#“hey Brooklynn wanna WALK home with us?”

[swan2swan]

Absolutely exquisite that Chaos Theory ended with Brooklynn being forced to choose between her five smelly friends who had to bum a ride halfway to the airport and wanted her to take care of a baby, or a wealthy woman with a private jet and a job offer.

[dynamightsfave]

Solitary ghost - Reggie Peters

(gif not mine! credits to owner)

reggie peters x ghost!oc

summary: reggie takes it upon himself to make friends with the antipathic, solitary ghost the band meets after a concert

warnings: mentions of death and suicide, mentions of child abuse swears

masterlist

***

Luna “Moony” Joy did justice to her last name. She was a bubbly girl, full of energy and positivity. Or at least she used to be, until her adoptive family died on a fire, leaving her an orphan and in foster care... again. How she jumped from house to house and ended up going all the way across the country is not something she likes to talk about. She doesn’t really like to talk at all.

Two years later, a Brooklynn girl died in L.A. after “falling” off a cliff, and she didn’t have to worry about any more foster homes. What she did have to worry about —and oh, how she wishes she didn’t have to— is her afterlife. “I died just so I could stay in the world for eternity. Fucking great”

Luna stayed away from other ghosts for the most part. She didn’t want help, she didn’t want guidance, and she most certainly didn’t want company. She tried to find her unfinished business so she could finally cross over and “leave this fucking place once and for all”, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t very surprised. What unfinished business could a foster kid possibly have? Too many, probably.

So Moony spent her days as a solitary ghost walking around the city, and avoiding Caleb Covington and that skater boy of his. The magician just couldn’t get in his head that she wanted nothing to do with him. Unfortunately for her, that didn’t save her from three particularly annoying ghosts.

[...]

It was Luke who found her.

They had performed at a local place a few weeks after they performed at The Orpheum, and Luna just so happened to pass by. The dark haired girl stopped when she heard the music, and figured that she might as well stay until the end. It wasn’t like she had somewhere to be anyways. The three boys poofed out of the scenario and appeared behind her, grinning like idiots at the applauding crowd. The bassist and the drummer were too preoccupied to notice the girl in front of them, the only one that wasn’t clapping or had a smile on.

“Hey” Luke nudged at the boys at either side of him with a frown, and jerked his head in her direction “She’s just standing there after we rocked this place. She’s not even fazed”

“Maybe’s just not her type of music” Alex suggested, not thinking much of it.

“Or maybe she hated it” the smile didn’t leave Reggie’s face as he nonchalantly stated his theory, oblivious to his bandmates frowns.

“You know, she can hear you, assholes” Luna rolled her eyes, scowling at them and turning around to leave through the wall.

“Woah- Wait!” Luke ran after her, and the other two followed “H-Hey! You’re a ghost too!”

“No shit Sherlock” she completely ignored them and kept walking.

“So you didn’t like our music? Why not?”

“Listen, I don’t know who you are, and frankly I don’t care either” she stopped and turned to the ghosts, who tumbled against each other abruptly “I really don’t care about your music either, so I would appreciate it if you stopped following me”

“Why are you being so rude?”

“Why are you being so nosy?” she shot back at Luke with a glare “Do you work for him? Like I said to your boss and his scout before, I don’t want in in your little club. I’m fine by my own. Leave me the hell alone”

With that, she poofed away, deciding that appearing in her place would be the best option. The band stood there dumbfounded staring at her now empty spot.

“What a bitch” the lead guitarist finally spoke.

“She asked if we worked for someone and then said she didn’t want in in our club... You don’t think Caleb’s after her, right?” Alex didn’t know her, but nobody deserved to go through what they had with those stamps.

“Who cares? Let’s go home” Luke patted his friend’s shoulder and started to go back to look for Julie.

Alex followed, but Reggie stood frozen for a moment. The girl was pretty, but that wasn’t what struck him. She looked sad, alone and overall unhappy. There was no spark in her eyes whatsoever, nothing that made her look alive —she wasn’t exactly alive, more like the opposite, but you know what he means. The Peters boy frowned at the floor, he wanted to know why she was like that. Wait, no, scratch that. He wanted to change that. Reggie Peters wanted to see how much prettier the unknown girl looked when smiling.

[...]

He made it his mission to find her. He went out looking for her while Julie was at school and Ray at work, and Luke and Alex were doing who knows what. Reggie basically padded all downtown L.A. trying to at least get a glimpse of the dark clothes that the Korean girl sported the night before. It took him a while, but he found her.

Reggie couldn’t even remember when he thought about visiting the observatory, but when he spotted the black clad ghost, he was glad he did.

“Hey, you’re the girl from last night! The one that didn’t like our music” he beamed, even when she just looked at him bored “I didn’t get to introduce myself, you were arguing with Luke. Hi, I’m Reggie” but Luna only stared at his hand for a moment and continued to look at the view.

Reggie didn’t sweat it, he just leaned against handrail next to her and stared at the view too. Luna didn’t say anything to him, she hated his presence there —like, what the hell was he doing, couldn’t he leave or something?

“Can you leave?” she turned to the boy.

“Nope. I want friends, other than my bandmates and Julie. Luke is always in his music or pestering Julie, Alex is with his crush —or boyfriend, I’m not sure anymore— and Julie is at school, and even if Luke goes annoy her, she’s been very strict about boundaries lately. I have Ray, but he can’t see me” he quickly explained, although Luna didn’t look like she cared “Can you at least tell me your name? I’ll stay quiet and won’t bother you if you do” he begged.

Luna looked at him —like really looked at him— for a moment. That moment felt like ages for Reggie, her dark brown eyes seemed to be scrutinizing every inch of his soul, but he didn’t back down. He was determined to make her afterlife good, no matter how long it took. They did have an eternity, after all.

Really, the dark haired girl wasn’t reading him. She hardly knew him, she just knew his name and that he had a really nosy friend and another that looked like an anxious baby. But Luna was meditating about her answer. There was something telling her that this Reggie wouldn’t leave her alone for whatever reason —because wanting more friends wasn’t an acceptable answer for him to have been looking around the whole city for her like she knew he had done— and this was most likely the best she’d get.

“Luna” she finally said, avoiding his eyes.

“Like the moon?” he asked with an amused smile, but erased it from his face once he met her eyes again “Right, I’m shutting up now”

Reggie did shut up... for about ten minutes. Then he started talking again, and he told her about how he became a ghost, hoping the story of dying because of a hot dog would at least put a smile on her face, it seemed to make everyone laugh. But it didn’t have the same effect on this girl, who only rolled her eyes and called them stupid for eating something that came out of a car.

[...]

It happened daily. Luna would be minding her business, “enjoying” her time alone, and Reggie would appear out of nowhere. He stayed silent for about fifteen minutes, and then started talking about whatever he could think of. She didn’t know how he always managed to find her, or why, but she had given up on trying to hide from him. She had enough with hiding from Caleb, and the beaming boy hadn’t asked about her, so it was bearable.

“Why don’t you tell me something about you?” never mind.

“No” Luna quickly dismissed “You said you wouldn’t bother me”

“Oh, come on, Luna. I just wanna learn something about you! I’ve told tons about me. And before you say you don’t know why the hell I do this, I don’t want you to be alone. No one deserves to be left alone, even after they died”

“I said I don’t want anyone’s company! And you still come bother me every day!” she shouted and moved her arms wildly, missing the way the boy in front of her flinched and cowered back a little “God, do you not listen?! Read the room, idiot! I don’t want you here!”

Luna didn’t know, but that last sentence struck Reggie like a ton of bricks mixed with lightning. Worse than Caleb’s stamp, and worse than Julie’s outburst at them when they let her down. Her yelling and moving her arms like that, that phrase, it brought him right back to his house. To when his parents shouted and argued for the smallest things, and Lord help him if they saw him, because then... well then it got worse. Way worse.

“I-I’m sorry” he muttered and looked down “I’ll leave you alone, don’t worry”

Reggie’s face had fallen, and he looked hurt, something that Luna hadn’t seen on him since he started bothering her. Then he poofed away, and the Korean girl was left alone. Which for some reason didn’t feel as good as she wanted. There was something inside of her that was bothering her more than Reggie’s constant banter, and that was the absence of it. She didn’t like to admit it, but the boy’s blabbering had become part of her day, and somewhere in between telling him to shut up and scowling at him —which he both blatantly ignored, by the way— she had begun to enjoy his presence. It made her days. He made her feel not so alone, or depressed, and the fact that she had made him feel that way didn’t sit right on her.

“Goddammit” she groaned internally.

The girl poofed away. Something else Luna didn’t like to admit was that she actually listened to everything Reggie told her, so she knew a little about the boy, and the first thing she looked for him was where his house used to be. The bike shack next to the noodle place at the beach. Sure enough, Luna spotted his leather jacket sat down on the sand, looking down and digging his finger in it. She started to walk in his direction, her Doc Martens felt weirdly hesitant and timid in contrast to how confident and defiant they usually marched.

The Joy girl stopped next to her... “friend”. Could she call him a friend? She had been nothing but mean and cold to the poor guy, while he had obviously tried his best to get the slightest of smiles from her. For some reason, Reggie still considered her a friend, he had said so a few times in the past month.

A quivering breath fell from her lips. Luna knew that Reggie had noticed her, but had chosen to ignore her. “I deserve that”

“Hi” it was the first time she greeted him first, and it was strange. She refused to let his silence appall her, so she sat down next to him “My full name is Luna Joy, kinda ironic, huh?” still no response; she sighed “Reggie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t’ve yelled at you for no reason, you’ve just been trying to be nice. Believe it or not, I really appreciate your visits, as annoying as the are” the chuckle from the back of her throat felt foreign. It had been long since she let a genuine one out, instead of a dry, sarcastic one.

“Did you just laugh?”

“I wouldn’t call it a laugh; it was more like a chuckle-”

“Oh nononono! None of that! No excuses! You laughed!” he pointed at her with the finger that had previously been drawing aimlessly in the sand, his face back to looking like a child in a toy store.

Luna couldn’t help the warm feeling in her chest —she didn’t know ghosts could still feel like that, but then again, she didn’t know she could still feel like that— nor the small smile that creeped into her lips.

“And now you’re smiling! This is the best thing ever!”

“Okay, relax” she chuckled again, and this time it did sound like a laugh “Don’t let this get to you, Reginald Peters, it’s not like it’s gonna happen all the time” she teased with a smirk.

“Wanna bet, Luna Joy?” he answered with a matching smirk.

“Oh, God, I’m already regretting this” she buried her head in her arms and knees “Does this mean I’m forgiven? I really am sorry”

“Yeah, it’s all forgotten. But you have to tell me more about you”

“What do you wanna know?”

“Anything. Everything” if Luna still had blood, she was sure she would’ve blushed from the intensity of his gaze.

“Well, when I was alive and had friends, my family and them used to call me Moony, because of my name and Luna Lovegood and Remus Lupin from Harry Potter”

“Can I call you that?” Reggie quickly asked.

Luna pondered about it for a few seconds before nodding.

“I don’t see why not. We’re friends, right?” she sent a small smile, and the boy smiled brighter.

[...]

It was Luna’s turn to blabber nonstop. She was hesitant at first, but soon started to let loose, and although it seemed impossible, the old Luna Joy came back when she was with Reggie. She started to enjoy herself more when he visited, liked to talk with him about anything, and went along with any kind of idea he had. Reggie found out that Moony was nothing like the first time they met, and he was pretty proud of himself for making her comfortable enough to let her walls down.

At some point, they found themselves falling for each other, and Luna felt like she could shit her pants when she realized. She didn’t know how to handle it, it was strange and she was scared. Reggie on the other side, he smiled as big as he could when it clicked for him, causing Julie to ask him what had him so happy.

“I like a girl” he answered without shame, and suddenly he was being interrogated by the lead singer of the band.

Oh, but when their next hang out came... That was another story. Luna didn’t want to be awkward and Reggie didn’t want to come off too obvious.

They both did a terrible job.

“You’re being awkward” he whined.

“Well you’re clingier than normal” she responded instantly.

There was a silence that followed in which they stared at each other.

“I’m scared” Luna whispered after a moment, and Reggie furrowed his brows.

“What? Why?” he moved closer, hoping to bring comfort to the girl.

“I don’t think I’ve been this close with someone ever, other than my mom” she confessed.

Reggie knew all about her foster system experience, from before and after she got adopted. They had had very deep conversations many times, and in one of them, Luna decided to tell him about her family, and eventually why she died. The bassist had let her break down in his arms and not judged her when she told him that she took her life and how angry she was after appearing back as a ghost. He just hugged her tighter and then told her about his family.

He told her about Luke and Alex and Bobby, and all their adventures and what they went through in their lives. Then he told her about his new family, and how he considered the Molinas and Flynn part of his little family, even if the only one that could actually interact with him was Julie. After that, Reggie told Luna about his parents. He had a hard time telling her, but the girl didn’t push him, knowing how touchy subjects could hurt, and talking about them was a huge effort. So she let him take his time, listening to how his parents never seemed to stop fighting, and how they even got him in between them. Luna was hardly containing her tears when he got to the part where his dad had gotten his hands on him a couple times. Luna brought him into an embrace, and they stayed like that for the rest of that night.

“Is being close with me a bad thing?”

“No” the answer was immediate “Not in the slightest. It’s just... I never thought I’d have someone that I cared so much about, like, ever again. And I’m scared, because I don’t wanna lose you like everyone else and-”

“Hey. You’re not gonna lose me” he took her hand in his “I promise. If it helps, I feel very close with you too”

“Yeah, but I like you!” she stressed, taking the boy aback “That’s never happened before! It scares the shit out of me, and you surely don’t like me back like that, and-”

“Moony!” Reggie cut her off with a laugh “I like you too!” the boy felt like he just got told he won the ghost-lottery, the smile on his face the biggest Luna had seen.

“Huh?”

“I like you too” he repeated “When I’m thinking about coming to visit you and hang out with you, I feel like I’m about to perform with the band again. I get this rush of happiness and that’s just by thinking of you!”

Luna looked at the guy like he was crazy. How was he so happy? She had been scared all week! When she was little, feelings came easy to her, but she’d never liked someone. Then her family died, and she never gave herself the opportunity to like someone. Now this goofy boy came, after they have both died, and he doesn’t leave her alone, and suddenly his goofiness and playful flirting had an effect on her! And on top of that, he says he likes her too! It was all strange and too good to be true. “What the hell is happening?”

“You like me” she said, not sounding convinced “This better not be one of your jokes Reg, because I swear, if it is I’ll-”

Once again, Reggie cut her off laughing, just to pull her into a kiss. He kissed her out of impulse, he couldn’t restrain himself anymore now that he knew she liked him back. Besides, she wanted to be sure she wasn’t fucking with her, right?

“I’m not joking, Moons. I really like you. A lot” he giggled, resting his hands on her face to make her look directly at him “And now that I know you like me...” he saw her bite her bottom lip to contain her smile “I can proudly say that I made Luna Joy feel emotions again”

“Hey! It’s not like I was completely emotionless”

“Sure babe” he leaned in to place a swift kiss on her nose.

“Okay, enough of that” she pulled away, but let his arms rest around her “Wait, “babe”? What’s that about?”

“Oh, right” Reggie seemed to realize something and sat up straighter “Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

Once again, Luna stared at the ghost in front of her dumfounded. He stared back at her with a smile, waiting for an answer.

“Are you serious?” she asked. Reggie only nodded “Just like that?”

“You want a big ask? I can do it, give me a second”

“Woah, woah no! No big asks” she gripped his leather jacket just as he went to stand up “It just caught me off guard”

“Why? We like each other, and I want you to be my girlfriend so no other cute ghost can take charm you with incredible harmonica skills and funnier stories”

“This right here is why I like you. I don’t need a harmonica player; I like how you play your banjo. I’ll be your girlfriend, Reg”

[...]

Now that we know how Reggie and Moony got together let’s rewind a little. I said, she wasn’t safe from three particularly annoying ghosts. She’s got one, she’s dating him. She met —or re-met— the other two a month later.

“C’mon, please” Reggie dragged out the word like a little kid begging their mom for candy. To be fair, he was begging, but instead of his mother, his girlfriend “They’ll love you! Alex uses sarcasm almost as much as you do. Julie wants to try and see you, she’s been asking me about you every time I get back home! She’s getting really tiring”

“Oh, so kinda like you then” Luna wasn’t having it.

She sat there listening to her boyfriend whine about how much he wanted her to meet his friends, his family. He wanted to be able to spend time with her without having to escape them all the time. Also, Luke and Alex did not believe him when he said he had found a girl.

The bassist huffed and plopped himself next to Luna, crossing his arms. He eyed the black nail polish she was applying to her nails, and then looked at his own nails, already painted black. Reggie smiled, getting off track for a second at the memory of how delicate she had been minutes ago when she was painting his nails. It was the most patient he had ever seen her. “Wait, no- friends” he shook his head and looked at the girl again.

“Why don’t you wanna meet my friends?” he pouted.

“Baby, I don’t think your buddy Luke was a fan of me last and only time I met him. Granted, I wasn’t very nice to him, but...” Reggie blushed at the pet name.

Luna wasn’t great with words, so pet names were unusual in her, causing the boy to blush each time she used one. Touching didn’t come out of her either, it was usually him who had to start a kiss or a hug, but she didn’t neglect them. He had determined that her love language was actions.

She had been alone for a long time, and having someone that cares about you was strange, but she tried her best to show Reggie that she too cared about him. Moony would take him to a place where country music was played, or nudge him and propose a crazy idea that she knew he’d love, or paint his nails carefully like before. Or Reggie’s personal favorite: how Luna would “ask” for cuddles. She wouldn’t initiate them, she felt awkward verbally asking for them or suddenly throwing herself on him as he did when he wanted some, but instead she’d shift closer to him and subtly lean a little into his body. After a few times when Reg had asked for cuddles and she’d done that same thing, he had started to understand the subtle actions that she did to ask for touch without feeling awkward or uncomfortable. He had to say, he found it absolutely adorable how shy she could be. He’d never imagined the bold Joy girl to be able to act that way.

“Okay, but now you’re nicer!” he tried to convince her again “Come on, just for half an hour! You meet them, stay a little, and if you decide you don’t like them, or don’t feel right we’ll leave and I won’t talk about this ever again” when she still didn’t look at him, he carefully grabbed her arm —because he knew she’d kill him again if he messed up her nails— and turned her around “Please, please, please, please, please, pl-”

“Okay!” she snapped “I’ll go meet your band, just shut the fuck up!”

“Yes!” he grabbed her face and kissed her lips “You’re the best, Moons”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me finish my hand and we can go” she said, retrieving her arm so she could paint her last two nails.

Luna Joy was used to put this brave, unbreakable, unfazed facade on that now only came down when she was with Reginald Peters. Like right now, she was standing in front of a garage, gripping his hand tight and internally shitting her pants.

“You know what? I’m not feeling well, maybe I should come by another time-”

“Babe. You’re gonna be fine, just relax” he pressed a kiss to her temple, and then walked in “Everybody, this is Luna. I told you guys she existed” he stuck his tongue at his two brothers, grinning wide at Julie’s excited face.

“Hey” Luna waved.

“You. You’re that ghost that didn’t like our music and then was rude!” Luke pointed at her “Why didn’t you like our music?”

“Can you please not attack her, Luke?” Alex rolled his eyes “I’m sorry, he’s stupid. I’m not, I’m Alex”

“Yeah, our music isn’t for everyone. Hi, my name’s Julie and I am very excited to see and meet you. Reggie has told me a lot about you” the curly haired girl in front of her smiled, showing off her tooth gap. Luna thought she was adorable.

“Has he now? I’ve heard a lot about you guys too-”

“Okay! So I’ve talked about everyone, let’s move on passed that, yeah?”

“We’ll save you the embarrassment, don’t worry. Oh, and Luke. I did like your music”

After that afternoon, Luna wasn’t able to get rid of the boys. She didn’t mind, she found that being a solitary ghost was so much less fun than being part of a group again.

“So what did you think?” Reggie asked her on the observatory that night, pulling her body closer than what she had leaned on.

“They’re nice” she hummed “Hey, can I tell you something? I’m scared again”

“Why?”

“I think I love you”

“Well, if it helps, I think I love you too”

[alonely-dreamer]

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 22 (The End)

Summary: Witches never die.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 6228

Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21

Adapting to being a vampire wasn’t so hard for Brooklynne. Perhaps because she wasn’t really a vampire, but rather a vampire-fairy hybrid who, aside from being immortal, was as human as she used to be.

She didn’t fear the sun, she ate human food and didn’t have to rely on blood to survive. The hardest part of her transition was that everything was heightened. Her sight, her hearing, her strength… She was faster than lightning, and, since apparently it was a hereditary talent, she could fly, like her maker. A talent she’d have to learn to control, and a talent which Pam was jealously unequipped with.

To the rest of the world, Brooke was just another mortal, weird like her sister, maybe gifted with telepathy for those who believed in those sorts of things. But to her family, to her loved ones, she was the strongest creature on Earth, and, therefore, the weakest.

Eric’s worry was loud and made him even more unpleasant than before. With other people, that is. He took extra care of Brooklynne, who felt like a little girl again, who wasn’t allowed to leave her house because she’d get too distracted to even remember her own name.

Fortunately for her, Eric could not control her days, which she spent with her sister at Merlotte’s. It had been a week now, since she had become a vampire, and the only abnormal behavior she showed was an extreme appetite. She could not stop eating, and she almost emptied Sam’s kitchen, not that he would ever complain about it.

“Look at you,” Arlene said as she walked behind the bar to grab a bottle of alcohol. “You wouldn’t be expecting a happy event, would you?”

Brooklynne almost choked on her chicken wing and Arlene laughed as the hybrid coughed and wiped the mess she had made.

“What? No!”

“I’m just kidding ya. I know you can’t get pregnant. Not while you’re with that vampire of yours…”

Brooklynne watched the waitress walk away and disappear in the hallway, leaving a wave of disapproval behind her.

“Fuck you too,” she mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?” Sookie asked, approaching her with a plate she put down on the bar.

“Nothing.”

“What did Arlene want?”

“To make sure I knew how much she hates my kind.”

“To be fair, you’re the first and only one of your kind.”

“Wanna join me?”

“No, thanks,” she swiftly dismissed the mere idea, “hey, isn’t Eric supposed to be here already?”

“Yeah. I guess there was an emergency at Fangtasia. He’s not answering my texts.”

“Well, that’s weird.”

“Not really,” she shrugged. “It’s Halloween. He says there’s always some shit happening on Halloween.”

“When did you start using those words?” Sookie sighed. “You weren’t always so vulgar.”

Her sister laughed. “Sorry. I’m just repeating what he said.”

“Anyway, I have to take out the trash before I leave, want me to drive you?”

“Sure, why not? I’ll join you outside.”

Brooklynne finished her plate, then her drink in one go, before leaving some cash on the bar. She walked across the restaurant and exited through the back door. There, she found her sister and Holly talking about Marnie. Brooke rolled her eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, Brooklynne.”

“What’s up Holly?”

“Oh, nothing, honey. We were just talking about… well… we just have a bad feeling, is all.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Sookie waved it off.

“Yeah. We’re just spooked because it’s Halloween and all.”

Screeching tires drew their attention towards Tara’s car who had just parked in a panic. Brooklynne didn’t know if it was the previous spooky talk, or just Tara’s look as she ran towards them, but she was starting to have a bad feeling as well.

“Tara?” Sookie called. “Tara what is it? What happened?”

“She’s back!”

“Who’s back, honey?”

“Marnie.”

“Marnie’s dead,” Brooklynne rolled her eyes. “I should know, I killed her myself.”

“She killed Jesus,” Tara started crying. “I think she’s inside Lafayette.”

Sookie turned slowly towards her little sister, who oddly appeared to stand taller than her for once.

“Don’t look at me, I’m no witch. I wouldn’t know the first thing about getting that bitch out of Lafayette.”

“No, Brooke… Eric’s not answering his phone.”

If Brooklynne ever doubted her heart was still beating, she sure had the answer now, as it felt like it skipped a beat as she realized what her sister was saying.

“No,” she scoffed in disbelief. “He’d kill Lafayette on the spot.”

“I’m gonna try to call Bill,” the waitress said as she took out her phone.

Brooklynne shook her head, maybe to try and throw the mere idea of Eric being in any kind of danger away, as she took out her own cellphone.

“Bill’s not answering,” Sookie said, now even more panicked than before.

“Eric either…”

“Well, do we know where they could be?” Holly asked.

Sookie took a deep breath as she remembered what Bill had told her earlier: ‘I’ll be waiting for you at home. My men will let you in.’

“Yes. We do.”

 ***

 Vampires were supposed to heal fast. So fast that they could barely feel pain. Which is why this headache was doubly irritating for Brooklynne. Between the busy minds of her sister, Holly and Tara, whom she was riding with, her own head felt like it was about to explode. Filled with worry and incomprehension, she kept asking herself if she should just get out of the car and run to Bill’s house on her own. She’d already be there.

“You can’t. If Tara and Holly find out you’re a vampire, it won’t be a secret anymore.”

“Who cares at this point? Eric could die any second now!”

“Pam might already be there.”

“If he wanted either of us there, he’d had already called us. Which means he’s in real danger, Marnie is not kidding around, she’s aiming to kill!”

“Don’t remind me. I’m driving you to her!”

“She won’t have a chance to hurt me. She’ll be dead before…”

“You can’t kill her like last time, Brooke. She’s inside Lafayette. We need to trust Holly, she knows how this works.”

“No, she doesn’t, are you listening to her? She’s got a bag full of salt and a mouth full of ‘maybes’. What if she has no clue how to deal with this?”

“Either way, we’re not killing Lafayette.”

“If killing Lafayette is the only way to save Eric, I will do it myself.”

“Are you hearing yourself? You’re talking about killing Lafayette! Our friend! Tara’s cousin!”

“Sorry, Sook. But it’s not a hard choice. Not even a little bit.”

Brooklynne did her best to shut her sister’s disapproving thoughts out of her head, she knew it all already. Of course, she wouldn’t be happy about killing Lafayette. Of course, she’d rather Holly’s plan worked. But if it didn’t, if she had to choose between watching Marnie/Lafayette kill Eric or kill her/him herself, she wouldn’t lose sleep over it. She stopped for a second, a very brief second, and wondered if she’d had thought the same as a human/fairy. If she had been in that situation a month ago, what would she have done? She knew what she would have done. She’d have been too weak to fight off Marnie. She’d have been too weak to save Eric.

She wasn’t going to be weak tonight.

“Any of you got a mirror?” Holly asked as she did the inventory of her Wiccan first aid-kit.

“You ever done this before?” Sookie asked as she handed her a small mirror she found in her purse.

“Goddess, no,” the waitress replied as she shoved the mirror into her bag, next to the salt and the sage. “Usually, I just light a candle and ask the spirits to make sure my boys don’t end up in jail or knock somebody up.”

Sookie could hear her sister scoff and roll her eyes next to Holly, a “what did I say?” echoing inside of her head.

“But so far, that’s worked out okay.”

“Maybe you’re just a good mother,” Brooke mumbled.

“Oh, thanks honey.”

Brooklynne frowned as the mother of two gave her a nervous smile, her lack of faith in her Wiccan religion completely oblivious to her.

“Sook, you can’t let them hurt him,” Tara begged. “If Bill and Eric find out Marnie’s inside Lafayette…”

“I have a feeling they already know…”

Tara stepped on the accelerator. They were only a couple of minutes away. Brooklynne kept trying to reach her maker through their bond, but the silence she was met with only helped widening the pit in her stomach.

Tara stopped the car at the gates of Bill’s property and the four women jumped out of the vehicle, Holly, her bag of magic tricks on her shoulder.

Brooklynne, though she had been patient until then, didn’t even think twice about disappearing on them as soon as she smelled wood and straw.

“Eric!”

She found them tied up together to a pyre, half naked, silver chains around their bare chest.

“What are you doing here? You need to go, now!”

“Are you crazy? I’m not leaving without you!”

“Brooklynne!” Sookie called as she caught up to her sister, Holly and Tara behind her.

“Are you kidding me? You didn’t think to tell us you were a vampire?” Tara started to yell.

“She can’t be, she was at the bar all day long!” Holly said, confused, and a little bit scared.

They didn’t get the time to argue about it any more, however, as Marnie appeared before them.

“As your friend Lafayette would say, what goes around comes around, bitches.”

“I’m gonna kill you, you crazy bitch.”

“You already have,” Marnie replied with surprising calm. “Thank you for coming.”

Marnie/Lafayette raised a hand and waved it once to the left. Brooklynne felt her feet get off the floor and was sent flying across the garden where she collided with a tree.

Eric and Sookie called her name, in useless worry. She was back up on her feet in a matter of seconds.

“Lafayette!”

Tara received a deathly stare from the dead witch inside her cousin, and she gulped.

“… and Marnie. Please, don’t do this.”

“After all they’ve done to you, you protect them?”

“Killing Bill and Eric isn’t gonna make any of that go away.”

“Revenge will never bring you peace,” Eric told her.

“There can’t be peace until there is justice for me, for Antonia, for all the women you tortured and burned for centuries!”

Taking advantage of the moment, Holly started drawing a circle of salt around the pyre as Marnie had her back turned to her.

“All to repress a magic that’s older and more powerful than your very existence.”

“Marnie, what will this serve?” Bill, who saw Holly and understood the plan, asked, to help distract her. “There are millions of us, more being made every night. You cannot win.”

“I’m already dead, vampire. Thanks to you and your friends, I have nothing left to lose.”

Marnie lowered her head and raised her hands in the air as she casted three more words “incendia of sanctimonia”.

“No!” Brooke and Sookie screamed as they tried to make their way to the now burning pyre. But the fire Marnie had just started only grew bigger as they reached it. Brooklynne dragged her sister away from it as Tara joined them.

“Stop it,” she yelled. “It’s still Lafayette!”

“I don’t care,” Brooke growled as she raised a hand, a blinding light coming out of it, hitting Lafayette/Marnie in the chest, pushing them far away. It didn’t stop the fire, to her biggest disappointment.

Holly finished the circle of salt, joining them back to her starting point, as Marnie sat up, now, neither looking like Lafayette or herself, but with a painted face of some sort of creature.

“Give me your hands, now!”

Hesitantly, Tara joined the three women in a circle, taking the hand of the two sisters in her own. Immediately, they started chanting.

“Spirits who watch over us, friends, family, ancestors, guardians of the gate, with this rite we evoke thee through the veil of Samhain, we call thee forth.”

Again and again, they chanted, keeping Marnie out of the circle, however, doing nothing to stop the fire that was burning the two vampires next to them.

As the dead witch growled and the immortals screamed out of pain, spirits appeared in the cemetery near them, walking the earth once more, to join them in their battle. Sookie kept an eye open on Bill, while Brooklynne focused on Eric, doing her best not to break the circle and jump in the fire herself to get him out of there.

“Marnie.”

The summoned spirits stood in the forest, behind Marnie, calling her, only one, however, getting her attention: Antonia.

“Marnie.”

Lafayette’s face changed back to normal as the painted face of the creature disappeared, Marnie, making her way to the ghost of her former partner.

“My sister.”

“You came back to me…” she said, and the witch smiled. “I knew you would.”

Antonia’s eyes moved from Lafayette/Marnie to the burning pyre, and from where she stood blew out the fire as easily as she would have blown off the candles on a birthday cake.

“Antonia, no!”

Brooklynne didn’t wait one more second as she made her way to her maker, ripped off the silver chains tying the vampires to the still hot death trap. Eric’s knees were too weak and she caught him as he fell. However, no one was there to catch the King, who fell off the pyre and onto the hard ground. Sookie was quickly by his side.

“Are you okay?”

“Crispy.”

“Why the hell didn’t you call me? Or Pam?”

“So you could have burned with me? Not a great plan.”

“Not asking for help isn’t a plan at all!”

Off the pyre and back on the ground, Eric enjoyed the feeling of his burning bare feet on the cold grass. Brooke helped him kneel down.

“What the hell am I supposed to do without you? Don’t you dare die on me now that I’m immortal!”

“I’d rather die knowing that you’re safe, than die after watching you get killed.”

“And I’d rather die than spend immortality without you, so don’t you ever do that again!”

“Alright. I’ll try not to get burned alive by the crazy ghost of a witch again. That I can promise you.”

“Shut up and drink,” she rolled her eyes as she kneeled beside him and offered him her wrist.

The witches were still talking on the other side of the circle, and whatever Antonia was saying, Marnie didn’t want to hear it.

“All creatures have their purpose, even vampires.”

“How can you say that? They murdered us!”

“Their cruelty served its purpose: to bring you and I together. And now I am here to take you home.”

“I’m not finished yet.”

“Oh, yes you are.”

That voice. Brooklynne knew that voice. She turned her head, but whoever it was, she was hidden behind the pyre. However, Sookie could see her perfectly.

“Gran?”

“Holy Goddess.”

“Holy shit.”

Eric released Brooke’s hand so that she could get up and see for herself, Adele, her grandmother, make her way to Lafayette, put her hand in his mouth and reach down his throat. She took out a black fog which she threw away behind her. Once it reached the ground, it turned into Marnie.

“I don’t wanna go. I am not ready. Please!” she begged as she stood up.

“I was trapped between world for 400 years… lost and driven mad by my rage. I do not want that for you.”

“And what about what I want?! Nobody cares what I want! All my life, I’ve been afraid. And who wouldn’t be? With dead people murmuring in my ears, making me deliver your messages… making me into a freak! A creepy, pathetic, terrified mess muttering to herself in the corner.”

“But that is not who you are anymore.”

“No. That’s right. I’m not afraid anymore. I’ve got real power now. And you want to take that away from me?” she cried. “You want them to win?”

“Oh, Marnie,” Antonia said as she took Marnie’s face between her hands, “Marnie, can’t you see? Life is pain. But soon, all you have suffered and feared will be meaningless. You will be at peace. But them…”

“… they’ll be stuck here. Forever.”

“And there is no victory in that.”

A tear or two fell down Marnie’s cheeks as she screamed. “Oh, this fucking sucks.”

“Come on.”

Antonia took Marnie’s hand and led her down to the forest where the other spirits were waiting for her. Adele followed them.

“Gran!”

Sookie and Brooklynne called after her, hoping to make her stay.

“Please don’t go,” Sookie cried.

“I have to, dear.”

“I’m so lost without you. I don’t know what to do.”

“Yes, you do. Look at your sister. She’s got it all figured out,” she said as she smiled, proudly, at Brooklynne.

“Oh, Gran… I’m so sorry.”

“For what, dear?”

Brooklynne sniffed and shrugged, hoping her grandmother was proud of her, of who she had become.

“Answer’s where it always is. In your heart. Being alone, it ain’t nothing to be afraid of, my girls. We’re all alone, at the end.”

She smiled at them one last time before joining the spirits back to the cemetery and her granddaughters watch her leave them with tears in their eyes.

Brooke felt a hand slide on her waist, and she took it, as Eric pulled her towards him.

“No offense to your grandmother, but neither one of us will be alone at the end.”

Brooke chuckled as she wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand.

“This is the worst night ever.”

“Well,” he said as he turned her around and wiped one last tear with his thumb, “the night is still young.”

 ***

 Eric had no idea how right he was. Well, maybe he did, a little. He knew what was coming. For him, for Bill. For Brooklynne. They were coming for their heads.

He hadn’t said a word, but Brooklynne knew too. She wasn’t used to being able to read his mind, and it mostly just happened, she couldn’t control it. He was thinking about it, so hard, as he was drinking her blood, in Bill’s living room. She could hear her sister break up with Bill in the other room, and she just wished she could tune them out. Hearing Bill cry made her feel sick.

“Are you sure they’re coming after you too? It wasn’t your fault.”

“They don’t care. I was caught on camera.”

“They destroyed all of that footage.”

“There are witnesses.”

“Glamour them.”

“It’s too late.”

“Then we should leave. Now.”

“And go where? They won’t stop until…”

“Brooklynne.”

The vampire-fairy hybrid turned to see her sister enter the room. Her eyes were red. And wet.

“I’m going home.”

“Okay. I’m staying here, with Eric.”

“You should go with her. There’s no reason for you to be here when…”

Brooklynne shot him a look that told him all he needed to know. She wasn’t going anywhere. She’d save him. Or die trying.

“Have a good night, Sook.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” her sister nodded as she waved, before she walked away.

“The AVL doesn’t know I’m a vampire. They can’t kill me. It’s against their own rules.”

“If you get in their way, if you show them what you can do…”

“Eric,” she stopped him, taking a step forward and placing a hand above his, “either we’re leaving town, or we’re staying. But we stay together.”

Eric sighed, defeated.

“Like you said, neither of us will be alone at the end.”

 ***

 Bill was back to being a cold bastard when he joined them in his living room. He sat in an armchair next to them, and they all kept a dreadful quiet as they enjoyed the last hour of their life.

Bill had nothing else to lose. He had just lost the only thing he wanted, the only thing he needed. Without Sookie, he had no reason to live. He wouldn’t fight the Authority, if they came knocking on his door with a true death warrant. Eric thought about his human life. His immortal life. Godric. Pam. Brooklynne. He thought about the life he had and the one he would never get. The life he dreamt of having with Brooklynne, and the one he could never give her. But Brooklynne wasn’t done fighting. She had barely started. She’d use all of her powers to kill them all, if need be. She felt strong enough. She never even took the time to ask herself if she could.

When the cars arrived, disturbing the silent night as they drove on the gravel driveway, they all felt like time had stopped. Like it was all decided, and they would either leave the house alive, or not at all.

Brooklynne suddenly felt like she had forgotten so many things. Her siblings. She should have said goodbye to them. But instead, she let Sookie go without even telling her she might never see her again. She was almost certain Eric was thinking the same way about Pam. But he knew if he had let her know about any of this, she’d had come, and he couldn’t do that to her. She deserved better.

At least, Bill had said his goodbye.

“This is it,” the King of Louisiana said as he straightened his suit.

“It’s been a crazy thousand years.”

Brooklynne scoffed dryly.

“I thought immortality would last longer.”

They followed Bill as he took the direction of the front door. He opened with a polite smile, a smile Brooklynne had dubbed “Bill’s political smile”.

Nan Flanagan was standing on the porch with a handful of heavily armed men and she looked pissed. She looked furious.

“Ms. Flanagan, we’ve been expecting you.”

Eric and Brooklynne appeared behind their king. It somehow seemed to make her angrier.

“Hi, Nan. And gay stormtroopers.”

Eric’s ability to make stupid jokes in moments such as this one was one of the reasons Brooklynne loved him so much.

“Perfect. Two birds, one stone,” she said as she entered the house, taking the direction of Bill’s office, followed by her guards.

Though Eric stayed silent, Brooklynne could feel his relief. Whatever Nan’s orders were, Brooklynne didn’t seem to be included in them.

The couple stepped in the crowded office, joining Bill’s side.

“The Marnie situation has been resolved, if that makes any difference,” Bill said.

“Ding, dong, the witch is dead,” Nan replied with a tone so sharp it would have given the true death to any vampire who got too close. “Yippee.”

“His Majesty showed great leadership in extremely perilous circumstances. You should be kissing his ring.”

“Why bother when your tongue’s already so far up his ass?”

Eric contemplated his options as his desire to kill the bitch grew stronger. Brooklynne was glad he controlled himself.

Nan gestured her guards to close the door and they stood before it, blocking the only exit. Brooklynne looked up at Eric who seemed to be as nervous as she was. This meant nothing good.

“I wish for one fucking night you could experience the litany of bullshit I’ve had to deal with. Then you’d have some idea of how little I give a fuck about your small-town witch infestation, or your whole backwoods kingdom, for that matter.”

“For someone who cares so little, you seem awfully pissed off.”

“Do I, Bill? Maybe that’s because I quit my fucking job!”

“You quit the AVL?” Eric asked, as baffled as Bill was.

“And the Authority.”

“No one quits the Authority,” Bill chuckled nervously.

“Quit, fired, same difference!”

“We assumed we were the ones to be terminated.”

“Oh, there’s been an order issued on your heads.”

Hearing those words, Brooklynne instinctively seized Eric’s hand.

“My last duty was supposed to be delivering the True Death to both of you. Of course, I realized I’d be next.”

She sighed, trying to control her anger. Failing.

“I have been alive for eight hundred and sixteen years. I refuse to be retired like a fat first wife!”

“Let me make sure I got this straight,” Eric said. “You’re mutinying against the American Vampire League and the Authority?”

“And you expect us to join you?”

“We won’t be alone,” she assured them. “There are factions inside the regime who have never been completely on board with the current agenda. Sheriff Northman knows what I’m talking about.”

Brooklynne frowned. So did Bill.

“What’s in it for us?” the Viking asked, undisturbed by the accusation.

Nan laughed. “Aside from surviving the night? How about your little fairy toy over there? And her sister.”

Their silence and cold stares didn’t faze her.

“Oh, come on. The mind reading, the microwave fingers? You didn’t think I knew what you were? There are at least a couple thousand vampires who would do almost anything to get a taste of your blood.”

“They’re welcome to try,” Brooklynne smirked.

In the next second, she had seized Bill’s paper knife and cut the throat of all of Nan’s human guards. Eric had wanted to do it, but she insisted, as it was her sister she was protecting.

“You’re a vampire?” Nan gasped, looking at her like she was an alien. Which… she was.

“Don’t. threaten. my sister.”

Bill armed himself with the fancy stake that was on display behind his seat, and stabbed Nan who exploded on the spot. There were pieces of her everywhere, the vampires were covered with her blood. Brooklynne took what looked like a tooth from her hair and threw it towards the pile of blood at her feet. She grimaced, then sighed.

“Can we leave now?”

 ***

 Leaving a voicemail to his progeny, Bill didn’t help Eric clean up the mess he had made of Nan Flanagan. Brooklynne stared at the fake window as her maker made sure to get rid of any evidence that would work against them in case of a trial. Though, if they ever got caught, they would not get the luxury of a trial. Their fate was already sealed, killing Nan was just going to buy them a little bit more time. Or so they thought.

As soon as they stepped out of the house, they fell into a silver trap. They were surrounded by a dozen heavily armed men who threw silver nets at Bill and Eric. They both cried out of pain and Brooklynne’s first instinct was to help her maker, but she was quickly pinned against the wall with unhuman strength.

The soldier took off his helmet and stared at her, right in the eyes, as he said: “go back inside, sit down and forget this ever happened”.

Her eyes grew big as she realized he was trying to glamour her. She could see in the corner of her eye that they were taking them away, towards the trunk of their black vehicle. There were too many soldiers there, all wearing protection gear and weapons that could kill a vampire in a second. She did her best to put the loud voice inside her head to rest. It killed her to ignore it, it almost destroyed her to not try anything to help Eric, but she knew if she tried anything, if she showed them she couldn’t be compelled, if she showed them what she really was, they’d either kill her or take her too, and she would never be able to help anyone again.

So, she did as he asked. She went back inside Bill’s house, sat on the first armchair she could find, and watched as they drove away.

She got up as soon as she was certain they wouldn’t be able to see her follow them. She stayed far enough away, running fast, faster than she ever thought she could run. She even tried to fly, but to no avail. She followed them out of Bon-Temps and into an empty road. It was the middle of the night, so there was no one else there, but vampires.

She tried to think of a plan, of a way to get them out that wouldn’t get her and them killed. But there was no way she could free them without alerting the Authority soldiers.

But, suddenly, the black van in which all of the soldiers had gotten into took another road. It confused Brooklynne for a second, until she realized they were probably going back to their base, which meant Bill and Eric were going somewhere else. Somewhere like New-Orleans, to the Vampire Authority Headquarters.

She ran even faster now, so she could catch up to the single car, in which Eric was trapped. She positioned herself in the middle of the road, in front of the vehicle, but far enough away so that they could see her before driving into her. She rose a hand and the brightest light came out of it, blinding the driver. He immediately, out of instinct, turned the wheel, causing the car to roll over three times before it stopped in the field on her right.

She rushed towards the trunk which was already half opened. One kick was enough to open it wide.

“Brooklynne,” Eric breathed out as he crawled out, “what are you doing?”

“Saving your life? You’re welcome. Come on.”

They helped Bill out but didn’t get the time to do anything else as a vampire, whom Brooke recognized to be the driver, showed up behind them, holding a gun, no doubt loaded with silver bullets.

“Who wants to die first?”

Eric pushed Brooke behind him, screaming at her mentally to run the second she can, to not think twice about it. As soon as he turned into a pool of blood, she had to make a run for it.

But he wasn’t the one who exploded into a disgusting pile of bloody body parts.

A woman stood where the vampire used to be a second before, his spine in her hand.

“You, Hayes,” she said, looking down at the pile of blood, “you die first.”

“Nora,” Eric breathed out.

Their savior threw the spine on the ground and shook her bloody hand, trying to get the remaining pieces of Hayes off of her skin.

“I had arranged for our car to be conveniently ambushed when we hit 310,” Nora said, she had a British accent. Our attackers were going to take out my driver there. Unfortunately, wonder woman over here came 12 miles too soon.”

“Um… sorry?”

“Don’t be. It was badass.”

“Eric, you know this woman?” Bill asked.

“Yes. She’s my sister.”

Brooklynne thought she had misheard. Eric never mentioned a sister. She felt confused and… betrayed?

“Your sister? You have a sister who works for the Authority?” Bill says, both surprised and suspicious.

“I’m a Chancellor,” she replied proudly.

“I don’t understand,” Brooke said. “If you knew they were coming for Eric, why didn’t you warn him?”

“There was no time. The Guardian wanted Nan followed to make sure she carried out his orders. I saw an opportunity to save Eric, so I took it.”

“So nobody in the Authority knows about your relationship?” Bill asked.

“And they never will. We were only connected through out maker, Godric. And Godric is gone,” she said with obvious sorrow.

“As a Chancellor of the Authority, you’re taking a huge risk,” Bill continued, still not trusting her fully. “Why would you choose to…”

“Because I’d do anything for Eric.”

“And I’d do anything for you,” the Viking said as he took a step forward.

He went to hug his sister, whom he apparently hadn’t seen in decades. She smiled as she hugged him back. Brooklynne thought it would have been nice to know he had someone he cared about so much other than Pam. Though she could understand why keeping their relationship a secret was for the best, perhaps he could have trusted her enough to share that secret with her.

“And,” Nora continued, “because you did what you did protecting us from the necromancers. That we would reward you for it with the True Death speaks volume about how out of step the Authority’s current agenda is.”

So, Nan knew. Nan knew of Nora and of her relationship with Eric. Which meant Eric did keep in touch at least a little bit. Brooke tried to keep her anger to a minimum.

“I’m not alone in this belief.”

“Factions within the Authority?” Bill asked, making the connection with the information Nan had given him earlier that night.

“Mm-mmh,” she nodded. “So, who’s wonder woman?”

Nora looked at the fairy with interest, but Brooke didn’t answer, uncertain of how much she should say. She turned to Eric for guidance.

“Nora, this is Brooklynne, my progeny.”

“A pleasure, I’m sure…” Nora mumbled thoughtfully. “What is she? She smells amazing.”

“She’s…” Eric pondered. “… complicated.”

“Right…” she said, suspicious. “And I suppose that light is part of the… complications.”

“What light?”

“The light that came out of your progeny, causing Hayes to drive us into this field.”

Eric looked at Brooklynne with regret. She exposed herself to save him, putting herself in danger.

“Like I said. It’s complicated.”

“Well,” she sighed, resigned to stay in the dark, “’complicated’ is an improvement from that whore you keep around.”

“Nora!” Eric hissed, threateningly.

Brooklynne frowned. Perhaps her contempt for Pam was what kept the two apart for so long. She couldn’t help but wonder if Eric trusted any of them. She thought she knew him, but she just realized she had many, many things to figure out about him still. The fact he kept her true identity from Nora meant he didn’t trust her entirely either, or perhaps, it was just the Authority that made him nervous. But finding out about Nora’s existence that night rose many questions that she didn’t have time to ask at the moment.

“Help me turn the car around,” Nora asked Bill. “Let’s see if it can drive us somewhere safe for the day.”

Eric gestured Brooklynne to follow him and they made their way to the road in silence. She tried hard not to explore his thoughts.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister?”

“We don’t tell anyone we’re related. It’s for everyone’s safety.”

“Okay. Why didn’t you tell her who I was? She thinks I’m a vampire.”

“She saw your speed and strength, she already knew you were a vampire.”

“But you don’t trust her enough to tell her the truth.”

“She works for the Authority. If she ever gets caught for being ‘against the current agenda’ she’ll get tortured and asked about everything that she knows. I told you, you can’t trust anyone.”

“So what? I’m just supposed to pretend to be a vampire now? To sleep all day? Pretend I don’t eat human food?”

“Only around Nora, which you won’t be for long.”

She sighed. “Right. So… what do we do now?”

“We do nothing. Nora will get Bill and I out of here. We’ll have new identities, we’ll be safer once we get out of the country.”

“What? What do you mean? I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not.”

Brooklynne gasped as she took a step back. It felt like a slap in the face.

“The Authority has no knowledge of your existence, there is no warrant out for you arrest, you can go back to Bon-Temps, be with your sister.”

“No! No way.”

“Brooklynne.”

He put his hands on both her shoulders as he looked down at her.

“It’s not safe to come with me. They will hunt me down until they catch me.”

“So?”

“So, you’ll be safer in Bon-Temps. Stay with Pam. I’ll be in touch, I’ll call, I’ll…”

“Eric, I am not going back to Bon-Temps without you. I’m not going anywhere without you. You promised! We promised.”

“The life that’s waiting for me is not worth living.”

“No life is worth living without you, how many times do I have to say it?!”

“Brook-“

“No! I have no life without you, Eric. You are my life. You gave me immortality and you better be sure I’m going to spend it with you. You will not abandon me here!”

“Brooklynne,” he sighed as he brought her to his chest.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head as he hugged her.

“This isn’t what I wanted for you.”

“I know. But it’s better than nothing.”

He backed away and placed his hands on both sides of her face.

“I love you,” he said as dark red tears appeared in his eyes.

She gave him a sad smile. “I love you too. More than anything.”

He leaned over to kiss her. His lips capturing hers like it was the first and last time they would do so. He held her tightly to him, as to stop her from slipping away.

He released her reluctantly, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, and returning her sad smile.

“Forgive me.”

She frowned. But she didn’t get the time to express her confusion as he swiftly twisted her head, breaking it in a horrible sound that will haunt him forever.

The end… ?

**********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87 @heavenly1927​ @abbey7103​ @with-love-maddie​ 

[mskinkyafro]

Home Is Where Your Heart Is (Sawyer x MC)

A/N: Finally took the time to write a Sawyer fic. Only and mainly because I replayed BSC and I missed Sawyer, simple as that. I enjoyed the calm book and even though at first I questioned it getting a sequel I immediately realized “Hey that means more Sawyer! Whoop Whoop!” This is an omniscient POV and takes place in the last scene of the final chapter of book 1. I want an to add an extension of how Roxie  leaving the Oakley Ranch initially affects everyone, mainly Sawyer. And I took some dialogue from the scene and either changed it or added some of my own.

Summary: When Sawyer realizes Roxie has left he immediately runs to bring her back home to where she belongs, with him.

The streams of the early morning sun gently woke Sawyer from his slumber. He slowly sat up in his bed mindlessly rubbing his eyes until he gradually felt less groggy.  As he became more conscious his mind immediately found the person he dreamt of the previous night.

“Roxie…” he whispers aloud to himself.

He smiles as for next few minutes he pictures her. Her thousand-watt smile that would reach her hazel-green eyes to her witty comments, and how everyday when they would watch the sunset the Montana Sun would glisten off her penny hue skin. One of his hands runs through his dirty blonde hair as he just grins at how happy he feels. He removes himself from his bed to get dressed for the day. He slips each leg into his blue jeans, pulls and buttons them up, before turning to his dresser to reach for his signature red plaid shirt.

As he buttons it up, he then reminisces through everything he and his family has been through the last few weeks. Made possible because of the raven-curled beauty across the hall. He thinks of how lucky he is that her car broke down near his home instead of somewhere else. How things haven’t been the same but for the better. His thoughts soon wander to a more intimate nature, memories of all the times they made love. He involuntarily shivers as he remembers how soft she felt against him to her delicate hands that would glide across his torso and make him feel as if he was on fire, and how she fit so perfectly enclosed in his arms as if she was made for him and only him to hold.

He’s broken from his inner thoughts by a sharp glint of light that hits his eye. He swiftly raises his hand to block the light and moves closer to his window to see what’s it from. Peering outside he notices it’s from Roxie’s side view mirror on her car that’s slowly pulling out his driveway. Confused at her car leaving he finishes the last button and quickly runs out his  room down the steps. Before reaching the front door he sees a piece of paper on the kitchen table in his peripheral view and stops to hold it in his hands. Reading the note he crumbles it before tossing it and attempts to catch up with Roxie.

“Hey! Roxie!! Stop!”

His words are lost in the dust that builds in the air from where her car pulled off. Distraught he runs back inside slamming the screen and main door loudly and paces inside the living room, wondering if he did something to upset her. His boots stomping back and forth which causes footsteps up above making their way down the stairs.

Sawyer barely looks up from his movement and ignores Duke and Brooklynne as they enter the room.

“What the hell is goin’ on? You’re waking up half the house.” said Duke annoyed.

“Yeah, Uncle Sawyer it’s like seven in the morning and I actually get to sleep in  today.” Brooklynne whined rubbing sleep out her eyes.

“God Damn it! Roxie just left!”

Shocked at the tone of her Uncle’s voice, she steps backs and presses into her father.

“Jeez take it down a notch Sawyer, you’re scarin’ Brooklynne.”

“I can’t just take it easy, Duke. Roxie just left a goodbye note.” Sawyers voice raises even louder.

“What’s with all that hoop n hollerin’. You boys better not be fight’n it’s too early for this nonsense.”

Cliff’s gruff voice rings clear as he makes his way down the steps joining the rest of the Oakley clan in the living room. Finally calming his erratic movement Sawyer picks up the note he crumbled and handed to Duke. He plops himself on a nearby couch with a forlorn look and buries his face in his hands. As Duke unravels the note he reads aloud to the rest until  reaching the end.

“She just left. After…everything.” Sawyers voice rings out softly stricken with hurt.

The others look to amongst the other questioning what to do. All saddened by the news at Roxie leaving, Brooklynne’s lips quiver, while Duke crosses his arms staring at the floorboards. Cliff has a grave expression before it disappears just as fast it came. He’s the first to speak.

“Well, I’ll be damned. I thought I raised you better.”

Sawyer lifts his face out of his hands and glances towards his father

“What are you talkin’ about dad.” he says tiredly

“I’m talkin’ about how you’re lettin’ the girl of yer dreams waltz out of yer life. I thought that I instilled in you boys to fight for what you want.”

“But-”

“But nothing. It’s obvious that this girl ain’t like the others. Meaning you can’t find another like her around these parts. She’s one of a kind and y’all made a connection. Lord knows the two of ya kept me awake some nights partaking in your funny business, making a lot of noise…”

Sawyer blushes at his father’s words “Dad..”

“What I’m getting at is you really care about her you’d fight for her. You done gon’ and already burnt up enough time. Go after her son and bring her home or you just going to give up?”

“Yeah, I agree with grandpa. Roxie is the best and this place won’t be the same without her. Plus I was getting used to having a cool aunt.”

“Brooklynne!” Duke chastised his daughter’s implication.

“What daddy?! She basically was. And if grandpa is telling it like it is so should I. Uncle Sawyer, excuse my language everyone but get off your ass feeling sorry for yourself and chase after her.”

“Brooklynne. You’re on thin ice. But seriously brother, what are you waiting for talking to us still? I’d be down the driveway already.”

Extending himself upright again and standing straight Sawyer’s face breaks into a determine look and smiles at everyone before rushing out the door towards the barn to grab Dolly. As he quickly grabs her from her pin and outside he hoists himself onto her.

“Come on girl. Let’s go get her.”

The horse neighs in response to Sawyer and begins to swiftly ride down the way towards driveway. The wind hits his face stinging him but he doesn’t care.

Some time passes as Sawyer and Dolly make their way onto a lone highway. He’s praying that he isn’t too late.As they press a little further, he slows Dolly down to give her break from such speeds.

“Easy girl. I know you gave it your all. How about a nice trot for the moment.”

She neighs back appreciatively and slows her pace. As they move along up ahead he notices a vehicle moving in front of them. Relief flooding his face, he nudges Dolly to pick up her speed just a bit more, and soon enough the car stops moving.

“Hey.” he calls out

“Hey.” he hears her reply softly.

He swings off Dolly and rushes towards Roxie’s car while she gets out to me him.

Huffing just slightly but able to make a sentence out Sawyer speaks

“Where’re you goin’?”

“Uh…Boston?”

“Boston?! Without even saying goodbye.” he whispers the last part as he steps closer to her. His fingers brushing a rogue curl away from her forehead

Roxie mouth opens and closes. She turns her head away from him and closes her eyes moving his hand away from her face.

“Sawyer…I..” her soft voice fades out..

Sawyer shakes his head disbelievingly. His eyes glistening.

“Seriously Roxie? Did everything that’s happened the last few weeks mean so little to you?”

Roxie whips her face so her eyes burn into Sawyer’s. He can see small tears slowly rolling down her cheek.

Her voice wavers slightly as she talks

“God no, Sawyer! I couldn’t say goodbye because the last few weeks have meant everything to me. I couldn’t even look you in the eye to tell any of you goodbye last night. Every time I tried  to tell someone, I just couldn’t do it, especially to you. It hurts so much. I know it’s selfish, but I didn’t want to hurt myself anymore as it did for me to drive away this morning.”

Sawyer reaches for her hand as his eyes silently pleaded with her. Hers seem to look intensely back at him gazing at every small detail on his face.

“Then why you leavin’.”

She takes a deep breath.

“I got an job offer for my dream job…one that I couldn’t possibly refuse. Not after I worked so hard for it…”

He stays quiet for a few moments. He looks away briefly and down the road leaving Montana.

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“Of course. I don’t wanna take your dreams from you, Roxie. I wanna make them come true. And if this is the way to do that…We’ll all miss you. I’m going to miss you.” he turns to stare into her somber  hazel eyes as he says the last part.

He hopes his eyes convey all the emotions he feels about her that he can’t find the words to say. His arms encircle her small frame and pulls her so close that she’s molded into his chest, her citrus perfume tickles nostrils as he leans down  to press a chaste kiss to her forehead before pulling back.

Tears are still rolling down her face and he moves his hand to wipe them away

“Please don’t cry. An angel should never cry.”

“Sawyer…I’m going to miss you so much.”

He lets go of her and lets on fingertip slowly graze down her face before he walks back to Dolly only to stop a few feet away before turning around again.

“You know, my dad was talkin’ last night about offerin’ you a permanent position here on the ranch.”

Roxie calms her tears and takes a deep breath

“He was?”

Sawyer looks down to kick imaginary pebbles around with his boots

“Yeah. You’re basically family now. That is if you wanna be…”

He looks back at her with hopeful eyes. He watches as her face contemplates the information he just shared.  As he waits expectantly he notices his favorite smile break out onto her face. His heart leaps in anticipation.

“Is that job offer still on the table?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

“Good, because I think my definition of ‘Dream Job’ just changed.”

Sawyer lets out a yee-haw and runs to pick up Roxie and spin her around in joy. She squeals in surprise and amusement. Laughing at his antics.

“Aaah!! Sawyer, stop!  Let me go!” she giggled.

He sets her down gently and puts his hands on both of her cheeks and kisses her long, slow and passionately. Every ounce of fear, longing, and relief pour into the kiss. And after a few moments he pulls away allowing oxygen to enter their systems again and moves to pepper her entire face with chaste kisses.

“Never again.”

He moves his right hand to tangle into her black curls and pull into a heart-stopping kiss once more, their tongues battling for dominance. Roxie pulls away first this time. Her eyes closed with a serene look plastered onto her face.

“Good. Because I don’t plan on doing the same ever again either.”

“If you did I might have to make you pay.”

“Is that a promise Cowboy?” her eyes laced with mischief.

Smiling like a fool Sawyer smirks down at Roxie and scoops her bridal style in her arms towards Dolly.

“Oh, Sawyer wait. My car”

“It’ll be fine. Right now I want to get you home where you belong.”

“I’m home in your arms, Sawyer. Anywhere you’re at, I’m home.”

He looks at her softly as they reach Dolly and easily sets her onto the horse before hoisting himself up and signalling Dolly to take them back to the ranch. As they move forward Roxie’s arms instinctively hold tight onto Sawyer and leans her head onto his back feeling his strong muscles..

“You know, you’re not the only one with a new dream.”

“Really? What’s next for the great Sawyer Oakley.”

“Being with you.”

He turns his head as she lifts hers and their eyes meet.

“I know it’s been so fast and only a few weeks. But what we have is so special and once in life kind of thang. It’s still too early to say those three big words but understand Roxie that I’m crazy about ‘cha.”

She leans to press a soft kiss to his lips and pulls away.

“I feel the same, Sawyer. I’m falling for you.”

They both smile and enjoy the rest of the ride in silence as they make their way home.

[oleander-child]

Rain Hell P3 1/2

“Depends what rumors, and call me Vi.”

“Fine, Vi, the rumors about you being a fighter. Just warning you, you might wanna be careful who you pick fights with at this school. There are some crazy tough alliances. So watch your back when you fight. Especially Brooklynn and her friends. She's got some badass alliances.” he warned me as we continued down a short hallway.

“I don't fight girls unless they throw the first punch. It's unethical, they're usually pretty weak too so it's not worth the trouble for just one punch to the arm. So don't worry, i'll be careful.”

“Good. and were here. Enjoy your stay at the La Shirtless Hotel.” the boy said, opening a door to show a big room with a queen size bed with a black comforter and black and white pillows. My face glowed.

“This. Is. Awesome.” I squeaked.

“Are you goth or something, cuz you really like black?”

“No I'm not goth, I just like black, is there something wrong with that?”

He shook his head. “I was just teasing you. I'm Zero, by the way.” the boy, Zero, said. He held out his hand for a handshake. I shook it.

“Violet Ebony Gale. nice to meet you Zero.” I smiled.

“How do you manage to be so cute and sweet yet so toxic and mean at the same time? Its kinda disturbing.”

“I've had practice. When is Jordynn supposed to come back, I wanna know so I can be prepared to fight.”

“Well class ends in like, two hours, so hell come then. Any other questions?”

“Actually yes,” I nodded, “I have some instruments, am I allowed to bring those here? I dont wanna leave them at home in case my brothers sell them.”

“What type of instruments?” Zero asked.

“Drums, a mic setup, electric guitar, and regular guitar.”

“Cool, I play bass, and yeah you can bring those, just be careful when you use them, there are some thieves here. You can put your stuff in the living room, i'll put mine out there too so they're all together. I'll make sure Jordynn doesn't touch them.”

“Thanks. Welp, imma go get settled in so ill see you later.” I turned to go into my room.

“Wait, can I ask you something?” Zero asked, grabbing my arm. Cody had already walked into my room and lay sprawled across the bed.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Do you dye your own hair?” he asked.“Yeah, if you want, I can dye yours too. Ill just have to bleach it first since it's so dark.” I smiled.

“Cool. thanks. Well see you later.” he said, waving and walking away.

“See ya.” I waved back, and headed into my room. I walked up to Cody, who was still sprawled out on the bed. A mischievous grin plastered on my face. “Do I smell a crush?'' I snickered, tucking a strand of hair behind my very pierced ear. He blushed even more.

“No, it's not like that. He's just cute. I don't like him, I just find him attractive. I'm not attracted to him. There's a big difference.” he huffed. I burst out laughing. 

“You're like a tsundere. It's funny. But ill let this one pass. Ok tallboy I need some help setting up. You can reach the places I can't, so let's get going.” I patted Cody's head in encouragement.

“But you don't have anything.”

“My brothers brought all my stuff, they should be here any second.” I said holding up three fingers. There was a knock at the door. Grabbing Cody’s hand and pulling him off the bed, I raced out of the room. We reached the door seconds before Zero. I opened the door and my face lit up with a smile as I saw Jarod and Jasper in front of me. I let go of Cody and ran into them, arms open for a hug. They dropped my things and hugged me back.“How are mom and dad doing without an annoying teenage girl wreaking havoc at home?” I asked.

They both laughed. “They were crying the whole week. I can't believe you went on that trip and then came before her even saying goodbye. You really are a nuisance.” Jarod said in his deep voice. His hazel eyes, the same ones all three of us had, shined with joy.

“Have you hurt anyone yet?” Jasper asked in his raspy voice, tousling my hair.I looked behind me at Zero who was leaning against the wall.

 “Yup. but they learned their lesson. And the rumors have been spreading faster than I thought. Oh well. You guys can come in. I'll show you to my room.” I turned around. Zero cleared his throat. “Oh yeah. Totally forgot. Guys this is Jasper,” I pointed to Jasper, who smiled and waved “and this is Jarod.” I motioned to Jarod, who crossed his arms.

“Hey, I'm Zero, Your sister's roommate. Nice to meet you.” he nodded from where he leaned against the wall.

“And I'm Cody. dont worry, your sis is in good hands.” Cody smirked. I elbowed him in the gut.

[alonely-dreamer]

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 9

Summary: Godric and his district receive Nan Flanagan’s visit after the Fellowship of the Sun fiasco.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+ (terrible smut ahead)

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 7219

Schedule: Next chapter will be posted on November 4

Masterlist

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

The sky was a light blue and dawn wasn’t far away as they drove back to the hotel in silence. Sookie and Brooklynne couldn’t wait to get back and lay down on their bed. They had just spent the most horrible couple of days, and they were impatient to be done and go home.

Eric booked a room for Jason, and Sookie was too tired to even think of asking him to get one for himself. The vampire let Brooklynne take a shower first and she collapsed on the bed as soon as she was out, but when he got out of the bathroom, she still wasn’t sleeping.

“I thought you’d be tired,” he said as he sat on his side of the bed.

“I’m exhausted.”

“What’s keeping you up?”

“All of it… Being stuck in that cage for two days… the explosion… I still can’t believe that man hated vampires so much he was ready to die if it meant taking at least one of you with him.”

“Hate is a powerful weapon.”

“And Steve Newlin won’t even be blamed for it.”

“I doubt it.”

She sighed. She turned around to face him, looking up at him from where her head was resting on the red silk pillow. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You could have died.”

“It certainly was a possibility.”

“Then why did you do it?” If you don’t care, like you keep saying, she thought.

“I don’t know,” he said, being surprisingly honest with her.

“Godric is a good man.”

“Godric isn’t a man.”

“You may be vampires but you’re still men.”

“You’re exhausted, you don’t know what you’re saying,” he said, and she laughed.

“I know what I’m saying. And I mean it.”

“Then you’re a fool, Brooklynne Stackhouse.”

“Well, that’s not nice.”

“Sleep,” he told her. “We’ll have a lot to answer for tonight.”

“What do you mean?” she frowned.

“What happened last night will be all over the news. Which means we’ve attracted the unwanted attention of the AVL.”

“The American Vampire League…”

“Yes. They’re a pain in the ass, but they work for the Authority. They have power.”

“What’s the Authority?”

“A story for another time. Sleep.”

She sighed again. She was exhausted and she did want to sleep, but she was afraid of what she’d see once she closed her eyes.

“Sleep well, Eric.”

He looked down at her, lying beside him, with her eyes closed.

“Sleep well,” he said, but she had already fallen asleep.

***

Eric had been right, which didn’t surprise Brooklynne at all. The AVL was there, and the meeting was set at midnight. Bill, Sookie and Brooklynne were expected to attend as they had a few questions to answer. Eric was in a foul mood. He knew they were going to try and blame Godric, and he didn’t want to hear it. Nan Flanagan, the official AVL spokesperson, had come all the way to Dallas and booked the biggest suite of the hotel which, according to Eric, only meant they were seriously pissed and that heads would roll.

But Eric wasn’t the only one who had been right. Sookie hadn’t lied about the effect Eric’s blood would have on Brooklynne. She was indeed thinking about him more, and even though she was glad she hadn’t had any dreams about him yet, especially since he was sleeping right next to her, she could feel the attraction, and she could hardly keep her eyes off him. She woke up late in the afternoon and had escaped her room and joined her brother in his, hoping to avoid the vampire. But now, they were going to be in the same room for the rest of the night, and she couldn’t stop looking at him.

Nan was already waiting for them in the living room when they entered. She was sitting on a white faux leather footstool, near the two couches of the same fashion. Godric and Isabel had arrived first and were seated on the couch on her right. Bill, Sookie and Brooklynne were facing them, seated on the couch on Nan’s left. Eric had chosen a footstool near Brooklynne, facing both his maker, and the spokesperson. He didn’t look happy. Neither did she.

“Do you have any idea of the PR mess you’ve made?” she told them. “And who has to fucking clean that shit up? Me. Not you. Me. I should drain every one of you bastards.”

“Stan went after the church on his own,” Eric said. “None of us knew anything about it.”

“Oh really? Because everyone who’s met Stan in the last 300 years knew that he had a kink about slaughtering humans. But you, his nest mates, his sheriff, had no clue.”

Stan had been an (un)fortunate casualty of Luke’s suicide bombing, so now, the AVL needed a scapegoat and Eric would be damned if he let the AVL put the blame on his maker.

“And how were we supposed to know that this time he meant it?” Isabel asked.

“Not my problem. Yours,” she said as her eyes fell on Godric.

“Don’t talk to him that way,” Eric threatened her.

“Don’t talk to me that way,” she calmly warned him. “Let’s get to the point. How’d they manage to abduct you?”

“They would have taken one of us sooner or later,” Godric answered. “I offered myself.”

The information was news to Eric, who not only didn’t like it, but it also made him confused and scared for his maker.

“Why?” Nan asked, obviously surprised and confused herself.

“Why not?”

“They wanted you to meet the sun and you were willing?” she raised an eyebrow, looking at him like he was stupid, or insane, or both.

“What do you think?”

“I think you’re out of your mind.”

Eric thought the same. He didn’t look angry anymore, it was as if he had just understood something, something terrible, something he didn’t want to believe, something that made him sad. It took Brooklynne everything she had in her not to take his hand. She knew he wouldn’t like it, not now, not in the company of Nan or her bodyguards. It would be seen as weakness and he wouldn’t have it.

“And then I hear about a traitor?” Nan asked.

“Irrelevant. Only a rumor,” Godric told her. I’ll take full responsibility.”

“You bet you will.”

“You cold bitch,” Eric snarled.

“Listen. This is a national vampire disaster. And nobody at the top has any sympathy for any of you,” she explained to him before she returned her attention to Godric. “Sheriff, you fucked up. You’re fired.”

“I agree,” he nodded, “of course. Isabel should take over. She had no part in my disgrace.”

“Godric,” she said, stunned and confused. “Fight back.”

“What are you saying?” Eric asked, as stunned and confused as Isabel was. “She’s a bureaucrat. You don’t have to take shit from her!”

“You wanna lose your area, Viking?”

“Oh, you don’t have that kind of power.”

“Hey, I’m on TV. Try me,” she shrugged with a smile.

“I’m to blame. I should have contained Stan the second Godric went missing.”

“Isabel,” he stopped her. “I remove myself from all positions of authority.”

Eric breathed out. He didn’t recognize his maker. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it, too baffled to find the words.

“Works for me,” Nan said. “Come to my suite and fill out the forms.”

“Soon,” he nodded. “First, I have something to say,” he paused for a moment. “I’m sorry. I apologize for all the harm I’ve caused, for all our lost ones, human and vampire. I will make amends. I swear it.”

Nan grimaced. “Take it easy, it’s just a few signatures,” she said as she got up, tapping his shoulder twice before she left the room, followed by her people.

Godric got up as well but he was stopped by his progeny who blocked his way to the door.

“No,” he said. He knew, he understood, even though he didn’t really. He saw the pain, he saw the problem, but he didn’t like the solution his maker had chosen.

“Look in my heart.”

“You have to listen to me.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

“There is.”

Godric sighed. “On the roof,” he said before he walked out.

Brooklynne didn’t recognize the look on Eric’s face. She never thought she’d ever get to see him like this. He looked confused and destroyed. He felt helpless, and so did she, as she had no idea how to fix it.

“Eric,” she whispered as she took a step forward, then took his hand. She didn’t know what else to say, but she wanted to be there, even though he probably didn’t need her.

He slightly squeezed her hand, acknowledging her presence without looking back at her, but then let it go and turned around, following his maker’s footsteps.

“It’s going to be dawn in a little while,” Sookie said.

“I know.”

“I’m gonna find Godric.”

“Sookie, this has nothing to do with us. You’ve done enough for Dallas,” Bill told her.

“I’ll go,” Brooklynne said.

“What can you do?” Bill asked, trying to stop her.

“I’ll just… be there.”

She gave a look to her sister, who knew she couldn’t stop her, but also didn’t want to. No one deserved to die alone, and Eric couldn’t be up there when Godric met the sun, so someone else had to.

She found them on the roof. They were arguing, and she felt uncomfortable, she didn’t want to interrupt them, so she stayed behind, at the top of the stairs, waiting for the right time.

The sky was becoming brighter as the sun was about to rise and Eric tried, he gave everything he had, to make his maker change his mind.

“Two thousand years is enough.”

“I can’t accept this. It’s insanity!”

“Our existence is insanity. We don’t belong here.”

“But we are here!”

“It’s not right. We’re not right.”

“You taught me there is no right and wrong. Only survival or death.”

“I told a lie, as it turns out.”

“I will keep you alive by force!”

“Even if you could, why would you be so cruel?”

Eric swallowed, desperation coming to replace his anger. “Godric don’t do it,” he begged in Swedish.

“There are centuries of faith and love between us.”

Eric started crying, tears of blood filling his eyes, a lump forming in his throat.

“Please, please,” he sobbed between two breaths as he fell to his knees. “Please, Godric.”

“Father. Brother. Son,” he continued. “Let me go,” he said, in English this time.

Eric tried to compose himself, taking a deep breath as he straightened up, but avoided his maker’s eyes, tears of blood making their way down his cheeks.

“I won’t let you die alone.”

“Yes, you will,” Godric said, and more tears of blood found their way on Eric’s face.

Godric put a hand on his progeny’s head and stroke his hair once, then twice, before resting it on his nape. Eric rose to finally look up at him.

“As your maker,” he said. “I command you.”

Eric stood up, like he was ordered. His maker gave him a small smile, which Eric tried to return, before he turned around and found Brooklynne standing there, at the top of the stairs. She gave him a sad look as he approached her. Eric turned to take one last look at his maker and Brooklynne took his hand, encouraging him to go back inside, as the sun was rising in the horizon.

“I’ll stay with him,” she told him. “As long as it takes.”

He nodded, avoiding her gaze, before he walked away, leaving her alone with his maker.

“It won’t take long,” Godric said as she approached him. “Not at my age.” He turned around to face her, he too had tears of blood in his eyes. “Do you believe in God?”

“I don’t. But Sookie does. My Gran did.”

“If they’re right… how do you think He’ll punish me?”

“Well… my Gran would say that God doesn’t punish. God forgives.”

“I don’t deserve it.”

“Yes, you do.”

He laughed quietly. “You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

He gave her a small smile. “You’ll care for him?”

She frowned, confused for a second, but then nodded. “I… I’ll try. I don’t think he’ll want anyone to care for him. You know how he is.”

“I can take the blame for that too,” Godric smiled.

“Maybe not. Eric’s pretty much… Eric.”

Godric nodded. He then turned around, to face the rising sun. Brooklynne’s heart tightened inside her chest and she tried to swallow the lump appearing in her throat.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I… I’m full of joy,” he breathed out a laugh as if he were surprised.

“But… the sun… the pain…”

“I want to burn,” he assured her.

“Well,” she sniffed, “I’m scared for you.”

“A human with me at the end,” he smiled, and she wiped her wet cheeks, “and human tears… Two thousand years, and I can still be surprised. In this I see God.”

His skin was starting to burn and as the sun rose higher and brighter, he gestured for her to step back. He turned around, fully facing the light, unbuttoning his white shirt which he let fall on the ground.

“Goodbye Godric,” Brooklynne said as a tear fell down her cheek, and he opened his arms to embrace the sun.

His body turned into blue flames which consumed him so fast she didn’t even have time to gasp as he disappeared silently before her eyes.

***

The blue skirt of Brooklynne’s dress caressed her thighs as she walked through the hotel’s hallways. She tried to dry her tears before she reached her room. She didn’t know what to expect once she opened the door. Would Eric even be inside? It was daytime, so he had to be in the hotel. She hoped he wasn’t doing anything stupid.

She slowly opened the door of her room and found Eric sitting on her side of the bed, looking down at his feet. He didn’t acknowledge her as she stepped inside. She saw the trails of blood on his cheeks, the tears falling onto his chest, staining his white shirt. She silently made her way to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Godric is gone,” he said.

“Yes. I’m so sorry,” she replied as she slid a hand in his hair.

She couldn’t say she knew how he felt, because she had no idea what losing a maker felt like, or what it felt like to lose someone you’ve known for a thousand years, but she knew loss. She knew how it felt to lose a parent. She had lost three. There was nothing she could say that could make it better, that would make his grief go away. He had to go through it to accept it.

“Did he suffer?” he asked as he took the hand she had in his hair.

“No.”

He sniffed as he nodded. “Thank you. For staying with him.”

“Of course.”

She moved her hand from his shoulder to his face, cupping his cheek. She’d have wiped his tears away if she could, but all it would do was spread the blood on his face, making it worse. She didn’t know if it was because of his blood that was now part of her, or if she’d have done the same even without it, but she wanted to be close to him, to take care of him. She wondered if he’d let her.

“Come on,” she said as she took a step back and gently pulled him off the bed.

He frowned but allowed her to drag him to the bathroom. She took him to the sink, where she picked up a cloth. She opened the tap and wetted it with warm water, though she doubted he’d be bothered by anything cold. She turned towards him, wanting to clean the blood from his chest and face, but stopped when she realized he was too tall and that it would be more complicated than she had first thought. Understanding the problem, Eric put his hands on her waist, and made her sit on the counter with supernatural speed. She gasped, surprised by the unexpected movement.

“I told you not to do that,” she told him, and she thought she saw a smile on his face for a second.

She took a look at his chest and took the bloody top of his shirt between a finger and a thumb, tucking it down slightly to give her access to the blood that had dried on his skin. But she didn’t have to bother for long as he removed his shirt completely. She looked up at him for a quick moment before she started cleaning the blood off the top of his torso. He let her work in silence, and she could feel his eyes on her, never leaving her face. She tried to ignore it, tried not to blush too hard, but when she reached his face, it became harder to ignore his intense gaze.

Never in a million years would she have imagined being in this kind of situation, especially not with Eric. She’d always thought she’d be alone her entire life and being this close to someone had seemed like an impossibility just a week before. She never really thought about it either. Never gave too much thought about her future, or about anything. She never had the clarity of mind to do so. But now that she did, she didn’t know what to do. What was normal? What was expected of her? She’d always been different, did she really want that to change? She didn’t care about being ‘abnormal’, she just wanted to be free. Free of the voices, free of the house. Free to make her own choices. For once. And maybe Sookie wouldn’t like it, but she didn’t care. She’d make her own choices, she’d live her life, at last.

She left the bloody cloth in the sink after she was done. She placed her hands on each side of his clean face and stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. He didn’t look bothered. She could see his pain in his eyes. His eyes that were looking right at her, exploring her, like he was seeing her for the first time, getting to know her, maybe looking for something, something familiar, something that he needed. He looked like he found what he was looking for.

“Thank you,” he said as he leaned into her touch.

“What do you need?”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised, though he guessed he shouldn’t really be. She had a good soul, she’d want to help him in any way she could. He considered it for a moment. Could he ask that of her? Knowing she’d probably say yes because she wouldn’t say no to anything right now. Could he take what he wanted from her now, something he’d wanted ever since he had first met her, ever since she sat on his lap the first time, smiling back at him like he wasn’t the most dangerous person she’d ever met. She was careless, or at least she used to be, before he helped her cast the voices away, before he helped her find her own, find some lucidity in her life. But even after she found peace and quiet, she’d stayed with him, she hadn’t backed away like her sister had probably told her to. She was here, worried about him, wanting to help him, even after she’d found out about Lafayette. If he were a good person, he’d probably let her go. He wouldn’t be selfish, and he would stay as far away from her as possible. But right now, now that Godric was gone, it was he who had lost clarity. Even though he doubted that if he weren’t in pain at this moment, he’d probably still be doing what he was about to do.

“Are you ready to give me what I need?” he asked as he leaned forward, his hands moving from the counter to her waist as his eyes slowly fell on her neck.

A shaky breath escaped her. “Would it make you feel better?” she asked in a whisper.

“It’ll help.”

His answer was low but clear. She slowly brought a hand to her shoulder, brushing the hair away before she tilted her head, giving him access to her neck. He moved slowly, his nose sliding up her skin before his cold lips found her vein. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come, but it never did. He moved up slightly, his cold breath reaching her ear.

“That’s not what I meant,” he murmured.

She frowned and found his eyes as he moved away from her neck, his face still inches from hers. Her mouth opened when she understood what he was saying, but no sound came out of it as she was rendered speechless. She was barely breathing, he wasn’t at all. He trapped her chin in his fingers, his eyes falling on her lips. She closed her mouth quickly and tried to swallow her nervousness away. She drew a shaky breath as he brushed his nose against hers. She waited for him without realizing it. Time had stopped and seconds turned to hours as he still wasn’t moving. She didn’t know what to do, her thoughts were colliding together in her mind, making it impossible for her to make a decision. Eventually, she moved, instinctively maybe, or because she was getting impatient, because she wanted it, needed it, but she raised her head, so slightly maybe it wasn’t even anything, but he saw it. He saw it for what it was or for what he wanted it to be: permission.

His lips found hers quickly, urgently, a bit roughly. She reacted immediately, kissing him back. He pulled her to him and her chest crashed into his, his hand resting on her lower back. Her hands left the counter to find a place on his bare chest. His fingers slid in her hair, holding her head in place as he kissed her. She didn’t know what she was doing, but he did. He slightly opened his mouth, his tongue licking her lips, pushing for access, access that she granted. She let his tongue wander on her lips, in her mouth, let him play with her own. A moan escaped her as she felt his hand move from her back to her hip, down to her thigh. He pushed the skirt away, his fingers travelling on her skin, going high, higher than she should let him.

His long and cold fingers reached the top of her thigh, his thumb stroking her skin once, before his caresses moved up. But they didn’t take the direction that she feared. His fingers returned to her waist, his thumb going up, not stopping until he reached her bra. Her breasts were surprisingly heavy for someone her size. He didn’t bother to take it off, he went over it, sliding his thumb inside the cup, making her gasp and break the kiss. But he didn’t stop. He captured her lips again as he found the pink and hard button he was looking for. Bothered by all the layers covering her, he didn’t play with it for long before he removed his hand from under her dress, surprised she had let him go so far.

He broke the kiss as both his hands found her lower back and he pulled her to him, fast and hard, taking her by surprise. She didn’t even feel him lift her. One second she was sitting on the counter, and the next she was back in the bedroom, lying on the bed. He was kneeling before her, his imposing figure towering above her. His right knee brushed against her left leg as it went up, and up, opening her legs. The skirt of her dress curled up, concealing her underwear. She felt her cheeks turn red as his eyes travelled, oh so slowly, from her bare legs to her eyes. She swallowed as he locked his gaze with hers. He leaned forward, his right hand coming to rest on the soft mattress near her head. His face approached hers unhurriedly and she tried hard not to look away. She closed her eyes, however, when she felt his fingers on her thigh once more.

“Are you ready to give me what I need?” he repeated, whispering in her ear.

Her heart had never beaten faster, she felt like it was about to leave her chest. Giving him her blood was one thing but giving him her body was another. At that moment, she wished she knew what he was thinking. Or maybe, it was better that she didn’t. She wasn’t ready for this. She hadn’t expected this. Nor did she expect to want it, and yet, despite the fear, despite the unknown, she did. She wanted to know what it would feel like to be with him. She wanted to do what it would feel like to be cared for by him.

“Yes,” she replied, so low only he could have heard her.

She had barely said the word that his lips were on hers once again. His right hand fisted the bedsheet as his left moved up her thigh. He pulled on the dress once, to warn her about what he was about to do, which she didn’t understand at all. He tore the blue dress apart, leaving her in her pink underwear. She gasped as she felt the fabric leave her body. Her right breast was already coming out of its cup thanks to Eric’s earlier exploration. His lips left hers, stopping on her chin, then on her throat, then on her upper chest before they found her cleavage. She shivered as his cold fingers slid beneath her and reached the clasp of her bra. He threw it away across the room. She immediately had the reflex to cover herself, but he stopped her, gently grabbing her wrists. He looked up at her, but when she looked away, he put her arms up above her head, pressing her wrists against the mattress. She couldn’t move when all she wanted was to cover herself.

“Don’t,” he said as she tried to free her hands.

She begged him with her eyes, a faint sob escaping her throat. He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips before he returned his attention to her breast. She looked up at the ceiling as his nose slid down her cleavage. He lowered her arms that he kept pinned against the mattress. His lips kissed her right breast, his tongue licked her nipple before he trapped it in his mouth. A shaky breath escaped her as he played with one of the most intimate parts of herself. He eventually let go of her arms but only so he could play with her left nipple. He caressed it with his thumb, over and over again, and he could feel it harden under his touch. She moaned, suddenly finding pleasure as she relaxed under him.

His right hand abandoned her left nipple and slid down her body, finding the waistband of her underwear. She instantly put a hand over his, but it didn’t stop him. He slid a finger under it, and her gasp didn’t make him stop either. He released her nipple and kissed his way back up to her face as he slid another finger under her panties. She drew a long breath as his fingers found the most intimate part of her body.

“You’re already wet for me,” he said as he looked down. Heat invaded her face and even more so when he looked back up at her. “Up,” he instructed her, and she gave him a confused look, which he found more arousing than perhaps it should have.

He tugged at her underwear to make her understand. She silently obeyed, lifting herself up slightly to allow him to remove her damp panties.

“Good girl,” he smirked, and even though she thought it wouldn’t be humanly possible for her to blush even more, she did.

His fingers returned to her wet lips and she closed her eyes at his cold touch.

“Breathe,” he told her, and she realized she was holding her breath. “Make me stop,” he said, and even though it sounded like a challenge, she knew what he meant. They could stop this at any moment, any second, if she wanted to.

She watched as he left the bed and knelt on the floor. He put a kiss on her right leg, then another, kissing his way up her inner thigh, eventually reaching the hot mess between her legs. She looked up at the ceiling, unable to meet his gaze, as she covered her face with her hands. She whimpered as his tongue licked her lips. He slowly licked up his way to the one thing he wanted right now, the button that would have her crumble completely. He pulled her closer to him, her legs resting on his shoulders. His mouth closed on her, making her moan. He licked the button, that bundle of nerves, played with it, slowly at first, then faster, and faster, and faster, faster than any human could have done. She didn’t know what to do with herself as pleasure built up inside her, taking over her muscles, her thoughts, her entire mind. She couldn’t think, unintelligible words coming out of her mouth. His name maybe was the only thing they could both understand.

She shattered completely on the bed after a few minutes. His hands keeping her trembling body still as he wouldn’t let go, as he carried her through her first orgasm. She was panting when he finally let go, kissing the inside of her thigh before he stood up. He watched as her body kept twitching, as she tried to catch her breath. When she realized he was seeing her wholly, completely, she moved up a leg, trying to conceal herself, as if he hadn’t seen all of her yet. She propped herself up on her elbows, looking back at him, waiting in confusion. His hands reached his pants, and she watched as he unbuttoned his jeans. He took everything off, exposing himself to her like she was exposed to him. Her eyes grew big as she saw his length, a shaky breath escaping her lips as she moved back a little as she looked up at him.

“Make me stop,” he repeated, offering her a way out.

She swallowed, her throat feeling dry, considering it. But she shook her head as she whispered: “I don’t wanna stop.”

“Good,” he said as he knelt on the bed, making his way back to her.

He kissed her, roughly, his lips crashing on hers. She let him push her back onto the mattress as she kissed him back, sliding her fingers into his hair. His own fingers found their way back to her wet folds and she gasped as this time, he wasn’t going to stop there. He slid a finger slowly into her, the unfamiliar touch made her feel uncomfortable. At first. But as he kissed her, as he pushed his finger in and out, she became more and more aroused and eager. She moved her hips to meet his movement, and he slid a second finger into her. The pressure only lasted a few seconds before pleasure found her. She knew what he was doing, she’d read enough books to know that she needed to be ready for a man of his size. But the books hadn’t been nearly indicative of how it all felt. She felt dazed, drowning in pleasure but also in uncertainty and nervousness. She was light-headed, her core burning at the idea of giving him what he wanted while he was giving her what she needed. That need that he had put inside of her, that his touch had created. He was a thief, stealing everything from her, her breath, her clarity, herself. Everything she was and everything she had was his. She was at his mercy as his fingers entered her, made her moan, made her forget everything else but his lips on her neck and his hands on her body.

She groaned as he slid a third finger, perhaps too early, inside of her. The pressure lasted longer as his long fingers opened her up, made her ready for what was to come. What she had promised him, what she could take away at any time if she wanted. He had given her so much power, he too was at her mercy as she could stop it all before it even started. But she wouldn’t be so cruel. She wanted to give him everything, just so he could feel a little better, even if it only lasted a second.

As she was getting lost in the building pleasure, he suddenly moved, making them lay on their side. He removed his fingers, resting his hand on her bottom. She put a hand over his but didn’t remove it. He kissed her, slowly this time, more gently than before.

“Make me stop,” he repeated as he put a kiss on her shoulder.

But she didn’t stop him. Not even when she felt him against her thigh. He was cold, she should have known, but hadn’t expected it.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She should have thought of it before, way earlier, but suddenly, she wondered if he knew. The way he was touching her, the way he was doing everything told her that he did, but she wondered, maybe he was being gentle because she was human, or because of that other reason. Maybe, he didn’t know.

“Wait,” she stopped him, putting a hand on his chest. “I…”

“What?”

She avoided his gaze, feeling embarrassed for not having told him before.

“I… I’m…”

“I know,” he said, and the revelation made her look up at him. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt, not for long,” he told her, and she nodded. “Do you want to stop?”

“No,” she shook her head.

He resumed what he had started, moving his hand from her bottom to her thigh, lifting it, slightly, but enough, to allow him to find her entrance. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as she felt the tip of his length reached her lips. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to come.

“Hey,” he whispered so gently it didn’t sound like him. He removed her arm from his neck then cupped her cheek in his hand.

He leaned forward to kiss her, gently, slowly, for a minute, and then another one. To make her forget about the situation they were in below. When she was relaxed, he slowly pushed himself inside of her, making her gasp, then wince as she felt the uncomfortable pressure. He withdrew himself slowly, then entered her once again. He did it a few times until the pressure was gone, until she forgot about it. He went a little further every time, getting her used to his size, but he quickly reached the wall, and she felt it as he did. He never stopped kissing her, not even when she cried out when they became one. He never stopped, never slowed down, his movement only becoming faster as she relaxed in his arms.

She was a moaning mess and every little sound she made filled him with desire. He was so big and so deep inside of her. He could feel her reaching her limit, her early orgasm was to be expected. She cried out his name as she felt it too and his thrust never ceased, not even when she crumbled into his arms. He carried her through the orgasm as it travelled through her like lightning, down her spine to her legs, to her toes. She moaned loudly as she trembled, bliss taking over her quickly, as she felt like she was going to pass out. But the feeling never went away as his hips kept meeting hers, faster and faster. She heard him groan now, though he’d been doing that for a while, she was just now registering her surroundings once again.

He moved suddenly so that she was lying on her back and he was on top of her. He moved her legs up which she locked around his waist like he wanted. She felt him slowing down and even though his pace was becoming too much for her, she knew he wouldn’t find his pleasure if he held back.

“Eric,” she said but it was difficult to find the words. “Don’t… slow down.”

He slowed down, however, misunderstanding her words. He put a kiss on her shoulder before he found her face. She brought a weak hand to his cheek before she tried again.

“Don’t slow down,” she told him, and he tilted his head, silently asking her if she knew what she was asking for. “I want… to give you what you need.”

He raised an eyebrow, and she saw uncertainty in his eyes. “You have no idea what you’re asking for.”

She shook her head. “I want to give you what you need.”

“You’ve given enough,” he said, straightening up so he was towering over her before he thrusted into her, hard and unexpectedly.

She gasped and moaned at the sudden movement. Despite what he knew was best for her he couldn’t deny there was something deep within him that wanted to take the opportunity to fuck her hard and fast and leave her a sobbing mess until she passed out on his cock. Everything about her was confusing, he wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to destroy her, in the best of ways. She was so innocent and pure and right now his and only his. No man had ever been there before and the idea of another man touching her, making her his, enraged him. He thrusted into her again, harder this time. He was claiming her, and he wanted her forever, another companion for the next thousand years, someone who would never leave him like Godric just did. Someone who would be with him for him, like Godric had found him and chosen him to be his companion. Pam wasn’t it. He loved Pam and he’d spent the rest of forever with her, but she was no Brooklynne Stackhouse. There was something there, a light only a human could have, a light he knew she wouldn’t lose even in the darkness because it was part of her.

He wanted her.

But did she want him?

He leaned forward again and rested his forehead against hers. She took his face in her hands, confused by his sudden silence, waiting for him to move, to say something.

“Be mine.”

It took her by surprise. He didn’t move as he waited for her to answer.

“Give me what I need. Be mine,” he repeated, and it sounded like a plea. He was vulnerable now like he had been on the roof. He had lost someone he loved deeply and now he needed someone to fill that gap. Brooklynne knew she could never fill that gap, but she could be something else, something new, something he needed.

He waited patiently for her to either break his heart or save him. There wasn’t much left of his heart, he kept it hidden, but she’d seen glimpses of it before and she’d seen a lot of it tonight. She was just what his heart needed right now after it had been left vulnerable by Godric’s departure.

She didn’t know what to say. Hadn’t she already given him everything? She was lying under him, at this moment, he was buried deep within her. She had told him her secrets, given him her first kiss, her first everything. What more could she do? Wasn’t she already his?

The next words that came out of her mouth woke something in him. Something raw, something untamed. His lips mashed against her, demanding something, anything, everything. He seized her wrists and pinned them against the mattress above her head. She didn’t think he’d react that way, she didn’t know what she expected to happen, but not this. He was unleashed, free to do with her as he pleased. She was his. His.

He straightened up, towering over her once again, releasing her hands, resuming his thrusts. He was reaching deep inside of her, hard and fast, harder and faster. He growled as he lost himself within her, taking what she offered, what he needed. She moaned and cried out as the world disappeared around her, maybe it hurt or maybe it was just pure bliss, she couldn’t tell. Maybe she passed out, then came back to consciousness just to pass out again. All she knew was his hands on her thighs, his growls and groans in the air. She could only feel him, in and out, in and out, over and over again, so fast she couldn’t even tell the difference anymore. She raised her hands, just to let them fall back on the mattress. She moved her head, right, left, up and down, it didn’t matter, she couldn’t see anything. Time disappeared with her lucidity. Maybe she’d been having one long orgasm that lasted minutes after minutes or maybe she just came over and over again, but it all blended together until he found euphoria between her legs. She cried out as the thrusting stopped. She felt him empty himself inside of her, heard him growl loudly, before he thrusted into her again, once, and twice, making her cry out each time, exhausted and sore.

When he removed himself, she felt like she had just lost a part of her, something that had always been there. He laid down beside her twitching body. She was out of breath, pearls of sweat sliding down her skin. She called his name, missing his touch already, and he brought her to him. She breathed out as she rested her head on his chest, barely aware of where she was. She only knew him and that was enough.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, and she didn’t understand.

“What?” she said, half conscious.

“Did I hurt you?” he reformulated, now more in control of himself, now aware of what he had just done, of what he had been doing for the past hour.

“No.”

“I should have stopped when you passed out the first time.”

“I passed out?”

He caressed her bare shoulder with his fingers, wondering if he should be worried or amused.

“Did I give you what you needed?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Yes.”

He hesitated, wondering if he should let her fall asleep are clean her up. There was blood on the bed, among other substances. But she was already falling asleep.

“Say it again,” he asked while she was still conscious.

“What?”

“Say it again.”

She sighed, tired and content. “I’m yours, Eric.”

“Yes. You are mine.”

*********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87