My name is Sissi Stackhouse; I live in a small town in Louisiana named Bon Temps. My family is relatively small but it is full of love. I have a half-brother named Jason, and my gran. She raised us after our parents died.

My father had an affair with a woman, and she left me on his doorstep. Even though my momma wasn't my biological mother, she tried her best to love me as much as she could. She did all the right things, but she was just doing the motions and not meaning them.

My gran, on the other hand, truly loved both of us and never treated me differently. Neither did Jason! He used to take up for me when someone was making fun of me when we were young. Now I take care of myself, but he still tries.

I work at a bar called Merlotte's and the owner is one of my best friends. He's sweet on me, However, I pretend to not know! I never mix business with pleasure; it just gets too complicated. Everyone knows at least a little bit about my affliction. They all either think I'm nuts or just plain stupid. But that's the cop-out. I'm quite intelligent, and maybe I am a little crazy, but thats because I can read their nasty thoughts!

Tonight, I was working, and I knew as soon as he walked in that he wasn't human. His skin glowed in a way that certainly wasn't natural! He sat down in my section, so I made my way over.

"Anything I can get you?" I asked the creature. His voice was thick and beautiful, but I let that slide right off me.

"I'll take a Trueblood..." this confirmed my suspicions that he was, in fact, a vampire!

What's Trueblood you ask? It's a Japanese synthesized version of blood that gives vampires all the nutrients they need. Although some don't care for it ; since vampires have come out fang-bangers have taken a liking to let vamps drink from em. Occasionally the random fang-banger comes up dead...

I warmed up the bottle of 'A neg 'Trueblood he wanted o but this is all we've got. When I brought it over to him, he graciously took it from me. He was my last before my break, I told Sam, and I grabbed my jacket and went outside to try and escape the sounds. I tried as hard as I could to block all of them out but after a while it starts to slip.

I pulled out an edible. Mary Jane, technically still wasn't legal. I get an ounce from one of the most important people on this planet, well outside of family that is. Lafayette, he's the short order cook here. He also happens to be one of my best friends. These little things just so happen to be the reason I haven't snapped and killed somebody. Lafayette is a few years older than I am, however, I met him through my child hood best friend Tara, he's her cousin. Jason and him work on the road crew in town. Now back to Mr. Vampire.

Just as soon as the edible kicked in. I heard a grunt then a loud bang, so I went to see if anyone was hurt. The Rattrays were dragging the vamp that came in so I followed after them. They managed to subdue him with a silver chain across his body. That poor creature, his screams were so loud, I'm shocked no one else came to see.

They were trying to drain him of blood it seems. It's called V, I only know about what comes on the news. But apparently, vampire blood was highly intoxicating to us humans. I knew that he could see me from where I was. His eyes never left my face. He seemed to understand and tried to distract them so I could help.

I walked back to a truck, picked up a chain, then snuck up behind Mack Rattray. I swung it around his neck and choked him with it. I used my gift to ensure no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't loosen. While I had him in my clutches, I used him as a shield against his cunt of a wife, Denise.

These two were known for their less than legal activities. They were known drug dealers and users, just plain trailer trash if you ask me. I didn't anticipate that Mack would have a pocket knife! I sustained a cut, but luckily I was able to dispatch of the weapon and use it to my advantage. While I held it to Mack's gut, with the chain still firmly around his scrawny neck, I convinced them both to leave.

"Drop the blood, and just go! There is no need for anyone to get hurt."

So that is what they did, but of course, that bitch just couldn't let things lie. She tried running me over with their beat up junker. I only had a few seconds to react. I jumped! I had landed on the vamp as my eyes were looking into his. I noticed they were a beautiful blue. I raised my brows in shock when It dawned on me that I couldn't hear his thoughts!

" If I help you, you won't hurt me will you?"

I warily asked. He said through gritted teeth that he wouldn't. So, I slowly lifted that chain off him. It had burned into his flesh! The thing still had strings of it clung to the chain, just downright disgusting.

"I thought silver only hurt werewolves." It was a statement, but he responded none the less.

" We don't like to advertise our weaknesses. So don't speak of this!"

His tone didn't sit right with me so I stood up and grabbed my jacket from the leaves.

"Please don't go, they could come back, and I'm not strong enough to fight them off."

After thinking about it, I agreed to babysit him until he was alright. I already dug myself this far, why not? I sat back down on a stump, but I took that chain and wrapped it around my hand in a bronze knuckle way.

"you come near me, and I'll fuck you up."

"That's no way to speak to a damsel in distress."

"You're not some damsel! Now, do you understand what I said?"

"Crystal clear, ma'am?"

"My name isn't important."

"Well then. Little miss my names not important. Thank you, I'd be dead if it wasn't for your help there. Is there anything I can offer? The blood perhaps, I've heard it sells quite nice on the black market."

" Do I look like some fang-banger to you?"

"No, ma'am I apologize!"

" I don't care how much it pays. I work for a living and I have enough trouble than to try and sell that shit."

He got up off the ground, he was an inch from my face and asked me what I was. He began trying to sniff the air around me, his hand came close enough to grasp my hand in his. I burned him so quick with that chain, I took the hand he grabbed and punched right on his left cheek.

"What in the hell! I don't care what you were doing, but you don't just grab on people. You will treat me the way I deserve to be treated."

" I forgot my manners ma'am, you just smell very sweet ... I am Bill Compton and you are?"

I was taken aback by his sudden behavior change. But I soon forgave him he lost a lot of blood! He must be hungry and out his damn mind.

" Is your face ok?" He nodded. After a moment he walked me back to the bar. A bar fight was brewing so I grabbed a beer bottle, broke it and threatened their asses to calm the hell down.

Sam was looking at me, he could tell I wasn't alright! My brother stopped me from tripping any further out and tried to calm me down.

"Do you need more of the..." he used his hands to pantomime smoking a joint.

" I just need to get out of here." I told Sam that I was leaving early, and he seemed to understand.

My ride home went without a hitch. Gran had left the porch light on for me. The rest of the lights were off except for the one in her bedroom. I walked in on her reading a book. Her old frail body was perched up on her bed, she smiled once she noticed I was home.

" You're home early darlin." She patted the bed and I came to sit down next to her. I eventually chose to lay down in her lap. The experience I just had rolling around in my head. I felt like I had vertigo. She sensed my bad mood and read out loud as her fingers combed through my curls.

Another thing my mother left me with was her skin. I wasn't just a strange child but a mixed one at that. The rest of my family had been white. It was quite an experience to live as the different one. My momma never said anything about it, but she never knew how to take care of my hair.

There was a disconnect on multiple levels, being magic and having a different cultural experience. Gran, she found a woman when I was young, Tara's momma. That woman was a lot of things and one of them was my hairdresser. She would take care of my hair and taught me how to once I got old enough. Once I was able to speak I told her about my day.

"I met a vampire today! the Rattrays were trying to drain him in the back of Merlotte's, I saved his life. "

" Oh my days, that's amazing Sissi! What was he like? "

I told her every detail besides when he started sniffing on my body. She wanted me to ask if he was around when the civil war happened. If he was, I should ask him to go to a Glorious dead meeting.

She and a whole bunch of the older folks had meetings at the church talking about the town and the history. Some bullshit! Gran wasn't racist, however, some of them meetings are. They mainly talk about the lives of the soldiers. The types of lives they had during and occasionally after if they had lived. She keeps trying to get me to go with her, bring some of the younger crowd in. Her generation was fed lies, we were too but I'm beginning to decolonize!

"Gran, for you. I will ask, but I'm not going to them meetings. I love you, night." I took my ass to bed. It had been a long day and an even longer night.