I pulled into the driveway of the quaint little house that would soon become my home. I looked around, studying the area the house was built upon. There were no neighbor's within sight and that was the way I liked it. Even living in New Orleans, I lived on the outskirts of town away from the loud noises of Bourbon Street. I liked the life of the city, but I needed my privacy and quiet when it came to being alone. My new dwelling was just what I craved. Azalea bushes framed the outside of the house, giving the little 2 story cottage an even more country feel. There were blue shutters on the outsides of the windows. The grass was bright green and it looked almost fake as I studied further. Finally I took a deep breath and begin to walk toward the house, figuring I would inspect the inside before settling in. I searched my pockets for the keys and carefully opened the wide door. I took a mental note that the outside of the needed a coat of paint, as the old covering was starting to peel from age. I stepped into the the room and searched for the light switch, glad I decided to pay the electric bill early. The living room was large and floored with hardwood that made the inside feel a lot cooler than the outer temperature of the house. I walked toward the kitchen and noted the beautiful marble counter tops and large island in the center. I kept mental notes of what I kind of furniture I would set out to get once I brought in my clothes. I had kept my old apartment in New Orleans just in case. I had loved that little place, and I hadn't the heart to let it go so easily. I decided the bottom story of the house was enough inspection for now and I had to go out soon to take care of some necessities anyway. I set my purse down on the kitchen counter and walked back toward the front door. Startled when I opened the door to see people that hadn't been there when I walked in.

"So you're the one that bought up this old place!"

The voice came from a pudgy woman who smiled at me as I walked out. Her floral printed pink dress and big pink hat made her look like she had just stepped out of church. She held a pie tin in her chubby hands as she extended a hand to greet me.

"I'm Maxine Fortenberry and this is my son Hoyt," she said pointing to the young man standing next to her. He was dressed in almost a similar fashion, a grey button down tucked into his black slacks with a brown leather belt. Although he didn't hold the same enthusiasm as she did. In fact, it looked almost like he was forced here against his will. I chuckled to myself as he extended his arm out as well. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, my name's Rayne. Rayne Crassus." I said as I smiled at the both of them, trying my hardest to be as sincere as possible. The fact of the matter was, they were making me late and I really needed to buy some things so my first night in this house would be comfortable.

Maxine kept looking behind me as if trying to inspect the inside of the house. I noted she was a nosy one and I would be wise to stay away from her. She turned her attention back toward me again and handed me the pie tin she had clutched in her hand and said, "Here, a welcome to the town present. It's cherry. You wont find a better cherry pie in all of Louisiana!" A smug look played across her face. The truth was I hated cherries and I wasn't one for pie either. But I decided to satisfy her ego and thank her.

"Well, thank you for your introduction but I have to be off. My house isn't going to decorate itself!" I wasn't a people person but I could be extremely convincing otherwise when I needed to be. "Speaking of which, do you know of any kind of furniture store in the area?" I asked politely.

Hoyt remarked, "There's a Super Save a Bunch in Monroe that has almost everything. I'm sure you can find what you're looking for there, and if not, there's an Ed's furniture store around the same area."

"Thank you so much," I said as I nodded my head and started walking to my car. They apparently had just noticed it and kind of stared at me. I had to admit, it was a little out of place. "I'll see you around!"

"We have meetings at the church all the time! We hope to see you there! ...Come on Hoyt! She was cute and certainly human. Maybe you could date her instead of that fanger you choose over your own mother!" She said quietly to her son. I flinched when she said the word 'fanger'. A vampire in this small town? Oh well, not like I wasn't used to them. I was going to ask if there was anywhere around that needed work, but I decided I'd seen more of that woman than I cared to for today.

I started the engine and realized when I got in that I doubted any of the mom and pop furniture stores in the area were going to have what I was looking for. As much as I loved the country silence, I had a taste for modern decor. I decided to drive to the larger area an hour and a half north of here. I headed to Shreveport.

I managed to get my shopping done relatively quick, having everything rush delivered to my house the next day. I would be in an empty house for the night but that didn't worry me too much. As I was leaving the mini-mall area of Shreveport, I noticed a sign on a little nightclub that amused me. 'Fangtasia' it read. No doubt a vampire bar. I told myself I would have to check it out soon. Still chuckling at the pun of the establishment's name I took my turn and continued down back to Bon Temps.

The speed of my car allowed me to get back in good time. I decided before I went home to search the town for some sort of work. I had a lot of money from my grandparent's and parent's death and also money stashed from a malpractice suit that happened when I was 23. I had almost a small fortune, but I promised myself I wouldn't sit like some fat pig on my piles and live I life I knew would make me miserable. I guess it was my pride that made that decision. I didn't feel accomplished unless I was working for my things.

After a small time of searching, I quickly stumbled across a nice place, and it seemed the whole town was there.

It was a bar with the name "Merlotte's" in neon letters on the front. Perfect. I parked my car and walked to the front door. I looked around the crowded bar, ingesting my surroundings. The decor that hung on the walls reminded me of a hunting lodge. There were stuffed animal carcasses lining the top of the walls, and many framed scenes and random trinkets scatted around. It was just like any other small town bar.

I made my way up to the bar and waited as a young black girl - probably around my age - stormed up to me.

"Yeah?" She said with a bored expression on her face. I noticed she wasn't wearing a uniform, just a regular T-shirt and pants. The only thing professional was a black apron tied tightly around her waist. She had muscular arms, dark eyes, and long black hair cascading down her back in many small braids.

"Hi, I'm looking for the owner. I just moved here and-"

"SAM!" She interrupted me as she rolled her eyes and yelled to the back.

Mental note: I like her.

I chuckled a little as she walked away, tending to a man ordering a drink just to the left of me. I wasn't used to people being rude to me. It made it easier to avoid small talk.

Just then a man came from the back of the bar, looking frazzled and confused. The girl simply pointed to me and I smiled at him.

He had long shaggy dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had a scruffy beard with a mustache to match. He was rather attractive. He looked way to young to be the owner of a bar. "Can I help you?"

I kept my smile, laughing a little inside at the disposition of the man. "Yes, I just moved into the Wilson house not far from here."

He smiled, "Oh, I heard someone bought that old house, it's nice to meet you. I'm Sam Merlotte. I own this bar. Welcome to Bon Temps" He greeted me in the same way the Fortenberry's did. I shook his hand.

"Thank you. I'm Rayne Crassus. It's a nice town."

"Where did you move here from? If you don't mind my asking." Uh oh, small talk. That's the one thing I hated about being new to a town.

"New Orleans."

"New Orleans, huh? That's a big change. Got tired of city life?" He said. I was starting to warm up to him. He seemed friendly enough.

"I needed a change of place. I love the city, but I love quiet too."

He laughed, "I can certainly understand that. So what can I do for you Miss... Crassus is it?"

"It's Roman," I said responding to his confused demeanor. "And you can call me Rayne. I was wondering if you needed any help around here. I have experience waiting tables. I used to work in a bar in New Orleans."

"Yeah, we could use another waitress as you can see."

I hadn't noticed the bar around me. It was filled to the brim with customers. I counted only 2 waitresses handling the entire area.

"So does that mean I'm hired?" I asked, turning my attention back to Sam.

"Mhm." he said, the polite smile never leaving his face. "How soon can you work? I'm sure you need some time to settle in."

"I should be done with the initial moving tomorrow. I can start the day after."

"Friday it is," he said, "Let me get you a uniform. Oh, and before you leave, you don't mind if I introduce you to the staff do you?"

"No problem."

"Alright. Well, this is Tara, feel free to talk to her if you can while I go fetch your clothes." He said, pointing to the bartender from earlier before retreating to the back again.

"So you're new in Bon Temps huh?" She said eying me.

"Mhm."

"What the hell made you wanna move to a shithole like this?"

"Everywhere is a shithole, it just depends on what kind of people are in it." I said, making her laugh.

"I like you. What's your name?" She asked me as she leaned up on the bar.

"Rayne."

"Tara." We both nodded at each other before Sam came back with the uniforms.

"I hope a small's okay, it's all we have left."

"That's perfect." I said smiling at him.

"Hey, Sam, you look like you 'bout to convulse. Go back to your office. I'll show Rayne around." She said, motioning for Sam to go back to his office.

"Thanks Tara. Bye Rayne, see you Friday."

"Goodbye Sam."

Tara walked toward the cooking area and introduced me to the two men working behind the small window.

"Lafayette, Terry, this is Rayne. She's our new waitress."

I studied the 2 men carefully. The one, Lafayette I think it was, looked like kin to Tara. He had a lighter skin shade than her, with a scarf tied around his head. He was obviously gay. If it wasn't apparant by his looks, than it sure was by his mannerisms. He had more makeup on than me, and his nails were painted bright red. A color that meshed with his skin tone. He was tall and rather built.

The other man, Terry, was around the same height. He had a sort of sad, scared look in his eyes. I could tell almost instantly that he'd been through something traumatic in his life. His short blond hair covered a little of his eyes. He had a scruffy beard, almost like Sam's. But his face was covered in scars that I noticed covered his forearms as well.

"Well don't you look outta place hookuh" Lafayette said looking me up and down. "The city girl done lost her way and ended up in this fucked up town." He laughed.

I laughed. "What could make this town more fucked up than New Orleans?" I asked intrigued.

"Well for one we're understaffed because we had a killer run loose not that long ago that killed off half our waitresses" Tara said, shuddering at the thought.

I think they were startled by my reaction. My face didn't turn to fear as they would have expected. "Damn. I thought I got away from that when I left New Orleans."

Terry looked at me and said reassuringly, "Don't worry though, they caught the guy."

"That's good to hear," I said trying to sound more concerned than I really was. I had seen more death in my life than I cared to, and it didn't seem to phase me as much anymore.

"Alright, time to meet the waitresses." Tara said, grabbing my arm and leading me toward the bar again.

A red-head came up to Tara. She looked to be in her late 30's early 40's. She was really pretty for an older woman. Her green eyes narrowed at Tara as she walked up.

"Tara, do you plan on working the bar any time soon? Andy's getting belligerent and keeps yelling at me for another drink." She said, one hand on her hip, another holding her tray.

"Arlene, this is Rayne. She's gonna be the new waitress come Friday and then maybe I won't have to listen to your constant bitching." I could tell there was a little hostility between Tara and the red-head. I'd put my money on Tara.

"Oh, I'm sorry Tara, it's just overwhelming. Coby's got the flu and Lisa's starting to get sick too and.." she sighed. "Well nice to meet you Rayne. I'm glad Sam finally hired someone. He knows how much work me and Sookie have to deal with. I just wish he would've hired someone sooner." she said, before turning back to the busy patrons.

I nodded at her before she left, acknowledging the pleasure of meeting her.

"SOOKIE!" Tara yelled at the only person I'd yet to meet.

The blonde girl said something to one of the patrons before jogging up to Tara, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. She was short and thin, with a wide chest. Her blue eyes looked up at Tara before asking, "What is it Tara?"

Tara introduced me yet again to this girl, apparently her best friend, Sookie Stackhouse. Something about her intrigued me the same way Sam did. I couldn't place my finger on it. I kept my gaze on her, trying to figure out where my interest was coming from. It finally irritated me so much, I just asked.

"I don't mean to sound crazy or anything, but there's something about you that's not quite clicking with me.. Nevermind, I'm just loosing my mind." I realized after I opened my mouth that I probably sounded like some kind of psycho, telling her something like that.

But I got a much different reaction. Instead of looking at me like I had three eyes, they both looked at me in astonishment.

"How did you..." Tara asked as the gawked at me.

"This is kind of a secret but since I'll be working with you now, it's only right you should know." She said before taking a deep breath. "I'm a telepath."

"A telepath huh? Interesting. I thought I sensed something different about you." I said with a slightly raised brow.

"I'd appreciate if you don't tell anyone about it. All the staff knows and everyone else knows but they don't believe it. They call me 'Crazy Sookie Stackhouse'."

I smiled sincerely at her. "You're secret's safe with me." I looked out the windows of the bar when I realized I had been here a lot longer than I had thought. It was starting to get dark. "Well I better be going. I have a long day of moving in tomorrow. I will see you guys on Friday." I said as I waved and headed toward the door.

"Bye Rayne. See you on Friday." They said in unison.

I made it back to the house and set up the sleeping bag I had bought earlier that day. I grabbed the Tolkien novel titled "The Silmarillion" before cuddling up and beginning to read. About 3 hours later, I put down the book and sank myself deeper into the sleeping bag. I laid on my side hoping that I would have a peaceful sleep tonight without that same recurring nightmare. My eyelids began to feel heavy as I felt myself drifting into my first night of slumber in this strange little town.