Chapter 7-Dinner

"Erik I need to talk to you right now," Madame Giry demanded as she banged on the door to the basement of an abandoned building at the end of Broadway. There was movement behind the door but no answer. "Erik open the freaken door!"

Erik finally opened the door. "What in the hell do you want?" he asked annoyed at the fact the woman woke him so early.

"I need to talk to you," she explained, "can I come in?"

"No," he answered, "what makes you think I'd want a controlling old woman in my room?" he said sarcastically.

"Erik please this is important!" Giry argued. Erik came out of the room to stare the woman in the eye. The old woman cowered in fear as he got closer to her. "Please Erik I'm not in the mood for games," she told him as fearless as possible.

Erik admired the woman's courage and stubbornness even though he found the two qualities in Christine quite annoying. Of course Madame Giry was also the reason he was alive; she had saved his life on many occasions, and she proved to be quite useful at times. Because of her importance Erik thought she was quite worthy to keep alive. "Very well then Anne we can talk, but do so out here," Erik agreed.

The old woman took a sigh of relief. "Well I was worried about the time you're spending with Christine," Madame Giry explained to Erik as he glared at her with dark eyes.

"What are you worried about?" Erik inquired even though he knew the answer, but he was trying to make the conversation as uncomfortable for the woman as possible.

"Well Christine's like a daughter to me and even though I trust you around me, I do know what you are, and I'm worried you'll do something to her," Giry said.

"I see," Erik replied not showing any sign of his thoughts, which made Madame Giry's stomach churn. She hated it when he was like this, but she knew he was only trying to scare her.

"Please Erik don't play games with me! I mean besides for food why would you become friends with a human?" Madame Giry asked.

"Well I became friends with you didn't I? Of course I've never considered are talks to be all that friendly," Erik noted with a smile on his face as he propped himself up against the nearest wall. Madame Giry didn't look amused.

"Erik please!"

"Listen Anne could it have occurred to you I've actually made a friend, and I'm not just hanging around her because I owe her, or want to kill her?" Erik asked actually becoming serious with the conversation.

Madame Giry was taken aback at the thought. "Oh well..um..it's just that I know you're not quite normal," she said as she examined him from top to bottom.

"You mean my face," Erik pointed out.

"Well although that was a thought of mine, that's not the only thing."

"What else?" Erik inquired already knowing the answer, but taunting her was just fun.

"The fact that you're not even human!" Madame Giry screamed. "My gosh Erik have you thought of that? Have you thought of the fact that you can't just become friends with people, and then one day be having beers on a couch watching the Super bowl and tell them you're a vampire and them be ok with that!" she yelled.

"I think the mother is coming out in you Anne," Erik said.

"Err! I swear sometimes you can be so annoying!"

Taking a deep sigh Erik finally said, "Listen Anne if I was going to kill the girl don't you think I would have done it by now? Plus I'm only giving her singing lessons, that's it," he explained. Even thought Madame Giry disapproved she finally nodded her head and left.

Erik watched her walk up the dark stairs and out of his sight until he finally returned to his room. Erik knew he owed the woman but sometimes she really did piss him off, and what she had said tonight kind of made him a little agitated. You're not even human! The words raced through his mind again and again. She was absolutely right he wasn't human from the day he was born and now he was even less of one. He made his way to his drawer and took out a mirror covered with a cloth. Slowly, he removed his mask and looked into the mirror with shame and loathing. He was absolutely hideous. He wasn't human and he looked like a corpse with his skeletal face. "No I'm definitely not human…I'm a monster," he whispered sadly to himself.

He could feel tears emerging from his eyes. "NO!" he yelled as he smashed the mirror on the dresser. He wasn't about to let his emotions get the best of him.

"Christine! If you want me to give you lessons you've got to take this seriously! I know you can do better then missing a simple little note!" Erik scolded.

"Ok I'm sorry!" Christine pleaded.

"Ok from the top," he said as he began to play the piano once more and Christine began to sing. He thought her voice was absolutely gorgeous and she definitely had the potential to be the lead soprano at the opera. The only complaint he had about the girl was that she tried too hard; there was no emotion in her voice. It was something he would definitely have to work on that.

Christine sang hoping and praying she'd be perfect. Erik got so angry whenever she messed up, and boy did he know whenever she messed up. It's like his hearing was perfect, and he knew every song known to man. She quivered when she sang a sour note followed by Erik's banging of the piano keys. "Christine! What am I to do with you! You can't even sing one verse in tune!"

"I'm trying!" she protested. "I can't concentrate when I'm worried you'll yell at me if I do something wrong. I mean I just started getting real lessons a few nights ago!" she argued.

"Concentrate? Christine you need to just lighten up. Don't even really think about it. Just let your soul guide your voice, let it take you to a world you never knew," Erik explained.

Christine glared are him with curious eyes. He had so much passion as he spoke about singing, and Christine fond that rather attractive. Of course she didn't know how she couldn't find him attractive. He had that sexy, mysterious, I just got out of jail thing going on which any girl could totally fall for. Plus he even looked sexy even if she hadn't seen his face. The long, tied up black hair was to die for, the perfect mouth was delicious, and he just looked, generally, very seductive. Sure it was a little strange of him to wear the mask, and sure he was a lot of bit pale, but there was just something about his looks that made him quite attractive, and his the passion that he had only added to it.

"Christine?" Erik said to get her attention. "Are you still with me?" he joked.

Christine looked up in surprise. "Oh yeah I was just..um.." no way I want to tell him what I was really thinking, "thinking," she replied trying not to lie.

Erik eyed her suspiciously. He knew she was hiding something behind that girly grin, "Yes well I can see that," Erik said. "Well I think that's enough for the night," Erik suggested.

"Ahh do we really have to stop?" Christine whined.

"The sun's coming up," Erik pointed out.

"So, that shouldn't bother you should it?" Christine asked. "You're not a vampire? Are you?" Christine joked innocently. Erik laughed at her innocence.

"Well maybe I am?" Erik replied slickly. It was funny thinking that the girl could never know the truth.

"Well I just want to get to know you a little better," Christine explained hopefully. She was pulling the puppy dog look on him. When most people did this Erik didn't care, but Christine had something else about her that made him almost want to go with her.

"Christine I wish I could," Erik said.

"Please Erik!"

"I can't, I'd like to, but I can't," Erik explained. Christine looked crushed, but Erik couldn't go with her, it was a matter of life and death.

"It's just that..Ia wanted to do something for you," she stuttered as she played with her long brown hair.

"Why?" Erik inquired.

"I wanted to thank you gift for spending time with me every night," Christine told him.

"Like you don't have tons of friends to spend time with every night," Erik said as he began to get ready to leave.

"Not really. Meg's the only person that ever wants to spend time with me, and she's been busy with her retarded boyfriend every night." A lonely look came over Christine's face. Erik could sense that she was indeed lonely sometimes, perhaps just as lonely as he was every once in awhile. He kind of felt sorry for the girl, at least he was used to being lonely

"How about we go to dinner tonight," he suggested before he even had the time to think about what he was saying.

"Really?" Christine asked hopefully. Erik stared at her wondering what he had just done. He had just agreed to go out to dinner with the most stubborn, strange, and beautiful human he'd ever met, and now he couldn't get out of it.

"Sure," he replied beating himself up inside. "Now I've got to go, I'll see you tonight," he told her before running off. Christine watched him intently as he disappeared behind the stage.

The sun was just coming up behind the horizon as Erik reached the abandoned building at the end of Broadway without any harm. He was dismayed however when he sensed another vampire lurking inside, one he knew all too well and didn't want to know any better.

"Get out Audrey," he demanded as he entered the dark basement to see her sitting on the bed.

"Well I can't just leave. It is daylight you know," she noted with a smile on her face. Erik knew she had made sure she would get stuck in here on purpose.

"What makes you think I'll let you stay?" Erik asked with a smile on his face.

"What makes you think I'll let you throw me out," she answered with a grave look coming over her face. She wasn't going to die, especially because of a vampire that looked like a walking corpse.

"You like tormenting me don't you?" Erik questioned looking more pissed off then he usually did.

"I like tormenting everyone Erik! You just make is more fun for me," she answered.

Erik scoffed. "Fine then stay, but leave me alone," Erik ordered.

"What makes you think you have the right to order me around?" Audrey said as she began to circle around Erik; her beautiful dark eyes were staring him down, and Erik could tell she was trying to seduce him, and she would fail.

"Listen Audrey, I'm tired of your stupid games. Either get out of the basement or I throw you out," Erik told her as put his broad hands around her slender neck and lifted her off the ground like she was nothing. She didn't do anything to stop him, in fact it looked as if she didn't really even care about what he was doing.

"Erik you're no fun anymore," she said. Then she raised her arms and dug her nails into his arm, so deep that his arm began to bleed. He quickly dropped her from the pain.

"Listen to me you worthless piece of crap," her playful voice had turned to a harsh and cruel whisper, "don't ever treat me like that again or I'll kill you," she told him then she disappeared in the blink of an eye.

No, Audrey was definitely not a normal vampire, not a normal vampire at all.

"I know you're here," Raoul called to a vampire he knew was close by. You worthless piece of bloodsucking vermin show yourself. Apparently he had been accurate when he told the police Captain of the missing girl from the morgue. He had immediately gone to find her; the last thing he wanted was another stupid vampire roaming the streets changing people one by one.Of course this one was trying to make itself hard to find, and had run into a dark alleyway to hide itself before it would strike. It thought it was going to have a meal tonight, but Raoul knew better. He grabbed the stake that was deep inside his pocket; he was ready to strike at any moment.

A little movement in the darkness grasped his attention, and he began to approach whatever it was. In the darkness he could see the figure of a woman crouched on the ground rocking back and forth. Raoul could sense this was the creature he was looking for, but she was trying to be smart. Raoul shined a flashlight on her; the light almost reflected off of her pale skin, and Raoul noticed that she was crouched over a poor woman that was nearly dead. The creature looked up at him with seductive red eyes.

"Please help me sir," she pleaded in her sweetest voice. Raoul knew she was only playing with him, but it was funny watching them actually think they could fool him. "I didn't mean to do it," she explained motioning toward the barely breathing woman on the ground. The creature began to crawl toward Raoul, as he lured it away from the poor woman. "Please sir."

"Go to hell!" Raoul yelled as he threw garlic on the creature causing it to go crazy in pain.

"Ahh! You fool!" it yelled just before it pinned Raoul against the wall with one hand to his throat. Its face was bubbling from the garlic, and some of its skull was showing.

Raoul reluctantly took out the stake and impaled the creature straight in the heart

before it could harm him. Backing away in surprise, the creature looked from the stake in its heart to the hunter gasping for breath. It dropped dead in a matter of seconds. "I'm getting too old for this," Raoul said before he went to examine the woman.

The poor thing was nearly sucked dry; Raoul could only hope he wasn't too late. "It's ok," he comforted as he picked her up in his arms and started toward the nearest hospital.

Erik and Christine sat uncomfortably at a table in the middle of one New York City's nicest restaurant. Christine had originally planned on paying for a burger and fries at McDonald's, but Erik insisted they both deserved better and was going to pay for the whole meal.

The night was turning out to be most unpleasant. People were staring in all directions at the tall, masked man. Christine could tell Erik was trying not to show that he was angry, but the fact that he had broken a glass with his bare hands had pretty much given it away.

"Erik I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to think that people wouldn't notice you. I should have never have made you come," Christine said feeling terribly guilty.

"No, it's ok. Let them stare, I've got nothing to hide!" he replied rather loudly. The whole restaurant stopped looking at him and began eating their meals when he said this.

You could still tell that they were very intrigued by him, or rather freaked out.

"Erik come on!"

"No Christine! For once I want to sit at a restaurant like a normal person. I don't care about all the dumb idiots staring!" Everyone began to look at him again.

"Very well then Erik," Christine said showing her obvious dismay.

"So what can I get you two to drink?" a very perky waitress asked. She was obviously trying to ignore Erik. Christine was glad she came though; he presence had made things a little more comfortable.

"Um..I'll take a glass of water," Christine answered.

"And you sir?"

Erik didn't even look up from the menu he'd been staring at for the past thirty minutes before he said, "I don't want anything."

The waitress looked somewhat relieved as she walked off. "You've got to have something to drink Erik," Christine remarked.

"I don't want any of the stuff you drink Christine," Erik informed.

"What do you want some wine then?" Christine asked getting angry at his repulsive attitude this evening.

"No I don't drink wine either," Erik told her harshly.

"You know Erik I meant for this to be a thank you gift and you're making this one of the worst nights of my life," she explained before stomping off to the bathroom leaving Erik to the mass amount of people staring at him.

Then he felt something he had never felt before, he felt bad that he had made her angry, that he had hurt her. He could see the anger in her gorgeous eyes, he noticed the scowl on her perfect lips, and he saw her lovely cheeks turn a beautiful shade of pink. Could he actually be falling for this beautiful ballerina?

"So you found this one while the creature still had its ugly hands on her?" Dr. Smith, inquired.

"Yeah, do you think I found her too late?" Raoul asked feeling a little worried about the answer.

"I'll do everything I can do for the woman, but only time will tell if she turns," the doctor explained.

"Thank you for your help doctor," Raoul said. Dr. Smith was a kind doctor that had taken care of Raoul and his brother for many years. He knew all their secrets, no matter how deep they were, and he always agreed to help whenever a case like this occurred.

"She's back," the woman whispered from the bed catching the two men off guard.

"Who's back?" Raoul asked as he went to be closer to the girl.

"The creature told me, she said that she's back and no one can stop her," the woman continued.

"Who's back though?" Dr. Smith asked. Raoul and the doctor both had a worried look on their face.

The woman took a deep breath, her voice was barely a whisper, " I don't know her name; it said that she was dangerous," the woman fought to say.

The two men looked at each other worried. What kind of creature could be impossible to stop?

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