Disclaimer: Me? Own this splendiferousness? –bursts out in hysterical laughter-

Too…much…noise…

Christine could practically see the thought racing through Erik's brain. The young man was jittery, bobbing through the crowds and behaving as though he expected a spear to lance through his spine at any given moment.

The sun had gone down only an hour or so before, but the air was chilly. The brunette was lugging her boyfriend along by the hand, trying not to trip over the uneven gravel that made up the high school parking lot.

"They couldn't have let us through the gate…," she muttered. "Oh no, that would've been horrible…Let's go the long way, why don't we? ...oh, for God's sake, Erik, stop fidgeting!"

"You seem to tell me that a lot," he answered sullenly, clearly regretting the decision he'd made to pretend to be a normal teenager.

"That's because you always seem to be fidgeting!" Her expression cleared and she gave a little laugh that masked her annoyance. "Look, we don't have to be here. Really. I mean, I don't even understand most of the rules of football…"

"What's not to understand?" he asked absently, focused on the mob of people crushing in on them. "Bunch of big guys, one ball, lots of running and tackling and screaming. Occasionally cups of varying beverages are thrown. It's all pretty simple, really."

"Uh huh. And how do they score?"

He paused. "From the…free throw line?"

Christine took a moment to cackle rather hysterically. Erik looked a little bit hurt.

"I don't do sports, okay?" he mumbled. "No teams ever wanted me and anyway, my father would've taken it as just another opportunity to break bones…"

She kissed him, then resumed pulling him through the crowd. "Sweetie, I know. But remember what I said about being here."

"We don't have to," he repeated cheerlessly. "I know. But we already told Meg and the others—"

"Oh, who cares?" she interrupted. "Erik, there are a dozen better places we could be right now."

He hesitated, then pointed. "Look! Free space!"

They dodged forward around an elderly couple and slipped through into the open night. Still grasping Erik's hand, Christine hauled him to the bleachers and into a seat about midway up.

"There," she panted. "Still in one piece?"

"I think I left my right arm back there," he muttered, seeming troubled. "Would you like to go get it?"

"You can manage without it, Ambidextrous Boy," she answered, patting his knee and snuggling close to him to block out the eight o' clock wind. He made a small sound that may have been contentment and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

The teams trooped onto the field at the screeching of a whistle and the game began. Christine was instantly lost. She scanned the groups of large, pad-laden young men, recognizing Raoul pretty quickly as the guy who always seemed to have the ball. Around her, people screamed and cheered and groaned. Erik gave a particularly violent twitch as the woman behind them stood up and accidentally dumped half a quart of buttery popcorn on their heads.

"That was rude," he remarked mildly, clearly at the end of his patience and trying to stay calm at the same time. "We should—"

"Not react," Christine finished for him, reaching up to brush kernels of crunchy goodness from atop his hood. "Erik, it's a sports function. What exactly did you expect?"

He gave a half-hearted shrug and didn't answer. She smiled and shook her head.

"You really are different, aren't you?"
Another little shrug. Under his shadow, he smiled.

The game continued to progress, getting less and less comprehendible. Christine half-wanted to just get up and leave, but Erik seemed to be warming to his environment ever so slightly—well, his shoulders had loosened up, anyway—so she decided to stick it out. It was only a bit chilly, after all, and her company definitely could've been worse…

A whistle signaled half-time and Christine got up, stretching her legs. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and get a soda or something," she told Erik, who smirked.

"Won't those two actions cancel each other out?"

She lightly tapped him on the head and smiled before making her way gingerly down the rickety bleachers. Wrapping her arms around herself, she found her way down to the ground and plunged into the crowd.

It was almost as bad as trying to move through a high school hallway, she thought numbly. Unbelievable! She could see couples making out in the shadows—was that Carlotta with the transfer student? Christine shook her head, not really caring whose tongue was in her irritating classmate's mouth; at least the act of kissing shut the diva up.

She was working her way back from the bathroom when she heard them. Two boys were conversing quietly with one another, talking about whatever teenage boys talk about. Christine was perfectly happy to ignore them—until she heard them mention the "Shadow Man".

"It's all being blamed on him," the boy said, sounding a bit satisfied.

"Well, it's only logical," the other drawled. "He's a total spaz. He's definitely the type to bash someone's skull in."

Christine's blood rose and she started to comment on behalf of her boyfriend. Midway through the breath she was taking in, however, she zeroed in on the first boy.

Raoul? What is he doing over here?

"It's a good thing Buquet got the shit kicked out of him anyway," Raoul told his friend, shifting his helmet under his arm. "Coach was talking about bringing him in to replace me, you know."
"Yeah, man, that would've sucked." His friend was nodding and grinning. "He was too stupid anyway, probably would've screwed us. Scored for the other team or something…"

Both boys laughed and moved away. Christine blinked, trying to puzzle out what she had just heard. Had Raoul actually said that he was glad his teammate was in a coma?

Could he have had something to do with it?

She went back to the bleachers, rubbing her head with her fingertips. Perhaps it was time to go home after all; she was getting a massive headache and her stomach was starting to flip and—"Erik!" she shouted, starting to move faster.

The boy was gripping his face and bending over as if to hide from something and it was no wonder; the people around him were hurling things and insults as if their very lives depended on it.

"Damn you, get out of here!" one man screamed.

"You think we don't know you beat Joey Buquet?" another cried. "We don't want you here, freak! Showing off that ugly face! You're scaring the children!"

Christine's heart leapt into her throat as a trio of teenage boys lunged for Erik and shoved him, sending the boy off balance. He fell down several steps, cracking his head as he went with a sickeningly-loud thud and landing on the ground in a heap.

She ran to him, grabbing him and dragging him up.

"Erik, can you walk?" she demanded.

He nodded weakly, looking dizzy. One hand was groping backward for something; Christine recognized the movement and pulled his hood over his eyes before lurching through the crowd.

"What happened?" she cried when they were finally safe in the empty shadows outside the front of the school.

Erik sank down on the grass, rubbing the back of his skull tentatively. "I…I don't know. A little girl. She was playing near me and I guess she thought it would be funny to tug my hood off…and then everyone recognized me and started to scream about that Buquet kid. Next thing I knew, I was falling." He sounded more shaken then she'd ever heard him. "I've…I haven't dealt with a mob like that before. Not with adults and little kids and everything…This was a mistake."

As she took him into her arms, Christine had to admit that he was right. They should never have come here. But something else was nagging her.

"Did you ever see Meg?" she asked as she tried to calm his shivering body.

Erik shook his head. "No…she was supposed to be here. Maybe she was in the other bleachers or something. There were a lot of people there."

"Yeah, I guess…" Christine's frown deepened as she pulled back. "Erik, you're coming home with me tonight."

He shook his head again. "No, I couldn't impose—"

"Erik, it isn't imposing if I invite you," she cut him off impatiently. "I'm not letting you go home tonight, not to that ass. You've been through enough tonight. We've got a guest bedroom and I'm sure Mrs. Giry won't mind."

He said nothing and she knew she had broken him. Rummaging in her purse for the emergency cell phone, she told him, "I'm going to call her. Stay here, all right? No running off."

With that, she walked a little further and dialed her home number. Mrs. Giry answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Giry, I need a ride home," Christine said quickly. "And I need to keep Erik at our house for at least a night."

The woman sounded puzzled when she said, "Why? What's the matter?"

"It's complicated," Christine answered shortly. "But he can't go home tonight, not in his state."

"All right. I'll be there in a few minutes. Is Meg coming with you?"

"Oh, she is here?" Christine shrugged into the phone. "I haven't seen her."

"She said some boy named Raoul was letting her sit on the bench next to his spot." Mrs. Giry sounded relatively amused. "That wouldn't be the captain that everyone loves, would it?"

"How many Raouls do you know?" Christine replied dryly, smiling when the older woman laughed.

"Good point. All right, sit tight, dear. I'll be there as soon as I find my coat and shoes."

A/N: God, it took forever! I'm so sorry, guys! –shakes head at self- This was just horrible, making you wait like I did. I'll try to be faster with the next one.

Review Replies:

Prongsthedestroyer- Heh, that was random. But I probably wouldn't have been able to resist either.

Wolf of the Mist- Writer's block has been put on hold, thank God. –feels happy-

SmileVampy- Well, it's sort of mischief…

JeanMarie- No, no comas! Read, quickly, and heal thyself! –blinks- Did I just say 'thyself'?

Shorty- Wow, that makes for a lot of updateless hours. I'm sorry about that.

Tactics- First AU EVER? How can that be when there are so many great ones out there? Hey, if anyone likes Inuyasha (random, I know), go read Meeting Place by Tsuki-no-oni. It's kickass.

draegon-fire- Yeah, you had the right idea. No good can come of unexpected preppiness. –laughs-

SlytherinsDarkAngel07- Aww, she hasn't poisoned his mind…just warped it a bit. –grins-

Maeve Of the Nile- Did I read it? I think I did…if I didn't, I will. –nods decisively-

Crazy Lady Georgey- Uh…-calls- Hey! Guys! No beating up my reviewers!

Falling Phoenix- Ooh, candy! –pounces-

LadyWillow- …-blinks up at chapter, then hands over a box of tissues-

Neon signs at 2AM- How much is a zillion? –laughs- I'm kidding. …no, really.

Alixy- Wow, down girl. –pats your shoulder-

Mademoiselle P- I was thinking about that, actually. I'm not sure how it will end…and even if I was, I wouldn't be telling!

PhantomInMyDreams- Love you too for the lovely reviews. Enjoy the angst. –smiles-

AMLisdabomb- lol, no rain as of now. Sorry. And sorry for the delay—I hope you didn't die from the wait. As for Joe, he's sleeping. Still. But that black eye may be clearing up.

Eviv- I torture you because I'm a horrible person. May I be flogged with a thousand fiery whips. –hangs head-

Awoman- Wow, fasting? You're one strong person…

Mill- Erik's the only reason I've been able to write this one. Thanks for letting me borrow him. –wink-

MadameAngel- Heh, no it doesn't sound too perverted…well, maybe just a little bit. But we all love E/C smoochies, don't we?

Aki T- Don't worry, Creepy-Social-Erik is a rarity.

Ok, sorry for all the missed replies and for the super-long wait. I've been stressed out and doing math HW like crazy…not to mention my Creative Writing class which has been taking up so much of my time. –sigh- For having no life, I'm busy. I also bought Susan Kay's Phantom, yes I did—two bucks at the local used book shop! I'm nearly done with it, only about a hundred fifty pages left, so I may randomly throw in elements from it because I love it and I think this is a run-on sentence, isn't that swell?