YAY! Two chapters in one day! I think Jack will be happy with this one! Its really long... but hey, it was worth it. But it took forever because I kept getting sidetracked. So far, I think this is my favorite chapter.It's nicely written. Have fun!

Elsa smiled and took a sigh of relief once she heard that Christine was gone. She never liked that woman.

In the room she shared with Danny and Nicole before she got sick, she was pacing back and forth, thinking. Was she falling in love with Erik? Ha! Elsa, fall in love with some one? No, that wasn't possible. Elsa didn't fall in love. She was too level headed to get herself into things like that.

But Erik had saved her life, and Nicole's. He was so heroic, not to mention handsome as hell. What would she do? She liked him, yeah, no doubt about that, but what would Danielle think of her then? Danielle had strong feelings for the Phantom as well. However, she and the Phantom did not connect like he and Elsa did. They were similar in ways that Danielle or Nicole could never understand.

She took in a deep gasp of air as a black gloved hand covered her eyes. "Guess who," a deep voice softly whispered behind her.

"Erik," she said it in a frustrated voice. She despised when people were able to sneak up on her like that. He turned her loose and stood back. Elsa turned herself around to face him. "It's not fair that you are so stealthy."

He shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You must be stealthy and silent if you are to live underneath the most popular place in Paris, or if you want to get to your box without anyone noticing."

"I understand, but why sneak up on me?"

He would have expressed something like 'Because you are cute when you are scared' but that wasn't very phantom-ish, now was it. "I really could not tell you."

She sat down beside him on her bed, looking over to him oddly. "Why are you in my room sitting on my bed?"

Indeed it was odd for Erik to just come into some place and make himself at home. Wait, this was his home. Technically, it was his room, and his bed. He owned everything in the opera house. In a reply, he grunted and said, "It's comfortable."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Elsa was imagining Danielle's expression if she were to walk in right now. She would squeal, and then tackle Erik and… do things to him, or faint, or blab on about how sexy he was. 'No, I did not just think about the phantom being sexy. I did. Damn it!' she thought to herself.

"So, why are you here again?" It's not like she wanted him out or anything, she was just wondering because he normally never came out of his underground home for anything, unless it was to save her best friend's life.

"I just wanted to come up to see how you and your friend were doing, and obviously you are both doing just fine. So I suppose I shall take my leave now. I will talk to you some other time then, Mademoiselle Elsa," he said as he rose from his seated position and went to the door. Wow… the phantom was using a door that was not a mirror or a trap door for once. Amazing.

"Wait," she rose from her position also and protested against his departure. He turned around to look at her, left eyebrow raised. "Why did you decide to come and save my friend? You weren't going to at first, but you came."

Erik was not sure how to answer this one. Was he to tell her that he loved her, and he only wanted to do it to keep from causing her pain? No, that may be a bit forward. "I know what it is like to have no one," he replied in a gentle tone, "and I didn't want you to be left with no one to listen to your problems and understand you. I know that you two love each other as sisters, and I didn't want to take that bond away from you. It is then that I would be the monster that everyone seems to think I am. I would be a monster if I had let her die after you pleaded to me to save her."

He let out a sigh after his reason then stepped forward to her, taking one of her hands in his. "I love you, Elsa. From the moment I heard you sing I've loved you. I believed that I would never love again after Christine left me. Then you came. Then you came and put a light into my world that I had never known. Even in the cold, dark and dank depths of my soul, there was a light. It just needed igniting. You gave life to that flame. I set out on watching and listening to everything you did. I wanted to come to you, to tell you, but I was afraid that you would deny me. And here I am now, doing just that, and waiting for a rejection. Elsa, I love you."

Elsa's face was blank for a long while, not knowing how to respond. Her hand was clasped in his, her tan skin contrasting very much against his pale skin, and her chocolate brown gaze was set into his eyes. He had told no lies in his spew of love. How could she reply to that? A simple 'I love you too, Erik' would not do. There had to be something deeper that she could say.

She took a deep breath before starting, "Erik, I understand you. We have so much in common it is hardly imaginable. I love you because I can relate to you. I know what it is like to be some where and have nothing and no one to talk to. I know what it is like to have so much pressure on you that you feel as if your lungs are collapsing under the weight of the world. I know how misunderstood a single human being can be by all the people in the world. Criticism is horrible, and yet we must cope with it. Whether you live your life in solitude or chose to be out in the open, you are always betrayed, always rejected. Even by your best friends some times. Being hurt is always an option, and it is normally the option that is chosen the most. I love you Erik. You could understand me more than any Nicole or Danielle could." She let out a sigh, glad that she got that out of her system.

It was the truth though. She had been so misunderstood. Things that came from her were always taken personally or twisted in some odd way that would always end up bad for her when she never really meant it that way.

A smile had crossed Erik's lips. His hand rose to slip a lock of the dark brown curls from Elsa's face, caressing her cheek as he went, each of his fingers touching so delicately against her skin. Those same digits moved under her chin, lifting it as he leaned down. Her lips met his in a soft and loving kiss. It wasn't too harsh, or too soft. Their lips met in absolute synch, conforming to one another as they kissed.

The kiss would last until breathing became a necessity and they broke away from each other, staring at one another. What had just happened? It would not be long before it registered in Elsa's head. What about Danielle? She had just kissed and admitted her love to her best friend's crush. What would she do if she ever found out? She slowly began to back away from him.

"Erik, I can't do th—"

She was cut off, for Erik had gone for another kiss, locking their lips until Elsa gently pushed at his shoulders, which is when he broke away from her again.

"I'm not sure if I can do this, Erik. I would be betraying some one whom I care about dearly."

He looked to the ground, disappointed. "So you have a lover then?"

This made Elsa laugh almost hysterically. "No! I don't have a boyfriend. Just a close friend that would not be happy with me if she found out about us."

"Then perhaps that friend doesn't need to know."

"But I can't. It would be like lying to her. I don't want to hurt her."

Of course Erik already knew that the friend was Danielle. He sighed and looked over Elsa with caring eyes before he turned to walk out the door. "I shall take my leave then."

Elsa stumbled forward to again protest against his exiting, but by the time she was even able to open her mouth, the door was shut, and she was left to stand there by herself.

Aww! How cute! -grins- but where did that phantom go this time? Arg... silly phantom and his disappearing bit. Review!