Christine felt stupid. She had kissed Erik and he had rejected her. There was nothing more embarrassing, she was sure. She gladly spent the next few days in seclusion, not returning her friend's calls. They had all tried, Angel, Meg, Sorelli, even Christian. It wasn't until the day before New Year's Eve that they all barged into her apartment.
"You. Will. Go. Out." Meg commanded.
"Or else." Sorelli echoed.
"Yeah." Angel said. Christian held up his car keys.
"I'll drive." He said. He looked like he didn't really want to be there.
"You guys…I don't want to go anywhere. I'm fine. Really." Christine said feeling quite pressured.
"No, you must." Sorelli insisted. "We miss you."
"What happened Christmas anyway?" Meg asked.
"I'm making tea." Angel announced. "Do you have any food?"
"No, I haven't been out shopping." Christine said. She had eaten lots of instant macaroni the last few days.
"Go to the store Christian." Meg said. "We need girl time." Christian mumbled and headed out the door.
"What happened honey?" Angel asked from the kitchen. Christine began to tell them what happened. She told them everything, about Mr. Destler's real identity, the past that she had wondered if she should forget, and the most recent happenings. When she got to the kiss, she started to cry.
"Oh honey…"Angel said. She handed Christine a mug of tea. "Drink." Sorelli put a box of tissues on the coffee table before them.
"Christine, don't worry." Meg hugged her. "He kissed you back didn't he?"
"F-for about, about five seconds." Christine said. "Why am I so upset?" she asked the girls.
"Because you still love him." Meg said simply. "That's all there is to it."
"I can't!" Christine wailed. "He's my voice teacher and he's directing the show!"
"Christine don't you get it?" Meg said. Christine stopped sniffling and stared at her. "He never stopped loving you!"
"Yeah, he gave you the rose as a sign. The beautiful song that he wrote for you, and you ended up singing for his graduation. What about giving you music lessons on a whim?" Sorelli put in.
"And the prom picture?" Angel said incredulously. "Can it be any clearer?" Christine shook her head furiously, her curly hair whipping around her face.
"The rose was just a nice gesture. The song was written when he actually did care for me, and I sang it because the principal walked in the music room when he and I were practicing it for an audition. And the prom picture…it was before he wore that mask." Christine made the excuses, but she felt like they were very lame. Apparently the other girls thought so too.
"No!" They all said very loudly.
"You're a smart woman Christine." Meg said. "I've known you since we were kids and I know you still care about Erik. The only other guy you dated was Raoul."
"He loves you too. Even after all these years." Sorelli said. "I think he's had a hard life since you left him."
"But I didn't want to leave him!" Christine wailed. "I had to go!"
"What?" Angel and Sorelli were a bit confused.
"My father died." Christine said bitterly. "He…no… the doctors promised he would live long enough to see me graduate." She began to cry again.
"She came to live with me after her father died." Meg said quietly, patting her friend on the back.
"H-he wasn't supposed to die!" Christine said, she was having a complete melt down. "He promised he would stay alive! He and Erik were all I had in that stupid town!"
"My mom and I had moved at the beginning of high school for my mom's job." Meg explained. "Otherwise we would've been there too."
"Erik and I were going to tell my father we wanted to get married." Christine said quietly. "We were planning on telling him the day he died."
"How did he die honey?" Angel asked tentatively.
"It doesn't matter. He died so suddenly." Christine said dismissively. "The last night before I left, Erik asked me to sleep with him."
"Oh my god." The three other girls breathed.
"I said yes. God, I loved him so much." Christine said, tears beginning to fall again. It was as if all the tears she had held for Erik and her father's death seemed to come out now.
"You still do." Angel said to her, taking her hand and squeezing it. Christine looked at her.
"How can you tell?" She asked her friend. Angel smiled.
"The look in your eyes. Like all the world is good, everything is right. You look so tender." Angel said to her. "Like the way I feel about Tom." She added as an afterthought.
"Will you go back to Tom?" Meg asked, getting sidetrack. Angel gave her a look.
"That's gossip. This is about Christine's long lost love."
"Oh…it's so romantic." Sorelli sighed.
"I think he still loves you." Meg said matter-of-factly. "You should go and find out if he does."
Christine said nothing. But the idea was appealing.
"Just think about it." Sorelli said to her. The three girls hugged their friend and they sat in silence for a while. Christian eventually came back and Angel cooked a meal for them. Christine finally felt hungry and ate quite hardily.
The rest of the day passed quickly. The girls had brought board games and they spent the day playing an assortment of games such as Cranium and Life. It was a good day. They made plans to go to Sorelli's house (she actually had a house) for New Year's Eve to welcome the New Year. After everyone had left, Christine took a shower and sat in bed, thinking about what her friends had told her.
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Erik banged the piano keys. He was mad. More or less the obvious, he supposed. Nadir and Gerard had mysteriously disappeared to someplace in the house. Erik suspected that they wouldn't come out until they stopped hearing various instruments banging about. Gerard would have to if he called him, he knew, but Erik wouldn't subject his butler (and friend) to that.
He was confused, something that rarely happened to him. Erik was always at the top of his game, he felt he usually had the upper hand. A little cocky, he knew, but Erik was highly intelligent. Though during high school he had been a very quiet young man, he graduated second in his class. He wasn't terribly social, but that didn't matter right now. He was confused about Christine. One of the few romantic women in his life. She was nothing like he had ever known, and he had known her as a teenager, not as a man. Well, almost a man.
He loved her. He knew it; she probably knew it by now. If she didn't, he really was going to question what had happened to her during the years she hadn't seen him. How could she not know, after he kissed her, or allowed her to kiss him?
Actually, as he thought about it, she kissed him. Hope flickered in him that maybe it meant she loved him. Or she had a crush on him…or anything. He was uncertain, which was also rare for him. Uncertainty and confusion were not emotions he was used to feeling, not Erik Destler.
But he still didn't know what to do. He wanted to act, but he just couldn't. Christine was his voice student; he was going to be director in his show. God, he loved her though. He never stopped, not after the first time he said he loved her and definitely not after they spent their first and last night together. Erik had never forgotten. He realized it made him seem a bit creepy and obsessive, but he never knew how to let go of his first love. Erik rarely indulged in physiological intricacies.
But what to do? This could be his one chance, he didn't want to blow it.
The phone rang, but he ignored it. He began to play a song from his musical instead. Gerard would answer it, and then be forced to come and talk to him. Erik felt like a cup of tea anyway.
Sure enough, a knock came to the door. When Erik bade Gerard to come in, he came in, cautiously.
"The phone Sir." He said, placing it on the piano. Erik asked for a much needed cup of tea and Gerard nodded and left.
"Hello?"
"Is this Mr. Destler?" A female voice asked. There was a lot of static and the sound of other people in the background.
"Yes." He said. He hated telemarketers. "I do not have much time." He added as there was a pause.
"This is Meg Giry." The girl said. "I'm Christine's friend. Oh, and you're on speaker phone by the way."
"Did Miss Daae ask you to call me?" Erik asked.
"No, but being her best friend and being a horrible busybody, I wanted to call you." Meg replied simply. "So did Christine's other friends."
"Hey." Two other women greeted him.
"Might I inquire who I am speaking to?" Erik's voice was soft. He did not like this intrusion; it put his guard back up.
"Angel DuMonte."
"Sorelli Valli." The sweeter voice was Sorelli's. Erik made a mental note.
"So you are calling me on Miss Daae's presumed behalf?" He asked the trio.
"Yes. And you need to talk to her." Meg said.
"I do not have anything to say." Erik lied. He didn't feel like pouring out this…whatever it was…to three unknown girls.
"Yeah you do." The less sweet voice, Angel's voice, responded to him.
"And what is it you think I would need to say?" He asked quietly.
"Oh drop the dangerous tough guy attitude." Angel snapped at him. "If you think that'll make us back down, think again. I grew up in the inner city."
"She's confused about how she feels about you. You still love her. So take a chance!" Angel continued as Erik began to speak. She was an interesting woman, Erik decided.
"So, what is your point Miss DuMonte?" Erik asked, perhaps a bit icily. He didn't mean it like that, but he was a bit annoyed that these girls took it upon themselves to try and convince him to talk to Christine.
It went rather awkwardly from there. Erik was quiet, which frustrated all the girls in turn. Angel tried to muscle her way into him telling her, Sorelli begged him, and Meg just tried to be nice about it. But the fact was, Erik wouldn't talk, and they got mad. Erik compared them to the high school cheerleaders he had once known. He felt a bit bad, since they were Christine's friends.
After Erik had finally gotten off the phone with the girls, he banged his head on the piano. The sound vibrated around the music room, exactly like the thoughts that were bouncing around in his head. Someone came in, but Erik didn't bother to see who it was.
"You know, I completely agree with the women." Nadir said behind him. Erik groaned, but didn't bother to face him. "You love her Erik, at least admit it."
"I admire her." Erik said stubbornly.
"If you can't admit it to me, then you can't admit it to anyone, even yourself." Nadir probed him.
"You can't prove I do." Erik said.
"You give her music lessons, remind her of times gone by(ones that you still cling to I might add), and you have written the lead in your show for her." Nadir listed, "And might I add you still have her prom picture on your wall?"
"How did you know the part was for her?" Erik asked his cunning friend.
"I am not as musically inept as you think. I've listened to her sing and listened to you create the role. Christine would be the most likely choice." Nadir told him "Besides which, you tend to write music from your heart. And your heart is clearly showing you that Christine is important and you feel for her. Oh, by the way, here's your tea."
Erik took it and sipped it.
"Am I really that transparent?" He asked wryly.
"No. I've just known you for a long time."
They continued to talk, though Erik avoided saying he loved Christine. But he had the feeling Nadir knew that he had confirmed it within himself. After Nadir had gone, Erik knew what he wanted to do. And he knew it was because of the meddlesome women and his best friend. But it was a plan nonetheless.
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Another filler, sorry folks!
So I wanted to get public opinion on this one. Do you feel this is a M or T rating?
Enjoy!
AOD
