Quite a key chapter coming up here. At least, I think it is, hehe. I just hope I handled it okay. Thanks for all your reviews again. They make my day!

Chapter 10

I was very glad that the morning after the concert was the weekend and I was able to relax a little. It had been a very restless night for me, unable to keep still for very long and questions rushing through my head, refusing to give my brain a moment's peace. I hoped that Erik might make his presence known at some point, so that I could at least begin to lay my mind to rest about whether or not he had anything to do with Charlotte's present condition, but I didn't see or hear anything from him until the Sunday afternoon.

School was mostly quiet on Sundays. Many students went home for weekends, or stayed with friends. Obviously I didn't have this luxury available to me, but I reasoned that at least this way I could catch up with work without too much disturbance. I would sit in my room with Mozart or Bach playing on my walkman and steam-rolling through notes and rough essay drafts.

That was exactly what I was doing this particular Sunday afternoon. And, as seemed to happen all too frequently when I was really into my work, I received a phone call.

"You spend too much time doing work," said an exasperated Richard, after I told him I couldn't take the bus into town with him. It was a common weekend practice for students who had nothing to do on the weekend to catch a local bus into the nearest town and do some shopping or just hang around somewhere other than school. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those lucky students who had nothing to do, and I'd only managed to make the trip once before. Richard often complained about how I stayed in the house on the weekends, and each time he seemed to grow more annoyed by my refusal until I felt myself getting slightly irritated by his attitude.

"I have too much work to do… that's the problem," I pointed out, trying to sound reasonable.

"I know… I know. I just wish we had more time to spend together."

Well, I couldn't deny the truth of that. Although Richard and I got on well when we were together, we were never able to be together for a great length of time. This didn't leave much room for development in our relationship. In fact, I was quite amazed we had got as far as we had.

"Yeah," I agreed sadly, starting to feel a little guilty about our situation. "I will try and find some time, I promise."

"You always say that," he said.

Even though he tried to lighten his tone, I could detect the unmistakeable hint of sulkiness. But I didn't get the chance to reply before someone knocked on the door and Meg walked in without waiting for an invitation. She waved when she saw I was on the phone and sat on my bed, clearly wanting to talk to me about something.

"Who just walked in?" Richard asked.

"Meg," I said, pretending to annoyed by the fact. "I call you back when I've got rid of her, okay?" I laughed as Meg threw a pillow at me, and was happy to hear Richard sounded a little more cheerful too.

"Okay, bye then."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned to Meg, who was looking at me expectantly. I stared back at her.

"So?" she said finally.

"So what?"

"How are things going?"

I winced and turned to look at the pile of homework on my desk. "Not great. I have about three essays to hand in… another ton of history notes…" I stopped when I caught Meg's expression. "What?"

She laughed. "As much as I love hearing about homework, I was talking about you and Richard. How are things going with you two?"

I should have been expecting this, I told myself, and sighed. Well… it would be nice to talk to someone about it. The subject of Richard never came up between me and Erik… it was something we seemed to have silently agreed to avoid, like some taboo subject. Even thinking about discussing my relationship with Richard with Erik made me feel weird.

"Honestly? Things aren't really going anywhere."

It was Meg's turn to frown. "Why? I thought you liked him. You always get on so well."

"It's not that," I said hurriedly. "I do like him a lot. It's just…" I gestured succinctly at my desk. "I never have the time to see him… so we don't really have time to…" I struggled for an appropriate word, "… develop."

Meg shot me a quirky look. "Develop?"

"You know… from 'like' to 'love'… that sort of thing."

"Oh right," she nodded, understanding what I meant now. "Yeah, I guess that is difficult when you don't spend much time together."

This mutual understanding was followed by an uncomfortable, contemplative silence. For some reason admitting to someone that my relationship with Richard was not so perfect and straightforward as it appeared to be on the surface was difficult. It almost made me begin to wonder if there were other things wrong with the relationship that I had been studiously ignoring. Fortunately, I was saved from this particular thought path as my phone lit up and began to ring loudly.

"Is that him again?"

"Probably," I said, picking the mobile up. "Give me a sec." I pressed the button without even thinking to look at the Caller ID and put the phone up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Christine."

I felt my stomach gave a little turn at the sound of Erik's voice. Even though I had been wanting to hear from him I hadn't expected him to call at this inopportune moment and I cast a worried glance at Meg. Instantly she saw something was wrong and mouthed "who is it?" Unable to answer, I lowered my eyes.

"Hi," I said simply, knowing instinctively that I could not give anything about Erik away to Meg.

"I thought perhaps you would be interested in another music lesson," Erik said, either not picking up on my anxious tone of voice or ignoring it completely.

"Oh… really?" I asked, still not sure what I could say to him, and very conscious of Meg sitting on the bed watching me and listening intently, her curiosity no doubt at a peak on seeing me so unnerved by a mere phone call.

"Are you alright, my dear? You sound a little shaken."

Maybe if I could warn him… "No, it's just that Meg's here…"

"Yes… and?"

Taken aback by his calm approach to this knowledge, I glanced out of my window. It was early afternoon but the sky was dark with rain clouds and everything was quiet in the school grounds beyond, apart from the steady patter of raindrops on concrete. I wondered whether he was lurking in the rain somewhere, watching me through the open curtains from some unknown hiding place.

When I didn't reply, he went on calmly, "If you are interested, see if you can find a way to sneak out sometime this evening and I'll meet you at the Assembly Hall, alright?"

"Um… okay," I agreed, still a little shaky.

"Good." And without another word there was a click and the dial tone sounded. Bracing myself, I turned back to Meg. As soon as the phone was away from my ear she asked the question:

"Who was that?"

I fumbled for a suitable answer and eventually said "a friend", trying to sound casual and dismissive. But she wasn't fooled for a second and gave me a sceptical look, clearly waiting for me to give a real answer. But I still tried to work my way out of it.

"Really… it was just a friend."

"Do all your friends make you so jumpy?" she teased. "Who was it?"

I knew I was going to have to find a more substantial response. "Someone I met in Rome in the summer."

"Is this 'someone' a guy?"

Inwardly I cursed Meg and her devastatingly accurate intuition. I said nothing out loud, but Meg already knew she was right and nearly fell off the bed in her excitement at the potential scandal she had just uncovered. But as soon as I saw her expression I raised my hands.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Meg."

"Oh come on, Chris!" she said, apparently delighted by the gossip. "You meet some Italian guy and I'm supposed to believe it's nothing?"

"It is nothing," I insisted. When she still looked sceptical, I went on. "Look…I know what you're thinking, but really it's nothing like that."

"Oh, please," she said.

"He's just a friend!" I insisted desperately.

And then Meg dealt out a shocking accusation.

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself more than me."

I was so thrown by this comment that I just stared at my friend with my mouth open for a few seconds. Never would I have expected her to come out with something like this… this horrible implication that I was… that I might be…

I pointed at the door.

"Out."

It was Meg's turn to look shocked. I had never been so blunt before… not with anyone. But in all honesty she had shaken me quite badly with that allegation, not least because I was now wondering if there was any truth to it. But I refused to let my inner worries show on my face this time and just blankly told her I had work to do. She looked hurt and although I felt guilty I knew I couldn't have handled anymore of her questions without getting seriously angry with her. So I left no room for any argument and eventually she left the room in silence.

Once the door had shut behind her I rested my forehead in my palms and tried to arrange my thoughts into some sort of order. What had I said? Was I really trying to convince myself that Erik and I were just friends? It was weird to think of us as friends... even after everything. But if we weren't friends then what were we?

We certainly weren't what Meg seemed so desperate to make us. We weren't… I didn't…

By the evening I was so frantic that I felt the need to reassure myself against my friend's words, and finally stood up, collecting my music books together. It would be quite easy for me to get out of the building, even at this time. All I had to do was say I was going to the music rooms to practice, something I did all the time since it would have disturbed other people to have me practicing in my room. But instead of going to the music rooms I'd just go to the Assembly Hall, and hope I didn't get caught.

I got permission from the housemistress and made my way across the courtyard, shoulders hunched against the rain, which was falling in big drops that slipped down my collar. The school had CCTV cameras dotted around the place, but they were easy enough to avoid if you knew where they were. Once I was sure no one was watching, or could possibly see me, I changed direction from the music rooms to the Assembly Hall. I made it to the front door, already soaked through, and shifted all my things into one arm to grab the handle.

And, just as I had been suspecting, it was locked. I would have been more surprised if it wasn't at this time. When I checked my watch it was 8:30. If I was caught here at this time I was liable to be punished… probably by being confined to the boarding house except during lessons and sports. Frustrated, I blew a drop of rainwater off the end of my nose. If Erik didn't appear in ten minutes then I was going back, and to hell with my questions and worries.

Right on cue, a hand rested on my shoulder. The touch was light, but it was enough to make me jump. 'Scare Christine' seemed to be a popular hobby at the moment. I turned around and glared at Erik, who merely smiled and didn't even bother to apologise.

"I'm glad you decided to come."

"Yeah, but it's locked." I turned the handle on the door again to demonstrate and then looked at him expectantly. "So what are we going to do?"

Under the mask, I saw Erik's smile widen. He looked almost mischievous, and I was suddenly intrigued by what his intentions were. Without another word he reached forward and took a firm grip on my hand.

"This way," was all he said.

He led me around the building, and once again I braced myself against the rain. Erik, on the other hand, seemed not to notice the weather. He walked calmly, like a man with all the time in the world. Every now and again he turned to look back at me, still with that roguish grin on his exposed mouth and in spite of myself I realised that I was smiling back.

Then, guiltily, I remembered my conversation with Meg. Had she been right when she suspected there was something between me and Erik? True, nothing had happened between us in the romantic sense… but there was something about him that I just couldn't ignore. At first I had been scared at how dark and sinister he was, but at the same time I was fascinated by it.

What if that fascination had become something else entirely?

I caught his watchful eye as he looked back at me once again, and felt the colour rush to my face. When his grip on my hand tightened for just an instant, I felt a shiver go up my spine.

Erik finally stopped by a side-door to the building. I didn't understand why we were even trying, since this door was probably locked to, but then to my astonishment Erik pulled from his coat pocket a collection of files and strange looking keys. I didn't know much about breaking and entering, but I knew a lock pick when I saw one, and Erik was calmly using one on the door as I stood and watched in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked in a shrill whisper.

Erik only turned to me and calmly raised a finger to his mouth, but my worries were not staunched by his composed attitude. I looked around, just to make sure no one was watching, then took a step closer to my shadowy companion.

"You'll set off the alarm. If they find out we're doing this you'll get arrested and I'll be in serious trouble!"

I watched in shock as his shoulders moved with silent laughter. How could he possibly think this was funny?

"What did I tell you, Christine? I have no intention of getting caught. And I promise you won't be either."

"But the alarm…"

"Christine."

His stern tone of voice silenced me. I knew one more complaint was going to make him angry, so I didn't risk it. But I still held my breath as I heard the click of the lock and Erik pushed the door inwards. Once again I received no explanation, he just took my hand and led me inside, closing the door after us.

In spite of my worries about getting caught, I couldn't deny I was, in some way, excited by this little adventure. I couldn't help wondering what else Erik might have in store for me.

He opened another door, and we walked into the backstage area, which was pretty big and spacious, even with the clutter of old scenery and props. The stage area itself was enclosed in red curtains at the front and the back, so it looked like its own room. The piano was in the middle, just waiting for Erik to sit on the bench and work his magic on the keys. I couldn't wait to hear him play again.

I watched him as he moved towards the piano and then followed after him. The sound of my shoes echoed loudly in the hall beyond the red curtain, and I marvelled at how Erik could move so quietly.

I placed my slightly damp books on the piano and wiped the moisture from my forehead. Then, without thinking, I sniffed loudly. A moment later I felt a hand touch my hair.

"You're soaked," Erik said. He sounded annoyed.

I gave an embarrassed laugh, and sniffed again. "Yeah… I didn't realise it was raining so hard."

"You should take better care. I'd hate for you to catch a cold."

There was silence. I couldn't think of anything to say in the face of his open worry for my well-being. I was genuinely touched by it. Even though Erik had been coaching me through my problems over the past few weeks, he always feigned a lack of concern about almost everything. Maybe it was all part of some tough front, like so many other complicated things about him.

He surprised me again when he insisted I remove my wet school jacket, which had not held up well against the rain. For a moment I shivered from the cold that seeped through my thin shirt, until something warm and heavy was placed around my shoulders. I looked up at Erik, and realised he had removed his own coat. It was wet on the outside, but felt warm and snug on the inside, and I pulled it tight around me to make good use of the warmth.

"Thanks."

He waved aside my gratitude, and gestured for me to sit on the piano bench. I did so, with my back to the piano itself, and watched Erik flip casually through my music. I had never seen him without his heavy coat, and was shocked by how thin he was. He looked as though he had an eating disorder of some kind, with his black shirt hanging loosely over his lean frame. I wished I had the courage to say something about it, but I knew he would only get angry.

With a start I realised that he had stopped looking at the music and was watching me watch him, his grey-blue eyes fixed on my face. I flushed and lowered my gaze, sniffing again and rubbing my nose with the back of my hand. Suddenly, under his intense gaze, I remembered my original motive in coming here to meet him. It hadn't been about my lesson… I had to ask him about Charlotte. Even if I didn't want to know the answer… I had to ask.

"Erik?"

"Mmm?"

I swallowed and kept my gaze fixed on the stage floor. "Can I ask you something?"

I knew I had his full attention instantly. I heard him moving to stand close to me, but I felt too intimidated when I saw him standing over me. So I moved over on the piano bench and offered him the space beside me. At first I thought he was going to refuse, but then he lowered himself onto the seat, leaning forward slightly so he could still see my face.

"What is it?"

I swallowed again. Suddenly Erik's coat was too warm around my shoulders and my skin felt hot and sticky under my clothes.

"I wanted to ask you about the concert… about Charlotte."

There was a tense silence. I risked a look at Erik's masked face and found nothing there to indicate he was angry. In fact he seemed completely unmoved by the question. When he didn't speak I decided I should just go on.

"Her dad said that she'd been poisoned, and that maybe someone did it deliberately."

I wondered if Erik understood what I was getting at. He still wasn't talking so I guessed the only thing to do was come right out with the blunt question.

"Did you have something to do with it?"

The tension in the air was almost suffocating. I could hardly stand it, and felt my heart hammering against my ribs as the silence stretched on. A thousand images went through my head… of Erik's anger and hurt at my question, and suddenly I felt horribly guilty for even thinking he would do this. A lump began to collect in my throat.

"Do you think I had something to do with it?"

Erik's voice was perfectly level, so deliberately calm I knew he was hiding some underlying emotion, although whether it was hurt or anger I couldn't be sure. I forced myself to look him in the eyes, even as my own began to sting with tears.

"I… I don't want to think that you did," I replied. It was the truth. I didn't know if Erik had been responsible for Charlotte's illness, and I suspected that the truth might always elude me. But I knew one thing: the idea that he was involved made me sick to my stomach. I hated to think that he was capable of such a thing.

Slowly, he nodded, and a small smile crossing his exposed mouth.

"I understand why you might think that, Christine. In the past I have not exactly made myself a hero in your eyes. But I would like to think that we can put that past behind us. And… I would like to think that one day you will learn to trust me."

At these words, I felt my urgent desire to break into sobs fade. I felt as though I was seeing Erik for the first time. Even his voice sounded new to me, and more lyrical than it had ever been before. His calm and sweet understanding of my worries… and his sincere hope that I would trust him… suddenly I wanted nothing more than to trust him with all my heart. After all he had done for me, wasn't it the least he deserved?

I think he must have seen this in my eyes, because he smiled gently, and I felt myself return the smile. Perhaps he was right about putting the past behind us. I didn't want to spend all my life worry about the things Erik had done… not when there were so many things about him that fascinated me.

At that moment I saw what Erik was doing. Slowly, almost imperceptivity, he was leaning towards me, a look of fixed determination in his eyes. I felt my heart skip as I realised what he was about to do, and he must have seen my awareness, because he suddenly leaned in faster. I was only given the barest fraction of a second to turn my head away… and even then it was too late for him to stop. The nose of the mask pressed lightly against my cheekbone, and then I felt, though just barely, the brush of his inhumanely cold lips across my skin, and the warmer caress of his breath across my face.

I shivered, and even though I couldn't deny the thrill that had gone through me at the touch of Erik's lips, I was horrified that I had allowed it to happen. I was with Richard! What kind of girlfriend was I if I was allowing another man to kiss me?

His masked face was still close to mine, and I couldn't stand it. After what had just happened I couldn't even risk looking at him. Shaking and feeling sick to my stomach, I got to my feet and let Erik's coat fall away from my shoulders.

"I should go," I stammered. Hastily I put on my own, still damp jacket and picked up my music books with clumsy fingers. I wasn't even planning to say 'goodbye'… I thought it would be too dangerous to say anything. So I just turned and headed out the way we had come.

"Aren't you staying for you lesson?"

I had to stop at this, if only to turn and stare in disbelief at the masked face that looked so blank and emotionless. It was strange… because this wasn't even the usual calm he displayed in the face of my emotional outbursts. It was a rigid control that filled the air with tension… the set line of his thin, pale lips betraying some inner emotion that he was barely able to suppress.

It was too much. I turned and ran out of the hall as fast as I could. I ran all the way back to the boarding house, not caring whether anyone saw me or not and barely noticing the freezing rain that hammered down from the sky.

Once in the safe solitude of my room, I collapsed on my bed and fought the urge to sob into my pillow like a child. Why... why was Erik doing this? Why did he have to play games with me? I couldn't handle it... not more guilt and worry. It was too much.

I raised my head a little and turned, the dark crimson petals of the rose caught my eye. It was still healthy, in its little glass of water... it's petals nowspilled out, exposing the veryheart of the flower.As I stared and stared at the beauty of it, a lump collected in my stomach and in my throat.

Finally I turned my back on Erik's gift. I couldn't bear to look at it.