Yay! I actually kept a promise to update soon! Yeah, I feel like a scummy Authoress, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Read and review, please!
Disclaimer: I don't own PotO. Yeah, I said it, I said it...
"Wake up, Alyssa," Erik whispered quietly, shaking her shoulder. Alyssa groaned and pulled the covers higher, her eyes fluttering behind their lids but not opening. With a small sigh, Erik took a pillow and smacked her upside the head with it, though softly enough so as not to harm her.
Alyssa groaned again, but this time it was clear that she was getting up. "God dammit, Erik. Why do you have to wake me this early?" she snapped as she sat up sluggishly. "I swear, I haven't had a good night's sleep since I got here."
"On the contrary, mademoiselle," Erik laughed, emphasizing the last word, "it is nearly ten in the morning. You must consider a good night's sleep to be over a week long, non? ...However, since we had plans to go out today, I suggest that you get up and get ready. You know how long it takes you to bathe. We'll be lucky if we get out of here at all, now that I think about it."
Chuckling slightly, Alyssa had to agree with him. She was wearing a new nightgown, one that Erik had bought for her many weeks prior and wasn't so small. Alyssa yawned and smoothed down the satin material.
"Remind me of where we're going, Erik," she murmured, running a hand through her hair.
"Well, we didn't actually figure out where we were going to go, but rather simply decided that we were going somewhere. Perhaps a simple walk through the park woud be appropriate. We can get breakfast at a cafe along the way, if that's all right. Oh, and I almost forgot... tonight I have a surprise for you."
Now it was Alyssa's turn to laugh. "Okay, then. I suppose I can't argue." She paused for a moment, then gave him a sly yet accusatory look. "So what are you still doing here?" she snapped, her tone hard. "Enjoying the view, are you? Don't you have any respect? Or am I to assume it's okay for men to linger in the rooms of their women friends when they are not dressed?"
Erik's eyes widened in shock. "Alyssa, I-... this is my room! And you were the one encouraging conversation! If not for that, you know I would have-"
He stopped suddenly as Alyssa burst out laughing again. "It's okay, Erik. I know. I was just messing with you." Erik sighed to himself, immensely relieved that another conflict with Alyssa was not brewing. He looked up as she quietly whispered in a teasing voice, "You seemed to get a little too flustered, though, if you know what I mean..." One of her eyebrows was raised playfully.
With perfect suavity as usual, Erik slipped closer to her, and twirled a lock of her hair about his finger as he murmured, "Alyssa, any man willing to fall in love with you would have to be mad, or at the very least accustomed to fighting a raging battle to wake you up every morning." She scoffed at him with a smile on her face, then retired to the bathroom and shut the door. A small click followed as she locked it.
She still doesn't trust me, Erik thought as he slowly wandered to his organ. Not completely, at any rate. Though at least she's not afraid to be around me. That's more than I thought I'd ever have, someone who doesn't mind being around me, who calls me their friend.
After flexing his fingers, Erik began to play. His music reverberated perfectly on the walls of his home, one of the reasons why he loved it so much. A smile crossed his face and his eyes slid shut as his fingers flew over the keys in a frenzy.
All at once, he came to a complete stop. His ears were ringing with the sound of his music, and his hands were still poised over the organ, but now he heard something else.
"...But now there's nowhere to hide
Since you've pushed my love aside
I'm out of my head
Hopelessly devoted to you..."
A soft, gentle voice, with the tiniest hint of an echo to it. Erik stood up and hesitated for a moment, then sprinted back to his own room. Curious, he pressed his ear to the wood of the bathroom door.
"My head is saying "fool, forget him",
My heart is saying "don't let go"
Hold on to the end, that's what I intend to do
I'm hopelessly devoted to you
But now there's nowhere to hide,
Since you pushed my love aside I'm not in my head,
Hopelessly devoted to you..." Erik's eyes opened wide as Alyssa's voice carried to him. The structure of the bathroom echoed her notes just slightly, and whilst her voice was nowhere close to perfect, it still sounded... nice.
"I didn't know she sang," he whispered to himself, falling silent as she continued.
Alyssa rinsed her hair out quickly, still unused to the freezing water, but she never stopped singing. When she was done, she got out, drained the water out of the tub, then covered her body in a silk robe (that, of course, had been purchased for her by Erik). Not once missing a beat of her song, she opened the door and stepped out.
To her surprise, the door swung shut to reveal Erik standing behind it. Alyssa jumped and clutched her robe tighter.
"Why didn't you tell me that you sang?" Erik asked, gazing at her curiously. Alyssa was still too shocked to get out a complete sentence.
"Wh-why? What's the big d-... I hate my voice."
Erik smiled. "I think you sound lovely. Have you ever taken lessons?"
"Say what?" Alyssa questioned. Erik was about to elaborate when she suddenly interrupted. "You know what? Let's talk about this... some other time. You know, like when I'm not merely wearing a robe."
Her arms were still crossed over her chest, but when she moved, one of her legs was exposed up to the thigh. Swiftly Alyssa clutched the sides of the robe and pulled it closed.
"I... apologize, Alyssa. Please forgive me. I tend to get... well, I tend to lose all common sense... when I hear music like that. It really was beautiful. I... sorry." Erik ducked out of the room, trying to block out the image of her bare leg. It had reminded him of a time when Christine had done something simliar. And yet, it was so different. But it filled him with that same feeling, that same burning desire...
No. Stop it! Don't think about her so... so disrespectfully! Don't think about-
"All right, Erik. I'm dressed now. Sorry I snapped at you earlier. It was just a bit of shock. Usually I only sing when I'm alone, but... yeah." Alyssa stepped into the room, running her fingers through her freshly combed hair again.
Shaking his head, Erik muttered, "Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have been listening like that. You're obviously very secretive, or uncomfortable, about the subject of your voice, so we don't need to ever bring it up again." Alyssa gave him a grateful smile, and he offered his hand out to her. "We should probably go now, though. The park is rather close, but there may be more that we want to see. Besides, we haven't even had breakfast yet.
Alyssa laughed. "You made it sound earlier as though you had no idea of what we were to do today. So much for that. ...Ah, well. Let's hit the road before we get off schedule."
Later in the afternoon, both satisfied and feeling extremely peaceful, Erik and Alyssa walked down a neat dirt path through the park. The sun shone bright through the twisted branches above, throwing beautiful patterns of light to the ground.
"It's so pretty out here," Alyssa remarked, gazing at the brilliant piles of snow along their path (it seemed like someone had swept the snow to each side). Erik nodded, though he didn't feel that it was all too special. To him, the dark was much more lovely.
In fact, had Alyssa not been there, chances were he wouldn't even be outside (Or, indeed, alive, Erik thought grimly to himself). He knew that he was only doing this to make her happy. The snow reflected the sunlight cruelly, sending unpleasant blinding glares almost everywhere. Erik put a hand in front of his eyes to reduce the white light.
Suddenly something collided with the unmasked side of his face, shocking him and almost causing him to lose his balance. He put a hand to the side of his face, and as he did so, icy water and slush dripped down his neck.
"What the hell?" Erik wiped the snow off his face, shivering as some of it trailed down the back of his shirt. Alyssa laughed and threw another snowball, one that Erik narrowly evaded. "Oh, is that how you want to play?" Erik asked as he gathered a snowball of his own. His fingers went numb as he molded it into a sphere. Patiently he waited for Alyssa to come into sight, but after a few seconds he decided to go hunt for her. He found her hiding in the shelter of a tree, and snuck up behind her.
"Oh, shit!" Alyssa exclaimed as he silently stuffed the ice down her back. Now it was his turn to laugh as she flipped her head forward to shake the slush out. "Erik, you bastard!" she gasped, but she was smiling. She giggled and gave him a playful shove with her shoulder, and he bent down and scooped up another handful of snow.
Alyssa's eyes widened for a moment, then she turned around swiftly and began to run. Erik dropped the ice and took off after her, feeling like he could capture the exhilarating euphoria of the moment and keep it in a bottle that would be forever warm and bright. Or at least wishing he could.
"Caught you," he murmured, catching Alyssa's hand and spinning her around. One of her legs accidentally entwined with his, and they both lost their balance. Quickly Erik put his hands to either side of her, and luckily he was able to break his own fall without landing on her.
Their eyes met for a moment, and all notions of getting up were forgotten. Alyssa breathed deeply, and Erik felt her chest rise and meet his. Mouth slightly agape, he could do naught but stare at her, and she could only stare back. For a long time they lie there, lost in their thoughts and in the moment itself.
"I... I'm sorry," Erik whispered, suddenly coming to his senses and lifting himself to his knees. Alyssa smiled, and a small cloud of mist fanned before her momentarily as she let out a breath.
Erik removed his coat and offered it to her, giving her a look that forbid her to not take it. She slipped it on gratefully, and muttered a quiet, "Thank you."
Both of them felt an unexplainable urge to stare at each other like they had, to somehow slip back into that moment, but they were too confused and shy to say anything. They spent a few seconds in an uncomfortable, awkward silence, each trying to analyze what they'd felt just a minute before.
Finally Erik cleared his throat. "Well, that was... fun. Thank you, Alyssa."
"Uh, don't mention it," she mumbled, chuckling slightly. "...So, what should we do now?" They met each other's gazes again, but were strangely disappointed to find that the sensation was gone.
"We can go back home now, and have an early dinner, if you would like. Or a late lunch, if you'd prefer to call it that. When it gets dark, I have a surprise for you."
Alyssa shook the snowflakes out of her hair. "Please tell me what it is? I'm not at all patient, and this one's driving me crazy! What is it, Erik?"
But Erik refused to tell her. "No, I can't, my dear. If I did, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, now would it? It's only something that I want to show you, though. I think you'll like it. Or at least, I hope you will."
With a small sigh, Alyssa stood up. "Don't worry, Erik. I'm sure I'll like it. Since I don't know what it is- hint, hint!- I can't say for sure... but if you're going to the trouble of even showing me something as a surprise, I'm sure I'll enjoy it." She paused for a moment, and then pleaded, "Oh, come on! Tell me what it is!"
"No. I'm not telling you. No matter how you beg and plead."
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Fine, then," she scoffed. "Be like that." At the look in Erik's eyes, though, she added a quick, "Just kidding," and waited for him to stand, too.
Erik tentatively took her hand, and then together they started to walk back toward the opera house.
I hope you guys liked that. Please review! Sorry, but I don't have time to say much else. I'll update again soon!