Disclaimer: I don't own PotO (if I did, would I be writing phanphics? Probably… no, definitely not!) The girls are mine and my friends' creations – they're practically just us in Phantom world.

A/N: Thanks to all you guys for the awesome reviews! ...In response, I guess I'll have to start sending back the private messages. Oh well. Anyway, I didn't really want Erik to have a big thing over the kiss. Sorry! I've got a lot more chapters to update after this, keep reading!

Erik

Ch. 14 – Investigating the Impossible

I cannot believe I allowed these girls to stay down here with me. Maybe I should put the morphine away in a cabinet for a while. What am I saying! That'll probably be my best escape now. It was bad enough when I was alone (except for Ayesha, of course) and wallowing in the fact that Christine was gone, now I have four, quatre, females living with me. Dear God, what did I do to deserve this?

THUNDER, LIGHTNING, AND AN AUTHORESS NOTE

That's why I sent them. You need to stop thinking about Christine and start learning more about the girls. You never know – they might be able (or even willing) to help you.

D'accord, whatever that was…

I disappeared into my room for what remained of the morning, but soon there was a thunderous pounding on the door. I ignored it for as long as I could, and finally (after repeated cries of 'Erik! Nous avons manger quelque chose!' and the like) I thrust the door outward.

The result was rather amusing; Josie and Kayla toppled backward and Sam grabbed onto the doorknob.

"Go—to—the—kitchen," I snarled. "I've told you I don't eat."

"You were serious?" Sam quipped, but led the way all the same.

I went back to composing, but a few minutes later I heard a thud and decided to investigate.

I slithered into the kitchen (if you could call it that) to see that they had found my underground wine cellar and freezer. It appeared they had jumped in.

I heard Kendall yell up, "A little dark down here, don't you think, Erik?"

I glanced down and cast my voice into the very walls. "Not to me, non."

There was an impatient exhale. "Of course not to you. Can you toss down my flashlight, at least?" Josie ask-yelled.

I hadn't the foggiest what a flashlight was, but I swept into the Louis-Philippe room in search of one anyway. Lying on the bed was a small plastic case with metallic buttons. Non, I thought, it sounds like some kind of lamp.

I picked up one of the bags Kayla had brought in and opened it. The material was overflowing with books and other interesting things. I laid it all out on the bed to examine.

There was another metallic case, a quill pen, all sorts of paper, clothes, and a few books. The smaller one immediately caught my eye. It was paperback, with a glossy black cover and… now that was très interessant, perhaps even unbelievable. On the front cover was a picture of a white mask, strongly reminiscent of my own, and… a rose tied with black ribbon. I shivered in confusion. How was this possible?

I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway and spun around. Kayla stared at me with a mixture of surprise and disappointment. She walked slowly to my side, looking at the mess on the bed and forcing a laugh.

"I forgot you don't know what a flashlight is," she said, smiling slightly.

She glanced up at me and saw that I was watching her with a fierce intensity. "What?"

I picked up the black book. "Explanation, s'il vous plait."

Her eyes widened. "Ohhh, snap."

You call that sufficient explanation, girl?

I wanted to shake her back to her senses, but she turned and fled the room calling for the others. They returned moments later.

"Well, that's ironic," Josie said. "Le Fantôme, et le Fantôme."

"You were the one who yelled for the flashlight," Kendall said.

"Yeah, but that's all Kayla's stuff," said Josie pointedly.

Still I waited. "Dites-moi!"

Kayla retrieved the book from my grasp and began putting everything back in the bag. "This," she held the novel in my face, "You never saw this. Not yet. Got it? Ca va?"

I glared at her. "Fine."

She sighed and tossed it onto the bed. "We found lunch without light, thanks for asking."

I moved to protest and she waved me off. "It's okay, really. And we found… something else."

I stopped halfway through exiting the room, turning to face them. "Quoi?"

The girls slid onto the bed without a word and Sam ushered me out, closing the door gently.

"Nice wine selection."

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This wasn't what it started out as. I originally continued the last chapter into them finding something to eat, but I changed my mind when I realized how long that would make it. So it's Erik's POV, finding THE NOVEL. I enjoy writing things when they just come out of nowhere (like this). Let me know what you think!