Sooo. Remember how I said that I just cut the last chapter in half, and am injecting some Bill into the middle of it all?
Well, that was, at first, pointless. It was just a way for me to draw out the storyline so I didn't feel like I was rushing things along, because I feel like I do that often.
Turns out, though, that this chapter has become INTEGRAL to my plot. Which does exist. There is a point to all my stories, dear readers. They are not just romantic fluff (but, that's always nice too, right?).
So, this chapter is a bit short, and for this I am so, so sorry. Hopefully you don't mind. And, once again, I apologize for the delay. I'm also working on IIKM's next chapter (which is delicious), so I may be spreading myself a bit thin. Thankfully, I have less than a month of school remaining, so I will write like NO ONE's business. That, and we all know True Blood is making its way back onto our beloved TV sets on June 12, so I will be brimming with motivation!! Especially because… well… Bill is kidnapped. And Sam is going off to find his family (rumor has it, he meets his little brother. Upon hearing this, I almost had a heart attack. Can we say hot? Yes, yes we can.) So, in response to the Sookie/Eric and Sookie/Alcide—I only know who he is through Entertainment Weekly and my book-reading friends, I do still oppose the books—I just have to keep our Bill finding love. As well as Sam. And Jason, once I get around to writing UTG.
You should all know, that while it takes me AGES to write out my actual chapters, my brain is always writing up some ideas. I play stuff out in my head when I'm bored, like a little play. It's fun. Point is, I'm still THINKING about UTG (thought about our Jason/Emily making up-session—at which point I realized I haven't given them a LEGIT sex scene as of yet. Which is uncommon after eight chapters, because I suddenly began writing a lot of sex into my stories. Of course, this doesn't seem uncommon to you folks, because you have never seen my last FF author account—if you're truly, truly curious, and like adorable HP oneshots and bad anime fics, you may check it out— .inspiration —I wrote T, I wrote fluff. Apparently, with age, comes a realization that sex is crucial to interesting plotlines involving adultery, rebellious drug-dealing shifters, and an ex-protesting, ex-journalist, ex-addict human with an affinity for Jason-I'll-fuck-anything-Stackhouse. Oh shit, I'm still speaking parenthetically) so, you can expect more of UTG soon enough. I promise.
OH, and in other news! I actually DO have an idea for a decent Eric fic. I do not know whether or not I'll actually write it, but it's in my noggin. The girl in it has captured my interest. And I think you'd like her too. Should I go for it? Sound off in a review, pleeeease.
And, I just recently realized that, since I'm actually going to finish these fics, and I've created my own little storyline, I'm available to the amazing sub-culture of SEQUEL fics.
MAYBE even prequels!! In the IIKM case, at least.
Are you excited? I am, for sure.
Well, that's it. If you did read all this, I applaud you, that is pretty damn awesome. I know I wrote a lot in this lil' Author's Note, but I love talking to you guys. It's an easy thing to do. Haha. I also like to think that you're actually curious about who I am, and why it's taking me so DAMN long to crank out a chapter. And, if you couldn't tell, I love talking almost as much as I love to write. This is a page-long authors note, which is surprising. Whoops. Oh, well.
Now, onto the tenth chapter!
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Reviews: (there are seven. Whoooot.)
Awesome: Gracias. Hope you didn't wait too long.
Piper1715: Too long? I hope not!
Blooddrunk: Thank you! Sookie gets on my nerves too. And Abby is just so damn spiffy, ain't she?
Murgatroid-98: Yeah, I know. I've been piling on the crap for her, haven't I? Sean is a jerk, and he is lucky Bill didn't kill him. And I'm wondering too, because I have yet to solve that little problem. And I love long chapters. But, I think that slowing myself down makes everything… better. Personally.
TheNextBestThing36: Thank you!! And… yeah… still a wait. But hopefully not a bad one.
Redandsparkly: I don't think I could write a good chaptered Sookie/Bill story without… going even crazier than I am with this one, actually. And, I prefer to keep things as… true to the story as I can. And Sookie's kind of annoying sometimes. This is why I venture into OC-dom. That, and I LOVE my awesome OCs. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!!!
CrazyforBill: Haha, thanks. I'm happy you're likin' it!
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Chapter Ten: Foundations.
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"Of course not!" Sookie exclaimed, rolling her eyes, "What was she supposed to do? I don't blame her for never speaking to you again, but now we have a lawsuit on our hands that we will not win if it's just a bunch of vampires up on the stand!"
"Well maybe you should have been a little more careful in your screening process before you lawyer up with some ignorant—"
"Oh shut up, Bill," she said loudly, rolling her head in annoyance, "Maybe you should've been more careful, and not chosen some poor married girl to be your next girlfriend!" She crossed her arms, pacing back and forth as we both awaited Eric's arrival to the back, tension mounting in the process.
I shook my head, "Stop talking as if you know everything."
"She's human, Bill. She's a helluva lot weaker than you are. That I know."
"I am aware! And that is precisely why I wasn't going to let that man walk into that house in that condition and—" I was so angry, that I had to stop myself before I spoke any further. I clenched my fists and turned and rested my head against the wall, pounding my fist against it once, creating a hollowed thud that echoed through the office. "Hell, Sookie, I would not have been able to stop myself had he actually hurt her, and you would be dealing with a dead lawyer, not a broken one." Sookie growled in response, tossing her head back as though overcome with a silent sense of maniacal laughter, the kind when one finds something to aggravating that it is unintentionally hilarious.
"The dead one would be easier to hide, I must admit," Eric said, sauntering in and looking at me in a seemingly amused fashion. Of course, he probably thought it outrageously amusing, my total inability to stay away from trouble and the women who would inevitably cause it. Bitter as I was due to my own missteps, I was primarily and most poignantly saddened by the biggest consequence of my actions: the fact that Abby was utterly ignoring me completely, rejecting my attempts to speak to her.
And it was so agonizing. I felt this sense that if I could just talk with her, she would understand. But, instead, I was forced to keep making futile attempts to merely see her again. Needless to reiterate: these all failed.
She was very, very good at staying away. And, I was much too frightened of truly scaring her off to make any overly brash attempt to see her. So, I tried to content myself with reimagining her face, or the sound of her voice, even though this was somehow hard to conjure. Even the simplest curve of her lips seemed almost lost to me, and it was maddening.
Though, now, looking at Sookie, I was more inclined to anger. My attitude had done nothing but sour, and sitting in the small, closed in office with little or no room to think without being bombarded by questions of my actions—as if I had not already done that myself—was making it worsen by the minute, and soon I would spoil, and decide to snap someone's neck.
Keeping myself under control, to the best of my ability, I looked to Eric, "I am sorry." I stated it as simply and as seriously as I could, jaw taught from the resentment growing in my chest with each second. I stood, trying to appear unphased by Eric's manner and whatever it was he had to say as a form of chastisement. This also set me apart by the obviously perturbed Sookie, who was running around like office like a fly that just cannot seem to get out a window in the middle of summer. Of course, Eric was willing to look past this, his overall infatuation with her overriding her utterly crazed tendencies of the current moment.
"I know," Eric darkly mused, sitting in the chair and looking over at Sookie, "He has done something to this effect before, you said?"
Of course, Sookie had already expressed her feeling on the situation to Eric multiple times. The fact of the matter was, Eric was wholly unable to pin the situation onto anyone in particular until the lawyer's connection to Abby was unearthed.
This, of course, set Eric in such a shock—that I, as apparently good I am could ever convince a respectable young woman into adultery. Not that I had done any convincing. If anything, she was the one convincing me. I do admit that I could have exercised some form of self-restraint, but, in all fairness, she could have as well. After all, we are both acting adults.
"Somethin' like it," she muttered, remembering the Uncle Bartlett fiasco of so long ago. I felt my mouth twitch in irritation, and was soon motioned to sit down. I, simply, was not capable of any form of control that allowed me to live a somewhat-normal existence. I was not going to put Abby in any kind of danger, as I couldn't bear the consequences.
"Well, you must admit that the vigilante thing is kind of attractive, no?" I heard from my right, to see her standing in the doorway, and felt my muscles tense and chest ache at the sight of her.
Sookie rolled her eyes, to which Abby continued, "Well, you did date him too," she raised an eyebrow, "And, judging by your current companion, you have a thing for bad boys."
Sookie scoffed, "And you know this how? I wasn't aware you were a teacher and a psychologist on the side."
"Well," Abby said, "I didn't realize you would gain such a little attitude. I mean, I am currently going through a divorce, a break-up, and I'm living with my mother—who would rather see me dead than divorced—whose only real friend is now a 19 year old vampire. So, obviously, your life is currently worse than mine, and I apologize that my own observations perturbed you so."
"I…" Sookie was currently speechless, obviously listening in on Abby's mind, considering it must be loud in the otherwise-silent room.
Abby looked fantastic. Then again, she always had and, in my opinion, always will. I would presume that after my time spent apart from her, contemplating my actions on that night, had sprung about a new feeling my gut that I was positive could only really be apparent after I realized exactly what it is I had done by harming Abby's husband.
I felt a little pathetic, honestly, so attuned to the whims of this pretty girl. And seeing her so somber due to my actions, even aggrieved at the loss of her ordinary life, made me myself feel distressed. I was in love with her, enthralled by her very presence, yet still could not fully regret my actions because I felt this way.
It was complicated, but such complexity only made perfect sense.
I mean, look at her now. She looked the same, really, beautiful blue eyes shining and cutting through the dim fluorescent lighting. But she was paler, her hair was a bit messier, her face make-up free, making her appear more youthful, less put-together than usual.
I wanted to say something, but couldn't bring myself to do so.
"Let's play nice," Eric responded to her, eyebrow raised, "No trouble pulling you out here this late, I trust?"
"None at all," she answered, moving past me, eyes staring when she did so, "Jessica is here as well, but she chose to wait in the car and absolve all responsibility for my being here. Let's not keep her waiting, yes? I'd like to cut this short, if possible. Do you hold any responsibility for the death of Cassandra Collins?"
"Are we playing detective?"
She rolled her eyes, and crossed one smooth leg over the other, her skirt sliding up her right thigh, "I call it more, finding out why there was a dead girl in my front lawn." Her tone took an abrupt turn as she continued, swallowing before doing so, "She… was only 21. And she did not deserve to die. So, if it was your fault," her voice was growing thicker, "Please, dear god, just tell me it was so I can just blame someone already."
"Eric?" Sookie asked, obviously surprised at the question, voice hollow and almost horrified. Had I not been paying such close attention to Abby, I'd have tried to read deeper into it. Maybe, I thought fleetingly, she was afraid that Eric wasn't being completely honest with her. And I thought Abby naïve.
But the preoccupation with Abby had won out over the conflict about to brew if Eric answered wrong to this particular question. My jaw tightened, "Eric."
He seemed intrigued, not only by her directness in her speaking, but in my choice to speak as well. I saw Abby's lips flicker, and for the slightest second a smiled rested upon them.
"I had no part in that." He said coolly, looking back at me with raised eyebrows, revealing what appeared to be surprise.
"Then who did?" she said loudly, trying to regain his attention. It worked, seeing as his eyes slid back down to her.
"I don't know."
"You're supposed to know."
"Smart one, you've got there, Billy."
"Don't talk to him," she said sternly, "Talk to me, please. I may be just a human, but I can still communicate like an adult."
I noticed, not unhappily, that she made no reference to that fact that we had not been talking for the past insurmountable amount of days. And, in yet another magnificent expression showing how she is so unlike the Sookie standing before me, she made no snide and disgruntled quip about how my actions were unnecessary or overtly protective or annoying. She simply directed her frustrations are Eric, which made me smirk in satisfaction.
"I'm sorry," he said, "But I do need to know if you know if your husband—"
"Ex-husband, Eric," she corrected, looking over to Sookie as she giggled. Abby smiled again. Apparently, she made a joke.
"If he had any other vampire connections?"
She raised an eyebrow, "Well… I stole this," she rummaged through her bag, pulling out a blackberry and handing it to him, "You can keep it. God knows he won't need it, can't even move his hand. I would imagine that there are some other interesting clientele, considering how long he's out of Saturday nights. I know that he can't possibly keep it up that long without… like… V, or something. But I really doubt he's that stupid."
Sookie laughed, Eric smirked, and I held my tongue before risking further scrutiny. Personally, I'd say he is that stupid, but I don't think Abby would much appreciate my opinions.
"I heard he can't move much," Eric said, "How long will it take him to recover?"
She shrugged, "I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to him in a while. You should call up his girlfriend," she smiled wryly, "I'm sure she would know."
Sookie took it upon herself to answer, "You know, I think that you actually are handling all this very well. I'm actually a little envious on how you've been so… normal despite all this."
"I'm glad you think so," she answered.
Eric looked at her curiously, "You do realize that this girl—"
"Cassandra."
"--was most likely a… warning. You could, theoretically, be in danger."
"What do you mean?"
"If we incriminate your husband, the case he's put against us will be dropped—"
"He thinks it's your fault?"
"We allowed it to happen," he said, "And our main defense can't be the power of love, Abby."
"…I…" She bit her lip, "I don't think…."
"You shouldn't be too worried," Sookie said, smiling a bit, "You've got Bill watching over you, whether you like it or not. And I'm sure Eric would look out for you, if it needed to be done."
"Your affiliation with your husband," Eric said, "Could land you into some… dangerous circumstances. Of course, we'd like to avoid this."
"Yeah," Abby said, "Avoiding is what I'd like to accomplish. But, we're getting divorced, I'm not living there anymore, and honestly, my contempt for him is overwhelming. So, I think the odds of a vampire hunting me down are—"
"Higher than you expect," Eric said, "Trust me. Such a drastic measure means that there had to be at least some form of contact beforehand—"
"Like a threat, or something, right?" Sookie asked, sitting on the side of Eric desk and thinking aloud, "Abby, you'll learn pretty damn quickly that vampires don't give a damn who it is they're killing as long as it has an impact. They like putting on a show."
Abby nodded once, "I understand."
"I don't think you do," Eric said.
"I do," she pressed, "I get it. I'm in trouble. It's not ideal, but it's not surprising."
"You scared?" Eric asked.
"Probably less than I should be. I have a characteristic problem with that."
This time, Eric looked past her to me, "Don't let her out of your sight."
I saw her jaw tense, and Sookie's eyes darted to her, but Eric stayed totally focused on me, waiting for a nod.
So I gave him one.
"I should go," Abby stood suddenly, "Jess is waiting, and… I really feel a bit uncomfortable here."
Eric nodded. Sookie smiled, "Of course! It was really nice chattin' with you, even if it had to be under these circumstances."
"Yeah," she mumbled, "Bye." She turned, glancing once at me and biting her lip, rushing out of the room without really appearing to rush. She strode quickly, with purpose, running her hands through her hair and finally breaking out of the bar and walking along the side of it to lean against the brick and breathe.
I followed her, of course. It was like something was pulling me after her, I was attached on an invisible leash. I was not going to let her leave again. I could not let her go, and I did not even have her back yet.
It seemed so clear-cut to me. I wanted her, needed her, in some respects, and did not want to have to deal with another second without her.
The night around the bar was not very dark; I could see her clearly. She was not looking at me, but staring straight ahead of her, looking at nothing in particular. Her eyes were glistening, mouth quivering; it looked as if she might cry.
"Abby…" I muttered, wanting to venture closer, but keeping a relative distance. She looked over at me quickly, surprised by my sudden appearance, but then settled into a stubborn resolve. It was like she knew I was coming, and did not want to talk to me.
But, she did anyway.
"Don't give me some speech on how you didn't mean it, because we both know you did," she said, "And don't try to tell me that it's not going to happen again, because you can never be sure of that. And really, really don't try to tell me that you're—that you're sorry," her voice broke a bit, and she looked up, "Because… I kind of don't want you to be. But I don't want to forgive you, because… well… that would be too easy, because what you did was wrong."
"I—"
"I am not done," she said sternly. Her eyes were pointed in front of her, not stubbornly not looking at me. She waited for a moment, and then continued, "And there are so many things about you, I've realized, that make me so incredibly angry," she was desperately trying to keep her voice even, but it wasn't helping, "Like, how you hate talking about yourself. And how you're so protective. And how cold you are. And…" she wiped her face, biting her lip before letting out a quick, gasp-like sob. She bit her lip quickly, settling herself and soon continuing, words shaking as they left her lips, "And I've realized that in the sickest way possible, I l-love those things," she swallowed, "too. And I want to be able to be with you, but I…" She started crying, fully this time, and I took a tentative step closer to her, and another, and soon wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her hair, as she cried on my neck, mumbling words under her breath in a frazzled blur.
She lid her hands up to my chest, pushing me back after a moment, "I don't know what to do," she whispered, wiping the wetness from my shoulder, and her face, muttering an apology.
I bent forward a bit, kissing her. She pulled back, "Bill… I…" I ignored her, pressing my lips to hers again, teasing her them apart, and deepening the kiss in such a way that elicited a moan, and when she once again pushed me back, my canines had already extended.
She hung her hands on my shoulders, and slid them towards my neck, thumb caressing my cheek, "Why do you do things like that?" She swallowed, "I'm… mad at you."
"I did what I did because I care too much about you to let you be hurt—even emotionally," I smiled a bit, "And while I love you more than you can ever imagine—"
"You… what?"
"I'm in love with you," I said simply. Her eyes got huge, and smaller, as if she was overtaken by some sort of confusion, and it was the greatest sight I'd ever seen, "But, I have the feeling that you were about to say something I do not want to hear, so, I'm going to keep kissing you until Jessica exits that car and pries you from my hands."
"I—" I cut her off with another kiss, followed by another, breaking after a moment and saying, "And you should know that these past couple of months have been pure hell."
"I know what you mean," she whispered, "I missed you."
Her lips were so soft that kissing her was almost hard to stop doing. It felt like a special privilege to taste her again, to tease her tongue into fighting me back whole-heartedly. She drug me forward until I couldn't step further, and proceeded to press her hips against me, and run her tongue across the top of my lip until I had to stop myself, disconnecting us and resting my head against the wall behind her, "Slow down," I whispered to the best of my ability, no sound really coming out my lips. She obliged, and panted next to me, head finding a spot to rest on my shoulder, hands wrapping around my waist and keeping me close.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"Don't be," I whispered back, moving to kiss the top of her head, "I've got you."
"I…" she swallowed, and let out a sudden shuddering breath, and I could feel wetness on my shoulder once again. She barely made a sound, so it took me a moment to register the choked gasps as sobs, and the shakes the result of tears.
I lowered a hand to her cheek, wrapping my free arm around her shoulders, "Shhh, Abby, it's okay."
She shook her head, "But… But it's not. It's not Bill," she dropped her hands from me and wiped her eyes, which didn't do much to stop her crying, "I'm… I'm afraid of you, now. I… Before, I didn't understand what you meant, didn't want to think that this," she pulled hard on my shirt, "Could ever be bad… But I look at you, and I see Cassandra lying there on my front lawn, dead. And I see so many others, cold, limp, and blue because of someone who is like you… and… I know you would never hurt me," she nodded, as if to confirm this to herself, "And I love you… so much," her voice broke and she took a second to compose herself and wipe another flood of tears from her cheeks, "But… I don't know how we would ever make this work. How… how could I love you if I'm afraid of what you could… and h-have done… or… I don't know if I can… do this." She scrunched her eyes together, "I don't know what to do. Because it hurts so much to not be around you, but… I…"
I shut my eyes, trying to sort my thoughts into intelligible words, "I know, Abby, that I've made mistakes with you. And I know that there's little likelihood of your… wanting to… give this a real go, especially now… You are… the reason I'm in this whole mess," I offered an almost wretched laugh, "but I'd rather be dealing with this, with you, than anything else in the world."
"Of course you would say something so perfect at a time like this," she muttered bitterly, "Why does this have to be so complicated?" she asked that last part to herself, I think, so I kept myself silent.
"We'll… We'll deal with the rogue vampires who are apparently hunting me down," she said, "And… then we'll talk."
"You should come home with me," I suggested, tilting her head up and wiping her cheeks.
She smiled a bit, "It's a Thursday. I have work tomorrow."
"Right," I said bitterly, "School ends soon, right?"
She nodded, "Yes. I should leave… but, I'm just afraid that when I get away from you, I'm not going to want to come back."
I frowned, "Trust me, I will make it very difficult to escape me. I'm under orders, actually."
She giggled, "Mkay. Creepy, but appreciated," she looked up at me, smiling a bit. I leaned in and kissed her cheek.
"Bye," I brushed a hair behind her ear, looking for a moment into her eyes.
"Goodbye," she said, articulating clearly, trying to set herself straight. You know, we're not just having sex," she said, turning and walking towards her car, "We are not going to be that couple."
I smiled, "Yes ma'am."
She nodded, unlocking her door and shooing Jessica out of the passenger seat, sliding in and offering me a fleeting glance before pulling out of the parking lot and speeding off.
I didn't realize I was staring—I'm not really the staring type. But, apparently, I was, seeing as Jessica came over and hit my arm to get my attention. "Jesus," she looked after the car, "Did you fuck it up?"
"What? No," I said, looking at her oddly.
"You're sure?"
I looked over at her, "Yes…"
"Okay," she said, "Just making sure. I mean, I saw you guys making out over there—very private, by the way—and figured that something had to have happened. But, I mean, I wasn't positive, considering the things she'd said about you earlier. And then I figured that maybe you were just trying to convince her that she should forgive you by like… convincing her you can kiss well—" she stopped, "Er… you know what I mean. SO, needless to say, I was a bit confused."
"Why were you even watching us?"
"She's my best friend. It's what we do."
I rolled my eyes, "That's unnecessary. And inappropriate. I do not—"
"Oh, come on. Do you think I'm blind? I'm aware that you two are attracted to each other, and that you have—"
"Jessica!"
"Bill!!" she yelled back, rolling her eyes, "Stop being such a prude."
I sighed, "What would you prefer I be, Jessica?"
"Honest," she said, straightening herself up, "You'd be surprised; I can hold adult conversations. You may not have to bottle up all those emotions."
"I'm not—"
"I know, I know," she rolled her eyes, "What are you going to do tomorrow?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are you going to do when you see her?"
I was quiet for a moment, "I was thinking I'd pick her up and bring her over. Nothing special. The more time she spends away from Shreveport, the better."
"Why?"
"Because, if she's there, the odds of her getting killed are much higher, Jessica."
"Oh," she said, "Do you think I should go see Hoyt tomorrow? I was thinking about it, but, I'm not sure, because he's been getting all hyped up about his new apartment and doesn't want to go anywhere else." She laughed a bit, and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't care," I replied.
She looked over, "You're surrrre?"
"She said no sex," I said simply, "So, I'm guessing it won't matter if you're there or not." I paused for a moment, "Well, it didn't last time, either."
"Bill!"
"Jessica! I thought you wanted me to be honest."
"I can't believe you."
I shrugged, and kept driving.
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Well, that's all for tonight. I'll work for the next chapter, but you're still going to have to bear with me until school ends—which is very soon. I'm cranking things out as fast as I can!
Um… I don't really have that much to say. I kind of exhausted myself at the top of things. Yes, that AN was full of story-related info. You should check it out.
Or not. Whatever. It's not like I'll know.
Thanks for reading, you guys rock!
Oh, and reviews are fantastic. So fantastic. They brighten my day.