I'm back! Does anyone know how fun Branson is? Let me tell you, it is amazing! I blame the awesomeness of Branson on my lateness of this chapter. But seriously, if you ever get a chance to go, take it! Especially Silver Dollar City. That place is amazing! Anyways, back to the task at hand. Thanks to BellaGirl7, xXBlack'BladeXx, Lightan117, Leonora Dragonstone, and all of my awesome reviewers! Enjoy :)

Chapter 30

I was woke up by the pleasant smells of bacon, eggs, and Opera Ghost.

"Did a certain Phantom make me breakfast in bed, perhaps?" I asked groggily.

A chuckle shook the bed. "Well, why don't you open your eyes and see?" I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I groaned and shook my head. "I will only open my eyes if I am promised a kiss...and breakfast in bed."

A pair of warm lips touching mine caused my eyes to pop open. I pulled back to find Erik, maskless with a big smirk. "What's that look for, mister?"

"I didn't even have to promise breakfast." he gloated, holding up a tray of - I guessed it - bacon and scrambled eggs.

"Gimee!" I exclaimed as he laid the tray on my lap. I dug in and did not speak a word until there was not a morsel left on my plate. It was that delicious. Then, it hit me all of a sudden. "What time is it?"

"Almost 8:30."

I hopped out of bed in a flash. "Oh my gosh, I am so late!"

"Mandy..."

"I was supposed to be at rehearsal half an hour ago!" I was freaking out now.

"Mandy-"

"What is Antoinette going to say-"

"Mandy!" Erik yelled as he grabbed my shoulders. "It's already taken care of."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I talked to Antoinette earlier this morning. You officially have the day off." he said, that dang smirk back on his face. What is it with him and that expression?

"I have the day off." I said disbelieving.

"That's what I said, is it not?"

"Yeah, but I can't believe it." Silence ensued for a moment. "I really have the day off?"

My day off turned out to be the exact opposite. Erik held me in the lair for the entire day, the whole time just singing the songs for the performance. I may as well have went to the rehearsal with everyone else anyways. I guess there really is no rest for the wicked. And no, I am not Elphaba...

"Hey, Erik?" He looked at me to acknowledge me. "I hope this isn't too much to ask, but next time I have a day off, can I actually have a day off?"

He sighed. "I guess you do need some time off. I'll tell you what, the rest of the day is yours to do with as you please. How does that sound?"

I looked at the little clock on top of the organ. "Oh yeah, three hours before midnight gives me plenty of time to do anything." I said sarcastically.

"Or I could just, you know, keep you singing into the night..." he said nonchalantly.

"No, no, no! I'll take it. It's just that I have no idea what to do."

He thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, you could read a book, play the organ or the violin, sing some more-"

"I have a better idea," I interrupted. "You can read one of my favorite books to me. An audiobook in real life with one of the best voices the world has ever heard!" I exclaimed.

I stopped him before he could ask it. "An audiobook is a recording of someone reading a book, that way people can listen to it rather than sit down and read it."

He nodded his head in affirmation. "Ah. Well then, what shall you have me read?"

Two Hours Later...

"Ha! I knew she would pick Dautless!" Erik exclaimed.

It took 7 minutes for us to reach my room, 5 minutes to gather all of my things (we had discussed that it would be safer to keep all of my technology in his lair to lessen the chance of discovery), 10 minutes back to the lair, 20 minutes to convince Erik to read Divergent to me, and the rest of the time was spent with me, leaned against him and his arm around me, listening to his beautiful voice with the occasional interruptions from me, explaining something.

"Yeah, Dauntless is pretty awesome. What made you think she was gonna pick Dauntless, though?"

He shrugged. "She seems like the type of person that wouldn't back down from a fight. I woud pick Dauntless, although I think you would be Divergent."

I looked up at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're fearless-"

I let out a snort. "Do you not remember the whole singing fiasco? I was scared to death!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but you overcame that fear. Now, if you will let me continue..?" I nodded for him to go on. "You're fearless like Dauntless, you're very smart like Erudite, you're selfless like Abnegation, you're sort of peaceful like Amity, although you do have your violent moments."

He was silent. "What about Candor? I've been honest."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that...Mandy Destler."

I froze for two reasons. One being that I had totally forgotten about that little detail. The second reason was that it sounded so good coming from his mouth. I had never dreamed of getting married and someone else's last name be my own, but hearing him say my name like that was a little bit too much for my brain to grasp. He rose off of the couch, leaving me with nothing to lean on, so I fell on the couch, th eright side of my head digging into the cushions. "Are you alright?" he asked me, concern showing on his face.

"I am dead."

Erik rolled his eyes. "No, you're not. Get up."

"No, I'm dead. Dead people don'y get up." I moaned in reply.

"Dead peopl don't talk either, but you're talking."

I was silent, then I sat up, mumbling. It caused Erik to laugh. I never wanted him to stop laughing, except for the times when I wanted him to sing. Or read to me.

He sat down beside me again, his arm going back around me. "Seriously though, what is it?"

I leaned up to his ear and whispered it He pulled back in shock. "Really? Like the hair-"

"Yup, that's the one. There was a boy at my school with the exact same last name, and people would always kid around, saying we were wither married or siblings. I hopped on the bandwagon and have been calling him my brother for the past year or so."

"Why would you do that?" he questioned.

"Because it would always irritate him. People would actually think we really were siblings as much as I pestered the poor boy."

"Do you have any real siblings?"

My deflated a bit, but soon came back. "I had a sister, but she died when she was 23 days old. I never got to meet her, though. I came along six years later."

That seemed to sober him up a little. "What was her name?"

"Meagan Nicole."

"I'm sorry to have brought it up."

I sat up and looked at him. "Why? It doesn't bother me at all. I know she's in a better place and that's all that matters."

He gave me a weak smile. I slapped his arm softly. "Come on, you can smile better than that, ghostie."

His smile widened. "There's that violent side."

I scoffed. "You should've seen me back in my time. For a little while, I actually wanted to be a professtional wrestler, although that quickly went out the window. My mom was glad when it did."

"Women wrestle in the future?" he asked.

"Yup, though they just wrestle each other. They don't go up against the guys...most of the time."

Erik shook his head in disbelief. "What is the world coming to?"

"That is the question I ask everyday, ghostie." I replied, leaning back against him.

"You spoke of your mother and how she was glad that you didn't want to become a wrestler anymore. What did she want you to become?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know. She always told me that I should do what made me happy, but wrestling was definitely not what made her happy."

"What did your father have to say in all of this?"

"Not much. He just went along with it, I guess. As long as I didn't become a truck driver like him or join the military, he was good with it."

"Truck driver? And women can join the military?" he inquired.

I sighed. "I'm gonna have to get you a 2015 dictionary or something, I swear. But yes, women can join the military in the future. Actually, pretty much my whole family on my dad's side is in the military. My mom's dad was in...it would be best if I left that part of history alone for right now."

He looked a little put out, but said nothing. We abandoned the book and just talked about my life. Some of it was pretty good, some of it not so much. He laughed with me and comforted me when I cried. How coud Christine give this up?

I stopped when I noticed the time: 2:45 am.

"Oh, shoot. We stayed up pretty late, huh? No wonder I'm so tired."

"You can sleep down here again if you want." Erik offered.

"Okay, but you're sleeping with me."

His face went from smiling to shocked. "What?!"

I sighed. "You on one side of the bed, me on the other side. Nothing more."

"Are you sure you want me to-'

"Yes," I interrupted. "I will not have you sleep on the couch or in a chair, when there is room for the both of us in the comfortable bed. Speaking of, I am going there. Goodnight." I said before kissing his cheek - unmasked, still, to my delight - and getting up, going to the bed and tucking myself in. A minute later, I felt the other side of the bed sink down. A smile spread on my face as I heard a soft snore.