Annette sat in her room looking at the piece of paper she found in the opera house. This short poem had potential. She could do something with it.

"Take me back into the arms I love
Need me like you did before
Touch me once again and remember when
There was no one that you wanted more"

She looked at the paper trying to think of what to write. She could tell more could be added to it.

"Annette", Erik called. "Come here please."

Annette looked at the door and quickly hid the poem under her pillow. She didn't want Erik to know about it, at least not yet. She got up and opened the door.

"Erik?" she said stepping out of the room.

She looked to see Erik on the couch putting the finishing touches of a new mask he was working on. He looked at her and held it up.

"Your mask is finished", he said.

Erik got up and gently brushed the face away from Annette's face. Annette looked away blushing. She wasn't used to Erik's gentle touch or him looking at her scarred face. Erik lifted her face and placed the mask over the scarred part of her face.

"Take a look", he said.

Annette picked up a piece of broken glass from the organ to see her face. Erik watched as tears came to her eyes as she gasped with a smile. Except for the mask, for the most part, Annette looked normal.

"Oh, Erik", she tearfully said. "I don't know how to thank you."

Annette wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Erik was still confused why she hugged him. He looked at her masked face and frowned. Erik wasn't sure how to make a mask for a woman. He didn't know what Annette's face would look like if it was normal, so he just modeled the mask after...

"Take the mask off?" he said.

"Why?" Annette asked.

"You look like her."

"Erik, what are you talking about?"

Erik reached out and grabbed the mask, pulling it from Annette's face. She gasped at the force he had. Erik had never been this forceful until now.

"You can't wear this around here", he said.

"Why?" Annette tearfully asked. "Why did you do that?"

"You look too much like Christine with that mask", Erik said. "I can't bear to see that face again."

Erik tossed the mask aside and went into his room. Annette picked up the mask crying as she looked at the door. Why was Erik acting like this? Why couldn't he get over Christine? She left him, it was obvious the Christine never loved Erik.

Annette got up and walked back to her room. She let the tears flow, now that Erik couldn't see her and pulled out the piece of paper. Annette sat at the table and dipped her pen in ink, writing the next part to the poem.

"Don't go, you know you'll break my heart
She won't love you like I will
I'm the one who'll stay when she walks away
And you know I'll be standing here still"

Annette looked over what she wrote and stopped.

"Love?" she read. "I don't love Erik, do I?"