Chapter 5 - Shop 'Till You Drop

Nicole lazily turned the key to her apartment. What the hell had she done that to Erik? What was his reaction going to be now? He was going to hate her. He was going to call her a ridiculous skank and slap her across the face.

"What am I thinking?" she asked herself aloud. "This is Erik, not…" she was unable to finish her sentence. For as she swung open the door, there stood Erik. Nicole took a step back.

"E-Erik!" she squeaked. Erik smiled weakly at her.

"Nicole, I-"

"No no, Erik, I'm sorry. I should have never….um….you see….it was just supposed to be a kiss on the cheek….I….I…" Nicole felt herself shaking.

Erik's brow had furrowed as he took a step forward, raising his hand. Oh God, here is comes. Nicole though , squeezing her eyes shut as she braced herself for impact. Instead of a hard slap, she felt Erik's hand run gently down her cheek. Nicole's eyes snapped open.

"Why are you shaking?" he asked, caressing the back of her neck. Tears welled up in Nicole's eyes.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" she screamed, beating on Erik's chest with her fists. Erik's eyebrows knitted together even more as he took all of he blows. They were weak and did not have an intention of harming him behind them.

"Nicole, I did not do anything…" Erik said darkly. Nicole suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Erik's torso.

"Gah!" Erik let out a yelp as they tumbled backwards. He landed hard against the wall outside of Nicole's apartment and slid down it with Nicole still attached. Now Erik was shaking.

"Erm….Nicole….uh…" He was about to brace her but stopped himself.

What am I doing? He asked himself. Nicole was straddling one of his legs, her skirt resting around her waist causing Erik to catch a glance at her bare thigh.

"Please…" she whimpered, sniffling her nose after her sentence. "…Hold me." She finished. Erik felt a warm, sticky substance ooze out of his nose.

"No, no!" he said quickly, a hand flying to his nose. Nicole let go of his torso to lean back and look at him. She let out a snort of shock and flew backwards off of his lap.

"What the hell?" she yelled. Blood was oozing through Erik's hand that covered his nose. His eyes trailed down past Nicole's waist.

Nicole's expression changed from shock to annoyance.

"I bet you enjoyed that! Didn't you, you pervert!" she yelled, getting to her feet. Erik shook his head, blood splattering his cheek a little.

"No! No! Please forgive me!" he pleaded, crawling over to Nicole's feet. Nicole looked at him for a moment, then began to laugh.

"I'm just joking." She explained, smiling widely." Come one, let's get you cleaned up." She said, helping Erik to his feet. She was still shaking slightly as they walked into her apartment.

The blood from his nose had gotten on the shirt he was wearing.

"What the hell happened out there?" Kythe asked wide-eyed. She, Charo, and Ren were sitting in the living room around the television.

"Nothing at all. Erik….had…uh….I punched him in the face. Now if you'll excuse us…" Nicole said quickly, pushing Erik into the bath room. She closed the door and turned to face Erik, his T-shirt now crusty with the dry blood.

"That reminds me that we have to go find you some new clothes." Nicole said thoughtfully, walking around him to the sink. She opened the mirror only to be bombarded by tampons. Nicole's shocked and embarrassed looks told Erik that these were something personal.

"Um…they fell out….so I put them back in…but I…..I'm sorry!' he said quickly, bowing his head.

"You're going to get blood on the floor! Stand up!" Nicole scolded, shoving the tampons back into their original box. Erik obeyed and stood up, surprised to see Nicole laughing.

"I never knew the Phantom of the Opera could be so clumsy!" she exclaimed. Erik pursed his lips.

"Well the Phantom of the Opera never expected to be sent hurtling down a large hole and into the 21st century." Erik retorted loudly and waving his free hand, only he sounded ridiculous because he was holding his nose so the blood would not leak out. This made him sound somewhat similar to an enraged nerd. Nicole couldn't help but laugh. She wet a purple washcloth and held it up to Erik's face.

"Here," she said, surprised at her own gentleness. Erik removed his hand as Nicole gently wiped away the blood.

"Sorry about that out there." She said, her face turning somewhat red. "I…I just get scarred of men easily sometimes. It depends totally on the situation though." She confessed. Erik looked at her sincerely.

"You have shown me more kindness than I have ever experience in my life in just three days. I would never attempt to harm you." He said sounding very romantic in Nicole's mind eye. She blushed even more.

"Erik…I'll need to take off your mask…so I can get the remainder of the blood off." Nicole requested weakly. Erik's face went white.

"Is that entirely necessary?" he questioned shakily. Nicole shifted her eyes away quickly, then back again.

"Just move it a little then." She mumbled. Erik slowly reached up and moved the white façade ever so slightly to the side, revealing a small portion of his deformity. Nicole then finished the job with tenderness she didn't know she had.

"There," she said triumphantly, throwing the bloody wash cloth in the sink. "All better now." She said smiling. "Only you might want to wash you hands." She suggested, looking down at Erik's blood stained hand. Erik sighed, situating his mask, and turned to the sink. Only he could not remember how to turn on the faucet. Nicole laughed again and quickly turned the tap for him. She walked out of the room, her body swaying as it had done this morning. Erik smiled to himself, growing very fond of the future. Perhaps he did not want to go back.

"How about this one!" Charo piped up, holding a vibrant fuchsia polo shirt. Nicole burst into laughter while Erik scowled.

"Never…not even in the 21st century, would I be caught wearing pink." He spat, crossing his arms.

"Does he look like Raoul?" Nicole asked, still giggling. Erik couldn't help himself, he had to laugh at that one. The painful memories seemed to slowly dissolve the longer he was around Nicole and her friends.

"I think black suits him personally…" Kythe interjected. "It sort of radiates the whole 'mysterious, murderous, sexy, social recluse' thing he has going on." She pointed out. Nicole giggled. "That it does." She said turning to look at Erik who had turned a deep scarlet at the thought of being 'sexy'.

"I say we dress him up like Willy Wonka! Sunglasses and all!" Charo suggested, attempting to suppress her giggles. Nicole raised a hand.

"Though that would be extremely hot, I can't see it happening for Erik. Okay time to be serious…" she said, though she could not quite erase the picture of Erik with a little bob hairstyle out of her head.

"There are some jeans over here." Ren said pointing over to a sale rack. Nicole smiled. Kythe leaned forward past Nicole, towards Ren.

"Are there any ass-less chaps over there? I think Nicole has those in mind too." She sneered. Nicole stood up suddenly, feeling as if her face had just been lit on fire. Ren and Charo had turned red as well, though the jeer had not been directed at them. Erik simply stood there looking confused.

"What does an ass have to do with anything?" he asked. Nicole ran over and hugged him quickly before turning back to Kythe.

"Yes, we will have to look for those….but not right now." She said smoothly, smirking slightly. Kythe snickered in an evil way.

"Come on Erik, we still have to do some more shopping." Nicole said, handing Erik some of the bags with the purchased goods in them. Erik took them, sighing loudly.

"I have recently discovered that I despise shopping." Erik said under his breath, following Nicole out of Macey's (A/N: don't own that).

"But it's so much fun!" Charo said from behind him. "Oh! We should get him a bright orange shirt! It will just make his eyes pop!" she exclaimed. Erik jumped.

"I don't want my eyes bursting anytime soon…" he said worriedly, quickly stepping out of the way of a woman who was wearing an orange dress.

"Not literally, moron." Kythe drawled. Ren jabbed her hard in the ribs.

"Can we stop shopping for today? Try some more tomorrow perhaps?" Erik pleaded, his arms aching from holding the bags. Nicole spun around to face him, preparing to chew him out. As soon as her denim eyes locked on to his electric blue ones, she felt her heart crumble.

"Please?" he said. That was the icing on the cake. Nicole felt herself practically melting in her lace up, black, dominatrix style boots.

"Fine." She said, trying to sound as if she was having a great debate with herself on weather or not to leave. "But first, can we find you a pinstripe suite? I think that would look rather dashing on you."

"Oh yes, yes! " Charo squeaked. Erik bit his lip, his eyebrows crinkling in a way that resembled pouting.

"As you wish." he said, defeated. Nicole clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Here, I'll help you with those bags." She said, taking two of the huge shopping bags out of Erik's hands.

"I will too." Kythe piped, briskly walking over and taking another bag. It felt as if Erik's arms had gotten much lighter. He let out a sigh of relief, following Nicole and Charo into Big and Tall, Clothing for Men. (A/N ha ha…don't own that. I assume Erik would mostly be the 'Tall' part…not the 'Big')

After rightfully acquiring a rather handsome suite, they made their way back to the parking lot.

"I'll see you back at the house!" Nicole called as Charo, Kythe, and Ren got into Charo's silver Z. Nicole ducked into her own car, glancing over at Erik. It looked as if he has fallen fast asleep.

"You awake?" Nicole asked softly. Erik let out a little grunt. Nicole smiled, reaching over and ruffling his hair. Erik turned his head slightly and raised his eyebrow at her. Nicole smiled again, causing her eyes to turn into little slits. She revved the engine of her car and pulled quickly out of the parking garage, her tires squealing on the pavement.

"So…" Nicole began timidly.

"Yes?" Erik enquired, his hands wrapped in a death grip around the car door handle.

"Did you like shopping?" Nicole asked happily. Erik let out a dry, sardonic laugh, clearly stating his answer.

"Somebody's cranky. Maybe you should take a nap when we get back." Nicole suggested, shifting gears violently.

"Naps are for children." Erik said, tightening his grip on the door handle even more. Nicole sighed, slumping her shoulders slightly.

"Well I need a nap…I don't know about you." She mumbled.

They arrived back at Nicole's apartment in the late afternoon. Erik and Nicole trumped up the stairs, the shopping bags thrown over their shoulders in an attempt to make the travel easier. If anything, Erik felt like an ass, speaking in terms of the animal and not the state of being. They both stumbled through the door to find Kythe and Ren both strewn about the sitting room, fast asleep. Vh1's "I Love the 90's" was playing softly on the TV. Erik gawked at the dancing baby for a moment before Nicole hit the power button.

"Come on." She whispered, motioning into the hall. She peeked her head into Charo's room. The only evidence that showed Charo's existence in the room was the odd lump under the covers of her bed.

"Looks like everyone's beat." Nicole exclaimed in a hushed voice, softly closing the door to Charo's room. "Are you sure you don't want to take a nap?" Nicole asked once again. Erik felt his eyelids become heavy as she repeated her statement.

"Where will I sleep?" he asked pitifully.

"You can stay in my bed." Nicole said, ushering Erik into her room and closing the door. Erik turned scarlet.

"No, no, I couldn't take your bed from you." He opposed politely. Nicole put her hand on her hip.

"I'm not that generous. I meant we can both sleep on it." She said, beginning to take off her jacket. Erik's face turned from scarlet to white.

"I-I-I don't think…" he began, but Nicole cut him off.

"Sometimes the term 'sleeping together' can actually involve sleep." She snapped. Her sharp blue eyes cut through Erik like a razorblade. Nicole sighed.

"I'm very tired. Take it or leave it?" she badgered. Erik shifted his weight.

"Take." He said, removing his cape.

They both moved to opposite sides of the bed, feebly lifting the covers and getting in.

"Well…good night…I guess…sort of." Nicole said lamely. She and Erik were about as far away from one another as physically possible on a bed. Erik felt he might fall off if he hugged any closer to the edge.

"Er…sweet dreams…Nicole." He concluded lamely as well. Nicole sighed and clicked off the light beside her bed, leaving the room in a cool kind of dark. Before Erik knew what was happening, he felt sleep grab hold of him and pull him down into a spiral. He was out like a light.


Hope You enjoyed it!

I really appreciate your comments!

THANKS EVERBODY!

(P.S. Sorry it took so long to update. School is a bitch ;)