disclaimer: if i owned stuff, why would i come here?

sirris's sister: thanks so muh for the wonderfull reveiw!

this chapter is much longer than the other and i hope ya'll like it!

when Erik is thinking the text is like this. and for April like this.

Erik sighed deeply as he went across the hall to April's room. He looked in the make sure that his mask was in the correct place. What am I going to say when she asks about my mask? I don't want to talk about it, he said to himself.

Erik knocked on April's door. "May I come in?" he asked.

"Who are you? I won't open my door until you tell me," a young feminine voice told the stranger.

"I'm a friend of your father's and I hope to become one of yours." Erik said. There was no answer so he continued, "You may call me Erik."

April opened the door and said "Erik, why do you wish to speak to me?" She was in shock by the man's mask.

I just know she's looking at my mask. She better not bring it up, he thought.

"Err, I… oh, can I just come in?"

"Sir, are you begging?" she asked mockingly.

"If it will get me in, then yes. Now can I come in?" he begged.

"Yea. I'm sorry for that," April told Erik. She had long curly blonde hair and soft blue eyes. Erik wondered if she could comprehend what was lurking behind his porcelain mask. He hoped she could.

Erik looked across the rather large room. It was mostly black and navy blue. The bed was scarlet with black pillows on top. "Soo… Uh, you like the darker colors of the world?" he asked, trying to create a conversation with the young beauty.

April nodded and said "The dark seems so relaxing and I hate pink."

"I also like the dark colors. The light hurts when you look at it too long." He laughed. "April? Can I ask you a question?"

April nodded. "Anything"

"Can you perform? I work at the Paris Opera Populaire and we need some new talent. If you can't sing or dance you can work on costuming. Can you do any of those?"

"I can do all three. But who told you about me?" April asked.

"I have my way of finding stuff out," he said with a sexy smile. April blushed and smiled back.

"Erik, I can show you some of my work. It's a beautiful red dress that I made for my aunt's wedding. I think you would like it."

"I would love to see it!" Erik said excitedly.

"Cool, can you help me get that chest open? It's kind of hard for me to open it by myself."

"Sure."

"Thank you." April and Erik pull out the heavy wooden chest from under her bed. They open up the lid and April went rummaging through her random stuff she put in there over the years. When she got to the second layer April pulled out the dress. Erik looked at it in awe.

"It's so… perfect. Erm… I would think that it would still fit and I would love to…."

"Try it on." April said before Erik could finish. She picked up the dress and put it over his body very loosely. "I'm sorry sir, but it won't fit you," April laughed. Erik laughed also.

"Nah, I'd prefer to see it on you. It would look much more… normal."

"I'd love too. Turn around and cover your eyes."

Erik did as he was told. He longed to see her but then she might not trust him again. And he did not want to loose he friendship. A few moments latter April told him he could look. He turned around and took his hands of his face. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw the prettiest young girl-no, woman he had ever seen. "Angel, come here. Let me have a better look at you."

April casted a glare that basically said -no-you-perverted-man-you-can-see-fine-where-I-am.

"Fine. I'll just go back to Paris saying that you couldn't come because you were too self-centered to show me your work. I guess I would have traveled all the way here for nothing…" Erik turned slowly to the door.

"Wait! I just thought, that you know, were going to do… something to me… Way too much PSI last year. I really would like you to see but my father told me to be careful around older men." April explained. "Here," she walked over to Erik and turned slowly.

"Wow. You look great. Erm… would you mind if I just, err…"damn perverted thoughts. "You know, what you did not want me to look at earlier." He hesitantly asked.

"Okay, fine. Just don't touch too much," and April walked over slowly to Erik and turned. "Do you like it? I worked my ass off to try to finish it before the wedding. I hardly got any sleep!"

Erik replied "I don't like it. I love it! It's too bad that you stayed up all night to finish. You need your beauty sleep." April blushed.

"April, you said you could sing." She nodded. "Could you sing for me?"

"Why but of course, Monsieur. I'm going to sing a song my mother wrote when her dad died."

April sang "You were once
My one companion
You were all
That mattered
You were once
A friend and father
Then my world
was shattered

Wishing you were
Somehow here again
Wishing you were
Somehow near
Sometimes it seemed
If I just dreamed
somehow you would
Be here

Wishing I could
Hear your voice again
Knowing that I
Never would
Dreaming of you
Won't help me to do
All that you dreamed
I could

Passing bells
And sculpted angels
Cold and monumental
Seem, for you
The wrong companions
You were warm and gentle

Too many years
Fighting back tears
Why can't the past
Just die
Wishing you were
Somehow here again
Knowing we must
Say goodbye
Try to forgive
Teach me to live
Give me the strength
To try

No more memories
no more silent tears
No more gazing across
The wasted years
Help me say goodbye"

When April finished singing, Erik was in tears. He hated to cry because he was reminded of his childhood. April walked over to him and hugged him. April was the third person who ever hugged him in his entire life. Erik just broke down.

"April, I love you." He cried.

"Shhh…I know. I love you too. It's okay." She was stroking his hair with one hand and rubbing his back with the other. "Here, sit down, and relax." April kissed the top of his head gently. "It's going to be fine. I'm here, no one can harm you."

Erik sat down on the bed and dried his tears with his jacket, but only on the cheek that showed.

"Take off that mask. Salty water hurts the skin if it stays on to long." All Erik could do was shake his violently.

"You don't want to see…the man…behind the… mask…" Erik wept.

"Erik, I don't care what's behind it. I just don't want your skin to be irritated."

"No. I – don't want you to see my real face."

"You got a disfigurement don't you? I don't care. My younger brother had one and he was so handsome. And his was on his entire face." April explained. "Yours can't be worse than his was."

"What happened to him?"

"He died an hour after he was born… just after mom died."

"Oh, I'm sorry for the loss of him. What was his name?"

"I'll tell you when I'm cleaning your entire face. Now can you take off that damn mask?"

She sure does cuss a lot. "Fine. Just don't scream or laugh."

"I won't. You have nothing to fear. And I can't fear a friend. May I take it off?"

April really does care you. "Okay," he said after a moment.

April lifted his mask off slowly. When it was totally off she just looked at it and recoiled in shock. Then, after a second she just took her bead sheet and started wiping his marred cheek. When she was done with the cheek April started on the inside of his mask. It was obvious that he hadn't clean his mask in days causing his cheek to become irritated.

"Erik, when was the last time you washed you face and mask?"

"Err, two weeks ago…"

"You can't do that." April's voice was full of concern. "Wait here while I get some water and a clean rag to clean your face."

And with that, April was out the door to the bathroom.

Then Erik heard a scream.

sorry it took so long to write. my computer was acting up.