Disclaimer: I will never own Erik and if I did I would be one happy teen!

A/N: Thank you all lovely people for your reviews! –Huggles- Here's your very own Punjab lasso with Raoul cut out for practice!

LoverofBalto- That would be a good idea, but I have my own ideas for what Erik has to do that squeezing in Christine won't work. Trust me, this will get better. –Laughs evilly-

Chapter 22- A Lesson From Erik

After Stephanie left for school, Erik made his move. He was going to her school to do some observation. He threw on his cloak and stopped when he realized his disguise would make his position obvious. I'm not in my own world, he reminded himself.

Removing it, he then carefully slipped on the ever-present white mask and went to her parent's room. Her father had many hats so Erik selected a Who's Your Daddy? cap and pulled it on over his slick dark hair. When he finished dressing, he set out to his destination.

He followed Stephanie to school on many occasions and knew of the shortcuts to get there. Luckily for him, the building wasn't as far from the house and arrived just as the last bus pulled out. Blending in, he moved around the high schoolers to the front entrance. A stout security guard waited inside the building, watching the students pass by. Time for the Phantom.

Erik slipped through, unnoticed, and made his way to the nearest corner and hid among the shadows. Looking back, the guard didn't notice Erik and he smirked. Looks like nothing has changed in the mentality of the law. I can still move under their nose and they wouldn't even see me.

When it was clear, he moved away making sure he be close to the dark shades, blending in well. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but knew he would come to it eventually. He passed a medium-size glass showcase when a poster caught his attention. He scanned the document and found a scrimmage was to be held tomorrow in the school gym. Now that's an idea, he thought. Surely Miss Larson won't give up this opportunity.

He headed off and began exploring the school. He had to now and then dart away from the hall monitors as they made their rounds making sure no one was skipping. Erik found them to be amusing and used his ventriloquist skills to throw them off. Funny, how if one thinks they found a skipper they call for back up. After taunting them in between classes, Erik finally found what he was looking for.

He spotted Dan and a few friends heading towards the cafeteria and followed them. Thankfully, the boys sat in of a somewhat isolated place and Erik sat at the table in the corner next to a Pop Machine, close enough to be in earshot.

"So Dan, whatcha think of Laurie?"

He shrugged. "She's not my type that's for sure. I don't think I'll see her again."

"Why?" asked the same guy.

"She's too 'phony' if you ask me. She practically flaunts around and talks like Anna Nicole Smith," he explained. "All she does party, gets drunk, and makes out with random guys. I don't want that. Plus she's whiny Greg."

"I'll go out with her, but I'm dating Michelle," Greg said sadly.

"Yeah, well, you know how Laurie says she loves classic lit? I just finished this great book called The Phantom-"

"The Phantom of the Opera? Rachel made me go see the movie with her," interrupted Chris.

"Was it good?" questioned Dan. "The book was."

"It was pretty good for a musical," admitted Chris. "I thought it would be boring, but the part when the dude from Pirates of the Caribbean died was sweet. And the story line wasn't bad. Rachel was crying throughout the movie because the Phantom didn't get the girl. I guessed you could say it's more of a chick flick."

"I might see it. But apparently Laurie never read it or any of Dickens or Twain or anyone from that matter," Dan mumbled. "Why do girls do that? Why do they lie?"

No one had an answer. He sighed. "I just want to go out with a girl that actually has the same interests as me and not say that they do so they can tell their idiotic friends."

"So I assume that's all of the girls here?" smirked Greg.

Dan ignored him. "Hey, Pete you know that girl that sits in front of you in Davenport's? What's her name?"

"Um, Stephanie Larson, I think," Pete answered. "Yeah that's her name. She's awfully smart. She tutored me in math last year."

"I met her. When Laurie and I went to see Hitch she ran into me. Literally. She's cute; I never noticed that before until now. She was with this older guy. He was all in black and he wore a mask. He looked kind of like an old aristocrat from the 19th century or something."

"Maybe it's the Phantom," joked Chris. "You know because of the mask and the fact they have something in common."

"And what does that suppose to mean?" Dan demanded. "The guy probably has some kind of health problem so he has to wear one. You don't know that so don't go making jokes about it. And what did you mean by 'in common'."

"Forget it dude. Sorry, I didn't know you would take it personally. I'm sure it was a relative or someone."

"You think she's cute?" Pete asked.

"Well, uh, how about that scrimmage later? Hopefully Coach won't make us do laps if we lose to the Cougars." A light tinge of crimson crept across Dan's nose as he switched topics. His friends let him go on this one and talked about the upcoming season.

Erik heard enough that made him feel much better about the situation. It was quite obvious that Dan was attracted to Stephanie. The hard part was how he going to get the chemistry to occur? Erik made his way out after stealing a couple of brownies and milk from under the lunch lady's nose and pondered about it.

When lunch let out, Erik continued his following of Dan. He had to talk to him, that he knew, but when? And where? To his luck, Dan was going to the gym and he swiftly hid underneath the bleachers and looked around making sure they were alone. The Phantom took a deep breath and spoke:

"Dan Shaw…"

His spiked head snapped up and searched around for another person. "Is anyone here?" Dan called.

"Monsieur Shaw, I am the Phantom of the Opera."

Erik was pleased how their conversation went. Yes, Dan was a bit freaked out when he heard the mysterious voice, but Erik was able to convince him it was his subconscious speaking to him.

It was mainly about Dan's other flings. He wasn't happy with any girl he went out with, here and his old home. He explained to Erik that he wanted someone he could actually have an intellectual conversation with. Erik listened and became satisfied that all the qualities Dan wanted was pointing to Stephanie. This could be his luck!

But without Erik's influence, Dan mentioned Stephanie and how he couldn't understand why no one liked her. "She's quiet but she has this presence that can grab your attention so you can solely focus on her. She has a charming voice and her smile beats out Jennifer Aniston's!"

Erik had no clue who that was, but he figured she had some great importance to the culture of the future. There was no point in staying in the school anymore, and so Erik headed back to the house. Harper eagerly greeted him and after giving the mutt some attention, he went to his room and decided to watch a movie. He selected The Ring.

When Stephanie came home, she found Erik cowering near a corner in the fetal position rocking back and forth. His entire body was quivering and before she could ask what happened, she found the movie case.

"D-don't w-watch I-it!" he stammered. "I-I never feared death but I don't want to go like that! The phone rang when I saw it! Miss Larson I don't want to die yet! I haven't experienced life's joys and I never told Christine I love her!"

"It's just a movie!" Stephanie exclaimed. "You're not going to die in seven days so relax. My God. Is the fearful Phantom of the Opera afraid of a tape and a little girl?"

"I AM not!" He stood up abruptly, his blue eyes glaring at her for even thinking of accusing him with such a thing.

"No, you're not," she said to pacify him. "You're a much bigger man. I'm sure Raoul would have screamed like a little girl."

Erik's unmasked side turned slightly pink and averted his gaze away. "Y-yeah. Like a little girl."

"So other than the fact you scared yourself to death, how was your day?"

"Wonderful. You know, I thought about what you told me and Christine is an avid reader of the romance. I was thinking of reading some works so I would be able to talk to her about her interests."

"Aw, such devotion. I'm sure she will get a surprise," she said.

"I noticed your collection of books and you do have some that not many girls would be interested in," Erik told her. Noticing her confused expression, he went on with his meaning. "In fact, the term 'party girl' doesn't seem to care for them. It's hard for a smart guy to find a smart girl."

"It is?" she asked, growing baffled by the second. "Okay. Where did you hear this from?"

"I overheard a fellow say this to some friends."

"Were you out?"

He nodded. "And don't act surprise and all, Miss Larson. I'm not going to stay confined in one place. Like I once said, 'I'm a grown man' and therefore can take care of myself. I thought you would be interested to know that this was said by a certain Monsieur Shaw."

"WHAT?"

"Calm down! No need for shouting." He smirked. "Then I suppose you don't want to hear the rest of my discoveries?"

"Rest… rest of it? Erik what happened? Don't tell me you exposed yourself!"

"I swear I didn't. But if you're not interested in knowing what he said about you, then I can simply take this information back with me."

Here it is girl. Erik knows something juicy about Dan so take it! "Spill it Opera Ghost."

"Manners."

"Spill it please Opera Ghost."

"He thinks you're nice and that you have a terrific smile. He could listen to you speak and never get bored, which frankly I don't see how that's possible. And also he knows he can carry a worthwhile conversation with you about anything. He's apt to find the right girl, but the ones he's been with aren't all 'his type'. That blonde we saw him with at the movies, he broke up with her. Miss Larson, you have a chance."

"Erik this is huge! Really HUGE! Are you sure he said all of this? You're not lying to me just to make me feel better?"

"No!" he cried, mortified at the thought. "He did say all of this, at least to the voice in his head."

"Erik!"

"I wouldn't do any harm to him." He rolled his eyes. "I know better than that. Look, you got your chance to shine. So tomorrow is the scrimmage and you and I are going to it. Perhaps Dan will make his intentions known to you."

"This is big. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I make a total imbecile of myself? Or what if my contact pops out? Erik you didn't tell him about my mismatched eyes! Please tell me you didn't! My God! Oh my God!" Stephanie was hyperventilating and she couldn't get herself under control. Things were spinning way out of control.

"Miss Larson everything will be fine. Just take a few deep breaths and sit down. Good now and take it slowly. You mustn't let these thoughts control you or your mind. You're only going to set yourself up for failure. Now, Dan is a reasonable lad and he will accept you no matter what. You need to find the strength within and there will be nothing to it."

"How can you be so calm? This is big! B-I-G!" she cried.

"I understand, Miss Larson. Right now I'm the only one who's keeping my head intact so you need to do so as well. A wise teenager once told me about confidence and I think it's time to put all that advice to work. Don't you agree?"

She nodded. "Erik, I'm nervous."

"Everyone gets nervous. You need to fight it head on."

"My God, Erik you changed," she said in awe.

He beamed. "I know."

TBC…

Aww! Erik afraid of Samara? Say ain't so! Lol. So go ahead and comment!