Disclaimer: I own nothing... and can't think of anything witty to add to it right now.

Marianne Brandon: I know... it's a wretch to pull him away from his normal (ultra-sexy) dress clothes and cape, but it must be done :dramatic sob: if he's going to do anything outside of Carmen's dorm.. And no worries, light blue isn't a very Phantom-ish color anyway:imagines Erik in light blue fop shirt:... icky... As for sending Erik to cook you some ramensies... no! All mine!... Just kidding, you can borrow him so long as you return him in working order.

RebbeccaTurner01: Yeah, the ½ sheep, 1/4 duck, and 1/4 human thing only applies to Carlotta's singing. Besides, Carmen is not a sheep... never will I write a character who is part sheep, unless they're the villain or I have no choice...

Avatine: No, no. Phantom buddy can make ramen. He makes ramen with super-human skill, you silly person. I smack you with my slipper... hahaha! AH:is beaten down by flying anti-slipper air squad:

Firebird Flight: Meh... I'd go back and change stuff like that, but I'm far too ADD- oh look! A chicken! As for maler not being a word... yes, I know, but I often make up my own custom words in order to get the point across without marring the humor. When I finish the story, I'll go back and edit for mistakes, though.

Songwind: Glad to hear that odd bit of humor appealed to you! I was hoping someone would find it funny!

LoneWolf2005: Gotta love the fluffy Erik bit! Ah yes... so many possibilities.

Nota Lone: You really like Raoul-bashing, don't you? I plan on using your idea a bit later in the story, it fits my plot perfectly!.. I'd love to see Raoul in an iron man competition... Just the thought of him trying in vain to pull a truck up uphill, realizing that he's tied to the wrong end and that he's actually on the downhill side, and getting squished... ah, the joy of squishing Raoul... You know another great way to squish Raoul? You tie him to the gate thing in front of Erik's lair like Erik does in the new movie, and then, instead of threatening Christine with him, you just raise up the gate... :laughs maniacally:

Solecito: I'm so glad you like! Actually, I'm from Wisconsin. Don't ask me why I'm basing my story out of Cincinnati... Particularly when there's a really awesome musical academy right in my own home town... I'm just odd like that... Anywhoo, we do have Hot Topic up here (hurrah for awesome shirts with Jack Sparrow on them!), and as for Erik liking said store, well, It's funny you should ask. You'll just have to read and find out... You're half right, I guess.

Moon Avenger: Nooooo:wails and moans: My muse! You've stolen my muse! Noo! Give him back...! I don't feed him entirely on ramens! I swear:sobs at feet and begs the return of her phriend:

Sapphiragirl: Thankies! Ah yes, a shopping we shall go, a shopping we shall go! Hi ho the dairy-o, a shopping we shall go!

TheGreatSporkWeilder: OMG! I love your name! Sporks rock! Yeah, I can't quite picture Erik in abercrombie, either... well actually I can. He's just not very happy about it. No, I figured he'd go for something a bit more conservative, but they are at the mall, simply to save poor Carmen the trouble of having to drive all over the place and pay tons of money for stupidly expensive gas... Long live the ramen noodles!

notes: Remember when I said that I was going to base most of my story on the recent movie, with a few elements from Leroux's book? Well, Erik's past is one of those elements from the book, mostly because the past Leroux gives him is far better than the one from the movie, which is way too oversimplified and boring. Yes folks, this means that Erik does know Nadir.

Chapter Seven: Cincinnati Central :in excruciatingly fake British accent: In which the Authoress makes it painfully obvious that this is, in fact, dear old Gerik we have on our hands...

The mall was busy, which made sense as it was Saturday, and even without his cloak (which Carmen had refused to let him wear in public, despite it looking insanely awesome, as it was simply too Victorian), Erik attracted a lot of odd looks. It was a rather odd sight, with Erik's formal appearance starkly contrasting with Carmen's ripped jeans, rhinestone heels, designer t-shirt, and worn leather blazer.

Carmen tried to drag Erik into Abercrombie and Fitch, but he flat out refused, insisting that he had "far too much class to be buying clothes with holes already in them". Carmen had to admit that he had a valid point, but she'd been addicted to designer clothes since middle school, and Erik wasn't going to be able to break her habit simply by making a good point. She wasn't a prep, far from it, in fact. It was just that designer clothes looked good on her... and she liked spending money!

Meanwhile, Erik, who had been appalled at the way Carmen dressed, wearing pants and such, was quickly learning that he had much to be thankful for. Every time someone went by them in one of those garishly short skirts that covered less than women's underwear had in his time, he gave in involuntary shudder and averted his gaze. Honestly, how could they wear such things!

He was thankful to learn that Carmen felt the same way he did on this matter. He would have had difficulty letting her leave the room in anything like that!

Finally, they came upon a shop that Erik thought looked somewhat sensible. The sign above the door read simply "The Gap". According to Carmen, it was a worthy establishment.

The moment they stepped inside, a bright-eyed lass with frizzy, shockingly red hair scampered over to them an gazed at them for a while with her freaky little bug-eyed stare before she finally spoke.

"Can I help you?" she said, with an unnaturally sharp and squeaky voice. It took all of Erik's self-restraint not to punjab her on the spot... not that Carmen would let him anywhere near anything vaguely resembling a punjab, of course. The girl had more sense than that... Even if she did shop in places that were occupied by irritating, curly-haired, bug-eyed freaks (any of this sounding familiar?).

Erik grew quickly accustomed to ignoring Shirley's endless ranting about sales and what not... But every once and a while, she would stop talking to stare obsessively at Erik's mask for a few minutes, which he found a bit more difficult to ignore. Finally, when he was about to snap and strangle the determined little saleswoman, Carmen announced that they'd found enough clothes and that Erik should go and try things on... He was almost surprised that Shirley didn't follow him into the men's changing room.

Inside, the changing stalls reminded Erik sorely of the shower that had bruised the back of his head on his first day here. He would never understand exactly how people could change in so small a space, but somehow, he managed to change into a pair of what Carmen called "jeans" and a black sweater. Carmen had already explained to him how twenty-first century underwear worked and gifted him with numerous pairs of "boxers"(on the condition that he was to do his own laundry, of course). He looked in the mirror. It didn't look bad, except that you could tell how thin he really was... to hide it, he added something that reminded him of a dress coat, only without the swallowtails and in an odd sort of material... leather, perhaps? No, it was too soft... He'd ask Carmen later, when he'd finished with the massive pile of clothes she'd sent him in with.

The rest of the pile went by surprisingly quickly, and when Erik was finished, he went back out, expecting to find Carmen waiting for him outside the door, but she wasn't there. Erik panicked for a moment. Much has he hated to admit it, he was reliant upon her. Without Carmen, he had nothing in this world, no home, no friends, no connection to music. The first two, he could do without, but music had been part of him since he'd first discovered it in the ranks of those gypsies so long ago.

But no... he was overreacting! Carmen hadn't left him. She was just... somewhere else. Perhaps she had resumed her shopping while waiting for him to finish?

But he looked throughout the store and couldn't find her anywhere. Now, he was getting mad. Had she really left him? Of course, he couldn't blame her, not when his own mother couldn't even bear to look at him. He should have expected this...

An annoyingly familiar voice from behind him made him jump.

"Looking for your lady-friend, sir?" asked Shirley.

"Lady-friend? She's not my-" Erik began.

"Whatever. She's in the fitting rooms right now. If you'd like, we have waiting facilities."

"Why thank you." said Erik, hoping he didn't sound as relieved as he felt. "This is the first time you've been helpful, I believe ."

Shirley didn't hear him, or at least, she didn't respond as she led him to a small room with a sofa, two armchairs, and piles of strange, thin, paper-bound books. There was another man sitting on the sofa with one such book, so Erik seated himself in an armchair on the opposite side of the room.

The man didn't seem to notice Erik's arrival, but just in case, he held a book entitled "Sports Illustrated" up so that his face was hidden behind it. He wasn't really interested in reading it, of course, but if the other man should look up, Erik didn't want to have to make up an excuse for why he was wearing a mask.

"Women, eh?" said the man suddenly, not looking up from his book. "Can't live with 'em. Can't live without 'em."

Erik's first thought was to ignore the man, but perhaps he ought to take his chances. After all, it appeared he was going to be here for some time, and he'd best learn to speak with the "commonfolk". From the pieces of conversation he'd been hearing, it seemed that most people here spoke (and swore) with a level of intelligence comparable to a common sailor.

"Most definitely." he agreed blindly, having no real opinion on that particular manner.

"Who're you waiting for? Girlfriend? Wife?"

"Friend." he corrected him. Why, he wondered, was everyone so obsessed with relationships? Did they have nothing better to speak of!

As if an answer to his unspoken prayers, Carmen emerged from the dressing rooms with a pile of clothes much smaller than the one she'd given him.

"Erik,' she said, sounding rather surprised, "You're finished already?"

Erik set down his odd little book, almost laughing at the way the man stared at his mask, his mouth agape, and went over to Carmen with the clothes he'd liked.

"Yes," he said when he was standing right behind her. " I'm finished."

As they left the room to make their purchases, Erik could have sworn he'd heard the man he'd spoken with earlier mutter "Nice friend... lucky bastard." Yes, Erik had to admit that Carmen was rather pretty, which was clearly why the man thought him "lucky", but of course, the man was utterly wrong. Erik had never been lucky.

They left The Gap and headed to a nearby store that reminded Erik of the set from the opera "Faust" with it's dark decor and randomly strewn bits of bright color. The general attitude of the place seemed to suit him far better than the last place they'd been, but the merchandise certainly did not. Most of the pieces sported some form of silver spike and looked rather like costumes from the Moulin Rouge that had been adapted for everyday wear... It wasn't too bad, he figured, just not his favorite type of style. He'd always favored the more elegant, conservative fashions. Still, he felt a bit more at home here than he had in the bright and cheery surroundings of the last shop.

The sign above the door read "Hot Topic".

"You have to have some personality in your wardrobe." Carmen explained, "Or else things would be so horribly boring."

"I see." said Erik, taking in the general effect of the place. "How odd. These clothes have writing on them..." he was looking at a shirt that said, in white letters across the chest, "Kiss me, I'm a Pirate".

"Precisely."

Erik didn't quite understand Carmen's reply. Perhaps, he decided, it was best to simply accept things like this. Carmen seemed to lose her ability to make any sense when she was shopping, so anything he asked was simply going to met with an answer that was completely incoherent.

The two were finished with their shopping several hours later. Erik was looking rather a lot like a pack horse, with at least ten bags hanging from his person, while Carmen was carrying only one... her handbag.

They were on their way out of the mall when a group of giggling girls, whom Carmen estimated to be around her own age, perhaps a bit older, went past them. It was a rather large group, so when they passed, they surrounded her and Erik on all sides. One of them, she couldn't tell which, had the audacity to slap Erik's... butt (which Carmen noticed, for the first time, was rather scrumptious) as they passed.

When they cleared, she was amused to find Erik looking positively scandalized. "...How dare they!" he stammered. "I've never felt so violated in all my life!"

"Get used to it." grinned Carmen, "You do have a rather nice arse..."

Erik turned to face her, an expression of mingled surprise and horror and his face. The visible half of his nose was wrinkled in disgust. "...How vulgar! Positively animalistic!" he exclaimed. "If people in your time have the nerve to do that to me... I shudder to think what must happen to handsome men... Are they accosted in the streets!"

"No. When you've got an ass like that, no one even bothers to look at your face." she teased.

"Hmm..." he mused, "Perhaps I like this new world of yours..."

For a second, Carmen actually thought he was serious, until she realized he was grinning. "Yeah, Erik!" she laughed, "You could be a real pimp!"

"Pimp?" repeated Erik.

"It's our way of saying... Don Juan Triumphant...You know, a womanizer!" Carmen sang the name of Erik's opera like Erik sung it in the movie when introducing it at the masquerade.

Erik was still getting over the fact that Carmen knew about his opera. He had been rather used to it being his own little secret. She was lucky that he saw his main character that way, as well, or else he might have been deeply offended by her comparison. But then again, she probably knew his views on that as well.

He climbed into the passenger seat of Carmen's pitch black car, and prepared himself to endure even more of her lamentable driving skills...

Okay, yet another chapter gone, by and we still know absolutely nothing about Carmen's past... hmm... curious, no? Perhaps it shall come in the next chapter?

Well folks, until next time...adios!... Happy reviewing!