I was watching the making of The Phantom of the Opera earlier today and that's really where this story came from. This doesn't mean that I have given up on New Experiences, this is a story I wrote on impulse. I looked over it before uploading and I decided I was going to stick with it. All that means is that I have more work on my hands... Oh, I also became a beta reader today, so I am here if you need me...
Tell me what you think, so review, follow, favourite, et cetera...
Without further ado here's Chapter 1 for A Forbidden Love...
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SMASH
A Forbidden Love
Chapter 1 – The Phantom of the Opera
Many believe that as soon as you are born, your life is written; who you are to meet, when you are to marry, what you go on to take up as a career. Many then believe that although this may be true, what happens to you and your decision can alter your so-called destiny. As a result, what happened to Derek we have no way of knowing whether it was written or if it happened by chance. Maybe it's because of this that if you were to look for Derek in his home or what was called his home back in England, you would not be able to find him. No matter how hard you try, or no matter how hard you were to look, you would not be able to even catch his shadow. But on one faithful night, a night when Derek was to go missing a note is what is to be found in every inch of that house in England. This note is what is to be found in every inch of his apartment back in New York City, the so-called City of Dreams. But who is to find it is not yet set in stone. Perhaps it would be you...
What was written in this note you ask, well it started like this:
I'm sorry; I truly am but please forgive me I just couldn't live like this anymore. I couldn't no matter how hard I try to adapt, to change, I just couldn't do it you have to try and understand.
You see I remember when I was a little boy, no older than the tender age of 11; my father took me to see The Phantom of the Opera. It was from then that I decided the theatrics of the theatre is what I want and strangely I became infatuated by the story of the supposed Phantom. If you truly think about it, the Phantom is not a monster, he is simply a misunderstood musician who's inability to let go of the past; his past leads him to find the one and only person to truly understand him. The man who was thought to be dead both inside and out discovers emotions that he never thought possible to find again. I started to become almost obsessed with the idea of this lone man; a man whose livelihood crumbled all around him but the one thing that failed to go was the music, the theatre; the opera. I moved over to America in my mid-twenties but before I left something happened. Something that made the resemblance between the Phantom and I almost uncanny...
A fire. Screams. Burns. Loss. A Phantom. My art.
It's a night I will never be able to forget no matter how hard I try; no matter how much I want to. To talk about it will only release memories that I have tried to keep locked away for years, for decades, from family, from friends, from lovers... But it's a night that changed me forever whether I care to admit it or not.
"Derek, Derek," the voice called from the other end of the line, but he failed to recognise who, in the name of all that is good, would be calling him at such a ghastly hour. As Derek turned to face the clock he found out that it was two in the morning. "Please bugger off, it's two in the morning, what could you possibly want?" he finally replied in an exasperated voice that was indeed full of sleep.
"How about a job offer?"
"What in the world are you talking about?" Derek once again replied, his exasperation turning into pure and utter irritation at the ambiguity coming from the other end of the phone. "Wait, Eileen?" he asked confusedly.
"You sure catch on, my British director!"
"For god's sake Eileen, can't this wait 'til morning? I only got to sleep about an hour ago."
"Well, I suppose it could, sorry to have woken you Derek."
"Oh for the love of... Just say it, you're on the line now!" he replied his irritation unwavering.
"Okay, okay, keep your pants on, on the rare occasion that you are actually wearing pants -"
"EILEEN!"
"Sorry, sorry, job, yes! It's a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, it's new and the book needs finishing –"
"You want me to direct an unfinished musical? You have to be bloody kidding me!"
"Derek will you stop cutting me off! Just meet me tomorrow in the little Italian place I like so much, you know the one I mean,"
"Okay fine, time?"
"Seven, I will make the reservation,"
"Good luck getting through to anyone at this time!"
"I will make the reservation in the morning!"
"Calm down, calm down, you woke me up therefore I am allowed to tease you!"
"Goodnight Derek,"
"Goodnight Eileen," Derek put down the phone with the faintest of smiles on his face. No later Derek fell asleep but with that one recurring nightmare replaying in his head.
"Derek, get out of here, do you hear me? GET OUT OF HERE!"
"No, I'm not going to leave you!"
"GO! DO YOU HEAR ME? GET THE BLOODY HELL OUT OF HERE"
"NO!" In the seconds that followed this faithful conversation, steel beams fell from their place on the ceiling, red hot from the flames that surrounded it. His leg burned under the heat of the beam and was no doubt broken from the pressure it was under but he couldn't concentrate on what was happening to him. Screams invaded his ears, cries from terrified children clutching on to their mothers and fathers. Boyfriends and lovers taking their loved ones in their arms, covering them with whatever they could find in an attempt to shield them from the flames that surrounded them. The rubble that surrounded was something that resembled an obstacle course only if you lose, the flames consume you, and one last attempt faces you before the smoke fills your lungs. He couldn't fathom out how this could happen and quickly he became aware of his company losing consciousness, "Stay with me, you hear? We will get out, do you understand? WE WILL GET OUT!"
The alarm rang through his thoughts meaning that Derek was saved from that god awful nightmare. He awoke in cold sweats, breathing frantically from the memory; he brushed his hand through his hair and checked the time.
06:30
Fantastic. "Wait, did Eileen mean seven in the morning or evening?" Derek muttered to himself as he picked up his phone, he had no idea if she would be awake yet but he honestly didn't give a rats ass. Besides she can consider this payback for the two thirty call.
As he placed the phone to his ear he walked over to the mirror to see what four hours sleep did for his looks. "No worse than normal," he thought while the dial tone carried on playing in his ear.
"What?" an irritated Eileen answered the phone.
"Oh, Eileen I didn't wake you did I?" Derek asked in jest while a smirk came to grace his face.
"What the hell do you think?!"
"No need to shout my dear, anyway the reason for my call is I want to know if you meant seven in the morning or evening? However, considering I woke you I think I got my answer!"
"Great, now can I go back to sleep?"
"One more thing,"
"What?"
"Consider this payback!"
"GOODBYE DEREK!"
"Goodbye Eileen, see you at seven," he hung up the phone and proceeded to make himself a nice strong coffee to wake him up. Little did he know that two women - who would become very important figures in his life - were doing the exact same activity, oblivious to the man who is soon to be gracing their lives.
"Dev, I'm off," Karen called grabbing her bag before joining her boyfriend in the kitchen.
"You don't want some tea?" he asked, (this was to be the other Briton that was soon to be gracing Derek's life.)
"Darling, we're not all from England! I'll just make myself a coffee," she responded laughing slightly.
"Not all us Brits drink tea and eats scones!" he chuckles walking over to sit at the breakfast bar.
"Oh I know it's just funny watching your reaction!"
"Oh, I do love you!" He replies slightly sarcastically but in a way that is not to be taken seriously. Karen gave him a smile before pouring her coffee in a flask and taking off. Recently she heard of the new Levitt/Houston musical, well rather she saw on YouTube's most viewed a video of Ivy Lynn singing a song from this new musical. Karen had spent nearly all weekend watching and re-watching this video, trying to replicate the emotion and tone that Lynn's voice created. Finally after hours and hours rehearsing in front of her laptop she felt as though she had perfected it and patiently, (well, as patiently as possible), waited for the auditions to start up. Karen was, for lack of a better word, pumped but was well aware that Ivy Lynn had a larger chance than she did, just simply based on the fact that she was there from the very beginning.
As she headed down the street in the city she was now very familiar with, she looked around and wondered how many auditions she would have to go through until she was casted. "This is going to be a long road ahead of me," she thought as Derek was walking in the opposite direction heading to one of the theatres, he hadn't yet figured out which one it was to be but he knew that he wanted to be alone in a theatre.
"Oh sorry, Love," he said while putting his arm out in front of him to steady the woman who he had just bumped into.
"Dev, I thought you went to work already," Karen started but looked up and quickly realised that it wasn't Dev, "oh sorry, it's just you're British and my boyfriend's British and I'm rambling," she finished with a small chuckle.
"No worries dear, why don't you let me buy you another coffee, it seems as though the pavement is enjoying the rest of yours," he said politely with a smile.
"Thank you for the offer but I am nearly at work now anyway, I can pour myself another glass, god knows I'll be pouring countless today anyway,"
"Sorry Love but I can't help with that," he replied afraid this was another wannabe actress playing damsel in distress.
"I wasn't expecting you to," she responds with a confused tone in both her voice and her face.
"You don't know who I am, do you?"
"Should I?" she asks apologetically but still with some confusion.
"No, no it's okay, well hope to see you soon, uh, sorry but I didn't catch your name," Derek states with relief that finally someone he has come across in this city doesn't know who he is.
"Karen and yours?"
"Derek," he responds holding his hand out in the proper gesture of a first meeting, "Well, it was nice bumping into you Karen but I really must be going now," he finishes.
"Likewise, perhaps we may meet again? Goodbye Derek," she says before walking towards the cafe she worked at, looking back one last time before heading in.
Derek wasn't really fazed by this meeting, he had bumped into many beautiful women, and this was not any different, other than the fact that she knew not of who he was. He was in fact grateful for this minute detail but really this meeting made no impact on him at all and that's not even mentioning the fact that she already has a boyfriend. Quickly that chance meeting with Karen had escaped his mind and he was entering the one theatre he knew would be empty. With no plans as to what exactly he was going to do in an empty theatre with no script, he simply sat centre stage and stared out into the audience. The seats, which are usually filled, are now empty and it seems almost sad but at the same time Derek valued the silence. The silence of a theatre from the stage can be daunting for the amateur performer but to an experienced one? The opportunities are endless... Theatre was the one place Derek knew he had power; power over every detail, the casting, the blocking, setting, scenes, power over whatever he felt necessary. It was only during this 'quiet' time that he came to realise how much power was taken away from him and how through that he almost became a ghost or a Phantom. Scared to make a move in fear that it could happen again, but he wasn't going to allow that to happen ever again. He also knew, however, that bringing someone into his life as a permanent feature would be dangerous for him. He didn't consider himself to be a safe man and for that he only had himself to blame. Theatre was the one place he could pretend that he had control over everything including his life, even if he wasn't the one to be performing on stage. Derek quickly pulled himself out of thought and wasn't going to allow himself to think like this, at least not today, he had to be getting ready to be meeting Eileen for a business dinner in a couple of hours.
As Derek walked out of the theatre he checked the time on his watch to see how much time he actually had before he had to get ready.
18:15
"Crap." Derek stated before jogging back to his apartment in order to be ready for his seven o'clock dinner.
Little did he know that this dinner was going to change the course of his life... or was it?