A/N: Once again, I do not own the lyrics to the song, though I do not know for sure who wrote it.

Chapter 10: Jealousy

Erik was the first to wake the next morning. He looked up at the ceiling and wondered to himself why he was not in his own room. Trying to get up, he found his left arm pinned and quite numb. It wasn't until he looked over that he remembered the events of the night before. Christine was still asleep peacefully, her head now resting in the crook of his arm. He wanted to pull her back up onto his chest and sleep longer, but he knew that would not be wise.

Leaning over, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead. Christine's eyes fluttered open. Smiling sleepily, she looked up at him. It was impossible for Erik to resist smiling back at her, it was all too wonderful. "My dear," he whispered, "I am afraid you must return to your dormitory before someone begins to worry about you." Christine said noting, only propped herself up on one arm and kissed him on the lips. With that, she pulled herself out of the bed. Erik looked up at her, eyebrows raised, she was still just smiling.

She opened the armoire, how lovely it would be to wear one of those fine garments. However, it would probably raise suspicion. All those nosy girls would want to know where she had gotten the money for it. Sighing, she pulled her own plain dress out of armoire and laid it on the bed. Somehow, Erik had managed to slip out without her noticing. She slipped out of her nightgown and into her dress.

When she stepped out Erik was going about lighting the numerous candles throughout the room. Erik turned around and smiled at her. She was all a mess from sleep, but she was still beautiful to him. "We are not in such a hurry that you cannot freshen up a bit. There is a brush on the dressing table, and a will heat some water so that you can wash your face." Blushing at having forgotten her usual morning routine, Christine turned back to her "room."

A few minutes later Erik stuck his head through the curtains. Christine had brushed her hair and was now simply staring at her reflection, thinking it would seem. Her look was distant, but other than that, he could not tell what she was thinking or how she felt about it. He stepped forward, water basin in hand, so that he was standing behind her. Seeing his reflection in the mirror, she smiled and turned to look over her shoulder at him.

"I brought the water," he stated the obvious, setting the basin down on the dresser, "do tell me what you were thinking about mon ange"

"Nothing of consequence, I suppose my mind simply wandered off." Erik handed her a washcloth, and she dipped it into the basin. She wiped her forehead, closing her eyes as the warm water trickled down her face. When she opened them again, Erik had silently slipped from the room again. She was going to have to do something about that!

When she emerged, Erik held out his hand to her, "It's time to return now."

"Must I?" Christine whined like a small child who did not want to go home from a toy store. She knew she was teasing him, and what she said made no difference, but she really did want to stay. Erik did not reply, only pulled her close, and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Then he picked her up and set her in the boat. The ride across was quiet. Christine rested against Erik's legs, pulling his cloak over her head to keep the water dripping from the ceiling off her.

When they reached the entrance to the dormitory, Erik reached past Christine to push aside the stone that covered it, but she caught his arm. Placing his hand on the small of her back, she pulled him to her and kissed him passionately. When she pulled back he kissed her again, how he wanted to stay with her forever. After nearly five minutes standing there, kissing or merely gazing into each other's eyes, Erik pushed the stone slab aside, picked her up, and deposited her on the other side. Kissing her one last time on the forehead, he slid the slab back across the entryway.

Christine sighed contentedly as she collapsed onto her bed.

"So," came a suspicious voice from the darkness of the room. "That is where you went to after dinner!"

"Meg!" Christine exclaimed, "you scared me half to death!" Meg moved to sit on Christine's bed next to her.

"You know," Meg said with a teasing look on her face, "It will be awfully difficult to dispel rumors of you sleeping with the phantom if you do just that!" Christine opened her mouth to defend herself, but could not rightfully do so. She looked at her hands.

"Christine you didn't!" Meg was shouting again.

"Shhh," said Christine, "I didn't." But I wanted to. Christine yawned, it was just before dawn, she could have gone back to sleep, but did not feel like undressing again. Meg got up off the bed, a bit of a concerned look on her face.

"Try not to do anything too stupid Christine."

"You know you sound just like your mother," Christine taunted, secretly feeling hurt that Meg was not being as supportive as she would have liked. Meg said nothing though and with that, Meg returned to her bed to sleep until the wake up bell. Christine was left to ponder in silence. Meg was right about one thing, her love for Erik would propose many problems. She was every bit wiling to face them, but they could not deny their existence. Christine was certain that she would gladly spend the rest of her life in that cellar if it was with Erik, but that was no place to raise a child. And what about marriage? Certainly, they would have to be married if they wanted children, and she definitely did. She and Erik were going to have talk about this.

Just then, the bell rang, bringing moans from many still exhausted ballerinas. Not wanting to talk to anyone, Christine decided to arrive at breakfast early. The workers would still be eating as they woke before the performers, but Christine did not care. None of them would want to talk to her.

Christine barely ate any of her breakfast. She had been quite happy until Meg had brought her back to reality. She longed to run back to Erik, stay where he could protect her from all of this. Suddenly she was startled by a hand on her shoulder. It was Raoul. Without warning she sprung up, knocking the table and sending many glasses and plates flying. "Raoul!"

"Christine, I was hoping to have a word with you," Christine was about to say something about Raoul having a word with Erik's sword, but he spoke first, "If you are done eating, would you please join me in my office?" She struggled to make up some excuse but could not. Grudgingly, she followed him out of the dinning hall and down the corridor to the patron's office.

"Please sit." Christine obliged but Raoul did not sit. He was pacing, causing Christine to fidget nervously in her chair.

Finally, Christine could not take the silence any longer, "Raoul I have made up my mind, and there is nothing you can do to change it." This seemed to strike a nerve with him. Tears began to pour down his cheeks. Raoul had cried many times since her refusal, but never in front of anyone, now he felt terribly exposed.

"Why?" He sobbed, "What is it that I have done wrong? One day you were in love with me and the next not. What is it that that horrid monster can offer you that I cannot?"

"Stop!" Christine was both shouting and crying now. Angry that he was being so rude, sad that she had hurt him. Her anger came out first. "You will not call Erik names in my presence! I am sorry to have hurt you but I was confused! I mistook a childhood fondness for love. Please, let us be."

The use of the word "us" struck Raoul hard. He was completely at a loss for words as she got up from her chair and left before he could say anything more. A moment later, he got up deciding to follow her, to try again.

xxx

Christine went upstairs to the dormitories to change into her practice clothes, still wiping tears from her eyes. There was no one in the dormitory, so she got dressed quickly. She was unsure of how long she had been in Raoul's office, so she wasn't sure if she was ahead of or behind the other ballerinas. Once she was dressed, she began to hurry towards the practice room.

Some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.

Christine heard Erik's voice resonating through the corridor.
Some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.

She began too look around, searching for him, to be with him again
Some say love, it is a hunger,
an endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
and you its only seed.

Suddenly she was swept up from behind as Erik emerged from the shadows, pulling her close in a tender embrace.

"Could not wait to see me?" Christine asked playfully.

"No, I could not, and then that Raoul, oh he makes me furious!" Erik was about to go off on a rant, but Christine silenced him with a forceful kiss to his lips. They would forget Raoul. Smiling, Erik kissed her back then began trailing light kisses down her neck and across her exposed collarbone. She began to laugh. "Oh Erik that tickles! Cut it out! Stop!" Then he stopped, but only to kiss her on the lips once more. Finally, she had to push him away. "I'm late for rehearsal!" Kissing him one last time on the cheek, she pulled form his embrace and ran down the hall towards the practice room.

Erik turned around to find none other than Raoul DeChagny, fifteen feet away, a gun pointed at Erik's heart. Erik shook his head, "Go ahead," he said dryly, "she'll never forgive you."

The gun clattered to the ground and Raoul stood staring there as Erik swept away into darkness