New story! Yay! So this is just a Phantom story, of course. I want this one to be longer than "First", but I don't know. I was expecting "First" to be 30 chapters or so, but it ended up being 22. So yeah, I hope you like the first chapter of my new story. Thanks.

~Lauren

Chapter 1

Afraid

Eleanore, mostly known as Ella, dances in the background where she belongs. She always knew she was destined to be a dancer. She would always frolic around her house, spinning in circles. And she always had an ear for music. But that was over twenty years ago. Those days were over. She had a job to do, and that job was dancing.

When the music stops, the leading soprano and tenor run over to the maestro, while the ballerinas run over to Madame Giry to get notes. Ella stands up straight, and he toes in a nice position. She was ready for any criticism. "Girls, that was alright. It is improving. Meg, fix your arabesque." She went on and on telling which girl things she needed to fix. Then she got to Ella. "Ella. I have no corrections for you surprisingly. Everything was…perfect." Her eyes bulge as Madame Giry leaves with that last remark. The other girls glare at her, but Meg just rushes over to her and hugs her.

"Oh! You must have done wonderful, Ellie!" She always insisted on calling her Ellie. "My mother has never called anything perfect! At least when she talks about dancing." Meg walks away with a smile, leaving Ella there to think.

All Ella does is let out a noise that sounded like a giggle, but it was really a noise that conveyed worry. She is going to work me very hard. She thinks. She doesn't want to think too much of it, so she just shrugs, forgetting anything ever happened.

Ella walks back to her dressing room, and sits down on her bed. She exhales slowly, but jumps suddenly when the mirror creeps open. She whips her head, forgetting that Erik always comes through the mirror.

"I am sorry, Eleanore. Did I frighten you?" he asks in a mellow and calm voice.

"No. I just forget you always come through the mirror." She states. He doesn't know what to say, so he shrugs. Ella gets up from her bed, and meets him at the mirror. "Shall we go?" she asks with a smile.

He smiles back slightly and holds out a gloved hand. She grabs it, and they walk back through the mirror.

Once they get to his lair, Ella sits down at the bench of his organ. She always sits there when they come down, and Erik doesn't mind. And Erik always says, "Would you like some tea, Eleanore?" which he does at this very moment. She nods and he scurries off through the kitchen. When he comes back into the room to wait for the tea to whistle, she asks him, "When can you learn to call me Ella?" He smiles.

"Eleanore is prettier. I never liked nicknames, so I don't like Ella. Besides, you look more like an Eleanore."

Ella just furrows her brow. "How can you say you don't like nicknames when you go by 'The Phantom' all of the time?"

"That is a very good point, my dear. To be honest, I don't know. Maybe that's the reason why. I always hated hiding my identity, so I never liked any other nickname."

Ella gets up from the bench and walks closer to him. "Well at least I know you're Erik." She says with a smile.

His eyes become watery and he shakes his head. "But why? Why did you want to know the real me? We have only been meeting for the past two days."

She shrugs, understanding his questioning. "I know. But you are very nice, Erik. People should really get to know you."

"How are you not afraid of me? What will I do when I lose my temper?"

Ella's shoulders drop and she looks at the floor. Then she mutters, very, quietly, but just loud enough for Erik to hear, "Just because I think you're nice doesn't mean I'm still not afraid."

A tear rolls down his face, but he soon wipes it away. I really thought she was my friend. He thinks in anger and sadness. Erik lets another tear roll down his face, and Ella sees it fall on the pavement. She lifts up her head, and looks at him in pity.

"If you are afraid, you don't have to be here." He says in a hard tone. Ella shakes her head with her mouth slightly open. "But, Erik I…" she stops herself and turns back around. She doesn't want to leave, so she walks back over to the organ bench. She looks at the sheet music and wants to play it. She knows how to play the organ very well, but doesn't know if this is the right time. But she decide to press down on the keys, their beautiful sound echoing through the air. Erik lifts up his head, and just stares at Ella. Ella sees this out of the corner, but doesn't stop.

She presses down, paying the main chord and begins to play the sing. She sings quietly, but Erik can still hear.

The day starts.

The day ends.

Time crawls by

Night steals in,

Pacing the floor.

The moments creep ye-

She is cut off by Erik running up and ripping the music off of the stand and whipping Ella around.

"Never play that song!" he calms down and looks back at her. "Please, Eleanore. That is too personal. If you don't mind, could you leave me? I need a little time to…think."

Think about what? Ella thinks, but doesn't question anything. She gets off the bench, curtsies, and runs back up the passageway.

Erik sighs and runs his hand through his hair. What a girl. He thinks. What. A. Girl.