'How could he have done this to me?' Meg questioned. It was near two a.m., three days after Angelique's Masquerade ball, and Meg hadn't yet spoken to Erik since that night. 'He was so caring before he met…before Christine found him. Then…she…and him…Why would be leave me like that?' Her mind kept wandering, and she couldn't concentrate on sleep. Finally, after weighing the options, she couldn't wait until morning to do what she thought to be right: talk to Erik. Meg slipped on a robe and made her way through the long tunnels to Erik's hideaway.

Erik didn't have a timepiece of any kind to tell him what part of the day it was. He simply relied on Meg or Marie to tell him what time it was when they brought him his meals. Of course, not much talking had been going on between him and Mme. Giry since the ball. 'Why?' he wondered. 'What have I done that would make Marie so…distant? And Meg hasn't even come down to see me since that night…' So, he didn't know why he was so tired, if it was night or morning, or anything as he sat down to finish some music.

Suddenly, Erik heard water sloshing gently behind him and the creak of wood as someone go out of the boat and stepped into his lair. Meg plopped down on the armchair that was sitting next to his desk, but she remained silent. She only looked at him and bit her lip, and at that instant Erik knew that the something upsetting Marie had to do with Meg.

"What did I do?" he asked softly, not looking at her until he sensed her looking away.

"What did you do? What did you do!" Meg finally met his gaze. "How can you not know? Did you even realize that I--me, your date-- had left the party before it even started?" Erik looked at her blankly, mouth slightly gaping at seeing this gentle girl so impassioned about something he didn't know anything about. "No…no, you didn't notice. You didn't even realize I had gone, because you were…You were with…" Biting her lip again, Meg looked around for something, but she didn't know what. She just sighed, since she couldn't bring herself to say that Erik had abandoned her at her own party for Christine. Meg got up and walked away a few paces, her back to him and her arms crossed under her chest with he head down, trying to find what to say. Finally, realizing there was nothing she could say, she looked at him with tears in her eyes as she let out the sob she had been choking back since the night at her aunt's home.

"Meg…Meg, what is it?" He stood and went to her, and she fell into his arms. As she stood sobbing into his chest, he said, "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I would never want to hurt you. You've been so nice to me, even when you were a baby…you were never scared of me." He pushed her back slightly so she could look into his unmasked face as he told her, "Meg, you can't know how much you mean to me." Her eyes filled with more tears at this and she shook her head.

"I can't know," she whispered. "Because you've never shown me how much you care."

Erik cupped her chin in his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs, his face merely inches away from hers as he whispered, "I do care."

"Prove it."

"I don't know how other than by telling you."

"Can I show you how much I care?"

"Of course…"

Before the last word left his mouth, her lips met his. She put all of her feelings toward him into the kiss, and she could only hope that he understood how much she loved him. It was the only way she could tell him, other than by saying it, and she couldn't very well do that. Meg pulled away slowly, and pressed her forehead against his, their noses brushing against each other gently. She gave him a moment to register what had just happened.

After a pause, he finally asked in a whisper, "Where were you that night?"

"Stepping aside, letting you have what you wanted. I was in the back garden all night, waiting," she whispered back, not wanting to break the silence.

"What were you waiting for?"

"I don't know…For something to happen, to find someone interesting to talk to…" She pulled back to look him in the eye. "You."

He took a step back from her and looked down, away from her in guilt. "I…um, had I known that you were feeling this way, I wouldn't have…I mean, I would have just…"

"No," she interrupted him. "I want you to be happy above all else." He looked at her as if for the first time realizing that the might care more than she let on, despite the kiss. "I'd do anything for you."

Erik's look didn't change after she said this. He just stared at her. Finally, in embarrassment, Meg fled from the chamber, leaving Erik alone in the dark once more.