Chapter Thirteen: You Are

"We could go into Hot Topic," I suggested lamely, sidestepping a pair of worn converses and the legs that were attached to them as we made our way through the upper floors of Bon Temp Mall. A group of teens had taken up residence leaning against the glass railing, all craned over the dreaded teen's phone. Apparently, they had claimed the whole aisle as their own since their legs were sprawled out like they were in their living room.

He noticeably grimaced when he saw the small shop, darkened with a harsh cement floor and black walls, grunge clothes and anime figurines covering every available surface.

Displayed in the window was a mannequin with fake bite marks at her jugular, a t-shirt with a bottle of True Blood formed to her perfect, plastic body. The fact that she was headless made it more than a little unsettling.

"Yes…" Bill said slowly, his face deepening into a grimace as he stared in dismay at the shop. Someone screaming drifted from the speakers inside followed by a heavy guitar riff. "I am sure that's where all the newborn vampires go for their undead fashion choices."

I wrinkled my nose, trying to picture Eric strolling in to pick out a choker and some heavy, spiked boots.

"Another store then?" I sighed, moving farther down the aisle and almost colliding with a teen with shocking blue hair and her earbuds in. The look that she gave me probably would have sent most of the girls she went to class with fleeing. "Does it ever weird you out that there are kids out there born every day who are living normal lives?"

"Yes. The process of childbirth is mind-boggling." I glanced over, not knowing if he was trying to make a joke or being serious. As it was, I didn't have time to figure it out since he was quickly moving toward a store with so much zebra print that for a moment I stalled out having flashbacks to the lion chases on the discovery channel. Oh no.

"Bill," I snapped, jogging to catch up with him as he stalked toward the entrance with singular intention. "Bill!"

The glare from the sterile lights lining the ceiling made the neon pinks and greens seem horrific. It was an ordinary teen spot filled with a pre-teen section that eventually shaded into high school with a fluffy section in the back for prom dresses.

"You can't possibly want to get her stuff from here," I hissed as I finally caught up to him, already eyeing a tribal print tank top.

Startling blue eyes met mine, obvious bewilderment darkening them. "Why ever not? They have blouses with ruffles and jeans without those ridiculous rips in them."

His eyes moved pointedly to the ripped jeans that I was currently wearing. I frowned, resisting the urge to stomp on his foot. Could he be any more of a grandfather? Was that the thing that appealed to Sookie? That he could still give her erotic sex with a touch of cynical disapproval? It had to make for some hot foreplay.

I rubbed at my temple, taking another long glance around. The last time I had seen Jessica she had looked like some kind of dungeon mistress. This shit wouldn't fly with her. I winced as I caught sight of a terrifying display of seafoam blue skinny jeans with a bright pink crop top just within reach.

"Okay," I breathed, trying to find some semblance of calm. "Okay. Not everything in here is awful. I'm going to go find some decent clothes and you - you'll… ugh… find shoes?"

"I can find shoes." Bill nodded, his brows furrowing with determination. His eyes briefly softened as I started to rustle through the dress section, trying to distance myself from the neon area. "I really do appreciate this, Runa. I know that we've had our differences but this is a great help. I am in your debt."

For a moment, I continued slowly sliding shirt after shirt away on the rack, mulling over my next words.

"You tried to save my sister," I finally said, not looking up from my search. But my word cracked unexpectedly, making me blush. "When she was being attacked you went out into the sun. I may not trust you, Bill but I respect you for trying to take care of Sookie."

My eyes met his for a brief, serious moment. At one point, I had wanted to rip his throat out with my bare hands... but for the most part, he had always risked his life to save her.

Quickly, I tore my eyes away from him, clearing my throat as I hunkered down back into my search. "Don't get some ugly, colonial shoes. Girls these days like fuck me heels or some nice combat boots."

Without another word, I moved away, jumping to another rack of clothes but distantly I thought I heard him sniff: "Ah, yes. The infamous fuck me heels. Quite classy."

It was a tiring task to basically decide the entire wardrobe of a seventeen-year-old vampire. My sister and I had been shopping on the discount rack since we could walk. Gran had taught all of us how to scavenge with the best of them. But this was a mammoth undertaking and by the tenth rack my stomach was growling and my back had started to give little barks of agony from how much I was bending over these clothes.

A good hour later, my feet were starting to seriously hurt and my eyes were getting unfocused from how many different prints of tribal I had had to look through. How many of the same outfits could this girl have? Could I just go back to the tank top section and get a million of those peach, loose ones? Would she hate me for that? I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to endure more of this without going crazy.

"I didn't take you as the white lace type." I gulped at that voice, my breath stilling in my lunges as I slowly turned. Six feet and five inches of smirking Viking greeted me, his eyes glittering with that sly amusement that I was growing used to. Slowly, he leaned down, his eyes flicking to the lacy dress on top that I had picked out.

It looked like something that my Gran would approve of so I knew for sure that Bill would. It had been one of the safer bets since I had tried to throw in some slutty skirts and crop tops for the poor girl.

Deliberately, a long finger came out to run along the buttoned front. He had leaned in so close by this point that I could see the blue in his eyes, how it swirled into lighter greys and even whites in some areas. I gulped, trying not to let all of the heat show on my face. In fact, I was trying rather hard not to let anything show on my face.

"I was under the impression that you were more of a black lace kind of girl," he murmured and I didn't miss the way that his eyes flicked to the top edge of my bra that was peaking out of the loose tank I was wearing. Slowly, the side of his lips curled up, his eyes darkening.

My teeth ground against the gut reaction that being around him caused me. "You would be wrong," I snapped glaring up at him. Slowly, a brow raised in quiet inquiry and I licked my lips, conflicted on what to do with him randomly popping up in my life like this. Was it relief that I felt? I glanced up at him once more, catching sight of the way that his eyes seemed to almost darken, deepening even as his smile remained in place. Slowly, my eyes moved farther up, catching sight of the strands of blonde hair that were combed away from his face.

"Your hair…" I breathed, reaching up without thinking to catch hold of the loose wisps falling over his forehead. When I had last seen it, his hair had been nearly to his shoulders. Now it was all shorn off, leaving bristles at his nape. His eyes swirled to a deeper shade of greys as he stared down at me and I became all too aware of how close I was to him.

"Do you miss the old me, pet?" he whispered and even that was too intimate like we were trapped inside a bubble of time that didn't belong to anyone else. At this moment, I couldn't remember why I hated him so much. What had he done to make me so angry with him? "I was rather under the impression that you would find this look more… human? Longer hair seems to make me look-"

"Like a barbarian," I finished, catching the twinkle in his eyes. "Which you are."

"Ah," he murmured. "It's always nice to pretend though. One of the reasons that I allowed it to be cut so short is the thought that this would make you more... comfortable."

"I highly doubt that any of your decisions are influenced by me." I stared up at him dubiously, letting the silence drag on for a moment before I looked away. "You thought that the length of your hair would make you any less of a Viking?"

"Strange that you would choose that instead of vampire." His fangs flashed as he gave me a quick smirk. "No. I thought that all good little southern belles enjoyed something a bit more...tame. Proper ladies don't like wild men with long hair."

That was the third time that he had paused like that before using a word. Like he was trying to find an appropriate term for what he wanted to express. Like he was speaking in a foreign language. If I could have slapped him and gotten away with it, I would have. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, bringing up a hand to his chest in the hopes that he would move a bit away from me.

He didn't.

"Proper ladies don't negotiate with vampires," I sighed, trying to feign boredom even as his smirk made me want to flirt a little back - give in to a little bit of fun. What would he do if I went along with this little game of his? Take me to Fangtasia? I stopped breathing. Bite me?

"You're thinking about something interesting." I jumped, dragging my eyes away from Eric's full lips to his icy eyes which were alight with interest. His body bumped against the stack of clothing that I had in my arm, trying to crowd me even more. Slowly, his head tipped to the side, smirking. "Tell me."

"I-" My lips felt chapped, something odd fluttering in my chest. "It's nothing."

Slowly, Eric inhaled. "You're lying." I kept my mouth shut, dropping my gaze to the floor. He was right. I was thinking about him biting me. I winced. I was thinking about the naughty dream that I had had about him. "I could glamor you."

I jerked back at the words, startled into dumbly staring up at him. Slowly, his hand raised, a single finger skimming along my cheek, his eyes intent.

"It would be so easy." Something about his eyes made me take in a shaky breath, shivers running up my spine. "I could make you do anything I wanted. I would never have to bargain with you again. You would do what I said when I commanded it and you would enjoy it."

Nervously, I swallowed, my breath growing shallower and shallower the more he spoke. Like my body was registering the threat of a nearby predator, trying to hide its presence. Eric's eyes were intent, his focus somewhere else as they moved down to my lips.

"I could make you kneel down and beg for me to take you," he whispered and a little part of me quivered in fear. He could. Some part of me knew that even though I was a mare, that wouldn't save me from a vampire's glamor.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. Fear was heavy in my veins, my muscles tense as I waited. At first, it had been a joke but… somewhere along the lines that had changed. It had turned more towards a one-sided debate. And I was afraid to make any sudden movements. Afraid to draw any attention.

His fangs flashed for a moment in a snarl, before he was pulling away from me, frustration clear in the deep rumble that grated out of him. Confusion and relief pumped through me in a blinding wave nearly bringing me to my knees. Whatever battle that had been fought inside of him was over and - for whatever strange, wonderful reason - he had decided to leave me as I was. Unglamored. Strange.

"Where's Bill?" Eric growled, his eyes flashing icily as they roamed around the store. A small child in the corner flinched away.

"You're not going to glamor me?" Why had I asked that? Mentally, I wanted to wring my own neck at my stupidity.

He let out a small grunt of annoyance. "I am… fond of you."

He sounded anything but thrilled at the revelation.

"You're not fond of anyone," I blurted out before I could think better of it. Was he? Maybe Pam. Sometimes he didn't even seem all that thrilled to be around her.

His eyes met mine for one confusing second. "Which makes it all the more unsettling."

With that mind-boggling statement, he turned away, making his way swiftly down one of the aisles to the back where the changing rooms were. For a moment, I didn't move, trying to digest everything that had just happened. Mind-numbingly handsome Viking vampire? Check. Near glamor? Double check. Shopping for a vampire teen? I was either going to hell or heaven for all the karma points that I was wracking up.

Eric's legs were a lot longer than I was accustomed to. Usually, my height made me the one ahead but with him, it was a fight to catch up. Especially with all the clothes that were overflowing from my arms.

"Ah, there's our prince charming," Eric mused and I nearly collided with the broad expanse of his back as he slowed. Slowly, his hands slid into his pockets as he strolled forward.

"And here I thought that I was special," I quipped and his eyes met mine, his lips tipping up.

For a beat, he stopped, his neck craning down and his shoulder hunching in as he drew nearer until our lips were almost touching. Briefly, his eyes dipped to take in my lips before moving lazily back to my eyes.

"You are," he murmured and I couldn't catch my breath quick enough as he straightened and strolled away like nothing had happened. Bastard.

Flustered, I stared at his back as he walked farther and farther away. He did this on purpose. He had to. And why was I reacting like this? Maybe because it was different - this was different. Without the veil of anger, there was… something else there. Something that made our conversations seem less volatile and more… I shut the thought down, hurrying after him. I wasn't going to think about this. I didn't need to and I didn't want to.

"Good evening, old sport," I heard Eric rumble as I finally caught up, catching sight of Bill at a rack just in front of the women's dressing rooms. Standing right in front of him was a wily haired bottle redhead, fingering a jeweled denim skirt like she had just ripped it off of her own body in a French burlesque show.

How did Bill get so many girls? Was it the vampire thing? Maybe he was actually charming and I was just not getting it.

Bill's eyes widened and then narrowed as he took in Eric. "Eric?"

"It's the new me." I rolled my eyes at the statement.

"More like the mask to hide the demon," I muttered, fingering a strap on one of the tank tops that I had draped over one arm. His eyes twinkled as they met mine before turning back to Bill, one brow quirking.

"You like?" I rolled my eyes heavenwards. Anything to fluff up his ego.

An amused smile curled Bills lips as he played along. " I do. Very much."

"Ah," Eric mused, tipping his head a bit to catch my eyes. "At least someone does."

"I never said I didn't," I answered immediately and mentally groaned at the arrogant tilt of his lips.

A loud laugh drew both of our attention to the redheaded sales rep. "Oh! Okay," she gave another laugh as she backed away, looking like she had just avoided something that would have been a life-altering mistake. I glanced at Bill. "Whew!"

Slowly, she backed away, hands coming up in surrender before she was rushing off to another middle-aged man in the prom section. I glanced at Eric and then back to Bill, his expression one of utter confusion. On the other hand, Eric looked like a cat in front of a caged bird.

"Why wasn't I in the equation?" I mused, feeling a little bit offended as I stared after the woman. It was obvious that she had thought Bill and Eric were gay. But - come on. I had been standing right there.

"I'm sure we could fit you in," Eric rumbled, his eyes dark as I felt a large hand skim across the exposed skin at my lower back. I gave a snarl, wrinkling my nose.

"I would rather eat roses," I snipped, moving swiftly out of his reach and to Bill, who was still looking out of his depth.

All traces of humor evaporated from Eric's face as his gaze slipped from Bill to me and then to the space between us. I glanced at it too, gauging how far away he was. At least a foot. I frowned. That wasn't too bad. Not a ton of space but not bad at all.

"We need to talk." Eric didn't wait for a response, turning and making his way swiftly between the aisles and to a deserted section at the back of the store.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Bill whispered, his eyes staying firmly on Eric.

"The man's a mystery," I mused, watching as the Viking paused next to a lilac dress, his long fingers skimming over the material. His eyes flicked to me for a moment before he was moving it back onto the rack with a frown.

"The Sheriff of Area 9 in Texas has gone missing," he said bluntly, moving closer until he was towering over Bill. "Had you heard about that?"

I blinked, taken aback. Vampire sheriffs weren't something to be messed with. Before Sookie had started to date Bill, I had known next to nothing about the vampire hierarchy but after Eric had come into the picture and it became clear that we weren't going to be getting out of the whole blood sucking business, I had done some research. In all honesty, very little is actually known about how vampires operate. A vampire spokesperson here or there and some general agreement from all vamps made it seem like there was a light version of our government but without any real hardcore structure.

But when you get below the surface, that's when it gets a little bit dicey. Their sheriffs are usually recognized to be in that position by doing something impressive enough to allow them to be granted the title. It wasn't a small jump from there to assume that the sheriffs needed to be older and stronger than most of the other vampires in their zones. No one was going to listen to someone that they could beat - especially vampires.

So, if one of them just up and disappeared… that was a problem.

Bill's face was drawn in an expression of tentative surprise. Eric didn't call meetings just to gossip. " I hadn't, but I - I know of the vampire of whom we speak. His name is Godrick, correct?"

Something flashed across Eric's expression but it was there and gone so quickly that I couldn't catch it. "Indeed."

A strong hand came to the small of my back, Eric's eyes intent on Bill even as he gently steered me towards another secluded section of the store as a couple walked nearer.

"Now it goes without saying that he needs to be found." Briefly, his eyes met mine before he was looking at Bill again. "Which is where Sookie comes in."

"What?" I growled, yanking away from his hold so that I could glare up at him.

"No," Bill snarled and I inched closer to him.

For his part, Eric didn't look surprised at all. He merely carried on like we hadn't said a damn thing. "As she's yours, I'm asking your permission to take her with me to Dallas."

"I thought we had an agreement," I hissed, feeling something gnaw at my gut. His expression betrayed nothing as I stared up at him. This was why I was always so angry with him. He was an untrustworthy brute who wasn't loyal to anything. I bared my teeth. "You said you would keep her out of this."

"I would not be asking for her unless I absolutely required it." Eric's eyes swept to Bill who looked murderous. "We made a deal, your human and I. That if I didn't kill anyone, she would work for me as often as I like." Unyielding eyes froze through me as his eyes caught mine. "You both did."

"Taking her across state lines is a far cry from taking her Fangtasia for the evening," Bill snapped, his eyes hard.

"I'm only asking your permission out of respect," Eric said slowly. "If I wanted her, I could simply take her."

Ice froze my insides at the words, something twisting painfully in the pit of my stomach. Why did that make me feel so awful?

"You're a bastard," I burst, anger making my words sound raw. His eyes met mine for a moment before they were back on Bill all traces of the earlier teasing gone.

"Is no your final answer?"

I could almost hear Bill's teeth grinding as his jaw worked. My muscles tensed in apprehension. Disobeying Eric was like choosing not to feed an alligator. It was fine as long as you left their cage in a hurry but you might as well kiss your ass goodbye the next time you went in.

"I could do it," I murmured, forcing myself to sound calm. "We already had an agreement and -"

"I have information that places him within a religious camp in Dallas," Eric stated bluntly, his eyes running over the swell of my breasts as he spoke.

I waited. That wasn't a reason for me not to go. "Which would make my job all the easier."

A deep snort was all I got as his eyes flicked around and then came back to me. "You would stick out, mare. The type of people at this camp are one type of human and you, my pet, are not that type."

"I can be," I hissed, trying desperately to persuade him. My eyes searched through his. There was something else there. Something that looked a lot like - "Are you scared for me?"

Eric's lips thinned at the words, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Despite your most desperate attempts, Runa Stackhouse you are wild. I can smell it on you-"

"They're not vampires," I argued. "They won't-"

"They will," Eric snarled and I flinched as his fangs flashed as he drew closer to me. "You aren't like them, Runa. Going in there would lead to you being captured as well."

My eyes stung at the words. I wasn't like them. I knew that. I forced my eyes to the ground to try and hide the pain that I was sure was so evident within them. I knew that I wasn't like Sookie. But did he have to say it like that?

"I go with my sister or we don't go at all."

"Runa," Bill snarled and I startled, suddenly remembering that he was there. His eyes betrayed the bewilderment - the anger. He didn't understand how I would have conceded Sookie along with myself. But I don't think that he even fully understand the kind of man Eric was. He would get Sookie to go to Dallas one way or the other. And I was a little afraid of what the other entailed.

Bills jaw tensed as he turned fully on Eric, his eyes hard. "Sookie will not go to Dallas with you, Eric."

The look in Eric's eyes were cold enough for me to stop breathing for a moment. Whoever this Godric was, there would be no forgetting about his disappearance. I swallowed thickly, glancing away as a sympathetic smile crossed Eric's face.

"Poorly played, Bill," he mused, shaking his head a bit as he slowly moved past us toward the exit. Briefly, his hand came up to tug at the tight ponytail I had in, his eyes twinkling.

"He's not going to let it drop." I finally forced out nearly twenty minutes later when I was sure that Eric was nowhere within the mall. Still, my eyes flicked around in a quick check, taking in the mill of pre-teens that had entered the small store.

A muscle worked in Bill's jaw. "I know."

"Who is this Godric?"

Serious blue eyes met mine, his arms folded tightly across his chest. "I don't know."

Great. So we were at a serious disadvantage.

"Can we just-"

The words lodged in my throat suddenly as Bill's hand engulfed my forearm, jerking me closer to him as his head snapped to the side. Clothes scattered across the floor.

"What the hell-"

"Sookie."

I didn't get any warning before I was being bodily yanked over his shoulder.


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