[FIC] (True Blood) Into the Wolf Den
Title: Into the Wolf Den
Rating: G
Pairing/Characters: Eric Northman/Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood TV)
Word Count: ~4000
Disclaimer: The following story is untrue and I am only borrowing the names and in no way does this story reflect the characters from the TV series or the book series, nor am I making any profit off of this.
Summary: Sookie turns to Eric for help when Bill goes missing.
Spoiler: Up to Season 2 of TV series.
Author's Note: This is the tamest I've ever written something. Also, I totally didn't know about the movie (and little red riding hood) until my beta brought it up. Good times. Written for eric_sookie's Halloween Fic-Exchange with requested by latenightvoices. Originally posted here. Beta'd by roguemouse.
Sookie thanks the Lord that her phone still has batteries when she pulls it out from her clutch.
“Tara, Tara, please pick up!” Sookie says into the phone as she paces back and forth in the empty restaurant.
*
A honk from the outside knocks Sookie out from her reverie. Her mind has been running at a thousand miles an hour while waiting for Tara.
“Sookie!” Tara yells as she exits her car and runs towards Sookie. “What happened?”
“I don’t know!” She stammers and lets herself be embraced by her best friend. “One minute Bill and I were having dinner and I went to the washroom. I come back and he’s gone! The place was a mess with broken furniture everywhere and Bill was gone! I don’t know Tara! Who would take him? Let’s just... get out of here. I don’t want to think about what would happen if they came back again.”
Tara only nods and leads Sookie back to her car. “I agree,” she scans the surrounding area. “Let’s get you home.”
*
Sookie hates feeling like this; she’s stronger than feeling this helpless. Usually Bill is there to help her through anything, but who’s to help her when Bill is the one in trouble?
Well, the back of her mind notes, there is someone who you can turn to. She shakes her head vehemently. She is going to avoid that until she has no one else to turn to. Her last resort. What about Sam? He knows what’s going on around here, right? And not to mention Bill saved his life.
If a vampire is kidnapped, who do the kidnappers call for ransom? With Godric, the vampires rushed to help him. Who would go and save Bill? Certainly not Lorena. Sookie never wants to see that b-, her, again. Good riddance to that.
She’s going to give it a few nights. Maybe all they want is to question Bill and he’ll return in no time. If not, she has to go see him. As a last resort, Sookie reminds herself.
*
“Sam? I’m sorry to bother you, but have you heard anything about Bill? I’m really worried. It’s been three nights and Bill hasn’t contacted me.” A desperate Sookie means she’s going to try anything and everything to find any traces of Bill. She’s lost him once and it nearly killed her. She’s not going to let him die again. Especially not after... she looks at the ring on her left hand.
“Sorry, Sookie. You know I always stay away from the supernatural things, especially now after the thing with Mary Ann. It’s best for me to keep a low profile for awhile.”
Sookie nods as if Sam could see her. “I understand. Thanks, Sam.” She walks towards to the receiver, ready to hang up the phone.
“Why don’t you come in for the day shift tomorrow instead? That’ll give you the time to, you know,” Sam trails off.
Sookie knows what Sam meant right away. She hates that even Sam knows she has no one else to turn to. “Again, thank you Sam. That’s very generous of you. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“You take care of yourself, Sook.”
Sookie places the phone back on its receiver. She wishes that Gran was here. She would know what to do. If not, at least she’d be comforting her granddaughter right now. The house just isn’t the same without her.
*
Sookie puts on a brave face and a smile as bright as the sun shining down on Bon Temps. She walks into the now cleaned up and in construction Merlotte’s. Sookie can see why Sam would want to stay out of the vampire/supernatural business, and she can’t fault him for that. If only she too knew better, she would be saving herself a lot of heartbreak, and not to mention a lot of bruises and broken bones. She shakes her head to clear out those negative thoughts. No, they won’t do at all. She left the ring at home. She doesn’t need more drama in her life right now.
“Sookie, what are you doing here?” Arlene asks, while holding a case of ketchup or something heavy in her hands.
Sookie frowns. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t have kids to take for trick or treat. I had to beg Sam for the day shift.” She eyes her friend skeptically.
Sookie blinks. Oh? Oh! “It’s Halloween already?” Whoops, she doesn’t mean for that to slip out.
“Hon, are you feeling okay? Look around you! Merlotte’s is filled with Halloween decorations. If I remember correctly, you were here putting them up too.” Arlene shakes her head and walks away, leaving Sookie by herself.
Since it is Halloween, only the few usual handfuls of patrons are having lunch at the bar, meaning Sookie’s shift drags on forever. They’re all probably getting stuff done last minute. Typical.
Finally, Sookie is standing in front of her closet contemplating on her outfit. She shivers at a random breeze of cold air running through her room. She needs to get out of the wet towel soon or else she’s going to catch a cold. Her eyes scan the clothes in her closet and she sighs.
Costume or not?
She tries to conjure up Eric’s reaction to a normal outfit (his look of dismay) or a costume (his wolfish grin and probably his vampire teeth showing). She is leaning towards a normal outfit just to see Eric’s disappointment, but on the other hand, she needs his help and she can’t afford be to be on his bad side - not that she wants to be on Eric’s any side.
*
The wheels squeak as she pulls her car into the Fangtasia parking lot. There are surprisingly a lot of cars here tonight. But then again Sookie rolls her eyes and almost says duh aloud. It is Halloween. What better way to spend it than seeing real vampires? For the past few years she hasn’t celebrated much other than working at Merlotte’s - busy nights and whatever her Gran cooks up for her.
Sookie tugs on her costume, pulling up the hood and checking on her make up in the mirror before leaving the car. Thankfully, the Louisiana night is still warm enough. She smiles awkwardly at the other patrons who are lining up behind her. They all certainly have... interesting costumes on. She averts her gaze to the eye level.
“Sookie!”
At hearing her name, Sookie sticks her head out of the line and looks around.
“Sookie!”
Her head darts to the front, from where she assumes the voice is coming from. She finds Pam, who looks both happy to see her but also looks bored out of her mind. Pam waves down Sookie and Sookie shakes her head. Only when Pam crosses her arms and stops letting people inside does Sookie finally gives in and leaves the line for the front.
“Happy?” Sookie plants herself in front of the podium and starts to pull out her wallet.
“Very,” Pam smirks. “No. put your money away. You’re a special guest to Fangtasia.” Pam makes a noise as she scans Sookie up and down. “Good! Very good. You wore a costume too. Eric will be very pleased.”
Sookie can only stare at Pam. So... wearing a costume was a mistake. “You’re holding the line, darling,” Pam notes. Sookie can only glare at the vampire before being ushered inside.
She doesn’t know what to expect, really. Decoration-wise, the inside actually looks similar to Merlotte’s,... though multiply that by a hundred. And you’ll end up with Fangtasia.
“Do you like it?” Pam asks.
Sookie almost curses herself for jumping at the noise; the “vampires moving silently” thing is still new to her. And she assumes Pam went back to collect covers outside. “It’s great, Pam,” Sookie answers meekly. Not that she can answer any differently - you can’t make the vampires angry when you’re going to ask for a favour.
“So,” Sookie starts, trying not to outright ask for Eric. “What are you supposed to be?”
Pam raises an eyebrow. “You don’t see it?” She takes a step back and twirls around. “Now do you see it?”
Sookie’s eyes darts around. It seems like the patrons at Fangtasia are all gawking at Pam. “Um, school teacher?” Wait, why is she here wasting her time here with Pam? She has more important things to worry about than guessing what Pam’s costume is supposed to be - not to mention how revealing it is. “Never mind about that, I’m here for Eric. Do you know where he is?”
“You’re here for Eric? He’ll be out soon, probably just fussing over his outfit. What do you need Eric for?”
“Um, I prefer talking to Eric about this first, if you don’t mind.”
Pam doesn’t seem to take offense as she just laughs. “If that’s what you want.”
Sookie just nods and smiles. She finds herself standing when she should have found a seat. All the patrons in the room seem to be holding their breaths as all their eyes turn to the looming figure walking to his throne.
Sookie, much like everyone else, is gawking at one Eric Northman dressed in his native form - a Viking. Even though the outfit is conservative, with a chainmail, fur piece as cape and a sword, Eric is still breathtaking. He even swishes the cape around before sitting down on his seat.
Someone sure knew how to make an entrance. Sookie rolls her eyes but with a soft smile on her face. She scans the room to find the others are still staring, some even with their mouths wide open. Oh come on, she mouths, then marches up to Eric and his throne. “Eric.”
“Sookie,” Eric beams. “You’re here. I knew you’d come to your senses sooner or later. Sit,” he gestures to the table and chairs for “honoured guests”.
She eyes the chair but sits down anyway. “That is not what I’m here for.”
Eric raises one of his eyebrows in amusement. “Humour me.”
Sookie swallows her disgust in what she is about to do. “I need your help.” She almost pauses to wait for a response but she can’t with the way Eric’s grin is widening by the second and his hands clasping together, probably already plotting something, since the word help - make that need - escaped Sookie’s lips. “I need you to find Bill.”
Eric’s demeanor doesn’t change at the mention of the other vampire. “Billy boy? Why do you need to look for Bill?”
You must not be a good Sheriff if you didn’t know a vampire in your area was missing. Sookie straightens up. “He’s been taken. We were having dinner at this restaurant. I excused myself from the table and when I came back, he was gone. He didn’t leave on his own because there was broken furniture everywhere. Don’t you dare tell me he didn’t get taken.”
“Sookie, I can never turn down your request, especially not on Halloween. How about this - I’ll get back to you when I have news. Is that good for you?”
That’s it? He agreed without any hesitation or requests. “That’s,” Sookie nodded. “That’s acceptable. I can’t ask for anything better, I guess.”
“Good. Now will you go and enjoy yourself. Drinks are on the house for our friend here,” Eric said to Sookie and tilted his head to the newly replaced girl behind the bar.
“Eric, I should be going. I still have a shift at Merlotte’s. They’re really bus tonight.”
“You’re obviously not telling the truth. You didn’t get all dressed up to go back to that... place to serve refreshment and food. Stay.
“We have, what’s that called again? Open Mic. You must stay for that. We tried it last year and it was a hit with the humans.” Eric motioned at a waitress, bring her a drink
“Miss, your drink,” the waitress that Sookie doesn’t recognize hands a drink to Sookie. That was fast. Sookie mutters a thanks and looks at her drink warily.
“Now that we’ve settled the thing with Bill, relax a little,” Eric remarks and leans towards Sookie. “I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”
Sookie swallows audibly, loud enough that even she can hear it, much less these vampires with their supernatural hearing. She brings the glass to her mouth with shaky hands and downs the drink in one go. She grimaces from the burn of the alcohol. What is in this?
Pam finds her way next to the two and announces, “Eric, it is time.”
“Shall we?” Eric extends his hand to Sookie. She turns to Pam for any indication on what to do. Eric is being excessively nice and Sookie knows better than to trust him - he always has something planned when it comes to her. The female vampire only stands there like a statue, much to Sookie’s dismay. How useless.
Shaking her head at Eric, she trails behind the Viking to wherever they’re supposed to move to now. Someone had set up two seats front and centre to the stage. Eric takes a seat in one of the vacant seats. “We planned to have a live band playing but they never made it to Shreveport. Pam brought up the idea of having people sing. I was wary of course, but as usual, she knew what she was doing.”
Sookie, unsure what to say to that, sits in the other chair. “So who are the people singing? It looks pretty intimidating to me.”
“Sookie, Sookie. There are plenty of humans dying for a chance to get our attention. We even had to put a cap on the... guinea pigs.”
Sookie nods to the same scantily dressed waitress who brings her another drink and for Eric, a Tru Blood. The first performer starts belting out a bad rendition of Sweet Caroline. She scowls at Eric, but he pays no attention to her as his eyes are glued to the interpretive dancing. She frowns and casually sips on her drink. She still doesn’t know what the drink is; she can taste the rum but that is it. For someone who works in a diner with a bar, she certainly doesn’t know much about alcohol. At least the crowd tries to sing along with her.
After a (very) polite round of applause and the woman who Sookie guesses is supposed to be dressed as a cop tries to make a move on Eric from the stage (it is much too awkward to watch), another similarly dressed woman giddily walks on stage and grabs the microphone as they all wait for the next song to start. There seems to be a technical difficulty because the poor girl is stuck there clutching the microphone, looking very much like a deer caught in the headlight. It is sickening.
Sookie has had enough of this. “Eric, what am I even doing here?”
“For you to be entertained. Are you not entertained?”
Sookie stands up from her chair and glares down at Eric, who remains as calm as any vampire can be. “I am not here to laugh at others’ miseries. And yes I do count this as misery. It’s embarrassing for them to stand up there and sing - even if they are doing this to themselves!”
"It is in all plain fun, little red riding hood. It isn’t misery, as you call it, if they are enjoying themselves. But if you can do any better...” he trails off, laughing and taking a drink from the bottle. His tongue does a full circle, cleaning off the excessive blood on his lips.
Sookie bites her tongue; the last thing she wants is to be like one of them and make a fool of herself on stage. The only singing she’s done was in front of the mirror in her bathroom with a hairbrush. She stubbornly sits down again on the chair. She hates to see Eric smirking at her from the corner of her eyes. But giving in is exactly what Eric wants. She knows he would enjoy seeing her up there and sing. She tugs on her dress as she shifts in her seat. “Give me another one of these,” she barks and downs her drink all in one go.
“Careful, I’ve heard those are quite strong,” Eric remarks, but motions his waitress, another for her.
“I can very well hold my liquor, thank you very much for your concern,” Sookie barely fits her words in before the music finally starts up again.
Sookie wonders if vampires are tone-deaf because whatever screeching coming out of that girl’s mouth is just plain awful. And this is some girl trying to sing; it’s not even her patrons from Merlotte’s just belting out when drunk. She reluctantly downs her drink again. How many has she had? She can’t even remember. She turns to Eric again, silently pleading her case. This madness has to stop; facing MaryAnn was much less frustrating than this. At least you could kill her. You can’t kill these poor girls.
“Enough,” she hisses at the vampire. “Will you let me go if I go up there and make a fool of myself?”
“Shh, you’re interrupting her performance,” Eric nods towards the stage.
Sookie slumps in her seat and waves for another drink. In the mean time, she’s going to cross her arms in defiance. This song just won’t end - who sings Total Eclipse of the Heart? How is that even Halloween themed, or any less depressing? She tries to stay awake as best as she can to not be rude. Gran’s taught her better than that. She slips out of her seat, ignoring the stares and the whispers as she makes her way to the edge of the stage.
She asks the one in charged of the music (human - she can hear his thoughts as he checks her out) if the machine has the song she intended to sing. The girl wobbly walks down the few steps, and thrusts the microphone at Sookie. “Maybe you’ll do a better job seeing that his eyes are on you the whole time,” the girl snorts and makes a beeline to the bar.
Sookie looks down at the mic, takes a tight grip on it and struts onto the stage. The light dims with the spotlight on her. She pulls up her red hood and taps her foot.
This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted.
She grins as she looks up right into the crowd. She can feel the alcohol working its way through her system. As she reaches to the first chorus, she yanks back the hood. The crowd also sings along as they hit the familiar phrases. As she reaches the last verse, she loosens the knot on her cape and flings it down to the crowd. I just want to live while I’m alive... ‘cause it’s my life.
Much to Sookie’s surprise, Eric had already snatched the hood from the air and is applauding at a pace that Sookie almost thought is mocking. However, he is already at the bottom of the stairs waiting for Sookie and to exchange the cape for the mic. She can’t fault him for being a gentleman here. She flashes a small smile at Eric before letting him help her put her cape back on.
“You’re being awfully nice,” Sookie notes as she walks to the back of Fangtasia to stay out of the limelight, but with Eric trailing behind her, the attention is right on her again. She can hear the music starting up again. Maybe the patrons will focus back on the performance again.
“You’re a special guest here. I need to make sure you’re enjoying yourself at my bar,” Eric replies. “Another drink? Food? I think Pam ordered some treats - though I can’t promise it’s edible.”
She stops in her tracks and turns to face Eric. “I just need you to find Bill. That’s all, Eric.”
Eric stares down at her with his towering figure. “You overestimate me sometimes, Sookie. I’m not as... sneaky as you think. Never mind about that,” he runs his hand through his hair. “Have another drink. You seem to like the taste of it.”
Sookie keeps up with Eric. “Now that you mention it, what is in that?”
“You’ll have to ask our bartender,” he shrugs.
Sookie frowns and tries to look around Eric for a view at the bar. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
He laughs. “Are you?”
Surprisingly, she shakes her head. Usually she’s much tipsier than this after a few drinks.
“Then have a few more; maybe I can convince you to sing for us again. You’re not bad, not bad at all. You surprise me, Sookie Stackhouse.”
“It’s nothing at all,” she tries to brush it off, and is starting to feel uncomfortable with the attention Eric’s paying towards her. Is it just her or is the room suddenly warmer? “How about another drink?” She forces out a grin.
“You really do like that? Too bad I can’t have any, but I’ll assume my bartender’s doing a good enough job. You know what,” he lowers his head, “I think we should name this after you.”
Sookie’s eyes widen to the news. “No, Eric, stop whatever you’re trying to do. You can’t name a drink after me.” She can feel the fur from Eric’s Viking costume brushing against her arm.
“Let’s see,” Eric swipes his tongue across his lower lips. “Does Sookie sound good? Or do you prefer the Stackhouse? But then that’d just remind me of your brother.” He suddenly backs off and turns for the bar. “Or I should name it Sucky. That’s a good name for a drink in a vampire bar, don’t you think?”
“Pam, you know that drink Sookie was having? We have a name for it - Sucky,” Eric pulls his vampire child next to him. “Yes?”
“Excellent idea. I cannot wait to see Bill’s reaction to this. Of course, once we find him,” Pam smiles genuinely (not really) at their human guest.
Sookie stares angrily at Eric, How does Pam know about this?
“Sookie, we have no secrets. You shouldn’t be so... angry about this,” Pam toots. “Well, am I the only one excited about having a name for the drink? Eric’s been putting it off for so long, maybe he’ll get creative again. We should do Sucky Tuesdays. Will you come back on Tuesdays, Sookie?”
Feeling left out of the conversation, Sookie knows it’s time to leave. “Do whatever you want with it, I’m leaving. I’ve done everything you asked. You better hold up your end of the deal.” Sookie groans as she rubs her temple; the headache is coming on soon - she can feel it.
“You can’t leave, Sookie,” Eric says.
“Miss me already?” Sookie asks sarcastically.
Eric smirks and his vampire teeth pop up. “I mean, you can’t drive. I’m sure humans aren’t fond of drinking and driving. I think I am responsible for returning you home all in one piece.”
Right, duh, Sookie rolls her eyes; the thought just slipped her mind. “I’m not staying here,” she motions lazily at the bar.
“I will drive you back,” Eric offers. Before Sookie can protest, Eric steps in. “I’m just keeping you safe, Sookie.”
“Fine, but how will you get home?”
He grins, “I have my way. Say ‘goodbye’ Pam, but I’m sure you’ll see her again soon.”
Seeing that Pam isn’t giving anything away, Sookie bobs her head towards the female vampire, who magically handed her Sookie’s clutch. Sookie cannot believe she almost forgotten about her belongings. “Good night, Pam.”
She ducks out of the bar and leads Eric to her car. She pulls her keys out from her clutch and hesitantly holds it out to Eric.
“I’ll just drop you off and head back to here. You have my word,” Eric says before taking the keys from her hand.
She assumes Eric to be a reckless driver, and this is confirmed with Sookie taking a tight grip on her door. She knows that he is indestructible, but obviously, she’s not. “Eric,” she utters. “Who do you think took Bill?”
Eric’s gaze is fixed on the road, though he’s still acting much too casual about the speed they’re going at. “I have a few ideas.”
She isn’t sure what to expect as the vampire keeps his mouth shut. “Care to share any of those?”
“Not really,” Eric replies nonchalantly.
Okay, Sookie mouths to herself. She looks out the window and watches the sceneries going by much faster than she’s ever seen.
Eric slows to a stop when they near Sookie’s house. Before Sookie can get the door, Eric is already on her side of the car, swinging the door open for her. She walks along side to Eric towards her front porch and he waits as she digs for her keys. He lets out a soft laugh when Sookie can’t find her keys and instead reveals the keys in his palm.
She seizes the keys from him immediately with a huff and stuffs the correct key in the lock. The door swings open and she looks up at Eric, one foot already in the house. “Thank you for bringing me back home. Good night, Eric.”
Eric mutters a very quiet good night back at her and softly kisses the top of her head. He steps back immediately with Sookie quickly getting inside her house and closing the door behind her. When she opens the door again, Eric is nowhere in sight.
Rating: G
Pairing/Characters: Eric Northman/Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood TV)
Word Count: ~4000
Disclaimer: The following story is untrue and I am only borrowing the names and in no way does this story reflect the characters from the TV series or the book series, nor am I making any profit off of this.
Summary: Sookie turns to Eric for help when Bill goes missing.
Spoiler: Up to Season 2 of TV series.
Author's Note: This is the tamest I've ever written something. Also, I totally didn't know about the movie (and little red riding hood) until my beta brought it up. Good times. Written for eric_sookie's Halloween Fic-Exchange with requested by latenightvoices. Originally posted here. Beta'd by roguemouse.
Sookie thanks the Lord that her phone still has batteries when she pulls it out from her clutch.
“Tara, Tara, please pick up!” Sookie says into the phone as she paces back and forth in the empty restaurant.
*
A honk from the outside knocks Sookie out from her reverie. Her mind has been running at a thousand miles an hour while waiting for Tara.
“Sookie!” Tara yells as she exits her car and runs towards Sookie. “What happened?”
“I don’t know!” She stammers and lets herself be embraced by her best friend. “One minute Bill and I were having dinner and I went to the washroom. I come back and he’s gone! The place was a mess with broken furniture everywhere and Bill was gone! I don’t know Tara! Who would take him? Let’s just... get out of here. I don’t want to think about what would happen if they came back again.”
Tara only nods and leads Sookie back to her car. “I agree,” she scans the surrounding area. “Let’s get you home.”
*
Sookie hates feeling like this; she’s stronger than feeling this helpless. Usually Bill is there to help her through anything, but who’s to help her when Bill is the one in trouble?
Well, the back of her mind notes, there is someone who you can turn to. She shakes her head vehemently. She is going to avoid that until she has no one else to turn to. Her last resort. What about Sam? He knows what’s going on around here, right? And not to mention Bill saved his life.
If a vampire is kidnapped, who do the kidnappers call for ransom? With Godric, the vampires rushed to help him. Who would go and save Bill? Certainly not Lorena. Sookie never wants to see that b-, her, again. Good riddance to that.
She’s going to give it a few nights. Maybe all they want is to question Bill and he’ll return in no time. If not, she has to go see him. As a last resort, Sookie reminds herself.
*
“Sam? I’m sorry to bother you, but have you heard anything about Bill? I’m really worried. It’s been three nights and Bill hasn’t contacted me.” A desperate Sookie means she’s going to try anything and everything to find any traces of Bill. She’s lost him once and it nearly killed her. She’s not going to let him die again. Especially not after... she looks at the ring on her left hand.
“Sorry, Sookie. You know I always stay away from the supernatural things, especially now after the thing with Mary Ann. It’s best for me to keep a low profile for awhile.”
Sookie nods as if Sam could see her. “I understand. Thanks, Sam.” She walks towards to the receiver, ready to hang up the phone.
“Why don’t you come in for the day shift tomorrow instead? That’ll give you the time to, you know,” Sam trails off.
Sookie knows what Sam meant right away. She hates that even Sam knows she has no one else to turn to. “Again, thank you Sam. That’s very generous of you. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
“You take care of yourself, Sook.”
Sookie places the phone back on its receiver. She wishes that Gran was here. She would know what to do. If not, at least she’d be comforting her granddaughter right now. The house just isn’t the same without her.
*
Sookie puts on a brave face and a smile as bright as the sun shining down on Bon Temps. She walks into the now cleaned up and in construction Merlotte’s. Sookie can see why Sam would want to stay out of the vampire/supernatural business, and she can’t fault him for that. If only she too knew better, she would be saving herself a lot of heartbreak, and not to mention a lot of bruises and broken bones. She shakes her head to clear out those negative thoughts. No, they won’t do at all. She left the ring at home. She doesn’t need more drama in her life right now.
“Sookie, what are you doing here?” Arlene asks, while holding a case of ketchup or something heavy in her hands.
Sookie frowns. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t have kids to take for trick or treat. I had to beg Sam for the day shift.” She eyes her friend skeptically.
Sookie blinks. Oh? Oh! “It’s Halloween already?” Whoops, she doesn’t mean for that to slip out.
“Hon, are you feeling okay? Look around you! Merlotte’s is filled with Halloween decorations. If I remember correctly, you were here putting them up too.” Arlene shakes her head and walks away, leaving Sookie by herself.
Since it is Halloween, only the few usual handfuls of patrons are having lunch at the bar, meaning Sookie’s shift drags on forever. They’re all probably getting stuff done last minute. Typical.
Finally, Sookie is standing in front of her closet contemplating on her outfit. She shivers at a random breeze of cold air running through her room. She needs to get out of the wet towel soon or else she’s going to catch a cold. Her eyes scan the clothes in her closet and she sighs.
Costume or not?
She tries to conjure up Eric’s reaction to a normal outfit (his look of dismay) or a costume (his wolfish grin and probably his vampire teeth showing). She is leaning towards a normal outfit just to see Eric’s disappointment, but on the other hand, she needs his help and she can’t afford be to be on his bad side - not that she wants to be on Eric’s any side.
*
The wheels squeak as she pulls her car into the Fangtasia parking lot. There are surprisingly a lot of cars here tonight. But then again Sookie rolls her eyes and almost says duh aloud. It is Halloween. What better way to spend it than seeing real vampires? For the past few years she hasn’t celebrated much other than working at Merlotte’s - busy nights and whatever her Gran cooks up for her.
Sookie tugs on her costume, pulling up the hood and checking on her make up in the mirror before leaving the car. Thankfully, the Louisiana night is still warm enough. She smiles awkwardly at the other patrons who are lining up behind her. They all certainly have... interesting costumes on. She averts her gaze to the eye level.
“Sookie!”
At hearing her name, Sookie sticks her head out of the line and looks around.
“Sookie!”
Her head darts to the front, from where she assumes the voice is coming from. She finds Pam, who looks both happy to see her but also looks bored out of her mind. Pam waves down Sookie and Sookie shakes her head. Only when Pam crosses her arms and stops letting people inside does Sookie finally gives in and leaves the line for the front.
“Happy?” Sookie plants herself in front of the podium and starts to pull out her wallet.
“Very,” Pam smirks. “No. put your money away. You’re a special guest to Fangtasia.” Pam makes a noise as she scans Sookie up and down. “Good! Very good. You wore a costume too. Eric will be very pleased.”
Sookie can only stare at Pam. So... wearing a costume was a mistake. “You’re holding the line, darling,” Pam notes. Sookie can only glare at the vampire before being ushered inside.
She doesn’t know what to expect, really. Decoration-wise, the inside actually looks similar to Merlotte’s,... though multiply that by a hundred. And you’ll end up with Fangtasia.
“Do you like it?” Pam asks.
Sookie almost curses herself for jumping at the noise; the “vampires moving silently” thing is still new to her. And she assumes Pam went back to collect covers outside. “It’s great, Pam,” Sookie answers meekly. Not that she can answer any differently - you can’t make the vampires angry when you’re going to ask for a favour.
“So,” Sookie starts, trying not to outright ask for Eric. “What are you supposed to be?”
Pam raises an eyebrow. “You don’t see it?” She takes a step back and twirls around. “Now do you see it?”
Sookie’s eyes darts around. It seems like the patrons at Fangtasia are all gawking at Pam. “Um, school teacher?” Wait, why is she here wasting her time here with Pam? She has more important things to worry about than guessing what Pam’s costume is supposed to be - not to mention how revealing it is. “Never mind about that, I’m here for Eric. Do you know where he is?”
“You’re here for Eric? He’ll be out soon, probably just fussing over his outfit. What do you need Eric for?”
“Um, I prefer talking to Eric about this first, if you don’t mind.”
Pam doesn’t seem to take offense as she just laughs. “If that’s what you want.”
Sookie just nods and smiles. She finds herself standing when she should have found a seat. All the patrons in the room seem to be holding their breaths as all their eyes turn to the looming figure walking to his throne.
Sookie, much like everyone else, is gawking at one Eric Northman dressed in his native form - a Viking. Even though the outfit is conservative, with a chainmail, fur piece as cape and a sword, Eric is still breathtaking. He even swishes the cape around before sitting down on his seat.
Someone sure knew how to make an entrance. Sookie rolls her eyes but with a soft smile on her face. She scans the room to find the others are still staring, some even with their mouths wide open. Oh come on, she mouths, then marches up to Eric and his throne. “Eric.”
“Sookie,” Eric beams. “You’re here. I knew you’d come to your senses sooner or later. Sit,” he gestures to the table and chairs for “honoured guests”.
She eyes the chair but sits down anyway. “That is not what I’m here for.”
Eric raises one of his eyebrows in amusement. “Humour me.”
Sookie swallows her disgust in what she is about to do. “I need your help.” She almost pauses to wait for a response but she can’t with the way Eric’s grin is widening by the second and his hands clasping together, probably already plotting something, since the word help - make that need - escaped Sookie’s lips. “I need you to find Bill.”
Eric’s demeanor doesn’t change at the mention of the other vampire. “Billy boy? Why do you need to look for Bill?”
You must not be a good Sheriff if you didn’t know a vampire in your area was missing. Sookie straightens up. “He’s been taken. We were having dinner at this restaurant. I excused myself from the table and when I came back, he was gone. He didn’t leave on his own because there was broken furniture everywhere. Don’t you dare tell me he didn’t get taken.”
“Sookie, I can never turn down your request, especially not on Halloween. How about this - I’ll get back to you when I have news. Is that good for you?”
That’s it? He agreed without any hesitation or requests. “That’s,” Sookie nodded. “That’s acceptable. I can’t ask for anything better, I guess.”
“Good. Now will you go and enjoy yourself. Drinks are on the house for our friend here,” Eric said to Sookie and tilted his head to the newly replaced girl behind the bar.
“Eric, I should be going. I still have a shift at Merlotte’s. They’re really bus tonight.”
“You’re obviously not telling the truth. You didn’t get all dressed up to go back to that... place to serve refreshment and food. Stay.
“We have, what’s that called again? Open Mic. You must stay for that. We tried it last year and it was a hit with the humans.” Eric motioned at a waitress, bring her a drink
“Miss, your drink,” the waitress that Sookie doesn’t recognize hands a drink to Sookie. That was fast. Sookie mutters a thanks and looks at her drink warily.
“Now that we’ve settled the thing with Bill, relax a little,” Eric remarks and leans towards Sookie. “I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”
Sookie swallows audibly, loud enough that even she can hear it, much less these vampires with their supernatural hearing. She brings the glass to her mouth with shaky hands and downs the drink in one go. She grimaces from the burn of the alcohol. What is in this?
Pam finds her way next to the two and announces, “Eric, it is time.”
“Shall we?” Eric extends his hand to Sookie. She turns to Pam for any indication on what to do. Eric is being excessively nice and Sookie knows better than to trust him - he always has something planned when it comes to her. The female vampire only stands there like a statue, much to Sookie’s dismay. How useless.
Shaking her head at Eric, she trails behind the Viking to wherever they’re supposed to move to now. Someone had set up two seats front and centre to the stage. Eric takes a seat in one of the vacant seats. “We planned to have a live band playing but they never made it to Shreveport. Pam brought up the idea of having people sing. I was wary of course, but as usual, she knew what she was doing.”
Sookie, unsure what to say to that, sits in the other chair. “So who are the people singing? It looks pretty intimidating to me.”
“Sookie, Sookie. There are plenty of humans dying for a chance to get our attention. We even had to put a cap on the... guinea pigs.”
Sookie nods to the same scantily dressed waitress who brings her another drink and for Eric, a Tru Blood. The first performer starts belting out a bad rendition of Sweet Caroline. She scowls at Eric, but he pays no attention to her as his eyes are glued to the interpretive dancing. She frowns and casually sips on her drink. She still doesn’t know what the drink is; she can taste the rum but that is it. For someone who works in a diner with a bar, she certainly doesn’t know much about alcohol. At least the crowd tries to sing along with her.
After a (very) polite round of applause and the woman who Sookie guesses is supposed to be dressed as a cop tries to make a move on Eric from the stage (it is much too awkward to watch), another similarly dressed woman giddily walks on stage and grabs the microphone as they all wait for the next song to start. There seems to be a technical difficulty because the poor girl is stuck there clutching the microphone, looking very much like a deer caught in the headlight. It is sickening.
Sookie has had enough of this. “Eric, what am I even doing here?”
“For you to be entertained. Are you not entertained?”
Sookie stands up from her chair and glares down at Eric, who remains as calm as any vampire can be. “I am not here to laugh at others’ miseries. And yes I do count this as misery. It’s embarrassing for them to stand up there and sing - even if they are doing this to themselves!”
"It is in all plain fun, little red riding hood. It isn’t misery, as you call it, if they are enjoying themselves. But if you can do any better...” he trails off, laughing and taking a drink from the bottle. His tongue does a full circle, cleaning off the excessive blood on his lips.
Sookie bites her tongue; the last thing she wants is to be like one of them and make a fool of herself on stage. The only singing she’s done was in front of the mirror in her bathroom with a hairbrush. She stubbornly sits down again on the chair. She hates to see Eric smirking at her from the corner of her eyes. But giving in is exactly what Eric wants. She knows he would enjoy seeing her up there and sing. She tugs on her dress as she shifts in her seat. “Give me another one of these,” she barks and downs her drink all in one go.
“Careful, I’ve heard those are quite strong,” Eric remarks, but motions his waitress, another for her.
“I can very well hold my liquor, thank you very much for your concern,” Sookie barely fits her words in before the music finally starts up again.
Sookie wonders if vampires are tone-deaf because whatever screeching coming out of that girl’s mouth is just plain awful. And this is some girl trying to sing; it’s not even her patrons from Merlotte’s just belting out when drunk. She reluctantly downs her drink again. How many has she had? She can’t even remember. She turns to Eric again, silently pleading her case. This madness has to stop; facing MaryAnn was much less frustrating than this. At least you could kill her. You can’t kill these poor girls.
“Enough,” she hisses at the vampire. “Will you let me go if I go up there and make a fool of myself?”
“Shh, you’re interrupting her performance,” Eric nods towards the stage.
Sookie slumps in her seat and waves for another drink. In the mean time, she’s going to cross her arms in defiance. This song just won’t end - who sings Total Eclipse of the Heart? How is that even Halloween themed, or any less depressing? She tries to stay awake as best as she can to not be rude. Gran’s taught her better than that. She slips out of her seat, ignoring the stares and the whispers as she makes her way to the edge of the stage.
She asks the one in charged of the music (human - she can hear his thoughts as he checks her out) if the machine has the song she intended to sing. The girl wobbly walks down the few steps, and thrusts the microphone at Sookie. “Maybe you’ll do a better job seeing that his eyes are on you the whole time,” the girl snorts and makes a beeline to the bar.
Sookie looks down at the mic, takes a tight grip on it and struts onto the stage. The light dims with the spotlight on her. She pulls up her red hood and taps her foot.
This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted.
She grins as she looks up right into the crowd. She can feel the alcohol working its way through her system. As she reaches to the first chorus, she yanks back the hood. The crowd also sings along as they hit the familiar phrases. As she reaches the last verse, she loosens the knot on her cape and flings it down to the crowd. I just want to live while I’m alive... ‘cause it’s my life.
Much to Sookie’s surprise, Eric had already snatched the hood from the air and is applauding at a pace that Sookie almost thought is mocking. However, he is already at the bottom of the stairs waiting for Sookie and to exchange the cape for the mic. She can’t fault him for being a gentleman here. She flashes a small smile at Eric before letting him help her put her cape back on.
“You’re being awfully nice,” Sookie notes as she walks to the back of Fangtasia to stay out of the limelight, but with Eric trailing behind her, the attention is right on her again. She can hear the music starting up again. Maybe the patrons will focus back on the performance again.
“You’re a special guest here. I need to make sure you’re enjoying yourself at my bar,” Eric replies. “Another drink? Food? I think Pam ordered some treats - though I can’t promise it’s edible.”
She stops in her tracks and turns to face Eric. “I just need you to find Bill. That’s all, Eric.”
Eric stares down at her with his towering figure. “You overestimate me sometimes, Sookie. I’m not as... sneaky as you think. Never mind about that,” he runs his hand through his hair. “Have another drink. You seem to like the taste of it.”
Sookie keeps up with Eric. “Now that you mention it, what is in that?”
“You’ll have to ask our bartender,” he shrugs.
Sookie frowns and tries to look around Eric for a view at the bar. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
He laughs. “Are you?”
Surprisingly, she shakes her head. Usually she’s much tipsier than this after a few drinks.
“Then have a few more; maybe I can convince you to sing for us again. You’re not bad, not bad at all. You surprise me, Sookie Stackhouse.”
“It’s nothing at all,” she tries to brush it off, and is starting to feel uncomfortable with the attention Eric’s paying towards her. Is it just her or is the room suddenly warmer? “How about another drink?” She forces out a grin.
“You really do like that? Too bad I can’t have any, but I’ll assume my bartender’s doing a good enough job. You know what,” he lowers his head, “I think we should name this after you.”
Sookie’s eyes widen to the news. “No, Eric, stop whatever you’re trying to do. You can’t name a drink after me.” She can feel the fur from Eric’s Viking costume brushing against her arm.
“Let’s see,” Eric swipes his tongue across his lower lips. “Does Sookie sound good? Or do you prefer the Stackhouse? But then that’d just remind me of your brother.” He suddenly backs off and turns for the bar. “Or I should name it Sucky. That’s a good name for a drink in a vampire bar, don’t you think?”
“Pam, you know that drink Sookie was having? We have a name for it - Sucky,” Eric pulls his vampire child next to him. “Yes?”
“Excellent idea. I cannot wait to see Bill’s reaction to this. Of course, once we find him,” Pam smiles genuinely (not really) at their human guest.
Sookie stares angrily at Eric, How does Pam know about this?
“Sookie, we have no secrets. You shouldn’t be so... angry about this,” Pam toots. “Well, am I the only one excited about having a name for the drink? Eric’s been putting it off for so long, maybe he’ll get creative again. We should do Sucky Tuesdays. Will you come back on Tuesdays, Sookie?”
Feeling left out of the conversation, Sookie knows it’s time to leave. “Do whatever you want with it, I’m leaving. I’ve done everything you asked. You better hold up your end of the deal.” Sookie groans as she rubs her temple; the headache is coming on soon - she can feel it.
“You can’t leave, Sookie,” Eric says.
“Miss me already?” Sookie asks sarcastically.
Eric smirks and his vampire teeth pop up. “I mean, you can’t drive. I’m sure humans aren’t fond of drinking and driving. I think I am responsible for returning you home all in one piece.”
Right, duh, Sookie rolls her eyes; the thought just slipped her mind. “I’m not staying here,” she motions lazily at the bar.
“I will drive you back,” Eric offers. Before Sookie can protest, Eric steps in. “I’m just keeping you safe, Sookie.”
“Fine, but how will you get home?”
He grins, “I have my way. Say ‘goodbye’ Pam, but I’m sure you’ll see her again soon.”
Seeing that Pam isn’t giving anything away, Sookie bobs her head towards the female vampire, who magically handed her Sookie’s clutch. Sookie cannot believe she almost forgotten about her belongings. “Good night, Pam.”
She ducks out of the bar and leads Eric to her car. She pulls her keys out from her clutch and hesitantly holds it out to Eric.
“I’ll just drop you off and head back to here. You have my word,” Eric says before taking the keys from her hand.
She assumes Eric to be a reckless driver, and this is confirmed with Sookie taking a tight grip on her door. She knows that he is indestructible, but obviously, she’s not. “Eric,” she utters. “Who do you think took Bill?”
Eric’s gaze is fixed on the road, though he’s still acting much too casual about the speed they’re going at. “I have a few ideas.”
She isn’t sure what to expect as the vampire keeps his mouth shut. “Care to share any of those?”
“Not really,” Eric replies nonchalantly.
Okay, Sookie mouths to herself. She looks out the window and watches the sceneries going by much faster than she’s ever seen.
Eric slows to a stop when they near Sookie’s house. Before Sookie can get the door, Eric is already on her side of the car, swinging the door open for her. She walks along side to Eric towards her front porch and he waits as she digs for her keys. He lets out a soft laugh when Sookie can’t find her keys and instead reveals the keys in his palm.
She seizes the keys from him immediately with a huff and stuffs the correct key in the lock. The door swings open and she looks up at Eric, one foot already in the house. “Thank you for bringing me back home. Good night, Eric.”
Eric mutters a very quiet good night back at her and softly kisses the top of her head. He steps back immediately with Sookie quickly getting inside her house and closing the door behind her. When she opens the door again, Eric is nowhere in sight.