off and I was finally able to get all of my focus back on Hunter that is until October thirtieth came. October thirtieth was the day of the school's Halloween costume parties and parade. Each class would get to have a party and towards the end of the day all the kids would do a short parade through town to show off their costumes. Hunter was very excited because he was dressing as Harry Potter.

I didn't obligate myself to help at school with the party so that I could avoid Principal Northman, but I had offered to make candied apples for the party instead. Despite Holly's warning to just buy things at the store, I continued to make homemade goodies which usually required the loss of a night's sleep and in this case I still hadn't finished so not only had I not went to bed until four, but I had gotten up at six to start melting more caramel to finish up the apples.

Around seven thirty, I rushed into Hunter's room to get him up and ready to go to school. Once I got him into his little shirt and tie and placed his Hogwarts robe around him I painted a little scar across his forehead. Then I handed him the glasses to put on and the stick that I got out of the yard that was supposed to be his wand. "My, my Hunter, you make an excellent Harry Potter; maybe even the best I've seen." He smiled and giggled.

I realized that we were running late when I heard the gravel in the driveway crackling under tires. I also realized that the apples weren't ready which meant I had to go to the school. I desperately hoped that since I would be arriving during class time that I would not see Principal Northman. I had been so much less distracted since I had not been seeing him and I wanted it to stay that way.

The car's horn honked as Hunter and I walked into the living room. I put his jacket on him over his costume, handed him his backpack, and sent him out the door to Danielle's car. "I'll see you in a little while, sweetie, when I bring the candied apples to school," I shouted as he got into the car.

Once Hunter was gone I knew I had about two hours before I had to have the candied apples to the school. I quickly took a shower, got dressed, and then finished up the remaining apples before rushing to the car and speeding to the school.

I rushed into the main door of the school and as soon as I turned the corner to enter the main hall I crashed into what felt like a brick wall. Most of the apples went flying through the air and I almost fell down until I felt a hand grip onto my arm to hold me steady. Still looking down I saw that the few remaining apples were ruined and looked up to find that most of the caramel and nuts were all over the white dress shirt of the person I ran into.

Tears began to well up in my eyes and I collapsed to the ground in an attempt to clean up the mess I'd made. I still didn't know who I'd run into, but I continued to repeat the words, "I'm so sorry," over and over as I cried and picked the apples up off of the ground.

A hand reached out to me and lifted me back to my feet. I was embarrassed and continued to keep my eyes on the ground.

"Sookie, it's okay. We'll get someone to clean up this mess. Please don't cry." The voice was vaguely familiar.

The hands took the box that held the apples from me and sat it on a nearby ledge. I still hadn't looked up to see exactly who I had run into; I was still too embarrassed. Once the box was out of the way I felt arms around me.

"Sookie, please stop crying," the voice said as I felt large hands running up and down my back. I had to admit the feeling of being held and comforted was good; maybe too good. "Please, come with me. You can use my office to gather yourself and I will have one of the janitors clean up the mess."

Office, fuck! Finally, I looked up to see the face of the Norse god that I had been trying to avoid and to keep out of my head. I wanted to run away, but I couldn't. After being in the secure place that was his arms I was temporarily unable to do anything other than what he said. He led me to his office and pointed to a chair signaling for me to sit. I sat down and said, "I'm so sorry. I made a huge mess and ruined your shirt," as tears continued to fall from my eyes.

"Don't worry about that," he said as he picked up his phone and handed me a tissue. "Clancy, can you send someone out to the main hall. There was a little accident out there that needs cleaned up." There was a pause and then he said, "Thanks," before hanging up the phone.

He began unbuttoning his shirt and went to a cabinet across the room. I was still crying, but watched in awe as he removed his shirt. He stood there at the cabinet in a wife-beater and although I was still crying, I was practically drooling at the sight of his huge, muscular arms and back. He pulled out another white dress shirt and slipped it on. He turned around as he was buttoning it and I got the first glimpse of his muscular chest with nothing but a thin layer of cotton to cover it. I felt moisture pooling at my thighs and for a moment my mind took me to another place. I imagined myself ripping the new shirt and the wife-beater off of him and running my tongue all along the very visible ripples of his abs and his sculptured chest.

The thought stopped my tears momentarily, until he said, "See, everything is okay. The apples are being cleaned up and I have a clean shirt."

The waterworks started again and I said, "But now I don't have anything to take to Hunter's class."

"Sookie, I'll tell you what, I will take you to the grocery store so you can get something else for his class. It is only a few blocks away and will only take a few minutes. Just please calm down."

I smiled because it was really sweet of him to offer to take me to the store, but I was still crying uncontrollably.

Eric's POV

When Sookie and I got to my office I picked up the phone to call Clancy, the head Janitor, and asked that he send someone to get the hall cleaned up. As expected he said, "No problem Principal Northman. I'll get someone on it right away."

Once I hung up I removed my shirt and walked over to my storage cabinet. I kept extra clothes in it just in case of emergency. I had learned my first year of teaching elementary school that having a change of clothes around was always a good idea because small children really tended to make a lot of messes; disgusting messes. I learned that the hard way after being puked on by a student. After that incident I started keeping a spare change of clothes in my classroom and when I got the job as Principal I continued. I figured there was less chance of needing them as a principal, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

When I got my shirt on I noticed Sookie had stopped crying, but as soon as I pointed out everything was being cleaned up she started again. She said she had nothing to take to Hunter's class. I didn't like seeing her upset so I offered to take her to the store to pick up something else. That earned a smile from her, but it didn't stop her tears from falling. I was at a loss and didn't know what else to do. All I knew was that I wanted her to be happy and smiling like she was the day I met her and I wanted to be there for her and be the reason for her smile.

I didn't know why I felt so strongly that I needed to be there for her, but I also didn't care at the moment. I was really concerned about her and had a feeling it was more than just candied apples that was getting her down. I leaned against my desk and bent slightly right in front of her and said, "Sookie, what is wrong? What is bothering you? I find it hard to believe that candied apples are all that have you this upset."

She stared at me for a moment and looked directly into my eyes. She was still crying and she looked so sad and defeated. "I'm just tired," she said. "I was up all night working on those apples and I only got a couple of hours of sleep. I never get enough sleep and since I took Hunter in I have had no time for myself. My friends tell me I'm in desperate need for some me time and they want me to go to this party tomorrow night, but I feel guilty even thinking about leaving Hunter, even though I'd be leaving him with family. I just don't know what to do."

She was so beautiful and I wanted desperately to kiss her; to take her into my arms and tell her it would all be okay. As the thought of it went through my head and I smiled. Without thinking, I reached out my hand and with my thumb I wiped away her tears. I allowed my hand to linger on her face, cupping her cheek and just as I leaned into her, I realized what I was doing and pulled away. "Well, let's go to the store," I said not believing that I was actually about to kiss her.

I had obviously put her off by almost kissing her because she smiled and said, "That's not necessary. I'll go myself. Thank you for listening," and then she ran out of my office. Just like that she was gone.

Prior to today, I had gone two weeks without one sighting of my temptress. I was finally starting to get back into my normal way of life and although I was still dreaming about her I at least was no longer constantly thinking about her and even my dick got a little break from the constant jerking off I had been doing. I had even gotten caught up on my work which made Killer a very happy dog. With me spending less time at work we were able to get back into the routine that we had before I had met Sookie Stackhouse.

Everything was working out wonderfully for me until she ran right into me in the hall. I hoped that our chance meeting today would not be a new beginning for all the trouble she'd caused in my life over the past month.