-EDITED: 7/25/13-

Little Luxa: It's an honor to have my first review for my POTO story from you! I think the glowing amber eyes give it more of a dramatic affect.

Phelicia: I'm glad I caught your attention. As you requested, another chapter!

Hugo Purist: I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm reading the Hunchback right now for a jump-start on my scholar's bowl reading list.

SexyKnickers: Love the name!

For unknown reason, I felt as if my head was being split in two. I heard voices above as something patted my face trying to revive me. Why was my – oh wait never mind. I know where I am, onstage with my left shoulder stinging horribly. I heard a step-clop on stage; I could barely open my eyes when ice-cold water was poured onto my face. My eyes flashed open as I sat then regretted it as my stomach churned by the sudden movement.

I groaned as I tried to get rid of this impending headache away. I put my head between my knees while the chatter picked up. Someone nudged my left shoulder; I flinched in pain and rubbed it. I saw the gentle face of Master Risqué checking to see if I was okay. He was sitting on his haunches with his cane in hand, his brown hair tied back to the nape of his neck as usual. A bucket was by him, that's when I felt yesterday's lunch come back up. I quickly grabbed and hurled the remaining contents of my stomach into the bucket.

I heard some disgusted sounds resound through the theatre. Once I pulled my face from the bucket, Master Risqué's brown eyes scanned for any damage. Once satisfied he pulled and had on that chiding smile of his, everyone loved this man for a reason. He never raised his voice at you if you pulled an error and corrected you in the teacher tone that didn't imply you were an idiot.

"Miss Weiss, how did you wind up on stage? You know practice was over at five o'clock yesterday." I nodded, keeping my vomit breath from assailing his face. I was about to ask why I ended up here when Ginger came to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a friendly way. "Hey Mag, sorry my friends and I thought it would be funny for you to wake up onstage! You know, all in good fun!" I knitted my eyebrows and I realized I was still in my clothes from yesterday.

She was looking me dead in the eye, the expression saying, "don't you dare ask what happened last night. You know what happened." I put my acting skills and smiled in a fond way, my eyes were boring holes into her in rage as went along with this. "You and your mischievous ways!" I chuckled showing that there was nothing there and everything was fine. Risqué looked skeptically at me then shrugged as he got onto his feet. "Come on Gin, help me with my costume real quick." I chirped merrily, let it sweetening my tone of voice.

As we climbed backstage to the loft, I felt being stalked through the area. I picked up the pace and trotted to our dorm, whatever was watching me intensified. Ginger opened the door and let me through then shut us both in. As soon as the door clicked, I glared at her and shoved her into the door. "What the heck Ginger!? Do you know what had happened to me when you and your friends locked me in Christine's room?" Her eyes were a bit glassy as she groaned and rubbed her face.

"Please keep your voice down. If you don't want to get in trouble by anyone, let me step away from the door and let us lower our voices!" She moaned and flopped onto her twin bed, "it was a stupid mistake. We were stressed, so Jenny smuggled some scotch from her Dad's place and Jenny, Nikki, Karen, Holly, and I drank a bit too much…" I started banging my head in the wall at their stupidity. I turned to her and shook her once, "do you realize we both could have been kicked out of here? You for being intoxicated on college property, kidnapping, and breaking and entering into a room we were not, I repeat NOT, suppose to go in!"

I stamped into our bathroom to wash off the dust bunnies and cobwebs that was embedded into my hair at the moment. "I would have been out of here because I was in the Forbidden Room with the Phantom breathing down my neck!" I heard her bed cover rustle as she shifted on the bed. "You saw the Phantom?" I glanced in the mirror to see I had her full attention, "I don't know! I was scared beyond belief, I was in the dark and I was breaking the rules! You know I'm a goody-two shoes."

"I'm sorry to ask you this, but did we make you sing in front of the mirror?" I saw her pale a bit, I slipped off my over shirt, with my tank top showing from the over shirt, and turned to her. "Yeah, why?" She covered her face and muttered, "oh God. We are sssoooo going to die!" I raised an eyebrow at her sudden fearful demeanor. "Are we going to die because M. Deacon found out the locks were undone?" She looked at me like I was an idiot, I sighed and sat on the bed. "Alright spill. You owe me this much already."

"You have heard the Phantom of the Opera legend right? Who am I kidding? The Opera Ghost is legend in the theatre business. Any who, rumor has it that the room M. Deacon keeps the door locked on fear that someone would be stupid enough to sing in front of the mirror." I lay on my stomach as she sat up, "the same mirror the Phantom used to teach Christine. So? What does that have to do with me? All I did was sing in front of the mirror to get out there and I wind up on the stage."

She stood to pick up a brush off the dresser and headed toward the bathroom to check her hair. "I thought you knew that, if your voice is good enough the mirror reveals the Phantom and bada bing, bada boom, Phantom is back in business. And since you were the one to sing to the mirror, he'll be after you instead any other girl on the site."

She glanced back at me, she squinted her eyes at me; she put the brush on the bathroom counter top. She came over to the bed and pulled one of my straps over, "I thought you said you would never get a tattoo." I pulled away trying to get a glimpse at the marking on my skin. "What are you talking about? I hate tattoos! They're hard to get rid of and it's showy!" She grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into the bathroom. She turned me around and showed me the offensive marking on my left shoulder blade.

My mouth dropped as I licked my index finger and tried to rub it. It wasn't coming off, "you got to be kidding me! He marked me! He freakin' marked me!" The skin around it was still red and the tattoo ink was recent too. Ginger started to have a spaz attack and the words "Oh my God" and "Dead" was spitting out of mouth faster then her texting, and she can text a paragraph on her phone in about three seconds.

The tattoo was a red rose with a black ribbon wrapped the stem, just like the one on the statue out front of the theatre. It covered my shoulder blade from top to bottom; it looked like it was going to pop right off my skin. Her panicking was driving insane as I slapped her back real hard in order to bring her out of it.

"Listen be quiet for a second!" She stilled and looked at me with panicked eyes as she tried to pry my grip off her arms. "We aren't going to say anything to anyone, no matter the circumstances, and just go on with our normal lives. If anything happens, then we know this Phantom is real and we will have to acknowledge this. Now, we have to go to practice." I grimaced at the scene where I have with Natalie who was playing Esmeralda. Since I was Clopin, I had to disappear while she danced in front Frollo during a small festival.

I let go of her as I went to the bathroom to change into my Jester outfit and mask while trying to cover up the mark from anyone to see. I finished dressing and passed her as she stood shaking in the same spot I left her while her eyes darted across the room restlessly. I snorted in disgust as I slammed the door as I headed down the stage to do the festival scene with Natalie. As I passed Christine's room the locks were back in place as if no one had ever touched them. I felt a breeze that had the rose scent with the masculinity tang to it. Call me crazy, but I thought I heard a male voice say "Mine". I shivered and ran to the stage area.

"Come one, come all!
See the finest girl in France
Make an entrance to entrance
Dance la Esmeralda
Dance!"

I sang as I threw down the smoke ball on the stage then moved swiftly away as Natalie took my spot to dance her gypsy dance. She inhaled too much of the smoke and started coughing like mad. "Enough! Enough I can't breathe or see!" I sighed as I came back onto the stage as my bells rang throughout the theatre. Her black hair was fluffed out and an orange bandanna was to hold some of her hair back. Her ice blue eyes looked at me in complete disgust.

Her German accent has lined heavily as she spoke, "I don't know why we must use these things! They make me cough! And I can't see where I will land! Tell this fool to stop throwing them directly at me!" My lips twitched in annoyance, I let out a big calming sigh as I saw I was taking the blame once again. "Of course Frauline Natalie, everything is the fool's fault. I unfortunately bear the markings of one, so I guess everything is to be blamed on me." I muttered in German so only she would understand me.

She glared at before she pointed at me again, "watch your place fool! I happen to be the Prima Ballerina! And where do you stand? A lowly actress dressed in fool's clothing, you have nothing that can be of any use!" She shouted back in her native tongue, I stood up straighter as I prowled to her with my aggression suddenly spiking up.

It didn't help to be menacing while my bells rang as I walked to her. "Just because I'm not a Prima anything, I know how to treat other people! I wouldn't let all of this spoiling go to your head, you just got lucky because someone thought you looked like a stumbling calf!" I told her back, she looked indignant as she came forward to slap me with her talons for fingernails. Before she was a foot away, a sand bag fell directly in front of me, scaring the day lights out of her.

We both looked up to see no one in the catwalks, Herr Faust hop onto the stage from the orchestra pit to check the damage on the stage while Mademoiselle Jeanette checked on her Prima Ballerina. Herr Faust started calling out vulgar oaths as he blamed the idiotic stagehands for leaving ropes unchecked. Jeanette's long blond hair bobbed as she comforted the crocodile-teared Natalie, "It's all right Natalie. It was just a small malfunction, you're not hurt."

I went to the sandbag to see the rope was cut, it wasn't frayed or anything. "Herr Faust!" He stopped his tirade to use those slate grey eyes on me, "I don't think this rope is old." He came over to check it, he grabbed the rope and examined closer to see that it was indeed cut. We both looked up to see two amber pinpricks quickly vanish into the recess of the catwalks. Herr Faust and I knew what had happened, he was back. Only to prove he was back was an envelope that was falling from the blackness above us.