Hello! This is a little somethingI came up with at aroundtwo in the morning! I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I take full credit for what me and my mind come up with – things such as characters, bits of exploding scenery, etc. – the rest I give due credit to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gaston Leroux, and Susan Kay.

Enigma

"Well, do you want to come?" Meg laughed.

"Meg, the party is tonight. Couldn't you have called me earlier?" I shifted my cell phone to my other ear as I tried to desperately to balance my backpack, purse, and leftovers from lunch all on my arm.

Rounding the corner of the hallway I caught sight of the closing elevator and flung myself in just in time, which earned me a few grumbled complaints from the students nearest me.

I grimaced an apology while Meg chattered on,

"If you must know, Lana, you remember her, right?"

"Um, I think." I stepped out into the parking garage and hustled over to my car, dumping my load with a grateful sigh onto the back seat.

"Well, she came down with some bug or another and I managed to wrangle her ticket from her before she went home. Anyways, Christine, this is the BIGGEST party of my entire social life here at Daniel's."

I quietly groaned at her utter peppiness as I pulled out of Oppel University's parking lot and headed towards the freeway. It was five in the afternoon, for God's sake, and Meg wasn't even fazed by eight hours of grueling work as a secretary at her job at an events company named Daniel's.

"It's a huge event – all of the big names will be there and it's the only event that employees get an actual invite to every year. It's so exciting! The party has a different theme every year – last year it was some kind of an 1800's ball and this year, guess what it is!"

"What is the grand theme this year?" I droned out and haphazardly changed lanes so I could get off at my exit. Meg wasn't going to let go of this one. I just knew it. Her one major weakness was partying and it always ended up that I was somehow convinced to come along.

Usually I didn't mind, but it was the end of the semester and earlier in the day I had to take two finals and I still had one left to take tomorrow, which meant major cramming on my part.

"Masquerade! Doesn't it sound so mysterious!" She gushed. "You've got to come. I've already picked out both of our dresses and let me tell you we are going to HAVE SO MUCH FUN!"

I held the phone away from my ear as she squealed excitedly and turned onto my street.

"Yes, we are, Meg." I pulled into the driveway in front of the split-level apartment Meg and I shared and got out, snapping my phone shut, abandoning my backpack and grabbing my purse and food.

Meg pounced on me as soon as I was through the door. She was almost fully dressed in what looked like a black, slinky, and very revealing little number that I hadn't seen before. It was probably purchased days ago in preparation and stashed away in the depths of her closet.

"Alright! Shower first and then hair."

She shooed me up the stairs and chased me into my room.

"Meg , really, why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have been home and I wouldn't have known where you were or…"

"Sheesh…I left you a message days ago on the fridge. I'm sorry if you didn't see it. And anyways, I forgot to remind you yesterday. I really was going to."

I shot her a look and huffily tossed some fresh underwear onto my bed and stormed into the bathroom. That was so Meg – completely forgetting something that just might be important information to others.

Closing the door in her face I hastily undressed and got into the shower. She bounded in a few seconds later to put on her makeup and I resignedly asked,

"Okay, where is this thing going to be held?"

"My boss's boss's mansion. You know, we rarely see the guy in the office and he never shows up for the party." She paused and then, "Which kind of defeats the purpose of having a party at his own house, you know?"

"Yes, definitely." I turned off the shower and, reaching blindly around the curtain, grabbed my towel. Stepping out with it firmly wrapped around me I scurried across the hall and shut and locked my door firmly behind me. Donning the underwear I spotted a stunning floor length peach colored gown hanging off of my closet door.

"Meg," I shouted, "where did you get this!"

"Bought it when I got the black one. It was so gorgeous I couldn't resist!"

I went over and stroked the layers of tulle and silk before reverently taking it off of its hanger and putting it on. It fit me perfectly, which was no surprise, since Meg and I were both the same size.

Opening the door I went back into the bathroom again and grabbed the nearest makeup item off of the counter. When she finished, Meg ran downstairs and came back up with two masks, one black and sparkly that covered only the eyes and another covered in peach and cream feathers and tiny crystals that, when worn, would cover the whole face.

Tossing the feathered one to me, she grinned impishly and bounded into her room, chanting,

"Fun, fun, fun, fun!"

I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I was presentable and shook my head. She was getting to me. I think I was becoming the tiniest bit excited about this party. As I cleaned up the mess of cosmetics and went back into my bedroom to search for my handbag I thought,

What the hell. I need a break form all of that studying. It's not like I haven't been cramming all week and the week before for these tests.

Grabbing a pair of heels, I carefully walked down the stairs, holding my dress up and praying I wouldn't clumsily rip it. At the bottom I sat down and put the shoes on, watching as Meg flitted about making last minute adjustments to her hair or tossing extra items into her purse. Finally, she excitedly dragged me off the stairs and into her car.

It was a twenty-minute drive to where the party was being held. It was a huge, stately looking mansion in a very ritzy neighborhood way out in the suburbs. We nervously drove past the open gates and pulled over behind the last parked car. Getting out, Meg handed me a ticket and then we both donned our masks and clacked our way down the long driveway.

The doorman graciously took our tickets and we wandered inside. The place was huge! Making our way through the crowds of people scattered around the ten or so rooms on the downstairs floor, we made our way eventually to a breathtakingly beautiful ballroom.

"Wow. It looks like we just stepped into a castle, doesn't it?" Meg whispered as we moved further into the room. As we dodged various people she spotted a group of friends from work.

Pulling me over, she introduced all of us and then she started up a rapid-fire conversation with them. After a few awkward minutes, feeling completely out of the loop, I motioned to Meg that I was going to go and then made my way over to the refreshment table that was pushed against one of the far walls.

I filled a cup with punch and then leaned up against a wall a little ways away. As people passed me I stood and took in all of the details of the room. It was a masterpiece of architecture. There was golden colored marble everywhere. Columns lined the walls and the center of focus was a main staircase that led to the upper level of the house.

Suddenly, as I craned my head to get a better view of the ceiling, a voice whispered,

"It is stunning, isn't it?"

I jumped in surprise and turned to find a man dressed in a finely tailored tux standing next to me. He was tall and, from what I could tell, had a great body under all those clothes. He was wearing a pure white mask that covered his whole face, except for his full, pouting lips, adding an elegant, streamlined look to his appearance.

"W…what?" I stammered and almost dropped my cup.

He gracefully gestured around the room.

"This was built to look similar to some of the Opera Garnier's chambers." He pointed off to the staircase. "That, especially, is an exact replica."

"It's amazing. In fact," I rambled, " this whole house…er…mansion is beautiful. The man who owns it must have really put a lot of time and effort into this place."

He gazed at me interestedly with what I noticed were oddly intense glacier blue eyes.

"Yes, I suppose he did." He was silent for a while and we watched in tense silence wile the orchestra I had completely missed on my way in started up an olden time waltz. Everyone hurriedly cleared the center of the room and a few couples tentatively broke away from the crowd and started to dance.

The man next to me gently touched my shoulder to get my attention and then, with a flourish, held out his hand.

"Would the lady care to dance?" He looked directly into my eyes and I just melted.

Smiling, I nodded and he led the way to the dance floor. As soon as we cleared the line of guests ringing the walls it was like we took off. Around and around we went. The dance seemed to drift away and all that I could focus on were his eyes.

I couldn't understand it at the time, but it was like he exuded a powerful yet graceful presence. He led and I followed as if I were floating on air. We went right on through two more dances before we stopped and he silently led me by the hand through the guests once again and out onto a quiet little vine draped terrace.

Breathless, I leaned up against the balustrade and watched as my dance partner paced up and down the length of the terrace a few times, hands firmly clasped behind his back, and then proceeded to settle himself next to me. Almost afraid to brake whatever spell was on us, I stayed silent and watched the party through the glass doors that lined the wall.

We stood there for what seemed like hours, his shoulder barley touching mine, until, suddenly, he whirled around and said,

"I would like to show you something." He took my arm and led me down some steps that were practically hidden by the foliage.

Walking almost too fast for me to keep up he led me across the lawn to a massive hedge maze in the back of the house. Heading straight in, he took us through numerous paths, twists and turns, and finally out into a small clearing with a willow in the middle of it.

Lifting the branches for me so they wouldn't snag on my dress, he directed me to a little bench set against the trunk.

We sat and he said quietly,

"This is my favorite place to come and think. I made the maze so that almost no one but me could navigate it." He crossed his legs and delicately rested his chin on his fist.

I sat there for a second, too caught up in the moment to register, and then it finally hit me.

"Wait a second! You designed this?" He turned his head towards me. "So that means you're…"

"Yes." He smiled at me and chuckled. "Does it matter?"

I stared at him openmouthed. He stared at me for a second, his eyes filled with mirth, and then he leaned back against the trunk and let out a gigantic laugh.

"Hey! What's so funny?" I crossed my arms and watched as he proceeded to grab his stomach and howl with more laughter at my outburst.

"Your…face!" He choked out. "I've gotten a lot of reactions from people when they meet me, but yours was…priceless!"

I glared daggers at him and abruptly stood.

"If this was just some kind of…of…game that you made me play for your amusement, then it's not funny!" I turned around and stomped off towards the entrance to the clearing. Getting caught in the vines, I huffed in irritation, "This is so embarrassing! How could you! And after that…that…completely magical dance! Ugh!"

I managed to disentangle myself and I ran off into the maze, not even stopping when I heard him shout,

"No! Please don't go!" And then, "Stop! You'll get lost!"

I ran blindly through the leaves, stumbling a few times and getting scratched by the twigs that stuck out from the sides. I fled until I hit a dead end and then I sunk down onto the ground, not caring about my dress, completely and utterly humiliated and lost.

Tossing my mask to the side and dropping my head into my arms I sobbed. This was a total disaster! I couldn't believe what had just happened. He seemed…different. When we danced it seemed almost unreal.

After a while I sobbed myself out and started to fall asleep from the strain I had undergone that night. As I drifted into unconsciousness, I heard someone come up to me and silently curse. Groggily, I lifted my head and there he was, looking slightly disheveled and breathing raggedly.

"Mon dieu…I am so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He paused and took in my mascara soaked mask and wounded arms and shoulders. Cursing again, he dropped to his knees and gathered me into his arms. I feebly tried to push him away, but he held on tight and settled me into his lap.

Rummaging around, he pulled out a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe my face clean.

"I…I laughed like that because I was nervous, I guess. I am a very private person. I don't generally go up to beautiful girls and talk to them." He glanced up, mystified, "The way we danced…it was like you weren't a stranger to me. We fit perfectly together." He finished cleaning the mess off of my face and met my eyes.

"And…" He smiled, "your expression was adorable."

I looked down and blushed. Before I could say anything in reply, he grabbed my mask, lifted me up and started carrying me through the maze. I shrieked in protest but he wouldn't let me go. We traveled in silence until we emerged onto the lawn.

He gently set me down and then toyed with my mask. I looked at him curiously and whispered to myself,

"You know, I don't even know your name."

Apparently he heard me and he jerked his head up in surprise and replied curtly, "Erik."

I raised an eyebrow and stared at the mask he was fingering.

"Can I see you now?"

"I'm standing right here." I laughed and pointed to his face.

"No, I mean the mask! You haven't taken it off this whole time!"

He did a peculiar thing, then. He froze and for a brief second his icy gaze turned hot with anger. It was quelled though, and he smirked.

"I was going for a 'caped crusader' image." He stalked towards me and closed the distance between us. "A gallant and mysterious enigma."

He was inches from my face now and the proximity of our bodies was driving me wild. I completely forgot the damned mask as he leaned in and our lips met.

It was so heavenly that I almost swooned but he caught me and pressed me against his body. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but we broke apart eventually and he led me by the hand back up the terrace and into the ballroom.

Stopping me by the main doorway that led further into the house he huskily purred,

"Stay here. I'll be right back. I need to go get something for you."

"Wait!" I reached after him, but he had slipped through the crowd and disappeared.

Just as suddenly as Erik had gone, Meg popped up in front of me.

"There you are! I've searched the whole house for you – and let me tell you that is not an easy task!" She grabbed my arm and started tugging me through the throngs of partygoers.

"Hold on!" I tried to pull her hands off of me, but she pushed me through a doorway and suddenly we were outside, just to the right of the front door.

Dragging me to the car she got in and I followed, worried that she would take off with out me.

We proceeded down the driveway and I gazed back at the mansion as Meg turned onto the main road, wondering if I would ever get the chance to see Erik again.