Okay. Sorry for not updating so quick, I have had allot to do recently and not a lot of time to do it.

I also apologise if the flow of the story is a little mashed up. I wrote it over several days.

Apologies.

icanhearthedrums, thank you! I was really trying to input the cute element in Cynthia and Erik after the callous start they both had.

Stargazer1364 I actually checked that song out and thanks, it was pretty good. I think that suits the tone rather well.

thegeyerguesthoouse, thanks. I do so hate Mary Sue characters. I personally love the drama of a good love triangle, I suppose that is why I am so obsessed with POTO and its amazing characters. Except Raoul. Annoying little fop.

RedDeathLvr thanks and love the name! I do try to throw in a few surprises and some sweetness, so thankyou.

Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support and lovely reviews, if you have any criticisms or pointers, please to tell me - I'd like to make the reading experience as enjoyable as possible.

Thank you.

Erik left the show that night with a little life in his heart. He knew it was wrong, God did he know it - but it still fulfilled him slightly with something... like he had achieved a greater goal. From then on his thoughts about Christine had began to lessen and he found himself constantly wanting to be around another. Her.

Whilst the orchestra played and she concentrated hard, he would take advantage of her disability and stare at her. He loved the way she would lick her lips and pucker them as she concentrated. Making them reder. Sometimes when he watched he would have to grip the arms of his chair to restrain himself from sweeping her off her feet and taking her some place private.

Sometimes, with a strange sort of sixth-sense, she would catch him staring and blush. Then pout her lips furiously and cross her arms. He'd often chuckle at this childish blight display and look away until she lost the feeling and then watch her again.

Of course Nadir picked up on this... The blushes, the stares, the teasing and the cosy little chats over cups of steaming tea in Erik's office - he was going green with envy. Cynthia was hardly even speaking to him now, after everything that happened he was lucky that she was still coming to work. She was only doing it for him.

He waited for her to finish rehearsals and watched as Erik still sat, a slight smirk on his face and his posture so strange. It was almost like he was drunk. However he knew his friend well and knew that he wasn't easily drunk, so he couldn't have been. He had a confident air around him, watching as she packed away her violin so carefully, as if she packing her fragile little heart into a box.

It was the little things that she did, those small innocent little movement and habits. Chewing on her lip, straightening her hair, flicking it from her shoulders, the swaying of her hair and hips as she walked. Contrasting with her fiery passion and quips on her tongue sharper than any blade, she was a woman that he yearned for. But now she was drifting away from him.

From that distance he could barely hear what they were saying - but as she finished packing up and stood, he stood too. He wanted to shout and protest, but found himself only able to watch. Letting it unravel before him.

"Cynthia..." Erik trailed off, for when her unfocused eyes looked up at him all his courage bled out and he found himself cowering before her once again.

"Yes Mister Destler?" She asked confidently but with a slight blush on her already rosy cheeks. It did so put a smile on Nadir's face when she dropped the fury front even slightly and gave a glimpse of the real and soft woman underneath. Except now she wasn't doing it for him, but for his 'friend'.

Erik saw the flush of her cheeks too and chuckled to himself, causing her to raise a quizzical brow and purse her lips slightly. Why was he laughing?

"Cynthia, there's something I've been meaning to give you." Her mouth opened slightly to ask what it was and to Nadir's horror she never managed to form that sentence.

With a smirk he put his hand on her stomach, pressing her against the wall. A gasp slipped from her sweet red lips and her eyelids fluttered almost dizzily. Nadir went to shout but no noise came. Instead he could only watch as Erik unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt, allowing him to move his neck better, revealing a morsel of his surprisingly chiseled chest.

Without a word, he wrapped his hand around the back of her head and through her hair - pulling her face closer to his. Their lips were inches apart. Once again her sweet breath fell in hot pants against his face, condensing on his mask and sending cold shivers through his body. He was now a few centimetres from pure bliss.

But he was surprised to find to find that the bridge was crossed and not by his own doing. Their lips pressed together and Erik could have sworn he saw stars, bright lights and shimmering glitter in his vision. She had kissed him!

Nadir's heart broke in his chest as he watched their lips collide in dance of the flesh. Erik's strong hand slammed on the wall beside her head and now Erik could see terror in her bright blue eyes. Afterall, he was a brute, a monster - not to mention that mask. He was deceiving her. She never knew and would never behold the disfigured horrors that lay beneath that pristine white cloak of the face.

Then again, that's why they were so perfect. He should have known, he shouldn't have been so blind. He couldn't stand to watch anymore as the woman he loved clashed with dearest and oldest friend he had ever had.

So instead he walked away. Trudging his way begrudgingly to stuffy little office, crammed full of papers and stinking of cigarette smoke. With a tired shrug and exhausted sigh he slumped into his chair. As he opened his drawer he was greeted by the smiling faces of his new best friends: Mr Whiskey, Mr Rum and Mr Tobacco.

Meanwhile, Erik had her against the wall - stealing kiss after kiss from her. But now he was scaring her. His hands were possesively holding her in place and she couldn't find the breath to ask him to stop. It was one of the first times in her life she had been genuinely scarred.

The masked side of his face began to press against hers and the cold of it nearly stung her skin. She struggled beneath his grasp and managed to place two hands on his chest. Only to find that the top of his shirt was open and her hands grasped at his firm chest. Once again she gasped and felt the smile on his lips.

He always wore suits and night attire so she never realised how muscular he was. But as he had her in his arms she felt the tense muscles writhing beneath the suit and found she wanted to bite her lip. But she wanted no more and pushed at his shoulders.

Within an instant he recoiled and grabbed her arms, scanning her face for a reaction. But she turned her head to the side. She was so ashamed and embarrassed, she could even feel her cheeks roaring and burning. Erik sighed.

"I'm sorry... So sorry." He loosened the grip on her arms and passed her the violin case. Which she accepted with a nod and walked away from him as if she was wounded. It broke his heart.

After pacing the floor for some amount of time, he sat down and tore off his wig, his mask and stared down at the floor. What had he done? He had ruined everything, he was close! Love was within his grasp and he held to tight, once again.

In a blind rage he began to whip his way through the opera house. Tearing the wallpaper from the walls, kicking down costume racks and baring his teeth, screaming through them. Eventually, he made his way to the Persians office.

Angrily, he swung open the door. Finding his friend once again drunk and incomprehensible, leant back in his chair smoking rings and laughing to himself. He didn't even flinch as his friend crossed the room and raised the bottle in the air.

Erik took mouthfuls and mouthfuls until it numbed the pain. That girl, that woman - she was the devil.

Not my best chapter I know, but please tell me what you think.

Thank you and I hope you continue to read.

More romance next chapter.