"This is as far as I should go," He nodded solemnly to the sixteen year old girl.

"Thank you!" She told him. With him, she could be herself, she didn't have to impress anyone or have shallow conversations about all the men in the Opera Populaire. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He turned away, color flushing into his cheeks, hair falling into his eyes. With a nod, he ran away. Returning to her bed, Ann pulled the blankets back, she snuggled in feeling much more happier than she was in weeks.

"Good night, Annie," A whispered filled her ears and she smiled. Erik's musical treble filled her ears, taking her away to a world of dreams.

She wandered the darkness of his world, calling for him.

"Follow me," Erik's voice kept ringing.

"Erik?" She whispered, walking through an endless field. Eerie music was ringing, the clashing of cymbals, sinister laughing. She arrived in front of a faded red tent. A painted sign stood in front and she gasped

"The Devil's Child!" A voice rang as a man came out and the Gypsy's eyes stared into hers. She walked in with the ghosts of her memories. A small boy was turning away from the rest, sitting in a cage. Grabbing her stomach and one of the cage bars, she whispered his name.

"Turn around, boy! Turn around!" The gypsy grabbed his whip and forcefully turned him around. And what Ann saw was nothing like the boy she thought she saw. His nose were simply holes, maggots crawling in and out of his mouth, and his bony fingers feebly tried to cover the skeletal face. She screamed, her hand reaching inside and calling for him.

"You dare to be the Devil's assistant?" he gypsy suddenly turned to the devil himself. She shook her head with fear as everyone around left with no notion about her.

"But you are assisting the boy?" He gave a clownish frown, his long fingers touching her shoulders and sending chills down her spine.

"No, not him," She fearfully turned to look once more at the boy.

"Assist the boy who will be the eternal ruler?" He smiled like the Cheshire cat.

"Eternal ruler?" Ann asked.

"Ay, isn't that what Erik means?" He brought the boy closer to him. His hands opening and closing over his shoulders.

"Erik, this isn't you!" She screamed, waving her hands in front of the boy whose yellow cat-like eyes stared blankly.

"Erik was never who you thought," He finally spoke out in his monotonous voice.

"Erik hungers for flesh," He began to walk towards her as she slowly stepped back," Do not fear Erik."

She closed her eyes but the image of the monster before her still filled her mind.

"Erik, please understand," She whimpered, her hands over her mouth," I am your friend,"

"Erik has no friends," He spoke out in his monotonous voice.

"Erik!" She fell at his feet, crouching and unable to look at him.

"This one not worthy to be of your assistance," The voice she recognized as the Gypsy's added in," Erik?"

Ann heard a hissing sound and a minute later she fell into a hole as maggots buried her. She screamed, muffled by the maggots, falling deeper and deeper into the hole.

"Annie, Annie, Annie" She heard, as a slap appeared on her face,"Antoinette!"

"What?" She awoke with at least ten ballet girls surrounding her. She sat up from the hard floor.

"You were screaming!" Ines was sitting closest to her.

"What time is it?" Antoinette asked, her eyes closing in confusion.

"Annie, it's morning," Lisette laughed out. When she reopened her eyes, Ann noticed already half the girls were changing in the usual ballerina outfit.

"Thank you," Antoinette nodded to the girls as she stood up.

"Annie, you must have had a horrid dream!" Gabrielle looked genuinely frightened, as she always does.

"Horrible," She nodded, as the girls looked at her. Trying to forget, she proceeded to changing into her tutu. Rehearsal did not go smoothly for all she saw was the rotting face in her dreams. The younger dancers were shocked to see the usual star of the show get yelled by the ballet mistress several times.

"Boys distracting you, Annie?" Lisette whispered, giggling when she made eye contact with the men watching from the side. They were making inappropriate actions that made all the older girls blush and the younger ones confused.

"Oh my God, it's him!" Ines squealed as she twirled by. Eyes turned to see a blue eyed, blond man. His dark blond hair brought such contrast to his startling blue eyes. He was tall, had the cutest dimples and was well-mannered with the women of the opera house. The only flaw? He was the son of their ballet mistress.

"No talking!" The instructor shouted at their direction.

"Mere," He walked towards his mother, smiling that dimply smile as the girls began giggling and batting their eyelashes at him ferociously.

"Alexandre, what makes you believe you can interrupt my rehearsal?" She walked up to him with a serious expression, at least a head shorter than her son.

"Just wanted to say hello to my maman," He winked, pulling his reluctant mother into a hug.

"If he hugged me like that, I'd stop breathing," Antoinette heard a voice behind her exclaim.

When was the last time I've seen you girls?" He walked towards the ballerinas, who stood up straighter than they ever had during a rehearsal.

"Lisette, Ines, Gabrielle," He listed each girl that were around his age, causing shrieks of joy. Then he faced Ann and he let out a smirk," And Antoinette." He fingered her red hair, twirling a strand, as she dared not to stare in his eyes.

"Alexandre, you have already cut into their time too much," She walked towards him, grabbing him from the arm. As Alexandre walked away, he gave a smile to his mother and the ballerinas. The instructor turned back to her students," Extra thirty minutes of rehearsal!" She sharply told them, eyeing Antoinette.

With the nightmare still in her mind, Antoinette decided not to stay all by herself for extra practice.

"I say he is simply gorgeous!" Lisette sighed, doing a simple twirl.

"He seems to take a liking on you, Annie!" Gabrielle stared enviously at Antoinette.

"He's too absorbed in himself, the only reason he was here was to show his friends how much the girls liked him," Ann simply put out.

"Harsh words, Ann" Lisette gasped.

"But you have to admit he is cute," Ines followed from behind them.

"Drop-dead cute," Gabrielle sighed.

"Not at all," Ann smiled. They stared at their friend. With Ann's long red hair, dark blue eyes, and slim ballerina figure, they would have men falling at their feet. But they knew Ann wasn't that kind of girl.

And as the girls walked back to their dorms, a pair of eyes watched from the shadows.

(HEY! first of all, I would like to thank my reviewers,

IamthePhantomoftheOpera, lizzieakin, MyFriendAskedMeToDoThis --Thank you for motivating me to continue! Keep on reviewing! Thanks so much!!!

What do you readers think of Ann and Erik's relationship though??

And school's starting so update may be slower...let's hope not...

Thanks for reading!)