Okay hi followers that I still really hope I have. I am back and I mean it I am finally back. Sorry for the delay again but I swear now that I am back and ready to write.

Thank you for the lovely reviews and kind words! I love hearing everything you all have to say about my story it makes me so happy so thank you so much!

I'm sorry to say that this is a rather short chapter but I have had the WORST writers block for this one and I don't know why but I mean hey… at least Jack makes an appearance in this one!

Woo okay so I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I promise I will be updating more frequently now that summer is here. I hope you are all having an amazing summer so far, and please leave reviews!

Thanks!(:

Chapter 24:

The air was crisp as a brisk winter wind blew through the partially bustling Parisian streets. A light snow fall coated the dark ground in a glistening white that would instantly turn dark as rough weather- beaten shoes would pass over each new layer of snowflakes. Taking in a deep chilling breath May scanned the streets before her as she stood on the marble steps of the opera populaire. Her cloak was pulled tightly over her shoulders with her hood draped loosely over her light wispy hair. Bringing her chilled hand out in front of her, she took her time catching as many snowflakes as possible. May watched with satisfaction as each flake disappeared upon her light skin; her hand was shaking, her entire body was shaking, trembling with fear. Fear of what, she didn't know.

Very early that morning May had woken up, once again, within Erik's lair. She had no recollection of falling asleep the night before but she remembered everything that had transpired between the two of them. May recalled the passion and intense need between her and Erik and how in an instant Erik's emotions changed and she was quickly thrown into her room, alone.

As soon as she slipped out of bed May franticly ran around the room gathering everything of hers that she could find. Dressing in a light gown she collected her belongings and silently slipped from the room. Walking on tiptoes to the main area of the lair, a pang of fear ran through her body as she expected to run into Erik. She was terrified to confront him but yet knew that she most likely was going to; there was nothing she could do to avoid this confrontation. Rounding the corner that would expose Erik's grand organ she froze as she turned to face the large instrument.

He wasn't there. A large sigh of relief escaped her lips as she scanned the rest of the lair. Erik was no were in sight. She was free to leave in secret, just as she wished. Slipping from the lair, May ran all the way through the catacombs and up to her dorm without stop. As she entered her room she threw everything to the ground and collapsed upon her bed. It felt good to be back. The morning sun was just peeking through the clouds showing how early it was. Rolling over on her side May watched out the window as thoughts ran through her mind; Thoughts of Erik, thoughts of their night, thoughts of the time they had spent together and thoughts of Jack. Poor, sweet, loving Jack; oh how horrible she felt for leaving him as suddenly as she did. She needed to see him, she needed to go to him and assure him that she was safe, she had been thinking about him for day's and just needed to see him. It was too early to go to him; she assumed that he must still be asleep. After a while of pondering May fell asleep again.

Now here she stood in the safety of the silent snow fall staring in the direction she needed to go. Jack's apartment flat was only a few blocks away from the Opera house so her journey would not be too strenuous. Mustering up all of her courage May began to descended the marble steps of the Opera House. With the soft snow crunching beneath her boots, May hurried along her way. The streets were full of people scurrying from shop to shop collecting the last of their Christmas surprises. Since her time with Erik, May had hardly even thought about Christmas, and now it was only a few days away. As she walked she would steel glances into the different shops that lined the sidewalks and illuminated the streets with the soft warm glow that would feed out from the windows.

It had been years since May had celebrated an actual Christmas. Since her parents had died she would spend every year alone in the dormitories attempting to make her own holiday celebration. When she was younger she would sit for hours making paper snowflakes, singing carols, or even venturing to the stage when no one was around to dance in the silence of the empty auditorium. As she grew older she found that each year the holiday season would become increasingly lonelier. When all of the ballet girls would return to the dormitories after the winter break they would brag and gossip about all of the beautiful presents they received. May would never partake in these conversations; it had been years since she had gotten a present and just the mere mention of the word would bring tears to her eyes. The last present she had ever received from her parents was her small stuffed dog. She cherished it unbelievably and would tell herself that no one else could ever receive a present as wonderful as that.

As she kept her pace weaving through the wave of merry people, May finally saw Jacks apartment flat in the distance. She picked up her pace and was nearing the flat quickly. Her heart was pounding and her hands were trembling even more now. She was rather scared to confront Jack but knew that she needed to see him and that he would be relieved to see her. She was about to reach the front of his flat when something stopped her. Backing up a few paces, May peered longingly into the window of the jewelry shop that she had gazed into a few weeks earlier. The same array of different necklaces and beads were still lain out in the display, but something was missing.

The beautiful sapphire necklace she had so admired was gone. Oh how she loved that necklace, it was absolutely stunning. She thought of the lucky women who must be receiving it. 'I hope she will appreciate it as much as I did.' She thought to herself. 'Whoever it is will look beautiful in it I'm sure. I would have just looked ridiculous and plain.' With a sigh of sadness she turned from the window and slowly approached the door to Jack's flat.

She stood staring at the dark wood of the door with apprehension and fear. Part of her was screaming to turn and run away while the other half knew that she had to confront Jack. Her hand trembled uncontrollably as it dared to reach out and grasp the handle to his doorbell. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she pulled it hearing the sound of the bell ringing inside of the flat. With a sharp gasp she whirled around facing the Parisian streets as her back was to the door.

A few horridly silent seconds ticked by, then suddenly May could hear the sound of footsteps slowly coming down a flight of stairs. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she could hear him approach; drawing the hood of her cape down slightly she dropped her hands as she heard the lock on the door open. 'Will he be angry with me? Maybe even turn me away." Thoughts spun in her mind. 'What if he dismisses our courtship?'

All of her thoughts quickly left her mind as soon as she heard the door creek open and his deep silky golden voice rang out. As soon as he began to speak May slowly began to turn and face him.

"Can I help you…." He trailed off as he stared into the frightened eyes of his love. No one spoke for an amount of time, they simply stared.

"Hello Jack." May said softly. There was trepidation written everywhere within her eyes.

"May." Jack gasped quickly.

She had no time to respond. Within seconds May was pulled into the building, the door was shut behind her and she was being crushed to Jack's warm chest as his arms held her in there vice like grip, while he babbled like a fool.

"Oh my god, May are you alright, have you been safe, are you sick, are you injured, has anybody hurt you?" He continued his innocent interrogation. For a while May was slightly confused by what was happening and still frightened but as time went on and she slowly remembered the wonderful feel of being held in Jack's arms, her fears went away and she wrapped her arms around him as well returning the embrace.

Giving Jack a minute to finish his adorable babbling, May slowly looked up at him with an appreciated grin upon her lips as she laughed at Jack's worry. "Are you done now?" she mocked with a giggle.

Staring down at the young girl in his arms he gave a sigh of relief. "Yes." He stated with a smile.

Pulling away but still holding his hands, May gazed at Jack and could not help but smile at his delightfully handsome appearance. His bright blue eyes glowed vibrantly, his ruffled blonde hair was as perfectly messy as usual, and he wore dark tan slacks and a light button down shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves and open slightly at the top showing his white undershirt. As May gazed back up at his loving face, she giggled slightly as her hand came to caress his cheek. Instead of being met with smooth shaven skin, her hand came in contact with light manly scruff that covered his cheeks and coursed around his lips. He had obviously not shaven and May adored the way he looked with his slight scruff.

Jack gave a simple sigh of relief and delight as he stared at May and pulled her in again for another embrace. "I have missed you my darling." He whispered with pleasure. A pleasant shiver went down May's spine at his words. 'My darling' He had never called her that before, but she loved it.

"I have missed you too Jack." She sighed against his chest. Oh how she missed his handsome musky scent.

"Why don't we get upstairs?" Jack asked pulling away from May who gave a simple nod. After placing a soft kiss to May's forehead Jack took her by the hand and pulled her up the stairs that led to his flat.

Once inside the flat, May gazed around the area; everything seemed the same as the last time she was there, large windows, grand fire place, high bookshelves and random novels scattered about. As she looked Jack came up behind her removing her cloak from her shoulders and revealing her beautifully plain pale blue gown.

Jack couldn't help but stare for a moment at how beautiful May looked standing before him in his flat. Her dress was so simple yet so perfect, it showed off her womanly curves and the pale color made her eyes glow; her wavy hair was brushed out and fell delicately around her face in soft impressions of dark blonde tresses. Oh he had missed the girl.

Walking to the coat rack beside the door Jack spoke as he draped May's cloak over a hook. "So, where did the little ballerina run off to this time?" he questioned jokingly. He turned back to May and strode towards her. "It appears that you are not injured or harmed in any way… well at least I hope you are not." He said as he jokingly lifted one of her arms inspecting her from fingertips to shoulder, although most of her arm was covered by the fabric of her sleeve.

May giggled and pulled her arm away. "No I am not injured, but thank you for worrying."

Jack gave her his normal bright smile that simply melted her heart. "Thank goodness." He replied. May was truly falling for this boy and she was okay with it. She watched as he put his hands in his pockets and strolled over to an armchair that sat before the fireplace. "I was worried about you. One minute you were a nervous wreck crying in my arms and the next you were running from me." May feared this conversation but knew she had to approach it. Clasping her hands in front of her she paced to Jack and sat on the sofa next to his chair staring into the fire to avoid his eyes. "I was concerned, did something happen?"

"No, I just… well." May knew she had to make up a story and quickly. She hated to lie to Jack but knew she had to in order to protect Erik and herself. "D-do you remember me telling you a while ago about my friend. Erik… Erik Green?" she remembered the story she had made a while ago to hide the true identity of Erik from Jack. She had struggled to hold back a laugh as she realized how foolish his made up last name sounded.

"Yes I believe I do." Jack stated blankly.

"Well… um you see he has a…" she hesitated. "He has a son, and right before curtain call I received a letter saying that he had fallen very ill and Erik needed help taking care of him." May thought her lie was pretty suitable. She thought about the idea of Erik having a son and realized it made her slightly jealous. She didn't know why but just the notion of Erik having a child with another woman made her uneasy.

"Was his wife not able to help?" Jack inquired.

'His wife.' May became ridged at the words. "N-no, you see, well his wife had um… his wife had passed away about a year ago."

"How dreadful." Jack sighed.

"Yes it was quite dreadful." May felt horrible for the lie, especially making Erik have a dead wife in it, but now that the story was out she felt safer and less fearful. "So you see, when I ran past you that was only because my mind was so preoccupied with the letter I had just received, there was no other reason."

"I understand." Jack replied. A moment of silence passed between them. "Is he okay now, his son I mean?"

"Oh yes he is fine, thank goodness." May sighed.

"What was wrong with him?"

May hesitated before responding. "Well you see we are not very sure what was wrong. Erik said he had a cold for a while, and then when I showed up he was asleep and slept for a few days straight. When he finally awoke his illness worsened and he began vomiting." May realized that she was telling her own story but just using Erik's 'son' in her place. If it weren't for her admirable on the spot acting skills, May was sure that Jack would have seen right threw her story.

Jack looked somewhat interested in the story. "The poor child."

"Yes and the worst part about it was that I did not remember a thing." She had not realized what she had just said.

"You couldn't remember a thing?" Jack asked confusedly gazing at the young girl with a skeptical stare.

May looked at him disordered; she had not taken into consideration what she had said. "Me?" she questioned.

"Yes you said you couldn't remember a thing." He explained.

May froze in fear of what she spoke and in fear of the truth being revealed. "I-I did?" she asked. Jack nodded in response. "Oh well I simply meant him," she laughed lightly. "Yes, he truly couldn't remember a thing, but his memory returned a few days after and he then made a quick recovery, thank goodness." She stated rapidly. Her cheeks suddenly turned a light shade of pink as she stared into the fire avoiding Jack's questioning gaze.

Jacks eyes followed hers for a moment as he stared into the dancing flames of the fire. Looking back at May, he reveled in the glow of the firelight shining in her blue green eyes. Standing from his chair, Jack slowly paced to where May sat and took a seat beside her, gaining her attention.

"So, you are not hurt?" he asked with worried eyes

"I am not hurt." May stated with a grin.

"Injured in any way?" he questioned

"No."

"Do you promise?" Jack asked with a grin.

"I promise Jack." May giggled as she brought her hand up to stroke his stubbly cheek.

The feel of her soft tiny hand upon Jack's cheek made a pleasant warmth course through him. He loved every small touch or caress given from this girl; he had missed her so much over the past few days that he had the urge to never let her go. He knew his thought was ridiculously foolish though, and pulled himself out of his thoughts to focus on the girl in front of him. She was so close; he could see the different colored speckles in her eyes, and all the childishly adorable freckles that patterned her cheeks. Gazing at her delicate lips, he wanted nothing more than to steel a kiss that he had been deprived of for days before.

Moving his gaze from her lips, Jack focused back on her eyes. "I have missed you, love." He stated.

May froze as she deciphered the familiar compassionate sound of his voice. His words sounded so familiar and as she felt his cool hands skim over the heated blush of her cheek, an image from her dream a few nights before struck through her memory; the cold winter air, the loud crack of a gunshot, and those piercing blue eyes that caused so much fear.

Pulling away from Jack with a jump, May stared into his confused eyes. She searched and searched for any form of bad, or harmfulness in his glance but was met with nothing but kindness and love.

"Is something wrong May?" Jack questioned awkwardly as he watched May stare at him.

It took her a few moments to pull her eyes away and respond. "What? Oh no everything… everything is fine." She stated shakily.

Jack moved away slightly. "Alright." He replied slowly. Struggling threw an awkward silence as they both peered into the fire, Jack placed his hands on his knees and looked to May for a moment before standing. With his hands in his pockets, he stocked to one of the large French windows that was now providing the perfect sight of the gentle flurry happening outside in the chilled December air.

Leaning against the window he glanced back at May. "So Mademoiselle Daily," he started. May quickly turned to face him. "I imagine you are well aware that there is yet another significant holiday approaching."

May laid her head upon her arms that were now crossed along the top of the sofa as she watched Jack. "Well yes I have indeed heard talk of this holiday." May joked.

"Good!" Jack exclaimed. Turning from the window he slowly made his way to kneel at the back of the sofa that May lounged upon. "So what would you say if I happened to ask you to spend it with me?" he questioned with a stunning grin.

May thought for a moment, and then quickly responded. "I believe I would say, that sounds lovely."

"Well if that is indeed what you will say then I shall ask formally now," he paused for a moment. "Would you like to spend Christmas with me Maygen?"

May smiled brightly as she sat up kneeling on the sofa. "I would be delighted too."

"Wonderful! I simply cannot wait!" Jack laughed.

The rest of their time together was spent with long conversations and delightful stories. May was thrilled to be with Jack again and adored listening to everything he had to say.

As the hour grew late May realized that she must be getting back to the opera house to rest for the evening. She was suddenly feeling very tired and her body still held its sickly aching feel. As much as she wanted to stay in the company of Jack, she knew she needed to return so she could rest for the evening, and she knew that if Erik found that she was out late while still recovering he would be furious.

After a brief apology for having to leave so soon, May was accompanied by Jack out of his flat and down the stairs that lead to the door where they now stood.

"Would you like me to walk you back to the opera house?" Jack questioned kindly.

"Thank you for the offer Jack, but I think I will be just fine." May giggled through her drowsiness.

Giving a handsome grin Jack nodded, and lightly took May's hands in his. "So, I will be seeing you then on Christmas Eve, say around 6:00?"

"You certainly will." May stated with a smile.

"I will be anxiously waiting till then." Jack gave May's hands a gentle squeeze.

"Me too." She paused. "Well goodbye until then Jack."

Leaning forward with sudden bravery Jack placed a sweet feather light kiss to May's lips that left her wanting more. "Goodbye until then, my love."

And with that May slipped out the door and began on her way back to the opera house.

Yay for Jack and his amazingly handsome charm! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter sorry it was so short but like I said I had horrible writers block for this :p Please leave review I would love to hear what you are all thinking so far and I would love to hear what you think is going to happen next!

Thanks so much! Please review!(:

P.S. I have been having a major May issue recently. I have started taking new dance classes and in every class I take I am the youngest yet the tallest one there haha! I find it pretty funny!

Oh and P.s. times 2: I had the amazing opportunity to see Sierra Boggess and Norm Lewis in Phantom on Broadway yesterday and they were AMAZING! It sounds weird but the way Norms voice is, is totally how I imagine Erik's voice in this story! But they were both unbelievably amazing and I was so blessed to be able to meet them after the show which was amazing times a billion!