Disclaimer: I do not own Erik for God's sake!

A/N: Sorry updates were slow. I've been stuck with projects, tests, and homework galore! To make it up I'm posting 2 chapters because you all have been patient with me and I appreciate it. Plus, after reading this chapter I think you may all want a happier one to end instead.

Chapter 11- Confessions

Stephanie knew this moment would eventually come. After that day when Erik questioned her about her left eye, she knew the inevitable would come. She truly wanted to believe that he of all people should know when to leave things unanswered, but there he was on the floor with a guilty expression like a kid caught sneaking into the cookie jar. A million thoughts flooded her mind about how she was going to respond. She thought of calling him what he called Christine, but that wasn't enough. Not when there are plenty of modern names she could use. But that would be cruel. Not so cruel, but she knew where it would hurt him the most. After all, look what he did to her.

"You…" she started, her hands clenched, the fury bubbling inside shook her body. Stephanie glared down at him with deadly daggers that if looks could kill, Erik would have exploded on the spot. "I can't believe you."

"Miss Lar-" Erik opened his mouth but was silenced with a furious shook from the auburn head.

"No. I trusted you and this is how I get repaid? I've shown nothing but respect for you and you go against my back! I told you never to touch my contact box! Never! Now look at them! They're all ruined no thanks to your childish whims!" she barked, her normally white face turning crimson.

"I can explain!" Erik tried to reason. "Harp-"

"So you're going to blame my dog for your mistake?" Stephanie interjected. "Is that the best you can think of? And I thought all this time you were some kind of genius, but I was wrong. You're no better than a five-year-old! What did my words go in one ear and out the other? Tell me Erik, great Angel of Music, lover of the dark and mystery! Bless me with your incredible wisdom!"

Now, Erik's first reaction was to grab her and shake her with every ounce of strength he possessed to get her to listen to him. But he didn't. He kept his eyes to the ground, taking in everything she said. There was no reason for him to be mad at her. She had every right to be so, but he wanted to tell her the truth that he didn't mean to pry. It was an accident. An accident…

"So I suppose after this stunt you want to know why I must wear a lens with hazel coloring?" Stephanie snapped. "Fine! If it will only end your God damn curiosity!" She removed her contact so Erik could see. "One green, one hazel. One green, one hazel!" she pointed to each one. "Happy? I have mismatched eyes!"

Erik couldn't speak. He was at a loss for words. This whole time… No wonder she seemed so isolated. Just like him… The thought pierced Erik in the heart. Just like him… she was just like him in a small way. He swallowed hard. He had to fix this. "Miss Larson, it's not so bad-"

"Yes it is Erik!" she butted in. "Look, this may not be a crisis to you but it is to me. I've spent my entire life at the back end of jokes and pranks! My eyes are what caused to me be alone. Alone Erik! Dan will never notice me not when I'm a freak! And I don't ever expect him to." She paused. In a calmer tone, she said, "Just go Erik. Just go and leave me alone."

Erik was about to protest, but the overwhelming sadness in her two eyes made him stop. She needed time to think. And he would at least give that to her without making this any worse. Silently, he stood up and went to the door. Before leaving, he turned to Stephanie just in time to witness a trail of tears. "I'm sorry," he spoke low and left.

Erik remained in his room listening to her sorrowful sobs. It killed him to know that he did this. It was the last thing he could ever want to happen to a nice girl like Stephanie. Flashbacks of the movie came to him when Christine removed the mask. And the words from the soundtrack, "prying Pandora, little demon, lying Delilah, little viper" hit him like a ton of bricks. He was no better than the forces that drove Christine to do it.

But it was an accident, his mind told him. You didn't do anything wrong. She'll come around and everything will be all right. Things will go back to normal. Whatever normal is. But the crazy notion that she will dismiss the lessons filled Erik in dread. He didn't want them to end so soon. And especially not from this!

Several hours passed and in the time frame he heard her parents speaking to her about the lens. He didn't hear what was going to happen, but he hoped that they could replace them for her sake.

To his surprise, Stephanie came in after her parents left for some social. He noted she wasn't wearing her contact, but the evidence of her constant crying was noticeable.

"I told them Harper got into them. It wasn't the first time, but at least they're replaced," she said quietly. "Funny I'm using your poor excuse." She wandered over to gaze languidly at the numerous books. Not once did she make eye contact with him since she entered, but she went on speaking. "I know it was an accident. I came in just in time as Harper barked at me and you knock down the box. I'm sorry I yelled at you Erik. You didn't deserve it. It was my temper talking so I guess I could use some of that anger management as well," she joked weakly.

When Erik didn't laugh at her comment, Stephanie sobered. "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Erik replied. "It's understandable. You were upset my dear. But I never meant to bring you in any pain."

A small smile appeared on her face and she turned around. "I guess this was going to happen sooner or later, though I was hoping for later."

"Miss Larson, if you're uncomfortable you don't have to tell me anything," Erik said gently. "But if you're willing to let your own ghosts to rest, then I'm here for you."

"Touché." She grinned widely. "I don't know if I can do it. Like you, I try to forget but it's always there."

Erik nodded his head in agreement. "But it helps. It helped me."

"Yeah it did," she said bashfully.

"Please sit." Erik waved his hand over the cot, inviting her to sit. Stephanie sat down as Erik went to the opposite side of her to grab a chair. When he was settled, he looked deeply into her eyes. He was ready to listen.

"When I was younger I never had any playmates. My parents kept me in the house all day. I never knew why I couldn't go to the park or play on the jungle set with the other kids. Mom and Dad told me they were looking out for my safety and told me it was dangerous there. And I believed them. It didn't cross my mind for a second it was mostly because of my appearance. They told me I was beautiful and a gift from Heaven. I thought it was normal to have two different color eyes. Dad used to tell me I was lucky and I was special and I felt that I was. When I got a little bit older, my parents decided it was time for me to go out and play with kids my age.

"They all asked me why my eyes were weird. I told them they were crazy and it was normal because that's what my parents told me. I picked up quickly on how wrong I was but most importantly how wrong they were. I came home crying from kindergarten one day and I told them what I found out. I couldn't get the stares and laughter out of my head! My Mom tried to calm me down and told me they were jealous because they didn't have cool eyes like me. It made me feel better but the treatment never ended."

Stephanie's eyes began to mist a little as she recalled the next event. Taking a deep breath, she pressed on:

"When I was seven, I joined the Huskies. My Mom thought it would do me best if I were involved in a group. Basically an opportunity for me to make some friends. That was a big mistake. I was the outcast of the group. None of the other girls wanted anything to do with me and the only way for me to join in the games was the intervention of my troop leader. They would give me all kinds of dirty looks and ignored me when it came to snack time. They told me I couldn't be their friend because I was hideous and a monster. 'All girls have one color eyes'," she mocked in a snotty voice. "But to them I wasn't a girl. I was no one.

"One year I decided to 'quit' thinking they would want me. I figured they would come to their senses and be nice to me. What a joke. Instead, they ignored me as always. In fact they never noticed I stopped attending. And I left it like that. There was no reason for me to beg for their attention. They weren't worth the fight.

"School was always hard for me. I can't begin to tell you how many notes I had on my back or the rumors that were spread about me. You know, some boys I thought that were cute would come up to me and ask if I wanted to be their girlfriend. I would say 'yes' like the dummy I was and then they would laugh in my face and tell me they didn't want a freak as a girlfriend. It got to the point where I couldn't stand the private institutions that my family was sending me to. The abuse was too much for me handle and I was transferred to the public system.

"I thought it would get better. I was with a new crowd of people who didn't know me and I hoped they would accept me as a person and not according to my looks." Stephanie's voice began to crack and Erik went to get her a tissue. He handed the cloth to her so she could dab her eyes. He couldn't believe she went through that. A child too! He kept silent despite the agonizing need to hold her and tell her what he felt of those children. But this was her time to release.

"I was horribly wrong. It was still about the same. Same old stares and questions and name-calling. Nothing better to say and I kept it all in. The only thing different was that the abuse I experienced was done quietly so none of my teachers knew what was happening. I didn't go to anyone. I kept it all inside; just wishing this was a bad dream. I begged for contacts when I was ten. My parents felt it was a waste of money and that I didn't need them. Well, I fought with them on the issue until my thirteenth birthday.

"Still, that didn't do much. Everyone knew why I had contacts. And any new kids were told about me so I had no chances of having friends. Everyone would say, 'If you go there near Stephanie you will get a disease that changes your eye!' Kids are cruel but no one really knows just how much unless you've seen it or experienced it. I thought about… I thought about…" Stephanie started to shake so bad that Erik was at her side in mere seconds. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder.

"Shh," Erik whispered, running his hand through her hair soothingly. He cradled her in his embrace and rock back and forth to calm her down. He was already fighting to hold his own tears at bay. How could someone as wonderful as she was go through this? After a couple minutes, Stephanie pulled back and wiped away the bitter tears.

"I thought about suicide at that point," she finished quietly. "I didn't see any point in living anymore. The only people who loved me were my family. I told myself I was going to grow old alone and will have no one to love me. That's how low I was in my life. But I never acted on it. I was too scared. But it was always at the back of my mind and there were a few instances where it felt inviting. But I never did. I eventually got out of my depression in the most unusual circumstance. When I was twelve, I saw The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto. And it was in that moment that I fell in love with the story. The dedication the Phantom had for Christine and his loneliness mirrored my own somewhat. I cried when he let her go. That wasn't supposed to happen. The Phantom and Christine were supposed to be together happily ever after.

"Right away I bought the book and read it a million times. I got everything I could about Erik and Christine. I wrote some silly stories about them and it made me happy. I found someone I could relate to, even though he was fictional." She paused as Erik chuckled. "And I always told myself that if I ever could go back and meet Erik I would make sure he never let Christine go.

"It was you Erik that saved me from my solitude," she quoted. "And then Dan moved in. That was a year ago and it was love at first sight. I never saw anyone who was so compassionate about his sport. Dan is a great soccer player. He's the best forward we got and our team made first in its league last season. I've seen him play a few times and he's quite popular with the girls. He's charming, sweet, and the nicest guy around. And he doesn't know I exist."

Stephanie looked up to Erik when she finished. Erik's right, she thought. It does feel good to have that of my chest.

"Thank you," she answered softly. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too, Miss Larson," Erik replied. "I never knew… I don't know what to say, but I'm glad I came here. You're never going to be alone. If Christine and I were meant to be then you and Dan are meant to be."

"I appreciate that," she said. "I really do."

Smiling, Erik pressed his lips on her forehead and continued to hold her. He was going to do everything in his power to make up for loss time so she'll get the guy.

TBC…

I know a bit depressing but it'll get better! Trust me. I'm not the kind for teary tales.