saturday night and the moon is out

[feel_human]

Tucked away off the road in Bon Temps, there's a road house. Warm light spills from its windows, and the sound of a jukebox playing drifts out into the muggy Louisiana night. The regular assortment of trucks and Hail-Mary-please-keep-this-lemon-goin'-just-a-little-longer cars sit in the dirt parking lot; what amounts to about half the town's small population... or, at least, of those of the 'drinking age and above' persuasion.

Inside, it's a bar of the type scattered all across the American South: homey, no-nonsense. Booths and tables. A man in a plaid flannel shirt wiping the bar; a crossdresser in the kitchen singing Gospel hymns and rolling his hips in time with the words just to scandalize the prep cook. A handful of waitresses, bustling about.

Sookie makes her way briskly through it all, a tray balanced on her palm and her eyes kept stubbornly front, as voices swarm around her. Aloud, and... less so.

...I’m just going to have one beer tonight Jesus one beer that’s all...

...better not gripe about me eating fries not after what I did for him last night...

...I cannot wait to get the hell out of this podunk town...

 

 "Well, make sure you do, and before it’s too late," she responds, thoughtless, to the young man. "Because every year you wait? You just get more and more stuck here. Believe me, I know."

He stares at her. So do his parents.

So does the other table. And she realizes, too little too late, that he hadn't said that out loud, not at all. She laughs, uncomfortable. "I’ll get y'all some ketchup," she says, brightly, and flees, ponytail swinging against the nape of her neck as she goes.

Stupid, Sookie, she chides herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

Comments

[gavemea_45]

She's looking at him in shock, but he has no idea why. His expression turns uncertain.

"Was it something I said?"

[feel_human]

Her mouth opens, but she has no idea what to say. How is it possible, what kind of miracle –

"Don't mind Sookie none, mister." Mack Rattray leans back over the booth divider, ugly yellow teeth bared in a conspiratorial grin. "She's crazy as a bedbug. Allus has been."

Embarrassed color floods into her cheeks, and she turns, all confusion. "I'll just – I'll go check on that burger for you."

[gavemea_45]

"Don't believe I asked your opinion," Sam retorts, coolly, staring the guy down as Sookie retreats. "Can't see that it's worth much, either."

[feel_human]

Mack's grin fades and turns into a scowl. "Yankee," he grumbles derisively to Denise, as he slinks back into his booth seat.

For her part, Sookie's catching her breath by the bar, her mind awhirl – for once with her own thoughts, more than anyone else's, until Lafayette dings to bell. "Order up," he calls to her, then peers past her into the bar. "This for that tall drink of water? Oh, he cute."

Sookie draws herself back together and gives him an exasperated glance as she collects the plates. "Oh, button it, Lafayette."

[gavemea_45]

Sam rolls his eyes at the attempted insult and picks up his beer. Asshole or not, the guy's a local, and Sookie's boss apparently tolerates him. It's not going to do her any favors if he causes a ruckus. No matter how tempting it is.

Glancing around, he catches the exasperated look from the redheaded waitress, directed at the booth next to him, and figures that at least Sookie's coworkers have her back.

[feel_human]

She takes a moment to center herself, to build her walls back up, then sets the plates on her tray and lifts it to her shoulder. She moves among the tables and chairs like a dancer, the choreography so ingrained in her she hardly notices it anymore, and tries not to mind the cacophony of thoughts that swirl through the room like a miasma –

tomorrow, I'll start bein' good tomorrow
Dawn's sure lookin' good tonight, not that she'll give me the time of day
that Stackhouse girl sure is strange, too bad

– and can't help breathing a sigh of relief as she gets to his table and the bubble of quiet there. "Here y'are," she says, setting first the plate with the burger and black-eyed peas down, then the small side plate with the collard greens. "Fresh off the grill."

[gavemea_45]

"Thanks. It looks great." Sam searches her face as he lowers his voice. "Hey. You okay? You didn't take that guy's bull to heart, did you?"

[feel_human]

Sookie ducks her head under his serious glance. "I'm – "

She pulls her smile onto her lips, bright and fake, and meets his eyes again. "I'm fine. Don't you worry about me. People have been callin' me – well, worse'n that my whole life."

The corners of her smile are brittle enough to shatter. "Sticks and stones, right?"

[gavemea_45]

"So they say." She doesn't look fine. She looks upset. With feeling, Sam adds, "Sometimes people suck. I'm sorry."

[feel_human]

Her expression softens a little. "Nothin' for you to be sorry for." She can't hear his thoughts to tell if he's speaking the truth, but he has an earnest face.

Her smile gentles into something soft and shy. "I'm glad you came in tonight, Sam Winchester. It's been... real nice talkin' with you."

[gavemea_45]

"It's nice talking with you too, Sookie. I mean that." He puts all the sincerity he feels into his voice.

[feel_human]

She glances down, her smile bashful. "So... do you think you will? Stick around a couple days?"

[gavemea_45]

He hears Dean's You sly dog as clearly as if his brother were sitting right across the table from him. Partly to drown it out, Sam says, "Sure, why not? From what you've said, it sounds like a nice place to explore."

The people might not be so great, present company excepted, but the town's probably nice enough.

[feel_human]

"Oh, it is," she says, earnest. Cutting a glance toward the Rattrays, she lowers her voice.

"Don't let a few negative Nellies make you think otherwise."

[gavemea_45]

"Don't worry about it. They're not the first like that I've run into." Sam gives her a quick smile. "So I won't if you don't."

[feel_human]

Her smile widens. "Deal."

She doesn't understand how this could be happening. What is it about him that's muffling her disability so much? Curious, she reaches tentatively toward his mind, but backs off before she can make contact, scolding herself silently for even thinking about invading the privacy he's so happily been given.

Sookie casts a glance at his burger. "Well... I better leave you to it. If you need anything else, just holler, okay? I'll come on by to check on you in a bit."

[gavemea_45]

Sam grins at her. "You know where to find me." It's not like he's in any hurry to hit the road again tonight, especially now that he's going to be sticking around for a couple of days.

[feel_human]

"I guess I do," she smiles, and turns to get the rest of the Rattrays' order, feeling a little like she's walking on air.

Silly, maybe, but the good interactions she's had with people, especially newcomers, are few and far between, and she can't help feeling pleased that he'd apparently decided to side with her, even without knowing her at all.

[gavemea_45]

Sam watches after her for a moment, only to spot that he's being watched in turn when he glances around the room again. The redhead's giving him an interested look - until he catches her at it, that is, and she bustles off with her tray, pretending that she wasn't. The bartender-slash-boss-Sam's expression's a lot more shuttered, for whatever reason.

Most of the rest of the customers aren't paying that close attention, no more than he figures they would any stranger in town. The music's turned up on the other side of the bar where the noisier crowd's located, and - yeah, that looks like a pool table in the back, if he cranes his neck. Might be worth checking out later over another beer, and that'd let him hang around a little longer.

First things first, though. Sam snags a fork and a paper napkin or two from the dispenser and gives the vegetables a try before digging into the burger. It's not half bad.

[feel_human]

She finishes up her next round and takes a moment's breather by the bar, where Tara's nursing a large margarita, having finally appeared. "How come I can't keep a job?" she complains, seemingly to her tequila.

"Maybe because you can’t keep your mouth shut," Sookie points out, amused. She's in a good humor now, and, from the sidelong glances Sam Merlotte keeps giving her, Tara's not the only one to notice. "How you doing, Sookie?" he asks, a little eager.

She gives him a faintly bemused smile. "Oh, not bad, Sam. I've had better nights, but I've had worse nights, too."

"Anything I can do to improve this one?" he asks, quickly, and she stares at him. Next to her, Tara's mouth has gone slack enough with surprise to drop her straw back into her margarita.

But whatever answer she might have come up with goes entirely out of her head as the screen door creaks open, admitting another newcomer. As he steps in, the whole bar seems to hush.

Wood beams creak beneath his boots as he walks, slow, step by step to a table. He's eye-catchingly handsome, all dark hair and almost impossibly pale skin, but she doesn't think that's what catches everyone's attention. It's something in his eyes, something in the way he moves. Merlotte's pauses and holds its breath, like a mouse hiding in the shadow of the corn, praying for the hawk to swoop on by.

The stranger sits, and Sookie takes a breath, blinking, as the bar shifts back into motion and color and sound. "Lots of strangers tonight."

[gavemea_45]

Shit. I can't fucking believe this.

He keeps himself outwardly relaxed by sheer force of will, mentally checking over what he has stashed where. The whole point of leaving for Stanford was to get out of the hunter's life. He hadn't come here on a job, damn it! Or even looking for one!

But here's trouble, walking right in through the door and sitting down like it belongs here. Sam finishes his burger and switches back to his beer, keeping a covert eye on the stranger as he does.

Sure, he could be wrong. Unfortunately, he doesn't think so.

[feel_human]

Sam, on the other side of the bar, is almost preternaturally still as he stares at the newcomer, and when Sookie retrieves her pad and pen, his hand shoots out to snatch her around the wrist. She tries to shake him off, startled. "Sam! That hurts!"

"Somethin's off about that guy," Sam says, his blue eyes fixed on the newcomer. "Leave him be."

She rolls her eyes and extracts herself. "You are the worst business owner I've ever met," she scolds. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a job to do. One you pay me to do, if you remember."

Turning in a flick of her ponytail, she makes her way to the newcomer's table, her practiced smile already curving her lips, only for her steps to slow as she comes close.

He's... silent. Not quiet, or muffled like Sam Winchester. Dead silent. She can't even begin to explain it.

[gavemea_45]

Sam braces himself to leap to Sookie's defense if the newcomer makes any funny moves - even the slightest hint of a funny move. If they're as fast as the lore says he won't have much time to act.

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices the other Sam's frozen and watching with near-feral intensity. That's weird, or would be, if-- maybe the other guy's a hunter, too? He wouldn't be the first to hide in plain sight, as it were, and having a place like this's sure a good way to keep an eye on what's going on in the area.

[feel_human]

There's a faint buzzing in her ears as she moves slowly toward the newcomer. His eyes are on hers and he watches her with an unblinking stare as she comes closer, step by step.

For some reason, she's suddenly very conscious of her own heartbeat, pushing blood through her body. It stutters, then picks up the pace, and she could swear that for a second the stranger's glance drops to her throat in response.

He studies her as she draws up beside his table, pad at the ready, a bewildered smile on her lips. "Hi," she says, finally, and almost laughs at herself. "Welcome to Merlotte's. Can I... what can I get you?"

There's a moment as he looks at her, before his mouth finally opens. "A glass of red wine," he says. His voice is pleasantly smooth, and his accent is pure Bon Temps. "Thank you."

[gavemea_45]

For a second he thinks that's torn it, as he watches the - man? sure, why not, call it that, good enough - as he watches the stranger's eyes fasten on Sookie's throat. Sam tenses in his seat, only to hold himself still as the other looks up again and answers her question. Probably an order, Sam'd assume, anyway, although what the hell one of them would be ordering in a bar he's got no idea.

Good enough. He leans to the side and gives a little wave, trying to keep it abashed and not demanding - but trying to get Sookie's attention and draw her away.