I'm back! Wow. Logged in for the first time in over a year and was shocked to see all the friendly reviews this story had picked up. With that sort of a response I figured it would be a shame to just let the story lie. Anyways, started rereading A Little Undead. Also started watching True Blood again (although it's rather tricky to do now that it's not on netflix anymore, I've only watched one episode so far). I've done some edits of the previous chapters and now, here is chapter four.

I was glad to be out of Fangtasia. As exciting as it was to meet real vampires, the novelty wore off fast. Between outfits lewder than anything I'd seen in the Republic to strange dances and inhumanly fast movements from some of the vampires, all my senses were on edge. Getting treated like a misbehaved, homicidal puppy wasn't fun either.

"So just to be clear," said Sookie, "do you have any parents we should contact? Relatives?"

"Nope." All were either dead or in a parallel world.

"Okay then."

I ignored the awkwardness of the exchange by sipping on A+ True Blood. I wasn't sure what flavor the first bottle I'd had was, but this tasted just as terrible. I supposed it was better than starving, but not by much. Maybe if I held my nose?

'God that's terrible.' Apparently improved vampire senses meant I didn't need my nose to taste my food. I barely got through two gulps before I had to stop. I narrowly avoided spitting some out. That would've been bad enough if I was drinking soda, but making her car look like the site of a murder was unlikely to make Sookie very happy.

Unable to stomach any more of the artificial blood, I recapped the bottle and set it aside. The fact that I had an infinitely more tasty treat sitting in the seat next to me made it all the harder to keep going at the poor imitation. It was fine though, I wasn't all that hungry. If Sookie hadn't drunk so much of my blood I wouldn't be hungry at all. She looked too adorable while doing it for me to fault her much for it though.

"Are you hungry?" asked Sookie.

"No."

"I can tell you're lying. You heard what Eric said, you have to feed regularly."

She was lucky she was cute or that almost parental tone of hers would seriously bug me. And why did it keep sounding like I was interested in her that way? I liked guys, and only guys. I wasn't sure why, considering the poor luck I had with them, but that didn't mean I was ready to change teams.

"If you can't stomach the True Blood I guess I can let you have another sip from me before I go to bed. But not before we try warming some up to see if you like that better."

My excitement changed to dread as she added the condition. Still, I supposed it was fair enough. "Fine."

Sookie blushed, redness visible to my eyes even in the dark of the car. "I'll try not to take as much of your blood this time to heal. Your blood isn't as powerful as Bill's, I guess because you're so much younger, but it flows much more easily. I guess I got a little carried away."

It was a little unnerving to hear her talk about me like I was a meal, but it would be hypocritical to call her out for it. Even with the windows open I could smell her sweet scent enough that my fangs had yet to recede. "Who's Bill?" Another vampire? The thought of her taking another vampire's blood caused an unpleasant feeling in my chest.

"Bill Compton. He's a vampire that lives near me. He was born in the 1830's and acts like it. Gentlemanly on the surface but all 'women are property' and 'I'm rich and powerful so I'm above the law' underneath. You should stay away from him, he's dangerous. His friends even moreso."

1830's. Wow. I aged slower than a normal human but it was still hard to imagine anyone living that long. I wondered if he'd aged since then or if true vampires just stayed stuck in time. More importantly, "Did he do anything? Did he hurt you?"

"Not to me." She paused. "I don't want to talk about this right now."

I obliged her, staying silent until we rolled up to a large but rustic house at the end of a dirt road. "Nice house." I was a bit leery of staying anywhere that didn't have its windows barred against zombies but I'd have to adjust. This was a whole other world.

"It's my gran's. Let's try not to wake her up."

I could do silent. Especially while barefoot.

"I welcome you to my home," said Sookie, opening the door for me.

'Okay?' Her invitation was oddly formal but I figured it was just a southern thing. I followed her in and we padded softly up the stairs. I'd thought the plan was to heat up a bottle of True Blood but if she'd forgotten I wasn't keen to remind her.

"Did you want to shower first?"

I wasn't sure if she was just being polite or she was telling me I stank. "Ah, sure?" Thanks to getting stuck in a holding cell and then swapped to another world I was certainly in need of one.

I was pleased to discover that the shower had delightfully hot water and good pressure as well; certainly better than anything in Haven or even my apartment in the capital. It did spook me some when Sookie walked into the bathroom with clothes for me. The shower curtain meant she didn't see anything but it was still a shock. I pretended it didn't bother me though. For all I knew it was just another southern thing or something women did pre-apocalypse. I didn't want to act rashly and give away my unusual origins.

I felt much better once I was clean. Sookie's old clothes fit me as well, which was nice. The shirt and shorts were a bit brighter and looser than was my preference but they would at least do for the night. Sookie traded places with me and I sat down on a chair and waited for my hair to dry.

I felt out of place in the room but the smile Sookie gave me when she came back from the shower made me feel welcome. She was dressed in a nightgown and I could see her hand move towards the light switch but then she reconsidered. "Gosh, you're probably not tired at all, are you."

"Not really…" I'd never slept well at night and after drinking her remarkably strong blood there was no way I'd be able to rest for the next few hours.

"So many hours of the night left, and you'll be awake for all of them. I guess I'm still not used to the whole vampire schedule," said Sookie. "Well I don't want you to be bored all night so how about we watch a movie?"

"Sounds good to me." I noticed she actually had her own TV and some sort of video player. Without zombies around, people seemed to have a lot more stuff. Maybe I'd even have some of my own stuff soon, if I wasn't mistaken about a thousand dollars being a large amount of money.

I let her choose the movie. My own experience with them was rather eclectic, a random mishmash of whatever could be safely scavenged and then watched on the communal TV. I watched curiously as words traveled towards the horizon about a galaxy far far away.

"Come join me if you like, I don't want you getting a chill with your hair still damp."

As long as the temperature was above freezing I could handle cold quite well, but that didn't mean I didn't appreciate warmth. I crawled into bed next to her, pulling the covers up to my stomach as I propped some pillows up behind me. It felt a bit strange to be in bed with another woman. I'd shared a bed with my sister before though and this should be no different. We were just… friends, I supposed. Taking and giving blood was an experience but there was no reason why that should make things awkward between us while we were just watching a movie.

It was a good movie but as time wore on it was increasingly hard to keep my eyes off Sookie. She'd shut the light off but I could still see her clearly, see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. There was also something unnaturally enchanting about her full, slightly parted lips.

I could only blame her scent for the strange turns my mind was taking. It seemed even purer now that she'd showered and it was all I could do not to lean over and breathe her in. Not that there was any getting away from her scent. The whole room smelled like her and I could only liken her scent to catnip for the way it seemed to be getting me high.

"You can have a sip if you like," she said.

I colored, realizing I must not have been as circumspect as I'd thought. Hopefully she hadn't caught me actually sniffing her, that would be just too embarrassing. Now that she offered though I wasn't prideful enough to pretend I wasn't interested. "Really?"

"Go ahead." She pulled her hair back and turned her head, golden neck exposed to my fangs. I didn't bother asking if she was sure again.

"Mmm." I couldn't resist moaning as the first splash hit my tongue. Sookie gasped as well but swiftly relaxed, her arms wrapping around me to keep me from falling off. Her blood truly was impossibly sweet, I couldn't even liken it to sugar as t more closely resembled some higher essence that humans had no knowledge of. I was less desperate for it this time though and took care to be as gentle with my fangs as possible. I was also careful not to spill a drop; not only because each drop was precious but also because I didn't want to ruin her sheets.

Since we were lying down in bed instead of awkwardly positioned in a car, I was able to take my time. Instead of sucking out her life essence I slowly lapped it up with my tongue. Sookie didn't seem to mind, and even ten minutes later she made no move to push me away. It was time though. I felt like I'd had enough, any more would be gluttonous. Not that I would mind gorging myself on such a sweet dessert, but I'd much rather have a walking Sookie-snack around than one big meal and a corpse.

Sookie sighed as I drew away. She laid limply on the pillow for a few moments before sending a needy look my way. I knew what she wanted and soon obliged. The previous cut I'd made on my wrist was healed by now so I cut a new one with a claw, though it was a smaller cut this time as I didn't want her getting carried away then. She latched on eagerly, and a tap to her nose reminded her to ease off the teeth. For a human she was remarkably at home imitating a vampire.

Though I could tell she wanted more I didn't wait too long before removing her mouth from my wrist. If I gave her much more I'd be hungry again and then we'd have to start all over. And, while that did actually sound enticing, it wasn't very efficient. I was pretty sure she had a job to go to tomorrow and I didn't want to keep her up the whole night. Funny that I was proving the more responsible one between the two of us when she was supposed to be the one keeping an eye on me.

Her pupils were pinpricks, making me wonder if my blood was intoxicating for her as hers was for mine. She didn't keep her eyes open for long. Whatever the healing effect was of my blood was it wasn't enough to keep her awake much longer. She did whisper something though before she fell asleep. "Made a bed for you in the closet. For daytime."

'Ugh.' True Blood and hiding from the sun, there were definitely some downsides to pretending to be a true vampire. It kept suspicion off me though and it meant I would get to keep feeding from Sookie so it wasn't all bad. If she knew I could actually digest human food I wasn't so sure she'd give her sweet blood so freely.

I licked her neck clean, noting that even the small quantity of blood I'd given her was enough to heal my fang marks. Or perhaps they would have healed anyways from the last time, I didn't know how long the benefits of vamp blood lasted.

Her arms were still around me from when I'd fed but I decided not to move them. I didn't want to wake her after the long day she'd had, licking her neck had already been risky. Instead I threw an arm around her in turn. It felt and smelled good to be near her. I felt connected to her more than just physically. After swapping blood with her twice I could almost swear I could feel part of myself inside her. But daydreams aside, a little cuddling would only do her good. I didn't want her to get chilly from being anemic.

A couple hours passed as I lay in her arms. Remarkably I wasn't bored, just content. My heart was beating again, slowly. I wasn't quite sure when it had started up again but I wasn't as concerned about that as I thought perhaps I should be. Instead I rested the flat side of my fangs against the soft slope of her breast. The urge to bite her again was less somehow so long as I knew that I could bite her whenever I wanted to with just a small motion.

Truthfully the only thing that was bugging me was the identity of Darth Vader. He'd just been about to say who he was under the mask when Sookie distracted me with her offer of blood. Not that I'd go back and switch my choice, hardly, but getting both would've been nice.

A strange uneasiness filled me, growing steadily stronger with every passing minute. It wasn't until I noticed the light coming through around the shades that I cottoned on to what was bothering me. 'Did I just feel the dawn?' I never had before, but so far as I could remember I'd never been fully vamped out at dawn before. With Sookie so close to me and fresh blood in my veins I was no closer to reverting than I'd been hours ago.

I was pretty sure that even with Sookie in my arms I'd go back to looking human once sunlight started hitting me in earnest but I wasn't too keen to test the theory. And even if it did work, it would likely mean pain and a day-long sunburn. No, best to continue pretending to be a vampire, even if it did mean retreating from my comfy spot into a closet.

The "bed" she'd made for me was just a pillow and some blankets. Nowhere near as nice or as soft as who - err, what, I had been sleeping on. But while the closet was a touch claustrophobic it was also dark, and avoided the embarrassment there would no doubt be if I stayed with Sookie until she woke up.

It turned out I'd overestimated the difficulties I'd have sleeping in the closet. With the sun coming up it wasn't long before my vampire strength faded to nothing and I'd been up far too long to have any human energy left.