Heyyy! Here comes another chapter! This one has a lot of more emotion. I hope you liked the last one! And also a big thanks to Phantom's Lil Miss for posting the first review! That was super nice and it meant a lot! Hey, why don't you all join her and write some reviews! Thanks! So, yeah! Favorite, follow, review, and of course, enjoy!

~Lauren

Chapter 7

Scars and Wigs

Eva inhales deeply, and then exhales softly. "It all started when I was about one year old, and most of my hair was coming in. My parents were both natural brunettes, so of course they were assuming I was going to come out with brown hair. But, then as my hair started to grow, they saw that it was darker than usual. They just thought it was really dark brown, so they didn't panic. But then as I really got hair, they realized it was black. I know what you're thinking. 'What's so bad about black hair?' Well, as I got older, my hair started to grow out and it was obvious that it was black. They didn't care when I was younger because I didn't go out of the house. But when I was six, the day before I started school. My mother took me, and chopped off all of my hair. They took all my hair, and a lot of skin with it." Eva moves her fingers around her scalp to show Erik some scars. Then she shifts in her chair and shows him the back of her head as she lifts her hair. They are so many cuts and scars, that almost the whole back of heck is red and black. Erik gasps. Eva then turns around and faces Erik again. "They didn't care how much I cried and screamed. They cared more about what the public."

Eva starts to sob very loudly. She inhales and continues her story. "I remember what the floor was like. You want to know what is what like? It was covered in blood! My blood! I lost so much blood that day. When my mom actually cared enough to call a doctor, he told me it was very unlikely I would make it through the night. My mom didn't even care." She cries for a few moments and Erik had no idea what to do. He has never comforted anyone before. But she didn't look like she wanted pity. She just needed a moment to cry.

"For the first couple years of school, I had no hair. If any hair started to grow, my mother would just chop it off again. Then she realized my head was too ugly, so she gave me a hat to cover to up." She sighs. "As I got older, I would always take off my hat when I got home. Of course, my mother hated it, so she always told me to have it covered when I was around her. She hated my appearance, and I learned to too. Then one day, I was 15, I took off my hat. I realized my hair hadn't been growing back, not a bit, for the past year. I was starting to get very worried. I didn't even know it was possible for hair to stop growing. But, then three months later, there was nothing. My hair had stopped growing. I was devastated. Then life went back to normal for a while, but then when I was 17, my parents died in a carriage accident and I was forced to live on the streets. I don't miss them. I know I should, but I don't." She shrugs her shoulders.

"I had always loved to sing and dance. But, of course my parents didn't approve. So I sang all the time at school and when I was alone in my room. Then, a couple days ago actually, I saw that they needed a Prima Donna. So I thought I should audition. And…here I am." She shrugs again as a million tears are rolling down her face.

Erik realizes that he is tearing up too. "Eva…I-I am so sorry." She looks at up him and just shakes her head. "But, Eva, what I don't understand is why your parents don't like black hair. Eva sniffs and says, "My parents thought it was a sign or evil, or the devil, or something like that!" Erik sighs. "They're idiots." Then he realizes something else. "If your hair stopped growing, then what is…" he motions to her hair. She sighs and stares at the floor. She slowly brings her fingers up to the tip of her hairline. Then she pulls over her hair to reveal her head. Her head is covered in red, black, and blue lines all over. Her skull doesn't even match the color of her skin anymore. Her skull is just different shades of black and blue. "Oh, my, god, Eva. I can't, can't believe this. I just don't know what to say. She stifles a laugh through her tears and she yells, "I know! It isn't even that big of a deal! I am making it seem really bad, and its nothing!" Erik shakes his head. "No, Eva! It's terrible! Your parents are idiots! Absolute idiots, and they have no right to chop off your hair! Look what they did to you! He yells motioning to her scarred head. "And another thing-""Erik!" He stops and relaxes his face, she motions for him to calm down. "Thank you, Erik. That means a lot for you to say that. Now it's your turn." She looks at him with red eyes. She sets her wig down on the table, showing she is comfortable with him.

"Well believe it or not, our lives were very similar. Since, my face is deformed, my mother always made me wear a mask whenever I was around her or in public. She hated me and my appearance. I always took off my mask when I was at home, but my mom made me wear it all the time, besides when I was sleeping. Then, when I was about six, there were gypsies in town. My mother sold me to them, without a single thought. And then they used me. They whipped me and cut me and burned me in front of everyone just because of my face. Everyone laughed. No one cared. But then there was one little girl. She rescued me after I killed my caretaker and took me to the Opera Populaire. Here I taught myself how to write, read, and compose music. And also to sing. Now here I am!"

Eva is crying again. Not because of her story, but of his. Even though he told it like it was nothing, he could see the hurt in his eyes. "Erik…I am so sorry. Your life is far worse than." He shakes his head. "No, they are equally as bad. Both of our parents were bastards." Eva giggles at this remark and he smiles too. "Well," she says. "Come one. I need to see your face. I showed you my head." Erik nods, knowing it's the right thing to do. He puts his hand on the side of his mask slipping it off. He looks at Eva waiting for her to say it's repulsive or gross. But she gets up out of her seat and walks up to him, putting her hand on the mangled side of his face. She touches all the bumps, cuts, and ruffles. He is shocked. He just stares at her as she touches. "You beautiful, Erik." She says in a whisper.

He cannot believe what she had just said. Someone called him beautiful. He puts his hand over hers as she is touching his face. Then he pulls her hand out and just hold it at his side. He stands up and stares at her gorgeous brown eyes. He then chuckles. "What?" she asks, concerned. He keeps smiling. "Nothing. You can describe our lives in two words." "What are those two words?" he laughs once more.

"Scars and wigs."

Eva giggles too. She squeezes his hand.

"That's right. Scars and wigs."