Charming, California
Sookie Stackhouse strolled down the street of the small town's main street with a new hitch in her step. This was the first time since she was born that she aimed to live anywhere else but the south of the United States, anywhere even outside of Louisiana and she viewed it as another adventure. An adventure away from supernatural beings, away from drama, and most importantly, a town where absolutely no one knew who she was, what she could do, or what she'd been through. It was time for a clean slate. She dressed herself in a modest, yet "charming" blue sun dress, her blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulders as she stopped inside each and every single business along that street whether they had a "Help Wanted" sign in the window or not. As she was leaving the current shop, which was a family owned kitchen appliance store, she turned at the doorway to give one last little wave.
"Thank you so much for yer time, Mr. Anderson. I hope your wife feels better!" Sookie exclaimed with a wide smile as she left out the front door, the small bell at the top chiming as she did so. She paused a moment outside taking a deep breath as she peered on at the mountain scape in the far distance. You'd never get a view like that in Bon Temps, let alone the dry, crisp air. She was beginning to feel that this was the most singular best decision she had made in her entire life. She clutched a pile of applications to her bosom as she continued her way down the street, ignoring the lingering stares from a few of the male town residents as she did so. At this point in her life, she had become quite talented at drowning out people's thoughts and being able to control it only when she truly wanted to listen in. Mind you, this was when she was relaxed and not under distress, or angry, or just any heightened emotional state, so it still royally sucked.
She paused as she approached the next business, her chin tilting up to read the name of an apparent ice cream shop called "Scoops". She gave a light shrug, deciding that any place willing to give her a job at this point she'd take, this girl had rent to pay. She pushed open the door, the same kind of bell sounding to alert anyone that a customer was entering the shop. She hesitantly took a few steps inside looking around a bit confused, as she hadn't seen a soul.
"Um, hello?" she called out as she took a few steps more inside when suddenly a man with a shaved head and two prosthetic hands leaped up from behind the ice cream bar which caused her to jump, sending her application papers flying everywhere. The man look startled as he ran from around the back of the bar dropping to his knees as Sookie likewise squatted to the ground to begin the effort of collecting the scattered papers.
"I'm so sorry, Miss. I wasn't expecting anyone to come in," the man started to say as Sookie gave a slight frown in response.
"You weren't expectin' anyone to want to eat ice cream in the middle of the afternoon on a gorgeous day like today?" she asked as the man cleared his throat, ignoring her statement.
"Oh, I mean of course, is that what you came in for, some ice cream? We are pretty limited on our flavors at the moment," the man said as Sookie continued to eye him curiously, still giving him the benefit of the doubt before invading his privacy and reading his thoughts.
"I actually came in to inquire about a job? My name is Sookie Stackhouse and I just moved into town," Sookie stated as the man continued to gather the papers from the floor.
"A job? We don't even have a 'Help Wanted' sign up," the man stated as Sookie gave a shrug, paying mind to what her dress was hopefully not revealing as she shuffled the papers together.
"Oh, I know, I just figured some people don't even realize the benefit of an extra employee until they hear about the skills I have to offer," Sookie stated as she decided to hell with privacy given this man's clearly frantic and questioning demeanor. She stared on at the man as he was distracted with the paper collecting and started to tune into his thoughts when a booming male voice interrupted her conversation.
"Motherfucker!" Jax Teller bellowed as he slammed a fist into the doorframe that lead from upstairs. He ran a hand through his long blonde locks in exasperation as blue eyes panned down to the floor in surprise at seeing Chucky and a blonde woman kneeling on the floor, gathering papers. His eyebrows furrowed as his white sneakers took a few steps forward, looking to Chucky and then back to Sookie.
"Chucky, who's your new friend?" Jax asked as Chucky immediately leaped to his feet in a panic, almost balling the papers up in his hand as he cleared his throat. Sookie rose to her feet and decided to take matters into her own hands as she jutted a hand out to Jax for a shake.
"My name's Sookie Stackhouse. I just moved here and I am lookin' for a job and thought I'd stop in and see if there was anything available," Sookie said as Jax took her hand and shook it, still eyeing her up suspiciously as he gave a sidelong glance to Chucky who was smiling nervously.
"A job, huh? Darlin', we don't even have a 'Help Wanted' sign up," Jax said as Sookie gave an idle shrug and a chuckle.
"That's what I keep hearin', but I am a woman of conviction. If you'd just give me a few moments of your time, I can explain the skills I can offer you," Sookie began, as Jax continued to eye her suspiciously, moving over to lean on the ice cream bar and cross his arms over his chest.
"Where are you from? That accent's pretty heavy," Jax said as Sookie cleared her throat, trying to decide if she should lie and say she was from any other southern state aside from Louisiana. She lifted her chin in confidence before she spoke.
"Mississippi," she responded, that state was close enough and would hopefully keep any prying curiosities from digging too deep into her past.
"Well what skills does a pretty little southern gal like yourself have that could help us in our lowly ice cream shop?" Jax asked with a sly grin, his hands holding out to either side of him to emphasize the shop surrounding them. Sookie eyed this man thoughtfully before going into her verbal resume and thought it a bit odd that the man was clearly a biker. He wore slightly baggy jeans, a white t-shirt and a black leather vest with various patches. She assumed the back of his vest bore the club insignia, which she had yet to see. She cleared her throat, keeping this in mind as she began to walk around the store.
"I have a little over 15 years of experience in the food service industry with the latter 8 of those serving as a manager of a bar and grill. You have a lovely ice cream shop here that you undoubtedly could easily turn into an establishment both fun for children…and adults. For instance you could install a full service bar on the opposite side of the room from the ice cream bar," Sookie said as she splayed her hands out to emphasize the placement of the adult bar and then walked over to the ice cream bar and peered down into the barrels seeing them completely empty. She narrowed her eyes for a moment and when she turned back around Jax was right in front of her staring down at her with intimidation. She felt a lump start to form in her throat as she stared up at him, gripping onto the bar behind her for stability. These men were obviously far more than just small business owners and Sookie could tell that they were starting to see her discovery.
"Listen darlin', you seem like a nice, smart girl, but I think we both know that this isn't an actual ice cream shop," Jax said, still standing sternly in front of Sookie as she cleared her throat, glancing over at Chucky who still seemed overly nervous. Sookie looked back up to Jax with a forced smile that she had perfected over the years in moments of intimidation such as this.
"All the more reason you could use my help. It could easily be an actual runnin' business, gives better cover," Sookie began as she mentally kicked herself in the ass for even suggesting such a thing. It wasn't like she had much of a choice however in the current situation, given that her life could be hanging in the balance. There were worse jobs she could have, like a stripper or hooker or something, right? Jax raised a hand to the blonde goatee on his chin as he rubbed it contemplatively. He took a few steps away from Sookie as she stood straight up now, pulling at the hem of her skirt with a clearing of her throat.
"We're a motorcycle club called the Sons of Anarchy," Jax began to say as Sookie stared on at him a bit confused. She looked from left to right and shrugged.
"Okay, so what's the big deal? You guys get together a couple times a week, go on rides, and have a couple of drinks and talk mufflers?" Sookie ignorantly said as Jax couldn't help but give a hearty chuckle. He shook his head as he played with the large rings adorning his left hand, eyeing Sookie up as if he were a mind reader himself.
"You really think if that's all we did we'd need an ice cream shop as cover for our clubhouse?" Jax asked, as Sookie looked around the shop and then glanced up at the ceiling where the supposed clubhouse should have been.
"Well, that's a very valid point," Sookie remarked, crossing her arms over her chest in slight irritation.
"Is that something you could live with? Being mixed into what helping this club could mean for you?" Jax asked, seriousness blanketing his face as he squared his jaw a few times, making the corners of his chin bone bulge as he did so. Sookie narrowed her eyes in concentration, listening into Jax's mind for a moment.
"You really should say no, darlin' just walk away now. There's enough going on right now with Tara's death and Juice and last thing we need is another innocent added to the mix," Jax thought, which intrigued Sookie all the more, or rather it intrigued the part of Sookie that always longed to help others. She let out a sigh and shook her head.
"I don't have to be involved. I can simply serve as the manager of this establishment having never known what goes on upstairs or who my boss truly is," Sookie said staring on at him with determination. Jax slowly nodded his head and gave a grin in return, pulling a pair of riding glasses from his inside pocket.
"You're smart, Sookie Stackhouse, I'll give you that. If you truly want to do this then be back here tomorrow, same time. I'd talk with you more, Darlin' but I'm late for a meeting," Jax said as he moved towards the door. Sookie glanced to Chucky for a moment and then blinked a few times before shuffling her way to follow him out the door. She watched as he swung his leg over to mount his Harley Davidson motorcycle, a half helmet slipping over the top of his head.
"I don't even know your name," Sookie remarked as Jax looked over at her as he was fastening the clip of the helmet under his chin.
"Jax Teller," Jax replied as the motorcycle roared to life. He revved the engine a few times before he took off down the road, causing the air in front of Sookie's dress to move, her hands instinctively dropping to keep it from flying upward, ala Marilyn Monroe style. Sookie pursed her lips together in skepticism and was already rolling her eyes at herself. Sookie Stackhouse: the woman with a weakness for broken people. She'd never learn that some breaks could just not be fixed.