Ahh, wow, 11 days into the new year, and I am swamped with stuff to do! I was going to try and get this chapter up last week, but never had the time. Finals are next week (during my birthday, yuck is right), because the school system is messed up. So over Winter break, which was only just over a week anyways, all of my teachers decided it would be fun to load the projects on. (This included another massive 20 page lab report for AP Enviro) But once finals are over, I should be less stress out, and be able to write more.
Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers, like I have said a million times, it is ya'll that keep me going and make me feel happy. I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: doI really need to say this?
The phantom stopped in the middle of the doorway and kept his back to her. Aslynn walked up to him, and as she drew closer, she could see him tense up. God, he's now mad with me. I just wasn't ready for it. I wasn't expecting him to kiss me either. How was I to know? When she reached the doorway, she put her hand on his should and turned him around to face her.
Before he could protest, or react in anyway, Aslynn pulled him to her and reached up to kiss him. At this point she knew that her knees where going to eventually give in, so she wrapped her arms around him as she pressed her lips into his. The fire that had not yet gone out from when Erik kissed her was now like a wildfire inside her.
Erik was in utter shock that this was watch she was going to do, he thought for sure that he had read her wrong, and that his action would have ended anything that could have been. At first he didn't know what to do when her warm, wet lips pressed into his. Finally he returned the kiss, his blood racing. Her hand where now on his back, and he pressed himself harder into her.
He took his hands and slowly ran them down her sides, onto her hips. All his smallest wishes where being fulfilled, as the kiss got more passionate. Soon Aslynn's tongue was dancing with his. After what seemed to be a whole lifetime for Erik, Aslynn pulled away, gasping for air.
He looked down at her, and saw her eyes closed. She had a large grin on her face, and she was still clung to him. Erik took this opportunity to wrap his hands in hers, pulling them to his side. He then turned her around, so her back was pressed into his back.
He wrapped his arm around her, placing his hands on her abdomen. He spread his hands out like a fan and slowly traced her lean form; starting at her bosom and going down, following her curves top her hips. Aslynn moved slightly as his hands rested on her hips. Out of fear that he had done too much, Erik quickly dropped his hands from her. As she moved again, he stepped away from her.
Aslynn felt the warmth of the body behind her leave. She turned around to find Erik a step away from her, looking at her with the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked him, stepping toward the phantom, reaching out to touch his arm.
He pulled away and stepped farther back. He just stared at her, the same fear hiding behind his stone cold eyes and mask.
Erik didn't say anything as he watched Aslynn. The fear inside him started to simmer into anger. He then turned away, clenching his fists, and walked over to the opposite wall.
Aslynn jumped when she heard a loud band from Erik's fist hitting the black walls. "Please Erik, what's bothering you?" she tried again, watching as the phantom rested his forehead on the wall.
"How?" he snarled, his voice rang through out the room.
Aslynn shivered as she quietly asked, "How what?"
With that, Erik whirled around, glaring at the woman he spat, "How could you kiss me?"
"Because I…" Aslynn started, but stopped when she realized what she was going to say. 'It's too soon to say I love him.' "Because I…"
"Out with it woman! What is it, you pity poor Erik, is that it? Or was it just you never have kissed a freak before." He growled, his voiced rising with every word.
"No, that's not it," she said, stepping back. "It's because I… I really… ugg… I really care about you."
"Oh, so you do pity me."
"No, it's not like that. It's just, I… when I'm around you I feel different. When I'm in your presence I have butterflies in my stomach," she said, "I've only really felt like this around one other man." She whispered the last part, and turned away as she felt her cheeks grow red in embarrassment.
Erik was shocked to hear this. 'She's telling me that she cares about me. Still how could she do this? She hasn't seen behind my mask. Stop fooling yourself Erik, this is what you have always wanted, someone to care about you.'
"How could you care for me?" he asked in a low, deep voice.
Walking over to Erik's desk she said, "How could I care for you? Wow Erik, you want me to give you my soul, don't you?" Before he could answer this Aslynn went on, "Because I think you handsome, at least what I've seen of you. I know that your self conscious of what lies behind your mask, but I can only see what's not, and with that is how I've made my choice. You have also been kind to me, ever since we first met by force." Aslynn paused recalling when she was dragged down to Erik's home on the lake. Going on she added, "Yes, we have gotten in many fights, and you can scare me worse than any other man probably could. But still, you're a gentleman, unlike anyone I've ever met before. And I feel like I can trust you, which is probably the most important thing."
Erik was dumbfounded by what he heard. "You think a monster like me is handsome?"
"Well, I wouldn't call you a monster, but yes," she said. "And you've got a hell of a nice body, especially when you're wearing a wet, white shirt." She added in a soft whisper to her self.
"What was that last part?" he asked, hearing perfectly what she had said.
"Nothing, I was just mumbling to my self."
It took Erik a while to digest what she had said. While the silence grew between them Aslynn poked at things on his desk. She was looking at one of his inventions, whose use she wouldn't figure out when he spoke.
"What about my mask?" he inquired.
"What about it?"
"Do you ever wonder why I wear it?"
Aslynn put the contraption down as she said, "Yes." After turning around she added, "All the time, but I have realized that there is a reason you don't want the world to see your face, so I'll respect your privacy and let you remove it for me, if you ever are going to show me."
She watched Erik's expression change from hurt to relief. He reminded silent, and she could tell he was deep in thought.
Finally he spoke, "I… I need to be alone for a while." 'Great Erik, tell her to leave. The first person to care about you, your telling to leave,' he cursed to himself.
Aslynn nodded and quietly left, leaving Erik to pace the room, trying to figure everything out. She went to the room over looking the lake. There she picked up a deck of cards that she bought a week before and sat down in the loveseat and dealt out a game of solitaire.
She didn't hear him enter the room until she heard the sweetest music coming from the great pipe organ. Looking up from her game she saw Erik sitting on the bench, playing his heart out. Shaking her head she returned to her game, letting the music take her to heaven itself.
When the music ended Aslynn again looked up from her game. The masked man was still sitting at the organ, his head resting on its ledge. 'Should I call out to him,' she asked herself, unsure of what to do with the phantom. 'Maybe I should just let him be. But I want to talk to him, and make sure he is okay.'
"Erik?" she called out. The masked man turned slightly to face her, revealing only the bone white mask side of his face. His eyes were filled with a deep emotion that she could not name. "Is everything okay?"
He studied the woman sitting before him for a few seconds, and then turned back to the organ. He stood up and walked around to stand in front of the table where she was playing cards. "All those things you said about me, do you really mean them?"
Aslynn nodded. Erik didn't say anything else as he watched her. Her light brown hair would fall in front of her face, and then she would push it back behind her ears. He watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. Her eyes were the color of the sea on a warm spring day, and shown like the sun reflecting off the water. "God you're beautiful." He finally said.
This caused Aslynn's cheeks to turn pink, and she broke her gaze from him by turning slightly to the side. Erik then moved around to the other side of the table, to the side empty side of the couch and gently touched her cheek. His ungloved hands delicately followed the line of her chin and slightly brought her face up to face his. He then dropped his hand. His bare fingers that touched her cheek felt like they were on fire.
Aslynn still didn't say anything but slid over on the couch, and gestured for Erik to sit down next to her. Erik just looked at the seat then back to the woman. Again she gestured for him to sit down. Cautiously he sat, looking at the solitaire game Aslynn was working on. Finally he was bold enough to speak.
"Thank you," was his simple response to Aslynn's kindness.
"You're welcome," she meekly replied, busying herself with picking up the cards.
"You're the first person who has ever told me that they care about me, and that has been hard for me to take in."
This shocked Aslynn and she abruptly stopped shuffling the cards. "Oh." Silence again followed this until Erik boldly asked,
"I recall you mentioned something about your studies. What were you studying?"
Aslynn smiled as she replied, "I was working on getting my Ph. D. in oceanography. I had just received my masters in the field, with a minor in marine biology."
"I don't think oceanography would be of much use to you here, the sea is at least a two day travel. So are you informed of human biology?'
"Slightly, but I only took a few classes on the subject. I prefer working with water animals."
"Then why did you choose oceanography for a Ph. D.?" Erik inquired, crossing his legs and looking at the young woman.
"There is more of a need for oceanographist, especially with all the erosion and stuff happening on the shores. I wanted a field in science that was near the ocean so I could stay once my surfing career was over. It also would provide enough money to support a family." She told Erik, her eyes looking around the room.
"I have never known a woman who wants to study science, usually they study literature. You must be very intelligent. I must say that I am very impressed at you lust for learning and science," he said watching Aslynn. "So you really have a passion for water, don't you?"
Aslynn grinned and looked over to the man sitting next to her. "Yes. I would compare it to your love for music. You're always working on something or playing some instrument. I would always be near the sea or on it if I could."
"Do you miss it?" Erik asked, melting from her beautiful smile.
"Yes, but not as much as I do my family, my brother, and…" she faded away, not wanting to bring Chris up. She didn't want to risk getting emotional about it, or get in a fight with Erik.
"You mean your fiancé, don't you?" Erik dryly said, turning away form the woman. He was jealous that this man meant so much to her and still does.
Aslynn didn't say anything. Biting her lip she took a deep breath and reached out to touch Erik's leg. This instantly brought his attention to her, as a new fire rose to his eyes. She felt his leg tighten and his breathing temporally stop.
"I don't have any of them now, I just have their memories. All I have is you and Monsieur Garnier," she said quietly, moving her had off his leg to rest on the cushion.
The masked man didn't know what to do. He then cautiously picked up her hand. His ungloved fingers delicately slide over the top of her palm. He gently pulled her hand into his, wrapping his fingers around her. He could feel her pulse and the warmth of her hands. Erik just sat there, staring at her hand, flabbergasted at how she didn't pull back.
Aslynn was shocked at how cold his hands were. She softly said, "Boy, your hands are freezing."
"Sorry," he said, tyring to pull away, thinking that she was repulsed at his cold, damp, death like skin. Instead she pulled back, tightening her grip. "It's hard to ever get warm when you live underground. Yours are very warm."
Aslynn laughed as she said, "It's usually like that, opposite to what people would think. When I'm in the sun my hands are freezing. People have called me an alligator, since I am always in the water and pratcialy cold blooded."
"There must be another reason that you've been called an alligator, since a turtle is in the water most of the time and is cold blooded."
With a sly grin she replied, "well, err…people have said that I can be a bit of a … err… control freak, and when I get mad I am like an angry alligator."
Erik raised his unmasked eyebrow. "If you're an alligator when you get mad, we must have never gotten in many real fights. Well, I do recall the time when you kneed me in the groin, when you were brought down here by those thugs."
"Oh, I forgot about that. Did I hurt you?"
"Yes you did," he replied, as then seeing the worry rise in Aslynn's eyes he added, "but I've been fine since."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, turning away form Erik. Silence again grew between them. Finally Aslynn broke it, "Do you wanna play a game?"
"I don't know many card games; I'm not one to socialize." Erik protested.
"Well, I can teach you. I've learned so many games over the years." She said, letting go of Erik's hand. As she shuffled she added, "Every summer when I was little my both and I would learn at least two. Here I'll move to the floor, so you don't cheat."
Laughing, Aslynn moved to the floor, taking a few pillows with her. She started to deal out the deck, listing off games that they could play. Once they settled on a game, the woman taught Erik how to play, then the battle of wits began.
Both Erik and Aslynn could not stand loosing, and as Erik got better playing, Aslynn started to change the rules. "You never said we could do that." Erik once said, when Aslynn traded her hand.
"How do you know I told you right in the first place?" she teased.
This continued on late into the night, with common laughter outbursts from Aslynn. Once or twice Erik even let a roar of laughter out, causing Aslynn to laugh even harder.
She is something thing else, Erik thought to himself, she is beautiful, intelligent, and slightly crazy. Her laughter is enough to break away some of the brick walls that I've built up inside. I hope that tomorrow this won't all be a dream.