IT WAS WONDERFUL! Seriously. I'm going to give you my review of the actors and of the overall movie. I couldn't tell if Christine's voice was more little girlish or womanly. Plus, on a lot of her lines, she slurred the words together and sounded like she was drunk. Raoul had a light, feathery voice – I liked it – and was very cute. JUST cute – like little boy cute. But that's a big compliment anyway because I hate Raoul. Carlotta was hilarious, and I actually think she sings better than Christine, except for the scenes when she's singing badly on purpose (because she's Carlotta). As for the Phantom, his voice wasn't smooth and hypnotic like the Phantom should be – it was rough, harsh, and choppy. There were times when I wanted to close my eyes and revel in his voice, and there were time when it made me flinch. They all made great visual characters. The movie itself was beautiful, and I cried at the end (of course). There was a cute scene when Christine was singing Think of Me, and it went down through the floors to show the Phantom pacing in a cellar listening from below. And some guy mooned Carlotta during Prima Donna!

LoneGunGirl88: You're exactly the way I'd pictured you! Weird… I despise pink, it is an evil color. Ask all my friends, they know. (hugs)

MortRouge: It's good for us all to love Erik – that way we learn that looks aren't everything, but if the guy has a sexy voice, GRAB HIM! I swear, I'm dying to see Fruits Basket, it just looks so funny! But I don't have the money for a DVD, can't download off the computer, and don't have time to rent from my local anime store. I'll see it someday, though.

Phantomraver: ERIK LIVES! Yes he does.

Eat-drums: Oh, Wales. Dunno why I assumed England. Still – Europe. Ever been to France?

MiMi: We are rabid – that's how we show we care! Welcome to the world of Fandom.

Leanan Sidhe: Yup, you can be in it as well. (hugs) I'll add you to my list.

Hilary: Who is lazy.kender19 and is too lazy to log on. We'll have to schedule a time. Hm…wonder what your time zone is?

SummerSong: That sounds cool…I should use that…

Kianra: We should totally spraypaint our own star there.

EmeraldSkyGoddess: Well, now that you mention it…

TameranianRaven: I'll send you the Project Phantom link. Apparently I've turned you into a true phan. (points) Another of my school friends!

Awesome – even with the movie review, that didn't take up too much space. Next chapter!

…………………………………….

Aislin glanced up from her Solitaire game as Erik came up. "Lucky for you, Erik, only one…what's with the fanclub?"

Erik realized that the Project Phantomers had closed in while he stood still. Seventeen phangirls, more than he'd yet seen in one place, surrounded him on all sides, smiling, giggling, and a couple of the weaker ones fainting. Aislin stood up to shoo them away. "I've already told you, you'll all get your turn. Now go away."

"ERIK LIVES!" cried one of the girls as they ran off, laughing happily and dragging the fainted ones away.

"I KNOW!" called Asilin. "I'm one of you, remember?"

"You're in Project Phantom?" asked Erik scathingly.

Aislin grinned. "What do you think? I am a self-respecting phangirl after all. Anyway, it's Kimberly's turn, and then we can all go home. It's getting dark after all." She was right. The sun was just beginning to set. "I'd give you two two hours at least. Now go."

Kimberly, who was obviously the most…normal of all three girls, walked off with Erik.

He still was of the opinion that Kimberly looked rather dangerous. She wore all black, like Aislin did every day, and was completely silent. Although, as he walked along, he realized it might just be shyness that kept her silent.

At first, this was quite enjoyable. He liked the silence for a while. But then it started to get awkward. He was used to not talking when he was alone, but when he was actually out with someone it felt weird. After fifteen silent minutes, he decided it was time to make some conversation.

"So…seen any good operas lately?" He immediately felt stupid.

"I've never been to an opera."

"Oh." Strike one. "Well. Um…where are we going?"

Kimberly pulled another piece of paper out of her pocket. No doubt the next direction from Aislin. Wonderful. "It looks like we're going to dinner."

Dinner! Perfect! After his first two dates, he was pretty hungry. "What restaurant?"

"Not a restaurant." She jerked her large backpack for emphasis. "I've got dinner in here. We're going to a park just outside of town and eating there."

Oh. Okay. "Uh…I'm not really an outdoorsy person." Kimberly shrugged and kept walking. Apparently they were walking to the park.

Oh, yeah, they were walking all right.

"Just…out of town…huh?" huffed Erik, who was used to rowing, but certainly not to walking. Miles. He was extremely tired once they reached the little desolated park, full of trees, twittering birds, and fading sunlight. He collapsed facedown in the dirt by a pond.

"Ow. My feet." He pulled his mask off for a moment to wipe the dirt and sweat off his face.

Kimberly, meanwhile, had set up her backpack on a lone picnic table. She pulled out two takeout boxes. Apparently the café had provided dinner.

Erik sat down on one of the benches attached to the table, his tux now considerably dusty. He opened one of the boxes, and found a delicious-looking ham sandwich, a bag of potato chips, and a cookie. Kimberly handed him a can of root beer, and he started eating.

He had to admit, this was his favorite of all the dates so far. True, he downed half the soda right away, to relieve his burning lungs from the walk, and then he nearly choked to death on the carbonation, but other than that, it went quite well. Kimberly didn't try to attack him, or randomly hug him, or throw a vegetable at him. She was, in fact (dare he say it?) completely sane. After she'd gotten used to him, she was able to talk easily.

They discussed Kimberly's life, and Erik's life at the Opera. She told him about her family, and he told her about the easily frightened ballet girls (who really were getting harder and harder to scare). They discussed weather, music, and ultimately, Erik's own opera. They even talked a little about the musical. Erik said he thought the musical was done very well, but the movie was definitely under-par.

All in all, they both had fun. When darkness fell, they tossed their trash in a garbage can, Erik gave Kimberly his uneaten cookie (he'd just never been a cookie person), and he led her back to the café in the darkness.

Aislin stood tapping her foot by the rented van, with Danica and Jessica staring out of the windows for Erik and Kimberly. "You're late! The driver doesn't want to wait – let's go."

The driver flat out refused to play any CDs, so they all sang quietly under their breath, gradually increasing in volume until they might have well been playing the CD. The driver snatched it out of Jessica's outstretched hand and stuffed in into the player, and they all sang happily. Yes, even Erik.

They dropped each girl off at their homes, and drove back to the hotel. When they'd gotten back up to their room, Aislin turned to Erik. "How did they go?"

"Fine…" Erik said.

"That last one…" She trailed off.

"She was normal." He shrugged.

Aislin grinned. "I bet you liked her, huh?"

Erik shook his head sadly. "I miss the crazy phangirls."

………………………………..

Sorry it was so short. The next one will be longer, I promise. ;) I have ideas…

Oh, one more thing about the movie – I think they kind of underdid the Phantom's makeup. I really didn't think he looked all that deformed. I could easily have gotten on with the way he looked. It just looked like his face had been a little burned in places. Or something.

Read and review!