For some reason, the ruler thingie that makes my little page break things wasn't working today...I don't know if it's fanfic having a problem or just my computer being stupid, but that's why the page break thingies look different than usual; the ruler thing's not working so I put the breaks in with dashes.

I'm sure you all know the spiel by now, I don't own Phantom, fic takes place in present day, blah blah blah, REVIEW…

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Lenore rubbed sleep out of her eyes and yawned, stretching her arms and legs out before opening her eyes. Her lower back was killing her, but she decided to ignore it; most likely she had slept in an odd position last night and that's why it bothered her. She peered at Erik, who seemed not to be awake yet. He had neglected to take off his mask before falling asleep, and she was sorely tempted to just snatch it off and tell him that he looked uncomfortable with it on.

No, it wouldn't be nice. He certainly wasn't nice in my dream last night, but that was just a dream. He didn't have any control over that. Besides, if I go for the mask, I'll probably find out that he's not sleeping at all and then risk his wrath for my insolence.

Lenore found her glasses on the table beside the bed and slid them onto her nose, then proceeded to look for Erik's pocket watch. According to the watch, Erik should've been up an hour ago. "Erik?" she whispered. No response. "Erik? Are you awake?" Silence met her ears and if she hadn't seen Erik's chest rising and falling, she would've believed he was dead. Wow, he's really exhausted, isn't he?

She carefully slipped out of the bed, making sure not to disturb him. The moment she stood, she discovered what the source of her back ache was. Oh God no! Not now! Why do we women have to have our damn period at the most inconvenient times? Well, I guess it never really would be a convenient time for us to have our period ever, so that pretty much answers that question.

Lenore was about to go to the bathroom to take care of her problem when she realized there was nothing in that bathroom for her particular issue. Muttering a severe string of curses, she tiptoed out into the lair to ponder what to do about this problem. Cristoph, sitting on the organ bench, squeaked at her and started to run for Erik.

"Don't you dare! He's sleeping," she hissed. Oh great, now I'm talking to the bloody rat. Well, as long as I'm at it, might as well ask. "Hey, I need to go up into the Opera House to get something. Could you lead me?"

Cristoph stared at her for a few moments before chattering his teeth and heading for a tunnel branching off of the lair. Lenore hurriedly plucked a candle out of one of the candelabras and chased off after the black rat.

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"We told Erik it was today," Ember muttered as she moved about Lenore's room, trying to pack her sister's things. "We even got a note thanking us for that "interesting bit of information", but does he bother to bring her up to help?"

"No, he doesn't," Rosalyn answered. "Maybe if you had put in the note that we wanted her help, he would have. Probably."

"Men," Ember huffed.

"Yes. Men," Rosalyn agreed.

The two women turned abruptly at the sound of something scraping along the floor.

"Good God, how does he move this bloody thing?" Lenore's voice echoed from behind the full length mirror, which was opened just a crack. A black rat squeezed through the crack with a squeak, then looked back at the mirror, clearly waiting for Lenore to wriggle through the tiny crevice as well. "Stop looking at me like that; you're a rat, I'm a human. Normal humans can't fit through cracks that small. Betcha even Erik wouldn't make it through that. And if he somehow did, I would be distinctly impressed and demand to know how he managed it."

Ember stifled a giggle as she went over to the mirror and aided her sister in sliding the glass open. "How are you this fine morning, sister?"

"A bit less innocent than you used to be perhaps?" Rosalyn inquired.

"Sadly, no," Lenore replied sarcastically, stepping through into the room. "All that happened last night was a bit of kissing and fondling."

"Wow, he's really good at controlling himself then, isn't he?" Ember said, truly impressed. What man could resist a woman in a negligee?

"No, it just so happened that his mask got tangled in the blankets and came off, so he pulled away before I could see him. I didn't want to give him the mask back, and he got angry," Lenore recounted casually, as if this happened to her every day. "Then he told me to get some rest and sang me to sleep."

"Men excel at ruining perfectly laid plans," Ember sighed. "So, have you come to help us pack up your room?"

"Why are you packing up my room?" Lenore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Erik didn't tell you?" Rosalyn asked.

"There're obviously some kinks in the communication system," Lenore muttered. "What's going on that I wasn't informed of?"

"We've got a cast here, except for the diva. She's coming in tonight. The orchestra's all here too, and we're going to start performing the weekend after next," Ember explained.

"And since you're in the diva's suite…" Rosalyn trailed off.

"Gotta move my stuff out. Got it," Lenore finished. "So Erik knew about this?"

"Yeah, we left a note where he'd be sure to find it. It was addressed to both of you," Rosalyn informed her.

"Men!" Lenore hissed.

"Men!" Ember and Rosalyn chorused in unison.

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Lenore followed Cristoph through the tunnel, making sure she didn't lose sight of him while balancing her bags. She was bringing a lot back to the lair with her, including tampons, painkillers, a vast amount of chocolate, and her laptop. Granted, her laptop wouldn't last long on the battery, but she could always take it up and recharge it when necessary. Or, if it wasn't acceptable for her to go aboveground, she could have Erik take it up for her and Ember would recharge it.

Lenore was right on Cristoph's tail when they finally reached the lair. She put her bags down right next to the tunnel mouth because she didn't want to risk dropping something and making too much noise, fully expecting Erik to still be asleep. After all, she'd been gone for only an hour.

"You rotten, stupid little girl!" Erik hissed, making Lenore jump in surprise and gasp for breath. He was standing next to the gondola, apparently in the process of leaving, for he wore his cloak.

"What did I do now?" she asked once she managed to calm herself down.

"You must have quite a short memory," Erik snapped. "You went aboveground, did you not?"

"Yes…" Lenore admitted.

"And I have forbidden that, have I not?"

"Um, technically you never said I couldn't…" she pointed out. Perhaps logic would be on her side for once.

"You knew it was not allowed, mademoiselle," he snarled back.

"But you never specifically said"-

"What brought on this little excursion?" Erik interrupted in a deadly soft voice.

"I…needed something, that's all."

"What did you need?"

"I'd rather not tell you," Lenore replied as her cheeks tinged pink.

"What could you possibly need that couldn't wait another hour?"

"None of your business, okay? Just drop it," she begged.

It happened so quick that Lenore believed he had merely disappeared from one spot and appeared in another. Only a moment before, he had been at the gondola across the lair from her, then suddenly he stood right in front of her with the bags she'd brought back in his hands. Erik began rifling through one of the bags' contents.

"Stop that! Leave my stuff alone!" Lenore protested, trying to snatch her things back. Erik held her off with one hand and managed to continue rifling through the bags with his other.

"A few books, some pointless knickknacks, and a bag of chocolate. And these things couldn't wait?" he muttered, having finished inspecting the first bag. "I quite clearly remember telling you that chocolate is unacceptable in vast quantities such as this. I'm afraid I'll have to confiscate it."

"Take that away from me, and I swear to God you'll be dead by the end of the day," Lenore snarled. He could not take away her chocolate! Not during her period, at least. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, you may not be dead, but I most certainly will try my utmost best to kill you."

"Then I have nothing to fear," he responded as he began pawing through a bag with clothing.

"Stop! Haven't you ever heard of a right to privacy?" she grumbled, her face turning redder with every passing moment that drew him closer to the bag with her tampons in it. "I just brought some stuff from my room down. It seemed Ember and Rosalyn were packing my things away for a particular reason." Had his eyes shifted nervously away from hers at her last comment, or had it merely been the lighting? "When were you planning to tell me about that note?"

"You didn't need to know," Erik replied, opening the bag with her laptop and shaking his head at what he considered a ridiculous and certainly frivolous item to bring down.

"Oh really? It's only my building, Erik," she snapped.

"I don't recall seeing you on the building site when the project was started," Erik countered. "I believe I would have remembered if a woman was wandering around my construction site."

"Just because you built it doesn't mean it's yours. You never legally owned the building, and you never will."

"You've quite a temper today," he said absently.

Lenore had had enough. Let him do what he wanted. "I'll be in the bedroom, so whenever you're done going through my things, just bring them in," she snarled, storming past him.

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About an hour after the scene with Lenore, Erik heard the familiar chime that let him know he had a visitor. Poking his head into the bedroom, he found Lenore reading one of her books and nibbling on a chocolate bar.

"I'm leaving for a bit, ma chérie," he simply said. No need to provoke her, especially considering her emotional state during this time of the month.

"Going off to kill people again, darling?" Lenore said, making sure to put a mocking tone on the word 'darling'.

"Naturally. I just can't help myself, you know. It's a favorite pastime of mine," Erik replied. Damn. I just invited her to snap at me again.

"Of course. Doesn't everyone enjoy going out and murdering innocent people who've probably done nothing to deserve death?" she growled.

"So glad you see it my way," he retorted curtly before whipping around and stalking towards the tunnels, his cloak swirling furiously behind him.

That child is far too cheeky, he thought later as he wandered through the subterranean corridors to find the fool who had the audacity to go traipsing about dark underground passageways. Erik couldn't help but smile, for he rather enjoyed Lenore's sassy nature. Quite an improvement over Christine, really. I might kill Lenore if I had to listen to one more woman whine and beg to be allowed to leave.

That's not quite the truth, as I'm sure you know, a small part of him challenged smugly. You only like her sauciness because it keeps her back up, and her competitive nature won't let her even think of leaving until she gets the better of you. And she will get the better of you one day; then she'll leave you, just as Christine did. Lenore will run as fast as she can into the arms of that boy.

"Erik?" Ember's voice echoed off the walls. "Oh, where the bleeding hell is that man? Honestly, you'd think he'd know the moment I set foot down here. It can't possibly take him too long to find me, either; after all, he's the bloody Opera Ghost, he knows everything that goes on in the bloody Opera House!"

With a smirk, Erik slipped through the tunnels, coming out behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. His other hand quickly encircled her throat.

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Ember instinctively began to struggle. She tried to jam her elbow into her attacker's solar plexus, but failed because his grip was so tight that she could barely move her arm. Her next tactic was to bring up her legs and then swing her weight forward in an attempt to throw the assailant over her head.

I took self-defense classes; why the bloody hell isn't this working? …Oh shit, it's Erik.

"Where've you been? I was looking all over down here," she snarled as she ceased her struggle.

"Apparently, you were merely looking for a fight, mademoiselle," Erik replied, releasing her. "It's rather unusual to attack someone if you're looking for them, after all."

"Who the bleeding hell jumps a friend in the dark?" Ember snapped back, turning to glare at him through the darkness.

"I wasn't aware we were friends."

"Of course we are, I took you clothes shopping," Ember pointed out.

"And exactly how does that make us friends?"

"Well, as a male, it may be difficult for you to understand this," Ember began, talking as though she were addressing a small, rather dimwitted child. "When women go shopping with each other, it's because they are friends. We don't go shopping with people we dislike; the whole point of shopping, especially where clothes are concerned, is to make sure your friends look their best. And when we women take a man shopping, it's for one of two reasons. A, he's a friend. B, he's our boyfriend. Seeing as how B would be a bit extreme of a claim for me to make, we'll go with A. I am sorry about the poor quality of the breeches" (her eyes flickered down briefly, even though she couldn't quite see him in the darkness; he was a vague shadow to her eyes) "but I did try to make absolutely sure you looked your best."

"Believe whatever you wish; I don't have 'friends', I merely know people who tolerate me," Erik said dismissively.

"Oh? And is that how you see Lenore? As someone who 'tolerates' you?" she challenged.

"The conversation was about our relationship, such as it is, and did not include your sister."

"You're the one who brought other people into the conversation by saying there are people who 'tolerate' you," Ember responded. "Anyway, the reason I came down here is that I just got a call from my mom, who is landing at the Charles de Gaulle airport as we speak."

"How utterly and completely dull," Erik remarked dryly. "Thank you for sharing that pointless bit of information. Can you find the way out on your own, or do you need my assistance?"

"Okay, you fail to understand the situation here. This is my mom. She flew all the way here from America, just to come yell at Lenore for not calling her. Mom's gonna think Lenore's been kidnapped, raped, and/or murdered if she doesn't see Lenore the moment she sets foot in this building. And if she thinks any of those things, which she will, then she'll call the cops and get a search started."

"And how is that my concern? Lenore has brought some of her things down, so it looks suspiciously like she just ran off. Perhaps she's taking a holiday," he said, his tone giving the implication that he most certainly didn't know where she was or what she was doing.

So if the police do suspect that someone's holding her hostage under the Opera House, and they manage to find and arrest him, he's going to play dumb. Not that the police would suspect that anyway, unless Rosalyn or I told them…and we'd need proof we don't have. Every letter he sends us disappears the day after we read it.

"Still, it would be better if you just let Lenore visit with Mom, or else things are gonna get really…ugly," Ember insisted. Erik grabbed her wrist and began pulling her through the underground, his grip agonizingly tight. "Excuse me! You're cutting off my circulation!"

"Yes, I am. Be thankful I'm not cutting off your head for trespassing." After a moment, Ember distinctly heard him mutter, "There must be something direly wrong with this family; no one else has ever dared argue with me."

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Erik picked up his pace when he heard Lenore's shouts a few tunnels away from the lair. Ember stumbled along behind him, muttering bitterly about the increase in speed. What could possibly be going on? Could the siren have dragged herself aground to devour Lenore?

Erik stopped dead in the edge of the lair, his eyes coming to rest on the familiar man standing a few feet away from Lenore, who was prepared to throw a small statue at the man. The man's dark eyes stayed on the statue and he ran a hand through his dark hair as he tried to reassure Lenore that he was an acquaintance of Erik and she had nothing to fear. Of course, this was all in vain, for these reassurances were spoken in French. It was all Erik could do to keep himself from laughing at the whole scenario.

"Erik! I thought you were killing people, not sending them after me!" Lenore screeched, glancing over at him before returning her eyes to the man, who had taken a step closer to her.

"Darius is an acquaintance of mine, mademoiselle, and visits me every few years or so," Erik explained, pulling Ember into the lair as he approached the two of them.

"Nice to see you too, sis," Ember piped up, just having to complain about the fact that her sister hadn't noticed her yet.

"Forgive me for being a bit preoccupied," Lenore snapped back. "What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the diva or whatever?"

"Mom's coming. She's at the airport, and as soon as she gets a cab, she'll be here," Ember informed her sister.

"Oh shi"- Lenore began. She grimaced at not being able to say what she wanted before continuing. "I should've known she'd have a fit if I didn't call her every damn day. So, how long am I allowed to be aboveground? As long as it takes to get rid of her?"

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Lenore stalked around the manager's office, occasionally pausing to kick one of the desks in her irritation. "The nerve of that man!" she snapped for the hundredth time.

"Well, it could be worse," Rosalyn said.

"How does it get any worse than this?" Lenore inquired shrilly. "Ember's stuck down there all day, so I have to come up with an excuse for Mom as to where she is. And I have to be in this room, alone, at midnight or else she's dead."

"He could have decided not to let you see your mom at all, which would lead to police involvement, which is definitely bad for business," Rosalyn responded calmly.

"Let's not forget that, if the police go down there, he'd throw me into some dark crevice where no one would ever find me," Lenore added.

"I was trying to be somewhat positive."

"Why would you ever want to be positive? All those damn idiots that are optimistic don't understand the beauty of pessimism. Optimists hope for the best, try to see the good in everything, which only sets them up for a lifetime of disappointments. Pessimists, on the other hand, expect everything to go terribly wrong. Then when something goes even the slightest bit right, it's cause for celebration and happiness."

"That's a very…interesting and wise outlook," Rosalyn remarked.

"I wouldn't see it any other way," Lenore said, sounding indignant at the thought that she might.

"So, how are you going to get your mom to leave by midnight?" Apparently, Rosalyn wanted to change the subject.

"No idea. Got any suggestions?"

"Well…um…you could…no, that won't work…maybe…"

"There's no way to get rid of her until she's ready to leave," Lenore grumbled.

"You might wanna head down to the lobby; she should be here in a minute or so," Rosalyn proposed after a few moments' silence. "You know how upset she'll be if she has to hunt you down."

Lenore stomped through the corridors, mumbling darkly and thinking up elaborate schemes to get rid of her mother, all of which would never work. She entered the main lobby and saw the door swinging open with the incensed force of an angry mother.

"LENORE PARKER!" her mother yelled, stepping into the entrance hall. Mrs. Parker was an inch shorter than Lenore, with dark hair similar to Ember's and eyes a shade lighter than Lenore's bright blue.

"Hi Mom," Lenore said, faking a cheerful smile.

"What's wrong with you? Don't you know how to pick up a phone? I've tried to get in touch with you for almost a month. You can't always be in the shower or asleep; it's far too coincidental! You aren't involved in drugs, are you?" Mrs. Parker spat out in one breath. "Where's Ember?"

"Oh, well, she's…out."

"Out?"

"Yeah. See, she had a date with this guy Patrick today, and she felt it would be rude to cancel at the last minute," Lenore lied.

"So where is she?" Mrs. Parker snapped, fearing to hear that Ember was out getting drunk or high.

"The Louvre. Don't worry, she'll be fine. I've met Patrick; he's really nice."

"You're avoiding the issue. Why haven't you called?"

"Well, I've been busy. A lot of…insurance meetings."

"You aren't meeting people for insurance every night at eight!" Mrs. Parker argued. "It's okay if you've gotten involved with drugs. We'll get you some help. There's no shame in it, no shame at all."

"I'm not a druggie," Lenore sighed. "I've just been busy."

"Busy with what?"

"Well…there's this guy…" Lenore began.

"What's his name?" her mom asked eagerly, excited at the prospect of her daughter finally having found someone.

"Erik. Anyway, I've just been really busy, and"-

"Well, what's he like?"

"He's like…Erik, I don't know."

"Where does he live?"

"Close by," Lenore answered vaguely. "Anyway"-

"How old is he?"

"I don't really know, but he's older than me."

"What does he look like?"

"Mom! That's not what we were discussing," Lenore said, exasperated.

"Right. So, why don't you pick up the phone or call back?"

Lenore mentally hit herself. Why did I bring the conversation back to this? I can't possibly give her any lie she'll believe. And she definitely won't like the truth. Oh well, guess there's nothing else to tell her. "Well, I don't pick up the phone because I live with Erik. And he doesn't have a phone, so I can't call back," Lenore explained.

"You're living with him?" Her mother practically exploded. "What have I told you? You don't ever move in with a man unless you're married! We need to get you to a church and have a talk with a pastor right away!"

"Mom! We're not sleeping together or anything like that. He's a perfect gentleman! I mean, yes, we do share the same bed because he only has the one, but we're both fully clothed in that bed, and if I asked him to sleep somewhere else, I'm sure he would. Not that I would; it's so cold in that room! Well, the whole place is cold, really, but that's beside the point…"

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Ember sat staring out across the lake. It had been a boring day. Most of it was spent listening to Erik and Darius converse in French, which she didn't understand at all. Then when Darius had left, Erik had barely said a word to her of his own accord. She had to pry conversation out of him, and it was thoroughly frustrating and exhausting. It turned out that Darius brought horses to the Opera House for Erik every few years or so, and it seemed that Erik was due for two young, fresh horses, which explained Darius' sudden visit. Of course, Ember had to practically use a crowbar to get that much out of Erik. Any inquiries as to Erik's true age or how he was still alive led to an awesome silence that was broken only by the occasional skittering around of Cristoph.

After dinner, Erik had told her that she was permitted to sit in the lair with him, provided she stayed in one place and touched nothing. So she had spent the last five hours or so sitting on the cold stone floor, listening to Erik play what seemed to be an endless round of Mozart's concertos, and staring out across the lake.

Suddenly the music stopped; the silence was almost deafening. Ember turned to see what had prompted Erik to quit playing and saw him retrieving his pocket watch from the table next to the organ.

"It seems it's time to head up and see what Fate has in store for you, mademoiselle," he said carelessly.

"Aw, do we have to? We were having such a wonderful conversation," Ember teased. "We're just such close friends; I'd hate to have to cut this short."

"It is truly regretful," Erik played along. "But we promised Lenore to be in the office at midnight, and I'd feel absolutely dreadful if I broke my word and made your sister worry over nothing."

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"Mom, go get some sleep!" Lenore practically begged. Her mother had followed her into the manager's office, and there were precious few minutes left until midnight.

"I want to know where Ember is. The Louvre can't possibly be open this late," Mrs. Parker replied.

"Like I said, they probably went to a movie or something like that. And that's why you can't get a hold of her on her cell, cuz you have to turn those off in the theater," Lenore fibbed. She felt bad about lying to her mother, but there was nothing else to do. "She'll come in when she's ready; she's a big girl now, she can take care of herself. Just please go to bed."

"Well you should be in bed too. Where's that man you're living with? Does he expect you to go out in the middle of the night to get to his house? Doesn't he realize that a young girl like you has a higher probability of being mugged, raped, kidnapped, or murdered? Not to mention that, because of your legs, you can't protect yourself well from the scoundrels out there."

"I'm sure that the thought that I'm not good at protecting myself from kidnappers, thieves, and murderers has crossed his mind," Lenore mumbled. After all, Erik certainly knew about kidnapping, larceny, and murder.

"Then where is he? And doesn't he know today is your birthday? Why didn't he take you to dinner or something?" Mrs. Parker complained. Now that she knew that Lenore was living with the man, she was determined to find as many faults with him as possible.

A rap on the door spared Lenore from having to make more excuses. Wondering who in the world would be knocking on the managers' office door at this time of night, Lenore walked over as quietly as possible and opened the door just a crack. She didn't want the intruder to think they could come in the office; she only had about forty seconds to get rid of her mother as it was.

"Good evening, ma chérie," Erik said as he pushed the door open and walked into the office as though he belonged there. Ember was right behind him.

"Uh, Erik, this is my mom. Mom, this is Erik." In her mind, Lenore was giving Erik a severe tongue-lashing for having revealed himself to her mother. At least he came in through the door instead of through the wall…

"Good evening, Madam, a pleasure to meet you," Erik greeted her mother, planting a quick kiss on the back of Mrs. Parker's hand.

"Oh, the same to you," Mrs. Parker said, putting on a very obviously false smile. "I thought you would have come by earlier to take Lenore out to dinner; it is her birthday, after all."

"When Ember informed us that you were coming in, I cancelled my reservations; I didn't want to keep your daughter from you."

"Well, that was very nice of you," Mrs. Parker replied, a bit of the falsity leaving her smile. It seemed Erik had managed to redeem himself slightly in her mother's eyes. She quickly turned her attention to Ember. "Where were you? Out this late with a boy, it's entirely unacceptable."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Madam," Erik muttered.

"It's not all that late, and I can take care of myself," Ember said. "Besides, Patrick's not that kind of guy."

"You should've been here. It's your sister's birthday, and birthdays are a time for family, not boyfriends," Mrs. Parker complained. Then she realized what she had just said and studiously avoided looking at Erik.

"Well, it seems during the introductions, the last few minutes of your birthday slipped away, ma petit," Erik remarked to Lenore, choosing to ignore Mrs. Parker's last comment. "I suppose it wouldn't be proper to wish you many happy returns on your birthday, seeing as how I missed it. Would it be acceptable to still give you your present?"

"I don't see why not…" Lenore trailed off. What is he going to give me? Maybe a kiss…gee, Mom'll love that…

Erik pulled a small case out of his cloak, and opened it to reveal a pendant with a heart charm that was comprised of sixteen diamonds, with a black pearl dangling from the point of the heart. "Pearls are the birthstone for June, if I remember correctly," Erik commented as Lenore took the case.

"This is…gorgeous," Lenore muttered, staring at the necklace in awe.

"I suppose," Erik sighed. "Though I rather feel it should have more diamonds considering the price."

"How much did you spend on this?"

Erik hesitated a moment, making a few quick conversions. "Almost four hundred American dollars," he replied casually.

"F-f-f-f-four hundred?" Lenore stammered. "I can't accept this! It's too expensive."

"Really? I believe it's a bit cheap, considering the fact that I've missed twenty birthdays prior to this one." Erik reached out a hand for the case. "If you don't want it, though, I suppose I could return it. Perhaps you'd like to go along this time, and pick out the gift yourself?"

"I'm not saying that I don't want it. I just feel like…well, no one's ever spent this much on me for one present," Lenore explained.

"It is a bit too expensive to accept as a birthday gift," Mrs. Parker said, giving Lenore a sharp glare. "It's probably best if that's saved for an anniversary or something."

"I don't know, I think it's kinda nice. And thoughtful. Not many guys would get you a birthday present that beautiful or expensive," Ember argued.

"I think it would be wise to return it," Mrs. Parker declared sharply.

For Lenore, that decided it. She took the necklace from its velvet cushion and put it on.

"It suits you," Erik complimented her, lifting her chin with a finger and giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

Lenore turned a few shades of red. Not in front of my mom, she thought. Not that I don't want you to kiss me, but…just not in front of Mom. "I don't know how often I'll get to wear it," she mumbled, trying to get her blush under control.

"Do you need a particular occasion?" Erik inquired.

"Yeah, it should be saved for special things, like formal occasions."

"I see no reason why you can't wear it every day."

"You know, we don't really need to discuss this right now," Lenore pointed out. "Shouldn't we be going now?"

"Quite right, ma chérie. A pleasure meeting you, Madam Parker. Good night, Mademoiselle Parker." Erik took Lenore's arm in his own and led her swiftly out of the office.