TB
She did wake with the dawn. She had gotten three hours of sleep. But Mrs. Hartman wasn't known to wait, and Irie didn't want the older lady to think ill of her.
She showered quickly, honed from years of the shortage of a hot water supply. She dressed in a loose blouse and jeans. She didn't dry her hair. It was only 5:30 in the morning but it was already getting hot and the sun shone forcefully outside her opened windows.
Irie really enjoyed her room. It was pink with floral patterns and antique furniture. It was the bedroom that was denied her in her childhood. She was delighted.
She walked down the wide staircase and into the kitchen. Mrs. Hartman was up and busy making breakfast.
"Good morning, Mrs. Hartman." Irie greeted.
Mrs. Hartman turned around her withered face contorting into a pleasant smile. "Goo' mornan' sweathear'." Mrs. Hartman talked with a lisp, mostly because she refused to wear dentures, so her southern accent was almost unrecognizable.
"Did you sleep well?" Irie asked.
"Oh jus' fan, honey. You se?"
"Fine, thank you for asking." Mrs. Hartman brought her a plate of scrambled eggs and fresh baked bread.
"This smells divine." Irie complimented her.
Mrs. Harman blushed and waved her hand in dismissal, but she was obviously pleased.
Diana enjoyed her breakfast with Mrs. Hartman. Thoughts of what Lafayette shared with her the night before kept entering her mind. Holly water and curses.
She looked at Mrs. Hartman's hunched form. She would let it go. She would find a way to let it go.
Mrs. Hartman looked up. Irie smiled and Mrs. Hartman returned the smile.
She would forget Lafayette's words.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
She walked to Merlotte's in silence. She could hear the faint whisper of nature around her. What a funny location to place a bar, in the middle of the woods. But considering that it was the only one in all of Bon Temps it made sense that it was always busy. And with only three waitresses in could get stressful. She wondered if she would meet the other waitress today. Irie hoped she was nice.
She went into the backroom and put away her purse.
"You're early." Irie turned around to see Sam leaning against the door his hands inside his back pockets.
"I start in ten minutes." She pointed out.
"I know. You're the only waitress I've had that hasn't been at least ten minutes late, let alone ten minutes early." He said with a grin.
Irie chuckled.
"Thank you for doing such a great job yesterday." He said after a minute. Irie looked at him. He was sincere.
"You're welcome Sam. You can count on me." She reassured him.
"I wish I could count on my other employees." He said averting his gaze.
"Is everything okay, Sam?" Irie asked.
His eyes snapped back to hers. "Yeah, everything's fine." He paused and took a deep breath.
"Have I told you how happy I am that you're here? You saved my ass yesterday." He said with a chuckle.
"Yes you did, and you're still welcome." Irie responded pleasantly.
He paused again.
"You look nice. I prefer you in this rather than the uniform." He said looking at her white summer dress and flat sandals.
"Thank you." She responded blushing. He gave her one final grin and left.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
She met the other waitress that day. Sookie was 15 minutes late, Tara was 10 minutes late, Lafayette was 20 minutes late, Terry was 10 minutes late, and Arlene was an hour late. All of them strolled into Merlotte's leisurely, not caring about the time.
Irie was chatting with a friendly couple, when Sookie came up to her carrying a tray. "You new?"
Irie turned around and spotted the pretty blonde. "Yes, I am. My name is Irie." She held out her hand and Sookie shook it.
"I'm Sookie. Pleased to meet you." She said perkily.
"Pleasure is all mine." Irie replied. Sookie stopped and stared. Then a slow smile spread across her face.
"No, I think it's mine." Sookie said mysteriously. Sookie walked away, leaving Irie puzzled.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBT
Two hours into the shift and Irie felt like she had known Sookie all her life. She was friendly and optimistic, and smiled at Irie and the most random times. The smiles were always sweet, not at all mocking. And they warmed Irie's heart.
She had a small break so she walked into the kitchen and spoke to Lafayette and Terry.
"It's busy out there." She was exhausted, but still smiling. Everyone had been so nice.
"Well this hick town don't offer much in entertainment." Lafayette said nonchalantly, flipping a burger in the air. He turned his half lidded eyes on Irie and gave her a little smirk. "You ever feel like getting' wild sweetness, you just let me know." He then turned back to his burgers. Irie exchanged a few pleasantries with Terry and walked out again.
On her way, she overheard raised voices. It was Sookie and Sam. They were arguing about something to do with vampires. Someone was in danger.
Irie stopped. A second later Sookie came storming out of Sam's office. She stopped once she saw Irie standing by the door.
"I'm going to Fangtasia." Sookie said with conviction.
"Alright." Irie was confused with the whole affair.
"It's a vampire club." Sookie clarified.
"Oh." Irie looked away.
"They're not how you think they are."
"How do you think I think they are?" Irie asked.
"You think they're soulless killers, don't you?"
"No, I don't."
Sookie seemed much relieved. "I know that you're telling the truth."
"That doesn't mean they're not too be feared. They are a species above ours, above humanity." Sookie seemed afforded by Irie's statement.
"I'm not just saying this. They're stronger, they're faster, and their age gives them intellect, if not that then wisdom. They are superior to us in every biological way." Irie paused. "It would be naïve to believe otherwise."
"I need to help my brother." Sookie said helplessly.
"Okay. Who are you going with?"
"Bill is taking me."
"Who's Bill?"
"He's a vampire." Sookie answered.
"Oh, Sookie. Vampires have laws that are outside those we follow. He might hurt you…" Sookie gasped in anger. "…not because he would want to, but because it would be required of him." Irie placated.
"I should bring someone else with me?" Sookie asked.
"Yes, preferably human, preferably of law enforcement."
"Come with me."
"I'm quite removed from any semblance of enforcement." Irie said with a small grin.
"But you are a human. And I'm not bad with the enforcement myself." Sookie continued saucily.
Irie gave a weak laugh. She had never allowed herself an adventure. She had always taken the safe route, even as her mother had taken the most dangerous. And she couldn't leave Sookie on her own. But why did Sookie ask for her help, why not ask someone else? She really didn't know the answer, not did she really want to think about it. So she simply finished with, "When are we leaving."
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBT
They left not soon after that. Irie had entered Sam's office sheepishly and explained the situation. Instead of being angry, Sam had been greatful.
Sookie had decided to change before leaving. Irie was comfortable enough in her summer dress. They met Bill at the entrance of the club. Sookie seemed taken with Bill. Irie found her simpering amusing.
The décor was… gaudy. She was never one for dark colors. Give her a good pastel any day. Sookie giggled next to her. Irie turned to her to see her looking. "You're very funny Irie." Irie was confused yet again.
They spoke to a vampire bartender. He growled and scowled and was all around vampiric in nature. There was very little pleasantness in him Irie found.
When they found him a dead end, they moved to a table. It wasn't long before Sookie was making eyes at something behind Irie. It always seemed improper to turn around in one's seat, Irie thought, so she didn't.
"Who's that?" Sookie asked Bill.
"Oh so you've noticed him?" Bill seemed somewhat disappointed and a little angry.
Sookie turned back to him. "It's not like that."
"Everyone does." Bill interrupted. "That's Eric. He's the oldest thing in this bar."
"How old is he?" Irie asked.
Bill was taken aback. Even though Irie had been in his line of vision he seemed to have forgotten that she was there.
"Around a thousand years old." He answered.
"Wow." Irie said quietly, awe very obvious in her tone. Not soon after there was a loud clash that startled Irie. She was tempted to turn around, but fear prevented her for doing so.
"We're being summoned." Bill said after a while. He offered Sookie his hand, she took it and they started off. Irie followed behind, not wanting to be left behind in a crowded bar full of drunk people. It wasn't even the vampire's that made her queasy, it was all the drunks in the bar.
They were walking towards two blondes. One the same stunning woman who had carded Sookie and Irie at the door. The other was another stunning blonde, this time male.
The male, presumably Eric, greeted Bill with very little respect. Eric enunciated his words as any person who's English wasn't their main language would. There was also a cultured tone to his speech, not at all the carelessness of a native speaker. He was educated, the glint in his eyes spoke of an intellect far beyond that offered in books.
Sookie sparred with the two vampires as Bill tried to silence her subtly. Irie stood behind them.
"And you?" Irie had been focused on the female vampire's (Pam, wasn't it) shoes. They were leather and spiked and looked like a weapon. Eric had addressed the question to her.
Irie raised her head and walked forward. She extended her hand in greeting and smiled politely. "Hello, I'm Irie Bowden. It's nice to meet you."
Eric seemed to contemplate her hand before he stood and offered his own in a firm, but cold handshake. "Eric Northman."
Irie cocked her head to the side. "Funny, that seems a bit Anglicized."
"Excuse me?" Eric asked with his ever present cold calculation.
"Your last name. It seems English in origin, yet your speech suggests a foreigner." Irie clarified.
"I was told that I had quite the grasp of the English tongue. My diction is superb." Eric tightened his hand around her hand for a fraction of a second. It hurt briefly.
"It is. It's just a little too perfect." Irie continued. She wished he would let go of her hand. Even though he was cold, she felt a slow electric current running from where their hands met.
"Oh. In that case… Norrmannen. That is the name of my origin." He finally let go of her hand, and Irie stepped back again. She gave Pam, who was watching her intently another polite smile. Eric set back down on his throne and discussed the victims with Sookie. Irie hadn't been aware that there had been any death at Merlotte's.
This scared her further. She had thought that she had escaped danger once her mother had died.
"We have to get out of here." Sookie declared suddenly. Everyone was surprised at her announcement. "There's going to be a raid here."
"You're a cop?" Eric sneered.
"No, but that guy in the hat is." Sookie pointed to a guy dancing on the floor.
"We're not doing anything illegal." Pam stated with conviction.
"There's a vampire feeding on some guy in the bathroom." Chaos broke out just as the words escaped Sookie's mouth. Within seconds Irie found herself outside the club in Eric's arms. Bill was carrying Sookie not far behind. Eric set her down by Sookie's car.
"I look forward to seeing you again." He said and disappeared quickly with Pam.
"Go home you two. We'll discuss what we've found out later." Bill promised.
They drove back to Bon Temps. Sookie was good enough to drop Irie off at Mrs. Hartman's. Irie stood on the porch waving as Sookie's old car disappeared behind the heavy foliage of Louisiana.
She would forget this night. She would forget the murders. She would forget Sookie's omniscience.
She would forget Eric Norrmannen.
AN:
I have never read any of the books, so the story is based on the show. I don't recall the show all that well, so you'll see quite a few inconsistencies.
TB