Ghastly Familiar

By BeckyLynnetteCohen

Disclaimer: I own Anna Maria, Samantha, Jean Claude, Sydney, and Savannah. That is it.

A/N: More of Erik talking to himself in this one… And a huge thank you to Erikslittleangel13 for the awesome reviews!! It's what keeps me writing this!

Chapter 10: The First to Not Run

"Erik, I don't want to piss you off by saying this but…"

"You want to see the deformity don't you?"

"Uh huh." Said Anna Maria, bowing her head.

Erik sighed. "Promise me you won't scream."

Anna Maria raised her head. "I promise."

"Ok." Said Erik, taking a deep breath.

Slowly, Erik took off the mask and closed his eyes preparing for a bloodcurdling scream. (A/N: This is the movie version of the face by the way so if you don't like it I got 2 words for you….) Anna Maria's eyes widened a bit in surprise but she didn't seem frightened at all. Erik opened his eyes.

"Y-you didn't scream."

"I didn't scream cuz it's not that bad Erik…"

"What?"

"I don't think it's that bad. It just looks like one humongously bad burn. That's all."

Erik let out a relieved sigh. "You're probably the first person to say something like that to me."

"Well there's a first time for everything, eh?"

"I guess so."

"Shall we continue so you can actually have feet?"

Erik laughed. "Yeah, sure. What's next on your agenda?"

"I'm not sure… Wait… I got one…."

"And the name of it is…?"

"My Immortal."

"Hmm… Ok."

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

Anna Maria sighed. "I hate that song."

"Then why did you sing it?"

"I dunno."

"Good answer."

Anna Maria rolled her eyes and continued searching through her CDs seeing that "My Immortal" only brought back Erik's shoe/foot. Stifling a yawn, Anna Maria pulled out a random CD.

"What's next Anna?"

"Damn me and my obsession with the musical version of the Leroux book!"

"Huh?"

"I want to do a song that's technically done by the phantom, aka you, but I don't know if I could pull it off."

"I'm sure you could, Anna. You've already impressed me enough tonight so one screw up won't kill you."

"Oh that makes me feel reaaaaaal confident Erik!"

Erik laughed and placed a hand on Anna Maria's shoulder. "You'll do fine."

"Okay then… Here goes nothing…"

No one would listen
No one but her
Heard as the outcast hears.
Shamed into solitude
Shunned by the multitude
I learned to listen
In my dark, my heart heard music.
I longed to teach the world
Rise up and reach the world
No one would listen
I alone could hear the music
Then at last, a voice in the gloom
Seemed to cry "I hear you;
I hear your fears,
Your torment and your tears."
She saw my loneliness
Shared in my emptiness
No one would listen
No one but her
Heard as the outcast hears
No one would listen
No one but her
Heard as the outcast hears...

"T-told you you'd pull it off." Said Erik, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Yeah, not to mention I got the water works starting…"

"Shove it."

"No fair! I'm not allowed to say that to you, but you're allowed to say it to me?!"

Erik smirked.

"Oh fine!"

"I'm still not fully complete yet."

"I should just let you walk around with everything BUT your legs."

"Anna Maria….."

"Okay, okay. I'm not that mean! Let's get your legs back!"

"That sounds like I got them amputated…."

Anna Maria laughed. "It looks like you did."

Erik laughed. "Yeah, a person with no legs, yet they wear shoes."

"Yeah. That makes no sense."

A very awkward silence came over the two 'friends'. Erik looked away.

'Told you so.'

You told me what?

'That you were in love with her.'

I am not! She's just a friend.

'You know I'm right, Erik. She's got an amazing voice. She isn't repulsed by the sight of your deformed face… what more could you ask for?'

Someone that will stay.

'Maybe if you ask her to, she will.'

I doubt it. She's in school remember…

'Ha! So you admit you like her?'

…Yes. I do like her but I don't think that I'm in love with her. Plus what would be the point of asking her to stay?

'Erik, you like her. This is the first girl… woman…. That sees you for who you are on the inside as opposed to who or what you look like on the outside. If I were you, I'd not let her go.'

So you want me to pull what I did with Christine on her?!

'Not that harsh, mate. You lost Christine because of what you did. Just don't go crazy, ok?'

Fine.

Erik snapped out of his little trance to find Anna Maria searching for another CD. "What's next?"

"Thought I lost ya' for a second there Erik… I'm not sure. One song should do it and then we'll test it."

"What do you mean test it?"

"You're going on a field trip outside with me."

"Like hell."

"Oh come on Erik! It's the only way to test if you are truly back."

"Fine… Do I have to sing with you again?"

"Not unless you want to."

"Good." Erik said trying unsuccessfully to suppress a slight yawn.

"Someone's getting tired."

"Shush."

Anna Maria laughed. "I think I got one."

"Good. What's the name?"

"… 'It's Your Love' by Tim McGraw."

"Any reason?"

"No. I just kinda like the song."

"Fire away when you're ready."

Yea yea
Dancin' in the dark middle of the night
Takin' your heart and holdin' it tight
Emotional touch touchin' my skin
And asking you to do what you've been doin' all over again
Oh it's a beautiful thing don't think I can keep it all in
I just gotta let you know what it is that won't let me go
It's your love
It just does something to me
It sends a shock right through me
I can't get enough
And if you wonder
About the spell I'm under
Oh it's your love
Better than I was, more than I am
And all of this happened by taking your hand
And who I am now is who I wanted to be
And now that we're together,
I'm stronger than ever
I'm happy and free
Oh it's a beautiful thing,
Don't think I can keep it all in
If you asked me why I've changed,
All I gotta do is say your sweet name
It's your love
It just does something to me
It sends a shock right through me
I can't get enough
And if you wonder
About the spell I'm under
Oh, it's your love
Baby, Oh oh, oh,
Oh it's a beautiful thing,
Don't think I can keep it all in
I just gotta let you know what it is that won't let me go
It's your love
It just does something to me
It sends a shock right through me
I can't get enough
And if you wonder
About the spell I'm under,
Oh it's your love
It's your love, it's your love, it's your love

"Completely… asleep…" said Anna Maria, looking toward Erik who was by this time fast asleep in the armchair next to Anna Maria's bed.

Shaking her head slightly, Anna Maria walked over to Erik and covered him with a spare blanket. She then quietly walked over to her dresser and got her pajamas out of one of the drawers.

Glancing at Erik's sleeping form, Anna Maria smiled and walked to the bathroom to change. "We did it Erik." She whispered.