Author Note
Thank you so much to all my awesome reviewers! And yes, for those of you who knew me as Kitariki, I have changed my pen name. Sorry for any confusion! Okay, I will not be able to update for at least a week. (at the most) So I'm sorry if this next chapter takes a while to get posted. I hope you like this one! If Erik seems clumsy, stop to think. He was just wisked away into the 21st century. He hasn't quite gotten his bearings yet...but don't worry! He'll come around!
Black Isis
Chapter 2- Enjoyable Escapades
Erik rolled over, trying to become comfortable when he felt nothing but air. He let out a yelp before tumbling off the couch. He let out a grunt as he collided with the floor, his mask making a threatening clink against the wood. Nicole sat up immediately from he slouched seating position over the table.
"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, looking over at Erik who lay sprawled across the floor.
"I, uh, fell." Erik said a little embarrassed. Nicole smiled warmly.
"You're not hurt are you?" she asked, putting her pencil down. Erik shook his head, beginning to stand.
Nicole picked her pencil back up and continued her writing. Erik studied her for a moment. Her long blonde hair had been pulled back into a clip of some kind, allowing it to cascade down her back. Her blue eyes were slightly clouded with the need for sleep and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.
"How long have I been asleep?" Erik asked, scratching the back of his head. Nicole looked over at the clock on the microwave.
She sighed. "Oh about seven or eight hours." She said nonchalantly, diligently continuing her work. Erik blinked. He looked out the large window on the opposite wall. The sky was somewhat dark, street light shining down below and some of the windows in the tall buildings were lit up with a yellowish light.
"Oh…when did I fall asleep?" he asked, unable to remember much.
Nicole sighed again, slamming her pencil down on the table.
"I don't know, Erik, most likely around one in the afternoon." She huffed. "Now if you would mind putting an end to the question and answer real quick, I would like to try and figure out how the space time continuum thing works so we can get you home, okay?" she said, smiling perkily in a sardonic fashion. Erik's eyes narrowed.
"You need sleep." He stated, walking over to her with a furrowed brow.
"No I don't need sleep." She retorted, rolling her eyes. Before she could do anything, Erik had snatched the pencil out of her hand and lifted her to her feet.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled, struggling enough to make it look convincing.
"You need to go to bed. You can work on that tomorrow. I am fine at the moment." He protested. He walked her into her room; the purple walls looked black as the sky slowly faded into night. The unmistakable scent of Nicole's perfume reached Erik's nostrils causing him to smile a little. It reminded him of apples.
"Wait, I was going to let you stay in my bed tonight…" Nicole continued, wrenching free from Erik's grip. Erik blushed, backing away.
"E-excuse me?" he said, stunned at the thought. Nicole's eyes narrowed.
"..And I would have stayed on the couch you pervert." She growled.
Erik blushed even more, scowling to hide it. "That's not what I meant. I didn't even think anyone would let me stay in their home, much less their own bed." He explained. Nicole's expression softened.
"You are a guest in mine and Charo's home, and you are to be treated as one." She affirmed, placing a hand on Erik's shoulder.
"Now, I think you would be much more comfortable…"
"No, Nicole, you will stay in you own bed. I shall take the settee." He said admirably.
"It's a little small…"
"I'll be fine."
"Let me get some sheets."
"No, no, you need to go to bed."
"But…"
"Now." He argued, pointing to Nicole's four poster bed.
She huffed, but walked over obediently.
"Goodnight….Erik" she said, somewhat annoyed.
"Goodnight Nicole." He answered teasingly before closing the door. He walked back down the hall, passing Charo's door to hear music playing. He stopped at once, leaning in close to listen. The music sounded as if it was just people talking, not really singing at all. He tried to understand what they were saying, but it was almost as if they were speaking another language. He picked up a few things but could not understand the rest. The only line he caught was "I'll take you to the Candy Shop". The rest was an incomprehensible jumble of words, spoken in a monotone voice.
He shuddered, walking away quickly wondering how anyone could listen to that. Upon approaching the couch, he realized that Nicole was quite right. Erik would be rather cramped tonight. He had not noticed as much when he had fallen asleep earlier, but now the squichy cough looked twice as small.. He walked over, making sure not to bang his knee on the coffee table like he had earlier causing him to utter nineteenth century profanity as he hopped about on one foot. He flopped down, sinking into the squishy material. He lowered himself gently onto his side, curling his knees up so he fit.
The edges of the white mask cut into the side of his face. He winced, sitting back up. He ran two fingers down the chipped porcelain face thoughtfully. He sighed. It's a little risky… he said to himself, but ended up taking the mask off anyways, remembering how Nicole said she didn't care. He lay back down, pressing the right side of his face deep into a pillow to conceal it. His eyes darted about one last time before he closed them and reluctantly fell asleep once more.
Nicole woke to the sound of Erik falling off the couch, nineteenth century profanity, Charo screaming, a porcelain clink, and a repetitive "I'm sorry" coming from Charo's side. She stretched lazily, running her hands through her hair only to realize that she desperately needed a shower. She threw back the covers and hopped out of bed quickly, ignoring the somewhat painful head rush.
She stumbled down the hallway to find Erik on his knees, his hands over his face even though his mask was on. Charo was standing behind him patting his back muttering words of comfort.
"I'm really sorry Erik, I wasn't expecting you to…not have your mask on." She ended lamely, unable to find the appropriate thing to say. Nicole rolled her eyes, walking over and pulling Erik's hands away from his face.
"Stop the monster act, okay?" she said, leaning back on her heels to pull him to his feet. He looked at her wide eyed. She smiled warmly.
"Now, I'm going to go take a shower." She informed. Charo nodded, her face a deep scarlet, and walked quickly into her room. Nicole looked back at Erik.
"It won't take long, okay? Then I have a few things I need to do. You can come if you would like." She said, letting go of Erik's hands, which she found were still tightly being held in her own.
Erik's eyes followed her as she made her way down the hall, turning right into a small room. He sat back down on the small couch. Everything was so different in the future; people were not afraid of him, women wore pants, there was no longer a need for candles, and there were strange devices that were oddly placed around the apartment. Who ever knew there would be a devise made for solely toasting toast? Though the refrigerator was quite a likeable feature. Erik's ears perked up at the sound of someone singing. He looked down the hall to attempt to locate the source of the sound.
Getting up, he silently walked down the hall, stopping in front of the closed door Nicole had disappeared behind. He pressed his ear up against it to hear Nicole singing softly. She had a low, sultry voice and was singing a slow song.
"Mother will start to worry,
Father will be pacing the floor,
So really I'd better scurry,
While maybe just a half a drink more…"
Erik turned the egg shaped iron door knob to be hit in the face by steam and the sound of rain. A steamy white room came into view. Nicole's singing became louder and Erik realized it was coming from behind a white curtain.
"Baby it's cold outside!" she sang loudly.
"Nicole?" Erik asked. Nicole poked her head out from behind the curtain, water dripping down her face and her hair soaked.
"ERIK!" she screamed. Erik jumped, falling back out of the door. He landed hard on his rear.
"Sorry!" he yelled, closing the door.
Charo ran out of her room.
"What happened?" she asked worriedly. She immediately analyzed the situation.
"You can't go in the bathroom when she's showering!" Charo exclaimed.
"Oh…" Erik said, getting up and brushing himself off. "Forgive me, I didn't know." He said, scurrying away from the door. He sat there twiddling his thumbs and starring at his feet until he heard Nicole approach him.
"Why did you come in the bathroom?" she asked calmly. Erik looked up at her reluctantly. She was wearing short gray shorts and a blue and gray striped sleeveless shirt.
"I…I heard you singing." He said, straightening up. Nicole crossed her arms. Her hair was wrapped up tightly in a white towel that reminded Erik somewhat of Nadir.
"So me being naked had nothing to do with it?" she asked sarcastically, her face red still glistening with water droplets. Erik's eyes widened.
"I didn't know you were…uh…" he stuttered. Nicole uncrossed her arms.
"Oh, I keep forgetting." She said, somewhat softer than before. "You probably need a shower yourself." She said beginning to walk away.
"But it is not raining." Erik said looking out the window. Nicole stopped.
She sighed. "Okay, follow me." She said, turning back around and grabbing Erik's hand once again. Even though his hands were icy cold, she kept feeling the need to hold them. She led him to the bathroom but could not enter when she found Erik wouldn't budge.
"What's wrong?" she asked, turning to look at him. His eyes shifted.
"Is it safe to enter?" he asked warily. Nicole let a huge smile spread across her face at his utter cuteness.
"Yeah, it's all good now." She said, pulling Erik into the still slightly steamy bathroom. He looked around wildly, his eyes finally landing on his reflection in the mirror.
"Am I really that pale?" he asked, touching his skeletal cheek. Nicole looked like a beach babe compared to Erik. She was not the tannest person in the world, but she was not as pale and sunlight deprived as he was.
"I'm afraid you are." Nicole sighed, turning and placing a hand on his cheek as well. It was so cold.
"Now, would you like me to show you how this works?" she asked, walking over and pulling back the shower curtain.
Erik's upper lip curled with distaste.
"It's a little small…I will be crushed if the walls cave in." he stated, stepping closer to study the beautifully carved plastic tiles. (A/N: ah, the wonders of sarcasm…)
Nicole sniggered. "I don't believe it will be crushing you any time soon. Now pay attention, it can be slightly tricky. Don't want you having any burns on you now." Nicole explained, showing Erik how running water actually worked these days. The whole time, she could not help but blush; for it was rather embarrassing teaching a grow man how to use a shower.
Later that day, after Erik had successfully taken a shower without being crushed by the shower walls, Charo suggested that they went out for dinner tonight since they had school tomorrow.
"Come on, let him see a little of the New York nightlife!" Charo gently persuaded. Nicole had crossed her arms and stood with her back to Charo in an attempt to amplify her disagreement.
"No. Totally out of the question!" she exclaimed. "Do you know what might happen? He isn't from our time period!" she continued. Charo rolled her eyes, in turn crossing her arms as well.
"You really think he's from 1860?" she asked sarcastically. Nicole spun around.
"No I don't think he's from 1860, I think he's from 1870! There's a difference!" Nicole yelled.
"Well he was obviously in the 1860's at one point in his life!" Charo retorted loudly. Erik strained his ears in the room next door, trying to pick up the girl's conversation. He gently tapped on the wall with his knuckles until he found a hollow spot to press his ear against. Charo was speaking, obviously upset and annoyed.
"Well aren't you the perfect little phan girl. This is probably your dream come true! I remember when you were obsessed with the play…"
"This isn't the play we're talking about! This is a real man's life!" Nicole roared back. Charo sighed, her eyes becoming large in a puppy dog like manner.
"Please? I promise nothing bad will happen." She tried again, attempting to change the subject. Nicole sighed, walking over and sitting on the bed. She rested her head in her hands, her hair falling daintily through her long fingers.
"Fine." She sighed. "But I will have to ask Erik first." She left the room walking into the one next door to find Erik with his ear pressed up against the wall and his mask barely on his face.
He stood up immediately, situating his mask and smoothing back his hair. Nicole raise an eyebrow, not only out of curiosity, but because Erik also looked mighty fine. She had lent him a large forest green T shirt her brother had accidentally left. It was almost too large. It hung low around his neck, exposing quite a deal of his collar bone. He still had his own pants on, however; black dress pants. Nicole really had to use willpower to keep from doing anything she would later regret.
"Uh Erik, would you like to go see the town tonight?" she asked weakly. Erik's face blanched slightly.
"You mean leave your apartment again? Will we ride in the horseless carriage?" he asked, obviously not a fan of Nicole's deep blue Tiburon. She smiled and shook her head.
"No I think we'll walk this time." She reassured.
End Notes
- Ha ha, after reading over the shower scene it really reminded me of the movie Elf...but when I first thought of it I had no intention of it turning out like that. I just love to sing that song in the shower. Tehe!
- I assumed Erik would be very good at evesdropping. Though he does not have any nifty hiding places in Nicoles appartment...I'm sure he'll manage. lol.
- Oh and Nicole isn't as stupid as she sounds. Ha ha!
Thank you again to all my wonderful reviewers! I'll post chapter 3 as soon as I get a chance!
