Disclaimer: NOT MINE… Leroux's and ALW…not Danielle's, sadly

Erik's Not Nice

Charlotte sat in her room impatiently waiting for Erik to show himself. She sighed thinking of the next day… practice for the next opera "Robert le Diable" it should be interesting.

She anxiously played with her hands, twitled her thumbs. She was impatient, she was like a child in a long carriage ride, in her own world. The clock struck eleven, she yawned. The candles flickered, she tensed up. She was always afraid of what was ahead of her, she was afraid of her own shadow.

That's why she was absolutely terrified when she saw the shadow of a man behind her, even though she knew it was Erik. A man she didn't know, but she took comfort in that, for some reason. She was comforted by his presence. "Come with me 'mon ange'" he beckoned hold out his gloved hand.

They stepped out of her room, into the shadows of the hallway. The Opera house was silent, every one went to bed early, by the force of Mme Giry. They walked silently in the shadows toward the stage.

He lead her toward the stage when he himself went to the orchestra pit and took a seat at the organ. "Scales" he said but she neglected to hear. She looked around. "Mademoiselle sing, now!" he said beginning to get angry.

She went through her scales. He stopped. "You breath wrong" he said from behind her. She turned around to see him, but he wasn't there. He grabed her around the waist, and pushed into her rib cage. "breathe from your diaphragm, it'll help" he whispered in her ear. He forced her to breathe.

He breathed softly down her neck, she shivered. She turned around and looked at him. Her eyes once again did not stray from his eyes. Their eyes were locked. She inhaled ever so slightly. Their lips locked. She melted into him. But she began to think.

'What about Chris? I don't know Erik… wait, what am I doing?' She pushed him away. He looked at her with anger. He ripped his mask off. "This is why!" he screamed pointing at his unmasked face. She began to cry.

"Why …wh..would…I…sniff…care?" she said. The tears streamed down her face. The tears washed away the make-up on her face and Erik gasped. She stopped crying, and was now just sniffing. The one side of her face was gorgeous, the other, was cover in the same gruesome scars that Erik's was.

She ran back to her room, silent, but as fast as she could. She ran into her room shut the door and locked it. She went to her luggage in the closet and pulled out a white porcelain mask. She looked at it and closed her eyes in disgust.

She fastened the mask onto her face. She hated the mask more than any thing in the world. She went to her small practice piano and pounded at the keys. The song lightened up and she began to sing…

I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there.
I don't know if you will listen to a humble prayer.
They tell me I am just an outcast, I shouldn't speak to you...
Still I see your face, and wonder, were you once an outcast too?

God help the outcasts, hungry from birth.
Show them the mercy they don't find on Earth.
The lost and forgotten, they look to you still.
God help the outcasts, or nobody will.

I ask for nothing, I can get by.
But I know so many less lucky than I.
God help the outcasts, the poor and downtrod.
I thought we all were the children of God.

I don't know if there's a reason;
why some are blessed, some not.
Why the few you seem to favor --
they fear us, flee us, try not to see us.

God help the outcasts, the tattered, the torn.
Seeking an answer to why they were born.
Winds of misfortune have blown them about.
You made the outcasts, don't cast them out.

The poor and unlucky, the weak and the odd.
I thought we all were the children of God.

She sniffled from crying, a single tear rolled down the porcelain mask. She heard something from the other side of the room. Her eyes caught the pure white of Erik's mask. She narrowed her eyes.

"I never knew." He said slowly. "I never knew someone could understand." She nodded and stood up slowly. She ran to his arms. He held her there, against his chest. His hand roamed through her hair. He felt the wet tears against his chest.

She felt tears fall on her head. She looked up at him, with a teary smile. They walked toward the mirror, together.

Ethalas Tuath'an- umm… I dunno, what do you think?

TheTrinityJ- This chapter was for you.

Eponine-your coments are REALLY helpful, thanks for the Help.