AN: Finally some fluff! Though awkward fluff….I'm going to have a sort of soundtrack to this whenever I finish the story, but I'll go ahead and tell you some of the songs. The song that Erik sang in French was inspired by "Il Parait" by Patrick Fiori. The lyrics don't necessarily go, but the tune does, at least to me.

Chapter 14

Within a few hours, Raoul had traced the agency that sent him those "entertainers" only to find that whoever called for him came from a payphone. Cursing and pacing, he racked his brain for all of the people who could have done this.

All of my friends know I have a serious girlfriend and would never do this to me. And all of her friends would especially never do that to her, even if they were jealous. I'm positive it couldn't be an address mistake…WHO THE HELL DID IT?! I just need to call her and explain. No, not tonight, she'll be too upset to see reason. Tomorrow then, I'll call her.

////////

"Alright pick a movie, any movie"

Avoiding the sad or romantic films, Erik eyed the DVD shelf, finally picking out a horror flick.

"Prom Night?", he suggested, looking at the summary on the back. It wasn't a slasher film, more like a psychological thriller. It would do.

"I haven't seen that movie in ages…I only watched it once—well part of it actually because I was busy and I never got around to seeing it….", Christine trailed off. "Sure, let's see that one."

With bowls of chocolate ice cream in their hands and Thunder at their feet, it was a comfortable atmosphere, even for watching a scary movie. What Erik hadn't realized in picking it out was that the killer in it was only a killer because he was obsessed with a girl, murdering everyone close to her so she would have no one to turn to but him. Before the big similarity hit him, he thought it was an idiodic method, but then the guilt crashed over him again.

But my way of hurting to help is more subtle, anonymous, and most importantly, it WORKS., he thought. His stomache wrenched when the twoo main teens had a repulsively sweet scene, but then again, Christine's insides hurt as well. Only her hurt was more directed towards her heart. Thankfully, the stabbing and screaming began yet again, sparing no one but the two watching it all happen.

Erik, being an expert on how horror flicks work, was surprised (and quite frankly happy) when the boyfriend ended up having his throat slit. Usually the main boy never dies—gets close, but never actually kicks the bucket. This made him expect the killer to live on with a "here we go again" sequel, but he was surprised again when the exact opposite happened.

Swallowing the last gulp of liquid chocolate, Christine casually stated her opinion on the film once it was over, setting her bowl to the side.

"I know murderers aren't exactly the same as a normal person but usually I can understand their motives a bit. This one I don't get at all. Especially when he almost killed the girl herself, I mean he supposedly loved her."

"Well I think he just got so used to killing that when she pissed him off, he automatically attacked. And as for the others, he sort of explains it himself in the interrogation." Erik replied casually. "I guess it was sort of a way of breaking her down so he could build her up again to love him."

"Then why didn't he just kidnap her and be done with it instead of going to all that trouble to kill people?"

"I suppose it was because those people would track him down and ruin it. Maybe he's bad at kidnapping", Erik shrugged, grinning teasingly. Christine couldn't help but smile too.

Hearing a low snoring sound, they looked down to see Thunder rolled on his back with his front paws up and his eyes closed in deep canine sleep. Christine glanced at the clock on the DVD player and tensed. It was almost eleven, but she didn't feel like sleeping or being alone. She waited for Erik to say he needed to get home because of some great excuse, but he didn't.

"Another movie?" he suggested to break the silence.

She sighed in relief and nodded, picking out another DVD to distract her from life.

//////

Christine slowly awoke to her shoulders and neck aching like they did when she slept in an uncomfortable position. Her mind sluggishly clearing, she realized there was something warm partially surrounding her, and it was alive.

Automatically thinking it was Thunder, she reached out blindly to stroke his fur, but only came in contact with skin—and it wasn't hers.

Eyes snapping open, she took in the strange view of thin, pale arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist, and the quiet sunlit living room. Underneath most of her torso was a black T-shirt covering a bony chest that gently rose and fell. Raising her head, Christine eyes proved what she suspected—she was half leaning on, half lying on ERIK. She froze as she looked on the unmasked side of his sleeping face, suddenly fearing that she'd awaken him.

How did THIS happen?, she demanded herself, trying to remember the last night. We were watching a movie and I guess we fell asleep together by accident…but why was he over here in the first place? Oh God…that really happened?

Christine felt like sobbing all over again as she remembered her discovery at Raoul's house but refrained, convincing herself that he wasn't worth crying about. So she just closed her eyes and rested. Soon enough, Erik had the same strange awakening, slowly realizing what happened and then becoming abslolutely ecstatic. He looked down at Christine's small form, still clad in her blue strapless dress and halfway lying on him. Furthermore, he found that his arms were already around her and that her eyes were closed. Sighing happily, he lightly stroked her hair, thinking her still asleep. Being so close to her, he could catch the faint scent of her brown ringlets, which was of vanilla and honey.

Christine had almost fallen back asleep when she felt Erik move and heard him quietly yawn.

"Hello", she said, raising her eyes to his. He smiled.

"Good morning."

Feeling rather weird now, Christine sat up, to Erik's disappointment, and rubbed her eyes.

"Must have been a boring movie…", she said, trying to make the fact that they had fallen asleep together a little less awkward.

"Must have."

Erik shifted out of his leaning position on the arm of the couch and sat up as well, rolling his skeletal shoulders. After sleeping on an air mattress most of his life, he was considerably less sore than Christine.

I wish I could spend every night here, but I';m sure she feels rather awkward now…hell, I feel a little awkward. I'd better cover so she thinks I didn't do this on purpose—well I didn't but she might suspect me….

"I'm sorry…I should have left earlier or kept myself awake. Um…well I guess I should leave now", he mumbled, keeping his eyes to the ground as he stood and shuffled to the door, hands in his pockets. Quickly, Christine got up and followed a few steps.

"No, it was just an accident…don't be sorry", she assured him as he opened the door to leave. He smiled faintly and nodded.

"Well I'm sure that I've overstayed my welcome all the same. See you next lesson. Goodbye.", he forced himself to say, a little apologetically. As soon as he closed the door, he shut his eyes and sighed.

I can't believe that happened…I've never been that close to her or anyone for that matter…

As he practically floated home, he imagined all the possibilities of the future.