First thing's first Thanks to Sillyningengirl, KitsuneRW, and Priestess of Anubis (Love the username, btw). Truly, you have made my day. I really appreciate it. I was so worried that no one would like it but me... :)

Now, on with the show. :)

Chapter 8

Nicole made her way home, though she could barely remember the actual journey afterwards. Her thoughts were scattered, and she was driving herself mad wondering what brought about the sudden change in him. She contemplated why she so desperately wanted him to answer her questions and came to the conclusion that it was the only way she could put all the puzzle pieces together to get a complete picture of the man she believed she had fallen in love with.

She knew that, while he had indeed deceived her by pretending to be her angel of music, his doing so had enabled her to get to know him in a way few people, if any, actually had. She knew she had been given the rare opportunity to see his warm and caring soul, his passion for music, and his desire to share his knowledge and that passion. In short, she had gotten to know Erik's inner beauty, and she had fallen in love with his soul.

She decided she must make him understand this. His attempts to push her away would only strengthen her resolve. She loved his inner beauty, and discovered for the first time that day that she was happy he was a man of flesh and blood, and not an angel.

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When Nicole left, Erik attempted to stand up on his own but found that, without her assistance, he was unable to. Earlier, he had pretended his leg wasn't in as much pain as it really was so as to lessen her worry over him, and his regret in doing so was just another thing to add to his list of regrets regarding the day's unfortunate turn of events. He was going to have to depend on her for awhile just to survive, and it angered him.

Since he couldn't get up on his own, he resigned himself to lying in his bed and going over the day's crazy events in his mind. The more he thought about how things had spiraled out of control, the more he longed to see Nicole again and apologize to her for everything. His confusion over how to handle the situation started to give him a headache. His leg and shoulder still pained him as well, and so he chose to focus on the physical pain for awhile in order to avoid dealing with the emotional pain he had caused himself and her by shunning her the way he had.

Eventually he became exhausted enough that sleep finally came over him and temporarily freed him from both the physical and emotional pain. He fell into a deep sleep, but instead of the nightmares he had experienced earlier, he found himself dreaming of Nicole. In his dream, they had resumed their music lessons, but he no longer had to hide in the shadows, and their lessons were actually conducted in the family room of her château, her father looking on with a smile.

When he awoke the next morning, the dream was still with him, and the heartache he felt from sending her away renewed itself with a fury. Since he was tired of this heartache that only love seemed to inflict, he decided to double his resolve to put her out of his mind, figuring that he could never have the happiness he'd felt in his dreams anyway because monsters like him were destined to live alone. He felt she didn't deserve the pain he was certain to cause her or anyone else who had the courage to try to get close to him.

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The next morning, Nicole awoke from her own dream where she was playing duets with Erik in the basement, him on piano and her on violin. She recalled the warmth that filled her each time Erik smiled at her in her dream as they played such beautiful music together. She laid in bed for awhile, trying to recall each and every detail of her dream. After going over the dream several times in her mind, she decided she would work on Erik and persuade him that she could be very good for him. With that resolve in mind, she quickly got dressed, grabbed her violin case and some food and supplies, and headed over to the church with a bounce in her step and a song of love in her heart.

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His leg and arm were feeling better this morning, so he was able to get up and get dressed with less pain than he had the day before, all the time wondering whether he had frightened Nicole off for good. His feelings were conflicted for he longed to see her, to speak to her. At the same time, he didn't want to hurt her further so he didn't want her to come around anymore, saving them both from the inevitable heartache he was sure would be the result of any more interaction he had with her. He'd never felt so conflicted in all his life.

He noticed she was later than usual, so he figured she had indeed decided to stop coming. Just as he was preparing himself to accept her absence, he heard her calling out to him as if nothing had changed. His heart skipped a beat, and he released a breath he was unaware he'd been holding. Could she really want to see him after all that had happened and even more so, after the way he had treated her the last time he saw her?

He figured she'd probably come down to his lair to find him when he didn't show up, so he quickly debated with himself whether or not he should try to hide or just accept that she wanted to see him. By the time he made up his mind to try and hide, it was too late. She was already standing at the entrance to his lair, calling out to him.

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Nicole called out to Erik. When he didn't answer, she gently chided herself, "Of course he can't come to you, silly girl. He's injured. You must go down to him." So she made her way to the basement entrance and called to him again.

"Angel, I'm here. May I come down?" she asked. She waited for a response, but none came. "Angel?" she called out again. When he still didn't respond, she changed tactics. "Erik? I know you're down there. I would like to come down to check on you. May I enter?"

"Do as you like," Erik said finally. He braced himself for the flood of emotions that would come as soon as he saw her. When she walked down the stairs, the butterflies in Erik's stomach rose up. She had made good on her promise to return, and his bad behavior the day before hadn't frightened her off.

She was as lovely as ever, and she had a beautiful smile on her face that was directed at him. He tried to make himself remain calm, though just seeing her made his heart leap.

"You're looking better this morning," she said with a smile. "I take it you slept well?"

"Yes, very well, all things considered," he replied.

She laid down the large sack she had been carrying and put her case on the floor. Out of the sack, she pulled a loaf of bread, some fruits and cheeses, and a glass container of orange juice. She reached in again and pulled out a smaller bag, this one filled with medical supplies.

"Time to check my patient," she said. "Afterwards, you can have some breakfast, and then it will be time to begin our music lesson…if you're up to it, that is." She cocked her head to the side with an optimistic smile, hoping that he wouldn't be too tired to listen to her latest musical efforts.

"I'm perfectly fine and don't need a checkup, merci" he stated smugly. "However, breakfast sounds great." He reached for the bread, and she smacked his hand back.

"Sorry, my dear, but the checkup isn't an option. Refuse the checkup, and you're on your own for breakfast," she said sweetly. However, he saw the expression on her face and knew she meant it, so he decided not to argue. Instead, he sat down carefully on the bed and swung his hands out, palms up, as if to say "here I am, do what you will" and then dropped his hands back onto the bed.

With his silent permission, she proceeded to check on his wounds, re-cleaning and re- bandaging them. When she was done, she put the medical supplies back in the bag and fixed a plate of food for Erik. He thanked her and then waited for her to fix one for herself. They ate in silence, each recalling their dreams from the previous evening and wondering if life would allow them to make their respective dreams come true.