A loud "crack" pulled me back into the present.

I jolted.

Sookie was waving and snapping her fingers in front of my eyes.

"Hey Aaash. Wake up. You okay? We're here!"

Dazed, I shook my head, feeling its weight on my shoulders.

"Yeah... Sorry, think I'm still a bit groggy from my shift yesterday."

"Shift yesterday?"

"At Merlotte's?"

"Ash, you didn't work yesterday. Arlene had her engagement party at Merlotte's. Missed you there, by the way..." She peered at me, concern furrowing her brow. "You sure you're alright?"

Had I really slept through a whole day? Unaware? My forced smile must have been anything but convincing, as Sookie's worry lines deepened while I desperately tried not to dwell on it. I could almost feel her mind trying to pierce mine

TV static. Birdsongs...

I tried to think about anything other then why this fatigue followed by headaches felt so familiar...

"Ashley Simmons, should I be worried about you? Why do I have this feeling that your hiding something from me?"

The probing feeling increased, tingles shooting down my spine. Blinking I slipped, if just for a second, thinking of Tom. My heart squeezed uncomfortably.

"Get out of my head," I snapped as she was about to pry further. Wisely, she ceased, pivoting to "We're here!"

"Fantastic!" I was in the mood to shake out some information out of someone. Maybe gaining information needed some punching of some kind...

"Don't forget, we're just asking a few questions!"

I grumbled deeply. Then I summoned my most convincingly learned Southern smile. "All righty, sweetie pie."

Sookie seemed like she still wanted to say more when a familiar truck honked behind us. Sam leaned out the window, his head swaying in the breeze like a dog's. Sookie's eyes widened, and she snorted before turning to Sam, buoyant.

"Hi Sam, thanks for coming."

Did I imagine it, or did her cheeks actually flush a bit?

Sam briefly glanced at me, nodding amiably, then grinned broadly at Sookie, leaving me feeling like the third wheel. "Let's catch a murderer, girls!"

So much enthusiasm, great. Who knew, if this went well, I might try to enlist the two for more crime hunts. Sookie, Sam, and Ashley. SamSookAsh, AshSamSook, AshSookSam...

"There it is."

In front of us stood a coffee shop shaped like a cake. Big Patty's Pie House.

"Someone got real creative, huh?" I muttered sarcastically. Sam shot me an irritated look, and I summoned my Southern smile again, feeling myself ripping at the seam.

Damn it, keep it together Ashley...

"Shall we?" I needed to regain my inner peace urgently. Ashley Simmons seemed to be slipping away more and more. Instead, New York Ash took over – and honestly, she could be quite the bitch!

His irritated expression softened to a frown as he held the door open, a bell chiming as it swung, wafting us with the scent of cake. My stomach grumbled.

"Hey there!" Sookie jumped in, pulling the still-confused Sam behind her. "My fiancé and I heard from friends that this is the best cake place in the entire South, so I told him right away, 'Honey, that's where we're getting our wedding cake.' Our friends told us how sweet they were advised by a young woman named Cindy, and I hoped she might be here again today and could help us?"

Sookie looked meaningfully at Sam, who immediately joined in her story, nodding obediently. At the word fiancé, he grinned even wider. It was incomprehensible to me that Sookie didn't seem to see how smitten he was with her. The girl at the counter looked at the two of them kindly, but not like the brightest bulb in the box. Then her gaze shifted to me. "How about you?"

"Bridesmaid?"

Oops, that sounded more like a question or a suggestion. Oh well, the little ditz behind the counter hadn't noticed. Sookie's admonishing look pierced me. Southern smile. I was getting really good at it. The waitress, "Harley," just shrugged.

"Well, I'm sorry, sir, I don't know any Cindy. But I recommend the baked apple pie, the frozen Hawaii cake, the chocolate pecan praline cake, the layer cake, the seven-layer..."

God, this would never work. I turned back around and looked at the cake displays. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my two companions exchanging a glance that questioned the server's sanity. Sam and Sookie engaged the cashier first, then turned to an older gentleman sitting in the coffee shop, started up a conversation. A grin stole onto my lips as the man agreed with me that the waitress had probably landed on her head too often in her younger years. I listened to them from a distance, but my thoughts had already drifted.

Was there even a vampire in all of America who didn't fuck everything with two legs and a pulse? Actually, even the whole pulse thing seemed optionary. Then again... there seemed to be plenty of willing victims going around. It was incomprehensible to me, the whole thing...

Oh really? The quiet voice in the back of my head sounded a touch too sarcastic, as if it had pushed its glasses up onto its nose to judge me with a raised eyebrow. I didn't even want to admit even to myself, that there maybe was the smallest attraction to a certain tall vampire. Because there couldn't be. I was just chronically undersexed.

Exactly. That was it!

I just needed to get laid. I spontaneously decided to allow myself a night out in a pub. Or a bar. A club maybe? The place didn't really matter - The point was to pick up someone afterwards and hopefully have a clear head again in the morning.

"Oh, I'll come along. But please, not Merlotte's!" Sookie enthusiastically jumped in.

"Sookie, stay out of my head!"

"Sweetheart, you were talking to yourself out loud. That's really not my fault!"

Crap.

I had hoped to have gotten rid of this annoying issue with my newly created persona, but apparently my true characteristics were bleeding through... Sookie's big brown eyes pierced me, and again, I felt her trying to rummage through my brain.

I actively changed my train of thought to some idyllic yoga lifestyle shit, I had seen on TV once, that had put me to sleep instantly. Breathe in 2...3...4 and Out...

There. Let's see what you can do with that.

Sookie rolled her eyes at me "All right, keep your little secrets!", she retreated. Again, I felt her inside my head, as if I were pouring lukewarm water over my scalp to rinse out a hair treatment.

"So, Ash, let's go out!" she urged further.

"Sook, I actually wanted to go out alone. Blow off some steam..." maybe pick up a guy...

"Ash, don't force me to play my 'all-my-loved-ones-are-leaving-me' card. My grandma's dead, my brother's an idiot, and just yesterday, the first and so far only love of my life left me in the parking lot in front of Merlotte's. And if that's not enough, I also have a killer chasing me, trying to pin it all on my brother." She continued to rant and stomped her foot at the end. "And now, with no more tears left, I'm just damn pissed off. I'm going to get so incredibly wasted tonight, you're practically obliged to look after me and prevent me from getting blood poisoning."

I groaned and rolled my head back. "Saaaaaam."

Faithfully, he came trotting over, a piece of cake on his plate, and sat down with us.

"Yes?"

"Sookie's playing dirty!"

"Yes, she's good at that. I've learned to just bend and consider which battles are worth fighting!"

Sookie started to object, but only snorted when she saw Sam's broad satisfied grin.

"Sam Merlotte, I'm not playing dirty!"

"You don't?"

"No, I just always happen to be right!"

I had to smile. Even though Bill had always seemed decent to Sookie as far as I could tell, I had been a little worried about her, during their time together. She was incredibly sweet and open-hearted and cute – And unfortunately, also so incredibly naive.

As much as I didn't wish the heartache for her, she was currently battling with, I couldn't help but hope, that it would help her gain some perspective.

Then again, who was I to judge. My boyfriend died and I went completely of the rails...

As I was silently contemplating my own life-choices I realised, that the banter between Sam and Sookie was somehow different today than usual.

The way they looked at each other, touched each other... were they... flirting? Sookie's smile seemed genuine. Light. Sunny...

Completely on a whim, I decided to adjust the plans for tonight a bit. Totally selfless of me, of course... But... Sookie would be distracted if we took Sam along... And I could... well I could do what a girl had to do.

"Sam, we're going out tonight. Are you coming?"

"You want to go out? Even though there's a murderer running around Bon Temps trying to kill the entire staff of my bar?"

Sookie and I looked at each other. Then we nodded.

"I think then I'm forced to come along and look after you..." He sighed theatrically, but in his eyes, I could see that he liked the idea of going out with Sookie. "And where are we going?"

"Please, not Merlotte's!" Sookie repeated.

"What's wrong with my bar, if I may ask?" Sam piqued, propping his elbow on the table and taking a fork and napkin from the cutlery basket on each of the tables.

"Nothing wrong, Sam, but since I feel like I'm working in your bar every night of the week, I don't want to spend my free time there as well!" I explained.

Sookie pulled a fork from the basket in front of us and stuck it into Sam's cake. "Samesies!"

"Hey!"

Grinning broadly and enjoying herself, she shoved the bite into her mouth.

"Ash is right. Let's go out. Let's check out the competition!" she mumbled with a mouthful.

I have a coupon for Fangtasia, shot through my mind. But I said nothing. There was probably something else within a 50-kilometer radius... And I really shouldn't be around that temptation of viking vampire when on the prowl...

My blonde seat neighbor had finished eating by now. "Not as good as my grandma's, but really not bad either." She wiped a few crumbs from the corner of her mouth with a napkin before teasing Sam further. "Honey, I guess I've decided on our wedding cake!"