A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry for taking so long! Junior year is supposed to be the hardest, but this is ridiculous! Anyway, here is the new chapter and I hope ya'll like it! Oh and also, I'm having some writers block with Timing is Everything so any plot suggestions would be fantastic! Read and Review ;-) !!!

Chapter Six

Her curls fell beautifully around her face and his fingers longed touched them. She reached out and took his hand while he stood speechless. Without any explanation, she led him down the long, dark hallway and stopped at a looming door. He didn't know what was going on, but he figured she knew. Once they were both inside, he took a moment to take in his surroundings. The room was a glowing white, almost pulsating with brightness, and possessed no furniture. He noticed it made her skin and hair shine like an angel.

Breaking the silence, she took his frighteningly naked face in both her hands and sang, "Erik, trust me."

Suddenly, Erik bolted up in his bed at the sound of his annoyingly loud alarm clock. He groaned loudly and pulled himself out of bed into the bathroom. While he brushed his teeth, he began to think about the strange dream he just had.

What did it mean? Did she see my face? She could never see it. Never.

When he got into his shower, he decided to put it in the back of his mind, today was Monday. How he wished he was Christine's age, for more than one reason of course, but she got to sleep in every day of the summer. Work was now his life; it was the only way of entertaining himself. He kept wondering what she would do today.

Hold on just a moment. It was Monday, the first work day of the week. What about work did he need to remember? What was so special about today?

Victoria…shit.

Having his entire weekend revolving around a beautiful next door neighbor had distracted Erik from his most recent problem. He had totally forgotten about his ex joining the team. How, on God's green earth, were they going to work together? The last time they were in the same room she screamed in terror and he cried like a baby. Not only would work be awkward, it would be cruel.

While eating his breakfast, Erik decided to try and collect his thoughts by acting out possible scenes. Of course he knew he would look completely ridiculous, but a man had to be prepared. He decided to use his dog as Vicky, glad that no one was watching.

Caesar sat at the other end of the table just like any other human being and looked at Erik expectantly.

"You ruined everything you know that? Just throwing everything we built right back into my bloody face! Of course, I didn't know it was all a lie. I thought you really loved me. You're a right common whore, just so you know."

Erik's bizarre and angry rant caused Caesar's ears to lie flat and his head to rest on the table. With a slight whimper, he pleaded forgiveness of his master.

"Here you go, boy," he said as he handed his best friend some bacon.

Picking up his briefcase and sketch tubes, he headed out the door to work. What he didn't expect, though, was Christine standing on her porch in a skimpy running outfit adjusting her iPod on her arm before a run. She was wearing shorts and a tank top just like the first time he saw her, but it still knocked him off his feet every time.

Put your briefcase in front of your bloody trousers before she sees!

"Morning, Christine," he choked trying to be friendly.

"Oh, hey, Erik! Off to work?" She looked far too cheerful for six thirty in the morning.

"Yup. I'm surprised someone your age is up this early." Damn! You, arse, now she can see the age difference!

"Well, school starts pretty soon and I wanna get my internal clock working." Smart girl.

"Good idea. I wish I did that back in high school." Damn it, Erik! Shut up, you sound like you're senile!

"Okay, well, have a nice time at work!" She waved and then started into her jog after looking down at her heart rate monitor.

Forcing himself not to watch her jog away, Erik sat halfway in his car with one leg still out while he situated his briefcase and sketches in the passenger seat.

"Erik, wait!" The sound of Christine made his head jerk so fast, he almost pulled something.

Now, she was standing about a foot from his leg and he could hear her ragged breathing. Where did I put that briefcase?

"When do you want me?" If this girl didn't watch her sexual undertones, Erik would soon explode.

"Same time would be fine," he stifled.

"Alright, see you at seven." This time, he did look at her bouncing backside as she ran away. Go to work, wanker.

"Erik, Darling! Where are you?" Jonathan had been searching all over the building for the sexy Erik Desmond all morning and decided to search his corner office again. Sure enough, there he was with his mysterious mask and all, setting his things down, and asking his Edna for some coffee.

"There you are, you rascal!" Oh, no.

Erik appreciated Jonathan, but sometimes, his business associate's friendly personality could get a little out of hand.

"Good morning, Jonathan. How was your weekend?" Erik said trying to mentally will Jonathan's voice softer.

"It was fantastic! Me and Jerry went to Vegas and we went crazy! I think I still have a hang over."

"Hopefully that doesn't affect you today; we've got a lot of work to do." Erik was well aware of Jonathan's genius, but he still loved acting the ordering boss.

"Yeah, if that new bitch doesn't keep critiquing my work." At the mention of Vicky, Erik's head shot up and his eyes grew wide.

"She's here already?!"

"Uh huh. I heard she was here all weekend sucking up to Jim. I swear, just cause he's the CEO doesn't mean he has control over absolutely everything! Today, she actually walked up to me, handed me my blueprints from the Jefferson project, and told me she made adjustments! Ten minutes and I already hate her!" It took Erik longer than that to see the true ugliness of Victoria.

"Don't worry, Jonathan, I'm doing everything in my power to get her to leave."

"You are my savior!"

Suddenly, a knock was heard from the open door where a short blond woman and a tall red haired man stood.

"Can we come in?" asked a hesitant Megan.

"Of course we can, sweetie, it's only Erik's office," Rick answered.

Erik grinned at the sight of the newly married couple. The wedding was this past May, but they always looked like they were still on their honeymoon. Seeing them usually made Erik depressed, but today it was as if he was happy for them rather than jealous of their bliss.

Soon after the couple, Edna made herself known, "Oh, Erik! Here's your coffee!" She quickly bustled to the back of the room and handed Erik his morning iced coffee.

"Erik, have you met the nasty woman on our team?' asked Megan as she closed the door behind her.

Before Erik had a chance to answer, Edna shouted, "Erik! She's simply horrific! This morning, she almost stole your coffee! I told her 'Nuh uh, Missy, this is for Mr. Desmond' and then she said 'I'm sure he won't mind' and then I said 'Oh yes he will' and she said 'No he won't' 'Yes he WILL' 'No he won't' 'Yes he will' 'No he won't' 'Yes he WILL!'"

"Yes, Megan, I have met her." Erik said trying to interrupt his talkative friend.

"How did she even get on the team?" Rick was baffled to say the least. He was always the last to know things.

"Well, I personally think it has something to do with Jim. I have an idea that she screwed him for the position. No pun intended." Yes, Jon, I believe that pun was intended.

"Oh, Jonathan, watch your language!" scolded Edna.

"It's most definitely a possibility, but there's not much that we can do except deal with it for now. I'm still working on some strategic ways to get her fired. I'm thinking framing is the way to go." Erik's face formed a smile as his plans continued on in his head.

"She's so mean though. When Rick and I were coming up in the elevator, she got in on the second floor, and we had to hear her tell us at what bad jobs we did on the Jefferson project for a whole thirty floors. She made me want to punch something!" Megan looked horrified at the foreign rage in herself. Edna went straight to her and gave her a big hug from the side.

"Megan, sweetie, it's going to be fine. We'll get her fired, don't worry." Jon knew how to make something so conniving sound so sweet.

All of the sudden, Erik's door thrust open almost knocking Rick in the face. They all saw the beautiful face of the devil herself.

"Good morning, everyone!" She stood in the door way with her hands on her hips, her bleach blonde, straight hair flowing down her back, and a smug smile on her red lips.

"Oh Erik! So good to see you!" Vicky then strode up to his desk and held her hand out for him to shake.

"Leave, now," was all he had to say to her.

"I don't think that's possible, darling. You see, Jim has secured this spot on your little team for me and it doesn't look like he's gonna let me go."

"Well then, we'll just have to force you out then." Erik was now in a rather animalistic snarl and Megan actually looked frightened, Jon was swooning, and Rick was trying extremely hard not to laugh.

"Victoria, could I see you alone?" Everyone else got the hint and scurried out of Erik's office.

"Yes, Erik," she said seductively, "What can I do for you?"

"Burn in Hell would actually be absolutely fantastic."

"I don't see why you're so mad, Erik, it was so long ago. We were so young." She looked at him pleadingly.

"Don't see why I'm mad? Let's start at the top shall we? You used me to gain a higher position like you're doing now with Jim, and when I trusted you, you repay me with a horrifyingly ugly scream and run off in terror, leaving me alone to figure out it was all a bloody lie." His mask was practically turning red from the heat in his face.

"You have to understand, Erik, I was only an intern. It's only natural that I flirt with authority to move up. I mean, that's what business is all about right? Bribery and kissing ass." She was now sitting on the edge of his desk with her arms crossed like she was on top of the bloody world.

"That's just rich isn't it, Victoria. But you never did fully kiss my arse did you? No, I was too ugly for that, I just got the meat dangled right in front of my face like some kind of animal." Erik stood from his seat and walked around the desk to face her. "You completely used me for recommendation."

"But, Erik, it's been five years. I'm a different person." She hoped he believed her; he looked rather handsome now. As long as he keeps the mask on, he'd be a totally sexy accessory.

"Right, that's why you're screwing our boss. Real classy, Vicky. Now if you'll excuse me, the rest of my day would be a lot more pleasant with you out of my office."

With a humph, Vicky strutted out of the office. Of course, this particular walk formerly made his brain stop working, but now all he could do was spit in disgust. He had never seen such an ugly person in his life, uglier than himself even.

The rest of the day ran smoothly, and Erik even enjoyed himself when Jon came in with genius designs for the most recent project. If Vicky didn't get in the way, he guessed the blue prints would be done in about 6 months.

He could definitely say earlier this morning had been the most painful this week. Seeing the first woman to hold his heart brought back the vivid memories of the closest thing he had ever had to a relationship. It was only heavy flirting and a few phone calls, but when she removed his mask to kiss him, everything fell apart within 2 second: one for her to see and one to scream.

Erik could still remember the sound of the shrill noise of her voice and the terror in her eyes. The way she had said, No job is worth kissing your hideous face! Those words would forever scar his dignity. No way in hell would he find anyone to accept him.

Solemnly, Erik left at six and drove home to the sound of sappy love songs on every channel. Finally, he just decided to turn off the music for good. Erik was about fifteen miles from home when he halted at Hillcrest and Walnut Hill. After seeing Christine here for the first time, Erik always took the long way to drive through the memorable intersection.

Suddenly he heard the sound of the Goo Goo Doll's Iris, and his jaw dropped when he saw whose car it was.

Christine was singing at the top of her lungs in the car next to him, just like when he first laid eyes on her.

"And I don't want the world to see me 'cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am!"

Her car singing had definitely improved with his lessons and it looked like she was in deep concentration trying to use her diaphragm. Erik couldn't help but ogle at the way the sunset danced on her warm skin and her green eyes turned to emerald from the yellow light.

When the song ended Christine felt a pair of eyes on her. Looking over in the next car, she expected to see some horn dog puckering up to her, but she was happily mistaken. After a few seconds, it registered to her that Erik was looking at her from his black Mercedes. She had never seen him look so beautiful in the light; she had only seen him at night or in the darkness of his home. Light suited him. Shaking off the shock, Christine rolled down the window, as did Erik.

"Hey, neighbor!" she shouted way too dramatically. Hey neighbor?! What is going on through your head, Christine? It's like you just came out of the Oklahoma musical! Regaining some courage, she added, "Where are you headed?"

"Oh, uh, just coming home from the office. You?" Erik was still in shock that he had bumped into Christine here, of all places.

"Well, I have a photography workshop at the college, from 8a.m. to 6 p.m. Long hours but it's amazing." Unconsciously, Erik took note that Carson College of the Arts was only 2 miles from his building.

"Oh, I work at Elements Architecture." Strange how they went to the same area at the same hours of the day and took the same routes home…

At that moment, horns honked behind them when they realized that the light had turned green.

"See you at 7!" Then she was off. Erik always thought women were bad drivers, but Christine just sped through cars like they were cones in a parking lot. A part of him of fearful for her safety, but the other part was ridiculously impressed.

By the time he got home, her car was already quietly parked in her driveway. As he was heading toward the door of his house, the silhouette of a man approached him.

"Erik! So glad I caught you!" He immediately recognized the jovial sound of George Darly's voice. When he finally came face to face with Erik on his porch, George continued, "I have a bit of a situation."

"What can I do for you?" It was rare that anyone trust him with any kind of responsibility other than at work.

"Well, today as I was driving home from the concert hall and my engine completely crashed. Christine told me that you work at Elements. I was wondering if you minded giving her a ride there and back for the remainder of her workshop, because I need her car to get to work." Erik was in complete shock at this request. Not only did George trust a total stranger with his only daughter's life, but his tone made it sound like he respected Erik.

When he didn't answer right away, George went on to reassure. "Erik, I know it's a lot to ask, so I'm not surprised if you don't want to do it. That's why I'm offering pay, too. How much do you think is necessary?"

"Mr. Darly, please, I don't want your money. I am fully willing to take Christine with me. It truly isn't a hassle at all, only 2 miles on my way. It will be nice to have someone to talk to on the way to work." What the hell did I just agree to?

"Wow, Erik! You know, there should be more people like you in this world."

"I don't think anyone would want that," Erik said under his breath.

"Thanks a ton, son!" With a firm hand shake, George stepped off of his porch and headed home.

As Erik walked into his house, he was greeted by a bear hug from Caesar, which awoke him from his daze. Carefully, he set down his stuff and trudged into the hall way. Everything was spinning, so he decided to sit down in his armchair with Caesar's head in his lap.

Was this all by chance? Ever since I met her, everything falls into place around her. Exhibit A: The fact that she led me back home or my neighbour's home, rather. Exhibit B: I have a perfect view of her bedroom from my bed. Exhibit C: She needs help with singing, which I can teach. Exhibit D: We are almost exact persons of The Phantom of the Opera. Exhibit E: We go to the same area at the same hours, and her dad's car just happens to break down, forcing us to carpool. What the hell?! Oh yes, and this has all happened in the matter of four days. The shock is getting to my head. Someone is setting this up. There has to be.

His brain just exploded. Erik was a strong man, but this was just too much for him to handle. Getting up from his seat, he decided that reading would help distract his raging thoughts. Book of choice: The Count of Monte Cristo. Reading always distracted him, and with the Count's deceiving plots and endless mystery, he couldn't help but get lost. He became so entranced that he didn't even hear the knock on his door until Caesar started barking.

Placing the book back in its proper place, Erik walked to the door knowing fully well who was on the other side. Check your face, dumb ass! He did a quick mask check before opening the door to Christine.

"Hi, Erik!" Her curls were bouncing and her smile warmed him to his toes.

"Good evening, Christine. Please, come in." Erik replied before widening the front door. He was on his way to truly knowing Christine Darly…

A/N: Sorry to drop it off like that, but I'm on a role and that's the only place I could end. Also, I didn't want ya'll to wait any longer. And I'm way too eager for more comments. I swear I feed on them! Any who, please read and review and I will love you forever!!!!

Erik: Icky Vicky hurt my feelings!!!!

Christine: Don't worry, I'll comfort you!

Me: Get away from him! He's mine! (Grabs Erik before Christine can get to him)... REVIEW!!!! OR YOU'LL NEVER SEE ERIK AGAIN!