Sorry everyone for such a long wait and am sorry if this is not the best chapter, I have been trying to get it done for you but I have a 8 month old baby and she often has other ideas. So I will try and get in to a posting routine however I cant unfortunately promise anything so you may just have to bare with me!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and any plot points that may slip in, from the fabulous Charlaine Harris work or Alan Balls TV show.
"Sookie are you here? Sam said you came home and something had upset you" Jessica's worried voice called out as soon as she came through the front door
"in here Jess" Sookie called back from her place on her air bed, the ash tray balanced on her chest from where she appeared to be chain smoking her emotions away.
"Oh Sook there you are, I was worried, one minute you was fine just going for a cigarette and the next Sam comes in and tells Jase that you went home, something about needing to unpack and when I asked him about it he said you actually seemed a bit upset about something" Jessica groaned a little as she crumpled down on to the bed next to her friend
"am fine Jess just needed to get away from everyone for a minute…" Sookie sighed as she sat up and placed the ashtray in between the two girls
"yeah and the reason for that was?" Jessica smiled lightly as she looked her best friend over, knowing there was something Sookie wasn't telling her
"oh I don't know maybe because the only man I have looked at since him seems to be just as bad as that idiot I left behind" Sookie groaned as she ran her hand through her hair in frustration
"who are you talking about Eric?" Jessica asked as she smiled brightly at the small blonde girl
"yeah but it doesn't matter does it, he's not interested in me" Sookie whined as she stubbed her cigarette out in the ash tray and then moved to lean back on the pillows on her bed
"are you for real Sook, he couldn't take his eyes off you and he was all nice and believe me that's a new thing for Eric, he normally doesn't bother talking to anyone other then the other boys" Jessica grinned brightly as she bounced a little excitedly on the bed
"what are you talking about? He was just being polite because am Jasons younger sister and besides he has a girlfriend" Sookie moaned as she looked up at her friend who now looked confused
"Eric doesn't normally do polite Sookie, he's known to be rather mean when he wants to be and besides who is this girlfriend Ive never heard of her"
"does it really matter" Sookie moaned as she let the thoughts of Pam and Eric making out on the bench replay in her head for not the first time since she had originally walked up on them, in fact it seemed to be on constant replay
"Come on Sookie, am sure this is just a misunderstanding…." Jessica stopped when they heard a knock on the door
"who could that be?" Sookie asked as she stood up from the air bed and walked towards the front door slowly
"Careful Sookie" Jessica called as she walked slowly behind the smaller blonde girl, her nerves kicking in as they neared the door and another impatient knock came from the doorway
Sookie glanced back at Jess one more time before she braved who it was and opened the door peering out through a small gap before opening the door wider when she spotted who was on the other side
"Hi Sookie, I know its late but I just wanted to make sure you were ok? I mean you seemed a little upset when you left" Sams voice broke a little as he let his eyes wander up and down the small girl a little
"Oh Sam, that's so sweet but am fine honest I just got a bit tired and wanted to come home and unpack my stuff" Sookie smiled her CRAZY Sookie smile at the strawberry blonde man in front of her.
"oh well as long as your alright Cher Ill let you get on but Ill see you tomorrow right?" Sam grinned brightly as he looked over the smaller girl again, his eyes taking everything about the petite southern Belle.
"yeah you work in the Boat house right? So I guess we technically work together so I will see you around tomorrow" Sookie smiled shyly, she had noticed the way his eyes kept travelling over her body and how his voice seemed to portray his slight anxiety about not seeing her the next day
"Yeah I do, Ill pop over on my break see how your doing… well Goodnight Cher" Sams cheeks flamed a little as he rushed out his parting sentence but Sookie couldn't help but smile at the wild haired man, he seemed cute and cuddly like a little puppy or a teddy bear, someone you could rely on instead of having your head bashed with a picnic bench….. And her head began to loop the earlier scene all over again!
"goodnight Sam, sleep well" Sookie called out after his retreating figure and turned and shut the door as she headed back inside to the smirk waiting for her on her best friends face
"and what is that for?" Sookie asked as she moved to go up the stairs to put the kettle on, in desperate need of a cup of tea
"oh you" Jessica smirked as she followed her best friend up the stairs and then sat down on the sofa watching the younger girl potter around the kitchen looking for the stuff she needed
"what about me" Sookie Groaned as she pulled two cups down from the top cupboard knowing that Jessica would never say no to a cup of tea, well she never had before
"you're here like a day and you have half of the men here in a uproar with your too good to be true Southern Belle appeal, me I have been here for ages and not even a flicker towards me" Jessica sighed as her thoughts drifted back to Hoyt
"Jessica don't be ridicules they are not in a uproar and am sure the guys have noticed you just you probably havent spent as much time around them as you did today because we started working in the pub" Sookie explained as she walked around to the Sofa and placed the two cups down on the table in front of the two girls and picking up the remote to put on some mind numbing TV before bed
"Yeah well if they have, I havent seen it and besides it doesn't matter does it because the one guy I want to notice doesn't know I exists" Jessica moaned as she reached across the table and grabbed the ashtray, before pulling out her Cigarettes and offering one to her friend
"thanks, look how do you know he hasn't noticed you I mean he is pretty shy he might just not show it yet and besides have you ever liked talked to him?" Sookie looked pointedly at her friend knowing how shy Jessica could get with boys, she wasn't used to being around them as their dad would always tell them it was a sin to talk to them untill they were married or betrothed as he put it
"well I try but its hard you know, I mean what do you say and like how do you even start a conversation, I get up every morning Sook and think today is the day am going to walk up to him and talk to him and then I get to the pub, I look at him and my mind goes blank, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do and I just stand there staring at him like a crazed stalker and then I walk away quickly before anyone notices, the problem being that everyone else has noticed everyone but him" Jessica whines, as she puffs away frustrated on her cigarette
"Jess you are a crazed stalker" Laughs Sookie trying to lighten her friends mood, earning her a lighter thrown the head from her best friend
"seriously though Sook how do you do it?" Jessica asked her eyes wide with anticipation of what her friend will say
"I don't know Jess, I mean I didn't make a good start with Eric today did I mean, hello verbal diarrhoea but I guess just be yourself, I mean you can talk to Jason and you said yourself you talked to Sam and you can talk to Lala and Eric when we sat chatting before so just forget about the fact that you like him and just think about trying to be his friend" Sookie encouraged, her smile bright as she hoped to build up her friends confidence
"well I guess, Thanks Sook" Jessica grinned "I have missed you Fairy"
"Ive missed you to little vampire" Sookie giggled as she thought back to the night they gave each other those nicknames
"shall we go to bed, Lala wants me in work early tomorrow so he can show me how to use some more of the equipment and to help with prep" Jessica yawned as she looked at her phone for the time
"yeah come on, I wanna have a good scrub at the ice cream machine tomorrow before we open" Sookie smiled as she stood up from the sofa and stretched out her limbs before grabbing the two cups from the table and taking them through to the kitchen to wash them before going to bed
"Sook leave them" Jessica sighed as she started down the stairs, knowing the answer she was going to get before her friend even started to speak
"Jessica Hanby don't think because I am not at home that I am going to let my Grans standards slip, Jason may be a slob but I am not and I will not leave these for someone to come home to or to do in the morning" Sookie snapped back at her friend knowing Jessica was only saying it to wind her up
"alright Sookie now come on lets get to bed" Jessica shouted from the bottom of the stairs as she headed in to the bed room knowing her friend would follow her once she had tidied up the kitchen and the living room to the state she had found it in
"good morning Girls" Gingers cheerful voice called out as she spotted the two younger girls heading in to the back kitchen
"Morning Ginger" The girls called back in unison
"Jessica Lala, is looking for you and Sookie he said you wanted some stuff to clean up in the ice cream shack" Ginger smiled brightly at the two young girls, she had never had two people so young so eager to step up their games in the jobs they had been assigned
"yeah if that's ok" Sookie asked shyly suddenly realising she may have over stepped her mark on where her work station is
"oh sure its about time that place had a bit of TLC, we normally have to just hope that someone is able to hear the service bell so no one has been out there full time before so am glad your interested in improving it abit" Ginger smiled encouragingly at the young girl
"oh great well where would I find some of the stuff I need" Sookie sighed
"ill show you now, Jessica if you wanna go on through Lafayette is waiting for you" Ginger winked at the red haired girl and moved to come in to the back room where the sinks where and headed towards the back door
"just in here" Ginger smiled as she pulled open a closet door and pointed inside
"oh great thanks Ginger" Sookie smiled as she moved around the older woman and headed in to the supply cupboard,
"if there is something you need but its not there just let me know and we can order it or we can send someone to go and get some" Ginger smiled brightly as she headed off in to the main kitchen to start preping for the start of the day
"thanks again" Sookie called after the older blonde as she wandered in to the large cupboard and started looking through the shelves of all the different cleaning products and what she might need to spruce the place up a little, it was something her Gran had hammered in to her from a young child, take pride in your home and where you work otherwise the world will judge you for it
"right what is it I need" Sookie sighed to herself as she started picking up different cleaning solutions and clothes and brushes
"now all I need is a spray for the counter and that's it" Sookie frowned as she looked up at the high shelf and wondered how she was going to reach the antibacterial spray she needed
She placed all of her other products down in a group on the floor and tested her height to see if she stretched up on her toes if she could knock the edge of the bottle enough to make it drop down to her, unknowing to her she was being watched from the door way
His eyes travelling over the smaller girl, as he watched her place the products down and then begin to stretch to try and reach the top shelf, he knew he should offer her help but he couldn't make a noise right at this second as he watched the delicious way her petite body stretched and moved, the way her red vest top raised from her jean shorts, showing her hip and toned stomach, her toned legs stretching out from the bottom of her jeans shorts, to the tops of her red chucks, all tanned and golden, he couldn't help imagine her stretching that way in order to kiss him or to play with his hair, his thoughts stunning him out of his viewing of the small girl
"would you like some help" a familiar deep voice echoed around Sookie causing her to jump and turn quickly to the door of the cupboard where he stood leaning on the door frame, every bit the tall sex god she remembered from the day before, his dark jeans hanging deliciously on his hips, his T-shirt tight and black showing off his toned arms and stomach, his black aviator glasses hanging from the V of the neck on his T-shirt, his 1000 mega watts smile beaming at her with a slight undertone of something naughty in his eyes
"oh its ok I can get it" Sookie whispered her voice betraying her a little as she looked him over knowing that she should be keeping her eyes to herself as he was taken but she couldn't seem to control her reaction to the beautiful man
"well it looks like you might need a hand" Eric smirked as he shifted his weight away from the door frame and back on to his feet and moved to come forward towards the smaller girl, he watched as her eyes widened in to what looked like horror at his approach, which made him pause for a moment, he had thought that he had misread the signs last night when she suddenly left the night before, she had been friendly and a little flirty all yesterday and then the last minute something changed but he put it down to being tired and wanting to go home and being bothered by that runt Merlotte but now she seems all most apprehensive about being near him, although he did see the way she looked him up and down a few times
"I will get it please don't put yourself out honestly I can manage" Sookie whispered again as he moved towards her slowly, his eyes studying her and her body betraying her at every moment
"its no problem at all mam" Eric smirked mimicking her southern accent as he stood facing her and reached up and grabbed the bottle she was after, his eyes taking in her expression changing from one of nerves and horror to something that looked almost like lust, as she looked over his body as he moved that close to her, his tight top riding up over his stomach, showing off the delicious V of his hips and his toned lower Abs
"here you are" Eric smirked his false southern accent still in place as he handed the bottle to the younger girl, her eyes wide and her expression slightly like a fish as she took a second to readjust herself as she reached up to take the bottle
"thanks" Sookie snapped her ear suddenly picking up his false accent, was he making fun of her, some southern hick thing, just because she is from a back water town doesn't mean she is some dumb hick and he might be gorgeous but that doesn't mean he can make fun of her, he should treat her like the lady she is
"your welcome mam" Eric smiled brightly as he noticed the reaction he was getting from the young girl but then he spotted the shift from looking like she was in awe of him to looking like a thunderstorm was brewing behind those cornflower blue eyes
"I don't appreciate you making fun of me Mr Northman and if you don't mind I need to get back to work, thank you for all your help" Sookie snapped, as she stooped down and gathered all her other supplies before trying to slip past the taller man, she managed to get to the door frame before he turned around and grabbed her elbow effectively stopping her getting any further
"Am not making fun of you Sookie I was just playing" Eric spoke softly trying hard not to spook the girl who seemed like she might just up and bolt at any second
"well it sure sounded like it to me Mr and I don't appreciate it, I am a lady and you will talk to me like one not some dumb hick that you seem to think I am now if you wouldn't mind removing your hand I would like to get to work" Sookie sneered again, she knew that he was just messing and that he was just trying to be friendly and that all the time he was nice to her yesterday was just him being welcoming to his friends sister and its not like he declared his love for her so she knew she had no reason to be jealous but for some reason she just couldn't help herself, she had felt that Zing from him and that was it she was hooked
"I don't think your a dumb hick, a small southern spitfire it would seem but not a hick and a very attractive one at that" Eric smirked his eyes glowing wickedly at the smaller girl
"What?" Sookie stammered suddenly stunned by what he said
"look I think you should be getting to work little spitfire but am sure we will see each other again in a bit" Eric smirked as he looked up and spotted his father heading their way with a knowing look on his face which normally meant that he was about to say something embarrassing and Eric did not want Sookie around to see it
"right yeah ok, see you around then" Sookie frowned confused by what had just happened, she turned and headed out the back door, her arms laden with all the products she needed
"Good morning Miss Stackhouse" Godric smiled brightly at the small southern girl, as he walked past her and towards his son
"oh Good morning sir" Sookie grinned brightly to her boss as she tried to hide the confusion she felt after her conversation with his son
"Son, you seem to be spending more and more time around that lovely young girl" Godric smiled as he entered the back kitchen to where his son was busy closing the store cupboard and looking a little flustered like he was trying to cover something up
"Father I don't know what you mean, am just being friendly towards the new staff" Eric smirked "just like you told me to be"
"hmmm… yeah well you seem to be being extra nice to that young lady, and I don't remember seeing you being that nice to the other young girl" Godric smirked as he spotted a slight guilty look flash through his eldest sons eyes
"you were the one who told me to be nicer to people" Eric grumbled as he knew his dad was well aware of his attraction to the small blonde
"yeah but there is being more polite son and then there is flirting shamelessly with the younger staff" Godric laughed as he patted his son on the arm and headed in to the main kitchen to see how Jessica was settling in as he had heard great things about the two girls
Sookie had scrubbed the whole ice cream shack, by the time she was finished it was gleaming and she couldn't help with feeling proud of herself. However she was still a little confused about her conversation with the tall blonde sex god as she has now started to refer to him in her head but she had noticed that now every time he walked past the shack window he would glance towards her before hurrying along with what ever he was doing, which she wasn't sure what that was because it looked a little like he was simply walking up and down.
"Sookie" The petite blonde jumped up from where she had been leaning on the counter waiting for a customer to turn towards where she heard her name being called,
"Sam" Sookie smiled back as she spotted the small strawberry blonde haired boy rushing towards her, his large smile a little infectious as he approached.
"you feeling better today?" Sam asked as he came to a stop in front of the ice cream shack, his large eyes burning with excitement at seeing the young girl again, he knew that she was way out of his league but he liked to think that maybe if he was just nice enough to her that maybe she would see he was a good guy.
"oh yeah thanks Sam, am sorry about that I was just a bit tired and well I guess it made my emotions go a bit well…. Never mind that now how is your day going? You busy at the boat place?" Sookie smiled brightly as she tried to forget the reasons she had been sad last night
"oh yeah Cher, my days going alright well its better now though" Sam grinned as he sat down on the chairs at the side of the shack, Sookie following him around the outside to sit down on her break as well
"oh that's good, so do you live around here?" Sookie asked as she pulled out her cigarettes and lighter, to settle herself down during the break
"yeah I live about 10 minutes away, so where are you from Cher?" Sam asked as he lit his own cigarette
"oh Bon temps, you probably wont have heard of it even though its not far from here, it's a bit of a back water" Sookie smiled anxiously hoping that Sam wouldn't judge her on where she was from
"oh yeah I know the place, been a diner there with my mum and sister it was alright, nice place" Sam smiled reassuring the suddenly nervous girl
"oh well its alright but I like it here, I always did want to move here once I was finished with my studies but my Gran would worry herself in to an early grave if I did that, she already worries all the time about Jase let alone if I came here full time as well" Sookie giggled lightly trying to lighten the mood
"so hows your second day at work? You seem to be hard at work?" Sam grinned brightly, he had passed by the shack a few times today and every time he had spotted Sookie working hard, scrubbing the place clean, or reordering stuff or just serving customers who all seemed as taken with the young blonde as he had to admit he was himself.
"oh its been great so far, I enjoy it" Sookie smiled as she thought back to her old job at home, she hated witnessing in Mack and Denise Rattrays diner, Mack was a creep and Denise thought that every man that excisted fancied her and when Mack hired Sookie to help serving the food Denise made it her personal mission to make her life miserable thinking that Sookie was going to run of with her husband, even though Sookie had him at the time…. No she was not going to let him invade her head not again.
"well that's good, is it just me or does Eric seem to be around a lot today?" Sam asked as he glanced up and spotted the tall man strolling through the car park again for what seemed the millionth time today
"oh is he? I wouldn't know, maybe he is waiting for someone" Sookie felt a small blush creep over her cheeks after the confusing morning she had with the giant sex god
"who would he be waiting for? Maybe he has a new girl" Sam laughed thinking about the last time Eric has a new girl, it didn't go to well and it ended in a very public break up which didn't go to help the already grumpy tall man.
"as I said I wouldn't know" Sookie smiled shyly as she spotted the taller mans eyes drift towards her and Sam, his stare turning from a little flirty to suddenly deadly as though he saw something he really didn't like, Sookie was tempted to turn around and check that someone or something wasn't behind her and her new friend.
"maybe he has found a reason to be around here" Sam groaned a little as he noticed the way Eric had looked at Sookie, he knew that look because he found himself doing it today every time he had walked past the smaller girl who had been hard at work and hadn't noticed him walking past several times trying to impress her or get her attention.
"well I cant think what he just seems to be walking up and down to me" Sookie laughed lightly as she watched the giant man stalk away after he caused himself to trip a little by being to busy watching her and Sam to notice where his feet where going
"oh well, guess we will find out eventually" Sam grinned as she stood up and moved to leave, his own pride a little hurt that Sookie had spotted Eric going backwards and forwards today but not himself
"yeah maybe we should head back to work" Sookie smiled and gave a small wave to the strawberry haired boy who then wandered away from her seeming a little disheartened
"Sookie?" Jasons voice appeared from the back door
"Yes Jason" Sookie answered as she walked back around to the entrance of the shack and the back door
"oh wondered where you where? Me and some of the lads are going out tonight on the boats and thought you might wanna come along you know you and Jess" Jason smiled brightly at his younger sister, he was determined to make this trip for her the best she could have after all the trouble that little shit of a ex boyfriend had caused her
"yeah sure just let me know whats happening when we finish work" Sookie grinned brightly as she watched her brother walk back towards the building site, the extension on the hotel was still a shell but she had to admit she was enjoying watching all the boys as they worked hard on making it well less shell like.
"Sure thing Sook" Jason shouted back towards his younger sister, his eyes darting back to the back door where just inside he spotted Eric listening to their conversation, a weird smile gracing the tall mans lips. He had a feeling he was going to regret letting those two getting to know each other but in his typical fashion he decided to worry about it when the problem arose.
"Ready Jess are you?" Sookie called through the back door as she finished locking up the shack and walked in through the back door to hang up the keys in the kitchen
"oh yeah shall we pop home and get changed before we go out it might get cold later on" Jessica grinned as she looked down at her stained and sweaty clothes from working in the hot kitchen all day
"oh yeah sure come on lets go quick though I don't want to miss out on going out" Sookie smirked as she rushed back through the door
"now the important question is what are we going to wear?" Jessica laughed as she caught up to Sookie and wrapped her arm around her small best friend who was practically running back to their house.