Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Phantom of the Opera characters, but the other characters are mine thanks to my neo friends! I give a huge thanks to my wonderful Beta reader!

Chapter 9: New Surroundings

Erik woke in a soft bed he wasn't used to. Memories of last night flooded over him. What is going to happen now?

He sat up and swung his legs over the bed, realizing that he was still in his suit he had worn to the dance. Erik heard a knock at the door and just wanted to be left alone.

Erik got off the bed and walked towards the door and opened it. It was Lisa and she had a tray of breakfast food. "Good morning Erik, I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some breakfast." she said as she walked into the room and placing the tray on a small desk in the corner that Erik hadn't noticed.

"Thanks"

"Erik, I know you are hurting now, but when you are ready, we have to get some things figured out, so please join us in the front room when you can." Lisa said as she turned and walked out of the door.

Erik walked over to the tray of food and looked down at it there were three pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberries, and a large glass of orange juice. Erik slowly ate the strawberries and bacon and drained the glass of orange juice. He picked up the tray and headed out of the door quietly. He found the kitchen easily and placed the dishes in the sink. He started to move towards the front room when he heard their conversation.

"I'm sorry sir, this just isn't possible, it would seem like favoritism."

"What you just expect us to throw him out on the streets, look at his grades, he needs a good education so he can succeed in the world, he will do amazing things." Erik recognized the headmaster James' voice.

"Well, we'll see." He heard the man stand up and leave the small house.

Erik was obviously causing James and Lisa problems. Erik would refuse the adoption and just leave, run away. He was smart enough to make it on his own. He might only be 13, but he could survive. His mask would be a problem though, people would ask to many questions, and he wouldn't be hired anywhere.

Erik started to make his way back to his room when Lisa stood in the way behind him. Lisa just shook her head and placed her hands on his shoulders. He was very uncomfortable and shifted until her hands came off his shoulder. His cold amber eyes looked up into her. Erik didn't like to be touched by just anyone.

She turned and walked into the room her husband was in and Erik slowly followed her. "So Erik, we have talked to the police and a lawyer has looked over your foster parents will. All of the house and positions will go to his cousin, but they left you their money. It will go into a bank account until you turn the 18."

Erik was slightly taken aback that they had left him something. He knew they were fairly rich; that was they had sent him to such an expensive school. He wondered absent-mindedly about how much there was in the bank now. It would collect interest too.

"Now Erik, we have talked to his cousin and he has made the funeral plans. He has taken care of everything. The funeral is just going to be a simple graveyard service on Sunday. James and I will take you." Lisa said.

Erik again just nodded his head. "We have talked to our lawyer and we have started the papers on your adoption." James said.

"Now I know you are settled into your dorm room, but if you like you could stay here in the house. That bedroom you were sleeping in is yours, we can get a better desk and anything else you need." James said.

Erik thought about this. It would be nice to get away from Tyler, but he was already an outsider because of his mask; he didn't want to be even more of an outsider by being adopted by the headmaster.

"Actually I would rather stay there." Erik said. "It's nothing against you, but I'm already settled there." Erik said. He didn't want to hurt their feelings, but they probably understood.

"Okay, well get it ready for the summer and if you change your mind." Lisa said standing up. "I'm sure your friends are waiting for you, and you probably want to get out of that suit. Just make sure you come back by 9 o'clock tomorrow so we can go to the funeral."

Erik nodded and stood up. He had his hand on the door and he turned. "Thanks for going through all this trouble for me. I really appreciate it." Lisa and James just smiled. He slowly made his way to his dorm and found it empty. He headed directly for the shower and just let the steam wash over him. He still couldn't believe everything that had happened over the last 24 hours.

It seemed like forever ago that he was getting ready for the Christmas recital. After he finished getting ready for the day he decided to find Phoebe. He didn't even know where she would be so he headed towards her room and knocked. No on answered she he figured she was probably out and a small surge of anger came over him. Why was she not sitting in her room worried about him? She knew his foster parents had died. Was she out with another guy? No, Phoebe wouldn't do that. Erik looked at his watch and saw that it was lunch time.

He headed towards the dining area. He saw that Phoebe, Christine and Raoul were sitting at the same table. This couldn't be good. He walked up to the table and cleared his throat. Christine looked up and saw Erik she stood up very quickly.

"Oh Erik, I'm so sorry, Phoebe just told us what happened. Is there anything we can do?" Christine said putting her hand on his shoulder. He could feel the warmth of her hand through his shirt, but he couldn't think like that, he was Phoebe's boyfriend, not Christine's.

He shook his head. Christine dropped her hand from his shoulder and sat down at the table again. Erik sat next to Phoebe.

"So what's going to happen Erik?" Raoul asked kindly.

"The headmaster and his wife want to adopt me." Erik said simply. He would feel much better if Raoul wasn't sitting here. He looked at him with anger in his eyes. Erik could easily talk to Christine and Phoebe, but with him there he didn't want to say anything.

"I have to go to the funeral tomorrow."

Phoebe just placed her hand over his on the table. "You know we're all here for you, Erik." She said.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. He didn't listen to any of the conversations going on around him. He just nodded his head when he heard his name.

The next morning Erik donned on the suit he had been wearing Friday. It needed to be cleaned, but it would have to do. He made his way to the little house on the edge of the school and knocked on the door. He didn't know if he should have just walked in. They said he was welcome there, but he still felt like an outsider.

Lisa opened the door and smiled at him. "Erik, this is your home, you don't need to knock. Just come it. James is still getting ready, then we can leave."

Erik came into the house and really looked around for the first time. The small front room had a simple 28 inch black television on a simple wooden stand. The couch was overstuffed but looked welcoming. On the walls were a few puzzles that had been glued together and framed. They were Thomas Kinkade's work. He noticed a few knick knacks on the small tables.

He walked over to the couch and sat down. Lisa came back into the room and sat next to Erik. She looked very nice in a plain black dress. Her hair was up in a bun. "Do you want anything before we leave?"

"No thank you. I'm fine."

James walked into the front room. "Okay are we all ready?"

Erik stood up and followed Lisa and James into a door through the kitchen. He saw a tiny silver 98 sedan. He got into the back.

It was an hour drive to the funeral. Lisa and James had chatted on and off through the whole ride, but Erik didn't say anything he just sat out looking out of the window. Erik wondered why they were being buried three hours away from where they lived, but didn't think too much about it.

Finally they arrived and Erik stepped out of the car. He walked solemnly behind the two adults.

Well I hoped you like the chapter! Sorry it took me so long to post this, I had family over. If you send me a review to check out my profile for an answer. I couldn't keep writing this without my wonderful readers! In the next chapter there is going to be tons of drama, but who know knows if its going to be good or bad :D.

Desiree'