Disclaimer: I will never ever own Erik. And borrowing the name and scene mentions of Hitch, which I don't own. Also, I don't own the other movie bits added in here.

A/N: Yea a longer chapter for all of you! I wrote this one after I saw Hitch and I thought this fit perfectly with what Stephanie and Erik are doing. If you haven't seen it then I strongly recommend in seeing it. It's so funny!

Chapter 12- The Movies of the Night

A few days passed since Stephanie's dramatic confession. Erik never mentioned that she should stop wearing the contact in his presence for she went on like nothing happened. Erik was worried about her despite her assurance that she was fine and she wasn't going to physically hurt herself. He developed a fatherly sense of protection over her and was constantly on her case about how was school, etc. He could see the annoyance Stephanie had, but did it anyways to humor him.

The lessons went on and Erik got better noticing changes in appearance with Stephanie as a model and her parents. He even gained more control with his temper and his self-esteem swelled incredibly.

Stephanie was pleased with his progress immeasurably. She decided before she taught Erik the correct way to seduce a woman, she would show plenty of examples of a true romantic.

"Movies?" Erik asked incredulous. "Let me see, they're going to make it easier for me to be a romantic?"

Upon seeing her nod, Erik snorted with laughter. "I can do that without any attitude sources. I've given her roses and sung to her-"

"Again true but that doesn't cut it Erik," Stephanie retorted. "This will be fun. I picked out all of my faves and there's this other one I want you to see, but we need to go to the theater. It fits perfectly to what I've been teaching you."

"So where are they?" he sighed. Stephanie was off in a flash and a few minutes later she came back with a bunch of DVDs in her hands. She set them on the coffee table in front of Erik.

He reached out and grabbed the movie on top. "The Notebook," he read. Then he took the next one. "City of Angels, Titanic, When Harry Met Sally, and Kate & Leopold."

"Yup. My all time favorites. Before I forget!" She took and returned with four boxes of Kleenex. Erik rolled his eyes and pointed to them. "What are those for?"

"Cry fest for me," she answered. "I don't know about you, but I need them especially for The Notebook. So which one do you want to see?"

Erik went over the mound of DVDs and finally selected Jerry Maguire. He settled into the couch while Stephanie set the movie up.

"You complete me," Tom Cruise said on the TV. Erik heard a loud sniffle and turned to Stephanie. Her contact was long removed and she held a tissue over her mouth. Sensing his attention, Stephanie gave him a shaky grin before going back to the movie with a sob.

"You had me at hello."

"You complete me", Erik thought. I must remember that.

"Do you trust me?" cried Jack Dawson.

"I trust you!" replied Rose.

Erik watched in sad fascination as the RMS Titanic went under the depths of the ocean taking the ill-fated lovers along with her. A single tear fell from his cool ice blue eyes as he watched the couple grab onto a door for life. I hope they make it, he thought. Oh God they have to! They're in love!

The famous scene came up:

"I'll never let you go Jack. I'll never let go," promised a freezing Rose.

Erik waited in suspense and when Rose let Jack go to sink to the bottom, he cursed aloud. "No! No! No!" he screamed. "That is unacceptable! How could she let him go? They loved each other! They're meant to be!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You and the rest of the female population of the world."

On screen, Leopold and Kate were riding on a snowy white horse chasing the man who stole Kate's purse. Erik felt he could relate to the Duke of entering an unfamiliar world with strange innovations. Though, he felt proud he didn't overreact like Leopold did at certain points.

"I find this amusing actually," Erik commented. "That's what happened to me sort of, but thank God I don't have to rely on Stuart. At least you've been keeping your promises."

"Thank you," Stephanie replied. "But then again I'm not some afraid of commitments. Now, Hugh Jackman here is one aristocrat I don't mind courting me. Sorry Vicomte but the Duke of Albany rules!"

Erik sighed. "Please, Miss Larson, I just ate. I don't want to become ill over your constant outbursts of 'Oh my God! He's so hot!'"

"Erik, obviously you never spent enough time with a teenage girl. And you know who else is hot? Gerard Butler!"

Erik gagged. "Please no more!"

When The Notebook ended, Erik was crying the Niagara Falls. Stephanie was teary-eyed but she wasn't as bad as Erik. After Romeo & Juliet and this, Erik literally broke down his barriers and wept uncontrollably. The Shakespeare tale hit him the hardest. The devotion the two had for each other was so awe aspiring. They were willing to die for each other, a fact Erik, himself, already willing to commit for his Juliet.

"Well I think that just about wraps it for tonight," Stephanie announced. "And it's a good thing that we do. Erik are you going to be all right? You could probably turn off the water works."

He was on the third box of Kleenex and sheepishly nodded. "I'll be fine once I get over the beauty of the moment. Okay. So what's the other one I have to see?"

She grinned. "Hitch. It's a romantic comedy starring the one and only Will Smith as the 'Love Doctor' so to speak. He helps good guys get the girls of their dreams. I figured this might give you a boost of what's to come up soon. Sort of like an intro to the world of women."

"Aw, I see." Erik thought for a moment. "So it's not going to make me cry?"

She shook her head. "Unless it's from laughter. I figured we'd go tomorrow if you want. I thought you might prefer a later showing or an early one."

"I like the later one if you don't mind," replied Erik. "That should give me plenty of time to 'recover'."

"Erik! Hurry up or else we'll be late!" hissed Stephanie. She stood outside his 'room' waiting for him to get dressed. She checked her watch and groaned. If he doesn't hurry up soon then we won't get any seats, she thought irritated.

The door opened and Stephanie's jaw dropped.

His black hair was slicked back in a fashionable way and his mask glowed proudly. He wore a clean pressed white shirt with a black suit jacket and dress pants. Over it was his cloak and to finish it off, a pair of polished black shoes. He looked like he was going to an opera.

"Um, Erik, you do know when I said 'theater' I don't actually mean like your Opera house, right?"

He looked down at his attire and frowned. "What's wrong with this?" he demanded. "Can't I look presentable?"

"Of course you can!" Stephanie said. "But people don't get fancy up unless it's a date! You could get away with those sweats if you wanted to."

"They're itchy and I don't like them," he grunted. "I can't believe you made me get them."

"Life's unfair Erik so deal with it," she growled. "Anyways we don't have time for you to change so let's go. But listen carefully. My parents are downstairs so I'm going to go and distract them while you leave through the front door. Got it? Okay."

She went down the stairs and sure enough, Elaine and Tom Larson were in the sitting room, which overlooked the front entrance. Taking a deep breath, Stephanie hurried over to them, praying Erik would make it out.

"Steph, sweetie," greeted Tom. "It's nice to see you. Your mother and I were afraid you disappeared or something."

"Cute Dad." Stephanie looked over her shoulder, to see if Erik was nearby. She concentrated over the dark areas around, but couldn't see to find the Phantom. Man, he's good at hiding in the shadows.

"Is there something you want?" Elaine asked.

Facing her parents, Stephanie smiled. "Nope. Just thought I'll let you guys know I'm going to the movies."

"Really? To see what dear?" Elaine inquired.

"The new one with Will Smith," she answered.

"Yes I heard about that one. Mrs. Gardner, next door, seen it and told me it was great. So are you going to meet anyone there?"

"Elaine," Tom warned.

"It's all right Dad," Stephanie told him. "I planned on meeting this guy there."

"Who?"

She gulped. "He's an e-exchange student from France. Gerard Destler." Gerard Destler? Good name girl, she thought.

"Will we meet this Gerard?" Elaine continued.

Stephanie shrugged. "He's shy and I can't believe I'm doing this with him." She cast another look over to the shadows and there was no apparent sign of Erik anywhere. Erik you better be out there! "Look at the time! I better go or else I'll be late! Bye!"

By the time she got to the car, Erik was sitting patiently, his hands on his lap. "So what took you so long?" he asked innocently.

She tossed him a dirty look. "Hmm, I was waiting for you to get out here without my parents noticing you. Were you behind me when I went downstairs?"

He shook his head. "I went back to my room and climbed out the window. I thought that would be safer instead of going through your mother's radar system," he answered.

She threw her head back in frustration. "You could have told me you were doing that! God, I looked like a fool constantly checking the shadows out of the corner of my eye waiting for you."

Erik mumbled something, but she didn't catch it. "Forget it. Let's just go."

The theater wasn't as crowded as it usually was, which was good for Stephanie. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain Erik's presence to anyone except the foreign exchange student idea. Though Erik looked nothing at all like a student, but a man who escaped from the Victorian era. Then again, she reminded herself. No one might notice him because I'm with him.

They found a couple of seats in the back just in time as the previews started. They would have got there sooner if Erik didn't insist he had to have a large popcorn and a large Icee. While the upcoming preview of Colin Farrell's new movie played, Stephanie was granted the lovely tune of slurping in her ear.

From her peripheral vision, Erik practically drank the entire drink in one gulp. He let go of the straw and his hand went to his forehead. "It hurts!" he complained and gave a pained look to Stephanie.

She leaned over and whispered, "Next time don't suck it all down or you will have a major brain freeze!"

"This is no brain freeze I assure you," he hissed. "There should be a label warning people what happens!"

"Not others, Erik, only you."

He stuck his tongue out and settled into his chair. He wasn't sure what to expect from this place. He thought there would be a stage and performers like the Opera house, but there was a huge screen in front of rows of chairs. He was amazed at the different scenes that were appearing so quickly in front of his eyes. Erik wanted so badly to ask Stephanie about the phenomenon, but kept it to himself. He figured he would hound her about it later.

Erik dug into his popcorn as soon as the pain subsided. Not bad, he thought. Fluffy and crunchy. I could live off this. He went on chewing and swallowing the snack, but his throat suddenly went dry. He needed something to drink! He grabbed his Icee and to his dismay, the Cherry Coke was all gone. He frantically looked around for anything that could quench his thirst. He contemplated taking the person next to him pop, until Stephanie nudged him. She handed him a water bottle and a Told-You-So smile. Earlier she warned Erik what would happen if he ate all of the popcorn after finishing a drink.

She is so enjoying my discomfort, he thought grimly as he focused on the movie.

"That was terrific!" laughed Stephanie. "Overall, the best part has to be the dancing scene and the 'Butcher'. What was your favorite part?"

"I agree with you on that, but I liked the part when Vance stuck his head in the bull's butt. He reminded me of Raoul," Erik smirked.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh sure. In your dreams perhaps. So did you think you learned something from this?"

"Yeah I did," he answered surprisingly. "I'm glad that Albert got Allegra. He deserved her."

"Amen to that! I can see some likeness between you and Albert."

"What?"

"I'm not saying you're Albert! What I meant was you two have the same issues and such. If you be yourself then the girl will want you. But with you, you need to do that, plus change your attitude a bit and behavior."

"Whatever," he mumbled.

"Cheer up. It won't be that bad," Stephanie insisted.

She moved out and walked down the steps. Stephanie turned to say something to Erik when she accidentally ran into a very solid back.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention-" Her heart stopped pounding when she saw who it was.

"That's all right. No damage done," Dan grinned. His gray eyes lit up as they bore into hers. Stephanie wasn't sure what to do. Her body went still and her mind wouldn't work. No words would come out. All she could do was stare.

His dark eyebrows burrowed as he continue to look at Stephanie. "Hey, do I know you?"

"Um, I…" her voice trailed off. She reached out from behind and punched Erik to help her out. The Phantom smirked at her predicament and looked away. Stay calm and when I get into the car I will run him down, she thought cheerfully.

She let out a small smile. "I'm-"

"Dan! Come on we have to go to Tina's!"

A tall blonde came out of nowhere and pulled on his hand. "Let's go!" she whined. She stopped when she saw Stephanie and her lips curled into a sneer. "Dan you don't want to talk to her. Let's go or we'll be late!"

Dan went back to Stephanie with an apologetic look. "Sorry but I have to go. I think you go to my school. I'll see ya later then."

The blonde dragged Dan away as Erik began chuckling. "Well, my dear don't be so chatty."

"Thank you for saving me."

He shrugged. "Don't let that rat get to you. He noticed you didn't he?"

Stephanie's mouth opened but was unable to speak. He was right. Dan did notice her.

TBC…

How was that for a better end? Don't forget to review!