Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the Opera, obviously, otherwise I would be rich and not in this sucky situation. I do not known Erik, Christine, Raoul or Madame Giry. I do however own my own characters.

Notes: This is my first attempt really at getting Erik down, I started this about three months ago before trying other stories that have not been placed on yet. Perhaps later they will. But this is a modern setting with modern songs and with a taste of my personal love of rock music.

The song used for the title and mentioned is called "Waiting in the Dust" by Eagles. The title of this fan fiction is also from an Eagles song called The Long Road out of Eden, but I changed it to sound better.

Please if you read this and like it or have a suggestion please review or send me a message and I will gladly fix that. Please help me become a better writer and Phantom of the Opera writer.

Thank you all.

It was one cut at a time; it made a timely noise as a form began to show beneath the wood. It was a Friday night and he was carving wood with the low light of the lamp. In the background the sound of The Eagles played in some low key tone that wrenched his heart. Erik was not a social man, he tended to shy from social situations, and if he could for class he would disappear and teach in shadow.

But no, he was thirty-one years old, alone with a genius for music. Yet even going to the store was a pain, the stares burned into his skull and his ears picked up the children's exclaims and parents hushing. Still he endured it from day to day but every time he felt his spirits broke.

But this wood figure helped him. For the last week he had worked on it, it was going to be a woman with luminous thick curly hair. Christine. Her face shape with be sharp and angular with only the most perfect flesh tone. Christine.

The woman that Christine would be going to was Caroline Percy, the headmistress of Huntington Prep School of New York City. It was a fine elaborate school that took great pride in its curriculum. The only blemish was himself and his cursed face. Caroline was a good fair woman that took no favorites, even with her nieces recent rude behavior. It was why the meeting was going to be called in which Peyton's guardian would come and make excuses for Peyton.

But that was enough of that thought.

"And you will be called Christine." He said without a smile as he held up the primitive wooden figure to the faint light by the table. He knew this would be Christine version five or something; he had simply lost count in his obsession over his heart break. Still Christine would be doing more good somewhere else than inside his messy apartment.

No amount of gin and tonic could cover up this loneliness tonight. Still Erik tried from time to time only to find it worse than before and find that he would start watching some John Wayne movie or one of those with the man whose face looked like it was pinched together. Yes, that how he was, he loved rock classics and appreciated older movies far easier than the new ones with the beautiful but talentless women and men. The men had suddenly become beautiful like gods. Hair free, brilliant white smile, messy perfect hair it was sickening for someone like him.

He was tall, he was well built like an ox he had been told. His natural hair color was one like wheat close to harvest with light curls though at times he preferred his black hair. His face was half deformed the eyebrow and eyelid no longer existed there was only one haunted blue eyes.

"But you will remain with me. It will be as it was you and I taking on the world without a care." Erik said to no one in general but the half finished wooden doll dressed in a play outfit that he had last seen her in. He could already see her in his mind with her pale cheeks beaming as beautiful as she looked to the crowd, before she left to marry that pretty man.

From there he did not know where she was. He had remained in New York, the city where people were too busy to notice him going down the street with his head bowed low preparing for another day at work.

He ought to be partying tonight, with some friends that didn't exist, perhaps exchanging numbers with some woman that he had just met who was batting her eyes so prettily. Sure it was good for one time, but it was a time at least.

"I don't know when I realized the dream was over

Well, there was no particular hour, no given day

You know, it didn't go down in flame

There was no final scene, no frozen frame

I just watched it slowly fade away

And I've been waiting in the weeds

Waiting for my time to come around again and

Hope is floating on the breeze

Carrying my soul high up above the ground and

I've been keepin' to myself

Knowin' that the seasons are slowly changing

Even though you're with somebody else

He'll never love you like I do"

The Eagles sang to a simple sad tune that had a slow tempo, the guitars blended with the vocals so perfectly. It was singing his thoughts at that time. The songs always knew his thoughts even when he himself did not know his thoughts, but the music knew all, it knew everything and had loved him regardless of his form.

"Christine, you'll look pretty sitting in her office staring out the window." Erik said making another movement of the knife to cut another piece of the skirt that was vast against her small waist with ten inches of petticoats. Not once had she complained during that time only gave a smile to him half heartedly before she left the dressing room.

"And I've been waiting in the weeds

Waiting for the dust to settle down along the

Back roads running through the fields."

Erik mouthed the words with the Eagles; it was all he could do. It was all he wanted to do, he never wanted to sing again. He never wanted to compose or show people what to do as he had once done on Broadway.

Somewhere in his mind he could hear their whispers about him like a bad T.V. noise. Then there were Christine's words and tears as she handed him the ring that he had bought for her, the engagement ring…It had been over in just one minute. Even now it seemed nothing less than a nightmare.

Outside there was a giggle from the other side of the hallway. Erik gave a small annoyed look as he stood up starting towards his door opening it to see Aiden with a leggy blonde telling her a British joke. The woman didn't understand but she wanted him and he wanted her. That was Aiden…He quickly shut the door listening as another Eagles song turned on.

Oh yes, just another Friday in his eventful life.