Hey guys I am back with a new chapter, finally. I am so sorry for the long wait between chapters. I was stuck on where the story was going for a while but I will try to be more consistent. Thank you for everyone's lovely reviews. They mean the world to me. Also spoiler alert for the end of Titanic below. I forgot to add it earlier because I figure most people know how it ends, even if they haven't watched it, but I wanted to give you a heads up.

"Oh, wow, Christine! I'm so happy for you!" Meg exclaimed. They were sitting in Meg's place and Christine had just finished telling her everything that had happened the night before.

"Me too! I never thought I could be so happy. I mean, we probably still have to talk more. But I feel so free to not be carrying this around with me anymore. And he told me that he loves me, Meg. I feel like this is all a dream."

"You're not dreaming, this is real. But you know I have to meet this guy now." Christine started to protest but Meg held her hand up to stop her. "I know what you are going to say. I get that Erik isn't much of a people person. But I'm your best friend. If he wants to be a part of your life as much as he lets on, he'll have to meet me eventually."

Christine sighed. "I know you are right, I just don't want to scare him off."

Meg put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, I may not know him, but it is clear he really cares about you. Trust him, and trust your own judgment in choosing him."

"I choose Raoul and look how much good that did me," Christine muttered.

Meg squeezed Christine's hand. "You trusted the Raoul you knew as a kid. You thought he was the same person as he was when you first knew him."

"Thanks, Meg. You're a good friend." Christine said with a smile.

Erik didn't sleep. He hadn't moved since after Christine left; he just sat awake, replaying the events in his head, not believing that they truly happened. How could he possibly be so lucky after everything he had done? He was not good enough on the day of his birth, and he only got worse. But for some reason Christine loved him.

There was a knock on the door and Erik went to open it without thinking to replace his mask. Christine stood on his porch and she smiled when she saw him.

"Hey," she greeted him before stepping forward and kissing him square on the lips. He scarcely remembered to kiss her back. "I missed you."

Erik smiled, bemused. "It's been less than 24 hours since you last saw me."

"I still missed you."

"I missed you too," Erik told her gently.

"I know we didn't make any plans, but I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie or something. I just wanted to be with you," Christine said.

"Of course," Erik responded quickly, struggling to believe that Christine would choose to spend time with him over all her friends.

The two made their way into Erik's living room. Erik sat on the couch and Christine sat on the floor in front of a cabinet full of movies. She was surprised to see so many movies occupying the space.

"Have you seen these all?" she asked him, flipping through the titles.

"No, I bought them with the intention to watch them. I spent so much of my life without the American pop culture, I wanted to see what I was missing. But I never got around to watching most of them."

"Well, now you have someone to watch them with. These are some great movies, I can't choose. I'm kind of a movie junkie. It was one of my favorite things to do with my dad when he was still alive. Especially when he got sick, he had trouble with a lot of things that used to be easy for him. But we could always kick back and watch a movie together. He said it was one of the only things that kept him feeling whole at the end." Christine wiped away a tear she hadn't noticed had formed while she was speaking. Even though she was mostly at peace with her dad's passing, sometimes it still stung.

Erik was at her side in an instant, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. Christine let herself relax and draw strength from his embrace. After a moment she pulled away.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I will always be here if you need me," Erik promised. He stayed beside Christine, their legs brushing against each other as she grabbed another movie.

"Ooh, have you seen Titanic?" Christine asked excitedly.

"No, I can't say that I have. Although I can guess that it doesn't have a happy ending," Erik said cynically.

"Oh, but it's one of my favorites. Come on, we have to watch it," Christine pleaded.

One look at Christine's captivating eyes took away any disagreement Erik might have had, and soon the two were sitting on the couch while the movie opened.

As the movie progressed Christine cuddled closer to Erik, resting her head on his shoulder. Erik spent the movie carefully dividing his attention between the movie that Christine has endorsed and Christine's body pressed up against him. She didn't speak much except to offer occasional whispered comments during different parts of the movie. Erik stored away all the information she provided, as he always did when speaking to Christine. He wanted to remember anything that might be important to her.

By the end of the movie, Christine was gripping his hand tightly, crying as they watched Jack die. Erik allowed himself to hold her a little closer. Her tears made him uneasy, reminding him too much of the times he had seen her cry for real, but he couldn't find it in himself to dislike the way she curled into him for comfort.

"So, what did you think?" Christine asked as the credits rolled on the screen, wiping her eyes even as she smiled at him.

"It was good, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would," Erik said honestly. "I never thought I would have enjoyed that type of movie before, certainly not before I met you. But you make me better, happier."

Christine smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. Slowly she deepened the kiss, and Erik kissed her back with equal passion. They were both breathless when they broke apart.

Erik was the first to find words. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Christine said back, smiling. "So I was wondering, are you free this Friday?

"Yes, what is it you had in mind?" Erik asked.

"Well, Meg wanted to meet you. I thought maybe the three of us could hang out sometime," Christine said, rushing over her words. She could see Erik close himself off at her request, go into self-defense mode. "I know it's not really your thing, but she's my best friend. It would mean a lot to me," she said, squeezing his hand gently.

Erik sighed heavily, uncertain how to proceed. "Are you sure your friend would want someone like me coming over?"

Christine hated hearing Erik talk about himself like that. "Don't say things like that. Meg will be happy to meet you, I promise."

Erik hesitated for a second before reluctantly agreeing. "If it means so much to you, then I will come."

"Thank you," Christine said sincerely. "We can figure out the details later"

Erik stood in front of the door, frozen. He could hear voices on the other side, but they came in soft murmurs and he couldn't make out what they were saying. He wore a mask that was as close to skin tone as he could find so it virtually blended in with his features, allowing him to go unnoticed in more crowded situations. But it would still be noticeable if someone were to sit and talk to him for any amount of time. There'd be no hiding tonight, not really. After a long internal debate, Erik finally reached his hand out to knock.

Christine was quick to open the door. She kissed him quickly on his exposed cheek. "Thank you for coming," she said before taking his arm and leading him into the living room. Erik allowed her to lead him, taking in his surroundings as they walked. Soon they were in the living room area and a curly-haired woman who Erik could only assume was Meg stood to greet him.

"Hi Erik, I'm Meg," the girl introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."

Erik offered his hand out and Meg shook it firmly. "It's nice to meet you too." He was aware that he was speaking incredibly formally but his nerves wouldn't calm down. He hated that he was this nervous over something like this—he had done much worse than a meet-and-greet without batting an eye.

"So Erik, have you ever played Monopoly? Because I have been trying to beat Christine forever but I've never been able to. Maybe it will be harder for her to cheat against two people."

"I don't cheat!" Christine exclaimed. "I just strategize."

"Strategize to make me go bankrupt," Meg grumbled.

"That's the point of the game," Christine defended. "You don't win by being nice."

Erik looked between the two girls, surprised by the light-hearted banter going on around him. When he had imagined this event he had pictured a tense and uncomfortable atmosphere, but here he was in the exact opposite of that. He realized now why Christine was such close friends with Meg because it was she who had changed their meeting from tense and confusing to happy and cheerful. When he thought about it, Erik realized he shouldn't have been so surprised. Christine was a good person, and she deserved nothing less in a friend than the woman she was laughing and smiling with at that very moment.

Maybe this night wouldn't be as painful as he had feared.

End of chapter. So what did you guys think? As always I love reviews so please leave them . Also if you want to pm with questions or thoughts that you are not comfortable sharing publically please feel free. - K