A/N: All right, folks, prepare yourselves. deep breath

I HATE YOU ALL!

Well, not ALL of you. Just the ones that DON'T REVIEW!

Dod gammit, folks! Ye've only got this and the epilogue to go, now REVIEW OR ELSE!

Bulletin: I have OFFICIALLY FLAMED EVERY PERSON who READS and does not REVIEW!

-Erik: She's mad, folks. Review, or else Hell freezes over and Satan gives free sleigh rides. (Got that from Urkle, sorry.)-

NOW!

Chapter 6—Shamed Into Solitude

Stella was typing her comments for her religious meeting when a shadow crept up behind her. Thinking it was her annoying sister, she said, "Alicia, I can't play with you right now. I'm studying."

"Stella," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. Stella turned and saw Erik, dressed dramatically with his cape thrown over his shoulders.

"Oh, Ari called saying that you would come," she said airily and turned back to her work.

She felt his hand at the base of her neck. "I came to talk to you about…"

"…last night," she finished.

Erik was taken aback. "How did you know?"

"I called Meg to see if Ari wanted to come over, and she said that she had gone with you. When the storm came, I knew that wherever you were, you would be trapped."

"Then how did you get these suspicions about us?"

"First of all, I saw you and Ari when she took off your mask, and—er— everything that followed." She stood up and turned toward him, her voice bordering on sarcasm. "Then, when you were on your way, Ari called and told me everything. Including the ever-so-passionate kiss."

Suddenly, Erik seized Stella and pulled her to him, pressing his lips down on hers. She was shocked and didn't pull away immediately, for she had never been kissed before. Yet there was something wrong—the kiss seemed almost forced, as though he were annoyed at her and had to shut her up. She knew why, and broke away.

"Erik, let me finish. Ari talked about the rooms you built for us—how my room is so delicate and hers so wild. I can tell you love me, Erik, but it is a very casual love, like a friend more than anything. I can also see that you love Ari, but you are completely open with her, and passionate. You're always happy when you're around her, and almost gloomy with me. You seem to always be missing her when she is not here. Now, I look at her, her personality and characteristics, and I look at you. You're made for one another, Erik. Please, forget about me—give your attention to Ari. She needs you more than I do."

"Stella…"

"Erik, please!" Stella looked him directly in the eyes, sad to be losing him, but knowing it was right. "Take care of her."

"I will never forget you, Angel," he breathed.

"Never."

i

Ari got out of her mom's car. She was a little early, but she loved to be early for Erik's lessons. She waved as her mom drove away, and as she was turning around to go inside, another car pulled in the driveway. She was confused, for it was Stella. She waited until her friend approached her before she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I have a lesson," Stella replied. "What about you?"

"Same here. We haven't had a double lesson since…wait, have we ever had a double lesson?"

"All right, what's Erik up to?"

"Come inside, girls," came his voice from the door. They turned and saw him standing there, a half-guilty look on his face. "I'll explain." Trading mystified glances, the girls obeyed.

Once they were in the music room, Erik sat on his organ bench, facing them. Suddenly, Stella knew why he wanted them there, together, with him. He looked at her, and she nodded.

"I hate to be the argument between the two of you," he began, "but Stella has made a decision that I want to check with you, Ari."

"What?" Ari asked, still confused.

"Ari, now I am here with you—no second thoughts, I've decided. You and Erik were meant to be together."

The older girl was surprised. "What are you saying?"

"'If you love someone, set them free,'" Stella quoted. "I love Erik, and I love you as a friend as well, so I am setting both of you free by giving you to each other."

Ari was stunned. She looked at Erik, thinking that he must have had something to do with this, but he shook his head at her.

"She did it alone," said he. Ari turned to Stella and suddenly hugged her.

"You have no idea how much this means to me," she whispered, her throat tight.

"I can see how much it means," Stella replied, embracing her friend fiercely. "He needs you, Ari."

Ari turned out of their friendly embrace and into a more ardent one with Erik. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her. She took his mask away gently, and he did not protest. She felt like Christine Daaé, and she loved it.

After a moment, Erik pulled back with a strangled laugh. He released her and turned to Stella. He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her forehead, smiling at her. He quoted a line from Edgar Allen Poe's "A Dream Within a Dream."

"Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow."

His fingers traced her cheekbone. "Thank you, Stella, for everything." He went back to the organ and said, "Shall we begin our lesson?"

The two friends grinned at each other, and Stella made a request.

"Erik, I told you that I am going away soon. I do not think that we will all be together again for quite some time, so can we sing 'Think of Me'?" He nodded and began to play, and they sang the glorious harmonies that he had written.

"Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye!

Remember me, once in a while; please promise me you'll try…"