Small Anomalies (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 16: Thanksgiving

Raeann's POV

As we reach the kitchen, I start to panic a bit. This is Erik's first Thanksgiving, so it has to be perfect. I want to show him how much I care about him and introduce him to the things he's missed.

Erik stares at me curiously while I adjust the tablecloth. I must look mental, but I need everything to be amazing.

"Erik, what do you have in your pantry?" I look back at him before moving to pull plates out of a cabinet.

He retrieves a few items and sets them on the table. There's some canned corn, pasta, a few apples, and some raw chicken from the fridge.

"Good enough," I giggle, examining one of the flawless red apples. "I'll boil some water."

Erik shakes his head quickly. "No. I'll do that part. You could get hurt!"

"Erik, I'm a big girl," I cross my arms and sigh. "I used to make dinner every night at my house."

"Fine," Erik grabs a knife and opens the packaging on the chicken. "I'll work on the chicken."

I nod and open a cupboard to get a pot. At the same time, Erik reaches in for a pan. We both gasp when our hands touch, and I feel my face grow hot.

"Sorry!" We apologize in unison, which only makes me blush more. Erik looks down at me with gentle eyes and tucks a piece of hair behind my ears. His touch brings me bliss, but also makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I start to lean in, but something stops me. I see that Erik was also about to kiss me, and I'm confused. Doesn't he love Christine?

Silently, I grab hold of the nearest pot and walk to the table. I add the raw noodles and water from the sink into the pot before turning on the burner and setting it on top. I open the canned corn while I wait for the pasta and Erik makes the chicken.

After several minutes, Erik and I sit and cut apples. The noodles are still in the water, but the chicken and corn are done and placed in bowls in the center of the table. I'm still a little dazed by what happened between Erik and me, but I try not to think about it. I shouldn't get my hopes up.

Erik moves to dump out the boiling water and I reach across the table to grab the apple he was halfway through cutting. He comes back with two bowls of plain pasta and an apologetic look on his face that tells me he doesn't have any sauce at the time.

"It's fine," I smirk, looking down at the apple slices I arranged on a plate. This is the most bizarre Thanksgiving food I've ever had.

"You wouldn't happen to have any pie, would you?" Erik shakes his head at my question and I shrug.

"I have chocolate chips," he says hesitantly. I smile and nod. It's not pumpkin pie, but I love chocolate just the same.

Finally, everything is settled. Erik and I load our plates with food, though Erik doesn't take as much as me. There's a silence between us before I decide to break it.

"What religion are you, Erik?" I ask, thinking to my family's tradition of praying before Thanksgiving meals.

"I don't have one," he shakes his head. "My mother was Catholic, but I never practiced a religion."

"Do you believe in God?"

"I'm not sure," Erik looks down. "I have more reasons in my life not to believe in Him than I do to be a Christian."

"I see," I close my eyes and feel sorry for Erik. "Do you mind if I say a prayer before we eat?"

Erik squirms in his seat a little, but he nods. "Go ahead."

I reach across the table and take hold of his hand before beginning. "Lord, I thank you for bringing us together today to celebrate Thanksgiving. I pray for our food and for my family. And I pray that Erik has a great first Thanksgiving. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen."

I open my eyes to see a look of shock on Erik's masked face. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you doing this?" Erik looks at me like I'm insane. "After everything I've done, you're sitting here and eating a meal with me and praying to your God that I enjoy it. Why are you so kind to me?"

"You're my friend, Erik," I say truthfully. "You're the only true friend I've ever had. And you mean a lot to me." My face grows red again and Erik's eyes fill with tears.

"You mean a lot to me, too," my heart skips a beat when he says that. He means so much to me. I would die without him.

We're on the edge of our seats while we eat our meal. I watch Erik out of the corner of my eye while he cuts the food into small pieces and maneuvers the fork so he can get it into his mouth with the mask on. I sigh because I wish he would take it off. Not only because I want to see the face of the man I love, but also because it would be easier for him.

"Erik," I get his attention and as I open my mouth and before I can ask the question, he answers.

"I'm not taking it off," he looks down at his plate and stabs a piece of chicken.

I know that Erik has reasons to leave the mask on, but I won't leave him once I see it. No matter how drastic the deformity is, I'll always love him.

"My family always does this thing where we say what we're thankful for," I change the subject once we're nearly finished eating.

"Would you like to do that?" Erik raises an eyebrow and sets down his fork.

"Yes," I smile. "I would."

"You can start," Erik motions at me politely, but I can tell he's in deep thought about his answer.

"Alright," I begin. "I'm thankful that you found me in the woods and took me here. I would be dead right now if you hadn't."

"I told you. It was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing," I counter. "It's my life and it means a lot to me." Erik seems to accept my protesting, because he nods and sits back in his seat.

"I'm also thankful that you read Les Misérables to me," I smile at the memories. The book had left us both in tears by the end. "You have a beautiful voice. I loved listening to it for so long."

Erik looks startled, which makes me grin wider. Why do I love surprising him so much?

"I'm also thankful that..." I trail off, knowing it's a bit risky to say the next part. Will saying this reveal my feelings for him?

"I'm thankful that I didn't leave," I rush while saying it. I attempt to steady my breathing in order to speak again. "If I had left, I would have lost a friend. I just didn't want to be a burden. I didn't want to leave."

I squeeze my eyes shut and hold back tears, realizing that I probably just screwed up. God, I sound clingy. How is he reacting? I don't dare to open my eyes until Erik speaks again.

"Did you say that you wanted to stay? With... me?" He asks, his voice trembling.

"Yes," I nod nervously. "I did." Erik freezes and has a blank expression on his face. I walk to his chair and take hold of his hand, which is much larger than mine, yet still bony.

"I'm thankful that I met you," I can't resist saying. It comes out more like a whisper. We stay still for a moment and experience the warm feeling around us.

"I have to do something," Erik pulls away before running upstairs. I look down at my hand, longing for the warmth that Erik's skin provided against mine.

Yay! Another almost-kiss for Raerik... So the next few chapters will be more exciting (and may even involve Madame Giry)... I might actually update later tonight because I'm very inspired right now. But then again, I might end up watching Sherlock for five straight hours...

I'm still procrastinating on So Lost, So Helpless.  Writer's block and general laziness... Hopefully I'll get that updated in the next week... Oh, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I know it's May, but still. Go eat some cranberry sauce or something.