The chapter you've all been waiting for! Thanks so much for the reviews, I feel loved! Even though I'm sorry you guys don't like AUs or Mary-Sues (which I am assuming is a bad thing to be). Well, aside from that, I hope you're really excited about this chapter, because you'll finally understand what's up with Aiden! Or, some of what's up with him. And if you have any questions, you can look up the words you don't know, or ask me in a review, or email me, or something. And if any of you have any knowledge about what Aiden's going to say, and he says something that's not true, please tell me so I can fix it. Because I made up the whole thing. So without further ado, I give you... Chapter 10!

Aiden chased her all the way until they reached the oak tree. Sophie realized they had left their shoes at the lake. Katie'll see them and bring them back for us, she assured herself. The two went their separate ways as they changed out of their sopping clothes and into fresh ones. Sophie grabbed her guitar, attempting to recreate the melody of Aiden's song from the day before. She heard him join in; changing the entire song with the descant he improvised. It was no longer the beautiful melody Sophie had been playing, but a lively folk-sounding tune. Sophie was surprised at how impartial Aiden was with his own songs that he could come up with such an obscure variation.

When the song ended, Sophie walked over to where Aiden was sitting on a low branch. He had already put his violin away, but Sophie merely leaned her guitar against the branch. They sat in silence for some time, until Sophie got over his musical genius. Then she summoned her courage to ask him a question, "Why did-"

But Aiden spoke at the same time, "I bet you have a lot of things to ask me."

They grinned at each other for a moment and Sophie nodded. She recalled one of her first misgivings about Aiden. "Why did you…" she stopped, unable to express her question in words. Rather, she ran her hand along her jaw line as he did two days before.

Aiden replied easily, "There was a bug crawling on your face. I brushed it off."

Sophie muttered an "Oh," and stared off into the distance, thinking. She crossed and uncrossed her ankles idly.

Aiden asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Sophie answered nervously, "You seem a lot more sociable this morning than last night."

It was Aiden's turn to look uncomfortable. "I suppose I have to tell you why you found me in this tree, then," he whispered.

Sophie's heart began beating faster. She was so curious! But she didn't dare press the matter. "If you think you should," she tried to sound casual about it.

Aiden took a breath, "I still don't know if I can trust you."

Sophie was indignant. "Aiden! Hello! The whole thing with the tree and you and me and you were falling and we pulled you up…" she sighed, calming herself. "I had my doubts about you at first. But you're okay now. If it's really that important, like if it would affect your well-being, you should tell me. Get it off your chest." Aiden didn't reply. He had his eyes closed, an inner conflict raging in his head. "You're like the phantom. You're like Erik. All this mystery about you. No one knows about your past." Question is, Sophie added silently, which one of us is Christine?

Aiden shot Sophie a look of confusion, "But that's different. I'm not like him."

"Then how are you different? Tell me!" Sophie had just about lost her patience with him.

Aiden began, "Erik's face is all distorted. That's his problem. I've got a completely different problem. Does my face look disfigured? Am I a living corpse? No. My troubles are way different than his."

Sophie kicked her foot against his, "Is that all you're going to say?"

Aiden snorted, "No, I'll tell you everything." He sighed. "Where should I start?"

Sophie giggled, "That's really cheesy. The beginning, no duh!"

Aiden laughed, his lop-sided grin making another appearance. "Fine. So you know how weird I sometimes act? What did you think was wrong with me?"

Sophie looked at her feet, "I thought you were autistic."

Aiden nodded enthusiastically, "You're very smart! So what I've got is kind of like a schizophrenic autism, though it seems kind of redundant to put it that way. Sometimes I'm normal, sometimes I'm autistic. You see, I'm not like Erik at all. Plus, I'm not the kidnap-someone-and-force-her-to-marry-me type."

Sophie thought this over. She looked up at him and asked, "So that doesn't explain why we found you in a tree."

Aiden blushed, "I couldn't stand being at the institute any longer. They never treated me like I was normal; it was like they thought I was a wild animal. The tests and experiments drove me crazy. No one ever had a mental condition like mine before, so I had extra attention. I had to run away, don't you see? Although it does seem pretty stupid now. But it's a lot better than how my life was before."

"How long were you here before we found you?"

Aiden shrugged, "A week or two, I suppose."

Sophie gasped, "Two weeks! What did you eat, for goodness' sake?"

Aiden chuckled, "Well, I did pack a backpack full of food. I had just run out when you guys came."

Sophie whistled.

The two sat in silence once more, until Katie returned from sunning herself, her boisterous self demanding full attention as she approached with the chatter of, "Here are your shoes, you two. It was pretty stupid of you to run off without them. Your feet must be all cut up from the rocks and dirt. Anyway, I had a great tanning session. I think I'll go back tomorrow too. What are you doing, Aiden? Do you want to teach me some French? That'd be fun. Come on, Aiden! Teach me?" she rambled. Her clothes were dry already, and she was ready to jump to the next thing in store for her.

Aiden laughed and hopped off the branch. "Sure, I'll teach you. Sophie, do you want to learn French with us?" Aiden asked, extending the invitation.

Sophie shook her head, inspiration for a song hitting her suddenly. "No, I'm going to go for a walk. You guys have fun!" With that, Sophie grabbed her guitar, journal, and a pencil, and walked off. In addition to writing her song, she had a lot to think about, also.

Sophie heard Katie's giggle and Aiden's laugh after a minute of walking. She smiled to herself as she pictured Katie mispronouncing a phrase and Aiden laughing because she said something that didn't make any sense.

...But is that what they're really doing! You'll have to wait to find out! Hee hee hee...

So...? Are you all going to come after me with pitchforks and torches? I've been chased by an angry mob before (It was for my friend's video project). I really hope you guys don't hate me! Regardless of that, please review!