A/N: Guys? I'm really excited. We're pretty darn close to the end of Act 1 for this bad boy and Act 2 for AM. OK, that's a bit of a lie, because I'm at Chapter 17 of AM, and you guys are way back there only having read up to 12 (if you're following along), but you'll catch up soon enough. Well, hopefully not catch up because then you'd have to wait for me to finish a chapter instead of getting 2 or 3 updates a week. :P *Ahem* Anyhow, the kids are really growing up now. Hadley? Still kind of the worst. And let's give our girl a little preemptive 'poor Sookie'. Whumping the Sookie - it's kind of what I do. :P Thanks, as always, to ilovemysteries. She's the best.

Chapter 8

August 1991

Adele and Linda were going to Houston for an experimental treatment for Linda's uterine cancer. UT had one of the best cancer treatment centers in the world. They would be gone for 3 nights, and Adele hated the thought of leaving the kids home alone, but she just didn't have much choice. Linda wasn't up to driving herself, and there was nobody else to do it. Hadley had run away in June after she had flunked tenth grade, and had just come back home. Not the best idea to leave her alone with no supervision except for Jason, of all people, but she would make their lives miserable if they took her along. Linda needed to be the priority. Adele thought she should probably at least take Sookie with her, but she wasn't sure. Sookie did not do well at hospitals at all, and Adele wasn't sure a hotel would be much better. And, to be honest, of the three, Sookie was by far the most mature, even if she was barely 13 instead of 16.

"Sookie, are you sure you'll be OK to stay here with Jason and Hadley?"

"Gran, are you sure the house will still be standing when you get back if I don't?"

"Don't you sass me, young lady."

"Sorry, Gran."

Eric cut in, "I'll make sure they behave themselves, Mrs. Stackhouse. Especially Sookie. We all know what a troublemaker she can be." Eric swung his arm over Sookie's shoulder. She elbowed him in the stomach.

Hoyt said, "Me too, Mrs. Stackhouse!" Hoyt said "me too" a lot.

Having Eric stay really did make Adele feel better, although she couldn't very well put him in charge. She said, "Jason, Hadley, no parties. No girls. No other boys. No drinking. No sex. No drugs. Eric and Hoyt can stay, but all three of you need to sleep upstairs. Hadley, you have to sleep on the couch."

"Yes, Gran." Jason and Hadley said in unison.

"Sookie, you can have Tara or Lafayette over during the day, but not overnight."

That was OK with Sookie; neither of them would want to come to be harrassed by Hadley, anyway, and Sookie wasn't a big fan of sleepovers. Extra brains in her room made it really hard to sleep. Having Hadley at the house was bad enough.

"OK, Gran."

"It's about four and a half hours or so from Houston, so we might not get back until late on Saturday. We'll likely have to stop a few times to give Linda a break. There's plenty to eat in the fridge and a couple of casseroles in the freezer you can heat up. Hoyt's mother will be checking in on you a couple of times to make sure you aren't up to no good. Y'all behave yourselves, you hear?"

Everyone said, "Yes, Gran." or "Yes, Mrs. Stackhouse."

"Hadley. I really do expect you to behave yourself and follow the rules. And no picking on Sookie and her friends."

Hadley rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"You all be good, and I'll see you on Saturday."

Adele kissed her grandchildren and got into the car where Linda was already waiting. The kids all waved as the ladies drove up the driveway and turned onto Hummingbird Road.

As soon as the car was out of sight, there was a lot of whooping and hand slapping and possibly a bit of dancing.

Jason and Hadley looked at each other and smiled. "Friday night?" Jason asked.

Hadley nodded. "But Sookie will tell."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "I don't care if you have a stupid party. I won't tell. But I'm not going to clean up after, either."

"Come on, Sook! You do it so much better than I do."

"Screw you, Jason. We all know I'm not going to enjoy myself. You want a party, you get to clean up after. I'll do my part by not telling Gran how much beer you drink or which girls you have sex with."

Jason shrugged. "Sounds fair." Sookie would help on Saturday knowing that Gran was due home anyway, especially if he slept in. He'd hide out in his room until after noon, just in case.

The boys had football practice twice a day all week. Hadley always followed along; Sookie was sure that she was determined to sleep with every single guy on the team. Well, except Jason. Of course, Hadley wanted Eric most, but he wasn't really interested. She was really pretty, and a sure thing, but she was big into drugs and had slept with half the kids in Monroe and almost as many in Bon Temps. Also, she was kind of a bitch.

Sookie spent the rest of Wednesday alone, reading and soaking up the sun. It was blissful. She decided to make a big pot of spaghetti for supper, and the sauce simmered away all afternoon. Sookie was in the kitchen boiling water for the pasta when Hadley and the boys all came in.

"Damn, Sook. That smells great."

"Thanks, Jason. Hey everybody. It'll be ready in fifteen, if you want to set the table while I make the salad and heat up some garlic bread."

Soon, they were all eating and talking and laughing happily. Hadley had made out with Kevin Pryor at practice, and was in a decent mood.

Sookie said, "Jase, I was thinking. Why don't y'all have the party at the old house? People can swim in the pond and bring chairs and blankets to sit on. The old outhouse is there to use, or you can grab the keys and use the gravity well and generator." And, Sookie thought, she could stay home alone instead of getting insulted and felt up all night.

"Hey! That ain't bad, Sookie! And Gran won't even see the mess!"

The next day, Hadley went off with the boys, and Sookie spent the day outside in the sun again. She read and sang along to the radio (as loud as she was out of tune), and had just about the perfect day. Maxine Fortenberry stopped by and Sookie assured her that everything was fine.

Sookie decided to make breakfast for supper, so she cut up some fruit, made a triple batch of buttermilk biscuits, cooked up a pound of bacon, and made a huge pan of sausage gravy. She was scrambling a dozen eggs when the hoard came pouring in from football practice. Jason, Hoyt, and Eric kissed Sookie's cheek on the way to the table. "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. I squeezed some OJ. Anyone want coffee?" She had been working so hard on getting used to small amounts of contact like that, and it was really paying off. She didn't even flinch, and really enjoyed their appreciation, if not so much the touch itself. Well, except Eric's.

Hadley was so annoyed with Sookie. She excused herself from the table and went outside and lit a smoke. She walked over to the graveyard and sat down on "Eric's" grave. The Compton one. She wanted to think, and didn't want to be overheard.

God, she hated Sookie. She was so adorable and perky and blonde and already had bigger boobs than Hadley. None of the boys wanted Sookie because she was crazy, but they would probably overlook that if she wasn't such a goody goody.

And if Sookie was crazy, how did she always have her shit together? Always so kind and helpful and friendly, at least when she wasn't being a complete bitch. Little Miss Perfect, with the tan and the curves and the big smile and the nice room and cooking perfect food with hot guys kissing her and putting their arms around her all the time. Whatever happened to 'oh no don't touch me I can't stand it'? And she got to live with Gran instead of Hadley's stupid sick mother.

Hadley remembered when Sookie was just a little mute kid who never made any noise unless she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Or when she would say really dirty things and her mother would slap her mouth. She wasn't always Bumpkin Barbie.

Hadley got herself under control. She needed a plan, and she needed to figure out a way to shield her thoughts, or at least not think about it until either Sookie was asleep, or until she went to practice the next day.

She hung out in the graveyard, smoking and planning, until really late. Jason and Hoyt wandered over after a while, and they all smoked some weed and shot the shit. Hadley and Hoyt made out for a while, and Jason laughed at them. He was always giggly when he was stoned.

Hadley made her bed up on the couch, trying to name all of the teachers she had ever had in order, and then trying to decide whether she would rather fuck River Phoenix, Christian Slater, or Johnny Depp. Anything to keep her mind occupied.

She was pleasantly stoned, and fell asleep quickly after deciding that it was definitely River Phoenix.

The next day, Friday, Sookie mowed the lawn. It was usually Jason's job, but two practices a day in the August heat and full pads was brutal. She decided to take pity on him. She didn't mind too much; she passed the time daydreaming about Eric. What if, instead of kissing her cheek, he kissed her lips. And maybe put his hand up under her shirt…

She got the front lawn done and took a break, drinking a glass of sweet tea straight down in the kitchen, and then pouring another glass that she sipped more slowly out on the porch swing. She switched out the laundry and hung the wet load out on the line, and then mowed the back yard. Hadley and the guys were coming back after practice, and they'd eat before heading over to the old house for the party.

After she got the yard done, she got a shower, brought in and put away the first load of laundry and hung out the second, and then relaxed in front of the TV for a couple of hours. There wasn't much on this time of day except Gran's stories. She wrinkled her nose, but watched for a little while anyway. Finally she gave up and brought in the last load of laundry and put it away.

By then, it was just about time for supper, so she made a big salad and a bunch of hamburger patties that she fried on Gran's huge pancake griddle. She put a couple of bags of potato chips and the condiments and buns on the table, and was just putting the cheese on the burgers to melt when everyone got home.

"Hey guys! Supper's ready. Can someone grab some plates, please?"

"Sookie, you're amazing!"

"Thanks, Eric."

"Yeah Sook. You rock."

"Thanks Hoyt."

"Thank you so much, Sookie. Really. This looks awesome!"

"Uh… Thanks, Had."

Well, that was different. For the first time, maybe ever, Sookie listened in on what Hadley was thinking, on purpose. She really liked the food. She was having a really good time here. She loved spending time at the field, hanging out in the stands. She loved it at Gran's house. She was… happy. Sookie smiled at Hadley and then dug in.

After they ate, Eric said, "I'd help you with the dishes again, Sookie, but we gotta get going. There will be kids showing up in a half hour, and we have to set up." Eric's dad had bought him a car when he turned 16, and being the only one with wheels, he was in charge of getting people places.

"No problem. Have fun. And be careful. Crash there if you're drinking or smoking weed, OK? And wear a condom."

Eric laughed. "Yes, Dear." She smiled at the old joke. Gran had been calling them an old married couple for years. "Jason should have thanked you for mowing the lawn."

Sookie rolled her eyes. "Well, it's a good thing I didn't expect him to. Always pays to keep your expectations low."

"I'll kick his ass for you, kid."

"Thanks, Eric. You rock."

Hadley poked her head into the kitchen and said, "Hey, Eric? I'll help Sookie with the dishes if you'll come back and pick me up when you're all done getting set up."

Eric looked at Sookie with one eyebrow raised. Sookie shrugged one shoulder. "Sure, Hadley. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Hadley washed while Sookie dried and put away, since she was more familiar with the kitchen. Hadley didn't pay attention to details like that, anyway.

"What did you and Eric do in here last night when we were in the graveyard?"

"He helped me with the dishes, and then we played a game of Scrabble. It was nice. He won, but only barely."

"I think he really likes you, Sookie."

"He thinks of me like a little sister, Had. He teases me and needles me and noogies me and is crazy protective of me, and drives me batshit crazy, but not in an I'm madly in love with you kind of way at all. I wish."

Dammit. She shouldn't have said that last part out loud.

"Well, today he told me that he hoped you would come to the party. There are going to be kissing games…"

"Hadley, I am not going to roll the dice and end up kissing gross high school boys with beer breath and nasty thoughts. No thank you. Besides, everyone would just make fun of me anyway."

"If you're having a bad time, I'll call you a cab."

"Hadley, there's no phone there."

"Fine! We'll put your bike in Eric's trunk. I can't believe he drives a Camaro! So rad. But, honestly, a pickup would be a hell of a lot more convenient. Or even an El Camino."

"Hadley, I'm not going to the party."

Hadley sighed dramatically and said, "Fine!" She grabbed Sookie's wrist and replayed the conversation she'd had with Eric earlier today. Well, most of it. Hadley, who was a hell of a liar, had done a little… creative editing. She'd been replaying the same little clip, reality blended with a hint of fantasy, all afternoon until she could play it forward and back. She had no idea if this would work, but if it did… Fireworks. And a comeuppance for Little Miss Perfect and Mr. High and Mighty.

Hadley was sitting next to Eric in the bleachers at the high school football field. He was wearing his practice jersey, still number 17. He said, "I really do wish Sookie would come tonight. I'll stick up for her if anyone fucks with her. Everyone is scared shitless of me."

"You really like her, don't you?"

"Yeah, she's incredible."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I really like her, but I don't know if she'd go out with me."

"Maybe you can ask her tonight? I'll make sure she comes."

Hadley took her hand back. In fact, she and Eric had said all of those things. But Eric had been talking about asking out an older girl he saw working at the mall in Monroe, and Hadley had been advising Eric to ask Sookie if she could babysit for his Dad's girlfriend next weekend, so Eric didn't have to. He was hoping to be out on that date. Sookie was good with the spawn, and she could always use the money. He forgot to ask last night, and hated to ask when Jason was around because he always gave him a hard time about "using his sister". As if he gave a shit. Eric liked Sookie way better than Jason did, anyway. He was doing her a favour.

Eric had said that Sookie was incredible. Right before he said she was like a little sister to him.

Sookie bit her lip. "Really, Had? You're not messing with me?"

"As if I could."

"Could you maybe help me with my makeup?"

"Sure, Sookie." She almost felt bad. Enough of that. She blanked her mind of everything but what she was doing. She made herself relax and enjoy herself, and just didn't think of who she was getting ready with. She could get along with everyone. Well, except her mother. She did Sookie's hair and gave her a nice, natural makeup. Sookie looked breathtaking in her tiny little cutoffs and crop top. And not in a things-you-tell-mothers-about-their-ugly-babies kind of way. Hadley did her own makeup, heavy on the black, and put on a wide black velvet choker, a red camisole and a tiny black lace skirt.

"You're sure about this, Hadley?"

"Oh, Sookie. Absolutely. I want to make up for treating you like shit a couple of years ago. I was awful, and I'm really sorry." She had a lot of practice with false apologies, and she oozed sincerity. In fact, she kind of almost convinced herself!

Sookie was so nervous. She paced back and forth across the living room, stopping to look out the window every few minutes. "Sookie. Chill. I'm gonna go grab a smoke on the porch swing." Mostly, she needed a break from Crazy Sookie in there.

Eric pulled into the driveway and, after giving herself a pep talk, Sookie went outside to greet him. "Hey, Sookie! You're coming? That's awesome. You two beauties look almost good enough to eat." He waggled his eyebrows at them.

Hadley swatted him on the way by, hard. "Pervert."

"Hadley, he's a 16 year old guy. Of course he's a pervert. That's like saying he's tall and full of himself and funny looking."

"Sookie! You wound me."

She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed, and a lot of the butterflies just sort of flew away. This was Eric. The same Eric she'd known and loved for more than five years. She saw him almost every day, and he was like part of her family, whether he liked her back or not.

"I'm really glad you're coming." He was completely sincere, and Sookie smiled shyly. Hadley even climbed in the back seat, letting Sookie ride shotgun. Eric threw Sookie's bike in his trunk and bungeed it shut when it wouldn't quite latch.

One of the kids in school, a senior, made moonshine on the sly and brought a bottle. Hadley had a half an ounce of pot (that she was willing to sell, not give away), and Andy Bellefleur had a fake ID and everyone kicked in for a keg. And anything leftover could stay in the house for next time.

There were chips and snacks laid out on the picnic tables, and the generator was running to power the patio lanterns and the radio. Someone had lit a bonfire in the pit, and some kids were roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. There were about a dozen people in the pond, and four were playing chicken. Dawn Green was on Jason's shoulders, and Dawn was scratching and clawing at poor dumpy Portia Bellefleur, who was on her brother Andy's shoulders. Maudette Pickens was eyeing Jason from across the pond.

"Hey, Sook. You want a drink?"

"Sure. I'll have a coke, I guess."

"No beer?" Eric was teasing.

"Sure, Eric. I'll just go on over and do some keg stands with my brother."

"I think I'd pay to see that."

They both laughed. Eric grabbed them each a coke out of the cooler.

"Thanks, Eric. You can go hang out with your buddies. You don't need to hang out with the little weird kid."

"Don't say that, Sookie. You're awesome. I'm not ashamed to be seen with you or anything stupid like that."

"Thanks, Eric." Her heart was beating a million beats a minute.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go for a swim. Catch you later."

He drained his coke, threw the empty in the can from 20 feet away, and pulled off his shirt and threw it on the grass. Sookie stared, but she was far from the only one. Eric worked out and played a bunch of sports and he was beyond hot. He ran and jumped off the old dock, doing a cannonball and landing inches away from Jason and Dawn. Jason basically dropped Dawn backwards off his shoulders while he and Eric had an epic battle, dunking each other, splashing everyone around them, and having a grand old time.

After they'd calmed down, Sookie said, "Too bad Laff didn't come. That was homoerotic as hell."

"Ha ha, Sookie. I heard that."

"That's why I said it so loud, Eric."

He abandoned Jason and started walking out of the pond. Actually, it was more like stalking. He eyed his prey and took long determined strides, his arms out and ready to grab at a moment's notice. His long legs sluiced through the water, and a couple of girls squealed and almost fell over trying to get out of his way. He paid them no mind. Sookie looked around. Was there anywhere she could go to get away in time? She could run, but he was so much faster. She tried to make a decision. She feinted one way and then ran hard, as fast as she could, the other. She made it no more than a half a dozen steps before he grabbed her from behind, scooped her up, and threw her over his shoulder. She was now his!

He carried her, feeling very much like a proud caveman showing off his newest kill. He walked out to the end of the dock and grabbed her by the legs and yanked and flipped her so she was cradled in his arms. And he leaned over and dropped her, unceremoniously, into the pond. She came up laughing and splashed him. "I was too hot anyway."

As the night went on, the kids all got a little bit drunker, a whole lot louder, and there were couples making out here and there all over the place. The house was open, and the beds and couches were just about all full, too.

Hadley had one hell of a buzz on and was feeling fine. Time to put part two of the plan into effect.

"Hey, everyone! It's time to play Seven Minutes in Heaven! Or in Jason's shed, anyhow. Let's go! Who's gonna play?"

A bunch of kids who were horny or bored or feeling lucky all wrote down their names on strips of paper, and Hadley put some in the boy hat (a fishing cap that was hanging on a nail in the shed) and the rest in the girl hat (a sun hat that Hadley had found in the hall closet inside. Miichelle had worn it whenever she worked in the garden. Unlike her daughter, she stayed out of the sun as much as possible to keep herself looking young. Something she hadn't really had to worry about, as it turned out).

The first couple to go were Maudette Pickens and Hoyt. Both looked pleased as punch and they went in the shed and closed the door. The drunker kids started beating on the doors and windows, but they couldn't see inside no matter how hard they tried. After about 15 minutes (Hadley was a terrible judge of time and had no watch), she opened the door on them and Hoyt and Maudette both came out. Hoyt was pink from the tips of his ears to his toes - he was only wearing very tented swim trunks- and Maudette looked like the cat who ate the canary.

Hadley called a few other names and, two by two, they all took their turns in "heaven". After Jason and Dawn came out (and then went straight into the house, upstairs and into his parents' old bed), Hadley called in a sing-song voice, "Eric and Sookie! It's your turn in heaven!"

They froze and looked at each other. Sookie said, "I didn't sign up, Had."

"Me either."

"Oh, well, if you're too chicken…"

"I'm not chicken. I'm just not playing."

"Me either, Hadley. She's 13, for fuck's sake."

Sookie frowned. Hadley said, "It's OK, Sookie. I get it. You're too much of a baby."

Everyone was staring. Sookie willed the tears out of her eyes, held her head up high, and walked into the shed. Eric shot Hadley a filthy look and followed Sookie. He closed the door. It was very dark inside and he couldn't see shit. "Where are you, Sook?"

Sookie lit a match from the pack on the workbench and lit a couple of citronella candles that were on a shelf. She sat on the old couch that she used to sit on as a little girl while she watched her Daddy work.

"Hadley told me you wanted to ask me out today. She even manipulated me by showing me what I thought was a memory of a conversation you all had. I should have known it was bullshit."

He sat next to her on the couch and put his arm around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Sookie."

She shrugged. "It was stupid. Of course you don't want to ask me out. I'm dumb little Crazy Sookie, the town joke. And I'm 'only 13, for fuck's sake'." She tried to do her best Eric voice.

"Hey. Cut that out, Sookie. You're great. Like, really great. Any guy would be lucky. You're gorgeous and awesome and caring and smart and fun and…"

She was looking at him and he just… kind of got lost. He leaned forward and kissed her. She froze for a moment in shock, her eyes almost crossed trying to look at him, trying to make sense out of what was going on. Then she closed her eyes and kissed him back. His tongue was in her mouth and his hand was on her breast, his thumb rubbing against her hard nipple. Her shirt was still damp and cold from when he threw her in the pond earlier, and his hand was so warm and strong. His other hand rubbed her bare side, his thumb barely grazing the underside of her breast. His hair was tied back with a thin strip of leather. She tugged on one end and his hair fell loose down to his shoulders. She raked her fingers through it like she'd imagined so many times, and she really was in heaven.

And then Eric thought, loud and clear, and definitely in English. "Oh my god. She feels so good. Shit. I want her so much. What if everyone finds out?"

Sookie froze. She was sure her heart did too, right before it smashed into a million pieces. She pulled her face away from him and slapped his cheek, hard. "Fuck you."

"Shit, Sookie…"

There were tears standing in her eyes, but she only sounded mad as hell. "What, Eric? You're sorry you don't want anyone to know you felt up Crazy Sookie and liked it? Again, Fuck you."

"Sookie, please. I'm sorry."

"I'd love to hear it, Eric. Please. You're sorry what?"

He wouldn't meet her eyes. And she saw it clear as crystal in his head anyhow. Their bare legs were tangled together, after all. He didn't mind sticking up for her. He even loved her, as a friend, at least, and didn't care who knew. But he was absolutely embarrassed to be anything else because everyone thought she was crazy and a freak, and they would maybe think he was too if he went out with her. She took a deep, shaky breath and stood up. She walked out of the shed. She didn't want to touch his car to get her bike, so she kept walking until she made it home. She went into her room and closed the door and didn't come out again until after Gran got home late Saturday night.