Author's Note: First off, I am so sorry for how long this is. I can't wait until Evie and Eric are around one another more, but I also don't want to rush it into one of those stories that just shove an OC with a major character right away. They always feel off to me. To me, Eric is not an easy character to understand, which makes him interesting. I want their eventual pairing to make sense, and to feel right.

Anonymouscsifan – You aren't wrong . . . Now the question is what.

Turning her car up the bumpy gravel road leading to Gran's house, Evie sighed in relief when Sookie's yellow piece of crap wasn't parked in its typical spot. After the world's longest week with a raging Kara and an endless stream of stupid Rushes, the last thing she wanted to deal with was Sookie's sarcasm and residual anger.

There was no other person on earth who could hold onto a grudge like her sister could, not even Kara. Sookie was like a ninja grudge holder. In the past after one of their squabbles Sookie wouldn't talk to her for weeks and just when Evie thought the storm had passed, Sookie would creep out of nowhere with a swipe of her verbal claws and draw blood.

But Evie had promised Gran she'd be home for Sunday dinner. And come hell or high water, she wasn't going to disappoint the woman who raised her.

As a freshman, she'd never even considered missing a Sunday dinner with her family. She'd been so miserably homesick and felt like she was drowning being so far from Bon Temp. By the time sophomore year rolled around, her visits slowed down, but she always made the effort to make it home at least twice a month. Junior year had been pretty much the same, at least until Grady cheated on her, then her trips home increased.

She had hoped to avoid the house for a few weeks to give Sookie time to cool down, even though she was totally in the wrong. But her Gran had sounded so hopeful, and Evie didn't have it in her to disappoint her. There was also a little issue of her supply of medication depleting much quicker than anticipated. A hostile house, and angry sorority president was to blame.

A certain blonde vampire hadn't help much either.

But her visit would serve a second purpose as well. It gave her a chance to give Jason an ear full. Because of him she now was in debt to Eric, even if she had no intention on finding herself anywhere near Bill Compton, there was still a heavy weight hanging around her neck. But obligation aside, her dumbass brother was being especially stupid by taking V. There were bad mistakes, hell everyone made them, but Jason had jumped from day drinking and smoking a little weed, to playing in the big leagues. He was still being looked at as a suspect in two murders, and she may not be majoring in Criminal Justice, but she did know drug use and possession wouldn't help him any.

"Everly Lynne." Coming out the backdoor, wiping her hands on her apron, Gran flashed her a huge smile. Waiving from the car, Evie noticed Gran looked tired. Maybe age was catching up with her, raising three grandchildren probably hadn't been easy. A kernel of concern grew in her stomach, as reality hit. Gran wasn't going to be around forever, and the added stress wasn't helping her none.

"Hey Gran." Forcing a smile on her lips, Evie let herself out of the car and closed the distance. Wrapping her arms around her, Evie rested her head on Gran's shoulder and forced herself to relax. There was no one in the world who could make her problems slip away like Gran could.

"Let me get a good look at you." Pulling back, Adele Stackhouse gave her a once over before nodding. "You don't look any worse for wear."

Sighing, Evie rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, Sookie told you about the vamp bar."

"Well." Looking hesitant, Gran sighed. "Sookie may have said something about an incident."

Evie knew darn well what Gran meant. Sookie had gone on for days about Fangtasia. Probably repeated the body shot part multiple times, and in each version painted herself the paragon of virtue and purity. Her sister was predictable like that.

"Gran it was part of a scavenger hunt." Having already explained the previous year what a scavenger hunt with the Greeks meant, Evie was relieved when Gran gave a curt nod.

"I had a feeling your sister was blowing it out of proportion." Pulling on her arm, she led them into the kitchen, the scent of a fresh pecan pie hit Evie like a cloud of heaven. "So how is that handsome young man of yours?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Evie considered lying, then quickly decided against it. "We broke up."

A pitcher of sweet tea in her hand, Gran froze. "What? When?"

"The day after the scavenger hunt." Taking a seat at the table, she decided to just pull the dang band aid off. "And no, it had nothing to do with the . . ."

"Body shot?" Gran supplied as she poured the tea over a glass full of ice. "Yes, your sister had to explain that to me. I'm still not sure why he couldn't use a glass."

She was not touching that with a ten foot pole. "Grady's changed, and not in a good way."

"Yes, that happens." Gran nodded sadly, and Evie knew she was thinking of Hadley. She always got a sad, defeated look about her when she thought of her cousin. "I'm not surprised you broke things off. After how he disrespected you last year-."

"What are you talking about?" Not meaning to be rude by interrupted her, Evie stared at her Gran in disbelief. She'd never told her Gran that Grady had cheated on her, because she knew her Gran would've looked at her with pity in her eyes. And she sure as hell hadn't told Sookie about it, she would've ranted and raved at her for being stupid and taking Grady back.

So that meant her nosey, brain reading snoop of a sister had been poking around inside her head. Her Gran seemed to have realized her mistake and sent her a stern look. "Now don't go getting mad at your sister. You know she can't help what she hears."

"But she sure can keep her big mouth shut if she would just put her mind to it." Evie muttered.

"She was just worried about you." Gran waved her hand, leave it to her to always look for the silver lining.

"Gran she was gossiping about me." Evie corrected. "If she was worried, she would've talked to me about it."

Sending her a somber look, Gran refilled her glass. "Now don't be giving Sookie any grief, she's had a hard time since she and Mr. Compton stopped seeing one another."

Interesting. "So, she really stopped dating him?"

"Oh yes." Gran nodded. "She even agreed to let Sam Merlotte accompany her to the next DGD meeting."

Strike that, this was extremely interesting. "The one Bill Compton is speaking at?"

"I don't think she's as excited as Sam is." Sighing, Gran stood and moved over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. "Poor boy has had it bad for your sister and I hate to see him get his hopes up."

In Gran speak, that meant Sookie had zero interest in their boss. Her sister probably thought attending the meeting on Sam's arm would make Bill jealous. It was how Sookie rolled, and Evie knew it was going to be a disastrous mess.

"You're still coming right?" Wanting nothing to do with Bill Compton or the impending doom date, Evie wanted to say no. But Gran looked so excited. There was no way she'd disappoint Gran.

"Wouldn't miss it." Missing her faked enthusiasm, Gran went back to preparing supper.

Evie contemplated if this was what Eric meant by information. It didn't seem all that important. Trivial in fact. A diabolical part of her felt giddy. Wondering just how long Eric would tolerate useless, dull information being dumped in his lap.

It would serve him right.

"So how are your classes going?" Moving back to the ancient refrigerator Gran pulled out two large packages of drumsticks, meaning she was making fried chicken for dinner, and Evie heard her stomach growl.

"Pretty good. I'm trying to figure out a topic for my Captstone." Taking another long drink of sweet tea, she tried not to count the calories she was consuming. Gran's sweet tea was legendary in Bon Temp. But the amount of sweetener in each pitcher would inevitably lead diabetes one day.

"I thought you decided on the Civil War." Pausing, Gran looked across the kitchen. "Its all you talked about for the last three years."

Truth be told, it was all Gran talked about. Evie had a bad case of Civil War burnout by the time she turned fifteen. "I'm still considering it."

Humming under her breath, Gran turned back to preparing dinner. "Jason should be coming by for supper."

"Oh good." Evie wanted a few minutes with her big bro.

"And Sookie is working an early shift and should be home in an hour." That didn't fill her heart with joy, but Evie knew seeing her sister was inevitable. Maybe if Sookie purged herself of all the snide remarks, she'd been saving up for the last week things would go back to normal.

"I'm going to go grab my bag and take up to my room."

Gran's face lit up. "You're staying the night?"

"We have a ten o'clock curfew." Pushing away from the table she moved over to place a kiss on Gran's cheek. "If I leave early enough tomorrow morning, I won't miss any classes."

Turning away from the counter, Gran placed a hand one each side of her face. "Both my girls under the same roof, I couldn't ask for more."

Wanting to remind Gran she'd only been gone for two weeks; Evie changed her mind. No reason to waste her breath. She could be gone a day and Gran would think it was a year.

Returning to her car, she retrieved her things, before moving back to the porch. She could hear Gran puttering around through the screen door. Closing her eyes, she took in the moment, sorting it away in her memory bank. It was clear Gran wasn't getting any younger, and she wanted to have as many good memories she could gather to look back on. She would always hold Sunday dinners as one of those special memories.

Her room was just as she'd left it, which was shocking, because Sookie typically raided her closet within hours of Evie leaving. Letting her eyes move from left to right she didn't see any signs of invasion and let her bag drop down her shoulder.

When she'd first moved into Gran's house, the walls had been painted a fresh bubblegum pink. Gran had thought the happy color would help during such a dark time. But by the end of junior year of college, Evie was so sick of pink she'd painted the walls the first week of summer vacation.

She'd gone with a light slate blue color instead, the hue seemed to help calm her.

The muffled sound of the screen door slamming from down below, Evie paused and strained her ears and heard Gran greeting Jason.

"Idiot." Muttering under her breath, she pulled her hair up in a messy bun and prepared herself for a rousing round of verbally kicking her older brother's ass.

Taking the stairs down to the first floor landing, she hesitated when a female voice came from the kitchen. "It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Stackhouse, Jason's told me about the sacrifices you made to raise him and his sisters."

The female's voice sounded fake, and insincere, but the words seemed to do their magic on her soft hearted Gran. "That is so kind of you Amy, but raising my blood was no sacrifice."

"Not many women would've done the same." This Amy girl gushed, and Evie immediately decided she didn't like Jason's new fuck buddy.

Rescuing Gran from having to reply to such a pathetic display of ass kissing, Evie hurried away from the stairs.

"Jason." Gritting her teeth, Evie stepped into the kitchen and glared darkly at her brother. Moving her gaze to the girl at his side, she immediately recognized her from the picture Eric had shown her.

Fucking great.

Amy wasn't just skinny, but boney as hell. Evie couldn't help but compare her to some meth-head who'd been on a bender and had forgotten to eat for a few weeks. Her clothing was pretty much the same style she'd worn from the picture, screaming throw back hippy. There was nothing spectacular about Jason's new friend.

"Baby Evie." Clueless as ever, Jason moved to her and tried to give her a hug. Taking a step back, Evie scowled at her brother, wondering if he had brain damage. They last time he'd hugged her she'd been eight, and Gran had insisted on getting a family picture of them in front of the Christmas tree. After that he'd been too cool to show affection to his freaky little sisters.

Faltering, Jason dropped his arms. "Um, yeah, Amy this is my baby sister Evie. She goes to LSU in Shreveport."

"How do you like college?" Amy's fakeness was smothering.

"Well, it's better than bar hoping at vamp bars and getting hooked on V." Evie batted her eyes at the stunned girl and turned her sharp gaze on her brother. "Jason, can we have a word?"

"Everly Lynne." Gran scolded, her eyes wide in shock. "That is not how I raised you to speak to our guests."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jason looked uncomfortable. "Perhaps later Eves."

"Amy, have you tried Gran's special sweet tea?" Forcing the friendliest smile she could muster, Evie turned her attention from Jason to where Amy stood.

"Not yet." Amy replied slowly.

"It's the talk of the parish." Moving to the fridge, Evie snatched the pitcher out. "Why don't you take a seat, I'll get you a glass."

Slowly Amy lowered herself into one of the kitchen chairs. "Thank you."

Setting the glass down with a loud thump, Evie flashed her Gran a grin, showing she was doing her best to be polite. "If you'd please excuse us, my brother and I need a minute."

Jason looked like a cornered animal. "Maybe we should -."

"Now Jason." Already at the backdoor, Evie heard her Gran tut, and took a deep breath. "Please."

Sending Jason, a death glare, she waited until he dragged his feet to the porch. Letting the door slam behind her, Evie grabbed her brother's arm and pulled him down the steps and away from the house.

"Eves what's got into you?" Yanking away, he stopped and put his hands on his hips. "Is it your time of the month?"

"V?" Angry her idiot brother was on vampire blood, and furious he'd bring his dealer with him, Evie wanted to strangle him. "Are you out of your freaking mind!"

Taking a step back, eyes wide, Jason's mouth moved silently until he got ahold of himself and pointed a finger at her. "You can't read minds! How in the hell?" His shock wore off and he went on defense. "You don't know shit."

"And you brought that piece of trash to dinner." Evie seethed. "Jason you can be selfish and do some amazingly stupid shit. But cheese and rice, how could you bring someone like her around Gran?"

"Amy's not trash." Face red in anger, Jason took a step, closing the gap between them. "We're in love, and she's gonna be kin soon."

"I think I'm gonna throw up."

"She comes from a good, wealthy family, just like Grady does." Jason argued. "And she's real smart too. She went to one of those fancy schools you go to."

"First of all, I go to a public college, it's not fancy." Evie laughed. "And when are you going to get it through your thick skull, money doesn't equal good. Just like poor doesn't mean trash. I know you met her at a vamp bar where you were about to get yourself killed, looking for V."

"Where's your proof?" Guilt oozed out of his pores.

Shaking her head, wanting so badly to blame him for the situation she currently was in, Evie swallowed down her hypocrisy. It was her fault, just as much as it was her brother's. If she'd been smart and told Kara and Grady to go fuck themselves, she never would've gone to Fangtasia or met Eric. He would've left her out of his Sookie quest.

"Jason." Collecting herself, Evie sucked in a deep breath. "Stop taking V. Vampires know when you're using. If you can promise me that, I promise I'll try to be nice to Amy."

"Let's say I was taking V." Her brother said. "And that's a big if, how in the tarnation could vamps know?"

"Do I look like a substance abuse advisor?" Rolling her eyes, Evie shook her head at him. "I don't freaking know."

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Then how would you know I was on V? That is if I was on it."

Huh, good question, and now she was backpedaling. "Shreveport may be bigger than Bon Temp, but it's still a small town and people talk."

Her excuse was lame, and riddled with holes, but Jason seemed to buy it.

Face paling, Jason made a face and spun on his heel. Mumbling under his breath, he took a few steps before turning back around. "Fine. I was there."

"Yeah." Evie rolled her eyes. "Already knew that."

"And trust me when I say this, I aint ever going back." Rubbing his hands together, he fidgeted some more. "You shouldn't go either."

"Yeah, I'll take that under consideration."

Stalling, Jason ran the toe of his boot into the dirt. With a sigh, he looked up. "So, you promise to be nice to Amy?"

"I said I'd try and be nice." Evie corrected. "If you promised to stop taking V."

A slow smirk worked its way on his lips. "What if I say I'll try to stop taking V?"

Evie didn't hesitate. "Then I'd tell you I'll nark you out to Gran so fast it'll make your head spin."

"You'd really rat me out like that?"

"Darn skippy."

"Fine." Jason agreed and started walking back to the house, and Evie knew instantly he'd last a week. It was the most she could hope for.

"Oh, and Jason?" She watched as he paused. "If I hear that you or Amy come anywhere near Gran on that shit, god help you. You won't have to worry about vampires."

Giving herself a minute to calm her nerves, Evie considered slipping up to her room. Though running low on pills, it might be in her best interest to take another dose. Without them, dinner would be a new kind of hell.

With a sigh, she made her way slowly to the porch. The things she did for her family.

Ωβπ

Sookie showed up right as Evie placed the last plate of fried chicken down on the dining room table. She'd paused in the doorway as her eyes sought out Evie's and held for a moment. Sending her sister, a single word message, truce, before shifting her eyes to their guest. Sookie only took a second before giving a small curt nod.

Dropping her purse down on the kitchen chair, she forced a smile on her face, one that Evie wished she'd dial back, and kissed Gran on the cheek. "Looks like I made it in time."

"How was work dear?" Gran patted her back before taking her seat.

"Oh, you know." Sookie shrugged. "Day shifts are slow. How's college Eves?"

Giving her sister a look to dial it back, Evie sent her a friendly smile. "Great, thanks for asking."

"Sook, this is my girlfriend Amy." This caught Sookie off guard, and Evie watched as her sister tried to recover. It was clear they'd never met, and her sister really didn't look happy about it.

"Wow." Sookie said blinking. "That's so . . . wow."

Holding out her hand, Amy said. "Jason's told me all about you."

Trying to hold back her grin, Evie watched Sookie eye Amy's hand like it was a snake ready to attack. With clear hesitation, mostly because Gran was watching, Sookie took it in hers and gave a quick shake. "Same."

"Alright, now that introductions are done, Jason will you please say Grace?" Placing her napkin in her lap, Gran smiled at Jason encouragingly.

"Oh, okay." Looking stuck, Jason fidgeted. "Dear heavenly father. Thank you for . . . ah . . . Grans fried chicken. And um . . ." Licking at his lips out of nervousness, he cast a quick glance around the table. "for having my family together, with my new woman . . . no girlfriend. Amen."

"That was real nice Jason dear." Gran nodded as she served herself a large spoonful of green beans before passing the bowl.

"So, your Gran told me you're majoring in History." Amy spoke up when the silence stretched on.

Looking at the traitor, then at Jason who was giving her a pleading look, Evie sighed in defeat. "Yes."

"I find history to be so intriguing." Amy said. "I mean I can't help but wonder how much of it has been manipulated to appease the frail male ego."

Feeling Sookie perk right up, Evie knew the fun was just about to begin.

"So, you're a feminist?" Using her fake, innocent tone, Sookie took a piece of chicken off the platter.

Waiting for a moment to respond, Amy cast a weary gaze around the table. "You say it like it's a bad thing."

"I wouldn't say that." Sookie replied, with a shrug. "I appreciate being able to vote and own property."

"What about you?" Amy looked Evie's way.

Before she could speak, Sookie gave her foot a nudge under the table, sending her a look. "Can't say I feel one way or the other."

Back during Freshman year, she'd taken a woman's study course, and trying to share some of her newfound knowledge, she quickly learned Gran wasn't as progressive thinking as she claimed to be. Evie had bitten off more than she could chew, as Gran made some very valid and interesting points. That both sexes had their areas they excelled at and pretending otherwise was being plain ignorant.

Another thing she and Sookie had discovered that night. Gran had her opinions. And her opinion on radical feminists wasn't exactly pretty.

"I'm surprised." Taking the bait, Amy poked a green bean with her fork. "Please tell me you aren't one of those girls who went to college just to join a sorority and find herself a man."

Her words slightly burned. Mostly because she had joined a sorority and started dating Grady freshman year. But that wasn't the only reason she'd gone to LSUS. She wanted to travel the world. To work in museums and unravel historical mysteries.

But she could feel Amy had known about the sorority and Grady, because of Jason.

"I actually like being in a sorority." Evie lied easily. "And I recently broke up with my boyfriend. But I guess you could say I'm one of those girls."

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it."

Yes, the bitch had. "But isn't that part of feminism? Having the right to choose if I want a high paying corporate job or an educated husband who works while I raise our children?"

"That's only what men want you to think." Amy said, her eyes wide, really on a roll. "They want you to submit to them, while making you think you made the choice."

"I don't know about that." Sookie jumped in. "What if your life dream is to be a wife and mother?"

"Don't get me wrong." Swinging her attention to Sookie, Amy set down her fork. "Creating life is the greatest gift of all, it's part of the circle of life. But through out history men have used and abused women. They've proven themselves vicious and have started wars because of their male macho pride."

"I dunno." Taking a large bite of chicken Jason chewed and swallowed. "I've seen these two go at it, and let me tell you, they can be downright nasty when they have a mind to be."

Evie and Sookie shared a smirk.

"And I can't help but feel that there are some feminists who don't really want equal rights." Setting the trap, Sookie smiled innocently at Amy.

"How can you say that? As a woman, you must see how unjust we are treated." Evie almost felt sorry for the girl, and might have, if she wasn't taking V and was shifty as hell.

"Oh, don't get me wrong." Sookie soothed. "But don't you think that if women really wanted equal rights, they'd push to make everything equal? Like registration for the draft? I mean it would only be fair."

"Why would anyone want to support war?" Looking unsteady, Amy sat back.

"Men don't register because they want to go to war." Happy to play her part, Evie chimed right in. "They do it because it's the law."

"A law made by men." Amy argued.

"And women." Evie watched Gran from the corner of her eye, and knew she was starting to get annoyed. More with Amy, but some of the irritation was at her granddaughters, because she knew what they were doing.

"What?" Amy blinked.

"The bill requiring men between the ages of eighteen and twenty five to register for the draft was passed in nineteen-forty." Sookie took a dainty nibble of her chicken.

"There were eight women serving in the senate, and one in congress." Evie tried not to smirk at the annoyed look on Amy's face. "So, it was men and women who made that decision."

"Which makes me think that women really don't want equality." Sookie finished. "Not if they're passing laws that omit women from having to serve in the military. Makes me think they're pretty smart."

Looking unsure of what had just happened, Amy looked over at Jason, who had a mouth full of food and only shrugged. Seeing that he wasn't going to be coming to her rescue, she turned to Gran. "You've been around -."

Sitting up straight, Gran cast a look at Amy. One that each of the siblings knew spelt trouble. Evie glanced over at Sookie and saw she realized their Gran was hanging on by a thread. "Are you insinuating that I am old?"

"I didn't mean . . ."

"I suppose you're right." Gran nodded. "But I don't buy into this new aged feminism. Women will never get anywhere by blaming men for their shortcomings. We have been able to do anything we put our minds to for a very long time. But we do nothing for the progress of society by belittling men and criticizing them for the mistakes made by others in the past. They are not to blame, just as I'm not to blame for slavery. Now, who'd like a nice piece of pecan pie?"

"Me." Evie and Sookie said in unison, while Jason quietly raised his hand.

Amy sat silently, looking like a stunned puppy.

"Miss Burley? You're all skin and bones and could use some fattening up." Gran muttered under her breath as she headed to the kitchen.

That was as mean as Gran got, but there was no doubt in Evie's mind that Jason would never bring his new friend back by for a visit.

πβΩ

It didn't matter she'd only been gone for a few weeks, Evie could be gone for a year and Merlotte's would still be the same. When she'd been younger, she'd been so jealous of Sookie when she first got hired. It wasn't because of the uniform, or the cuisine, but the independence of a steady income. Of course, when Sam hired her a few years later, Evie realized how stupid she'd been.

Waitressing sucked. Customers sucked. But it still felt like home.

"Well, well, well, look who the cat dragged in." Lafayette sang from the kitchen, his voice barely heard over the crowded restaurant.

Taking a barstool, Evie waved at her friend as Tara moved out from behind the bar to give her a suffocating hug. Usually not a touchy feely type, Tara had made Evie an exception. "If it isn't baby Stackhouse."

"You realize I haven't been gone that long." Evie choked out.

"Doesn't matter. You're the only normal person I know." Tara said into her neck.

Sam came out of the back room and cast a look at Tara. "Do I pay y'all to stand around?"

Dropping her arms, Tara gave him a sharp look before moving back to her place. "You barely pay me."

"Evie." Sam smiled. "Don't suppose I could talk you into picking up a shift?"

"I'd rather lick the men's room clean." Evie fired back at Sam, sticking out her tongue when he sent her a fake scowl. Turning to where Tara was leaning against the bar, she smiled sweetly. "Tara, how about a Jack and Coke?"

"Coming right up."

"How come you can't be that accommodating to our actual customers?" Sam asked, sending Tara a displeased look.

"Hey now." Pulling out her wallet, Evie flashed her grump of a sometimes boss a cheeky grin. "I am a paying customer."

"Your money's no good here." Patting her on the shoulder, he looked up when an argument erupted, resulting in a pushing match back near the pool table. "Hey, knock it off." Sam moved away to stop the potential fight, and Evie turned her gaze back on Tara.

"Any particular reason you're staring at me?" Scowling, Tara snatched a clean glass and poured a generous amount of Jack Daniels, she stopped and sighed. "Stop, it's freaking me the fuck out."

"You just look less bitchy today." Taking a sip, Evie watched Tara send her a scathing look, before filling another order. "Did you get laid?"

"That aint none of your business. Did it occur to you that maybe no ones pissed me off yet?" Quick and efficient, Tara filled several orders before turning her attention back to her. "How's school?"

"It's school." Really not in the mood to get into her hellish return, Evie took a sip and nearly choked at its strength.

"Yeah, that white privilege really must suck." Tara huffed, tossing the bar cloth down on the bar top, and started wiping it down aggressively.

"Yes, my imaginary privilege has really paid off." Playing with her straw, Evie smirked at Tara's scowl. "Tara did you ever consider that perhaps it's got nothing to do with the color of your skin, but your shitty ass attitude?"

Pausing, Tara tilted her head to the side. "A time or two, but decided people suck and I just don't give two shits about pretending everything in my life is rainbows and butterflies."

"God I'd love to introduce you to my sorority president." Just the thought of Tara going off on Kara gave Evie gooey feelings.

"You must really hate the bitch." Tara laughed, but it quickly died down when a new waitress popped up out of nowhere. "What? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

"Table four wants needs a pitcher of beer." The woman stammered, looking increasingly unsure as Tara glared at her before grabbing a pitcher and moving to the spout.

"You must be my replacement." Taking another long draw of her drink, Evie felt the woman's nervousness and frowned.

"I'm Daphne." A slight smile touched the woman's lips.

"Evie." Studying the other woman, Evie tried to figure her out. She immediately stopped when the woman promptly dropped her tray, breaking all four glasses, only to drop the pitcher of beer when she tried to clean up the mess. Perhaps she really was a nervous wreck.

"Jesus H Christ." Tara snapped, flinging the towel over her shoulder before grabbing a broom and dustpan. "That's the third fucking time tonight Daphne."

"I know." Daphne whined. "I can't believe this keeps happening."

"I can." Tara snapped. "You're a walking disaster."

"Tara." Hopping off the stool, Evie knelt down to give a hand, shooting her friend a look.

"Don't Tara me." Shooing them both out of the way, Tara swept up the mess, while muttering under her breath.

Daphne looked ready to cry. Evie kind of felt bad for her. "Tara's bark is worse than her bite."

"Oh, I don't know." Standing up, Daphne rearranged her shirt. "Her bark seems pretty lethal."

"Nah." Evie gave her a reassuring smile. "All you need to do is bark back."

"Bitches, you know I can hear you." Sweeping the last bit up, Tara turned to them. "Right?"

"Yes, mama Tara." Evie smirked. She'd spent years with Tara and Sookie mothering her.

"I gotcha mama Tara, girl." Rolling her eyes, Tara shook her head, but was unable to hold onto her anger. "You're impossible."

"It's part of my charm." Evie batted her eyes, making Tara huff before grabbing another pitcher.

"I got fifteen minutes for you to fill me in on all the trouble you've been stirring up." Poking his head out of the kitchen window, Lafayette tilted his head toward the back door.

"Be right back." Evie tossed out to Tara, who only hummed back judgmentally.

Making her way out the back door, Evie instantly missed the AC. Late summer was hitting Bon Temps hard, and the humidity was unbearable.

"Your crazy white ass is gonna get me in a shit pile of no good." Lafayette said the moment her feet hit the dirt.

"Don't be like that Lala." Evie grinned, taking a seat next to him on the steps. "You still adore my cute crazy white ass."

"Don't know why." Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, he pulled one out before lighting it.

"Cuz I'm the only normal white person you know."

Snorting, he shook his head. "We both know that aint true."

"That's fair." Evie sighed before leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Wanna tell me how you gone through two months of pills in two weeks?" Not shaking her off him, was Lafayette's way of letting her know he was less angry and more concerned. Where Sookie and Tara spent years mothering her, Lafayette also kept an eye on her.

"I live in a house full of emotionally charged females." Evie took the cigarette from his fingers and took a long drag. Then immediately coughed.

"Give that back bitch." Shaking his head, he snatched the cigarette from her fingers. "You know I don't exactly specialize in your type of meds, and it aint easy to get em'."

Sighing, Evie felt bad about the added pressure she'd put on her friend. "Yeah, I know. But the alternative . . .. "

"No need to remind me. I was there." Lafayette sighed. "But, you know you can OD on this shit right?"

Evie hesitated, and Lafayette nudged her with his elbow. "Yes."

"Tell me the symptoms."

"Dilated pupils." Evie sighed. "Headaches, drowsiness, dry mouth, and blurred vision."

"And whatcha do if any of that happens?"

"Make myself puke."

"And."

"If I end up in the hospital forget that Lafayette Reynolds ever existed." Evie recited by heart.

"That's right hooker." Lafayette muttered. "I've been poking around, and think I found you the right cocktail."

"You're a godsend."

"I aint no such thing. Your Gran is gonna kick my ass six ways to Sunday." Reaching into his cargo pant pocket, he pulled out six pill bottles and a piece of paper. "I wrote this crap down, and you needs to follow it, you got me?"

"Yes." Nodding, she went to reach for the bottles, only to have him move his hand out of reach.

"That aint good enough baby doll."

"I promise you, Lala, to follow your instructions word for word like a good little girl and will not do anything to endanger my stupid white ass." Evie stated.

"Fine." Handing over the bottles, Evie quickly stashed them into her purse. She handed over a few bills, and he took a minute before taking them.

"And don't come sniffing around until Christmas." Lafayette lectured. "This is enough to getcha through, you diggin' me?"

"I'm diggin' you." Evie smirked. "I get what you're throwing down."

"Don't do that." Lafayette shook his head in disgust. "It don't sound right coming outta your mouth. So, tell me about dat beefcake of your?"

"We broke up." Staring down at the toe of her Converse, Evie ignored Lafayette's shocked expression.

Sitting up, he looked insulted on her behalf. "Did he do somethin' that needs my size ten to rectify?"

"You do realize I'm not ten anymore?" Evie laughed. "I don't need you and Jason chasing down anyone with a penis who done me wrong."

"It's my god given right." Lafayette argued back. "Did that little pencil dick cheat on you again? You tell Lala whose bitch ass needs a whoopin'."

"He didn't cheat on me." He gave her a look, and she corrected. "Again. I've just outgrown him."

"Look at who's getting all mature and shit." He smirked. "Maybe you should start sprinkling that newfound maturity on your siblings."

"Ah, so you've met Amy." Evie laughed at the face he made.

"Bitch is off her rocker."

"Yeah, Gran isn't a fan." Evie smirked back. "Let's hope that Sook realizes Sam is better for her than Bill."

"We both know that isn't happening." Taking one last drag of his cigarette, he pulled out another. "Girl feels nothing for him, and this shit show is gonna end up in tears. Mostly Sam's."

She let him finish his break alone and headed back to the bar.

Finishing her drink, Evie bid Tara a good night, with a promise they'd hang out the next time she was in town. She felt relieved and prayed Lafayette's new little cocktail would help. Something had to give, if not, she was never going to make it through an entire year.

Taking the long way back to Gran's, Evie took a moment to enjoy the solitude of the back roads of Renard Parish. Turning the radio off, she cranked the AC up and rolled down the windows. It was a cloudless night, and the stars were practically dancing in the sky. There wasn't another car in sight, which was probably a good thing, seeing Tara had been a little too generous with the Jack, and not so much with the Coke.

The trip back to Gran's was uneventful and gave her a sense of peace. At least until she passed the Compton residence.

Seeing three figures standing on Bill's front porch, Evie let off the gas peddle and felt her heart drop to her stomach. The front door stood open, and Bill's figure could be seen silhouetted in the light coming from inside. She knew the last place she should go anywhere near was Bill Compton and his creepy old house. By doing so it put her in an awfully uncomfortable position of having to report back to Eric.

But there was no way she could just ignore three vampires visiting douchie Bill.

Could she?