Hey guys! I want to extend a huge thank you for all of the great reviews I've recieved so far! They really keep me going and inspire me to write. Oh, and go to my profile to see Annabel's dress.

Enjoy chapter 5 :D

When I snuckinto the apartment around two in the morning, I tried my hardest to fall asleep. Slinking into my favorite pajamas and brewing a cup of herbal tea will usually do it for me, but Godric… that vampire kept running through my head. Even though my soft bed beckoned me to dreamland, I sat awake for a good three hours until five A.M., when I finally passed out. When my waking mind was finally tired of thinking about him.

I woke up later on that morning around ten o'clock. I only received about five hours of sleep and oddly enough, I didn't feel worn out at all. I pushed the sheets off my body and drew the shades on the bedroom windows, letting the bright morning light pour in and wake me up. Dallas looked less imposing during these early daylight hours.

I went downstairs, intending to make myself a cup of coffee and maybe even fix a bowl of cereal. I found Carrie in her bathrobe (which was probably worth my weekly paycheck at Merlotte's) in the kitchen, cooking up some scrambled eggs and bacon on the stainless steel stove.

"Mornin', honey!" she said almost too eagerly when she saw me. "Want some breakfast? I've got bacon, eggs, and toast."

The sweet aroma swirled around my nostrils. In this world, there are few things better than a big, delicious breakfast. "I sure do! It smells divine." I took a seat at the island. "Do you do this every morning?"

She giggled. "Oh heavens no! Only on my days off, like today."

I noticed that Ray, Shawn, and Claire were missing. "Where is everyone?"

"Ray's at work and Shawn and Claire are still sleeping. You know how kids are during summer vacation."

I poured myself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot. "Right. Sleeping until noon." Ah, the good ol' days.

"So, I took the day off because I thought I could take you and Claire shopping. You know, just us girls."

"Sure, that sounds like fun." I toyed with the mug of coffee. "Listen Carrie, is alright if I go out tonight?"

"Are you going out by yourself? Because you can't go clubbing alone," she joked.

I started to twirl my hair around my finger, a nervous habit of mine. "I was planning on going to that vampire bar downtown, Nosferatu."

Carrie ceased stirring the eggs around the frying pan and turned around to look at me. "The vampire bar?" She sounded disapproving.

"I've already been there. I couldn't sleep last night so I wandered around and found the place. It isn't as seedy as it sounds, though," I said way too fast. I wasn't about to reveal the real reason why I went there. I'm sure Carrie would not appreciate the story of her niece almost becoming some vampire's dinner. "I'm sorry. I should have told you I was going out but you were sleeping. I did have the pepper spray and silver chain with me, though."

"Annabel, you're twenty two-years old. You don't need my permission to go out and have fun! Just be careful, okay?" she winked at me.

Phew, that felt better.

She turned her attention back to the food. "So tell me, did you meet any vampires?"

Lady, if only you knew the half of it.

After breakfast, Claire finally woke up and us three gals got dressed and headed out downtown to shop. I put a significant dent in my checking account buy picking up so many new clothes. Hey, I needed some appropriate business attire.

After we came home around four o'clock that afternoon, I threw my purse and shopping bags on the floor of my bedroom and kicked off my sneakers. I then plopped down on the bed and flipped open my cell phone and searched for Sookie's number on the contacts list. I just had to tell her about my run-in with the vampires. She is the only person I know of who would feel enthusiastic over the news, for obvious reasons.

I called the number and prayed that she would pick up.

"Hey, Annabel!" Sookie said over the other line. "Miss us already? You've only been gone a day."

I clutched a small throw pillow. "Sook, you will never guess what happened last night!"

I heard her laugh slightly. "What happened?"

"I met a vampire! Well, a few, actually."

"Ooh, tell me more!" I knew she would be ecstatic.

"Last night, I couldn't sleep, so I stupidly decided to take a walk downtown. Before I knew it, someone grabbed me from behind and tried to take a bite out of my neck."

A loud gasp erupted from the receiver. "Oh my God! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Before that vampire could do any damage, this other one named Dru showed up just in time and scared him off. I don't know where she came from but thank goodness she was around. So, after that, Dru told me she was on her way to the bar and decided to take me. She introduced me to the vampire bartender, another nice woman named Isabel. But that ain't the good part, Sookie!"

"What's the good part?" she asked, amused.

"I met the Dallas sheriff!"

"Really? Tell me, was he an arrogant son of a gun like Eric?"

Sookie had told me tales, once upon a time, of the extreme douchebagerry of Eric Northman, the vampire sheriff of the Shreveport area. "Not even close! In fact, I'm going to see him again tonight."

"Is he good-looking?"

I let my head fall back on my pillows. "Oh my God, beyond it! He's so insanely beautiful that it's unfair."

"What's his name?"

"Godric." Just saying his name was the equivalent of chocolate melting in my mouth. Pure heaven.

"That's a very unusual name."

"Get this: he's two thousand years old!"

I couldn't see her face, but I'm sure she was flabbergasted. "Is that even possible to be that old?" she asked, incredulous.

"Hey, I didn't believe it when I heard it."

A small laugh came out. "Well, I guess you beat me. Bill isn't even close to that age."

Two years ago, before we all knew of the existence of the undead, this conversation would have landed the both of us in a mental asylum.

Sookieand I chatted for a little while about everything. After our conversation, I swung my closet door open, trying to find an outfit for the night. I certainly couldn't get away with sweats and sneakers again. I don't own many "going out" clothes since I, for the most part, live in jeans and tees, so I decided to wear my best dress: a whimsical and romantic frock made out of blush pink chiffon with crochet trim and a tie around the waist that went down to my mid-thigh.

A few hours later when it was finally almost midnight, I got all dolled up, applying my makeup, spritzing some perfume, throwing on the dress, and adding some chandelier earrings, some small gold (definitely not silver) charm necklaces, and espadrille wedge sandals that showed off the rosary tattoo around my right ankle. I then curled my hair and teased it into a half up/half down style. Hey, I'm not overdressed. I just don't have many opportunities to go out so when I do, I like to look my best.

I transferred my essentials from my bulky everyday handbag to a pretty champagne colored wristlet and took the elevator down to the parking garage where my craptastic beige 1993 Toyota Corolla was waiting for me. After last night's fiasco, I wasn't about to take my chances and walk. Especially in these shoes.

I started up my car and drove down to the bar, remembering it entirely from memory. I was impressed with myself. After five minutes of trying to park, (it was a Friday night) I found a spot about a block away before I pulled out clumps of my hair in frustration. I checked the time on my cell phone. Ten past midnight, it said. Oh crap, I shouldn't be late. I hurried up to the front door of the bar and came face to face with the stony-faced bouncer from last night.

"You again," he said, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Its so nice that you remembered me. I have a name, you know and its Annabel. What's yours?"

He stared down at me, almost scowling. "Stan."

"Well Stan, I hate to say it but that cowboy hat that you're wearing doesn't really work on you. You kinda have to be a country singer to pull it off."

He didn't respond. He just shot me a dirty look.

"I'm just gonna head inside for a drink." I walked right past him and straight into the bar, feeling confident. It felt like the start to a great night.

I came to a stop and scanned the room for Godric. Since it was a Friday, the bar was definitely busier. And I stuck out like a white candle in a coal mine. The majority of the clientele were dressed in the same cheesy Halloween-esque garb I saw last night and I donned a pretty dress and platforms. Let the self-consciousness sink in.

Then, Godric came into view, approaching me from the other end, looking fine as hell in a long sleeved black sweater and khaki pants. A huge, dorky smile broke out on my face and all of my worries melted away.

"Sorry I'm late," I said when he manifested in front of me. "It took me forever to find a parking spot." My hand rose up to cover my mouth when I realized what I said. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said 'forever.'"

He looked amused. "There you are, blushing again." He took my hand and started to gracefully stroll across the floor. "Come, Annabel. Sit with me."

He led me to a small booth over in the far corner. A far cry from his throne thingy. "This is more… inconspicuous," he said as if he could read my mind.

I quickly nodded in agreement and sat down on the cushy leather seat. Should I be frightened if he could indeed read my mind?

"Shall I get you something to drink?" he asked.

"Can I get a Captain Morgan with a splash of Coke?" I needed plenty of alcohol to work through my nerves.

"Sure thing." He sauntered over to the bar.

As I watched his beautiful form walk away, I couldn't help but notice the other patrons giving me the stink eye. Jealous bitches. Still, a small part of me felt like melting into a liquid form and slipping through a crack in the floor.

Godric returned a minute later with my drink in one hand and bottle of TruBlood in another.

"I don't know if you should be drinking this," he teased. "Isabel went a little overboard with the rum."

"Hey, better drunk than… not drunk." Great comeback. I took a tiny sip and recoiled. "Whoa, that is strong!"

He cracked up. "I told you."

"Here, try it." I held my glass out to him.

He stared at me blankly. "I… can't. My kind, we cannot consume the normal food and drink."

I was intrigued. I also wanted to see how this would play out. "Take a sip and see what happens."

He shook his head. "That would be impossible. My body cannot accept it."

I tilted my head slightly, thinking of the many possible outcomes of him consuming something other than blood. "That's so weird." I decided to change the subject. "You know, I think I'm overdressed."

"I think you look beautiful. If you don't mind me saying."

I looked down, blushing yet again and lightly scratching the back of my neck. "What girl doesn't want to be told she's beautiful?" I asked rhetorically.

I glanced up to find Godric gazing at me thoughtfully. He then took a gulp of his synthetic bottled blood.

"How does that stuff taste?"

"Like blood," he replied. "But it lacks the unique flavor of the real thing." I swear his voice grew darker. He set the bottle on the dark wooden table and used his fingertips to pass it to me. "Would you like to try it?"

I shifted my eyes, debating whether or not this was a good idea. "Oh what the hell," I said. "Why not?"

Picking it up in my hand, my lips met the rim and the thick, warm liquid slid down my throat. I immediately regretted this action. That stuff tasted like shit.

"Oh my God, how can you drink that?" I made a disgusted face and handed the red glass bottle back to him. I took a swill from my Captain and Coke to wash the nasty aftertaste out of my mouth.

Godric just looked entertained. It seemed like he did that a lot. Its always good to have a cheap laugh at my expense.

Sorry if this chapter was kind of boring... I revised it multiple times but I'm still not happy with it. But something big will happen in the next installment! :)