A/N: Yay! An update! I am sorry I kept you all waiting so long. Well here it is. It is slightly short, but there is more coming soon I promise. Enjoy.
montaguecat: I guess we will find out about the morphine hehe. Everything will explain itself in time. Keep reading hun, I love reading your reviews.
AriaGothique: Dearie, as long as you leave me a teeny tiny one worded review it doesn't matter. Any review is good and I thank you for all that you have given me so far. I totally understand, school is totally demanding. I just started a new job as well, so its hard to keep up. Well see, if I were to jump into fluff now it would make no sense since he was so mad before. Things will work out soon enough once things are understood between the characters. This is going to be a long fic, but I am putting a lot into it. Continue reading and I look foward to your feedback.
NoCookies4U: I am glad you enjoyed that dream :P I liked throwing that in there.
thePhantom'sEvenstar: Lol, well in your world that makes sense lol. Poor Erik, imagine if she had really pulled a knife. That would have been interesting. Well, if I ever want to write a darker version of this story that is certainly an idea. Hehe, well I thought perhaps a different title would attract more readers. We'll see. Well, I try to practice writing a lot. It flows I think because I try to make it personal and take that side of the character. I write from their point of view and it just flows out :P But sometimes it is a bit more difficult. You have the good days and the not so good ones. Hahah! Yes, if I saw a masked man running the streets I would run after him and yell "stop, you're mine you big hunk, you!" Aww! Yay, I am glad that you appreciated the dream. That was something that just kinda happened. I didn't intend to have a dream, and I didn't intend for it to end that way. Lol, aww I would love a poem from you! I am so glad that you loved it. That makes me feel so accomplished and happy. I hope I will get to talk to you soon! Take care beautiful!
GerrysJackie: I agree with all that you said. That is so true and I want to portray that throughout the next few chapters. I am glad that you are enjoying this and I do hope that you will continue reading and giving me your feedback.
PrimaDonnaKate: Lol, sorry about that. I hope it didn't take you too long to figure it out. I am glad you liked it, keep reading.
ThePhantomoftheOpera101: Muhahha! We shall find out soon, won't we.
slytherin-babe-aiden89: Aww! I am glad you like it, please continue reading.
Christine woke the next morning to the smell of coffee drifting in her room through her open door. She stretched out in her bed and yawned before throwing the covers off her body. She was just about to consider calling Erik to help her but then her eyes landed on a pair of crutches next to her bed.
With a smile she grabbed them and found they were already adjusted to her height. With their help she hobbled into the bathroom to freshen up. Although she knew Erik was upset with her, she still wanted to look her best.
She could not deny that she still cared about him, just as she had all those years ago. She was never entirely sure what she felt for her masked friend. But she planned on finding out.
With an empty bladder and a fresh face Christine entered the kitchen and gave a cry of surprise. Instead of Erik standing before a pot of freshly brewed coffee, she found Madame Giry who greeted her with a warm smile.
"Madame Giry! I didn't expect to find you here." Christine said, returning the smile.
"Sit." Antoinette replied in a motherly tone, ushering Christine into Erik's large dining room. Christine did as she was told and smiled with appreciation as a plate of bacon, eggs and toast was placed before her as well as a glass of orange juice.
Madame Giry took a seat across the dark cherry table and fixed Christine with a concerned look. The older woman drank her coffee in silence, obviously waiting for Christine to explain why she was in Erik's home and what had happened.
Christine nervously ate her food, glancing up at Madame Giry now and then. When she had finished eating she looked up at the kind eyes of Madame Giry, and sighed.
"I suppose you are wondering what on earth I am doing at Erik's apartment." She said.
"You know his name?" Madame Giry asked in surprise.
"Well of course. I've known him since I was 12…" Christine replied.
"Well since it seems Erik decided to leave that out why don't you explain everything to me." Antoinette said kindly, with an amused smile playing on her lips.
"What did Erik tell you exactly?" Christine asked curiously.
"Just that you had come across some trouble last night and that he had allowed you to stay here overnight. He asked me if I could come and make sure you were all right while he went out for a bit." Madame Giry explained.
"Wow. He is not one for details." Christine said jokingly. "Well I might as well explain it all then." Madame Giry nodded and Christine took a deep breath, trying to remember all that she could.
"When I was 12 I met Erik. He was 15 at the time and was new in the neighborhood. He and I became friends and my father soon started giving him violin lessons. Since I saw him almost everyday we soon became best friends. Shortly after I turned 16 my father died. Soon after Erik left. I hadn't heard a thing from him since. When I first went to my voice lesson everything was completely dark, I couldn't see him…" at this Madame Giry raised her eyebrows in surprise but didn't say anything.
"His voice sounded familiar yet it had changed so I wasn't completely sure it was him. After a few lessons I became frustrated with him and told him I was tired of the darkness. He wouldn't agree to bringing candles or any sort of illumination so I knew he was hiding something." Christine took another deep breath, recalling the events of the night before.
Neither she or Madame Giry were aware of the sound of a key turning in a lock, nor the sound of a door being opened.
XXX
Erik stuck his key into the lock and unlocked his door. When he opened it he could hear Christine's voice coming from the dining room. He quietly entered and closed the door behind him and waited for Christine to keep talking.
"Last night before I left the basement I shined a flashlight in his face. I saw that it was indeed Erik. He knocked the flashlight out of my hand and was extremely angry with me. In all the time that I knew Erik…at least when we were younger, I had never seen him angry. It didn't scare me, but it made me really sad. I ran off crying.
"Well once outside I lost track of where I was. I accidentally ran down an alley and when I finally realized where I was a man was approaching me from one side of the alley." Christine had to fight back the tears that threatened to come at the memory. "I turned around but there was a man coming from that direction too. I was grabbed and the man put his hand over my mouth. I bit him and ran, and managed to sprain my ankle. I fell forward, right into Erik. But at the time I didn't know it was him, so I kept kicking and screaming. I stopped when I realized it was him. He scared the men off and brought me back here. He didn't say a word to me the entire time. He bandaged my ankle and only said sorry once when I winced, nothing else. And here we are." Christine finished. She decided to leave out some small details, such as her dream and what happened after.
"I had no idea that you two knew each other before. He never told me….not that it surprises me." Madame Giry said with a slight shrug.
"Madame Giry….he is so upset with me. I didn't mean to get him mad. But I had to know if it was him. What else could I have done?" Christine asked, tears shining in her eyes.
Madame Giry reached across the table and took Christine's hand in hers. "Just give it time dear." She said, squeezing Christine's hand gently.
Erik chose this moment to leave. He needed to think, and he couldn't risk Christine or Madame Giry finding out that he had eaves dropped on their conversation.
As quietly as he had come, he left. Christine would be none the wiser.
XXX
Christine sighed, and looked out the window glancing at the sun's reflection on the many windows of the New York City skyline. She had been sitting at the dining room table for quite some time.
Madame Giry had left a while ago to go teach the new choreography to the rest of the chorus. Christine had been excused from the next few weeks of rehearsals. Although she was still required to learn the songs and the other sparse lines she had throughout the musical.
She wondered when she would be able to go home. Specter! Who would feed Specter! Grabbing her crutches she hopped back to her room and grabbed her cell phone from her purse. She quickly dialed Meg's number and waited for her friend to pick up.
"Hello?" Came Meg's bright voice from the other line.
"Meg, I need you to feed Specter." Christine said, hoping her dog was all right.
"I already took care of it Chris." Meg said, and Christine gave a sigh of relief. She and Meg had exchanged keys a while ago in case of an emergency they both had access to each others apartments.
"You are a lifesaver." Christine said feeling calm once more. She heard Meg's chuckle and couldn't help but smile.
"Call me when you know what's going on, kay Chris?" Meg said with concern.
"Promise. I will talk to you later. Bye." Christine snapped her phone shut and placed it on the bedside table. She then hopped back into bed, deciding to rest a bit before Erik got back.
As she lay between the silky soft bedding she thought about the last time she saw Erik. She thought about the letter she had found. He had told her about his past, that he had loved her. She remembered crying, wanting to find him to tell him to come back.
To tell him that she loved him too, but she wasn't exactly sure if it was in the same way. She had missed him so much, and there had never been a day that didn't go by when her thoughts didn't turn to him. He was on her mind constantly.
Now that she had found him again she wouldn't let him get away. She wanted answers.
But most of all, she wanted her Erik.
A/N: Now guys, I shall remind you how much reviews mean to me. So if you would please just take a few seconds to leave me some brief feedback it would mean the world to me!
