And here we are again! Sooo sorry it took me so long to update. I am a horrible person and should be cheesegratered to death. hangs head

Disclaimer: No, sadly, I don't own The Phantom of the opera. Damn it. Oh the wonderful things I'd do if I did… Okay, I'll stop now. evil grin

Renn heard him come in, but pretended to be asleep. "I'm sorry…" She heard him whisper. He lingered in her room a moment, before slipping out again. When he was gone, she sat up in bed, thinking. Poor Erik, I bet he's so miserable… She half wanted to go out and talk to him, assure him that she wasn't going anywhere, but she knew he wouldn't want to talk. She rolled over and slowly drifted off to sleep.

A thump at the end of the bed rudely interrupted Renn's slumber. "Damn it, Ginger, you awful cat! Fuck off, lemme sleep." She mumbled, still half asleep. Sharp claws digging into her thigh woke her up the rest of the way.

"Fucking ow!" She hissed, shoving the cat-shaped ball of fur and claws away from her. "Mother fu-…" Waitasec. This isn't my room! That's not my cat! The events of the previous day hit her like a hammer. Oh. Right. So. I wasn't dreaming? Hot damn! Incredibly phangirly thoughts drifted through her mind. I won't go into detail, but the phrase "Lots of sex and babies" came up at one point. Another thump, this time by her head. Renn opened one eye warily, and saw angry slanted blue ones glaring back at her.

"Miaow." Said the elegant Siamese, disdain dripping from her very being. The cat and the girl stared at each other for a few moments more, before Ayesha decided that the incompetent human was not worth the energy it would take to kill her, and slunk out of the room.

"Urgh, cats… they're all the same…" Renn rolled over and tried in vain to go back to sleep. She gave up after minutes of attempting to sleep, and flung the blankets off of her. She shivered when the freezing air hit her skin. Urgh! So fucking cold! Renn dashed to her bag, and pulled on the warmest clothes she had brought. Not very warm considering I packed for freakin' summer. Dragging the blanket and her bag with her, she crept to the living room. To her disappointment, the room was deserted; Erik was nowhere to be found.

"Erik?" she called softly, "Erik, are you there? About last night, it's nothing, really, I'm fine, I'm not angry, I'm not going anywhere! Erik?" She waited for a moment, listening intently, but no sound came to her ears, and the Phantom did not appear out of the shadows. Renn sighed. Had she really expected him to be there, and profess his love to her on the spot? She shook her head, and plopped ungracefully onto a sofa. Humming absentmindedly, she dug through her bag for her sketchbook and a pencil. Having found both, she curled up in a corner of the sofa and flipped through it, to an unfinished sketch of, Erik, who else? She brought pencil to paper, and started working.

Erik paced in his room. He had heard the strange girl shriek at his cat and use several words that he had never heard come out of a lady's mouth. He smiled at that. Smiled, he realized, for the first time since… her. He stopped, and lingered by his coffin. The child was still there. He picked up the book that she had given him the night before and looked again at the illustrations on the inside cover. How could the author have known? A record of his life… from his birth, till… He didn't think about the rest. He'd read nearly the entire book the night before, but stopped, knowing what was to come next, when the narration switched to Raoul's point of view. He would rather not read about his own death. He paused, thinking. The girl, Renn, deserved better treatment than being left alone in the living room, after how he had behaved last night. He opened his door and stepped into the hallway.

A sound behind her startled her out of her concentration. She turned her head sharply to see Erik standing behind her, looking rather nervous.

"Good morning, monsieur," Renn said, and then realized that she had no idea whether it was actually morning. "Er, it is morning isn't it?" Renn gave an apologetic smile.

"Late afternoon, actually. It was four in the morning when I found you."

"Ah, good afternoon then." Renn shifted uncomfortably. She noticed the book in his hand. "Oh. Did you read it?"

Erik nodded in reply, his eyes unreadable. "Yes, all but the end. I'd rather not hear it." His tone was cold, his voice strained. Renn nodded slowly. I shouldn't have given him that book. That's gotta be a traumatizing read…The end? AH! The end! He dies in the end! Fuck! Oh gods. And She's supposed to come and um… visit… in the end! Shit! I must change the ending!

"So…" Renn started, "Is it, um, true? Did it all happen?" Erik only nodded again, and Renn thought she could see a glimmer of tears behind his mask. She stood up slowly, abandoning her drawing.

Erik stood beside the sofa, trying to hide his tears. Knowing what he had done in his life, what he was, how could she stand to be near him? Renn stood up, and took slow, deliberate steps toward him.

"Erik, I'm so sorry." She said softly. She stopped right in front of him and shifted her weight uncomfortably. She came to a quick decision and wrapped her arms around him in a brief hug. He stiffened at her touch. Erik stood there, stunned. Had she just hugged him? He reluctantly met her eyes, and Renn gave him a shy smile. "It'll get better, I know." Yeah, if I can keep him from having another heart attack, or killing anybody, or dying somehow… This is gonna be work.