Forget Me Not: Chapter 9

Sorry for the wait! Once again laziness mixed with Harry Potter and other stories (Chapter 3 of Betrayal up! Okay, okay, that was a shamless plug. I'm sorry.) I do not own POTO, but I'm thinking I'll punjab Erik and give him a taste of his own medicine! Moohahahaha! -choke-

Oh, and I'm spellcheck-less. Excuse me.

By the way, be prepared for a VERY angsty chapter. EC lovers beware. Boohahahaha! (Never thought I'D be saying that. I adore EC. Hm.)

Keep your eyes shut. He won't waste his breath on someone who's fainted. Keep your eyes SHUT.

She could hear Erik's soft breathing. Every so often, she would hear a page turning. She heard him mumble something under his breath, something about paper cuts. But she didn't dare look. Not after that...Only once had she sen him that angry with her, and it was something she'd hoped never to experience again...

"Curse you!

You lying little Dalilah!

You little viper!

Now you cannot ever be free!"

She shivered at the memory, and inwardly cursed herself.

"Are you cold, Christine?" came Erik's beautiful, yet cruel voice. "I know you are awake, there's no need to pretend."

Slowly, she let her eyes flutter open. What had she done? She saw Erik's form, now standing, lifting the veil from around the bed. Quickly, she stood up. She bolted for the exit, but was cornered by a smirking Erik.

"Why are you here, de Chagny?" he demanded, sneering. Christine shuddered, but held her ground.

"You remember." she said plainly, not bothering to answer his question.

"Yes, I do. Imagine that," Christine tried to leave, but Erik had her surrounded. "Funny, you try to make me remember. Now I do, and I hate you," Erik had to, once again, hold her against the wall. "Things didn't turn out as they planned, did they?"

Something inside Christine snapped. This wasn't the man she loved. She didn't love him. She never did!

"You monster!" she screamed. Gathering all her strength, she pushed Erik off of her. She wached in satisfaction as he stumbled backwards onto the bed. "You made me care for you. You made me nurse you back to health. You tricked me into loving you, and look where it got us! I bet you never even forgot, you sick beast! You were probably only leading me on!" And suddenly, a cruel truth dawned on her. "I hate you."

She regretted the words the moment they came out of her mouth. Erik's already angry face seemed to crumple, then grow even angrier. She bolted out of the room, racing to the gondola. She was almost done untying it when Erik grabbed her. He shoved his bony ingers into the thin skin on her sholders, causing her to cry out in pain. She expected him to scream, to throw her to the ground, to do anything. Except what he did.

"The tears I might have shed for your dark fate

Grow cold and turn to tears of hate!"

"I will not cry for any fate of yours, Monsieur Erik. Now please, if you despise me as much as you do, why do you want to keep me?"

And it was then that it happened.

He shook his head, as if he were trying to shake something from his jet black hair. And then, very quickly, he forced his lips on hers.

And what surprised her more was that she found herself returning the kiss.

But this-this was nothing like what they had shared before! The former kiss had been made up of so many different things-love, pity, anger, lust, greif, jelousy...but this was nothing like their first kiss. This kiss was fueled by-and consisted of- hate. Christine's eyes narrowed as she realized just what was happening. She jerked away from him, anger etched in every one of her features.

"Why do you taunt me like this?" she demanded. Erik stared at her, his green eyes glowing. "When I think I love you, you lash out on me. When I think I hate you, you kiss me! And it makes no sense!"

Erik took a step forward, so that their faces were mere centimetres apart.

"Christine, when I think you love me, you scream at me. When I think you hate me, you kiss me. Think about it," Christines eyes widened. "You give me false hope, you snatch it away and give it to the Viscount. You love my music, you hate me. You say I taunt you, when I live to please you! But in the end, it is you who can't make up your mind! I love you, Erik, I hate you!" he grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her face closer. "So I'm making it for you. You'll stay with me. Like you were supposed to." And he kissed her again. Christine did not return the kiss, however.

"I am married, Erik. I'm not yours to take," she said as soon as he'd had his fill. Erik shook his head.

"How is life with the Viscount, Christine? Everything you dreamed it would be?" Christine felt her cheeks flush.

"That is no business of yours."

"Then why do you want to go back?"

"Why do you wish to keep me here? Do you not hate me? Or was that a lie as well?"

Erik stared at her.

"Angel," she added, a small frown on her lips. Erik moved away from her. He walked up the stairs to the organ, where he traced the keys.

"Do not avoid the question, my angel."

He turned around to face her, his expression completely unreadable.

"I lied to you then because I loved you. But I do not lie to you now. I do, however," he turned away from her. "Love you."

Christine shook her head. She must have been hearing things. Erik turned to his left, allowing Christine to see his unmasked cheek. It was slightly flushed. She shook her head again and finished untying the gondola. She got in carefully, her back turned to Erik.

"You need to make up your mind before anything can happen between us. And so do I."