Some angst in this chappie! But not to worry...Jenna and Erik will finally get together soon :) Enjoy! Keep the reviews coming in. I want to know what you think of this story...I know Modern retellings aren't that popular, let me know if there is anything I can do to make it better!

Jenna spent an extraordinary amount of time getting ready for her dinner with Erik. He had told her the restaurant was very upscale, but that was as much as he would tell her. She took a nice long bath, enjoying the warm water, letting it relax her. She had already chose her outfit, she grinned when she thought about it. It was a simple, silk dress of dark blue, which really brought out the color of her eyes. It fell to her knees with an empire waist and spaghetti straps, with the skirt hanging loosely around her. It was perfect for this night. She reluctantly got out of the tub and dried off, pulling on her robe while she did her hair and makeup. Deciding to leave her hair hang loose, only pulling back the sides, she curled it and left it hang with glorious curls that many women would kill for. She topped off the look with very subtle make-up; she looked at herself in the mirror and grinned. She had to admit she looked hot. She glanced at the clock and saw she only had 10 more minutes.

She hurried to pull on her dress and shoes. She grabbed the matching wrap and hung it over her shoulders, sprizted on her favorite perfume checked her make-up snatched her handbag off the vanity and hurried downstairs.

She got the reaction she had hoped for, Erik's jaw dropped when he saw her come down the stairs. She smiled at him when he took her hand and kissed the back of it, sending the butterflies in her stomach on parade.

"You look magnificent" he breathed.

She blushed "Thank you, so do you" and he did. He was in a black suit, with a black shirt on and a crimson tie and a flesh colored mask. He looks so sexy! She thought to herself. She looped her arm with his and let him escort her out to the car and help her in before sliding in beside her.

They set off for Paris, both of them remaining silent as though they were afraid to break the silence that had set upon them. They arrived at the restaurant, Erik got out and hurried over to her side of the car and gave her his hand as she stepped out of the car. He was brave enough to wrap his arm around her waist as they walked in.

"Ah, Monsieur Deveraux, we've been expecting you. Everything is as you specified"

Erik nodded, and let the maitre'd show them back to a private room where there was champagne waiting for them. Jenna grinned as the nervous little man poured the bubbly and handed her a glass. After giving Erik his glass he scurried out of the room. Jenna smiled at Erik and looked around, the room had been lit with candles placed around the room; there was a huge bouquet of roses sitting at the table. It was very romantic; Jenna felt the butterflies in her stomach start flip-flopping. Erik raised his glass "To you" he said softly.

Jenna blushed as she took a sip of her champagne, noticing Erik never taking his eyes off her. She cleared her throat "What's the occasion?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Need there be a special occasion for me to spoil you?"

"No, of course not…" she mumbled.

"I did want to apologize for my outbursts and…reclusive behavior the past few days. I've behaved quite shamefully"

Jenna felt her heart flip flop "Erik, you never have to apologize for anything you do. I forgave you almost immediately. You never have to worry about-"

He raised a hand and cut her off "No, I was not behaving like a gentleman and that's what you deserve. My social skills are…sadly lacking. Mostly due to inexperience, I've never been a very popular person," he said dryly. "But that is no reason for me to treat you so horribly. I should not lose my temper with you, and I shouldn't hide myself away either. You deserve someone who can treat you like a queen, and not lose their temper at the drop of a hat. You deserve someone who is not a monster"

Jenna opened her mouth to protest at that point, walking over to Erik and setting her glass down before taking his hand in her own.

"No, please…let me finish" he pleaded; she nodded for him to continue. He took a breath before continuing. "But…if you would let me, I would be honored to be the one to treat you like a queen, like you deserve. I could do anything with you by my side…" he ended softly.

Jenna felt tears welling up in her eyes, he would not meet her eyes instead he stared at the floor. She took his glass out of his hand and set it on the table before tipping his face to look at her. "Erik, I would be honored. I don't want anyone else but you" she said softly, emotion nearly choking her.

He breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled him into her arms, standing on her toes to kiss him. His arms came around her, one hand sinking into her hair. They pulled away before things got out of hand. He pulled out her chair and waited for her to sit down before he sat himself. They spent the remainder of dinner chatting amiably and comfortably for the first time in months. There was no more awkwardness surrounding them.

"So this is why you came into Paris with me a few days ago"

His eyes sparkled "I can get nothing by you, can I my dear?"

She shook her head "I don't think so…well, it was lovely. Thank you"

"Anything for you my dear"

She looked down at her lap; she figured she looked a mess. Her make up mussed from her tears. "If you'll excuse me Erik, I need to use the ladies room. I'll be right back," she said, pushing her chair back and getting up. She brushed her hand against his cheek as she walked by him.

She ducked around the corner and found the bathroom; she walked in and took a few deep breaths. She checked out her hair and makeup, satisfied they were still satisfactory she walked out and was about to turn the corner to their private room when she ran into someone. She laughed softly "Forgive me…I didn't watch where I was going"

She looked up at the person she had collided with and found herself staring into the steel gray eyes of Michel Loren, her skin began to crawl as he took her hand and kissed it.

"You are forgiven, it was my fault." He said.

She pulled her hand away from his and forced a smile on her face "Well…excuse me. My companion is waiting for me"

"Companion? You are here with someone?" he asked, craning his neck to see where she was going. He was surprised to see the mysterious architect sitting there waiting for her.

"You are here with Monsieur Deveraux?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes I am. Is there a problem with that?" she asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"Not at all…I'm just surprised. I had heard that he never left his house…some type of recluse. I've heard he's deformed under that mask…" he said turning to get a better look. He looked back at her "So is he?"

"Is he what?" she exclaimed, angry now.

"Deformed"

She glared at him "I wouldn't know. It's none of my business. And it sure as hell isn't yours either!" she yelled. "Go back to your date! Get the hell out of my face you jerk!" she started to stalk off, but a hand stayed her.

"You would return to him, rather than have a drink with me?"

She turned and shoved him, sending him flying back "Get your hands off me you bastard! Stay the hell away from me! And don't you ever disrespect Erik like that again, he's the kind of man that you will only dream of becoming!" she turned and stalked off, trying to compose herself as she sat down.

Unbeknownst to her Erik had heard the entire exchange. His head was bowed in shame, his frame shaking from fury. He should have been proud for the way she handled herself, but he felt sick. He was the reason she had acted like that, she was defending his honor. You were such a fool for trying to be a normal person…you were fooling yourself to think you could have a normal life with her! He raged at himself. He saw her sit back down, her face still flushed in anger.

She saw him hunched over, not meeting her eye and she knew that he had heard the entire thing. She wanted to cry, but shook her head trying to compose herself. "Erik? Shall we go?"

He nodded shortly, throwing a wad of bills on the table before standing up. She pulled her wrap on and went over to him to take his hand, she could feel them shaking with emotion. She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. They walked out of the restaurant, with Jenna throwing Michel a look that could kill as they walked by him. Once in the car Erik stared out the window, remaining silent. Jenna knew this had to be nipped in the bud, but felt it best to wait till they got home. She slid over so she was right next to him and leaned against him, he reached out and took her hand but did not look at her.

Erik nearly bolted when they drove up to the front of the house, with Jenna hot on his heels. He went into his bedroom and slammed the door. Jenna paused outside the door for a moment before knocking and entering. Erik was leaning against the fireplace, his hands on the mantle; his head bowed his shoulders tense. She walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders "Erik? Please…"

"Please just leave me," he rasped out.

She pulled on his shoulder, that broke him. He whirled on her "Damnit! I told you to leave me!" he roared.

She wouldn't back down "No Erik! I'm not going to leave you to brood! Because all you'll do is make things worse. You'll try to run away, cut yourself off from the world again! I won't let you do that! I worked too hard to give you a new life I'm not going to let some snot nosed little man-whore destroy everything we've worked SO hard on!" she yelled back, putting her hands on her hips.

"What do you want me to say? This is only the beginning for you! Those kinds of people will never go away! You will always have to stand up for me like that! Is that what you want! Hmm? To always be defending the honor of a monster!" he yelled.

Jenna looked furious "Stop calling yourself that!" she screamed. "You are not a monster!"

"Well tell that to my mother! Or the countless people I murdered in Persia! To Jules Bernard! I destroyed him, using the power of my voice! Tell that to Christine who was terrified of me!" he shouted back. His fists clenching at his side.

"Damnit Erik, when are you going to learn that I'm not your mother or Christine! You did those things because you had no choice! I don't care what you've done! You are not a monster!" she shouted. "I'm not afraid of you! You have been nothing but wonderful to me! The only thing I'm afraid of is…" she stopped, trying to catch her breath from shouting so much.

"Go on!" he sneered, taking a menacing step towards her.

"The only thing I'm afraid of is being without you," she said looking into his golden eyes, knowing her own were filling with tears.

He took a step back, surprised by her answer. She turned away from him and for the second time of their acquaintance she began to cry. The first time was because she was injured, this time was because she thought her heart would break if he sent her away. Her heart ached for him, for all the hardships he had experienced for the terrible life he had led. She wrapped her arms around her waist and cried harder.

Erik watched in stunned silence as she collapsed onto the floor, he was speechless. He slowly walked over to her and crouched next to her before pulling her into his arms. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Please don't send me away Erik," she pleaded.

Erik held her tighter, kissing her neck "I won't, I promise" he choked out.

"I don't care what anyone else says Erik…I would gladly put all those jerks in their place for you. It doesn't matter what they think." She said softly as she pulled away to look in his eyes.

He nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. He kissed her forehead, before standing up, pulling her up with him. She wiped her eyes and groaned "I probably look a mess" she said trying to fix her hair.

"You look beautiful," he said softly.

She smiled, letting her hands drop to her sides. "Not exactly how I saw the night ending," she joked.

He smiled wryly "Nor I…"

"Well, how about I go change into something more comfortable, let you change I'll have Henri bring up some tea and we can hang out here?"

"That sounds acceptable" he replied, he didn't want to be away from her for that long, but knew it had to be done.

She turned to leave; Erik grabbed her hand and pulled her back, kissing her deeply on the lips.

"You looked wonderful tonight," he whispered.

She blushed and smiled before turning and leaving to get changed.