Ok, don't think this is all you're getting. Only reason this is so short is because it worked better to cut this and post the rest as chapter five (which is being done right now, seeing as how I'm on a roll).
Wow, I didn't expect so many nice reviews with so few chapters, you guys are the best!
A VERY BIG note to you guys, one of my dearest friends (Archer) has recently joined on here, and already has a few stories up, with plenty of chapters to keep you guys happy. Her username is The Strange Angels Muse. Now just to teach you a bit, reading and reviewing her stories makes her and me happy, when we're happy we get real excited and talk about everything that's been said, and this leads us to discussing what we're going to do in our stories, therefore we end up writing chapters a lot faster.
So the short version is: You read. You review. We talk. We update. Savvy?
Allow me to say I had great fun with a certain area in this chappie. Ahh, the visualizations... -eyes glaze over-
Sunday morning and there was light. Far too much light.
"Bloody hell? Stupid sun…"
Erik groaned face down into his pillow and pulled his head under the blankets as the morning light shot into his room. He'd forgotten to pull the coverings last night around his four poster bed to keep it shadowed, now he was paying dearly for that mistake. He reached out blindly for his mask and grabbed a clean undershirt from a small drawer by his bed. Then, almost literally crawling out from the crushed velvet covers, he kept his eyes shut as he stumbled over to the window, immediately pulling the curtain down.
Sweet darkness took over the room and his eyes adjusted to his natural surroundings in his home. Were it not for Nadir forcing him out in the world, to keep him somewhat humanistic he was told, he would have been as white as a ghost from living in such a lack of light.
He stretched a moment while glancing at the time, 6:30 in the morning, and went through a mental checklist of what needed to be done today. The store wasn't open on Sundays, not due to any religious reasons for Erik, but simply because he liked to have one day to himself and his music, though there were some days that were taken up by Nadir.
It seemed today would be one of them.
There was a ringing coming from the pocket of his pants he wore last night. Erik knew only Nadir would call him so early and almost considered not answering, but then again, he knew he would get no peace if he didn't answer the foreign man. He walked over and grabbed his cell phone and said dryly "Good morning my dear professor, to what pleasure do I receive this call so damn early?"
"Well, had you not hung up on me last night you wouldn't have me calling you at this time of the morning. What made you drop me so abruptly anyway?" Nadir asked him. Erik groaned at the man's inquisitiveness and sat on the edge of his bed "I'll explain it later. Now, what did you want to ask me?"
"I wanted to know if you cared to go riding with me today, there won't be much time once my classes start and I wanted to get in one last day," Nadir replied. Erik fell back on his bed a moment, thinking. Riding would mean an hour and a half long drive out of Boston, and he wouldn't have enough energy after he returned to play his music. Riding would also mean though that he could talk better with Nadir about Christine, he had never been one to entertain women and now that he had invited one to his home, he knew he would need to know how to be a polite host. He made his decision and said "Head on over there, I'll meet you within three hours." and once again he hung the phone up with Nadir in mid-sentence.
He headed for his bathroom, shedding off his shirt and dropping it to the floor. Turning on his shower to warm up the water, he took the moment to clean up his face and removed his mask. He cupped some cold water and splashed himself a bit to get rid of any more drowsiness, then finally looked up, hating the image he saw in his bathroom mirror.
Dead, mottled, reddened flesh.
He examined the ruined skin before him, as he did almost every morning, always wishing it were some strange nightmare. Without the support of the mask the skin around his eye drooped, exposing the soft under flesh where his tear duct was, causing it to water instantly in the open air. He ran his hand over his sunken in ear and rough, bumpy scalp, his black wig now gone all that was left was half of dark brown hair, the right side nothing but light brown-grey wisps. Then there was his nose, unformed and melding with his cheek. He loathed the beast he saw before him, twisted and disgusting.
By now the heat from the shower was hot enough to step under and he loosened himself from the rest of his clothing. Getting under the blast of water he let it run over his face, feeling the difference in the way the liquid flowed down each side, smoothly down his left, but in tiny crevices on his right. Erik set himself to the rather easy task of washing what little hair he had, even though he kept it under a wig all the time, his natural hair's hygiene was of importance to him. He once again felt the large bumps as he worked on his scalp and cleaned his hair, then held his head directly under the fountain of water, enjoying what bit of natural warmth he would feel that day on his head. He made quick work of washing the rest of his body, ignoring the dull feeling of the marks on his back. He stepped out with a large towel around his waist and a smaller towel over his head and walked over to his closet, dripping water along his floor. Unlike the shop that was nothing but hard wood, he'd tired of pulling splinters from his feet due to the upstairs, so he decided to just cover the problem with a soft and dark red carpet.
"Clothes, clothes…" Erik muttered to himself as he decided what to wear while riding. He would have worn one of his regular dark red or black shirts had he just been in for a day of music, but if he was to be out in the sun, he might as well wear a long sleeve white lawn shirt. He put on his undergarments and a pair of black pants, all that was left now was his wig.
The one thing he hated about riding was having to wear his wig. He normally had to apply a special type of glue to it so it would hold to his head and not fall off, but when riding he needed larger amounts of the horrible mixture. He picked up a fresh wig, one that wasn't dirty and in need of combing like last night's, and pick up a bottle of the glue. He lined it in a circular motion and let it set for a couple seconds, if he put it on too early it would seep far too much in his real hair and cause irritation, but too late and the bond wouldn't be strong enough and he for one didn't fancy the idea of his wig getting caught on a branch while riding.
He looked at the clock again, 7:20. All that was left was his mask and to grab something to satisfy his stomach. The mask required the same type of glue, which caused it to need cleaning on a regular basis, but thankfully it was a bit easier to clean. He walked back into his bathroom with the paste and picked up the mask. He put some on the essential areas that needed to be held, his forehead and the lower half of his cheek, letting it also dry before pushing it to his skin. Instantly he could feel it feel in the lines on his right side, drying completely into a strong grasp. He shook his head a little to test it, and being satisfied with the hold, made his way back to his room and grabbed his phone and jacket.
"Now for breakfast." He said walking out of his room. The upstairs flat was actually quite roomy, since he only required a bit of space for his bedroom and shower, the rest was taken up by a large living room and kitchen. He made a simple bit for himself, some toast and juice, downing everything in a haste and then grabbing an apple for his horse. He finished up in the kitchen and made sure he had everything before taking the steps downstairs. Everything was in order so he walked on down the flight of stairs and passed through the books and papers till he reached the front of the store. After walking out he locked up the doors and proceeded to his car. He groaned and dropped his head on the steering wheel as the sun light hit him directlyin the eyes.
It was going to be a long, long sunny drive.