In Another Life... by PersianFreak
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Charlaine Harris. Please don't sue.
Rating: M
Spoilers: None
A/N: I'm trying to make my chapters longer (I suck at doing that; OMDB's chapters are ridiculously short). Thanks to those of you who reviewed; this is for you. Lemme know what you think of this.
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Amelia's house was located in one of the richest parts of Shreveport, which made it somewhat less than ideal for teen parties. Sookie and Amelia spent literally hours preparing for the party: hiding valuables and locking certain doors, moving things so that they would be less likely to be broken and making sure that the kitchen was empty of things like caviar and expensive wine. By the time the first group arrived, Sookie and Amelia were both tired and anxious to let off some steam.
The party was definitely a success, Sookie thought an hour later as she surveyed the throngs of teenagers drinking, dancing or making out. Sometimes more than one at a time. Amelia was off dancing with Sam Merlotte, a boy with shaggy brown hair and puppy dog eyes that did absolutely nothing for Sookie, but he seemed nice enough. Tara was intent on not having fun, and was therefore sipping cheap beer and watching other people make bad choices. Arlene was nowhere in sight, which of course meant she was making out with Rene Lenier somewhere and would only resurface when she needed a condom, a drink, or another man. Satisfied for the moment, Sookie headed towards the kitchen to pour herself a fourth drink.
"I feel like your drink is not nearly strong enough," A familiar voice commented just as more vodka was poured into Sookie's screwdriver.
"Whoa, hey!" Sookie gaped at Eric, "It's only ten; I have more than enough time to get entirely fuckered like I plan to."
"Fuckered? Did you just say 'fuckered'? You must be drunker than I thought."
"Is 'drunker' even a word?" Sookie frowned through the fog in her brain.
"You're the one in AP English, you tell me." Eric grinned down at her, his sapphire eyes sparkling in the light.
"I'm pretty sure it's not."
"Well, you're too drunk for me to trust you and not drunk enough to stop caring about my English, so drink up."
Sookie downed the rest of her drink, wincing at the burn, "Are you trying to get me drunk so you can have your way with me?" She teased and he smiled.
"No, I just want to see you smile like you used to." Eric tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and she wobbled unsteadily on her feet.
"I smile!"
"Not like you used to," He repeated.
"What do you care; you threw away eleven years of friendship because your football buddies decided my boobs weren't big enough for you to associate yourself with me." She snapped and poured herself more alcohol and juice.
"Sookie, that was two years ago." He reasoned guiltily.
"And just for your information, I'm a D-cup now, so it was your loss!" Sookie continued drunkenly.
"I don't care about the boobs, but it was my loss."
"I care about my boobs," She frowned down at her chest.
"They're nice boobs," He smiled.
"I missed you," She sighed in a sudden moment of clarity. "People are supposed to have their best friends when they go to high school and you prioritized and decided I wasn't important enough."
"I'm sorry," Eric murmured.
"Are you really?"
"You were my best friend, of course I am. I was a dick to you because I wanted to fit in and the only way I could fit in was to be one of them."
"Was it worth it?" Sookie steadied herself by putting a hand on Eric's chest.
"I like football," Eric shrugged, "Past that, not so much."
Sookie nodded slowly, "Alright." She spun on her heels and began walking away.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go be an irresponsible teenager and forget about the shit that bothers me."
"Okay," Eric nodded and turned away, taking a shot of vodka as Sookie watched.
***
Sookie stumbled up the stairs, making sure nobody was around as she entered the code into the hi-tech keypad outside the master bedroom.
"Are you breaking and entering?"
"Jesus, Eric, why are you following me?"
"I haven't seen you for three hours, how am I following you?!"
"Whatever," Sookie sighed and opened the door, grinning as the motion-sensitive sensors flicked on the lights to a low setting.
"I didn't realize people actually lived like this," Eric took in the room, "A four-poster bed? Are you kidding me?"
"Amelia's dad is a stockbroker in New York; her mom refused to move from Shreveport. He only comes home for the weekends."
"Is that where they are this weekend? Her parents?" Eric asked with surprising clarity considering the number of shots he had had.
"Yep, her mom went to help out her dad with decorera- decorta- house stuff."
"Oh," He mused just before he bent down and kissed her, not letting her emerge until she was entirely breathless.
"Eric," She whispered when his mouth moved down her neck.
"Say 'no'," He breathed against her skin, "Say 'no' and I will back off. I will walk away." Instead of responding, Sookie opted for pulling his face to hers. This kiss was anything but gentle, with Eric sucking on Sookie's tongue like he would die without it, and Sookie couldn't help but to moan into his mouth. She slipped her hands under his shirt, digging her fingernails into his skin before pulling his shirt up. Eric obediently broke away and raised his arms so she could slide his shirt entirely off.
"Bed?" Eric breathed and Sookie nodded, following Eric and his mouth towards the bed and straddling his hips when they were finally settled on top of the covers. Sookie's dress quickly followed Eric's shirt and it wasn't long before Eric was sucking on Sookie's nipples, the sensations alone making her lightheaded with pleasure.
"Condom?" Sookie gasped and Eric twisted until he was on top of her on the bed, his hips between her legs. He took a moment to remove the small square of foil from his pocket before sitting back to unbutton his pants and shove them and his underwear down his hips. Sookie sat up to help him push them the rest of the way down his legs, but she couldn't help ogling him. Eric was incredibly endowed, and seemingly impossibly hard.
"Lie back," He whispered, his hands tugging off her underwear when she did. His mouth left a trail of kisses up her torso, sucking urgently when he reached her neck, biting and leaving marks on the soft skin of her shoulders.
"Gimme," Sookie ordered and he handed her the packet, his hands rubbing up and down her legs as she ripped open the foil and thanked the gods of liquor for letting her only fumble a little as she slid the latex unto him. He moaned a little at her touch and her eyes snapped up to his, brand new arousal lighting them up. She lay back again and Eric settled himself between her legs. They kissed again, and Eric's hands travelled down to her core, eliciting a gasp from her as his fingers began rubbing her before sliding in.
"Ohmigod," Sookie mumbled, arching her back.
"You're so wet," He groaned and positioned himself, ready to push in.
"Now," She breathed and he obliged, pushing in roughly.
"Ow, ow, Eric, ow," The words tumbled out and Sookie squeezed her eyes shut, a single tear escaping in the half-dark.
"Sorry, sorry," Eric kissed her neck apologetically, "You okay?"
Sookie took a second until she could mean it before responding with "Yeah, don't stop." Eric inside of her was the strangest feeling in the world to Sookie, though not necessarily bad. Actually, the more he moved inside of her, the more the pain faded and was replaced by pleasure. It was definitely elating, Sookie thought, being made love to by the best-looking guy in the entire school. Sookie's fingers dug into his hips before sliding over to his ass and pushing him in further. She could feel something building up inside of her, a pressure begging to be released.
"Sookie," He made a small noise and that was enough to send Sookie over the edge. Stars exploded in front of her eyes and she made a high sound, tightening her legs around him and causing Eric himself to climax and collapse on top of her. They lay there for a seemingly long time, the sound of their ragged breathing loud in each other's ears.
Once she could form sentences again, Sookie giggled, "You're heavy."
"Hmmm," Eric kissed her chest and wriggled off of her, grinning drunkenly as he bent down and kissed her again. Sookie giggled again and leaned into him, and they kissed until they both passed out from a mix of exhaustion and intoxication.
***
Damn you, Grey Goose, Sookie cursed as she slowly opened her eyes. Wincing at the morning light, she turned her head slowly and gasped. Biting her lip, she slid out of bed, gathering her clothes as she headed to the master bathroom. In an attempt at steadying herself, she placed her hands flat on the counter and stared at herself in the mirror.
"I had sex..." She mused, running her hands across the angry marks on her chest. "I had sex with Eric." Satisfied that she could easily hide the marks, she used the bathroom, hissing at the pain between her legs and at the dried blood there. She dressed quickly after that and emerged from the bathroom to find Eric standing shirtless by the window.
"That was your first time, wasn't it?" He asked, sounding bewildered, turning as she entered.
"Yeah."
"Jesus, Sook, why didn't you tell me?"
Sookie shrugged inadequately, "I was too busy with other things."
"That's not funny."
"Eric, relax!" She took a step forward and then thought against it, remembering that she was no longer allowed to be that close to him. "It... It doesn't have to mean anything. I mean, we were both drunk out of our minds."
Eric nodded uncertainly and then looked at the bed, "Amelia is going to kill us for having sex in her parents' bed."
"Oh, yes, but if we stay and help her clean up, she'll be less homicidal."
Eric sighed, "Damn. Alright."
Sookie smiled, "Come on, let's go inventory the casualties." He grabbed his shirt and followed her out of the room and down the stairs. There weren't many people left in the house, and those that remained were in the process of getting up from their piles of blankets and couch cushions, looking horribly hung over.
"Good party," Sookie smiled as Amelia emerged from the kitchen.
"Thanks," She groaned from behind her mug of black coffee. "Alright, whoever is still here at eleven will be helping me with clean-up!" There was an immediate burst of energy and the remaining partygoers began heading out. "Figures." Amelia grumbled before turning to Eric. "Why are you still here?"
"I thought I would help out with clean-up," Eric shrugged.
"Are you serious?"
"Sure," He shrugged again and glanced uncertainly at Sookie. Amelia's eyes glanced back and forth between Eric and Sookie and she nodded slowly.
"Sookie, is there something you need to tell me?" Sookie bit her lip and glanced at Eric, who rolled his eyes.
"Oh, you might as well tell her now." He called as he headed towards the kitchen. "I need coffee."
"We had sex," Sookie squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the shit to hit the fan. She was not disappointed.
"You did WHAT?" Sookie opened one eye, "Please tell me you were drunk."
"I was," She confirmed hastily, "And I'm pretty sure we're not together. I know we're not together."
"But you want to be?" Amelia whispered.
"No," Sookie shook her head, "I haven't wanted that since I was 13!"
"Haven't wanted what?" Eric stuck his head out from the kitchen.
"Black coffee," Amelia responded quickly, "She likes it with two creams and two sugars." Eric rolled his eyes and disappeared again.
"So, you lost your virginity to your ex-best friend with whom you only recently started talking to. Not that he isn't gorgeous." They both said the last part and burst out laughing. "Are you okay with this?" Amelia asked a while later.
"I don't know." She bit her lip, "I mean, I'm physically attracted to him, but it's never going to go further than that."
"How do you know-"
"Coffee?" Eric walked out of the kitchen holding two mugs of coffee, and waited until Sookie had accepted hers before reaching into his pocket and pulling out aspirin and offering it to the other two.
"I never liked you, but I think I'm beginning to change my mind." Amelia decided, having just downed two pills.
"You're a pal," Eric responded with only a hint of irony.
"Hey, you're one to talk: you deflowered my best friend!"
"Amelia!"
"What, he did!"
Sookie rolled her eyes and stomped away, far too embarrassed to remain standing with them.
***
Cleaning up took all Sunday. First to take care of were the half-dozen puddles of vomit; none of which, thankfully, were on the Persian rugs. Next were the crumbs of food and bottles of alcohol strewn about the place. By the time dinner came around, the three of them only wanted to collapse on Amelia's family-room couch, order a pizza and watch crappy television. Sookie tried to pretend that it was entirely normal for Eric to put his head in her lap, and the fact that he threw his legs over Amelia's only confirmed this. They watched some show with bad acting about vampires, and Eric scoffed every time Amelia swooned over the big blonde on the show.
"I think he's asleep," Amelia whispered a while later. Sookie, who had been absentmindedly running her hands through Eric's hair, looked down to find that he did indeed look to be asleep.
"What if I like him?" Sookie asked, careful not to wake him.
"Then I don't think it's one-sided," Amelia smiled sadly.
"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"
"No," She shook her head, "I think you know him better than anyone, and I have no business telling you who to like."
Sookie nodded, still looking down at Eric. "I have to get home." It was Amelia's turn to nod wordlessly.
"Eric?" She shook his shoulder lightly, "Eric, wake up, we have to go home."
"I wanna sleep," He mumbled and turned his to bury his face in her stomach.
She chuckled, "I know. Give me your keys and I'll drive us both home." Eric finally got up with a groan, careful to not kick Amelia as he did.
"Thanks for the party, 'Melia," He mumbled, rummaging in his pockets for his car keys.
"Thanks for helping clean up." Amelia responded with an amused smile. Eric held out his hand and deposited the keys in Sookie's hand.
"Bye, Mel," Sookie called over her shoulder.
"Bye, Sook. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"How is that going to limit me at all?" Sookie threw over her shoulder, laughing at Amelia's "Fuck you very much."
Eric was asleep the moment he sat down and did not wake up until Sookie pulled into his driveway.