As If Years Had Gone By (GRANDPAPPY)

[Erik Carriere]

Erik sat on a single seated chair in the middle of the stage. He had left a letter under Gerard's door telling him the opera house and how to get there, in case he hadn't been to it before. Whenever he tried to talk to his father, he always seemed to just miss him somewhere. Perhaps now, Gerard would come on his own account and they could finally speak. So much had happened... it was as if years had gone by since their last chat.

First of all there was the disaster with Christine... he would explain most that happened the best he could... then how Erika came into his life for that one day and made him realize that he might be able to care for someone besides Christine. Then there was Christine's final return, or what Erik believed to be her final return, as she seemed to have started over, not remembering any of their time at the manor and how his time with Ana made him realize so much including that it was Christine's second chance here, not his. His chance here was just one to... move on.

Erik sat, his head hanging down some, wearing his usual attire of tailcoat and such, though not his cape nor his cane. How much had he really changed? He couldn't tell any more. So much time seemed to have passes since he spoke with his father. And how would Gerard take this all in? Either way, Erik felt that he needed to tell everything that has happened and speak with his father. After all, Gerard was the one that he could always speak with- or rather, he was the only person he was able to speak with. And even though he had friends now and other people to speak to, he felt that it was sort of his duty to keep his father up to date, sort of keep a tradition of them speaking, just as they use to have their conversations constantly back at the opera house.

[Gerard Carriere]

Gerard had found the note under his door from his son. Erik wanted to meet with him at the Opera House and had included directions. He had practically dropped everything else he had to do and went to find the Opera House. He was somewhat worried and hoped nothing bad had happened. Sure, Erik was an adult - hell, he'd been one for a quite a while - but never mind that, he'd always be a boy to Gerard - his boy.

The older man walked down the long corridors until he at last reached his destination, the Opera House. Its ceilings were tall and arched, the atmosphere perfect for the singers of the manor. Sitting on the stage was his son. He walked forward, concern creasing his brow at the slight hang of his son's head. As he made his way over he spoke, his voice faint but loud enough so the masked man could hear him, "Erik..." Gerard Carriere offered a small smile as he came closer.

Despite the bucket load of information Erik had to share, Gerard only had one encounter to speak of, his run in with Nathaniel the ghost.

[Erik Carriere]

Erik looked up when he heard his name and smiled slightly as he saw his father. He glanced around for a moment, looking at the still in progress opera house, then looked towards the ground for a moment then back to his father. "So much has happened since we last talked... almost years worth of information. And I thought my life at the Opera was eventful." He laughed then paused in silence for a moment.

"I believe... last time we spoke, things were going well with Christine." He chuckled slightly, coldly, at how long ago that was and what has happened since then. "Well, I'll explain in little detail." Then stood up for his father to sit in the chair and began to pace about the stage but still very audible for Gerard to hear. "Things were good for a while, but then.... Christine got angry with me. She said that I could not love her because I hadn't quite learned how to be with her yet. She then avoided me for a while, and the several times we did speak was not pleasant."

Erik looked down, his eyes suddenly burning, but not tearing as the threatened to do, and those old wounds were rubbed raw once again. "She then gave me a chance.... she said that if I could prove my love to her within a week, she would stay with me. Not the best of deals but I agreed, being desperate to be with her...." He then paused, painfully remembering her suicide attempted after their one lovely night. She had used him... that was something that he could never quite understand, it was so unlike her, or so he had thought. "After the first day, which is when we found Faust, a orange tabby that seems to have adopted me since then, she left again, but this time, she didn't come back the same."

He paused again, wondering if he should tell him about Erika as well, then decided he should while he had the chance. "In Christine's absence.. I had been craving for company. And that is when I found Erika. She wore a mask that I had never quite seen before. She was from Berlin and I had helped her. She showed me that it was possibly that I could fall for someone else, Christine being gone, Erika had been the one there for me. However, she to, seemed to have disappeared and I never heard from her again. After a few weeks... or perhaps months.... Christine came back to me. However, she was completely different. It was as if she had never come to the manor before. It was as if she had been sent here again, when she was down in my domain, before she spoke with you." It was still strange for him to say it since he never experienced it and instead watched it from -someone invisible- eyes.

"I have only seen her once since she has... re-returned. And though it has only been once so far.... it was a very lovely time. And I have the most positive feeling that we definitely wont be having same problems as before." Erik said, smiling some. Then thought for a moment, and remembered Ana. "There is a friend I have met most recently, her name is Ana. We had this delicious drink, Hot Chocolate it was. And the conversation we had.... they were quite the realizations. Big ones as a matter of fact." Erik paused, thinking of when she told him that they were all just characters. Something he accepted and flatly refused all at the same time. But he wouldn't tell his father, no... he wouldn't know how he would take it, it might just become a burden for him. "One thing... is that here, which I had realized a little bit here and there before, I can do anything any other person can. I have absolute freedom here, I can go outside, I could converse with whomever I choose, and so on." He said, smiling some.

"And another thing is that.... I am not sure if I will ever actually be able to be with Christine. With all that happened with her the first time.... and now shes back as if she had been reborn from a different time in her life. At first, I thought it was my second chance with her to not screw up, but then I came to think.... she was so unhappy with me the first time, what if this is her second chance to have her own happiness? I wish all in the world for her happiness." He paused for a moment, knowing that his father will probably have quite a bit to say on this part of his explanation of what has happened over the course of months. "Anyways... I came to realize a few other things.... such as I do not have the worst situation. What I mean by that is....well, Ana told me of these people who tell their stories that have to endure so much, these people are also disfigured in some way like the man she told me of his face blanketed with tumors. There was one thing she said that I have found true at the manor as well, Its those moments when humanity is at its best. I know that wouldn't be the case at the opera house.... but I think it is the case here." He said, gazing off, slightly proud of having required that knowledge after years of being alive.

"As much as I didn't want to believe it... there are more people who have suffered more pain than me. You saved me from most of that pain by being able to keep people away." Erik said, smiling at his father now, then continued to pace and talk. "You may have told me this before, but it had only made sense in my head when she told me, that the only one stopping you... is you. For some reason, I never really knew or thought about it. Even though I had proved it to myself daily, I built my Dreamery, I invented automatic doors, I pursued Christine and got to have some beautiful memories." He paused, then chuckled as he was coming to a close after his long talk. "And lastly.... I have a purpose. Now I am sure you have told me that as well but this as well didn't quite make it into my mind until then. I would say I have changed quite a bit since we last spoke." He chuckled some, going walking to his father's side now. "I feel almost as if I just gone through years of knowledge with how much I believe I learned.... then again I could be wrong and other people are suppose to learn a large amount in a few months. I guess it just seems like a lot more information from learning this all from people instead of books." He chuckled some. He hoped he hadn't bored his father to death.

[Gerard Carriere]

Gerard met his son’s gaze for a brief moment when Erik’s eyes raised. The old man smiled faintly back, moving closer to his boy. The grey haired Gerard’s eyes were concerned, yet thoughtful, as he watched his son, not saying a word. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he wasn’t going to prod, he’d wait until his son saw it fit to begin his tale. His hazel eyed gaze went out across the opera house, it wasn’t all finished yet, but still it was marvelous. Gerard could just see the former glory in it, and a faint curl of a smile lived his lips. When his son spoke, he turned back to the masked man. He offered a faint chuckle in response to Erik’s latter words, but beneath it he was still worried. What had his son been through since the last time they’d talked?

The old man bit his lip, watching Erik with the gentle eyes of a father. He made no comment at the words or the chuckle, tinted with a slight chill, that exited his son’s lips, just listened. When Erik moved from the chair, Gerard slowly moved to it, sitting slowly down onto the wooden chair, an ache in his back. (ooc…lmao backrub…XDD heheheheee!!..okay going back to post) He frowned as he watched his son pace, that probably wasn’t a good sign. He sighed, already feeling bad for his son. Gerard didn’t really know what to think on the subject of his son and Christine, he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his son was still, in fact, alive, considering he would often finding himself reliving that night in his dreams, or more like nightmares. Gerard rose to his feet and went to his son’s side, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, watching Erik through sad eyes.

Again, the older man wasn’t quite sure what thoughts should have been swarming through his brain, but he was surprised that Christine would do something like that, it wasn’t really like her. The Christine he had known wouldn’t have done that, would she have? Personally, Gerard liked to hope not, but nonetheless, here was Erik accounting what had gone on in the time that the two had been apart, and Gerard couldn’t help but sigh again, he suspected he would be doing a lot of that through Erik’s tale. When he arrived at the part about the cat, Gerard couldn’t help but be a little taken aback. He had never suspected that Erik would tolerate a cat with him, but it gave him relief to know that even when there was no person with Erik that he would have the cat, as the old man was told Faust had ‘adopted’ his son. His brow rose in confusion when Erik spoke of Christine not coming back the same and thought about asking, but decided to wait and let his son recount before asking anything.

Christine had been gone and Erik had fallen for another woman, one who wore a mask as well? Gerard couldn’t say that he wasn’t surprise, as it did shock him. Although, at the same time, the older of the two was glad that Erik had found someone else that he could turn to if Christine wasn’t there, but then he spoke of Erika’s dissapearence and the frown on Gerard’s face deepened quite a bit. Of course she had to vanish as well, couldn’t his son just be happy for once? Confusion settled in a veil over him as Erik continued about Christine. That was rather odd that she had forgotten everything, Gerard didn’t have an explanation for that and pondered on it for a moment. It didn’t make sense. How could she not remember what had happened between her and Erik before her disappearance?

Gerard smiled when his son did; he was glad that things seemed to be working out between him and Christine. That was all he had ever wanted, for Erik to find someone that he could love and who wouldn’t judge him for the facial deformities the mask hid from the world. He was also quite glad that Erik had a run in with this Ana. He smiled a bit more as his son finished the part of his tale about Ana. “I’m glad to hear that you have the freedom you deserve, Erik,” Gerard said, nodding and smiling at the man that would forever be his boy.

He shook his head, he had started at the words ‘…not sure if I will ever actually be able to be with Christine.’ He was frowning when his son stopped speaking. “Erik, despite my being here shorter than yours, I already can tell this is a strange place. There isn’t anyone that deserves Christine more than you, my son. You’re exceptionally talented and I can’t imagine her wanting to be with anyone other than you.” Gerard’s voice was sincere, his gaze never leaving Erik’s face. “You never know where it’ll lead ‘til it goes there.” He shrugged, frowning only slightly, “It may end badly, but everything happens for a reason – whether good or bad – one way or another something good can come out of something bad.” Gerard nodded solemnly at the next words. He was glad that his son had met this Ana girl, she was doing him good.

“Most just have to get over what they see on the outside,” commented Gerard, smiling faintly at his son. “That’s not, by far, what matters.” He nodded, yes. He was glad that his son had encountered Ana. He was glad that his words, repeated by someone else, had finally reached Erik. He smiled at Erik then, glad that he was finally able to realize what Gerard had always been telling him. It didn’t matter to the old man that the words hadn’t come from him. “You may have changed mentally,” Gerard said, “but you’ll always be my boy.” Erik hadn’t bored him in the least, he was just happy to be spending time with his son, whether it was just listening to Erik speak or if they were actually having a conversation, hell, or even it was just standing and not speaking. It made no difference.

[Erik Carriere]

Erik listened as his father began to speak and smiled a little bit when he said that he knew that this place was strange. If anyone where to be here for even one day they would already know this place was weird. Gerard then said that no one deserved Christine more than Erik. This made him look down, his heart fluttering for a moment at the thought of it, then looked back up smiling some.

Gerard then said that he couldn't imagine Christine wanting anyone else. His heart suddenly dropped and he bit the inside of his mouth and quietly growled. "Except for perhaps the Comte de Chagny." Then sighed and tried to make up for it quickly in case his father heard. "Though luckily he isn't here, at least to my knowledge." His father then said that he would never know where it will go till it goes there and Erik nodded, understanding and agreeing. If anything in life had taught him, it was just that.

Gerard then honestly told Erik that it may fall into darkness, but something will come out of it -whether it was good or bad. Erik nodded again, pausing for a moment in his pacing. Erik continued his pacing, continuing to nod. He knew that the outside was not what counted. Not only was it what Gerard told him many times before, but it was the only way he could live with himself and keep any hope inside of being accepted. Gerard then said that even though Erik had changed mentally, that he was still his boy. Erik smiled and looked at Gerard. "Thank you, father." He said warmly. "So much has happened with me.... what about you?" He chuckled.

[Gerard Carriere]

Gerard offered a smile towards his son. He wanted to help Erik in anyway he could. He wanted to make up for all the lost time. He was glad that he could do that here. He enjoyed what little time he had spent here at the manor simply because of the time he was able to spend with his son. And therefore if he was given the chance to go back to his own world, Gerard would refuse.

Gerard gave a slight little huff. "He's not here and besides he's not nearly as talented as you are." He offered another faint smile. He sighed softly. Life was a strange thing. Just as this manor was.

"You're welcome, son," Gerard said with a smile. The older man gave a faint chuckle. "Compared to all of that? Nothing really. I did meet an older man who works here, Alfred Worthington and had a run in with Nathaniel Javert, he's a ghost..." Gerard smiled at his son, thinking back to the encounters.

[Erik Carriere]

When Gerard had said that the damned de Chagny boy was not here and didn't have any talent like his own, Erik huffed slightly and rolled his eyes slightly but then smiled, knowing that he was right and always knew it. The only talent that fool de Chagny might have had was to break hearts and try and fool around with every woman he lays his eyes upon.

Erik's jaw nearly dropped when the older Carriere had said that he had hardly met anyone else... and one of the few he had was a ghost. Out of the whole time he had been here, he had never met any sort of ghost. Yes there were strange happenings here but that was just the manner... but he had lived as a ghost for most of his life... he still hadn't started to believe that they were real. "I almost hate to say it, but are you so sure you met a ghost? An actual phantom? Because I have been here for quite a while and have yet to run into any such thing... though I have heard about it from others every once in a while." Erik said, as politely as he really could but totally doubting the experience. But not his father, just the experience.

[Gerard Carriere]

( I AM ALIVE!! HERE IS YOUR REPLY!! IT SUCKS BUT HERE IT IS!! I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LATENESS!! To make up for it I shall remind you of the ruffling of the hair and the back rub. )

Gerard looked at his son when he huffed, rolling his eyes. Gerard smirked just a bit, knowing that his son knew that he was right, just didn't admit it. His father smiled over towards him. The older of the two knew that the de Chagny only care about beauty, not what people were really like underneath.

It wasn't hard to see the shock plain on his son's face. Gerard didn't blame him, frankly he was having trouble believing the whole experience himself. He nodded, though looked thoughtful. "I believe so. Seems strange, but I do believe I met a ghost." He shrugged a bit. "Believe me, I'm questioning it as well. I'm questioning a lot of things here."

[Erik Carriere]

((Oh my Gawd, I needed that reminder, thank you. XDDDDD You just made my night/morning LOL! We should end this one soon since its so old now and start up a new one. A lot has already happened again. xD ))

Erik smirked and nodded. It was only sane to question everything here. Even though he had been here for quite a while, still nothing made sense. And he greatly doubted that it ever would unless there was somehow some reasonable and logical explanation for everything, which he also doubted he would ever find.

He leaned back and sighed slightly, looking thoughtful for a moment. "I almost wish that I would come upon a ghost here, if they are in fact here. Of course I can keep an open mind... perhaps it is possible. After all, if I can believe in magic, I suppose another can believe in ghosts, though I see them as very different aspects and such. Suppose living as a ghost though tends to diminish such beliefs in ghosts." He chuckled, thinking that the other Eriks must have at least thought that too at first.