A/N: I've been suffering for crazy writers block so I've decided just to write. I don't care if it's good and I can't care if you like it. I stress about reviews too much and it keeps me from writing what I want. That's not your fault, it's mine and I'm working on it. I finally got married and I have nothing pressing coming up in my life so I'm hoping to write a little more. I'll see how it goes.

Thanks to B-Rock525, Guest, MagpieTales, ciasteczko, Perfecta999, ashmo2000, LostInSpace33, Nicolle1977, Tynee23, MrNorthman, covenmama, scorpiolady68, ljhjelm49, and MissRon for reviewing the last chapter. It's much appreciated.

Again, I picture Bill looking more like Sebastian Stan than Stephen Moyer for this story.

Here's Eric's POV again.

August 18, 2003 - Jackson, Mississippi

The ride to Jackson was quite. Bill rambled on about the sets and would ask us questions periodically while Tara slept, Alcide played his Gameboy and I formulated ways to try to persuade Sookie to forgive me. Sookie had said nothing other than the odd comment to Bill when she thought he was wrong. She sat with her back angled towards me and her feet sticking out the window. She would occasionally fiddle with the radio when the stations began to crackle as we drove in and out of counties.

Alcide's grandparents were as accommodating as Adele and had food waiting for us when we arrived. After eating, taking a nap and showering we headed over to the venue, Duling Hall, for sound check.

We spent the time before going on stage drinking with the other bands and smoking as many cigarettes as we could. Sookie kept her distance and stuck to Tara or Bill like glue, talking about anything to keep her attention off me.

We had the ten o'clock slot which was the best time to go on because everyone was drunk but not hammered. The crowd went crazy for us and loved when Sookie and Bill sang a rendition of Johnny Cash's "Jackson". No matter how cynical or cool you were, hometown pride was something most people couldn't shake.

After the show everyone told us how much they loved our set and how much chemistry our lead singer and guitarist had. I tried not to let the jealousy flow through me but I couldn't help it; I should've been happy they had chemistry, good chemistry equalled an entertaining show, which led to more fans, which meant more buzz, which equalled more scouts, which would eventually lead to a record deal but I didn't care. I wanted her, I wanted the chemistry, I wanted everyone to comment on how amazing we were together.

But I had fucked that up.

We ducked out early and hit Memphis, Tennessee a few hours before dawn. We checked into a cheap motel and worked out sleeping arrangements which were usually a breeze but that night were a struggle.

"Sook, just get in the bed." Bill said sternly as he rubbed his tired eyes. He was wearing forest green sweatpants and no shirt.

"Eric has to sleep with Tara and Alcide." She was pulling at the ends of the oversized Pearl Jam t-shirt she had on, a shirt she had stolen from me.

"Why?" Tara questioned from the bed she was already snuggled in. Alcide beside her with his mouth guard and sleeping mask already on. He was in the process of putting in his ear plugs.

"I just don't want to sleep beside him." She whined climbing onto the bed.

"Alcide has weird night terrors and he can't sleep with more than one person." Bill was slipping under the covers. "Sook, if you don't want to sleep in the bed with him, feel free to take the floor."

Sookie rolled her eyes and huffed. "Fine, but you," she pointed at me, "as far away from me as possible and on your back."

I threw my hands up. "Whatever," I said mimicking her sigh, getting into the bed and lying on the far side. Even though I was as far over as I could go there still wasn't much room between us.

Sookie was moving up against Bill spooning him. I looked over at the both of them feeling my jealousy flare again, that was how she usually slept with me. I watched as Bill's head popped up over her shoulder. "I'm not sure what happened between you two but you better sort it out."

"There's nothing to sort out." Sookie spat and looked up at me. "Don't you dare look at me while I sleep." She scolded before closing her eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't." I mumbled as I looked up at the ceiling and waited for Alcide's snoring to lull me to sleep.

August 19, 2003 - Memphis, Tennessee

The next day we played Levitt Shell, a massive outdoor venue that could hold thousands of people, more people than we had ever played to. It turned out to be one of the worse shows we would ever play.

It was 106 degrees that day, one of the hottest Memphis had ever seen, and we were playing at 1 p.m. to a field of families with small children who did not want to hear what we were going to play.

"There is a Wiggles cover band going on before us." Alcide lamented as he looked over the line-up. "Did you not know this was a family event? Why would they even book us?" He faced Bill.

"Why are there so many old people?" I asked imagining how huge of a disaster this was going to be.

"We should hydrate too, that sun is going to kill us." Sookie informed with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

"They said there would be thousands of people, which there are, but they failed to mention what age. The guy knew our music style, if he booked us there's a reason for it." Bill was confident as he took off his shirt. He was sweating like a pig, we all were. Tara and Sookie were in swimsuits and Alcide and I had taken off our shirts the moment we got to the venue.

"Maybe he's a sadist." Alcide offered as he rolled his eyes and dumped a bottle of water over his head.

Sookie and Tara were sitting in the corner giggling with each other as they lazily fanned themselves. I tried not to focus on her nearly naked frame, how her long tan legs tangled with Tara's as they told each other secrets.

I looked up at Bill to distract myself. He was pacing; he was always pacing. I wondered if he would die if he stopped. "Hey Bill," I said and he ceased moving to look at me. "Where's Lorena? I thought you said she was meeting us here."

He frowned and ran his hand through his hair. "We broke up two days ago."

"Awe, I'm really sorry to hear that. I liked Lorena." Sookie piped up sounding sympathetic.

Bill scoffed. "No, you didn't."

"No, I really didn't." Sookie laughed leaning into the side of the tent.

"Why did you break up?" I probed. "If you don't mind me asking."

"She thought I was cheating on her." Bill shook his head.

"Were you?" I asked.

"No, of course not," he scoffed, "when would I have time to cheat? The band takes up all my time."

"Oh trust me Bill, there's a way to find time." Sookie said venomously shooting me a cold look.

"What is that supposed to mean? Is this why the two of you have been so weird lately?" He asked as I adverted my eyes and looked over at Alcide who had a smirk plastered on his face.

"You know what, never mind." Bill sighed in exasperation and threw his hands up in the air. "I guess it doesn't matter, Lorena thought I was cheating with Sookie anyway."

"Why me?" Sookie asked genuinely shocked.

"Why wouldn't I cheat on her with someone as beautiful as you?" Bill said quietly as Sookie blushed and looked away, her hair creating a curtain over her face. "At least, that's what she kept asking me."

"Well, I'm really sorry it didn't work out Bill." I said lying through my teeth. The last thing I needed was another single guy who Sookie could hook up with.

At that moment a bearded, stringy haired roadie popped his head in. "You guys are on in ten."

"Thanks man." Alcide smiled.

"It's hot as fuck outside so," the roadie paused, "good luck."

Bill grabbed his shirt and pull it over his sweaty chest. "Fuck." He mumbled, shaking his head. We all followed his lead and got ready to go on stage except for Alcide who was going out shirtless.

The roadie wasn't kidding, the sun was an inferno and I questioned the sanity of every person who had decided to come that day. Most people hugged the tree line or had put up large umbrellas or small tents to shield themselves from the sun.

Tara was being covered by the awning and Alcide stood right along the line of shade so he wouldn't be baking in the sun. The trees were covering my half of the stage so I was adequately covered but Sookie had to take the full force sun. Her whole body was already covered in sweat and she kept a bottle of water near, drinking from it often. Bill was in the middle of the stage and drifted in between my shade and Sookie's scorching sun.

"You want to trade?" I asked her quickly, approaching her cautiously. "It's hot; I don't mind standing here."

"I'm fine." She said tight lipped as a bead of sweat rolled down her chest. Her white tank top was see-though now and wet spots were appearing on her jeans shorts.

I sighed and walked back to my side as Bill introduced us. "We are the International Sex Station!" He pointed back to Tara.

"1,2,3,4!" She shouted banging her sticks over her head and jumped right into "Hey, I Don't Know." I put the violin under my chin and positioned myself so I could sing at the same time.

Some of the parents were into the song while most of the children thought it was too loud, they spent most of the song with their hands over their ears. As we kept playing teenagers and young adults slowly began to emerge out of the woods and were walking up to the stage. It was clear all of these kids were on drugs and I shot a look at Alcide and then to Sookie who even in her anger couldn't deny me a glance of bewilderment.

By the end of our second song the area was packed and all the drug fuelled teenagers were into our sound. Even though they liked us they were erratic in their movements, either too fast or too slow, I was pretty sure we could have just tuned our instruments and they would have been into it. Our looks definitely helped and we were flashed our fair share of breasts causing me to stare at the sky for most of the set.

We only needed to preform six songs and then we could leave, we were half done and I could tell Sookie was suffering. She was dumping water over her head and trying to find any source of shade in between songs.

"Sook!" I screamed at her. "Let's switch!"

She scowled at me like I had told her she was fat. "I'm fine, Northman!" She yelled back clearly not fine. She was stumbling slightly and her breathing looked erratic.

"You're going to get heat exhaustion." I said to her much quieter this time having walked across the stage.

"I know what the limits of my body are. I'm fine." She spat turning to Bill who was introducing the next song.

I shook my head at her stubbornness making my way to my place on stage.

She appeared to get worse with each passing song. I tried to focus on performing but I couldn't. I went on auto pilot and all my attention was solely on Sookie.

Just as the last note of "In the Meantime" rang out and the crowd began cheering, Sookie started to stagger backwards, unplugging her guitar as her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to fall back towards the ground.

She hit the stage with a thud that triggered a gasp from the audience. Alcide was to her first, his arms immediately wrapping around her shoulders and supporting her weight. Bill and Tara reached them second and me moments after.

"Sook, Sook!" Alcide shouted as he lightly smacked her face in hopes that she would wake up.

"What a professional she is," Bill was shaking his head in awe, "She was suffering but she finished the set, I mean she even unplugged. She's incredible." Bill cooed as Tara poured water all over Sookie while Alcide picked her up.

I looked over at Bill. "While I agree with you, now is not really the time. She needs medical attention."

"There's a medical tent out back." Bill pointed in the general direction it was in. "Alcide you take her there, we'll tear down and we'll meet you back there soon."

We packed everything up lightening quick as the crowd kept asking us if the blonde girl was going to be okay. Bill kept saying he was sure she was going to be fine but there was no way of knowing because he wasn't a doctor.

After all the equipment was in the van the head of the festival came back to ask what happened. He refused to believe our explanation and was convinced that Sookie must have taken drugs. He clearly had no idea what the effects of 106 degree sun could have on a 120 pound girl who had been standing in it for 30 minutes. He refused to pay us but by that time we didn't care, we just wanted to get out of there.

When we got back to the medical tent Sookie was still out and she had an IV in her arm. "Is she going to be okay?" I asked the medic.

She rolled her eyes at me. "She's gonna be fine. She just dehydrated, it's not like she has cancer."

I shook my head and ran my hands through my hair going to over to Sookie's bed where everyone was sitting.

"Did the nurse person say anything?" Tara asked looking up at me.

I shrugged. "We just have to wait for her to be hydrated again."

Everyone nodded and we discussed the set we were going to play in Nashville at the Exit/In club the following day.

It only took 45 minutes for Sookie to wake up. She stirred slightly with a sharp intake of breath. Her hand quickly went up to where the IV in her arm and she looked around at all of us with panic in her eyes.

"Sook, are you all right?" I asked grabbing her hand.

She fell back on to the bed pulling her hand out of mine and resting it on her head. "Yeah, I'm just-" She let out a laugh. "Does anyone have a smoke I can bum?" She asked.

Bill rolled his eyes. "She's fucking fine." He turned to look at the medic asking if Sookie could be discharged.

"You gave us a scare, Legs. It was pretty badass." Alcide lightly nudged her on the arm.

"I told you we should have switched." I reprimanded.

"Well, you say a lot of stuff Eric, it's hard to figure out what you actually mean and what is total and utter bullshit." She snapped at me taking a sip out of the bottle of water Tara handed her.

"Okay, what happened between you two?" Tara pointed between us with an eyebrow cocked.

"We can go." Bill said pushing Alcide out of the way so medic could get through. "I want to have plenty of time when we get to Nashville and you need to rest." He pointed at Sookie. "Do you need anything? I need you strong, Sook." He smiled at her.

"No, just sleep and water. I'll be good." She sat up after the IV was out and stood. Her legs were still weak and she wrapped her arm around Bill's waist to stable herself and he put his arm over her shoulder. They walked out of the tent and headed towards the parking lot, Tara right behind them.

I watched them till Alcide slugged me in the shoulder. "Come on Blondie, you don't stand a chance if you ain't in the van." He winked at me and nearly skipped out of the tent and I followed dragging my feet.

August 20, 2003 - Nashville, Tennessee

We made good time to Nashville and got booked into our motel quickly. There were no arguments about the bed this time and I respected Sookie's wishes and stayed away from her while she slept and regained her strength.

The day went by smoothly, there was no fighting, sound check was a breeze and green room was actually stocked for a change.

As for the gig itself, it went perfectly, flawlessly even and we were all on cloud 9. We all knew there was at least one scout in the audience that night and we were hoping one would come waltzing backstage to give us a record deal. It had been a long three days and we needed some good news.

There was a knock on the door that caused us all to look up as we made sure all our gear was packed correctly and ready to take to the van. The wind was knocked out of me as I took in who was standing there.

Dave Grohl stood, in all his rock star glory, at the door. In addition to his carefree smile he was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt. "I just wanted to say I really like your sound."

None of us moved, we all just stared at him wide eyed.

He shifted uncomfortably at our awkward silence and shoved his hand in his pocket. "Yeah, that rock, country, alternative, pop sound you have, whatever it is, I hope I hear more of it in the future." He smiled again.

Sookie was the one to finally say something. "Thanks, man." She said with nonchalance, like it was so random groupie and not Dave-fucking-Grohl.

He knocked the door frame one last time and with a quick nod he continued down the hallway towards the back entrance.

We stood in silence looking at each other with stunned eyes. Alcide finally broke the silence. "Did Dave Grohl just say he liked our band?" The disbelief in his voice made it sound he wasn't sure if we all just witnessed the same thing.

"Fuck yeah he did!" Tara shouted with a smile, jumping into Alcide's arms for a hug.

"What is he even doing here?" Sookie sputtered.

"The Foo Fighters are playing the Bridgestone tomorrow night." I told her.

"Of course you would know that." She rolled her eyes.

"We played for Dave Grohl." Bill said with a wild smile on his face, both of his hands in his hair looking like he was on the verge of ripping it out. "If he was here then there is for sure a scout." Bill moved towards Sookie and scooped her up in his arms. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and laughed.

"Well, no one has come back here so maybe they are waiting for us at the bar and I could use a drink." She was trying to play it cool but her smile was a wide as his. She was excited and she wouldn't let me share in it with her.

After loading up the van we headed back into the club and sat at the bar, the weight of my exhaustion fell upon me in that moment and I felt like a child. I wanted to go home and crawl into my bed and settle for a life as a music teacher. On the other hand I felt like I was teetering right on the edge of my future, I was either going to fall or a bridge was going to be built and I could make it across the chasm that was adulthood unscathed.

A bottle of Budweiser being placed in front of me snapped me out of my funk. "These are courtesy of Russell Edgington who is sitting right over there and he would like you to join him for a drink." The bartender recited what no doubt Mr. Edgington had told him to say and we followed his pointed finger to a good looking but somewhat creepy man. I told myself not to judge a book by its cover, if this guy was our ticket to getting a record deal I was willing to put up with creepy.

The five of us made our way over to the table and sat down, exchanging pleasantries while doing so.

"Before we start talking business I just wanted to say how much I loved the set, I love the sound and I really love the look. Has anyone told you how good looking you all are?" Russell asked getting comfortable in his chair as he took a sip of his martini.

"All the time!" Alcide exclaimed boisterously. "Except for this ugly fucker." He added pointing at me.

"Fuck you." I spat at him with a half laugh.

Russell started guffawing at our interaction but the laugh felt fake and I shifted uncomfortably. "And your funny too, the way you all bounce off and interact with each other. I love it. All this from a group of 21 year olds, you are all 21, right?" He asked looking at Sookie who was clearly the baby of the group.

"Sure." She said with shifty eyes as she took a swig of her beer.

Russell chuckled. "Age is only a number, not to worry."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to seem pushy but which label do you represent?" Bill said leaning toward him.

Russell put his hands together like he was praying and bowed to Bill. "Forgive me, I represent Sonnet Indie."

Everyone at the table stilled and we tried our hardest to hide our excitement. This wasn't some small time label that was looking to poach us so we could continue to travel in our van, record an EP and then sell maybe 10,000 copies; this was a legit label.

Sonnet Indie was the sister label of the massive Nashville based country music label Sonnet Records, home to the likes of Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Toby Keith. The indie side was currently producing records by Moby, Interpol, Lauryn Hill and Beck among countless others. This was the big leagues and it sounded like they wanted us.

"I'm going to take your silence as a sign that you've heard of our little record label." Russell teased.

"Little?!" Tara choked out with a laugh. "You think we are Sonnet material?"

"I think signing your little band here, what are you called again? Sex Station?" He asked.

We all mumbled out different names while some of use took a sip of beer.

Russell laughed again. "That's not a problem, we can work out a name later. What I'm saying is I think signing you to Sonnet Indie will lead to a very big promotion for me in a years time." He smiled widely but his skin didn't crinkle normally and I shifted again. "You're young, attractive, you understand music, you're talented as hell and have charm and charisma to boot. You're a recruiters wet dream. We are lucky if we find artists with two of those qualities. You five are a miracle." Russell leaned back in his seat.

I thought referring to us as a miracle was a little overboard but I looked over at Bill who was beaming, eating up everything Russell was saying. Sookie's cheeks were flushed in embarrassment while Tara and Alcide were glowing with pride and excitement. "So what are the next steps?" Bill questioned.

"Well, we would like you to come to New York to meet with the higher ups and because you don't have an EP you'll have to perform for them which I think will play in your favour, you all have a very commanding presence on stage. That's rare."

"You want us to come to New York?" Sookie asked in shock.

"When?" Bill followed up.

"As soon as possible," Russell said standing, tossing his card out to all of us. "If any of you are under 18 you will need a parent or guardian with you. All expenses paid, don't worry." We all sighed out in relief. "Once you talked over this opportunity with your families and after the label decides they like you, you will be signed to Sonnet Indie and begin recording your first record right away." He said with smile.

"It's that easy?" I asked.

"It's that easy, kid." He winked at me. "You five are going to be big, I can feel it."

We couldn't contain our joy anymore and we all started giggling as we took his card and looked it over. "Thank you Mr. Edgington." Bill said standing up to shake his hand. We all followed suit and bestowed thank yous.

"Finish your beers, get you ducks in a row and call me. I'll have you on a flight the next day." He picked up his martini and finished it. "Enjoy the rest of your evening kids." He winked a final time and walked out the door.

We stood silently together just like we had after Dave Grohl had spoken to us and waited for someone to do anything.

"Holy shit, we did it." Bill finally squeaked out in disbelief. He turned to face all of us, wearing the biggest smile I had ever seen on him. "We fucking did it!" He looked up at me and laughed, pulling me into a hug.

I heard everyone squeal and cheer as hugs, slaps on the back and even kisses were exchanged between Sookie, Alcide and Tara.

Sookie spun to look at me and her smile fell slightly. "Yay!" She said with cautious enthusiasm giving me the weakest hug I had ever received from her. It was worse than her being mad at me, she was interacting with me because she had to, she was keeping face and I hated it.

She turned and ran into Bill's outstretched arms wrapping her long legs around his waist, both of their heads falling into the crooks of the others necks. They were saying unintelligible things to one another with smiles on their lips.

I didn't like it because for the first time we had started this band Bill was an option for Sookie and while I had seen them be friendly like this with each other before it meant nothing. Now it could mean something.

What I hated even more was if I wasn't such a fucking idiot she would have been in my arms and I knew that time wasn't going to fully heal the wound I had caused between us.

After we calmed down and realized the reality of our situation we finished our beers and headed back to Bon Temps.

Review if you have a moment. Thanks for reading.