24 was not a good age to Erik. It was an awkward age for him, especially since every other 24 year old he knew was already engaged. It most definitely wasn't his fault he hadn't found the perfect girl yet. In fact, Erik was quite convinced such a girl didn't exist. All the Opera girls gave him disgusted glares when he stepped too close. How could any of them learn to love him?

He dived into his work more than ever, which worried his parents. He was already anti-social, but now he was completely shutting everyone out. He didn't want to get hurt (again), so he refused to let any females near him. A part of his mind registered that he had once loved someone deeply enough to give up everything. The rest of his mind scoffed at the idea. He was too proud of his lifes work to allow some simple woman distract him.

At least, that's what he thought before he met Natalie. She bumped into him backstage one day, muttering some nonsense about having not seen him, though he was right in front of her in his imposing black cloak.

Erik thought nothing of it. She was just another dancer with no admirable features. She was skinny, small chested, and had a mass of stringy light orange hair. Surely he would never see her again.

The next day, they almost collided again at the large entrance to the building as she was leaving and he was entering

"Can you not see, woman?" He bellowed, using an imposing voice he remembered from his other life, then pushed past her and stormed into the entrance hall.

While she may not have been much to look at, Erik realized that day where her true value lay. She had a fiery temper as wild as her hair. As soon as his hand was off her shoulder, she whipped around to face him and yelled "Show some respect for a lady! Honestly, were you raised in a barn?"

Erik had been stunned. What kind of 'lady' spoke to a man of higher class like that? He was about to retort, but she had disappeared out the door and down the steps into the busy streets. At that moment, Erik realized he would be seeing a lot more of Natalie, whether he liked it or not.

His mother had actually had the audacity to laugh when he told her what happened. She beamed with some secret knowledge, telling him to be nice and not let it wind him up so badly. Raoul, on the other hand, had told him she probably would leave him alone now that she was angry with him. Erik nodded and quickly muttered "I hope so", though part of him kind of wanted to see her again.

He didn't have to wait long. A couple days later, while he was packing up his music sheets, he saw her across the stage, pulling off her shoes and putting them into her bag. He sighed, but knew that he had to be a gentleman about this. He stood in front of her, shifting uncomfortably. This odd uneasiness was completely new to him. Usually, he had no problem talking to other people. Maybe it was because she was new and would stare at his mask.

But when she looked up, she didn't study his mask. She stared him in the eye with a scowl. "Can I help you, sir?"

"I came to apologize for my atrocious behavior." He drawled, hoping he could pull off being aloof and uncaring. From the look on her face, it wasn't helping. "Perhaps I could make it up to you…"

"Dinner. Tomorrow after practice." She shouldered her dancing equipment bag and walked away. "Make it somewhere nice."

Erik gaped at the girl as she strutted off the stage as if she owned the place. This was HIS opera house! Who did she think she was? He silently fumed to himself as he made his way off stage as well, quickly getting in his carriage and heading home.

The next afternoon was just as unpleasant, yet Erik didn't really want it to end. He took Natalie to a new restaurant across town, listening to her small comments before they slipped back into a comfortable silence. She was wearing a beautiful green dress that Erik couldn't take his eyes off of and her hair was tamed into a thick braid. Overall, it was completely different from the fiery demon he'd imagined her to be.

In no time, they were discussing the play, then the new dance instructor, which brought a pang of suppressed hurt to attention, which he quickly squashed. Antoinette would have liked her replacement. Erik had bullied the managers into hiring Margaret because of her strict ruling.

They finally settled on talking about America. It was odd and Erik had never talked about foreign countries with anyone before, but they both knew a lot about them. At the moment, America was becoming quite popular and interested them both greatly.

"We should do this again sometime." Natalie commented as she stepped out of the carriage. Erik quickly agreed in his head, but gave a very loose "alright" before leaving. The whole way home, he couldn't help the big grin that spread painfully across his face.

They spent a lot of their free time together, admiring eachothers talents and interests. They were amazingly similar, which surprised Erik. What really surprised him was that he was never asked about his mask. Even after four months of dating, she never brought it up or gave it a prolonged glance. It made his heart flutter with hope, but it was not meant to last.

They were walking down a popular shopping street, their breath coming out in puffs as they talked happily about how they preferred fall to summer because of the colors. Suddenly, a man came barreling down the street with another man yelling after him.

"Thief! THIEF!" He shouted, catching everyones attention. Erik quickly caught the man's jacket as he ran past, slamming him into a wall and waiting for the other man to catch up.

"Let me go!" The thug struggled, flailing wildly, trying to dislodge his hold. He managed to twist around and slam a fist into his jaw, hitting his mask and making it fall to the ground. The man gasped and stilled when he caught a look at the deformed, molten face inches from his own.

There was no way Natalie had not seen. He was afraid to look over and see her expression. The criminal was quickly taken away by nearby police men, leaving Erik to scoop his mask off the ground and put it back on.

They stared at eachother uneasily, looking as scared as the other. Natalie took a step forward, hesitantly reaching up to touch the ceramic mask. She was pale and shaking, but she didn't run. At least there was a bit of hope.

"Erik?" She took hold of his chin, trying to make him look at her. After a while, he looked up and dropped his gaze again. She gave him a forced smile. "I'm sure you know that it's frightening to see, but I'll get used to it."

She was right. Every time they went on a date, she made him take it off in the carriage. She would spend the entire ride studying it, reaching up to touch it. The first few times, Erik flinched away, which got a "hold still, you big baby" from her. He eventually got used to her touch and constant manhandling attitude, which he grew to adore. He wasn't ready to admit it out loud, but he was starting to fall in love with this odd red head. She wasn't a normal woman, certainly nothing like he would have gone for, but she was entertaining.

Mid October, while they were walking along the ridge of the Opera house roof, Erik proposed.

Introducing her to his parents was about as embarrassing as he'd imagined. Christine squealed happily and began talking about what he was like as a child, which both girls seemed to enjoy doing for some reason. Raoul gave him a mock-sympathy pat on the shoulder as they made their way to the dining room. Once they were seated, Raoul asked Natalie about herself and what she enjoyed. Both Christine and Raoul were surprised at how much she liked and how they were so similar to Eriks interests.

When she left, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, making him blush like a 12 year old, rather than a 24 year old man. This also seemed to amuse his parents, which they continued to joke about long after Natalie had left.

The next year they were married. The wedding was at a lovely church on a hill, just outside of town. Meg attended, giving him a sisterly hug before they left for their honeymoon. No one else knew, not even Natalie, that Erik had set up a special place deep beneath the opera house with a large swan bed and many, many candles. It was as magical as he remembered from what felt like a lifetime ago and gave him flashes of memory, which were quickly forgotten when he gazed at Natalie in the candlelight. Never before had he seen a more beautiful woman and she was his.

Forever.

You would not believe how guilty i felt after the outrage at the last ending. I thought this might make you guys happier.