Chapter Twenty

Disclaimer: Just get on with the reading.

Skye: Yeah, there was a long pause between updates. Sorry about that! But it’s not over yet. As you can see, this is the last chapter, so don’t forget about me quite yet!

Me: Yes! All hail you! You’re free from the torture chamber from HELL! And don’t you worry about Erik. I love him to bits – I’m not about to let him be sad. He’ll have his happy ending, you wait and see!

Timeflies: I shall say nothing so I don’t ruin the chapter for you.

Erik's Muse: Really? Well, aren’t I just smart… by the way, methinks you’ll like this next chapter!

Sorceress Morgan le Fay: Yes! I knew it! And yes, we’re out of the hole. HUZZAH!

MetalMyersJason: I was having trouble. What I did was I exported an old chapter and pasted my new chapter into it and then submitted it as the new chapter. It’s a pain in the ass, but it gets the job done.

StephanieDestler: Well… “Ah!” to you, too, then.

Miss Black Shadow: Your heroics have been duly noted. Here, have a cookie!

LonesomeGurlAngelofDeath: Well, I guess you’ll find out in this chapter…

Naama: Really? Thanks. I thought that last chapter was pretty crappy. Hopefully this one is good. Don’t worry about Erik! You should know me better than that by now. He always ends up happy when I’m around :).

Sword Pen: You are a bit late, but I’ll see what I can do. I can’t stand to see a reviewer without a cameo…

Sandsagent: No worries! Here’s your next chapter.

Blueflamewolf: Oh, I totally did leave it there. But I’m updating now, so any pain I caused shall be… er… un-done… I think… it’s good to hear from you again! Nothing like another reviewer to get me off my ass… or, more rightly, on my ass and typing…

WanderingChild2007: … methinks I’ve created a monster…

-

The Phantom looked up to see Tasha in the doorway. She came into the room, without an invitation, and grabbed the Phantom’s wrist before he could react.

“Please,” she whispered, “You can’t.”

-

Robert, Kaitlyn, Emily, Naama and Gerry stood at the entrance to the Phantom’s lair. “Do you think he’d hurt her?” Robert asked, nodding his head towards the stairs Tasha had just taken to get to the Phantom.

“I don’t think so.” Naama murmured. “They know each other form MSN, remember?”

Kaitlyn sighed. “I don’t see why we’re just sitting here. Shouldn’t we go in, too?”

“We don’t know him.” Emily murmured. “It wouldn’t be right.”

“That ass has made everyone’s life a living hell.” Kaitlyn muttered. “I don’t give a shit about doing right by him.”

“… She has a point.” Gerry pointed out.

Naama bit her lip. “I do want to see what it looks like in there…”

-

The Phantom stared at the girl in front of him. “Tasha? What are you doing here?”

“You can’t kill yourself.” Tasha murmured.

“How did you know I was going to attempt…” it was then that the Phantom realized that his face was still unmasked. He quickly covered his face. “Just get out.”

“Erik,” Tasha sighed, “I don’t care about that…”

“I said, get out.”

“No, Erik.” Tasha sighed. She tapped a finger gently on his wrist. “Why where you crying?”

He sighed. “She’s gone.”

“… Christine, you mean?”

“I let her go.” Tears broke anew from his eyes. “I’ll never see her again.”

Tasha took a deep breath. She touched a finger to her cheek and was surprised to find it wet with tears. “You did the right thing.”

“She kissed me.” Erik whispered, mostly to himself. “She was the only one to care about me enough to kiss me…”

“No, Erik.” Tasha shook her head, “She’s not the only one.”

Erik didn’t answer. He looked down into his hand, staring at the pills.

“I love you.” Tasha whispered.

Erik stiffened, but didn’t raise his head to meet Tasha’s gaze.

“We’re not so different, you and I.” Tasha went on. “Why do you think we got along so well on MSN? You’re sweet, Erik. You’re kind and caring. That’s why I love you.”

Erik finally met her eyes. Before he could say anything, a crash was heard outside the room.

“Emily, you boyfriend is a klutz.” Kaitlyn muttered.

“What moron left a Cher CD on the floor?” Robert’s voice growled.

“Oh my god, I have that CD!” Emily’s voice followed

-

Six Months Later

What with the explosions and such, the Superstore was closed for a few months. Most of the employees quit or transferred to other stores. Among those who had quit where Naama, Gerry, Meg, Raoul, and Christine.

Everyone kept in contact afterwards, even the crazy teenagers who had accompanied the original Superstore employees (and their friends/ love interests) in the adventure. Most of the group spent long hours MSN-ing each other into the wee hours of the night. Jazz and Emily where currently engaging in a good-natured internet-battle over who was a bigger Pirates of the Caribbean fan. No one else cared enough to keep track of who was winning.

The store reopened and pretty much every teenager who applied there got a job, the were so desperate. People like Andre, Firmin, Piangi and Carlotta quit for their “health”. Anne Giry stayed, but she restricted her hours until she was only working weekends. Kaitlyn got a few calls, but she politely told the managers to piss off because she had no interest in working in that sweaty little hell-hole.

That isn’t to say that none of the old group went there anymore. After all, it was their old hang-out: it brought back memories and was often good for a chuckle or two. Raoul and Christine refused to go back, but of course that was understandable and when those two had time to join the rest of the group (they were usually busy doing couple-things alone).

Pretty much everyone got a new job. Emily was rehired by the lottery people (they got another anonymous call, this one saying that there must be some mistake because Emily was a polite and diligent worker who would never steal), but she wanted out. She put in an application in the movie store where Naama and Gerry were working and was hired. She was spending her last week training a new girl and letting her know about all the crazy stuff that went on in the superstore… or, at least, a toned-down version. Robert was unemployed, and probably would be until he finished university because he mooched off of his parents. Meg, Raoul and Christine all started work at the pet store across from the movie store, so everyone saw each other often enough.

-

“… So, just to warn you, this place is haunted…” Emily informed he trainee.

“… Haunted?” The girl, Penny, stopped munching on her candy necklace and regarded Emily with a dramatic eyebrow-raise. Her brown-green eyes showed her disbelief. Penny flipped her red hair. “Yeah, right.”

“I kid you not!” Emily replied.

“Have you seen him?”

“Yes.” Emily shrugged, enjoying the attention. “He’s the one who blew up the store six months ago.”

“Yeah, right.” Penny rolled her eyes. “I watched the news. It was a gas leak.”

“That’s what they want you to think…” Emily replied. She jumped as her cell phone started ringing, alerting her of a text message. She opened it and glanced at the screen. “Shit. I’m late. You know what to do with everything, right?”

Penny nodded. “Where are you going?”

“Surprise six-month anniversary party for my friends.” Emily gathered her Jack Skellington purse. “You’ve got my phone number. Call me if there’s any trouble.”

-

An hour later, everyone met in front of the Superstore.

Naama was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt with Jack Sparrow’s face stamped across the front. Her hair was hanging freely around her shoulders, blowing slightly in the spring wind. Gerry stood next to her, dressed in faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was a little longer than it had been, curling around his face. Naama giggled and brushed a lock away from his eyes. The two had been going out for five months now and were probably the cutest couple in the history of the world.

Emily, finally touched by the promise of summer, was dressed normal for once. She wore a long, flowing brown broom-skirt and a long teal and green-striped t-shirt. Over top of that she had her trusty black hoodie and a string of purple beads. Her hair was straight and almost to her shoulders, partially held back by a solid-black headband. She only had a touch of mascara on today, no eyeliner or anything, and was holding two gift bags in one hand. Robert wore a pair of blue jeans and a yellow shirt so bright that it rivaled the sun. He was petting Emily on the head (again), but she’d long since grown used to it. In fact, she found it comforting.

Kaitlyn stood next to Emily, explaining (with extreme clarity) why Emily would never fulfill her dream of becoming a pirate. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans and an orange t-shirt reading, “I think, therefore I am Single.” Emily wanted the shirt, though she was not single and she rarely thought.

Tasha waved at the group from the street. She was wearing a pretty green spring dress with spaghetti straps, topped with a plain white sweater. Green chandelier earrings dangled delicately from her ears, swaying slightly as she walked. Matching green ballet flats slapped gently against the sidewalk as she neared her friends. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun with a few strands falling to frame her face.

“Hey, guys. What up?”

“We’re here for your six-month anniversary.” Kaitlyn replied.

“Kaitlyn!” Naama sighed. “It was supposed to be a surprise!”

Kaitlyn grinned. “I know.”

Gerry sighed. “I’ll never understand that girl…”

Emily waved his words away with her free hand. “Come on, come on!”

Tasha raised an eyebrow. “Uh… alright… so, you guys wanted me here. What do you need?”

“Uh…” Robert poked Emily. “I forget what our excuse was…”

“We… need something… from the Photo department… and you need to help us pick it out.” Emily fumbled. Tasha still worked at Superstore, but now she was the new part-time photo manager. She knew about all the electronics in the department, so it made sense to have her give them advice.

“… What do you need?”

“A… a printer.” Naama volunteered. “A pink one.”

Emily wrinkled her nose. “I hate pink!”

“… I don’t think we have any pink printers-“

“Just get in the store.” Robert interrupted, steering Tasha towards the door.

“Nice. Real subtle.” Gerry muttered.

-

Upon entering the Photo department, Tasha headed directly for the printers. “See? No pink.”

Emily looked towards the shelf at the end. It was covered in DVDs now. “Is V for Vendetta in here?”

Tasha followed her gaze. “I dunno. Want to check?”

“Yes.”

Emily and Tasha went towards the shelf. By now, the photo department had emptied, being that it was close to closing time, and it was only the six of them.

Once they were at the shelf, Emily reached for the button and pushed it open like a door. “Come on, get down there.”

“… Why?”

“Because it’s your six month anniversary and we’re throwing you a party. Now get down there, damn you!” Kaitlyn growled.

“Oh my god!” Tasha balled up her fists and jumped. “You guys shouldn’t have!”

“Come on, hurry it up.”

-

Erik wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he knew something was up when Emily called him at six in the morning, telling him to be decent around six in the afternoon.

Strangely, after the whole explosions and threats incidents, Emily, Nampa, Gerry, Robert and Kaitlyn came to be his close friends (though Kaitlyn was still just a little nasty to him).

Erik was dressed in a plain pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt and seated on the couch. He had rebuilt his home after the explosions and refurnished everything so it looked more like a home. He had removed all of his torture chambers and most of his secret passageways. He didn’t need them anymore.

-

There was now a door separating the bottom of the stairs form the Phantom’s home. Robert knocked.

Erik opened the door. “Would anyone care to explain why I received a phone call at six in the-“

“HAPPY SIX-MONTH ANIVERSARY!” Emily and Naama shrieked, both girls jumping up and down and clapping their fists together.

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and gave an annoyed snort.

Erik cleared his throat, looking over at Tasha. “Happy anniversary, then.”

-

It took a few seconds before Erik thought to invite them in, and after that everyone had some chocolate cake Naama had made that morning. Robert complained a bit since chocolate wasn’t his favorite, but Emily cuffed him over the head and told him to shut up and be grateful for the sugar. Erik was quieter than he usually was with Tasha, since he was still getting used to the fact that this group of people actually cared about him. He was a bit uncomfortable with the crowd, but he was still enjoying himself.

“So… presents time?” Robert suggested.

“Yes! Presents!” Emily passed both Erik and Tasha a gift bag. “We all designed them together and everyone pitched in to buy materials, but I did all the work…”

“That’s because your grandma has the digitizer and sewing machines…” Naama laughed, poking Emily in the ribs.

“Besides, didn’t you say that your grandma was helping you and it was the easiest thing in the world to do?” Gerry added.

“You shut your mouth.” Emily replied.

Tasha giggled and started into the into the gift bag. Then she gasped. She pulled out a beautiful black jacket made long enough to reach her hips. It had tiny lace details along the seams, only noticeable when you were close up, and best of all it had tiny embroidery of a white mask just like Erik’s next to the button hole on each cuff.

“Oh my god, guys!” she almost shrieked with joy. “This is so perfect!”

Erik nodded appreciatively. “It will look beautiful on you.”

Tasha blushed. “Thanks.”

“Alright, Erik’s present now!” Emily passed along the next item.

Erik dug into the bag, taking care not to rustle the tissue paper more than necessary. He withdrew a personalized CD case with his name written across in scrolly red letters. When he opened it, he found several of the places already filled with Nightwish CDs.

“Since you seem to share my obsession with them… though yours is somewhat diluted…” Emily explained.

Robert groaned. “Can someone explain to this girl that those people can’t play a good song to save their lives?”

“Not every song needs to be techno or emo to be good.” Emily reminded him, flicking his ear.

“I have to agree with Robert on this one: Nightwish sucks.” Gerry agreed.

“Nightwish is awesome.” Kaitlyn broke in, “Second only to Within Temptation and Disturbed.”

Erik chuckled. “Thank you.”

“Wait! There’s another part to your present.” Naama broke in. She passed a small wrapped package to Erik. “I got this one on my own, since I thought you’d like it.”

Tasha clapped her hands. “What is it?”

Erik started tearing at the wrapping paper. “You guys really didn’t have to…” his words were cut off the moment he saw the gift.

“I just thought that you could use it so you and Tasha can go out every once and a while.” Naama explained. “You know that we all love you as you are, but it just seems a shame that you can never go to see a movie in the theatre or anything…”

“She made it herself.” Gerry broke in.

Naama shrugged. “So? What do you think?”

Kaitlyn craned her head to see what the present was. “What is it?”

Slowly, seemingly with tears in his eyes, Erik pulled a mask from the paper. It was the same size and shape as all his other ones, but this one had been painstakingly painted and worked on until it matched the good side of Erik’s face. In fact, in the dark of a movie theatre, you would never be able to tell the difference.

Gerry grinned and handed over a pair of movie tickets. “Those are for this afternoon’s showing of 300.”

“Thank you so much.” Erik murmured, his voice low from emotion.

“Well that just makes my presents seem like crap…” Emily sighed.

Naama giggled. “You shut up.”

“Let’s put in a CD.” Kaitlyn stood and grabbed Erik’s new CD case without a second thought, running for his stereo system. “What song should play first?”

“Ever Dream!” Erik and Emily suggested at the same time.

“Oh, god, no!” Robert cried.

“Too late!” Kaitlyn popped in the CD.

“I really don’t mind that song…” Naama suggested.

The music started. Without realizing it, Erik began to sing along, looking into Tasha’s eyes. “Ever felt away with me/ Just once that all I need/ Entwined in finding you one day…”

Almost in a trance, Tasha began to reply. “Ever felt away without me/ My love, it lies so deep/ Ever dream of me.”

“Oh, god…” Robert groaned.

“Shut up. It’s cute.” Emily replied.

“Would you do it with me/ Heal the scars and change the stars? Would you do it for me/ Turn loose the heaven within?” Both Erik and Tasha stood. Erik took Tasha into his arms, murmuring

“I'd take you away/ Castaway on a lonely day/ Bosom for a teary cheek/ My song can but borrow your grace.” Tasha replied, closing her eyes and burying her face in Erik’s chest.

Something seemed to come over the rest of the room then. Gerry began to sing as well, though he had said just moments before that he hated Nightwish. “Ever felt away with me/ Just once that all I need/ Entwined in finding you one day…”

Naama smiled, giving him a tight hug. “Ever felt away without me/ My love, it lies so deep/ Ever dream of me… dream of me…”

Kaitlyn looked around, wondering what on earth and come over her friends. She poked Emily, imploring that she stop this madness. “Come out, come out wherever you are/ So lost in your sea/ Give in, give in for my touch-”

Emily’s eyes flashed as her voice rose in song, not quite knowing what she was singing. “For my taste for my lust…”

Robert began to sing, grabbing Emily’s hands tightly. “Ever felt away with me/ Just once that all I need/ Entwined in finding you one day…”

“Ever felt away without me/ My love, it lies so deep/ Ever dream of me…” Emily replied, pulling Robert up to a standing position.

“Your beauty cascaded on me,” Erik murmured to Tasha, unaware of the rest of the people in the room, “In this white night fantasy… Ever felt away with me/ Just once that all I need/ Entwined in finding you one day…”

Tasha sighed; glad to be in his arms. “Ever felt away without me/ My love, it lies so deep/ Ever dream of me…”

Everyone burst into song together, singing the last verse in unison.

Ever felt away with me/ Just once that all I need/ Entwined in finding you one day…

Ever felt away without me/ My love, it lies so deep/ Ever dream of me…

-

It was strange, Erik thought, as he held the girl he loved in his arms and sang with all of his new friends. In six months, Tasha had managed to heal his heart and teach him what real love was like. It wasn’t always glamorous and it wasn’t as obsessive, but it was still beautiful.

Now, with all the love he felt and with all his friends around him, Erik could finally be happy.

-

Oh my god, guys, that’s the end!

I’m not so sure if I like this chapter or not. I am sad that this is over, though. It’s been so much fun to write.

I’d like to let everyone know that today is The Day of Silence. Go to The Day of Silence Dot Org to see what that’s about. I’ve been silent all day. I’m rather amazed. Also, this Friday is my birthday. Happy birthday to me!

I’ve certainly changed a lot while writing this. I’ve learned things about myself that I didn’t know before, I’ve gotten better at my job, and I’ve found a guy who loves me for me. I’ve gotten through a depression, made lots of mistakes, and I’ve lost about fifteen pounds, and it’s gotten a hell of a lot warmer. We’ve all been through a lot and had a lot of fun and I loved hearing from you guys. It’s going to be sad to let this phic go.

So, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for reading and reviewing. I probably won’t be writing much for a little while, so for now, farewell and enjoy your summers!