Hello my dearest readers! I thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and feedback. I'm really glad that people actually take the time to do that :)
I wanted to explain a little something before letting you go with this chapter: I decided that my Eric would live in a penthouse (yeah yeah tacky you might say) but here's why: his real home, the 'windy shithole' as Pam graciously refers to it, is in Sweden, in Erland (Öland) and I don't think Eric could feel at home in any other house, hence me making him live in a penthouse, sort of suspended in the sky. So here's for the little explanation lol I've read plenty of fanfictions that depicted Eric's home in many different ways and I wanted mine to be original and different :P
So I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. I do think that I'll try to draw a close to my 'fourth season' in half a dozen chapters or so and then I might go on with my take on the fifth season.
HUGS AND KISSES! here's a little music to entertain you all!
BTW i almost forgot, Sookie gets mighty pissed in this chapter. I do believe even sweet Anna Paquin could turn into major bitch if the situation requested it :P here it did :D taaadaaaaaaa.
My writing here was inspired by Massive Attack :) LOVE Massive Attack. But also others. Give a try to these songs!
- Paradise Circus -Massive Attack (Remixed by Gui Boratto) (very loungy sexy feel to it :))
- Angel- Massive Attack
- Boom Boom Ba - Métisse
- Painted on My Heart - The Cult
ENJOY AND REVIEW :) xooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
My fingers reached for Eric's. He squeezed them gently and his fangs popped out. He was shielding me with his body. I took the time to take in the sight of the Queen. She looked a lot younger than I would have expected. She must have been no more than nineteen or twenty when she was turned and she dressed as a woman of twice that age. I guessed it had something to do with the fact she was Queen. Her hair was a flaming red and professionally curled and she had on some very fancy makeup. She was wearing a dress underneath her fur coat and it was a dark lace. She had a string of pearls at her neck and pearl earrings as well as a clutch with little diamonds on it in her hand. She looked utterly amused by the fact that her minions had just murdered a couple of humans and created chaos in Eric's bar. She looked around the place and snickered.
'This place is hideous. I really don't get what you find so amusing in this masquerade.' She scoffed at Eric. He simply tensed next to me. He didn't like her criticising openly his bar, obviously.
'My Queen, what owes me the pleasure?' He simply growled, his fangs still out. She had after all openly provoked him.
'You know how sexy I find those fangs of yours, Eric, but I'd much rather you kept them in your mouth for the time being.' She snarled, a sly grin on her face. Her lips were bright red, almost the same tint as her hair. 'Now I am here because I believe you have something of mine.' She said. She turned to me and smiled at me. 'My pet fae.'
'I'm no one's pet you bitch!' I snarled at her, my temper flaring. Who the hell did she think she was? Maybe vampires had some sort of respect for their hierarchy, but I certainly didn't care if she was Queen of anything at all. I was no one's pet and never would be.
'She's got quite the temper, doesn't she?' Sophie-Anne said, looking at one of her minions. The man she was talking to, or should I say Vampire, was quite the scary sight. He was as young as her and blond of hair. He looked almost like a child but he was very, very scary. His eyes bore into mine with a hunger I had never seen on a vampire.
'I believe you've had the pleasure of meeting Andre, Eric?' Sophie-Anne said, smirking.
'Sadly, yes.' Eric muttered, staring at the young man.
'The pleasure was all his I can assure you.' Andre said, frowning. He took a step forward towards me but Eric was faster. Before I knew it, Pam and him were in front of me, fangs bared, growling.
'Oh don't tell me that you too are infatuated with the little fairy! Eric, I warned you against drinking her blood.' Sophie-Anne said, provocative. Eric hissed at her.
'She has a name, and it's Sookie. And she is mine. Whatever you might have thought you were going to do with her now that Bill is out in fucking Peru doing whatever the fuck he's doing for you, you can't go against the oldest of our laws.' Eric snapped at her, his chest heaving with anger. Through the bond I could feel his anger, but also the fact that he was turned on. I didn't grasp very well why he'd be turned on by the situation but I simply shrugged. Whatever. Violence and sex seemed to trigger the same feelings for vampires.
'But I can order you to give her to me.' Sophie-Anne replied, bored.
'I'm not a thing you can pass around!' I snapped at her, stepping aside from Pam and Eric to face her. She approached me, carefully eyeing Eric in the corner of her eyes to make sure he'd let her inspect me all she wanted. She took in the sight of my braless top and sniffed me out.
'He really is infatuated with you, isn't he?' She whispered at me, a grin on her lips. 'I can't blame you to prefer him to Compton. I must admit, even though I do prefer women, that our Mr Northman does have undeniable charms. If sex with man was enjoyable at all, I'm sure I would love fucking him.' She mused. She gently took a strand of my hair and smelled it, her eyes closing in delight.
'And I certainly can't blame you for fucking her and drinking her blood, Eric. She does smell quite wonderful. And isn't she the pretty sight.' She added, caressing my cheek. I didn't move, afraid of her reaction if I tried to step back. I felt Eric's fingers grasp mine and I turned my head to look at him.
Whatever you do, Sookie, don't show her that you are afraid. And trust me, whatever I might do, trust me…
He was thinking at me. And I had heard him. I looked at him intently and nodded slightly to show him I had understood. Sophie-Anne was looking at us, puzzled.
'So, will we be discussing this all night or will you just let me have my fae?' Sophie-Anne said, looking at Andre over her shoulder, a smirk on her face. 'Or I can order my minions to kill every single one of you. I'll blame it on… your insubordinate actions.'
'I'm afraid I can't surrender her to you for the moment, My Liege.' Eric snarled.
'And why is that, Eric?'
'Let's just say Sookie and I come in a package deal right now. So if you want her with you, I'm afraid I'll have to come with you too.' At Eric's words, Andre yapped in displeasure.
'I HATE him, Sophie-Anne, he's terrible. I don't want him in New Orleans with us!' He said to Sophie-Anne, looking at Eric with disgust. Well fuck me, I didn't understand what this was supposed to mean.
'Get over it, Andre, the man took your lover from you what, two centuries ago? Jesus, the man is such a relic sometimes.' Sophie-Anne scoffed, her words directed to Eric. I wasn't sure who the relic was to her since I knew for a fact she was younger than Eric by a good three or four centuries. I decided to ignore that. That and the fact Eric had stolen a lover from Andre. Both of them having the same taste in women surprised me enough but I wasn't going to have a fit of jealousy just yet. There were others matters at hand. The bar was by now empty apart from us and the bodies of the unfortunate humans who had suffered Sophie-Anne's minions' wrath. I turned back my attention to the matters at hand.
'So why is it exactly that I should have to take you along with my fairy?' Sophie-Anne snarled, wrinkling her nose at Eric. I turned to look at Pam and see how she reacted to all this. I was rather surprised to find her smirking. She found her Queen to be quite the amusing bunch.
'Because we are cursed.' Eric replied, matter-of-factly.
'What the hell? Can't you stay away from trouble? Last time the fucking maenad, now witches? What is up with fucking Renard Parish and its insipid inhabitants!' Sophie-Anne swore.
'It's not me who can't stay away from trouble, it's trouble that can't stay away from me. Seems even trouble likes my good looks.' Eric joked, coldly. Sophie-Anne almost smirked.
'What kind of a curse have they put on you?' Sophie-Anne asked, arching a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
'If I knew I'd have gotten rid of it by now, don't you think? All we know for sure is that she has to stay with me.' Eric said, dragging me to him, moulding our bodies in a way that vividly reminded me of our earlier fumbling in his car.
'So I have a choice to have you and her or nothing, is that it? Well I'm not pleased at all, Eric, not at all. I don't want you in New Orleans! Although I sure wouldn't mind watching you having sex, it must be quite a sight after all, I don't want you seducing all my humans away from me!' Sophie-Anne hissed. 'Plus, you suck at Yah-tzee.'
'I thought you would show more understanding especially since we got you rid of that insipid husband of yours…' Eric mused, one of his hands possessively draped around my hip, the other lost in my hair.
'Yes I did forget to thank you for disposing of Russell. The man was trite and overall disgusting. But that doesn't change anything to our current predicament. I want my fairy.' She continued, stepping towards the entwined figure Eric and I formed. My breath was ragged. It happened whenever I was this close to Eric. He caressed my hair softly.
Relax, lover, I won't allow her to hurt you…
I craned my neck to look in his eyes. He stared down at me. There was an hint of a grin on his handsome face.
'Eric, you look like a lovesick puppy. Please stop at once, it makes me want to hurl.' Sophie-Anne snapped, wrinkling her nose at us in disgust. 'I am quite surprised that you'd act like this. It must be her blood. You told me before that you didn't love humans, couldn't love them. Nor should you, for all I know, humans are food and companionship, not lovers or equals.'
'Aye but she's not human now is she?' Pam said, stepping forward. She looked like a feline, predatory and dangerous, yet in equal parts, very seductive.
'True.' Sophie-Anne said, eyeing Pam with delight. Pam cocked an eyebrow at her and stepped forward once more, her hand caressing Sophie-Anne's arm softly. Sophie-Anne did not budge even though she was Queen and her inferior was now touching her. Instead, she turned away from us completely to devote all her attention to Pam.
'You are quite the sight' Sophie-Anne said, her voice now a soft seductive purr. 'I can see what fascinated Eric enough for him to turn you. You are very loyal aren't you?' She continued, baring her teeth in a sexy smile.
'As a dog.' Pam replied, snarling softly, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
'What a shame, I'd enjoy having sex with you.' Sophie-Anne said, bluntly. I would have been shocked by her straightforwardness had I not gotten used to vampires acting this way. 'I suppose you wouldn't want to join me in New Orleans?' the Queen asked, still in awe with Pam.
'Not in a thousand years, darling.' Pam sneered, a smirk on her perfectly painted lips.
'Pity.' Sophie-Anne replied. She then turned back to us. The entire time, Andre had been staring at his shoes, obviously in downtime. He was now staring at me with hunger once more.
'Can we go?' he whined at Sophie-Anne. 'I'm getting bored and I'd really love to snack before we go back home.' He said. Obviously he intended me to be his snack. I felt a growl ripple through Eric's chest.
'Now, now, no need for the growls, Eric. Andre won't have your fairy as a snack.' Sophie-Anne muttered, eyeing me with contempt. 'What do you suggest we do, Eric, if you cannot part from the little telepath?' She asked Eric. His grip tightened on me.
'I will deal with the curse and when we are not bound by it anymore, we will go down to New Orleans to decide of our future arrangements.' Eric said. I was at first baffled by his promise, but then I remembered he had asked me to trust him. So I did.
'We will.' I said, my voice clear and loud.
'I don't like that plan.' Sophie-Anne sighed, fondling with her pearl necklace. 'How do I know you won't cross me?' She asked Eric.
'You are my Queen. I could never cross my Queen. I never have. Not even when my head hung in the balance.' Eric said. 'Not even when you decided to sell your blood.' He taunted her. She snarled and was about to pounce. Eric let go of me and the next thing I knew, Sophie-Anne was on him and they were sprawled on the floor.
'How dare you provoke me this way! I should really have your fangs, disobedient boy!' Sophie-Anne growled, her hand on Eric's jaw. She was grinding on him and she looked as if she was really enjoying the moment. Before I could say a word, she pressed to his bare chest the blade of a silver knife she'd had in that tiny clutch of hers. Eric hissed at the pain the blade was causing him.
'You whore.' He grunted, panting. His fangs were bared and through the bond I felt how aroused this whole situation made him. He wasn't afraid because he knew he could kill her in the blink of an eye if he wanted to, but he knew better than to risk Pam's life or mine. So he remained under her as she grinded his hips, her breasts pressed to his now bare and bloodied chest as she issed in his ear.
'Oh Eric, Eric, Eric… I told you not to provoke me. You might be older than I but silver hurts like a bitch however old you are.' Sophie-Anne snickered in his ear, her mouth taking his for a disgustingly lustful kiss. He growled but surprisingly enough he didn't push her away.
I felt anger sear through me. Now I was mighty pissed. She had no right to touch the man I loved this way. And she was hurting him. I jumped on her and pulled her off Eric, causing her to topple on her back. The knife flew out of her hand and she seemed genuinely surprised. She'd been obviously too lost in her sick pleasures to react in time. I straddled her and she was about to throw me off her to send me flying across the bar when the incredible happened. It felt as if there was a ball of energy oozing from my hand. I didn't touch her yet because I had seen the effects of that before. I however directed it to her face so she'd see I meant business and glared at her. She was stunned silent and eyed my hand fearfully. Obviously she hadn't known what fairies could do when they were mighty pissed. Well too bad for her.
'Don't you fucking touch Eric. Or I swear I'll kill you.' I hissed at her, stepping off her.
'You are quite funny.' She hissed, a tiny grin on her lips as she sat up.
'Or I'll simply wipe that smile off your face.' I snarled back, my hand still blaring a blinding white light. My, my, I was turning into a little tiger. Sophie-Anne looked more afraid of being disfigured (even though she'd heal) than dying. She was definitely nuts.
Eric stared at me dumbfounded. He was still lying on the ground and was prompted on his elbow, looking at my hand which was now almost back to its normal state and then at Sophie-Anne. He then took in the sight of the vampires all around the room. All were looking with wide eyes at me. Geez Louise, I had just surprised vampires. I kneeled next to Eric and took his hand, helping him up even though I was no help at all. Oh well, too bad.
'How did you do that?' He whispered to me, baffled.
'Oh I've got skills you can't even dream of, cowboy.' I said, cocky. Sophie-Anne was back on her feet by now which was a bloody miracle judging on the shoes she was wearing: the pumps were at least six inches high.
Sophie-Anne seemed at loss for words. She looked at me with a newfound respect. If that meant anything at all.
'I'll still be wanting my fairy.' She finally muttered to Eric. 'But I guess we can wait for you to visit us in New Orleans.' She completed, retreating towards an equally stunned Andre. Her minions were now standing near the door, reading to run if I decided to stun them with my super powers. I had never thought vampires would cower in my presence.
'Oh and one more thing.' I hissed at her. 'Don't you dare touch my cousin Hadley or her son.' She cocked an eyebrow at me and turned her back on us before walking out of the bar with Andre at her side. He glanced at me over his shoulder before he passed the door.
I breathed better the moment we were alone, Pam, Eric and I. We were safe for now but it wouldn't last.
'How did you do that Sookie?' Pam asked, amused more than surprised.
'I have no bloody idea. It happens without reason when I'm mighty pissed.' I shrugged, looking at Eric.
'I'll be sure not to piss you off then.' Pam added, smirking.
I walked to Eric and pulled his face down for a hungry kiss. I felt as if I had to wash away from his lips the taste of Sophie-Anne. He kissed me with equal fervour and soon I was like putty in his hands from how skilled his mouth was. I left his lips to kiss my way down his neck and on his chest where the wound Sophie-Anne had given him was starting to close. He moaned. Not from pain, I could tell because of the bond. And the fact that his length was anything but subtle. Something to do with the size of the thing. Eric pulled my chin up and glared at me, his eyes full of somewhat controlled lust.
'Don't ever do that again. Ever you understand me? You could have gotten yourself killed!' He scolded me, like he would have done a child.
'I couldn't stand her touching you.' I grumbled as an excuse. I noticed Pam left the room at that moment and I turned to Eric, jutting my chin up, defying him to respond anything to that. 'I can't believe you'd let her touch you.' I hissed, my fingers entwined in the loops of his jeans.
'Jealous, are we?' He whispered to me, seductively wrapping his big hands around my waist to pull me to him. He plumped me on the bar so that our faces were levelled. He spread my knees and slip in between my legs, pressing himself to me.
'I don't like imagining other women touching you. Let alone watching them. Especially not her.' I pouted, caressing his cheek with my fingers. He stared in my eyes, his gaze filled in equal parts with lust and pride. 'Can we go back home now?' I whined. I was tired as hell. I'd had quite the busy night and I was more than ready to go to bed, safe and sound. Plus, the night was coming to an end and I didn't feel like spending the day at Fangtasia. I looked at the bodies sprawled on the floor and was disgusted at myself for not caring more. All I wanted now was to go to bed.
'You're place isn't safe right now. Sophie-Anne isn't known to keep her word.' Eric whispered, his mouth fluttering over my jugular. The caress of his lips sent shivers down my spine and I involuntarily arched towards him.
'Than where will I sleep? In the basement?' I managed to breathe, sarcastic.
'At my place.' He replied, taking my bottom lip between his and gently sucking at it. My eyes snapped open and I gazed at him. He let go of my lip, keeping our faces less than an inch apart.
'Your home?' I asked, cocking my head to the side.
'Yes. Surely you didn't think I lived here now did you?' He asked, a small smile on his lips. I grinned and kissed him softly before answering. I had a sudden flash of how hard the withdrawal would be on me. I was becoming addicted to him.
'Take me to your place then.' I said to him. He lifted me in his arms, my thighs still wrapped around his hips and I held on to his neck for support. We passed a very amused Pam on our way out and she fluttered her fingers at me in a gracefully goodbye before she was out of my view, taking care of the mess, no doubt, and we were back on the parking. Eric almost barged into his car, taking only a second to shove me in the passenger seat and off the lot we zoomed and into the night. He drove fast as if we had hell after us.
'What's the rush?' I asked him, my brow furrowed questioningly.
'I can't wait to make love to you on my bed.' He answered, his fangs drawn at the thought. I blushed and hit him playfully on the arm.
'Don't we have other business to attend to?' I asked, referring to all the trouble we were in. His cell phone than rang and he picked up.
It was Alcide. He was calling to let us know Hunter was safely home with his father Remy who would be calling me in a few weeks to talk about Hunter. I sighed with relief. Eric then informed him of the advancement in the witch situation and promised to keep him informed the next night. And then I got Eric's attention back.
'Shouldn't we be trying to do something useful?' I asked, my hand on his arm which tensed every time he switched the speed on the Corvette.
'It's almost dawn and right now, all I feel like doing is fucking you till you beg me to stop.' He replied. I shuddered all over. Through the bond I could feel his arousal almost being thrown at me. I touched his skin and got a flood of very unchristian images that made me gasp. Very unchristian images. That still made me blush and want him more.
'You are so naughty, Eric Northman!' I yelped. He glanced at me and grinned.
'No fair, Miss Stackhouse, how can I surprise you if you see all my schemes in advance?'
I turned my attention back to the road and tried to concentrate on something else than his intoxicating presence. My entire body was yearning for him and my panties were probably soaked through by my arousal. I wanted him that bad. Suddenly Eric's car turned towards an underground garage door. We were in a busy part of Shreveport (by day, I guessed since it looked like downtown) but right now it was mostly deserted. We were at the foot of a very tall building.
'What are we doing here?' I asked, surprised.
'I live here.' He replied. The garage doors opened and he sped in the underground parking lot to a section which was empty apart from a few sports cars and a beautiful convertible.
'Nice rides.' I breathed. Jason would have loved to try one of those, I thought with a pang of sadness. My brother was still missing and I had yet to hear from Andy Bellefleur and his investigations on the matter.
'You can try them any time you like.' Eric said, cocky. I stared at him in disbelief. 'They're all mine.' He explained, obviously confused as to why I was looking so surprised.
'Why do you only ride this one if you have all of these?' I asked.
'They are a bit too flashy for Renard Parish don't you think?' He teased.
'Because a Corvette is your way to blend in, of course.' I replied, a grin on my lips.
'I'm simply nostalgic for the fifties, my love.' Eric replied.
'Of course.' I teased back. He grabbed my face with his hand in a gesture both sweet and commanding and brought my lips to his for yet another searing kiss. When he finally let go of my lips, we both slid out of the car and I looked at his cars. They were all worth more than my house. I pouted.
'Are you going to give me a tour?' I asked him as we walked to the elevator shaft.
'Anything you want, my love.' He whispered to me.
'What floor?' I asked. He simply pressed the PH button. Of course. Where would Eric live if not the Penthouse? I found it a curious choice for a vampire since they so feared the sun. As the legends had it, I would have believed he'd have lived in a dark gothic manor in the forest. Instead, he lived in one of the most luxurious apartment towers of Shreveport.
The elevator ride was tense. I could tell he wanted to take me right up against the elevator's wall, and I wouldn't have stopped him. But I was rather curious as to what his home looked like. When the doors of the elevator whooshed open, it dawn on me: he owned the entire floor. I stared in disbelief at the room we were standing in. Most of the outside walls were windows, that were tinted so dark it was hard to see outside. Eric turned on some lights. The middle of the cathedral-ceiling room was taken up by a very modern four-sided granite fireplace which roared to life with the click of a switch. The entire floor was a dark ebony wood and covered here and there with plush carpets of the finest cream wool. The furniture was equally modern and low sofas literally littered the room which was enormous. One of the inside walls was covered with books. Rows and rows and rows. There must have been there more books than I could ever read even if I lived a hundred years and spent all my time reading.
'I've read them all.' Eric answered my silent question. I smiled at him and continued exploring. He plumped down on one of the cream sofas where were splattered blood-red cushions and seemed to relax, enjoying the fire and my discovering of his place. Even though everything felt very modern in the house, the tables were covered with mismatched objects that looked anything but modern. There were baroque jewels that seemed to date back from the middle ages, beautiful swords, knives, trinkets of all sorts. They were Eric's treasures, I could tell. My fingers grazed the engraved handle of a particularly beautiful sword with a beautiful stone set on its sheath.
'My father's.' Eric said, his voice low and calm.
'It's beautiful.' I whispered.
However grandiose the room was, I still felt very cozy in it. Perhaps it was due to Eric's presence, or simply because the entire thing felt so much like him. Equal parts of aged and ancient mixed with modern and edgy. My toes sunk with delight in the plush carpets as I approached Eric.
'Show me the rest.' I asked him, grabbing his hand. We continued our exploration, Eric leading me from one room to the next, allowing me to delight in the beauty of the whole. He had somewhat peculiar tastes in the choice of colour, most being vibrantly contrasting such as his cream couches with crimson cushions, but the furniture was elegant and obviously expensive. He surprised me by the fact he had a kitchen, and a beautiful one at that. He also had the most beautiful bathroom I'd seen in my lifetime. It was quite a sight for a Bon Temps girl to see a spa in a bathroom.
'The windows?' I asked, pointing to the dark glass.
'Sun proof for the daytime. But you can still see a bit outside. Not much, but enough so that the view isn't lost.' He said, his voice a low purr. He grabbed me and kissed me hungrily before showing me the terrace. It overlooked the entire city and there was a narrow but very long pool on it. Its water looked warm and inviting in the chilly air of this November night.
'You like to swim?' I asked him, curious. I remembered this one and only time my parents had brought Jason and I to the beach and how at home I'd felt with the sun and sea. I loved swimming.
'Yes. Reminds me of my human childhood.' He replied. He cuddled me to his bare torso where the wound had now disappeared, trying to warm me up. Even though his skin was far from a warm temperature, his simple touch made my own temperature zoom a few degrees higher. He pressed my chest to his own and laughed softly.
'Are you cold, Sookie?' He teased, referring to my erect nipples. I playfully slapped his hands away and continued in my exploration of his magnificent penthouse.
He had a room full of DVDs and a huge screen resembling that of a movie house. I cooed in delight when I spotted my favourite movie, Gone with The Wind.
'I take it you like Scarlett O'Hara?' he teased me, dropping the DVD back in its place before pulling me in his arms.
'Enough of my humble household. I want to show you the pièce de résistance.' He whispered in my ear seductively.
'Humble household?' I scoffed. 'There's nothing humble about you.' I whispered back to him, my hand on the fly of his jeans, feeling the bulge his length made there. 'Especially not here.' I continued, my lips on his neck, sucking gently at the skin.
He moaned and literally dragged me to the last room. His bedroom. The door was dark wood. When he opened it, I couldn't help but sigh. The room was gorgeous and cosy and warm and inviting. The king bed took up most of the center. It was low and covered in the thickest bedspread in a darker cream colour. Throw pillows were everywhere in all shades of turquoise and gold. One of the walls was draped with thick golden curtains and I guessed that behind was a wall-full of windows. A door opened on one wall but I had very little time to inquire as to what stood behind it. The moment I was done taking in the comfortable air of glamour the whole room held, Eric was all over me, kissing every accessible inch of skin from my cleavage to my hair. I moaned softly. The sight of the bed had reminded me how tired I was.
'Eric, I'm so tired.' I whispered softly, pulling his head up so I could look him in the eyes.
'I'll be gentle.' He whispered back, his lips demanding and yet surprisingly soft. His hand slid up under my shirt and removed it. We were now both shirtless and the feeling of his chiselled chest on my bare breasts made me whimper.
'Don't be too gentle.' I moaned in his ear, my nails digging in the skin of his shoulder blades as he pushed me down on the bed. This man could definitely make me swoon.
'Your wish is my command, my love.' He said to me, tugging at my hair as he unzipped my pants.