There were so many things wrong with the sleeping arrangements at Fangtasia. The first being it was a bar. The second: it was a vampire bar. The third was, of course, that said vampire bar was owned by an insensitive prick. The last one was the worst.

Of course, there were more things wrong with it: the fact I had no clothes besides the yellow sundress I wore at the moment was a rather large problem. Pam had fetched me a blood red Fangtasia merchandise t-shirt with some 'witty' comment written on it. I was too ticked off and tired to find it amusing and/or ridiculous. I had snatched it off her with more force than necessary, but I doubt she noticed. I'd retreated to the employee bathroom to change. In there was a tiny shower, a toilet and a sink - I guessed these facilities were mainly used by the human employees. The shower was a welcoming surprise. I could now wash the dirt off my feet in the morning when no vampires were around.

I'd chanted the end of that sentence to myself as I'd changed and walked back out, wearing nothing but a large t-shirt and my glare. I'd not even said goodnight to Jessica when I walked into the back room Eric had told me to enter, but with the look on my face screaming "stay away" I couldn't blame her for keeping her distance.

I climbed into the uncomfortable bed and tried to get to sleep, but of course, the pounding music kept me awake. I tossed and I turned for the good part of an hour before I threw myself angrily out the bed and pulled the door open with so much force, it slammed back into the wall behind it and reverberated back. I huffed and all but kicked Eric's office door open. He was sat behind his desk, leaning back with his hands behind his head and his feet resting on the old oak in front of him.

"Ah, Miss Hayward. I was wondering when you would tire of rolling restlessly. What can I do for you?"

Oh, he was just soaking this up.

I sighed, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Listen, Mr Northman. Thanks for your hospitality and all, but when is that fucking racket going to let up? I know you don't have to sleep until the sun rises, but I'm a human and humans don't often see the sun rise since we're too busy sleeping! I'm wiped out right now!" My voice had risen considerably.

He just smirked.

"You're going to be in company of vampires for an unknown length of time. We sleep during the day. Maybe it's for the best if you do too so you won't be, ah, 'wiped out', when we search for your cousin."

I looked at him with my eyes wide and my mouth open.

"You've got to be shitting me," I hissed underneath my breath.

"No, I am not 'shitting you'. The 'racket' will desist within the next thirty minutes. You can sleep then." He finished this with a dismissive wave of the hand.

I took a deep breath before placing a fake grin on my face.

"Thank you," I said through clenched teeth before storming out the office, slamming the door as I went, and I walked back to my room. Once inside, I ran my hands through my hair in frustration and growled a little.

Even through the walls, I swear I heard him laugh.

I awoke with no clue as to the time, since there was nothing in the room besides the bed. No windows. No shelves. No nothing.

It was quite disturbing, if I was being honest with myself. It reminded me of a mental institution.

I stretched my legs out and groaned a little, yawning after. I hauled myself up, cracked my door open a little bit and stuck my head out. I saw sunlight - that was good. No vampires just yet. My body followed suit of my head and I padded almost silently into the bar area, not knowing where this Ginger person would be.

I didn't need to. She was there, cleaning the bar down.

She had bleach blonde hair, almost white, that was short and curly. She wore a skimpy outfit consisting of a scrap of material for a skirt and a turquoise halter top. She wore stilettos with her ensemble. This was the girl Eric had appointed to look after me?

I cleared my throat and shuffled on the spot, pulling my t-shirt down a little bit further.

Her head snapped up into a large grin.

"You must be Evelyn Hayward. I'm Ginger, the day manager."

I smiled uncomfortably and continued to do my dance of shuffling and pulling my t-shirt down whilst waving lightly at her.

She looked at me expectantly. I remained silent.

Awkward was a good word right now; I placed a hand on my forehead.

"I'm, um, going to shower," I announced, then frowned as to why I told her this. I should have just walked out. I sighed, shuffled some more, then walked very quickly out the door and into the employee bathroom once again.

The shower felt freaking fantastic. The hot water poured down my back, relaxing muscles I didn't even know were tense. I saw a bottle of shampoo at the bottom of the cubicle, which I was rather pleased about.

After washing my hair and hopping out the shower, I dried myself off, finishing my wrapping the towel around me. I wiped the mirror above the sink free of condensation and observed myself.

Just the same as usual, even though my life had been twisted upside down.

I mean, I was in a vampire bar waiting around for the sun to set so I could find my cousin, who I had not seen for years, after she'd (possibly) been taken hostage by a vamp-hating group - and I'd only been here 3 days.

I sighed as I walked out the bathroom and stealthily snuck into my room, not attracting any attention from Ginger. It was only then that I realised I had no clothes or underwear, besides what I wore yesterday. I groaned, realising I'd have to walk back into the bar.

When I arrived, I cleared my throat gently. Her head snapped up, and she grinned brightly at me once again.

"I don't suppose you know where I can get any clothes from, do you?"

Her smile grew impossibly wider. This girl could give Sookie a run for her money with the constant smiling.

"Eric left a note saying you'd ask for that. When I got here, I read the note and went to Walmart to buy you some clothes. I hope they fit…"

She stopped cleaning tables down and walked with an unnatural sway to her hips behind the bar and grabbed a Walmart bag. She then proceeded to walk over to me and pass me it, still smiling.

I grinned back, said my thanks, and returned to my room.

The clothes fit perfectly. I was worried when she told me she'd picked them out - what with her skimpy outfit - but it appeared she wanted to be on the safe side, and so stuck with jeans and a white tank top. She'd even bought me some shoes. Simply some flat pumps that also, oddly, fit me like a glove.

I wandered back out to the bar.

"How'd you know my sizes?" I asked her, smiling in thanks.

"Oh," she said, flopping a hand like she was petting the air, "Eric left it in the note. I assumed you told him your sizes?"

I blinked.

How the hell did Eric know my size?

I smiled gratefully at Ginger and walked back into my room. I sat on the bed to just…think.

Something so trivial seemed to leave me in wonder. I didn't know why I was so concerned about it. It wasn't like he knew my bank account number - he just knew my dress size. No, he guessed my dress size. He just guessed it perfectly.

It felt…personal. Like he knew more about than he should. I didn't want him to think he knew me at all. Because he really didn't - I didn't even know myself.

I sighed - I was being ridiculous. I was picking fault with the guy.

I sat on the bed for a good half an hour, doing nothing in particular, before getting up, totally bored, and walking back out to see Ginger.

"Hey, Ginger?" She spun to look at me - still smiling.

"Do you know what time it is?"

She looked at the watch on her wrist.

"5:30," she told me. My eyes widened. I must've gone to bed extremely late and woke up sometime in the afternoon once again.

I nodded in thanks, and walked to sit in one of the booths. I drew idle circles on the wood, bored senseless.

That was the one thing about vampires I sort of liked. Everything always seemed to happen when they were around. I was positive that after a while of hanging around with them I would get fed up of exciting things happening and just want a calm life. You always wanted what you didn't have. Nobody was ever content these days, myself included.

I was sat there watching Ginger prepare the bar into the state so it was ready for the avid party goers tonight.

I heard a door open quietly to the right of me: Jessica. I beamed at her. She grinned back, stretching a little.

"Nice…sleep?" I didn't know whether it was called sleep, or some awesome vampire word that made more sense, and sounded less human, and therefore weak. In their eyes, anyway.

"Sure was," she said, her accent very pronounced.

Behind her strolled in the Sherriff. He looked as pristine as ever, not at all like he'd been asleep for hours.

"Are you not going to ask how I rested, Miss Hayward?" He asked, a teasing tone in his voice, like he took pleasure in taunting me, in making me want to kick him.

"Nope," I told him with a grin before walking over towards the bar and behind it. I felt Eric's eyes on me, and I wondered if he didn't want me behind his bar. But I was thirsty and I needed to drink something, and since I was going to spend time with two vampires tonight - one of which bugged me - I needed something…strong.

I ignored his gaze as I helped myself to a Vodka and Coke, downing that quickly, hardly feeling the slight burn in my throat, then decided to make something more exotic.

I grabbed what I needed to make a Pina Colada, noticing that the bar was set up just like the rest of them were. It didn't take long, since I'd worked in bars and clubs before. I stuck an umbrella and a wedge of pineapple on the rim and smiled, happy with my work of art.

The it hit me.

"Oh God, does anyone want anything?" I had been brought up to always offer whatever you're having: a drink, in this case.

Jessica grinned at me before politely asking for a TruBlood, O-positive. I reluctantly looked to Eric. He said nothing, gave me no gesture, just stared at me like he was trying to see into my soul. I shuddered a little to which he smirked, and I gave him a dirty look and heated up Jess's drink. She came to the bar to accept it with a smile.

"So what's the plan of action?" I asked to no one in particular, sipping on my perfect cocktail.

It was Eric who answered.

"We'll be going to their headquarters then seeing if Bill and Sookie are there."

He then started for the door; Jessica gulped down her TruBlood faster than humanely possible, and followed him. I guessed we were going now, then.

I quickly held my straw to the side and downed my drink, slamming it back onto the bar and following the pair. I wobbled and nearly los my footing - Jess caught me.

"You could have just left it," she hissed at me. "You better not be drunk hen we're saving your cousin…"

She huffed like she was my mom. I laughed.

"I'm fine, Jessica." I shook my head at her and walked a little faster so she couldn't make me feel even less mature. I then realised walking in front of her meant walking beside Eric. I slowed my pace down again. He turned to look at me with another freaking amused grin then led us both to a sleek red car. He opened his side and got in. I climbed into the back whilst Jessica went in the front.

He took off like a bat out of hell. He drove manically, fast, and terrifyingly. I was gripping my seats for the first half an hour. It didn't take much longer until we reached their lair. Well, it wasn't really a lair - it was a church. A big one, with a glass roof over what I presumed to be the Sanctuary. I guessed that since it was an anti-vampire church, the glass roof held significance that should a vampire try to enter the church, they would be burnt. I'd heard that Newlin guy on the TV arguing with the head of American Vampire League, and he didn't really have much of an argument - he and his cult followers thought vampires were a species against nature, a plague of this Earth. I figured they were just evolved humans, or something God himself created. Nobody would ever know, and vampires were here to stay - I didn't see why this guy couldn't accept that.

I sighed as we parked up against a curb a little away from the church. We all got out and approached the building; we stared at it, waiting for something significant to happen.

Well that was what I was waiting for. I was sure Jessica and Eric were using their senses to find my cousin and her beau.

After a few moments, I felt the need to break the silence.

"I really don't know why there's a glass roof. It's not like you'd enter in broad daylight. Ya'll are dead to the world when you're sleeping. I mean, I'm a deep sleeper but--"

"They're in there."

He cut me off. Again!

What was with this guy?! He was always something annoying - mean, rude, insulting and he always seemed to find me amusing, which pissed me off to no end. I was not a comedian for him to enjoy.

I took a deep breath so I wouldn't snap back. He was a vampire (a strong one, at that) who could kill me in less than a second; plus he was giving up his free time to look for my cousin. He could have left Jess and I helpless. And he gave me a place to sleep, and clothes.

I guessed I owed him.

Shit.

"That's good then. At least we know where they are," I addressed him with a tight smile.

He looked at me curiously, before turning back to the church, his face stoic. His face set into an expression like stone, a mixture between boredom and indifference.

"It's heavily guarded, though. Look." Jess pointed to the front door, which was guarded by four heavily built men, and then the back door, guarded by only two. They all looked like they would shoot on sight.

Eric scoffed.

"Stupid boys with guns. I will never understand human fascination with guns. They only destroy," he muttered, shaking his head.

It was my turn to scoff.

"Isn't that a little hypocritical?" I put a hand on my hip and tilted my head.

He didn't look at me until I smiled, thinking I had won that one. His face was still set into that mask.

"I see your clothes fit." He held a smirk when I came up short for a reply.

I sighed. "Touché." I said it so quietly even a vampire shouldn't have heard. But he did - and he grinned. Well, as much as a terrifying vampire could grin. Even that looked menacing.

He set off down the hill at a human pace; Jess followed.

"Come on, Evie," Jessica whisper-shouted to me. I looked at her in shock.

"Wait, we're heading towards the big men with guns?" I gulped when she nodded, almost happily.

When I didn't follow she stopped and turned around fully.

"Evie, you're with Eric and me. We're not gonna let anything happen to you, and those guys are just humans. No offence," she added as a second thought.

"Aren't you still young? Bill said--"

"Miss Hayward, what Bill Compton says is overruled right now. I don't care what he said - I'm saying Jessica will come. So if you want to save your cousin, follow me."

His voice was sharp and snappy, like he had run out of patience with me, or he was aggravated by my very presence.

I took another calming breath and grabbed Jessica's outstretched hand, following the big, blonde, scary vampire who may or not have hated me.

Tonight was going to be a long night.

Sorry it's shorter than previous ones. This was a filler chapter. Next chapter will be more dramatic, and therefore longer.

I also apologise for any mistakes. I didn't even re-read this i wanted to get it out so quick. That's bad, right? :|

I have re-started school, so updates will take an even longer time. One of my other stries will be coming to an end very shortly so that will make more time for updates. But A-Levels are hard as hell, and I've got so much homework in the last four days it's unbelieveable. Like, read two novels, write four essays, research at least six things and make notes...etc etc. You get the point. I'm a busy bee.

I'm so sorry I don't write back to replies. I'm rubbish at that. But I read and appreciate every single freaking one. Honest to God, I love them. Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed it. :)