Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns all characters. I own nothing.

Chapter 10

I can't believe that he would just show up at my door. I sigh, and plead with my eyes for Amelia to give us a little privacy. She says that she is going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat for dinner real quick. When she leaves, I wait for Mr. Northman to come in, when he doesn't I ask him why.

"I have to be invited in," he says, looking down.

"Oh, well, uh, Professor, please come in," I tell him, and he immediately walks into the room. I shut the door behind him and lock it. The last thing I need is for someone to stop by and see Professor Northman standing in the living room of my dorm.

"What do you need, Professor?" I ask him, sitting down on the couch.

"Please, call me Eric," he says, smirking at me.

"No, I think Professor will do just fine, thanks," I tell him. I cross my legs, and wait for him to get on with what he needs.

"Miss Stackhouse, I really am sorry about what I put you through last night. That was a bad way to tell you about what I am," he says, pleadingly.

"Professor, I don't blame you for what you are. I feel terrible about the way I acted last night. It's not your fault that you're a vampire," I tell him. "I am thinking about transferring out of your class though," I say quietly.

"Please, Sookie, don't do that. You are my best student, and it would be a great loss to me to lose you as a student. You'll also find that none of the other professor's are as versed in history as I am," he says.

I laugh, realizing that he's probably right. He probably did live through most of these events after all. "Fine, I'll stay in your class..." I tell him reluctantly.

"Thank you, Sookie."

"I think we need to stop whatever this is we started though," I say. "I'm only seventeen, and I don't want to get you in trouble."

"You won't get me in trouble. Vampires operate by a different set of rules than humans. But, if you insist that you do not want it, I will stop," he says looking at me, kind of sadly.

"I don't want you to stop," I say quietly. I really don't. I like the feeling that this powerful creature wants me, but it also frightens me. "I think maybe we should just slow down."

He grins at me, and moves closer to me on the couch, taking my hand. He brings it up to his mouth, and kisses the pulse point on my wrist, making me shiver. "Anything you want, Miss Stackhouse," he says.

"I think you should leave before I jump you," I tell him jokingly.

He laughs and stands up, offering me his hand. "That's probably a good idea," he says walking to the door. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

When he leaves, I throw myself on the couch and just sit there grinning like an idiot. I really need to talk to Sam, and let him know that I don't have feelings for him. I definitely only want Professor Northman, and it's not fair to string him along for the ride.

Amelia makes her way back to the room a short time after the Professor leaves, carrying a cheeseburger for me, and a Coke. I dig into it as soon as she sets it in front of me, and I begin telling her what happened. By the time I finished with my story, she is wide eyed.

"Holy shit," she says, staring at me. "I heard rumors that vampires were real from my mentor, but she would never give me a straight answer. I guess now we have one."

"I guess so," I agree, getting up to throw the garbage from my dinner away. While I am doing the few dishes in the sink, there is another knock at the door. I reach out with my mind, and realize that it is just Sam. I groan, and throw the dish rag in the sink, to open the door.

"What do you need, Sam?" I ask, but he pushes past me in to the living room.

"Who was just here?" he asks, sniffing the air.

"What business is it of yours?" I ask him, taken aback.

"Well, I left my wallet here on accident, and I came back to get it, and all I can smell in this damn place is a vampire"— he stops, looking at me, blushing,

"Sam Merlotte, what do you mean you smelled a vampire?" I ask him slowly, not knowing if I can handle any more crazy today.

"Ah, shit," he says, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Sit down. I've got somethin' to tell you."

I sit down on the couch and he sits on the coffee table in front of me.

"I'm a shifter. I can shift into any animal I want, as long as I have an animal to base it off of," he says, looking up at me expectantly.

"Sam, I don't know what I'm supposed to say. Last night I found out about vampires, and today I'm finding out about shifters. This is all too much," I tell him, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

"Sookie, there's something different about you, too. I can smell it," he says, moving closer to me.

"Look, Sam, I was going to talk to you tomorrow about this, but I guess I can now. I don't have feelings for you, and I realize that I am leading you on. I really don't want to do that to you, because you're such a nice guy..." I trail off, feeling incredibly guilty.

"It's the vampire," he says quietly. Suddenly, he stiffens, smelling the air again. "Jesus Christ, Sookie, Northman? That's who was here? You can't be serious. He's dangerous, Sook. You need to remember that. You don't need to get yourself mixed up with vamps."

"Well, Sam Merlotte, I can sure as hell make that decision for myself, thank you very much. He hasn't done anything to harm me, and I can assure you that everything going on is innocent. He helped me last night when I passed out at a club with Amelia, and he was just stopping by tonight to make sure I was okay," I rant, realizing that I am yelling by the end of my little speech. "I think you need to leave, Sam," I say, walking to the front door.

He walks up to me, and softens his gaze. "Just be careful cher. Okay?"

I smile at him, and pat his hand. "I'm always careful Sam. But go home, okay? I'll be fine." I shut and lock the door behind him, and find Amelia standing behind the door in her room, obviously eavesdropping.

"So, you're a witch, that can't cast some weird spell to just know what we were talking about." I tease her, laughing at her shocked expression.

"I could do that, I guess," she says thoughtfully, while grabbing a spell book off her bookshelf.

"So do you think I handled that okay with Sam?" I ask her, as she peruses her spell book.

She looks up at me, and snickers, giving me a pointed glance. "There's no way to easily tell a guy that they are firmly in the friend zone. I think you did as well as anyone could," she says before going back to her reading. Realizing that she will be distracted the rest of the night, I go to my own room, and move all of my stuff in to my brand new Michael Kors purse. As I do so, I can't help but think about the day's events. Once again, I am in deeper than I think I can handle.

Deciding I need a little piece of familiarity, I call Jason.

"Sook! I was just thinking about calling you," he says excitedly.

"Hey Jase," I say. "I was just home sick, and needed to talk to a familiar person. How're things back at home?"

"They're same old, same old. Pretty boring as usual," he says. "How're things in New Orleans?"

I hesitate, and he gets my meaning. "Sook, I know it's probably hard to be in a new place with new people. If you ever need me, just call."

"Well, do you want to come down and visit me tomorrow? I don't have classes until tomorrow night, and we could spend the day together?" I ask hopefully.

"I would love that, Sook! I'll be there tomorrow first thing. I love you, sis."