OMG! Okay, I have like a reeeaallyy exciting story to tell you guys, and it's SOO exciting that I'm gonna save it for the end of this chapter. Oh, you're all gonna FLIP!
Oh, and the end of this chappy's going to get some interesting reactions, enjoy!
As hard as she tried, Alyssa couldn't stop her eyes from widening ever so slightly in horror. When Erik saw them, his own widened for the briefest second in disbelief. Angrily he threw the match to the ground and stepped on it, drowning the corridor in darkness again. He hesitated for a moment, then turned and stormed away.
"There!" he shouted, slowing his pace but not looking back. "Now you have seen the terrifying face if the Opera Ghost! You are disgusted, non?" He laughed sadistically, but in his heart he had never felt so sad.
Alyssa stared straight ahead as he walked away. Her chest rose and fell as her breathing quickened and her heart pounded. When the echo of Erik's last word died away, she suddenly shook herself.
I... can't let him leave! Damn it, Alyssa, he's your friend! Who cares what he looks like? He's your goddamn friend! Before Alyssa knew what she was doing, she found herself running down the passage after him.
"What the hell!" Erik yelled out in shock when Alyssa ran into him all of the sudden from behind and flung her arms around his torso. "Are you insane!"
"Yes!" she cried, her voice cracking again. "Erik, if not caring about your face and not wanting you to leave means I'm crazy, then I'm freakin' out of my mind!" Erik struggled with her hands, and finally managed to peel them away. He had heard Alyssa, true enough, but didn't dare to believe that she meant what she said.
Once he had broken her grip on him, he pushed her off in anger (and, though he would never admit it, in fear). She's lying to me. She has to be. Alyssa, how could you lie to me! "If you touch me again," he threatened, not noticing the tears that were also falling from his eyes, "I swear to you, I'll-"
Alyssa took a shaky breath, but grabbed him before he could react. "Do whatever you want, Erik, I don't care! Kill me if it makes you happy! Please, just don't leave!" She was too flustered to even realize how little sense she was making, but she sounded so desperate that Erik's anger began to fade away. He didn't try again to get her off of him, but instead listened as she continued.
"Please... Erik, I don't want you to go! You're my friend! I care about you! What I don't care about is how you look!" Her shattered voice echoed through the corridors and throbbed in Erik's ears as he slowly started to believe her. "I want you to come back with me, Erik. Please, I'm begging you. When you get angry or sad like this, tell me, dammit! I'll listen. That's what friends do! You listened to me, now let me do the same for you..." She still hadn't stopped crying, but was miraculously talking through her numerous tears. "Please... you're... the only thing I have now. I don't know anything about Paris or 1871. If you leave, then I'm as good as dead. If you don't want to stay for yourself... then, at least, please stay for me."
She knew that she had to make it sound selfish, as hard as it was. Erik wouldn't stay for himself, he'd already proven that. But maybe... just maybe he would stay if it was to save her life. Alyssa waited in silence for what seemed like the longest minute of her life.
Slowly Erik turned around at last, and without a sound carefully wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb. Why would she say these things? She has to be lying... but why would she do so? Is she actually telling the truth?
There was something he had to know, a burning question that refused to go unasked. "Alyssa," he began uncertainly, "When you saw my face, what... what did you think? Were you... afraid of it, or disgusted?"
Alyssa shook her head, smiling ever so slightly. "I wasn't disgusted at all, but I was admittedly... a little afraid. ...What really scared me though," she added quickly, "was the thought that you weren't going to come back."
Erik had never felt this way before. No one had ever cared about him like this. It was so different, it was so relieving... Erik felt his legs buckle beneath him and fell to his knees, gently bringing Alyssa down with him.
"Oh my god..." he breathed, staring at Alyssa's outline in the dark. "Oh my god... I... oh god, Alyssa!" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body close to his own, sobbing softly in her ear.
Their tears mingled and fell to the ground as they held each other and cried. Alyssa felt a burst of relief spread through her heart and clutched Erik tighter, needing to feel the warmth of his chest against her cheek.
"Please... please don't leave..." she murmured against his skin. Erik sueezed her reassuringly.
"I won't, Alyssa, I promise," he whispered, feeling Alyssa's grip slowly weaken. "I'll stay right here, my dear. Don't worry." She nodded feebly, and Erik smiled softly at her. How can you stand to kneel here in my embrace without a single shudder of revulsion? How could any person be so... compassionate?
After a while, Erik felt Alyssa's breath, slow and relaxed against him. He wanted to stay there with her, holding her, so badly, but for her sake decided to go back home. He picked her up lightly, gently balancing her in his arms as he started off down the passageway.
He set her down delicately on the bed once they were in his room, and tenderly pulled a few blankets up to her shoulders. He turned to leave, but hesitated and faced her for a moment before exiting the room. As his eyes swept over the beautiful features of her face, he found himself murmuring four words that had been haunting him inside for longer than he'd known.
"I love you, Alyssa."
YAY! We all knew it was coming, and now he said it! But before you get too excited, just wait for a few more updates before partying. And remember, the more reviews the quicker the update!
Okay, and now for the story. There's this Comic Convention going on right now in my town, and it's, like, a really big thing around here. So anyway, my friends talked me into going today, and guess who I saw there! Guess guess guess! (An ignore the message on the side, just scroll...)
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...GERARD BUTLER! IN THE FLESH! I'M NOT KIDDING! OMG, I'M SOOOO HAPPY, THAT JUST LIKE MADE THE REST OF MY LIFE! .:FAINTS:.