Authors Note:

Hello all! Apologies for the lack of updates as of late, but I've been really busy the first few weeks of the summer with maths revision, visits from friends and my trip to the south of France which I got back from yesterday. Overall I had a lot of fun; we visited a zoo and half a dozen beaches, had loads of great barbecue food and even tried oysters, which was….interesting. The only downside is that they were in the middle of a heatwave and even though I love swimming and ice cream I do prefer when it's slightly cooler. When I was hiding under various beach umbrellas though I did get a lot of writing done: AKA this chapter and half of the next one, as well as another story I'm writing for a competition. This segment is lighter than the last few, but it does introduce a new character and the story's subplot.

That's enough rambling from me, so to replies! (The note I put at the end of the last chapter was a joke, but it actually seemed to work…)

AliceHeart247- Thank you so much! Seriously, aside from my parents, no-one gives me compliments like on this site. Although my friends are probably put off by the fact that I keep all of POTHS on one document (from which I copy-paste and add authors notes accordingly) and it takes about five minutes to scroll through on a phone.

Guest-…this feels awkward, can I call you Leonardo? Thank you and welcome aboard! Yes, I got it, and for your answer you may notice I added another genre in the description box aside from drama ;)

DJ Ginger- Welcome back and thanks! You guys are really what keep this story going. And maybe…they are friends now after all.

TayTayWoody- Welcome and thank you so much! I am quite proud of the idea, which actually has a first draft including me and all my friends…..

Thank you to everyone (I do say this a lot) and happy reading!

If Tia was surprised by the recent presence of a so far fictional character in her life, the jet black Mercedes in the school car park gained an almost as dramatic reaction. After she and Erik had exited the storage closet where she had tended to his wounds, they had found the majority of the student body swarming towards the main reception on good authority that someone ridiculously wealthy was joining their school. Tia didn't honestly believe this, after all the establishment wasn't private, but was pulled away by Amy and Meg with Erik following dutifully behind.

Miraculously they managed to find a place at the front of the crowd, mostly due to Meg's insistence that a good view was essential if the car's passenger happened to be male. This hope proved to be true as the door slid open, but it wasn't the detail that caused Tia's jaw to lose its sense of gravity for the second time in two weeks.

The boy was around their age; slim, and with a few more muscles than you would expect from his height, which was just under six feet. He was very handsome- so much so that a chorus of quiet squealing sounded from behind. He had slightly tanned skin, large brown eyes and pronounced cheekbones, and his smile upon arriving revealed rows of gleaming white teeth. His sandy blonde hair just brushed his collar at the ends. Even in his school uniform, he looked as though he had stepped out of an Abercrombie and Fitch advert.

Tia was not entirely immune to all of this, but since he had emerged from the expensive vehicle she had only been focused on one thing. He looked exactly identical to a younger Raoul de Chagny.

Just when I thought I had everything figured out.

"And did you see his eyes? I don't think I've ever seen someone with that colour before! He even looked good in the uniform- imagine what he looks like in normal clothes…..do you think-" The blonde was cut off when a disgruntled Amy clamped her hand over her mouth. The girls were changing for their last lesson of the day, P.E, and so far Raoul- which was apparently really his name- had been the chosen topic for conversation.

"Meg, I know you have a serious crush on this guy, but he's all you've been talking about since lunch," said Amy, removing her palm which was now stained fuchsia by her friend's lipgloss. Tia looked up from the shoelace she was tying and smiled. After the initial shock, it hadn't taken her too long to get used to the new boy. She supposed this was because it was the second time something like this had happened in a reasonably short amount of time.

At first she was afraid that Erik might detest him straight away, but he seemed okay with it- besides rolling his eyes at the flashy entrance. He seemed harmless, and had been put into a different class, so everything was fine. Just so long as Carlotta wasn't going to show up. That Tia could not handle.

She finished the double knots on her trainers and stood up straight again, her friends following her to the door.

"You know," Meg remarked, braiding her hair into a plait as she walked, "I'm really looking forward to hockey today."

"Please," said Amy with a knowing smirk. "You just want to see him in shorts."

Tia crouched low to the ground, shivering from the cold autumnal breeze. She was only wearing a navy T-shirt and a short black skirt, the school's required kit, but since she was playing the position of goalkeeper she had yet to do any actual moving and, therefore, was freezing.

She passed the frayed hockey stick between her hands impatiently, watching everyone else tussle for the ball at the other end. I never seem to do anything in these games. I know it's good that my team are scoring but could they please let someone else have it for the sake of my sanity?

Immediately realising that these thoughts were far too dramatic, she looked for something to distract herself. Gradually, her eyes wandered to the other side of the pitch where the boys were practising rugby, running across the prosthetic grass in teams and passing the egg-shaped ball over the heads of the waiting defenders. She had seen Erik do this before and was surprised by his ability- despite his lanky build he was the taller there and very agile, though he always made sure to catch the ball far away from his own face so as not to dislodge the mask. He was civil with everyone, and was never the last to be chosen because of his skill, but even though he had been present for a few lessons he still looked distinctly uncomfortable. Today especially; as the wounds on his back made him wince in response to sudden movement, even though Tia had warned him beforehand not to exert himself. She sent her heart out to him then, hoping the pain was bearable, and he looked up and smiled grimly in reply. Now reasonably satisfied, she turned to his new classmate- who was quite different.

Raoul ran nimbly about, dodging opponents and celebrating with a round of high fives when his group passed the line. Tia had always been indifferent to his character, but as she witnessed his antics she couldn't help but giggle.

Suddenly she heard shouting from her own game and the sound of rubber-soled feet running towards her. One of the opposition, a heavily muscled sports fanatic named Ellie, was in possession and was racing to the goal at such a speed that she reminded Tia of a Clydesdale yearling making a break for freedom. The second her foot crossed the shooting line, Ellie let the ball fly, sending it spinning towards the side where Tia wasn't (the right). The keeper lunged for a save, exhilarated because she was actually doing something, but instead the little green sphere glanced off the corner where the goalposts met and started rolling purposefully towards the boy's side.

Tia sighed. Since she was the one who would start the game up again, it was her duty to collect the stray piece of equipment. Even if it wasn't, a frustrated shriek from behind told her that Ellie wasn't really up to anything. She went after it, jogging to keep up a pretence of fitness. When she was about halfway she noticed Raoul stop it deftly under his foot, pick it up and begin to walk back to her.

They met about halfway, and he slipped it into her hand as she uttered her thanks.

"It was nothing." His voice was loud and rich with an upper class air to it, every syllable carefully enunciated. Tia also noticed a hint of a French accent, but it was so slight that she realised his earlier lineage had resided there rather than himself.

"I'm Raoul by the way." he continued, seemingly ignorant to the fact that this was now common information. His eyes sparkled when he spoke.

She chose not to enlighten him. "Tia."

"I saw you when I arrived. You were in the front, right? As if it were normal to have an audience when you joined a new school. Still, he's probably been to places where it is.

"Yeah."

"I don't know how everyone knew I was coming."

Oh, just not expecting anything from us. Better. He looked genuinely confused though. The meme creators would have a field day.

"You'd be surprised. Stuff tends to get around this place pretty fast."

He sighed, the sparkle dulling to a flicker. "We should have just taken a different car, the Merc seems so overdone." Then he laughed as he dispelled everything he'd said during the conversation in one sentence. "Rich people problems."

This was so unexpected that Tia made a strange gasping noise before showing her amusement. She knew he'd have a sense of humour somewhere, but not the decisions to pull off a joke like that. If this was an accurate reincarnation, she wished he'd had a bit more screentime.

"You two! Stop flirting and get back to your lessons!"

They looked up, startled. Mr Bell, the boys' stern P.E teacher, was walking briskly towards them, his silver whistle bouncing against his chest with every stride. Tia had been taught by him the previous year and knew him to be generally nice, but dreadfully impatient when it came to slackers. She looked over her shoulder and saw her own team glaring at her, hands on cotton-clad hips. Raoul grinned one last time before running back to his side, dodging a controlled blow from the coach as he went past.

He's sweet; Tia thought as she returned to her own game and whacked the ball away to appease the waiting defenders. Just as a friend, obviously, but it'll be nice to have him around.

Out on the pitch, waiting rigidly on the edge of the current scramble, Meg scowled.

Authors Note:

So yeah, that's the new character. Some of you were probably expecting Christine but I can say now that she won't be making an appearance. At least not in this story. Raoul was going to be in this from the beginning, but I have changed his character from the way most people write him in a modern setting. I'm indifferent to him in the original, but I really didn't want to make him an idiot like most people do in school settings. I hope the joke there was a surprise to some people :)

Since the next chapter is half-done and I'm not going anywhere for the rest of the holidays, it should be up quite soon.

Review and favourite for n- …..I mean R&R!