I opened the window leading to Erik's lair and hurried in. He was composing something. I was crying a little and he saw me. "Avril," he said, walking towards me.
I ran towards him and hopped into his arms. "Erik," I cried. "The school. That god-awful school in god-awful America…for some reason, the same people who wanted me dead want me back." After a few sobs, I added, "I don't wanna go. I wanna stay in Paris. With you."
"They won't take you away from me, mon cher," he whispered to me. After a pause, he sang, "Anywhere you go, let me go, too. Love me, that's all I ask of you."
I smiled, leaning my forehead on his shoulder. "You're a hell of a lot awesomer than Greg. And Alex. You're the Phantom of the Opera…and I love you."
Stroking my hair, he replied softly, "I love you, too, Avril."
I looked at his organ. "Are you continuing the song I sang for you?"
"I finished it," he replied. "I sent it to an American songwriter, allowing him to take credit for a fee."
"What are you doing now?" I asked.
He smiled. "Something for you."
I blushed. "You don't have to do that, Erik, everything you do is sweet."
"Well, I did it," he said. "Perhaps it'll make you feel better."
"Better than you made me," I replied. "Sure, I'd like to hear it. Everything you do rocks."
He led me to the bench and turned to the first page of the composition. He started playing and after a few notes, he sang. He sang beautifully. Every note, high or low he hit was fantastic. Everything was so awesome. When he stopped at where he left off, I said, "That was…fantastic, Erik. Thank you."
After softly kissing my forehead, he replied, "You look tired, Avril. Perhaps you should sleep."
"Stay with me this time," I said. "I want you to sleep, too. You never seem to."
He picked me up and led me to the same red bed with a peacock-shaped base. I said, "Um…I can walk there, you know."
He gently put me down on the bed, "Well, perhaps I don't want you to." He joined me on the bed and pulled me closer to him. Curling his soft fingers in my hair, he started singing Music of the Night to me. I fell asleep when he finished.
I woke up not in my own bed in Grandma's house, but in the same place I recalled falling asleep in. The Fifth Cellar of the Palais Garnier. The Phantom of the Opera to others, or to me, Erik, my boyfriend's lair. I found him at the organ, wearing a loose white poet shirt exposing some of his muscular chest, his sleek black hair which was usually gelled back loose around his ears and the mask still on his face. Just like the I Remember There Was Mist part in the play/movie. I hated that part but I had an excuse to reenact it because I felt like it would be a good time to unmask him. I wasn't scared of him at all. I loved him. So I sang after I opened the sheer black curtains surrounding the bed, "I remember there was mist…swirling mist upon a vast, glassy lake…there were candles all around and on the lake there was a boat… and in the boat there was a man…"
As if I wasn't quoting his awesome play, he just looked back at me. I continued when I was close enough to unmask him, "Who was that shape in the shadows? Whose is the face in the mask?" After caressing the soft skin on his neck a little, I swiftly took the mask off. He covered the half of his face and jumped off the bench, pushing me to the floor. "Avril!" he cried without looking at me. "W-what did you do that for?"
"Chill, dude, I just wanted to see," I said.
He turned his face, which was still covered by his hand, to me. "You would hate me if you did. It's worse than you think. It does resemble a rotting corpse."
"The rest of you is hot," I said, standing up as he turned away from me. "It's a minor flaw, everyone's got one. Have you seen Sarah Jessica Parker's face? That'sgross, yet Matthew Broderick still loves her and they have adorable children." I forced him to turn towards me. "I swear on my life I won't scream or anything."
"Not right now, Avril," he breathed. "Please…not right now."
I sighed. "Fine." I handed him the mask and he turned away from me to put it back on.
When he turned back to me, he said, "If you'd like to see the stage in person, I could show you now."
"Cool," I said with a smile.