A/N: Hi! I just wanted you to know, Alia and Lissa will be asleep most of the chapter, and Dani, even though she is shy, when she is mad, she is mad! She's also very protective of her friends, and is mainly the mother figure.

Chapter #3: The Worst Temper I Have Ever Heard!

All of a sudden, she heard something moving outside, then a soft knock on the door as she quickly grabbed the thickest book she could, and tried to cover the side of her face with her other hand…

"Don't come in!" she shrieked as she tried to barricade the door with her body. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! I'm going into overload! I need to calm down! Okay, deep breaths, in, out, in, out. Ok, find where the mask is…

"Mademoiselle?"

Who was this man? His voice hit her like a wave of beauty, sensuality, but at the same time, it was dangerous, and rich and deep. She never thought that she'd ever want to drown, but right now, with the depths of that elegant, intense voice drifting over her she wasn't sure.

Her voice shaking from fear Dani's reply came back through the door, "Don't come in yet, I'm not decent!"

Decent? How could she not be decent? Thought the man on the other side of the barricade between them…

"Well mademoiselle, I suggest you make yourself decent, as I am not a patient man!"

A/N: Who could it be? Take a wild guess! Oh yeah, the 'man behind the doors' thoughts are in Bold Italics, and Dani's are in plan italics.

Dani shook the man's captivating tone out of her head, Where is my mask? Ask himHE probably knows! "Where is my mask? SIR!"

"Well, Mademoiselle, if you would allow me to enter, I might tell you." He answered, slightly irritated at her angry tone.

"I can hear you just fine without you in the room, thank you very much!" she stated, now feeling nervous as well as annoyed, scared, and angry.

"And anyway, even if I did let you into the room, how do you I know that you won't take advantage of me? Huh? Answer me that! Monsieur!"

"Pardon my lack of attention, mademoiselle, but had I wanted to take advantage of you, I would have had plenty of time to do so before now." He replied quite calmly. "You have been asleep for about thirteen hours." He could tell she was nervous by the way her voice quivered when she spoke to him. He needed her to calm down, or they wouldn't be able to communicate.

"Perhaps if you would you consider mademoiselle, that I retrieve and return your mask to you, and when you have deemed yourself 'decent', we can talk together like civil human beings, without a door between us." He said after waiting about a minute for her to answer.

"I will only consent to this 'deal'," she spat out spitefully,

"If you promise not to harm myself or my friends when I come out." She wanted to make sure she had his word before she agreed.

"I promise." came the answer. As long as you stop screaming at me.

But now would not be the time to say such a thing to her. Whoever this girl was.

Making a mental note to learn the maiden's title he slipped away to find the piece of fiberglass she deemed to call a mask.

When he returned, mask in hand, he softly knocked on the door to announce his presence, "I have your mask here Mademoiselle?…"

"Danielle," She replied nervously, casting an anxious glance at her sleeping friends, "My name is Danielle." Fine if he wanted her name, she wanted his. She was certainly not going to allow this man to call her Dani!

"And you are…" She asked in reply. She still hadn't gotten her mask back.

"Erik, simply Erik, nothing more, nothing less." Not to you at least.

"Thanks for getting my mask, can I have it back now?" She asked with as much sarcasm and bravery as she could muster.

"Oh, yes of course, excuse me…." He replied hastily, mentally kicking himself for sounding like an idiot. She opened the door just a crack, an elegant black gloved hand slipped through, holding out the protective mask. Dani snatched the mask quickly from the gloved man's hand and fitted it quickly over her face, breathing a sigh of relief as the feeling of safety closed gently over the horrifying vulnerability that had been coursing through her veins.

"Why, good monsieur, thank you for being so brave as to giving me back the mask that you STOLE!" Anger and sarcasm lacing her tone with venom as the feeling of safety was replaced once again with fury. She didn't know why or how she was being so daring; she was normally never this bold!

Choosing to ignore the sarcastic remarks the strange girl was making, the man spoke again in that almost musical voice, "So, I am now assuming that you are coming out of the room?" He asked impatiently.

"Yes, if you would give me a second, I would!" Well, talk about a temper! Thought Erik, gritting his teeth and wondering why the damned girl had to snitch at every word he said.

The door gently glided open, as she gingerly stepped out of the bedroom, into a large room, candlelight adding golden pools of light and flickering shadow all around. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the tall, handsome man, standing before her. He stepped back, taking the sight of her in.

Somehow, she felt like she had met him before, like there was some kind of connection between them.

Tall, grayish blue eyes, quite pretty actually, wait! My God, what are you thinking! I love Christine! She is the only creature on this godforsaken earth that is worthy of being called beautiful! Mask, obviously, dirty blonde hair, what the hell is she wearing?

He stared at the teal pajama bottoms, and pink tank top she was dressed in, not something you saw women wearing everyday in France.

If staring was an Olympic sport, one of them would have gotten gold medal.

Tall, about 6'2, amazing green eyes, what the heck am I thinking, he could be a criminal! Mask, obviously, jet-black hair, what the heck is he wearing? What's with the whole black on black evening clothes? Hasn't he heard of jeans?

Dani and Erik both felt the tension hanging loose in the air, as a silent, yet desperate battle was waging.

Opening his mouth, Erik broke the silence.

"So mademoiselle Danielle, may I inquire as to how you slept?"

How could she wear a mask, nobody in this world other than myself wears a mask! How did she get to be deformed, like me?

"I slept just fine thank you, and just to let you know, I have had this deformity since birth, so there is absolutely no reason to stare at my mask. I am not the only person in the world that wears a mask, I'm not sure if you've noticed, you're wearing one too, for what I'm guessing to be the same reason that I am."

Wow, that was the boldest thing I've ever said! I wonder how he'll react…

Erik just stood there, silent. Amazed at her boldness, he was dumbstruck! He was the Phantom of the Opera, she couldn't speak to him like that!

"Well, mademoiselle, I'm glad to hear it! He pushed her back up against the wall with a long, elegant hand and leaned forward, trying to intimidate her. "And, it would do you well not to speak to me with such boldness!" He hissed,

"Perhaps I should have left you to die out there in the cold, where I found you and your friends, in an alley! I can only guess what you were doing there unconscious! Also, what in the world are you wearing girl? You look like a… Well I don't even what you look like!"

He was standing over her, arrogantly mocking her at her face. Yet somehow she was not afraid of him. She just stood there, holding her ground, taking it all blow after blow. She pushed him away from her and started yelling at him.

Gosh, she thought, he sure has a bad temper!

"Well you, good Monsieur, would do well not to yell in my face!

Also, how dare you take my mask away, my one protection from the cruel world around me! How dare you! I'm sure you wouldn't like it if I stole your mask, would you! In fact you'd probably kill me on the spot!" She yelled back.

He was stunned beyond words!

It's actually quite amazing that she has the bravery to answer back like so! No, she is an enemy, treat her like one! But, she is my guest!

"And anyway, ERIK," she said, "Where are we and are you the Phantom of the Opera? If so, what would Christine think of your temper? HUH? She'd probably drop dead on the spot, terrified!

Do you want her to be scared of you? I don't think so! So get rid of the attitude! And also, if you insist on trying to make me feel guilty for yelling at you, by telling me how lucky I am to be alive, well... It's not working" She gasped for breath.

She is right…I don't want her to be scared of me; I want her to love me! Wait a minute, how does she know about Christine? How dare she intrude in my personal life! She has no idea how I feel!

"Mademoiselle, we are in France and yes, I am the Phantom of the Opera! How dare you raise your voice at me? I could kill you right now if I wanted to! You should be grateful you are alive! Now, go back to your room, before my temper completely overcomes me!"

He was absolutely furious that she knew so much. More than anyone else knew about him, but how?

Dani backed away quickly and ran to her room, slamming the door shut, scared that he would harm her, timid nature once again overcoming her.

Safe inside the room, she started to move things against the door, glancing up she saw Alia and Lissa had awoken, and that they looked more than bewildered.

"Where are we?" asked Alia, quite confused, staring around the room in puzzlement.

"Yeah, where are we?" added Lissa.

"We are in France, and in the Phantom's lair. I don't know how we got here, or when. All, I know is that this is during Christine, and that Erik has the WORST temper I have ever heard!"

A/N: Hi you guys, sorry I didn't put much into Alia and Lissa. I promise in the next few chapters! Hope you guys like it! R&R&E!