Disclaimer: Soon I'll own the movie and it will just be like Erik is by my side. But I don't now!

A/N: Sorry, but this is an Erik-less chapter. He will be back in the next one!

Chapter 16- A Good Day

The next morning Stephanie woke to a glorious feeling instead of a foreboding outlook. She felt more like… at peace. She grinned, recalling the events that took place last night. Erik and her spent most of the time talking about her basically. There was so much that she got off her chest and Erik was so understanding to what she was getting at. He listened when she talked, he held her when she cried, and he insisted on how beautiful she was. Stephanie was a bit embarrassed that she had this conversation with him. She told him things that she never told anyone, not even in her own diary!

She wasn't lying when she told Erik he saved her from herself. During her pre-teens, Stephanie was experiencing high mood swings and dark thoughts about everything. She never did anything physical to help her ease the pain; instead she locked her emotions inside and tortured herself with her mind. She kept reminding herself how she had no place in life and she was to be lonely for the rest of her days. This killed her slowly.

Then she went to see The Phantom of the Opera and the tale of Erik brought her back to the planet. She understood his pain and she shared it with him. He may have been a man, but he was an angel to Christine and for Stephanie, he was her Guardian Angel.

Stephanie took her time and examined herself in the mirror. She studied her eyes and for the first time she noticed how lovely that mocking green was. Many secrets seemed to be known in it, begging for those to just try and find out. It was a dark shade, an olive green to be exact, which reflected the world seen by her alone.

Then the perfect hazel. Despite the mysteriousness its twin carried, this one spoke volumes of emotions. Sadness, joy, and terror were easily readable and it just seemed to brighten a room with its light while the green held the darkest night. It was an interesting contrast the colors were, in how in a strange way they compliment each other. There was something so alluring about them that anyone could fall prey to their deepest depths.

She turned her attention to her face. Stephanie had a petite face with an oval-shaped chin. Her skin was pale, but not a sickly pale, just enough for it to glow and bring out her eyes. She touched her nose, a button shape that matched the size of her countenance. She didn't have any dimples and no freckles, but those details weren't needed like she thought. Her blood red lips were perfectly shaped that formed all of her emotions in a smile or a frown.

When she finished observing her face, Stephanie went to her hair. The reddish-brown strands of hay were stiff and held no life. A few ends were slightly curled but that was the only evidence of its liveliness. She didn't have any bangs; she allowed them to grow out at the age of five. She grabbed the ends and pulled it up to mimic a ponytail. It was better that way and she got the chance to see her proportional ears that were always kept hidden. She pulled out a band and wound it in her hair to keep it in place. It was a first at least as far as she was concerned. To top it off, she carefully tilted her head back to put in her lens.

Done, she went out and selected a pair of dress black pants and a rosy pink sweater for the day. When she was completely finished, Stephanie ventured to the kitchen for a quick breakfast before going to school. She intended to have a good day and no one was going to ruin it for her.

"Damn," Stephanie muttered as she dodged past the slow moving people to rush to her first hour class. She barely made it when the bell rang. She hurried to her seat as Mrs. Jefferson, her History teacher, started the day's lesson.

"I hope you all had fun doing those concepts," Mrs. Jefferson said as the class groaned. "Please turn them to the front."

Stephanie had hers out and turned to the person behind to get theirs. "Here freak," he told her as he handed the stack of papers over.

"And I'm one smart and good looking freak at that!" she snapped and moved forward. Whoa! she thought. Where did that come from?

The rest of the hour flew by and the boy (Kevin Turner) didn't bother Stephanie at all. She grinned to herself and headed to her next class.

For the most part, Stephanie experienced an euphoria from class to class and in the hallway. Anyone who dared stop her or call her a name got some witty comment that would make a sailor blush and Erik proud. She wasn't sure why this was happening, but she figured it had to come from the talk she and Erik had.

He gave her the strength she needed to fight back and for once Stephanie felt like she was untouchable.

When her sixth hour class was approaching, Stephanie's heart pace quickened. This was the only class she had with Dan. It was nothing thrilling, no math class isn't. When she entered the room, Stephanie glanced around and he wasn't there… yet.

"Aw, Stephanie, just the person I'm looking for!"

Mrs. Davenport went over to her as she just sat down. "I was wondering if you ever put any thought about joining the math team?"

"I did," Stephanie told her. "But I'm afraid I can't find the time for it. Something came up and until I get that done there's no way I can. Sorry."

But Mrs. Davenport smiled and nodded. "I understand. But I hope you consider joining next year. We really need you."

The bell rang and Dan was one of the last to come in. Stephanie averted her attention away from his gorgeous gray eyes and focused on her textbook. She felt him brush past her to his desk, which was a couple of seats behind her. She closed her eyes as his deep laugh filled her ears. Oh how she loved his laugh! It was so enticing to listen as much as his sonorous voice.

Class went on and Stephanie could have sworn she felt a pair of eyes on her the whole time as Mrs. Davenport spoke. She wanted so desperately to turn around to see if he was watching her. Amazingly, she kept her cool and tried to concentrate on the logarithms. But her mind wouldn't stay on the work. Instead, she thought about the movies when she and Erik bumped into him.

He actually smiled and talked to her. He recognized her from school, but not in his class, but that didn't matter to her. She still couldn't get over the tremendous feeling by finally being noticed.

When the homework was passed out, Stephanie took the advantage of catching a glimpse at Dan when she turned to pass back the worksheets.

He was so handsome. His jet-black hair was spiked up as always and he donned his soccer jersey, which he normally does if there was a game or in this instant for no apparent reason. Dan was one of the few guys that Stephanie knew that took school seriously. Sure he horse played like the others, but his classes came first before anything else.

That was why he lack girlfriends a fact that didn't seem to faze him. It seemed that Dan rather be studying than wasting his time at parties with ditzy girls. Another fact she admired was that Dan never cares about anyone else thinks.

He had a carefree attitude and does things he wants to do and not what others expect from him. Dan also does plenty of volunteer work and is always involved in almost every school function. The fact that he's rich doesn't matter to him like Stephanie. He never fitted into the rich stereotype seen on television. Dan Shaw was his own person and no one could ever control him.

"Ahem."

Stephanie blinked a few times and blushed when she realized she was gawking still. Thankfully, Dan didn't notice her drooling but as she turned she saw him wink in her direction. If she wasn't sitting down, Stephanie would have keeled over and died.

My God he winked at me! I can't wait to tell Erik! He is going to be so thrilled knowing I took my own advice.

TBC…

So a little inside of the world of Stephanie Larson. Don't forget to review!