I know I'm a day late in posting this, but don't blame me. My computer went all kinds of crazy and I lost everything, so I had to rewrite this chapter. An update on the fanart contest, I am extending the deadline to May 15: my first day as a graduate from high school. Man, it feels really weird - well, typing - that. Anyways, these thoughts aside, please enter as many works as you want. I am genuinely curious as to what my readers can come up with :) shoutouts to Akia Calene, RaeDawnxx, The Dark Lady55, Angel Of Music101, CrazyGlitch, PhantomGirl17, WolfetteKurenai, RozaLove, onyx faye, unstoppableuntiltheend, and vxnityprince. Enjoy!
Chapter 22
I ended up explaining Marvel and DC to him after about five minutes of his incessant stare, and needless to say, he was super confused.
"So, let me get this straight. Thor, the god of thunder from Norse mythology, is part of a group that saves the world from extraterrestrial beings?"
"Yup. The Avengers are pretty awesome. DC can't compare to Marvel in my book. In Marvel, you rarely see anyone wear a mask or something like that. In DC, they're all trying to hide their identities.
He jumped up out of the seat he had taken earlier and started pacing. "That's another thing. They would wear masks just to save people?"
I nodded. "To protect their identities."
He shook his head. "Why on God's green earth would they want to subject themselves to that kind of torture willingly? I had no choice in the matter, but they do. Why keep the fact that you are doing good secret? There is nothing logical in that decision."
I chuckled. "To tell you the truth, there isn't much logic left in my time. But I completely agree. There's no use in hiding your face."
"There is if you have my problem."
I stood in front of him, stopping his pacing. "I'm gonna stop you right there, ghostie. There is absolutely no reason for you to have to cover your face. People in this time may not like it, but let me tell you, there are plenty of girls in my time that definitely think otherwise." Myself included… I added mentally.
He scoffed. "Excuse me if that is a little hard to believe."
"Well," I said as he walked passed me. "Why don't you show me? Then it would be easier to believe."
He stopped dead in his tracks. "Excuse me?"
"You can show me your face. I don't want you believing that you are unattractive and people don't want to hang out with you because of that. I mean, I've basically seen all of the variations of what your face may look like. There was even one where you didn't have a deformity, but he made up for it by his creepiness and being raised by telepathic rats. He is forever known as the Rat Phantom. We never speak of the Rat Phantom." I said, shuddering at the thought. Man, am I glad that I didn't end up in that storyline. I would be in so much trouble…
He sighed. "Are all girls in your time this scatterbrained?"
I shrugged. "Most are even more so. You're lucky you ended up with me. Even with my obsessions, I'm considered normal, most of the time. But look at me, I'm getting off the subject again. Seriously, your face wouldn't bother me at all. Trust me, I've seen worse." Awkward silence. "Then again, you don't have to show me if you don't want to-"
"I'll do it."
I mean, if you're uncomfortable with sho-wait, what?"
He turned to face me. "I said I'll show you. I have no idea why, but I will."
We stood awkwardly in front of each other, almost chest to chest. He moved his hands in the direction of his mask, then changed his mind and gently took my hands instead, bringing them to his lips then to his mask. I knew then that he wanted me to take his mask off myself. "Are you sure-"
"I wouldn't have given my consent if I wasn't." he interrupted. "Go ahead."
I nodded, taking a deep breath and preparing myself for the worst. I slid my fingers under the edges on each side and slowly peeled it off, exposing his face bit by tiny bit. When I had it fully off, I saw that it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it was. If I had to compare it, it was near Gerard Butler's deformity in the movie, only more red and bumpy and his lips were puffier on one side. I looked into his eyes only to see that they were closed, a tear beginning to fall.
"What's with the tears, ghostie?" I asked softly.
He shook his head. "This is the reason why I hide down here. This is the reason society shuns me. This is why nobody can love me…"
"Erik, open your eyes and look at me." He did as I asked. "There is nothing wrong with your face. At least, to me there isn't. I think you are perfect just the way you are. Don't ever think that no one can love you because of this. I already…know people do in my time." I quickly said, nervous that he may had hear my near slip.
I thanked the good Lord above that he hadn't. He buried his head in my shoulder and cried. Not a nasty cry, but a little sniff here and there. After a few moments, he stood to his normal height and smoothed his hair back – no, he did not wear a wig – and straightened himself up, calmly holding his hand out to me for his mask. That's when I decided to have a little fun.
"What? Are you wanting this?" I asked innocently, dangling his mask in front of him.
"Yes, now if you be so kind as to give it back…"
"Hmm, let me think about it…no."
His eyebrow arched. "Excuse me?"
"I said no, I will not give it back. You're just gonna have to live the rest of your life without it." I said, a smirk forming on my face.
"Mademoiselle, you're playing a dangerous game here."
"What did you just call me?" I said, a mock shocked look on my face. "I was actually going to have some mercy on you, but after that, you definitely aren't getting it back!"
"Oh, really?" he asked right before he started chasing me.
We ran around the lair for at least five minutes, him chasing me to get his mask back. I had to give it to him, he was persistent, but that didn't stop us from having some fun. By the time he caught me around the waist from behind, we were both out of breath from laughing while we were running.
He plucked the mask out of my hands. "Thank you."
I could feel his chest against my back – have I mentioned that he's really buff? – and I about swooned. But, thankfully, all that happened was a colossal yawn.
I could feel the vibration of his laughter go through him. "Tired?"
I sleepily nodded. "Mmyeah…so tired…" I screeched when I felt my feet leave the floor as he picked me up. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"
"Taking you to bed. You obviously need some rest." He replied.
I looked around. "Um, Erik? The lake is the other way."
"And the sky is blue. You point is..?"
"Aren't you taking me back to the dorms?"
He laughed yet again. "If you think I'm carrying you up five floors, you are mistaken, my dear. You can sleep in my bed tonight."
I shook my head. "No, I don't want to put you out of a place to sleep-"
"I have a couch. It's not like I don't have another place to sleep." He scoffed.
I was too tired to argue. "Alright. But you have to take me back up before anyone notices I'm missing."
He made a sound of agreement as he tucked me in. As he went to leave, I grabbed his hand. "Stay with me, please."
He nodded as he sat in a chair he had beside the bed. I still had a hold on his hand. "You know," I began. "You are nothing like any of the stories made you out to be."
"How so?" he asked.
"For one, you would've most likely Punjabbed me for even suggesting the idea of seeing your face. Two, you are way nicer than the other Phantoms – except for the one in 1990. He was really sweet."
"There you go again, going off on other subjects again." He said amusedly.
"I can't help it if I have the attention span of a squirrel. Anyways, you are so different from any of them."
He began to say something, but I interrupted him. "And don't you dare think it's a bad thing, because it's not. It's a really good thing. I think I would've died if you were like the Rat Phantom."
He smirked. "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about him."
I rolled my eyes. "Quiet, you. You know what I mean. But still, I'm glad you're you. You make me happy."
I lost consciousness after that statement, but I could've sworn I heard him say, "You have no idea, mon Cherie…"