Chapter 11

They held hands as they ascended the steps into the de Changy residence, and did not part even when met with Christine's bewildered stare. Meg noticed that Christine looked more mature in her married years, and her normally skinny form had filled out with her pregnancy. It suited her well. She was still put together and beautiful as ever, but she shined underneath her unstructured dress and loose locks. Meg smiled sadly and wondered if she would ever get that chance.

"Meg," Christine said, caught somewhere between surprise and terror. Had she expected Erik to have killed Meg in a fit of rage, or run her off? ". . .and the Phantom?" Meg realized she may be the only person still alive that knew his name, other than her mother.

"It's Erik, if you please." He spoke nervously, and a bit sadly. Meg felt that she may have rushed things a bit. Christine looked from Meg to Erik to Meg again, then at their tightly closed hands and the way Meg stood, slightly turned almost facing the Phan- Erik. Christine was so confused. Why was she only just now learning who he was? She supposed that being under the Opera House against her will, she never thought to get to know the monster any better. And why was Meg with him? Last she heard she was staying in Meaux teaching dance, and seeing Isaac.

"Meg. . .Erik, please, come in." She opened the door slowly into her home. "I'll have Colette make some tea, please have a seat." Christine still looked extremely confused, Meg thought. She wasn't expecting a huge welcome party, but Christine looked absolutely horrified that Meg would bring Erik to her house.

And Erik. Dear Erik, wasn't sure exactly what to do with himself. He trailed awkwardly behind the two ladies, and sat only when Meg beckoned him to, and even then he sat stiff as a board. "Erik, are you alright?" Meg asked. He nodded stiffly, not trusting himself to speak. He hadn't seen Christine in months, since they came to take Meg away from the house.

Christine returned moments later, and informed them that the tea would be ready soon. She sat down, equally as awkward, on the settee opposite the couple. "So. . ." She drifted off, obviously unaware of where to begin.

"How are you feeling, Christine?" Meg asked, trying to seem unfazed by the stifling silence.

"Fine." Christine answered quickly, leaving them in silence once again. She glanced at Erik more than she did anything else, as if trying to decipher if this was the same man from the Opera House. He was a bit plumper, and his skin was darker since she last remembered, and he had not been wearing his signature white mask. Christine had barely recognized him without it, sticking out as it always had. His right side looked almost normal. The redness was still there, and it still looked reminiscent of a skeleton, but gone were the nasty boiles and swelling, and the appearance was much less frightening, although Christine was sure that's was he was going for while he ruled over the Opera House from down below.

Still, when Meg stole glances at him, it wasn't hard to see she was in love. Christine ought to know, after living with her for almost her entire life thus far, she had seen many men pass through Meg's eyes as her 'One and Only' but, Christine, though she hated to admit it, could see it was real and absolute. It reminded Christine of the way she looked at Raoul, and how Raoul looked at her. She was happy for her dear friend Meg, but she was still so unsure of the man who had been frighteningly possessive and manipulative. Though, when he stole looks at Meg, when he thought she wasn't looking, he relaxed, and looked at her as if she were the only thing there, as if the room was completely empty and Meg was fixated as a day-dream. It was not at all unhealthy or possessive like it had been once with Christine herself.

That caused Christine's heart to soften from its hardened shell. She realized that these two people, no matter who they were or where they came from, had met each other and fallen in love. Meg had made him better, and he made Meg feel worth. Christine knew Meg lived in her shadow, whether she tried to prevent it or not. Meg always felt second-best around her, and now she had found someone that held Meg on a pedestal above everyone else and saw her for what she truly was, a loyal and caring and wonderful young lady. Who was Christine to decide who Meg would love? It made Christine's heart soar. She smiled brightly, and the mood in her sitting room changed.

"So what have each of you done since we last saw you?" She asked, genuinely interested, and this threw the couple through a bit of a loop. Meg answered first.

"I left town and stayed in Meaux for a few months, teaching dance, and I saw Isaac for that time, but things did not go terribly well when Erik came for me." Meg trailed off awkwardly. Erik patted her hand, in a gesture of comfort, and Meg grabbed it with the other. "He became rather violent when I told him I was not in love with him, and it did not end well, but we returned to Erik's friend's home in Pantin, where he stayed after I came here, and eventually came back here after becoming engaged to be married."

"Congratulations, dear Meg!" Christine exclaimed, coming over to sit by Meg to see the ring on her other side, away from Erik. "And you. . .Erik?" His name rolled oddly off her tongue.

"As Meg mentioned, while she was living here, I traveled to Pantin and met a Minister and his wife. After I learned that Meg was in Meaux I traveled back to Paris to ask permission to court Meg from Madame Giry, but I was discovered and a group of men attacked me. I underwent a surgery, and stayed hospitalized for the months that Meg was teaching dance." Both the women gasped in horror as they learned what happened to Erik. Meg reacted especially badly, almost to tears.

"Oh Erik, I feel positively awful. Why did you not tell me?" Meg said, with despair in her heart. Her love had been through so much, so much that she did not know about and it broke her heart. How had she not thought to ask what he had done for those three months she had taught dance? She assumed he was living in Pantin with Daniel and Rachel. "I am a clot, an absolute clot, please forgive me for being so careless?"

"Do not worry for me, Meg, all is well and I am with you now." He answered softly, leaning into her. Christine left them to themselves, as they shared their private moment, so proud of Erik for not holding what those men did against them, nobody knew he had changed so much, not even her until now. She had to speak with Raoul as soon as he returned from the Opera House.

When Christine returned with a tray of tea for the group, the two had recovered, and Meg was patting her face with his red handkerchief. "Forgive me for being so rude, Christine. Here I've come barging into your home, and burst into hysterics." Meg apologized, accepting her tea gratefully. Christine waved her away and handed Erik his cup. The two had yet to speak.

After a while, the ladies had settled into an easy chatter, while Erik sat by admiring the architecture of the Chagny's beautiful home. The ladies never discussed what had happened at the Opera House, or what had happened when Christine and Raoul had come to Meg's aunt's home, but both knew someday it would need to be discussed.

The inevitable moment arrived, when Meg excused herself to find a washroom, leaving Christine and Erik alone in the sitting room. The awkward silence resumed, and suddenly it was like no progress had been made. Erik was ready to break silence, and apologize for everything that had transpired, when he heard the, infuriating, booming male voice.

"Christine? Christine!" The booming male voice, of Raoul de Chagny that came barging into the sitting room and examined the two people sitting opposite one another on his settee's. "What are you doing here?"

A/n: Soooooo, here's part one of two in the confrontation chapters. I;m not sure how I feel about from when I wrote almost 2 years ago, but you know whatever. hahaha

For anyone wondering, or disappointed with the confrontation with Christine, I think that it's a turning point for the both of them, and shows that they're both ready to be done with the whole thing so...there's that. But no worries, we still have Raoul to deal with!

Also, I just saw Phantom on stage in my hometown last night and can I just say INCREDIBLE! It was so good. So good I had to come home and watch the 2004 movie.

Good? Bad? Lemme know!