Well…here we have it. The final chapter of The Hate of His Life. I'll deliver some closing remarks at the end. But for now, reviewer replies!

Danica Enjolras: I wish someone lived in my closet. Erik…Enjolras…anyone. (runs to check) Nope, just clothes. What's Enjy listening to? (I'm forever going to call him that now.)

Lendlaer: Oh, thank you! I don't plan to stop – there are a few poems coming up, plus the sequel to this, which needs a little thinking out.

Scarlett Red Rose: I'm glad you like me! I know the feeling – there are some authors who I admire…and them they read my stuff. I know the phangirl-based fic is pretty overdone, but I (a) really like phangirl phics and (b) think POTO fiction could use a lot more humor. I devote my time to enriching the amount of POTO humor out there. You too must keep writing…I don't know why that little phic cracked me up so much.

Lackaz: We're all desperate. No, I sent no subliminal messages that I can recall.

Raveene: Yay, Hello! And crackers…I never knew Origin was limited. Kianra's first account was deleted, along with her story, so she's not going to repost it. She just told me to tell you that you would have won if she'd gotten a chance to finish it.

LinhDog: O.o That sounds both creepy and amusing. Heh. (holds up leather outfit) Hey, Raoul? Want to go for a drive?

Artymas: I can see a montage of this phic playing along with either Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again or Think of Me. Two songs that reflect the exact opposite of Erik's feelings.

Lady Crazy Neko: Sorry…I wasn't planning to make any more cameos. I'm sorry! I hate to disappoint fans. (sniff)

Songwind: I know, that pairing really doesn't work – but you can't blame us for continuously trying! Heehee. Anyway, maybe in the sequel things will actually work out. Or maybe not. Probably not. I dunno.

Silver-Eyes97: Thanks! Normally the beginning and end are the weakest points of my writing. I still think they are. But I'm glad you like it!

Elle-'Nolan: O.o Erm…okay. Well, considering you weren't actually in it, I can't very well name you the winner. Sorry. (feels awkward)

……………………………………………

Erik opened his eyes and realized it was time to get out of the tub. He'd been there for over an hour, and his skin was absorbing all the water in the tub. Plus, what water was left was getting really cold. He climbed out of the tub and grabbed a fluffy hotel towel to dry off. He then stared at his ordinary reflection.

Not many people were aware of the pains he went through to make himself look like the phantom of the stage. Normally, he really did resemble the phantom of Leroux's telling. Not a whole lot of hair, no nose, yellow eyes, and he had been exceptionally thin. However, now he wore a wig to fix the horrid hair, and he really could get by with just a half-mask. He'd also eaten more for a period of about a week to try and flesh himself out a bit. But any longer than that and the managers would have started to notice the huge amounts of meat and vegetables disappearing from their icebox every morning. Andre was already suspicious of the bottle of wine that vanished every Sunday. Anyway, he now went through the process of making himself semi-presentable. Mask, wig, clean suit, and rather scuffed shoes all took their place. He made a mental note to get those shined. Then he added just enough makeup to take away from the deformity on the uncovered side of his face and still leave him with a feeling of masculinity. There. No one could say he wasn't an incarnation of Lloyd Webber's Phantom.

He came out of the bathroom to find Aislin waiting on the bed. "It's about time you came out," she said impatiently. "You're going to be late to the closing ceremony in half an hour. I trust you've chosen the winner?"

Erik stared at her, dumbfounded. He had to pick the winner! Of course! He'd completely forgotten – he'd assumed that he'd just stroll on home with a pre-chosen winner. But no…he had to pick.

Who was he going to choose?

Aislin sighed. "I didn't think you chose a winner. Here," she said, and she held out to him a large folder full of papers. "These are the notes from all your dates, including the information on the girls you went out with and details on where you went. Look through them and decide which you want to win. I'll give you more details on the ceremony when we get there."

Erik sat down on the bed and opened the folder. Along with the information Aislin has said would be there, each girl had written their own notes on what had happened, and a sort of review of their date. Erik noticed that, according to the girls, he'd passionately kissed every one of them. They had a tendency to change details to suit their own tastes, apparently. Upon glancing through the folder and awakening some unpleasant memories that he'd blocked out, he realized that there was no way he could fall in love with any of these girls. But there was another way…one way that gave him an obvious choice…after all, it wasn't always about love.

And he hadn't played the role of Angel of Music in a long, long time.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He finished thinking about it. It had taken him a good ten minutes to decide if this was truly the choice he wanted to pick, and he was sure now. He dropped the folder on the bed, and Aislin stuffed it away. "Ready?"

"Yes. I have made my decision."

"Good. Now follow me." Aislin led Erik out of their hotel room and into the elevator. However, instead of taking it down, she pressed the button for the rooftop restaurant. Erik felt that this would be a special occasion, and made sure he was wearing his cape and fedora before stepping out. The maitre-d bowed as they entered the restaurant, and a large group of girls started applauding.

Every phangirl Erik had ever dated was in here. Kat, Summer, Breanna, Danica, Jessica, Kimberly, Hilary, Kara, Stephanie, Phoenix, Gina, Mandy, Jenna, Raver, Kay, Mimi, Hana, Rachel, and Butterfly all stood in a line in front of the window that formed the wall, cheering and applauding. Aislin called for quiet.

"Now, then," she said loudly, in her natural performer's voice. "You all know what you're doing here. As per the rules of The Love of His Life, each of you spent some time with our good Phantom here, and each of you has a chance to spend even more time with him."

She opened her white spiral notebook and began to read. "The girl who wins this contest will go on a vacation to a pre-selected destination, leaving on a Friday and returning on the following Monday. For the rest of that week, and another full week afterward – in other words, until the next Friday – the girl will go to live in the Paris Opera House in order to be closer to Erik. He can let her live in the house by the lake or somewhere in the upper floors – that's up to him. After this two week period, we'll see if the relationship is fit to continue!"

All the girls clapped, and Erik fidgeted uncomfortably standing beside Aislin.

"Erik has just chosen the winner a few minutes ago. You're all winners in my eyes…but apparently not in Erik's." Grinning, she stepped back, leaving Erik in the foreground.

He sighed. "Well, ladies, I must say it was a difficult decision to make, but I made it nonetheless. Are you all ready?"

The girls nodded vigorously, and someone shouted out, "Get on with it!" Erik glared at them. "The winner is…"

They leaned forward expectantly.

"Hana."

Hana leapt into the air and cheered loudly, as "All I Ask of You" started playing dramatically from Aislin's stereo in the background. She dashed up to Erik, placing her hands in his.

He groaned inwardly, but said, "Even if I can't bring myself to love one of you, Hana and I sang together, and I believe I can do much with her voice. I can train this girl to sing with the music from heaven, and perhaps she can do what Christine could not."

Aislin cleared her throat. "Now that he has made his choice – Hana, do you accept?"

She stared back at Aislin. "Are you kidding?"

"That's what I thought, but it's a regulation of the contest to ask." Aislin nodded. "Now that you are together, you'll be off to your outing in…Hawaii!" She handed them two tickets. "Your things are packed and you leave tomorrow. Enjoy each other's company!" She turned to the rest of the assembled girls, who all looked very put out. "And thank you all for participating in The Love of His Life!"

The other girls monaed, and Aislin compassionately shepherded them outside. When they were gone, she turned acidly on Erik. "You know, Erik, if it had been a question of your next vocal student, we would have held a talent contest. Or you could have come straight to me." She stalked outside, leaving Erik and Hana alone.

They stood silently for a minute, as All I Ask of You stopped playing.

"Does that make you my Angel of Music now?" asked Hana.

"I suppose so," said Erik hesitantly. It was hard for him, taking another girl under his wing. He felt as if he was replacing Christine.

But wasn't that what this had all been about? Finding someone new?

The All I Ask of You reprise started playing, and Hana went to stop it before it killed the romantic mood. (A/N: Don't get me wrong, I love the reprise.)

I suppose this could work, Erik thought. I truly do not see love in the future, but rather, a bright future for the new soprano at the Paris Opera.

And Erik…now he had something more to occupy his time than painful memories of Christine.

Hana suddenly glomped him. "This will be so much fun!" she cried.

Erik sighed. Actually, the shaping of this phangirl into a diva on par with Christine could take some work.

………………………………..

And there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed reading my little phic as much as I did writing it. Review, please! I hope to reach 300 reviews with this last chapter. Hana, e-mail me at the address in my profile, I need to talk to you about some stuff. Thanks again for supporting me, and keep an eye out for new stories in the future. I can tell you now, there WILL be a sequel for this story.

Your obedient servant,

A. K. (Aislin Kageno)