In Another Life... by PersianFreak
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Charlaine Harris. Please don't sue.
Rating: M
Spoilers: None
A/N: Hah. I beat last chapter's record of 8 pages, you guys! TEN PAGES. Hah. That's right. You're gonna be here a while.
I will cut back on the cockiness now.
Anyways, let me know what you think :)
The next few months were a whirlwind of hospital visits, tutorials, SAT preps, university applications and Eric sneaking into Sookie's room in the middle of the night just to make out.
Sookie found it incredibly calming, having Eric grab her randomly in the middle of the hallway to kiss her, or being able to just watch him without needing a reason to. It was a surprisingly comfortable relationship, if one did not count the occasional bumps in the road, like the considerable amount of time Tara spent glaring at them when they were together. Tara, however, proved to be the only one who needed some time to get used to the idea of Sookie dating Eric. Arlene did not care, as long as she got to swoon over him and his "fine assets", and Amelia, predictably, was the most understanding of them all. Mr and Mrs Stackhouse all but rolled their eyes when they heard the news, as if having always expected the relationship to develop sooner or later. All in all, Sookie was the happiest she had been in a long time.
***
Sookie threw herself into Eric's passenger seat, scowling at the dust that had somehow found its way to the fabric of her jeans as she brushed it off.
"Uh, rough day?" Eric asked, tapping his fingers soundlessly on the steering wheel.
"It's nothing." She turned her head, blocking Eric out as he started the car and began heading home.
"So, how was class?" He asked, feigning a casual tone.
"It was fine."
Eric sighed, stopping at a red light. "Did I do something?"
"No."
"Then why am I getting the backlash?"
It was Sookie's turn to sigh, "You're right, I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he reached over and patted her knee. "Now tell me what poor soul made the mistake of triggering your wrath."
Sookie trapped Eric's hand in her own, "It's nothing, really." They were both silent for a long time, Sookie absently playing with Eric's hand in her own until eventually the car pulled into Eric's driveway and she got out, trying not to slam the door as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Eric followed her into her house without a word, closing the door behind them.
"Hi, mom," Sookie greeted, leading the way into the kitchen, making sure to dump her stuff on the couch in the living room before doing so.
"Hi, honey," Mrs Stackhouse looked up from where she was cutting up vegetables at the kitchen island.
"Hey there, Mrs Stackhouse."
"Hey there, Eric." She smiled, "Did you guys get into a fight or something?"
Sookie looked up quizzically from the bubbling pot she was studying at the stove, "No, why?"
"No reason." She returned to the cutting board, smiling knowingly.
Eric raised an eyebrow, smirking pointedly at his girlfriend, and she rolled her eyes.
"You guys hungry?"
"Yes, but we need to go discuss some things." Eric's smile turned innocent as he grabbed Sookie's hand and led her out of the kitchen, "Y'know, gotta work hard to maintain a relationship."
"Dinner's in 20 minutes!" Sookie's mother called after them, "I will personally come upstairs and call you."
"Okay, mom!" Sookie called just before Eric closed the bedroom door behind them and threw himself onto the bed, curling one arm under his head and patting the space next to him with the other hand. She sighed, crawling next to him and throwing a leg over his hips.
He kissed her hair, "Did Pam say something to you?" Sookie lifted her head in surprise and Eric laughed, "Come on. I dated her for long enough to know how crazy she is."
"If she's crazy, then why did you date her?" Sookie asked, "Actually, nevermind. I'm sure I don't want to know."
Eric grinned, "So what did she do? Replace all your makeup with store-brand?"
Sookie scoffed, "The bitch wouldn't dare." He laughed out loud and rolled until he was on his side.
"What did she do?" He asked again.
She propped her head up on one hand, "If I tell you, then you'll get all protective and defensive and I don't want that."
"Sookie," Eric's tone was mildly threatening.
"She told me that she was the right girl for you and that it was only a matter of time before you realized it." The words fell out of her mouth in a hurry and she threw in an eye-roll and a shrug for good measure.
Eric frowned, "And what did you tell her?"
"That if she was right, then she had nothing to worry about. Y'know, since I'm clearly just something to help you understand how great you two are for each other."
"You didn't actually believe her, did you?"
"You dumped her for me, didn't you?"
"So why are you so upset?"
Sookie groaned, "Because the bitch had the balls to corner me in the freaking locker room! And who does she think she is? Why even bitch me out when your dysfunctional relationship had nothing to do with me?"
"Except for the bit where we made ou-"
"Not the point, Eric!"
"Right." He bit his lip and tried to suppress a smile.
She seethed, "It was ridiculous. I mean, what sort of deranged mind hates the new girlfriend more than the old boyfriend? She didn't even..." Her voice drifted off.
"What?" Eric asked uncertainly.
"She came to you first, didn't she?" Sookie asked, sitting up. "I was second! She talked to you before me!"
Eric nodded reluctantly, "Yeah."
"What did she say?"
"She didn't... say much."
Sookie gasped, "She did what?"
"Sookie, nothing happened!"
"I don't care, did she hit on you?!" Eric nodded, and Sookie scoffed, scandalized, "That little whore!"
"Whoa now!" Eric defended.
"Watch yourself, mister!"
"Right, that whore." He amended quickly.
"I can't believe her," she seethed.
Eric sat up, the smallest smile on his lips, "Yes, you can."
"Alright, fine, so I totally expected something like this from her, but still." He laughed and leaned forward to kiss her, deepening the kiss until Sookie's legs were wrapped around his waist and his shirt was half off.
"Eric," she warned when his fingers began dabbling at the skin under the waistband of her jeans.
"Sookie," Eric pouted into her neck.
"Hey, no complaining." Sookie smiled softly and stroked his hair.
Eric kissed her neck, "Come on, please?"
"We are not having sex."
"Why not!" He whined, "We did it already! And we're actually dating this time!" Sookie glared at him. "Fine, fine; I won't be the boyfriend who pressures." He rolled his eyes as he sat up on the bed and gestured to impress how absurd he found the whole situation.
"Oh, come on. Don't be a jerk." Sookie removed her legs from around his waist and sat up next to him, kissing his shoulder and stroking his arm.
"I wanna have sex with my girlfriend," he complained and Sookie giggled, letting him lean into her.
"I just want it to mean something this time, alright?" she murmured into his ear.
Eric lifted his head, frowning, "It meant something!"
"It was drunken sex, Eric." She rolled her eyes.
"Hey," he put a single finger under her chin to keep her gaze on him, "It meant something." He leaned forward to softly kiss her nose, "It meant everything."
"Awww," she smiled and leaned forward to kiss him.
"Still pissed at Pam?" He asked a while later as they made their way downstairs, Mrs Stackhouse having burst into the room to call them down to dinner.
"Yeah, but not as much."
"Good. You scare me when you're that pissed," he added in response to her questioning gaze.
***
"That test was ridiculous," Amelia sighed as she followed Sookie out of the classroom.
"I didn't realize they were gonna go into that much detail," Sookie sighed, "I do not care that much about the French."
"Well, fuck you, too." Arlene remarked, joining them.
"You're stepfather being half-French does not make you even remotely French." Sookie snapped and Amelia laughed, avoiding Arlene's swinging textbook as the other began heading towards her own locker.
"So, where's lover boy today?" Amelia asked once her laughter had died out.
"I don't know," Sookie shrugged, "He told me he couldn't drive me to school yesterday 'cause he had some errands to run, but I know he didn't even show up to school. No dice today, either."
"What's wrong with him?" Amelia asked, rummaging around in her locker for a notebook.
"I don't know," Sookie leaned heavily against the wall, "I mean, he's- shit!" She smacked her hand against her forehead.
"What?"
"Fuck, it's the anniversary of his mom's death. Shit shit shit."
"Oh, I didn't know his mom was dead."
"Died when he was nine. I can't believe I forgot."
Amelia closed her locker and the two began heading towards the parking lot. "I can drive you home." Amelia offered, playing with her car keys.
"Are you sure?" Sookie bit her lip, "It's out of your way."
Her friend shrugged, "It's not that far. Besides, you're losing your mind worrying about lover boy so driving you home would help." And that's how Sookie was ringing Eric's doorbell fifteen minutes later. There was no response for the longest time, and Sookie bit her lip and knocked, rocking uncertainly on her feet. Eventually, there was the sound of heavy footsteps and the door opened, a bedraggled Eric peeking out from behind it.
"Oh," he frowned and opened the door further. "Hi."
"Hi," Sookie smiled, a part of her relieved to see that he hadn't driven off of a cliff or anything.
"Um," he squinted into the sunlight, "Come on in." Sookie followed him inside, blinking into the sudden darkness as he closed the door. She had rarely been here, even as a kid. Eric had always come over to her house, and after the death of his mother, Sookie had understood why. Mr Northman's condition had deteriorated rapidly; scotch after dinner become scotch until he fell asleep, then scotch before work. Soon, he drank whatever was cheapest: beer, ridiculous amounts of coolers. He lost his job not long after, and for a while, they lived off of the inheritance of some long-gone, rich grandmother before Eric had started working at the super-market in an attempt to save whatever was left of the inheritance, or perhaps just to slow down its loss.
"Where's your dad?" Sookie could count the number of times she had seen Mr Northman since the death of his wife on one hand.
"Downstairs getting drunk or sleeping off the drinks," Eric shrugged, "Who knows, really. There isn't much of a difference."
"Are you okay?" Sookie asked, watching him plunk down on the couch amidst a sea of magazines, old newspapers and Chinese take-out boxes.
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" He leaned back and put his feet up on the coffee table, nudging away an empty beer bottle with his toes.
"Because you missed two days of school?"
"That just proves that I think school is irrelevant to my future." Eric shot her a fleeting grin that faded when he realized she was not buying it.
"And because I know you better than anyone."
"That's pretty cocky, don't you think?"
"And because I just remembered twenty minutes ago that it's your mom's anniversary." Eric seemed to deflate ever so slightly.
"Of course you did," he muttered and eyed her.
"Are you okay?" Sookie nestled herself on the couch cushions next to him.
"Hold me," he threw himself into her arms and she giggled as he settled on top of her. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Liar." Eric shrugged, an awkward move considering he was lying on top of Sookie. "I love you, you know." He lifted his head, his face perfectly expressionless. "I don't expect you to say it back. I didn't say it so you would say it back."
"Then why did you say it?" His voice matched his expression and Sookie curled her toes in her shoes, almost regretting what she had gotten herself into.
"Because I wanted you to know that just because you don't have the best dad in the world, it doesn't mean that you're alone or anything stupid like that."
Eric hid his face against Sookie's neck again, "Thank you for pointing out that my family is shitty."
"That's not what I mea-"
"I know. I was kidding." He rolled his eyes.
"Oh."
"So, if I don't say it back, you won't..."
"Dump you? No."
"Oh. Wanna have sex?" He suggested casually and she laughed.
"Not on your couch," she smiled, "and not when there's another person in the house." She added quickly when she saw him open his mouth to suggest moving to his bedroom.
"Fine," he sighed.
"How 'bout this weekend?" She suggested just as casually, "You know, when my parents are out of town?"
Eric's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"
Sookie bit her lip to hold back the laughter, "Yeah."
"You're beautiful! And the best girlfriend ever!" Eric exclaimed, the look on his face reminding her of a child on Christmas morning, albeit a horny one.
"Oh, I know." She smiled and kissed him again.
"And who is this?"
"Oh." The two jumped up from the couch, hurriedly untangling. "Mr. Northman, hi!" Eric's dad was dressed in an old t-shirt and sweatpants , and appeared to have not shaved or showered in weeks. He squinted and wavered on his feet unsteadily, still looking at Sookie with absolutely no recognition in his eyes.
"It's me, Mr. Northman. Sookie?" She stood up and smiled uncertainly, "I was your son's best friend for eleven years?"
"Oh, right." He looked past Sookie at his son, "You two together or something?"
"Yeah, dad," Eric sighed quietly, "I told you? We've been dating for a while now."
"Oh, right," he repeated, "Do we have any more vodka?"
Eric moved past Sookie and to the pantry, retrieving another 40 of vodka and handing it to his dad. The latter nodded in thanks and raised the bottle before disappearing once more. Sookie walked over to where Eric was now leaning against the sink.
"I can't not give it to him," he sighed, putting his arms around her.
"I know," she kissed his chest, "I'm sorry." Eric shrugged but didn't say anything. "Do you want to come over for dinner?"
"No, it's okay."
"That was a rhetorical question. You are coming over."
"Sookie, c'mon, do-"
"You are coming over." She repeated and grabbed a hold of his hand, leading him out of the kitchen and out the door.
***
Sookie stared at herself in the mirror and for the thousandth time wondered why she was so nervous. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and then untucked it. She leaned forward to triple-check her makeup: the tiniest hint of eyeliner and eye shadow that she was wearing. She contemplated taking off her clothes and wearing her robe, decided to take off her clothes and wear her silk robe, and then changed her mind entirely and redressed herself before abandoning both her clothes and her robe, leaving herself in her black lacy underwear. She looked good, she knew that. She was fully aware that despite not being a cheerleader and one of the "populars", there were lots of guys that considered her hot, and even more so fully aware that Eric was one of those guys. And yet, despite having already slept with him, she found herself cynically surveying herself: the full curves of her breasts and hips, the faint outline of her abdominal muscles, the lines of her face. She ran her hands up and down her legs to make sure she had not missed any spots shaving, and found everything to be disappointingly perfect. When she emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later clad in her silk robe, she found Eric sitting on her bed, surrounded with scented candles.
"How did...?"
"If you tell anyone I did this, I will deny it and then cheerfully dump you." Eric responded with a small smile, making Sookie laugh."And also, your window was open."
"Oh, I should fix that," she grinned at him. He was wearing only a pair of sweatpants, and the candlelight glimmered off of his tanned skin. While Sookie tried to stamp down the suddenly overwhelming urge to rip his pants off of him, Eric walked over and began kissing her, his hands untying her robe and dropping it on the floor.
"You look incredible," he moaned, and bent down to kiss her neck, nipping lightly at the soft skin of her shoulders. She pressed herself to him, loving the feel of his body against hers. She made a small noise when his mouth moved to her breasts, teasing her nipples through the material as he unhooked her bra and let it join her robe on the ground. She cupped his face and pulled it back up to hers, her hands slipping under the elastic waistband of his pants once she had secured his mouth against hers.
"Off, off, off," he muttered, making her giggle as he slid his pants off, retrieving a condom from his pocket before kicking it aside.
"I'm not naked yet," she whispered pointedly.
"Hold this," He pressed the square into her hand and dropped to his knees obligingly, slipping her panties off. Having accomplished that, he began kissing her inner thighs, and she widened her stance uncertainly, allowing him to move to her core. She bit her lip self-consciously but gasped when he sucked on her clit, smacking a hand on the wall in an attempt at not falling backwards while her other hand tangled in Eric's hair, the condom falling to the ground forgotten.
"Fuck, Eric," she threw her head back and cried out softly when she felt his fingers enter her. She looked around desperately, taking in gasping breaths of air as Eric continued to fuck her with his tongue and fingers. He was teasing her, she could tell, because he kept nudging her close to the edge and then backing off, over and over again until she groaned in frustration and pushed him down on the floor. Quickly locating and ripping open the foil packet, she slid the condom onto him and straddled his hips, sliding him inside of her and purposefully riding him until he was the one gasping her name.
"Sookie," he groaned, curling up to claim her mouth, his fingers digging into her hips as they continued rocking against his. Sookie moaned into his mouth and he kissed his way down her neck, biting at her soft skin the way he had the first time, her first time. She gasped when his mouth found her nipples and he began sucking roughly on them. Eric's grip on her hips tightened as he slammed her against his own hips, his cock rubbing her clit as she climaxed and stilled against him. He hid his face against her neck as he reached his own climax and came inside of her, Sookie's hands trailing up and down his back when his body shuddered. Lying back down on the carpet, Eric pulled her down with him and secured his arms around her and they lay there until their breathing had evened. A moment later he rolled on top of her and sat back on his haunches, disposing of the condom before reclaiming his spot, this time next to hers.
"Worth the wait?" she mumbled sleepily.
"Meh," Eric shrugged before quickly rolling on top of her once again to press his lip to hers. "Yes," he murmured between kisses, "So very much worth the wait."
"Nice save, Mr Northman," Sookie smiled, "but you're heavy. And it's cold." They crawled into her bed and settled themselves under the covers, Eric hooking an arm around Sookie's waist and pulling her close.
"That was new," she whispered.
"What was?"
"You... going down on me," she mumbled, blushing in the dim light.
"Really?" He propped his head up on one hand, "I keep forgetting that you're not..." He stopped suddenly and Sookie raised an eyebrow.
"What, a whore?" Her smirk let him know she was kidding.
"Very experienced," he corrected. "Even your first time was amazing for me."
"Awww," her blush darkened.
***
Eric crawled on top of Sookie's covers the next morning.
"You need to go home," she mumbled into her pillow, "My parents are supposed to be back this morning."
"They are." He smiled, "That's why I snuck out the window half-naked, showered in my own house, and then knocked on the front door like the good boyfriend who would never debauch their innocent little girl."
Sookie giggled, "Debauch? I really like how that sounds." She lifted the comforter, "You might as well get in, 'cause I'm not getting up." Eric obliged, sliding under the covers and pulling her close to him, letting her tuck her head against his neck.
"So, I'm joining the Marines," he remarked casually, somehow managing to make Sookie's world freeze.
"What?"
"I'm-"
"I heard you!" Sookie scrambled away from him and sat up, covering herself with the sheets. Eric followed her lead and sat up.
"Sookie, come on." He chastised lightly.
"When were you planning on letting me know?"
"Is this a bad time?" Eric appeared genuinely confused.
"You told me you wanted to apply to university!" Sookie rummaged around for her robe and eventually found it, quickly putting it on and sliding out of bed.
"I never applied."
"You showed me the applications!"
"I never sent them in," Eric sighed and Sookie deflated.
"Why would you lie to me?" she whispered.
Eric ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "You seemed so happy when you talked about applying and getting accepted and going to university and... I just didn't have the heart to tell you."
"You didn't have the heart to tell me?" Sookie's voice reached a dangerous pitch before she pulled herself together and lowered her voice. "Telling me the morning after we have sex was okay, though?"
"You told me you love me. Doesn't that mean you will support me if I want to do something??" Sookie plopped down on her bed, "But leaving me? You're leaving me!"
Eric sat down next to her, "You're leaving me, love."
"Am not!"
"You're going to Stanford, Sookie." He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"You could have gotten in, too, if you'd applied."
"I didn't have the marks for it."
"You got 2200 on your SATs, Eric!"
"Because you tutored me!"
"No, because you're fucking brilliant, you just don't put any effort into school!"
"And I'm not going to, even if I do get into university because you helped me!" He sighed, "You won't be there to tutor me for the rest of my life, Sookie. Even if you were, I wouldn't care enough to work hard enough to get a degree, even if you promised sex after every tutoring session." Sookie looked down at her clasped hands.
"Are you sure?" She asked hopefully, and Eric had to laugh.
"Yes." He put an arm around her waist, "This is what I want to do, Sookie. I want to join the Marines."
"But you're brilliant!"
"Then I'll be brilliant in the Marines."
Sookie groaned and hid her face in her hands, "Fine! Fine! Join the Marines! Leave me! Whatever. I don't care."
"Stop acting like you're not crazy about me," he leered and she rolled her eyes.
"I don't want to lose you, Eric," she said, her quiet voice carefully controlled.
"You're not going to," he promised.
"You sure? You're not going to decide you're gay in the military, are you?"
"Surprise!" Eric grinned and kissed her once.
Sookie was still laughing when they finally went downstairs for breakfast.
***
By May, Sookie was constantly nauseous and haunted by a vision of Eric dressed in Marine fatigues in the middle of a war zone, lying in his own growing pool of blood. The fear of losing him became a knot in her stomach as she studied chapter after chapter and wrote final essay after final essay in between all the times she spent groping Eric in the back of his Camaro. Eric, being Eric, appeared to be ill at ease. His time was spent with his football friends, or reluctantly studying at Sookie's insistence. In between all the times he spent groping Sookie in the back of his Camaro.
"Eric," Sookie giggled one evening as Eric climbed on top of her bed and pushed aside her notes and textbook, "I have a final in two weeks, c'mon."
"Fuck me," he murmured, bracing his hands on either side of her as he pushed her down unto her pillows, nibbling on her ear.
"Eric," her giggling died out to a quiet murmur, and she tilted her head up to kiss him gently, smiling happily when his hands tangled in her long hair. She opened her legs and tightened them around his hips, moaning when he grinded against her, his hardness rubbing against her through the thin fabric of her shorts. She pushed him away long enough to slide his shirt off and unbutton his jeans before pulling him close again to let him return the favour with her tank top and bra. She arched under him when his mouth latched on to her nipple, and a thud told her that Eric had kicked her textbook and notes off the bed.
"Touch me," she whimpered and then cupped his face in her hands, pulling his face up to her. "Touch me," she ordered this time, and he sat back to unbutton her shorts and slide them off.
"Oh god," he moaned, "I love it when you don't wear underwear."
"I know," she grinned devilishly, and he leaned down to kiss her, mouthing at her jaw as his fingers began rubbing her clit, dipping down and swirling in her wetness before returning to her nub.
"You like me touching you?" He whispered, "Like my fingers fucking you?"
"Ye-es," her voice broke, and she tried without succeeding to shove his pants down his hips using her feet. "Pants off, Eric." He chuckled darkly but did not respond, clearly wanting her to beg.
"So bossy."
"I want your cock inside of me." She all but growled, "I want you to fuck me."
That seemed to do the trick, because his pants and underwear were gone in the next second and he was pushing inside of her, establishing a rhythm that had her writhing under him. She murmured his name, digging her fingers into his hips and opening her legs even more to pull him in further.
"You feel so good," he groaned, his body tensing bit-by-bit on top of hers. She hooked an arm around his waist and pressed herself against him, loving the almost-gone smell of his cologne and the faint pain she felt every time he rocked into her that was deliciously overshadowed by the pleasure.
"Come for me, Sookie," he whispered into her ear, slamming into her a little harder so that she did just that, crying out his name as she did. Eric climaxed a minute later while she was still experiencing aftershocks, collapsing heavily on top of her. Sookie giggled and put her arms around him, kissing his hair tenderly.
"Now, tell me that doesn't beat studying for your finals." He mumbled into her chest, tickling her rapidly-cooling skin with his breath.
"If we get dressed and you put your pants on, you can sleep here and I can tell my mom that we fell asleep studying." Sookie mumbled.
"Think she'll believe it?"
"No," she laughed, "But she won't have any evidence against it."
Ten minutes later they were back in bed, this time under the covers. Sookie, having already changed into her pyjamas, snuggled closer to Eric, liking that he was being his affectionate post-coital self.
"What," he asked, half-asleep.
"What-what."
"You're thinking something."
"Very astute, Mr Northman," she laughed into his bare chest.
Eric sighed dramatically, "You're thinking about something that is absurd and you should not be worrying about it."
"Don't patronize me, Eric."
"Just tell me what's bothering you, Sookie." He propped his head up on an arm and looked down on her disapprovingly.
"Just, nevermind," she sighed and rolled away. Eric scooted closer to her.
"Sook, come on." He put a hand on her back, "Sookie. Baby." He kissed her shoulder and stroked her hair.
"I'm afraid of losing you," she squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. Eric's hand stilled on her hair, and he was silent for so long that Sookie feared he had fallen asleep.
His voice was hoarse when he spoke again, "Why would you think you're losing me?"
"Because it's not enough that I was already going to lose you after graduation, but now there's the possibility of losing you in some war zone on the other side of the world."
"Sookie, I'm not going to die!" He sounded exasperated and Sookie rolled back to face him with sadness in her eyes. "And why would you have to lose me after graduation?"
"Because of... graduation?"
"Were you planning on breaking up with me after graduation?" He quirked a brow.
She bit on her lip, "No, but I assumed you would want to."
Eric's brows drew together, this time in disbelief, "I didn't fight for you for that long just to give you up because of some ridiculous ceremony."
"Eric, you're going to be in Oceanside, and I'm going to be in Stanford; We'll be like, five hundred miles apart," she pointed out gently.
He shrugged, "We'll still see each other somehow; it's only a ten-hour drive." He played absently with her hand. "I know they say the long-distance relationship thing never works and all, but we could at least give it a try, can't we?"
"Would you want that?"
"I want you," was his simple response. Fucking Eric and his innate ability to make any girl feel the warm fuzzies.
"I love you," she whispered quietly, her eyes trained on a freckle on Eric's stomach and he gave her hand a squeeze.
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to make a big deal out of it?"
"Um, sure?" She tamped down the wave of anxiety that suddenly threatened to take over her as her mind flipped through the possibilities of what he was going to tell her; that Pam was pregnant? That he valued their friendship too much? That he wasn't into women?
"I love you, too." He murmured.
Sookie had not known it was possible for her heart to literally skip a beat. "What?"
"Don't make a big deal out of it!" He repeated urgently.
"This is me not making a big deal out of it," she grinned privately into him and he held her close, placing soft kisses on her face and hair. Their mouths found each other, and they clung to each other once more.
"Wait, do you hear that?" Sookie asked suddenly, breaking away.
"It's your mom, shit!" They feigned asleep, making sure to take deep, even breaths and keeping their eyelids from fluttering. The door creaked open, and they heard Mrs Stackhouse laughing softly as she took in the open study material on the floor and her daughter and her boyfriend in bed. She was gone a moment later, light turned off, the door quietly clicking shut followed by her footsteps.
"Think she knows we were faking?" He asked again.
"Oh, I know she does," Sookie rolled her eyes.
"Think she'll tell your dad?"
"Tell my dad?" she chuckled, "No. She'll tease us about it tomorrow, but I guess she knows what it was like to be my age."
"How very progressive of her." Eric commented with amusement in his voice. They said nothing for a long time, simply laying in the dark.
"Hey, Eric?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you say it again?"
"What, 'I love you'?"
She chuckled, "Yeah."
"I just did."
"No, but actually."
"Oh, actually?" Eric rolled on top of her, somehow managing to make out where her lips were in the dark as he pressed his lips against them.
"Yes," she giggled.
"I love you, my little over-achiever."
"Love you too, you big, strong Marine." She grinned in the darkness.
"Not yet," he pointed out.
"Soon enough." He rolled, taking her with him, until she was lying with her head on his chest.
"So, are we going to prom or what?" He asked casually into the silence.
Sookie lifted her head, "I dunno. Are you going to ask me?"
"I thought I just did," he sounded confused.
"That's not asking, Eric. That's 'So, are we gonna go to prom or what?', and that doesn't count." She lowered the pitch of her voice when she repeated his words for good measure.
"The fact that we're dating doesn't exempt me from having to ask you?"
"Depends on the person," Sookie shrugged, "I require that you ask me."
"So, uh, I know you have a boyfriend and all, but I was just wondering if you wanted to, maybe, y'know, go to the prom with me?" Eric even stuttered, clearing his throat at the end to complete the vision of the typical nervous high school boy asking a girl out.
"Well, I need to check with my boyfriend, but I mean, I guess it'd be cool?"
"Oh, cool! 'Cause you sound like a totally groovy chick."
Sookie bit her lip to keep from laughing, "I just hope my boyfriend won't be too mad. I mean, he might want to beat you up or something. He's the quarterback, y'know?"
Eric gasped, "Is he really? Sounds like a catch."
"Nah, not really."
"Oh, are you sure? I'm sure you're a very lucky-"
"Nope."
"Oh." He sounded so realistically hurt that Sookie pressed her body against his and kissed him.
"I'd love to go to prom with you," she murmured against his lips. "But only if you wear a tux."
He laughed lightly, "I'll wear a tux if you put out."
"I'll put out if you buy me a corsage."
"I'll buy you a corsage if your dress is low-cut."
"You've got yourself a deal, mister."
A/N: I couldn't say this before, but this story was sorta inspired by Generation Kill, which, for those of you who aren't hooked on Alexander Skarsgard, is an HBO mini-series about the Marines in Iraq.