Title: Y or N (Education Variation 06)
Ch: 01
Author: Lucifer Rosemaunt

Summary: Short ficlet variations on a theme: education/school. This is why you always sign your notes legibly. Rather, this is why you read from where a note comes.
Fandom: Phantom of the Opera
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Erik/Raoul pre-slash
Warning(s): modern!AU, high school!AU, liberties taken with their respective ages
Word Count: 3,288
Rating: K+

o.o.o.o

The period before lunch was undeniably one of the worst of the day, maybe only second worst considering the existence of last period. Those last minutes before the day's end were torturous, moments before he could go finally home, hide himself in the attic of his foster home (he had never had aroom to call his own), and finally be able to isolate himself and work on more important things like his paintings or the opera he had decided to begin to compose on the rather insufficient keyboard he had managed to scrounge enough money to purchase at a garage sale. There was no such reprieve during lunch, however. There were few places he could go to spend the hour uninterrupted: the cafeteria, always brimming with students, was definitely out of the question; food was not allowed in the classrooms and he had been given one too many warnings to tempt his fate again so soon; and the small amount of outdoor space was often crowded with students sprawled out on the lawn and in their little cliques. Sometimes, Erik would be fast enough to secure a location beneath one of the trees by the perimeter of the schoolyard. It was a rare occurrence though. So, more often than not he haunted the hallways, eating only snacks that he could sneak from his pocket.

At least today, the class before lunch was one he shared with Christine and more importantly, one where her desk was immediately to his left. He could spend the time ignoring Trigonometry, drawing in the sketchbook hidden beneath his notebook, and sneaking glances at her. They had been given free time to work on their assignment for the evening and Erik was doing actual class work when someone caught his attention with a whispered psst.

He glanced right then left and was surprised to see that Christine had her head ducked low to hide behind the student in front of her. She was grinning in his direction and Erik looked around to see if she was trying to look at someone else. However, she just glanced up at the teacher, who was focused on something on his desk, before extending her hand towards him holding out a slip of paper. Erik looked around once more after taking the note. She just nodded and turned her head to look at someone on her other side. Erik could not be certain because his attention was completely on the small note. With shaking hands, he unfolded the paper which had obviously been torn from a notebook.

He could only stare in disbelief. In slanted and slightly messy print, the note read:

I like you.

Would you like to have lunch with me? Y or N (circle one please). You don't have to say if you like me back.

The bottom was signed with a scribbled 'C' that Erik skimmed over. He looked up at Christine, but she was still whispering to someone on her other side. He could not breathe; his heart raced and he was almost inclined to believe that this was some cruel joke. No one else in the class appeared to be in on this ruse and he had never known Christine to be party to such pranks. She was too kind, too beautiful, too perfect and his adoration for her went beyond what could be considered normal because it was all so very justified.

He did not have to think of his answer. Circling the Y with his pencil, he had to stop himself from circling it multiple times. He folded the paper up once more and just before the bell rang that signaled the beginning of lunch, he cleared his throat to get her attention and handed the note back to her. He ducked his head and tried to hide the fact that he was staring at her to see how she would respond to his answer.

To his horror, she did not read the note. She turned to her left and handed it to the same person she had been whispering to earlier. Erik sat up straighter and in a moment of startling clarity, he met eyes with one Raoul de Chagny, who took the note with a hesitant smile sent his direction. Erik turned away with a jerk of his head and summoned the image of the scribble at the bottom of the note. He had recognized a 'C' and had thought nothing else of it, but there had been a messy scribble that could be interpreted as an 'R' in front of it. He numbly watched Christine walk away and meet up with Meg at the door before they would head off towards the cafeteria where they always ate lunch. Usually, Raoul was never far behind.

Not today though, today there was a body standing beside his desk as he jerkily shoved his supplies into his bag, desperately trying to think of a way to explain the situation. He could just reveal it had all been a mistake but when he finally looked at Raoul, the same boy in his class who was always boisterous and laughing, the same one who charmed everyone with whom he crossed paths, the one who was currently standing by his desk obviously excited yet somehow still subdued, Erik could not find his voice. The other boy was acting shy in a way that he did not think was possible.

Erik had never felt anything towards him except maybe brief bursts of jealousy and anger because of all the time the blond and Christine spent together. He had been certain Raoul had never once spared a single glance in his direction, and that had obviously been a false assumption on his part if the note and the hopeful way Raoul was looking at him were any indication. Maybe he had seen Raoul looking at him before, but it had always felt like glares, warning him away from Christine.

He could hear the deep breath Raoul took to steady himself before speaking.

"It's just lunch?"

Erik knew he had not meant it to be a question.

"And it doesn't…" Raoul shoved his hands into his pockets and swayed back onto his heels. His voice was quiet when he admitted, "It doesn't have to mean anything besides just like, being lunch."

Erik weighed his options. Raoul was right. It was just one lunch period and Erik had never been good at admitting when he made mistakes. There was also the fallout with Christine that was certain to happen both if he did have lunch with Raoul and if he turned him down now. She would either think him interested in her best friend or a brute for having broken his heart. Even though he did not think he could survive an entire lunch period with someone like Raoul, he stood up and muttered, "I'm not eating in the cafeteria."

It was hard not to be affected by the smile that lit up Raoul's face and Erik hated to think that he was not as immune to his charms as he had initially thought. Then again, he had never been looked at with such clear acceptance and it almost made him feel… normal. This was no sideways glance, suspicion and curiosity mixed in with deceitful actions in an attempt to discover what lay beneath his mask.

"Oh." Raoul let out a brief laugh and it was still shaky. His hands were no longer shoved in his pockets but instead, he constantly opened and closed them and alternated between rubbing his palms against his khaki pants and slipping his fingers beneath his backpack straps. "I know that." He walked ahead of Erik and it was not until they were in the hallway that he slowed so that they could walk side by side. He often shot glances at Erik with still hesitant smiles and Erik made certain to keep his eyes forward.

"Um." He stopped walking and Erik realized that they had stopped by his locker. Raoul gestured down the hall. "You wanna grab your books and lunch and meet me in the gym in like five?"

"The gym?" Erik asked. "You aren't allowed to eat there."

"Don't worry," Raoul replied with a wink. "I got this."

Erik nodded mutely and watched Raoul jog down the hallway towards his own locker. After he had traded out his textbooks and grabbed the bag of chips and cookies that was his lunch, he headed towards the gym. He could not help the sinking feeling that this was still some sort of ploy. Just outside the gym door, he looked around to see if anyone was paying him any particular attention but there was no one around. The uncertainty of what waited for him on the other side of the door made his mind swim with a laundry list of pranks and jokes that could be made at his expense. He considered just leaving but knew he would not be able to stand not knowing what would have happened.

He steeled himself, frown settling into place as he pushed open the door. Just inside, he paused, not having expected to find the gym empty and dark. Taking several steps in, his footsteps echoed in the open space. He wondered if the prank had been to trick him into going to gym for no reason. It was rather mild as far as pranks went and if anything, Raoul had just given him one more place he could hide during lunch to avoid everyone else. He was about to leave when his name was shouted.

"Erik!"

Up the stairs, he saw Raoul backlit by the sunlight streaming through the double doors that led outside. Erik was not sure if he was more surprised by his presence or by how relieved he seemed that Erik had, in fact, shown.

He waved, "It's this way."

By the time he had crossed the gym and climbed the stairs, Raoul was just standing up from having set up their lunch in the portico just outside the doors. No one else was around. Even though they were outside in the shade of the overhang, just several feet from them was the gate that signified the edge of school property. It was chained and padlocked and never unlocked unless there was a big sporting event. Erik had to admit that he was slightly impressed. No one else would think to eat lunch here; it barely counted as remaining on school property, but it was perfect.

Not too far from the entrance, Raoul stood, hands clasped behind his back. Spread out on a handkerchief beside him were a pile half sandwiches, fruit cups, and a thermos with two cups.

Raoul ducked his head and admitted sheepishly, "Yeah, I know. I had hoped you would say yes and all. It seems a bit planned though, right?" He laughed nervously.

Erik shook his head and sat down before he could run away like he was still seriously considering. It suddenly felt so very wrong to share this lunch with him. He thought of all the pranks he had been expecting, the spitefulness and childish callousness that was common in teenagers and he could not help but feel like he was the one playing the prank on Raoul. Erik had never thought himself unnecessarily cruel.

Raoul plopped down beside him, leaving enough space so that Erik did not feel crowded. He gestured to the handkerchief. "Go ahead. I may have made everything myself, but as you can see, I can't really mess up pre-packaged fruit cups and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh!" He held his hands above the sandwiches before Erik could even think to grab one. "You aren't allergic to nuts, are you?" He cursed and before he could think to take the sandwiches away as he appeared to be planning, Erik replied.

"No." He admitted, realizing that no one had ever bothered to ask him before, "I don't have any food allergies." In fact, he did not think anyone knew that about him.

"Thank goodness," Raoul sighed.

And, Erik wanted to refuse the food but the expectant look that was fixed on him made him more than willing to do so just to get Raoul to stop staring at him. Once he had a sandwich in hand, Raoul seemed to settle.

"I know you're not a big fan of eating lunch with the others." He took a bite of a sandwich and hm'd when he realized he had forgotten to pour the drinks. "It's apple juice," he said as he held the cup out to Erik. "There's a water fountain inside if you just want water or something. It's not very far."

Erik shook his head and took the cup.

"Okay, good. Yeah, well and everywhere's so crowded. I realized this would be perfect because no one really thinks to come here, but I do have to admit I got locked out the first time I came out here."

Erik glanced at the door he had let swing shut behind him without a second thought. Raoul saw and laughed.

"Don't worry. There's like this pin you press on the side of the door to make sure that it doesn't lock behind you, but I didn't know that the first time. It was bad. I didn't have my cell phone or anything and no one could hear me knocking. So, I spent the entire lunch trying to figure out a way back in until I realized that the only way was to climb over the gate. I had to walk to through the front again." Raoul groaned. "That had been a bad afternoon, but they do make sure not to lock these doors anymore. It doesn't hurt to check though."

Erik nodded at the story to show that he was listening, but it did not seem like Raoul expected an answer or any participation in his part of the conversation. He tried to let the chatter drown out the worries that kept creeping into his thoughts, but it was not working. He worried that the other boy would eventually ask if he liked him back or if he wanted to have another lunch or anything that would require Erik to lie. Erik wanted Christine. That was a fact and he had never thought of anyone besides her. He had no idea how to react to the ease with which Raoul seemed to be able to talk to him. The smaller boy was all big hand movements, brief touches to Erik's arm or shoulder, and embarrassing stories about himself that he merely laughed about and shared with a humility that seemed incongruous with Erik's opinion of him. He did not stare at his mask, despite the constant looks that Erik was beginning to think was normal considering Raoul had admitted to liking him – and Erik still did not understand that fact at all.

He wracked his brain trying to remember any type of interactions he may have had with him that would warrant any sort of attraction. They had shared classes in the past but held no real conversations with each other. Erik had honestly never thought of Raoul in any other manner besides his relationship with Christine.

And now, after the shock had somewhat faded, he still did not know how to think of him, how to react to Raoul's confession. The other boy seemed content to just regale him with personal stories and Erik was beyond relieved. However, some point after the second story about how on the first day of school, Raoul had somehow managed to walk into the girls' locker room by mistake, Erik had stopped counting the minutes until lunch would be over. After his second sandwich, he stopped trying to avoid watching Raoul's expressions and staring at his hand every time he unthinkingly touched him, and by the time Erik had pulled out his bag of cookies and Raoul took one without even asking, he stopped trying to hide his own reactions and even responded with a few words.

Through it all, Raoul was apparently just himself, still undeniably nervous at times but stubborn enough to keep offering Erik those hesitant smiles that were not related to stories or memories, smiles meant specifically for Erik. It was odd and unnerving and Erik was torn between wanting this lunch to never end and wanting to hide from such regard.

The bell did ring, and while he threw away the trash, Raoul packed the few items that had not been eaten. When it was done, they stood there at an impasse, backpacks on and time passing. The only class they actually shared was Trigonometry, so Erik need not worry about awkward glances throughout class for the rest of the day. Even in Trig, Raoul sat far enough away that there was a buffer of other students and he could just ignore him like he normally did and actually refuse any further invitations to lunch. Things would return to normal and Erik may not have known how to feel about it, but he was willing to accept it as inevitable. He was just about to leave when Raoul stopped him with a hand to his forearm.

The smaller boy looked to the side as he blurted out in a single breath, "Thanks for the lunch please don't punch me."

While Erik was still trying to translate what that meant, Raoul closed the distance between them, rose to his toes and kissed him on the cheek before racing away. Erik's breath caught in his throat as he stared after him.

Needless to say, he was late for his next class, but he hardly cared. His mind was caught in that moment, the press of Raoul's lips to his cheek, the brief warmth of his breath and the scent of peanut butter and jelly that seemed to overpower everything else. He wondered if he should feel affronted. Raoul had invaded his personal space constantly throughout their lunch and then to suddenly just kiss him, he should be angry or maybe even disgusted but those two emotions were the furthest from Erik's mind. He worried instead about the end of the day, expecting Raoul to come and find him and finally ask how he felt in return.

He had no answer still though it should have been obvious.

However, the last bell rang and Raoul was nowhere in sight. Erik made his way outside, ready to walk to the bus stop when he saw a flash of blond hair and immediately zeroed in on Raoul's retreating back. All thoughts of having to explain to him how he never wanted to have lunch with him again momentarily disappeared. He watched as the other boy waved at the driver of a black sedan, and Erik was surprised when the door opened and an older man with short, light brown hair who looked perfect in his business suit got out and gave Raoul a hug before ushering him to the other side of the car.

Erik could hear Raoul's pleased laugh and even from this distance he could see the adoration in his gaze. He only belated realized he was glaring at them, glaring at them with something that suspiciously felt like jealousy and maybe betrayal. How dare Raoul smile at someone else like that?

He watched the car drive away and could not imagine what Raoul could have hoped to accomplish by tricking him, by pretending to like him when he had someone else already. There was little he could do about it today though, staring after a car that was long gone, and he reluctantly headed home.

Tomorrow would have more answers.

o.o.o.o

End Chapter 01

A/N: Slightly rushed but posted earlier, right? Why are these getting longer?! There are 2(?) chapters in this variation. Damn these multi-ones and the next one's not that long, but it was an odd end to this section and it felt wrong to just continue it without some chapter break.

Fic Review: Stupid Erik. Really though. You need to not be blinded by Christine every time you see her, but I did like Raoul's effort at having a picnic type meal. Oh, and I do believe Erik would not have been able to admit his mistake with saying yes to lunch. No one's ever wanted to have lunch with him to start with and even though he's fixated on Christine, I don't think he would outright refuse anyone's kindness. And it's Raoul. It's Raoul. He wouldn't have been able to say no. No one is immune to Raoul's charms. No one! And obviously, we know that Raoul's not dating some older guy.