A/N:

I would like to apologize for my extreme review reply fail for the last chapter. I think I only managed to reply to three people. It was just an awful week and I just couldn't be assed to do it, but I promise I won't be fail for this chapter.

Thank you all for even taking the time to comment on the story. I appreciate it more than you could possibly imagine.

Thanks to my beta, FDM, who is more awesome than words can describe!

Chapter 9 - Avoidance

For the next three days, Sookie refused to answer her phone or talk to anyone. She ventured out in her car every night to the Sonic for a soda so she could sit and work on her shields. By the end of the third night she was finally able to maintain a solid wall, without feeling drained of energy.

She went back home and checked her phone, once again finding more missed calls from both Pam and Sam. Sookie was avoiding Sam because she knew it would be awkward when they saw each other again, but avoiding Pam was a different story. She'd been thinking a lot about what Eric told her, and about her own mistakes, and came to the conclusion that she needed to apologize to him. She hadn't quite figured out how to say she was sorry, because her pride kept getting in the way.

With a sigh, she deleted the alerts from her log, and placed a phone call to her brother.

"What's up baby sis?" he answered after a couple of rings.

"Hey Jason. Is Tray back in town yet? My car was making some funny noises tonight, and I need to get it checked out."

"What kind of noises?"

"The kind of noises a trained mechanic should decipher, not you," she snipped.

"Yes, he's back in town. Said he wanted to meet me for supper tomorrow at Merlotte's. Give him a call tonight, I'm sure he'd fit you in."

"Thanks Jase," she said. "Sorry for getting snippy with you, there's just a lot going through my head."

"It's alright. Must be tough being a town hero."

"Come on, not you too. I'm not a hero."

"Yeah you are. By the way, I'm sorry I didn't get to see you in the hospital. I called Sam when I found out you were there, and he said you were fine, so…"

"It's fine, I promise. I better call Tray. Give me a call soon and I'll make dinner for you. Fried chicken and pecan pie?"

"That sounds delicious."

After hanging up with Jason, Sookie dialed Tray's home number. He was the local mechanic, a friend of Jason's, and from reading his mind Sookie knew he was honest.

"Dawson," he answered, and Sookie almost swore she heard a woman giggling in the background. That seemed strange to her, because Tray was very shy and wouldn't likely have a woman over as "company." She'd never even seen him so much as flirt with a girl in all the years she'd known him.

"Tray, it's Sookie."

"Sookie! How you doing? I just got back this morning and read the news in the paper. You feeling okay?"

"Yes, thanks. I'm just fine. How was your trip?"

"It was great, thanks for asking."

"Well, I hate to get you right back to work, but I was wondering if you could take a look at my car tomorrow."

"Anything for you, Sook. What's it doing?"

"The engine is making a funny sound randomly, like grinding, or clicking. The brakes are worrying me too."

"Is it safe to drive?"

"Yeah, I've been driving it the last couple of days."

"Okay, bring it in first thing in the morning and I'll check it out."

"I will. Thank you so much Tray. You're a lifesaver. I'll bring some cinnamon rolls with me, okay?"

"That would be heaven, thanks Sookie."

"See you in the morning."

As soon as she hung up with Tray, her phone rang again, and she answered it on instinct without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"About time you answered your phone," a female voice drawled from the other end.

"Pam, hi."

"Care to explain why Eric's been in a funk since your date? He refuses to talk."

"I was an idiot, and I don't know how to apologize. That's all there is to it."

"You need to talk to him. I can't handle it when he's this emo. He's starting to act like that vampire that sparkles."

"Why don't I come over in a few days to do that final interview? He and I can talk then."

"Fine, but you two better figure it out. I can't take this much longer."

With that, Pam hung up, and Sookie turned off her phone. No more phone calls for the night; she didn't think she could deal with it. To complete her anti-social behavior, she threw on some old sweats, a ratty t-shirt, and pulled her hair up into a knot on the top of her head. After applying moisturizer to her face, she went to the kitchen and grabbed the jar of peanut butter, the jar of Nutella, and a spoon. She put a Buffy DVD in and settled on the couch with her comfort food, so she could drool over Spike. This was her secret single girl behavior, something she would never let anyone else see.

The only problem was that when she watched the blond vampire on Buffy be funny and charming, she started to picture another blonde vampire in his place. Never mind that vampires didn't really exist, she would always associate Eric with them. Suddenly feeling quite self-loathing over thoughts of Eric, Sookie got a big spoonful of peanut butter and dipped it into the Nutella before shoving the whole thing in her mouth.

The next morning Sookie drove her groaning car to Tray's mechanic shop, with a hot and fresh container of cinnamon rolls in the passenger seat. She always made a triple batch and froze some. All she had to do was put them in the fridge overnight to thaw, then set them on the counter that morning to rise, before baking and icing them. Her grandmother had taught her well.

"Sookie, those smell fantastic," Tray said by way of greeting when she walked in.

"Why don't we eat before you check out the car?" she suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" he agreed, and hurried over to give her a hug.

"It's good to see you," Sookie said.

She genuinely considered Tray a good friend. Through peeks into his head, she knew that he was probably the least-perverted guy in town, and by far the most respectful of women. So hugging him was no problem for her, even with her shields down.

"You too," he smiled, and took the container of rolls from her hand, and that's when Sookie spotted the white gold ring on his left ring finger.

"Tray Alan Dawson!" she yelled and grabbed his hand. "You got married!"

"Yeah," he admitted with a blush creeping into his cheeks.

"Oh my goodness, congratulations! Tell me everything!"

Sookie couldn't contain the huge smile on her face, and it was the most genuine one she'd had in a long time. If anyone deserved a happy marriage and true love, it was Tray Dawson. He gestured for her to sit with him at the little table in the corner, and she opened up the container of cinnamon rolls. Tray didn't start talking until he'd devoured one.

"Her name is Amelia Carmichael, now Amelia Dawson," he smiled. "I met her in New Orleans. She was reading tarot cards in the hotel, and one look at her had me weak in the knees. She's got a fire to her, but she's also very sweet. I asked her to go dancing with me, and we ended up spending the whole weekend together. It may be crazy to some, but I asked her to marry me the day I had to get on a plane to come back here. She said yes, so we went to Vegas."

He paused and smiled, and that's when Sookie accidentally let her guard down and found out that Tray had been a virgin until his wedding night. She didn't let on that she'd just peeked into his head, and told him to continue.

"We got married in a cheesy chapel with Elvis as our witness, without any of our family or friends, and it still felt like the best moment of my life. I'm so happy with her, Sook."

"I'm happy for you, Tray. I want to meet her!"

"Really?" he asked.

"Well yeah. You're a good friend, and you just got married. Of course I want to meet her."

"Hang on then," he smiled, and headed out the back of the shop as Sookie laughed. Tray lived in a house on the other side of the alley, behind the shop.

About five minutes later Sookie heard the back door open and shut, and heard a woman saying, "Tray, I'm not even dressed, and I don't have any makeup on. I don't want the first person I meet to see me like this."

"You're beautiful, Mrs. Dawson," Tray said, and Sookie heard lip smacking noises, indicating they'd kissed. "Now come on, Sookie doesn't care about that stuff. You'll love her."

Sookie stood up as they walked into the room, hand in hand, and met them in the middle.

"Amelia, this is one of my oldest friends, Sookie Stackhouse," Tray said. "Sookie, this is my wife, Amelia."

A quick dip into Amelia's brain revealed that she was afraid this was one of those situations where the female friend back home had always been in love with the guy, and she though Sookie may pose a threat. She also hoped that Sookie wasn't in love with Tray, because Amelia really was happy and in love. More than she'd ever been in her life.

Sookie smiled a huge, genuine smile, and embraced Amelia in a warm hug.

"It is wonderful to meet you, Amelia," she said, and then released her. "I can't tell you how great it is to see Tray so happy. I don't think he's ever smiled that big in his life."

"Thank you," she said. "It's great to finally meet someone Tray knows. We just got back yesterday and spent all our time in the house. It definitely needs a woman's touch."

"I would imagine it does," Sookie laughed. "I suppose you'll need to go grocery shopping soon. Would you like me to take you? I can give you a woman's tour of Bon Temps."

"That would be so helpful, thank you," Amelia said, visibly relieved.

"Why don't you two go do that while I check out Sookie's car?" Tray suggested.

"That's fine with me. I don't have to work today," Sookie said.

"Okay! I'll just run back to the house to make myself presentable," Amelia grinned, and turned to leave, but before she could Tray pulled her flush against him for a kiss. She was blushing when he released her, and stumbled on her way out.

"Thanks for doing this, Sook. I wouldn't know where to begin."

"It's not a problem. I need a good friend who's a woman. I hardly see Tara anymore, not since she and JB had their baby."

"Could you do my another favor then?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Could you feel her out and see if she'd like to get a job. I told her that she doesn't have to work, but she's got an independent spirit. Maybe suggest some part-time jobs to her?"

Sookie smiled at him, and nodded. She could see that all he wanted was to make sure his new wife was happy. "I'd be happy to."

Tray ate two more cinnamon rolls before Amelia came back, and after kissing her again and giving her the keys to his truck, they were off.

"Okay, there are exactly two places to get groceries in Bon Temps, one is the local grocery store chain, and the other is the Wal-Mart. Everyone goes to Wal-Mart, it's just cheaper and you can get everything in one place," Sookie said after they pulled onto the highway.

"I'm so glad you're helping me with this. I feel like a fish out of water here."

"You got family back in New Orleans?" Sookie asked.

"Just my dad, but we didn't talk much, and he wouldn't approve of me being with Tray anyway."

"I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm incredibly happy now. Tray's the only person that's ever made me feel totally accepted for who I am," she said, and then glanced at Sookie quickly a couple of times. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

Sookie knew just what Amelia wanted to ask, and she knew she had to let her.

"Go right ahead."

"Do you have feelings for him? I have to know."

"I don't. I promise."

"You don't sound surprised that I asked that question," Amelia said.

"I wasn't. I suppose I should come out with the truth since Tray knows. Amelia, Tray loves you more than he's ever loved anything in his life. You feel the same about him, and you're worried that he and I are something more than friends. I assure you that I don't feel for him that way, and he definitely doesn't feel for me that way. I'm like his little sister."

"How do you know all that?"

"For as long as I can remember, I've had the ability to read minds," Sookie said cautiously, hoping Amelia wouldn't freak out.

"No way," Amelia laughed.

"If you don't believe me, feel free to test it," Sookie suggested.

At our wedding, I wore the necklace my mother gave me when I was seven.

"At the wedding, you wore the necklace your mother gave you when you were seven. It's a silver chain with a pentagram charm because your mother was a Wiccan, and you are too."

"Holy shit," Amelia said.

"Usually I can stay out of people's heads just fine, but I got hit on the head recently so I'm having a bit more trouble with it."

"I can help with that," Amelia said.

"You can? And you're okay with this? I mean … it's just that no one's ever believed me that easily."

"Sookie, I'm Wiccan. I believe and accept a lot of things regular folks don't. And yes, with some guided meditation, I think I can help you out."

"Amelia, you are a Godsend … or, a Mother Earth-send … or something."

Amelia laughed long and loud. "Sookie, I think you and I will get along just fine."

By the time they were on their way back to the garage, the girls were on the topic of relationships.

"So you've never had a boyfriend?" Amelia asked.

"Nope. I can't get comfortable enough to keep blocking them when they try to kiss me, and it would be worse if we went further than that, so I'm just single."

"There's really never been anyone?"

"Well, kind of. I recently met a man I can't read at all. It's like he's got his own set of shields, and when we kissed they stayed put."

"That's perfect then! Do you like him?"

"Yes, but I kind of screwed things up. I made some judgments I shouldn't have, and I don't know how to apologize."

"Want my advice?" Amelia asked.

"I would love it, actually."

"Go home tonight, put on a pretty outfit, do your hair, throw on a little mascara, and go see him. If you put forth that effort and make the first move, he'll know you're really sorry."

"You know, I think I might do that," Sookie smiled at her new friend. "Now I need to ask you a question."

"Okay."

"Have you thought about getting a job here?"

"A lot. Tray said that I don't have to work, but I think I wouldn't mind a part time job. I would feel weird using his money to buy him presents and stuff."

"Why don't you talk to Sam tonight when you go to Merlotte's? We need a new waitress right now, and you can tell him I sent you. I'll even call him ahead of time if you want."

"You're too nice, Sookie," Amelia said, but she was smiling.

Sookie helped Amelia carry the groceries inside, and then walked over to the garage with her to hear the verdict on her car.

"Did you two have fun?" Tray asked when he saw them walk in.

"Yes, we did," Amelia said, letting her husband pull her into a hug and kiss her.

"So what's the damage?" Sookie asked Tray.

"Your brake pads were really worn down, so I put new ones on. You were also due for an oil change, so I took care of that, which solved the weird engine noise issue."

"Well that's not so bad then," Sookie smiled. "What do I owe you?"

"I'd say an even seventy should cover it," Tray said, refusing to meet her eyeline, and repeating lalalalalalalalalala over and over in his head.

"Dammit Tray, that better at least cover the materials," Sookie warned.

"It does, I promise," he smiled, relieved she wasn't fighting him too hard.

Sookie got out her checkbook and wrote him out his payment.

"You're too good to me, Tray," she said as she handed him the check.

She said goodbye to the newlyweds, and drove her car home. By then it was almost two in the afternoon, so she gave Sam a call to let him know about hiring Amelia. He promised that he would talk to her about it, and asked how Sookie was coming along. She told him that she would be ready to go back to work by the weekend.

Sookie made herself a salad for lunch, and as she ate she thought about Amelia's advice. It really was good advice. She thought that Eric would be surprised, in a good way, and maybe they could kiss again. When she wasn't doing it, she thought kissing was a bit overrated, that people made it sound a lot better than it really was simply because everyone wants intimacy. But after kissing Eric, she found that it was perhaps a bit underrated. Kissing was something she wanted to do more of, a lot more of.

By the time the sun was setting, Sookie had made her decision, and she headed to her closet to find something nice to wear. She settled on a pretty white sundress that she hadn't worn in a while, and a cute pair of white pumps. After giving her hair some curl, and putting on a bit of makeup, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. As she was locking it, she heard someone coming up the stairs and gasped when she realized she couldn't read their mind. She whirled around in shock.

"Eric?"