BITB Chapter 08

 

Disclaimer: I don’t own True Blood or the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Those rights to belong to Charlaine Harris, Alan Ball and HBO. I am in no way affiliated with them, no profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: I do own my OC’s and their antics and let’s be honest, I simply like to play with the Viking!

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Chapter 8

“Are you all right?”

The voice was so soft, it didn’t startle me. Still, I did feel slightly chagrined to have had an audience unknown to me on a seemingly empty roof in the middle of the night. I hadn’t noticed anyone else, having been caught up in my own world and the music. I wiped under my eyes again with the backs of my hands, dried them on my jeans, and turned around. He was standing near the stairs, staring at me with a look that combined concern and confusion.

“Oh, hi. Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry if I was bothering you,” I said, smiling to cover my embarrassment.

“You did not bother me. You have an extraordinary voice,” he said in a voice that was charming with its sincerity.

“Thank you very much,” I said, blushing slightly.

He was attractive. He had short, brown hair in disarray. He was wearing a long-sleeve, dark, gray tee-shirt and faded jeans with black boots. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen, and he looked like he just came from a photo shoot for a magazine cover. Like the valet, clearly too young for me, but there was something about him that made him look older than his years. Maybe it was his eyes? He was looking at me penetratingly, as if he could feel the struggle I was having and he was coping with something as well.

Then again, everyone was privy to my emotions any more from whatever feelings I invoked with my voice if they happened to be near me when I sang. I wondered how long he’d been listening, and what he was dealing with in his own life. Obviously, this kid has been through something. There was such a solemn look on his face. I couldn’t decide if he was expecting, daring, or worrying about me overreacting to his sudden appearance.

“So, what are you doing up here at four in the morning? Hiding out?” I laughed.

“Something like that,” he said, finally smiling.

He should smile all the time. It takes some of the worry off of his face.

“I totally understand. I remember forced family vacations when I was your age. There were plenty of occassions when I couldn’t wait to get some time away from my parents.”

“Yes. Family can be difficult to avoid at times,” he laughed softly, and shook his head looking out over the city.

“At least the rooms here are nice. Although, regardless of how beautiful it is, it still can be too small if you want to be alone, right?”

“Yes, exactly, and you? What are you doing here other than entertaining the creatures of the night?”

I had to laugh at that, being immediately reminded of Dracula, and then sighed when that thought transformed instantly into thoughts of Eric.

I fleetingly wondered if his family knew what kind of hotel they had chosen. If he had access to the roof, they must be pretty well-off and more than likely chose Silent Shores for its status. It was the nicest hotel in the area from what I could tell, and more than likely if this boy felt free to wander up to the roof at the late hour, he didn’t know. Of course, how could he? It was a well-kept secret, at least to most people.

“Just thinking,” I shrugged and leaned against the concrete ledge.

“The way you were practically yelling at the sky didn’t sound like simply thinking,” he joked.

“Yeah, well, you know, I was having an epiphany.”

“I understand. I have been having many of them recently.”

“Do you want to sit?” I asked, gesturing to the furniture a few feet away.

“I would like that. I still have some time.”

“Gotta be back before the ‘rents get up?”

“Not exactly,” he laughed again, “but I do need to be back in my room before dawn.”

“They’re early risers, huh? If you want to be alone, I can go. Like I said, I was just up here thinking. There’s no one waiting for me, so I get it if you need some privacy.”

“No. It can wait. It was actually a nice surprise to find someone else here. It gives me a little more time to…decide.”

I walked to one of the chairs and sat. The moonlight illuminated the roof and after being up there for a little while I found I could see easily. He seemed to keep his distance and sat across from me on the other side of one of the fire pits. From his demeanor, I was mildly concerned about what sort of decision this boy might have to make.

“So, do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you always sing while you think?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Lately? Yes. I seem to be singing all the time when I’m doing just about anything,” I laughed.

“You should. You…your voice… It reminds me of someone.”

“Really? Who’s that? Someone famous?” I asked playfully.

“Believe me, it’s no one you would know,” he smiled to himself.

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment since you seemed to enjoy my singing.”

“I did very much,” he said, taking a deep breath, and then grinning before letting it out, “There is actually something else familiar about you as well,” his brow furrowed, and he looked slightly perplexed.

He seemed to want to say something else, but before I could ask, my phone began to ring. I still had not changed my default ringtone and pulled it quickly from my pocket just as I heard Eric’s voice say ‘We have catching up to do, you and I.’ I thought I saw the boy’s eyes widen in what might have been recognition, but was more than likely amusement.

Yep, laugh at the grown woman with her IBF’s voice announcing her calls! The man she just realized she’s in love with! I’m sure it was funny. I can’t imagine this guy watches ‘Truly Bloody!’ I saw Maggie’s name appear on the caller ID and breathed a sigh of relief to finally be hearing from her! I held up my finger for him to wait while I stood, and walked a few feet away, turning my back to him to answer the call.

“Finally! What in the world took you so long to call? Doesn’t he want to come? I figured that would be the case. Did he say he would be willing to come tomorrow?” I asked quietly, stepping further away from my companion.

“Hey, Cricket, sorry for not calling sooner. I was…busy. Everything’s fine, though,” she said in a voice that sounded anything but fine.

“What happened? Are you OK?”

“I’m all right, but we have a slight problem. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I’m not comfortable being on the phone right now,” she spoke in almost a whisper.

“Why? What’s wrong?” I said, starting to panic slightly.

“Try to get some sleep. We’ll talk later.”

“What the hell? How can I sleep if…”

“Cricket, trust me. There’s nothing to worry about,” she pleaded quietly.

“Just tell me what’s going on!”

“He’s not here,” she sighed.

“That sucks. Well, maybe he didn’t get the message you were coming? Did anyone tell you when he’d be back?”

“I think we should talk about this in your suite later. I’m going to stay here for a while.”

I understood her not-too-subtle hint that we should be under the privacy spell when we talked. I heard her cover the phone and speak to someone else. I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Damn, um, OK. What should I do?”

“There’s nothing you can do. I have to go,” she said with slight urgency.

“When will you be back? … Maggie? … Hello!? … Maggie!? … Damn it!” I yelled into my phone when I realized she had already hung up.

I turned back around to see the boy looking away, no doubt pretending he wasn’t listening.

“Sorry about that,” I said.

“Problem?” he asked softly in a concerned tone.

“Yeah, I guess. No, I mean, my friend was supposed to meet me, but she’s…going to be later than I hoped. I’ll catch up with her tomorrow,” I smiled and shrugged as if to say everything was fine.

In truth, I wasn’t sure what it meant that she hadn’t come back already. If Godric wasn’t there, why didn’t she return right away? If he wasn’t home, what was the hold up? Maybe there was someone else who was giving her more information? Still, I couldn’t help but worry that there was something else going on. Wouldn’t they let her leave? Was she waiting to see if he returned before leaving herself? I supposed she was right. There was nothing I could do and she told me not to worry. I would just have to wait until later to find out. I walked back to my chair and sat down heavily with a sigh.

“So, you were going to tell me what else was familiar about me?”

He looked up at the sky before looking back at me. The smile was gone from his face and the serious look had returned.

“It can wait. I should go.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ve been up all night and I need to get some rest.”

“I can say the same,” he said with a smirk, but there was no humor in it.

“Will they give you a hard time about being out all night?”

“Who?”

“Your parents or whoever you’re here with.”

“No,” he chuckled, “No one will bother me.”

“Good. Well, it was nice hanging out with you. You took my mind off of things for a little while,” I said.

“I can say the same about you as well,” he agreed, standing.

“Have a good night or day, I guess it will be soon.”

“Will you be here tomorrow night?” he asked as he walked toward the stairs.

“Maybe. Probably. It depends on my friend, I guess.”

“Well, then, I hope your friend agrees to let you out,” he said with a grin, then turned and disappeared down the stairs.

I watched him descend the stairs out of sight. Despite his brief smiles, whatever was going on with that young man was certainly troubling him. In that moment, I decided that regardless of what I was dealing with, I would try to find time to talk to him again the next night. Maybe I could get him to talk it out. I wasn’t a counselor by any stretch of the imagination, but I was a teenager once, and teen angst is teen angst, right? He probably just needed someone who was unbiased to let him vent, and just listen. If he told me something that was potentially dangerous, I could always find his parents and let them know.

I didn’t know why I felt so concerned about him, but the poor kid really looked as if he needed a friend. Maybe it was girl trouble? God, what if he knocked up someone? I couldn’t give advice about that. Then again, I didn’t have to give him advice. My mind reeled with the possibilities until I settled on the simple idea of just listening. That I could do!

I stood and found myself yawning while I stretched. I walked in a zombie-like state, down the stairs, and back to my room. I briefly thought about staying up to wait for Maggie, but having no idea what time she would be returning, there was no reason not to go to bed. She would call or come up when she got back. As I punched in the code to my door, I realized I was too tired to even worry about my next move with Eric, and I was way too exhausted to delve into my newfound knowledge of my feelings for him.

I entered my suite without turning on the lights. The last of the moonlight was coming in through the windows and I could see well enough to make it to the bedroom. Once there, I picked up my suitcase and placed it on the bench at the footboard. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into the king-size bed. My body was heavy and melted into the comfort of the mattress. The last thing I remembered was looking at the first star I saw through the bedroom window. It was as if it had held out before disappearing just long enough for me to see it. I fell asleep before I could even make a wish.

~~~

I felt the side of the mattress lower and rolled over draping my arm across the bare chest of my vampire. Yes, I could admit he was my vampire now, whether I was his human remained to be seen, but Octavia had been right that he was mine, at least in my mind and certainly in my dreams.

“Long night?” he asked, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead as his arm came around my back and he pulled me in closer.

It was full dark again and the moonlight had returned, casting shadows over the bed. The window was open, something I didn’t think was possible in hotels any longer, and a soft, warm breeze blew in, causing me to shiver involuntarily. He pulled the comforter over my exposed shoulder and tightened his arm around me, allowing me to snuggle into him. His body temperature was as cool as always, but it felt comfortable. Under the blankets, he trailed his fingertips along my arm that rested across his body.

“Very long.”

“Tell me about it?”

“Do you want details or the condensed version?”

“I want to hear as much as you are willing to share, min sǫngr,” he said, raising my chin with his fingers and kissing me chastely on the lips.

“Well, they finally told me,” I sighed.

“Are you not happy?”

“I don’t know if happy is the right word. Relieved, I guess, is a better way to put it. I had been so stressed out and anxious about everything that it’s nice to finally put a label on myself.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“I cannot imagine putting a label on you. You cannot be defined by one thing.”

“Do you know what I am?”

“Is it important to you that I know?”

“Here? No. In real life, it will matter to me. I have doubts and eventually, I think I’ll be compelled to ask you.”

“But not here?”

“No. Here, you are mine, and I don’t have to worry about why you’re here, or the reason you want me. I struggled with that, you know.”

“Yes, I do know. You argued with me. I am glad you have accepted this.”

“Only here in my dreams.”

“If that is the only way I can have you, then yes, only in my dreams.”

“You mean mine.”

“Yes, you are mine here.”

“No, I mean, you said in your dreams. You meant my dreams.”

“No. I did not.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No, I did not misspeak.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know.”

“Ugh. Are you purposely confusing me?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbow so I could look into his eyes.

“I believe I am being quite clear.”

“You’re impossible, you know that, right?”

“Are we going to argue again?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said, kissing my nose.

I couldn’t help but giggle as I climbed out of the bed.

“Where do you think you are going?”

“I want to sit in front of the fire,” I said, walking toward the door.

I was barely two steps away from the bed when he scooped me up and carried me to the main room where a fire was already lit in the marble hearth. It was vivid as it crackled, and I looked up at him to see the firelight casting a warm glow on his face. He almost looked human with the yellow and orange light flickering on his skin. He was beautiful as he gazed down at me, his eyes reflecting the flames as they danced. He laid me down on my back and I realized there were soft blankets and pillows arranged on the floor spread out for us. When did that happen? Oh right, dreaming.

He stretched out next to me, supporting himself on one elbow to face me. Peripherally, I noticed he was only wearing the same black boxer briefs I had seen him in at my house. I pushed the thought away, not wanting memories of reality to interrupt our time together.

His hand pressed against my heart and he smiled softly as he let it rest there for a moment. My heartbeat sped up while I watched his smile grow, and I sighed in my contentment. It was a perfect moment. I wanted to capture the image of him there with me, the way he looked at me made me feel wanted and beautiful. I pretended to myself the look he gave was filled with love and want. Although I had never seen that in real life, I let myself hold that thought when I reached up and gripped his hair, pulling him forcefully down and crushing our lips together. Here, I could imagine he loved me. Here, I knew he wanted me. Here, I didn’t care why he was drawn to me. I invaded his mouth with my tongue and felt his fangs descend as he deepened the kiss. He pricked my tongue and laved it with his own, swallowing me. I tasted the coppery metallic flavor of my blood briefly, and soon the taste changed. It was slightly sweet and rich like dark chocolate. I realized it was his blood now, and I took my turn drinking him in. Here, I didn’t care if we bonded or not. Here, everything was OK. There was no panic, only the deepening growth of my feelings for him.

Our hands caressed each other while we made out as if we were in the backseat on prom night, all tongues and hands seeking flesh. He pulled back to lick along my jawline to my ear where he kissed me down to my collar bone, sucking on the soft skin there that seemed to have become his favorite spot. I’ll admit it was now mine, too. His cool lips trailed wet kisses up to my ear again.

“Why would you not accept it?” he whispered, kissing along the shell of my ear.

“Accept what?” I asked as my body arched of its own accord into his massaging hand on my torso. It slowly moved up and pulled my tank top down to expose my breast. He cupped and kneaded it roughly, pinching and rolling my hardened nipple between his fingers. I felt his cock press against the side of my outer thigh as his chest hovered over mine.

“Your love for me…you already knew, but you denied it to yourself,” he moaned seductively into my hair, peppering the side of my face with kisses.

“Shh…”

He pulled back to lock his gaze with mine.

“I see it in your eyes. I feel it in your touch. You have acknowledged it finally. Why did you not let yourself feel it?” he asked in a serious tone.

“I don’t want to talk,” I said huskily, reaching down to wrap one hand around his shaft while the other gripped the hair at the nape of his neck, attempting and failing to pull his mouth to mine again.

“Tell me,” he said, pulling away from me.

“Just be with me,” I begged softly.

I didn’t want to admit it to him this way, not here, not now, not like this when he wouldn’t really know when I woke, not when it didn’t count.

“Tell me you want me.”

“You know I want you.”

“Tell me you love me.”

“No.”

“Tell me,” he commanded softly.

“Stop it, Eric!” I said, stopping all movement and sitting up. I readjusted my top to cover myself.

“Why will you not say it?” he asked with sadness in his voice.

Why was he sad? My Dream-Eric should not be hurt by my lack of admission. The one thing I could always control with him was my dreams. I was losing control of my dream and he was taking over! This was mine. He had no power here. It was mine! He sat up next to me and turned my face to his.

“Enough!” I shouted at him and batted his hand away.

“It is not enough until you tell me.”

“God Damn it! No!” I ground out and stood.

I started to step away, but he was in front of me in a flash, and lightly cupped my face with both his hands.

“Why? This is my dream. This is the only way I can have you. You are mine here. Say it!” His tone was demanding, but I didn’t care.

“Shut up! It is my fucking dream and the answer is no!”

“You are in love with me. Why can you not admit it?”

“Jesus! Why are you doing this? You are not supposed to do this. I control this, not you, so knock it the fuck off!”

“What is it that I am doing that is so wrong?”

“I can’t do this. I want you to go. It is not supposed to be like this. You need to go, now!”

“How many times must I tell you? I cannot leave!”

“Fine, then I’ll go,” I attempted to pull myself from him again and though he released my face, he stepped in front of me as I tried to go around him.

“No. I want… I need to hear you, Chelsea,” he said, attempting to pull me to him, but I stepped back.

I dropped my face into my hands and took a deep breath. When I raised my head, he was still looking at me.

“I don’t want to fight. I can’t. I won’t. This is all I have with you. I don’t want to have this conversation now. I will admit it to you, the real you, when I am ready, if I ever fucking see you again…and we both know that is a big if!”

“I do not want to argue. I will leave you alone, but I cannot go,” he said sadly, and stepped past me to the balcony.

I watched him for a moment. His back was to me and he was looking up at the sky. After a minute or two of looking at him trying to piece things together, I left him there and returned to my bed. I climbed under the covers and stared out the window. What the fuck is going on? I closed my eyes believing, as it had always happened, that when I fell asleep in my dream, I would wake up in the real world. I didn’t. A short time later, I heard the balcony doors close and soft footsteps padding into the bedroom. Cool arms wrapped around me from behind as he slipped into the bed. He pulled me closer and I let him, pushing back to spoon. He kissed me on the top of my head before inhaling my hair and resting his forehead against the back of my head.

“I am sorry,” he whispered.

“I know. Me too.”

“I will not ask again.”

“I’m not ready, not even here.”

“I know.”

“I don’t get it. Why do you keep insisting…?” I whispered before he interrupted me.

“Because it is mine. And you?”

“Same.”

“This is not real.”

“It can’t be.”

“Fuuck…” we breathed out at the same time, and then laughed quietly at our mutual frustration and confusion.

“Whoever is having this dream is really fucking things up,” he said, still chuckling softly.

“I know, right? So if it is you, stop fucking it up, dumbass.”

I giggled when he tickled me lightly in retaliation for my comment. I turned my head to look at him. He leaned forward and kissed me deeply, caressing my tongue with his before pulling back and kissing me once, twice, three times tenderly. He pulled me closer and wrapped himself around me.

“Goodnight, min sǫngr.”

“Goodnight, Eric.”

~~~

Aurelia Gliwiski as Chelsea ‘Cricket’ Kerrigan

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

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A/N: Thank you, MsBuffy, for your brilliant work! Thank you to American Android for the awesome banner!

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