I decided to try Erik's point of view for this chapter. I hope you like it! Also, THANK YOU ALL OF MY REVIEWERS!

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.

The Girl

I stared at the spot where the girl had been standing feeling a rising tide of anger course through my body.

How dare she! I bet she had planned this – get the freak's hopes up and then…no!

She hadn't seen my face and the way she had acted suggested no ill intention. I stroked the soft petals of the rose I held in my hand, my intended gift to her, rethinking what had just happened.

Truly, the whole night was starting to feel like a dream.

I gazed around the ballroom for a few minutes, trying desperately to control my temper and hoping that she would reappear. When I could not find her, feeling crowded, I strolled away from the party and headed deeper into the house towards my private suite of rooms.

Why did I let her get so close?

Had I lost my mind? True, she seemed a vision standing there alone, leaning against the wall, completely separated from the crowd. Her chocolate curls haloed her face and draped the back of her peach dress, making her look like something ethereal – an angel. Still, it wasn't like me to be so…forward. The way I reacted!

Her touch was like a powerful aphrodisiac to my system that left me yearning for more as I entered the music room and strode over to the French doors lining the walls. I shoved one open in frustration and went to sit on the nearby piano bench. As I stared out into the summer night a cool breeze blew in and washed over my person.

I sighed and carefully lifted my full-faced mask off and gently propped it up against the keys. Tossing the rose onto the piano's lid, I buried my face in my hands, feeling the rough and twisted flesh on itsright side.

Suddenly, a painful wave of disgust enveloped me and I jerked back and swiveled around, pounding a fist into the keys. My mask clattered to the floor and I craned my head to where it had settled on the carpet. The moonlight cast the white leather's harsh profile across the floor, making it look almost monstrous.

Entranced, I gazed at the shadow for almost an hour. I watched it creep ever closer to me, a haunting reminder of the pain I had endured in my life, as the moon started to sink lower in the sky.

Then, as it crawled its way over my shoe, I snorted and shook myself back to reality. Jumping up with such force that the piano bench toppled over with a clatter, I viciously kicked the thing into a corner and stormed out onto the small balcony attached to the room.

Pounding my fist into the railing with a curse, I looked out onto the grounds. My ears picked up the muted sounds of the party, which was still going on. Looking up to the star filled sky, I whispered the simple yet troubling question,

Why?

Why did I meet her? Why in the hell did she have the effect on me that she did? And why – why was I the way I was? Why was anything the way it was?

Infuriated, I ripped a rose off the bush growing just in front of the balcony – the same bush I had rushed to just an hour or so ago to get her rose – not caring whether I tore my hand to shreds on the thorns or not.

Storming back into the room and slamming the door behind me hard enough to rattle the glass, I growled in frustration and swiped the mask up from where it had landed on the floor. Placing it firmly back on my face, I headed for the door and then stopped abruptly, just realizing how much of a dolt I was.

I knew nothing about her! I didn't even get her name, for God's sake. How was I supposed to find her? Did I even want to go looking for her?

Slowly, I reached up and touched theright side of my mask. Even if I did find her, what would happen? Did I really want to risk myself over a total stranger? These feelings I had experienced tonight – could I chalk it up simply to lust and nothing more?

I leaned my forehead against the door and pictured her wide, smiling eyes and the graceful way she held herself when we danced. No, it was not just infatuation. I had shared a connection with this girl that I had never experienced before.

With a sigh, I straightened myself and opened the door. As I strode out into the hallway and headed to my bedroom, I whispered to myself,

"Angel, we will meet again. Somehow, somewhere…" I looked at the rose I still had in my hand. "Our paths will cross once more."