Disclaimer: I don't own these characters at all, in any way.

Unbeknownst to Erik, sitting in the window of the house next door was a young girl. She was about 18 years old and stunningly beautiful. Her name was Matilda. Her father was a janitor; he cleaned some of the wealthiest homes in Paris. To help bring in money Matilda baked cakes and other things for wealthy patrons. She saw the man standing in the shadow and even without seeing his face she could tell he was in pain. It was obvious in the way he held his body, as if he was waiting for the next blow.

Matilda was highly intelligent, but because her father and her were so poor there was nothing she could do. Previously they'd lived with a rich family and cleaned there, but her father had been fired so they'd moved here. She'd become lonely without the books that had been at the mansion. A young girl lived next door, she knew this because she'd seen her return one night late. The girl also looked stricken and sad. Maybe the man on the street and the girl next door were sad for the same reason. Matilda began formulating a plan in her mind.

"Hello?" Meg heard someone whispering outside her window. "Psssst!" The voice called more urgently. Meg stood up and walked to the window. She looked out and saw a girl standing there looking at her expectantly.

Meg opened the window and before she had a chance to speak the girl began climbing through the window. Meg was so shocked she could only stare at her. When she was all the way through the girl turned around and shut the window after her.

"Hello. I'm Matilda. I live next door." She stuck out her hand, gesturing for Meg to do the same thing.

"Meg." Meg said automatically.

"Nice to meet you, Meg. It's very lonely for me here. I have no friends and no books, it's terrible!" She talked so fast Meg struggled to keep up.

"I don't either. Have any friends, that is." Meg told her.

"Oh. Well, then who was that handsome gentlemen I saw visit you earlier?" Matilda asked.

"His name is Jean Claude."

"He looked friendly." Matilda told her.

"He is, but I don't like him that way." Meg told her. For some reason Matilda was incredibly easy to talk to.

"What way?" Matilda asked with a grin.

"Any way" Meg said.

"Not at all? He seems nice enough. I thought you meant you didn't like him as a man. And that isn't something that I know anything about. I've never been in love. It seems like such a hassle. Besides that, men seem Matilda finished with a nod.

"Love is complicated." Meg told her.

"You've been in love then?" Matilda asked eagerly.

Meg hesitated, but oddly it was a relief to talk about Erik with someone. 'Yes. I am in love right now. He sent me away because he doesn't think that he could make me happy. But he's got it all mixed up. I love him and that's enough. I love him because of all those things that he thinks will end up causing me to hate him." Meg said.

"That does sound complicated. But why don't you turn it all around and be the one to pursue him? That would be fun!" Matilda told her with a grin. "Society dictates that women let the men decide, but I'm sick of doing that. Let's take the future into our own hands." Matilda finished. When Meg still looked unconvinced Matilda added, "At least then you would have tried everything possible and not given up."

Footsteps thundered up the stairs and Jean Clause burst into the room.

"Who's there?" He called out loudly and he looked around the room.

"It's just me." Matilda told him standing and walking toward him. "I'm Matilda. I live next door."

Jean Claude stared at her. "How did you get in here?" He asked rudely.

"I used my magic." She told him mischievously before turning back to Meg, "I'll come visit you again tomorrow if you'd like." And Meg nodded.

As Meg lay awake before bed she began to think that Matilda was right. She needed to turn it all around and be the one to go after the Phantom. He would see that nothing else mattered, just him. After deciding that Meg finally, finally fell into a peaceful slumber for the first time since Erik had kicked her out.

Erik heard one of his warning bells go off warning him that someone was coming. He went off in the direction to investigate, but found nothing. Slowly he walked back to the piano and sat down. As he sat down he noticed a small cupcake was sitting on the keys of the piano. Surprised by its sudden appearance he wasn't sure what to do. He picked it up gently and sniffed it. It smelled normal and looked delicious. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to eat it. He thought maybe someone was trying to poison him. He looked at again and couldn't throw it away either. Someone had snuck into his lair and left it there without him catching them. That alone garnered his admiration. No, he thought, he wouldn't throw it away, but he wouldn't eat it either. Smiling slightly to himself he placed cupcake on a table nearby.
"Are you sure this will work?" Meg asked Matilda.

"No." Matilda shrugged her shoulders. "But at least you will have tried something instead of just being sad about him."

"I think next we should make a cake and send it to him." Meg said hesitantly, she was afraid Matilda would think it was a stupid idea.

"I think that's a marvelous idea. How long do you think we should wait until we send it to him?"

"I'm not sure. What do you think? Maybe two days, that way he won't be so worried. When he's afraid someone is going to intrude on him he becomes very vigilant in guarding his home." Meg told her. Meg was really getting into Matilda's idea. She liked being the one controlling the situation. It was comforting for her to know that she could make a difference and didn't have to bow down to other people's choices.

Erik hadn't been able to bring himself to see Meg again. It was too hard for him. He wanted to be with her so much it was beyond bearing. But still he knew it was impossible. He had just sat down in a chair next to his fire when he heard another of his alarm bells. It was odd to him that he was having a second alarm in less than a week. He wasn't sure what to do about it. Part of him was tempted to stay here and see if someone appeared, but he had always responded to the alarms and he wasn't going to change his ways now.

Meg ran down one of the stairways as Matilda set off the alarms to distract Erik. She was careful not to go too quickly and harm the cake she'd baked for Erik. She quickly put it down on the piano bench and turned to leave. For one wild second she thought about staying and surprising Erik when he came back. As soon as she had the thought she knew she needed to go. Her plan would work. She just needed to give it time.

a/n: hey guys! Thanks for any reviews! I love them! So here is the next chapter and hopefully I'll be done with the next relatively soon. By the way, did I say that I really love your reviews? Seriously some of them are really funny. But Anyhoo! Please review and I will post soon I promise!