𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐀
smiling doesn't always mean you're happy. sometimes, it simply means that you are a strong person

VICTORIA SAT BETWEEN Jason and Sookie who were getting questioned by the police.

Sookie had found a girls body — Dawn, was her name and she worked at Merlotte's. Jason had arrived moments after Sookie and apparently he was in a sexual relationship with her which didn't surprise Victoria too much. So, now, Jason is a suspect and Sookie is witness. Victoria was just there there for moral support, knowing how hard it is to see someone you know dead. She's way too used to it, to be honest.

The sheriff gave Sookie a soft look. "Now, I realize you've been through a lot. And you're scared. But I need you to try and remember when you got here. Was the door open? Or just unlocked?"

Sookie looked freaked out and a lot paler than usual. "Uh...o-open, I think."

As the Sheriff continued talking, Victoria noticed that Sookie was not paying attention to him, but was looking at the rest of the people that were in the room. She reached over and gripped the blonde's hand. "Sook..."

Sookie abruptly turned to the brunette and apologized to the Sheriff. "Sorry... um, what was the question?"

"Is that the exact position you found her in?" He repeated his question.

Sookie licked her lips, looking like she was about to throw up. "Well, I covered her up with a sheet, but I don't think I touched her.:

Sheriff Bud shook his head. "I wish you hadn't o' done that."

Sookie narrowed her eyes. "Next time I find a friend of mine dead, I'll try to remember that," she snapped before getting up and walking away.

Victoria apologized for Sookie's behavior and ran after her cousin.

THE COUSINS WERE was sitting down on the porch when Sam approached them.

"Came as soon as I heard." He sat down between both girls. He took his sunglasses off and held them in his left hand. "I'm sorry you had to be the one to find her.

Sookie sucked in a breath. "It was gonna be somebody, right?"

"I guess," Sam replied. "Oh, I tell you, Sook. Sometimes I don't even recognize this world we're livin' in. I mean, Goddamn it!"

Sookie sat straighter and became defensive. "Be careful, now! God didn't do this."

Both Sam and Victoria glanced to eachother and chuckled. "You think maybe I should shut down the bar for the day?"

Victoria intervened, shaking her head. "All that'd do is deny people a good, stiff drink on the day they could use it the most." She then grinned. "Plus, today is my first day on the job."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, but--"

It was Sookie's turn to say something. "I know it's supposed to be my day off and all, but the last thing I need right now is time alone with my thoughts."

Sam nodded. "All right, then. We'll open."

Sookie looked to Victoria. "Tori and and I may be late, though. We gotta swing by home and tell Gran what's goin' on."

Sam looked between both women. Though they didn't look that much alike, Sookie with her lighter skin and blonde hair, and Victoria with her dark hair, but they had the same brown eyes. "It's Bon Temps. She already knows."

"Still, with Jason and everything..." All three turned their attention to Jason who was sitting in the back of a cop car.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Merlotte?"

The three turned around to see a Police Officer behind them, looking at Sam.

Sam nodded. "Yes."

"Detective in charge tells me you're the landlord," The police officer stated.

"That's right."

"We need to get in the victim's storage unit, but we don't have a key. If you could find one, it'd be a big help right about now."

Sam stood up to take some keys on a key ring out of his pocket. He bent over and kissed both girls on their foreheads. Even though it wasn't the best time, Victoria blushed slightly. He and the police officer then walked away.

"Uh, Miss?" Both girls turned their heads to the front door to see a boy wearing a navy blue work vest with "CORONER" in gray letters across the back shoulders, and a navy blue ball-cap. "Could you please let us by?"

The girls nodded and moved to allow the boy and  the Coroner, Mike Spencer, by.

Mike Spencer is wearing the same type of vest and ball-cap the boy is wearing.

The two are carrying Dawn's body in a black plastic bag, and they moved awkwardly along the narrow porch while the cousins watched with sad eyes.

Mike Spencer looked to the girls. "Neil Jones, my new apprentice." The top half of Neil Jones's face is obscured by the brim of the ball-cap he is wearing, though, brown hair was sticking out of it. "He's from Kentucky."

Neil Jones looked at the girls, smiling."Hi."

The cousins watched as Mike Spencer and Neil Jones carried Dawn's body to a sport-utility vehicle.

VICTORIA AND SOOKIE walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Gran."

Gran looked up from the sink. "I heard."

"About Jason, too?"

Gran nodded and hummed. "He didn't do it, you know."

Victoria lightly smiled. "I know."

"Jason may be many things, but he's not a murderer." Gran was growing defensive. "The thing is though, girls. . .in all the years that I've lived in Bon Temps, I can't recall but two, maybe three murders, and now there are two in one week. People are not gonna stand for it. And if the police can't find the person who did it, they're gonna find Jason. He needs your help."

Sookie sighed and ran a hand through her blonde locks. "Gran, how am I supposed to--"

Gran walked towards the blonde. "You use the gift God gave you. Listen in on people, keep your ears open. You're bound to hear somethin'."

"It's got nothing to do with my ears."

"Whatever it is you use to listen, use it," Gran demanded. "He is your brother, Sookie." She looked to Victoria. "And your cousin, even though not through blood."

Victoria nodded, determined. "I will not stop until I prove his innocence."

VICTORIA WATCHED AS Sookie led Bill outside before she ran after them, knowing that this must be important.

"You know my friend who works here? Dawn? Someone killed her last night," Sookie told him as her cousin reached her side.

"How?"

"Say you're sorry," Sookie demanded, surprising Victoria.

Bill grew perplexed. "Excuse me?"

"You wanna learn to fit in with people? You gotta say you're sorry. You don't even have to mean it. Lord knows they don't most of the time," Sookie stated, making Victoria grow even more confused with what Bill was suppose to apologize for.

Bill narrowed his blue eyes slightly. "I am sorry."

"Thank you." Sookie huffed. "Anyway, I'm the one who found her. Strangled. Cops think it was my brother."

"Was it?"

"No!" Victoria shouted. "He's not capable of it."

Bill gave her a look. "I've been around long enough to know just about anyone is capable of just about anything."

"He didn't do it," Sookie stated, crossing her arms. Bill nodded. "So I've been listening in on people's thoughts, hopin' I might hear something to clear him. And apparently there's this vampire bar where Maudette and Dawn used to hang out at in Shreveport. You know it?"

"Fangtasia."

Victoria snorted, raising an eyebrow. "Fang-tay-sha?"

Bill was amused. "You have to remember that most vampires are very old. Puns used to be the highest form of humor."

Sookie nodded. "Well, I was thinkin' if I went there, I could do some sniffin' around. You think maybe you could take me?"

"If you're going, I'm going, too," Victoria told her cousin, growing protective. Sookie might be older than her, but Victoria is short of family members and is willing to do anything to protect those she loves.

"How about tonight?"

AT THE DOOR of Fangtasia, there's a bouncer in a black t-shirt with his arms crossed. Bill was holding Sookie's hand who was holding Victoria's. They looked like they were in a polyamory relationship.

As they walked into the club, it's red walls dimly lit. A disco version of "Don't Fear the Reaper" was playing.

A woman looked at Bill. "Bill. Haven't seen you in a while." Her hair was pulled back. She's wearing a black bustier and a necklace, and she was not smiling.

"I'm mainstreamin'," he replied, his stare cold and hard.

"Good for you. Who's the doll's?" Her blue eyes looked Sookie and Victoria up and down.

"Pam, this is Sookie and Victoria. Girls, this is Pam," Bill introduced them.

Sookie smiled. "Pleased to meet you." She extended her hand to Pam who looked disdainfully at it.

"Can I see your ID's?" Pam asked, ignoring Sookie's hand.

Sookie smiled and chuckled, leaving Victoria how one could be so smily and carefree. "Oh. Sure. How funny. Who'd have thought? Getting' carded at a vampire bar."

"I can no longer tell human ages," Pam said, raising an eyebrow when both girls handed over their ID's. 'We must be careful we serve no minors...in any capacity. Twenty-five, huh? How sweet it is." She looked at Victoria. "No alcohol for you, sweetie." 

Victoria simply shrugged in response, "not really a drinker."

They left Pam and approached the bar. A tattooed vampire with long, black hair, shirtless, but wearing a black leather vest and a necklace, is tending the bar. He did not smile as he greets Bill. "How's it goin', Bill?"

Bill smiled lightly. "Very well."

"I'll say it is," the vampire said, looking Victoria and Sookie up and down. "These your meal for tonight?"

"Excuse you?" Victoria stepped forward, making them all three look at her. "I'm a whole course meal by myself."

"Tori," Sookie hissed, pulling her cousin closer to her. Victoria snickered lightly, just grinning at her cousin who fondly rolled her eyes at her.

"These are my friend's, Sookie and Victoria. Girls, Longshadow," Bill introduced them, though, Longshadow just continued to state at Sookie and Victoria with hungry eyes.

After ordering something to drink, Bill addressed the vampire behind the bar. "Longshadow, Sookie and Victoria here would like to know if they could ask you a few questions. Would this be acceptable?"

Sookie took a couple of photographs from her purse and handed them to Longshadow. "I just have a couple of pictures I'd love you to take a look at. You recognize either of these women?"

Longshadow's was was neutral. "Yeah, I seen 'em both here before."

"Great, thank you," Sookie said, grateful. "And do you also happen to remember who they hung around with?"

"That's something we don't notice here. You won't either." He held up a vertically oriented picture of Maudette. "This one. She wanted to die."

"How do you know?" Victoria tilted her head.

"Everyone who comes here does, in their own way. That's who we are: Death." Longshadow handed the pictures back to Sookie. Bill grabbed his O Negative and Sookie's gin and tonic while Victoria grabbed her soda.

They sat down at an unoccupied cocktail table near a red and white "Red Wolf" neon sign. Sookie looked around and listened to people thinking.

The first thing Victoria noticed was a blond male with pale skin dressed in black, and seated in a large chair on a small stage. His face is visible, but his eyes are hidden in shadow.

"How's your drink?" Bill questioned, looking at the cousins.

Sookie smiled and set her glass down. "A gin and tonic's pretty much a gin and tonic no matter where you drink it."

Bill nodded, holding up his True Blood. "I know exactly what you mean."

Victoria looked back over at the blonde male sitting on the throne. "Who's that?" For some reason, the blonde male reminded her of Klaus which sent chills up her spin.

Right now, Klaus is with Stefan who has turned back into a ripper. They've been traveling, planning something. Elena doesn't want to stop looking for him, and even though Victoria wants to be there for her twin, she knows that is they continued looking for Stefan, Klaus will find out that she is alive which is not a good thing. Klaus is for sure going to kill Victoria once he finds out that she didn't die in the sacrice — thanks to John Gilbert.

Bill looked amused. "Oh, you noticed him, did you?"

Victoria bit her lip. "Its's not like that, I swear, I just—"

Bill chuckled, calming her. "Everyone does. That's Eric. He's the oldest thing in this bar."

Eric is still seated in the large chair on the stage, not looking at a bald man with a mustache who was kneeling in front of him. When the bald man touched Eric's knee, Eric kicked him so hard that he flew halfway across the club, and landed on the floor, bleeding from a cut above his right temple.

Victoria flinched at the display, swallowing thickly.

As the bald man tried to get up, he is approached by a young-looking female vampire with her short hair in a bob, and dressed in a black leather dress and long black leather gloves. She took him away with a smile.

"Still think you're in Disney World?" Bill questioned Sookie who looked to her cousin who had wrapped her arms around herself.

"You able to pick up anything?" Victoria asked her cousin, her own brown eyes glancing around the club, landing on the blonde on the throne more times than she could count. She couldn't help it, he just has this aura that pulled people in.

Sookie huffed. "All anyone's thinkin' about here is sex, sex, sex."

Bill smiled and chuckled. "One needn't be telepathic to pick up on that." His smile then vanished. "Uh, oh."

Both girls grew worried. "Don't say "uh-oh." Vampires are not supposed to say "uh-oh"."

Eric and Pam are looking directly at Bill. "It's Eric. He's scanned you once and Victoria twice. He's goin' to summon us."

"He can do that?" Victoria asked, looking over at Eric who was already staring at her.

Eric raised his right hand and motioned to Bill. Bill took both cousin's hand's, and they approached Eric and Pam. "Bill Compton. It has been a while."

Victoria shivered, not only was Eric really good looking, his voice was so damn hot. It was like that sleep voice men get why they wake up.

Bill nodded. "Yes, well... I've been--"

"Mainstreaming. I heard," Eric interrupted. "I see that is--" his blue eyes landed on Victoria's form and glanced at Sookie. "--going well for you."

Bill cleared his throat. "Yes, of course. Uh, sorry. Eric, these are my friend's--"

Eric interrupted him. "Sookie Stackhouse and Victoria Gilbert."

"How do you know our names?" Sookie grew protective, glancing at her younger cousin.

Pam looked at both girls. "I never forget a pretty face." She pointed to her forehead. "You're in my vault."

Sookie made a sarcastic comment before looking to Eric. "It's nice to meet you."

Eric looked unmoved. "Well, aren't you sweet."

Sookie stood taller. "Not really."

"You wish," Victoria commented, raising an eyebrow.

Eric turned to Pam, and muttered something to her in a swedish accent. Pam replied to him in the same language.

Eric turned to the blonde. "Miss Stackhouse, I understand you've been asking questions about some of my customers."

Sookie nodded. "Yes, I have."

"If you have anything to ask, you should ask it of me," Eric told her, his voice commanding.

"All rightie." Sookie handed the photos of Maudette and Dawn to Eric. "You recognize either one of these girls?"

Eric looked at the pictures and Pam looked at them over his shoulder. He hummed, pointing to the vertically-oriented picture of Maudette. "Well, this one offered herself to me. But I found her too pathetic for my attentions. Now, this one, however--" He pointed to the other photograph of Dawn. "I have tasted." He looked up at Tori, licking his lips.

Pam looked up. "I remember 'em both." She tilted her head. "Never had either of them, though. They weren't really my type."

Victoria leaned foreard and grabbed the photos from Eric's hand, wanting to leave. "Thank you very much. That is all your time we need to take."

"I'm not finished with you yet!" He exclaimed, making Victoria flinch slightly. He smiled. "Please. Sit." She gulped and took the seat to the right of Eric, her hands sweaty. Sookie stood beside her. Bill remained standing in front of them. "So, Bill. Are you quite attached to your friend's?" He questioned, looking at the girls, mostly Victoria. Something about her scent was alluring to him.

"They are mine!" Bill exclaimed, growing protective.

Sookie nodded. "Yes. I am his."

"I'm nobody's," Victoria stated, hating how Bill made her sound like an object instead of a person.

Eric clicked his tongue. "What a pity. For me." His blue eyes looked Victoria up and down. "Sit with us," he demanded Bill. "We have catching up to do, you and I. It has been too long."

Bill was hesitant. "Yes." He sat to the left of Eric who continued to look at Victoria with some interest.

Victoria broke her gaze from Eric to Sookie who qas looking around the club, possibly listening to thoughts. Seconds later, she turned to face her cousin and the vampires with wide eyes. "We have to get out of here."

Bill threw Eric a nervous look. "Sookie..."

Sookie shook her head, looking to Eric who tore his gaze from Victoria. "Eric, the cops are coming. There's gonna be a raid," Sookie warned, clasping Victoria's hand.

Eric scoffed, his gaze hard. "You're not an undercover cop, are--"

Sookie shook her head. "We're not, but that man in the hat is." They looked over at the man she was gesturing to. 

Eric tilted his head. "Even if you're right, we do nothing illegal here."

Sookie stared off. "There's a vampire named Taryn in the ladies' room with that man you kicked before. She's feeding on him.

"How do you know this?"

"Freeze!" Everybody turned to a cop who barged in. "Police! Freeze! Don't move!"

The crowd moved anyway as police officers, dressed in combat gear, entered the club.

"Follow me," Eric demanded. They followed Eric as the police conduct their raid.

Eric shoved open a door at the back of the club leading outside, and all quickly exit the building. Bill grabbed ahold of both Victoria and Sookie as Eric and Pam move away, looking like they were hovering.

Eric turned his head to Victoria and Sookie. "I enjoyed meeting you, both." They both vamp-sped away.

Bill quickly did the same, holding onto both girls.

•  •  •

Yay! Victoria met Eric and there's already shit happening lmao she can't seem to get a break, can she?

I want everyone to have their own nickname they give Victoria, so what should Eric call her?