Chapter 7

I woke up with the stiffest back in the world, not to mention someone was prancing about the stage. I groaned, "Erica if you don't stop whatever the hell it is you're doing, I swear to God, I'll get up and slap you!"

I fell back into my pillow, wishing it wasn't so early. That's something everyone knows about me, I am NOT a morning person. Actually, Erica knows that the best. One morning when she woke me up I ended up pushing her off of the bed, then instantly fell back asleep. Why? I have no idea. Right before I was about to fall back into blissful sleep someone grabbed me and picked me up, "Holy crap!"

I looked up to see Anthony twirling me about and smiling, "Mornin' sunshine! How ya'll feelin'?"

I heard Erica laughing hysterically in the background, and then Anthony turned to her and asked in his normal voice, "Did I say that right?"

Erica gasped between laughs, "That...was...per-fect... Anthony."

I glared at Erica then hit Anthony upside the head, growling, "Put me down right now." Anthony put me down and rubbed his head, what a baby I didn't even hit him that hard.

"Geez Hailey," Anthony chuckled. "I was just trying to make you feel less homesick."

I clenched my jaw, "You're the one who is supposed to be down in the dumps at the moment." Anthony shrugged; he seemed to be okay now. I looked at him curiously, then turned my attention to Erica, "Who said I was homesick?"

She snickered then held her hands up saying, "Hey, this is my fantasy I thought you'd be dying to go home by now." I walked closer, noticing she wanted to say more. "Plus, Anthony's a sweet heart. We have no idea how long we'll be here and you two should spend more time together."

I rolled my eyes, "First, who said you could play match-maker; and second, I didn't ask for a wake-up call!"

Erica just smiled cheekily at me, "I know, but don't you see? I killed two birds with one stone. I wanted you to get up so you and Anthony could give me a tour, and Anthony wanted to be the one to wake you." Then she raised her voice to a stage whisper, "And he woke you so sweetly, like you were his little princess."

I clenched my jaw and fought the blush that came to my face when Anthony smiled at me, "I'm going to get you for that."

"Yeah; yeah. Sure; sure." Erica said blowing it off. "Well, since you are up let's get something to eat. Maybe afterwards Anthony can give me a tour?"

Of course as soon as I was about to protest my stomach growled like a monster truck. Erica bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. "Oh shut up," I said laughing. "Come on Anthony, you're invited to eat too."

"Of course, we're going out," Erica said with a smile as she pulled a roll of money out of the boots she wore. "It's on me."

Now, I don't understand French money. How much it's worth and what not; but when I saw Anthony's eyes bulge I realized Erica must have over a hundred dollars in her hand. I leaned over and said, "How much money do you have?...and you still keep all your money in your boot?!"

Anthony nudged me, "That's rude; don't ask people about their money."

I bobbed my head sarcastically and looked at Erica for an answer, she just laughed deviously stating, "I don't know how much exactly but I know it's Raoul's money. So my brother is buying."

So that's why she has so much. Miniature pay-back for Raoul getting Christine in the end. I'm sure spending a little of his fortune wouldn't hurt anything. I clapped my hands together, "Well in that case, I'm starving. Let's eat!"

...

"So," Erica said once we were outside of the Opera House. "Where would you like to go for breakfast?"

Anthony and I both thought for a moment, but seeing as I don't know about anything outside of the Opera house Anthony answered first, "There is a small cafe, a block or so away, that serves fine pastries and excellent tea." I nodded my head in agreement; anything Anthony suggested had to be good.

"Alrighty then; warm tea sounds fantastic in this freezing weather," Erica said as she swept her arms off to the side. "Lead the way, Monsieur Baudin."

I looked at Erica surprised, as did Anthony; how does she know his last name? He never told her, did he? Erica seemed to catch on to our stares, dropping her smile and letting her hands fall to her sides. When Anthony and I remained silent her eyes began to search, she was replaying what she said in her mind. Finally, after about five seconds she realized what she had said. She laughed awkwardly.

"Um, that is to say...Anthony do you know who is one of your friends?" Anthony stared at Erica, not understanding. Erica cleared her throat, "The man who befriended both of us. He spoke of you while I waited for Hailey the other night."

Oh, she's talking about Erik. Erica looked like she was struggling, praying that he would catch on to what she was saying.

Apparently Anthony had connected the dots and looked just as nervous as Erica. He nodded, "What about him?"

"Well, one of the things he told me was-"

I cut Erica off quickly saying, "Guys, this is a talk for after breakfast. Please, I'm starving." I was hoping that we could leave Erik out of our conversations, seeing as he was the reason for...well, you know.

Anthony and Erica both sighed then said, "Agreed."

...

We entered the cafe and quickly found a seat. Erica seemed like she had something to tell me; that was never a good sign! I stared at her from where I sat, she wouldn't make eye contact with me longer than a second. Noooooooooooo! My head made contact with the table, "Whaaaaaaaat? What is it, what did you do?"

Anthony looked at me as if I was a toddler throwing a tantrum, but Erica started picking her lip and saying, "Well, you said to wait until after breakfast. It's not bad, really; I-uh, found out a way to get us home. With the help of the Phantom, of course."

"Home," I breathed as my head shot up with a small growing smile. Anthony looked down at the table, not saying a word. Erica smiled and stopped picking her lip; but Anthony freaked out when she removed her hand.

"Erica, you're bleeding!" Anthony grabbed a handkerchief from his coat and dabbed Erica's lip to stop it.

Erica pulled back and gently moved Anthony's hand with a smile, "Anthony, you're sweet but I'm fine."

Anthony looked confused; Erica waved her hands in the air, searching for the word, "It's a...it's considered...I actually don't know what it is. I pick my lip when I'm board, stressed, or nervous. It's a comfort thing, and sometimes my lip bleeds, but not as much as you think."

"What could possibly be comforting about bleeding at all; it looks painful." Anthony said, forcing Erica to hold the handkerchief to her lip. She rolled her eyes then we all ordered our breakfast.

...

After ordering and eating Anthony sighed, "So how soon are you returning?" I grabbed Anthony's hand to comfort him; he wouldn't have anybody after I left. Now I really wished Buquet wasn't dead.

Erica winced, "Well, it's a little more complicated than that." My head snapped to look at her. This must be the part she was nervous about.

"How complicated?" I asked, "Complicated as in a few months or complicated as in within a year?

"Um," she said. "Complicated as in...If we're not already dead then I have an idea that could or could not work. If it doesn't work then... years?"

My eyes widened, "I told you last night we're not dead! Talk fast, what in the world are you thinking?" Years? YEARS?! What the hell Erica? You're the one who's supposed to know all about Phantom time travel!

Erica held up her hands defensively, "Okay, okay; calm down. Philippi is taking a trip to America, and he invited me to come with him. I agreed; and while we are in America I'm going to find what is today's Charleston, West Virginia. I'm going to dig up an herb that grows there and bring it back here. After that...well we'll come to that later. I beg of you not to push that further."

Anthony looked at Erica suspiciously, but I decided not to push her; she's my best friend and I can trust her. I took a deep breath, "Okay, so how long will you be gone?"

Anthony jerked his head to look at me, absolutely flabbergasted that I didn't question her more. He couldn't ask her; it wasn't his place. Erica smiled sarcastically, "Oh you'll love this; Three months exactly."

Once again my head connected with the table. Thankfully Anthony put his coat there so the impact wasn't so hard. I said into his jacket, "ouh ust e idng e! oll e ack nn ee igh of ee masurade?"

Anthony and Erica looked at each other then back at me, "What?"

I threw my head back up the said, "You must be kidding me! You'll be back the night of the Masquerade?" I dropped my head into my hands as I saw Erica nodding.

Then I heard Erica grab our waitress and ask for an éclair to go before she turned back to me, "You're going to have to survive the next few months without me; I leave tomorrow morning at seven. Anthony, keep her sane until I get back; alright?"

Anthony nodded and with that we headed back to the Opera. It had actually warmed up quite a bit, it was still cold with some snow on the ground, but it was sunny. Erica looked up at the sky or down at her feet, occasionally stopping to pick something up. I swear she finds something everywhere we go. Before we reached the Opera Populaire Erica laughed.

"What?" I asked as she stared at me.

"I'm surprised Hailey," she said. "Have you not had 'Assassin's Creed' withdrawals since you've been here? You haven't said a word about it; usually you'd have talked my ear off by now."

I pondered this, surprisingly I hadn't even thought about Assassin's Creed since I came here. Until now, that is. I remembered where I had left off in 'Assassin's Creed lll', after replaying it a second time. Even though I knew the ups and downs of that game like the back of my hand, it still hurt my heart to think about it. I turned to Erica as I put my hands to my head, "Ugh! You suck!"

Erica looked taken aback, "What did I do?"

My stomach twisted into knots as I buried my face in my hands, sighing slowly. "Nothing, I just remembered something about AC3 and I just... miss it; A lot."

Now, I didn't really talk Erica's ear off about Assassin's Creed, per se...we were about even when it came to talking about our obsessions. I've had to explain many things to her whenever she was confused, so she knew quite a bit. "What part are you talking about? When Connor's mom dies?"

I huffed, feeling slightly worse. "No not that. There's a thing for it and its pretty much an alternate universe from the original AC3 called 'The Tyranny of King Washington.'"

"Ah. I'm guessing George is a king rather than a president?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm upset about." I said, crossing my arms. "In that universe, Connor doesn't grow up as 'Connor.' He grows up as he normally would've- a Native American. His mother doesn't die or anything."

Erica seemed confused, giving me a quizzical look. "Why's that so bad?"

I laughed softly. "It's not bad. I just... Ziio gets to fight alongside her son. They fight and they stand by each other, and it just... hurts, I guess. Even though they're fictional, they're my babies, even if they are fully grown, twenty-something year old men who commit murder on a daily basis." I couldn't help but smirk then. "But you know exactly how I feel, don't you?" I snickered.

Anthony stared at Erica and I while she mulled over what I said. A small blush came to her face when she thought about the last part of my rant. Well, I surprisingly feel better; no wonder Erica goes on her Phantom rants all the time. I had just returned to reality when Erica said, "I've been thinking; is it bad that we are obsessed with murderers?"

I automatically shook my head smiling, "No, not when the murderers are hot; and Conner is hoooooooot."

I started to laugh, as did Erica, at my own craziness. I missed this; this was us on a daily basis. Anthony looked down for a moment then clenched his jaw, "Who is 'Conner' and why is he...'hot'? What's so great about an Assassin anyway?"

Erica and I turned to look at Anthony, then we looked at each other, and our laughter returned with a vengeance. Anthony thought Conner was real! I grabbed the rail alongside the steps of the Opera Populaire and doubled over. Erica not-so-gracefully fell to the ground in a fit of laughter that left her crying.

When my laughter had finally stopped I started to wipe my eyes from crying as well. Erica was gasping for breath and still snickering a bit as she said, "Oh Anthony, that was priceless; that was the first time I've laughed that hard since I've been here."

I stopped laughing and finally found my voice, "Ditto. Oh my gosh, that was funny!"

Anthony stared at us a moment longer then said, "I didn't see any humor in that, and who is Conner?" Anthony looked upset, but it was so funny, how do you explain a video game character to somebody from 1871?

Erica walked up to Anthony, grabbing his hand, and then she walked over to me with a grin, and placed Anthony's hand on my forehead. Anthony stiffened and I had to fight the urge to back away.

Erica looked pleased with herself and after a minute or two Anthony came back, "Video game...X-box...he's a fictional character? Interesting." Anthony seemed pleased about Conner being a fictional character, but then he turned to face Erica looking worried, "How did you know how to do that?"

Erica shrugged with a mischievous smile, "I sort of guessed. Hailey and I don't always tell everything we know though, and I know a lot about you because of Erik. Speaking of which, I'll be right back."

Erica dashed up the stairs in a flash with her to-go bag swinging back and forth, leaving Anthony and I alone. He seemed nervous and refused to look me in the eye. I guess whatever Erica knew about him was something only he and Erik had known before now. Well, I'm going to jump on this bandwagon. I huffed, "So, are you going to tell me whatever it is Erica knows or are you going to leave me in the dark?"

Anthony shifted from one foot to the other, "The first time I ever really used my powers was when Buquet wanted to hunt Erik down for nearly dropping a sandbag on one of the ballerinas. In his defense though, he only did it because she was about to trip on a prop and fall. If he wouldn't have dropped it she would have been hurt."

"Anyway, Buquet asked me if I could find where the Phantom lived if I touched something of his. At the time I was just a small boy and I didn't know the type of man Erik was, so I told Buquet I would try. Unfortunately, the item Buquet had managed to take from the Phantom was his mask; do not ask me how, but that was the day Buquet discovered what the Phantom looked like."

My eyes were wide, Erica already knew this and she didn't tell me? God I'm going to kill her; that was the ONE question I had always wanted to know about this story!

Anthony rubbed the back of his neck, "He never told me why Erik wore the mask, but when I had touched it I saw some of his life and his secret tunnels. Buquet ordered me to follow wherever I was led and report back to him when I discovered the Phantom's lair. Like the stupid boy I was I went on a search alone."

"Go on," I urged while patting Anthony on the shoulder as he looked away in shame.

"When I came across the room which is now mine I met Erik, needless to say we were not friends at the time, and he was not happy to see me. I was twelve at the time, and being a scared twelve year old I did the only logical thing I could do. I kneeled down on my knees and returned his mask to him."

My eyebrows shot up, "Wow, that was gutsy."

Anthony scoffed, "Looking back on it I feel cowardly, but in truth that was the smartest thing I could have done. Erik apparently took pity on me; he returned his mask to it's rightful place then sat down beside me. Scaring me to death, he just sat down and began talking to me, asking me questions."

"What did he ask?" I questioned as I cocked my head to the side.

Anthony shrugged, "I don't remember really; just who I was, where I came from, and if I had a home."

I smiled, "That's why you live down there and know so many secret passages; the Phantom is your friend. Anthony, that is amazing!"

Anthony shrugged and was about to say something when an all-too-familiar voice said, "Hailey, how are you today?"

My stomach dropped, it was Philippi. What did he want; couldn't that egotistical bastard take a hint? Anthony glared at Philippi behind me, and when I turned I could have punched his lights out. He was holding a bouquet of pink roses. I sighed, "What do you want De Chagny?"

Philippi looked hurt, "I do not want anything. I simply wanted to give you these flowers as an apology for the other day. I was way out of line for touching you the way I did."

I heard Anthony tighten his hands into fists until his fingers cracked. Forcing myself not to wince I took the flowers and said a quick 'thank you,' hoping that would suffice. I wasn't that lucky though; I'm never that lucky.

Philippi smiled, "I'm glad you like them. I wonder if I might have a word with you in private?"

"No, you may not," I gritted out. "I accept your apology but I am spending time with friends."

Philippi grasped my hand in a tight grip, pulling me away from Anthony, "It will only take a moment, I assure you."

I was about to bite this horse's ass as hard as I could until he let go of my wrist, when Anthony stepped in.

Anthony grabbed Philippi's hand and ripped his fingers from around my wrist. "The lady said 'no,' now if you'll excuse us."

Philippi stepped in front of Anthony hissing, "What gives you the right to intervene, boy?" Anthony glared at Philippi, his knuckles white and not saying a word. That was when I realized they were going to have a showdown.

"Leave now," Anthony said through clenched teeth. I looked around for some type of diversion, when I saw my only option I took it.

As Philippi grabbed Anthony by his shirt I picked up a hand full of snow, then stuffed it down Philippi's shirt yelling, "Cool it!"

Philippi yelped and started to do the 'It's cold' dance as Anthony and I ran up the stairs. We heard Philippi yell at us to come back, followed by thundering steps up the stairs behind us as we entered the foyer. I was the leader this time and Anthony followed me around a few twists and turns; but me leading was not the greatest idea. Philippi was only a little ways behind us when we ran into a dead end.

"Crap!" I exclaimed softly as I hit the wall with my hand. Anthony motioned for me to stay behind him as we waited for Philippi to catch up. Just as we heard his footsteps coming down the hallway two pairs of arms shot out from the wall behind us and pulled us back into the darkness.

Hey everybody, I'm SO sorry not a lot happened in this chapter, I'm still trying to show how close Hailey and Erica are as friends. Things will happen in the next chapter, I swear. I'm also SO sorry I didn't update Friday or yesterday! My school was hosting some scholarship thing in the library and I couldn't get to a computer. Thank you for the reviews and since I was late I will update Friday (God willing) without demanding any reviews like last time; but I hope you will review anyway. Oh, to answer the question you probably have of me picking my lip, I really don't know. I guess it's a nervous tick, everyone has something like that. Biting their nails, biting their lip, cracking their neck, (Hailey does that) or cracking their knuckles; same basic thing. Until Friday,

Phan3145