Trouble Maker

A/N: Welcome, everyone, to the first chapter of Trouble Maker! I am excited to be back with a new story, and I hope those of you who have followed me from Keep Me are just as pumped as I am! This is a "rewrite" story, starting right after Sookie's first meeting with Eric.

For my new readers: a fair warning before you begin reading- I do write mature material, although this chapter is clean, I prefer to let everyone know ahead of time before they get too curious. If this offends you, or you underage to view such material, please hit "back" on your browser now. And when I say mature, I mean sexually explicit, as well as occasionally running head long into aspects of torture, and sometimes emotionally distressing circumstances. But relax, I am all about the happy endings! Also, I have a habit of drawing from both the True Blood and SVMN universes when it comes to character personalities, plot points, and even architecture! Therefore, it is always good to be relatively familiar with both mediums, although after a certain point, I use original content rather than spewing out something that was already created.

Also, my wonderful beta, Nerdygirl, who worked very hard to get chapter one ready for me because I suddenly decided I was wanting to post again- I extend all of my gratitude to you. I could not ask for a better person to start this EPIC journey with!

Finally:

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANY TRUE BLOOD OR SVMN CHARACTERS. THEY BELONG TO CHARLAINE HARRIS, ALAN BALL, AND HBO. THEREFORE, DO NOT ASK ME FOR MONEY- I AM EXTREMELY POOR.

-ANDI

Chapter One: Revelations and Job Opportunities

"Pam," Eric did not even look at his child as they tore off down the highway, away from the police swarmed Fangtasia, "contact our ears inside the court." The vampiress next to him quirked an eyebrow at her Master's sudden demand, "Compton is up to something, and he is up to it in my area." He growled angrily, "I want to know why he is here." Glaring at the road ahead of him, he continued, "That cherry he brought in tonight was definitely not a fangbanger."

"Which begs the question," Pam continued for him, "why bring something as tempting as that into a vampire bar when he knows there are at least two others that could demand her."

"He was being indulgent." Eric said aloud, even though he knew Pam was already on his line of thinking, "He wants her to like him."

"Well Ms. Sookie Stackhouse, 25, of Bon Temps- what type of trouble have you caused yourself?" Pam grinned. "And what kind of fun does that mean for us?"

"Address." Eric demanded as he tore off towards Pam's residence to drop her off.

Sookie was fuming as she yanked off her red and white dress and kicked off her pretty heels. Bill Compton was the most frustrating vampire she had ever met! More frustrating than that horn dog Eric at Fangtasia! 'Really! Sitting on a throne like he's king of the freakin' world. Power trip much?'

Pulling a loose, pink cotton nightgown over her head, Sookie flopped onto her bed and let out an exasperated sigh. Without even looking, she reached under her bed and grabbed her diary that already had a pen bulging against the spine of the book. She wrote out her annoyance with Bill, her despair at finding out nothing useful to help Jason, and she vented about the obnoxious blond and his embellished throne. Once she was on the topic of Eric, though, her ranting turned into acute observations- like the way he commanded attention of all present at the club, or how he seemed so bored. It almost seemed like an act. She would not deny that he was truly bored, but there was something about his expression. He seemed to be thinking non-stop, and she, for the first time, wished she could hear a vampire's brain, because she feared that his thoughts were about her.

"Sookie..."

Sookie's head jerked up from her writing and she looked around the room worriedly. Had she just imagined someone calling her name softly?

Slowly closing her book and tucking it under the bed, her eyes scanning all over the room, Sookie got up and put her back to the wall.

"Sookie..."

She bit her lip nervously and inched towards the window. Peeking out, she saw the blond giant that was Eric standing next to her window. She squeaked and covered her mouth so as not to awaken Gran. "E-Eric?" She took a step away from the window even though she knew he could not reach in at her.

"Good evening. We have much to discuss." Eric nodded at her, his face stern.

"Listen, I told you, I'm not a cop! I had nothing-"

"Quiet." His tone was firm and commanding. Her mouth snapped shut, "Tell me. Are you truly Compton's?"

She swallowed hard, "N-no." She was only brave enough to admit it with a magical barrier keeping a large vampire away from her.

"I figured you were not his. There are no visible bite marks on you, and you seem too innocent to allow him to feed between your thighs-"

"That's enough of that!" Sookie hissed, her face going beet red as her arms crossed over her chest.

"So, tell me, why did you say you were his?" Eric asked again, his posture loose, a perfect contrast to her rigidness.

She explained about Malcolm and his friends being at Bill's house, and how Bill had to claim her as his so the others could not have her.

"Has he ever had your blood?" Eric asked.

"Technically."

"There is no "technically", he either has or has not."

"He licked my head wound closed after he fed me his blood. I was pretty badly beaten." Sookie told him.

"Did he tell you it was to seal the wound?" Eric asked, surprising Sookie with the curiosity.

"Yes... The next night I asked. I wasn't really thinking about it in the moment." She explained

"If he fed you his blood, he had no reason to close any wounds. In reality, he could not resist an open wound. Why were you beaten?"

Sookie gawked for a moment at Eric's nonchalant observation and his off the cusp inquiry before she told him about her saving Bill, and the retaliation some drainers had taken upon her.

Eric looked at her a long time. Bill was a child in comparison to himself, but Compton was not stupid enough to be taken in by drainers. That sort of thing only happened to the newborns. If someone were going to drain Bill, they would have to be a Were or a Shifter to manage it.

"After you left, I had my Child make some phone calls." Eric said slowly, making sure Sookie was really listening to him. "When William Compton came to this area, he told me that he came to claim his old home."

Sookie nodded, "Yeah, that's right-"

"No, it is not." Eric said firmly, "Bill is a procurer for other, wealthier vampires- particularly for the Queen of Louisiana."

Sookie snorted, "Queen?"

"Yes. In the vampire hierarchy each state in the United States has a Queen and/or King. Directly beneath them are Sheriffs of areas the state has been divided into. I am Sheriff of Area Five of Louisiana." He explained, "And Bill Compton is a gofer for the Queen of this state. She asks for it- he obtains it."

"So, what did he come here for, if not to claim his old property?"

"A pretty, blonde telepath." Eric smiled darkly at her.

Sookie recoiled, "That can't be true! I'm a human being! Not a piece of furniture! Who procures people!?"

"Vampires do." Eric told her, "For their blood, if they taste particularly good. For their looks. And quite often for their special abilities."

"How did the Queen even know I was a telepath?"

"Are you familiar with a Hadley Delahoussaye?" Eric asked.

"My cousin? We all thought she died." Sookie frowned.

"Oh, she did. She is vampire now." Eric smirked.

"What?" Sookie gaped for a long moment, "But-"

"She was made Vampire not too long ago, but not before telling the Queen about her special cousin who could read minds. She is now one of the many play things of the Queen." Sookie made a disgusted face, "Oh, your cousin seems to enjoy her position under the Queen." Sookie covered her ears.

"This is too much." She crouched down and kept her ears covered.

"Keep listening, Little One." Eric tapped the siding of the house to get Sookie's attention back.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Sookie whispered once she had straightened back up.

"Several reasons." Eric smiled that half smile of his, "First and foremost- I could use a telepath myself."

Sookie backed up again, "I don't-"

"Have a choice?" Eric finished for her, "You will either work for me or the Queen. At least with me- you will have additional protection."

She sneered at him, "How so?"

"The queen is young- barely five hundred. She can easily be overthrown, and that is more likely to happen if she keeps acquiring such delightful toys. Also, my Queen is in a large financial crisis, so she will probably be taking a King soon to help pay out her debts. If that were to happen while you are owned by the Queen, you will also be at the mercy of the King that she marries. If she is overthrown, then you will be passed to the vampire who acquires her throne- assuming that you survive the overtaking." Sookie's head was spinning. "How does that sound?"

"Can't everyone just leave me alone?" Sookie whimpered, leaning her head against the window frame.

"No. You are a hot commodity." Eric grinned a cheshire cat smile.

"And the fact that I taste so good doesn't help either, does it?" Sookie frowned.

"You do smell quite delectable- but in comparison to your telepathy, that is just a wonderful fringe benefit." He held out his hand, "May I?"

"May you what?" Sookie was afraid he would ask for an invite.

"Hold your hand out to me." He told her.

"Are you going to yank me out the window?" She asked.

Eric smirked, "No, I promise, I will not force you out." Sookie eyed him warily before extending her arm out of the window. Eric gently took her hand and turned it so that it was palm up. Lowering his face to her flesh, his nose grazed the inside of her wrist, and he released a satisfied sigh. "Yes, your blood smells quite delicious..." His tongue flickered out and fluttered against a bulging, blue vein, causing Sookie to shudder from something other than the slight chill.

Taking her hand back slowly, Sookie tilted her head and asked, "What is your proposal?"

"Work for me, and in exchange I will offer my protection." He stated simply.

"Wh-what would I have to do?" She asked slowly.

Eric shrugged, "Use your telepathy when we deal with humans. I might loan you out to other Areas if they request it, but myself or Pam would travel with you as protection."

Sookie sighed with, what appeared to Eric as, relief, "That's all?"

"I do not need to blackmail women into opening their legs or arteries to me, Miss Stackhouse." He gave her a lazy, somehow sexy, look, "However, if you ever feel so inclined, I will gladly open either, or both, for you." Sookie could not restrain the blush that rose from her throat and up into her cheeks. "Mm, you do smell delicious, especially with that blush." That just made Sookie's face turn a shade darker.

"I won't stand for such dirty talk!" She tried to sound stern, but her flushed face caused a loss in the affect. With a frustrated sigh, Sookie told him, "You should know- I can't be glamoured."

"A bonus- in some cases. I do not need to worry about another vampire turning you against me." Eric shrugged, "Unfortunately, you will have to deal with the haunting things you may see. I will not be able to take them away for you."

"When you're a telepath, you see all kinds of "haunting things"." Sookie murmured.

"In the world of Vampires, you will witness the things of nightmares." Eric caught her gaze, "Do we have a deal."

"Do vampires honor contracts?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, we are quite honorable in holding to our contracts." Eric nodded.

"Even the ones with humans?"

"If it is written and signed, it will be honored." Eric assured her. "Any time you work with a vampire that is not me- I will have them sign a contract as well that have been tailored to my... Our specifications. I assume you will have your own circumstances."

"Are you going to pay me?"

Eric nodded, "Is it not customary to pay someone for their services?"

"How much?" Sookie asked.

Eric grinned, "Come to Fangtasia tomorrow night, and we will negotiate. I must be leaving soon so I can be to my resting place before dawn."

"I work tomorrow." Sookie told him.

"Where?" Eric asked.

"Merlotte's. It's a bar-"

"I know it. The Shifter owns it." Eric nodded.

"Shifter?"

Eric's eyebrows rose, "You did not know that your boss was a Supe?"

Sookie gaped, "I knew there was something off about his mind, but... What's a Shifter?"

"A human who can take the form of animals. They usually have a particular animal they will change into, but they are not limited to one form like a Were is."

"Like a Werewolf?" Sookie asked.

"Yes."

"What does Sam change into?" Sookie was enthralled.

"By the smell of him- a dog usually." Eric told her.

"Wow... Hey! I've seen a dog hanging around Merlotte's all the time! There was one there the night I saved Bill, and the night the Rattrays attacked me!" She realized, "Son of a... Sam and I are gonna have to have a little talk!" Eric laughed at the young woman's obvious annoyance, "I get off of work at ten... That shouldn't be too late for you, right?"

"Not at all. Where would you like to have our meeting?" Eric was all business again.

"I can drive out to Shreveport after work tomorrow." Sookie sighed, "I don't fancy letting you in my house until we've got a signed contract. Don't need you freakin' Gran out. And if another vampire comes strolling into Merlotte's Sam might rupture an aneurysm."

"Gran?"

"My grandmother. She's asleep right now." She explained.

Eric nodded before thinking a moment, "A few things you might want to do, Sookie. First, rescind Compton's invitation if he has been allowed in your house, and advise your grandmother not to let him in either. Tell her not to make eye contact with him at all, should he come to the door. I do not know if your... Gran has the same immunity to glamour that you do. Second, do not allow Compton to give you his blood again, nor allow him to have yours. If he is dying, let him die. And lastly, you will have to invite me in soon. Should you need protection, it would be best if I can come for you and not be hindered." Sookie nodded in agreement.

"After we get a contract signed, I will allow it." She said firmly.

"Fair enough." Eric agreed. She was naïve, but not stupid. Eric could definitely handle that... He could also handle making her a little less naïve. "After your contract is filed, I will begin your training."

"Training?"

"Oh, yes. You have much to learn, Little One, before you start working around vampires." Eric grinned before taking off at a full vampire run.

Sookie shut her window slowly before heading back to her bed and flinging herself across the mattress. What a long day!

TBC

A/N: WELL, THAT WAS OUR FIRST CHAPTER! MEET ME BACK HERE NEXT TUESDAY FOR CHAPTER TWO, AND IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW!

-ANDI