After your first shift at the vampire-owned video store, you spent the next week in Sarah's house. December bled into January, and it just got colder. Christmas was nice, one of the better ones you had. It wouldn't start getting warm again until late February. You wouldn't go back to the store unless Pam or Eric called for you. That was what they said, anyway. You weren't rushing to go back, anyhow. You were just glad you got out of there with your blood still in your body. The customer hadn't been so lucky. But he was alive when you last saw him, so he wouldn't be on the kill count just yet. You hoped, anyway.

When you came home last month, you were shaken up, so you decided to take a walk before you came home to Sarah. You came home early from work anyway. After you calmed down and went inside, she asked about watching the movie Scream, "We forgot to watch it last night." She reminded you. And you felt bad for leaving it behind. But you almost died, so you hoped she would forgive you.

You told her you didn't feel good and then went to bed. After a few days, you were starting to feel better. Sarah helped a lot, she cooked for you and talked to you every day. You wondered if Pam and Eric gave you time on purpose. You'd have to thank them. If you didn't run away screaming first. You were not convinced that was a good plan, they'd probably have to kill you if you did that. When you woke up the day after meeting Eric, you convinced yourself it was all a dream. But after a month you were starting to process everything. Starting to realize everything is not what it seems. Maybe some of your family members were vampires. You'd have to ask Pam for a supernatural encyclopedia next time you went in for work. It didn't feel right to go, but you would for the money. And you didn't even know how much your paycheck would be. Hopefully, it'd be worth the trouble.

You woke up on Friday at about 3 in the morning, something you did more often because of nightmares. Eric frequented most of them, sometimes accompanied by Pam. It was dark outside when you left your room and took a shower. You got out in about 15 minutes and got dressed for the day, ready to work. They wouldn't mind if you came in early anyway. Before brushing your teeth, you went into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the wall. The video store's phone number was on the fridge, you dialed it. You were glad you woke up early, the sun would rise at 7, and you could ask some questions before they did whatever vampires do. You didn't think they slept.

Eric answered the phone for the first time, "This is Eric Northman." Not a good way to answer the phone, you thought with an exasperated sigh. He sounds casual.

"Hey, did you guys need me to come in today? It's been a while." You said, trying to sound just as casual. But your voice broke a little bit and you cringed. Embarrassing. You'd rather be embarrassed than terrified.

The vampire hums, taking a second to think, "You haven't told your roommate about us yet?" He sounded surprised. You sighed and realized he could probably hear it. You didn't care. The power of eavesdropping, lucky bastard. That would've been helpful for high school.

"If I did, I'd be in a mental hospital right now." You remarked dryly. He knew you were right, that's why it didn't matter whether you lived or died. Nobody would believe you anyway.

He let out a breath, you didn't know why. He didn't need to, "I guess that's true... See you soon." He hung up, leaving you to stand there nervous all over again. Felt like the first day of school. Eric was scarier than Pam. In more ways than one. Intimidating because of his fangs and tall frame, and because he's attractive. Your heart would've been hammering in your chest either way. After daydreaming for a while, you scribble out a note for Sarah, "Going to work, see you later."

You go into the bathroom to brush your teeth, wondering how your life would be different after all this. You don't dwell on it for long, turning off the bathroom light and grabbing your car keys off the coffee table. After a few minutes, you were ready to face the Lost Boys.

It's about six when you arrive at the store, the red Corvette is parked in the spot you usually park in. You grumble something about rich people under your breath and park next to it. Before you get out, you turn off the car and rest your head against the wheel, "Why did I start working here?" you wonder aloud to yourself. The money couldn't be that good. You'd just have to wait and see how many zeros were on that paycheck.

Before you can get out of the car, your door is opened. Whoever did it is taller than your car, you can't see their face yet. Your heart skips a beat, and you wonder if it's another Disney villain. Deciding it's probably Eric, you step out of the car and look up at him. He's a little more pale today, his cheekbones are high and sharp. He's practically wearing the same thing as last week, but his leather jacket is dark brown this time. Fashion icon. You offer him a smile that doesn't quite reach your eyes. He had enough manners to open a door for you, at least. 2 points to Lestat. Not enough manners to stop scaring you.

"Thanks." You force out, turning to reach into the car for your backpack. It's stowed underneath the glove box. You bend over, your hand touching one of the straps.

Eric opens the passenger door, grabbing the backpack right before you can. A menace or a gentleman, you didn't know. You smack your head on the top of your car in your surprise. He was right behind you a second ago, and you wondered if he could turn into a bat. If he hated garlic, if he burned in the sun, if he showed up in mirrors or not, photographs too. But you wanted to avoid offending him in some way. Pam would probably be more offended by the questioning.

He's right beside you again, your clue being the passenger door closing and a whoosh. You turn to him, half expecting his fangs to drop. They don't, "Um... Thank you." You repeat, taking one of the straps as he stretches the bag out to you. You sling the backpack over your shoulder and lock your car, stepping away from Eric to head inside. It was hard to look in his eyes for too long. And it would be hard to get used to his super-speed.

He places a hand on your shoulder and turns you around, looking into your eyes, "Did you tell anyone about me or Pam?" You curl your lip in disgust and brush his hand off your shoulder. He stiffens, not expecting your attitude, you guessed.

"You don't have to manhandle me to get me to tell you the truth. I didn't tell anyone your secret." You scoff at him, heading to the store's front door. Pushing open the door, you see Pam over by the counter watching TV. She's not dressed in black this time, today she's wearing a pink sweatsuit. Juicy Couture, you notice the logo. You wondered if vampires got cold. So you asked Pam.

She tells you as Eric walks in behind you, "We don't get cold, and we don't get warm." She says, simply, putting an end to your questions for her.

Eric moves to stand next to her and whispers into her ear. They look over at you a few times, and you sigh, wondering if all vampires act like teenagers, "I'm right here." You remind them, but they don't pay attention. They're too busy being rude and talking in another language. Something impolite to do around company. But Eric and Pam didn't care for manners at this point. They'd been alive too long.

After what felt like an eternity, Eric separates himself from Pam. Pam turns the little TV off and stands up, "I'm going to go have a snack, don't eat her without me." She calls before disappearing into the basement, smiling at you too wide. It made you nervous. Pam always seemed amused whenever anyone around her was in pain. Whether she was the cause or not.

Eric sits down behind the counter, you're standing across from him. Somehow still an inch or two shorter. His gaze is locked onto you, blue eyes cautious and curious. He bends down a bit to grab something from underneath the counter. You stiffen and get ready to defend yourself, your heart beating faster. Eric grabs whatever he needs and looks back up at you, an amused smirk on his lips. You realized he could probably hear your heart. And that made it beat even faster. He puts what he grabbed onto the counter, and you look down, it's the movie you forgot yesterday. Scream. The one you promised to watch with Sarah.

"Oh uh, sorry, I was watching it yesterday. I left in a hurry so I didn't get to... Take it with me." When he looks at you, it's a little hard to form words.

He doesn't say anything, opening the movie case and popping the disc out. You furrowed your brows, death by disc. That's creative. He turns on the TV and puts the disc into the DVD player, "Sit down." He says, patting the seat next to him behind the counter. You used that as a leg rest yesterday. The counter is long, so you wouldn't be too close to him. Not that you'd complain if you were, audibly, that is. When he tells you to sit, it isn't a suggestion, it's more of a command hidden within a casual tone. That seemed to be the way Eric operated.

You can tell you won't just be watching a movie. This seemed more like an interrogation. Not that it bothered you, the only person you talked to in a week was Sarah. It was getting lonely in her house. You'd take the chance to talk to anyone right about now. Even if they are a vampire. Eric starts the movie.

"Is that your Corvette outside?" You decided to ask questions before he did. It wasn't a good question, or you didn't think it was. You'd rather ask if he slept.

He looks over at you, amused, "Yes, that's my car." That made sense to you. Maybe he parked in your spot just to fuck with you.

"Can you turn into a bat?"

"No." This question amuses him more. He'd probably been asked that before. You cringed.

Eric sighs and turns to face you fully, "Before you ask any more questions, I'll tell you some things about us," he's looking down at you from his seat, "We sleep during the day, we drink blood to survive, and we can "glamour" humans." Your brain short-circuited, this was too much information for you. Especially after a week of calming yourself down. You rub your sweaty palms on your jeans. What the fuck is glamour?

"What the fuck is glamour?" You asked him, crossing your arms. The amusement in Eric's eyes is mostly gone, he looks serious now. You were more afraid of a humorous vampire than a serious one.

He explains it to you briefly, it's like seduction. He can look into the eyes of any human and get them to do anything he wants, "Is that what you tried to do to me earlier?" You were offended, but not surprised. But why didn't it work? You're just a regular person.

He raises his eyebrows in what you think is a surprise, "Yes, it didn't work. What are you?" His tone is accusatory, and his gaze pins you to your chair.

You hold your hands out in surrender, "I don't know, I just work here." You could never lie again in his presence. You knew you weren't a Disney villain like he was. But if you could resist his "glamour", you couldn't be human.

While Eric is asking you questions you don't know the answer to, Pam slips out the back door inside the basement. She wouldn't be having a snack just yet. When she got back, she'd grab the redneck from yesterday. He was chained up in Eric's office. 10 feet away from you. The collar of his shirt is covered in blood, it runs down his neck and chest. His trucker cap was thrown in the dumpster last night, it would be burned on Monday morning. He's secured to a chair with a nylon rope, it gives him rope burn. Two pairs of teeth marks are on either side of his neck. Pam passes Bubba on her way beyond the property line, he's guarding the store for them. Pam tells him there's a new human employee and he asks her for more kittens before she leaves. An Elvis-obsessed fan turned him while he was dead in the morgue. And now the vampires in the South take turns hiding him. But after being dead for so long, he had a little bit of brain damage. Got angry if you said his name. So everyone just called him Bubba.

"What happened to that guy that Pam..." You trail off, not knowing how to phrase it. Ate, drained. You didn't know the right term.

Eric leans back in his chair and looks at you, "The human that Pam was eating?" He says, blunt. The fluorescent lighting doesn't do this man justice. You breathe in deeply, not expecting that. Life was full of surprises lately. You nod at him, not trusting your voice.

He watches you carefully, "He's sitting in that office, tied up," And without looking away, he points to your right at a door at the end of the store. "Staff only" reads the sign plastered on the front of it. You haven't even been in there yet.

"So he's just your blood bag?" You couldn't help but scoff, feeling a little offended. Were you really that expendable? It'd probably be better to have a willing participant. You look back at Eric and he's still sitting casually, arms resting against the chair. Your question doesn't seem to bother him. He's probably been through this situation thousands of times.

"Not forever," He answers, taking in the horrified look on your face, "We'll heal the bites and glamour him." He says flippantly like it's not a big deal. You don't have enough energy to deal with vampires right now. Especially while a guy's tied up not even 20 feet away from you. You guessed you'd have to get used to this. It made you feel kind of helpless. Calling the police was a real option, but so was being called crazy. And that's exactly what would happen. You didn't think it was wise to be yelling about vampires. He would probably find out if you did. He said as much last week.

With your head tilted, you eye him with distaste, "Is that a common thing y'all do?" You asked, even though you already knew the answer. Of course, it's fast food. You knew you shouldn't joke about that stuff, but it was a part of your life now. Unfortunately.

"Yes, it's easier than killing them. Stealing blood from hospitals hasn't worked in our favor." You supposed that made sense. Maybe the government knew about vampires. It didn't seem impossible. How could they not know, or at least be suspicious? You don't say anything else to Eric. You sit quietly and try to watch the movie. Drew Barrymore was already dead, both of you weren't paying enough attention. You hoped he would watch it again. Vampire or not, that movie was good.

After an awkward hour and a half, Eric goes into his office. You shiver when you imagine what's happening in there. He comes out of the office 10 minutes later, peeling off his jacket. There's no blood on him, you're surprised. I guess he's not a messy eater. Your morbid thoughts were getting worse every day. Can vampires eat food? You couldn't stop theorizing about them. With so few answers, it was hard not to.

While you chastised yourself for your insane thoughts, Pam arrives at Sarah's house. She knocks on the door, impatiently crossing her arms. It swings open and she walks in past Sarah. She sits down on the couch with a sigh of exasperation.

"She knows," Pam says, looking up at Sarah from her spot on the couch.

Eric and Pam go to bed at about 6, you tell them you'll leave at noon. They wish you would've started your shift later. You weren't even working the day shift in its entirety anymore and it had been a week.

When you leave, you almost fall asleep on your way home. You knew your sleep schedule would get worse, so when you arrived home you went straight to bed. Knowing you'd wake up later that night.