I HAVE AN IDEA FOR AN AWESOME FANFIC U GUYZ D:

I put it up on my Coming Soon page. Take a look.

oo0o0oo

By the time Tori arrived back at her new home, night had fallen and the only sound was the merry chirping of crickets. She walked down the path up to the front door, shivering a little in the sudden chill that wracked her body.

"I should buy a new coat," she mumbled to herself, bringing the coat in question more tightly around her as she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Silence was the only sound in the house, which scared Tori a bit. Normally she was used to the sound of writing on paper, or notes being tried out, or even whole songs being written and played out. Everything was dark save for a few candles that were burning out, and no one was in immediate sight.

Tori raised an eyebrow. "Erik?" she called cautiously.

No answer.

Sighing, she went inside regardless, walking upstairs and putting her coat away quickly before running back downstairs to relight candles, causing the whole house to be aglow. She sat by the piano and ran her fingers along the keys. It was time to wait.

-----------------

Not too long after Tori had seated herself, the door flew open again, and Renee stumbled in, her arms laden with packages.

"Where do you want me to put these, sir?" she called out over her shoulder into the night.

A smooth baritone answered her calls. "In the sitting room, Renee. Go quickly."

As soon as Renee had scuttled past and greeted Tori, Erik came in and closed the door behind him. It was only when everything was put away and he was walking back to the main room to go upstairs that he noticed her.

"Good evening, my dear. Have you been waiting long?"

His eyes seemed to glow in the candles' light. Tori shifted and put a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Well, no."

"How was practice?"

To the untrained ears, that seemed to e the only thing that interested him: her career. However, Tori knew better, and she responded cheerfully:

"It went well."

A telltale element kept Erik from accepting the answer easily. He stared at her curiously.

"I know that's not the case," he said slowly, lifting his chin and looking down at Tori.

She shifted again, this time uncomfortable under his gaze. "Well..."

And she told him everything that had happened that day: about the ballet rats nearly finding out who she really was married to, the interview with the managers about her current situation, and Raoul.

The musician hissed, his eyes narrowing. "That boy...he simply won't let you go, will he?"

"Well, he seemed innocent enough when he talked to me. In fact, I think he would like to befriend me..."

"Don't trust your first instinct on him. I know he wants to steal you away." Before Tori could counter, Erik had swished up the stairs, his footsteps heavy on the wood.

Her lips pursed. She thought he had outgrown this phase of protectively holding her close to him, swearing to God above that she was his and no one elses. If she was now married, did he not have to worry anymore? Or was he paranoid that she would leave him for someone else, namely Raoul, excusing what tension there was between the dandy and the singer?

She rose and walked into the kitchen, where the three servants were currently arguing over what they should cook after the burning bread situation of that morning. Tori immersed herself in their bickering, temporarily forgetting Erik's posessiveness. It was a problem for another time and place.