A/N: I was very sad when I didn't recieve many reviews for the last chapter. But that is what I get for being away for so long. I hope you all enjoy this next chappie! Lots of twists and turns ahead, prepare yourselves!

GerrysJackie: I am thinking you will be happy with this chapter :D

thePhantom'sEvenstar: My mom is the same way. She has no idea that I spent an hour and a half of homework time reading and writing fanfic instead. Your costume sounds fabulous. I am being a bunny this year. Complete with ears, a white polo shirt and stripped capris. Be jealous of my thrown together costume!

The days leading up to Halloween passed pleasantly. Erik helped Christine to practice the songs from Beauty and the Beast, and helped her with her schoolwork. He would cook for her and always made sure she had everything she needed.

Sometimes he would come home and play for her a new piece he was working on, and she would sing along to it. He would make his corrections and then they would sit and talk or read.

The night before the masquerade they were sitting on the couch, reading. Erik put his book down and took Christine's out of her hands.

"Yes?" She asked, slightly annoyed. She had just arrived at the best part of the story.

"Christine, the song…the song you sang at your audition, where did you find it?"

"Madame Giry gave me the sheet music. Why?" Christine wondered why he would ask such a thing.

"I was just wondering, that's all. Well we should be getting ready for bed." He stood and held out his hand to her, helping her to her feet. Christine could finally walk without her crutches although she had to take it easy. No dancing, running or anything that would cause her to injure her ankle once more.

That night Christine slept fitfully, not being able to sleep since she was so excited. Finally the alarm on her phone went off, signaling that it was morning. Time to get up and get ready.

After she had showered and dressed she walked into the kitchen and grabbed some coffee and a bagel. Erik was already sitting at the table and she took the seat across from him.

"So we're meeting there right?" She asked before taking a bite of her bagel.

"Yes. I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs at 8pm." He said with a smile. The club the cast had rented out had three levels. The top level and lower level were dance floors, where as the middle level was where everyone would arrive to either climb up or down the stairs to dance the night away.

After Christine was done eating she said goodbye to Erik and headed out to meet Meg at a beauty salon where they were going to their hair and nails done.

By six o'clock Christine was heading back to her apartment with Meg where they were going to get ready. Christine had her hair put up in a bun with several of her curly locks tumbling down to her shoulders. Around the bun, there were little white rose buds and her hair shone with glitter.

Her costume had a white bodice with light blue lines going down it and was light blue at the top with light blue straps. The skirt was light blue with another layer of white underneath and stopped about six inches above the knee. Around her neck she wore a necklace with stars dangling off of it and she wore dangling star earrings as well. She also had a pair of white wings and clear high heels on.

The finishing touch was her glimmering blue eye shadow and false eyelashes. Plus a dusting of glitter all over her body.

Meg gasped when she saw Christine. "Erik is absolutely going to ravish you when he sees you." She said with a giggle.

Christine blushed but decided to ignore the comment. "Meg, would your mother approve of you being the playboy bunny?" Now it was Meg's turn to change the subject.

"Don't forget your mask Christine, let's go." Christine grabbed her mask and slipped it on. Meg helped her to tie the white ribbons to keep it in place. It covered her eyes, and looked like a pair of large butterfly wings, one half was mostly black with a line of silver going through it, the other side was mostly silver with a black line going through it.

With a final glance in the mirror she and Meg left for the masquerade.

XXX

Music poured from the club doors as Meg and Christine waited outside as a bouncer checked for their names on a list. Finally he let them through and both were relieved to be inside the warmth of the club.

"I'm gunna go find Erik." Christine shouted, Meg nodded and each went their separate ways.

Christine descended the stairs, instantly regretting wearing high heels. She was sure she would land on her face at the foot of the steps. But with the help of the banister, she made her way down. Towards the bottom of the stairs she scanned the crowd for Erik, but there were so many people that she couldn't see him.

When she reached the last step a figure emerged from the crowd with a swish of a black cape. A gloved hand reached out and she took it.

She stood before a man, clad almost entirely in black; save for a red vest and white shirt underneath the vest. He was also wearing a black jacket as well as a red cravat. His mask was black and gave him an edge of danger. But it was his eyes that told her it was Erik.

While she was looking over him, Erik couldn't take his eyes off of Christine. She looked absolutely gorgeous and her costume brought out her eyes. He was glad that she was here with him, since he would have been extremely jealous to see her with anyone else.

Her hand was still clinging to his and he kissed the back of it. "You look lovely," He purred in her ear. She blushed and returned the compliment.

Erik led them through the crowd and into a lounge in which there was a bar. He got them both drinks and handed her a large glass with a clear liquid inside.

"What's this?" She asked. Erik just smiled and she took a sip. She almost laughed. It was just water. Erik was always looking out for her.

"Well I wouldn't want you to pass out, would I?" Christine just rolled her eyes and finished the water. Erik seemed to take a while in finishing his.

"Come on Erik, I want to dance." Christine whined. Erik looked a bit uncomfortable and took another slow sip from his glass.

"Don't tell me that you can't dance." She said, looking at him.

"I can dance." He replied looking indignant.

"Then prove it." Erik set his glass down and took hers out of her hand. He then pulled her onto the dance floor. The music that was playing on this floor was Latin and Erik was relieved. The music upstairs was loud and fast, something he would never learn to like.

Christine smiled nervously as Erik placed a hand on the small of her back while the other grasped her hand. He took a step back and she took one forward. The steps weren't overly complicated and she seemed to get the hang of it. Eventually they were dancing their way across the floor. When the song came to an end Erik dipped her gracefully and brought her back up.

Erik was the perfect partner. His rhythm matched her own and together they flowed together perfectly. Christine was grateful when he led them back to the lounge. She gulped down her water, savoring the feel of it pouring down her dry throat.

"Ready to continue dancing?" He asked once Christine was done with her water.

She scoffed and walked up to the bar to get another glass of water. Erik patiently waited, surprised that he was anxious to get back out on the dance floor. But with Christine in his arms, the whole world disappeared and it was just the two of them.

When they stepped out of the lounge a slow song was playing and Erik took her into his arms. Her arms wound around his neck and she rested her head on his shoulder. The sound of his heart seemed to drown out the music around them and she was momentarily lost in its rhythmic beating.

She looked back up at Erik. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

"For what?" He asked.

"For coming with me. I couldn't have enjoyed it anymore with anyone else." She replied, her eyes shining in the dim light. Those words squeezed his heart. How could such simple words mean so much to him?

"Erik? What are you supposed to be anyway?" She asked, looking over his costume again.

"A vampire." He replied. "Then where are your sharp teeth?" She asked jokingly.

"I'd show you, but then I'd have to bite you." He said playfully.

"Well in that case, I'd like to see your teeth." Christine breathed in his ear. Erik's heart nearly stopped. He didn't know what to do. Should he laugh, should he say he was joking…?

Christine was apparently waiting for him to say or do something, but Erik didn't know how to react to her comment.

"I was just kidding Erik." Christine said, her cheeks blazing red. "We should go upstairs to check on Meg." Erik nodded and together they headed up to the lower level.

Meg was easy to find since she was in the midst of a circle of people, who were all dancing to fast music. Meg squealed with delight when she saw Christine and pulled her to the center of the circle. They both danced to the music and Erik watched as several young men tried to start dancing with Christine.

His hands clenched into fists, but he was relieved to see her decline all of them. After some time she finally came back to him with a smile on her face.

"So what do you think about this type of dancing Erik?" She asked, gazing around the floor at the many people who were moving their bodies to the music.

"It's…"Erik was at a loss for words, but luckily Meg saved him for an explanation.

"Come on you two, why aren't you dancing?" Meg asked.

"You know what Meg, why don't you come downstairs with me and Erik for a while. I think you would appreciate that type of dancing." Christine nudged her friend slightly, and Meg agreed to come.

XXX

Meg got asked to dance right away, but it seemed that Erik no longer was in the mood for it. So he and Christine sat in the lounge for some time. Finally a young man came up to Christine.

"Care for a dance?" He asked, extending his arm to her. Christine glanced at Erik who was apparently not even aware of her or the other man.

"I'd love to." She said, taking his arm.

Once Christine had left with the other guy, Erik felt his blood boiling. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Yet it was his fault. Here he was, he had Christine all to himself and yet he chose to sit around when they could have been dancing or at least talking.

Erik rose from his seat and positioned himself in a dark corner of the dance floor so that he could watch Christine, without her being aware of it.

He could have bashed the young man's head in; he and Christine were rather close, too close. The young man had dipped Christine backwards and brought her up slowly, sensually. His hands caressed her body as he moved her to his will. Every second was torture.

"Watcha doing Erik?" Erik spun around to find himself face to face with Meg. A smile crept to his lips as a plan formed at the sight of the blonde girl.

"Would you like to dance Meg?" Meg nodded, and smiled girlishly.

He led her out onto the floor, and positioned them so that they were as close to the center of the floor as possible.

He started with the same steps, but he made them slower and more purposeful. He spun Meg around, and then back towards him with her landing in his arms before he dipped her gracefully. Meg wrapped her leg around the back of his calve, and he skimmed his fingers along her hip and leg before bringing her back up. Neither of them was aware that everyone had stopped dancing to watch them.

When the song ended, Meg giggled as she saw everyone standing around with their eyes still on them. She looked at Erik who looked just as surprised as she was. They both bowed gracefully and the audience applauded them. Everyone that was, except Christine. She was steaming with fury.

If Erik wanted to dance with Meg, that was fine with her. She wouldn't stand around to watch.

She headed up the stairs to leave, but someone caught her hand. Her heart leapt, so Erik wanted her here after all. But when she turned around her heart sank. It was the guy who had asked her to dance.

"Where are you going?" He asked, something about the way he asked that question seemed to trigger something within Christine. She looked at his mask, seeing the clear blue eyes staring back at her.

"Raoul?" She asked, her voice laced with disbelief. The man smiled before removing his mask.

"Yes, it is me Christine." He said triumphantly as if he was a knight coming to slay a dragon for her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, her heart beating faster as anger started to seep back into her veins.

"What do you think Christine. I came here tonight to see you." She dropped his hand, which up till then was still clutching hers.

"Well did you ever think that perhaps I don't want to see you. That if anything I wanted to get as far away from you as possible." Raoul turned red as she said this, a few people had stopped on their way up or down the stairs to watch the scene that was now unfolding.

"Oh please, don't tell me that you're still bitter about what happened with that masked freak." The sharp sound of a slap stopped a few more people in their tracks.

"How dare you." Christine said, her voice low and dripping with venom.

"You know, I think you're just angry because even he left you. Gee Christine, maybe there is something wrong with you…maybe he isn't the freak after all." Raoul said this with a cold smile on his face, his words menacing.

"Go to hell." Christine said, her voice loud and strong even though tears stung at her eyes. Raoul just gave her another cold smile and left.

"Well he certainly picked the wrong costume." A familiar voice whispered in Christine's ear. Christine laughed and hugged her best friend.

"Do you want to leave Christine?" Meg asked, looking concerned.

"No, I just want to have a good time. Who knows how long it will be till I can do that again." Christine squeezed Meg's hand and walked back upstairs. She knew that Erik would probably still be downstairs, oblivious to what had just happened.

She and Meg danced upstairs, and soon all her worries faded away.

XXX

"I don't think Prince Charming would have treated any woman in such a way." Raoul stopped in his tracks at the sound of those menacing words.

When he spotted a figure dressed almost entirely in black he knew who he was facing.

"Oh look, it's the masked freak coming to defend his…" before Raoul could finish his sentence, Erik was upon him; his hands around Raoul's pale throat.

"You better hold your tongue Raoul. You wouldn't want to find yourself losing that empty head of yours." Erik's threat caused Raoul to squirm, trying to get free of Erik's grip.

"Let go off me." He wheezed. Erik dropped him and Raoul fell to a heap on the floor.

"If you ever treat Christine like that again, you will be very sorry." With that Erik turned on his heel and left a seething Raoul behind.

XXX

"Christine." Meg nudged Christine in the ribs and looked at something behind Christine. Christine turned and saw Erik walking towards her. He didn't look very happy.

"Uh oh." Christine muttered under her breath. She made her way towards him and stopped when they were face to face.

Erik just looked at Christine for a moment, as if wondering what he should do. He wound up placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you all right Christine?" He asked, looking into her eyes as if trying to read her emotions.

"I'm fine. Did you have fun dancing?" She asked shrugging off his hands and turning from him.

"Do I sense some jealousy Christine?" Erik asked, looking down at Christine.

"No, you don't. But I don't think it is very nice to leave your date to dance with her best friend." Christine replied, her cheeks a bright pink for the umpteenth time that night.

"As I recall you left first to dance with someone else."

"Only because you were practically ignoring me!" Christine didn't feel like arguing, but it seemed that tonight wasn't a good night for calm conversations.

"Let's go." Erik had enough of arguing in front of a crowd of nosy people.

"What?"

"I said, let's go." Erik repeated, his tone leaving no room for disagreement.

Christine sighed, and followed him looking much like an angry child. The cold night air hit Christine as they stepped outside and she couldn't help but shiver.

As if it was a natural reaction, Erik removed his cape and draped it over Christine's shoulders. It was warm from his body and it smelled just like him, which helped greatly in warming her.

Christine continued to follow Erik, even though her feet were killing her and it was at least another mile to they reached Erik's apartment.

"Erik?" Christine said timidly, afraid he was angry with her.

"Yes?" He didn't even turn to look at her.

"Why did we have to leave the party early?" The sadness in Christine's voice almost floored Erik. This time he turned around, and even stopped walking.

"We left early because I wanted to spend some time with you alone. Your ankle has heeled now, I don't expect us to see each other often once you leave." Erik didn't meet Christine's eyes as he said this, afraid she would see just how much he would miss her.

"Erik…don't say that. Now that we're friends again and I actually know where you are, I want to see you a lot. Besides, you can't get rid of me that easily." Christine said, with a kind smile.

Erik surprised both of them by suddenly pulling her to him, and embracing her.

When he released her, he smiled down at Christine, something which nearly made her heart stop. They walked back to his apartment in silence, and once they arrived at his apartment door Christine was sure her feet would fall off from wearing such ridiculous shoes.

When they walked inside, Christine was about to say something but Erik held his hand up, silencing her. She heard scratching noises coming from the hallway and then a loud thud. Christine grabbed Erik's arm, suddenly very scared. But Erik seemed perfectly calm.

"Stay here." He whispered. Christine nodded, although she was quite scared. She watched Erik turn down into the hallway and saw a light suddenly go on. Then all was silence.

"Indigo!" Erik's voice cut through the silence, and Christine decided to go see what had happened. Erik was standing in the hall looking down at…a gray and very hair cat.

Erik took the cat into his arms and stood. "I guess I left my door open and she got out." He said, lovingly stroking the furry feline.

"I didn't even know that you had a cat!" Christine said, realizing there was a lot she didn't know about Erik. Erik said nothing as he opened the door across from the bathroom and ushered his cat inside; he closed the door behind the cat's retreating back and then faced Christine once more.

"I guess I better clean this up." Erik said, looking at an over turned vase and several shredded roses which littered the floor.

"Let me help." Christine said, and they both kneeled on the floor, picking up fragments of rose petals. Once they had cleaned up the mess, Erik helped Christine to rise from the floor and they threw the mess out in the kitchen. At this point, Christine finally removed her shoes and gave a relieved sigh.

Erik smiled at her. "Would you like some tea? Hot chocolate?" He asked, opening a cabinet above the sink.

"Hot chocolate sounds great." She answered. She watched Erik grab a can of the powered stuff and rolled her eyes.

"Perhaps there is something about cooking I can teach you after all." She said, taking the can from his hands and replacing it in the cabinet.

"Do you have any condensed milk? Or a large, chocolate bar?" She asked.

"No. But there is a 24/7 convenience store down the block." Erik said, grabbing his coat. "I will go get the milk and chocolate. I know your feet hurt so I won't ask you to come. I will be back soon." With that he left and Christine was standing alone in the kitchen.

She still had Erik's cape around her shoulders, and she breathed in his scent. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 11:00pm. There was still at least another hour of the party left. She walked into the living room and searched through Erik's CD collection. She found a Latin CD and popped it into the CD tray. The smooth, seductive tones of a guitar filled the apartment and a smile formed on her lips.

She then set about dimming the lights in the living room and kitchen, the only thing missing was Erik. As if he sensed that his presence was needed, he came through the door. He closed the door behind him, and set down the bag of milk and chocolate on the counter.

He looked around at the apartment, seeing the dim lighting and hearing the Latin music. He looked questioningly at Christine but she just smiled.

"Now let me teach you how to make that hot chocolate." She said, taking two cans of condensed milk from the bag and a large bar of Spanish chocolate.

Erik handed her a grater, strainer and a large saucepan. Christine grated the chocolate into the pan and wrapped the rest of the bar up. She then strained the cans of condensed milk into the pan and then set it on the stove. Within minutes the kitchen was filled with the scent of chocolate.

Christine strained the hot chocolate into two large mugs and handed one to Erik. Erik took a sip and was amazed. He had never tasted anything quite like it before. "Delicious." He said, before taking another sip. Christine smiled appreciatively.

When they had both finished their hot chocolate Christine took Erik's arm and dragged him into the living room. "Since we left the party early, I thought that perhaps we could bring the party here." She said, smiling up at him.

Christine never failed to amaze him. He would have never thought that Christine would have wanted to continue dancing with him but here they were and she wanted them to continue their own party.

He extended his hand to her and soon they were dancing once more. Christine hadn't felt the same when she had been dancing with Raoul. It hadn't caused her heart to beat so fast, or cause her to feel so safe and warm. Yet one simple touch of Erik's hand was enough to make her melt. The tempo of the music was slow at first, with the sound of violins. But it picked up a bit. Erik spun her and then twirled her back towards him, with her landing back into his strong arms.

Christine decided to improvise. She didn't know the exact steps of Latin dancing, but she did what she felt like doing. She placed a hand on his chest and caused him walk backwards a few steps before he started walking towards her once more. She turned away from him, but he caught her wrist pulling her back and dropping her into a dip.

He kept her in that position, staring down at her with his fiery eyes. When he brought her back up, it was slowly and she came right back into his arms. Both of their hearts were beating rapidly and neither had broken eye contact.

Christine could feel how close their bodies were, she could see how close their lips were to touching. Yet Erik didn't move. He seemed frozen, with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Before either of them knew what was happening Christine wrapped her arms more securely around Erik's neck and stood on her toes, bringing their lips together.

It was a tender kiss, and Christine shyly pulled away. Erik looked at her, shock and wonder in his eyes. But that didn't last long before he pulled her back to him, kissing her once more. Christine felt her knees go weak as she surrendered to Erik's soft, sweet lips.

Erik kissed Christine, his lips lingering over the soft fullness of her lower lip, then moving to capture her perfect upper lip. Christine wouldn't have been able to stop him, even if she had wanted to. He kissed her softly, experimentally at first. Tasting and feeling her.

But his passionate side could not be withheld any longer, his kisses became more frantic and demanding, like a starved man finally eating for the first time. He ran his tongue over the seam of her lips, softly begging for entrance. Christine couldn't deny him, and parted her lips allowing their tongues to continue the dance that their bodies had abandoned.

Christine's soft moans didn't fall upon deaf ears, Erik responded; running his hands up her back and down her sides savoring the feel of her warmth even if there was a layer of fabric between her flesh and his hands.

His lips wandered from her lips, down to her neck resting where he could feel her pulse fluttering against his lips. He could feel his reaction to her and knew that if they didn't stop, things could get out of hand.

"Christine…"he groaned against her neck. "Christine…we should stop." He said, still kissing her neck.

Christine struggled to think clearly. To realize what he said was true. But she didn't want to stop. She felt alive in his hands, and she didn't want that feeling to end. Erik's kisses became slower, and soon he seemed to be in control of himself once more. He kissed her lips once more before pulling away.

Christine knew he was right. She was glad he had had the control to pull away, because she knew she wouldn't have been able to. "Please don't say it." She whispered, staring into his glazed eyes.

"Say what?" Erik asked, stroking her cheek.

"That this was a mistake." She replied, squeezing her eyes shut as if preparing from something painful.

"Christine…Christine." He repeated, making her open her eyes. She looked at him and waited for him to continue. "Of all the mistakes I've made in my life, this is certainly not one of them." He finished softly. Christine wrapped her arms around him and they both embraced each other tightly for a moment.

"Thank you for tonight Christine. I have never enjoyed myself as much with anyone else." He kissed her forehead and then pulled away once more. "We should be getting to sleep. I expect that Meg will be carting you away tomorrow." He said sadly.

Christine caressed his exposed cheek. "Promise me Erik, that our singing lessons won't end."

"I Promise." And he sealed it with a kiss.